Winter is Wrapping Up

Winter is slowly turning to spring....!  The mourning doves came back a few weeks ago.  And today we switched back to daylight savings time, and now get to enjoy daylight past 7 pm.  Wonderful, especially for evening walks and other outings !

Some recent events......

• Visit with Uncle John & Aunt Fran, and rest of the Rivers family at Nockamixon State Park over President's Day weekend.  We, along with several other travelers, had difficulty locating the cabins - but eventually reached Aunt Julie to get directions.  Sasha, you hung out with the fishing guys (Uncle John and Mark).  And Brock, you spent time with Lucy & Noel.  We had a crazy game of charades - I got stuck with "aglet" (who ever heard of that??  turns out it's the plastic sheath at the end of a shoelace)....  In retrospect, I should asked for a different word.  Steve did a good job with "Italian sausage", and Brock remembers getting "transformers".  Sasha, you managed to convey "woodchurch" very successfully - though, Grandad said it was actually supposed to be woodchuck!  I brought along chocolate chip cookies and spice drop cakes, both of which were popular.  We have figured out that cabin time is reasonably comfortable with sleeping pads on top of the bunk mattresses, as well as a humidifier.  The Camry developed a practically-flat tire, but luckily Mark loaned us his "plug into the cigarette lighter" air compressor and we made it Pep Boys in Quakertown for repairs.  The highlight of our trip was a very nice lunch at the Vintage Grill restaurant.  Thank you so much, Steve, for taking pictures !!

• Grammie's book Colors of the Universe has been published.  It's a collection of interesting and lovely poems.  Sasha, this is very timely because your 10th grade English class is about to start work on poetry (you've mentioned that you might get 'brownie points" since your grandmother is a published poet!).  I hope you continue to expand your own poetry writing skills - I've suggested you could write one about airsoft.  In the meantime, here is very simple poem co-written by you and Steve:

                            Tigey Whygee was a cat
                            Tigey Whygee was very fat
                            Tigey Whygee was so lazy *
                            Tigey Whygee could get crazy.

*  As evidence, a disgusting centipede (think miniature dust mop) appeared from under the stove and scurried along the base of the kitchen cabinets.  It arrived next to the kitty bowls as Tiger was having a snack.  Tiger completely ignored the creepy bug, flying legs and all.  At my insistence, you Sasha were trying to "Do something!!" when it scooted back under the stove.  Thankfully, it has not come back (we're wondering if it has visited Sadie's house?).

• In other news, you Sasha has been taking an evening class on making i.e., "tying" fly-fishing flies.  The teacher is your 9th grade algebra teacher (and fellow fly-fisherman) Mr. Romanowski.  We've been introduced to the Vo-Tech high school in Pringle, and get to enjoy the spectacular view of Wyoming Valley on Monday nights.  Also - after much discussion, planning, and gear-purchasing, Sasha is finally playing airsoft with a group of Exeter Township enthusiasts. We've had several weekend jaunts back-n-forth to a park long the Susquehanna River in Harding.  Meanwhile, Brock has been playing with Sean who is staying at Sadie's house during the week.  We made it to the Cub Scout winter fun day at Kirby Park.  Plus, last Saturday Brock and Ben went snow tubing up at Sno Mountain - and then spent the following afternoon together at Ben's house (including trek to Chuck E Cheese).  We've managed to stay pretty busy through the winter months.

• And last, but not least.....  Sasha, yesterday you were laughing hard at the 2 YouTube videos below (and a few others by the same "chef").  Just don't plan to try this at my house!!

I feel it in my fingers

For the first time in weeks, I feel like writing a bit (I have been doing too much Prudential work lately).  A few things worth mentioning......

• Snow Storm - Blizard "Nemo" is finishing a run at the Northeast Coast today.  Here in Wyoming, we got @ 5 inches of snow, it's in the mid 20's and windy.  Sasha, Brock and I got shoveling time in this morning.  Meanwhile, Jon Dodge posted on Facebook that as of 6:45 a.m, it was still snowing at the Walker-McCausland abode on Hill Street, Webster.  Had @30 inches of snow on the ground with lots of drifting.  Plus snow was forecast to continue into the afternoon.  Recently, northeast Pennsylvania has been a great place for avoiding nasty coastal storms.

