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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Because of wow. / Greetings From The Other Side Of The Country

Greetings From The Other Side Of The Country

by Cheryl Rofer|  December 29, 20184:32 pm| 105 Comments

This post is in: Because of wow., Cat Blogging, Open Threads

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It was seven degrees here when I woke up. Now it’s twenty.

Yesterday’s storm cleared overnight and left sparkling frost crystals on the trees.  I managed to download the photos from my new camera.

We had a storm that left about six inches on Wednesday. Thursday we had enough sun to clear the roads. Then another six inches yesterday, with wind, so it’s drifted.

Here is what Zooey thinks about it.

The kitties did go out for a bit into a protected area on the deck. Ric tried walking in the snow. He didn’t like it.

 

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Previous Post: « Greetings from the Surface of the Sun
Next Post: Real Life: Weirder Than We Think »

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  1. 1.

    Quinerly

    December 29, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    That’s what I’m talking about!
    ??

  2. 2.

    Quinerly

    December 29, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    Looks like people want their $ back:
    https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20181227/will-trump-show-up-for-new-years-eve-party

  3. 3.

    Gelfling 545

    December 29, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @Quinerly: Good luck getting it from Trump.

  4. 4.

    Brachiator

    December 29, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Mar-a-Lago this year hiked ticket prices for its annual New Year’s Eve bash, with guests paying $1,000 per person for the chance to party with the President Trump at his private Palm Beach club.

    But with president vowing to stay in Washington during the government shutdown, Palm Beachers are starting to wonder.

    Will Trump take a quick trip south to make an appearance and keep his Trump Organization customers happy? Or will he stay mindful of the optics of celebrating a lavish New Year’s Eve while thousands of federal workers go without a paycheck?

    I hope that greedy bastard Trump puts in an appearance. It would be like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol ending with Scrooge throwing a ball for plutocrats and Tiny Tim and his family starving to death.

    But maybe he will send Melania and Ivanka and Jared.

    ETA. More pleasantly, great photos and an imperious kitty.

  5. 5.

    Aleta

    December 29, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    The thick frost on the trees…beautiful.

  6. 6.

    zhena gogolia

    December 29, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    I love it when they shake each paw off as they step.

  7. 7.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 29, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Ric actually made his way for about three feet in two-inch-deep snow without much shaking of paws. He looked around to see if there was a way forward that didn’t have snow. (There wasn’t.) He turned around and went back, and on his way he realized that he needed to shake off his paws.

  8. 8.

    geg6

    December 29, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    What beautiful pictures, Cheryl! Your part of the world is just lovely.

    I, on the other hand, am being tortured by a man who insists on watching a bunch of football games I don’t give a damn about. I wish he’d go put the new cat tower together. Or maybe I can interest him in the Penguins game.

  9. 9.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 29, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    @Brachiator:
    He won’t give the money back, so whether he goes or not, expect him to embarrass himself and the rest of us again.

  10. 10.

    Pogonip

    December 29, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    @zhena gogolia: That is cute. And there are days I feel like doing the same thing myself.

  11. 11.

    Pogonip

    December 29, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I was curious—why do you put those vests on your cats?

  12. 12.

    Quinerly

    December 29, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @Brachiator: I’m thinking he might just show up. All he needs is one more story on Fox about Pelosi being in Hawaii.

  13. 13.

    Pogonip

    December 29, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @Brachiator: I was surfing the news & saw something to the effect that Trump decided to go to FL after all.

  14. 14.

    SenyorDave

    December 29, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    GOP Rep. Peter King praised ICE’s “excellent record” since “only two children” have died in recent memory.

    “These are the only two children that have died, certainly in recent memory … considering what does happen in housing projects … I think ICE has an excellent record.”

    To quote a line from Mash, “How long has Peter King had the delusion that he is human”.

  15. 15.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 29, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @Pogonip: So that I can attach leashes. The cats go out only under supervision. I was thinking today of just letting them out into the protected area without their vests, but I wasn’t sure what they would do. Under non-snow conditions, I have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to do, so a lot of the time I let go of the leash. But unexpected things happen, like the time Ric took off after a rabbit. The cats have learned, though, that going back in the house is safe if they are scared, and besides they get treats when they come in. But I like having a handle on them.

  16. 16.

    trollhattan

    December 29, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    @Brachiator:
    Everybody who asks for a refund will be handed a bill for $250 and an NDA form. It’s the Trump bidnez model.

