|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Nov 23, 2009 17:31:20 GMT -6
 Woo Hoo! Yay!
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Nov 28, 2009 9:16:23 GMT -6
While LX was shopping 'til she dropped (or at least until she ran out of money) with a friend last night, and Hubs was engrossed in a football game, BP and I braved the cold to watch the holiday parade downtown.
I can remember FMAO years ago when the Brownie Nazi decided LX's troop should march in the parade, and the moms along with them. It was so cold that year everyone in the parade bunched up in one big mob before the parade started, just to try and stay warm. It was fun though, but I'd much rather be a spectator than a participant - it's all over much quicker when you're just watching.
"Braving the cold" last night lasted all of five minutes; the parade consisted of a marching band comprised of 60 year old men playing out-of-tune instruments, a would-be senator passing out 'vote for me' stickers, a freezing bunch of teenagers in their homecoming dresses and crowns doing the parade wave, the Old Time baseball team in which Xena-Sis's hubs plays, (ooooo - he gave us an autographed Baseball card; I wonder how much it's worth. eye-roll), a tow truck(?), and Santa and Mrs. Claus riding in on a hook and ladder fire truck.
That's it. LMAO. You gotta love small town parades. The fire truck stopped in front of City Hall to unload Mrs. and Mr. Claus, and everyone followed them inside for the lighting of the trees event. The basement finally turned into the winter wonderland, and it was a large turn-out with lots of "oooo"s and "ahhhh"s. It was kinda fun sneaking a listen to people talk about my tree while I inconspicuously hovered near. I even saw some marking the silent auction bid sheets while looking at it. Dang, I hope someone follows through. The committee listed the starting bid way too high, in my opinion.
|
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Nov 28, 2009 15:26:12 GMT -6
Your home town sounds like mine Phalon. Somehow as I got older everything seemed to turn less grand, bright, or exciting, but the memories of parades past always brought out the crowds anyway.
I'm sure people are bidding on your tree. They should put it all on-line and then even more people could ooo and ahh over it and you could watch the bidding go spectacularly high! I'm sure it will!
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Nov 29, 2009 23:17:45 GMT -6
It's not that it's any less grand, less exciting, or less bright, Stepper - our holiday parade has never been any of those things! It's nothing like the summertime parades - the Fourth of July parade, and Blueberry Fest parade are huge in comparison, and even they don't come near rivaling any parade you'd ever seen on television. But those summertime parades are during tourist season, which brings in both parade participants and spectators. Not to mention the weather plays a huge roll.
The big crunch of tourists ends here after Labor Day, with a sizable amount still trickling in on weekends only through October - if the weather is nice. After that, it's pretty much only us full-time residents - about 1/3 of the summer population. The newspaper today boasted several hundred parade spectators were in attendence. LMAO. Still, the holiday parade has something the others don't - it's more of a hometown pride thing for those of us who aren't just fair-weather residents. And it's at night, and I dunno, it somehow makes it all the more fun....no matter how ridiculous it is to be standing around in the dark, freezing our butts off, watching a tow truck slowly make its way down the street.
At least it wasn't raining....or snowing. Yesterday was gorgeous, and we spent nearly the entire day outside. I mowed the rest of the leaves, mulching them into little shreds (there's something I love about the sound), got the rest of the gardens cleaned out, and even got Christmas lights up. I think it's the first time in two years - we've had snow by now in years prior, and haven't bothered. Hubs got my truck serviced, washed, and cleaned the interior before storing it away in the garage for the winter. Then did the same with the lawn mower, and got the snow blower ready to be put into service.
All that just in time. It's rained the entire day today, and from the sound of it hitting the windows now, it's turned to ice. It looks like the time is drawing near for the winter thread to be dusted off. Drats! Autumn is always too short!
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 21, 2010 21:30:19 GMT -6
"Are we there yet, are we there yet?"
Almost. Only two more days to go.
