See-saw Va. weather

Well, after the deep freeze last week, mother nature took a detour--a 30+ degree detour. Last week the temperatures barely got out of the teens  Yesterday, January 29 the thermometer in my garage nearly popped it's top as temperature soared to 75 degrees!

I remember reading once that there is a phenomenon called the "January thaw", which acts as a sort of reprieve from cold weather in order to give everyone time to gear up for the next cold snap. Well, I don't know about the "thaw" but in a few days Mr. groundhog Phil will make his prediction.

Personally I think that the mother we call nature is sleeping on the job.  Maybe she needs new glasses.  Maybe she needs a 2013 calendar.  Whatever the case may be, 75 degrees in January (except in Florida) shouldn't occur. 

75 degrees again today.  I toss my coat in the back of the closet. All those warm weather lovers (and I am beginning to think they are in the majority) can't stop jumping up and down as they unpack their swim suits.  All I can say is hold your horses....I think mother is waking up and dialing down the temps.  Tomorrow is going to be in the 30's.  And I hear she has been in conference with Phil. 

2013 Virginia snowman

So the forecasters blew it again.  They predicted a couple of inches of snow on Friday night and all we got was a dusting. Alas, not enough to build a normal sized snowman, but hey it's Virginia and snowman around here are usually pigmy sized.

So I present for your viewing pleasure my 2013 Virginia snowman.  

No go Snow

After one full week of rain-- the weatherman predicted SNOW. 

Now I’ll admit I’m not a fan of rain.  It’s gray and dreary, messy and dark.  Snow on the other hand gives the world an ethereal quality, a white purity that brightens the dead of winter.  I mean, we’ve all heard of snow blindness, but whoever heard of rain blindness?  And besides, snow is fun, ask any kid.

I don’t know anyone who wants a blizzard, but the 4 inches promised (at 100% mind you) would be just super.  We could build snowmen, have snow ball fights and go sledding.  We could watch movies on television and play video games without guilt.  We could use that shovel we bought two years ago-- and after we shovel the driveways of every senior within a three-mile radius, we could come inside and drink hot cocoa, satisfied.  And then we can get on each other’s nerves.  We can wonder, since the roads in our line of vision are clear, when school will resume. We can long for pizza delivery--anything delivered and eaten on paper plates. And if we are lucky enough to get out we can go to the store and discover that there is no milk or bread, like-- um, anywhere.

I am a bit bummed to report that the weatherman (he’s not batting too high these days) was wrong again.  When I awoke this morning instead of a blanket of white, I just saw wet pavement.  But wait, can it be?  Yes it can… it’s been so long I almost didn’t recognize it.  Here comes THE SUN!

The sun is a kind of consolation prize but I was so looking forward to playing in the white stuff. It looks like the only snowman I will be building will be two inches high and created with ice cubes ground up in a blender.  

Happy (positive) New Year

I don’t usually believe is making New Year’s resolutions.  I mean we should resolve to do something positive every day of our lives not once a year while recovering from a hangover.

Anyway this year I decided that I would actually make a group of resolutions, simply because January 1 is the first day of the year and I can’t think of a better time to start.  And what you may ask are these monumental changes I want to implement?

I resolve to wake up happy every day.  I resolve to be positive.  I resolve to look at the negative things and find positive hidden inside.  I resolve to bring joy and comfort wherever it is most needed.  I resolve to make this tiny piece of earth that I inhabit a better place because I was there.

When I was little my mother’s favorite book, the one she kept beside her bed, was “The power of positive thinking.” By Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.  At the time I just thought it was some lame and boring piece of literature. 

I’m not saying that one little book made the difference in my mother’s life, but I know that my mother never gave up on anything.  She always kept a positive attitude even during the most trying time in her life.

So to the start the year off right, I have compiled a group of quotations by Norman Vincent Peale so that you too, can resolve to be positive this year and every year to come.

“When you get up in the morning, you have two choices - either to be happy or to be unhappy. Just choose to be happy”

― Norman Vincent Peale

“It's always to soon to quit!”

― Norman Vincent Peale

“Remember that "Help us grow this grass" is a far more effective sign than "Keep off the grass".”

― Norman Vincent Peale

“Live your life and forget your age.”

― Norman Vincent Peale

“Imagination is the true magic carpet.”

― Norman Vincent Peale

“People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.”

― Norman Vincent Peale

“Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast." ~”

― Norman Vincent Peale

Happy, Positive, New Year

Got Black-eyed peas?

Superstitions abound on New Year’s Day.  In my family I always make a big pot of Black-eyed peas with tomatoes and rice for luck, but why are they lucky? 

