MaeLyn's Musings

 The warning came early in the week: a snow storm was on its way and it was going to be a big one. They said it would arrive on Friday, but it didn't. We awoke Saturday morning hoping for a blanket of white, but there was nothing. All day Saturday we waited. Some snow fell, but there was not enough to even cover the grass. Where was the big storm? Where was the blizzard that had been predicted? Was it a case of "much ado about nothing"?  Our first winter here in Colorado there was a huge snowstorm and we expected every winter to have storms like that... Later we found out that storm, in March of 2003 was the second biggest snowstorm the Denver area had ever had. This storm was supposed to come close to that, if it ever actually arrived. Finally, that evening, it began. Sunday morning it was snowing. It fell and it fell hard. Church was cancelled and we cozied up at home. We listened to church music as Steven baked pies (for pi day) and I worked on a jigsaw puzzle. Every f...

Dragon's teeth dangle, Their long and treacherous spikes Waiting for a bite!

It happened too fast On the slick, icy sidewalk: Balance lost - wipe out!

The wind is howling outside. As I walked home from dropping the kids off at school, the thought crossed my mind, "What would happen if one of those huge, dead looking branches broke off in this wind and hit me in the head? If I fell to the ground unconscious, who would stop to help? How long would I lie there before someone came to my rescue or called 911 or something? If someone did help me, would they be able to figure out who I am or who to contact? Or who to bill for any medical treatment I might need? I did have my cell phone in my pocket, so I figured that they could go through my messages and contacts and find someone who would know who to contact. If I didn't have my cell phone on me, then what? Would anyone notice that I was missing until the kids get out of school and I don't come to pick up Peter?" Cheerful thoughts, aren't they? Also, I had this song in my head that I remember from my childhood. Unfortunately, I don't really know all the words. I...

What do you do when the weather grows cold- when the grass is covered with blankets of snow and the streets with patches of ice? When to go outside means to see your breath but lose sense in your fingers and toes? There are some who say, "Yay!" and run out to play with their coats, hats, mittens and gloves. They search out their sleds and carrots for noses for snowmen, build forts, and snow angels. I hate to drive on icy, slick roads, not knowing if I'll stop or I'll go. I'd rather stay inside, read books and drink cocoa, wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket. Does that make me strange? Like a grinch or a Scrooge? I hope not. I don't mean to be. I'd just rather be warm, toasty and comfy, and I really don't like to freeze!

Warm, sunny morning, We walk to school in short sleeves. Temps drop, by noon - snow!

It was about 1:30 yesterday afternoon and I was laying on the couch in the living room relaxing and reading an Agatha Christy novel for a few minutes before I needed to pick up the kids from school. Abish had made herself comfortable on my chest and appeared to be napping. Outside, rain poured from a dark sky. A flash of bright light was followed by a long rolling boom of thunder which startled Abish. She leaped from my lap and landed on the floor, where she looked at me reproachfully, as though I had woken her from her nap on purpose. For a little while I could hear hail stones hitting the patio roof with resonating clangs. A few minutes later, I dug my rain jacket out of the back of my closet and grabbed my umbrella and headed out into the storm. In a way, I was grateful that Steven was out of town because I had the car and could drive most of the way to the school, and I wasn't sopping wet by the time I got there. Usually when I arrive at school to pick up the kids, there ar...

The weather here in Colorado drives me crazy sometimes. Yesterday, the skies were overcast, but the weather was fairly warm. Even at 7:30 last night, when I was picking Hannah up after rehearsal, it was about 47*, which seemed warm. This morning we awoke to a winter wonderland, the trees wearing a coat of white about an inch deep, and clear blue skies. The sidewalks on the way to school this morning were treacherous, as though the snow fell in clumps and then froze, leaving a layer of crunchy ice, still white and lumpy. However, the electronic sign at the school said the temperature was already 37* at 8:00 this morning, and sure enough, by the time I returned home, the ice on the sidewalks was already beginning to soften and melt. By this afternoon, it will probably be mostly gone. Picture taken with my phone last week. I mentioned before that they are rehabilitating the park down the street. A week and a half ago, we saw some trucks pull up in front of the park loaded with hu...

