9 January …
Well … this year’s meltdown occurred New Year’s Eve. I spent New Year’s Day in bed reading.
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To begin …
I forgot to share a picture of last year’s holiday tree.
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But now on to weather …
It has been cold … not getting much above freezing. However, frost on the leaf carpet can be quite pretty at times.
The snow finally started about 1000 Saturday morning. Soft, slow, and gentle.
By 1430 we had about three inches and it was looking like a winter wonderland (every time I think of that song I think of my cousin Marvin … good memories … he’s the one who taught the song to me more than eighty year ago) and it was still snowing. Mark plowed.
By bedtime there was over a foot on the ground.
Sunday we got more snow and it was a wonderland in excess.
I have shared pictures of the “courtyard” before. Well, here it is under this latest snow.
Sunday night was an interesting night when the snow slipping off the roofs spooked the guard dog (he’s never been through a snow winter) and he barked nearly all night, most of the time just under my bedroom window.
During the snow we had WIND.
This picture (of the catalpa trunk) is looking southwest. Guess the direction of the wind.
Monday it started to rain late in the day (after winds all day) and by tuesday morning the trees had all dropped their decorations and the paths and roadways were ankle deep in slush.
One outstanding change wrought by the heavy snow was the now pronounced difference in the birch trees out front.
One bent. The other broke.
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Last Wednesday Paul and I went out to dinner at the GREAT local family restaurant … the HiLo in Weed. There, on our “granny date”, we had an adventure in food.
We ordered “chicken strips” and when our meals arrived we had “fish and chips”.
Fortunately, it is nearly impossible to get bad food there.
The poor waitress was sooooo embarrassed. We decided to eat the fish and chips (they were really good … fresh cod, solid flesh, and done to a turn) and we plan to go back in a few weeks for chicken strips. The waitress guaranteed that were she working when we got back, we would DEFINITELY get chicken strips.
It made for a good story to tell Mark and Kamille when we got home (and to put in the blog).
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Thursday was Kamille’s birthday. She chose turkey in gravy over waffles with sautéed broccoli for her meal. Then friday she and Mark spent the day alone together until it was time to go to the airport for Mikayla.
They deserve an occasional day on their own.
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Interaction with Mikayla has been sporadic. She is taking graduate level courses online and can’t just ignore them. Yesterday was the online interaction-with-the-instructor class and to be sure there would be no interference in contact she went down to the firehouse to use that internet connection.
The fudge she made before she left for class is gooey but so palate pleasing.
It’s great having her here.
In the future maybe …
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Four more deaths/losses recently … and the information that a cousin had a massive MI in mid-December came as another knock on the side of the head reminding me that …
Old age is not a battle … it is a continuing series of losses.
But, believe it or not, I’m still here…
So … ‘til next week …