Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts

Friday, December 14, 2012

Yucky Trip, Great Scenery

I recently had to travel to my eldest brother's home to help take care of his estate. I've heard that losing a sibling is more emotionally stressful than losing a parent, and perhaps that's true. In this case, though, my other brother (Jim) and I have long anticipated a random phone call about our elder sib. We knew it would happen, just didn't know when.

It was a difficult week, indeed, but there were bright spots. There was great support among family members and new friends. The weather was good for most of the week, and I got to take a few photos of things that Tom had seen almost every day for the past 30 years. Northern California and Nevada are beautiful, if stark, and you just can't beat that backdrop of bright blue December sky.

I hope you find these pics restful, as I do.








Monday, December 29, 2008

Family Trapped at Home in Snowstorm, Eats Books to Survive!



Okay, so we weren't actually snowed in. Life would have been easier if we had been stuck, though. This was the most snow we've had in a few years, and it was WAY above our normal accumulation. There was snow, and some ice, and then a lot more snow, and it didn't go away in two days.

It was beautiful. Really beautiful. Except if you had to drive or walk anywhere. (Two of these photos were taken at the library, the other from the safety of my living room.) Then, it could be downright scary. The last couple of days, the snow was turning into slush. Twelve inches of mucky slush. Try to drive your compact car through that!

The worst time I had was when my car's anti-skid feature was activated. I had shoveled down to bare dirt, and all I had to do was move my tires about six inches to grab it. No. No. No. The moment the wheels began to slip, power was shut off and they wouldn't turn. Remember back in the old days when you could spin your wheels and dig down to solid ground? Sure, it made a huge mess, but it worked.

Yes, there is a button next to my gearshift that would have disabled the anti-skid device. No, I didn't think about it in time to use it. I just kept playing around, driving sideways on the packed snow, digging around the tires some more, until I finally got the car moving.

I felt like such a girl. But I'll do better next time. Just enjoy the pictures and forget these words, okay? Thanks.