The weather has been cold and dry for the last week, but there's a bitter winter storm with snow and subzero lows forecast for the weekend. May the weather Gods be merciful!
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Update #3 - January 2024
Thursday, January 9, 2025
Update #2 - January 2025
January weather is back this week - very cold with intermittent snow. I keep planning on running errands, then canceling. Next week at least looks drier, if not much warmer. My orange cat Ruay hasn't spent much time outside this week, and when he's out I've been setting a timer to remind me to check on him. We'll both welcome the approach of spring.
Thursday, January 2, 2025
Update #1 - January 2025
Relatively mild and dry this last week, although we had one night in the lower teens. Next week's weather looks more promising for precipitation, which we need badly. I ask the weather gods every morning for rain - we shouldn't be having fire warnings in January.
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Update #4 - December 2024
Mostly dry weather, 50s and 20s, although we got a little rain last night. I went around yesterday morning and this morning giving Christmas cards and jam to a few of my neighbors. Fortunately this was Royal Crest Dairy's delivery day, because when I went out first thing to collect the milk, I found that my neighbors on the north side had reciprocated (presumably yesterday afternoon when I was at Rowen's house) with a card and cookies - happily I found the cookies before a squirrel did!
Season's greetings to everyone, and best wishes
for good fortune in the next year!
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Update #3 - December 2024
More writing means less yard work, but there's no urgency with that this time of year. The weather has been mild and dry for the last couple of weeks, and almost all of the snow has left my back yard except for some tattered remains of the November blizzard in shadowed spots. It doesn't look like we'll get a white Christmas this year, which is all the better for travelers. We'll be celebrating Midwinter on Saturday, outside for a change. It will be nice to celebrate with a real fire!
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Update #2 - December 2024
Happy winter holidays to anyone who reads this. At least I'm getting my Thursday posts done on Thursday this week! :)
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Update #1 - December 2024
The weather has been mild this week for December; most of the previous snow which isn't in shaded places has melted, although we may get a little more Sunday night. I spent yesterday taking Ruay to the vet for his annual exam and booster shots -- important because he spends part of the day outside, and sometimes, er, interacts with one of the neighborhood cats (not in a friendly fashion, let's say!). Then I spent most of the rest of the day doing assorted errands. I'm hoping
today will be more productive, writing-wise.
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Update #4 - November 2024
Rowen and I and a couple of friends celebrated an early Thanksgiving last weekend at her house, so the friends could celebrate today with their family members. Among other things we had roast duck, and I made a cheesecake. Good food, good wine, good company. May everyone reading this have as pleasant a Thanksgiving today!
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Update #3 - November 2024
In other developments, my neighbor on the south asked Sunday if he could take some branches off the fence-line elm tree which was overhanging his power line due to the snow, and I said, take what you want, I'm thinking of having the whole tree removed, and could you take some branches off on my side which are on my lines while you're at it? The upshot was that he took the whole tree down in pieces, and I have been spending a couple of hours a day reducing big branches into smaller pieces for large item pickup Monday. I'm going to have all the firewood I need for quite a while!
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Update #2 - November 2024
Then on Wednesday evening my furnace developed problems (it was doing something called "short cycling", where it repeatedly tries to start and then stops), and it started to get rather cold in here. I managed to schedule a repairman for Friday afternoon. Thursday I went out and ran various errands, including buying a second little electric heater like the one I keep in the bathroom. The repairman arrived as scheduled on Friday, rapidly diagnosed the problem (a gadget which tells the furnace if it is getting enough air had died), located, fetched, and installed the replacement part, and did a complete evaluation of the furnace using a bunch of high-tech instruments. (The rest of the furnace checked out fine.) This all took a little over two hours, and was not inexpensive, but now the house is warm again, and I can try and figure out what day it is <grin>, and hopefully start writing again!