2010 Olympics from Vancouver B.C.

This is the first time in my whole life that I have actually sat down and watched most of the games and events. I especially like the ice skating, snowboard half-pipe, short track speed skating and most of the ski events. I have found myself yelling and screaming at the t.v. to urge on the Olympians and sitting with a look of sheer horror on my face after a bobsled or skier would crash (there were some really spectacular falls etc.).

I particularly liked the pairs ice skating and the ice dancers, but all of them just made the skating look like magic. They all floated through their routines and the medals went to the right skaters. The snowboarders and ski aerialists looked like they hung in mid-air during each routine. They defied gravity and performed a ballet in the air.

The speed skating (short and long track both, as well as all distances) was amazing. How do they stay up as they go around the curves? By all rights the skates should just fly out from underneath the skaters, but they dug in and held their places. A wonder to watch.

I have learned that the winter Olympics are actually my favorite, with the swimming sports and gymnastics from the summer games coming in a close second.

No Round 3

We got very little snow during Round 3. It was a dud, but that is okay. I have seen enough snow this winter to last me for the next ten or so. We have had four times or annual snowfall in one month.

There was a blizzard that hit the northeast (PA, NY, NJ and the like) that was supposed to give us more snow but it did not materialize in my neighborhood. A few flurries and some high wind by that was it. There were a couple of times that I thought the house was going to pull a "dorothy" (Wizard of Oz) and end up in Kansas, but it was just loud and scary. Another storm expected the end of next week, cross fingers and say a prayer that it goes away as well.

My car was a snow hill for two weeks and I have taken advantage of the fact that it has been uncovered for the past week. Running errands, just taking rides and going to Mo's for lunch have been my favorite pastimes the past week. I waited for mother nature to melt snow off the driver's side door, Terry cleaned off the back window and I gunned the engine and drove out from under the remaining foot of snow. It was fun and much easier than having shovel all that crap.

Sunday B4 Round 3

It is Sunday, the sun is shining and the wind is blowing a little bit. You would never know that there is more snow coming. It is going to arrive Monday night and go into Tuesday. The weathermen are calling it a clipper and are saying that it won't be as bad as the last. They are not, however, giving us any idea as to how much snow it is going to drop on us. That fact alone is "scaring" me a little bit.

Some of the snow has melted, but not nearly enough for my taste. My car is still covered up, but I am hoping that it is going to be found today. It has paid dearly as a result of the last two storms - still under snow cover. I don't really think that I can expect it to handle much more without something going wrong. Besides it needs to be moved or it is going to get some flat spots on the tires, which would mean "thump, thump, thump" as I go down the road. The shocks are bearing up so far, but God only knows what would happen if more snow were added to the mix. Wish me luck.

I am hoping to be able to help Terry find my car. I don't know if he is going to allow me to do it. The leg is beginning to feel better, but he worries that I will slip the wrong way or something and put an end to all the good work I have done so far to get it better. I am looking forward to putting my nose out the door and breathing in some fresh air. Will let you know what happens.

Winter White - Part 2

Gizmo (looking out the front door) and Scooter (looking out the window), the family cats, are checking to see just how much snow they are going to have to put up with.


Terry cleared the driveway and found two of the four family cars and cleaned them off. The Saturn and the Suburban remain covered. They will be covered up even more because there is another storm rolling in (arriving Tuesday and ending 31 hours later) which will bury them even deeper. It is going to take a spring thaw for me to find my car.

It should also be noted that there seems to be a third storm heading east that should be getting to us one day this weekend. It was rain in California (caused bad mud slides in the L.A. area), but is probably going to be snow for us (so much colder here). God only knows how much snow that one is going to drop on us. If this keeps up we are going to look out the window and see nothing but white. Spring seems so far away.

I will not see my car until the spring thaw hits us - that is a crying shame. You would think that we live in the far north. I am so glad that this is not the norm for our winters. I guess it was just our turn to be blessed with not so nice weather. We (meaning my family and I) are lucky to be living in the area we do because it is not as bad as it is in other parts of the state.

Wintery White

Six more weeks of winter and it hit with a vengence over the past couple of days. We have approximately 28 inches of snow on the ground. The neighbor's hedge is half as tall as it used to be - weight of snow has bent it over severely. I am not used to seeing the neighbor's garage. This is not the best way to prune the hedges, which needed to be done badly.

It did stop snowing and the sun came out just in time for sunset. I should have taken a picture because it was very pretty with the bright colors in the sky and the white of the snow. There is more snow on the way during the middle of next week. Don't know just how much more is going to be piled on, but whatever it is we will handle that as well.


Terry has been outside all afternoon cleaning things up. He is using the snow blower, but the snow is taller than the blades on the blower and it is wet enough that the discharge chute keeps clogging up. He will stick with it though. He will finish the drive way tonight and will find the vehicles tomorrow. At the moment they are just piles of snow in the drive.



Gizmo the cat was not interested in going any further than the step on the back porch. There was just too much of the white stuff for him to deal with and he turned tail and came right back into the house.




This is how much snow there was on the ground at the front door. We could not open it until Terry cleared the way. When Eddie went out the first time today he trekked through the backyard to the fence and back again. It was almost up to his waist most of the time. When he got back to the house he decided that he had enough and came in - shedding I don't know how many layers of clothes. I am sorry to say that I did not get a picture of Eddie making his trek. Must have been quite a sight.


Such is the life of a Marylander. Although I must say that it does not snow like this very often - thank goodness. During the time between the December snowfall and the storm today we have almost broken the record of annual snowfall. The record is 62.9 inches and it is already at 62 inches or so. With the advent of the coming storm the record will easily be broken. The average annual snowfall for the area is 18.9 inches.

I really don't know where all the melted snow is going to go because the reservoir has been at full capacity since the middle of fall. This just means that when all this water eventually gets to the Chesapeake Bay that the crabs are going to migrate further out to sea. Crabs need brackish water to survive in and the more fresh that mixes with salt the farther out they have to go. Hope that the crabbing season is not affected too much.

Ground Hog Day

according the Puxatawny Phil we have six more weeks of winter to go. This is always the case when 2/2 arrives no matter what the shadow says. The past couple of weeks have been something. I have been hampered by pulled muscles in my right leg that have kept me hobbling around the house--so much fun. Hopefully this time around between the ibuprophen, Vicks VapoRub, and muscle relaxers I am going to make it work.

I have been spending my time in the living room watching t.v. and my bedroom cyber socializing. My only connection with the great outdoors has been my bedroom window and at the moment the ground is covered in white and there is more on the way. It seems like it is never going to end. Not that it matters much at the moment anyway, I am not going outside for quite a while.

Hopefully Thursday evening will be my first time out in two weeks - it is time for my yearly visit to my tax man so that I can get the bad or good news, whichever it happens to be. I am really not all that worried he has done very good in the last 20 years of finding all of my deductions etc. and getting me money back.

I have had alot of fun cyber socializing via Facebook and MyFamily.com (El Tigre page). Most of the people that I have been exchanging info with on El Tigre were nothing but names that I knew about when I was in School. I am developing some really nice relationships with these people - I have learned a lot of history about them and the area where I spent most of my youth. It has been very interesting and is keeping the mind active - which at this point in my life is very important.

Time to run, have a couple of things to do before I plop my bottom side in Terry's recliner in the living room to watch my programs, as my Gram used to say. I mean the soaps of course.