My Week that Was - March 21

Waiting, 12:00 pm 3/15/26 dwm

 The storm watches and warning were crawling across television screens starting Thursday, March 12, warning people to prepare for possibly two-feet of snow to fall over the weekend from Saturday into Sunday.

 By the time Saturday arrived, the storm had shifted, the heaviest snow would be in north Wisconsin and the area around Madison would 'only' expect 6 to 9 inches according to the Sunday, March15 forecast.

 While we were in church, thunder could be heard. Hail fell in Verona then sleet came down amidst the rain because it was too warm for snow. There were still remnants of sleet when I took before the storm photos at 12-noon (photo below right).

 By mid-morning, our son who lives two hours north of us, had 20-inches of snow with another foot expected. Fortunately, he can work from home as long as the power stays on.

 Around noon is also when area schools were advising there would be no school on Monday due to the impending storm. 

Sleet on the back deck. 12:01 pm 3/15/26 dwm

My Prius' windshield is covered with a sheet of plastic that will save a little time cleaning it after the storm. The other vehicle is pulled up close to the front wall in the garage so the trash and recycling bins are next to the garage door.

Monday is the usual day for pick-up, and we are among the first places where the trucks stop, so this means the car won't need to pulled out of the garage to take out the trash. The things out of our control are how much snow will there be Monday morning and will our cul-de-sac be cleared enough for the trucks?

It turned out that we didn't have 9-inches of snow on the ground; it was more like 4 to 5 inches. I didn't go to the gym on Monday, instead I shoveled the driveway. If we had ten inches, I planned to stay off the roads and work from home, but this was more of an average snow day, so I cleaned up and drove to work. 

After the storm. 3/16/26 11:07 am  dwm 

 Once I made it to our street, it was an easy ride into town. There were stretches along County Road M with only a lane-and-a-half cleared of snow, but there was so little traffic, it wasn't a concern.

 I arrived at work close to 7:30 and ran into several colleagues who made their way through snow-covered streets to get to work on time.

 The campus director was out and about picking up employees who couldn't get out of their neighborhood. Schools were closed across the state for the heavy snow, so quite a few of Oakwood's staff were working from home.

Sun is out. 3/16/26 2:34 pm dwm

The heavy snow was helpful to me, as I reached a high percentage of the people I called and out of twenty people called, I secured six appointments over the next two weeks. 

Further north, the snow was up to the hype, with more than 20-inches in our old hometown of Augusta with more than two-feet in Wausau and Green Bay. 

The clouds finally gave way to blue skies and the sun got to work melting the snow-covered roads. 

I drove my wife's car to work instead of mine because hers had all-wheel drive. I may not have needed it, but it sure did the job.

When I got home, it was my turn to dig out my car. The plow that cleared off the association drive left extra snow in front of my car and there was still 3 to 4 inches of snow covering the car. I used the shovel to clear the area in front of the car (I had backed into the stall) and around each side, so it would be ready in the morning.

Tuesday was a much better day. The primary and secondary roads were in good shape around Madison as the plows could finally concentrate on less-traveled neighborhood streets. It was cold, with temps in the 20s, but even at that temperature the sun was strong enough to melt snow. 

 Wednesday was my last in the office. The biggest accomplishment was finalizing our move into a new office. While that happened a few months ago, there were still boxes on the floor with papers that need to be shredded and a variety of thing we didn't want to move. 

In less than an hour, the stuff we didn't want but could be used was placed in an area where colleagues could help themselves. The rest of it went to the trash. The documents to shred are now in the new office, biding their time until there is space in the shred box.

Thursday I was home. I got up a little later than usual to use the gym, then we went for breakfast, then I tried to tidy up my home office. I parted with some things I've carried around all my adult life, but it's time for others to enjoy.

When the NCAA Tournament started at 11, I was in front of the TV. Wisconsin was in the last game of the first four played. Hopes were high, which made the result tough to take. The Badgers won't be the only upset victim in the first round (I think), but I really thought this team had what it took to advance to the Elite Eight. Instead, they were back in Madison last night. I'll have more on the tournament in Tuesday's blog. 

A recent Birthday card. 3/20/26 dwm

 I brought a project from the office to work on during the tournament. It's writing notes and signing birthday cards.

 We print cards annually. The print house stuffs the cards into envelopes. Each quarter, we run a list of people with birthdays during the next three months, and the printer puts the name and address on each one and deliver them to the office.

 Using my copy of the list, the cards are organized and a post-it-note placed on it with the person's birthday. That's when I'm ready to sign. 

 This time, the second quarter birthday cards were delivered to the office just before the big tournament, so I signed the cards for April Thursday and the May cards on Friday. I expect to finish June today.

Other than the loss by the Badgers, the first two days of the tournament were fun. As I write this there are four Friday evening games left of the first 32 and 23 teams are still standing.

I hope your bracket is doing well, happy spring, and have a great week!