Snow and Boulder

Sunday (two days ago) marked the deepest snowfall of the season - seven to eight inches, depending upon your location and the wind.  I figure we had 8 inches, since I had four inches of snow over ice on the car in the morning before I went out, and I had to remove another four inches at 5 p.m., when I made my evening trip to Pip and Squeak.  I realize that a lot of people in Boulder are new residents - we have a growth rate of more than 1,000 people each month - but it would be nice if people used common sense in snowy weather.
     First, when you clean off your car, besides the windshield and side and rear windows, clean off the mirrors and your headlights and tail lights!  If you don't have a good scraper, wait until your defroster works well enough to clear your windshield.
    Second, turn on your headlights!! 
   Third, if you are crossing an area that has NOT been cleared by a snowplow, remember that your vehicle WILL fish tail, if you use too much speed.
  Fourth, please do NOT ride on someone's bumper (like mine)....
  Fifth, be aware of crazy pedestrians - they will walk in front of you with great nonchalance - whether they have the right of way, or not.  A person ignored the "Do Not Walk" crossing sign yesterday, and was struck and killed by a vehicle.   -  Last night, in the dusk before true nightfall, a did not see a person dressed in either black or navy blue who was walking a black dog.  I DID see the white doggie poop bag, which was my only warning there was something/someone on the street corner.
  Sixth, please give yourself enough time to clear off your car (if you aren't lucky enough to have a garage, or covered parking) and get it warmed up BEFORE you leave for your destination...  Driving the roads without a clear view, and/or speeding to make up lost time is both dangerous and stupid.
  Seventh - be aware that "black ice" is everywhere - if you think you see water on the road when it's cold out, it's probably ice.  You will slide and swirl.  It's fun, if there is absolutely no one else around - but if you're in heavy traffic, count on multiple hits....

   My last comment is about the beauty of the snow at North Boulder Park - I pass it twice a day, morning and evening - and I have a fantastic time watching the cross-country skiers having a ball out upon the open playing fields coated with snow.  It's a glorious sight!

Snow!

Boulder had it's snow record blasted away Monday night into Tuesday morning - we officially had 16.8 inches of snowfall in about 20 hours.  Thankfully, it was fine powder.  I used a plastic broom to sweep my balcony clear at noon today - although we had more than 24 inches piled up.  The high today was 26 degrees (F) and the expected low tonight is 1 above 0.  I need to go feed Seek, and spend some time with her, then head over to Finn's for the night...  Here are some photos from around town during the past 36 hours...

First Snow in Boulder

The weather folks said we'd get a mixture of rain and snow beginning at midnight....  It started about 7 a.m., instead.  Currently, just rain and drizzle are falling, even though it's 34 degrees outside at half-past 10....  But there is no accumulation of snow here in the yard, or anywhere that I can see.  But I did get a nice photo of the snow falling around 9 this morning - the white streaks are falling snow:

  I did have an unpleasant surprise when I visited the main public library yesterday - I returned the single book that I had, walked in, and perused the new books sections, both fiction and non-fiction, and was slightly dismayed that nothing on the shelves piqued my interest.  I then walked up to the main floor area that displays the fiction, mystery, science fiction and fantasy, westerns, and young adult fiction area.  There were no bookshelves, and there were no books.  I wandered up to the next level, and found the reference area and non-fiction books.  I went down to the main level and found the audio books, DVDs, juvenile books, children's books, and the large-print areas.  But no adult fiction.

  My friend Renee was working at the checkout desk, and I took a round-about route to her, peeking at the dry-erase board in the lobby.  I had walked past it on the way in without looking at it.  The info board stated that the areas I found missing were boxed up during renovations, and, if you wanted a book other than what was on the new shelves, you had to go on-line and request it.  If the book was available from another branch, you would be able to pick it up at the main branch.  Otherwise, the books are packed up until "near the end of 2014," according to the notice.  So I went to Renee and requested 10 books - five Yarbro Saint Germain books from Prospector, and books by Laura McHugh, Julia Keller, and Jacqueline Winspear.  Now I'm waiting for them to be available for pick-up.  So, I'm re-reading the newest C J Cherryh book in the Foreigner series, the newest James Rollins book in the Sigma Force series, and several old copies of Zane Grey westerns....

   Thank goodness for three college football games on Saturday and the Broncos on Sunday!  I am feeling a lot of animosity, and I hope that yelling at the players on TV will relieve the stress...    Oh, and even though it's 34 degrees outside now, tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and in the 70s, with sun and 80s on Sunday....  Colorado....  What can you say?

