The white stuff

Figured I'd post some photos from last week's snow before we get another storm this week. I've heard anywhere from 8-20 inches. After seeing the crappy job the city did in plowing streets, I hate to see what 20 more inches could do. The plow came down our street almost a week after the blizzard, and by then it was way too late. All they served to do was rebury our dug-out car. Michael I didn't drive for a whole week; luckily, that's not really a hardship for us. Please keep in mind these photos are from a camera phone, so they're not the best quality.

Esther follows fresh footprints in the back yard to try to find a bathroom spot.

This is the same view of the back yard as previous entries, though this time you can barely see the picnic table for the snow.

With the dogs in Cheesman Park, about six blocks away. This was during the second day of the storm, when people managed to get out and about (though many, including Michael, had snow days).


This is outside our place after the first bit of shoveling.

A view of our street (that's our dug-out Toyota on the right), which looked pretty much the same for days, until more traffic came through. Our car didn't move from a Tuesday to a Tuesday.

Merry Christmas!

One of the highlights of the Denver holiday season is the over-the-top (some would probably say tacky, but I love it -- surprise!) lighted City-County Building.

Michael, the dogs and I spent the morning opening presents and watching neighbor Grayson (who's almost 2) tear into his. Soyrizo sausage gravy & biscuits for breakfast. Now I'm preparing to make my first-ever persimmon pudding. It's a family tradition, but I've never made one before. One of my lifetime favorites. Let's hope the altitude/my inexperience don't screw it up. Normally I would use fake butter and soymilk for baking but decided I'd better play it safe, at least with the first one. Mom had enough frozen persimmon pulp shipped to me from an orchard in Indiana to make three puddings.

For dinner, we have three couples and their kids coming over. On the menu? Why, Thai takeout, of course! No cooking on this holiday! Woo-hoo!

Enjoy the day!

Snow!

Well, I hate to say that the camera is in the shop for a FOURTH time (if Canon doesn't get it right this time, we buy another one and NOT a Canon), so luckily our friend Barry, who lives half a block away, got some great shots of the snowstorm. The photo above is outside our place, and that's our Toyota buried in there somewhere. That's on Thursday, after two days of snow (we got about 2 feet altogether).

I took some photos with the camera phone and may post a few, but the quality is not fabulous. In the meantime, go to ETTETT to see more snow pics of Denver and Capitol Hill, our neighborhood, in particular.

And I couldn't agree with Barry more. The snow turns people into fabulous human beings. Everyone seems genuinely happy walking in the snow-covered streets, helping each other dig out cars, sharing snow shovels. I have to tell you, I don't think I would ever miss car traffic. Everything is so peaceful in the snow with few cars on the road. Michael and I love living in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. The snow hasn't affected us as much as most, simply because we can walk to all the crucial spots, including work.

Good day for a blog entry

I don't envision doing a whole lot else today. We heard yesterday that 4-8 inches of snow was expected today, but we didn't expect to wake up to blizzard conditions. I walked one block to our Wild Oats and was exhausted by the time I got there because of the already-deep snow -- I'd guess we're at 8 at least, with no sign of it stopping anytime soon. The latest forecast is for 12-14 today, with an additional 10-12 tomorrow.

Michael & I both have today off but were picturing walking 25 minutes (longer in this much snow, I'm sure) to work tomorrow. I told him I doubted I would get more than a few blocks before collapsing or needing to rest. The museum's closed today and we're guessing it will be tomorrow, so at least one of us will get a snow day.

I had to suit up to force the dogs outside to potty. They both sunk right into the snow.

All I can say is I'm glad I'm done Christmas shopping & shipping gifts!

Wow

These photos of presidents in drag (with a few other leaders thrown in) are by turns hilarious and downright scary:

Take 1
Take 2

Backyard Buddha

Surely a ladybug on a Buddha must be some kind of good sign? He once had a giant slug on him in Oregon, but that was just gross!

Lordy, lordy ...

Yes, it's true. I've been 40 for about a week now. At first I was apprehensive, but I decided it's not so bad (and what choice do I have, really?) and actually sounds kind of cool.

Also had to share pictures of the super-cool record purse I got from Ann and Curt. Apparently I can still be hip at 40!