My Commonplace Book

Thank you for the nudges, lesliepear!  It really helps to be reminded to get back to posting ... and even more, to know I'm missed.

And I've been wanting to post about something for a week, so I was grateful to be nudged into writing this. :-)

Last Friday I drove up to a very rural area near the Pennsylvania border hoping to see the two Short-eared Owls that had been reported hunting over a particular field at dusk. The drive was around 60 miles, the last third on a series of increasingly narrow, curving country roads.

( Waiting and watching )

While we waited in the cold and watched the other birds and animals, I turned to the southwest every so often and took a photo of the sun setting over the fields.





( Two more sunset photos )

( Harriers -- and owls! )

( GPS )

With wind chills in the single digits, I didn't go out all week. But the errands were piling up, so yesterday I bundled up and went out.

I had forgotten that I have a heavy winter jacket. It had migrated to the far end of the coat closet because I haven't used it for two years -- it just hasn't been cold enough to need it! I bought this jacket for walking in cold weather, and it's super-warm. It even has an insulated hood with storm flaps that snap under the chin. I enjoy walking in cold weather, but only if the wind is light.

I  was very comfortable in the warm coat, at least during the short walks between the car and each stop. I had to fill the gas tank, and even that wasn't too bad. I took the pump at the end of the row where there was some sun, and with my hood and my insulated leather gloves I was fine.

The trip to the bank ended up taking an hour, which put me behind the power curve because I had no time to eat dinner. I had to get some things from the supermarket, and then raced home with just enough time to put the perishables away, throw some canned soup and some frozen veggies in the microwave, gobble some of it, and run out to Game Night.

Game Night was a lot of fun. We meet at participants homes, people bring games and we just play whatever we want. Last night I played Pictionary. Another group quietly played cards in the kitchen, while the biggest group had a raucous game of Catchphrase in the dining room. 

The meeting is supposed to end at 9:00, but the Catchphrase players didn't want to stop! The hosts were both in that group, so not overstaying our welcome wasn't a problem. A couple of people left the game, so I got to sit in and play that for awhile too.

Tonight is the foreign film club -- the movie is Tsotsi. The movies they pick seem to have a theme, but I don't know if it's intentional, coincidental, or if I'm just seeing a pattern in random events. Last year there were a lot of films based on real events -- either documentaries or movies based on true stories. This year there are a lot of dark films involving crime.

Tsotsi is about a young hoodlum in the slums of Soweto.  The reviews say it has little violence, but what there is is very graphic. But they say it ends on a hopeful note, so maybe it won't be too depressing.

My electric blanket doesn't heat too well any more. One side gave up last year, so I was just using the other side ... but now that side just gets lukewarm. I keep the heat very low at night -- why heat the whole house when there's nobody here but one person in one room?! -- and I depend on the electric blanket. So I just ordered a blue Martex SuperSoft Queen Heated Blanket from JCPenney.

It says it has an "Energy-saving power-down feature provides less heat while you're sleeping." I'm not sure what that is, but if it works it would be great, because the setting that's most comfortable for me at bedtime is way too warm later in the night. I'm always cold when I go to bed, but later on I warm up, and then I wake up sweating. If I turn the blanket down when I go to bed, I'm too cold. It also has an "Automatic preheat button [that] warms your bed before you get in," which will also be really nice, since I never remember to go in and turn it on far enough ahead of time to let it really heat up.

JCPenney has a sale this weekend, so I got $15 off the price, which very nearly covered the $15,95 shipping cost. With tax, I only paid about $120 for the blanket.

I hope it comes soon -- it turned cold very abruptly, and it's freezing tonight! We're under a High Wind Advisory:

Strong low pressure moving north into eastern Canada will create windy conditions tonight through Sunday morning. Sustained west winds will range from 25 to 35 mph tonight with gusts to 50 mph possible.

With forecast lows in the upper 30s, the wind chill temperature index will be well down in the 20s. Brrrrrrrrr!

It's really wild out there tonight. The trees are really whipping around, and the sound of the wind racing through the leaves is spooky. I hated to venture out, but the foreign film club was showing Travellers and Magicians, and I really wanted to see it.

I'm glad I went -- it was worth going out in the cold wind. It was a delightful movie -- the story lines (there were two parallel stories) and the acting were excellent, but it would have been worth seeing anyway. It's the first feature film ever shot in Bhutan, and the scenery is breathtaking and the glimpse into the lives of the people there is amazing.

The official site of the movie has some very interesting background information. Many of the cast were not professional actors, but they did a great job -- suspension of disbelief was immediate and maintained throughout the movie. The movie was shot entirely in Dzongkha, which was made the national language of Bhutan only 20 years ago, and is only spoken in about a third of the country. Most of the cast didn't speak it, and needed language tutors on the set throughout filming. It makes no difference to the foreign audiences -- for all I know some of them may have been mangling the language, but we can't tell the difference so it doesn't matter.

Now I'm going to go set all the clocks back an hour and go to bed for my extra hour's sleep!