Bits And Pieces

The National Western Stock Show Parade kicks off the NWSS at noon today in down town Denver.  One big surprise for this year is a free general admission day on Tuesday, 21 January.  I just might head down there myself, since it's a totally free day - other than buying food, drinks, and souvenirs...   and, with my bus pass, the trip down and back is free, also.  Neat.
  Hopefully, the Antares 9 supply rocket will get off the launch pad at Wallops Island today - the giant solar flare yesterday kept the ISS supply ship in the cradle.
  I shouldn't laugh about the death of any person - but I couldn't keep a crow of surprised laughter inside when I read about the man who died in Oklahoma.  His step-son is charged with his murder, and both men were drunk at the time of the verbal argument that escalated into a death.  The stepson grabbed the elastic back of his step-father's underwear, and pulled it up, over the man's back, and over the man's head; then he released the elastic band under his step-father's chin.  The elastic waistband choked his step-father to death. I have to admit the first thought in my mind was , "Wow!  What a huge wedgie!"  I am sorry that I found this man's death humorous - but now the news is reporting the man's death as coming from "an atomic wedgie."
  Even though we have been above 32 degrees for the past several days, there is still a six-inch deep spread of snow with a hard crust out in the back yard.  The squirrels skip lightly over it, and if the cats pad softly, they can easily cross it, too.  But Nedi got a little exuberant this morning, and he looked very startled when he went crashing through the crust and came out with snowy legs and a snowy belly...  It was cute.
  And I was very happy to note that for the BCS Championship game, Tim Tebow gave a prediction of the Seminoles winning, with a score of 35 to 31.  The final score?  34 to 31, in favor of the 'Noles...  Good on you, Timmy!

Christmas Revels

It was 18 degrees this morning, and there was about 1/2 inch of snow left from last night's fall...  Flurries started a little after 1 p.m., but there was no build-up until after 5 p.m.  At that point in time, we were being seated at The Cheesecake Factory, and I pointed out the heavier snowfall to Kathy, Jim, and Anne.  The Christmas Revels was totally awesome, as it has been for the past five years - fantastic music, singing and dancing, Morris dancing, traditional wassailing songs, a traditional Mummer's play, and six songs that the audience was included in singing.
   Jim, as usual, wore a pine green sweater and his red Santa hat trimmed with white "fur."  Several smaller children stopped and waved at Jim, but we ended up with one of the trumpet players, from the Flagstaff Brass Quintet, chatting with us before the performance, during the intermission, and then at The Cheesecake Factory.  The man's name is Leonard Fahrni, he's a mathematics instructor, and a fan of Shakespeare's. He'll be heading for Prague this spring to see a Czech presentation of Troilus and Cressida, and then a production of Dvorjak's "Rusalka."  After the Revels, we were waiting for our table in the restaurant, and there he was again; and, once we had eaten and were leaving, we spoke yet again.  It was like we were being thrown together for a reason...
  In any event, we stuffed ourselves at supper, and we all had enough to take home for another meal.  The food and service was excellent, as always.  I came back home, grabbed a good book, and read until I fell asleep.
  It's sunny and clear out, and almost all of last night's snow has melted - and I'm writing this during the Broncos' half-time break.  Go Broncos!

Snowing

A few flurries of snow are still drifting down and it's 7 degrees outside. I have on a pair of blue Gator sweatpants, blue wool socks, and my orange long-sleeved Broncos T-shirt. The football field at Mile High Stadium was covered with tarps last night, and was still covered a few minutes ago, when the local TV station finished a pre-game broadcast. The snow itself is very fine, light powder; and there has been just enough (here in Boulder) to cover the grass in the back yard. Lovey is curled up on my nightgown in our bed, and Nedi is on the second level of the cat tree, watching the squirrels eat nuts. The crows and ravens were here earlier, and got their craws full of Nutter Butter cookies - there are also a few pieces of the cookies with nuts for the furry ones. I am probably going to take a nap before the Broncos - Ravens football game, as I am already exhausted - even though all I have done is feed the critters outside and in, cleaned the litter boxes, and cooked and eaten breakfast. I feel like I could sleep for a week right now.
  I had my flu shot the second week of October, but apparently, the strain of flu I have wasn't covered in the vaccination I received. Oh, well. Today is my 17th day of sore throat, coughing, itchy eyes, fever and chills, joint aches, sneezing, and a runny nose. I take aspirin during the day and Coricidin HBP before bed. I drink lots of water, lemon tea with a dab of honey, G2, and watered juice. I'm eating chicken noodle and chicken soup, plus lots of sugar-free Jello. I've taken a weeks worth of antibiotics, prednisone, and cough syrup by way of my GP. Right now, I can function for about 90 to 120 minutes before I have to lie down and sleep again. It's the pits. - I see that 47 states are reporting "epidemic" sized flu cases. Hawaii, California, and portions of Nevada and Arizona are the only ones escaping this. When I got sick like this in Florida, Dr. Little would tell me to just "bake it out of your system" meaning I was to sit in the sun all day while drinking plenty of fluids. It's too cold to do that here in Colorado. Wish I was on a dock, or a deck, in Florida at the moment.
  I'll close for today with a cheer for the Broncos and for the Packers in their playoff games - and for whoever plays the Patriots tomorrow.