SNOWMYGOD, the recap.

Spoiler alert:  we did fine. 

Ricky and I both were at home on Friday, which was key because then we wouldn't need to fight our way onto the last train out of town.  I could also make a crock pot roast to feed us all week.  It was nice to see the snow lightly falling during the day.

After dinner, we did a pre-emptive shoveling, but it didn't matter because we were covered in snow so badly at the end of it.  We also tried to walk and see what the water looked like, but the conditions were so bad that we had to turn around five minutes in.  It was so windy and white out that we couldn't see, and feared walking into a plow.

The next morning, we woke up to the most snow we'd ever seen in Salem.  At least 2 feet, possibly more.  It was to the top of my boots, whatever that may be.  I tried to walk and see how it looked, but nothing was plowed so again I turned around.

Ricky and I made egg sandwiches, then spent an hour shoveling.  We'd end up doing another pass at it once the snow stopped, and then cleaning up our cars on Sunday.  My arms are still sore from shoveling.

We took a walk to see the snow once it stopped and the plows had been through.  It was crazy how desolate the city looked.  since there are so many historic buildings in Salem, it also made us feel like we went back in time with the barren streets and no cars.

At night, the city began to wake up again and we walked to Howling Wolf to meet up with friends and get tacos.  It was nice to see people again.

Sunday things were getting back to normal.  One crazy thing was that there is nowhere to put this snow.  Most of the sidewalks are still covered in snow, not because people didn't try... but because there is nowhere to put it.  It'll be warmer this week, so hopefully the accumulation will melt a bit.

Here are some of my photos from the storm.

Our street on Friday night.  Not a lot of snow at this point, but a lot of snow is falling.

Derby Street, Friday night, in the middle of the white out conditions.  You can't see the harbor straight ahead of us, but you can see two people who had a similar plan of taking a snow storm walk.

Yard, Saturday morning.  I had shoveled this last night, but it was all for naught.  This is at least 2 ft of snow.

Custom House, completely covered in snow.

Salem Commons, looking like it's 1900.

Fifty Fifty Book Round Up: Books 6-10

I thought I had blogged this, but I guess I hadn't.  Well here we go!

6. Winesburg, Ohio: A Group Of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson (11/5-11/9).  This was a quick read and interesting, but after a bit all the stories tend to bleed together.  I can see how it inspired similar works.

7. Taft 2012 by Jason Heller (11/12-11/16).  I liked this, and I'm glad it was short because if it was too long it might get tiring.  A quick, clever read.  All the Craigslist rants were really funny.  Interesting to read post-election, too.

8. Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos (11/16-11/29).  I liked this book a lot.  It was entertaining, fast, and I love writing about Austen from an Austen fan.  It's expected at times, but I didn't even care.  A good, girly, fast read.

 

9. When You're Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris (11/30-12/11).  Standard Sedaris.  It was interesting reading an earlier Sedaris and then a later one to see just how different his life has become ever since writing/This American Life.  Typical weird and funny.  If you're a Sedaris fan, you'll enjoy it.

 

10. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (12/11-12/19).  I think if I was a boy who went to boarding school I'd enjoy it more.  But when I started reading it I knew that one of the two best friends was going to die, and since it couldn't be the narrator, I guessed the end correctly.  I get a feeling the writer was a bit of a one-trick pony, since he wrote a similar work later on in his career.

Fifty Fifty Movie Round Up: Movies 11-15

I haven't updated this in a bit, and since I'm at home I figured why not?

11.  Lincoln (11/17/12).  SO GOOD.  OH MY GOD.  It's a quiet movie that says a lot and is riveting.  There's no crazy action scenes and the only special effect is good acting.  Daniel Day-Lewis is pretty much a shoo-in for Best Actor and he deserves it.  Ricky loved watching all the political wheeling and dealing.  It's also great that a book like Team Of Rivals can get a movie deal.

12.  She's Having A Baby (11/21/12).  Very sweet and cute.  It's a weird movie at times, but I enjoyed it.  The end credits is pretty much made for John Hughes fans.  I loved young Elizabeth McGovern, especially since we're in the midst of our Downton Abbey watching.

13.  The Last Waltz (11/25/12).  This movie has been on my mental queue for years, but I wanted to wait until we had a bigger TV.  Well that finally happened so I rented it.  It's really beautiful and good, a loving tribute to some of the best musicians from the 70's.  Oh, and so much coccaine.  Soooo much coccaine.

