Wherein I’m no longer wearing a winter hat but am waving a flag
The storms on Sunday were quite intense. We were driving down to my parents in Elgin to have a Memorial Day party and were caught in some of the most intense rain I've been in in many years. Streets were flooded, ditches were running over the tops of roads, dogs and cats were living together, mass hysteria. Or maybe it was just a lot of rain, lightning, and thunder.
Anyway, the quick jump to 90 deg yesterday was nice. A bit hot when mowing the lawn but I'll take it over having to wear winter clothes at the end of May.
We all went to the Crystal Lake Memorial Day parade yesterday. That was a lot of fun. Pretty short but, for Nate and Lily, just the right length. We parked in the train station parking lot and literally walked 10 feet forward to put our chairs in the shade right along the parade route. We brought water and snacks but still, I walked down the street to get popcorn from Pop's Corn Crib (a CL staple). I bought flags for the kids to wave [which lasted for all of 2 minutes 
]. Three marching bands, lots and lots of Cub and Boy Scouts, veterans, and police and fire. Lily was not sure what to make of it all and just stared and stared; Nate was pretty good but was a little intimidated by the loudness of the marching band so hung back a bit.
Looks like the warm weather should stick with us for this week. Hopefully that will translate into productive play (and some yard work) in the evenings.
Wherein I am still wearing a winter hat
Really, the subject says it all. It's the end of May and, this morning, I was wearing a winter hat while standing on the train platform. Why? Because the mid-40 temps and 20-30mph winds were stealing the heat from my body at an alarming rate. The fact that I still am carrying my winter hat in my work bag is rather telling.
And the lunch hour was no better. Cold and windy with threatening skies. I walked for all of 4 blocks before giving up.
Ok, so it's supposed to be in the 80's soon but I don't really want summer, I want spring. We've had a couple days of actual spring but mostly the weather been bouncing between a few unseasonably warm days to cold, rainy, cold, rainy, cold...
Anyway. It's May 26th and I'm wearing a winter hat. That is all.
I survived the February 2011 Blizzard & Thundersnow
A bit of a tongue-in-cheek title here. It's been a crazy 24H+ but we fared quite well.
It took a long time to get home last night (Tuesday) because the trains were all messed up. I left work a little early to make sure I got a seat on my regular train thinking it would be extra crowded. But as it turns out, most everyone in the city left hours before. I could have, but stayed 'till near the bitter end (as they say). So, the upshot of all of this is that, from the time I left work until the time I arrived home I was commuting for 3 hours. Not so much fun.
Arriving at my train station in Crystal Lake I found a completely wind-swept and snow-less car. Now, the drift /next/ to my car, on the other hand, was up to the hood. But details, details.
Because of the intense wind, the roads were not really a problem. Slow, to be sure, but the major routes were passable. However, when I turned into my neighborhood I began to worry I'd have to abandon my car 200 yards from my house. The plows were clearly busy elsewhere and I wasn't expect the roads to be clear, but the snow had accumulated far more than I had anticipated. But I made it home without too much trouble. After a quick (and delicious) dinner of a hearty potato soup, I was off to "clear" the driveway. And by "clear" I mean "wait, how could there be 2" of snow already? I just shoveled that!" I walked around the house a bit and cleared off the snow from the back door, which made me feel like I had run a half-marathon. The snow drifts were already very deep.
Around 10pm Heather spotted lightening and we both heard the rumble of thunder. An amazing sound, to be sure. The night was uneventful. No branches fell off the trees and crashed through the house, etc.
This morning I got up around 5:30 to confirm that indeed I would be working from home today. By 6:30 I was out with the snow blower trying to figure out how I could possibly clear snow away from areas that were deeper than the blower was tall. It took 2 hours to complete the driveway. Around 8 the plow came by and gave us a road again. I was amazed to see the truck push that much snow.
Around noon Nate and I headed out to play. Wading through waist-deep drifts is hard, hard, work. Nate kept getting lost in the snow but was full of wonderful exuberance and energy. I pulled him around on the sled for a bit but we both were tired after 45 minutes. I stayed out to clear the driveway again and to tackle the front sidewalk which I had previously left. The drift there was the highest yet and we now have a small canyon to walk through to get to our front door.
Tomorrow morning it's supposed to be -15 deg F when I get on the train. Honestly, I'd rather have more snow than cold like that. I'm sure I'm in the minority with that opinion.
