349: Overhead

2008.

This photo is three years old, but the bare branches look pretty much the same.  Now all we need is some snow.

340: Picturesque

Look at this gentle frakking snowfall.

It's just so goddamn picturesque.

(from this morning)

337: Winter

I wish I had a wintry photo of my own, but I was too busy trying to see through the snow while driving to pull out whatever camera-enabled devices I had on me.  Alas.  Here's one found on the Minneapolis tag on tumblr:

by dmd.hashw on Flickr

082: Unemployed Again (Naturally)

Today was the last day of my temp appointment, so I'm once again on the hunt for a way to make ends meet.  It was an odd last day, altogether.  There was (yet another) snowstorm overnight, which meant that my express bus hadn't shown up after about half an hour, so I accepted a ride from one of the other commuters, a lovely woman named Phyllis, who braved heavy traffic and terrible road conditions to drive four of us to campus.  I later heard from a coworker that buses were running up to an hour late...yikes.

(I only slightly regret missing the opportunity to exchange pleasantries one last time with the friendly and handsome morning bus driver.)

I don't think the fact that I no longer have a job -- even if it was part-time -- has sunk in yet.  At the moment, I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning, and that's about it.  For the time being, there's still the massive purging of the hoarded crap in the spare bedroom to finish, and I haven't even started my taxes yet.  Then I have to photograph and list all the stock for eBay and Etsy that I've been putting off.  There's fellowship writing to be done and applications to be investigated and submitted.  I feel obligated to try to help with the care of my elderly grandparents (happy 87th, Grandpa!) so my mother can, on occasion, get some work done.  So there's plenty of work to be done, even if most of it doesn't pay particularly well.

It's Weird Wednesday!  Let's all do some introspection.

066: Spring, unsprung

We've hit that peculiar time of year again, where we know, intellectually, that winter is supposedto be on its way out, but in fact it snowed again last night and your next-door neighbor got stuck on the plow-created snowdrift at the bottom of his driveway this morning.  I was hopeful I had hauled the shovel down to the curb for the last time this year, but evidently not.  Curses.

 You would think that, this being by twenty-fourth Minnesota winter, I'd know by now that the damned groundhog is a hack, and even meteorological spring means basically nothing around here.  I don't think I'd mind so much if we were still in the Pretty Winter phase.  But by now, the snow has half-melted and refrozen so many times that all the snowbanks are dingy and disgusting and everyone's cars are the same shade of brown-gray.  And there's nothing to look forward to except record flooding and (probably) more snow mold than anyone's ever seen before.

Whine, whine, complain, complain.  Hey, it's Monday; what do you want from me?

035: Concessions

What I would be wearing if weather were not a factor (note the height of the snowdrift...):

Scarf, sweater, belt & tights: Target
Dress: vintage via Twitch Vintage
Shoes: vintage via Gypsy Warrior Vintage
Awkward hair: genetics

That is my "Wait, what poses do fashion bloggers do, Mom?" pose.  With concessions to the weather, this is what I actually wear out:

Extra-warm hat: Target
Crazy rainbow scarf: knit by me
Coat & gloves: Macy's
Boots worn literally every day in winter: DSW
"Why so cold?" expression: me

Today, though, I didn't need the polar-fleece-lined hat, since we've almost hit 30 degrees!  Exciting.

Also, the two-plus feet of snow on the roof (!) has been melting in the "warm" temps today, and so far no leaky windows, so the ice dam removal folks get the thumbs-up from me.  (Their pricing, however, leaves much to be desired.)

020: Cryogenics

Everybody in the house ran out to do errands today, when the high temperature was somewhere around eight degrees Fahrenheit.  Balmy!  It wasn't bad, so long as you remembered to wear your long johns and didn't take any walks longer than parking lot-to-building and vice versa.

Why venture out today?  Because tomorrow's outlook is somewhat more unsettling:

High of 1 degree. The overnight windchills are predicted between -25 and -40 degrees.

Part of me actually enjoys this godforsaken weather, in part because I love seeing the looks on the faces of non-Midwesterners when you tell them about this kind of windchill, and how 20 degrees above zero starts to feel positively springlike in late February.  The utter horror is worth it, every time.  Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely miserable and literally dangerous to venture out in temperatures that far below zero -- but once you've done it, you've earned bragging rights, and that's got to be worth something, right?

013: Winter Wonderland

Yet more snow, falling in very aesthetic huge, fluffy clumps for an hour or so.  Very pretty, and made the roads utterly disgusting to boot!  Ah, the joys of winter.  It reminds me of this old Puke & Snot routine, "A Lovely State," off Are You All Right? (warning: some not-work-safe language).



I can't get as irate as that fictional transplant. It's more of a heavy, resigned sigh than anything else.

On the bright side, there's only five months until summer!

005: The Very Depths of Winter

Snow on Monday, subzero windchills Tuesday, more snow today. Somewhere around mid-January is when I despair of ever again leaving the house wearing just one pair of socks and dream of the day the long underwear goes back into storage. But lest you think Minnesotans don't enjoy the winter, I direct you to the poem written by Peter Moore (read on Moore on Sunday by his father, the late, great local newsman Dave Moore) about this time of year:

A Great Winter Sport
The best part of winter, the best part by far,
Is kicking those ice chunks that form on your car.
No matter our ages or races or genders
We all enjoy booting that slush off our fenders.
It's deeply fulfilling, that contact and sound
Of boot hitting chunk and then chunk hitting ground.
It makes you feel better, it makes your day brighter,
It makes your Tercel about twenty pounds lighter!
And boy, what a workout! We all could be hunks
By starting each morning with kicking some chunks!
So next time you spot one, no matter how awesome,
Don't wait and think maybe you might let it thaw some;
Go after it mister! Attack it with zeal,
And manfully give it the back of your heel!
It may take you weeks, but of course that's good, too:
The winter goes faster with something to do!

from Gone Writing

This runs through my head every time I clear the accumulated mush off my car. And yes, it really is that satisfying.

P.S. If you don't know what these "ice chunks" are, I suggest the photos here for reference.