My New Novel ... ; Tornado Warnings.

January 30, 2013.


As is done in the Charlie Brown strip, my first sentence is already in my head: "It was a hairy, scary night..." 

With the coming severe thunderstorms yesterday afternoon, it seemed to me that I could handle things. My son had emailed me saying he would pick me up to go to their house to weather out the storm. 

I emailed back that we could just see what happens before we made that decision. I really felt rough and tough, that I could handle the situation. Thunder is usually all right, 'cept if it is right over my head. 

But then, as I was staying home and the evening wore on, suddenly on the computer weather graphic, I saw "Tornado Warning" coming from the southwest, appearing to come right up my street. 

I got my hand flashlight, put it in my pocket, and prepared my mind to listen for the tornado siren, be ready to go right into the laundry room and shut the door. 

I kept looking at the computer graphic, praying that those tornadoes would dissipate 'right now'. As I was getting more and more tired and wished to go to bed, I thought I could leave my working clothes on, lie on top of the bed and cover with my fleecy throw. 

Dozing off now and then, I finally got up at two-something, and saw that the tornado warnings had gone east of Memphis. I then put my jammies on, and slept under the covers ...   UNTIL 8:25 a.m.!!!!  Doggone, the day is almost half over!  But I am safe and sound, Thank You. 

There must have been floods of water, because some of the new mulch is sitting on the front sidewalk. When it dries, I shall sweep it back under the bushes. -- And work on my 'new novel'...  

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

No Rain Yet; My Squished Little Stuffed Elephant; Broken Glassware; Reviewing.

January 24, 2013.

Well, today turned out to be better than I thought it would be. There was supposed to be drizzly rain today, but now it's been put off until past midnight tonight. Bet your bottom dollar it won't even rain then...

This morning after I had breakfast, I just kind of dawdled out into the garage to see what I could see. Hmmmm, I hadn't done much work in there opening boxes, for quite a while. 

So I 'accidentally' did two hours' worth of work out in the garage! I kept coming in to have a drink of water, or to change the radio station, or to put something in the sink to wash, from the boxes. It gives me more exercise, walking to and fro. 

It turned out to be quite a nice couple of hours, except for my poor squished stuffed elephant! He's only eight inches tall. He looked so funny, so thin, his legs were not where they should be...  It seemed so whimsical to me when I found him. I hope his trunk gets a little loose and goes back into place ~ I'd like him to trumpet a hello.

His buddy Koala Bear was also in the same group. Koalas don't have much of a protruding schnozz anyway, and this fellow's nose was quite flat. I am working on him now and then to get his nose to relax and come out a bit. He's sort of 'bug-eyed' (which means wide eyes in amazement or something) -- he just can't believe what happened. 

The third in the group is a four-or-five inch light tan Teddy Bear with a little plaque about 'friendships', and a cute little flowered cape. He's also got a golden string on his back to hang him up somewhere so he can observe what's going on.  

Oh, I also found two flat lazy-susans. One is tan and 12 1/2 " across, the other is beige and 10 " across. I like them quite a bit, and plan to use them. It's good to see some of these belongings again. 

And, oh, yes, - ahah! - some broken pieces of dish ware, cups, etcetera. There's been a great deal of that along the way. 

I did find a few books, and other things that need going over, so that's where I'll be this afternoon if you need me... ;-)  


Be well, be happy, and remember your New Year's resolution. 

I'll see  you at the Corner Post...

It Was A Lovely Afternoon!

January 20, 2013.

My family brought me back to my house from Church, in the early afternoon, dropped me off, and I began to do some relaxing things. Like listening on my computer to the European music programs on WPIT, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, not far from Fayette City, where my Dad was born in 1904. I like the shows they have, of Slovenian, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Slovak, and German music during Sunday afternoons. 

I was also checking my emails, nope, nobody wrote to me. I was eating a cookie, and looking over some letters and birthday cards from earlier years. Then the phone rang. It was Anne Marie. She and Clay have gone to Wyoming for the weekend. Clay was outdoors, and indoors, and then puttering outdoors, while Anne Marie and I had a good chat. A long chat, to be truthful. We talked about so many things, because we hadn't chatted for quite some time. 

Then after we hung up, I decided to go for a walk, it seemed rather nice outdoors. I walked all the way to Rasco, and turned around and came back home. All the while, there were FedEx planes flying out on their regular routes and times. There must have been at least twenty or more, and I wished I had taken my camera with me. 