Edit: snow fall totals for the region:
http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/2011/02/map-of-the-citys-historic-third-heaviest-snowfall-on-record.html
Lily’s First Snow
It snowed this morning and there was enough sticking to go out and have a little fun. Nate got a couple rides on the sled and Lily either was in our arms or plopped on the lawn. She was interested and pretty happy with the whole affair.
Interestingly enough, our first snow of the year Nate was born was also Dec 1st, but then it was like 12" in 1 day. We didn't take Nate outside to experience it until Dec 7th:
http://helloheather.livejournal.com/404451.html
I makes me immensely happy to have photos of both kids in the same snowsuit.
wherein life stresses me out…
It's been a complex and difficult couple of weeks.
We've had a family member pass away suddenly and unexpectedly. We've had other family members hospitalized and/or have medical procedures. We've had family members lose their jobs. We've had medical problems ourselves, some of which are still unresolved.
We have stress thinking about the pending birth of our second child (a child who still doesn't have a name) and the changes that will bring.
Oh, and our cat is sick. She has to be put on an even more special food than what she's already been taking and will start getting cortisone shots which, if the diagnosis is wrong, could actually make things worse.
I'm trying to think positively though. I'm still employed and financially things are improving for the company. Also the company went 100% business casual which is a nice change. The weather has been improving and I've been able to get out during lunch. Also bernhard.us et al will be migrated to new servers in a couple weeks which should make things much faster and more stable.
and while pregnant too!
I just want to acknowledge how blessed I am.
The last big snowfall we had (last week) was a multi-day affair but the bulk of the snow fell mid-day. 
helloheather was out in the driveway with the snow-blower keeping it ice and snow free.
And this isn't the first time this winter she's done that.
She rocks.
catch-up post #n
I was off work from December 23rd through January 4th and it was a really great. helloheather and Nate and I relaxed and spent a lot of quality time together.
Christmas was busy, as usual, with events every day from the 24th through the 27th. But, despite the big snowfall, and the driving around, it was really all very good. Nate was a trouper and really seemed to enjoy visiting the family. Lots of photos need to be posted.
We visited the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum after Christmas, mostly to see the Butterfly Haven they have there. I really thought Nate would enjoy it, but he was not impressed. There were other exhibits he liked though, and overall the visit was a good one. Also, with so many people being off work the week between Christmas and New Years, we had no problems driving into and out of Chicago.
Nate and I also spent a lot of time outside in the snow over break, which was really great. I'm very glad we've had all the snow and that it's been cold enough to keep it from melting. Though, I did hear on the news last night that, if it warms up on Wednesday or Thursday, it'll be the first time since Christmas that we've been at or above 32 deg F. So, it's been a little chilly!
Being back at work for a full week (last week) was tough. It's really easy to get into a habit of being lazy and family-oriented around the house and very difficult to get back into work-mode mentality. However, I've managed to chase the mid-day blues away a bit by bringing a DSLR to work and walking around in the cold and snow. Boots and thermals have been a must.
So 2010 is here and the end of March is rapidly approaching. I'm still not really ready for all of this but it's certainly not waiting for me to catch up.
a reminder of why I don’t treat myself very often
With this being the last day of work for me for the year and with the snow falling so beautifully in the city, I thought I would treat myself to a mocha from Caribou Coffee. This would mean taking a longer route to work from my train and I could enjoy the combination of a hot chocolaty beverage, the crisp air, falling snow, and the slushy sidewalks. I like that sorta thing...it charges the batteries. Next time, though, I'm going to just settle for a longer walk and warm myself with thoughts of the free coffee at work. Why?
$4.
$4, after tax, for a small mocha (and that chocolate-covered coffee bean they give you).
Now, mind you, it's probably been 9 months (or more) since I've set foot in any coffee chain store. And certainly their mocha's are tasty (better than Starbucks IMHO) and certainly the staff is friendly and fast and certainly they're in a good location (right in my station in Chicago). But seriously. $4.
Shame on me for not looking at the price board before ordering.
two thoughts on clothes
1
Every year, when I had my review at work, I'd fill out the space available for comments with the same basic idea:
It would be great if the company business casual a try. A good test could be over the summer and on Fridays only. If people don't abuse it, it could be a permanent Friday thing.
And every year, everyone who saw my review above my boss (directors, vice presidents, various HR staff etc) would ignore it.
Eventually my review form was changed and I no longer had a comments section. (I have no idea if this was a corporate-wide change to the forms or if it was just me. I didn't talk to anyone else about it.)
We got a new CEO in January (after the previous one retired). He's young and full of energy and approved a summer test (starting the Friday before Memorial Day and ending the Friday before Labor Day) of business casual attire. After 10 years it finally has happened.
