Category: Miscellaneous

Ed and I have been snow shovelers for years. Every time it snowed, we would pull on our snowpants and boots, grab the shovels, and head out with the girls to shovel our driveway. We already had a significant snowfall earlier in November, although it didn’t last long and melted away fast. Last year, we wanted to buy a snowblower, but never actually got to the store to buy one. This past summer, Ed turned 50 and decided that yes, we needed to actually buy a snowblower this winter. So we bought one during a Black Friday sale. Our first snowblower ever!

We had such a mild December, however, that Ed and I have joked around, saying it’s our fault that the weather had been so mild. When you have a brand new snowblower and want to try it out, of course there will be 60 degree weather in December!

Well, our day came and we had one and a half inches of sleet fall last week. Ed did use the snowblower, but the weather was atrocious and it was raining as he snowblowed the sleet off of the driveway. At least he didn’t have to shovel that heavy sleet off of the driveway.

Last year in January, I was already heartily sick of cold weather. We had subzero temperatures and it was so cold that four days of school were cancelled. This year, we are hovering around 30 degrees every day, and I’m hoping it stays that way. Our winter has been mild so far, and I think we deserve it. Even if it means we won’t need our new snowblower!

There’s one thing we know we can count on; if we don’t use our snowblower very much this year, we will have plenty of use for it in the coming winters!

This week’s writing prompt continues to be NEW.

Did you start a new tradition? Did you get something new over the holidays? Do you have a new resolution/goal/word for 2016? Maybe you need something new in the New Year!

Write your Spin about something NEW to end this year and start the next! The Spin Cycle linky will be open until Sunday, January 10th!

(The first link is a post from last January about my word for the year, and how I was sick of the cold temperatures.)

We visited a house recently that is all lit up for Christmas. There is a light show, and the lights are coordinated with music. It is loud and obnoxious. And very, very cool! Lots of people are driving by to take a look, and even more people are parking their cars to come up to the house to watch the light show.

Right now, this neighborhood is not very peaceful. This house is on my old stomping grounds, right on the way to my high school. Of course, when I was in high school, this house didn’t exist. Many older homes have been torn down and “McMansions” have been built in their place. I can’t even imagine the amount of money it took to create such a display.

However, this house is so popular for more than the lights. The owners are raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project, and their goal is to raise $10,000.

Perhaps they are bringing some peace to the world after all!

This house is at the corner of Belle Plaine and Engle. We gave a small donation for Wounded Warrior Project, and if you are in the neighborhood, it’s worth a visit!

Did you write a blog post about peace? Link it up here!

Join us for the month of December with these #SpinCycle writing prompts. Be sure to add the Spin Cycle button to your blog post to tell others about the Spin Cycle!

Week of Dec. 7-11 : Peace
Week of Dec 14-18 : Joy
Week of Dec. 21-25 : Love
Week of Dec. 28-Jan. 1: New