Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Freak Storm, Freaked Robins
We got a freak Minnesota snowstorm today. Well, it isn't actually that freaky for Minnesota, but once it's reached April and we've lost our snow and had sixty degree days, it throws a loop in the schedule. I had to clean off the car twice this morning it was accumulating so quickly. The consistency is slop with a veneer of white. The robins have returned from wherever it is they go in the winter and the poor things were trying to figure out how to deal with the sudden snow. As I was driving, I'd come along groups of them huddled in tire gulleys in the road. I had to get really close to them before they were willing to move. I bet they're thinking they should've waited a couple more weeks before coming back from vacation.
Labels: driving, minnesota, robins, snow, winter
Monday, March 19, 2007
It Could Go Either Way
Here I sit at the computer, periodically looking out the window facing our backyard. The snow is melting rapidly and I can see the hole my children dug last summer. They've arranged some old bricks and pieces of cement at one end of the hole in a strangely Stonehenge fashion. Further back in the yard, almost to the alley, they've constructed a snowboarding ramp of snow (what else?). It's a sizeable pile, the most sizeable in the yard, but no longer any good for snowboarding. Our compost heap is exposed and almost looks larger than the snowboarding pile. Spring and winter are mixed in the wind. It could go either way.
The weather perfectly mirrors my writing mood today. I've finished a story and am ready to start a new one for the series I'm working on and I realized yesterday that while I've got a character, I've got no plot yet. So, I've done a little online research and am mentally messing around. No sense in forcing these things. I'm tempted to take a little detour. I've always got several story ideas brewing, but have been setting some of them aside while working on my series. One of them has been poking at me to write it out. We'll see . . . .
The weather perfectly mirrors my writing mood today. I've finished a story and am ready to start a new one for the series I'm working on and I realized yesterday that while I've got a character, I've got no plot yet. So, I've done a little online research and am mentally messing around. No sense in forcing these things. I'm tempted to take a little detour. I've always got several story ideas brewing, but have been setting some of them aside while working on my series. One of them has been poking at me to write it out. We'll see . . . .
Labels: backyard, characters, children, hole, idea, minnesota, mood, research, snow, spring, story, winter, writing
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Now It's Time to Have Some Fun
Here is the beauty of a snowfilled winter in Minnesota - we get to play in it, which we did today. The hubby and I took our oldest two children (the youngest is at a sleepover) to a sledding hill, while we did some snowshoeing. There's a rhythm to using snowshoes - rock and waddle, rock and waddle. We shooshed over vast, almost untouched crusts of white with rainbow glitter. The unmarred snow is so tempting to mess up, to leave a mark, but when one does so, it's not particularly satisfying. It's better just to contemplate walking over it or making a snow angel. (Besides, how does one make a snow angel with snowshoes on her feet?)
Hiking through snow is definitely a work-out. I'm out of shape and the first few minutes on snowshoes left me breathless and sore. I was ready to quit, but kept going and noticed something. If you push on to the point of sweating, suddenly the pain goes away and a trance-like state takes over. Must be endorphins. They sure feel good. After the exertion, I'll sleep well.
Hiking through snow is definitely a work-out. I'm out of shape and the first few minutes on snowshoes left me breathless and sore. I was ready to quit, but kept going and noticed something. If you push on to the point of sweating, suddenly the pain goes away and a trance-like state takes over. Must be endorphins. They sure feel good. After the exertion, I'll sleep well.
Labels: children, exercise, husband, minnesota, snow, snowshoes, winter
Thursday, March 01, 2007
More Snow
We are making up for lost time in Minnesota. After a winter practically devoid of snow, within one week we've gained inches and inches. Last weekend we got fourteen inches. Between yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we're expecting another foot or so. My shoulders certainly feel it. I'm soft from not having to shovel before this, so lifting pounds and pounds of snow is giving me a workout I'm not used to. I swear I spent more time outside than inside today. I've been trying to shovel every so often so I don't have to try to move mountains of it all at once. 'Round about three o'clock this afternoon, I collapsed on the couch with my Wired magazine in a funk of white-hot exhaustion. I wasn't a happy camper for a couple of hours. My kids, on the other hand, were delighted. They were released early from school. Yippee!
In the midst of all the shoveling, our furnance decided to quit working. I put on my geek hat and tried turning the switch off and on a couple of times. I opened the front panels and checked to make sure the wires were all attached. Then, I called my dad. He asked if the ventilation pipes for the furnace were blocked. Sure enough, when I went outside to check, the air intake pipe was completely covered (with snow, what else?). When this happens, or when the balance between the intake and exhaust pipes is upset, the furnace has a safety switch that keeps the furnace from turning on. As soon as I cleared the pipes, she fired up. There you have it, your furnace maintenance tip of the week.
In the midst of all the shoveling, our furnance decided to quit working. I put on my geek hat and tried turning the switch off and on a couple of times. I opened the front panels and checked to make sure the wires were all attached. Then, I called my dad. He asked if the ventilation pipes for the furnace were blocked. Sure enough, when I went outside to check, the air intake pipe was completely covered (with snow, what else?). When this happens, or when the balance between the intake and exhaust pipes is upset, the furnace has a safety switch that keeps the furnace from turning on. As soon as I cleared the pipes, she fired up. There you have it, your furnace maintenance tip of the week.