  17. 17.

    JPL

    December 29, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: The pictures are beautiful!

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    December 29, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    @Quinerly

    Does that mean they’ll be canceling the auction where the highest bidder gets to be Secretary of Defense? //

  19. 19.

    Schlemazel

    December 29, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    @Brachiator:
    there is a Poe story about a masked ball that comes to mind

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    December 29, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:
    The taxpaying public ain’t getting a refund either.

    Whether or not President Donald Trump ultimately decides to party with supporters on New Year’s Eve at his private Mar-a-Lago golf resort, taxpayers have already paid $54,000 for tents for the bash, according to government spending records.

    The tab for the party tents has been picked up by the public even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers are out of work thanks to a partial government shutdown triggered by the president’s refusal to sign a spending measure until it includes billions of dollars to build his border wall.

    Grimes Events & Party Tents Inc. of Delray Beach, Florida, was paid $54,020 on Dec. 19 by the Secret Service for “Tent Rental for MAL,” according to spending records revealed by Quartz. The Secret Service often uses tents for security checks and safe spots for VIPs.

    A Grimes employee told Quartz: “We are providing tents for the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party, yes.”

    From HuffPo

  21. 21.

    chris

    December 29, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    Lovely pics, Cheryl. As much as I hate winter (this one is already too long!) it can be pretty.

    Steve comes on our shorter walks until the snow gets over four inches or so. He also likes the rain because it brings the small creatures up out of the ground. There’s nothing like a soaking wet cat arriving in your lap with a live mouse which he then releases.
    Pumpkin on the other hand hasn’t been outside since October. She’s a very dignified old lady and sees no sense in being chilled at all when the wood stove is right there. I think she’s making up for the unknown number of winters she spent outside.
    They’re both feral or semi-feral rescues, funny how they diverged.

  22. 22.

    Schlemazel

    December 29, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    We have always taken our cats outside and trained them to stay near us so outdoors was just expected,
    Our first cat refused to accept winter. She would go to the door & demand outdoor time & when we opened it to reveal snow she looked at us & ran to the second door demanding it be opened. Snow again? She would go to the third door and insist it be opened. I am sure she was looking for the door to summer.
    Cranky cat would step out then turn & hiss at us as if it were our fault.
    Dopey cat puts a paw into the snow then just looks forlorn.

  23. 23.

    Aleta

    December 29, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    The OPM helpfully tweeted out sample letters that fed workers can use. To try to negotiate their mortgage and credit payments, and so they can offer to do work for their landlord to offset rent.

    How about some sample letters to their Republican congresspeople asking them to turn over the tax savings they gave themselves.

  24. 24.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 29, 2018 at 5:20 pm

    It was 7 here as well at the base of the Front Range, but no sparklies here. The pictures are beautiful.

  25. 25.

    susanna

    December 29, 2018 at 5:20 pm

    I for one don’t know where you live, but the pictures are stunning in their simplicity.

  26. 26.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 29, 2018 at 5:24 pm

    @susanna: Santa Fe, New Mexico. You can see the cathedral basilica in the first photo – the two squared-off towers toward the center left.

  27. 27.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    Gorgeous photos. A heavy frost is so gorgeous.

  28. 28.

    Mnemosyne

    December 29, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    It’s 60 degrees here in Hell-Lay, so everyone is bundled up in their winter coats, especially since we’re getting some pretty strong and gusty winds. I’m lounging around with Charlotte snuggled up next to me. She has the shortest fur of all of our cats, so she strongly dislikes winter.

  29. 29.

    Miss Bianca

    December 29, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    Yep, Cheryl, these are the type of photos that my friends from Caza Ladron posted when they announced that Saturday’s events were cancelled.

    That was after the Boxing Day ride that showed them all looming thru’ the snowfall. That looked fun, actually! : )

  30. 30.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: One kitty is not allowed outside; Annie goes out but only with supervision. When there is snow on the ground she does not think it’s fun or nice. We’ve tried playing with her in the snow but she always bolts for the door, and this is a cat who can’t wait to get outside. Short of tossing her into it, she does not go in the snow.

  31. 31.

    Yutsano

    December 29, 2018 at 5:39 pm

    Wow that’s beautiful Cheryl. I always love the effect ice crystals will have on trees.

  32. 32.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 5:40 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Beautiful pictures. I love it when we get a day of sunshine like that after we get some snow. Looking at Weather Underground it doesn’t look like we’re going to see the white stuff soon.