The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.
                —E. E. Cummings (1894-1962), American poet, painter, essayist, and playwright

Wow, we really got hit! Measurements in my part of the county were  21.0 to 22.5 inches -- all measured by NWS employees who, presumably, know how to do it correctly. So we got a lot of snow!

The church service this morning -- which was not only the minister's last sermon for a few months but also the annual canvass -- was cancelled, which is going to cause a problem for the Finance Committee. But at least the dinner last night went on as scheduled. I'm so sorry I missed it -- I could have made it, snow-wise (although the trip home would have been rather scary), but I just wasn't feeling well. Now I'm worried if I'm going to be knocked out all day tomorrow from shoveling the front walk and digging out the car.

A teenager from across the street came over, snow brushes in hand, and asked if she could brush off my car. I asked how much she usually gets, and she said $10. Wanting to be the kind of neighbor I'd want my daughter to have if she were going around trying to earn some money I said okay, but I'm sorry I did. Ten dollars is a lot of money for me these days, and she did a fairly poor job -- something I could have done myself without too much effort in ten minutes. Paying $60 an hour to have the car brushed off is a little too pricey for me to be comfortable with, especially since all the side windows except the front seat were left covered with snow, and the entire front -- grille, headlights and all -- is still completely buried. Well, live and learn -- I'm going to say thanks but no thanks to her in the future.

Meanwhile she had to tromp up and down my front walk four times to come to the door twice, which will pack this heavy, wet snow hard and make shoveling the walk much more difficult. It's going to be hard to shovel anyway since this is not light, fluffy stuff you can just fling aside. I'm going to dig out a shovel-width path down the walk and hope for the best.

Unless I find myself feeling really ambitious while I'm out there I doubt I'll have the car out by tomorrow morning, so I'm going to have to postpone my lunch date with a friend. I have a small group ministry meeting in the afternoon, but I can get someone to pick me up for that so I'm not worried. I don't have any pressing need to drive anywhere for the next few days, so it doesn't really matter.

ADDED: I went out with the snow shovels. (I have two -- the plastic one is lighter and easier to manage, but doesn't get the last half inch or so; the metal one is heavier but scrapes the pavement well. So I use the plastic one for most of the shoveling, then get the metal one and scrape the last clingy layer off. They both have ergonomic bent handles.) I got the walk cleaned off, not edge to edge but about 3/4 of its width. I shoveled the steppingstone path to the sidewalk on the side, and I shoveled around the car. I did the poorest job by the car, because I was tired and my back and wrist were starting to hurt by then, but as I said, I have no pressing need to get the car out for the next few days, so I'll just wait for what's left to melt, or work on it again tomorrow.

ADDED 7:52 pm: I just talked to someone about the group tomorrow, and it's all set that he'll pick me up, so I don't need to worry about having the car dug out by 1:00.

But after IM'ing with momomom for awhile, and then having two phone calls in a row, I haven't eaten anything yet and I'm starving!

They're now predicting 8-14 inches!

Light rain and snow will change over to all snow during the late morning. The snow is expected to increase in intensity through the afternoon hours...with generally 1 to 3 inches of snow expected by late afternoon. The snow will intensify this evening... becoming heavy at times. Before snow ends early Sunday morning... total snowfall is expected to be 8 to 14 inches.

I have everything I need, but I feel so bad for the people who put so much effort into the major events tonight and tomorrow morning ... and for those who were looking forward to the fun tonight (which includes me!) And tomorrow morning was going to be our minister's last sermon before her maternity leave, and everyone was excited about it. =heavy sigh=

Oh, man. The big event tomorrow evening is sure to be snowed out.

...Heavy Snow Warning remains in effect from 6 am Saturday to 6 am EST Sunday...

Low pressure located along the Gulf Coast will track northeast on Saturday... reaching the North Carolina Outer Banks Saturday evening. Snow will develop Saturday morning from southwest to northeast across the warning area. The heaviest snow will occur late Saturday afternoon through Saturday night.

Before snow ends early Sunday morning... total snowfall is expected to be 4 to 8 inches... with up to 10 inches possible in the central Shenandoah Valley and locations such as Charlottesville and Fredericksburg.

I'm so distressed about all the work that went into this! Here's the blurb that was just sent in e-mail to remind everyone.

Please join us for our Annual Canvass Dinner, beginning at 5:30 pm at OBIC.  Come for a bountiful potluck dinner, followed by some riotous, original, non-commercial entertainment, and hear about our Stewardship Campaign and our important goals.

All the folks who planned the dinner, all the ones who planned the entertainment, the whole Finance Committee ... all the work will have been in vain. Yes, they'll reschedule it, but a rescheduled event of this type never has the same energy that the original would have had. Fewer people can come, maybe some of those who are putting it on can't make it ... and if we do have the canvass service on Sunday morning people won't have had the push from the night before to give a good pledge, and the amount will be lower. And if we can't get in, that will have to be rescheduled too, except the minister is going on maternity leave so the canvass won't benefit from her energy either.

