Weather-Ice & Snow, Fridgid Below

[Uncle Al]

Has anyone heard from crfiend?

With the latest batch of inclement weather from Iowa to
New England, I hope that all Skirt Cafe' members in these
areas are safe, secure & warm

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

[sapphire]

Hi Uncle Al,
We are fine. We're just hanging out watching the news and feeding/cuddling the kittens.

This storm shouldn't be too bad. The snow is light and fluffy and should be easy to move.

Thanks for thinking of us!

[ChrisM]

Carl and Sapphire, come on down: It's 76F here in New Orleans. We're gearing up for a lovely Christmas. Here's a list of the things on offer downtown: http://www.fqfi.org/christmas/christmas_events.html

And here are the Christmas menus at our local eateries: http://www.fqfi.org/christmas/christmas_reveillon.html We have reservations at Muriels (http://www.muriels.com/html/special.html) mmmm, Duck! Smoked Rabbit...

And the cats are always welcome in our house!


Hugs to all...

Chris

[sapphire]

We just might take you up on that!

We have fond memories of Tujaque's

[crfriend]

Has anyone heard from crfiend?

Thanks for asking, Al, and for your concern.

I'm OK, just in an increasingly rotten mood as the season advances and I ponder the events of the past three months adding up over time and my inability to properly dismiss any of them. A long time ago, my father made the observation to Sapphire about me, "He does not handle stress well." He was right, of course, but he left out the fact that I can deal with stressors in "onsies and twosies" reasonably reliably; it's when they start piling up that I tend to go catatonic, and the last couple of months have left me with a laundry-list of "issues" that all need sorting out at one point or another -- and this dratted weather is not helping matters!

And thanks for that offer ChrisM!

Today is the Solstice, and I need to go dig the car out so we can go out to get the evening roast!

Cheers and warm wishes to all!

[ChrisM]

I don't handle stress well either Carl - and this last few months, nay, last eight years has had plenty.

We are however extremely happy with some key life decisions that we made. In particular, we live "off the grid" in many ways: No house, no car, etc.

You see, what I mean by off the grid is not only the infrastructure grid, but really the economic grid. Now, I hasten to state that we are not far enough off the grid for my preferences - I just paid the weekly bills and we seem to use plenty of the official currency! I wish that we might have some alternative medium, but just like using alternative power, the problem is that the official power is quite mature and quite efficient - you just can't make it at home with anywhere near the same throughput.

But what we can do, shifting now to 'off the economic grid', is to try to live with real assets, and not virtual ones. Not a speculation-based economy.

I read some articles suggesting that gold is the thing to invest in. I disagree: I think food is the thing to invest in. It has REAL value.

So in the same way our 'investment strategy' is to pay off the debts, and clear the decks for action (I could move to Madagascar tomorrow if I had to).

I get jealous of my two-Lexus neighbor in a mansion, but at least I'm not exposed the way he is.


Does that make sense, or am I babbling?
All I'm trying to say is: I understand Brother. Just keep life simple and let the waves wash over.

All the best,

Chris

[sapphire]

Chris,
What you say makes sense. We are trying to get as much off the grid as possible. My brother calls it a cash and carry lifestyle.

Well, we got dealt another weather blow this afternoon. We went out this pm to pick up our roast and get my prescriptions. It was still snowing (another 3-5 inches on top of yesterdays foot of snow). The roads were awful. We only had to travel about four miles total, but it was white knuckle driving all the way.

Then we got two email alerts from MEMA updating the forecast for tomorrow. Originally, we were supposed to get 1-2 inches of heavy snow. The new forecast is for 6-10 inches of heavy snow and winds and the possibility of more power outages.

Back when I was in my 20s I'd say "bring it on", slap on the X-C skiis and frolic.

