Open Thread – It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…
1 12 2009It is dark. It gets that way pretty early these days. I don’t pay attention to exactly when the sun sets because I figure if I don’t know, I won’t be forced to think about it.
It is also windy. Really windy. I can hear the gusts as they come barreling down the valley. It starts as a low distant rumble and as it gets louder, you realize it’s the sound of wind blowing hundreds of thousands of spruce and birch and aspen and cottonwood branches. By the time it gets here it sounds like a freight train, and it hits the windward side of the house (which has deliberately few windows) making everything shudder. The freezing rain is clattering in sheets against the glass even on the leeward side of the house because the great gusts, some up to 70mph or more swirl it, and the snow it’s blowing up from the ground, so that you can’t really tell what direction the wind is coming from.
Just as I typed that last sentence, another rumble happened right overhead. A huge sheet of snow came sliding off the roof, went sailing past the window and landed with a loud thud in a long pile in the deep snow next to the house.
‘Buf’ the dog who is usually either on the inside barking to get out, or on the outside barking to get in, is curled up into a tight little ginger colored ball, and occasionally raises her “flying nun” ears and looks at me out of the tops of her eyes as if to say, “Will you please make it stop now?” The last time she went out, she sank up to her shoulders in the new drift that had appeared outside the door and swallowed up the step.
As I head up to bed, I don’t know if I’ll sleep well or not. Sometimes if the wind is just at the right angle, it whistles through the edge of the window, and if the gusts continue I’ll hear them better from upstairs.
In other words, it’s December. And ’tis a night fit for neither man nor beast. Maybe that’s what Buf was trying to say.
Every year it seems impossible to think that a few short months ago, I looked out this window and saw the world in bloom, and swallows zooming around against a bright blue sky, and I knew I’d be able to sit outside at midnight and be able to read a book without a flashlight. I almost wanted to say something about fireweed, but I caught myself because a certain ex-governor has now tainted that association forever. A botanical crime of the highest order, if you ask me. Floracide.
I decided that a night like this deserves something cheerful. Because somewhere out there, under the wind and the snow and the freezing rain and the drifts and the grey and white and black, thousands of flowers are sleeping undisturbed by the tumult over their heads. And now I’m heading off to try and do the same.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Lovemydogs, I was just thinking of you and your pup the other day. Hadn’t heard from you in a while. I’m sending good vibes and warm thoughts, this is a tough time to go through for pet parents. They are lucky to have you. ((( )))
December 1st, 2009 at 10:56 AM
We lived on Goldenview Dr on the Anchorage hillside for 30 years and when the SE winds blew, we just figured we wouldn’t get much sleep. Now we’re out by Hatcher Pass – miss the views of Cook Inlet, but not the winds!
December 1st, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Irishgirl — lol not lipstick, but that’s a great guess!
“Schwindelt” means “swindled” or “FIBBED”
I’ll have to work on it this pm, have to do real work now
also, too!
December 1st, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Punkinbugg,
I was thinking more in line of swine as in pig!
December 1st, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Schwindelt = tells lies
December 1st, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Did everyone see this about Huckabee regarding a 2012 run and his slim to none chances? Two points about this: 1. Why do they call him “former” governor and Sarah is still being called “governor” ?
2. They say, He is right up there with Sarah in the polls. Hasn’t he been above Sarah? Sarah, with her pack of lies book is still “up there” for the republicans? Good grief!
Here is a portion of the article from PoliticsDaily.com
Though he’s right up there with Sarah Palin in polls of the prospective Republican field for 2012, his odds of success are suddenly slim to none.
You could argue that the former Arkansas governor is a victim of bad luck. You could argue that he’s a victim of his own bad judgment. What’s inarguable is that Huckabee commuted the prison term of a man killed by police after he allegedly shot and killed four police officers Sunday morning in Washington state, and it’s not the first time he has been in this particular spotlight…………
December 1st, 2009 at 12:15 PM
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/01/huckabee-white-house-chances-look-slim-to-none-after-police-slay/
Here is a link to that story.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:25 PM
From CNN – (CNN) – Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s memoir “Going Rogue” has sold more than one million copies after debuting only two weeks ago, her publisher Harper Collins tells CNN.