When I got back to the house, I took my camera and waited for the next plane to come, as they were quite regular with a few or several minutes between departures. I tried to take some photo shots, not many were good, and I did take one shot of an airplane and the half moon. This was at 4:35 p.m. Farther up the street it would have been better to get a good shot of the airplanes. Next time I'll do that, if I have it on my agenda.

My walk was fifteen minutes long, and then I stayed outdoors in the front yard for a full half hour! I sat on the concrete bench and faced the east, where the moon was, and enjoyed the crisp air, the gorgeously azure sky, and the many birds that kept flying around between me and the moon. There are several very tall deciduous trees out behind a few houses, and the birds would alight at the tops of the branches and twigs. The autumn leaves have mostly fallen from the trees, so it was easy to see the birds on their perches. 

I saw one bright red cardinal, away up in the top of the tallest tree. There were many other kinds of birds, perhaps about four to seven birds alighting in each tree, sitting for a while, then going somewhere else. There were always about fifteen birds in the tops of the trees, that I could see between the houses and over rooftops. Those birds kept coming and going, waiting, I believe, for the sun to 'go down' behind the homes on the other side of the street.  

It was such a delightful time, bringing contentment to my heart. Then I came in and am thinking of what to have later for dinner. 

I'll see you at the Corner Post...

All About Beautiful Snow - An Email to My Family.

December 31, 2012. 

 

Hello, folks, and Happy New Year! This broadcast is coming to you from central New York state in a suburb just north of Syracuse. The subject is Snowstorm Freyr which arrived earlier this week.

It is still snowing, sometimes large fluffy flakes which I like, sometimes fine snowflakes -- of which there seems to be no end, and sometimes the snowflakes are coming down at an angle, sometimes just gently falling straight down. There are no sparkly-like-diamonds snowflakes today, because the overcast sky is hiding the sun.

The snow keeps building up on the backyard patio and deck, and the posts of the deck railing are looking so handsome with their white caps.

No one is disturbing the snow on the railing, or the deck, or the barbecue grill, and the two or three steps from the kitchen sliding door down to the deck are so odd-looking with their big humps of snow looking like curvy mountains.

Even the weather-beaten bird houses have snowy tops. I am so glad that the wind isn't blowing the snow off the bird houses, nor the railings, nor the huge deciduous and coniferous trees. The deciduous trees have enormous bare limbs, branches, and twigs, making them so interesting to study. I keep walking to the sliding doors to see the huge back yard with all of its snowy delights.

The coniferous trees are so very tall, and big, and the snow is making them so lovely to see. There are several of these trees in the neighboring back yards. The designs made by clumps of snow on those needle-y branches and twigs sometimes look like miniature mountain ranges with interesting foot hills.

I am deliriously happy to be visiting here. Now do you understand why I love snowy winters?

I'll see you at the Corner Post...

Visiting for Three Weeks in North Syracuse.

After living most of my life with snowy winters, I spent a few years in sunny climes. I began to miss the beauty of autumn leaves losing their green and turning into magnificent colors, and the first snowfall coming thereafter.

As each year went by, I missed seeing snow on the ground, drifts of snow after the wind displaced the fallen snow, and the swirling snowflakes of a blizzard.

This year I was lucky to spend three weeks with one of my daughters in North Syracuse. The weather hadn't been wintry for them in the north, and they were a little disappointed about the possibility of not having a White Christmas.

The year I went to Pasadena I had somehow caused it to hail, which was a very unusual happening. Then the time I went to Memphis, I brought some snow, which was very surprising to the residents. They even made a snowman with the snow that happened to come with me. So it wasn't surprising when I brought some lovely snowstorms to North Syracuse.

There was most certainly a White Christmas, with plenty of snow that made central New York state as white as could be. What a thrill that was for me! At last I could see the first snowfall, and I would ooh and aah as I hurried to the window to admire it.

The trees soon were laden with so much snow that the branches would bend a little. Every limb and every twig had a dressing of white. Roof tops began to be covered with a foot of snow, as well as front lawns and back yards were buried under a foot of snow. Fences were topped with that white stuff that I like so much.

Even birdhouses had their little roofs topped with snow, making a whimsical picture. I clicked my camera at so many beautiful sights.

