Tag: snow

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Winting continues to ride Ashlandia, where the children are above average. Snow is melted in the valley’s bosom but look east and snow royally caps the mountainsides. It’s up to 27 F on the way to a 47 degrees F high. Sunshine, vaulting over the horizon like an arriving hero at 7:06 this morning, bullets a blue sky. 5:43 PM will be seen on the clock as the sun does it slow roll exit. It’s February 15, 2023.

My cats are happy with the sunshine but they’re not fond of those low temps. Tucker acted like he was going out but feeling that air on his heavy fur, did and an about face and floofered off. Papi, of course, galloped out per his secret identity, “The Galloping Ginger”, and then banged the door windows for re-admittance sharpish minutes later.

Plans are being planned for house painting, carpet cleaning, and those sort of matters, along with vacation. Yardwork is being given a gimlet eye. Our evening streaming rotates among Hacks, The Last of Us, Frayed, Shrinking, Lockwood and co, Station Eleven, CB Strike, and Astrid. Documentaries and comedy shows are sprinkled in as they become available. No puzzles are being assembled, with no plans to do any. K continues on her diet, pleased with her results. Makes the kitchen an interesting evening experience as we prepare our individual meals. Burners, oven, microwave going, timers ping, buzz, and chime. We dance around each other, plates, foods, and utensils in hand.

Today’s theme music is “Bullet the Blue Sky” by U2 out of 1987. Th Neurons delivered as I read a summary of gun violence in America, 2023. Can’t say it hasn’t changed this year as the rate of shootings increases. Fortunately, naught will be done because needless death is not as important as other matters.

Got coffee, and released Papi back into the sun-soaked rear yard. Stay pos, and own Wednesday. Here’s the tune. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Wandering Thought

Heavy snowflakes fall and melt. Filling the sky, pixelating the scene with their white presence, it’s warm and cozy in the coffee shop. Most have laptops or phones and attend their electronic lords with religious focus. But consensus comes as patrons and employees remark on the snowfall beauty. They like this weather, it’s agreed– as long as it doesn’t get too cold, too deep, or too slick.

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Happy Valentine Day — or is it Valentine’s Day — or Valentines Day — to you if you’re into that. I’m not. I’ve always considered it the most manufactured of manufactured holidays. My wife, K, was the same when we were younger. She has changed; I haven’t. But then, as she told me when we first dated, “You’re not very romantic, are you?” No, I’m not. I tried being more romantic, but she mocked every effort to be more romantic. So here I am. There’s nature vs. nurture for you.

It’s Tuesday, February 14, 2023. An inch of snow has fallen as part of the great weather warning. They told us we were likely to see six to seven inches in our Ashlandia. People raced around town to buy food and get errands completed before the great storm was upon us. They warned us about it for days. Well, we prepared. But I’d rather be warned and prepared than to not be warned at all.

Sunrise came at 7:09 this morning, not much presence against the dirty white tee shirt that is our morning sky. Temperature is 0 C. Expect a high of 40 F, the weather experts advise, before sunset at 5:42 PM Ashlandia stardard time.

Been addressing Tucker’s health. The big black and white feline suddenly was hobbling and could not jump. He’s aging so I thought, arthritis. Bought some arthritis treats for him. He enjoyed them but he’s always had gum problems and has lost many teeth. They were too much for him. So I crumble a treat each day and put it in about an ounce of hot water, then give him to him with a dropper. It’s made such a difference in his motility, it’s wonderful to witness. The treat is “Pet Naturals Hip and Joint Support Supplement for Cats”. I learned about it from another pet owner a few years ago, and I recommend it.

Have a Fleetwood Mac song called “Never Going Back Again” from 1977 dialed up by The Neutrons. Started from a dream today, but was reinforced by memory. The song came out when I was 21. I was in the military, married, contemplating choices. This song cemented some decisions for me, like, “I’m done with that. Never going back again.”

Stay pos and enjoy your Tuesday, shaping it best that you can. Once I’ve fortified myself with hot black coffee, I’ll try to do the same. Cheers, my friends.