Well, in the south the story goes that when Sherman’s troops raided the south they took everything but the black-eyed peas, which they considered animal food.  So the southerners made it through the winter on black-eyed peas.  They were lucky and they credited the black-eyed peas.

Since I grew up in the south, that theory works for me, but my parents from whom I got this superstition were northerners and their parents came from Greece so none of my ancestors were around when the Southerners were eating those peas. 

Another tradition for New Year’s Day is the Greek New Year’s bread/cake.  Hidden inside this sweet bread is a coin--a dime when we were kids, but with inflation now it’s probably a quarter.  Whoever got the coin, got the luck.  My brothers always got the coin…and the luck.

Another superstition, (and I don’t know where this came from) is that a man has to be the first visitor on New Year’s Day.  My grandmother would not open the door unless it was a man on that day.  My mother always a rule breaker, made my brothers go outside and come back in just to be safe.  They weren’t men but hey they had that Y Chromosome so it worked for her. 

So just to be safe I guess I will go soak those dried black-eyed peas now. I mean why push my luck right?

What about you, what do you do for New Year’s Day?

Merry Christmas to all

Not to sound like a complainer, but this Christmas season has been the pits.  

After our trip to Florida for three days to visit relatives we came back to our 55-gallon fish tank leaking. We cleaned up the mess and then (See previous post) we went out a bought a 37-gallon fish tank to transfer the fish, which were biding their time in an interim tank. Hey, it happens, after all the fish tank was 25 years old.

Then the dryer broke.  Honestly I haven’t used a clothesline in years.  In fact I haven’t even seen one since I visited Amish country several years ago.  So, we went out and bought a new dryer.  Hey, it happens after all, the dryer was 12 years old.

So yesterday my husband worked all day fixing the new tank and transferred the fish from the interim tank, and then he went Christmas shopping. I figured I would take a nice hot shower.  As I relished the steamy warmth, I heard a loud noise.  I shrugged it off as a figment of my overactive imagination.  When I came downstairs…the new fish tank had burst.  All 37 gallons of water was seeping into the carpet where the fish (sadly) lay dead.

 

A fine crack that was already in the tank had worked its way all across and the pressure of the water pushed everything out. I can only imagine the speed with which it exploded.

HEY, that shouldn’t happen the tank was only several hours old!!! 

Honestly I do write fiction, but I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to.  Part of me just wanted to say—“Christmas is canceled”, but the rest of me wasn’t going down without a fight.  I grabbed my umbrella, (37 gallons of water makes an umbrella a necessity) and got to moving all the storage items that were stored in the very, very damp basement to a dry area. We are, however, done with fish tanks.  Judging from the recent events I think that the universe is trying to send us a message. 

So on Christmas Eve, we took the defective tank back to the pet store.  and I sat in wait for the delivery of my new dryer.  At least I won’t have to string a clothesline.  The turkey is in the oven, and the standing rib roast is standing at the ready.  Soon I will have a ton of people over and I will celebrate Christmas.  I always say that good things come from bad.  Good thing number one is that I will HAVE to go through boxes of stuff that have been in my basement for years gathering dust.  I’ll take the junk to the dump and the good stuff to Goodwill.  I also got a cool new dryer, and I’ll get a new rug for my office. Because no matter what problems I have, I still feel as if I am the most blessed woman on earth, and yes I will have a Merry Christmas and I hope you all have the best Christmas ever!

Merry Christmas and a (dry) and Happy New Year!

Go fish

Water, water everywhere

I am starting to believe that Murphy must be a distant relative of mine. You know Murphy, the guy from Murphy’s Law, which states that if anything can go wrong it will.  I won’t attempt to research the actual Murphy associated with this law because there are many opinions and many stories.  Let’s just say that whoever he is, he must be a relative of mine.

After spending three days visiting relatives in Florida with the usual minor irritations like late flights and Floridian flu, we started our return trip simply enough, although arriving back during Washington D.C. rush hour was a poorly planned decision.  2 ½” hours later, we walked in the door ready to hit the hay.  The only problem was that the hay in this case, was in a sense, under water. 

Our 55-gallon fish tank had, while we were traveling, sprung a pretty good leak.  Ever had your feet squish as you walk? (50 or so gallons of water will do that) Ever had to rush around trying to find someone with a spare fish tank to save the underwater creatures that were soon to become land animals?  Ever had it rain in your basement, when it’s not raining outside?

After several hours, wet vacs and fish transfers, we survived, albeit a little worse for wear.  The fish swam in an interim habitat.  We slept. 

The next day, I purchased my husband’s 2012 Christmas present…a new fish tank and stand. (The old stand and tank now reside at the county dump)

Just like the Aesop’s fables there is a moral to this story. 

