Happy New Year's EVE

Good bye to 2009.

Hello 2010.

Today was cold and rainy here in the valley. I didn't leave the ranch, despite having Windy here to help take care of Stan. Joan, the physical therapist, came this afternoon to put him through his paces. He did very well.

The threat of a snow shower is looming over the area. I don't know what the family is/are doing at their various domiciles for celebrating the end of a decade and the beginning of the next. But, the night is dark [no blue moon evident here. 30 for the low tonight].

I can remember the Green Parrot on a snowy New Year's Eve in 1968. I wore a black velvet dress with cap sleeves. The Green Parrot is an empty lot now and the dress is long gone (imagine that - I tossed it out sometime in the 1990's or early 2000's), but, I still have that piece of jewelry I got that night at midnight. [big emerald cut diamond ring set in platinum.]

Time to change the calendar.
I am looking back at some personal/important dates in this decade:

10-30-2000;

7-2-2001;

9-11-2001;

9-11-2005;

11-24-2005;

9-24-2006;

2-14-2007;

6-22-2007;

11-6-2009;

Some dates are memorable, some are forgettable -or I wish they had never happened. but they did and here we are...

Not looking back - always looking forward. That's my resolution for the year 2010!

Tuesday - 29th of December in the year of our Lord 2009

Another day in Paradise: the snow has stopped; the sun came out; the roads are now fairly clear. These are BIG things in my life, these days, because they mean I am mobile. If I have the help of Sandy and Linda, I mean.

Saturday Dad and I watched Night in the Mueseum 2-- Battle in the Smithsonian. Funny.

Sunday or sinday, as I mistyped it first, I returned the toy that didn't work (to WM) and I grabbed a couple pounds of ground round to make some meat dinners. [I miss protein, and we eat a lot of fish. I hate vegetables - i imagine because I don't season them properly.]

We watched Star Trek and imagined William Shatner as the young Kirk. Leonard Nimoy had a cameo part, but i missed the real Scotty and loved the new Uhura - but hated the love angle with Spoc.

Yesterday is really a blur. I got Dad a couple of long-sleeved t-shirts for Christmas at Jacques Penna~s. We ate red meat. We did stay up late and watch a movie and laugh [Major Pain]

Karen the physical therapist visited today. Her mission was to get Dad up on the side of the bed and let him do bendover exercises. He didn't want to; he's been so stiff and generally non-responsive to most cajoling; however, he did and now (at 4:30pm) he's sleeping.

I've been threatening to get my hair cut before I go back to school on Monday. Tomorrow is my last chance (I figure) because I will have to stay home (I've been to wally world and Krogee's often since the thaw) and get some work done soon.

I enjoyed listening to the Comedy CD Tracy and Keith got me for Christmas; I drove around with the heat on the seat ;+) and listened - shocked somewhat by what passes for comedy in the elite places of the world [I get my culture from TV, random video discs, and NPR - when I get the chance.] But, it WAS funny, and I laughed; and I listend over again...

I've talked to Cousin Susie and Cousin Leah, and Cousin Sandy - Eddie's cousin- and Nephew Joey ... I've waited by the mailbox to get info. Not much happening there.

So, it's time to get out the new lamp I bought. I don't change overhead bulbs at all -- and they all seem to blow out at once. Therefore, I need lamps - I can reach burned out bulbs in lamps. [Any excuse of a new piece of furniture.]

You see the picure I post is a clue to the kind of lamp I bought. See if you can figure it out.

Happy New Year, too.

Finally, I learned how

The Blizzard of December 2009

Hello again,

This is the most posting I have done in ages.

Well, I finally learned how to upload my 500 or so images (from my camera to the computer) so, lookout world! I plan to show and tell a lot!

Now if I can just get these pictures of the Blizzard of 2009 to show up in an orderly fashion.

This is the new deck at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning - and it is STILL snowing.

The second picture is a view of the ramp to the left of the front deck and the snow has drifted a little under theeve at the base of the picture window.