Our weather's been gorgeous, except for a couple of days of rain here and there and in-between, but we definitely needed it. We did our first round of apple-picking. The last couple of days, the red maples have starting showing their glorious reds and screaming orange. And yesterday, I did my all-time most favorite job of the year at the nursery - a trip to Al the Pumpkin Farmer to hand choose a truck-load of pumpkins, each of them lovely picked out one at a time. Sheesh, and they pay me to do this! It's an Autumn and Halloween lover's dream job.
With all this going on, I don't think anyone would mind if I brought up the fall thread just a couple of days early, no?
|
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 21, 2010 21:32:25 GMT -6
Not at all. But it doesn't feel like autumn here yet. Suppose to be 94 tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 22, 2010 21:19:13 GMT -6
It's supposed to get hot again here too, Joxie; tomorrow they're saying it could be near 90. Dang - I was soooooo loving the seventies.
Unseasonably warm or not, today was officially the first day of autumn. I was wrong....misinformed, really...when I wrote yesterday that we had two more days to go. My calendar says September 23 is the first day of autumn; what's up with that? Maybe it was published in Europe? I read the first day of fall is the 23rd in Europe and Asia.
This involves numbers, which is of course why I'm confused.
|
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Sept 22, 2010 22:31:34 GMT -6
The answer to your question Phalon, is actually not so much about numbers as it is about how we measure time. The autumnal equinox is not a day; it is a specific point in time when somewhere on our equator the center of the Sun is vertically overhead. This year this event occurred on Sep 23 at 03:09 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) - GMT AKA ZULU would also be acceptable for nonscientific purposes. GMT of course indicates Greenwich Mean Time which is several time zones ahead of the United States. So, while Europe and earlier time zones were on September 23rd (as you mentioned), we were still on September 22nd. For us, 23 Sept will be the first full day of autumn while the rest of the world doesn't actually get that until the 24th - unless you count 24 contiguous hours as a day instead of relying on the calendar date in which all 24 hours are included....and....never mind.  Sorry. Didn't mean to get your head spinning - good top imitation you had going though! Your missive says it was posted at 9:19 PM. As a reference, the equinox happened at 9:09PM WET (Whoosh Exact Time). |
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 1, 2010 22:04:15 GMT -6
The day was gorgeous; the night perfect, though rain was predicted. Tonight was the the homecoming football game, the first I can remember that people didn't either freeze off their @sses, or get soaking wet. Small town football - the entire population shows up for the game. Unfortunately, we sat in a bad spot - a heavy traffic pattern for younger kids running up and down the steps in the stands. Not that not being able to see the game mattered....we were horribly behind by the third quarter when Hubs, I, and BP left, (we ended up losing; a homecoming tradition). We got home just in time - walking up the front walk, the rain started. It was a fun evening....but not great fun. LX had great fun - after-all, it's her crowd, and the Fifth Quarter (school-sponsored) party afterward is a must attend/must be seen at event.
Great fun for me was last night, when one of my friends hosted a "Wine and Things" get together. Dang, I love this group of ladies! Women, all older than me, ranging in age from early fifties to late sixties (unless someone's lying and they've crept into their seventies). It's nothing like you might imagine a group of forty-something to sixty-something women getting together for a glass or two of wine and some munchies, along with nice polite conversation. OMG, we have so much fun. They are a riot, and we get to laughing so hard none of us can breathe.
Great fun for Hubs is tomorrow....when I'm at work, the girls are off doing their own things, and he gets the television and afternoon college football games to himself.
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 3, 2010 7:13:37 GMT -6
Yesterday morning was the start of quintessential perfect fall day - very brisk, but sunny. It was the best kind of morning for doing the first task of the day at work: going to the pumpkin guy to pick out another load.
It turned even colder as the day progressed and the sun disappeared. Our first frost was predicted for last night, and we had to drag all the houseplants inside.
