Stymied by "June Gloom"........Again!

For those of you NOT from Southern California, "June Gloom" is not akin to an emotional condition like Seasonal Affective Disorder or Winter Depression such as might be experienced by someone living in Alaska during the winter months with no sunlight to speak of.

"June Gloom" is a Southern California term for a weather pattern that results in cloudy, overcast skies with cool temperatures during the late spring and early summer."

My first experience with June Gloom was the summer of 1982.  It was early May and I was 21 years old and had just transfered from the Virginia Air National Guard to Active Duty Air Force.  I had mixed feelings about my first duty assignment, March Air Force Base, in Southern California.  However I was going to make the best of it.  Being 21, the first thing that came to my mind was I would need a good sun tan to fit in when I arrived.  I had a month and so I was out in the sun at every opportunity slow roasting myself so that I would not look out of place when I arrived in sunny Southern California.  The Virginia weather cooperated and by the time I had to leave on the 2nd of June I had a reasonably good tan.  

However, when I arrived in Southern California on June second of that year, I landed right in the middle of one of the rainiest years on record for the region and it was June Gloomy all over the place.  I was the only one within sight on the Air Force Base with a tan.  It was a full two weeks before I saw my first day of sunshine.  I didn't mind a little rain and cloud cover but the downside was that by the time the sun came out my beautiful tan had peeled and faded completely.  The upside was that no one else had a tan either so I still fit in as well as a conservative young man from Virginia could in this radically different environment.

My second experience with "June Gloom" was of course this month during our trip back out to California.  We had promised Liam a trip back to visit all of his friends and everybody's Uncle John, famous for my "What I Learned From My Uncle John" series, was having his 80th birthday celebration.  So Maureen, Liam and I used that as an excuse for us all to go back for what might be our "one last visit."  For about two weeks prior, while preparing for the trip and packing, Maureen stated several times that she wouldn't mind a little "June Gloom" if that meant we could avoid the worst of the Southern California heat.  You see we have quite acclimated to the Western North Carolina (WNC) mountain weather but still vaguely remember the blistering heat that can come in waves in Southern California.  But with all that talk of June Gloom, guess who didn't pack for a little cooler beach weather?  This isn't the first trip Maureen and I have taken where Maureen has had to go out and purchase some climate appropriate garments after we arrived at our destination.  Hmmmm!  I'm starting to see a pattern.

So the beach stayed overcast and very pleasant by my estimation for the whole trip.  Maureen had the forethought to rent a house practically on the beach right by Balboa pier for the week.  Yes, it was a little more expensive than we might otherwise spend for a vacation rental but the theory was to avoid spending our entire week parked on the 91 freeway trying to visit everyone individually.  Instead we just let everyone know where we were and put out an open invitation to "come spend the day at the beach."  That way everyone else spent a little time on the freeway and we were able to avoid spending the bulk of our week driving.  And, we all got to "spend a day at the beach" together!

The one planned exception was Thursday where we drove in to see a couple of friends that we new couldn't make the trip to the ocean.  I was also the lunch program for the Corona Host Lions where I continue to hold an Associate Membership.  If you've been keeping up with this blog then you know my program.  It was bits and pieces of all our experiences over the past two years since our departure.  

And of course, one of the two main reasons for our visit.  Uncle John's birthday was a surprise affair for the most part.  Of course one of the biggest surprises was that Shirley was paying for everyone.  Our dinner for John that Thursday was at The Summit House, a VERY nice restaurant in Fullerton, California.  When he discovered that Shirley was paying I heard John comment, "I didn't know I had so much money."  And of course my retort was, "you don't anymore!"  Friends came in from all over the US to see Uncle John on his 80th, Arizona, Oregon, North Carolina and I don't know where else.  I could only hope that that many people think as highly of me down the road!

