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Post by Phalon on Jan 24, 2010 9:29:46 GMT -6
It seems she can't quite make up her mind here. Yesterday morning when I went skiing, we had frozen fog. It's kind of a weird thing; you can't see the moisture in the air is frozen, but it feels like tiny pin-pricks on your face as you move through it.
When I woke up this morning it was already above forty degrees, and raining. Despite the wind, it feels almost balmy outside - like a day in early spring. The higher temperature and rain has already melted a lot of snow. It's kind of funny - the backyard looks like the site of an archaeological dig. Thus far, three sleds on the hill have been uncovered, the wheel-barrow LX had turned over sideways to use as a shield for the neighborhood snowball fight, and Quetta dragged to the porch this morning a really icky, soggy scarf that I don't recognize as being either of the girls'. I wonder if the at least three pairs of mittens that BP has lost this winter will show up any time soon.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 24, 2010 20:53:47 GMT -6
It has been feeling like spring here these past few days. It's a bit colder today though. I've noticed the birds singing like they do at the beginning of spring. It's giving me spring fever, and February hasn't even started yet. Boy the sub-0 weather is going to be killer when it returns.
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Post by stepper on Jan 24, 2010 23:58:53 GMT -6
It's been very nice here the past week. Our red maple is beginning to bloom - little red leaves and "noses" springing out. Okay it's not all good, the mornings will be cold for the rest of the week. You guys and gals up north of here are supposed to keep that cold crud up there! Brrr!
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Post by Phalon on Jan 26, 2010 9:58:40 GMT -6
Hey! We are keeping it up here! After a day and a half at forty degrees, it's dropped back below freezing again. Wind is blowing; snow is sideways. I can hear the Lake from the front porch. And dang, dang, dang....in just a bit I'm helping chaperone BP's class ice-skating. If the Lake is loud here, it'll be deafening at the rink, and that wind is going to be downright bitter. Brrrrrr - toe-freezing cold! I've always have fun chaperoning the ice-skating for the girls' schools, but I'm really not looking forward to it today!
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Post by Phalon on Jan 27, 2010 23:39:33 GMT -6
I survived ice-skating with BP's class the other day without freezing my butt off...or even breaking it by falling on the ice. Bundled up in layers, I was actually quite warm, and had a good time.
It's been snowing off and on since yesterday, but the wind hasn't ceased howling. What's that weird saying....shoot, I can't remember. Somebody's howling, but I can't remember who.
Whoever it is though, he's keeping me awake!
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Post by Phalon on Jan 28, 2010 8:58:13 GMT -6
It was Hawkins....or The Hawk. Hubs this morning: "Sheesh, did you hear The Hawk last night!" Yep, he's the reason for the bags under my eyes. Curious about why the wind is called "The Hawk", I two-minute drilled and found that though the term didn't originate in Chicago, Chicago's wind is often called The Hawk or Hawkins. Nobody knows where the terms actually came from, but a Chicago newspaper reported in October of 1936, "And these cold mornings are on us - in other words 'Hawkins' has got us." "By the shores of old Lake Michigan, where the Hawk Wind blows so cold..." is the first line of Steve Goodman's song "Dying Cub Fan's Last Request". Wherever he originated, "Hawkins" is trying to beat down my front door this morning. Dang, he just doesn't quit! In other weatherly two-minute drills, I "Snoped" an e-mail I received yesterday. The photos were amazing just as the subject line of the e-mail claimed....but although it isn't uncommon for Lake Michigan to have waves of plus 30 feet out in the lake, I've never heard of them reaching shore that high. The information in the e-mail is correct - this phenomenon does occur on Lake Michigan, but the photos (or at least some of them) were taken south of Cape Town, South Africa. Worth a look regardless. It's both amazing and beautiful. across.co.nz/stripedicebergs.html
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Post by Siren on Jan 28, 2010 17:24:27 GMT -6
What a gorgeous affect. I'd have sworn it was photoshopped!
We have some mighty cold winds blowing through Okie City today, bringing in some nasty winter weather. Freezing rain fell for awhile. Now, it's sleet. And snow is expected overnight. I have an announcing gig tonight, and the promoter won't cancel! Wish I had a dog team. Ah well.
Y'all stay warm!
