Is It Dry Yet?

As I sit here this moment, the sun is out and it's a balmy 80 degrees. It's quite the difference from yesterday when it was pouring and rain rates were hitting over 2 inches an hour. Over the past few days area rain totals have exceeded 12 inches. There has been a lot of flooding in various areas, including around the Ft Belvoir area where The Son now works. They closed Rt 1 and the Fairfax County Parkway leaving him little options on how to drive home. After sitting in traffic for about 40 minutes with no movement, he pulled a U turn and went back to work for a few hours. His second attempt at getting home got him lost in the Springfield area, which led to a phone call home. I was able to get him in the right direction and get home - finally.

This is the weekend for the Wye Island Regatta - a 12.5 mile row around Wye Island hosted by the Annapolis Rowing Club. This race has been the kick off race for the head race season for my rowing club for years. It's our novice rowers first introduction to organized racing and what's involved in attending an away regatta (i.e., derigging boats, loading them on a trailer, rerigging them on site ,etc). It's one of my favorite races just because it's so different from anything else we do. For whatever the reason, the club bailed on the race this year. We just couldn't come up with enough men to row a Men's 8+ and we couldn't even get 4 women (our club is like 80% female) to row a mixed 8+. Very disappointing. I hope we can get everyone on board for next year.

I have to fly to the west coast on business on Sunday, September 11. I can't tell you how excited I am to have to be traveling (flying) on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Sometimes the lack of proper planning to avoid this kind of nonsense drives me crazy. To make matters worse, my boss will also be attending the program review. Totally uncalled for to have both of us there. Waste of time and money. This will probably be my last business travel ever. More on that to follow. 9/11 is also my wedding anniversary so Ann is thrilled I won't be home for that. What's the present for year 37 anyway?

Ah The Weather

Nothing like discussing the weather to make for a snoozefest of an entry. I was thinking of writing about the weather as I was walking the dogs at 7:30 this morning. I walked three of our four dogs at the same time to minimize the time I had to spend out side. While we didn't get the snow that those to the east and north of us got, we certainly got the wind and the cold. The cold as propelled by the wind became that stinging, biting cold that hurts your face just to be out in it. It was hard to judge which was producing more liquid - my watering eyes or my running nose. As we walked along I kept repeating my silent mantra to the dogs - "Please go....Please go..." Of course they took their own sweet time about it. By the time we got back home, my cheeks and chin were numb as were my hands. And to think I get it to do it all again tomorrow as the winds will remain and the temperatures will be dipping into the teens. Such fun and what a wonderful vacation time.

First Snow

Today was the first measurable snow we've had since last winter. It snowed about 6 hours and left us with about 3 inches. Not quite Buffalo standards, but enough to cause concern among those who either hate to drive in snow or those that are bad at it. I love watching snow fall. It evokes such a sense of quiet and peace. It doesn't hurt that it snowed so close to Christmas. It fits right in with the spirit of the season. Who knows as cold as it has been, the snow might stick around long enough for us to have a white Christmas. Those are few and far between here in Virginia. Because it started to snow after I was already at work, I was worried about how long the commute home would be. Epic delays are not uncommon around here whenever it snows. Add in the fact that there was only two of us in the vanpool today, I figured I was due to be the driver on the way home. As it turned out, the other guy, much younger then myself, volunteered to drive both ways. That made my day. I promptly fell asleep coming and going leaving the driving to him. As it turned out, the commute home took us about 2 1/2 hours with a stop for gas thrown in. Frankly I thought that was great time given the circumstances. Of course my car was covered in snow when we got to the commuter parking lot where we leave the van. It was a fairly dry snow so it was easy to clear off without getting too much snow all over my shoes. Ann called me on the way from the parking lot to say she had hired two teenagers to clear our driveway and sidewalks so score one for that. Our outside Christmas lights look great glistening from under the fresh coat of snow. It really is looking a lot like Christmas.

