Mother Nature

I know I have said it before, but I am reaally going to give it the "old college try" and get back into blogging. Did ya miss me??

Well, it appears she is at it again. The upper midwest and the plains got hammered over the weekend and the forcast for Buffalo is another 2 ft of snow. Some places will have had 5 ft before December is even done with. Sure hope all those folks have their shopping done. If not, get the snowshoes out you're going to need them.

This year my shopping consisted of me sitting on my derier and letting my fingers do the walking. Even though it was as easy as pie I kind of felt like I have missed out on the whole "Christmas Shopping" thing. I remember growing up in Waukegan, Illinois in the 50's-60's and early on there were no malls to shelter you from the elements much less computers to help with the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I also remember going shopping downtown walking in and out of stores no matter what the weather was. Kresges, Woolworth, Neisners....does that ring a bell my fellow Waukeganites. I always went into Sears and got a $1 worth of spanish peanuts and a piece of almond bark and munched away while tackling the crowds and enjoying the sounds of Christmas.

Yes, I said Christmas and will continue to say Christmas. I am not going to change just because it might offend someone. I have never said or will say anything about how people celebrate, to each their own.

I hope everyone has a wonderful "Christmas" and a prosperous New Year!

Well, winter is just around the corner and we in Des Moines got a taste of it this past Saturday. We received about 1 1/4 inches and I must say it was enough for us to start winterizing. The plastic came out and the North side windows of the house are done, I can already tell a difference. As most of my friends and family know I am a BIG fan of snow. So you can imagine how ecstatic I was when I awoke with snow on the ground. The snow broke a record for earliest snowfall of 1 inch, I believe the previuos record happened back in 1916 on October 20th. Stay tuned for further weather updates.
Oh, I apologize for the date on the picture, maybe one of these days I will figure out how the damn thing works.

Well, I survived a mighty busy weekend and all I can say is I could have slept in today. But oh no, had to go to work. I almost wish there would have been absolutley nothing going on and just have a lazy lazy weekend. The weather has certainly been cool for summer. I hope that's not any inclination on what the winter has in store for us. Bring it on "mother nature" and "old man winter", I am ready for whatever you throw. I do so love this time of year and snow doesn't bother me a bit. Also looking forward to getting the iceskates out and tooling around the rink at Brenton Plaza. If you haven't yet, check it out,it's geared for one and all.(snacks, skate rentals, place to warm up) Lunch hour is about over so till next time. Have a terrific day!

Just Because....

Well, because Val spent all day cleaning the cars, we had tornado watches and warnings from about 5:00 till about right now. Thanks Val

Let t Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Well, we got another 6 inches last night and this morning on top of rain then ice, which caused us to lose power(only about an hour). Then about 2 in the afternoon the dang sun came out, go figure. The old saying around here is "blink your eyes and the weather will change". I must admit it sure was pretty.......

For Those In The Frozen Tundra

We Are Talking Cold

The next day it's going to be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Weather forecast for this weekend sucks.....won't get above zero and snow Sunday. I love snow the freezing of the nose hairs I can do without! Stttttay wwwwarm.

It's Been A While

For some reason I just can't get into blogging. I suppose I could let everyone know about Big Brother and Pirate Master, dirty bastards cancelled it. At least you can still catch the episodes on CBS.com. Well, received bad news on the home front today. My sister Sue had a catscan done today and they found a mass on one of her lungs. She is going to have a biopsy done next Wednesday. She can be tough when needed and now is the time for toughness. Now on a lighter note, we in the midwest are going to float away if it continues to rain. Up north it reminds me of the floods of '93. Yuckkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!! Well till next time, adios.

