Snow + Frigid Temps + Work = Yuck, Yuck!
Snow
Sleigh Bells Ring . . .
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Silent Sunday
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Is Hell Freezing Over?
Nine degrees below freezing, with wind chills of 20° below. Thirty below, with wind chills of 55° below. And that’s in the ‘lower 48.’ Forecasts sound like a broken record: “Ice and snow today, with snow tomorrow, and more ice the following day. Look for more of the same next week and the next.” Snow in Florida; Atlanta snowed under; San Diego Airport shut down – due to snow.
What on earth is going on? I don’t remember a winter when such extreme, bizarre weather swept the ENTIRE nation – and just kept on coming. I’m tired of it, certainly, but I got to thinking today that the real problem for a lot of people just might not be here on earth after all.
The real problem could be for all those people who have been decreeing, nonchalantly but repeatedly, that there are certain things they’re so against doing that they would do them only when Hell froze over. And I’ve just been pondering that situation. Do you suppose that this year just might possibly be the year that Hell really does freeze over?
Anybody out there getting nervous???
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Snow Story
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Wordless Wednesday
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O Christmas Tree, How Lovely Are Thy Branches
It’s a healing balm to my soul to see Big Blue standing tall against a crystal clear blue sky.
Last year I decided to name my home. Another literature/writing teacher (who has become a great blogging friend) and I were discussing the fact that throughout history, people have named the property that they called home. We decided that, although the properties we own are not particularly large in numbers of feet or miles, they are still the portions of this earth that belong to us and represent us. I, of course want my home to represent more than me. It must also represent an open door to the Lord and His gracious presence because that’s what my life is all about. So I named my home ‘Beulah Rest.’ I was just thinking today that this magnificent tree standing here, against the backdrop of that gorgeous sky, is the perfect picture of rest and of God’s amazing presence in His creation.
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We’re Snowed In …
It’s hard to tell by these photos, but we got about 12 inches, with drifts much higher. That was on top of about 3 inches of ice. Driving has been extremely hazardous. But today, we have crystal clear skies and glorious sunshine: nature’s repentance for dumping on us for the last 24 hours. So we should see things begin to start moving forward — at least a few inches at a time.
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Big White Flakes of Spring
It really is spring! You can see it in the air! It’s in all those big white things that are swirling madly through the air and sticking to all the trees, the yards, and the cars.
My Southern Illinois (USA) neighborhood yesterday, March 25, 2013.
100-Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week # 81 – A Woman Scorned
This week’s prompt: “… the unseasonal weather meant …” Here’s my response:
A Woman Scorned
The unseasonal weather meant she’d have to dig through the packed-away winter clothes for a coat and gloves. April … and 32º!
She hated winter! Hated weddings! She’d tried to find an excuse not to go, but no chance. And now this!
Suddenly, she stopped still … grinning. Exhilarating thought! It was an outdoor wedding! And no time to change it! She’d stand there warm and cozy and watch that vixen who’d stolen her boyfriend shiver and turn an ugly blue in her strapless white gown.
White!
Of all the nerve!
She knelt: “Dear God, she wants a white wedding. Please send her a foot of snow!”
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Join in the fun at “Julia’s Place” : http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week81/
Wordless Wednesday
Jake Sprinter’s Sunday Challenge — ‘Captivating’
Jakes challenge this week is “Captivating.” http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/sunday-post-captivating/
I took the following photo of my neighbor’s tree during our last big snow storm this year. For some reason I find it delightful and can sit and look at it for a long time — enjoying the texture, the shape, and the ‘whiteness’ of it. I guess you could say I find it “captivating.”
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: B&W or Sepia Tones
My Pet Blue Spruce Tree.
To join in the fun visit Cee’s site for the details:
http://www.ceephotography.com/
Snowchild
(a poem by Sandra Conner)
I originally wrote this poem about a year ago, when snow was predicted for our area. Today, we are under a BLIZZARD warning, with snow falling fast and furiously second by second, and I am re-posting this poem in an effort to remind myself that “it isn’t really so bad after all” —– Yeah, right!!!
The truth is that my family and I have been praying fervently for a reprieve from what forecasters are expecting, because what has been predicted cannot be good for anyone. Moreover, we have 17 family members trying to get home for the holidays, traveling to this area from the Northeast, the Southeast, and the West — some of them on the road even as I write this. We are looking to the Lord for His mercy to take control of the situation, for the sake of our family and the hundreds of others facing the same problem right now.
I’ve added a couple photos taken through the cheerful perspective of my Christmas lights. The first shot was about 6:00 this morning, and the second one about 50 minutes later. So far things don’t look too terribly bad. We would appreciate the prayer agreement of all our friends out there in cyberspace. In the meantime … enjoy this poem and see if it brings back some memories for you as well.
Snowchild
When I was a child, I thought as a child,
And snow was a thing so delightful.
From school we were free; we got wet to the knees,
And our mom’s day was thrown all off schedule.
But now that I’m grown, I must do on my own
All the chores Mom and Dad used to dread:
Stock up food by the loads, drive on slippery roads,
Shovel snow, and repair that old sled.
Now I look with dismay at the skies leaden gray
As I trudge to the store for supplies.
De-icer and salt sell out fast with no halt.
I need new boots to tread on the ice.
The wind from the north is bitter and harsh,
But my temperature, still it is rising;
I am in a foul mood, for I see nothing good
That can come from a snowstorm arriving.
But then the flakes start, and I feel in my heart –
Watching white, fluffy, wonderful, wild
Filling all of my world with such beauty unfurled –
That in truth I am still just a child!
Photo Challenge: Thursday’s Windows — Week 13
A local shop window decorated for Christmas. This picture didn’t come out quite as clear as I had hoped, but I was fascinated by all the work that had to go into creating this fantasy scene, and I wanted to share it.
Please be sure and leave the link to your own windows pictures.
The Happy Wordcrafter 