Well … I made it through last week.
The birch trees were nearly bare even before the storm hit.
Morning temperatures had been getting COLD. There was ice on the reservoir several mornings. I recall when the reservoir would still be full during winter and the ice would get thick enough to skate on. Now it is drained by late fall so no more skating.
And of course, there has been ice on windshields. Current temperature is 30 degrees.
Monday it was snowing in Weed when I went to lunch with my friends but, although it was heavy enough to see, it wasn’t sticking. Yesterday morning we woke to a skiff of snow on the ground and it began to stick about 0900. By last evening we had about 10” with drifts. The snow had been steady all day, at times nearly a whiteout, with winds steady in the 35 mph range. At 0700 this morning we had no internet because the dish was full of snow.
The weather folks called it a bombcyclone and this storm was a rarity. It hit the coast near the California-Oregon border with the power of a cold typhoon. By the time it got inland and past the Marble and the Klamath mountains, it was just a strong winter storm, a bit like we used to have.
And while we were watching the snow fall we were listening to emergency events on the fire company frequencies. CalFire, CHP, the ambulance service, and CalTrans (as well as their counterparts across the border in Oregon) were kept busy all day. Folks who don’t know how to drive in snow were going off the road and/or running into each other. Others were having heart attacks. We heard of flooding in the central part of California and between LA and San Diego, and the Santa Barbara-Goleta area was on fire.
What a start to Winter (which is still a couple of weeks away). But I have books and spinning and knitting and some salves to make for gifts, and there is lots of firewood and food … so we’re secure.
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Last Wednesday was the radio club meeting but I didn’t go. I went to the bi-monthly meeting of the Watermaster district instead. We need to keep them guessing, knowing they are being watched.
One surprising change in the Watermaster entity is that the woman who has been one of the two at the core of the troubles, the “Executive Director”, is resigning. Her position has been posted on their website. Maybe the people showing up at the meetings to see what‘s going on is working? The neighborhood, that is all others impacted by the changes in our water, seem to be pulling together. To quote “All About Eve” … Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
As point person for radio club activities next year, I wrote up a report and sent it to the meeting with Kamille. I won’t be putting much effort into planning events until after the first of the year (2020! Oh my …)
Next big event will be the holiday dinner party. We have a new ham who lives at George Washington Manor (which is an elder apartment complex in Mount Shasta) and he says their conference room might be available for the radio club to use. That would be a real gift because we are outgrowing the “party” space at the clubhouse. But those present at the meeting decided to keep the party at the clubhouse for at least another year. Now I have a month to get the game(s) and the prizes in order. I think we’ll do a word search based on the holidays. I’ll see if I can find another game as well. Suggestions?
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Last Saturday was the next in the Met’s HD presentations for which my friends and I have tickets. It was “Ankhnaten” composed by Philip Glass. I’m not sure what I expected … but that wasn’t it.
Glass’ music can be disorienting when it isn’t being hypnotic or introspective. I don’t know it well enough (yet) to let it roll around me. So my sense of sound was in overdrive particularly since there were only two “arias” such as we are used to hearing in opera … the love duet and the Hymn to the Sun … and even those weren’t what we are used to hearing. Glass uses voices as instruments in the orchestra.
The sets and costumes were equally disorienting. Since the subject of the opera was the reign of Ankhnaten (Egypt about 1,300 BCE) you would expect clothing like we see in tomb paintings. Instead Queen Tye could have been at home in Elizabeth I’s court except for her Hathor headdress. All the jugglers looked as if they had been rolling in the Nile mud. Ankhnaten himself was beyond description. Only Nefertiti came close to what we expect as Egyptian of that period.
All that said, it was four hours not wasted. I would like to see it again and plan to get the DVD when it becomes available.
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And while I’m on the subject of theatricals …
Last thursday Paul’s second grade class presented a show for parents and others. It was called “The Barn Dance”. The kids had memorized a poem about 10 minutes long as well as all the accompanying movements and gestures. Rather impressive. Paul and three others were piggies and as part of the “dance” twirled around until they were dizzy and fell down.
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We have plans for tomorrow. Festivities at home are still too raw, so if the weather permits, we will be going out to dinner. The HiLo in Weed is setting up a turkey buffet.
Sometime during the afternoon, whether at the HiLo or at home, I thought to try something new … build a new tradition maybe. We could each be asked for what in 2019 we are thankful. I will write the answers down, fold them, and bury them by the front door when we get home. We will know they are there and they will be a reminder of what we have for which to be grateful … at least for me.
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To close this time … May all of you who celebrate the USA Thanksgiving have a wonderful holiday. And may ALL of us everywhere enjoy !!!
Life is so unpredictable. Be grateful for every moment.
So … ‘til next week …