Each of Uncle John's birthday events went off as planned over the weekend; first the dinner on Thursday, the limo ride to lunch on the roof at Ruby's on the pier, the Wild Goose (John Wayne's yacht) tour, the pizza party and finally the neighborhood ice cream social, made this a birthday to remember.  We kid about how much money we all speculate that our Uncle John has but with Aunt Shirley at his side and all of his friends around him, our Uncle John is truly one of the "rich" among us.  Maureen, Liam, and I hope you had a great birthday and it was great to see you again Uncle John.  And you really do need to come out and see us.  Bring Aunt Shirley too if you can manage it.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate painting!  I'm sure I must have.  As soon as we returned from our vacation I had the task of staining our 900+ square feet of deck waiting for me.  I had power washed the deck twice before we left but could not get the weather to cooperate.  We got home Friday morning early (actually Thursday night very late) and I had already scheduled to drive (half way) to Virginia on Saturday and Maureen and I had guests coming on Sunday.  So I sucked it up, got my Hudson sprayer out, and went to work treating the deck.  My window was so tight that I didn't bother masking off any non-porous surfaces so I'm left with a bit of cleanup from over-spray, but I got the job done in the small window available.  The deck came out fairly nice but I still have that cleanup waiting for me.

Our guests were John & Veronica O'Doherty.  We had dinner with them Wednesday night at BJ's in Corona, California and then breakfast with them on Monday morning in Weaverville, North Carolina.  We had a great visit, hit a few pubs and did all the touristy things here in WNC, at least as much as we could fit in during their brief stay.

On a completely unrelated topic, I was thinking of getting Buddy a playmate.  You know, go down to Brother Wolf and adopt another dog to keep him company when we are out and about.  Having two dogs is no more inconvenient than having one.  But it looks as if Buddy has already made friends with the neighbors by the look of the video that Addison got while watching Buddy at the house while we were in California.

Speaking of Buddy, I let him out last night at my mom's house just before bedtime.  Buddy took off like a shot out the door which is not like him.  All I could think of was the family of skunks in the neighborhood that mom keeps telling me about.  I went out after him and he ran back by me in the dark.  I couldn't tell if he was chasing something or actually had it in his mouth, that's how close he was.  I yelled, Buddy stopped, and then the motion sensor light came on.  Sure enough, it was a baby skunk making its way around the corner of the house.  How Buddy managed not to get sprayed I'll never know.  That's one disaster I'm happy to have avoided.

As I write this I find myself in Mechanicsville, Virginia waiting for our brief rain storm to subside so I can finish power-washing my mom's house.  Her garage desperately needs painting.  Did I mention how much I hate painting!  Tomorrow, back on the road with "Traveling Buddy" heading for home.  I know when you're retired you are kind of always on "vacation."  But I think I need a break!  

Until next time, take care!

Rick

I'm A "Raft Guide School" Drop Out!

Remember my blog entry; "Summer Colds are the Worst"?  It turns out that "Spring Colds" are pretty bad as well.  The second weekend of my Raft Guide class it rained all day Saturday and it was fairly cool relative to how the weather has been here in Western North Carolina this spring.  And of course we were out in the rain running the rapids all day long.  Sunday was still cool but at least not raining.  I woke up with a little bit of a sore throat but trudged off to class anyway.  By the end of our mourning outing down the river I could feel my throat closing off so I begged off the afternoon raft trip.  By Monday morning I was done.  This has to be one of the worst/longest colds I've ever had.  By the following weekend I was still seriously under the weather.  I must have had a low grade fever because Friday and Saturday I alternated from hot and sweating to cold and clammy.  After that I started feeling better but then I developed that persistent and annoying after cold cough where throughout the day you're convinced you are about to cough up a lung.  As of right now it's just an inconvenient hack that always surprises me just as I'm about to drink something from a full cup.  I think I've gone through a roll of paper towels cleaning up the spills from those ill timed coughs.

