Mother Nature has a Wry Sense of Humor

Reconnecting with Nature

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature, one photograph at a time.

Winter in the southern United States is generally a little chilly, but by now we've usually gotten some nice, warm sunny days and are seeing signs of spring - like crocuses and daffodils breaking through the surface of the ground and soaking up a little of the warm, February sun.  Not this year.  This year continues to be cold and snowy.

Since Sunday we have had an ice storm that left everything covered in 1/2" of ice (thank you winter storm Octavia), followed by snow, now being followed by bitterly cold air.  Jeesh.  Enough already - WE'RE IN THE SOUTH!!

I've been taking pictures of the yard because, well to be totally honest, I'm pretty bored.  I've been housebound for four days and if I'm going to stay in the house that long - I need something to do.  So I've been taking pictures and posting them on social media.  I must admit - even that is getting a little old.

As I was taking pictures today, I realized that Mother Nature has quite a sense of humor.

See what she did here?  The shed roof is snow covered, the tree branches encased in ice, and icicles hang down all along the roof edge.  Except right in front of the thermometer.  She didn't want to hide that!  She really wanted us to be able to see how cold it was!!

So it's cold - and snowy - and icy - and it's February.  A couple of months from now it'll be in the low 70's and sunny......

I'm counting on it!!

Ice, Ice Baby!

The sun is rising above the trees and the remains of yesterdays ice storm are sparkling.  

Very pretty

 and very thick.

Here's the chair I've been showing you throughout the storm.  It doesn't look much different from the way it looked late yesterday - except for maybe the addition of the snow.

The deck railings are ice and icicle covered.

 My abstract photo of the day:  One of our deck posts has a screw on the top of it - I think it is for a solar light.  I love the little ice orb.

It's still pretty cold out

so it's not going to melt anytime soon.   I hope the fairies are wintering far, far away......

Now, onto my next mission.....

Pastel Sunrise

Reconnecting with Nature

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature.

As I was getting ready for work earlier this week, I looked out of the dining room window and saw this beautiful sky at sunrise.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of it and sharing it with you.  So calm and peaceful.  Makes you want to go outside even if it is a bit chilly.

That same day, my daughter sent me a picture of her house and yard in Massachusetts.   What began as a mild New England winter has turned into a late-blooming-seems-like-it-will-never-end snowpocalypse.  The kind of snow that makes me glad I don't live there anymore.

See her mailbox in the front center of the picture?  That's how deep the snow is!  Everywhere!

Pro-Vaccine

I was recently in a room with three of my co-workers and the subject of vaccinations and the anti-vaccine movement came up.  These are well-educated people, one with a couple of teen or pre-teen boys, one newly married and one single.  Neither the newly married or single men have children.  I didn't really get to voice my opinion as we were interrupted in some way and never got back to the subject.  So I'm going to take this opportunity to do so.

I had both the measles and mumps as a child.  There wasn't a vaccine, so it wasn't uncommon to actually get the diseases.  My children were vaccinated.  They received all their recommended vaccinations at the recommended ages.  My son had a bad reaction to one of them.  The HIB (hepatitis B) vaccine was brand new to the market, and within 24 hours he had a fever of 104.  The doctor sent us to the hospital for bloodwork and monitoring and, fortunately, we got through that without any lasting effects.

I think children should be vaccinated not only to protect them, but to protect others.  You are a carrier of disease before you know you are sick, potentially infecting everyone you come in intact with and, in the case of measles, leaving a trail of airborne secretions that linger behind you, highly contagious, for two hours.  Two hours.  If you sneeze in an elevator - everyone who enters that elevator for the next two hours could get sick.  Two hours.  One hundred and twenty minutes.   It's totally preventable.

Think about the children who cannot be vaccinated due to compromised immune systems.  I have family members who can't receive immunizations - I certainly want to help protect them.  Think of all the cancer patients whose immune systems are temporarily down.  In the process of working really hard to save their lives, they are putting themselves at risk.  And you are playing with their lives.  It's not fair to them.

I just watched a great show on PBS Nova - called "Vaccines - Calling the Shots".  You can find it here.  It's definitely worth watching.  They explore measles, autism, polio and share both the good and bad stories.  If you're unsure about vaccinating your children, pay attention to the seven week old boy in ICU with whooping cough.  He was too young to be vaccinated, but not too young to catch the virus.  Heartbreaking to see him struggle to breath.  If you think it's not a big deal, loop that section of video for the next hundred and twenty minutes.  See what you think then.

I know there are varying opinions - and I'm open to hearing yours.  In a nice way, please or you risk being deleted.

Currently

Watching - Superbowl XLIX -- Patriots vs Seahawks.  Go Pats!!

Reading - Between the Lines, by Jodi Picoult.  It's a young adult book, and I like some YA books - but this isn't my favorite.

Listening to - Podcasts.  Freakonomics, Manager Tools and Serial!

Sewing - Dress -- a simple scoop neck dress for work.  The pattern is New Look 6567 here.

Looking forward to - Becoming a Grandma this summer! 

Enjoying - Some down time before a long, hectic week.  (Also that Snickers commercial with the Brady Bunch).

Celebrating - Three months cancer free this month!

Wondering- When will winter end????

Wanting - A big breakfast.  Eggs, home fries, bacon, toast, coffee, fruit.  Maybe this weekend.

Weather - cold, rainy, probably snow tomorrow.  We are hosting a big meeting this week with hospital executives from all over the country.  Unfortunately winter storm Linus is going to cancel some travel.  Fortunately we're just getting rain.

Favorite quote

Clouds will often fill the sky, but the sun rises every morning regardless of the obstacles in its way.  

Be like the sun.  

Dr. Chris M. McDaniel

Our visit to the National Civil Rights Museum

On our first trip to Tennessee we came to Nashville and then drove to Memphis to visit a few places.  Among them, the National Civil Rights Musuem which is at The Lorraine Motel.   

The Museum was great.  It started with a short movie that gave an overview of the Civil Rights Movement, and the events leading up to it.  After viewing that, we walked through the museum.   A lot of the exhibits were interactive.  You could walk onto the buses, walk among the statues and scenes to become a part of the movement.  Some were not interactive, but they had great narratives so you could follow along and really understand the story.  They did a great job of setting the scene.  It's set up so you walk through and it chronologically showcases events as they occurred.  The kids enjoyed it as much as as the adults, that doesn't always happen, and is a testament to how great it was.

Outside is a plaque commemorating Martin Luther King, and if you look up above the plaque, up where  that wreath is, you will be looking at the balcony where he was standing when he was shot.

Inside the motel, room 306, where Dr. King was staying. has been restored to the way it was on April 4, 1968 and is part of the museum.

The museum has been renovated since our visit, so I'm not sure what it looks like now.   I only hope that they were able to retain the feeling that it belongs to everyone.  It holds a great amount of really important history.  

If you ever get to Memphis - it's a must see!!

My favorite quote from a Dr. King speech:

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy 2015!

I know I've posted it before, but it makes me smile - and we need to do more of what makes us smile, don't we?

I don't usually make resolutions, I just try it improve myself in some small ways.

So this year I'm trying to be more organized, more productive and do more sewing.  I was fortunate to be able to change my work hours so now I'm home about 1-1/2 hours earlier every day, and not so exhausted.  I'm able to accomplish things in the evenings and still have a little time to relax.

Happy New Year everyone!  I wish you loads of health, happiness and prosperity!