Dragging them back out today, though...another bright, sunshiny morning. I hope it stays that way all day.
|
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 3, 2010 19:07:31 GMT -6
Frost? Already? Down here the big news is that within the next five days we might have a morning low in the 50's.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Oct 3, 2010 23:27:00 GMT -6
We're in the 30s at night and 60s during the day. In a few days it will get in the 70s and this weekend will be in the 80s ... unless it changes, which weather tends to do.
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 8, 2010 6:28:33 GMT -6
That's exactly the kind of weather we've had this week, Joxie. If it was possible to stall time, I'd pick this week to do it. Oh-my-god gorgeous!
Three frosty mornings in a row meant my drive to work was spent amazed at how beautiful fields of goldenrod and asters could look rising above a smokey blanket of frost-covered little wild grasses that at any other time look nothing more than weedy.
I've been taking the long way home - the scenic route through tunnels of brightly colored maples arching over the road.
Ah....this is my autumn bliss.
|
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Oct 8, 2010 17:20:00 GMT -6
Lovely, Gams. I wish I could take that ride with you.
We've had some record-setting cool mornings here - into the low 40s. Such a gorgeous time of year. Everyone is remarking that they wish this season lasted longer.
|
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 8, 2010 19:42:16 GMT -6
A cartoon titled W. T. Duck today was about fall. The duck is a photographer and he sees a tree in full glory. As with any shutter bug he heads for his gear but by the time he gets back and sets up his tri pod there's only one brown leaf left on the tree. I've missed too many shots because I wasn't ready in that exact instant that the moment was right - and fall colors pass far too quickly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 13, 2010 6:33:46 GMT -6
I wish the season lasted longer too, Siren, and that the beauty of the fall colors didn't pass so quickly, Stepper. We, I would guess, are in peak color right now; the brilliance of it all just seemed to pop out over the last few days. I just can't imagine it any more beautiful than it is now. Does anyone feel like I do? I feel like I should be spending as much time as I can outside to soak it all in before it's gone. I took the girls nursery to get pumpkins. Yeah, we could have gone to a closer pumpkin patch or farm to get them, but the nursery was the best choice because, one - why not give the business to the place I work; two - why not take advantage of my employee discount; and three - since I, personally, hand chose every pumpkin on the nursery grounds, I know they're perfect! They picked out about 15 of them, unable to decide which beauty to take home. Uhm...no. We're only getting four. We spent nearly an entire afternoon there, (how many people spend that much time at their place of employment on their day off?!). LX drove us around the nearly forty acres on the John Deere Gator, we played in the kids garden, tried to catch frogs in the pond, and swung out over the water on the willow's rope swing. LX decided she wants to volunteer there next summer (which, I'm sure has everything to do with driving the Gator); it's the place where teenage drama disappears. Sunday evening we went to the beach, (minus LX who was busy with friends). BP threw a tennis beach into the Lake, and Quetta retrieved it, neither of them getting tired of the game for over an hour. Hubs used his metal detector to comb the beach for buried treasure (we kid him that he has definitely reached the age of old man; it seems everyone who has a metal detector on the beach is an old man). His big finds for the evening: a bottle cap, and a hunk of molten metal of some sort, long since worn smooth by water. He swears it's silver...maybe from a pirate ship (eye-roll). I looked for lucky stones. Know what a lucky stone is? It's a tiny piece of fossilized reed; a perfect cylinder shape with a hole through the center because reeds are hollow. They're like stone beads. They're hard to find, but I managed to spot three of them. We stayed until the sun turned the sky red as it sunk into the lake. Oh, and Saturday!!! There is no way it could have been more perfect for our 350 event, a global work party to bring awareness to how carbon in the atmosphere is affecting our climate, and the need to bring it down from over 390 parts per million where it is now, to 350 parts per million. It was a success!!! Residents of our town and the surrounding area had a booth at the our Farmers' Market to promote recycling, and the positive effects it has in reducing atmospheric carbon. Information was distributed about what items can be recycled by the town's curbside recycling program, and where to take items currently not accepted curbside. Via computer hookup, visitors to the booth from other counties and states were able access information about recycling availability in their areas. An electronics recycling service provided a truck to collect household batteries, old computers, cell-phones, and electrical items to be refurbished, reused, or recycled. By the end of the event, the truck was full! The final count is in: 7347 events took place in 188 countries. Check out some of the photos from some of the events across the world. www.flickr.com/photos/350org/ |
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 15, 2010 18:48:25 GMT -6
Me. But when spring gets here I am at least temporarily giddy for the change. Eventually I go back to remembering fall 'cause you just can't beat the colors or the weather.