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Thursday’s Theme Music

They call it snowy Thursday. Early afternoon yesterday, sitting at the coffee shop. 41 F out. Rain falls, turning to snow as it drops. Temperature loses its grip, slipping to 39 F. Snow begins sticking. Within an hour, we had an inch. Two and a half inches before the snow stopped two hours later. By then, it was 36 F.

Yes, it was a very wet snow. As temperatures tumbled for us to the upper twenties last night, visions of slippery roads and sidewalks filled conversations and emails. But this morning, it was wet but not slick. Snow had iced but was rapidly retreating. 34 F now, snow clouds rule the air. We’ll see how that goes. None of us were expecting yesterday’s snow.

It’s Thursday, January 19, 2023. Winter snow finally came to Ashlandia’s valley.

Sun influence came over the peaks and ridges 7:36-ish this morning. Sun’s retreat from the valley will be about 5:08 PM. A 40 degree F high temperature is expected.

I have Simply Red with “Holding Back the Years” from 1985 swirling around the morning mental music stream. A mellow song, I can’t trace its origins in today’s head, but I blame dreams. I also blame The Neurons. They can’t be trusted. I will say that when I was driving long distances in 1985, as I was frequently required to do, I didn’t like it when “Holding Back the Years” came on the radio. Out on the road on assignment, away from family for a week to months, the song was just a downer.

Speaking of downers, time for me to down a cup of coffee. Stay positive and do what you need to be healthy. Merry Christmas. Just thought I’d get an early start on that season. Here’s the music. Cheers

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A Winter Memory Prompted By Writing Prompt #210

The streetlights were on, unmoored, half-seen yellow orbs floating over either side of the street.

Snow smothered dusk’s dimming light. No one else was on the street. Dressed in blue jeans, a shirt, and tennis shoes – which had holes in the soles that he’d mended with pieces of cardboard – he ran, shivering and sniffling, up the street past the warm-looking suburban houses. Most seemed half-buried in snow. Windblown snow stuck to his clothing and hair and stressed his cheeks with icy daggers. Shoving his fingers deep into his tight jeans’ pockets, keeping at least those warm, he licked snot off his nose, lifted his shoulders, and ran, catching slides and racing on.

Exploding into home, he rushed to a heater duct and stood in front of it, dripping, drying, shivering, warming. enjoying the heat. Mom, orchestrating laundry not far away, turned and stared at him, her hands continuing their folding. “Where is your coat?” she asked. Then answered herself, “Don’t tell me you forgot it again.”

When he nodded, yes, her shoulders sagged and she snapped, “Oh my God.” A warm towel was pulled from the dryer, shook out, and handed to him. “Why in God’s name didn’t you go back for it?”

He shrugged. “I was hungry. I wanted to get home.”

She issued a familiar tongue click of disappointment. He felt too stupid to be her son.

He was probably right.

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Monday’s Theme Music

Monday scurried in under a rain cloud shouting, “I’m not late. I’m not late. I’m here. Maybe a little late. Not my fault. All that rain, and there’s snow, too. People are driving crazy. Traffic is a mess.”

Yes, it’s Monday, November 7, 2022. Winter has flexed again. Mists, ice, and snow layer our uppers. Snow hasn’t found its way down into the valley’s lower elevations, but we are surrounded. 6:51 AM is when the sun joined the mix, lightening the black and gray tones embedded in the ocean of thickening clouds above us.

34 F is now the temperature. No fear; it’ll bounce up to 7 C before daylight flees at 4:57 PM, the weather they say.

The Neurons are again floof-influenced with the morning mental music stream selection. (Say that three times fast before you had some coffee.) Weather drove Papi and Tucker in. They follow me around asking for sunshine. “I can’t do anything about the weather, boys.” I don’t explain that only nature and powerful Gods can control weather, as that would shatter their belief system. They think that I can do almost anything. I mean, they practically worship me.

Anyway, the cats were following me about, even after I fed them. To amuse the three of us, I run into the other room. They followed, confirming that they were going to stay right by my side.

Which, boom, caused The Neurons to say, “Hey, that’s just like that Metallica song.” Naturally, I responded, “What Metallica song?” The Neurons then commenced with “Until It Sleeps” from 1996.