The class was great fun for the most part.  The first day the outfitter sponsoring the course, French Broad Adventures, took us down the river as tourists so we could experience what is expected of a guide from a patron's perspective.  Our guide was the only one ejected from our raft going down the rapids.  Apparently it was his first day back for the season and he was just a bit lackadaisical securing himself into the raft.  The second day came the reality check.  After our morning trip down the rapids we spent the whole afternoon taking turns lifting six-man rafts up to the top of a school bus.  In addition to learning to guide (steer) a raft we spent time on the rapids learning things that you might not think were all that important like knowing the names of all the rapids or the "commercial route" through each of the rapids.  The first was in case of an emergency so you could identify your exact position for emergency responders.  The second was for liability reasons.  If for some reason you got into trouble because you varied your trip off the prescribed commercial route you could potentially expose the outfitter to more serious legal consequences.   

Having taken a raft trip down the Colorado river and several trips on the Kern river, even though there are class 2/3 and 3/4 rapids depending on the water level, I perceived that the rapids in the section of the French Broad river we were running were perhaps not as challenging as some of the other trips I had been on.  I said something to our Guide Instructor one day and his response was basically; "This is likely the first raft trip down any rapids for most of the patrons.  And if you don't have any other frame of reference, it is exciting!"  Which I guess is true enough.  In addition to losing the guide instructor from our raft during the two weekends I did manage to attend, one of the rafts (not ours) completely flipped at the bottom of one of the trickier rapids and several rafts (including ours) managed to get stuck on rocks, one so securely (not ours) that river just washed over the top of it.  We thought that raft was going to be stuck until the water level went down but, after a little clever maneuvering, that group managed to get off the rock and back in the current to join the rest of the flotilla. 

So with those disclaimers, French Broad Adventures seems to be a great company and I'm adding that to my list for activities to share with our guests if they're interested in that sort of thing.

Today would have been my last day of class but it's cooler today than it has been all week, and it's raining!  So although my cold has been effectively reduced to the above described nagging cough I decided, under the circumstances that discretion may in fact be the better part of valor and, to skip the last of the class as well.  However, I'm looking at taking what I have learned and dipping into some white water kayaking on that section of the French Broad river and it would not be out of the question for me to sign up for the Guide Class again next spring.  We'll just have to wait and see.

I shared in an earlier blog that Liam had chosen his major, Construction Management, at Western Carolina University. Liam's first observation was that all the other students had some level of construction experience and he had none. Well Liam has his first construction job this summer. A local small general contractor who happens to be in the Weaverville Lions Club with me has taken Liam on as an intern/laborer. On about his third day on the job Liam sent me a text, the exchange went like this; 

Liam: "Hey dad thanks for getting me this job"

Me: "Are you having fun?"

Liam: "Wouldn't say fun but it's good for me

Me: 👍 

Two days later I received this text;

Liam: "When is the last time I had my tetanus shot"

Liam is ok, just a small cut.  Welcome to construction!

I've spent my entire morning sitting on my back porch watching the rain, having my coffee and writing to you.  All of our patio furniture is in my shop at the moment so I'm reduced to a folding chair and end table from inside the house.  I pressure washed the porch in preparation for treating the deck, posts, and railings but the weather is not cooperating, not that I mind.  Sitting on the back porch while it's raining is one of my favorite things to do.  I think I'll go in and persuade my lovely bride to accompany me downtown for a couple hours to have a Guinness and catch the Celtic jam session at Jack of the Woods! 

I hope everyone is having as lazy a weekend as we are!

Until next time, take care!

Rick   

Younger Next Year* - A Book Report And A Case Study!

It has been almost exactly a year (within a week or so) that I professed to my doctor; "by my birthday I will be off all my medication!"  I had my one year follow up last week with my doctor, with one of the main questions to be answered, could I stay off my cholesterol medicine permanently.  The outcome of that exam to follow shortly.  

One year ago I started my journey back to a healthier lifestyle somewhat blindly just walking and cutting out processed foods.  But being a slave to my overly analytical personality (according to every personality test I've ever taken) I also set out on a quest for guidance.  What would be the best, most sustainable, path to fitness and just general wellness for my future, hopefully for years to come.  I found my answer in primarily two books, one of which will be the subject of this blog entry which I've titled; "Younger Next Year* - A Book Report And A Case Study!"

