Today is Tuesday, February 13, 2024.       The important story today was the weather in which more than a foot of snow fell from Pennsylvania to Connecticut.   At least 15 inches was reported in three states: Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.  As for New York, this was the snowiest for the city in more than 2 years, in which the last snowfall was January 29, 2022.    An online article for CNN detailing the effects of this nor’easter is written by Elizabeth Wolfe, Lauren Mascarenhas, and Mary Gilbert and is entitled “Powerful nor’easter pelts region with snow, making it New York City’s snowiest day in 2 years.” 

A total of 3.2 inches of snow fell in New York City’s Central Park.  This ends a record drought of 744 days since 2 inches or more of snow blanketed the city in a single day.    The snow ended early Tuesday afternoon.

In the midst of my typing this, I just learned the great news that the special election for the 3rd Congressional District was won by Democrat Thomas Suozzi over his inferior repugnican opponent, Mazi Pilip, or whatever her name is.    Showing more grace than her entire repugnican party, Pilip conceded the race moments before Suozzi was projected the winner.    

Democrats now take back the seat that former GOP Rep. George “Lying” Santos turned red in 2022, a huge win in a bitterly contested race that focused on immigration.   This further narrows the GOP’s razor-thin margin, which is a fabulous situation.    I believe, as other pundits do, that this win is a good omen for Democrats this early in 2024.   Maybe this might signal Democrats taking over the House majority in the general election. 

Let’s get back to the snow today.  According to the article mentioned above, more than 130,000 customers in Pennsylvania and thousands more in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia lost power, according to PowerOutage.us.  Dense, wet snow weighed down and snapped tree branches across the region and gusty winds made matters worse.

This was not a day to travel by air, as there were more than 1,100 flight cancellations across the United States today.   The majority of those cancellations were in or out of major airports in New York, Boston, and New Jersey, according to FlightAware. 

Schools were impacted today, as New York Public Schools shifted to remote learning for the day.   Elsewhere, classes were canceled in city districts, including in Boston; Newark, New Jersey; and New Haven, Connecticut. 

As for me, going out during the day to do some grocery shopping was a little problematic.  Even though I wore my Ugg boots, there were some areas that were very slippery; the ground was not shoveled yet when I went out after breakfast eaten at home.    Luckily, I didn’t slip or fall outside.  I did my shopping and sloshed home.

Later in the day we entertained our neighbor “Richard” with cake and coffee and an opportunity to meet our new addition, Atticus.  The get-together was scheduled for 3:30 and Richard came up promptly.    When he came through the door, Atticus was resting on the computer chair.    Richard concurred that Atticus is a handsome cat and then we all sat down and schmoozed for a while before I suggested having my marble cake.  All during our conversation, Atticus was uncharacteristically quiet.   He managed to rouse himself a little when it was time for Richard to leave. 

After Richard left, Elliot and I walked to Dirty Pierre’s, a neighborhood mainstay known for its mussels and hamburgers, and we had no problem this time with the snow that all but melted by then on the sidewalk.  Most of the snow remained on the roads, though. 

The bar was celebrating Mardi Gras, so when we got to our table, we discovered colored beads for us to wear around our neck.  There were also balloons festooned all over. 

For dinner, Elliot did order the mussels with French fries, while I ordered the French onion soup and a bistro burger with cheddar cheese.  Not something we eat every day. 

It’s 11:40 here and Atticus is up to his old tricks of climbing everywhere.  I had to take away my cake from him since it looked like he was swatting it with his paw.  Why would a cat eat marble cake? I wonder.   Boy, does this cat have strange taste in food. 

Stay safe and be well.