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Post by Gabrielle On Nutbread on Jan 28, 2010 23:27:39 GMT -6
They're calling for six to eleven inches of snow here this weekend. Ellie says "Yeah, I'll believe THAT when I see it." If it does snow that much, the place will pretty much shut down. According to Mom, there is only one snowplow in the entire tri-city area. Heh. So, despite the fact that I love snow, here's one time when I hope the weather men are wrong.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 29, 2010 5:59:08 GMT -6
Oh! Hope you made it to your gig and back safely, Siren!
Gabrielle, I always had the image of Virginia being a fairly snowy state. We got a fair amount when I lived there, in the D.C. area. Maybe I'm thinking of the mountainous regions too.
It's a big change here this morning, compared to yesterday. It's still snowing, but the wind has died. Taking the dog out in eleven degrees doesn't seem nearly as bad today as it did yesterday. Eleven degrees though, is still darned cold no matter how you look at it.
Echoing Siren's "Ya'll stay warm" advice.
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Post by Siren on Jan 29, 2010 18:17:13 GMT -6
Thanks for the good wishes, Gams. Made it there and back just fine, thanks. Despite the horrid weather, we had a fun event, and a decent little crowd. I felt sorry for our young hostesses in their lovely, but weather-inappropriate, dresses. A skirt just wouldn't work for me, what with climbing in and out of the boxing ring. So I wore a black suit and a bow tie, and fit right in among all the tuxedoes.
The freezing rain continued all evening long, and into the night. The city streets were eerily deserted on my way home, and were very hazardous. This morning, I could hardly walk to my car, it was so slick outside. But I made it, and was one of about 1/3 of our regular crew who made it to work.
But mid-morning, the promised snow began to fall. At first, it was fine and dry. But as the day went on, the flakes got bigger, and the storm got prettier and prettier. There's now about 6 inches on the ground. We are in a winter wonderland, just as we were at Christmas. It's gorgeous!
That's the perspective someone who is warm and dry, and typing away on the computer, by the glow of electric lights. For a different perspective, there's my family, down in southeastern Oklahoma. They've had no electricity since last night; the ice storm has caused an outage. Mama said she heated water on the stovetop to wash dishes, and fried biscuits in a cast-iron skillet for breakfast this morning. Back to the pioneer life! They are not at ALL enchanted by our winter storm.
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Post by Awesome Aphrodite on Jan 30, 2010 3:50:27 GMT -6
I'm amazed to say that it is actually snowing outside, and it even seems to be sticking! supposedly, we'll get 10 inches. I called my boss and he's all "Don't come in today, the snow is going to be too much!" I just know that Ellie will be very amused by all this, because in Indiana, according to her, it could "snow six feet and I'd still have to go to work." when I heard about the possibility of snow, I grabbed some food and other such supplies on my way home from work yesterday. Ellie's kittens (they're a year old, but they're still Ellie's "kittens") seem to be slightly freaking out... they have never seen snow before! I hope Ellie can calm them down, because their incessant MEWING and running from window to window is driving me a little nuts. hot chocolate, anyone?
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Post by stepper on Jan 30, 2010 18:03:06 GMT -6
I wouldn't mind a cup of hot chocolate - with marshmallows!
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Post by Awesome Aphrodite on Jan 30, 2010 21:16:55 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Jan 31, 2010 9:01:50 GMT -6
I think it's so true about winter....it's all about seeing it from the perspective of where you're standing. Sometimes I feel a tiny bit guilty about loving winter so much and not wanting it to end, when most people I know are dying for it to be over. I love being outside, and there are just but a few days when the coldest wind is blowing that I'll stay put in the house.
Because the nursery is closed in winter, there is nowhere I have to be, except for driving BP to school, and picking her up afterward. I wonder if I had to get her to school, and then get myself to work, I'd feel differently about winter. But then again, I've always loved this season, even when I worked office jobs. Only when I did work inside during winter, I'd stare through the window at the snow, wishing I was out playing in it.
Hope your family's got electricity now, Siren. Acting out a pioneer life might be a kind of fun adventure for a day, but not much longer, I expect. Just ask Joxie.
And I bet you were stunning in your black suit and bow tie!
Thanks for the hot chocolate, Aphrodite! I'm glad you guys got your snow, and hope you all find some time to play in it.
My friend and I had so much fun last night! The night-skiing at the nature center was so very, very ultra-cool. I've been skiing at night before, but it was always just around the neighborhood - never in the woods. The sky was clear and full of stars, and the torches along the trail lit the way to a big bonfire set in a clearing. We couldn't see the moon when we started, but it wasn't long before its light shone through the trees until it got high enough to be visible above.