Sounds pretty idyllic.
Does he have his own or does he rent one for the occasion? I've always fancied trying my hand at one of the Civil War sites, or a secluded beach in Fla after a big storm to be first to see what washed up. So what if he doesn't find a Rolex and I don't find a Spanish dubloon? It still involves "the hunt" and sounds thoroughly enjoyable!
|
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Oct 17, 2010 9:45:36 GMT -6
Sound like y'all are making the most of the season, Gams. Good for you! Aside from some thankful glances at the beautiful weather, and many comments of "God, what a gorgeous day!" I've been too much on-the-go to get to enjoy it much. But I'm on vacation next week, and am hoping to spend a few days in the Ozarks for some music and sight-seeing. I hope we're not too early for some pretty fall foliage.
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 17, 2010 19:34:34 GMT -6
Siren!!! I am soooo envious! I miss our annual October vacations - early October is really the only time Hubs and I can get off work at the same time. The last couple of years, roofing projects took precedence though - last year it was the house; this year's project was shingling the garage.
Promise you'll take lots of pictures to share. I bet the Ozarks are breathtaking - especially this time of year! Is this the place where your cousin, I think it is, has a bed-and-breakfast type establishment? I remember some gorgeous photos you took from her place last year.
It's his, Stepper. It was kind of a whim purchase. Hubs is impossible to buy for; he always insists he doesn't need or want anything for those gift-giving occasions. As a result, the girls and I wrack our brains, trying to come up with something he'll really enjoy. It was getting close to Father's Day this year, and still we had no ideas. Hubs and I happened to be at Menard's, our regional version of a Home Depot or Loew's type store. I saw a display of metal detectors and lingered, finally pulling Hubs over and asking "What about one of these for Father's Day?" He got a gleam in his eye, and actually said, "doubloons!!!".
His big finds so far have been that chunk of silver-like metal, and a bolt as long as my forearm and as big around as the bone inside it. He has fun though...I'm usually there to aid in the digging; on the beach the other day, I dug up the drainage pipe after he yelled excitedly, "There's something BIG down there!!!!" when he heard all the bells and whistles his detector was making.
I drew the line though about using it in the yard. Our house was built in the late 1800s; I know there's gotta be lots of buried stuff out there. But seeing the three foot hole that he, aided by the dog, dug was enough. Especially since it was in the middle of my garden!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Oct 18, 2010 14:11:06 GMT -6
I will be glad to take a few photos in the Ozarks. But I think it may be just a little too early for really vivid fall foliage. But it'll be nice, just getting away. No, Gams, but you remembered most of it - my cousin manages Yellow Pine Guest Ranch in Colorado. Here's a link, if you'd like to see: www.yellowpine.us/We wanted to visit her sooo badly. But only a couple of us could get away. Though it would be relaxing, I don't think it would nearly as enjoyable without the whole family there. Now that my nieces are older, with one in college, our idyllic family vacations may be just a memory now. Congratulations on your global work party! The truckfull was, indeed, only part of your success. Raising awareness has long-term effects. Well done! Your lucky stones sound interesting. Could you post a picture sometime? |
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 20, 2010 7:06:44 GMT -6
I think I said it before, but if there is ever a Whoosh Family Reunion, I want it to be at Yellow Pine Guest Ranch! Uhm...although I wonder how your cousin would feel about all of us descending down upon the place?!