There was a cool white frost clinging to everything this morning that fascinated me. I thought it was beautiful. When I got home from taking the kids to school I had to grab the camera and take pictures of some of the plants around the house that were coated in a beautiful layer of ice crystals.  

I'm sick of the cold. I'm ready to move somewhere warm - like Tahiti. Yes, it may be their rainy season right now, but at least their temperatures are in in the 70s and 80s, not the 0s or -0s like we've had here recently. (Yes, I realize that some of those who are reading this are experiencing colder temperatures than these, and all I can say is I'm sorry. This is plenty cold enough for me.) Usually, Denver, Colorado isn't a bad place to live. We get seasons, which means a gorgeous autumn, a green summer, a wet spring, and snow in the winter. But usually the snow in the winter melts off really quickly. We can have six inches of snow and have it all melted off within three days. It doesn't usually stick around the entire winter, turning black and dirty on the sides of the roads. We don't have to keep chains on our tires from November to March. We have winter days that reach 60 degrees, and that feels warm! And then we have weeks like this one, snowing ...

I went outside without a coat today. "What?" You're asking. "Why would you start a blog with that sentence? What does it matter whether or not you went out without a coat? What is significant about that???" The point it that it was warm enough that I could go out in just a sweater; I could take a bag of trash all the way around the building to the dumpster, and return to the house at a normal walking pace - all without freezing to death! Last week the temperatures were in single digits, and it wasn't until yesterday, finally, it really warmed up again, reaching the 40s, and snow from a week ago finally began to melt. This California Girl is grateful for warmth. I'm grateful that our heater is working again. I'm grateful for our water heater. I'm grateful for temperatures in the 40s and 50s that feel oddly warm in the middle of winter (Yes, I realize that it isn't technically winter yet... but it feels like it.)  It's kind of funny.....

Yesterday I was on the computer around noon working on some things when I noticed something odd.  I was really cold! My hands were shaking because they were so  very cold.  I checked to see if someone had turned down the thermostat, but no, it was still set between 65 and 70 degrees. The actual temperature, however, was about 55 degrees! I told Steven what was going on, and checked the pilot light on the heater and made sure the switch was on. I had heard the heater earlier making an odd buzzing sound, I knew the gas was going on and the heater was running off and on, but there was no warm air blowing through the vents.  Finally we decided to call an acquaintance who owns a heating and cooling company. He agreed to come check it out when he got a chance, since he already had several appointments already scheduled for the day. He arrived around 5pm to take a look.  He determined that the fan motor was shot and needs to be replaced. For the time, he...

The quiet atmosphere of my walk to school this morning was punctuated by the futile buzz of tires trying to gain traction on slick, icy roads. I live in a hilly area, and cars of all shapes and sizes had difficulty maneuvering this morning, in the first snowfall of the season that actually stuck to the streets. (The last snow we had was October 18th, but it only stuck to the grass and it melted off by mid morning.) These are the mornings when I am grateful that the boys' school is only 1/2 mile away, grateful that I don't have the car to even tempt me to drive, grateful that I am on foot, and not trying to negotiate icy roads in a 4,000 pound minivan. As it was, I slipped and slid a bit on foot, but the only one at risk was me. As I type this there is a car spinning its wheels on the street just outside our playroom gate, unable to move. I wanted to take a picture of all the cars struggling just to climb the gentle slope outside our house, but the kids were playing with the ...

Is it Halloween already? Not quite. But we did pull out our winter hats and scarves and stuff  a couple days ago and this is how Josh chose to dress for school yesterday, and today.  He's been talking a lot lately about an airplane he wants to build, and this morning he gave me a list of materials he will need: wood, motor, gears, pipe, switch, and car battery. This will be a small, two-seater plane that he will be able to fly the 1/2 mile to school, and land on the lawn. This morning he was even telling me that if the family accidentally left on vacation without him, he could just hop in his plane and catch up with us. (I'm not sure what he was planning on doing with his plane after that - strapping it to the top of the car, maybe?) Until he is able to acquire the materials (and perhaps the know-how) to build his plane, however, he is content to drive the green machine, something we picked up at a garage sale a few months ago. Incidentally, this is what the slope ...