Except, I sorta have run into a problem: I don't really have any business casual attire. I do have some short-sleeved shirts, but the weather hasn't been quite that warm yet.
The dress code for this test is pretty much: "men can take off their ties and everything else stays the same." But taking off a tie while wearing a dress shirt, to me, just looks like you forgot your tie... You don't look business casual you look business neglectful.
2
Speaking of cool temps...each spring I find it really difficult to stop wearing a coat. I keep walking around thinking I left something or lost something but I just don't know what it is... And then I remember that I'm not wearing a coat and I'm fine for about 10 minutes. Then the feelings start all over again. The first time I sit down in my car to drive to the train station without 2 coats, a hat, gloves, and a sled dog team, I am thrown for a loop.
This long winter and cool spring (save a few days) has reinforced these feelings even more. Not wearing a coat just feels wrong. So on those few warm days that we've been able to gather up, I still have had a spring jacket on. Even if it means carrying it in the heat of the afternoon, I still take one with. I just don't trust Mother Nature. I think she's just waiting to throw a curve ball made of snow...
possible brilliant sunsets
Over on http://spaceweather.com/ there is a notification that, thanks to the eruptions of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska, the Great Lakes region may be in for interesting sunsets.
It's under "SULFUR DIOXIDE LOOP" which mainly details a ring of SO2 currently approach the west coast but does mention the band approaching the Great Lakes region.
You can see an animation of the event here.
we might be having some weather
edit: ah they dropped the totals down to "1 to 5" which means we got just enough to put the plows out once and that's probably it.
Or so it would seem...so much for spring, eh?
Snow through the night. Chance of thunderstorms. Snow may be heavy at times. Snow accumulation of 5 to 7 inches
wherein I talk even more about the weather
This morning on the train platform it was 0F and the wind chill was -15F. During my lunch hour walk it warmed up to 16F with a wind chill of around 2F.
Tomorrow it's only supposed to get up to 11F but then a rather rapid warming trend. 36 for a high then 42 and then, if predictions hold, it'll be 45 deg or warmer on Saturday.
This does not bode well for people living in flood-prone areas. And, baring any February snow storms, we'll be looking at brown grass and dirt for the next month. Oh well.
In other news, after essentially 6 weeks of being sick I'm finally going to the doctor. I think the lingering cold has turned into a full-blown sinus infection.
glad for the snow, not the cold
I've said it before, but I'll take gobs and gobs of snow over the cold any day. Tomorrow and Friday though, it appears the opposite will be occurring.
When I get on the train in the morning, I could be standing in temps of -16 deg F and wind chills of -35 deg F.
On Friday morning, if the forecast holds, the temps in the morning should be -19 deg F with wind chills of -40 deg F. I don't know what that will feel like, but I imagine it won't feel good. I wish I had purchased a winter face mask.
and he’s off…
Friday marked my last day of work until December 29th and I'm only working then and the 30th that week. It'll be nice to have those two stretches in a row off. But the rest of January and February (with limited holidays) will be rather difficult to get through.
The snow last week was great and we ended up adding around 10" on Friday. I feel bad for those to the south of us that got hit with ice instead. I'll gladly take a foot or two of snow over ice any day. Especially because we don't have a generator for the house...
The cold today, however, is brutal.
That's what it was like at 8 am with a windchill of somewhere between -20 and -30. As helloheather mentioned, we tried to head to Milton, WI but Route 14 was getting worse and worse the further north we went. I'm disappointed that we had to miss the baptism but I think we made the right decision.
Lastly, just a note: cetan.org will be down for the foreseeable future. I will still be uploading images to my flickr account if you're at all interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/phule.
Oh and Happy Winter Solstice.
the long dark tea time of the soul
Because I've been making my lunch at work (having access to a full-size fridge on my floor is great for keeping a variety of food available) I've done almost no walking in the past month. When I have walked it's either been to the store or for short distances and never with a camera.
The situations has not helped by the fact that, we've been averaging 10 deg F below normal for this time of year.
I want to walk, but I also want to eat. And eating out all the time is not a trend one can maintain for very long, especially in this economy.
I need a good kick in the rear. I also need a camera that I can use while wearing gloves...or I need to come up with a better method to keep my hands warm than ski gloves. A post over on the Luminous Landscape website has give me something to chew on.
Also, I just have to make it through the next week and a half, then I'm off the entire week of Christmas, back for two days, and then off again from the 31st until the 5th. I can't wait.