What is it with these weathermen? They can't ever get it right!

"We're expecting an inch or two of snow."

That's what they said last time and we ended up with 10 inches!

This time we ended up with SIX!

Their credibility is shot with me. ;-)

It sure is pretty, but I'm not going out to play in it. The wind chill makes it 12 degrees.

WHY DID I LEAVE THE SOUTH????

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), December 10, 2003

Answers

Gayla--you'll get acclimated. We lived in Colorado for 2 yrs, and by the time I came back, I was wearing tee shirts until the temperature got below 40. Of course, I was younger then.

Your question reminds me of something an older friend of mine told me a few years ago. He was sitting on his back porch at sunset (which didn't mean much in his pine forested neighborhood in the ordinary sunset way)sipping tea with a friend when he noticed his buddy was blinking back tears. He asked what was going on, and the guy told him "I'm just so glad to be here." His grateful friend was from New Jersey (no offense to our current friends). We are getting all mixed up, culturally, and I've read articles about surveys illustrating the fading sense of regionalism (which is understandable in our mobile society--it's downright amazing that there is any semblance of it at all if it's true that a tenth of our current population is foreign born--why should a recent immigrant care if he's a Yankee or a Southerner or whatever?--he's not vested). The first time I ever actually heard the term "yous guys" was when it was yelled by a parent at a high school football game down here.

Which, in an odd twist of mind, leads me to finish up with an anecdote: my boss and I were eating breakfast on a business trip in Niagara Falls in the 1980's, when the waitress (no doubt noticing our accents--Oh, OK, MY accent)asked where we were from. My boss hooked his thumb in that direction and answered "North Tonawanda" (a town about 10 miles away). She was three steps from the table when it hit her. She spun on her heel and exclaimed "no you're not!" It was good fun. But before we told her where we were really from, she guessed "Oklahoma?" Ruined our whole day (uh, again, no offense).

It's hard to be regional without seeming arrogant, I know. But I really do miss the Cowboys being able to play the Redskins every Thanksgiving, win or lose. I think it's healthy, like arguing deer rifle calibers around the campfire. But even that, I suppose, is subject to ruin by being overly offensive about it, or by being overly sensitive, or by just being generally crabby. It's hard being human, ain't it?

I looked for some pro-home-state input some time back without much success. Maybe regionalism really is dead. Elsewhere. But all available data indicates that anti-Texan sentiment is alive and well across the land (and this will probably bring it out!).

-- J (jsnider@hal-pc.org), December 10, 2003.

Poor Gayla! I hope it melts quick.

We had a bit of a Blizzard here last weekend but temps rose afterwards, and now over half of the snow's melted.

Now we have rain. Lots of rain, with local flood warnings ;-)

They say if you don't like the weather in New Jersey, just wait a day!

-- (sonofdust@raining.hard), December 10, 2003.

And it's still a few days until the "official" mid winter.............

But, after the 22nd, things will (literally!) start getting brighter!

-- Robert & Jean Cook (Cooks@home.ga), December 11, 2003.

We don't get whole piles of snow here - just cold, dry weather. And beautiful dawns with sun sparkling off the frosted trees. Of course, at this time of year, the sunrises don't happen until about 9 a.m., still that way we're more likely to be up to enjoy them, right? :-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), December 11, 2003.

11 more days and the sun starts getting brighter!

-- Robert & Jean Cook (Cooks@home.ga), December 12, 2003.

yeah, yeah, whine, whine.

Like we don't have our own troubles down here on the bayou. Why, it almost froze the other night, and we done had TWO cloudy days! Besides,it's her own darn fault fer moving up into that frozen wasteland in the first place. She had nice warm digs right down here in the shadow of the Houston smog, where she could fight traffic ever blessed hour of ever blessed day, and she gave it all up just for blue skies and wildflower meadows.

Some people just aint got no priorities.

-- Lon Frankenstien (Santa's@evil.helper), December 12, 2003.

We had the perfect storm. Snow, but the roads were just wet instead of slick.

So I got to go to graduation after all. And ...

I'm summa cum laude and didn't know it until after the show when hubby found my name on the program.

My head is expanding at an exponential rate. (Was it a typo?)

Stories will pour forth ... after next week. Next week I do grad school in an intercession. But in the meantime ... summa cum laude ... me?!

-- helen's head done burst her hatband and is headed for the roof (do@you.want.summa.fries.with.that?), December 13, 2003.

Wow! I can't even spell suma cum lude, uh loud, uh well you know. Anyways, Congrats, Dear One(Now where's King of Spain when ya need him.)

I'm very proud of you, Dear One, and I think that after 'next week' we shall have to throw you an FRLian party and give you a special recognition for your achievement.

= = = =

Ok, back to the weather...

