It’s OMG Hot!

This was the actual temperature, in the shade, on my front porch this afternoon. 102.9 degrees? Okay, I think I’m completely sick of summer. It was the kind of day when I think it was actually too hot to go to the pool and go swimming. In fact, even as I write this at midnight, it’s still 85 on the thermometer. You gotta love the swampy mid-Atlantic in July.

You know? I think I was the only person not complaining about the snow when it was falling back in February. Of course, I didn’t have to shovel it, and I was perfectly cozy in the house for two weeks with my knitting and hot chocolate. Now, it’s too hot to knit, too hot to cook, too hot to eat even if I did cook. It’s basically hot, pissy, sweaty, hot. This fat girl’s so over it… so wanting to declare that it’s Ice Cubes Under the Armpits Day, and not come out again til Fall.

Who’s with me?

I think our cat, Zöe, has the right idea.

So, I had an adventure this week. My faithful old computer, which admittedly had been on its last legs for some time.suddenly died. It went swiftly in the end, leaving me dumbfounded and without saying goodbye. Not even a too-highly-paid-for-not-much-real-help Geek could make anything happen. So, I had to get a new PC, in a hurry. I prefer to take my time, spec out what I want, and wait for the UPS truck. Usually consumer retail is giving up too much in performance for my taste, but this time I had to make do with something off the shelf. I chose an HP machine that wasn’t going to break the bank, and at the same time, had most of what I wanted.

Got it home, set it up, upgraded to Windows 7 Professional, and all was well as I went to bed Thursday night. Then Friday evening when I got home, my daughter turned on the PC and nothing happened. I called HP, who literally instructed me to take it all apart, take the chips out, and unplug all the components on the inside, one by one. After two hours and much cussing by my husband, HP could not identify the problem. They said I could send it in for service, but why would I want to do that, when I could just take it back to the aforementioned retail store?

So, Saturday morning early, DH and I went to the store to return the HP. Not wanting to jinx ourselves, this time, I came home with a Gateway. It’s got an Intel Core i7 processor, and a GB of video RAM, so I think it’s a pretty good machine. I guess time will tell. Gateway markets it as their PC for gamers, and it has all of these annoying red lights, and a blinky white strobe, And it’s shiny. Weirdly shiny. But hey, if it keeps me in business, then I’m good.

Luckily I kept my data files on external hard drives. Except for my Outlook data files, which means I’ve lost all my contacts. That’ll take forever to fix. Wish me luck.

Anyway, so that’s what’s happening here in Hades. I hope you’re cooler than I am, wherever you are.

Dixie Classic, 2010

On Friday my daughter’s school Wind Ensemble participated in the Dixie Classic Music Festival at Hanover High School in Mechanicsville, VA. I am proud to say that they achieved a Superior Rating. Below are videos of the performance, for your enjoyment (and my bragging!). Thanks for having a look.

Our daughter plays flute and piccolo, and is “first chair” stage right of the conductor.

This last number is my favorite of all. I hear the kids loved playing it, too. It sounded like a real challenge.

Way to go, Wind Ensemble! This mom is proud of you.

14, And One to Grow On…

At the risk of sounding mushy, I’m going to tell you that 14 years ago tonight, almost to the very moment of this writing, I became a mother. That moment, at the sound of her first cry, on what was a snowy night in March, was so much more than the realization of a lifelong dream. It was EVERY dream. Practically the only thing I ever wanted in my whole life. And there she was, pink-faced and perturbed that we disturbed her napping with the business of being born. The enormity of the moment thankfully didn’t hit me just then, but eventually it did… that I would be completely and utterly responsible for the well-being of someone other than myself. That not only would I have to keep her fed and warm and clean and dry, but that also I would have to teach her things, and help her find her way through this life that is becoming more and more complicated.

Would I be up to the challenge? To help this little, wriggling girl know the difference between right and wrong, and to help her make good choices? Would I be able to share my knowledge with her without passing on the guilt of my own mistakes?

Would I forget to be so serious all the time, and teach her how to laugh? Would I teach her that the most wonderful places in the world are the ones you conjure up in your imagination? Would I show her how to be curious without being afraid?

Fourteen years ago, as all these things were crossing my mind, I could not imagine being here. Fourteen years on, with a daughter who now towers far above my head, but has the shyness of a child. One who is a giggling schoolgirl and an old soul all at once. We are a work in progress, she and I, and only time will tell me if I have done well. I think so, though, and so far I am very proud that of all the daughters in the world, God gave me this one. I am truly lucky.

Happy birthday, sweet girl. I love you.

More!

The teen daughter snapped this photo of our back porch roof tonight… It almost looks like a big hunk of snow was about to fall off and then it refroze, right in place. All in all we haven’t had a lot of melting going on. It’s still cold here and many, many of the streets in the area are impassable still.

And, get this. We’re supposed to get anywhere between 5 and 15 inches of additional snow tomorrow. No, really. I’m not pulling your leg. It’s going to snow more tomorrow into Wednesday. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the new snow as much as I was looking forward to the weekend snow. It’s starting to get a little old. I’m betting that the schools will be out for the rest of the week, and frankly I don’t know if my sanity can stand it.

What’s supposed to be worse than the snow itself is the wind. We’re expecting fairly heavy gusts through the worst part of the storm. We were spared a major power outage the first go round, and I hope we get lucky again.

As for me, the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow. I am glad of this because there is no way we’d be able to get all the way downtown from here. Not only that, but with the kids off it makes it harder to get work done, so I’m glad I won’t be charged with a day of leave. I’m sure that won’t be the case for the rest of the week I’m sure I’m going to have to take off. I’ve been making minor progress on my knitting, and am itching to start something new. Still I am determined to finish my hat first. And John and Diana were able to make it out to the grocery store tonight, so they got fixin’s for homemade pizza. Looks like I’m cooking pizza sauce tomorrow.

It’s all good. I’m dreaming of Spring, but it’s good.

A Few Flakes

Ok, so more than a few! Yes, that’s a yardstick, showing how many inches of snow we had in our yard this afternoon. The snow started with a quick shower at about 10 a.m. on Friday, and then began in earnest at right about noon. The kids got out of school early and John didn’t bother to go in since we pretty much figured he’d have to turn right around and get them anyway.

The snow blew fast and furious through the night, in a way that I don’t think I have ever seen in my whole life. Blizzards are a rare thing in these parts! The last storm with this much snow all at once happened more than a hundred years ago. 30 to 38 inches was common all over the area. We had just under three feet, I think, and goodness knows when we’ll be able to emerge from the house again. The driveway is slowly getting done but it will be a bit more time before John can dig the vans out.

It’s all good… we’ve got Netflix on Demand, lots of hot chocolate, and no shortage of toilet paper around here. I’m reminding myself often that this is the sort of thing I’ve been wishing for, a few days where I have no choice but to stay home and make myself enjoy it. And enjoying it I am!

The one downer is that my wheelchair charger failed last night and so my batteries are rapidly dying. I do have a spare chair but it hurts my back in an awful way. It’ll probably be the end of the week before I can get to where the wheelchair place is, which is about an hour from here. There always has to be something…

Here’s a gallery of photos of the snowfall around our house. Please do ignore the fact that I did not do my hair or my makeup this morning… I figured no one would be seeing me today. This’ll teach me! (As usual, click on the thumbnail to see a larger photo.)

And here’s our video of the snowfall:

The rest of the weekend (and probably Monday, too) will be for cleaning up and digging out. And more digging, and more digging… but that’s ok. There’s a steamy pot of chili waiting.

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