The Time Sink

Well, the snow trip was a lot of fun yesterday, but everyone is just beat today. Sheesh. Talk about a lot of exercise! We're used to a lot lighter snow pack, but this year's is nearly double what we normally see. ..and that meant the 'steps' I had to cut in the side of the bank at the "Snow park" were twice as deep and twice as high to allow Shelley to get up to the top and watch the boys play.

...and play they did! Woot, the started out with the usual stuff and then they checked out the area to the north that usually doesn't have much snow (three feet easily this time) while we just watched; but they ended up back where we were watching them and the four kids and I build a one-hundred foot long slide with maybe a thirty foot drop to run their snow boards down. Oh, yeah, that was great fun. ...and I have the scraped skin on my arms to prove it <g>!

The only thing really different this year was the cloud cover. Normally this time of year, we're in bright sunshine, enough to sunburn you; but this year we were literally in the clouds for most of the day. So, yeah, I didn't take too many pictures, but I did have a lot of fun with the guys and their friends.

Memo to self: do not blade the day after the snow trip. ...as a matter of fact, if we build another double ramp like this year's that guarantees even someone of my weight getting completely airborne, don't even plan on much movement the next day. ...but plan on a lot of smiles. I mean, if the body is still able to hang together (nothing has fallen off yet), that's still pretty good for the old man <g>...

....and while I don't think we'll be making a second trip this year, the forecast for this week is for a cooling trend culminating in rain all weekend. So more snow! Man, the farming community could have a very good year for a change.

...and well, if it's raining, I'm not going to argue too much about it: I'm way behind on inside work and computer work and web work and cleaning and ... well ... it would do me some good to hang around inside. We have two open houses at schools this week and that'll cut into the free time just a bit. So yeah, maybe a couple of early to bed nights and some catch-up before the Easter break...

One school open house down and one to go tomorrow. Normal broadcasting will resume then.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours (if you follow the old ways). ...and a Happy Thursday if not!

Yep, the second open house for the week is over and we're now winding down for Easter vacation here. Yeah. ...only I may do what I did at Christmas time and take a day or two off myself to spend some time at home and give Shelley a bit of a break.

...and the rains came and the people rejoiced. Well, the farmers and the skiers and the snow boarders and those who make their living from the land and the snow. ...but not necessarily the construction people, the roller bladers, the kids home from school on Easter Vacation or those poor mothers stuck at home with those kids home from school!

Me? I'll go along with the farmers and stay indoors and work on the tools I need to plant and harvest my crop when the rains leave and the warm, sunny days reappear. Of course, my crop isn't so much food for the body as it is food for the mind and the soul. Yep, it's revamp time here in the Land of the TimeSink. I have things I would like to put back out from where they've been hidden away and new things to try and a serious thing or two to say. So with the help and encouragement of a friend or two, I'll start working on that over the next week or so...

Plans of mice and men... Changed by cats and women. I mean, who knew the first thing on a Saturday morning would be a good time to get a car serviced. ...and that followed by some sales people at the house to evaluate adding solar heating to the pool! That's okay, I have 'napability' from years on ambulance and I'm not afraid to use it!

Well we got our storm yesterday, and more than we thought would be coming in. Heck, we had the original blustery day, light rain, driving rain, thunder, lightning, hail and clear skies. All you had to do was wait about twenty minutes for something to change. ...and change was the only constant in the mix.

...and yes, we did manage to get the car in to be worked on. ..and yes, we're going to be adding solar heating to the pool. Yeah, sometimes you can work with the owner of a place better than the sales staff: I wanted a separate pump to run that part of the show so as not to have to run the main pump (the normal procedure) to keep our electricity bills down; he figured out a way to make it work for both of us. Coolness...

...and I did manage to make a run up into the low hill country looking for some scenery shots for the revamp here, but it was a real thrill dodging the rain gusts and such. Still, I think I have something we may be able to work with. If not, I'll head out again.

Click image for larger version

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

    Thanks for visiting!  
All content Copyright 1999->2005 Daniel C. Bowman. Most rights reserved.