Scenes from a vacation

It was snowing when I arrived Friday night. When I woke up Saturday morning there was about two inches on the ground. The highs were in the 20's and the lows in single digits the whole time I was there.

The blue/white truck belongs to the next door neighbor Darren. He's a 20-something year old who has a bunch of toys like a boat and snowmobile. His favorite is a four-wheel ATV which has a plow attachment. He plows the sidewalks up and down the street just for fun. He also clears my mother's driveway when he has the time, which I greatly appreciate. I've never met him, but just mom says he's a very nice young man.

The white truck across the street belongs to the new neighbors. They may be a little bit on the trashy side. Apparently their first week in the new house they strung a wire between two trees in the front yard and hung up there laundry to dry. You can't see the red AMC Gremlin which has been sitting in their driveway un-driven since they moved in.

Sam out in the back yard. He's a husky mix, so he spends a lot of time in the winter out in the snow. He'll spend hours out there rolling around and playing in the snow.

Sally out in the back yard sniffing around. She doesn't spend as much time out there as Sam. However, she likes to bark at the squirrels which built their winter nest high in big fir tree out there. This was my alarm clock two of the mornings I was there.

Monday night into Tuesday morning was the first big snowfall of the winter. It was about 6 to 8 inches of the white stuff. My flight home left Tuesday afternoon so I woke up early to get a head start on the snow. This is the front steps after clearing the snow and spreading the deicer.

I also cleared the driveway. Armed with the snow shovel, it took about ninety minutes to finish the job. I was starting to run out of places to put all of the snow. It wasn't a great job, but it was good enough to get the car out of the garage to get to the airport.

And since everyone asked (yes, just mom made it for me)...

Hamburger Noodle Hot Dish

1 lb. Hamburger (or Ground Turkey)
4 oz. Cooked Egg Noodles (wide)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup Green Peas
1 cup Diced Onions
1/2 cup Milk
2/3 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Chow Mein Noodles
Salt/pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and onions. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients (except chow mein noodles). Preheat oven to 300-degrees. In a greased casserole dish, combine hamburger and noodle mixture. Add chow mein noodles to top of dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.