Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

Just when you thought I had all the weather posts out of the way... Here I go again!!!  What more can I say? The weather is the only topic of conversation in our part of the world at the moment  and us Irish pride ourselves on how well and regularly we discuss the weather ALL year round........!!!When I hear they have had snow in Florida something is going on!!... Global warming????  Aint nuthin 'warm' about our weather for the last while... Ok, I know it doesn't work like that but this is the worst weather we have had in many many years... People are bringing up dates like 1982... I remember that one!... 1947.. I don't remember that one.:)

With 80% of our schools not opening after the holidays last Thursday & Friday... (we were open!!) and with a severe shortage of salt and grit for the primary roads, not to mention the secondary routes our Minister for Education issued a directive last Friday that ALL primary and post-primary schools would be closed for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of this coming week due to treacherous road conditions......we were being just a little cynical and scathing down this part of the country as we have been managing farily ok and getting used to driving on icy roads but when the snow reached us today from the east and when the people giving us a lift home from town got stuck and we had to walk the last bit home I began to feel rather glad that I am not going to be venturing out tomorrow morning after all.....

As my car has once more returned from the garage and for a second time decided to refuse to start I am VERY glad that I do not have to go out tomorrow....

The danger with all this time off and being more or less confined to home is that boredom sets in...... some little people become restless... not such little people also but today ended up being a nice day......

We spent a good part of the day at the Scór competition at local level and Darrelle took part in the ballad group section....it was varied and fun and a change of scenery....

Here are two of them happily showing off as they got 2nd....

While we were inside we did not realise that the snow had arrived!!!!

Hey... I'm all for a bit of adventure...well, I used to be ..before I got all sensible and boring but this latest trend for 'walking on water' just starts me ranting....seems like everyone and his granny have been taking to 'testing' out our frozen lakes, on bikes, quads you name it and even wheelchairs!! I just keep waiting to hear of loss of life.....they say with the ground being so  hard that the water is not draining back into the lakes so there is actually a hollow underneath the frozen part of the lake and underneath... so that it gets even more dangerous as time goes by.....

Passing home this evening we stopped at our nearby lake to see that this mania had hit our own locals!!! We had to stop and I will admit that it was all very exciting.. but not enough to chance 'testing the waters' myself.... not after christmas festivities anyway!!!:(

Despite the gardaí stopping by and warning people to come in and also the civil defence patrolling... people just kept goin' back out....

Darrelle and her friend Susie stayed close enough to the edge...

Looks lovely doesn't it?  Know this is commonplace for lots of folk in other parts of the world but for us it is such a novelty.....And who did we meet then but Marie and Micheál, my faithful walking partner and fantastic childminder to Alex and Elena and who has kept walking despite the elements and minus me for the past ages:(.. Intend to rectify that soon...

Arrived home to a very sociable neighbourhood so thought if you can't beat em join 'em... and so the remanider of the day was spent outside helping the little ones to make snowmen....

Alex feels the cold so badly... I don't know how he surivied his first winter in snowy Ust-Kamenogorsk having had a November 20th delivery into this world!!? Still, thought it wouldn't be fair to have him miss any of the fun so we wrapped him up and here you can just about see his eyes!!!!

Yes, this is Alex....
Susie, making a snow angel!!!!!!
Well, I can do one of those too!!...

Darrelle putting the finishing touches to the snowman....

Here is Darrelle & Susie with the triplets!!!