But there's more.

The trees are in Mr. Vance's backyard as seen from the back porch of our house. Still snowing...

Let's see what else caught my eye:

This is our truck at the edge of the patio. I didn't even try to dig it out Saturday. I waited until 11 am on Sunday to attempt the snow removal. Look how far I got by 4 PM before Bill came the first time.

Today, Linda parked her truck on the basement door side of the patio - in 15 inch leftover snow.

And she shoveld the mailbox out from the snowplow piles. And she and her grandson, Caleb, built and dressed Ms. Snowperson.

And tomorrow I go back to work, and tomorrow we are expecting a skift of snow... to be followed by rain on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas.

Sunday night - Tomorrow is a SNOW DAY

Hello again folks,

I know I've been spending my two snowstorm days on FACEBOOK - updating every two hours as I battle the 15 inches of snow in the driveway on the patio and on the steps. Just trying to communicate with the outside world and let some one know I'm still upright. But, as I succumb to the aches and pains of snow shovelling and, of course, old age, I will share with only blog readers - who probably know me best ;)

Bill did come down with the snow blower this afternoon at 4 and I thought - we are going to get this driveway cleared finally - hurrah.... But, evidently as I slathered Aspercreme on my joints, Bill's snow blower met with difficulty - he got one track up the blacktop, with many missteps, and pushed his machine back down the hill and into his truck and was gone, before I could get out there for my 5 o'clock shovelling detail....

I took the shovel as a walking stick to the newspaper box (I can't get to the mail box - snowplow put 5 feet of snow in front of it.) and realized what a foolish thing when I almost fell - picturing me freezing to death down there at dusk, because you know I can't get up off the floor, let alone get up from a slippery surface. There. Now I've vented. I am careful; but I am ashamed that I can't do what I've always done. I cleared that driveway last year and the year before a couple of times (and Bill helped, too, occasionally.)

I called Linda and told her hubby to tell her not to come tomorrow... I don't have a place for her to park and Taylor county has finally called for a snow day. Yippee.... She is Christmas shopping. I'm making a list, but I don't foresee going out for several days - unless I get hold of Jeff. Which reminds me, I should call him tonight..... most problems can be solved if there is enough time and or money.

So enough of my whine... labels for this post should read: Rants, Whines and other TMI stuff.

God is smarter than the school board.

Dearest Readers,

It's been snowing since shortly after dark on Friday night, here in north-central West Virginia. This morning, around 8AM, the deck sports at least 10 inches of non-blowing slightly wet frozen precipitation. We were warned, but I didn't brave the crowds at Kroger's last night on my way home from school.

Never fear, we have a tenderloin just waiting to be fixed; pepperoni and frozen bread; lots of sliced bread for grilled cheese and soup; fresh golden cauliflower; miscellaneous cans of beans, fruit, and packages of cornbread mix; and eggs - glorious eggs (and potatoes).

I'll have to search to find the chocolate for drinking, but the coffee will hold out until Christmas...

This puts the end to my plans for Christmas shopping. But I am constantly reassured that "it doesn't matter" - it only matters to the children who can't figure out how to play with money... and to adults who say money doesn't take the place of thoughtfulness.

The weather does make me wonder if I will see any family for Christmas besides Daddy. The last time we had 24 inches of snow we were home for a week (I lived at Park Blvd and Daddy was in California. I dug the car out of the snow with a cooking pot, because I didn't have a snow shovel at the time. This must have been in March or April or perhaps December of 2004 - I remember everyone was isolated in their far-distant homes -- Grandma and Grandpa too.)

If the roads are still snowcoverd and icy, we will have no school [fingers crossed] on the Monday and Tuesday that KIDS have to report in most counties around here. The school boards should have foreseen that no one wanted to be in classes the days before the holiday! The roads may be clear for us teachers to go to work on Wednesday - do you think?! I think this is a no brainer! All those little kids praying for no school and snow for Christmas... powerful. And smarter than the school boards!

Windy called to see if she could get here today, if our road was plowed. I have seen trucks go down the road, no plows. Our driveway is impassible. I did not sweep nor did I shovel. Now it's too late. Charleston WV has 11 inches according to the weather channel. And it's still snowing here. On the good side, it's not too cold - only about 28 degrees. And we have electricity - or I would go bonkers with no tv, no computer solitaire, no Christmas caroles on the radio.

So - God is on our side. This is the Christmas Present I can really use. And it doesn't cost money: Rest and Peace.

Merry Christmas to you all. And hugs all around.

Too few shoppping days til Christmas

Greetings family and readers.

I was made appropriately aware that there are too few days (shopping or otherwise) until Christmas.

Time - like the days of our lives - runs out -- like sand through the hourglass.

For an English major, that is a trite expression, but I've been using the social studies part of my education for so long, I can barely remember English... Just ask my students... spelling has gone to heck, personal reading is non existent, this blog is as close to (P) (O) (E) (M) as I have been in a long time. But I digress.

How do I KNOW that time is running out, you say.

First, Blanca Skaggs' neice, Grecia, stopped by yesterday to thank me for letting her sit in my 7th grade class for a couple of weeks at the beginning of school to brush up on her English.

She is about 19 and speaks English very well, but she wanted to hear the language and try to figure out how we speak with our accent (I'm guessing - there are very few interesting activities for her at the middle level, but she did/does have an active social life with the daughters of teachers who live in the area. Grecia is from Venezuela. Her Aunt, Blanca, told me she would be happy to take Joey to Venezuela next time she goes home so he could live with her family for 6 weeks and have the total immersion experience in the Venezuelan Spanish language. They are very nice people.

But back to my rant: Grecia brought me a gift - chocolate. (Thank you) Now, is the season for thinking of others. I have one week left to get Santa giftee thingees for my friends at school and cards. Grecia has gone back home - she left this morning (Saturday).

Second, I created my "something to look forward to" calendar at school. Something is the Christmas break. Kids are wired already - asking for movies instead of classwork: Polar Express, A Christmas Story - with Ralphie and the b-b gun, my favorite short video "Our favorite toys" by the History channel, etc.

Along those lines, Linda and Sandy are going to their family Christmas dinner today (Saturday) and of course, they are cooking and baking and whatever it takes gifting. And they are ready (done shopping for this event) and it will happen.

Third, I noticed teachers are taking a day off from work to get their own personal shopping started/completed during the DAYLIGHT hours. [I, on the one hand, have only the time between 3:30 and 5 oclock daily minus drive time, to do anything other than work. I don't plan to do much and I have no energy to do regular life stuff - let alone celebration stuff, but I want to - I used to be able to, now I have to hire help, involve someone else and hope that I can get it together and don't miss that window of opportunity that I have right then.] Don't worry, I can stop by Rite Aid and CVS for the "special" presents...

So, I should take a day off from the job. And maybe I will... after I go back to bed and take a nap.

Merry Christmas everyone.

12:25pm on Saturday in December in the Valley

Hello again,

I'm takin' a break from cleaning out stuff, packing pills, washing laundry, and making lil'smokie rolls on this wintry da'.

There are 3 -count 'em - three inches of heavy wet snow on the ground here in West, by God, Virginia [in the area called Mountaineer country - by the advertisers]. Every city in the area has temperatures around 33 degrees and snow.

You'd think (from the weather channel coverage) that we have never experienced snow before.... hahahahah

L8tr people...

Ok so I made a mistake - I can't get rid of Happy Thanksgivng blinking gif

Yes, dear family and friends, I cannot get rid of that darn blinking gif in the heading of my blog. Oh, woe is me. Too much time it takes (said Yoda) to figure out the thing.

On the othr hand, it is SNOWING here in the valley (at 9:30 am on Saturday) just a bit of snow about an inch by now on the deck - but not the road I think.