Labels: dad, exhaustion, furnace, geek, minnesota, school, shoveling, snow, winter, wired
Saturday, February 24, 2007
10 words, 20 minutes
Hey, hey! It's snowing! We haven't gotten much, so far, just a coating over the grass, but it's picking up speed. I vaguely remember hearing thunder last night - how weird is that?
Anyway, I promised a writing exercise for this weekend in one of my comments. I call it 10 words, 20 minutes. I'll give you 10 random words. You have 20 minutes to do something with them. Use them to write a poem or essay or song, heck, draw a picture using them if you like. The only rules are that you have to use all 10 words and you have only 20 minutes to do it. (You can fudge the time a weensy bit if you're finishing a thought when time's up, but don't keep writing on and on forever.) Feel free to alter the words using generally accepted English language principles, i.e. snow can become snowing, or snows, or snowed.
Ready? Here are your words:
cream
irony
notch
beg
scarab
taste
harmony
juvenile
leather
scribble
If you need to look up any of the words, your dictionary time doesn't count towards the 20 minutes.
Gather yourself together and Go!
Anyway, I promised a writing exercise for this weekend in one of my comments. I call it 10 words, 20 minutes. I'll give you 10 random words. You have 20 minutes to do something with them. Use them to write a poem or essay or song, heck, draw a picture using them if you like. The only rules are that you have to use all 10 words and you have only 20 minutes to do it. (You can fudge the time a weensy bit if you're finishing a thought when time's up, but don't keep writing on and on forever.) Feel free to alter the words using generally accepted English language principles, i.e. snow can become snowing, or snows, or snowed.
Ready? Here are your words:
cream
irony
notch
beg
scarab
taste
harmony
juvenile
leather
scribble
If you need to look up any of the words, your dictionary time doesn't count towards the 20 minutes.
Gather yourself together and Go!
Labels: create, dictionary, exercise, snow, thunder, weather, winter, words, writing
Friday, February 23, 2007
A Promised Snowstorm
We in Minnesota are waiting with baited breath* for a promised snowstorm. Forecasts all day have been saying to expect 12 to 14 inches over the weekend. We're thrilled at the prospect, but a little doubtful all the same. The situation reminds me of a short story that I once read in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology. The story was about a girl who was originally from Earth, but her family had immigrated to another planet. On this new planet, the sun only shone once every so often - at some ridiculously long, but predictible interval. The little girl missed sunshine and was teased for her weirdness. She was in class the day the sun was due to shine, but the mean little buggers who were her classmates locked her in a closet and she missed the whole thing. That's where the story ended, leaving readers to wonder whether she went insane and slashed her wrists or mowed the little snots down with a machine gun.
So, here we are, Minnesotans chomping at the bit for snow. The grocery store was packed with people stocking up in hopes of hunkering down all weekend. The results remain to be seen. The ten o'clock news showed that the system had shifted about 100 miles south, so some of us might not get the promised snowstorm. Darn it, darn it, darn it. Please, please, please . . . if we promise to be good, can we have some snow? A great big dumping? Please, please, please?
*Baited breath - What is that exactly? The fumes from an anchovy and onion pizza?
So, here we are, Minnesotans chomping at the bit for snow. The grocery store was packed with people stocking up in hopes of hunkering down all weekend. The results remain to be seen. The ten o'clock news showed that the system had shifted about 100 miles south, so some of us might not get the promised snowstorm. Darn it, darn it, darn it. Please, please, please . . . if we promise to be good, can we have some snow? A great big dumping? Please, please, please?
*Baited breath - What is that exactly? The fumes from an anchovy and onion pizza?
Labels: alfred hitchcock, baited breath, earth, grocery store, minnesota, reading, snow, story, winter
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Fingerless Gloves
Woohoo! I finished knitting a pair of fingerless gloves tonight. While they are no more than tubes with a thumb hole, I'd say it's quite an accomplishment, especially considering my first knitting-in-the-round project happened in December 2006. I'm eyeing up a pair of socks, have even read the instructions (little nervous about the gusset for the heel), nice thick, short things. They'd make good house slippers, something I can slip over my regular socks. In the winter, I'm most assuredly a two-pair of socks woman. My engine runs a little cold. Those who know me know why. I'm a skinny slip of a thing, not much body fat to keep me warm. It's the blessing of a high-running metabolism. My body operates like a hummingbird's. I can eat whatever I want, but I also have to make sure I eat enough, or I go into a woozy state from low blood sugar. I would not do well in a famine, which makes me wonder how my skinny ancestors survived in order to pass their genes along to me.
My daughter just read the opening sentence of this post and said that now I can make her some fingerless gloves. Isn't she a gem?
My daughter just read the opening sentence of this post and said that now I can make her some fingerless gloves. Isn't she a gem?
