First-World Winter Weather Issues

It's been years since my area has experienced a major winter storm like the one that came through ten days ago, which dropped thick layers of snow and sleet on the area. That was followed by a smaller storm five days later which left several additional inches of snow. Thanks to the layer of sleet and temperatures too cold for ice-melting chemicals to work things are still not up to snuff.

Depending on where you live, there are multiple entities responsible for clearing the roads-the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) for interstates and state routes, St. Louis City or County for large arterial and subdivision streets, Municipal street departments if the street happens to be inside a city's boundaries, or commercial companies for private streets.

The small sections I traverse on a regular basis are probably better than most, although there is one left turn lane on a major road that still has a thick layer of ice on it. The plows moved the snow off the main driving lanes, but pushed it off to the side such that on-street parking is impossible. And the sidewalks are also covered with that same pushed off snow so you have to take your chances walking along the reduced-width street. There has been some thawing and refreezing, which makes that walking quite dangerous.

Once the roads were clear potholes started popping up in the streets, some of them large enough to damage the car's wheels or alignment. All I can do is try to watch where I'm driving and hope there's not a car in the other lane if I have to swerve quickly.

A third issue is in parking lots, where the plows concentrated on removing snow off the driving lanes and pushing the snow into piles and around the perimeter. Now there are tall piles of snow partially blocking many of the parking spaces. Most lots have so many spaces unavailable people are getting aggressive trying to park their vehicle.

It's supposed to get substantially above freezing over the weekend, which should allow a lot of the snow to melt. I can't wait!

Not Earth Shattering, But Still Enjoyable

The Internet is an endless source of enlightenment.

Today I learned about Landsat, which is a joint program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since 1972 the program has launched a series of satellites that continuously capture images of the Earth's surface.

The NASA Landsat Science website has a lot of important scientific material. And some not so significant, but an awful lot of fun. One of the pages is called Your Name In Landsat. When you type a name into the box and click the Enter button, the page returns a set of images that mirror the letters in the name.

'Kathy' - can you see it?

Five years ago today: Home Sweet (New) Home

I Help You. You Help Me.

When Hubby Tony and I moved into our condo five years ago, instead of signing up for traditional cable or satellite television we chose streaming service through an app. It has worked out well, but a couple of months ago the service provider sent an email that said the app would soon stop working with our television. They offered the use of a stream box for a year, but after that we'd have to rent it from them or buy our own. 

Neither Tony or I could remember exactly how old the television was. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but Tony convinced me that television prices had come down enough that this would be a good excuse to upgrade. He did some Consumer Reports research, came up with a short list of models, compared those to the Costco/Sams Club/Best Buy websites, then presented me with his top picks. Shortly before the year ended he made the purchase, and the set was delivered several days later.

Creazilla

Now we had a unneeded television to get rid of. There was no reason to recycle it, and even if I had wanted to there would be a fee. I checked with the thrift stores, but learned they had a glut of sets and a temporary moratorium on donations. I decided to post the set on my local Buy Nothing group.

In the next 24 hours multiple people responded that they were interested. I asked Tony to choose a random number, counted that far down the list, and sent the person a message asking when they would like to pick up their gifted television.

The next day I carried the set downstairs to the building foyer. Less than an hour later I saw a car stop in front of the building. Someone got out, walked into the building, and walked out carrying the set. Later I received a message that read "Thank you so much for the TV. It’s such a blessing!" I didn't tell them that they helped me at least as much as I helped them. 

Five years ago today: I Get It Now

My Mind Works In Strange Ways

Several of the blogs I follow (Debby, Myra, A Joyful Chaos) sometimes participate in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, which provides a list of prompts to answer. I enjoy reading their answers to the questions.
This week one of the words prompts concerned the Lake Superior State University 2025 Banished Words list. One of the words was skibidi. I have no idea what the word means, but somehow it made me think of skidamarink, which made me think of the song that I sing to the grandchildren. (My mind works in strange ways.)

 

Skidamarink a dink a dink,

Skidamarink a doo.

I love you!

 

Skidamarink a dink a dink,

Skidamarink a doo.

I love you!

 

I love you in the morning,

And in the afternoon.

I love you in the evening,

And underneath the moon. 

 

Oh, skidamarink a dink a dink a dink,

Skidamarink a doo.

I love you!

Good Enough

The winter storm came and left. However, it left a mess behind.

Image by rawpixel.com

Sunday everything was closed, and based on my social media Monday ended up being about the same. The volunteer money counting Hubby Tony and I do at church the first Monday of the month got cancelled. His standing Monday night meeting moved to Zoom. Some stores never opened; some opened and closed early. From my seat on the couch I watched as the snowplow made several passes down the street. Eventually the street was clear, but no one shoveled the driveway to the underground building garage or the front steps and walkway. 

I called the management company and inquired about the driveway and steps, and learned they would be done that day. Didn't happen.

I was excited when the storm shut everything down, but it only took two days for me to get antsy from enforced confinement. Although Tony and I had plans to go out to eat tonight after breakfast I pulled some ham broth out of the freezer and made a pot of beans. When they were finished it felt good to know that dinner for Wednesday and Thursday night were taken care of.

