hippo birdie to me

45

feeling older than dirt today... aw well, it beats the alternative.

That nor'easter was something else. Did someone on the Eastern seaboard cheese off the weather gods? Man, it's been some winter. There was a lot of rain and wind at the farm but no damage - I guess Easton is too far inland. My parents, in Westport, were mostly spared, just an enormous amount of branches down. They were in Manhattan all weekend celebrating Dad's 71 birthday (March 12) and no matter where they went they got completely drenched. They came back to a debris filled yard but no real damage, thankfully.

Last night my sister and I met up with the parents at Saint Tropez in Fairfield. It's been my birthday dinner pick for three straight years and it was yummy! I had the sauted shrimp in apple raisin curry... for the third year in a row! Yup, it's that good!

Snow Days

Yesterday was a snow day for me. I stayed inside all day, hair in a tangled, messy pony on top of my head, wearing my favorite faded jammies and holey socks, knitting and watching tv: Angel, Charmed, The West Wing, JAG and NCIS - in that order.

Nothing like life down on the farm, eh? If you are determined to remain single, unattached and alone in this life, re-read the paragraph above. Works for me!

Raven and Pewter were a little shocked by my mid-week interruption of their equally exciting lives. Every time I left the chair Raven would hop up and take over. When I shoo'd him he'd glare at me and then hunker down on the floor at my feet. Pewter showed his confusion by chatting at me all day (instead of sleeping) and dropping one of his meece on my feet for me to throw for him every half hour or so. They're probably shredding the couch as I type this. It's never a good idea to confuse cats.

I'd guess we got eight-something inches of snow at the farm. It's hard to tell because there was steady, howling gale all night and this morning. As soon as the drive was plowed it was recovered with blowing snow. Hopefully it will be cleared enough for me to get back to my little bungalow tonight. I have a spaghetti dinner at the nursing home to attend and won't be back before nine. Getting stuck out in the country, on a cold night, where my cell phone doesn't work is not my idea of a good time.

See the first paragraph for what is my idea of a good time.

Wolf Moon

Biggest and Brightest Full Moon of 2010 Tonight

A Wolf Moon. I noticed this morning (I'm up long before the sun) that the moonshine seemed incredibly bright but I thought it was just the reflection of the snow and ice on top of the greenhouses. Apparently not.

Driving home last night was Not!Fun! I left Stratford around 5:15 pm, headed for Easton. There were very dark clouds in the west but I didn't think much of it until, on the 8/25, I drove into a snow squall. Clear and perfect visiblity and then WHAM!Blizzard! That was a first. I couldn't see beyond the front end of my car. The roads froze over fast and by the time I hit the Merritt Parkway people were slip-slidin' away. I am an accomplished and confident foul-weather driver but that mini-blizzard scared the crap outta me. When I finally made it to Sport Hill Road the local roads were a sheet of ice and there was a huge crash/multi-car pileup on the Sport Hill. I got stuck twice trying to get up the hills and finally made it to the Farm an hour and a half after leaving Stratford -- door-to-door is usually 20 minutes. It was a nightmare of a trip home.

Driving in extreme rain, snow, wind, fog... not an issue for me. I'm pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself. Ice? shudders Had I known what was ahead of me I would have thought twice about going home.

I could have used a shot of something when I finally reached my tranquil litle bungalow... tequila, scotch, bourbon, vodka. Sadly the house is free of alcohol. I will have to rememdy that deficiency post-haste!

First Snow

We got a tiny bit of snow at the Farm on Saturday. It looked like a blizzard out there but very little stuck. What little did stick is now frozen solid to the ground. More snow is predicted for Tuesday night and then rain. So... winter has finally arrived.

Even though very little of the white stuff stuck to the ground I thought I'd take a picture and post it. I have unearthed the camera but it needs to be charged and I can't find the charger. Ah, the joys of moving. I'll come across it eventually I guess.

On my wish list this year is a large embroidery stand with scoll frames. My hands keep cramping up holding onto the hoops so it's time to move up to the big time and have a standing frame. As if I need one more thing...

But no books this year! Seriously, Santa, I've appreciated the books you've given me over the past forty something years but I just don't have any more room for them. Of course this means I'll go on some crazy book-buying binge at my birthday, but for right now no.more.books!

Oh, and for what it's worth, I have not had sex with Tiger Woods.