Winter attacks!

Between the freezing rain on Sunday, the wind on Monday and Tuesday, and the snow today, I think it's safe to say that winter is attacking. The snow that's been coming down for most of the day is sticking to most surfaces...a nice wet snow. It's beautiful. I love how it transforms everything into a white wonderland, covering up all the city grime. All day my friend and colleague KS has been practically dancing in her chair (you can read about her excitement on her blog). I have to admit snow really makes it feel like winter for me too. It makes me want to snuggle up in the house with a steaming mug of hot cocoa after a cold walk in the snow with the dog.

Speaking of Aussie, here is a description of what she sounds like when out in the snow:

snuffle snuffle snuffle
foof! [sharp exhale sending an explosion of snow into the air around her nose]
snuffle snuffle
foof!
snort
snuffle snuffle...

And then she attacks it. No joke. Attacks the snow. Hates the rain. Not too fond of the cold either, she takes care of business pretty quickly when it's chilly out. Unless there's snow involved. Then she must inspect every. single. pile. of. snow. And nothing can make her hurry up. Not even me imploring her because my toes are getting cold. She's in the land o' snow and is lost to the rest of the world.

snuffle snuffle snuffle
foof!
[sneeze]
snuffle snuffle...

Side note: this post marks one full year of blogging for me. My blog is ONE YEAR OLD. That's longer than I've ever managed to keep a journal or diary before...guess I really did form that habit after all.

What is up with the weather?

This is not supposed to be a blog about weather. Yet, the screwy winter we've had here in Philly has vexed me week after week.

I was all set to blog about the window air conditioner I got via Freecycle, and the nor easter blows in. So here I am, with a nice new-to-me air conditioner sitting on my floor waiting to be installed in my bedroom window in anticipation of the sultry Philly summers, and horizontal snow outside my window this morning. Yes, HORIZONTAL snow. I'm not joking. And, yet again, I have at least an inch of slushy snow on my car.

Sigh. I just put away my scarf and hat last week. This morning I nearly pulled them out again and really should have. My face was so cold by the time I made it to the bus stop I couldn't feel my nose. My staff person at work told me this morning she bowed to the weather and pulled out her heavy winter coat again. It's mid-April. This is wrong. Today is the Boston Marathon and the organizers are saying that in 30 years they've never seen weather like this. I can't imagine running against the wind (with gusts to between 30 and 50 miles per hour!) and rain/snow we've got here in the Northeast right now.

[I can't imagine running a marathon, period, but with weather like this I really can't imagine voluntarily spending hours running into the wind with snow/rain hitting you in the face and chest. No thank you, I'll pass.]

And it just seems silly for me to be so excited about an air conditioner. But I am. Because I know come July, I'll be very very happy to have it. As will my dog. I have ceiling fans in all my rooms, but they can only do so much when the humidity sets in, which I know it will (despite the nor easter we've got right now). Being able to cool ONE room in the house so my dog doesn't get heat stroke and I can get sleep is priceless. So finding an air conditioner via Freecycle is like a gift from heaven. It may be old, but it was free, and it works. All I had to do was go pick it up. I can do that. I'll give it a good cleaning and we'll be good to go when summer arrives. What more can I ask for?

Besides spring. I'd really like it to be spring.

This is Spring?

You know how I mentioned that Spring had headed South for Easter weekend? Yeah.

We had snow flurries this afternoon. Nothing stuck, but it was definitely snow flurries. Light fluffy stuff twirling through the sky. It looked pretty with the sun peeking through the clouds and glinting off all the tiny little snowflakes floating in the air. But it was still SNOW. Otherwise known as ICE CRYSTALS. I took a couple of pictures because I couldn't believe it.

Easter is tomorrow. I'm sure we had snow a couple of times when I was little, there may even be a couple of pictures of my sister and I in our fancy Easter clothes standing in the snow in front of the house. But that's not what comes to mind when I think of Easter. Easter for me means flowers and new dresses with short sleeves and new shoes. Blooms and buds on the trees. Spring. A time of birth and rebirth, and new growth and regrowth. Warmth and sun and blue sky and lots and lots of colors, lots of different shades of green on the ground and in the trees, and don't forget the colored eggs.

