first snow of the season

Yesterday I saw my first snowflakes  of this winter while driving to work, and some more on the way home, and then some more this morning when I looked out the window when I woke up. Nothing is sticking to the ground yet, but it is cold enough for the snow to stick if it arrives in sufficient quantity. The high will be below freezing today. At least the sun is trying to peek out from behind the cloud cover, which is always very welcome at this time of year.

Last night was the one night of the year when they open the store at work for people who work the off shifts. It normally closes at 1530. It was mobbed. A lot of people like to buy high end electronics there, as the price is comparable with electronic stores, and you do not have to pay state sales tax on your purchases because it is a federal store. It is the VA's answer to a military PX. I bought a new stereo system for my bedroom, because the CD player portion of the old one died several months ago. I can now finish my Mahler quest with the last two symphonies I had not had a chance to listen to, the seventh and eighth. The old system went into Bill's room. He doesn't mind having a good radio to listen to in there, and maybe someday Dan can figure out why the CD player doesn't work, if he ever finds time to look at it.

I got to have Bill home for lunch today. He has a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so he dropped off at home for some soup before heading into Ann Arbor and the doctor's office. It was great seeing him. I hate not being able to see the kids during the week because of my screwy work schedule. It's like being divorced and the noncustodial parent, even though I live in the same house! I usually only get to see them two nights (Friday and Saturday) and two days (Saturday and Sunday up to the afternoon) a week. And then they are usually busy with sports. Dan gets to see them everyday, and has never been able to understand why vacations are so important to me. It's the only time I can see him and the kids without either his business or their sports controlling everything. For him its a nice break to get away from the kids for a few hours. For me its a nice break to be able to see them!