“Have some coffee,” The Neurons tell me.

“Okay,” I answer, “is it ready?”

They scoff. “Did you make it?”

So, gotta go get some juice going. Stay positive, test negative. Mask as needed, if it’ll help stay some of the reach of those circling viruses. Here’s the music. I’m getting the coffee going, and then I’ll drink it until I sleep.

Cheers

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A Short Mom Dream

Snow had fallen but now a sun blazed in the sky, transforming roads into slushy paths. All very picturesque, though. I was inside the house, waiting for Mom to return with my sisters. As usual, I hid from them when they first came in, springing out and surprising them, making them laugh.

We were busy with a multitude of things simultaneously. I went out and walked on the slushy asphalt, testing my footing. It all seemed safe.

A sister called my name from the house door, telling me that Mom wanted my help. When I went in, Mom was struggling with papers and stuff on a table. “Help me figure out my transportation, Michael,” she said. “I need to know who to call and where I need to go when I need to go somewhere.”

Sisters were in the mess, reading things. I picked up a few items and realized after reading that she only needed to go two places to catch transportation. So I marked the phone with bold black letters and began explaining things to her.

She immediately began firing protests back. “But what if I want to — “

I kept explaining that it could all be done with what I’d figured out. Press the 1 one the phone where I’d marked it to go to these places. Press the two for these places. The telephone numbers were programmed into the phone. Then she just needed to go to the place corresponding to the one or the two to be picked up. 1’s pickup spot was her house, so she didn’t even need to leave.

We went on in that vein for a few minutes before the dream ended.

It reminded me so much of being home last month and helping Mom figure out her medications.

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Sunny and windy, with a warming trend, is how I describe this Sunday, January 9, 2022. The sun kissed the sky, rousing it with rising light at 7:39 AM, and will flee the scene at 4:57 PM. We’re warming quicky, going from 31 at daybreak to 42 now, on our way to 54 degrees F as our high.

Today is the final day of our three-day-apple diet — I’ll write about it later. A request was just received and accepted to swap Food & Friends delivery days, so we’ll be out doing that tomorrow at ten.

Today’s theme song is “Radio Radio” by Elvis Costello from 1978. The song arrived in the morning mental music stream via Facebook comments. A younger cousin was joking about kids getting texts or emails about school cancellations because of snow. He said that he used to have to watch television, scanning the bottom scroll. I replied that we needed to crowd around the radio and listen in our day. As expected, Mom chimed in that back when she went to school in rural Iowa, there weren’t cancellations for the weather. Mom wins.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Have a nice day while I have a nice hot cuppa coffee. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

It’s snowing again! That’s pretty unusual for us in Ashland. This whole situation is unusual. We generally don’t receive so much snow. When we do, we all remember it. And, usually when snow is received like this, the sun bursts out of cover and melts it all away. That the snow has lingered, that it’s snowed multiple days, that the temperatures are staying on the cold side, are all departures from the norm.

Today is Friday, the final day of 2021, December 31. The temperature is 33 degrees so the snow isn’t staying. Just landing on top of old stuff, covering the street, then melting away, even as more snow falls. I guess this is technically snow flurries or snow showers.

Sunrise was a gray affair at 7:40 AM. We’ll lose our graylight at 4:49 PM.

A 1980 Judas Priest song, “Living After Midnight”, is playing in the morning mental music stream. This was a gift from the cats. One decided to imitate Paul Revere’s midnight ride and gallop around the house. The other cats were instantly concerned about this energetic burst. Checking the time, I saw it was just after one AM. That triggered the line, “I took the city ’bout one a.m. Loaded. Loaded.” The lines were changed to reflect the moment: “I took the house ’bout one a.m. Meowing. Meowing. The weird thing about this song is it never sounds like Judas Priest to me. Seems too pop. But it’s a good song for New Year’s Eve, innit? Yes! Happy New Year’s. See you after midnight. See who’s still rocking besides the cats.

Stay positive, test negative. Wear a mask as needed, avoid cruise ships, and get the jabs and coffee when you can. I got my jabs. Now I’m gonna get my coffee. Cheers from the snowside.

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