Good morning! What day is it? First Day Back to Work in 2019, of course. But more important: Three weeks to National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀. That cheese fondue I had at my parents house last was pretty good but I think I’m done for cheese until about Cheese Lovers Day. Also one month until Ground Hog Day, although it’s been a fairly mild start so far to twenty nineteen, although I wish New Years Eve had been nicer. 🎇

A beautiful sunny day for heading back to work in the new year. Mostly sunny and 24 degrees in Delmar. There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. Sun angle has improved enough come January that it’s not right in my eyes walking down to the express bus. Things will start to thaw out at around 1 pm. 🌡️ Not bad as we are in the cold of winter when the average high is only 31. It’s January, although it doesn’t feel that way as it’s been relatively mild and I was out camping last weekend. I did make it down to the express bus stop this morning in plenty of time, in part because I installed the clock in my bedroom.🚏

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 33 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 6th. Fairly mild for sure. We only look forward in the new year. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the morning. A year ago, we had with more clouds in the afternoon. The high last year was 20 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1890. 7.1 inches of snow fell back in 2014.❄

The sun will set at 4:34 pm with dusk around 5:05 pm, which is 54 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 33 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 9 hours and 8 minutes of daytime, a increase of 52 seconds over yesterday. Within a month, we will have 10 hours of daylight, which is pretty nice.

Tonight will snow, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy 🌨, with a low of 28 degrees at 7pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 22nd. Around the time they pass the one house budgets in Albany. Warming up through the night. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. In 2018, we had clear skies. It got down to 7 degrees. The record low of -14 occurred back in 1970.

Yesterday I broke down and bought a clock for my kitchen. 🕗 After eleven plus years of living in my apartment, I broke down and got a clock in my kitchen, as it makes it much easier to determine the time, 🚌 meaning there is a better chance I can catch the earlier bus to work. I don’t like spending money on things I don’t need or later have to discard, but I found that I often don’t have my phone on me in the morning for the time, when making breakfast. The clock was only $4 and while it takes a battery, the similar one I have had in the bathroom for years (after debating for a long time if I needed one),  has only had it’s battery replaced once before, like every two years. It uses a quartz timer to drive the second hand ahead, it’s very conventional old-fashioned style hands clock, that kids supposedly don’t know how to read but I find very easy to follow up on.

My goal is this year to catch the earlier bus more often to work, 🌄 taking the express bus in whenever I don’t have to wear a suit or get all dressed up for work.🕴The walk is good way to kick off the morning, plus it’s a much nicer commute then taking the local. The scenery is nicer, and it’s a smoother ride on in. Plus I like the refreshing nature of the morning walk.

Speaking of walking, I went for a nice walk last night, and it wasn’t too bad of a walk.🚶 Rather mild, good weather for a change. I am kind of glad that January was a lot more mild then it was last year. Every day when I look at the display in my bedroom, with the past year weather displayed, it’s always a bit shocking how much nicer this year has been.🌃

I have not planned any road trips for a while, but I might go out camping somewhere for the Martin Luther King holiday if it’s not too cold. 🎣 Possibilities include going out to Balsam Pond in Chenango County to camp and ice fish, maybe NY 8 in the Adirondacks or maybe Charles Baker. I’m really digging how they plow Brown Road past Truck Trail 8, although I guess if the snow is deeper, I would have to park and haul gear back to the campground.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until National Cheese Lovers Day 🧀 when the sun will be setting at 4:57 pm with dusk at 5:28 pm. On that day in 2018, we had rain and temperatures between 48 and 37 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 31 degrees. We hit a record high of 64 back in 1906.