Now I say "Yecch"

[Kilted_John]

Looks like the Pacific NW is also being hit with snow, wind, freezing rain, etc. Gusts expected to be close to 90 mph in spots, with temps in the low-mid 20s. I'm just waiting for the winds to pick up, and for the power to go out. Will be fun times filling up the tank of the generator every 4-5 hours while standing outside in the wind chills.

-J

[Sarongman]

Just to warm things up a little, we went to a party for the residents of our road. This was an outdoor affair with the usual collection of feral kids ( which, when they're not one's own, I find less bearable as the years increase) Everyone in shorts and short sleeves, even after dark. Santa arrived in the rural fire brigade truck after dark and handed out goodies to the kiddies.
On a more sober note, we had to have our old Border Collie put down on Tuesday after she became racked with pain from her deteriorating back, and the drugs we had used for a couple of months became ineffective. We took delivery of a new puppy today and have named her Gemma after her predecessor. Once more into puppy training mode.

We may be off air for a few days,soHAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

[r.m.anderson]

Sarongman:
Sadden to read of your loss of the family pet. You did the right thing for your friend. Maintaining the
quality of life is very important for pets. Glad you now have a new bundle of joy; Gemma to help
you celebrate the holidays. Don't start to train her right away in rounding up Santa's reindeer; wait
til he delivers the goodies!
Regards and Best Wishes for the Holidays
rm

[crfriend]

Saronman -- I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your border collie. Losing a pet is never easy; you have my sympathies.

Kilted John -- Try to stay warm whilst fuelling the generator; Gusts and cold like that add up to trouble -- in a hurry!

[crfriend]

As sort of an FYI, here's a story that the BBC presented yesterday about the "fun and games" that many of us in New England endured in the past week or so: Braving a New England ice storm.

I'm not sure where Mr. Winchester resides, but it's almost a safe bet that it's within a few dozen miles of us. The sounds in the night that he describes may as well have been right outside where Sapphire and I live. It was a nasty night all the way 'round. And, like Mr. Winchester's neighbours, our little neighbourhood pulled together and helped one another through the fiasco.

It's snowing again as I write this, coming down at about an inch-and-a-half per hour. We're expecting about ten inches, and the temperatures are supposed to warm during the day to the upper 20s (F) or possibly even 30; that'll make the snow heavy and hard to deal with -- and will weigh the remaining trees down again. And there's the threat of more freezing rain on Thursday.

Happy winter holiday, lads -- whatever one you celebrate! Cheers!

[Sasquatch]

Carl and Sapphire, come on down: It's 76F here in New Orleans. We're gearing up for a lovely Christmas. Here's a list of the things on offer downtown: http://www.fqfi.org/christmas/christmas_events.html

And here are the Christmas menus at our local eateries: http://www.fqfi.org/christmas/christmas_reveillon.html We have reservations at Muriels (http://www.muriels.com/html/special.html) mmmm, Duck! Smoked Rabbit...

Chris

Don't y'all get "too loose" down on Toulouse Street, y' hear?!

Sasq

[Since1982]

Too bad dogs don't live as long as people. I stopped having pet dogs after my mom died, it ripped me up too much when they ran their course and passed away.

Actually, it's too bad people don't live as long as Redwood trees.

Then again, Redwood trees would probably like living as long as mountains...echhhh

Mountains as long as oceans?


I do suppose ants would LOVE to live as long as dogs tho...

I do believe every living creature has some semblence of self to it. The tiniest ant in my kitchen tries to get out of the way when it sees me about to smush it. No automatic response there. It sees me and ducks.

[Kilted_John]

Saronman -- I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your border collie. Losing a pet is never easy; you have my sympathies.

Kilted John -- Try to stay warm whilst fuelling the generator; Gusts and cold like that add up to trouble -- in a hurry!

Carl,

Luckily, the power went off for only 15 seconds. So, was able to avoid firing up the generator. However, we currently have about 19" of snow on the ground. I suspect I would've been trousered for that event, if I had to deal with the generator, though.

-J