Oh Baby It's Cold

As I sit here and write the temperature outside is a chilly 18 degrees. The wind chill is approaching zero. These temperatures may be par for the course for places like Minnesota or upstate New Your, but this is Virginia. It's not suppose to be this cold in December and certainly for not this long. All I can do is groan when I wake up in the morning and ask Ann what the temperature is. "It's 16 and the wind chill is 8" she gleefully intones. "Have fun on your walk". I grumble as I layer up hoping to keep the cold at bay. I harness up the twins and we're out the door. The wind is so cold and it stings my face. My eyes are watering and my nose running. All I want is for the dogs to go so we can get inside. Of course they don't cooperate. They are more interested in the squirrels running around them. So we walk and walk and walk some more. My hands are frozen. Eventually there is success and we quickly retreat to the warmth of the house. I'm in the house long enough to blow my nose and then begin round 2 as I harness up Scruffy and we head back out into the cold. Thankfully Scruffy is a lot more cooperative and we're out and back in a reasonable amount of time. We get to do it again in 4 hours. Spring can't come fast enough.

Ice Dams

The weather report for yesterday called for more snow. 1 to 4 inches. We laugh at that amount these days so harden have we become to snow. In another year that might have sent us into our "Oh my God, snow is coming!" frenzy. No one hardly blinked at the forecast though. It turned out to be a bust, a false alarm and only got a dusting that melted quickly.

We still have over 2 feet of snow on the ground. Not much melting has occurred yet. What little that has, has resulted in ice dams on the roof of the house. Ice totally fills the gutters. This is what the roof line look s at the front of the house.

As you can see, the gutters are completely ice filled and has built up another 3 inches above the gutter line and formed an ice dam.

The ice dams block the melting snow (water) coming off the roof. There is no where for the water to go and this sometimes results in water getting in under the shingles and leaking into the house. Where this is the worse is in the back of the house which has a southern exposure and gets the most sun. Hence more melting. In particular, it seems to be the worse on a small overhang over the kitchen windows. To help ease the problem, I needed to get the snow off this overhang. The trouble is getting to the overhang. Our deck has 2 feet of snow on it. I had to literally shovel my way onto the deck. The one plus is we can now access the grill!

I got our step ladder out and proceeded to remove the snow off the overhang. I limited the snow removal to what I could reach from our deck. There was no way I was actually getting up on our roof and break my neck in the process. I also borrowed the neighbor's step ladder, which was taller then the on I own and that helped a lot. I got most of the snow off and it seemed to help although the gutters are still chock full of ice.

Unfortunately the damage was already done. Leaking has occurred in the kitchen area. It's pretty hideous looking and will require some patching and a few coats of ceiling paint to repair it all.

We're holding our breath hoping we don't get leaking in other areas of the house as it would be impossible to get on the roof (although professionals have been cruising the neighborhood offer to do it at, I'm sure, a premium price) to get the snow off and thereby getting rid of the source of the leaking water. Send some good thoughts our way.

More of the Same

On the heels of the 22 inches of snow we received over the weekend, we have gotten another 6 inches of snow here Tuesday night into Wednesday. I started today's shoveling fun around 9:00 AM and finished around noon. The snow this time was a lot lighter and fluffier then the weekend snow so the shoveling went a lot faster (not to mention shoveling 6 inches is a lot easier then 22 inches). This is my driveway after about 15 minutes of shoveling.

The new snow provided a soft cover to the snow already on the ground and bushes.

With so much snow on the roof and the gutters clogged with snow, icicles are growing everywhere like stalactites in caves.

After about 2 hours of shoveling the driveway was complete. A plow hasn't been around yet so we won't be going anywhere today. Note that I have to shovel about 10 to 15 yards out onto the road to where the road had been plowed over the weekend.

Our road and no plow in sight.

No mail either, but at least the mailbox is accessible.

Another icicle growing off the roof in the back. That will take forever to melt.

Welcome to My Blizzard

You might have heard about the little snowstorm the Washington DC area went through over the weekend. The amount varied upon where you were, but in my neck of the woods we got about 22 inches of the white stuff. It started out innocently enough on Friday about 10:00 AM. At first it didn't stick to the roads as the temperature hung around the freezing mark. It did stick right away to the other surfaces though - like my deck.

As the evening approached, the snow started to stick to the road, sidewalks and driveways. Note along the side of the driveway, snow left over from Wednesday's storm.

The heaviest snow came in Friday night into Saturday morning. Snowing up to 2 or 3 inches an hour. Something unheard of in these parts. A classic northeaster with moisture being drawn up from the Gulf and then off the Atlantic. It snowed all day Saturday finally stopping around 8:00 PM. This what my drive way looked around 1:00 PM Saturday.

And this how the house looked from the snow covered street about the same time on Saturday. I shoveled about 2 hours as it snowed with not much to show for it other then a pile of snow by the basketball pole.

