Raincharm’s Weblog

… a day makes. Change can be good.

Yesterday I was in a state when I woke. A situation with snafus piled on top of each other. Miscommunications as we were passed from one “advisor” to another. We thought we were clear, but apparently we were speaking with an accent.

I wrote a rather tersely worded email on what we thought should happen. Even suggested a potential solution.

In the midst of my key banging, Carl delivered breakfast. I set it down with the same energy I was typing. Needless to say, his artistic efforts suffered.

The email apparently hit the right note. By the evening they were working towards a solution. Not mine, but I only wanted a solution, not necessarily mine.

This morning’s artistic endeavor recieved treatment commensurate with solutions being found, and much calmer keystrokes.

And today we transitioned from a 32 degree fog, to sunny and cool at lunchtime. Good enough for a walk.

What did the title bring to mind?

Marijuana? Not so much. More, ankle, elbow, shoulder or knee. As in what is hurting today.

And, while I have my share of issues, Carl’s history of abusing his body over several decades means this really applies to him. Nonetheless, he continues to work out almost every day.

I continue to work almost every day. It has been relentless. Including at least one day every weekend. Working from home makes this almost normal. I don’t have to think about what to take home on Friday, it’s already here. Honestly, work is not so much about hours spent, as projects and requests moved forward. I won’t say completed, as some projects go on for years. Even decades.

This weekend has been relatively dry. Cold, and foggy, but not raining. And we were able to get long walks in each day. It helped that we made them both start our days, which avoided avoidance.

A few sights from today.

We walked around Green Lake for the first time in forever. They cleared the encampments from the west side of the lake that had been keeping us at bay.

Cold as it is, spring is peeking.

Even though we got two long walks in over the relatively dry weekend, I think Carl is starting to exhibit signs of being cooped up too long. And it is raining again.

At lunch today I was presented with these two dishes, and asked what the two different expressions could possibly mean.

Opinions welcome.

Other recent efforts

From my vantage point we have been having lots of visits from one of the local Stellar Jays.

And it’s back to work.

Almost anyway.

Here is the demise of the snowman.

Remember when the snow was fresh and new

Today was actually not wet. Neither snow nor rain. And again it’s been 3 days without mail… But we did get out for a walk. The first long walk in a while. I don’t think I left the house for a week, except to pick up the newspaper, and it was usually right on the top step. Today, over 10,000 steps.

We’ve also been getting to know Hulu a bit. We watched Only Murders in the Building over the last week or so. And today we finished Nine Perfect Strangers. I’m not sure what else is out there to explore, but we’ll find something.

Tomorrow is also supposed to be dry, so maybe a few more steps before the rains return.

Just because I started this a few days ago, I am providing the State of the Snowman upate.

That’s all for today. I still have a few hours of work to go.

Let’s call yesterday a transition day. It segued from snow and cold to some rain and cold. But there was a moment when the snow was not so dry, and the rain hadn’t started in earnest. Just enough time to build a snowman.

Last night it rained, hard. Over an inch. Against all odds, Mr. Bill survived the night. Although I think he may have imbibed to stay warm because he was listing when Carl took the garbage out. No garbage pickup last week, so double load today.

Today had everything, except warmth. Rain, hail, snow and sunshine. At one point we had all except rain going on at one time.  And although the snow was 8 days old, it appears to be stern stuff. As of the late afternoon, Mr. Bill was still leaning to the left. It is Seattle after all.

And we have now had mail delivered 2 days of the new year, including New Year’s Day. Our neighbor dropped of a letter to us, delivered to their house. I assumed mis-delivery until I looked at the address. One of our old friends used a 29-year old address, from when we lived next door. Turn about is fair though. In tonight’s mail we had a letter for them.

It’s 2022.

Carl asked how many years had we been alive when the year had 3 of the same digits. Answers will vary by person, but my answers are at the end of this post. Not a particularly hard number problem, but provides a glimpse into the inner workings of Carl’s brain.

We had a quiet but congenial New Year’s Eve evening. We convened with the folks from the next two houses on the middle house porch. It’s a long covered porch so we were outside, well spaced, and bundled up. Likely in the twenties. We shared some sparkling Asti, crackers, brie and smoked salmon. We spent the time solving the world’s problems, bemoaning the loss of Betty White, and discussing when we might once again have mail delivery. Seriously, we haven’t had any mail since Christmas. While we were discussing this situation a mail truck pulled up delivering packages across the street. The cold was an excellent defense against overindulgence as that required taking off gloves. This gathering happened about 5 PM, and none of us expected to make it until midnight.

Surprisingly, Carl and I were still up, watching a show as the clock ticked down. The show, a short movie about NYE ended precisely at midnight with fireworks in the background, and the sound of local fireworks started in as well. I glanced at my wrist tracker, noted it was showing steps, not time, but the steps were at zero for the day. We did retire at that point, but the local fireworks continued for quite a while.

It is predicted to be cold but dry today. Still in the teens when I woke this morning, and predicted to reach the mid 30s. Tomorrow the rain is predicted to return with temperatures reaching the 40s. So today should be the day to take down the tree and fit it into the yard waste bin. As if to further indicate it is time to undecorate, the lights on the tree are all out this morning. I used 4 strings of battery powered lights, and they are all dead this morning.

Jay and Carl’s answers are the same. 1999, 2000, and now 2022. Before us it would have been 1911, and the next is 2111.

New snow in the morning. 3 inches or so by the shoveler’s reckoning. He had cleared the sidewalk before, so starting at zero for measurements. The sidewalks were cleared again.

And it started snowing, again, in the late afternoon. This may end up just being a dusting.

I don’t miss not driving anywhere. The car has been cleaned off a couple of times, but we have not tried backing up our driveway. I am sure day driving would be fine, but not after the freeze sets in after dark.

Not a sight we get to see usually. It’s taken snow, continued cold, and a bit of afternoon sunshine.

We may hit freezing today, and it is expected to slowly add a degree or two each day heading into the weekend. I am wearing my long underwear in the house because my desk is next to the fireplace, which is a bit of a cold air entry, even though it is blocked.

I do understand that the teens and twenties is not that cold by many standards. It’s all about what you are used to.

I remember my junior year at college (MSU) when it got cold and stayed cold. Below zero days, not approaching freezing for weeks. The Red Cedar froze to become an alternate walking route. Crossing the tundra was the term used for traversing the open lots between the buildings. When it finally hit freezing, it felt so warm that jackets were unzipped or not worn at all.

The first place I lived after Michigan was Colorado. It got cold there, but it would fluctuate from the 30s to the 70s over the course of a week. That was much harder for me to deal with. The cold felt colder because of the comparison with the previous day or week.

Washington is much more temperate, and usually consistent. Sometimes the weather report doesn’t change for weeks. That is, before climate change. The endless gray drizzle of winter is becoming more intense.

I think I have become a weather wimp. That said, the sun is out and I am determined to get out at lunch for a walk. We need to get some broth to use in our chili. Warm food for cold days still to come.

They said for it to be considered a white Christmas there has to be 1 inch of snow on the ground. I don’t know what time the snow started, but it may have been possible to have 1 inch before midnight. We certainly had multiple inches when we woke up this morning.

Carl has shoveled twice and we took a walk to get some milk. We’re pretty well set for food otherwise.

It’s too cold for good packing snow. Stay tuned for a possible warm up in the next few days. Maybe.

The only question now is, which leftovers to have for dinner tonight.