WTF?

Travel yesterday was not a problem. It was therefore a complete surprise this morning when I discovered that US 150, which I travel on for about 3 miles to get to the freeway, was covered in several inches of blowing snow and very nearly impassable. I started to skid several times on the way in, but managed to recover before losing the road. By far the worst driving conditions yet from this mess, and I don't understand where it came from. I don't believe there was any new snow, and the weather report wasn't reporting the kind of wind speeds that it takes to pick up large amounts of well-settled snow like this. I also don't understand how several hours worth of snow managed to build up on an important secondary road without anyone noticing and getting a plow on it. There's an IDOT garage half a mile from the east end of this stretch of road.

Jazz

(being another in my occasional series of apple reviews)

I've seen this varietal on offer at local stores a few times, but always at a super-premium price. Last week Meijer had them for no more than Pink Ladies (and $1/lb. less than I recall seeing them before), so I bought one.

Visual: a very pretty apple, variegated between a bright scarlet red and a slightly greenish yellow. Slighty elongated in shape, tending a little bit to a point at the bottom.

Texture: very crisp, bordering on tough, with a fairly thick skin. Mostly satisfying -- certainly no hint of mealyness or mushyness -- but just a little bit too crunchy.

Flavor: pleasantly tart, with some sweetness, but short on any more specific flavor than sweet and tart, so it came off as a little bland. A decent apple, but not a great one.