The book, "Younger Next Year* Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy-Until You're 80 and Beyond", by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D., although I found to be very interesting, is not what I'd classify as a page turner.  However, I'd like to make the case why it could be a "must read" if you also have an analytical bent like me and the "why" is just as important as the "how".  As luck would have it I just happened across this book at a used book store and picked it up for about two dollars.  If I had found the book on amazon and read the one star reviews (which are only 5% of the reviews) first I might not have even read it.  After reading the book myself I believe most of those reviewers missed the point.  The entire book can be summarized by reviewing "Harry's Rules" found on the first page of the Appendix.

1

Exercise 6 days a week for the rest of your life.

2

Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life.

3

Do serious strength training, with weights, 2 days a week for the rest of your life.

4

Spend less than you earn.

5

Quit eating crap!

6

Care.

7

Connect and commit.

Rules 4, 6, & 7 are concerned with your mental and emotional well being which the book argues you likely won't have good physical health if you don't have a good balance emotionally.  My purpose is to review the physical and I'm hoping to encourage everyone to read the book for themselves so that's all I'll say about those three rules.

Rule 1 & 2:  Exercise 6 days a week for the rest of your life; and, Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life.  You remember the old advice from your doctor; "exercise 20 minutes a day, three days a week"?  It's just not enough.  Your doctor was just making his or her best attempt to get you off the couch.  The book makes the point that you need to elevate your breathing and heart rate for at least an hour a day to stay healthy.  The reason is that exercise triggers a rebuilding process.  We all know that our bodies are constantly breaking down and rebuilding our cells.  Apparently the breaking down part is automatic and continuous.  However the body only triggers the rebuilding process if it thinks you will need or are going to use the new cells.  That is the essence of our bodies decay over time which leads to most of our internal organ failures, blood clots, hardened arteries, everything bad.  The good news is even just walking fast for that hour is enough to trigger the rebuilding process.  And as a case study I've proven (at least to myself) that just walking fast for an hour is very effective for jump starting your weight loss efforts.

Rule 3:  Do serious strength training, with weights, 2 days a week for the rest of your life.  This one is simple.  If you want to be able to open the jar of pickles, move the couch so you can vacuum, or just lift the grand-kids and be able to play with them, some level of strength training is necessary.  It's the old "use them or lose them" theory.  And I'm not referring to that pair of five pound dumbbells you have stuffed in the back of the closet that you used to waive around in the past when you professed to "exercise".  You actually have to stress your muscles to break them down and help them grow.  The book makes one point in this section that I found very interesting.  "Old" people don't trip or get caught off balance any more than "young" people.  The difference is that older individuals no longer have the strength and/or balance to catch themselves.  Legitimate weight training goes a long way towards reversing, or at least delaying, the degradation of your ability to just "catch" yourself.  Maybe instead of that "Life Alert" we just need to get a good set of adjustable dumbbells and use them.

Rule 5:  Stop eating crap!  I've already shared my "One Ingredient Diet" theory with everyone.  Although I'm not particularly fanatical about it, I've more or less been very disciplined when it comes to what I eat these days, within reason.  

So what about the case study, me?  This is the longest I've ever stuck with anything resembling a consistent exercise and diet program.  A lot of the good things the book professes I was already doing by chance or from other research.  I've had to add a mile to my walk/jog everyday because I was getting my daily route finished in under 40 minutes by the time I read the book.  The results from my follow-up doctor's appointment?  My blood pressure and A1C (blood sugar) were still good and my cholesterol was 167.  So I have successfully managed to get off all of my prescription medication and for now it's permanent.  I do have to admit, I have gained back close to 10 lbs.  However I don't think I need to be worried about the little extra weight.  If you recall, back in October I reported that my weight was roughly 150+. and that I had to get all new clothes because my waist had gone from 38" down to 32".  And, although my weight is now more consistently at about 160+, I've recently had to go out and purchase all new shorts and swimsuits with 30" waist bands.  I had to order them online because none of the stores around here have that size of anything in the men's clothing section.