In light of the book’s overwhelming sales, a Harper Collins spokesperson said they have decided to increase its printing to 2.8 million copies, more than a million more than the initial order.
Palin’s book sold more than 700,000 copies in the first week alone, 100,000 more than Hillary Clinton’s 2003 memoir “Living History” sold in the same timeframe. “Going Rogue” also well outpaces President Barack Obama’s 2006 book “Audacity of Hope,” which sold less than 100,000 in its first week.
But Palin falls short of former President Bill Clinton, whose 2004 memoir “My Life” sold 900,000 copies in week one.
========================
Wow, looks like HC is printing another 1 million books to add to the bargain books bin.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Oh man, the Salvation Army in Houston is asking for proof of citizenship before giving toys to kids?
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/01/toy-immigration/
I’m going to read further, because I hope to hell this isn’t true.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:05 PM
UK Lady -
YEAH !!! bubbles and I were just talkin’ about you the other day and were gonna flip a coin to see who was gonna come kick your ass and get you back on the ‘flats. She did a number on me and I came back. Be glad she did not come lookin’ for ya. (((((((((((hug)))))))))))
December 1st, 2009 at 2:05 PM
UK Lady -
YEAH !!! bubbles and I were just talkin’ about you the other day and were gonna flip a coin to see who was gonna come kick your ass and get you back on the ‘flats. She did a number on me and I came back. Be glad she did not come lookin’ for ya. (((((((((((hug)))))))))))
December 1st, 2009 at 2:06 PM
oops – dang crappy mouse.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Love the flower–what a great winter-in-Alaska desktop wallpaper that would make if only it were bigger!
December 1st, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Interesting story in Newsweek on how perception of Obama’s skin color depends on political orientation. I’ll try to do a link:
Link
December 1st, 2009 at 5:05 PM
(((lovemydogs))). I had to let a dog and and older cat go to rainbow ridge,Molly Mae was blind and had tumors that could not be taken care of,My cat scruffy had diabetes and went into a coma and the vet did not think she would make it.I will say we had a cat the had leukemia and the vet told us not to give up on her,I had to take her in every other day for her shot,well in the end she beat it and lived for another 18 years before she got so bad she couldn’t control her self.You do what you have to do so they don’t suffer any more than they have to…I had an Aunt that had cancer,don’t remember what kind but she wouldn’t have chemo.Instead she traveled with her Husband and enjoyed the life she had left. Back than chemo really made you sick. It was her choice.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:12 PM
AKM, is the flower a Ranunculus (buttercup)? Looks like one. Lovely photo.
Stay warm up there! It’s chilly here – 35, but you probably think that sounds warm about now!
December 1st, 2009 at 7:06 PM
sorry this has nothing to do with AK or palin
…I’ve seen photo’s and this video of the alleged mistress of Tiger Wood’s, and kept saying to myself…’her’ hands are awfully large for a female…I had a fleeting thought of ‘her’ being a ‘he’.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=9208728
December 1st, 2009 at 7:31 PM
Lovemydogs, all my love to you and your dog. It is never an easy decision to euthanize an animal; however, I would like to share a thought with you from an article I read years ago. It has helped me through some very bad times, especially when I had to euthanize my search and rescue dogs. One was old and having seizures we couldn’t control. The other was an 11-year-old golden retriever that developed bone cancer. The thrust of the article was that sometimes euthanasia is the greatest act of love that we can do for our beloved pets. It is something we often wish that we could do for the people we love who are suffering so terribly with terminal illness. The rule of thumb I use for my pets is this: What is their quality of life? Am I keeping this animal alive for me or for him? I hope this helps you or at least gives you some comfort in this difficult time.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Please go to this site and show your support for Andrew Sullivan!
http://newledger.com/2009/12/andrew-sullivan-crosses-the-line/
December 1st, 2009 at 9:49 PM
I was just checking recent posts by the AK blogs.
It looks like Celtic Diva has received sort of an early Christmas present this week. Her FOIA email request has come in. She talks of some surprises and she will be putting together a post with more details to come.
We will be waiting…… maybe S’error will get a lump of coal in her stocking from the emails.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:28 AM
Irishgirl! I finished the (very rough) translation this morning, and posted it under the more recent ‘Boots on the ground: Mudflatters excellent adventure’ thread.
Enjoy!