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    December 29, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    The snow looks beautiful ☃️☃️??

  34. 34.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    @Mnemosyne: My sister is probably ready to start burning the wooden furniture to keep warm. She was complaining that it was in the 50s in Seattle when she was here a couple of weeks ago.

  35. 35.

    Miss Bianca

    December 29, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Oh, get outta here, youse, with your hellish winter’s tale! //

    Meanwhile, here at the mountain hacienda, the temps have probably not got above 20. Took a longish walk/jog thru’ the newly-fallen snow to the mailbox with my hounds, then helped D chop up a bunch of wood for the two wood stoves. Feeling nice and warm and virtuous now – trying to muster up the energy to make those mince tarts I’ve been planning to make, but may just have a beer and chill instead.

  36. 36.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    @Aleta: Sure, just call up Wells Fargo and ask if you can mow their lawn in lieu of paying your mortgage.

  37. 37.

    dmsilev

    December 29, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I amuse myself on occasion by teasing certain of my colleagues who wear down vests and the like while I am cheerfully walking around in a lightweight shortsleeved shirt.

    Anyway, I’m in Boston right now. I would say getting a dose of winter, but it’s above freezing now and has been on the warm side all week, so I’m not sure it really counts.

  38. 38.

    J R in WV

    December 29, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    Great frosty pictures. I thought you lived somewhat north of Santa Fe but obviously was wrong about that.

    We spent most of a week in Santa Fe a few years ago (2008 now that I’ve looked up the photo dates), climaxing with the huge Native American Art show on museum hill. Then we toured to Chaco Canyon, Navajo Nation, Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley. Spent some time in Farmington to visit Chaco, etc.

    It was a wonderful trip… great food at a cafe in the working class area of Santa Fe, Central American as opposed to Mexican. They opened at the crack of dawn, served lunch, closed around 3 in the afternoon.

    On a different trip our friends from CO met us in Taos, for our 35th anniversary. Very interesting for a short visit, Santa Fe may be better for a longer stay.

  39. 39.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    December 29, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    Just got back from my Niece Charlotte’s 40th birthday party 1) I cannot believe that Charlotte is 40 2) it is always great when the whole family is together in the same place (minus the kids of course) 3) I will never tire of watching my sister dancing Northern Soul on the dance floor, it is a joy.

  40. 40.

    M. Bouffant

    December 29, 2018 at 5:51 pm

    @Mnemosyne: That’s right! I have a space heater on about a foot from me & am still forced to wear pants & a long-sleeved shirt.

  41. 41.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 5:51 pm

    @Miss Bianca: It’s 50 here just outside Seattle, usually a nice-ish temp if there’s some sunshine but it’s dark and drizzly, and the wind has been ripping bits off of the trees all day.
    I walked out to the mailbox and contemplated the huge cottonwoods in the yard across the road and again calculated just where the top of it would land if the nearest one fell toward my house. I think it would be about 5 feet too short to hit us. I noted grimly that the power lines are above ground and on that side of the road, so they would probably snap and/or bring down the power poles.

  42. 42.

    Pogonip

    December 29, 2018 at 5:53 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Thanks!

  43. 43.

    Brachiator

    December 29, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Oh, get outta here, youse, with your hellish winter’s tale! //

    It was actually cooler earlier out here in Southern California and the winds were very gusty.

    But, by state law, we have to adjust the artificial weather machines so that things look good for the upcoming Rose Parade. ;)

  44. 44.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 5:56 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Cheryl, what do you know about this new “hypersonic missile” Russia says they have? The Avangard missile? They claim it’s able to evade our defense systems.

  45. 45.

    Juhn Revolta

    December 29, 2018 at 5:57 pm

    I wish a motherfucker would try sending his brainless son-in-law down there to fill in. At a thousand bucks a pop, there’d be a riot.

  46. 46.

    John Revolta

    December 29, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    I wish a motherfucker would try sending his brainless son-in-law down there to fill in. At a thousand bucks a pop, there’d be a riot.

  47. 47.

    Patricia Kayden

    December 29, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    @Quinerly: I hope he doesn’t show up and they don’t get back their money. Right now, federal employees are facing no paychecks for the foreseeable future and a loss of earned leave. Trump supporters can suck it.

    Love the photo of the kitty!! So relaxed.

  48. 48.