One thing I do want to say about the weight training.  If you are looking for a recommendation for an exercise regimen to start weight training.  I recommend "Body for Life" by Bill Philips.  That is the second book I alluded to earlier.  You can ignore the dieting portions of the book.  Although I believe his theory is sound, trying to follow that dieting script would require hiring a full time cook or personally giving up every other activity in your life, including weight training, just to prepare the meals.  Stick with the one ingredient diet you'll be fine.  Body for Life has a ton of before and after pictures with motivational anecdotes if you're into that sort of thing.  But mostly it has a very adaptable weight training program that you can follow at the gym or even at home easy enough with a good set of adjustable weights and a weight bench.  I'm using the nice set of Nautilus Adjustable Dumbbells I got with my retirement gift for my upper body exercises and I just do squats and calf raises for my leg muscle workouts, although I am lusting after a good leg machine.  

This will likely be my last health update blog entry.  But for my friends still looking for that small bit of inspiration or motivation to get started towards a healthier lifestyle.

Remember!

    

My last little note for today.  You'll notice I threw in the need to purchase new "swimsuits"!  When we first moved here I made a great fuss about wanting a kayak and how much I enjoyed the river.  Well, I'll bet none of you will ever guess what class I'm taking through the local community college.  

OMG!  You all got it right!  

I'm currently in training for my certification as a "White Water Raft Guide"!  Which is very likely to be the topic of my next blog entry.  I mean, how can you raft rapids as a guide trainee twice a day for eight days, plus various side trips for some additional experience, and not have at least a good story or two?

Until next time, take care!

Rick

I'm A Multi-Tasking Procrastinator. I Can Put Off Multiple Projects At The Same Time Almost Indefinitely!

Happy Easter Everyone!

One of the projects I had been putting off is my workshop.  I inherited the space with nothing but some wire shelves and taped drywall.  Recently however, I've been using the cold weather as an excuse to stay in and work on putting my shop together.  I have a series of pictures showing what the space looked like before we purchased our home, when it was a blank slate getting ready to paint, and what it looks like now.  I was going to wait until the shop was completely finished to pen this blog entry but two things motivated me to share my progress now.  First I have a confession.  I enjoy woodworking and piddling in my shop but what I enjoy the most is making stuff for my shop.  So in theory, my shop will never actually be complete.  And second, I just haven't written anything in a while.  So this is it!

Just as a reminder, here are a couple of pictures showing what the lower garage space looked like before we purchased the house.  As you can see the space is just storage for junk and not set up as any kind of usable work space.  There were a couple of wire shelves attached to the wall that were left after the family moved out but that was all.  

The first order of business was to remove the nasty wire shelves, clean, patch and paint.  In an earlier blog entry I professed just how much I hate to paint. That hasn't changed but I wanted a nice space to work in and this space needed some serious TLC.

As you can see I struggled to paint around all of my tools and boxes of stuff from our move.  The one cabinet in the third picture of the group above is the only storage left after I had cleared out the space and that wasn't holding much.  So next I had to build some basic cabinets with shelves to get boxes and stuff off the floor so I could work.

 These simple cabinets were built from an article in Family Handyman but they served the purpose. My shop stayed like this for some time while I got busy with other business of settling in our new home here in Western North Carolina.  As I brought things from my mom's house (tools and whatnots that I've inherited from my dad) I did build a second set of those simple cabinets just to get those boxes off the floor.

My next task was to build base cabinets to support a workbench.  That seemed to be a daunting task that would require a great deal of material, time and effort so I put off that task for quite a while.  I'm not sure where I got the idea but one day I went down to the Habitat for Humanities Re-Store and as luck would have it, two days before they received a shipment of cabinets that had been salvaged from a house demo, so I bought four of them (8 feet worth).  After laying out where I wanted the workbench and considering some options I decided I needed one more cabinet.  Back down to the Re-Store and dumb-lucky, they had just received as second set of cabinets identical to the ones I had purchased earlier.  