I've got bad news, better news and wonderful news. The bad news: The floods from a few weeks ago brought devastation to our area. Flood water washed away cars, houses, and lives. The water receded, but not soon enough to stop a plague. In quiet pools of water, thousands and hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes laid eggs, which have since hatched into an army of billions of tiny, but persistent, blood sucking monsters. Last Sunday I awoke with an itchy red bump just below my right eye. Monday one appeared on my knee, another on my wrist, and they kept appearing. John went on a field trip to a lake on Monday and got sixteen bites, eleven of which were all on one arm. Yesterday I got one on the side of my nose! Everyone I have asked about it has agreed that the mosquitoes are bad - except Hannah. She claims not to have been bitten once! The better news: It is snowing this morning for the first time this fall! Maybe the snow will freeze the bloodsuckers. The wonderful news: I thi...

We've received a phone call or two from family who was concerned about us in light of the flooding here in our area. We are fine. As I mentioned a few days ago, the lawn in front of the house gets covered with water occasionally when it is raining hard, but it usually doesn't take long to drain again once the rain eases up. So far, the water hasn't risen any where near high enough to reach our front door, or even to flood the play room, which is a couple steps down from the rest of the house. We haven't chanced to be driving on any of the roads that have been washed out. Steven got stuck in traffic one morning on his way to work when a freeway off ramp was flooded and cars were turning around to get back on the freeway via the off ramp. That's about as exciting as it gets for us, for which I am grateful. Yesterday, we received a couple phone calls about 1/2 hour before church was to start to let us know that a major intersection on the way to church was flooded. W...

This week has been the rainiest I've seen in a long time. Sure, we frequently get the late summer evening thunderstorms, but it has been raining most of the day, every day, for the last three days. Since we only have one car, I get to walk to take the kids to school and to pick them up afterwards. Luckily for us, only on Monday afternoon was it really pouring down on us while we were walking. Other days the rain has stopped for a little while, or it has just been a light sprinkle. I like rain, when I don't have to be out in it. It is the perfect weather to curl up in a comfy chair with a good book, and since I am still wading through the Wheel of Time series, I have plenty to read. (I'm on book eleven now.) At night, the sound of rain pounding on the roof is strangely relaxing, and it lulls me to sleep. The grass looks greener now than it has all summer, and I haven't had to water my garden. I kind of wonder if the plants will drown from all the water they are ...

Tomorrow is the first day of May. May Day. Mother's Day is just around the corner, followed by Memorial Day barbecues, outdoor pools opening, summer vacation. Spring's chill is supposed to be making way for summer warmth... right? I wish. Yesterday was gorgeous and temperatures just reached the 80s. I had hoped it was a sign of good things to come, but apparently not. Tomorrow we're supposed to get snow. Uggggh! I am ready for summertime!

So, my parents were supposed to travel here yesterday on their way to Nauvoo, but they got stuck in Rawlins, Wyoming with the freeway closed due to snow and dangerous conditions. We waited all day to see if they would be able to come, but it didn't happen. Today the roads were opened and they were able to travel onward, only to be stopped again by closed roads. Last I heard, they were taking another route, but unsure about how long it would take. My mom also mentioned seeing several accidents. The roads are slippery! Anyway, while waiting and praying, I've been drawing one of the objects on my computer desk. Have you got time? I've had plenty today!

Last week the weathermen said we were going to get a blizzard. The school called a snow day . Businesses closed. We got a couple inches of snow... but at the end of the day, we could still see the top of the grass poking through. We wondered - where is all the snow we were supposed to have gotten??? Yesterday we awoke to snow falling. It wasn't sticking to the roads and sidewalks in the morning. School wasn't cancelled. We trudged to school. The snow continued to fall all day. I had to walk to the library to return some things that were due, but decided to do that on the way to pick up the kids from school. It was still snowing, and by the time we all got home again, we were pretty wet and cold. It continued snowing. Josh asked if this was the blizzard we were supposed to get last week. I don't know. This morning's snow depth. This morning, the snow had stopped falling, although we are supposed to get more this afternoon and evening, and tomorrow. Again schoo...