I finally got to watch Julie and Julia today. And of course I had to multi-task. To just sit and (only) watch a movie just doesn't happen. Appropriately (I think), I chose to cook while watching. I made a Haitian cake (mini cupcakes actually) for Thinking Day tonight. And peeled apples for a batch of applesauce. I picked up my farm food today and included in this month's share - 15 pounds of apples!!! We won't talk about how I hadn't touched the peck of apples from last month. But now I have 5 left from last month and a batch of applesauce simmering away.
I enjoyed the movie. Even though I enjoy cooking, I don't think I could stand up to a year of intense cooking like that!
In other news:
*It looks like we dodged the snow bullet this time. I have to admit though that a tiny bit of me is sorry we didn't get another big storm. I must be crazy to want more snow drama.
*The kids have become my boot police. Each of them on separate occasions have said to me, "Aren't you supposed to be wearing your boot?" My standard reply... "I'll put it on later after I take my shower and get dressed." I like to think of it as ankle exercise to walk around bootless in my pj's in the mornings. I go back next Tuesday for a checkup. Hope it's good news! And in case you're wondering, I'm not wearing my boot right now either. I went out to the compost bin in the back and though most of the mud is frozen, I still needed to give my boot a bath when I came back inside. I promise I'll put it on before I go to school to get the kids!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sorry!
So there in my email inbox is a note from the National Weather Service... Winter Storm Watch. 5 inches or more. Huh. I think the jury is still out - lots of weather reports are showing the snow as being farther north again this time.
Fast forward a little... I went downstairs to hang the latest load of laundry to dry. I had washed all the towels that had been on the floor catching snowy boots, mittens, etc. I didn't need them anymore so decided to wash them and put them away. Oh so efficient. And then it hit me... It's going to snow. No doubt about it. This is just like when I wash the kids' sheets and then that very night, someone has an accident. Wash the snow towels - a snowstorm comes riding in.
Also, the dentist called yesterday. The kids have an appointment Thursday afternoon. It always snows or rains when we go to the dentist. So that pretty much seals the deal, I think.
So I'd like to apologize in advance to all my snow-weary friends out there... Sorry!
Fast forward a little... I went downstairs to hang the latest load of laundry to dry. I had washed all the towels that had been on the floor catching snowy boots, mittens, etc. I didn't need them anymore so decided to wash them and put them away. Oh so efficient. And then it hit me... It's going to snow. No doubt about it. This is just like when I wash the kids' sheets and then that very night, someone has an accident. Wash the snow towels - a snowstorm comes riding in.
Also, the dentist called yesterday. The kids have an appointment Thursday afternoon. It always snows or rains when we go to the dentist. So that pretty much seals the deal, I think.
So I'd like to apologize in advance to all my snow-weary friends out there... Sorry!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It's history: Winter 2009-2010 snowiest on record - Capital Weather Gang
It's history: Winter 2009-2010 snowiest on record - Capital Weather Gang: "...PRELIMINARY ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORDS SET AT THE THREE MAJOR CLIMATE SITES IN THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON AREA...
AS OF 2 PM TODAY...WITH THE 9.8 INCH TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL MEASURED AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT...THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL IN WASHINGTON DC STANDS AT 54.9 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR WASHINGTON DC OF 54.4 INCHES SET IN THE WINTER OF 1898-99. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR WASHINGTON DC DATE BACK 126 YEARS TO 1884.
AS OF 1 PM TODAY...WITH THE 11.9 INCH TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL MEASURED AT BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL THURGOOD MARSHALL AIRPORT...THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL IN BALTIMORE STANDS AT 72.3 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR BALTIMORE OF 62.5 INCHES SET IN THE WINTER OF 1995-96. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR BALTIMORE DATE BACK 118 YEARS TO 1893.
FINALLY...AS OF YESTERDAY...THIS YEARS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT STOOD AT 63.5 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD OF 61.9 INCHES SET IN 1995-96. AS OF 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON...THE TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL AT DULLES IS 8.5 INCHES...WHICH WOULD MAKE THIS YEARS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL 72.0 INCHES. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR DULLES DATE BACK 48 YEARS TO 1962.
THESE PRELIMINARY STORM TOTALS ARE AS OF THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON 10 FEB 2010...AND WILL BE UPDATED AFTER THE CURRENT SNOW HAS ENDED."
