We've been in a deep freeze in MN for most of December and it doesn't seem like it will improve any time soon. It's been below zero all but maybe 5 or 6 days!

High temp expected on Monday is -16 with a low of -25 and a winchill of -50! Our governor closed all the schools here on Monday in anticipation of the bitter cold.

I made a pot of Sherry's Beef Barley Soup today but it will be frozen to be taken to a girl's weekend retreat next week. I also have three Hash Brown Quiches in the oven and made an oatmeal cake this morning.

This kind of weather is good for cooking so I make lots and freeze for future.

Take care everyone, It seems like most of the country is in for some nasty weather!

Linda

Chicken Pot pies and soup of any kind!

It's 73 right now, but scheduled to go down to 28 tomorrow. Baking weather tomorrow. Stay warm, everyone!

Yes, we're in the deep freeze here, not as cold as Linda/Doucanoe, but cold enough. We've had about 30 inches of snow just in December, one of the 10 snowiest on record and we're supposed to get another 6-12 inches tonight and tomorrow, then we have a "dangerous wind chill" alert from Sunday night through Tuesday. Blowing and drifting snow, wind chills from -20 to -30. Then, by next weekend, back up to 30F. It just can't make up its mind, but Grandma always told me that if you didn't like Michigan's weather, wait an hour, it'll change. LOL

Yes, I'm ready. I have full freezers and a basement full of canned goods, the stock have food and as long as the tank heater can handle it, we're good to go. The buildings aren't heated, but we can always go inside to get out of the worst of the wind if we need to, before going back out to finish up "chores".

Stay warm indeed, and be careful everyone.

Annie

Way to early for this snow/cold crap. The kitchen is a great place to prepare those heart warming goodies. Use some common sense, and it will make for good stories next year. WalMart was a zoo today with carts loaded to the max of food. Too much commotion, I left empty handed and went to another store, and better prices. Good luck in the big chill.

Jan 4th is "way to early"? When do you *usually* get it? May?
We are set for food. Generators if we lose power. I bet we haven't had 6 inches of snow this whole season. I wish it would warm up enough to snow.

I think we got lucky this round....and my heart goes out to everyone who is receiving the brunt of this storm. Only an additional 2" of snow overnight, on top of the 2-1/2" from a few days ago, which is on top of the 12" (which was about 3/4 melted) from Dec. 20th (which was forecast to be 2-3"). The current temperature is 16-degrees F. (-4 wind chill) and will be the high for today, and only going to get colder today and Monday. Nothing to complain about here, especially if we see the sun today and get some heat from the solar panel.

With these frigid temperatures we'll be glad of the snow-cover to "blanket" the wheat. With beef and pork prices sky-high, the potential for milk to double if Congress doesn't pass a Farm Bill, you wouldn't want to see extensive wheat damage here in the winter wheat belt and rising prices on everything that contains wheat.

We practice home food storage so we are prepared with enough food for a year, plus 3-years worth of the "Seven Survival Foods", so we don't have to be one of the "crazies" at the store getting what they can before a big snow or ice event. We also have a 72-hour emergency kit with foods that don't need to be heated or refrigerated. Plus emergency water stored in the basement, and alternative methods for cooking indoors and outdoors, as well as alternative heating and a solar generator with a bank of deep-cell batteries for emergency electricity.

A few years ago during a winter storm (we got 24" of snow over a 2-day period) I saw a local dentist on snow skis (please keep in mind this is flat KANSAS, not our over-endowed sister to the west known for skiing - Colorado) slide past our house wearing a back pack. About 30-minutes later he came back by with the back pack loaded and a couple other plastic grocery bags hanging from the pack. I assumed he'd been to Dillon's for groceries. :-)

-Grainlady

Got snow Thursday night...enough for 2nd snow day already! Probably about 6-8 inches of relatively light stuff. But it's COLD!! Decided on Friday that CHILI would be a good thing to make... but had NO peppers in fridge!?! So yesterday made a trip to get some. Before I set out, knew car would definitely want a warm up, so check NOAA for weather report. Said temp in my area of NJ was MINUS TWO!! Actually didn't feel that cold, but car told me otherwise... did start but was a bit reluctant.