Labels: ancestors, blood sugar, body, cold, daughter, fat, gloves, knitting, skinny, socks, weight, winter
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Sobering
The hubby and I just watched Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" movie last night. Sobering. Our daughter said she didn't want to watch it because the subject of global warming is depressing to her. Or, as she puts it, "We're all gonna die!" Al Gore has been working on this topic for decades and we could have made some progress by now, if it hadn't been for the ostrich-like politicians and the short-sighted petroleum companies. (Of course, GREED is their middle name.) And, now we get to live with the results. Glaciers disappearing. Antarctica & Greenland breaking up and raising the level of the oceans. We're seeing the effects first-hand in Minnesota, with the dreadful lack of snow this winter.
Do we really think that Earth is wedded to having homo sapiens living on her surface? Or, are we a bad case of dandruff she wants to shake off? Can't say as I blame her, really. (What did those Neaderthals do to tick her off?)
The good thing about the movie's popularity is that global warming is now undeniable and if we pull together, we can help Earth to heal herself. The trailer for the movie shows a bunch of small steps we can take that will drastically cut global warming emissions. In watching them flick by, I realized that we're already doing about half of them. We have a ways to go. If we could just put a windmill in our yard . . . .
Do we really think that Earth is wedded to having homo sapiens living on her surface? Or, are we a bad case of dandruff she wants to shake off? Can't say as I blame her, really. (What did those Neaderthals do to tick her off?)
The good thing about the movie's popularity is that global warming is now undeniable and if we pull together, we can help Earth to heal herself. The trailer for the movie shows a bunch of small steps we can take that will drastically cut global warming emissions. In watching them flick by, I realized that we're already doing about half of them. We have a ways to go. If we could just put a windmill in our yard . . . .
Labels: al gore, daughter, earth, glaciers, global warming, homo sapiens, husband, inconvenient truth, minnesota, snow, winter
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Finishing & Starting
I do believe I have spring fever. Can't have anything to do with this crazy non-Minnesota winter, could it? I finished knitting a hat & a collar. I'm working feverishly to finish a quilt I started for my son three years ago. It was a promised birthday gift. Today is his birthday. I think it's about time he get this gift. As if this isn't enough, I've started knitting another hat. One simply can't have too many projects going at once, no-sir-ee.
And, there are those two books to finish, plus another two to start . . . but, books don't really count, 'cause I'm always in the middle of one.
And, there are those two books to finish, plus another two to start . . . but, books don't really count, 'cause I'm always in the middle of one.
Labels: birthday, books, gifts, knitting, minnesota, quilt, son, spring fever, winter
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
A Thought on Global Warming
I don't mean to diminish the severity of our role in contributing to global warming here, and I don't want people to get on their high horses and say that the situation will fix itself, but I had a thought.
With our warmer than usual Minnesota winter, we aren't burning as many fossil fuels to keep our houses warm. Hmmm. Almost as though Earth is forcing us to quit contributing to global warming by warming us up. How passive-aggressive is that? What do you think Earth will do to get us to stop using engines to move around?
With our warmer than usual Minnesota winter, we aren't burning as many fossil fuels to keep our houses warm. Hmmm. Almost as though Earth is forcing us to quit contributing to global warming by warming us up. How passive-aggressive is that? What do you think Earth will do to get us to stop using engines to move around?
Labels: earth, fossil fuels, global warming, minnesota, winter
Monday, December 04, 2006
Big Knobs on Gas Pumps
Winter floated down to Minnesota, dusting us with a half-inch of fluffy, dry snow. Fun to shovel because it's not back-breaking. You could practically blow it off the sidewalk if you wanted to bend over far enough to do so. If it's going to be cold, we'd better have snow, is what I like to say. Snow makes the cold bearable. Don't like the wind, though. You know how people are always saying, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity"? In Minnesota, it's not the cold, it's the wind because it leads to windchill.
I had to get gas this morning. Gas stations tend to attract wind. So, I've got the cold and I've got the wind and now I've got to take off my gloves in order to push the tiny keypad buttons to start the pump. Whoever designed these keypad buttons didn't take Minnesota winters into consideration. We need to be able to operate those pumps without removing our protective gear. Any good Minnesotan knows that once the temp drops below zero and the windchill is factored in, fingers will start snapping off in a matter of seconds. (Okay, I'm exaggerating, but not much.) Here's an idea. How about some large colorful knobs on the pumps that we can push without taking off our mittens? They'd be good for the arthritic, too. Or for those who've lost fingers from frostbite caused by taking our gloves off at the pump.
I had to get gas this morning. Gas stations tend to attract wind. So, I've got the cold and I've got the wind and now I've got to take off my gloves in order to push the tiny keypad buttons to start the pump. Whoever designed these keypad buttons didn't take Minnesota winters into consideration. We need to be able to operate those pumps without removing our protective gear. Any good Minnesotan knows that once the temp drops below zero and the windchill is factored in, fingers will start snapping off in a matter of seconds. (Okay, I'm exaggerating, but not much.) Here's an idea. How about some large colorful knobs on the pumps that we can push without taking off our mittens? They'd be good for the arthritic, too. Or for those who've lost fingers from frostbite caused by taking our gloves off at the pump.
Labels: gas, idea, minnesota, snow, wind, windchill, winter
