A Frozen Fortnight

The past two weeks here in the St. Louis area have seen sub-freezing temperatures. Just this past Friday afternoon (19 February) did the temperature break 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). At times, the wind chill factor dropped to as low as -20 degreesw F (-29 degrees C). In that time, we got approximately 6 inches (15.2 cm) of snow. This combimed with ice on the road to make travel difficult at times during that stretch. I stayed inside as much as possible during this fortnight, venturing outside only for work. It was tough sometimes at the car rental branch when I had to step outside, though having layers of clothing on helped. Last Sunday morning (14 February), I drove to STL Athletic Center (https://stlathleticcenter.com/) in Fenton, where I refereed four boys soccer matches played indoors. These were 7-a-side matches for under 10 and 11 teams, with me as the sole referee. They went well, for the most part, and I was happy to get back to refereeing with the spring outdoor season beginning next weekend.

Cold and snowy roads caused the Affton Elks to close their lodge (https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=2635) to IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) last Tuesday night (16 February), forcing the club to cancel this month's meeting. It would have been the first one I would run as president this year. IPMS/Gateway will try again next month, on 16 March. Off work last Wednesday (17 February), I went with my Mom that morning to Walmart (https://www.walmart.com/?&adid=22222222224226138098&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=10387014087&wl4=kwd-64003623973:aud-808579512:loc-190&wl5=89382&wl6=&wl7=&wl14=walmart&veh=sem&msclkid=e96e7fbcffbe111c4aa51f8e5764484b) to shop for groceries and a new toaster. In the afternoon, I shoveled show off the driveway. Fortunately, the dry snow was easy to remove from the driveway and front porch.

The past two Saturday mornings had meetings of Missouri Professional Communicators (https://www.moprocommunicators.org/) that I attended via Zoom (https://zoom.us/). The General Meeting on 13 February featured two guests: Author Vivian Gibson ("The Last Children of Mill Creek") and life-writer Linda Austin ("Cherry Blossoms in Twlilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl."). They spoke about writing memoirs, using their experiences in suggesting how we could do similar written works. A Planning Meeting for upcoming meetings and activities was held yesterday morning (20 February). 

With the weather getting warmer this week, the snow and ice will melt away. Getting around on foot or vehicle will be much easier.

Later.