Winter landscape, lame duck

Late this afternoon, it stopped snowing.

Oh, we're not buried up to our chins or anything, but for 14 straight days we've had white stuff in the air -- flurries and squalls, mostly, with the exception of eight inches' accumulation Thursday and Friday. It's been breezy and cold, too, about 15°F to 20°F below normal for this time of year, so all of our wintry precipitation has been of the dry-and-fluffy variety.

Imagine living inside a snow globe and you've got the idea.

I love it -- the driving, the walking, the working and especially the way that snow cover muffles sound. I hope it sticks around a while.

At the shop, the last few days have been awkward (to say the least). Other than the owner and the parts manager, I'm not sure how many of my co-workers know that I'll be gone after the 22nd, but I know. It's just strange.

Still, in full possession of my work ethic, I do my job just as I would if I planned to stay. That attitude is, in my experience (and at the risk of blowing my own horn), rare. I think it's also why I was asked to stay on for a couple of weeks.

From this point I have 12 more calendar days, nine more workdays, five days off and three more paydays before I move on.

I guess I already have, but I'll be damned if I'll let it show.