Last night... and this morning

Last night my youngest, "Four" had her Christmas Choral Concert. She wasn't on stage very much this year, because her grade has a very small group, but she got to be in the spotlight a few moments during a short solo! Yah! She was worried she would mess up, but she did good!

I got a few snapshots of her face with a microphone covering most of it! :-) I should have taken the photo from the side instead of straight on. Oh well, I am not the photographer that some of my readers are.

It's raining, very hard this morning. When I awoke this morning, and turned on the TV the talking head said there was a lot of freezing rain and that the roads could be icy. I immediately turned it off, and went back to sleep (for another 30 minutes) - no need to rush this morning.

(NOTE: The Red Arrow is where I am, just southwest of the ice/snow)

After I got my shower I went into the bedroom to get my clothes and noticed the shower was on in my bedroom. There were three wet spots on the ceiling, and water dripping down from all three. I just had this roof repaired over the summer, and here it is the first big rain since then and the roof is leaking... arg!

I called the roofer, but I only got his voice mail. I left my normal rambling type of message saying something about the fact that the roof was leaking and he just did the roof, and could he come look at it. I asked him to call me back, and here it is almost 2 hours later and I haven't gotten a return call yet... I know he could be busy, but I would think a roofer wouldn't be out roofing on a day like today... So what's he doing? Sleeping in too?

Well I am at work now, so I better get back to doing what I get paid for. And don't tell anyone that I was posting an entry on my blog while I was on company time... I don't think they would approve.

Later Lou

December...

Well December has arrived... and here in Western Pennsylvania it's arrived with White Christmas weather. As I may have mentioned in the past, I am not overly fond of snow. It does, however, make the bleak, post autumn landscape look wonderful, but snow almost always accompanied by outside temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. I tend to prefer temperatures above 60, actually 70 and above, but I am willing to be a little flexible.

There are other negative aspects of snow as well. Snow creates a walking and driving hazard, which isn't much of a problem for me, but since there are a lot of people that don't know how to walk and drive in the snow, I have to go around them, or go much slower than necessary. Snow means I have to spend more time preparing to go some where than just getting in the car and going. I have to add a few layers of clothing, shovel the walk, scrape the car, and wait for the car to warm up. As bad as snow is, don't get me started on ice!

Anyway, today we have plenty of snow and a little ice, and it made the drive to work less than pleasant. It was exciting a few times, when the car slid unexpectedly, but in the morning before my brain has kicked in, I could do without that type of excitement. Today is also the day that Two has scheduled to take his driver's test to get his license. This is his second attempt, and he is extremely opposed to rescheduling.

His school's annual semi-formal dance is this Saturday, and he would like to have his license so he can drive to and from and pick up his date without needing another "licensed driver" to ride shotgun. I don't blame him for his desires, because I had a similar desire when I was his age. I remember it well... (add chimes and a fade out as we go back in time....)

I went to the driver testing station my grandfather full of confidence just a scant few days before the a big dance, and a big first date. We waited in a long line, and after about an hour, my number was called, and away I went. A few minutes later, my confidence was deflated, and I was feeling like a loser... because I had failed my driver's test. I was told I couldn't take the test again until the next day, which was only 1 day before the dance. The good news is that after a second day, and an even longer line I passed the test, got the license and drove to the dance.

So here back in present day, I am hoping history will repeat itself, and Two will succeed today. If not, he won't be able to take the test tomorrow, as there is now a longer waiting period between tests (I believe it's a week), and you have to schedule your testing time, instead of just waiting in line.

Please think good thoughts, say a quick little prayer, and cross your fingers with me and hope that all goes well this afternoon at 3PM, in the snow, in December, a few scant days before the big dance.

Later Lou

It's snowing!!!

Ok, that "!!!" in the title isn't a exhaltation, it's a exclaimation!

This is what I saw when I went outside this morning:

BTW: When I was snapping this picture, Scrappers, my second cat, decided to investigate the going's on outside, and was fascinated with the falling white flakes.

I mean, I thought we were experiencing global warming, and the ice caps were melting... why in heck is it snowing in Western PA in mid November!?! Ok enough of my complaining, for now. Later Lou

Winter

Winter has arrived in Western Pennsylvania. This past week has been full of snow, and ice, the first real bit of winter this season. All of December, and most of January were very mild this year, almost like an extended autumn. We didn't get the severe winter that a lot of the mid-west got with the ice storms and heavy snow falls, but still enough to throw a couple of snowballs, and if I really wanted to I could probably make a snowman. I have family in the north west side of the state of Missouri and I got an Email from them a few weeks ago telling everyone that they were without power, and that they were sending the Email with the laptop's battery reserve. They said that the storm was so bad, that many stores ran out of product, and fuel stations were sold out, and they had been heating their home with portable kerosene heaters. So far, that kind of weather hasn't hit here, and I am being selfish, and hoping it doesn't in the future either! I will update you when I hear from them again. This past weekend my son, Josh, went to a Boy Scout function that was a two and a half hour drive up into the "mountains" of western PA to a small place called Heritage Reservation in Farmington, PA. Of course this little adventure of his also happened to be the weekend of the worst of our winter weather. I made it there and back both times (drop off/pick up) ok, and I only got stuck once. It happened when I went to pick him up on Sunday. I drove into the camping area, and to get to the spot we agreed to meet, I had to go over a small hill that ended in a small dead end parking area. As soon as I started down the slope I realized I had made a big mistake, but it was too late. I had passed the point of no return. At the bottom of the slope in the parking area, I got turned around with the help of the camp ranger pushing the front of my car while I backed into an empty parking spot. Josh met me and I began back up the slope, and only made it half way. I backed back down the slope and tried a second run, but only made it to the same spot. I believe I was an amusing specticle to watch, and when I stopped trying a group of young scouts jumped out of a nearby truck and pushed my car the rest of the way up the hill. Maybe I should consider winter tires? My new HHR came with "All Season" tires, and although it handles pretty well in the wet and slushy roads, it just doesn't have enough grip to get up an snow and ice covered hill... unless I get enough momentum going first. I guess I should stop calling my HHR "new"... I have had it for 6 months, and it definitatly has "wear" marks. :-) I will tell you more about those in a future post.