By Saturday mid-day, my deck also had a lot more snow on it.

This is what greeted me as I went out to shovel the driveway on Sunday morning. It had snowed another 3 inches from Saturday mid-day until it finally stopped.

Much shoveling ensued. As the day progressed more and more neighbors joined the fray. After about 4 hours of shoveling, the driveway was almost cleared.

We also cleared one snow shovel width of the sidewalk. One of our teenage neighbors helped us with the sidewalk.

With the help of our next door neighbors and another neighbor with a snowblower who dealt with the packed snow at the end of our driveway that a plow had packed in, the driveway was finally cleared. Success!

A plow came through today (Monday), but didn't clear more then the one lane already plowed. The streets are still a mess. The good news - we're getting another 8 to 10 inches tomorrow and Wednesday. Look at the driveway - where will I put the snow to come? Those piles are already 5 feet tall. Heaven help us all.

When Did I Move to Buffalo?

Since when did northern Virginia become Buffalo. So far we've gotten as much snow this year as in the last three years combined and it's still only the first week of February. We had the big storm in December where we got between 16 and 20 inches of snow. A season's worth for us. We got 6 inches of fluffy light snow last weekend and another 5 inches of the heavier traditional Virginia wet snow Tuesday night. Now come this weekend we are being told to expect between 16 and 24 inches of snow and near blizzard conditions. That could mean upward of 35 inches of snow in one week. That's three feet of snow people! To make matters even worse, they are predicting another storm for Monday night into Tuesday that could bring us another 12 inches of snow. Virginia is not Buffalo. We don't get lake effect snow. We're a mid-Atlantic state. We have moderate temperatures and precipitation. The closest ski areas are a good two hours drive away and they make most their snow because this region doesn't get enough natural snow. This makes no sense what so ever. At best we might get one good storm a winter season. Come tomorrow (Friday) I will do what every good Virginian does in the face of a storm - run to the grocery store and buy as much milk, bread and toilet paper as I can.

The Pain and the Blood

I had planned to talk about our second snowstorm of the winter that rolled through on Saturday. I had planned to rant about how our street never got plowed. I was going to describe how dry, light and fluffy the snow was making it so easy to shovel. But yesterday I had a follow-up eye exam that turned out to be pretty horrific so screw the snow. I have been seeing a specialist for my eyes as I have eyelashes (a few) that tend to grow backward toward my eye and the points scratch the corneas. After plucking the offending lashes for about a year, my regular optometrist recommended that I get them permanently removed. However, over the past few months, my eyes have been such a mess (very irritated, swollen and red), she has put it off and has been trying to get my eyes in a somewhat decent shape. I guess yesterday she finally decided that my eyes were ok enough. They did feel better I have to admit. Certainly the swelling was down and they felt ok. So yesterday it was decided to do "the procedure". I assumed they would be burned off, in some fashion, which in fact they were. But first - first-they had to numb the area around my eyes so I wouldn't feel the burning. The way they numb the area? Shots in your lower eyelid. OMG the pain! She injected the numbing agent in three separate stabs (and stabs they were) in each lower eyelid. I could feel the needle enter a good 1/4 inch and stay for the few seconds it took to dispense the medicine. Man did that hurt. After the first eye, I was really dreading the second eye. I think the anticipation added to my discomfort. Also, after the shots were administered in the first eye, she advised me to dab my eye with the Kleenex her assistant had handed me. I figured it was to get the tears out my eyes, but lo, when I looked at the Kleenex after dabbing my eye, was a Kleenex covered in blood. OMG, the blood - the blood! I looked like I was bleeding out. Repeat with the second eye. More pain and lots more blood. Finally the blood flow was stemmed somewhat and we got to the procedure itself. It's always comforting when the Doctor tells you not to move since she was using a very sharp object and she would hate to poke me in the eye with it. She had her assistant hold my head tight to the device I had mashed my head up against. The actual procedure was, after all that, pretty unremarkable. She did in fact burn them and then pluck them out showing each to the assistant and remarking see how the follicle came with the lash? I certainly didn't feel anything, at least in my eye. I did feel a good deal of heat at my chin, which I thought was a bit weird. Five offending eyelashes met their doom - three from my right eye and two from my left. Afterward my doctor told me I could apply ice to my eyes to reduce the swelling, which didn't sound good. I could imagine two black eyes swollen shut as the day wore on. Looking like I just gone several rounds with someone who had pounded the crap out of my face. Fortunately, my eyes never did swell much and no black eyes. Today my eyes actually feel better then usual so maybe we're headed down the right road. I'd love to get back into my contacts again. I go back in 6 weeks for a follow-up. Lord I hope she doesn't discover anymore rouge lashes.