    Miss Bianca

    December 29, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    @opiejeanne: Well, there’s a cheery thought!

    We too get hella windy up here – 70 miles per hour is not uncommon, at least once or twice per year – and we have had trees come down close to the house, thru’ wind or lightning strike. D was standing and talking to a neighbor on the driveway this summer when suddenly a pine came crashing down on it from the hill up above. Fortunately, it missed both vehicles and people. And then all we had to do was cut it up for… moar firewood!

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    December 29, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Enjoy it while you can. It takes a year or so to fully acclimate, but once you do, you’ll be shivering with the rest of us. ?

  50. 50.

    Quinerly

    December 29, 2018 at 6:05 pm

    @John Revolta: pretty sure Jared, Ivanka, and Melania are there.

  51. 51.

    zhena gogolia

    December 29, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    @Schlemazel:

    Ooh, yeah!

  52. 52.

    John Revolta

    December 29, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    @Quinerly: Hell, I can go to Coney Island and see a better freak show than that for ten bucks.

  53. 53.

    Immanentize

    December 29, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    My cat, Toasty, loves going out, even when it snows… IF I shovel off the back deck and a path out toward the woodpile. He then uses that as his winter domain searching in vain for his friends the rabbits, birds, and squirrels (or as we would call them, prey).

    I love the moment, just before he goes out the back door, or when he jumps out the door, when he shakes his body and activates his fur for warmth. I never tire of watching that.

  54. 54.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 29, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    @Yarrow: I think that the new weapons Russia is claiming are, to one degree or another, a bluff. I’ve been thinking about writing that in a post, but I’m working on one about Trump-Russia that should be ready tomorrow or Monday.

  55. 55.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 29, 2018 at 6:21 pm

    @Immanentize: Record it and send it to AL!

  56. 56.

    Miss Bianca

    December 29, 2018 at 6:21 pm

    @Immanentize: Ha, you make him sound like a superhero – “ACTIVATE, Fur Cape of Warmth!”

  57. 57.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 29, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Kittehs are a little bit magic.

  58. 58.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 6:25 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Thanks. That’s what CNN said that some defense experts thought but it sounded like no one was really sure. I’ll look forward to your Trump/Russia post.

  59. 59.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 6:29 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Ha! I never look at those cottonwoods unless we’re getting wind. There are no trees that could hit our house and do damage, all the ones on our property are at the outer edges of the lot. It was only 26 mph but the gusts were pretty strong when I was out.

    We had some Real Wind and lost our power on the Thursday before Christmas for more than 12 hours and had to watch the tv by candlelight. (One of my dad’s jokes) We have a generator so we ran the refrigerator and the tv equipment on it that evening. Our furnace is gas but uses some electricity for the fan and the ignition, but there is no way to hook it up to the generator. The storm was localized to our neighborhood which is on a big hill above Woodinville. There was no evidence of the wind causing trouble in town when we went out to eat that evening. It went out around noon when we went to see a movie and we had a bit of trouble getting to our house because there were trees down blocking the two roads that lead to our corner. One was a block away and lying across the power lines across the road from its trunk. Now I’m starting to notice the power lines and wondering why they aren’t all underground in this neighborhood.

  60. 60.

    Immanentize

    December 29, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    @Miss Bianca:
    Oh, my cat is a super hero. I’ve said it before, but in this house of two gripey fellows, Toasty is what keeps our brains equalized. He is like the kitteh Dr. Charles Xavier.

  61. 61.

    opiejeanne

    December 29, 2018 at 6:32 pm

    @Mnemosyne: At my 50th HS reunion in September at a winery in Temecula, when the sun went down it got down to 68 and people were standing around shivering. They kept asking me how I could stand it with my arms bare. That’s what I keep my house at during the day.

  62. 62.

    NMgal

    December 29, 2018 at 6:38 pm

    I’m about 50 miles as the raven flies north-northeast of where Cheryl lives, similar weather past several days. Beautiful and friggin freezin cold, 20 degrees or so below norms for this time of year. Today I spent a couple of hours looking for cheap but late-cancellable motel reservations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe for the 31st — going to pick up a friend flying in at noon that day at ABQ. Weather forecast indicates no trouble getting there, but another snowstorm looks to be moving in that afternoon, so I want some guarantee of a place to hole up comfortably if driving back up to the high country becomes too risky. We may be looking at another 6 inches of snow. Can’t complain much: we need the water too badly! And the mountain looks puuuuurty.

