Snow? Yes? No?

I expect snow in January and February even as far down South as I'm now living.  I just didn't expect the forecasting to be so poor.  I'll hear on the local news "It's going to snow 3" starting at noon tomorrow!  Take cover!" and then nothing happens.  This occurred a lot in December.  The weather folks would predict snow and we'd get rain or nothing at all.

Tuesday and yesterday, snow wasn't forecast for my area and we had two and a half inches of snow which surprised everyone around.

Now, they are saying we might have a major snow event next week.  If they can't figure it out our weather day-by-day, why should I believe that?  Or should I?  Is everyone going to run to the supermarket?  Should I stock my freezer?

Aside from that, it's been about 20-30 degrees below normal for the past few weeks.

Is it spring yet?

Decision Height in Roanoke

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My husband, a good college friend, and I saw a really excellent student-penned play last night at Roanoke's Mill Mountain Theatre.  Decision Height is a drama about six women who train to be U.S. Air Force (civilian) service pilots during World War II and became very good friends along the way.  The play shows how the women grew and changed and the dangers of their new "careers".  All three of us really enjoyed ourselves and were impressed by how good and original the story was.  The screenplay was written by Meredith Levy who recently graduated from Hollins University and her script can be read here thanks to the Hollins University library.

Years ago, I used to enjoy going to Winchester's Little Theatre and Shenandoah University's brand new (back then) theatre for musicals and comedies.  I've seen a lot of Broadway shows over the years as well but until last night I hadn't seen any good theatre in Roanoke.  I'd tried but...

So, it was a fun evening and I'm glad we braved the super cold air and enjoyed a night out on the town.  Roanoke is doing major construction on the Farmer's Market area so downtown is a bit of a disaster area right now but hopefully that will change before the nice weather shows up.  I love the Farmer's Market in every season except winter.  When is March going to get here?!?

Okay, gotta go and watch Downton Abbey.

Hump Day!

Farm landscape in SW Virginia

Happy Wednesday!  We got our first real snowstorm of the winter last night which left us with about two and a half inches of snow and some ice.  It was only 12 degrees when we went outside to shovel the driveway around 7:30 AM.  I had to go to work but there was a two-hour delay which meant that I was able to get a yummy pancake breakfast at Famous Anthony's before work.  It's the little things that make the day good, ya know?  Apparently if I still lived in New York I'd be shoveling out from a lot more snow...  That part I don't miss.  I do miss the abundance of plows and salt spreaders!  Trying to get out of my neighborhood was stressful and involved riding in a 4-wheel drive pick up.

I look forward to Tuesday evenings now because ID channel's "Homicide Hunter - Lt. Joe Kenda" is on.  Love that show!  If you haven't seen it, definitely give it a try.  I also just started watching "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix.  Only one episode in but the characters are amazing and the story is unreal.  I have a Netflix DVD waiting for me ~ "Homeland" which I haven't seen yet so hopefully that show is good too.

Hope you are enjoying your week!

Greenhouses, Gardens, and Birds

Cute mini greenhouse for sale at Black Dog Salvage

Yesterday, it was in the mid-50's here in SW Virginia which got me and everyone else thinking about how spring is only a few months away.  Okay, so that is weeks and weeks away and it's now snowing but I'm daydreaming about it anyway.  Since my husband had Monday off from work for the holiday, he went ahead and rented a tiller and got our backyard garden plowed up and semi-ready for planting when spring does finally arrive.  It felt so good to come home from work (no day off for me) and see the plot of dirt sitting there looking big and impressive and full of promise.

The garden is large - over 20' x 10'.  Our plan is to plant corn, tomatoes, green beans, squash, and one cucumber plant.  I'm also going to have an herb box and all of those seeds were purchased at Fresh Market on Sunday.  Can you tell that I'm super psyched?  I got fennel, rosemary, chives, dill, basil, swiss chard, scallions, and turnips.  I'm forgetting two more that I can't recall...  I also plan on buying a strawberry plant to stick in there along with some scented geranium and lavender to deter pests.  I'm hoping all of this hard work isn't lost to deer.

Southern dirt is so totally different than the New York soil I'm used to.  Growing up, I'd dig into soft, chocolate brown soil that had a lot of sand in it and drained well.  It was easy to dig and work with and full of nutrients.  It was easy to have a garden.  This red clay which turns into a brick when dry and is impossible to work with when wet will be a major challenge for me.  I'll try to figure it out.

Isn't the picture of that mini glass greenhouse above really cute?  I went to Black Dog Salvage in mid-December to look for a bathroom wall hook with multiple, swinging arms and was successful but saw this along the way.  It was several hundred dollars so there was no way I was going to buy it but it was so cute and made me think that one day I could possibly create one of these myself if I had nothing else to do with my time.  I always wanted a glass greenhouse.  Probably because they seem romantic and full of Old World charm.

Best Work Out Song

 

This Sleigh Bells "Bitter Rivals" song makes me want to kick box or run a few miles or something.  Love it!

The Garden

 

Happy Weekend!  Thought I'd add a little video of Billy Joel performing for the hell of it.  My good friend, Miriam, saw him in concert this week and that brought back memories of when I saw Billy Joel in concert back at Madison Square Garden several years ago.  He was fantastic!  I treated my sister and brother-in-law to the concert and we had amazing seats off to the side that were close to the stage.  Besides Billy, I've seen George Michael, U2, Madonna, Duran Duran, New Kids on the Block, and The Who at MSG.

 

Of all the different concert venues I've been to over the years, Madison Square Garden is my favorite.  Not because of its looks ~ it's old and kind of nasty inside ~ but because the acoustics are wonderful, the energy can't be matched, and the location is fantastic.  At every concert I've seen there, the Garden seems to take the crowd's energy, amplify it, and push it back to make the experience even better.  Also, how convenient is it to walk down a few flights of stairs to the Long Island Railroad for the trip home?!

 

Madison Square Garden is being forced to close its doors and move to a new location by 2023 because the New York City Council wants to renovate Penn Station which is located directly underneath it.  Here's a NY Times article about the situation.  I think it's a mistake to move the Garden to some other space and it may just a ploy by some politicians to take valuable real estate and sell it off to the bidder most willing to give them a 'reward'.  Maybe I'm being overly cynical but that's just my opinion.

He Really Really Was Craving a Banana

Photo courtesy of Newington Police & NBC New York's website

So, you need to read this article from NBC New York because it is so bizarre and funny and highlights what makes New York local news so fascinating to watch.  Not that I wish stuff like this happened in SW Virginia (no!) but it's certainly entertaining.  :-)