AS OF 2 PM TODAY...WITH THE 9.8 INCH TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL MEASURED AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT...THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL IN WASHINGTON DC STANDS AT 54.9 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR WASHINGTON DC OF 54.4 INCHES SET IN THE WINTER OF 1898-99. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR WASHINGTON DC DATE BACK 126 YEARS TO 1884.
AS OF 1 PM TODAY...WITH THE 11.9 INCH TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL MEASURED AT BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL THURGOOD MARSHALL AIRPORT...THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL IN BALTIMORE STANDS AT 72.3 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR BALTIMORE OF 62.5 INCHES SET IN THE WINTER OF 1995-96. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR BALTIMORE DATE BACK 118 YEARS TO 1893.
FINALLY...AS OF YESTERDAY...THIS YEARS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT STOOD AT 63.5 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD OF 61.9 INCHES SET IN 1995-96. AS OF 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON...THE TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL AT DULLES IS 8.5 INCHES...WHICH WOULD MAKE THIS YEARS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL 72.0 INCHES. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR DULLES DATE BACK 48 YEARS TO 1962.
THESE PRELIMINARY STORM TOTALS ARE AS OF THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON 10 FEB 2010...AND WILL BE UPDATED AFTER THE CURRENT SNOW HAS ENDED."
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
I got the boot!
{background theme song playing... "I fought the stairs and the stairs won"}
So late Saturday afternoon, after a few hours of shoveling insane amounts of snow and continuously commenting in amazement about the insane amounts of snow, I went inside to defrost and rest. Then I made dinner and did the dishes. Next on the list of things to do... take a shower and get ready to go schlepping through the snow to scrap with my buddy. Unfortunately I'm a bit of a clutz by nature so when I decided to go close the curtain on the back door, instead I missed the step, twisted my ankle as I fell and screamed bloody murder (and lots of obscenities) while I lie writhing in pain on the floor trying to catch my breath. The curtain remained open. After a few minutes I gathered myself together and crawled back up the steps (there are only two steps there - a very dangerous two steps down which many people have fallen over the years though all with less pain and injury), through the kitchen to the living room. Pulled myself up onto the couch, put my leg up on the back of the couch and watched Ron outside clearing off the car. (The kids had all gone up the street to Grandma D's house so only Darby was a witness to my fall.) Debated whether or not to knock on the window and ask for help. Decided I might need the car to get to the emergency room so left him alone to work. Then my scrap buddy called me back to see if all was okay (okay, so maybe there was one other witness to at least the verbal portion of my fall!). I gave her the bad news that I would NOT in fact be going to her house that night. Then I crawled back to the kitchen (did I mention that I heard a snap when I fell? I could bear weight but didn't want to make anything worse than it already was), pulled myself up, turned off the stove, covered the soup, made myself and ice pack and then hopped/crawled my way upstairs to my room. Propped it up with ice and waited for Ron to discover my predicament.
Dr. Google said it might be broken, might be a sprain. Recommended RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) of which I was already doing 3 of the 4. Had Ron wrap my foot/ankle with an ace bandage. Popped a few Motrin. Decided to sleep on it and decide whether or not I wanted to go to the ER on Sunday. (Remember the 2+ feet of snow and barely-plowed roads?)
Sunday I talked to some friends and emailed Dr. Julie (sometimes it pays to have a college friend who becomes a pediatric orthopedic surgeon!) who was nice enough to humor me and give me an email consultation. She recommended staying OFF the foot because if it was broken, it could be made worse by walking on it, potentially even bad enough to need surgery. I had seen that exact same thing happen to someone else a year or so ago so I was already paranoid about that and definitely staying off my foot. Ron brought the crutches up from the basement so I could crutch around more and hop less. I decided to just wait until Monday to see the doctor because if it was broken, the ER wouldn't cast me and would just send me to the ortho anyway. Saving time and money and stress by staying in bed another day seemed like a perfectly good option to me.
Monday morning... there is still way too much snow outside. All the schools and even the federal government are closed. And so are the first 3 doctor's offices I call. Finally I call the doctor that mom had used. He was doing surgeries on Monday but had an opening Tuesday morning. I took it! And then spent another entire day in bed. The good news though is that I got the last few monthes worth of digital pictures backed up onto the external hard drive and I am almost completely done with the digital album of our trip to Disney last January.