Oh Baby It's Cold Outside

Today dawned bright and sunny and very, very cold. The temperature was only 17, which is Arctic conditions around here. Of course, The Son had called the day before to say his heat had gone off - again. We arranged to have a repairman come by this morning. That meant I had to hustle down there, my work laptop in tow since it was a work at home day, and wait for his arrival. We had lent The Son a space heater from the last time and it really does a good job at keeping the place tolerable. Anyway, I got my laptop plugged into his Internet gateway and worked away. The repairman showed up around 930 so I didn't have to wait all that long. Turned out his pilot light had gone out (The Son has gas heat). The repairman was there all of about 15 minutes and the heat was on and running and I was $130 poorer or The Son will be when he pays me back. He did show me how to relight the pilot in case it happens again. A good thing to know.

The forecast is calling for snow tomorrow. We're suppose to be on the northern edge of it so we won't get as much as southern Virginia, but we might still get upwards of 4 inches. That forecast should be enough to clean the stores of milk, bread and toilet paper. They keep changing the forecast and expected accumulation amounts. I guess I'll need to watch the weather reports later tonight to get the latest. Sounds like a good weekend to have a fire.

Went to the Dermatologist on Tuesday. No weird looking moles or anything so I guess I'm good for another year. Eyes are also feeling better. I do a follow up on them on Monday. Good part about that is that it's another work at home day. Yea!

Cold = Money

With the arrival of our electric bill, I can say without reservation that it really has been cold here. We've only reached 40 twice in the past 30 days. It all came home to roost when the bill arrived and the cost of said bill was double what I normally pay. Granted it wasn't all the cold, but its a large part of it. I have an all electric house and for the most part that's fine. For heat and air conditioning we have a heat pump. For our climate (northern Virginia) it's mostly all we need, but when it's cold and cold for a long time, the heat pump loses all its economic advantages. Below 30 degrees, heat pumps don't work that well in heating the house and it will run and run and run some more. If it is really cold, the auxiliary heat will keep kicking in, which equals a lot more money. Actually I can't blame the huge bill solely on the cold. We did have house guests for Christmas (aka: the kids). That means more lights on, the TV is on longer, the dishwasher is run more frequently and more hot showers are taken. It's my understanding that hot waters heaters are the main contributor to electric bills. And last but not least we have my Clark Griswold light display inside and out. It is suppose to warm up this weekend, the kids have gone home and the lights are down ( some of them, but at least no longer turned on) so hopefully, the electric bill will return to normal next month.

As The Son likes to remind us, we get into a rut when it comes to our meals. We tend to eat the same things again and again. Take Wednesdays, that is my night to cook during the week. I'm working from home and Ann is down in southern Maryland for the day so it makes sense. Most Wednesday we have been having pork chops. I've been just preparing them with Shake n Bake. It's easy and Ann and I like it. The Son hates it and has taken to skipping Wednesday dinners as a result. In order to expand on the repertoire a bit, while still having pork chops, I did prepare them a different way last night. I used this recipe to make cider glazed grilled pork chops. They turned out really well and the glaze was sweet and good. A big plus given my limited culinary skills, it was easy to make. Definitely a keeper. The Son still skipped dinner.

Final Day of Freedom

The house is once again quiet. The kids have scattered back to their homes leaving this house seeming vacant and cold. It was nice having everyone here if only for a day or two (Daughter#2) or for most of the week (Daughter#1). It's hard to say when everyone will be together again, which makes these moments all the more precious.

In seeing Daughter#1 and her husband off this morning, it was quite the shock helping them load up their car. The temperature was in the midteens and the wind chill down to 5. That is really cold for around here and quite unpleasant I might add. Definitely a day for staying indoors. the wind has been blowing hard since yesterday sounding like the proverbial train you are suppose to hear before a tornado hits. The gusts have hit 35 mph. It's not suppose to get any warmer anytime soon. I just hope they keep the heat up in the vanpool tomorrow. Sitting in the back can get mighty frigid if they chose to be dicks about it.

