We’ve Made It This Far

 

OH, MY GOODNESS! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

It’s Christmas Eve already? The calendar says so, but I never completely trust those calendars anyway. Those are the crazy things that claim that March 21^st is the First Day of Spring and I can usually look out of any window and see a foot of snow.

No, I realize that this is Christmas Eve by looking around this old house in Texas and seeing all of these people (half of them kids) gathered about awash in gifts and wrapping paper. That, not a calendar, tells me that it is Christmas Eve in Texas.

Icy Roads And Hot Soup

OH, SWEET JESUS IT IS GETTING UGLY. Last weekend that was a phrase I said several times. I said it usually right after I looked out of the window. Weather conditions were deteriorating at a rapid pace.

I did not like that.

It was Friday evening and the predictions from the various weather networks, websites, and TV Weather Dudes told us to expect snow and ice – anywhere from one inch to two feet. Don’t you just love such precision?

These predictions of doom and gloom had been coming all week. The forecasts were all over the place. One person would say that it was going to be nasty in northern Maine, but not bad at all in Indiana where we are. The next person would say that Indiana was going to be wiped from the face of the earth. The third source was saying…Somewhere in between.

We Are Not Amused

 

WE GOT OUR FIRST TOUCH OF WINTER TODAY. About ¾” of a slushy snow and ice fell overnight – and today our schools are closed. Today is a “Snow Day.”

Gimme a flippin’ break.

A “Snow Day?” It’s more like a “SnowFLAKE Day.”

The local Terre Haute (That’s French for, “Class Dismissed.”) School Board has a new person leading the charge and he is not under indictment unlike his immediate predecessor. This Newbie is from out of town and seems to be somewhat Snow-a-phobic.

This Can’t Go On

IT IS MONDAY MORNING. I don’t care what the calendar says or on what day of the week you are reading this. It is a Monday morning in my world.

For some reason I feel like I have been dragged behind a bus for the last two days and I don’t know why. I don’t have a cold although it is 28 degrees outside and snowing. I haven’t overexerted myself that’s for sure. I studiously avoid doing that. And I’ve been getting my beauty sleep – two hours in the Rip van Winkle Memorial Chair in front of the TV and about six hours in an actual bed.

Taking It Slow

 

BOY! THOSE ROADS ARE SLICK OUT THERE THIS MORNING! We had a couple of inches of that dry and fluffy snow last night and that has made driving a bit of an adventure. I’m fine because I am a perfect driver (Stop snickering!). It is the rest of those idiots out there that made things ugly.

This is Indiana in January. Are all of those other drivers imported from Southern Arizona where it never really snows? It’s like watching someone on ice skates for the first time only now they are piloting tons of steel on wheels.

The Hermit Ventures Forth

THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THOSE DAYS ALREADY. Up early to try to get in some writing, then coffee time at St. Arbucks, a trip to the pharmacy, and then to the bank, and to the everpresent Kroger.

What will be on the agenda for after 10 AM remains to be seen, but I’m not terribly hopeful?

Weather Or Not

THE COLDER WEATHER THAT COMES THIS TIME OF YEAR HAS ITS CONSEQUENCES. It can be hard on the driveway as the cycles of freezing and thawing temperatures turn those little hairline cracks into gaps that could house a family of raccoons.

The cold can also make it hard to get comfortable sitting in the car. Thank goodness that problem is easily solved if I remember to use the Remote Starter feature to get the car all toasty warm.

We’re Talking Survival Here

I AGREED TO BE A DELEGATE TO THIS ANNUAL MEETING. I’ve done it before, but this year it has been a real chore. I’m talking about two main reasons that are important to me – and I don’t think I’m alone on this.

These business meeting sessions begin at 10:30 AM – in and of itself not bad, but why is there no coffee available? Is that too much to ask?

I am a severe coffee aficionado and if I don’t get my coffee, people could be in danger. Give me some coffee and I’m sure we can work it all out without bloodshed.

It’s Called Summer

WE’VE HAD SOME REAL THUNDERBUMPERS here in the last day or so. Cloudbanks clinging to the edges of cold or warm fronts (I forget which is which.) were scuttering across the sky – all looking like The Mothership was hiding within them, just waiting for the signal to launch their swarm of invaders.

It is early Summer in the Midwest. The thermometer reads in the high 80s and even into the low 90s. It feels almost tropical. The high humidity makes sweating a fulltime activity. My deodorant was getting a real challenge on days like that.