Blogging Again

Well, it's been awhile since I have chatted. Not much going on except it's been hotter than a welldigger's ass here in the heartland, thank God for central air. I can't believe growing up we survived with just a couple of window units. Our parents were fortunate to have one in their room and we had one in the dining room where we could eat in comfort. As far as sleeping in comfort, fans were the thing. To this day I sleep with a fan year round, as do my brother and sister. Ah, the wonderful sound of a fan....zzzzzzzzzz

"Take Me Out To The Ballgame"

Val and I leave Friday for Milwaukee to catch a Cubs Brewer game. Here I thought it would be a nice spring weekend with the temperatures in the 70's, whatever!! The high is only going to be in the 30's so I guess there's no need to pack shorts. Thank God Miller Park has a retractable roof, if it didn't I don't believe we would be making the trip. "Go Cubbies"

To think just a few weeks ago we were cruisen. Damn..... Speaking of cruisen we received pictures from Karin and Rich & Paul of the cruise and I must say we are all good photographers. Check out this sight and see the pics Val & I and Karin took. http://milleniumcruisers.snapfish.com/snapfish Keep checking back I am sure more will be added.

March 1st Blizzard

Ice last week blizzard this week. March came in like a frigging lion, snow and 50 mile an hour winds! Mother Nature is making damn sure we appreciate our cruise that's coming up. We leave in 9 days, not one day too soon.

Will It Ever End?

The poor robins are wondering the same thing. You guessed it, another storm, rain tomorrow and snow Thursday. I truly love the white stuff but enough is enough. Mother Nature do your thing now and forever hold your peace. We leave on our cruise next week, please oh please don't stop the plane from leaving.

Ice, Snow, Limbs Down, Power Outages....

We had it all. Val just got done cleaning off her new car and her old car, well let's just say it didn't fair too well. Thank God she was going to sell it for parts. We ended up with about 1/4" of ice and 6" of snow. The stuff sure is pretty but a pain in the back to shovel. Oh, did I mention we lost power for about 5 hrs. Just pulled out the sleeping bags and pretended we were camping. We were lucky, there are people that aren't going to get their power back for days. The storm is tracking east so lookout and get ready.

Mother Nature At It Again

Let the storm begin. I went outside to get the newspaper and decided to check and see if everything had blown away. I went around the corner of the house and about bit it. We have a pretty good sheet of ice on everything. Have you ever tried to walk on ice with your slippers? Let me just say, forget it! I believe the weather forecasters were actually right except they scared the bejeebers out of everyone again. They are telling everyone how power will be restored in case we lose it. How in the heck can they say that without assessing the damage? Just say we will have a storm with ice and snow and be done with it. We are expecting 5-8 inches of crap today and tomorrow. Yippee, I still love snow.

Here We Go Again

The last three days we were in the 50's and all the snow is gone. Wait, hold on a minute, late breaking news (ticker tape in background)...just in, Winter Weather Advisory in effect for tomorrow night and the weekend. A possible 5 inches of snow in the Metro and freezing precipitation in the North. What???? And I thought we were on the downhill side of winter. There goes the bread, milk, and toilet paper. I better get to the store now to avoid standing in line for days....

Weather Update

While there is still snow on the ground, it's actually going to get 40 degrees today. "Oh my gosh, No Way!!!!

Oh, My Aching Back

Well, we got less than predicted but none the less it's a pain in the ass to shovel, not to mention my back. Isn't it pretty??

Tornado Tears Through New Orleans

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado hit parts of suburban New Orleans early Tuesday morning. One 85 yr. old woman was killed in the Gintilly neighborhood. What else can possibly happen to this area??

SNOW

Yahoo!!! We have 4 inches on the ground and it's suppose to snow till noon. Although we will probably fall short of the 7-9 inches originally forcasted (of course we will) I will take the 5-6 inches we will now end with. I agree with my brother, the weather people have some kind of scheme with the grocery stores. A kickback of sorts when the shelves become empty of toilet paper, bread, & milk.

Winter Storm Warning

I better get to the store before the big storm hits. I want to be sure I am in line for at least 45 minutes to an hour because the weathermen/women have decided to freak everyone out. We are suppose to have freezing rain til noon and then 7-9 inches of the fluffy stuff. All my friends and acqaintances hate it when it snows because I just love it. How can you not like it when you have a saying like, "pure as the driven snow" and a song like "Let It Snow"? Come on folks it's just Mother Nature"s way of saying she loves us. Just think of it as a Valentine from her.