And now... I have been to see the doctor. My ankle is not broken just sprained. I have a walking boot and go back in 3 weeks for a follow-up. And my "vacation" is over. Oh and that trip down the long icy driveway this morning was a bit nerve-wracking. If my ankle wasn't already broken, I thought for sure it might be by the time I got to the doctor's office! Also, my ankle actually hurts more now that I'm walking on it with my boot. So I must remember to take frequent breaks and rest my foot - not get too drunk on this re-found freedom! All the fun of my housework is just too much to resist sometimes. ha ha.
This experience has allowed me to recognize a few blessings in my life.
*My children took excellent care of me - brought me breakfast in bed twice. And when they remembered to, came up to check on me periodically. Also, if they could hear my yelling, they would come running to help me with whatever I needed (usually a glass of water).
*Ron got the crutches out for me. Did pretty much all of the shoveling. And generally held the fort down while I was out of commission. I know being snowed in for days is not his favorite thing and having a broken wife on top of it is even worse, but he handled it all very well.
*I have lots of friends who care about me and who will keep me company over the phone while I convalesce. They also offered to cook or chauffeur or whatever I need. I love my village!
*While I am not in fabulous shape, I am thankful for how fit I *am*. Getting around on crutches is hard and I'm sore. I can't even imagine how impossible it would have been to crutch and to jump up stairs and to balance on one leg if I hadn't been going to my exercise class (fairly) regularly over the past 4 years.
*I can walk!
So late Saturday afternoon, after a few hours of shoveling insane amounts of snow and continuously commenting in amazement about the insane amounts of snow, I went inside to defrost and rest. Then I made dinner and did the dishes. Next on the list of things to do... take a shower and get ready to go schlepping through the snow to scrap with my buddy. Unfortunately I'm a bit of a clutz by nature so when I decided to go close the curtain on the back door, instead I missed the step, twisted my ankle as I fell and screamed bloody murder (and lots of obscenities) while I lie writhing in pain on the floor trying to catch my breath. The curtain remained open. After a few minutes I gathered myself together and crawled back up the steps (there are only two steps there - a very dangerous two steps down which many people have fallen over the years though all with less pain and injury), through the kitchen to the living room. Pulled myself up onto the couch, put my leg up on the back of the couch and watched Ron outside clearing off the car. (The kids had all gone up the street to Grandma D's house so only Darby was a witness to my fall.) Debated whether or not to knock on the window and ask for help. Decided I might need the car to get to the emergency room so left him alone to work. Then my scrap buddy called me back to see if all was okay (okay, so maybe there was one other witness to at least the verbal portion of my fall!). I gave her the bad news that I would NOT in fact be going to her house that night. Then I crawled back to the kitchen (did I mention that I heard a snap when I fell? I could bear weight but didn't want to make anything worse than it already was), pulled myself up, turned off the stove, covered the soup, made myself and ice pack and then hopped/crawled my way upstairs to my room. Propped it up with ice and waited for Ron to discover my predicament.
Dr. Google said it might be broken, might be a sprain. Recommended RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) of which I was already doing 3 of the 4. Had Ron wrap my foot/ankle with an ace bandage. Popped a few Motrin. Decided to sleep on it and decide whether or not I wanted to go to the ER on Sunday. (Remember the 2+ feet of snow and barely-plowed roads?)
Sunday I talked to some friends and emailed Dr. Julie (sometimes it pays to have a college friend who becomes a pediatric orthopedic surgeon!) who was nice enough to humor me and give me an email consultation. She recommended staying OFF the foot because if it was broken, it could be made worse by walking on it, potentially even bad enough to need surgery. I had seen that exact same thing happen to someone else a year or so ago so I was already paranoid about that and definitely staying off my foot. Ron brought the crutches up from the basement so I could crutch around more and hop less. I decided to just wait until Monday to see the doctor because if it was broken, the ER wouldn't cast me and would just send me to the ortho anyway. Saving time and money and stress by staying in bed another day seemed like a perfectly good option to me.
Monday morning... there is still way too much snow outside. All the schools and even the federal government are closed. And so are the first 3 doctor's offices I call. Finally I call the doctor that mom had used. He was doing surgeries on Monday but had an opening Tuesday morning. I took it! And then spent another entire day in bed. The good news though is that I got the last few monthes worth of digital pictures backed up onto the external hard drive and I am almost completely done with the digital album of our trip to Disney last January.
And now... I have been to see the doctor. My ankle is not broken just sprained. I have a walking boot and go back in 3 weeks for a follow-up. And my "vacation" is over. Oh and that trip down the long icy driveway this morning was a bit nerve-wracking. If my ankle wasn't already broken, I thought for sure it might be by the time I got to the doctor's office! Also, my ankle actually hurts more now that I'm walking on it with my boot. So I must remember to take frequent breaks and rest my foot - not get too drunk on this re-found freedom! All the fun of my housework is just too much to resist sometimes. ha ha.
