...is worth overdoing. That was their mantra.

Completely Recommend.
( is worth overdoing. )

It's snowing tonight, another strange coating of white stuff in this coastal city. Tomorrow another session of school begins: 10 weeks of classes, 1 week of practical exams and papers due, another week of lecture exams. I am wound tight as a....ball of rubber bands? Not sure what is as tight as me right before one of these races begins. But begin it I must. Providing that I passed all my classes from last quarter, I am 1/3 of the way through this program, not counting board exams. I don't know yet if I passed everything. And if I didn't pass, the remediation exams are this coming Friday. Crazy way to do things. But here goes....here goes.
( I read a book today )

Monday today, and there was so much snow in Portland that businesses were closed. People have been cooped up for long enough that today they got bold, dug out their boots and winter coats, and headed out. Cabin fever makes people especially silly. Myself, I went cross country skiing with neighbor Larry. We skied over to Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge and skied down to the Wilamette river. It was low and slow and quiet. Then we skied along the back trail toward Sellwood, and out onto the open grassy marsh where the birds hang out. The stream was frozen and the wind had swept the snow around, so the surface was flat and not too deep...very nice skiing. We unfortunately disturbed a group of SEVEN great blue herons that were holed up out there in the grass. When we got too close they took off as a group, six flying downstream and one flying upstream. We were sorry to disturb them, but pleased to see them.

Up on the hill we could see the crematorium. It is getting a new paint job. Somebody is painting various birds on the ugly cement building. It is pretty cool.

My computer seems to be on the fritz after I got greedy ripping music from Suzanne's CD's. It shuts down randomly and without warning. So I am cutting this post short. HOpe you are having a good winter!

The hill wins, most of the time.
For belly laughs, set the news video on full screen and fast forward. Add some frenetic music for mood.
=D

Today I covered the whole mountain. I started out at Sunrise Lodge, and worked my way to the edge of the resort I hadn't seen yet. It was wandering intermediate runs with still fresh new snow along the edges. I started bouncing on my skis and pretty soon remembered the joy of powder. The neat thing about skiing powder is that YOU MUST have equal weight on both skis to ski it. For me, if I start the day on powder, even if I can't find any powder later in the day, I retain that both-ski feeling and ski better.
( more )

Yesterday I rode my bike to work and the wind was howling. It blew me up the hill, all the way to the warehouse. Going home was somewhat more difficult, but the wind had died down some from the frenzy it reached midday. Instead the challenge was little pellets of snow on my gloveless hands. On my way home I went to visit Ingrid and Gunther. It had been a very stressful day at work and I was brittle, and almost called on the cell phone to tell them I wouldn't be coming. But they are so eager for me to visit that I calmed myself and went anyway. Between the two of them they have but one car (a new yellow VW bug), and Ingrid is the one who drives. She doesn't drive in the dark, and she doesn't know her way around Flagstaff very well. I wonder if she'd let me drive and take them out to a play or other event. It's sad for me to hear them talk about staying home all they time. They'd both benefit from getting out to some cultural events.
( More )

The wind started yesterday, and the snow started this morning. It is supposed to continue to snow throughout the day. Because it is so blustery, the snow is drifting. My window is wet from melting flakes. The roads are very slippery.
( thoughts on the news )

Here in AZ this is the anniversary of the day that we attained statehood. But that won't bolster restaurant revenues like a mandatory dinner out for all couples. Good night to stay at home, avoid the crowds.

Cloudy skies today, here in AZ that's rare. After so long with no precip to speak of, many of us water lovers are getting anxious. There will be no snowmelt if there is no snow! At least the tribes are talking about water conservation. The tribes are thinking ahead about how to keep their livestock watered. Here in town we white eyes are still washing our SUV's twice a week.

Don't worry, everything's going to be just FINE.