  63. 63.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 6:39 pm

    @opiejeanne: It works the other way too. If you live in a hot, humid climate without a/c and then go to where there is a/c it feels like it’s freezing. I think our bodies adjust to the climate we’re living in over time.

  64. 64.

    Redshift

    December 29, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: The thing that annoys me most these Russian weapons announcements is how local radio stations (both NPR and the local news station) have defense “experts” on to talk credulously about how scary they are, and how we’re “behind” on these types of weapons, as if they somehow balance reach other out. I guess that’s what gets you booked regularly and gets defense contractors to support your “think” tank..

  65. 65.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 6:41 pm

    John hasn’t tweeted in four hours. I hope he’s not sitting in an ER.

  66. 66.

    Redshift

    December 29, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    @Yarrow: Oh sure, and not just climate. I get cold in the fall at temperatures that would feel warm in the middle of winter.

  67. 67.

    NotMax

    December 29, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    @Yarrow

    Busily occupied fighting off the Floridian palmetto bugs with a whip and a chair.

    :)

  68. 68.

    Immanentize

    December 29, 2018 at 6:44 pm

    @opiejeanne:
    During SUPER STORM SANDY! (which for some reason must always be shouted in all caps here in the N.E.) a 80+ maple tree in the swail across the street from us blew over straight at our house. The tree was huge! First, it took down all the power and phone and cable lines which were on it’s side of the street. That event pulled down three telephone poles attached to the lines. Then it came down and crushed a nice medium sized red Maple in my swail. Then the purple Thundercloud plum tree in my yard. Coming to land, eventually, away from the house, but square on my car. CRUSH!

    The best story, however, was my neighbor who had looked at all the large maple trees between our yards and decided his car would be safer out of his driveway in the street. No, the big tree didn’t touch it, but on one of those telephone poles which toppled, was a large transformer which flew and landed directly in the middle of his car’s trunk. His car was totalled, mine was not.

  69. 69.

    dmsilev

    December 29, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    @Mnemosyne: It’s been three and a half years so far…

  70. 70.

    Raven

    December 29, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    @Yarrow: Maybe he’s at the Orange Bowl.

  71. 71.

    Miss Bianca

    December 29, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    @Immanentize:

    He is like the kitteh Dr. Charles Xavier.

    *snerk*

  72. 72.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 29, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    @Redshift: Yup. I went to a talk by a guy like that about a month ago. I picked out one of the things he was trying to make scary (and people seemed to be buying) and pointed out a simple defense against it. He didn’t like it and quickly called on another person.

    There are a lot of colonels in the military, many fewer generals. Those left-over colonels have to do something.

  73. 73.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    @Redshift: That’s definitely true. If it’s summer and a gazillion degrees outside it can feel really chilly if a storm blows through even though it’s not that cold.

  74. 74.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 29, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    @chris:

    There’s nothing like a soaking wet cat arriving in your lap with a live mouse which he then releases

    Live birds are way more exciting.

  75. 75.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 6:52 pm

    @NotMax: Maybe so, but that definitely sounds like ER bait.

    @Raven: Cole willingly going into a large crowd? I dunno, man….

  76. 76.

    raven

    December 29, 2018 at 6:53 pm

    @Yarrow: He used to be a football fan.

  77. 77.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 6:54 pm

    @raven: Yeah, but the watch-on-tv kind.

  78. 78.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 29, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: To be a little kinder, it’s easy to take things at face value. By and large, when our government advertises a test of new technology, it’s reasonably accurate, although often on the sunny side. The tests of ballistic missile defense systems, for example, show that they will never stop enough missiles to make a difference in a full-up missile exchange. There is usually enough information, however, to infer that. But the Russians take those tests at face value. So that hypersonic missile is designed to be so fast they couldn’t hit it, even if the systems worked as well as the claims.

    The biggest question, to my mind, is why anyone thinks that someone on the other side would deliberately start a nuclear exchange. Slide into it during a war, maybe, but we all know how it ends, and St. Ronaldus did get that one right: A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

  79. 79.

    Jay

    December 29, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    @opiejeanne:

    If you have any significant “size” generator, there are secondary breaker boxes and transfer switches, ( along with autostart features) that “allow” you to select which household breakers or appliances you want to run off the generator.

