Cool(er)

A/C is in the window...

...let the summer continue.

Seriously?

April Snow:

Snow Snow Snow

We have had several snowstorms (Marcus, Neptune, Octavia, Pandora) over the last few weeks, adding to the total ground cover of snow, which currently stands at 6½ FEET.

And to top things off, yesterday I woke up to a broken water main, my street shut down, and later, the gas main ruptured. So I spent until 6 pm with no water, and until 8 pm with no gas for cooking/heat/hot water. And the gas heat only stayed on for 2 hours until it conked out again.

I need a house with a well and wood heat... Come on, lottery! :Þ

Winter Storm: Juno

A couple of photos taken at 8:30 am

of Winter Storm Juno:

Door imprint!

Yeah, that's right: 2 FEET of snow so far.

Winter Storm: Iola

I had today off, so I was affected only positively by the 7 inches of snow I received from Winter Storm Iola.

The top of my city-issued trash bin.

Wooden chair and icemelt bucket.

I shoveled in anticipation of the plowing to come.
The snow was light, so it took less than ten minutes.

Second Fyah

I went down to the lake today (after drawing for most of the morning, and then deciding not to waste the sunlight after 3 cloudy days). I made a fire, read a bunch of "Wrath of a Mad God", and broke in my Brave Star Selvage denim and my new Vans shoes.

I ate hot dogs & Wachusett chips (ruffled), drank 2 Wachusett beers, and read until it began raining. I packed up the car, read some more to see if the rain would stop (it did for about ten minutes), and then drove home in a downpour that included a few minutes of pencil eraser-sized hail! It was worth the trip, though Two hours of sunny lakeside peace.

Winter Storm Nika

Self portrait.

First Snow

I was headed out to Dad & Ma's to hang out with them and Jason, and I found my car covered in ¼" of snow.

On the way back (and in the center of town) the snow had frozen solid into a super-dangerous surface - YIKES! I drove home at 20 miles per hour!

July Interlude: Day 2

I slept in until 10:30. Breakfast was cereal & coffee. I watched a trippy episode of "Falling Skies" (S3/E8), and then hung out online for awhile. It rained all morning, and hard.

I got Chinese for a late lunch/early supper - chicken wings, chicken fingers, and pork fried rice. I watched "A Good Day to Die Hard" (not bad...) and then  "ATH" & "PTI", while organizing one of my two large bookcases, and reading a cool comic anthology from Image called "Dia de los Muertos". I did laundry and dishes too, and i drew off and on (doodling, mostly).

I was going to go into Boston to hang out with Jay at TOAD, and see Abbie Barrett and her band perform, but I was still recovering from the last few days' malady (headache, sore throat, stuffy and/or leaky nose, etc...), but I stayed home, and got the aforementioned done.

Lake-ish

I went down to the lake today (after runs to the comic shop and the liquor store for beer). It was great to be out in the fresh air. The lake had the following craft making noise in front of my property: a boat towing two inner tubes while blasting crap-hop; two jet skis; and two upright jet skis. I didn't really mind.

It was very windy (and cloudier than anywhere else within a 5-mile radius - what the hell?), the beer (Wachusett Summer) was disappointingly warm, and it even rained for a bit as the temperature dropped. So I only stayed for an hour, just enough time for half a beer, some Slim Jims & Wachusett potato chips, and to read Astro City #1 and Earth 2 Annual #1.

I'm still glad I went, though! Any time at the lake is a good time.

Snow Day

Eight inches of snow fell last night. This means I don't have to go into work!

 

 

xxx

Productivity

I had my first Saturday off in two months today.

I got up at nine, had cereal and coffee for breakfast, and then watched "Lords of Dogtown" (great movie). I RSVP'ed to Mike's NYE party ('most likely will attend'). I jumped online for a bit, and then was showered & out the door a little after 11 am to run some errands.

I drove to the Westminster post office to buy stamps and mail four t-shirts from last summer's WPMF III to the very patient winners of the blog sign-up. I stopped in at Dad & Ma's to pick up the three bags of whole bean Sumatran coffee they got me for Christmas (shipping delay), plus my gift from the California Crew (J & Stacie & kids), a $25 GC from AMEX. I went to the Leominster Barnes & Noble to snag two blank journals (my last one is neary full). And then I foodshopped.

We are supposed to get a lot of snow overnight, so I am ready in every way I can think of. And so is he (my cat Sabrino)!

I finished reading "Ozma of Oz" and then watched the newer "Clash of the Titans" (not bad). Then I ran out to get gas and to buy booze for Mike's party. There were already 3 inches of snow on the ground! I wound up getting a bottle of Appleton Estate V/X and a 2010 Malbec from Dona Paula Estate.

I made angel hair & ground beef covered in Ragu (and accompanied it with half of a Redhook ESB), and then read "Dorothy and The Wizard in Oz". Then it was a bored websurf for awhile. There were 6 inches of snow on the ground by 9 pm, and it is still falling...

Christmas Eve

Last night while my family was having dinner at my parents' house we all went outside to see the full moon with an amazing halo around it. My photo does not do it justice:

WPMF3

Well, it didn't turn out quite as I'd imagined, but this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest happened.

The Rafters (minus Miki, who was packing for her & Dave's trip to Disney World) played a great set while the sun lasted. Sarah Blacker (and her percussionist Sheesh) performed for an hour under the canopy while it rained. And finally, Kristin Cifelli played a handful of sings w/o plugging in during the downpour that followed. Chris (Almanac Mountain) and Elizabeth (Lorrey) were gracious enough to agree to perform at a later date, in either August or September, since the weather was ridiculous, and everyone had left by 4:30 pm.

Since the first two years were both sunny, warm and dry, the weather was bound to catch up to us...

There was a good crowd. The usual Oakmont suspects (Mike, Pete, Luc, Jody and Dave, plus Ann and Courtney); Paul and Nick both came from work, with their respective girlfriends (Tori and Anna) and friends; each of the musicians had at least one 'special guest' with them; and Sarah had two of her friends' families over with their kids. Relatives in attendance: Dad & Ma, Sarah & Jon and the kids, Holly and the kids (Kevin had to work), Ted & Wendy, Jeff & Jill and Lyndsey, Aunt Carol & Jim, and Jean Marie. Side note: Gavin drove down around 5:30 after everyone had left!

The Rafters

Sarah Blacker

Kristin Cifelli



Hail-O!

Last night around 1 am there was dime-seized hail falling on my roof and car, and hitting my apartment windows, as lightning and thunder joined in. It was ten minutes of really weird weather, after a torretinal cloudburst!

The Winter that Almost Wasn't

We got snow overnight on Leap Day, and all throughout March 1st. The world is white and clean, and it's nice to finally feel like it's winter. However, the rain that is due this coming weekend will put us back on the proper course toward spring, and I for one am most pleased. Mountain Quest 2012 must continue!

Snow Reason...

While the rest of Massachusetts got rain today, there was 4 inches on the ground here in north central Worcester County before the big, fluffy, wet snow ended around noon. Good old Mount Wachusett, stripping the snow from the clouds before it could reach New Hampshire!