I'm disappointed for myself, and for everyone who was involved with this.

We are having winter this year after all -- we are in for snow this weekend!

For the first time since mid-December, Baltimore is facing the possibility of accumulating snow this weekend.

You remember snow. Cold, white and slippery?

Several inches seem likely in the urban corridor. ... And up to a foot is possible in some places from Northern Virginia to New England as a classic Nor'easter swirls up the coast Saturday and Sunday.

"This will be a quick reminder to people that winter is by no means over yet" ....

It's my fault. I had the snow shovel handy at the top of the basement steps. But it was in the way and just a few days ago I brought it downstairs and put it away.

I don't mind snow (at least I can use my winter icons for a few days!) as long as there's not too much. And it doesn't sound like there will be -- the most likely amount is "several inches."

But I hope it doesn't cancel my church's big event on Saturday night -- a big potluck dinner with a performance of skits and other performances. It's the opening of our annual canvass, and it's one of the two biggest events we have all year (the other is the service auction in November). I'm not involved in it at all, but an awful lot of people have put an awful lot of time and effort into this, and they'll be devastated if it gets cancelled at the last minute. So please keep your fingers crossed that if central Maryland does get snow on Saturday, the roads are passable by late afternoon.

( Winter Storm Watch )

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*    *      *            white Christmas ?  *  *    *    *  * 
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Time again for the annual cavalcade of statistics for Christmas.

What are the chances for a white Christmas? What is the typical
Christmas weather? Well...

( NWS's musings for the Baltimore-Washington area )

Oh, what fun.... 

This is what we're in for:

1025 PM EST Sat Dec 3 2005

...Wintry mix of precipitation overnight...

...Significant snowfall possible beginning Monday afternoon...

A fast moving low pressure system will move across our region overnight tonight. A mix of sleet... snow... and freezing rain will occur for a few hours. No ice accumulation is expected... but up to an inch of snow and sleet is expected across the area... .... The
wintry precipitation is expected to change to all rain after midnight. Motorists should be alert for slick spots on roads.

A more significant snowfall event is possible Monday into early Tuesday as a strong low pressure system develops over the Carolinas and moves northeast. Enough cold air will be in place where most of the precipitation will be in the form of snow. While the exact track of this storm remains uncertain... there is the potential for a heavy snowfall... that would be capable of causing major travel problems and school cancellations.

The problem is, there is a brunch tomorrow morning that I bought at the church auction a few weeks ago, and I doubt there's a snow plan for it -- it's at a member's home, for 40 people, and I imagine they've purchased tons of food to get ready for it. I don't see how they could postpone it.

I was going to go to the 9:00 service, then to the brunch, then to my bell choir rehearsal at 1:00. (Actually we have tone chimes rather than bells because they're less than half the cost of a set of handbells. They don't sound as good, but it's better than continuing with no bells at all.) I think I'll skip the service so I can wait till the sun has a chance to warm up the pavement a little, and then I shouldn't have any problem getting to the brunch around 10:15.

Fortunately I don't have anything on my calendar after that until Tuesday evening, so I should be okay for the real snow. I've got my snow brushes, ice scrapers, snow shovels and rock (non)salt ready.

Winter is here! =shiver=

Last night we had our first snowfall -- 1.3 inches! It was like a fairyland when I drove home from the Thanksgiving Eve service last night -- everything had a coating of sparkling white sugar, and it was beautiful! Driving wasn't even too bad; the visibility of low, because the pavement was still warm enough to melt the wet snow, so the roads were just wet.

By midmorning the snow completely gone, but then the cold arrived! We got this Special Weather Statement today:

...Winter like conditions expected this afternoon through Friday east of the Blue Ridge mountains...

An Arctic front will move across the mid Atlantic this afternoon. High pressure building in behind the front will produce blustery conditions. Sustained west winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph are expected through the early evening hours.

Cold temperatures are also expected to settle over the region. Overnight low temperatures tonight are expected to range from the middle teens in the suburbs to the lower 20s in the metropolitan areas. Wind chills in the single digits to lower teens are likely. Maximum temperatures on Friday will struggle to reach 40 degrees...while another cold night is on tap for Friday night.

A Public Information Statement from NWS reports that wind gusts in this area were measured at 46-52 mph!

A nowcast that came in just a minute ago informs us that "Temperatures falling through the 20s when combined with winds of 15 to 20 mph will begin to produce wind chills in the teens during the overnight hours."

BRRRR! I'm thankful for having a good heating system!

ADDED: Currently, at 12:30 am, my thermometers report that it's 21º F on my deck, and 66º in both the bedroom and here in the office. I just changed the thermostat to be kinder to the later schedule I've been following for the past few months -- now it won't go down to my overnight temp of 66 until 2:00 am instead of 11:45 pm! (It kicks up the heat to 69 for a couple of hours in the morning, then settles down to 68 for the rest of the day.)