Monday, February 08, 2010

Adding insult to injury, Mother Nature has decided she is ready to unload another batch of the frozen white stuff on an area that already has plenty, thanks.

My zip code is expecting another 7-14” on top of the 2 feet we got over the weekend - starting tomorrow afternoon and ending sometime Wednesday evening/night. My parents’ zip code (a mere 15 minute drive and maybe 5 miles) can expect 10-20” on top of the nearly 30” they got.

I took an experimental drive today to get a feel for how awful the roads are in my neck of the woods. The road leading from my neighborhood to a main highway looked better than last time, except for the standing water on the visible pavement that had nowhere to go because of the snow/slush and enormous piles. That stuff is a sheet of sheer ice at this point - we have temps in the teens tonight. Tomorrow morning that would make for a nasty commute.

The good news (safety-wise) is that the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow. As a taxpayer, it’s annoying. As an employee I’m grateful - it’s not safe to be on the roads yet. Add new snow to the mix and it means your government will be out of commission here in DC for most of the week.

As for the work not getting done - it will get done. Trust me, it will get done.

In the meantime we’re working on a really excellent case of cabin fever.

2/6/10 - 7am - 14” on the ground.

About 10:30am - 17” on the ground. Note the tricycle handlebars - this is the constant.

About 1pm - no measurement. Tricycle.

The two cars with the wipers up are ours.

About 3pm - no measurement. Tricycle.

About 4:30pm. 22” on the ground. Tricycle.

Sunset that same day. Beautiful.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

We took a bunch of pictures during our 24-36 hours of blizzarding here in our neck of the woods.

We ended it all with a couple of feet of snow - measured on the deck at 22”.

We have piles that are enormous in our front yard from Beau’s shoveling efforts and neither one of our cars is completely in the clear yet. Thanks to the kids next door, the clear sidewalks that he worked so hard on are now covered again with nicely packed snow that I couldn’t shovel away after they were done playing.

With temps in the single digits tonight and a cold week ahead, this stuff will be around for a while. And we’re supposed to get a “wintry mix” Tuesday into Wednesday. Fun times.

This winter is far worse than any of the five winters I spent in New Hampshire for snow.

Friday, February 05, 2010

I finished listening to Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell yesterday. As I said on FB:

*In my best British accent* Mere words cannot express how much I love the lovely writings of Miss Gaskell. My esteem for dear Miss Matty knows no bounds, which I believe was the aim of Miss Gaskell in the telling of the Cranford Amazons. *British off* This will be a favorite above all others for a very long time. In addition to the greatness of Miss Gaskell’s writing is the narrative perfection of Ms. Porter. She is unmatched.

5 stars out of 5.

And I see that Miss Gaskell wrote two other Cranford stories, so I’m off to see if there are audio versions of them as well. If not, I’ll just have to find the time to sit with the dead tree versions.

I’m working from home today. The Feds are shutting things down early today. The courthouse closes at noon. And yet I have to work the full day without getting the free time off because I opted to telework. Ah, well…

Here’s the forecast:

... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST SATURDAY…

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST SATURDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… HEAVY SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS… STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 20 TO 28 INCHES.

If we hit that 28” mark, DC will set a new record for seasonal snowfall. The record was last set in 1898-99. OK.

We are snug. We have plenty of food, including this in the crock pot. I’m doing the first version. Beau will be making the rolls tomorrow for the sandwiches. I’m very excited…

We already have snow - the really wet stuff. I’ll post pictures as we proceed.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

After last night’s episode of 24, the verdict is in. I’m done. There’s more that I loathe about this season than I like. This means I will no longer watch. It gets deleted from the schedule on the DVR. Makes me sad - the early seasons were awesome.

In good news, though, LOST starts tonight and I’m muy excited.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The medical team from my church has been working hard since arriving in Haiti on Sunday night. Monday was a day of logistics issues and confusion, but once things got settled they were able to get to work. They have performed many surgeries and ministered to a lot of hurting people. You can read more from our team here.

There’s also an update from the school where our team is based on the school’s website. The information from the school is very interesting to read.

As the church update says, there’s another team being prepared for departure on February 8. The prayer need for them is a return flight - I think all other logistics are arranged.

Pray for our team. The Facebook updates tell of harrowing encounters with deeply grieving people. The team will come home with much to process when they are back in their real lives.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

This is very interesting.

Very, very interesting.

And I’m a bit more interested in 2012 than I have been to date.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Both kids were taken to the doc for their well checks this morning. Updates:

Ticklish Giggles

Whiny Complaints

Sunday, January 24, 2010

My church is amazing. Because of our area we have a very connected congregation. We have media people, government people (from the lowest echelon (like me) to more high-falutin’ types, doctors, lawyers, etc. You name the industry and it is probably represented in our church. And we are generous - there are a lot of local missions to which our church supports, not just financially but with volunteers as well. And then there are the global missions that we support, including an orphanage in Haiti.

