Johanne's Journal, 01 February 2011

Hang in there buddy..It will be all over soon..hae a good nap...Bren 

I really think it is a primal thing... it gets cold and its like a switch goes off in my head that says "eat eat eat.." stay warm Jo! 

I gather we're next for this big storm/blizzard, and am hoping for a family snow day tomorrow.  

If you get what we're getting, you may get a couple of family snow days. Everything here, including the government, is closed down and, an hour or so ago, they closed I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis until further notice. I can't see the back of my yard, and even with the wind blowing the snow away, I have over 12" in front of my door. They are saying on the news that we have 10' drifts. This is only the 15th double digit snow in this area since 1889. The big thing though is the wind and frigid temps. The wind chill is around -20F already and dropping and we have a virtual white-out. It's all very interesting. My cat, Velcro, insisted he just had to go out, so I opened the door and he jumped through the screen and landed in snow over his head. He then backed up, was pawing at a tunnel under the snow (some tiny critter), got bored with that and decided to go under the bushes against the house. He wasn't going to chicken out with me standing there waiting patiently for him to come back in. He bumped the bushes. They dumped their entire load of snow on top of him. All I could see were great, startled, blue eyes staring up at me from a pile of white. Velcro then emerged from the snow, catapulted himself back through the hole in the screen, and that was the end of him pestering me to go out. LOL! Of course, he let me know that it was all planned that way.. 

lol... smart cat. we're "only" expecting 20-30cm tonight and tomorrow morning, and gusting, and those cold temps you describe have been around off and on for the last few weeks. I love the snow, but the cold can go away please.  

Great cat! Stay comfy - try not to eat too much! 

My Maine Coon had been persteing the heck out of me about going out, and then we go to the door, he looks out at the snow, and runs back inside. We have been playing that game for 2 days, and today I had enough. I kicked his little furry rear outside. He stayed out for about 15 minutes and came to the door, begging to be let back in! lol That lesson stayed with him for at least 30 minutes, then he was back to pacing and head butting! Stay warm, dear friend and pet Emma and Velcro for me! 

Steph, I miss my Maine Coon, Clarence. He was the dumbest cat I ever owned, but one of the prettiest and dearest. He lived to 17 after trying to commit suicide many times. I need to write a book about him. He definitely kept me on my toes and laughing. Velcro seems to be a lot smarter. After the bush avalanche, he looks out the door when I open it, but doesn't want anything to do with all that white. Emma's the smartest. She can feel the cold hit her face and runs the other direction. LOL! You stay warm too and do the same for your furry friends. I think Emma, Velcro and I are going to go take a nap . . . one of the few luxuries of being old.