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
Christmas 2010
And so we arrive on the other side of the stupendous Bernhard Christmas Season (it's really a season for us): 6 gatherings, 4 big meals, lots of laughter and many many photos snapped. (Who me?!)
Lily made it through her first Christmas season fairly well. Despite being carted around and having dozens of people interact with her, she mostly maintained her chipper spirits and will-do attitude. She wasn't so much interested in opening presents and more interested in grabbing whatever Nate was opening, who in-turn was interested in opening both his and Lily's gifts, so it worked out in a circular-sort-of-way.
Nate seemed to enjoy himself as well. This is the first Christmas that he's been super excited about Santa. He became very shy (heartbreakingly so) when meeting Santa in downtown CL last week; you could just see the awe. After all our family events though, I could tell that he was ready to be done. This made yesterday's day off nice. He and I got out in the snow for some great play yesterday evening and hopefully we can do it again next Monday.
One of the gifts Heather and I gave each other were two large prints that we'll have professionally framed. I'm really looking forward to completing this and getting them up on the wall. The prints look great and I'm inspired to do more printing in 2011.
Usually I'd be on vacation for the rest of the year, but with the time I took off when Lily was born, I'm at work for 3 days this week. It's a little strange riding a fairly empty train and having so few people in the office. I feel like I missed a memo or a major news item or something.
I hope everyone else had a good Christmas and here's to the new year: 2011 should be interesting indeed.
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.
Vancouver 2010
Nate and 
helloheather and I have been having fun in the evenings watching the Olympics coverage.
I was catching up on my RSS feeds and came across this "Big Picture" post from Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/vancouver_2010_part_1_of_2.html
Absolutely stunning images.
familial update
We received very little of the big snow fall that came through the Chicago area. In part because a lot of it was due to lake effect and in part because the storm seems to have tracked further south. But even so, people on the south side of Crystal Lake got more snow than we did, so we must have been right on the edge of a snowy band.
Nate went through a growth spurt not too long ago, where he grew over an inch in just 2.5 weeks. He was hungry all the time (no wonder) but now the appetite is more normal, so I think things have slowed.
I made a ha-ha-lame joke last night about how it's better to be European than Europoopin' and then had to explain the joke to Nate. He loved it and I'm just such a great dad, right? (You should have seen the look helloheather gave me...)
Nate's time at his new preschool seems to be going very well. A small class of kids more his age was definitely a good change. Our school-art-on-display collection is growing again, which I love. Having stuff on the cabinets, doors, etc. is so cool. When helloheather cleaned house (we had completely run out of space to display stuff) it felt so empty and naked in the kitchen.
Child number two is rapidly approaching his or her birthday. We've changed doctors (yes, somewhat late in the game) but we're both very glad we have. The previous practice was not being supportive or informative. The new doctor also delivers at the hospital 5 minutes from our house rather than the one 25 minutes away. An added bonus.
My parents (and paternal grandfather) felt the 3.8 earthquake we had in northern Illinois on February 10th. They were only 5 miles away from the epicenter though. People as far away as Madison, WI felt the quake actually, but neither helloheather or I woke up.
We did have an addition to our family, photographically speaking, at Christmas. Thanks to a generous gift, we're now the owners of a Canon T1i Digital Rebel. It's a very good upgrade to the Rebel XT that we've been using since 2006. The auto-focus is faster, the ISO range expanded, a bigger and brighter viewfinder, the shutter is quieter, and it has a big and detailed LCD. Exciting stuff.
snow my goodness
Six to ten inches of snow are on their way. Run for your lives!
(This post brought to you by The Committee To Complain About El Niño And Our Lack of Snow and Why The Heck Does DC, of all places, Get To Be Buried While We're Here With Flurries And Almost No Accumulation For Weeks On End)
(This post is also brought to you by The People Who Are Probably Being Hit Over The Head With Newspapers For Suggesting Thirty Inches Of Snow Is Better Than Zero Inches Of Snow)
Am I /that/ neighbor?
Yesterday was a really rough day at work. Lots of things failed, lots of miscommunication, and lots of pressure to get things on the right track again. The entire day, essential, was a waste. I was exhausted when I arrived home last night.
And so I did not clear our driveway of snow yesterday evening. I went to bed early, in fact. I was done with yesterday.
But, to avoid ice and unsafe conditions, I wanted to clear the driveway. I woke up at 5 with the intention of shoveling the whole thing. It became apparent quickly that there was more snow than I realized and so I shattered the morning quiet with my snow blower. 15 minutes later I was done and inside the house.
I wonder, though, if any of my neighbors cursed me this morning for doing this. "The snow's all going to melt in a day or so anyway!" "Why didn't he do this last night?" etc., etc.
I just like using my snow blower, darn it.
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.
last post of 2009
I didn't post as often as I had wanted to in 2009. I always felt like there was more on my mind than I could properly express. 2010 is going to be a significant year...a year of change and, I hope, a year of things getting better.
Happy New Year.
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.
not where but when
I'm coming off a run of late work nights that started back at Thanksgiving and have not been getting home until 8pm. Being gone from home for thirteen and a half hours a day has certainly been trying. I realize that this is not a lot compared to some people, but for me, it's been a significant change in my relationship with work and home.
I finished up the project this past week and was able to take my "normal" train home. Except, I sorta missed the last of the light in the evening sky during my long days. So, when I stepped off the train on Wednesday, I was really rather confused, not about where I was but /when/ I was. It felt so much like a late night that, for part of my walk to my car, I actually thought it was.
Thankfully I was able to take yesterday off. Also I am only working two days next week and then not again until Jan 4th. I'm really looking forward to being home for this long. I really need to be away from work for a while. Also, Monday is the Solstice and soon enough I'll be seeing those trace bits of sunset in the western sky as I step off the train.
Edit:
As an aside, why can't we get some of that east coast snow?! The 2" or so we got today was rather disappointing. Though, it did help cover the harder frozen stuff that's been sitting around. Nate and I enjoyed almost two hours of outdoor play this morning.
the bluebird of happiness
I believe I saw my first Eastern Bluebird in the wild only a couple of years ago. It was an Easter walk with family in Sterns Woods in Crystal Lake. There were a number of man-made nesting sites in the area, so I guess it was inevitable, but I was still surprised. Such a brilliant blue!
Today, while eating lunch, I noticed a bluebird hanging out on our red Maple tree. As quickly yet stealthily as possible, I grabbed my camera and telephoto lens. I knew the shots were not going to be very good, as I'm using a rather cheap telephoto and was shooting /through/ the glass of our sliding door to the patio, but still, he stayed on the branch for so long, I had to try for a few frames.
Also, male robins have been sparring over territory all around us. It feels so much like spring is just a step away.
layers are key
Yesterday I walked for 2.9 miles during lunch and today I walked 3.6. On both days I was too warm toward the end of the walk, but today I had multiple layers (anticipating the frigid temps and wind) and so I was able to cool myself down without becoming cold.
Not much else to say, really. I'm a function before fashion guy but you knew that already.
happiness is
Happiness is...
- Having a couple reasonably non-frigid days and spending some time outside with Nate.
- Sharing ice cream and episodes of "The Closer" with helloheather at noon on a Tuesday.
- Starting your work week on a Wednesday and still ending it on a Friday.