Last Icicle

A dripping day and today the last icicle fell from the roof....Older daughter proudly announced "I took a photo of it first Mum" So here it is...

another snap she took highlights how hard it is being a cat sometimes...

Snow Candles/Diary

It snowed again last night..just when the roads were starting to clear, still, it looked pretty. The mountains were hidden by a thick wall of cloud this morning so the normal dramatic backdrop of the children's school was missing. We live in the more financially challenged part of town but we have some lovely views of the Chugach mountains as a backdrop.

The Ravens were very noisy this morning it was 'trash day' (or bin man day so to speak)and a large group of Ravens had gathered for a chat on the edge of the park... so I think they were planning a group raid of some one's bins for breakfast. They are large noisy birds, with glossy black feathers and I'm sure they have a sense of humour.

It was cold on the fingers this morning and the girls both pulled down the optional face masks that hide in their fleece hats. The thin layer of snow over huge patches of ice made for an interesting brisk walk..it's always a brisk walk because in spite of getting up at 5.30am every morning I still manage to exit the house with a very tight margin of time for the 3/4 mile walk to school...I'm just rubbish at getting the girls out of the door on time...saying that, I have to note we started out late and arrived early today so our 'brisk walk' time must be improving!

Other half has a really horrid cough at the moment poor thing, so isn't having much fun, oh dear..I just hope he gets some sleep. Still despite this he decided that making snow candles would be fun tonight so the girls got to help him melt wax, add red colouring and stir, then poke small holes in the snow and pour wax into them (adding a wick at the last minute)

you then wait a little while then carefully dig them out of the snow, we then took the whole clump of snow indoors into the kitchen sink , then gently poured water over any remaining snow to melt it away and reveal the candle...

it was good fun, they may not make terribly practical candles but they certainly make wonderful rather coral like wax sculptures ...we need longer wicks for our next attempt.

So a funny day today, one of the sort of days when you don't feel like anything got done or was achieved..yet when I think about it the usual basic chores were completed

(well more or less..don't ask about the washing up, or the clothes that need to go in the dryer..gosh darn it..and don't look at the floor..)

and the girls made snow candles, worked on arty things and read, I made cookies and bread rolls ... I've found that feeding them the instant they return from school is essential for family harmony...they are so hungry when they get home and quite horrible if hungry and not allowed to decompress. It's amazing the effect of some food and a bit of peace and quiet has on their moods, they munch and draw or read or watch "Fetch with Ruff Ruffman" on TV (for those who don't have kids who watch PBS..it's a children's challenge/quiz show hosted by a cartoon dog... actually it's very good just hard to describe!)

And now they are both tucked up in bed, sound asleep, other half is coughing and reading, more coughing than reading I'm afraid but we're trying some cough meds so hopefully that'll help, and I'm blogging and wishing the stove would kick out a bit more heat as it feels chilly tonight although the desk thermometer disagrees (perhaps we're just tired). Anyway perhaps it was a busy day after all and I just didn't realise it.... so I think I'll curl up with a good radio play in a minute and have a rest as morning will soon be here! (usually long before I'm ready for it!)

Opening Lines

Maureen at Random Distractions started this! and my fuzzy brain thought yippee what fun and then went totally blank ..which is rather silly when you're asking it to recall unforgettable openings you've read... and you can't think of a darn one.

Very embarrassing. Well the opening of Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two cities" did vaguely appear together with the feeling that Alan Plater spoofed it nicely in one of his Beiderbecke creations..."It was the best of terms, it was the worst of terms" (at least I think he did!)and my brain conjured up the Covers of other books..so obviously it was trying.... But I'm going to use Chemo brain as an excuse and have cheated and rushed off to browse through a pile of favourite books to see what was it about the opening passages that drew me in. So here follows a few opening lines from a random selection of favourites ...Ok we're still sorting out the den and my favourite books are rather out of reach unless you stand on the squashy sofa on one leg and wobble precariously whilst leaning at an improbable angle..then it's just working out how to get back down again without disaster befalling self or books so balance self and books on the edge of the piano.. leap athletically down (ok clutch any vaguely solid object and tentatively step down)dust them and there task completed ...easy (lol)

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"Diary of a Provincial Lady
November 7th- Plant the indoor bulbs. Just as I am in the middle of them, Lady Boxe calls. I say, untruthfully, how nice to see her, and beg her to sit down while I just finish the bulbs"

Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M Delafield. 1930

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"You either belong to the City of London, that square mile of clerks and typists,brokers and commission men, bankers and company promoters, underwriters and accountants; or like a bowler hat at a boating party, you don't. The individual who, at closing time one weekday afternoon, launched himself out of a back-street pub and was towed into the tideway of humanity about the Bank of England by a bull terrier bitch on the end of a piece of string emphatically didn't; neither did the dog."

Cork in the Doghouse by Macdonald Hastings. 1957

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"It began in a woman's club in London on a February afternoon,-an uncomfortable club, and a miserable afternoon- when Mrs Wilkins, who had come down from Hampstead to shop and had lunched at her club ,took up The Times from the table in the smoking room and running her listless eye down the Agony column saw this :
To Those Who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine.
Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let Furnished for the month of April. Necessary servants remain. Z, Box 1000, The Times."

Enchanted April by the Author of "Elizabeth and her German Garden" 1928

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...to be continued (well it's amusing me)

A Day for for Growing Icicles

It's brilliantly sunny outside, I have a tonne of chores that should've been done yesterday (well weeks ago some of them) but I'm here typing instead...a secret vice! can you have a secret vice in a public place (don't answer that it doesn't bear thinking about..well some of the examples that come to mind certainly don't) Anyway at least it has less calories than chocolate and No caffeine.

The heavy machinery is working outside as I type, whirring and beeping and periodically obscuring the bright sun. The machines grade (scrape) the road and pile all the snow they can into a long hillock down the centre of the roadway then another machine gobbles up the snow and spits it out of a side spout into a convoy of heavy trucks that run gently alongside, they queue up to be fed and when full, thunder off with their brimming loads of snow, to empty at the nearest 'snow dump' (just think empty car park/quarry type space that ends the Winter beneath tonnes of snow!)

It's definitely a day for growing icicles the sun is so strong and bright, that there is a steady drip, drip run off in it's beams, but the thermometer is 29 in the shade so it's still freezing out there albeit not by much!

It may not be Spring here yet but it smells like 'break up' the end of Winter when everyone gets so excited, as the light is back!!!! and Spring will soon be on it's way. There should be a chorus of singing and dancing in here but I can do neither so it's imagination time!

The trees are starting to show buds, the birds are singing...Skiers are trying to get as many 'last ski outings' of the season as they can. Before the crisp white stuff disappears for the Summer.

Redoubt grumbles in the background as a distraction, but as few inches of fresh snow fell and covered the thin layer of grey ash that covered the city over the weekend and spruced it up nicely. It even snowed lightly for a while this morning, big fluffy light floaty flakes...most unlike our normal powder... I still remember my puzzlement when I discovered that there were different kinds of snow and that "snowman" snow (soft, wet, clumpy stuff that sticks together well and is mould able!) falls very rarely here, we really usually have almost sand dry powder that kicks up when you walk through it.

"Where is our lunch????"

Well off to feed the birds who have celebrated the return of the light with some lovely brown eggs..the clever things and then off to mundane chores but perhaps a quick lunch first.

And if you are a cat of course then you can just relax and enjoy the sunshine....