Same Song Second Verse

Wow! Yesterday we had luminaria lining the driveway, this is what we have this morning. What driveway? It is 8:35 a.m. Pacific time. The snow is due to continue well into the afternoon.

This is a one day snow accumulation on our roof. The south side. The north side has blown bare.

Not being into skate boarding I'm not sure about this but would a half pipe look like this if made from snow? This is the drift along the side of the shop.

Hub is working valiantly. The drifts on the drive are obscuring the snow blower.

Okay, here's the deal. We are setting record snowfall for a 24 hour period. Seventeen inches at the Spokane airport which is the official measuring point. We have several more inches in our area. Out here on the prairie it looks like sand dunes along the coast. Some drifts five and six feet high and the ground in front of them bare. Wind.

For those of you who aren't familiar with lake effect snow you hear about coming off the Great Lakes, this is as close as you come around here. Light and fluffy, very low moisture content, and it piles up like Topsy! Spokane is literally closed down. I'm sure our area is too but the coverage is out of Spokane and about Spokane.

After I wrote my post yesterday things really began to go downhill. We had decided to let the snow run it's course before starting to clear it. Then an unexpected Fed Ex delivery had the truck barely in the drive while the driver shoveled his way to the door. Hub decided he should at least clear a path.

All went well until the tractor snapped an essential belt. No one in Coeur d'Alene had one. That means a trip to Spokane. He thinks he's going this afternoon. Ha! The bright side is we still have the walk behind blower from the good old days!!

During coffee this morning I thought the den felt unusually cool. Hub checked the thermostat and it read 58 degrees. A malfunctioning furnace. And we just had it serviced! My mood is diminishing. The bright side is we have a duel heating system so the game room is warm. The office and shop are hearted and comfortable. It's the only reason I'm writing this time of day! I'm usually banned until after the market closes at one.

Even Bacchus seemed somewhat surprised. He isn't used to his hind end being buried when he squats. That's cold! He's the only one who can be comfortable in the house today and last time I checked he was sound asleep on the couch.

Oh, I've forgotten to mention the temperatures going along with the snow. Tomorrow is forecast to be -8. Today will be a balmy 17. No melting in sight!

Welcome to winter in the Inland Northwest. Time for another lyric? "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Bah Humbug!

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

"Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

Bacchus of course is loving it. And actually so are we. We won't even think about clearing the drive until the snow stops. Maybe sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, I followed Hub as he shoveled a path to the shop so I could get to my computer. Just to let you know I have nothing to post! The tree awaits. My rational is my back needed a rest from all the stretching to hang ornaments this morning. I'll be going back in to resume my part while Hub sets up his train in the game room. I'll have a fire. He'll have a fire. Bacchus will have the couch. Talk about mellowing out!

Tomorrow, however, may be a whole different story. I get cranky when the body tells me it doesn't want to shovel any more snow. In the meantime I'm just going to put on some Christmas music and enjoy!

Those Long Winter Nights Of Times Past

In an attempt to beat the snow, Hub got the outside decorations up in a timely manner. It also gave me a chance to get a jump on the indoor decorating which I usually don't begin until after the tree is up. This year the tree is the last item on the agenda.

It also gave me time to sort through boxes that had been unopened for years and, oh, did the memories come flooding back. Our trees have always been eclectic. We have all the ornaments from Hub's family and mine as well as the ones we have added over our thirty nine Christmases together. We have old clip on candle holders from the days they were actually used and the candles lighted to illuminate the tree and tin reflectors that were used when bulbs came into vogue. Our trees are always wonderful. At least to us.

What really brought back the memories though, were several boxes I had nearly forgotten about. The minerature ornaments Dad made for the miniature trees my brother and I had in our rooms.

Back when we had those trees we didn't have television. Dad spent most of his evenings tucked away in his basement workshop while we kids were doing our homework or being tucked into bed. Wonderful creations would emerge. Most often at Christmas time. The contents of these boxes were part of that treasure. The ornaments he made for those little trees.

I found the perfect tree at Michael's. It has shorter needles than most of the mini trees and was perfect for decorating. As I unpacked those boxes I examined each of the creations within and marveled at the patience he had to have, first of all find such tiny adornments, but to then drill the smallest of holes in what had to be extremely fragile goods and insert the finest of wire to form the hooks. He even took birthday cake candles and cut them down to make the candle clips. It must have taken me a couple of hours to finish the job. I was handling the most precious of treasures. My Dad had made them - for me - and my brother. During those long winter evenings.

Ah, those wonderful memories. The family decorating the tree together on Christmas eve then off to midnight mass. It became tradition. And our trees, our very own, to brighten our rooms.

We weren't able to light those candles, but the folks sure knew how to light up our hearts.

