If you live here in the "Kingdom" - or I'm guessing anywhere within about a 150 mile radius - get ready for another winter storm and possible power outages.  This warning comes from Green Mountain Power Corp.:

Green Mountain Power is preparing for a new storm forecasted to bring wet snow, ice and possible outages to areas already hard hit by Monday's big snowstorm. Crews have already restored power to more than 104,000 customers and are on track to get everyone back on just as the new storm reaches southern and central Vermont late Saturday.

GMP is urging customers to plan ahead for possible outages. The company has opened its district offices in Bethel, Brattleboro, Sunderland and Springfield to customers who need food, a place to charge their phone, WiFi, or a warm place and state emergency officials have shelters open.

A complete list of shelters along with warming centers, which are open during the daytime, is available at the Vermont Emergency Management website, https://vem.vermont.gov.

GMP is also reminding customers to be safe.
 If you don't have power and can't be safe in your home, you can reach out to 211 for shelters in your area.
 Stay away from downed lines and downed trees, they can be hidden by snow.
 Watch out for power and emergency crews who will be working with large vehicles in narrow, snow-loaded roadways.

To get the latest information on outages and restoration times, customers can sign up for text service alerts, by texting REG to 46788 or GMPVT, or signing up online at greenmountainpower.com/textalerts. Customers can also sign up for GMP's app to report outages at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for GMP. Customers may also report outages by calling 1-888-835-4672, or visiting GMP's Outage Center page at www.greenmountainpower.com.

Tomorrow and Monday may be troublesome; however there is a long stretch of pretty nice weather forecast for the next several days. If we can manage to get through the rain and freezing stuff in the next couple of days, there's light at the other end!
     Unfortunately, we still have piles of snow still on trees that are bending over highways and power lines. The rain that is expected starting tomorrow will wreak havoc on these already compromised trees.
     We went to Newport yesterday, just to take a bit of a road trip after pretty much being pent up watching snow fall. It promised to be a fairly "normal" day with only a few snow flurries that wouldn't complicate travel. We were surprised at how many limbs were overhanging the power lines along the highways. No wonder so many people were without power!
     There weren't many people at Eastside Restaurant when we got there around 5:30, but later the place began to fill up. There was a nice three-piece band playing in the bar - two men and a woman all three with guitars and one of them also played a mean harmonica. We were in the dining area just off the bar, so couldn't see everything, but we thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. Our waitress told us the name of the band, but we couldn't really understand what she was saying, so left it at that. They were "a little bit country" doing the FJohnny Cash song, "Folsom Prison Blues" and the female vocalist did a great version of Patsy Cline's "Crazy." They also did "Brown Eyed Girl" - but their version wasn't as good as our that of our local "Hit Men." What surprised us was the nice sound of three guitars with no drums.
     It was a nice get-away and dinner was very good, as always. It was good that it wasn't crowded in the dining room and therefore wasn't terribly noisy. The bar was a different story, I'm sure.
     So, get ready for the next onslaught of weather. Be prepared with auxiliary heat, extra water and food because not only could we find ourselves without power, we also might not be able to get past downed trees in order to get out for supplies. Above all, don't do anything foolish. Leave the downed trees for the experts - notify the power company if there is a tree on the power line; notify your road crew if there's a tree or big limb obstructing the roadway. Don't be out on the road unless you absolutely have to travel - and if you do have to go someplace, watch out for icy patches. The forecast is for freezing rain. Isn't this winter proving to be more fun than hot summer days?!  Then there's Alaska. Earthquakes and according to our friends who live in Anchorage, they have very little snow so far this year and haven't had the deep cold we've had. Go figure! I'll take the snow and cold rather than the earthquakes!