I mounted the base cabinets against a masonry wall and set to building my workbench.  I used a plan for a torsion box style bench which is supposed to create a perfectly flat work surface.  

Between the 8 foot bench top on the left and the two foot work top on the right I mounted a shelf just the right height to install my compound miter saw so that my workbench also serves as work (out-feed) support in both directions.  In this photo you can also see some of my handy electrical work.

My entire shop was previously powered by one 15 Amp circuit.  I could not run my table saw and shop vac at the same time without tripping the breaker.  When we had our service panel switched out to accept a portable generator for emergency power, I had the electrician provide me with a 100 Amp sub-panel in my shop.  So now I have plenty of power available. 

In addition to the outlets I added some LED work lights over the workbench that are plug connected to a switched outlet.  Then I furred out the masonry wall with some 2x4s so I could mount some peg board above the bench.

 Then more painting of course!

While I was at it with the peg board I used the excess under my second set of simple cabinets just because I could.  A bit of "Bulls-Eye Planning." Which resulted in yet more painting.

And last, I trimmed out the unfinished window because I hadn't painted enough.  I also had to scrub the blinds clean.  In the picture below I'm halfway done.

My most recent "storage" type project was a quickly thrown together wheeled lumber cart.  I tired of moving my material back and forth over and over to make room for whatever I was working on at the moment.

Constructed with a little help from my buddy!

I hesitate to say my "Final Results" because as I indicated at the beginning, I really don't plan to ever be completely finished.  But here is my "Work in Progress" Man Cave.  An enviable work-space if I do say so myself.

BEFORE!

AFTER!!!

  

So although this may be a marathon project I've not been completely idle with my time.

My next update is in the works.  It has been one year since my Type II Diabetes diagnosis and I have a follow-up doctors appointment at the end of this month.  So I will have my progress to share.  I also have a class I've signed up for through the local community college that will be beginning at the end of this month that should be a blast.  You won't believe what types of classes are offered in this area.  I'm positive I'll have at least a couple of stories from that.  All-in-all, after this winter, I'm looking forward to another beautiful summer in the Western North Carolina Mountains!

Our best to everyone!

Rick

Here's To My 31 Years of Wedded Bliss!

As of two days ago, February 7th, I have been married for 31 years. By the oddest coincidence, Maureen has been married for exactly same number of years, to the day as a matter of fact. For as long as I can remember Maureen has always noticed and pointed out older couples that still hold hands and are attentive to each other when we see them in public. A couple of years ago we were traveling somewhere and in the airport gate area after we had left the plane a flight attendant came up to us and complimented us on how nice it was to see us holding hands walking through the airport. After she left I observed to Maureen; "We are that cute older couple now!" I'm not sure Maureen appreciated my saying that out loud but I'm OK with it.

With years is supposed to come wisdom and I feel I'm almost to the point where people want to know what is my "secret" for a long happy marriage? I find it difficult to beat the wisdom of Jimmy Stewart when it comes to advice to newlyweds. You have to check out this short video clip from the movie classic "Shenandoah"!

Newlywed Advice from Shenandoah Movie

A few more gems to live by:

“I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one’s wife happy. First, let her think she’s having her own way. And second, let her have it.” 

- Lyndon B. Johnson

“To keep your marriage brimming,

With love in the loving cup,

Whenever you’re wrong admit it;

Whenever you’re right shut up.”

- Ogden Nash

Listen to Tim Hawkins sing “The Wife Song”- If you are a man who wants to live a long and happy life, these are the things NOT to say to your wife. This video is hilarious!

“The Wife Song”

He is another entertaining video with words of wisdom to live by: "The Man Song!"

It's no secret that I subscribe to having a "sense of humor" (you can decide if it's a "good" sense of humor) as being essential to having a long and happy marriage.  And I have been very happy these past 31 years.  And I love my beautiful bride with all my heart.  But most importantly I like Maureen.  Again, Jimmy Stewart's wisdom on the subject can't be beat.