The whole experience was kind of surreal. I told my friend when we were standing around the bonfire, it felt like we should be dancing around it, chanting to the moon. We didn't stay long at the fire, though we'd return back to it a few times to warm up. We ventured off the lit trail, and ended up in a meadow, which is a prairie-restoration project of the nature center's. Out of the woods, with the moon and stars shining above, it wasn't too difficult to see where we were going. We could faintly make silhouettes of other skiers who left the torch-lit trail too, come upon some parties of them, or hear them in the distance, and it just added to the surrealism.
Then back to the main building of the nature center to sit in front of a massive stone fireplace, drink hot chocolate, and listen to others recall their adventures of the night. I wish they held more than one or two of these night-skis a season.
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Post by Gabrielle On Nutbread on Jan 31, 2010 11:55:46 GMT -6
The people around here have NO idea how to drive when there's snow on the roads. It's slightly amusing to watch, but I'm the only one in the house who knows how to drive in it, so I've been the taxi all day. *Grabs one of those cups of hot chocolate* Now I'm gonna sit here and relax for awhile. Think I deserve that, yeah?
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Post by Siren on Feb 1, 2010 20:58:32 GMT -6
Oh, your night ski sounds like such fun, Gams. Thanks for sharing with us!
The folks were without power for about 2 1/2 days, but all is well now. But we still have the remnants of that winter storm on our streets. The roads are dirty with the sand they were treated with. But the yards and trees are still beautiful. We got ice first, then snow with no wind. So, the flakes piled up on everything in a gorgeous way. And my sister's chain link fence had little spikes of frost, some up to a half-inch long, sticking out on them. It was amazing; I've never seen anything like it.
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Post by EllieNeo on Feb 1, 2010 21:17:59 GMT -6
i agree! that sounds like soooo much fun, phalon! shoveled the driveway early this morning so that gabs could drive aph to work. yeah... to work. even though the roads are still covered in snow, and the entire city of virginia beach is "closed," she still had to go to work this morning. *rolls eyes* glad we have gabs here, cuz i've lived here so long that i've forgotten how to drive when there's snow on the ground without sliding across the frickin black ice. gabs, on the other hand, has like a sixth sense when it comes to black ice, because she can see it even when no one else can. thank goodness for heaters, blankets, hot chocolate, and purring, fuzzy lap-warmers.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 2, 2010 5:59:03 GMT -6
Glad everyone has electricity and is safe, warm, and purring fuzzily.
It's been snowing off and on here since yesterday morning. It's a gentle, light snow - maybe just a couple more inches at most. It's covered all the old stuff though, so it all looks pristinely fresh again.
I read there's been research done on something I've known for years. A study conducted at the research department of the New England Center for Headaches found that fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and air pressure can make people more susceptible to severe headaches. Pfft! And they needed to study this, spending how many millions of research dollars, I wonder. Sheesh, all they needed to do was ask me during a rapid drop in temperatures, or when a low pressure system was rolling in.....and if my head hadn't exploded yet so I could make it to the phone, I'd confirm that yes, weather changes cause headaches.
Which actually, isn't quite true, the study claims. It's not the weather itself that triggers the pain - some people's brains are just extra sensitive to environmental changes.
I guess I just have an extra-sensitive brain. Nice to know it functions in one sense. Now, if only I can get it to have a little more sense, I'd be doing good.
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Post by Gabrielle On Nutbread on Feb 2, 2010 17:02:50 GMT -6
It's started to rain, and the weather men are hopeful that the rain will melt the snow. *Slaps forehead* Don't they know that snow + rain + below freezing temperatures = ice??? I should get the word "Taxi" tattooed to my forehead! Eh, it's not so bad though. Aph makes the best hot chocolate you ever tasted, I swear! Not that powered crap with the dehydrated marshmallows in it... she makes it herself from scratch. "The only thing I'm good at making!," she says. And she won't teach anyone else how to make it because then it won't be as special, she says. But with all the driving her around I've been doing lately, I've earned myself plenty of cups of that hot chocolate. YUM!
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Post by marjancin on Feb 5, 2010 20:28:03 GMT -6
This winter hasn't been too terribly cold (the temperature hasn't yet gone below zero), but it's been so dreary. I swear, the number of sunny days we've had this winter can be counted on one hand.