Sorry it didn't work out for your whole family to get together for vacation. We've been trying to do that for years! It's tough though, with work and school schedules that don't coincide. Next summer we decided is the year, (we'll see if it actually happens). I just wish we could have done it while Mom was alive.
I'll try, but I don't think it'll turn out very clear. The stones are so tiny - one of them is about the size of a pin head - and my camera isn't the greatest. I tried to find a site to visit online, but the only thing I could find for this area is "The Lucky Stone" pub....which might not be such a bad site to visit, if it was in person, and not just online!
|
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Oct 20, 2010 9:56:08 GMT -6
Cousin Joanne would LOVE having us all there, Gams. She'd just laugh that great laugh of hers and pull more chairs up to the kitchen table. As is the case with any great hostess, everyone seems to congregate at Jo's kitchen table.
If the stones are that small, no wonder it's so lucky to find them. Neat!
|
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 20, 2010 16:47:39 GMT -6
Looking forward to the get-together!
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 22, 2010 6:31:56 GMT -6
BOLL! If that is the case, I wonder why then people tend to congregate around my kitchen table!
BP and her friends have been asking me nearly every day for a few weeks, and even LX's friends, who I thought might now be too old, have wondered when it was going to arrive. It has!
Sledding season has finally arrived!!!
Every year I scoop up boxes and buckets and bags of white pine needles off the landscape fabric at work. Huge 70 foot white pines make up one of the wind-breaks in our restock area, and in autumn, they lose their three-year needles which fall inches thick on the fabric below. If you've never seen white pine, they have long, extremely soft needles...the kind of softness I find myself absent-mindedly stroking while I'm showing a customer the potted white pines we have for sale. The dried needles that fall are very slick, and when laid down on our hill to the ravine, make an excellent sled (or snowboard) run.
They got in two days of sledding in our sunny, warm October. Yesterday evening, it seemed more like sledding weather. Pfft!
It suddenly turned cold outside!
|
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 22, 2010 19:30:35 GMT -6
I'm guessing that means they shed something like a third of their needles every fall?
You can't have your precious snow without a little cold!
|
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Oct 24, 2010 8:29:22 GMT -6
Hhmmm....I suppose you're right. I never thought about it that way before; the reason is obvious. It involves percentages...which involves math. It's a lot of danged needles though! I read your post before going to work yesterday, and took my camera to take a couple of pictures.  Every fall we get dozens of calls from people wondering what's wrong with their white pines, or people asking if there's a disease running through our forests. White pine is our state tree, and there's gobs of them so it the effect of seeing so many evergreens loose their needles at the same time makes it seem as if there's some kind of epidemic. Actually, all evergreens loose their two or three year needles; I think it's because white pine needles are so long it's more visible.  Yes, yes - I know. But it's like going swimming. I'd rather ease myself into the cold water slowly, than dive right in, headfirst! It got warmer yesterday though. It rained off and on all day, but cleared up and got quite pleasant by evening. The full moon shown through the clouds just in time for the town's ghost walk. I took BP and the neighbor boy - they enjoyed it, although I thought it was much better in years past, when the players were more animated, and had more theatrics along the walk. In comparison to previous years, last night was pretty lame actually ...but still a lot of fun. Perfect amount of toned-down scariness for BP, who likes creepiness in small doses, rather than full-blown horror. After the ghost tour, we walked across the river (on a bridge in case you think we've got special powers) to the Maritime Museum. There, they were telling tales of ghost ships, had a haunted boathouse, and on-board tours of our town's tall masted replica of a sloop that actually sailed in the 1800s. It still sails here with a crew of sailors in period costume who know how to act the part. The place was dark and looked deserted, and we wondered if maybe it was closed....until we heard the screams. BP hesitated, but I coaxed her onto the ship, saying it would be fun. We climbed down a ladder into the galley, and were met with screaming pirates. BP screamed in return....a real scream, accompanied by tears. I had no idea when we stepped on board, she was so scared. Oh-my-gosh, the crew was sooooo good with her. We were the only ones on the ship at the time, and still in character, they walked us through, talking with her the entire time, and turning it into a good experience instead of a nightmare. Today's Halloween fun is more her speed - it's the "Boo Bike Ride" down the trail sponsored by the cycle shop in town. She'll have fun.....and I'll get to see cute bike shop guy. (eye-roll) I hope he's got a hot costume, and not some creepy clown get up. |
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 24, 2010 12:24:53 GMT -6
Morbid curiosity?