Never, ever put your faith in a 25 year old fish tank filled with 55 gallons of water because…

You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it.

~ W. C. Fields

This Christmas--Color me happy

Last night I watched one of my favorite Christmas movies, “Miracle on 34^th Street”…again.  I say again because I have probably watched it every year since I could sit in front of a TV.  This time I watched it colorized.  I hope you all refrain from the preaching, I know you purists are gritting your collective teeth. It’s a 1947 black and white classic, oh no, not color!

Let me say that the color was amazing.  I know that it takes a lot of work to colorize a film.  Artists have to add the color frame by frame. It’s time intensive and probably very expensive.  To me (and I know many won’t be with me on this) it is just way more satisfying to see Santa in a red and white suit instead of shades of gray.

In 1947, adding color to a movie was way too expensive to stay within the budget.  So they filmed in black and white.  After all, most people back then only had black and white TV sets, if they had any at all.

Jump forward to the world of today.  There are 3-D TV’s, high definition, and screens so big that they almost belong in a theater. No modern kid will ever sit down and watch a black and white movie no matter how awesome it is because they wouldn’t give it a chance.  So would we rather be stubborn about it and keep the movies in their original black and white condition or use modern technology to enhance them for future generations?

Times have changed.  Walkman’s were better than transistor radios. (Remember them)  CD’s were better than record players.  IPods are better than CD’S.  And color is better (in some cases) than black and white.  When it comes to the old Christmas movies, colorization is like a gift from Kris Kringle--wink wink.

Hmmm, “I believe, I will go watch “It’s a wonderful life.”  Colorized of course.

Holiday Word (War) Games?

Frostina the snowgirl

heir·loom 

1.

a family possession handed down from generation to generation.

2.

Law. property neither personal nor real that descends to the heir of an estate as part of the real property.

Why the dictionary introduction?  Well, let me explain. At a party the other night, just for fun, we were asked to unscramble a group of words relating to Christmas.  One of the words was heirloom.  A discussion ensued on whether heirloom actually had any relevance to Christmas.  On researching this debate, I discovered that….

To some people (although not those in tropical climates) snow would be a Christmas word—sleet although technically similar, not so much.

To some, hot cocoa could be Christmassy although probably not to Starbucks.

Carol the song…yup that screams Christmas.  Carol Burnette—nope, not unless she’s wearing a red hat with a white pom pom and yelling “Ho, Ho, Ho.

Before 1949 Rudolph was just a Latin lover in the movies named Valentino.  Nowadays ask anyone, and they will tell you he is a reindeer.  And by the way what do reindeer have to do with Christmas? Until the 1823 poem “A visit from St. Nicholas.” No one ever heard of a reindeer at Christmas.

Just try and list cow or sheep as a Christmas word and most people will be scratching their heads.  Try setting up a nativity with a reindeer instead of the above-mentioned livestock; however, and…well you get the picture.

So what have I discovered about Christmas words?  Just like art (you knew I would somehow fit that in didn’t you?) Some like Picasso…whereas others like Da Vinci. So it’s all pretty much relative.

Going back to the word--heirloom.  There are heirloom ornaments and there are heirloom tomatoes. Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable?  Scientifically speaking tomatoes are a fruit, where cooking is concerned they are a vegetable...

Hmmmmm….I think we have reached an

m·passe [im-pas, im-pas]

noun

1.

A position or situation from which there is no escape; deadlock.

2.

A road or way that has no outlet; cul-de-sac.

Christmas is coming; the goose (from too many cookies) is getting fat

Last weekend we visited Christmas town at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. After seeing all the hundreds of thousands of lights twinkling everywhere one looked, I will never again complain about the three strands in my dining room that refuse to cooperate. 

When I was a kid Santa’s were usually heavyset guys with a barely attached fake beard who smelled like garlic and sometimes whiskey.  We still believed.  Gullible and innocent as we were, my parents told us that even though it wasn’t the big guy, it was a look-alike helper. 

Now I find that Santa’s almost everywhere are real!  I’m an adult and I believe.  Do you think it’s because kids these day are a little smarter than we were?

As we traveled the much-lighted pathways we soon found ourselves at the Fest House.  Yes, fest house, where they sang almost all of the carols I’ve ever heard.  I admit it I joined in even off key I couldn’t damage the mood. 

The highlight came as my husband tried to scale Mt. Chocolate (cake).  He didn’t want the world to see him eat this gargantuan confection so I edited him out, trust me--- the cake was as big as his head.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday as much as I am.

I got lucky and won a gorgeous Santa from Maddy at Santa and the Mrs.. Check out her awesome blog! I love, love, love him and I believe.