There is a classic scene in the 1965 movie Shenandoah, where Charlie Anderson, played by Jimmy Stewart, has a conversation with his daughter’s suitor, Lieutenant Sam. In the film, Sam approaches Charlie Anderson to ask for his daughters hand in marriage. The conversation goes like this:

Sam: I want to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.

Charlie: Why? Why do you want to marry her?

Sam: Well, I love her.

Charlie: That’s not good enough. Do you like her?

Sam: I just said I….

Charlie: No, no. You said you loved her. There is some difference between love and like. You see, Sam, when you love a woman without likin’ her, the night can be long and cold, and contempt comes up with the sun.

You just can't beat "likin'" the woman that you spend your days and nights with.  And now that neither of us is "gainfully employed" we're having the greatest of times traveling, sightseeing, and just being together (although I still won't go with Maureen to her Tuesday night dance meet-up group)!

So here is to our 31 wonderful years of wedded bliss and I don't know how to express how much I'm looking forward to all of the happy fun filled times ahead.

Happy anniversary to my lovely bride, Maureen!

With all my love,

Rick

My First Walk of the Year in the Snow!

About a week or so ago I had my first opportunity to take my little fitness walk while it was snowing.  It was just flurries really, nothing sticking on the ground.  About 9:00 AM my weather page said it was 26 degrees F but "Feels Like" 12 degrees F with the wind chill factor.  I waited an hour and went out about 10:00 AM.  My weather page said it was still 26 degrees F but the wind chill had slacked off and it only "Felt Like" 13 degrees F, so I headed out.  I can handle 13 but 12 degrees F is just too damn cold.  The temperatures have been all over the place of late.  Two days ago I did my walk and it was 34 (feels like 20) degrees F, and last night Maureen and I went out for drinks and it was in the middle 50s after dark when we took off from the house.  This morning I woke up and it was drizzling and a gorgeous 67 outside.  I opened up all the windows in the house, got my coffee and tablet, and went outside to read on the porch with Buddy it was so nice.  About an hour later I could swear it was getting colder.  I checked my faithful weather page again and it was 57.  Could I have been mistaken earlier?  So I checked the hourly feature and sure enough, the prediction indicated that it will be cooling off all day and be just above freezing at 1:00 PM, typically the warmest part of the day.  How cruel is that?  I was having visions of short sleeve shirts and a drink on the patio somewhere this evening.  The old adage; "If you don't like the weather around here wait a minute and it will change!" certainly seems to be true this year.  Even Buddy is feeling the cold this winter!

A couple of people have asked how we did with the fires.  We are north of Asheville and the fires were mostly south and the wind rarely blew smoke in our direction.  Liam had more trouble at his school.  WCU is southwest and some of the fires were in the vicinity for him.  The distance runners had to practice in-doors for most of that period.


We will be spending Christmas in Cleveland this year (any criminals reading this, the house is alarmed and our neighbors know we're gone and are watching our house).  After watching the weather predictions for Ohio I went out and bought snow chains for all four tires of my truck.  I can still hear my dad saying; "You always put chains on the front and rear wheels because you don't want your rear wheels pushing you where you don't want to go."  Truck tire chains are expensive but I operate on my "umbrella theory."  If you carry an umbrella with you all the time it never rains.  "Luck favors the prepared" and I have tire chains in the truck for all four wheels so we should have clear sailing up and back.  Just the same, we are driving west to Tennessee and then north to bypass the mountains on this trip.  It adds 50 miles and about an hour to the drive but my umbrella theory is just a theory and there's no point in taking unnecessary chances.

I still have my aversion to putting up Christmas lights outside.  I found one of those Christmas laser projection lights on sale at Big Lots and stuck that in the front yard this year.  I couldn't see going through all the trouble of stringing up lights before we left for Cleveland just so I could take them down when we got back.  And there's no one to turn them on and off while we are gone anyway.  Maureen has decorated nicely inside and it's very Christmassy.  We also have our "Charlie Brown" pencil tree up this year.   

