The Bombogenesis or Bomb Cyclone … interesting phenomenon.
We seem to be in a semi-protected spot. Winter storms from the west get shunted or slowed by the Eddy mountains to our west-southwest. Storms from the north come down the valley to our east with slight wind, if any. They are gentler and mainly bypass us (except for temperatures) going south. Those from the south slip mainly up the draw to the northeast of us unless there is wind in which case we get drifts and cold. I don’t recall many storms from the east since the Mountain is in the way.
The backside of this system (tuesday and wednesday followed on friday, saturday, and sunday) came from the south and gave us cold and some wind (35 mph), a fair amount of snow (about 2’ overall), and some drifting (some as deep as 4’). The main push, however, was to our east and south. Mt Shasta and Dunsmuir caught it and I-5 was closed several times during the storm from just above Redding all the way into Oregon.
The closures near us made our fire company unavailable since the side roads (Old Stage Road/Hwy 99) were clogged with traffic off the freeway trying to go around the blocks. Old Stage Road was a parking lot from the railroad crossing about five miles to the south of us all the way to Stewart Springs Road about six miles north of us. Firemen couldn’t get to the station and those at the station couldn’t get the engines on the road.
But as usual, the scenery was a wonderland. This scenery always makes me think of my cousin Marvin who, in the middle of an Arizona autumn when I was about eight, taught me to sing “Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, I’m happy tonight …”
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On Thanksgiving we went out for dinner. It was an adventure which started with chains which were noisy. But we made it to the HiLo where we met with a couple of friends who otherwise would have been alone, so there were six of us.
This year the HiLo served Thanksgiving via a buffet. There was ham and turkey with all the extras, ending with pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. I went round twice (only one pie slice however) and gained four pounds.
Plans for Christmas dinner haven’t jelled yet. But decorating started last Friday. The tree is up and there are swags and poinsettias and snowmen and Santas and elfs all over the place. Very festive … with appropriate music in the background.
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About a month ago a young friend talked me into watching the MGM/HULU version of “The Handmaid’s Tale” on DVD. I just finished season two. It expands on the original tale (written by Margaret Atwood years ago) and tells the stories (or pieces of the stories) of several handmaids in addition to June/Offred. Maybe they should move the apostrophe and add an “s” to make it “The Handmaids’ Tales”. There are tales of the “Wives” and the “Aunts” and the “Marthas” as well, but “The Women’s Tales” as a title wouldn’t have the same impact.
It is prophetic in some ways … hopeful in others … and thoroughly unsettling.
My next telly binge will probably be something lighter. Maybe “Miss Fisher”.
PBS has been doing Broadway on their Great Performances series. “42nd Street” and “The King and I” are available, but I haven’t watched yet. Been too busy with the Handmaid. Lots of precision taps in “42nd Street” and I remember the movie of “The King and I” from my post-partum period after the first birth. I got low and George noticed it, so he called my aunt to take me out to a movie while he looked after the baby. That was a good call.
I’ll catch up as soon as time permits.
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As a lead in to the holidays, I have at least four projects going … so that whenever someone comes in on me, I can move to a different project. It feels nice to be involved in so much. And things are going well. That is, I haven’t yet confused any of the projects and had to rip out anything.
Left to do in the next few days are another batch of grape jelly (the juice is in the fridge) and a batch of BooBoo Cream.
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I have had time to read however. There is always time to read, right?
Current book is “The Second Mountain” by David Brooks. He is a columnist for the New York Times and a commentator on the PBS News, in case you don’t recognize the name. Fridays on PBS used to be a must-watch for George and me since that was the day Brooks and Shields reviewed the news of the week. Shields’ inclination is to the left, and Brooks used to be pretty conservative. Then a couple of years ago his commentary started to change … as if conservatism had move too far past him to the right … as in fascism. So when his book was released, I was interested is reading what he has to say.
It is a read worth the time and thought. His concept of the “Second Mountain” is basically that egoism (the First Mountain – self success) is often necessary but only as a lead-in to the Second Mountain, i.e. self-realization via community.
And that thought led me to an incident here in the family which illustrates the dichotomy.
Mark bought a phone (the brand name is Sonim) from an AT&T dealer. Shortly after the AT&T warranty ran out, the phone failed. The maker had also offered a warranty, so he sent the phone to them for repair. The repair took about a month and when the phone came back it was minus the battery and the battery cover.
Mark went back to the warranty and discovered that following the basic instructions in re where to send the damaged phone etc., in smaller print was a warning to not return “accessories”. He had seen that and took it to mean adaptors, chargers, and that kind of accessory and so packaged the phone and sent it off. WRONG!
Below that warning, in much smaller, almost microscopic, print was a note saying don’t return batteries or battery covers. His mistake for not getting out a magnifying glass to read the fine print. Now he has to buy a new battery and battery cover from the company who made the phone and tricked him into the new purchase. Good for the company’s bottom line. Not so good for community.
So, if your phone is a Sonim … be aware the company has programmed sale, use, and repair to be of benefit only to their profit line. You and your needs are secondary at best.
End of rant …
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To end the week, something to remember …
Bravery is standing up after you’ve been knocked to your knees.
So … ‘til next week …