Today (hopefully) marked the end of painting down at The Son's condo. We did some touch up painting and put the curtains back up. It actually looks quite nice. I hope he enjoys it. He was funny today in that he couldn't get rid of us fast enough. Seems he had some big "event" scheduled for 4:00 in Final Fantasy. Can't mess with his gaming don't you know. Well whatever keeps him out of trouble.

Back to the grind tomorrow. Ugh! The thought of getting up at 3:30 sounds like sheer torture after two weeks of getting up pretty much when i wanted to. Retirement is looking better all the time.

Shoveling Fool

Today's entry will be short and sweet with a few pictures thrown to help tell the story. Today I spent most of my day trying to dig out of 20+ inches of snow. I shoveled two hours in the morning, broke for lunch and shoveled two more hours in the afternoon and for that I got the driveway cleared. I still have to do the sidewalks and our front porch so I envision another 2 plus hours tomorrow.

Lets recap. This was yesterday:

First thing this morning Ann carried our dog Rosie out to the road for a walk as the snow was too deep for her (Rosie) to make it on her own. Ann's foot prints are along our driveway, not yet cleared.

After four hours of shoveling, our driveway now looks like this. I just know the plows will be around tonight and block the end of the driveway again.

Between the before and after, there was a lot of this:

After I was done, we let Rosie trot down the driveway. As you might guess, it's still pretty slippery, but basically she approved of it enough to do her business. Success comes packaged many different ways.

Now I'm off for a long winter's nap.

Welcome to My Blizzard

I'm sure most people have heard that the eastern US is getting hit with a major snowstorm. Living in the Washington DC area, I think we got the worst of it. Just over 24 inches of the white stuff. That's almost unheard of around here. Its probably been over 20 years since we had a storm like this. While its pretty to look at, especially when the outside Christmas lights came on at dusk and it made the bushes look like they were covered in cotton, I dread shoveling it tomorrow. There was no sense in trying to shovel today what with it snowing so hard and the strong winds. It would have been a struggle I couldn't win. So what did it look like? This is a picture of our deck about 10:00AM this morning. There was about 8 inches then.

Looking across the street during the height of the storm. Its about noon.

Another picture of our deck about 1:00 PM.

Although you can't really tell from this picture, it's still snowing out and another 4 to 6 inches still to come.

Another shot from the road in front of our house. I loved the way the snow clung to the trees.

The snow nearly buried our bushes.

I'm sure tomorrow's entry will be about how tired and sore I am from shoveling unless our neighbor a house or two down decides to clear everyone's driveway with his snow blower. Hoping!

Let It Snow!

Right now we are under a Winter Storm Warning. Predictions range from 10 to 22 inches depending where you live. While people in Buffalo would take such things in stride, here in northern Virginia, its blizzard conditions to us. We're fascinated by snow. Sure we get some every winter, but is usually small amounts which melt within a day or two. This much snow is a novelty to us. We haven't had a big storm in several years now so we're long overdue. The fact that it is coming on a Friday night after rush hour has quelled the panic somewhat. No morning commutes to fret about. Still Virginians have done their usual grocery store rush to buy mass quantities of bread. milk and toilet paper. The three necessities, apparently, if you're going to be cooped up for a day or two. The snow started about 8:00 tonight and is suppose to continue into Sunday morning. It will compliment the feel of Christmas and look dazzling under every one's lights. Not so good for the merchants who were hoping for a big Saturday and Sunday full of Shoppers rushing to finish their shopping. I can hardly wait to see what our world will look like come tomorrow morning under a blanket of white. Maybe the snow will be still around for Christmas.

Our meeting on the west coast actually ended on time and I was able to switch flights to catch the red eye home. This time we had a wide body 767 instead of the flying tube of a 757. Still the plane was filled to capacity. Every single seat filled. I managed an aisle seat so that wasn't to bad. It was full enough that they were telling the people that were the last to board to forget about overhead bin space and made them check their bags. They didn't look to happy about that, but frankly it would have been chaos and long waits if they didn't do that. Those people would have been opening every bin looking for a space, blocking the aisles and making a nuisance of themselves. At least United didn't make them pay. When I fly, I like to listen to the ATC calls. I heard our flight transferred to Albuquerque, fell asleep in time to hear us transferred to Washing Control. Somehow listening to the co-pilot tell the Air Traffic Controllers "Ta-Ta" as they were handed off as somewhat amusing. Not something they teach in pilot school, I'm sure. I'm glad I manged to switch flights, otherwise I'm not sure I would have gotten home on time or at all. Probably diverted somewhere else due to the snow or the flight cancelled. What fun that would have been. Instead I can relax, lean back and enjoy the beauty of it all.