Color. Lots and lots of color. NOT white snow. The only white is on your shiny new shoes and crisp white dress gloves and, if you're lucky enough to get one, your fancy Easter hat with the big satin ribbon on it. [OK, so I think I only had a hat ONE year, and I remember wearing it drove me nuts, but Easter still makes me think of fancy hats.]

And we have SNOW. I hope the Easter Bunny (or Easter Bilby for those in Australia) has an extra thick winter coat with a hat to keep his ears warm. And little booties for his poor cold little paws as he hides all those eggs.

Now I understand why the Easter Bunny always hid eggs INSIDE the house and not outside in the yard when I was little.

Things that are absurd

First, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Even if you aren't Irish. I, however, am at least 1/3 Irish, and probably more. I will be having a nice traditional dinner of corned beef. I'd have cabbage and potatoes as well (combined into yummy colcannon), but unfortunately, I don't have either one and I'm not going out again today.

Yesterday Winter decided to throw a last temper tantrum. The first day of Spring is in less than a week, and apparently Winter wanted to be remembered. So it started by raining, which then became sleet, which then alternated with snow until the wee hours of the morning. And it's supposed to snow again tonight. Yeah. So to go anywhere today, I had to dig my car out, which took a good hour. And then get out of my parking spot. Considering they don't really plow the roads here, getting out of a parking spot and driving can be a bit difficult. But I managed. I have a Subaru. I love my car.

Once I got moving, I had two important errands for the day. One, to get my Pennsylvania driver's license and two, to submit my paperwork to renew my passport. The first item was easy. Technically, I was a bit late and it should have been done months ago, but I had to wait until the identity theft situation was taken care of. Now that my record is clean, I could get rid of my previous state's driver's license. And fortunately, even though my passport is technically expired, it only expired in January so it was still a valid proof of citizenship and identity for the folks at PennDot. So, with my old driver's license, along with 2 utility bills to prove residence, and my Social Security Card and my passport to prove citizenship and identity, I had a Pennsylvania driver's license in about an hour. Not bad. Apparently the terrible road conditions from yesterday's bad weather kept a lot of people away so it wasn't that busy. I didn't even have to take a test since my old license is current and I have no outstanding violations (I have NO violations, none, nada, thankyouverymuch). My picture isn't that bad either.

So now that I had the new license, onto item number 2, the passport renewal. With the new laws requiring a passport for ALL travel out of the country, even to Canada and Mexico, the passport agencies are swamped. So it's going to take a good 8-10 weeks for me to get my renewed passport. Good thing I'm not going anywhere.

I filled out all the paperwork, got my 2 photos (not all that great, but not terrible), wrote the check for the renewal fee, and proceeded to the post office, which is the closest passport processing center (and possibly the only one in Philly open on Saturday). I had a package to pick up, so I did that first and then went and got in the passport processing line. After waiting in line for a good 30 minutes, I learned that in order to hand my renewal form to a person, I'd have to pay an additional fee of 30 dollars. What? Um, I don't think so. Especially since I'm eligible to renew by mail. So I go and get back in the line I was in earlier when I picked up my package to mail my forms, complete with delivery confirmation.

Here's the rub. I paid 4 dollars and 55 cents to (priority) mail my passport renewal with delivery confirmation to a post office box in the same building.
In.
The.
Same.
Building.

Absurd. Just absurd.

SNOW!!

First snow of the season!

Yes, that is snow. I swear.

I actually love snow. I love the crunch sound it makes when you walk on it. I love the way you can see snowflake clusters on your clothing when you're out in it. I love the way it makes everything look so soft, like a big pillow is laid over everything. I love how Aussie loves to catch snowballs and eat them. I love snow. I always have. I even like it when it's all dirty and slushy (although yellow snow is to be avoided at all costs).

Unfortunately, the ground is so warm probably none of it will stick. That's the worst kind of snow...the tease. It's in the air, but it melts when it lands.