Since we have a long-standing relationship with them as well as our denomination having missions in Haiti, this is one disaster where we felt we could have both an immediate and long-reaching impact. It has been cool to read the Facebook updates of our global missions pastor in the past couple of weeks as he worked to find out the needs in Haiti and then to put together a response team. That team left today and you can read about it here.

The team is composed of 7 people. Our global missions pastor is leading this team of medical personnel that includes the Chief of Orthopedics from a local hospital, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, the former Chief of Surgery at Walter Reed (he’s in private practice now), a physician’s assistant, an anesthesiologist, and the local hospital’s Disaster Response specialist. From what I’ve heard on the news, medical care is the most urgent need (aside from food/water/shelter, of course). There are people with open compound fractures and other wounds that have not received any treatment because there aren’t enough doctors, not enough equipment/supplies, not enough medicines. I know that these few people will be greatly used, not just to provide the practical care, but also to minister, to share God’s love and grace and mercy. I am excited for how the Lord will use them.

Updates from a couple of the people while they traveled today included:

1. US Airlines waiving fees for extra and heavy bags. Seven people took 16 bags that were overfull with medical and other supplies. Thank you, USAir.

2. A cab driver in Ft. Lauderdale (where they flew to today before leaving for Port-au-Prince on a chartered flight) was Haitian and had family in Port-au-Prince. He wouldn’t let them pay the fare and took them wherever they needed to go (I think they were getting more supplies).

They have already taken off and should land in Port-au-Prince sometime around 10pm. Will you join me in praying for them? Pray for the logistics of the rest of their travels tonight. Pray that they are able to get some good rest tonight so that when they hit the ground running in the morning they are rested and ready for the things they will face. Pray that they won’t lose any of their equipment and supplies and that they will have enough for the week that they will be there.

And pray for the teams even now being assembled for future trips. Our church is committed for the long haul in Haiti. I know there are already plans to send more medical teams as long as they are needed and then we will send teams to help rebuild.

I will post updates as I get them, if you’re interested…

Friday, January 22, 2010

Pretty funny.  The line that made me LOL wasn’t even related to LOST at all and came at the end of the clip.

*** This post will remain at the top of my blog through the end of February. Scroll down for the latest updates. Thanks for your help! ***

From now through the end of February, I am donating 30% of my sales revenue from Bead on a Wire to Feed the Children and Samaritan’s Purse for their efforts to bring aid to the people of Haiti.

Your purchase can help, so buy now! There’s a handy scrolling link in the sidebar that shows the items currently for sale and the prices.

I sell both online and in person. All sales are included, but not all will be visible in my Etsy shop. I will post here periodic updates on the amount donated thus far:

1/22/10 - $13 to Samaritan’s Purse
1/26/10 - $19 to Feed the Children
2/7/10 - $17 to Samaritan’s Purse
2/13/10 - $17 to Feed the Children
2/16/10 - $23 to Samaritan’s Purse
2/17/10 - $21 to Feed the Children
2/23/10 - $19 to Samaritan’s Purse
2/27/10 - $15 to Feed the Children

Thursday, January 21, 2010

So Our Esteemed Leader did an interview with ABC News in which he explained that his low approval ratings are because he didn’t spend enough time communicating the core values of the American people to the American people.

In his first full year in office, OEL gave over 900 speeches and had almost 60 press conferences. Seems like he did a little too much talking and not nearly enough listening.

He needs to take some Q-Tips to his tin ears, methinks.

I don’t need OEL and his team to tell me what my core values are, thanks.

The American people have been trying to remind you, OEL! You’re ignoring us. That is your problem.

Oh, and stop blaming the previous administration for all of your problems. You’ve been in the job long enough that it doesn’t hold up any longer and it’s just rude.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My new new favorite show is Human Target. Action and eye candy. You can’t beat that.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Four hours into the new season and I’m optimistic that this season of 24 will be better than last season’s crapfest.  ***SPOILERS follow***

As always, Tuesday’s reading requirement is Dave Barry’s blog. Today’s quote:

Jack got sucked into a plot to kill the head of the Generic Islamic Republic, President Sham, who has been negotiating a nuclear treaty with President Woman President and also bonking a professional journalist who has been set up as the fall person for the plot by the real plotters. Jack and Chloe tried to explain this to CTU Director Brian Hastings, who does not believe them because, in keeping with established CTU-director tradition, he has the anti-terrorism instincts of lasagna.

And The Amazing Steve’s recap, too. His quote:

Davros tells Cole to make everyone move to the northeast. Cole calls it in, but says that Davros is with him now! Just as Davros is about to pull the trigger to kill Cole, Jack shoots Davros! Just in time! Davros is dead, and Jack takes pictures for his CTU Memories Scrapbook.

I may be reading Magic Lamp during the new season of LOST, too, since it looks like he writes about that as well. Woo.