• Trip to Grooming Cottage - Tiger had gotten smelly, as his excessive fluff can create hygiene issues.  So, we hit the snowy streets of Wyoming this morning and delivered him to Jim's place.  As usual, he meowed pitifully from the moment he went into the cat carrier.  Now he is home, had some kibble to take his mind off the stress, and has disappeared to take a nap.  Might even be using his own kitty bed, which he rediscovered this past week after being banned from people bedrooms.  No bandanna or bow this time....  but here is a picture of Tiger from Christmas Day, followed by a picture of Jean Luc having fun in his kitty condo (thanks to photographer Steve).

• 10-Year Olds Do Not Have Baths - Brock and I have an agreement that I must pay 25 cents every time I refer to evening bathroom time as "Bath" instead of "Shower".  In fact, we generally use Steve Albert jargon and discuss having a "sit-down" or a "stand-up".  Brock, we have decided that I currently owe you close to $5.  Plus we had a dispute last Wednesday after I said "Ba", but never finished the word.  You claim that I owe you 25 cents, while I believe it's only 12.5 cents.  I'm not sure how I would pay the half cent, but perhaps we should round it down and it will end up being 12 cents even.  The outcome is still under debate.

• The Troggs - In the news this week....  Reg Presley, an English singer & songwriter, died this past week.  After hearing about this on the news, I looked up information about his band "The Troggs" and realized that I especially like their song "Love is All Around".  It's been playing in my head for several days.  Sasha, I can tell you don't appreciate this much and you are waiting very patiently to get the computer back.  Here is a nice rendition - simple and sweet (although I admit the characters appearing at the end of this clip are just plain weird).

Next Up - Valentine's Day!!  You boys aren't admitting to having sweet hearts, but my offer to take you card shopping is still out there!

Our First Snow Storm - 2012

It's Saturday morning and we are finally getting a snow storm (4-7" predicted).  Hard to believe, but there haven't been any school closings or even delays yet - yikes!

Reflections on snow:

• It is wonderfully quiet as the snow falls - all sounds are muffled, very little traffic, snow plows going by occasionally.....   Then as the snow is ending, the whir of snow blowers, scrapping of shovels, and kids laughing as they play.
• The world is transformed by soft, beautiful mounds of white.  Trees look magical, houses look especially warm and welcoming, and people are hard to recognize in their coats, boots & hats.
• Fun Times - Happy children, snow angels, snow ball fights, and forts when there is lots of snow.
• Sledding, which is the absolute best !!  So much joy in riding down the hill, parting ways with your sled toward the bottom, snow-caked hats & gloves.  We'll be sure to go to the dike this weekend, plus Brock has a Scouts winter fun day to look forward to this afternoon.  

As a nice memory from last winter, he's a picture of you two having a wonderful time.

Winter Has Arrived

I was born in Allentown and I'm sure we had snowy winters - but I don't remember that....  Because when I was 3 years old Grandad became a missionary and we left Pennsylvania.  Grammie, Grandad, Aunt Julie and I lived briefly in Mexico and then moved to the Dominican Republic (in the Caribbean where it is hot) from 1968-1971.  I will write more about this later.  Then we ended up in Philadelphia when I was 7 years old.  So my winters really  started in the early 1970's.  What are some of those memories?

• The Lucia Fest at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church where Grandad was the minister.  My first year, I was the second candle girl (I'm sure I was adorable!!).  Unlike both you boys, I was not a tomte.  As an aside, you might be interested in more information about troublesome tomte.
• Christmas including Aunt Julie's birthday, which meant going to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services and of course presents!!!!!
• New Year's Day including my birthday and of course more presents!!!!!  New Year's Day also meant going to the Mummers Parade.  I just learned that Swedish settlers in the Philadelphia area contributed to the Mummers tradition.
• Very Long walks back and forth from school. .... pretty awful on bitter, windy days.
• Occasional major snow storms (school closings!), and shoveling out church walkways afterwards.  Occasional ice storms and dangerous slippery sidewalks afterwards.  Dirty snow lingering too long on city streets.
• Warmer weather arriving in late March, with purple crocuses peaking through the ground and Easter around the corner.

Brock has said that winter is his favorite season of the year as he loves, loves, loves to go sledding.  He has even threatened to move away to Russia.  Sasha is equally enthusiastic about sledding, but favors living at a lake/creek side location with readily available fishing.  As I get older, I am finding it harder to appreciate the cold, ice & snow but will stay as cheerful as I can.  I do think winter scenery is lovely, as in this lake picture my friend Susan took from her back porch early Thursday morning:

Well, in keeping with the upcoming Christmas season and on the theme of staying warm and well-fed, here's a song I'm sure you will enjoy: