Snow Math: 6-inches In Sonora = 1-foot in Arnold

We had an unplanned trip down the mountain to Sonora today,  so I ended up watching the snowstorm hit through the ophthalmologist’s office windows. Oh man, it was awesome. Huge flakes and small flakes poured from the sky, as if the angels were having a marathon pillow fight.

The snow did not stop coming down the entire 2-hours I sat there. I was already nervous about my hubby’s condition, and now I worried we wouldn’t get home. If it was snowing down here at 2,000 feet, Lord only knew what was happening in Arnold at 4000 feet .

When we left the doctor’s office there was 6-inches piled up. The roads were passable, if you could get around the stuck cars. It was also getting dark quickly. It took and an hour and a half to get to Parrots Ferry road, and another 40 minutes to highway 4. The snow plows had been at work so the highway was snow free. Now we could go 25-miles per hour!

It was scary because the snow was already filling in the scraped pavement as we went up the mountain. That, and on-coming traffic lights blinded hubby and I was in charge of keeping us on the road. That drive seemed to drag on forever.

When we finally got to Arnold, the roads seemed chosen at random whether to be plowed or not.  Our street was not one of the chosen. Hubby, of course, had his big-assed truck (Ford F-150) with 4-wheel drive, so we were able to make it up our twisty road.  Thank God a large truck  turned around at the dead-end, otherwise we would have had no sign of where the street even was. There was over a foot of snow blanketing the roads and drop-offs equally.

Now sitting in a chair by the wood-burning stove, talking to you guys, I can relax. Maybe. My nerves were strung tighter than a hooker’s dress for 5-hours. It’s too dark to take pictures, so I’m going to bed now. Good-Night & Sleep Not-so-tight,

BTW – Hubby’s eye is doing better now – the surgeon said he had a small retinal detachment that was causing his blurry and poor vision in his right eye. We refer to this eye as his “good” eye because the left one has undergone several retinal repairs, which we call his “bad” eye.   Hubby had a minor laser surgery to “weld” the retina back in place. On his right “formerly good” eye.

Winter Returning (to the Western Slope of the Sierras)

The crazy mid-February warm up will come to an end this week. Say good-bye to temperatures in the low 60’s.  Sunny skies will be bright and blue until President’s Day evening, and snow (and snow) through Tuesday and maybe Wednesday.

Whoa! I sound like a weather girl on TV, don’t I?  😉

At first our local weather folks were saying 1″ accumulation at the most. Now we are looking at 4 to 6 inches expected down to 2000 feet.  This is a big deal. Especially when you live at 4080 feet. I see soup, homemade bread, and a blazing fire to quilt by.

Yesterday we stacked firewood because the garage rack was empty. Going out into the snow to get firewood is dumb. Besides, this gives the spiders the chance to get indoors by hitching a ride on the log express. Heaven forbid they would freeze to death.

We had the pest control service do inside and outside before Thanksgiving weekend. The day we returned to our home sweet home, we found a spider here, a spider there just like before we left. Apparently, the organic kid and pet safe chemicals are spider safe as well.

How did I get so distracted by spiders? Sorry.  I was talking about the weather. I  am excited to see more snowfall. But then I am new up here and not sick of it like everyone else up here seems to be.  I hope we are snowed in so I can’t get to my dental appointment on Weds. I just know Doc will find problems – he always does, and we aren’t talking cavities either.  Neither side of my family had good teeth.

Now you know why I’m not the weather girl on TV. I tend to drift about. Ha! (Get it?)

Anyway, I will try to get some decent photographs to post later on this week. I may have to post from my phone. The power is usually the first thing to go belly up when a storm hits. That will totally screw my soup and bread fantasy, so I hope this is not the case.

Well, that’s all the Calaveras County news from me today. It’s all I know about and it’s time for my nap…

🙂

2012: The Year of Everything (at once)

2012-header

How many life-changing events did you have this year?
I’ll spare you the “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” sentimental summary of 2012.  I already bitched posted about the details, as they occurred.

  • Preparing home of 24 years to sell
  • Death of my only sibling
  • Retiring from my day job
  • Diagnosed with a “leaky valve“. (What am I – a car?)
  • Moved from a city in the SF Bay Area, to a remote town in the lower Sierra mountains.

If you’re new to Not Pretending, the links above should satisfy any curiosity you may have. And a very hearty welcome from me, BTW  😉

All 5 events occurred between April and July. I don’t remember much of August at all. September-November were a blur. When I began to settle down into my life – the  Holidays showed up. Whee!  The last of our kids left yesterday. Now I need to gear up to “organization level” energy, but a head-cold is sucking it out of me.

It’s snowing every few days now.  This is my fault, as most of you already know. I’ve dreamed of a white Christmas all year, and I definitely got one. I love watching the snow fall.  I can’t imagine anyone getting tired of watching it. I can imagine getting tired of shoveling and driving in it, and I’m happy I don’t have to!

I bought a 20.6 pound turkey and 10 pounds of potatoes (sweet and russet), so we can live on Christmas dinner if we get trapped up here a few days. In fact, it is supposed to snow later today. ..

2013 will arrive in 2.5 days, and soon 2012 will only be memories. It seems like I just said that about 2011. Time really does speed up the older you get.

A happy & prosperous New Year to everyone!