Time in Virginia

My sister and brother in law, Rebecca and Stuart, live in VA. This past weekend David and I went to visit. The weather was gorgeous (50-60 and sunny!). And I have the cutest nephews in the world.

We celebrated Daniel's second birthday. Vid helped Adam (who's 4) decorate the chocolate frosting. After supper, we presented Daniel with the biggest, chocolatiest, most sprinkle laden cupcake. He seemed rather unfamiliar with it, although he knew it was food. Being a boy who lives to eat, he cooed with delight, blew out his candles... and proceeded to scrape off and eat all the frosting, leaving the cake behind.

Incidentally, when we handed him a second cupcake the next day, he cooed even more loudly (now knowing what was coming) and looked up at us in wonder, as if to say, "There are more of these wonderful things? How can it be?"

David and I keep hoping little baby girl Yeager ends up as cute as these two. (Yes, in case any of you hadn't heard, we're 99% sure it's going to be a girl!)

Snow!

Okay. Enough is enough. Seriously.

There's a foot out there. The snow is supposed to continue until five PM. They're calling for it to let up, so we'll only be getting about four more inches. Only.

Sheesh.

P.S. Looking at my blog is like rubbing salt in a wound. I'd change my background, but the site is down, so I have to wait.

Happy New Year to Us

There were so many titles I could have given this post: "Stupid Luck", "Reason #47 Why I Hate Winter", "Welcome to the Money Pit", "Maybe I Shouldn't Leave the House Anymore" - but I refrained, because in the end, everything has turned out fine.

Why the sour salutation, after so many days of silence? Well - D and I got home on the 31st and found out that we had experienced another flood. No, we did not discover a foot of water in the basement - everything was dry. In fact, we knew there had been water in the basement while we were gone. Two days after Christmas the temps climbed to close to 60 (who was here for that?) and it poured. So all that snow on the ground had nowhere to go.

Our neighbor who was watching the house actually called to let us know what was going on, but at the time of his call, there was only about an inch in the basement. It was only after we got him, when he jogged across the street to drop off the key, that he told us the water level climbed much higher. He did not tell us how high.

At 9:30 I wanted a bath, but alas, there was no hot water. I sent Vid downstairs to light the pilot, and laid down on our bed to wait, listening to the clickclickclickclick of the pilot light not catching. "Please Lord," I prayed. He came upstairs with a grim look on his face. "I can't get it to work. And the dryer won't turn on, either."

Well, we went to bed praying for a solution we could afford - and God is good. The next morning, the pilot light lit, and we had hot water. The dryer is still sitting in pieces on the floor of the basement, waiting for a repairman. I visited the laundromat for the first time last week - and it may not be the last.

Sigh. At least it's cosy and warm in there.

Christmas Vacation

Well, it’s early Tuesday – and the snow is falling fast. D and I are supposed to fly out to visit his family tonight, but I don’t know if it’s going to happen. I mean, I’m sure it will happen eventually. The question is when. How long will we sit at the airport? We’re stocked up with food and comfy clothes. We figured out how to pack only carry-on bags (which we will probably regret when we have to return home with new Christmas gifts… not sure how that will work).

Last night we swapped Christmas gifts. I got the best Christmas card ever. I also got a bunch of fun new books, one of which – a new Wayside Stories book – we are going to read on the plane. Yes, we are that weird.

We packed and got the house ready for our departure. I had a “grown up” moment last night. K, a little girl who lives across the street, is going to watch Boo and Kanga (the gerbils) for us. As I was jotting some instructions and writing the check, I thought, “Oh wow. I’m one of those grown-ups that has pets that need to be taken care of and the kid across the street does it for me. Weird.”

I know, I know. I should have realized it before now. David and I are adults. But still, when I actually think about it, it's strange.

Six

That was the median temperature yesterday, according to the various banks and drugstores I passed as I was driving around. It was so cold that David and I could not scrape the ice off the car, the two back doors stayed frozen shut all day, any slush that sprayed up on my winshield froze immediately, and the ground was so hard that the sheet ice that covered it wasn't even slippery. It was so cold my drivers side window wouldn't go down when I was at the drive through at the bank. I had to pull my car forward, get out and stand at the ATM to make my deposit. And those little touch screens don't work when you have your gloves on. Cold. Burn your face and eyes, make you hate life cold.

Today it's supposed to be more like 22, last I checked. Sad to say, that will feel pleasant compared to Monday.

Today is perhaps the best day ever at work. I teach in the morning, getting back to the office around 11:00. At 11:30 we start a Christmas party (lunch is catered in!), and then at 1:30, we start a staff meeting (which may not sound like fun, but always is) which will go until the end of the day.

David is sick with a sore throat today, and so is staying in to work from home. I'm a tad bit jealous, but not too much.

T-minus 9 days until Chirstmas.