Dedicated to Fiona

Dedicated to Fiona
Fiona, the glory of Snoozeville

Sunday, February 3, 2013

African Violet!!



African violet, [copyright] Linda Delk
 My multi-talented friend Linda Delk took this photo today--or was it yesterday?  She said this about it:
Here is a picture of my African violet. Seven flower stalks shot up a couple weeks ago. I have been feeding it, and I think that makes the difference. About half of the buds are open now. Picked this up at Frager's Hardware on PA Ave back in the fall as part of a DC [DC=Daily Challenge] challenge. It's turned out to be a lovely bloomer and very cheery to have in my window.
Thanks, Linda, for letting me post your photo here.  Linda has many talents.  Maybe I can persuade her to show us one of her knitting projects, too.  

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wind Chill table from Fargo WDAY station

Wind chill was something dreamed up by Canadians when I was a kid.  They never talked about it in the US
on the radio or in the newspaper.  You can see why.

Let's say it was -10F one morning when I left for school, and the wind was a nice, normal 15mph--pretty typical for Fargo.  That put the actual temperature at something like -35F, well into the frostbite danger zone.  Our mothers knew this from past experience, and they got out the woolen scarves.

Most of us went to school wrapped in scarves--over our hats so that our foreheads were covered and around our necks and up over our mouths and noses--so that only our eyes were not covered. Some kids did not have scarves or earmuffs, and if you sat behind them in school, you could see the tops of their ears bleeding from frostbite. I remember one kid....Richard Dahl....and he always had frostbite burns on his ears. As spring approached, the tops of his ears would peel a bit as the frostbite healed.  He was not the only one, but we sat in alphabetical order, and his desk was right in front of mine.

Anyway, it's not so cold where I live now (or even back in Fargo these days).  Today's local temp is 20F, and the wind is 8 mph.  That puts the windchill somewhere between 9F and 13F--out of the frostbite warning zone.  Still, it's very cold here compared to what we usually have.

Stay warm!

Wind(mph)Temperature (Fahrenheit)
035°30°25°20°15°10°-5°-10°-15°-20°-25°-30°-35°-40°-45°
531259137-1-5-11-16-22-28-34-40-46-52-57-72
1027211593-4-10-16-22-28-35-41-47-53-59-66-77
1525191360-7-13-19-26-35-39-45-51-58-64-71-81
202417114-2-9-15-22-29-35-37-44-55-61-68-74-84
25231693-4-11-17-24-31-37-44-51-58-64-71-78-87
30221581-5-12-19-26-33-39-46-53-60-67-73-80-89
35211470-7-14-21-28-34-41-48-55-62-69-76-82-91
4020136-1-8-15-22-29-36-43-50-57-64-71-78-84-93
4519125-2-9-16-23-30-37-44-51-58-65-72-79-86-93
5019124-3-10-17-24-31-38-45-52-60-67-74-81-89-95
5518114-3-11-18-25-32-39-46-54-61-68-75-82-89-97
6017103-4-11-19-26-33-40-48-55-62-69-76-84-91-98

    Increasing Danger (Frostbite in 30 min.)
    Heightened Danger (Frostbite in 10 min.)
    Great Danger (Frostbite in 5 min.)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Amazing Grace of it All

Gene Robinson has always been the one editorialist I respect at the Washington Post.
Here's what he had to say about yesterday's Inauguration and the man being inaugurated.

The Amazing Grace of it All

Also, I love love love Michelle's eyeroll toward John Boehner, mentioned all over the
web today.  I guess it was about Obama and smoking, but who knows? Today's WP Express quotes Max Read at Gawker.com: "This might be the most important moment of the inauguration: this hall-of-fame shade-throwing moment at the post-inauguration luncheon. Watch the First Lady react to whatever Speaker of the House John Boehner just said, and take notes--this is master-class material."

 
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Monday, January 21, 2013

Fog pix....by Linda

My friend and former co-worker Linda took these fabulous photos earlier this month, but she hasn't been able to download them on her blog.  I'm going to see if I can download them on Snoozeville, which hasn't seen much by way of photography for a while.  She took them one morning while out for a walk.

Fingers crossed, Linda.

Watergate & Kennedy Center (copyright) Linda Delk

 Key Bridge (copyright) Linda Delk

Friday, November 30, 2012

Almost.....

My birthday!  I'll be 76 tomorrow.  That's a lot of years!  I've been thinking of them all in groups of 10.  Such a variety of events and people and experiences.  Maybe I'll get Le Singe Orange to demonstrate....

Meanwhile, this is what I saw from the bus stop and a poster on the bus.  I adore the clouds!!

14th Street near Whole Foods

More 14th Street--across from the bus stop


I agree!


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Another one!

Sean and Laura are having a baby, too.  Here are Laura's recent bump photos.

Laura: Week 19

Laura: Week 20
Laura, like her sister-in-law Medea two weeks ago, looks very healthy and happy.  So....two great-grandchildren in the offing!!  Late winter, early spring.....Holding everyone in the light!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

End of November

Walt Whitman on Dupont Circle metro

"Thus in silence in dreams’ projections,
Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals,        60
The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,
I sit by the restless all the dark night, some are so young,
Some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad...."
     --from The Wound Dresser

Gingko leaves on Corcoran St.