When snow is in forecast, I do a mental inventory of "essentials".... toilet paper, cat food/litter, something good to snack on. Find it amusing to watch supermarket crazies loading up on bread, milk & eggs!?! WORST snow I can remember only left us stranded for about 36 hours, and that was becasue we're on a small cul de sac and that's the last places township plows go.

We've had quite the winter so far in Maine, snowy and cold. I'm nearer the coast and it was still -19ðF yesterday morning. I've been cooking soup -- lentil soup Friday night, and Ham and Bean soup yesterday using the bone from the Christmas ham.

Had a couple of friends over for cards and soup, a great way to warm up. I hope everyone is feeling warmer!

It started to snow on NYE and finish with about 14 inches on Jan. 2. Then we received 6 inches last night with another 3-6 today. To add insult to injury, temps will drop to -18 tonight (-45 wind-chill) with a high of -11 Monday. High wind warnings are giving us blowing snow with white outs.

We and most of the neighbors have blowers so whoever is out will do the others walks. Dad made the path to the garage, with cut overs to bird feeders and the pond area to keep the air exchange open. So far no ice since it is covered. And of course we have a "potty path" for Dylan. Being short, the boy parts are a bit cool in the snow.

To warm us up, dinners are being baked and I have made black bean soup. Tomorrow I will make oxtail stew and try my hand at an apple strudel.

I live in fear that the furnace will conk out, so the heat is staying at the normal 70. I have pulled out the Cuddle Duds too, going for the Dough Boy look.

Stay warm and dry all!

As a kid the worst snowed in experience was Buffalo, NYs blizzard of '77. We lived outside of Buffalo in a mobile home park in a rural area. My Dad worked in the city. The day it hit he could not get his car out of the parking lot at work and thankfully could walk to his brothers house nearby. He did not get home for over a week. We can't remember why but there was no school that day (not weather related). I remember our mobile home rocking back and forth when the storm came in. We never lost power or heat. Most of the Dads in the close by homes also could not make it home. The Moms decided they would take turns hosting basic dinners until we could get to a store. There was a very small store about 3 miles away and someone took a snowmobile there to get a few items. We had two weeks off of school.

It was a sad time as many people died and at least one home burned to the ground due to the firetrucks being unable to get there. Animals from the zoo walked out on the huge snow drifts that went right over the fences.

As an adult the worst was what we call the October surpise of 2006. We live in Amherst NY which is outside of Buffalo. I think much of the northeast experienced this one. Trees still with leaves became coated in heavy ice causing unbelievable damage as they broke. We lost power for 2 days and it was very cold. DH had to travel outside the county to borrow a generator and find somewhere to get gas. I had to venture into the city to rescue my elderly mom who was alone and without power. The streets were just covered in debris, no street lights working. We were lucky that we live on a busy road and was one of the first streets who got power restored. The crew was from Boston Mass. We had some deaths from that one too. Since that one generators are very popular here.

I'm old enough to remember Chicago's bad blizzard of February 1967. It was the one where my dad decided we'd move to somewhere warm when he was ready to change jobs! When the storm began, my mom took my brother and I home from Dad's business, and decided (wrongly) that she should take the "back road". Well, in retrospect she knew she should have taken the main drag. Dad made it home, but we didn't. We had to make our way across a very snow-filled ravine to someone's house after the car got stuck on a snowdrift on what's now known as Pulaski Rd. We were darn lucky none of us got injured or frostbitten. Dad had to rescue us the next morning -- the people had been good enough to house us and about 5 others stuck, letting us sleep on their floor.

Grandma had a nice pot of soup going for us when we all made it home in time for lunch. Dad started to research "southern Arizona". :-) We moved there 3 years later.

Donna