    In MR, there was a power pole that would regularly get knocked diwn by idiot drivers, to the point that once a month or so, power to our neighborhood would be out for 24/48 hours,

    And then the semi-annual windstorms/ice storms that would see huge swaths of areas of the lower Rainland powerless.

    So, Year 2, I bought a Generac 2kwh natural gas generator, auto start, transfer switch and had it wired in. Fridge, stove, freezer, furnace, hot water heater, ( on demand), Kitchen, ( just don’t use the microwave, toaster, etc, high wattage appliances), livingroom, bathroom, bedrooms.

    Someday’s, after a long, tiring commute, ( traffic lights out), it was nice to come home to the only lit warm house in miles.

  80. 80.

    Raven

    December 29, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    I’m working an extra year to get tickets to the Notre Dame-Dawgs game. We should pole axe em just like Clemson!

  81. 81.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 7:01 pm

    @Raven: When do you leave for New Orleans?

  82. 82.

    Raven

    December 29, 2018 at 7:07 pm

    @Yarrow: We delayed until the morning. I really wanted to see these two games and didn’t want to get squirrelly on that long drive so we decided to stay through next Saturday instead of Thursday. The benefit of having a free place to stay with no time restrictions.

  83. 83.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 7:21 pm

    @Raven: That sounds smart. Hopefully the weather will be better for driving. Guess you’ll be there for New Year’s. That’ll be fun.

  84. 84.

    Raven

    December 29, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    @Yarrow: The game is New Years Night. We’re not much on the partying and we rarely see midnight even on NYE but we’ll see. The weather is supposed to be shitty most if the time we’re there so it may be shopping for the princess and the WW2 museum for me!

  85. 85.

    debbie

    December 29, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    @Schlemazel:

    I am sure she was looking for the door to summer.

    Aren’t we all?

  86. 86.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    GAH. Pet peeve. Dumbass political commentators who pronounce Beto “Bee-to” or “Bay-to.” It’s not that hard people. It’s “Bet-o,” like the word “bet.” It’s \a vowel sound people already know and use if they speak English. It’s just so lazy. Latest culprit I heard today, S.E. Cupp.

  87. 87.

    chris

    December 29, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: Haha! Threw my back out once when he brought a mourning dove into the bedroom and let it go. But I caught the bird as he dropped it and released it apparently ruffled but unharmed.

  88. 88.

    debbie

    December 29, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    Cheryl, those are great photos. I love looking at winter and have come to hate being in it. Too slippery for my lousy back. Next life, I had better have a garage.

  89. 89.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    @Raven: Oooh…the museum is fantastic. My parents were charter members. There’s fun stuff to do in New Orleans even if it’s inside. I went once and we happened to be there during some home tour. One of our group insisted we get tickets so we did. It was amazing. So you never know when unexpected things like that might pop up.

  90. 90.

    J R in WV

    December 29, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    @opiejeanne:

    Opiejeanne,

    You should get an electrician out to install a connection to allow you to connect your generator to your furnace. It would involve a gang switch one switch that kills the connection to the power grid, with another connecting the furnace to the generator. Gas furnaces just run the blower and some electronics to control the burner, it doesn’t take much more power than a fridge. I can’t imagine it would cost more than a couple of hundred dollars, parts and labor, and it might keep your water from freezing off some cold stormy night. Worth investigating.

    In our little old farmhouse, I used an extension cord connected to a breaker into one side of the circuit-breaker box. I had to shut off the main breaker connecting the house to the power grid, fire up the generator, and turn on the breaker the generator was connected to. That’s less hi-tech than having a combined switch to shut off the grid and connect the generator to the furnace, and not code — not at all.

    But it worked for years. We only got power for one side of the box, meaning half the outlets were dead during the outage, but still, better than none. I still do that out west if the solar battery power drops off late at night, hook the generator up to the box, good tt go. If the generator starts, of course!

  91. 91.

    Jeffro

    December 29, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    It was deceptively not-super-hot today here in the Bahamas and breezy too, and so of course despite lathering up in sunscreen (at first, anyway) and sunblock shirts being worn, and hats, and having our lounge chairs under cover…

    …naturally we all got sunburnt here or there, or some missed or not-reapplied spot.

    Why this pale, pale family of mine vacations in the tropics, ever, I’ll never know.

    Oh wait…???????‍♂️??‍♀️???

