Saturday, December 19, 2009

The Blizard of 09...

...is doing its best to try to knock down our power lines making it impossible for me to blog, or watch TV or make phone calls (well the phone does have battery back-up for a few hours) so I will get a quick blog in right now. (by the way, I am not exagerrating when I call it a blizzard, I am repeating what I just read in online weather accounts.) Besides doing its darnedest to knock out the power, the storm is also doing its best to make me shiver with cold. Fact is though, I am sitting at my computer sweating like it was 90 and am enjoying a rather large dram of fine spirits on the rocks. I am not sweating because it is hot in my home, the thermostat is set at 62. Nor am I sweating because of the demon rum (err - whiskey in this case). I am sweating because I was outside not too long ago and was shoveling around my house. It sure isn't as easy as it was even a few years ago. Every joint was creaking and now every joint is aching, well almost all of them anyhow. So I figured I had better relax quickly and thoroughly and take something for the pain. Since I have nothing other than aspirin or Aleve, I figured I have a drink instead. I'd rather not mix any of them so my Saturday night drink is just a wee bit bigger than usual.

My guess is that so far we have had at least 5 to maybe 6 inches of the white stuff, and that was where it was flat and evenly distributed. It is pretty fine and powdery and because it is in the mid 20s (reports says it is 25 here) the snow is pretty dry. It is, perhaps, the kind of snow that skiers dream about waking up to on the slopes. It is the kind of snow I dream about when they say we are going to be hit by a major winter storm that will deposit anywhere from 7 inches to 14 inches of snow that I need to shovel (at 3:30AM I saw this had been changed to 12-18 inches expected). If we have to have snow, well then - I am happy when it is like this. Drier snow, fine powder, is just easier to shovel than the really heavy wet snow we are more likely to get.

The storm promises to drop more snow, and the weather man is saying it may also be somewhat spectacular in that we may also get some thunder and lighting. That is always somewhat weird to me, you just don't see lots of thunder/snowstorms, at least not around here but it is something we seem to have had more of in recent years. Must be due to all that man made whatever. If the lightning comes through the clouds it will sure brighten things up with all that powder on the ground and should put on quite a show. If the dogs start barking loud enough tonight to wake me up my first guess will be a thunder storm.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hectic X 10

No it's not due to it being one week before Christmas, well not completely anyhow. I kind of figured that Christmas time would be less hectic than in recent years this time around if only because I got shopping done for almost all the men in the family over a month ago. That includes Brendan, my brother, my two brothers-in-law (my wife's brothers), and my other brother-in-law (my sister's husband). They are all getting something small but nice. I also got the shopping done for my wife's gift last week. She got just what she wanted, it is set up already, I figured early delivery was better than late. It's a SONY 52 LCD TV. That set me back a pretty penny I will admit, but she is worth it even if she cannot stand me. It will give her a retreat so to speak. So, there is not much shopping left for Christmas gifts. I have to get something for my daughter and I already have something in mind that I'll pick up while on lunch break at work this week or while on the way home. Then there is my sister and my mother and mother-in-law but I think my wife took care of theirs.

So as you can see, the shopping is almost done and not causing much of a problem. What is causing a bit of commotion, I suppose at least for me, is that I am leaving for Phoenix 3 days after Christmas on the 28th. There is not much time to get ready for that with this also being Christmas time and there is a lot of getting ready to be done. It is not only packing and such, heck first I have to find things I need to take along. What I mean is mostly gear. I just changed cars at work and emptied out the trunk of the old car and put stuff in my garage.. My son moved most of it and did not pay attention to where he put this or that or another thing I will be needing. So the search has begun. While searching I realized what a mess is our shed and garage and basement. So I have been cleaning up too as I search. That is always chaotic fun for me.

I also have to get my arse in gear to get the Soldiers Holiday Care Package ready. I have some stuff but not a lot. I suppose I will be at Costco today picking up items for the package. Yes I keep saying package. There will only be one this year. I am footing the bill for all of it, no problem, it just means there will be less than when I received help from my readers, in the past, to help give our troops a nicer Christmas and Chanukah. I hope that the lack of donations this year means that each and every one of you who has donated in the past has decided to send a package yourself to our troops in Harm's way this holiday season! I figure to send about $100 to $150 worth of goodies; I think it will put a smile on my assigned Soldier's face. I hope so. If you send something, even a package with $10 or $20 worth of items in it will help make it easier for one of our young men or women who are on foreign soil facing the prospect of a cold, depressing, and lonely Christmas or Chanukah.

Got to go, I am in the middle of setting up our tree and just took a blog break.

All the best,
Glenn B