Global Warming Gives Me A Chill!

The temperature was 1 degree F with a -20 wind chill as I dressed to take Bacchus for our morning stroll. He was tucked comfortably under the edge of the bed snoring contentedly as I pulled on long johns, flannel lined jeans, sock liners, winter weight socks then insulated boots. Then a T-shirt under a turtle neck topped with a chamois cloth shirt before the sweater and my beloved -30 degree parka. Next came the neck gaiter, to pull over my chin and mouth, ear muffs tucked under the wool ski cap and the hood of the parka for good measure. Oh yes, the lined and insulated ski gloves. I was ready.

Bacchus rolled over on his back to get his tummy rubbed. I could barely bend over to reach it. Then he was ready and we were off. "Don't come back until he does something!" Hub shouted after me as I opened the door to the howling wind. Right.

Being the paranoid that I am I didn't want to keep Bacchus out too long. His winter coat is still a bit sparse and he refuses to wear his mutt luks but off we went. We stopped a half dozen times between the door and the road so he could check out business that was his own but one can never be sure. The road was a sheet of ice so I made him walk down our side which he didn't want to do because he does his business on the other side. So about halfway past the neighbors we gingerly made the crossing. Nothing.

Not liking the wind in his face he finally agreed to turn around and head back toward home. Just as resolutely he sauntered right past the drive and on north. Still nothing. Okay. That's it dog. We've been at this for 20 minutes. That's the limit for me if not for you!

Into the warm kitchen we went and out the back door he went. He doesn't like the water he has in the laundry room. The ice cold water in his dish, frozen actually, has much more appeal. I topped it off with some fresh and he was happy. Come back in? Not a chance. Note the photo. I gave him another few minutes than made him come into the warmth and he repaid me by taking my place on the couch to watch "Meet the Press." Fine.

I'm out in the office now. He's still on the couch. I scanned the headlines on Yahoo and laughed out loud at the following teasers:

Obama left with little time to curb global warming 41 mins ago
More outages possible in ice-ravaged Northeast 14 mins ago

It occurred to me Obama has little time left because we're about to enter a new era of global cooling! I've always believed in the cyclical nature of these weather phenomenon and never bought into all the arguments regarding global warming because scientists, real scientists, not Al Gore, refute many of the assumptions with fact. Now it would seem NASA is in agreement with the oncoming of global cooling.

It all goes to the old saying "What goes around comes around". You watch. In about the same span of time lyrics from some old standards will be merged. How about "In the good old summer time snow is glistening". And it won't mean summer in the southern hemisphere!

The Politics of Powell

This country could use a lot more politicians like Colin Powell. Though I doubt he considers himself such after a less than successful stint as Secretary of State in the Bush administration.

Considering that less then stellar tenure, why do I think so? Because the cause of his failure is the mark of the man. Integrity. He staked his career and reputation on bad information. Though knowing he was being left out of large parts of the loop, his integrity and belief in others made it impossible for him to believe the administration would take us to war on manufactured "truth".

He is far more cautious now, but is unafraid to tell the truth as he believes it. He was very forthright in saying Sarah Palin was not ready to step into the Vice Presidency. He had the courage to cross party lines and endorse Obama because he believed he was the better candidate.

Now he is taking on his own party, the Republican Party. In an interview that will air Sunday on CNN he speaks of many "truths" which will leave segments of the party seething.

He talks of how the party will have to reach out to minorities for within two decades the majority of the population will be made up of minorities. He talks of how the use of polarization didn't work for the Republicans and is unlikely to in the future. I'd add I hope that is a "truth" both parties will recognize.

Along that vein, he asks if the party can continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh, "Is this really the kind of party we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser rather than our better instincts?"

Powell is being politic. I would be less so. The answer goes far beyond whether the party should listen to Limbaugh and the other right wing hate mongers that fill the air waves. It's whether anyone should.

Mr. Limbaugh claims he has answers for all our problems but isn't interested in running for office because he doesn't want the pay cut. Now there's conviction!

If Mr. Obama is successful in his desire to create a new type of governance, the Limbaughs of the country will become the dinosaurs of the air waves and hopefully suffer the same fate. Disappear.

I think there is a pretty good chance Obama will succeed. Or at least gain a good foothold in the time allowed. He showed he is capable of it during the campaign. He appealed to our better instincts and because of it was rewarded with a win.

Negative campaigning got it's long overdue comeuppance. Hate mongering didn't take. The third strike against these self appointed spokespersons is their penchant for loose facts and lack of knowledge.

Now if the politicians will follow Powell's lead and be honest when questioned, regardless of party, a lot of contentious behavior will fade and with it the meat on which the likes of Limbaugh feed.

Talk about a "Brave New World"!