Over The Dam - Almost

The Occoquan is my home water. It's where I row. Its a river and it is also a reservoir. No one really calls it the Occoquan river or calls it the Occoquan Reservoir. It's just called The Occoquan. Occoquan is derived from the Dogue Indian word meaning "the end of the water". It's the main source for drinking water for northern Virginia along with the Potomac River. In order to increase the amount of available water, the river is damed. The dam is located just above the historic town of Occoquan. Because of the dam, the Occoquan is pretty benign. No rapids and no real current to speak of - with one exception - when the water level is such that water is going over the dam. Like now. The flag pole at Sandy Run will display a purple flag when the water is going over the dam. A warning not to go to get to close to the dam. Besides the flag warning, there are also warning buoys as you approach the dam. The dam deserves your respect. Its a 75 foot drop if you don't. I've never gotten that close to the dam in a single. I usually head up river away from the dam. When I'm in an 8 or 4, we'll often travel down in the vicinity of the dam as the Occoquan racecourse is down by the dam. However in truth, during the summer, water is rarely flowing over the dam and therefore doesn't pose a danger.

We had a dry winter and early spring. We were 4 to 6 inches below normal. We've made that up and more here in late April, May and early June. The water level is very high at the moment and the water is pouring over the top of the dam. Truly a scenario to stay away from the dam. Apparently not everyone pays attention to water conditions. Two fishermen had to be rescued by helicopter when their boat lost engine power and the boat drifted toward the dam. Both fishermen leaped from the boat right as it went over the dam and they were holding on to a pole/uprooted tree for dear life. They were two lucky dudes. You can here/see the video of the rescue here:

http://www.wusa9.com/rss/local_article.aspx?storyid=86645

Live and learn.

Be Careful What You Ask For

I've been bad mouthing Winter most of the season. No White Christmas. No snow all year really. Just unseasonably cold weather. Now that March is upon us, I'm looking forward to warmer weather. The beginning of Spring. Being able to get out on the water. And what do I get? Six inches of the white stuff. Very pretty and a dry fluffy snow. Not the wet heavy stuff we normally get. I didn't brave the snow covered roads as my work location was due to get more snow than where I live. Ann called the vanpool and said "See you tomorrow suckers" and we went back to sleep for another 2 hours. The snow ended about 930 and is seriously melting although the temperatures are still in the 20s. We also had an unknown good Samaritan come by and shovel out our driveway for us. I think its the next door neighbor, but its weird we wouldn't have heard the shoveling. He's due a bottle of wine for his efforts. In return, I helped my neighbor on the other sides clear their sidewalks and driveway. Good neighborhood karma all around. Here's what it looked like looking out our garage this morning:

Looking down our driveway, you can see where someone came by and made an effort to clean our driveway. I still can't believe we didn't hear them. Maybe we need to turn down the TV in the morning.

We also had some visitors last week before it snowed. We've always had a few deer wandering around in the woods behind out house, but never this many in one spot out on the road. Pretty to watch.

Not much going on here over the weekend. I did manage to erg on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Now if I could just make myself do one session during the week. Besides erging, most of the weekend was spent either watching movies (Ghost Town and 27 Dresses) or college basketball. March Madness is almost upon us.

Post Inauguration Post

For someone whose sole day into the office is today, I have very little to write about. Granted I have been working from home, but still. Our city is still in the thralls of its inauguration bliss. All those people. All those smiles. All the cheering. The parade finishing in the dark. The ridiculousness that is Inaugural Balls and the endless chatter about what Michelle would wear. Do people really care that much? Those millions of people are making their way home although US Airways seems not to be helping that much with their massive screw up at National Airport. Their excuse? Too much luggage. Pretty weak.

I don't actually get into the city very much considering I live than 25 miles away and have a variety of options to get there - car, train and bus. Tomorrow, however I will be going downtown to see my Dermatologist for my annual exam. For those of us that are fair skinned and who use to let themselves routinely get sunburned, sometimes badly, on an annual basis growing up, such exams are a necessity. I have had a few suspicious looking spots surgically removed, but on the whole I've done pretty well. Daughter#1 had some removed right before the holidays so I know she's regretting those Sumner vacations at Cocoa Beach where she fried herself in the name of a good tan.