I Have No Need To Move

I KNOW THAT SPRING OFFICIALLY BEGAN a few weeks ago and I was truly grateful. Spring means that better weather is coming – unless you live in Denver or someplace like that. If you live there then Spring means that winter continues, pedal to the metal until mid-summer. That alone has kept me a “Flatlander” or close to it.

But now, it is definitely Spring, which in my book means that warm weather is on the way. However – I feel that I must define “warm weather.”

Throwback Thursday – March 3, 2015

An Open Letter To God

DEAR GOD,

I DON’T USUALLY TRY TO SPEAK WITH You in such a public manner, but I just feel that this open letter might be the best way today. I hope that this is OK with You. Here goes.

God, I don’t want to interrupt You as You go about keeping the Universe in order and all that other stuff that You do, but I have a question – it’s a request actually – call it a prayer if that might help it to get Your attention.

Don’t You think that this winter has gone on long enough? I know that what we have gotten here in Terre Haute (French for “Snow Blower) is nothing compared to what has fallen on Boston. Those poor folks have really been given the fuzzy end of the lollipop this year. I know that You’ve probably heard from them, so I’ll leave that alone. I am asking strictly about Terre Haute.

This past Saturday we got about seven inches of snow. Have you ever looked at our driveway? It is nigh on impossible to navigate in that much snow. Our driveway is bad, but it ends at our little side street that never gets plowed. Spring is the city’s preferred method of clearing the side streets. While the main streets are quite passable, getting to them is a task. I’m driving a small Toyota that looks upon anything above two inches as Yeti Country. Thank God, er –  You that my wife has an SUV with 4-wheel drive. Without that vehicle I think we might be faced with the specter of starvation, or at least coffee withdrawal.

I know that You’re a busy Deity and I know that You are omniscient, omnipotent, or one of those “omni” words that I don’t remember, but I gotta tell You – I’m “Omnifrozen.” This has been a very cold winter, and now we get blasted with heavy snow? True – I don’t shovel snow any more. I figure that is why You invented teenagers and guys with snow blowers – but this just doesn’t seem fair.

So – all I’m saying is that You have made your point – we all need to get 4-wheel drive vehicles. I’m sorry, but they don’t come cheap. If that wasn’t Your point I’ll have to do some thinking on it and I’ll get back to You.

In the meantime, can we have some warmer temperatures and no more snow? I know that Punxsutawney Phil said six more weeks of winter, but let’s be honest – who really listens to a big rodent when it comes to weather forecasting – other than those people selling Punxsutawney Phil T-shirts?

In conclusion, Dear Lord, can You cut us a little slack on this ice and snow business? Speaking for myself, I would be eternally grateful, and I know that most of the other Hautians around here would be too. We are beginning to feel put-upon and that’s never a good thing when it comes to the collection plate, if You get my drift.

Well, that’s about it God. I hope you can help out on this matter – and if it’s not too much – can You do something about that silly Designated Hitter Rule in the American League?

OK, I’m done. Thanks for listening.

Amen.

I Suppose It Had To Happen

WELL, WE CERTAINLY GOT OUR BUTTS KICKED LAST NIGHT. We got pummeled by our first real winter snowfall of the season. There was another storm back in mid-January, but we were down in Texas for that one.

We were heading home from church yesterday when this thing blew through. It was truly nasty driving on the city streets, and on the Interstate it turned into a 50 car pileup. We got home safely, even though Dawn’s windshield wipers decided that it was a good time to commit suicide.

By the time the storm had moved on to the East we were looking at a pretty snowy world. Parts of Terre Haute got 4.5 inches of the stuff. We got about 2 – 3 inches topped off with a nice glaze of freezing rain. Such fun.

Can We Send This Back Where It Came From?

IT MAY BE WEDNESDAY IN THE REAL WORLD, but in the blogosphere, where I live, it is Saturday morning and we are having our first snow of the season. That picture is the view out of our back door. I didn’t even open it to take the picture. I’m in denial.

If you have followed this blog for a while you have probably picked up that I am not a fan of cold weather, winter, snow, and all of the associated bullcrap that goes with it.

An Open Letter To God

DEAR GOD,

I DON’T USUALLY TRY TO SPEAK WITH You in such a public manner, but I just feel that this open letter might be the best way today. I hope that this is OK with You. Here goes.

It’s Nice To Be Missed

I CAN’T SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE – I have enough trouble just speaking for myself, but I am moved when a commercial venture actually cares about me.

Let me explain.

I Have A New Hero

 

WE GOT DUMPED ON the other night with about 5” of the white fluffy stuff (not marshmallows).  The snow started about midnight and by morning it had turned our cars into large white lumps.