14.  Miracle on 34th Street the 1947 version (12/21/12).  Neither of us had seen this movie, so during our Christmas movie stretch we made sure to watch this.  I liked it, a lot more than the remake from the 90's.  The end feels a little rushed.  It's great seeing what parades and deaprtment stores from the 1940's looked like.  And the guy who played Santa Claus... I'm pretty sure he's Santa in real life.  He was that believable and filled with mirth.  I read that Natalie Wood thought he was actually Santa, and was disappointed that he was not.

15.  Les Miserables (12/26/12).  Day after Christmas we made our pilgrimage to the Salem Cinema to see this movie.  Ricky enjoyed it, but me being a fan of the musical enjoyed it.  Yes, some of the performances were bad (Russell Crowe) and he used too much upclose and didn't mix it up at all, but I had realistic expectations and they were met.  This won't win Best Picture or even Best Actor, but it was enjoyable.

SNOWMYGOD

Ricky and I are at home this Friday due to the snow storm Nemo.  Ricky is off getting a bit of gas and a DVD player (priorities) and I have made a roast so we can eat for the rest of the weekend.  Lewis is beyond excited to have both of his parents at home all day.  We have salt and shovels at the ready.  The laundry is done. 

BRING IT, STORM.

I'm excited to use my new camera to take high-quality storm photos.  Probably won't do it until after the snow has fallen.

According to the news, the snow has already started and Al Roker is in town.  It looks quite light right now, which is good since Ricky is still out buying a DVD player to replace our broken one.  I'm looking forward to being snowed in and drinking wine and eating pot roast and brownies while we watch movies.  It seems very cozy.

Again.... BRING IT, STORM.

Inauguration 2013: an ode to the photobomb

While watching the Inauguration on Monday, I was struck at the sheer number of photobombing happening.  There was Malia photobombing a picture of her parents that her sister Sasha was taking...

...then there was former president Bill Clinton photobombing Kelly Clarkson...

...but my favorite was first brother-in-law Craig Robinson photobombing president Obama.

Gotta love a good photobomb!

The Gift Outright

I always love the ceremony of the Inauguration.  I always get goosebumps during the oath.  And I'm a sucker for nice winter gear.  The poem is always great to hear, too.  My favorite of all the Inagural poems is Robert Frost's poem, The Gift Outright.

Busy little bee.

2013 is already proving to be crazy busy.  My weekends are filling up with social obligations.  I have a wedding to plan.  We've had family sadness, though in the midst of that it was good to see family and feel a sense of closeness with them.  The school semester is starting in a matter of days and I hope I am ready for it.  We have plans to travel in the coming months.  I feel like my 2013 is already getting booked and we're only 17 days in!

I am sticking with my goals quite well.  The running has taken a back seat to the start of the semester, but when the days get lighter and things calm down, I will be running my little butt off. 

I've only had coffee ONCE since I started, and that was the day I had to go to my step-grandmother's funeral and I knew it'd be a long day.  This goal has been an easy one to kick.  Next year might be harder, as 2014 is going to be the year of kicking caffeine.

The vegetables are also going well.  Some days are a struggle to find a vegetable I ate so I'll try to make sure to have some carrots.  I think once the semester starts I'll be able to find time to eat healthily again.  We've been roasting a lot of brussel sprouts lately, which I love.  I also have a pinterest board of plenty of tasty vegetable entrees to cook up this winter.

The sweater.  That hasn't started yet.  I think I'll be working on it this Monday when I'm at home watching the Inauguration.  I need to find where I left off and my pattern directions again so I can pick it up.  What's annoying is that I am quite close to being done, and yet I keep putting it off with Christmas knits and a cowl for me.

As mentioned, the beginning of the year there was some sadness.  My stepgrandmother passed away suddenly.  We were heartbroken, as she was very kind and loving.  It was the first family loss Ricky and I experienced, and it's hard to think that she won't be at the wedding, just a mention in a program and a "oh Fran would have loved this!"  It was nice to see the cousins on all sides of the family, and I was glad to be there for all of my family.  January has proven to be sad and with loss two years in a row.

Wedding planning is going well, but no real plans to discuss or cool crafts to show off.  I think we're getting closer to bridesmaid wear, flowers, and food.  You know, the things people will talk about the next day when they're rehashing.

Reading for 50/50 is going really well.  I'll post more books soon to review.


That's it, really.  Just a life update for the three people who read this.