This experience has allowed me to recognize a few blessings in my life.
*My children took excellent care of me - brought me breakfast in bed twice. And when they remembered to, came up to check on me periodically. Also, if they could hear my yelling, they would come running to help me with whatever I needed (usually a glass of water).
*Ron got the crutches out for me. Did pretty much all of the shoveling. And generally held the fort down while I was out of commission. I know being snowed in for days is not his favorite thing and having a broken wife on top of it is even worse, but he handled it all very well.
*I have lots of friends who care about me and who will keep me company over the phone while I convalesce. They also offered to cook or chauffeur or whatever I need. I love my village!
*While I am not in fabulous shape, I am thankful for how fit I *am*. Getting around on crutches is hard and I'm sore. I can't even imagine how impossible it would have been to crutch and to jump up stairs and to balance on one leg if I hadn't been going to my exercise class (fairly) regularly over the past 4 years.
*I can walk!
Saturday, February 06, 2010
32 inches
The snow total at Dulles... 32 inches. That's A LOT of snow! Especially for this area.
edited to include this list of nicknames (thanks, Mapi)...
Snowapalooza
Snowmageddon
Snowpocalypse
The Snowtorious BIG
and of course the much less exciting name, the one used by all the newscasters, Blizzard of 2010.
I think we ended up with the #4 biggest snowfall of all (recorded) time. Not sure how we're stacking up on the total winter snowfall tally.
edited to include this list of nicknames (thanks, Mapi)...
Snowapalooza
Snowmageddon
Snowpocalypse
The Snowtorious BIG
and of course the much less exciting name, the one used by all the newscasters, Blizzard of 2010.
I think we ended up with the #4 biggest snowfall of all (recorded) time. Not sure how we're stacking up on the total winter snowfall tally.
Friday, February 05, 2010
#501
Just now, when I signed in to Blogger, I noticed that I have made 500 posts. That's a lot. Who knew I had so much to say?!
And now here is post #501, full of randomness...
*Who stole my measuring spoons? I have two sets. One is missing. I recently reorganized my silverware drawer so they shouldn't be lost. They should be even easier to find! So if anyone sees my spoons out wandering the streets, please send them home! I need them to properly prepare nourishment for my family during the Blizzard of 2010.
*I set the mouse trap today. Not sure if the evidence I saw is old or new. Guess time will tell...
*I love sharp pencils. While working at the preschool yesterday, one of my jobs was the sharpen the colored pencils that the kids were using. That was one awesome electric pencil sharpener! Normally I'm a fan of the old fashioned ones that were screwed to the walls in elementary school. But this one was pretty nice. I wonder what the lifespan is of that particular model. Because that's one of my complaints about electric sharpeners - they never seem to last more than a year, even with minimal use. On a related note... pencils are more environmentally friendly than plastic inkpens that are thrown away rather than refilled.
*I am currently loving the red white and bleu potato salad from Safeway and the Mediterranean Feta salsa from Whole Foods.
*Latest snow forecast... 20-30 inches! Yikes! That's a lot of snow! Potentially rivaling the historic Knickerbocker storm in 1922.
And now here is post #501, full of randomness...
*Who stole my measuring spoons? I have two sets. One is missing. I recently reorganized my silverware drawer so they shouldn't be lost. They should be even easier to find! So if anyone sees my spoons out wandering the streets, please send them home! I need them to properly prepare nourishment for my family during the Blizzard of 2010.
*I set the mouse trap today. Not sure if the evidence I saw is old or new. Guess time will tell...
*I love sharp pencils. While working at the preschool yesterday, one of my jobs was the sharpen the colored pencils that the kids were using. That was one awesome electric pencil sharpener! Normally I'm a fan of the old fashioned ones that were screwed to the walls in elementary school. But this one was pretty nice. I wonder what the lifespan is of that particular model. Because that's one of my complaints about electric sharpeners - they never seem to last more than a year, even with minimal use. On a related note... pencils are more environmentally friendly than plastic inkpens that are thrown away rather than refilled.
*I am currently loving the red white and bleu potato salad from Safeway and the Mediterranean Feta salsa from Whole Foods.
*Latest snow forecast... 20-30 inches! Yikes! That's a lot of snow! Potentially rivaling the historic Knickerbocker storm in 1922.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