Today the weather was nice. Tomorrow morning we begin to get another half-foot of snow, followed by sleet and ice that'll last thru the night and into the Monday morning rush hour.

-- (sonofdust@suma.cumloudoue), December 13, 2003.

Summa Cumma Down Doobie Doo Down Down, toppin' that is hard to do! Great news, out and about with resume clout. Get that board off'n your hair and throw it in the air. Wheee, giddeee, have a round on me. Maitre D, Dr Peppers for everyone, even Lon's gator.

You done good. Now, get out there and turn it into cash! No, wait. Take a break first to get over the twitches. Congratulations.

-- J (jsnider@hal-pc.org), December 14, 2003.

So, to escape the new batch of snow in Tulsa on Friday night, I head for Houston. What do I get? Rain, rain and MORE rain!

Boy do I sound like a whiner! LOL!

Helen, I bow to your intellectual superiority. Congratulations!

J, there are 3 of us from Texas now since you joined us. (5 if the Hilltop gang ever posted) If anyone makes fun of us, we can whup-up on 'em. ;-)

Mr. Frankenstien, I still live in 2 places. I get the best of both worlds as mentioned above. Snow AND rain. YUCK!

Rob, has the snow from the first storm even melted yet? I hope it's not too bad and you don't lose power!

Tricia, the sun doesn't come up until 9 a.m.???? Good grief! I would have already been up 4 hours by then! You are just TOO FAR NORTH! ;-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), December 14, 2003.

Helen!!!! WOW!!!!! Congratulations and salutations and and and WOW!!!!

My hubby said to tell y'all that our igloo almost melted today :-D I didn't even wear a winter coat - just my fall serape. And it was clear and sunny and lovely, although I suspect that my definition of a lovely December day is a little different from everyone else's here. Carol, for example, probably thinks that anything less than 25C (75F) is a bit too cool. If it were that warm here, I'd be *really* worried about global warming :-)

So how's everyone doing with their Christmas preparations? I got my tree up today (only 2 weeks late - I try for the first weekend of Advent). I bought my second Christmas present this weekend and I only have about 10 more hours of preparation to do for presentation I'm giving to the sleep disorders group next week. I doubt I'll be dropping in here a whole lot for the next couple of weeks. Sigh.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@teluspolarnet.net), December 14, 2003.

Gayla; I've had a good fire going for two days now in case we lose power so I'm not worried. Everything around is here is closed, including the schools, because after the snow came sleet for several hours and it froze. So now if it's outside, it's covered with a thin layer of ice. Everything outside is, except the cat. Beautiful, but treacherous.

LOL Tricia, Marie does most of the Christmas shopping and I think she's started it already. None of our cards have gone out yet. Maybe today/tonight since we're iced in.

-- (sonofdust@snow.ice), December 15, 2003.

We were supposed to get snow but got a huge thunderstorm instead. Hail here and there. Hopefully we can avoid more snow for a while.

-- helen (hail@the.gangs.all.here), December 15, 2003.

Congratulations Helen. All that study was worth it. Just think, no more exams. Savour that feeling for a millisecond, before household stuff takes over again. Well done.

41C(106F) here today Tricia. Lol, I didn't feel hot 'till I just worked out the old Farenheit because we had (F) when I was growing up and anything over 100F was hot. Funny how you adapt. At least it was clear heat, by the end of the week it will be thundery and humid (yuk).

I've sent the Christmas cards and bought the turkey and ham, but am late with my present buying as always.

Wow Gayla you are an early riser. You'd do well over here, you could have all your work done by the time it got hot.

Rob if people can't get out to go to work, what happens with their pay. Does it come of their flexi-days, or holidays, or is there a special catagory for days off due to bad weather.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), December 16, 2003.

It depends on your job whether you get paid or not.

-- (sonofdust@no.pay), December 16, 2003.

We "might" get a 1/4 tommorrow morning....

Guess that's this morning by now.

-- Robert & Jean (Robert&Jean@south.whatsnow), December 17, 2003.

1/4 what Robert? 1/4 ton of teens? 1/4 acre of applesauce? 1/4 foot of flooding? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@teluspalent.ent), December 17, 2003.

A quart of icecream with any luck.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), December 18, 2003.

Miss Tricia!

You're like, from, you know, up north, right?

You know, like where it snows sometimes?

Isn't the last image here going to become a "snowmanitoba" ?

http://www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/index.phtml

-- Robert & Jean (Robert&Jean@south.whatsnow), January 04, 2004.

Wow! A Southern USA type who recognizes a province of Alberta!!!! It does indeed look like a snowmanitoba to me :-D

Our highs the last few days have been below -20C (-4 or so F). I haven't heard if that's to change in the next week or so. But then it is January, not unexpected to get a few weeks of really nasty cold at this time of year at this latitude and longitude. Sigh.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), January 04, 2004.