COLD, STORM JANUS AND A POLAR VORTEX.

It is just plain and simple cold here in northern VA and all over the eastern coast of the United States for that matter.  We left Panama last Saturday with the temperatures being in the nineties everyday.  When I left for Panama, I knew that Virginia was going to have a warm Saturday for our return (it had shown mid-fifties).  I remember Martin Luther King weekend was supposed to be warmer.  Ray and I arrived to Dulles at two pm, and it was twenty-nine degrees.  Sure, warmer.  And for the week, we had snow.  Snow arrived on the Tuesday when I had to return to work.  Ray was still off until Thursday.  Because "snow was coming", ALL of the area county schools were closed for the day,  the Federal Government closed for the day, and Ray's office opened at ten am (they then closed the office at noon). My office opened on time.  And, except for the staff that was working 1-8 that day, we all worked a full day.  Everyone was pretty much done for the day by five pm.  This area got maybe two inches of snow.  But remember, it was COLD.  My daughter's area got six inches or so.  The snow never melted.  Salt couldn't work on the ice.  Schools remained closed either through Friday with midterm exams being canceled in many counties (here), or a two hour delayed opening where my daughter teaches (she was ready to go back) in Fairfax County.  Wednesday (another vacation day for Ray) my office, with all of us being essential employees, opened on time.  The morning was quiet until about ten am, and then patients dug themselves out of the ice and started to show up.  Ray, being my first patient of the day at eight am, was right on time.  Heck, he drove me to work, and we made a dinner date for afterwards :)  It was, with the wind chill, about zero to fifteen degrees that day.  This POLAR VORTEX is just unusual, and I don't like it.  According to Wikipedia, Canada and the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and south to Florida has experience an extreme cold wave in 2014.  For the first twelve days of January, along with last week and next week, there has been an Arctic coldfront.  Temperatures fell to unprecedented levels, schools and businesses that never close did close, there were road closures and mass flight cancellations.  Now, with it being Sunday, our driveway still has snow on it, and it is supposed to be ten degrees on Tuesday again.  Remind me why I came back to Virginia?  It certainly has me telling everyone that says "I am going to visit you in Panama" to come in January!

This is what shut down school for four days.

Not that the only thing going on here is that it has been a cold and bitter week since we got home, but the good was that we were able to celebrate our daughter's 22nd birthday at a delicious Mexican/Latin American restaurant.  Her boyfriend had organized a dinner with my family and friends along with her co-workers that are also now her good friends.  It was an excellent day to come home.

Carly with proud dad, Ray!

And with Ray being on vacation still, we had a home inspection done on the house.  This we did just to make sure things aren't discovered at the last minute when we put the house on the market.  PLUS, it looks like we have done a fine job ourselves of selling some very big pieces of furniture.  So once the house does sell, we can move it all out of here.  Makes me not mind so much that I am giving away a lot to Goodwill, also.  I just feel much better not paying an estate company a huge commission either.  Some friends came to take some Christmas decorations away, and today I packed up remaining Christmas dishes and glasses that were taking up space in cabinets and pantry.  Soon we will be spending weekends at the lake house, but for now, it is selling and packing and purging things.  And I baked some cookies!  Pink lemonade and key lime pie--reminds me of summertime!