  92. 92.

    raven

    December 29, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    @Yarrow: I met my old man down there for the dedication of the “Pacific Wing” back when it was the D-Day museum. “I was in TWENTY goddamn D-Days” he’d say. He wouldn’t go but when they finally did that he agreed. We had a great time and the vets were stunned at the turnout. I wished he’d hung around for the new museum.

  93. 93.

    Paulwartenberg

    December 29, 2018 at 7:44 pm

    Ocean the Wiggle Cat thanks you for making her a centerfold on the January 2019 calendar

  94. 94.

    NotMax

    December 29, 2018 at 7:52 pm

    @Yarrow

    Latest culprit I heard today, S.E. Cupp.

    Not lazy, calculated. It’s something conservative commentators/outlets do on purpose.

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    December 29, 2018 at 7:58 pm

    @NotMax – Yarrow

    Remember both Bushes deliberately calling him SAD-am Hussein?

  96. 96.

    Yarrow

    December 29, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    @raven: Cool. I hope you have a good visit.

    @NotMax: Not just conservatives, though. I personally know two old white guys, both of whom canvassed for Beto for months, who always call him Bee-to. Love these guys but it’s somehow hard for them to say it right. One of them has a young adult daughter who was always correcting his pronunciation with a “Dad! It’s Bet-o!” and eyeroll. Heh.

  97. 97.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 29, 2018 at 8:02 pm

    @debbie: To be fair, 7 degrees out here in the dry air doesn’t feel nearly as cold as it would feel on the east coast. And 95 degrees here feels much cooler. So, win-win.

  98. 98.

    debbie

    December 29, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:

    I’ve been in 96 degrees in Arizona and quite enjoyed it. I’ve been in 125 degrees in Las Vegas and called bullshit on dry heat being bearable.

  99. 99.

    StringOnAStick

    December 29, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    We went back country skiing today, and until today it has been good powder with some quite cold days, but today started at 4 degrees and once we got to treeline the wind was howling. Crossing the upper open area has left me with some frost burn in the parts of my face that I couldn’t get covered. So, it both needs to snow and get a bit warmer before our next outing.

  100. 100.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 29, 2018 at 8:30 pm

    @debbie: After living on both coasts and both borders, plus Omaha and DC, I think the weather in Denver is excellent.

  101. 101.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 29, 2018 at 8:38 pm

    @StringOnAStick: Adventurous! Do you carry an avalanche beacon?

  102. 102.

    Miss Bianca

    December 29, 2018 at 8:40 pm

    @StringOnAStick: I went for a jog/hike with the dogs this morning, just before noon, and it had warmed up enough that once I slowed down I was warm, but oh, brrr, it is going to be bitter tonight! Got both woodstoves (upstairs and downstairs) cranking, we split a lot of wood for the occasion! Now it’s time for pizza and beer – I feel like I’ve earned it! ; )

    Really want to try skijoring with Luna the Wonder Husky sometime – I keep telling myself that I’m going to go up to Crested Butte at the end of the season and score a sweet deal on some cross-country skis, but other priorities keep getting in the way. Plus, going down my driveway, with the 38% slope, would be…well, it would be like downhill skiiing, really! I guess I’d have to wait till I got the bottom to hook up the dog! : )

  103. 103.

    J R in WV

    December 29, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    @Raven:

    There is a huge variety of great music of many ethnic origins in NOLA, even in the Quarter, not to mention the rest of the city. Check that out. Some is just bar bands loud to fill up the bar, but some is wonderful and creative.

  104. 104.

    frosty

    December 29, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    @J R in WV: @Raven: We saw a good band at the Mahogany Jazz and Absinthe Club (I think that’s the name). There was us and 2 other couples, so no one made any money that night.

  105. 105.

    J R in WV

    December 29, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @frosty:

    I went the length of Bourbon Street with my co-worker buddy one night. There were a lot of pseudo-Cajun bands in bars, we stood at the open doors and took a look, not excited.

    We went into one bar that had a German oompah band playing old jazz favorites, had a beer there, it was fun, very eclectic group of instruments, all very good players, went on down the street

    Towards the far end of the entertainment district, there was a joint that I think was mostly a living room, this night set up to host a Reggae band, windows open to the street, a small cover charge, not a big crowd.

    They were fabulous! We were there as long as we could stand to be out, with a work morning back at the hotel. We left a huge tip in their jar, I shook hands with the disabled keyboard player, we went on back to our hotel. I wish I knew who they were, names, they were so, so good.

    And in New Orleans, too. Amazing. We were astounded, had a great time. The Best!

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