Feeling wistful

All of this beautiful new snow that blanketed the city just five days ago is all melting away. You can even see the grass peeking through in some places. Hard to believe that it was covered with 18 inches less than a week ago. It's going to be 53 today but down to 23 tomorrow so I hope it doesn't melt and then ice up or traveling will be worse tomorrow than it was last weekend with all of that snow.

Life in the house is so quiet now that we don't have an ailing cat to fret over. Lucca, the Golden Retriever puppy, swallowed a toy mouse and ended up in intensive care and had to get surgery to remove the obstruction. I guess you can't watch babies or puppies close enough because they both put everything in their mouths.

I had a visitor, Asa, from Germany in town this week. It is so hard when old friends move away. It is like there is a hole in your life that emails just can't replace. It was great to see her but it reminded me of those frequent times when we would just run into each other on the street and talk. It just happened as part of our daily lives.

I wish more people wrote letters these days...they seem much more personal than email messages of a line or two saying "I'm busy. Will write later". I'm one of the few people I know who save old email messages from friends but they are de facto letters and I want to have something I can read later and get all maudlin about when I miss their presence.

I once scored high on a personality test (professionally administered, not in Cosmopolitan) on a scale of devotion (it also measure other characteristics) and I'm afraid I get terribly attached to the people I become close to. But it has been a recurring theme that people get opportunities elsewhere or the cost of living here is too high and they move on.

Luckily, there is a professional conference I attend yearly where I can see most of them (though, unfortunately without spouses and children) so I guess I should cherish that instead of wishing for things that existed in the past. I have to consciously try not to live in the near past as much but it is easy to reminisce about good times with old friends when your current life feels full of frustrations.

Time to plan for the weekend...

The weather outside is frightful/delightful

Well, I woke up to some beautiful scenery this morning...a thick white blanket of snow covering every inch of the earth with more soft flakes falling down. Kind of like living inside a snow globe.

But our local municipality has been slow in plowing the streets today and I'm not sure if I can even make it to the train station to get to NYC to visit this Korean church. I have one more hour before I need to leave...otherwise, I will venture out and see how far I can get on foot.

Bracing for snow

Ahhh, the snow is coming, finally! We're due for 6-13 inches so there will be a fair share of shoveling. I can hardly wait....it's been more than two months since we got a decent snowfall!

It has crimped my plans somewhat though. The students who signed up for the trip to the Korean church tomorrow all bailed on me, which is allowed as long as they do one of the other field trips this weekend. But I will show up on behalf of the group, no matter how bad the "blizzard" (which is what they're calling it) is because the minister was kind enough to invite us to come and participate in their service. It should be an interesting experience, both getting there and the service itself.

I wish I had something more interesting to write about but it has been a pretty lazy week as I've eased up on the workload to tend to this lingering cold. So, lots of cups of tea and wearing of the bathrobe way past the time I should be dressed. It's the kind of time when you wish, if you are single, that there was someone to take care of you, to fix you soup, insist you lie down, and feel your forehead for fever. Kind of a combined lover-mother, if that isn't too inappropriate. But my family is far, far away and my housemates, while perfectly decent people, have their own lives to lead. So, I will baby myself and not berate myself too badly for having nothing interesting to say today.

Time to go out and forage in the supermarket for food before the storm hits. Then, I can burrow in tonight, listen to Prairie Home Companion (yes, I AM that boring), do some writing, and watch the snow fall. Maybe if I'm inspired by the snow, I return to this blog tonight.

Otherwise, wish me luck slushing through the snow in the city on Sunday.

Please, more snow!

We got a tremendous rain storm yesterday that washed away the little snow that was still on the ground from the last snowfall. We are really snow-deprived right now. We got a good blast in December but so far January has been a bust.

The landscape is so dreary without it...bare trees, brown lawns. Having that white coating reflecting the light seems to brighten up an otherwise blah month. Januaries have been a cruel time for me in the past and a good snowstorm would really pick up my spirits.

Luckily, I have a warm den to retreat to during the storm itself until quiet comes and I can go out and shovel. Funny that a lifelong Californian who didn't see snow until she moved East would like to shovel snow but I do. Unlike paperwork or routine chores around the house, it is a useful task that once you're done with, you're done with! Unlike some of the houses surrounding us, we are blessed with a short, nonsloping driveway, so it only takes an hour or so to clear the sidewalks and driveway and start warming up the car.

After years of old clunkers, I'm fortunate now to have a car that is only 9 years old with decent tires so I no longer fear driving in the aftermath of the storm...I use to slide around on the road and there is nothing to get your heart pumping like doing a 90 or 180 degree spin. I remember one day going down a gently sloping street with my full brakes on and just sliding, sliding, sliding down the street. The best I could do was steer into the curb. Remarkably, I was able to drive in reverse back up the hill because there was no way the car would have stopped moving when I got to the stop sign. I have little desire for money and the burdens it brings but it is a relief to have enough to buy a dependable car.

So, please, weather gods, cooperate...ignore the global warming that has brought us temps in the 40s and 50s and send us a good, old January snowfall. It would be a great birthday present.