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Oops. They just upgraded it from a winter storm warning to a blizzard warning for the city.

I hope atara gets home from work okay. I was supposed to drive down and pick her up, but she warned me to stay home and let her take the bus because the roads are so bad.

It's not blizzarding yet, but it's coming down pretty good. Right now it's a mix of mostly freezing rain with a bit of snow, but that should reverse once the temperatures drop.

( The flash caught the snow in mid-flight. )

Here's the lovely news from Environment Canada (it's the "oh shit!" pictogram).

Recipe (of sorts)

Plonq's Spaghetti Sauce in 10 easy steps. This recipe changes every time I make it, so don't be too worried about taking copious notes.

1) Peel the skins off a package of spicy Italian breakfast sausages. Mush them up by hand into a large sauce pan and then brown the works over a medium flame. Add as much olive oil as it takes to keep it from sticking and then add more olive oil.

2) Chop in a medium onion. Add more olive oil.

3) Chop in some garlic. Chop in some more. Add some powdered garlic for good measure. Splash in a bit more olive oil.

4) Chop in a green pepper (and a red and yellow one too if you like - it will add more colour). Add some more olive oil while you're at it, and maybe some mroe garlic.

5) Dice in some fresh mushrooms.

6) Slice in some pimento-stuffed olives (don't make that "ick!" face, trust me, it will be good). Add some more olive oil.

7) Add a bunch of red wine (at least a cup) and when it starts to boil, drop in about a tablespoon of butter. Begin adding various savory spices. Don't have Italian seasoning? Use pizza seasoning. Just go through your spices, give them a sniff and if they smell like they'd go well in spaghetti sauce then add some.

8) Stir the whole mess up and let it simmer in the wine for about 15 minutes, then add a couple of cans of tomato paste. Stir it again and then add more wine until it's about the right consistency. Don't worry if it's too runny - you can cook it back down.

9) Add another tablespoon of butter. Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes and then see if it tastes right. Add a bit of salt, and pad out the spices until it smells and tastes good.

10) Simmer it for an hour or four. Serve. Enjoy.