Thanks for the pictures!I was asking because the only time I've seen a pine tree go naked like other trees that lose their leaves was when it was diseased and died off. Even individual limbs don't seem to drop all the needles at once. Sort of reminds me of Christmas trees after Christmas - they were all so great when decorated but are so sad looking when they've dried out and are dropping needles like rain. Although the limbs in the second picture look fairly barren.
The way you talk about them I forget that the BP and LX are as young as they are - this was a reminder. I know they didn't mean to really scare her and I'm glad they were able to fix it - but I still feel bad for her. Maybe by next year it'll be more fun than fright.
|
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Oct 29, 2010 5:55:00 GMT -6
BOLL!! Good shot, Step! For our office Halloween party, I whipped up the apple cake T. Susan Chang described in her wonderful story, "The Once And Future Apple Cake". I really must look for more of her writing. She really touched me with this piece. I've posted it before, but it's worth another look: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6521353 |
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Oct 29, 2010 23:20:27 GMT -6
They had Halloween at work this afternoon. There's a couple thousand people who work in the building and as you can imagine, they've had a kid or two. Making sure they all have a safe Halloween, management allows people to dress for the day as long as there's no meetings or reasons they need to look dressed, and the offices have decorating contests. The point being that all parents can bring their children to work to safely Trick or Treat. Unfortunately my office is not accessable for the kiddies, but there was an extraordinary number of children in the building intent on scoring as much candy as possible. I almost felt like apologizing for being in the way. They were all cute - but some were more serious about collecting goodies than others. For a few, this was obviously nap time and we weren't going to keep them awake. But their goodie bags were as full as if they'd been hollering Trick-or-Treat at every stop in the building. I don't know who has more fun - the kids or the parents. I suspect it wasn't either - it was the people giving out the candy who had the biggest smiles.
|
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Oct 30, 2010 8:14:01 GMT -6
What a good idea, Step! We have Halloween "safe houses" here. But I've not heard of a worksite one like yours. I know you guys had a ball. What was your costume? Did you score any candy?
Guys, I have some news. I have accepted a job with the Chickasaw Indian Nation, to be the production coordinator at their new community affairs radio station. I think I told you all that, because of the shrinking of the radio industry, and the shrinking of the "fun factor" along with it, I had decided that my days of full-time radio employment were done. But this is such a remarkable opportunity, I had to go for it. The job benefits are great (the Nation is known for taking care of its employees), the salary is much better than what I'm making now, and the airstaff at the station is made up of people I've known for years. The format - music, news, and information - is new to me, but sounds interesting, stimulating, and (dare I say it) fun. And the best part is that the station is in my hometown, just minutes from my folks. At this time in my and my parents' lives, this becomes more important all the time. All in all, I feel very, very fortunate that this opportunity came along.
In the next few weeks, as I pack up my stuff and move to the new/old town, I may not be Whooshing as often. But I'll be back, once I get settled. I want to thank you all for the support you have shown me. Your friendship has been a constant during a time of many changes in my life. I appreciate you all very much.
|
|
Sorry. Didn't mean to get your head spinning - good top imitation you had going though! Your missive says it was posted at 9:19 PM. As a reference, the equinox happened at 9:09PM WET (Whoosh Exact Time). 