Next week I will be leaving the cold of the mid-Atlantic and heading to sunny California for a week. It's a business trip and most of my time will be spent cooped up in a conference room listening to endless Power Point presentations. Lets hope they have donuts.

Speaking of the cold, our temperatures have been averaging below normal for weeks now. Not only that, but we've received no snow. Zero. Zippy. Nada. Raleigh got 6 inches this week for heavens sake. Where is the justice? Our intrepid weatherman here showed a satellite picture recently and our area is surrounded by snow cover. North, West and South and we're in the middle - this big ugly brown spot. It will probably snow when I'm on the west coast and be melted by the time I return.

The soap opera that is The Son's condo continues. The "leak" complaint is back from his downstairs neighbor. I suppose the complaint is real enough, but the leak isn't on The Son's living level, rather it's somewhere between the floors. The way the Condo Association's by-laws are written, who is responsible for the leak is depending on where the leak is. Right now The Son is dealing with the neighbor and the Condo Association on the matter. His position and rightfully so I think, is until the downstairs neighbor opens up their ceiling to see where the leak is coming from, The Son is not responsible. He was suppose to talk to the Condo Association on how this has been handled in the past. If it's not one thing, it's another.

First Snow

There is nothing that says Christmas more than a good snow. We received our first snow of the season today even if it wasn't more than just a light dusting. There is something magical watching it fall. The way everything becomes so quiet and peaceful. Watching it accumulate on the bushes already hosting the lights of the season creates quite the winter wonderland. Living in Virginia, just south of our nation's capital, we don't get a lot of snow so we tend to overreact a bit when we do receive some. I could hear some of the neighborhood kids down the street running around in their excitement that it was snowing. I'm sure they tried, without much success, to put together some snowballs and snowmen. We haven't had a major storm in a few years now and we are way overdue. How much chaos would it be to have a major storm hit during the inauguration? The city would be paralyzed for days. Its also been years since we've had a white Christmas. I can remember only a few my whole lifetime and just one where it snowed on Christmas eve. I was maybe 10 or 12 and living in northern NJ. That still remains with me as one of my fondest Christmas memories. We have a black and white picture of my Uncle and Grandparents in our driveway making their way to our door through the snow with Christmas presents in hand. By we, I mean my Dad. I'm sure it sits long forgotten in some box of pictures in his attic or garage down in Florida, but I remember it clearly. Since this year we have the girls and their respective husband and husband to be for Christmas, how nice if they could have a snowy memory like mine to save in their heart for a lifetime? Merry Christmas!

It's Cold!

Northern Virginia is in the middle of a bit of a cold spell and I don't like it. It barely made it to 40 today before dropping again into the 30s in the afternoon. They say it will be a colder winter than normal, We're also way overdue for a major snowstorm. I can't wait for summer to return.

Much like Kelly, I have started playing Christmas music. Not everyday or all the time, but occasionally. I enjoy it and don't feel that I should have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to hear it. Back in the day when you could illegally swap music without the music industry slapping a lawsuit on you, I downloaded some of my favorite songs and made a CD or two for myself. I have since made copies for the Daughters, but not for The Son because he has long since lost the ability to hear the bell (see the movie Polar Express for an explanation). Besides my own CD, I have a many many other Christmas CDs by various artists. Every year I check out Amazon's list of Christmas music to see if there is something new I might enjoy. I tend to be more of a traditionalist when it comes to such music because, frankly, pop artists usually make crappy Christmas music.

Tomorrow Ann and I will head out to shop for the various goodies that will make up our Thanksgiving dinner. It's not our year to have Daughter#2 and The Son In Law for Thanksgiving since they will be with his parents, We will have them for Christmas. Daughter#1 has also decided to stay in Connecticut for the holiday. She and the fiance will come down for Christmas. The Son will be dropping by for dinner, as will my Uncle and his wife, his grown son and his wife. They're bringing desert. We do a pretty traditional Thanksgiving - turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce and rolls. A bottle of wine or two (this year Hokie White). Ann is a wreck until the turkey is safely cooking in the oven. I get to do all the peeling for the potatoes and apples. I also try to sneak in a viewing of Miracle on 34th Street. After all the movie does start on Thanksgiving Day. The best part - leftovers.