wierd weather

We have experienced some strange weather this week. Monday morning it started to rain. As soon as the rain hit the ground it froze, turning the roads into huge skating rinks.

I had already decided to take off Tuesday through Friday, but the deteriorating conditions of the roads and walkways helped me decide to leave early Monday as well. I really wanted to get home before the evening traffic and into the house before my sidewalk got even icier than it already was. Because of my back problems, falling is one of my biggest fears. And since I'm not the most agile person, especially on ice, I really just wanted to get indoors.

When I left the office, about 11:15 a.m. Monday, the main roads weren't too bad. Traffic was moving slower than usual, but I didn't see anyone really skidding or slipping, although there were reports of numerous vehicles ranging from small cars to fire trucks and semis, off into ditches. Intersections and side roads, however, were another story. I was truly grateful that I only live about four miles from the office and that traffic wasn't heavy.

The roads have been bad enough that federal, state and local offices called in only mission-essential employees. Many were closed. The schools sent kids home early Monday and have been closed since.

It has continued raining and all that beautiful fluffy snow is now either waterlogged or a mass of slush.  Normally I have someone who comes out and shovels my walk and ramp and plows the driveway. However, because of the hazardous driving conditions, he hasn't been out this week. (And I'm not complaining - no one should be out driving in this stuff.) I think I will put on my boots and try to get the worst of the slush off the walk and at least shovel a small path to the mailbox.


The mess on the sidewalk is mostly liquid, because temperatures have been hovering between 34 and 37 here. The poor little dog doesn't like wet feet, so he doesn't want to leave the ramp - and that's the last place (except for the house, of course) where I want him doing his business. It's a chore taking him out.

But this will all pass. It's supposed to start cooling off and turning colder. That will allow us to get the roads scraped again and more gravel down for traction, getting driving back to normal.

This may impact our Thanksgiving plans to go to Pike's for the buffet. If the roads are still bad, we will not go out. On a whim last weekend at the store, I bought a half turkey so I'd have some leftovers. So I'm very thankful for that - I can still have some Thanksgiving dinner even if I do have to take care of the cooking and cleanup. I have a warm dry home and plenty of food. I can call my family in PA and talk with all of them. One missed buffet at Pike's won't be a disaster.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.

November

It looks as though winter has finally arrived. Several snowfalls have left some ground cover. We've had a couple of days with below-zero temperatures, but for the most part it hasn't been too bad. One night the forecast called for a possibility of 35 below, but that didn't materialize. I did have about 10 below when I got up, but that's tolerable.

The fresh snow has left the trees with a beautiful cloak of pure white and I love the look of my yard under the white cover.

I shot this one on the low-light/no-flash setting in the darkness. The city has replaced the streetlights with LCD lamps, and the reflection off the snow combined with the slow shutter speed makes the sky look almost light.

My spruce tree still has lots of snow on the branches despite the efforts of the raven who habituates the upper branches. He'll sit there and vocalize, then fly off. His takeoffs and landings usually knock a lot of the snow off.

Again, this was shot in the dark (this is the original photo, not edited), and the sky looks light from the LCDs and slow shutter.













As we returned from shopping and lunch out, my friend and I commented on how big the falling flakes were. Our normal snowfalls produce much smaller flakes. These were really pretty.

Our biggest news this week was the loss of Maddy's first tooth. She said she was surprised how little her teeth are. She told me she got a dollar, but the tooth fairy forgot to take the tooth. It appears she was playing with it before she went to sleep and the tooth fairy couldn't find it. Her mom decided since Maddy was already paid for the tooth, she would make sure the tooth fairy got the tooth.




 
 
 
My friend Mae and I will be going to Pike's Landing for Thanksgiving dinner. We've done this for several years. The buffet is terrific - turkey, ham, roast beef, salads, sides and desserts. The food is good and well worth the cost - and there's no clean-up. I did, however, buy a small package of turkey so I can have something for lunches. But there will be no day of just cooking and clean-up. I will probably watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on tv - that's a tradition - and talk with my family in Pennsylvania while they're gathered at my sister's house.
 
I will NOT be shopping Friday. I don't like crowds, don't tolerate rude people anywhere and hate the running, pushing and jostling of Black Friday. So I'll relax at home and watch some tv. I'm off work Tuesday through Friday, so will do a little shopping earlier in the week. Friday will be a good time to compose the Christmas letter and get my cards ready for mailing.
 
I've already got a few gifts purchased and have a couple more I want to order online. I don't decorate the house until after Thanksgiving because I firmly believe the two holidays should be separate. Thanksgiving was always a special holiday when I was growing up. My family and my dad's sister and brother and their families always gathered at Grandma's house. We kids (even as teens) would be relegated to the living room to watch the Macy's parade; the men went duck-hunting and the women were the (relatively small) kitchen cooking. I really think any more people in the kitchen would really be too many people. We always had duck and some other fowl - sometimes chicken or goose and rarely turkey. The food was spectacular and we loved getting together with our cousins. After dinner, the women cleaned up, the men went hunting again and we kids would go off for a hike or walk around town. One year we collected small plants and went to my cousin's basement, where we made winter gardens (terrariums) in quart jars for our grandmother and mothers. The memories of those days are warm and still remain special to me.
 
I have purchased a few Christmas gifts, some of them over the year, and a few within the past few weeks. I will have two packages to ship off, but I'm trying to keep them small enough to fit into flat-rate boxes and have the USPS pick them up here at the house. Gone are the days of paying in excess of $50 to mail heavy packages!
 
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.