No, today I'm not talking about the ones that Congress foists off on us all the time...I'm talking about the one that's headed our way from the west.
Yes, a mighty winter storm has dumped 42 inches of snow on Alpine Meadows, California, near Lake Tahoe, and a foot of snow was forecast to fall in parts of Iowa and in Minneapolis. That's a lot of snow. In Chicago, more than 300 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport, which is a good reason to fly via Atlanta and other southern airports during the winter.
Yep, winter's on the way.
Yesterday, Amanda put up a clever post that reminded us here in the northern hemisphere that the Christmas season is in the middle of summer in Australia...she notes that "I'm used to watching movies on TV and listening to Christmas songs about snow, warm fires and the cold while sweating in my tank tops," and included an Australian version of "Jingle Bells." Check it out.
I had the Warm Christmas experience many years ago when I was living in Shreveport, Louisiana - there were years when we sat in the front yard in shorts and t-shirts on Christmas Eve...and somehow it just didn't seem right. That was also the place where the local kids scammed newcomers by selling us big bunches of mistletoe...before we learned that it grew on every tree.
But now, here I sit in Northern Virginia. Outside my study window the rain is pouring down and the snow is expected to arrive this weekend. By the time it gets here, we probably won't get much actual snow, but that's okay - snow is pretty while it's falling and looks beautiful as it blankets the world in soft white billows, but it's a pain in the gazootie if you have to drive in it, and you don't need to shovel rain.
Nevertheless, "I'm Dreamin' of a Wet Christmas" doesn't have quite the right holiday ring to it.
So, I guess we'll take what we get. My snow shovels and my bags of ice-melting crystals are ready, the propane tank that fuels the fireplace is full, we have lots of DVDs and 784,000 channels of cable TV to watch, and the pantry and freezer have plenty of supplies to carry us through a few days of being snowed in.
As opposed to being snowed under. That's Congress's job, and they're good at it.
At least they're good at something.
Have a good day. Stay warm and dry. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
3 comments:
Heh, I've got a snow shovel in my storage compartment if it gets as dire as all that. I'm worried because I'm going to a Viennese Ball Saturday night and I'd like to not have to worry about bad roads.
I had 5 years of the warm Xmas while I was in school in AZ, and no, it just doesn't seem right. I'm surprised you didn't mention the raid on the local grocery stores whenever the "s" word is mentioned in the area. Since I buy toilet paper by the 12-pack and UHT milk which stays on the shelf and have a loaf of bread in the freezer I only go out for those truly essential things, like wine and cheese.
Hmmm....I hope you get to enjoy the pretty part to snowing but the aftermath of it sure sounds messy and a lot of hard work.
We had wind up the wazoo today.
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