The way the snow fell was quite interesting, too. Sometimes it would float down softly and slowly, sometimes fast and furiously, depending on the wind. At times the snowfall would be vertical, sometimes almost horizontal, depending of course on the speed of the wind.

I shall tell you some more of my love for snow, another day. When you go out tomorrow, don't forget your boots. The snow is rather deep...

I'll see you at the Corner Post...

WALK ??? ... WALK !!!!!!!!!

December 13, 2012.

I have noticed some hinderments ... I mean to say, behinderments that are unfavorable. It seems, not to my pleasant knowledge, but to my unknowing and disappointing realizations, that sometimes irreversible habits that increase any former measurements are appearing backstage again. 

Any palatable pleasurableness like baking your own luscious cookies and taste-testing, is being forced into a hiatus. But one of the aids in returning to former measurements is an activity named 'walk'. Therefore, I coaxed myself into trying this 'walk' activity, and today was the best for a beginning (again). The sky is absolutely devoid of any sort of cloud, mist, or vapor, and it was absolutely astounding to see such a gorgeous, clear, sunny, calm and AZURE hue. 

The temperature was perfect, with my gloves, and head scarf (babushka), and sweat jacket, to my pleasure and joy. It was necessary, though, to stop now and then to take a deep breath and stand still for several seconds. While doing that, I admired some Christmas decorations at various homes, and two mailboxes that had at their feet and posts such gorgeous flowers. 

Once in a while I just stopped, and admired that most beautiful sky. Not even a jet stream, or vapor, or even an airplane did I see or hear. True countryside pleasure on a little neighborhood street. Is this causing you 'green-eyed' distress? Forgive me... 

Going back to work on my big project now.

I'll see you at the Corner Post ... 

I'm Up Again, Full Moon, Beaver Moon, Full Frost Moon.

November 28. 29, 2012.

Good Morning, one and all. Did the Full Moon keep you awake, also, as it did me?

Being very tired, I went to bed just before 9 o'clock last night. Slept like a charm. Got up at 1:15 a.m. to relieve myself, and couldn't fall back to sleep. Too many thoughts coming into my mind, because of the lovely Full Moon. The November Full Moon is called the Beaver Moon because it was the time to set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full Frost Moon. 

Knowing I could not see the moon from any windows in my house, I tried to ignore it. The moonshine came through the little slits in the closed blinds in my room, and it kept drawing my attention as I was trying to get back to sleep. I would close my eyes, thinking I'd fall asleep, and then would look to see if the moon was still trying to cajole me to take a peek. 

So I got out of bed, put my warm socks on, my sweat jacket over my pajamas, and came into the living room. There was so much light, that I could walk around without putting the lights on. The computer lights under the computer table lit up the kitchen and the Full Moon shining through the closed blinds in the kitchen and the living room were tempting me so much that I opened the front door to see just where that Full Moon was. 

I stepped to the edge of the itty bitty front concrete (patio)(porch) which is about three inches from the ground, and looked up into the sky, and there it was! Directly above me, it was, at the zenith, looking so majestic with its accompanying 'star' near its side. Clear sky, brisk air, so gorgeous a Full Moon that I could have stood there for fifteen minutes taking in all its beauty and love. 

But it was not the thing to do, as old as I am, and sometimes unsteady on my feet (what would happen if I had tripped and fell down in that cold frosty air with no one around to help me up? ("Help, I can't get up!" ), so I came back into the house. Oh, I did take a couple of shots with my camera to document the brightness and the frost on the front lawn at 1:45 a.m., the beautiful tree across the street, and then the Full Moon at its zenith before I thought that I had better get back into the house. 

Now I sit here, telling you my story, and trying to decide if I should attempt to go back to bed yet, or stay up another while and make those cabbage rolls that I am thinking about. Some of the ingredients are in the fridge waiting for me to begin cooking. I think you already know that sometimes when I cannot sleep in the wee hours of the morning, I make cookies, or a nice soup, or do up the dishes that I let go because I was too tired to wash them last evening. 

I've been known to wake up at this time and get out of bed instead of tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep. Did you know that in very ancient times, humans did have a wake-up period after midnight, and then after one activity or another, would get back to bed until the crack of dawn. I guess we do need eight hours of sleep per day, but not really all in one lump. 

Love and hugs in the Moonlight, I say again, "Nighty-Night..."

Mom - Grannamae - Anna Mae. 

I'll see you at the Corner Post...