Christmas Ice and Power Outages

I hope everyone was able to have a very Merry Christmas.  My home area awoke to ice covering everything and massive amounts of power outages.  Many trees are gone, many were in the roads and across the power lines.  Many people are still without power.  Thankfully I live in an area that had power up and running by 10:30 am.  Our Christmas morning may have been missing lights on the trees and Christmas music in the background, but we lit candles and the kids were able to make out their gifts.  They are calling for more snow tonight, luckily just a dusting to up to 2", but it may be a while before we are able to thaw out completely.  I know the rivers and streams are full so I can only hope the ground can absorb some of this mess because I'm not sure we can handle flooding on top of the snow and ice.  Whatever is on the way, we can overcome it. 

Pre-Christmas Frenzy

I think all the snow went to everyone's head this past weekend.  Many of us were stuck in our homes, unable to do much except play in the snow that was within walking distance.  So now that the sun is out and people can once again travel, everyone is trying to get caught up on their final shopping and to-do lists.  We all still need to remember safety rules of travel.  I have been nearly hit several times simply because the driver was too busy to look in both directions before pulling out onto the main roads.  I know we are all excited that Christmas is a few days away, there is snow on the ground, tourists are arriving and anxiously trying to get to the ski slopes or the grocery stores.....so let's all just take a deep breath and relax for a moment.  Accidents only ruin the fun.  And I promise the stores and ski slopes will still be open if you arrive 5 minutes later than planned.

Snow Days

Yesterday we saw a LOT of snow get dumped in our area.  Everywhere you look there are piles of snow.  So enjoy playing in it.  Whether you decide to build snowmen and igloos or go skiing and snowboarding, make sure to bundle up.  When you come inside, cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate.  More snow is on the way, so if you are adventurous and need to venture out for a drive to the store (or final Christmas shopping), take your time getting to your destination.  Happy Holidays!

Oh the Weather Outside is....

frightful.  Not exactly frightful, just a little confused.  We had snow on Thanksgiving Day!  And then we had snow a couple of weeks later.  But in between the snow there have been days of 50 degree weather.  This past weekend we saw a bitterly cold Saturday where they were calling for a wintry mix overnight.  We woke up Sunday morning to pouring down rain and temperatures in the 50's.  Then Monday morning, schools in Avery and Watuaga County were delayed due to ice, only to see the temperature get up to 60 degrees in Valle Crucis by the afternoon!  While those of us who live here are used to the ups and downs of the weather, it does make it difficult for the ski slopes to operate.  We tell people, "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change."  This also makes it difficult for us in the tourist industry to answer those yearly phone calls where people ask, "Will it be snowing on Christmas?  We are coming to ski and wanted to know if it would be snowing."  Uh...your guess is as good as mine!

Giving Thanks

Tomorrow is the day we all sit down around a table full of food and stuff ourselves silly.  Then a majority of us will plop down in front of the TV to watch football.  Some of us may even venture outside to play ourselves or find some other activity to work off all those calories that have just been consumed.  Sadly, some people will not get to make it home to spend Thanksgiving Day with family, but we hope that where ever you may find yourself on Thanksgiving Day, it will be surrounded by people you love and good food.

This year I am thankful for the health of my family.  I am thankful to have a home.  I am thankful to have a job.  And I'm thankful to have met and gotten to know so many wonderful new friends.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Ways to follow The Reserve

I am excited to announce that we will be delving deeper into the communication world.  Not only have I started this blog, but we now have a Facebook page and today I started Tweeting.  There are endless possibilities on this giant network that so many people have at their fingertips.  Hopefully you will join us on our adventure.  If anyone has any suggestions as to what we can do or hear of new and upcoming sites, please let us know.  For now, we are just getting started.  Things may be a little rough the first few weeks, but we hope this will make it easier for our owners and anyone interested in our development to stay connected in new ways.

If you are not here today, you are missing a beautiful view of the mountains.  I'm sure this is a perfect day to see Charlotte from the top (at building 37).  Have a great weekend everyone!