Alexa still keeps telling me things that I do not want to hear – things like:" Weather still at zero, so stay in" and “More snow coming tomorrow, so be aware”.

I get the news from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and this morning I saw the street that I have traveled many times covered with ice. I hate ice, with the snapping of tree branches.

This week we had our board meeting late in the afternoon and the sun had been shining, which makes my house warmer. I headed to the museum not even thinking of snow although they were calling for it. After a good meeting, I left first, anxious to get home where it would be warmer. I opened the door of the museum and saw 2 inches of snow over everything, including my car. I had not had that to deal with for a long time.

I looked for my snow brush but could not find it. So I started to brush off snow with my gloved hand and I opened the trunk to put my walker in it. By that time Ted had come out and said, “If you just get in the car and turn on the windshield wipers, I think you can get home.”

I did just that and Ted was right. I only had two blocks to go and I was relieved when I pulled into my garage safely at home.

When I opened my back door to the car to get things from the museum, there was my snow brush on the back seat. I gave it a good lecture and then cleaned off my car. I was afraid the snow would freeze to my car but what was left on it did not. My garage is well insulated.

In all this cold weather, my boiler has been struggling and they tell me I have a very old boiler. But I am very old myself and just maybe, the boiler will outlive me and the next person can deal with it. I think it will be a race to the finish line to see who goes first.

Since I have been shut up in the house, I have been working with a bucket of apples that Mike left for me. I started first with sliced apples and cheese. Then I went to cooked apples with cinnamon. Next in line was applesauce made in my blender.

Now I remember on the farm having the pointed sieve-type thing with a wooden thing that you stirred on the inside of it. It was great for making applesauce. But I do not have that anymore and it is probably sitting in someone’s house as an antique. So the applesauce was only fair. Next I made apple muffins with crumble on the top and they were yummy.

I finished up with apple fritters and reminisced about the Town and Country days when the Methodist Church made them. Kenneth and I could not get enough of those. I loved Town and Country days because of the food. Jaycees deep fried chicken and apple fritters.

I think I threw in some apple crisp along the way but the one I loved the best was when I made apple muffins with crumble. I still have a few apples left in the refrigerator and the weather is still in “stay-in mode” so I think more muffins is the answer.

• Betty Obendorf is a retired teacher and volunteer for the Polo Historical Society.