I just hope we have a summer this year. We sure didn't last year!
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Post by Phalon on Feb 6, 2010 7:40:21 GMT -6
Our temperatures this winter have been on the mild side too - mostly in the twenties, but rarely below that; I think there were only two days that it dropped below zero. It's been the perfect kind of winter, I think - not too cold, plenty of snow that sticks around, and more sunny days than we usually get. It's shining now, making for another beautiful morning! With chainsaws buzzing in the distance. It's Ice Breaker Weekend - our town's winter festival. Sitting out on the porch with my coffee, and watching the birds at the feeder, I can hear the ice sculptors going to work already on their ice blocks downtown. They start off with chainsaws to get the general outline of their sculptures, then turn to other tools to get the finer details. Speaking of fine details, check out these photos. My friend's wife is a photographer, and captured these down along the channel and at the beach. I love the one taken under the catwalk to the lighthouse - it looks as if it goes on forever. picasaweb.google.com/skbachman/20100115?authkey=Gv1sRgCLCa8MLYr667wAE&feat=email#
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Post by Siren on Feb 6, 2010 13:17:02 GMT -6
Oh, very nice, Gams. Great pics! Those shots of the winter surf make me shiver....
Another gray winter day, here in the heartland. Folks are b- ..um, complaining about the weather. But you know what? It's winter. And winter is cold, and often, gray. I like winter. I like that we see all four seasons here. And I prefer being a little chilly to being hot any day.
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Post by Gabrielle On Nutbread on Feb 6, 2010 19:37:01 GMT -6
They've declared a state of emergency because of the snow. Supposedly, when it stops, it'll be between 20 and 25 inches. I haven't even looked outside today because I haven't needed to go anywhere or do anything. I'd get up and look outside now, but there's a sleeping cat on me. I hope Mom doesn't try to drag us to church again tomorrow.
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Post by stepper on Feb 7, 2010 16:19:59 GMT -6
BOLL! I'm familiar with the sleeping cat thing.
I heard from a relative in NJ. It's the first time ever they've had two storms in the same season that put down more than 20" of snow. He was heading out into the storm because if he waited there would be too much snow for his snow blower and he'd have to shovel it all. Snow makes for nice pictures, but shoveling 20"+ isn't my idea of a fun day.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 7, 2010 23:37:34 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Feb 10, 2010 7:51:11 GMT -6
Cool photos on that page, Joxie. The one of Chicago with all the abandoned cars reminds me of the blizzard I got stuck in when I lived in the D.C. area and spent the night on a bridge stuck in traffic on the Beltway. Going to work the next morning, the scene was surreal with all the cars abandoned in the middle of the highway.
The cat in the photo could be Ranger, the Lovable Idiot's twin.
Here today, the girls are home from school due to the snow. I'm pretty sure the school district has used up all its allotted snow days, and they're now dipping into summer vacation time.
I'm guessing we got about 6-7 fresh inches. A more accurate measurement is "belly-deep on the lab" - she's had a ball this morning. That was system snow; the Lake Effect is supposed to kick in later today. But right now, the sun is shining!
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Post by stepper on Feb 10, 2010 22:59:19 GMT -6
Sounds like it's time for a ski trip Phalon.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 11, 2010 5:52:17 GMT -6
You've been stealing the thoughts right outta my head, Stepper....except I had a house full of kids, and did the responsible thing by staying home to make sure they didn't start the War of the Teenagers and Eight Year-Olds. Maybe today - we didn't get the Lake Effect snow they predicted, so school is on.
I did see the coolest thing yesterday though in the category of "Cool Machines I Want to Drive". Ranks right up there with the snow blower with left-handed bun warmer attachment. This was actually a snow blower too - a riding one with a cab on it like a front-end loader, only it was smaller; the size of a riding mower. Yep, I want one.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 11, 2010 18:45:53 GMT -6
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Post by stepper on Feb 11, 2010 22:59:00 GMT -6
Sorry. Maybe you'll have another opportunity while the snow is still good.
You'd be the envy of your neighborhood. No one would complain about everyone being out in the snow and only wearing slippers, but they'd all be hoping for a demonstration of it's abilities - in their driveways. On the other hand, it'd be a good way for LX to make her own spending $$ And all she has to do to earn the right to "borrow" the blower is clean up your area first!
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