This morning I received a text from the management company, which indicated they were aware of the lack of shoveling issue and the contractor would be "working diligently" to get driveways and walkways cleared. That didn't happen, but when I saw evidence that one of our neighbors had left the building in his full-sized SUV I wondered if my small SUV's tires could drive through his tracks.

It turns out they could. Tony and I ran a couple of errands, then ended up at the mall to walk. It felt so good to be out of the house. Back at the condo I could go back to concentrating on doing nothing.

Shortly before it was time to think about dinner I thought about calling the restaurant to make sure they were open. Their phone rang and rang. Tony did some research, and on the restaurant's Facebook page  a post said that due to the weather and some planned renovations they were going to be closed until Thursday.

Tony and I talked it over, and decided that beans and cornbread would be good enough.

Five years ago: Late, But Still Right On

Winter Weather Watchfulness

My area, along with a large swath of the middle of the country, is in the middle of a large winter storm. In the St. Louis area that's a mixture of snow and sleet that started last night about bedtime and will finish up by the time I wake up tomorrow.

It's been several years since significant snow has fallen here. The meteorologists have been excitedly hyping this one up for almost a week...what type of precipitation would the area get? How much? When would it start? Social media was full of memes

Hubby Tony and I went to church last night. The streets department was asking people to stay off the roads I had absolutely no reason to leave the house so I did what they said. I slept in, lingered over the newspaper after breakfast, and spent a lot of time reading. Pimento the Foster Cat was annoyed that he got breakfast late, but later in the day was thrilled to have two people around the house to cuddle with.

Mid-afternoon the precipitation temporarily stopped. Although I didn't go outside to verify, it looked like there was about four inches on the ground. The forecasters say that things will start up again, dump a couple more inches, then leave the area. A plow went down our street a couple of times, but so far the condo sidewalks haven't been shoveled. I have nowhere to go, and as all of tomorrow's commitments have been cancelled I plan on enjoying another snow day. 

Five years ago: THERE'S A Chunk Of My Life I Won't Get Back

If It's Good Enough For The Pope....

For the past few days I've contemplated what my word or phrase for 2025 would be. Quite a few positive expressions came to mind, but when I read an article about Pope Francis' Christmas Eve opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica to start a Jubilee Year with the theme of Hope I decided that word epitomized what I wanted for the next year to include. 

 Dictionary.com says that hope is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best". So I will try to find the positive in things, look on the bright side, and practice gratitude. 

A year is a long time to focus on something, so as a reminder to myself, when I put the Christmas decorations away the ornament we brought home in 2020 will continue to be displayed.

Five years ago today: Anyone Else Have The Same Problem?

A Poem To End The Year

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light;

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

 

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind. 

 

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

 

Ring out the want, the care the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,

But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

 

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good. 

 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

 

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

 

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Our collection of vintage brass Christmas bells

Blues, Blacks, And Blends

Before I started taking aqua classes at the YMCA in 2023 I only got in the water once or twice a year. I took good care of my swim suits, and they lasted for years.

Now I take a class once or twice a week. I still take good care of my suits, but in the past two weeks two of them bit the dust. One had a strap torn off in the water extractor. The other had a tear in the material right in the middle of the chest right in the middle of a class. (Fortunately there was a double layer of material there, so no skin was exposed.)

If I wanted to continue taking aqua classes I would need to buy a new suit.

I had no idea of what brands would fit well without trying them on, so buying online wasn't the best option. And since it was off season for swimwear, buying in a store wouldn't be easy. I started by searching websites for stores in the area to see what was available and learned there wasn't much out there unless I wanted to get a pricey resort season suit from Macy's or Dillard's. Just in case the websites were wrong I popped into Target and a couple of off-price stores. No luck.

However, when I asked about swimsuits at Kohl's the associate told me there was a sale rack back by the coat section. There, I waded through suits and pieces of suits that were either way too big or way too small, but at the very end of the rack I found a nice-looking dark blue, aqua, and white print tanktini top in my size.

There was no coordinating bottom piece, but I was pretty sure the dark blue could coordinate well enough with a black bottom to a previous suit that was in the bottom of a dresser drawer.

The piece was there in the drawer, and if I lower my standards enough I think I can get away with it.

Five years ago today: The Bag That Gets Around

For Some People Christmas BEGINS On December 25th!

Ever since Christmas Eve it's been rainy. Today the rain was replaced by gloom but the forecast called for a high temperature in the mid-50s. Time to get outside!

I had two packages to mail and decided to walk them to the post office. It didn't take long for me to realize that the fleece jacket I was wearing was too warm, so I took it off and continued the trip in my shirtsleeves. Eventually I saw someone taking down their Christmas decorations. I get that it's a job better done in nice weather, but that made me sad.

In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic, some Orthodox, and a few Protestant churches the Christmas season starts on Christmas Day and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child on January 6th. (Think of the Twelve Days of Christmas.)

The Journey of the Magi by Stefano di Giovanni

Before Christmas the focus in our church was on the season of Advent. Now we get to see the beautifully decorated sacristy and sing the familiar hymns. It's the only time of the year when I don't need to refer to the hymnal for the words. Following tradition, Hubby Tony and I won't take down our  decorations until more than a week from now.