Coming up with good Christmas gifts is getting much more challenging each year.  It used to be as easy as walking down the Lego isle at Wal-Mart.  But Liam is a young man now, almost 20 if you can believe that.  Too old for Legos but way too young for a Christmas tie.  And being an only child he tends to have anything he needs and quite a bit of what he wants.  Although Liam is keeping up his end of the bargain, working hard and keeping up his grades, keeping his scholarship, and working a part time job over his breaks when we are not traveling.  Maureen has always been impossible to surprise but I think I might have something for her this year she's not expecting.  We'll see if it's something she really wants.  And of course I'm the worst to have to buy for because if I really want it I probably have already gone out and gotten it.  Everyone else is easy to buy for, I mean that's what gift cards are for, right?  The only challenge is what cute gift or puzzle box you're going to put it in and a nice card.  

Since I'm not going to have my computer with me over the holidays I just wanted to take a moment to say how appreciative I am for my friends and family and hope you all get the "Gift Card" of your dreams!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Seasons Greetings and our best wishes for a great New Year to you all!!!

Tired of Talking About Politics? Me Too. Let's Talk About the Weather!

We (in WNC) are do for a snowy winter!

Or are we?

The Old Farmer's Almanac has predicted that we will have a higher than normal snowfall this year. The actual prediction from the almanac for my area is:

"Winter will be slightly warmer than normal, with near-normal precipitation and above-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in early to mid-January, from late January through early February, and in mid- to late February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-November, late January, and early to mid-February."

The original Farmer's Almanac founded in 1792, Old Farmer's Almanac is a reference book that contains weather forecasts, tide tables, planting charts, astronomical data, recipes, and articles on a number of topics, including gardening, sports, astronomy, and farming. It has been the preeminent authority used by farmers at least since 1816. The Farmer's Almanac gained prominence in 1816 by accurately predicting snow in July. The story goes:

From William A. Sherden's The Fortune Sellers: The Big Business of Buying and Selling Predictions (1997), pp. 49-50. 

[The Old Farmer's] Almanac's accurate prediction of winter weather for July 13, 1816 was due to an extraordinary coincidence. Founding editor Thomas became ill just as the 1816 Almanac was going to print. A copy boy informed him that the prediction for July 13 was missing. "Put in anything you want," Thomas told him, so the boy inserted, "Rain, hail, and snow." Upon discovering the joke, Thomas destroyed most of the copies and spent considerable time denying the extreme forecast, which inevitably got into general circulation. But in New England on July 13, 1816, it did in fact "rain, hail and snow" -- unusual weather caused by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tamora in the East Indies. The volcano generated a cooling dust cloud that caused what is called the "Little Ice Age" in New England that summer, during which ponds and lakes never thawed. When the original "forecast" came true, Thomas changed his tune and declared, "I told you so." Judson Hale, the current editor of the Almanac, has called this scenario "one of the earliest and best examples of a subtle skill my uncle always referred to as 'Almanacmanship.'" 

So I'm relating this year's prediction and the back story to a woman at a football party at a friends house and she says; "Acorns!" 

"Acorns?" I replied. 

Yes, apparently when she was growing up an excess amount of acorns on the ground was an indicator of a hard winter with lots of snow. Last winter was reasonably mild and I did not even remember there was an acorn tree in my yard. As you can see in the picture we are inundated with acorns this year. 

So I'm telling my mother on her last visit the almanac and acorn stories and she says; "Woolly Caterpillars!" 

"Woolly Caterpillars"; I asked? 

Yes, when my mom was growing up an increase in the number of woolly caterpillars was the indicator it would be a snowy winter. Last winter I don't recall seeing any woolly caterpillars. I walk Buddy through the neighborhood a lot and this year I'm constantly dodging woolly caterpillars. I don't have any pictures to share and I can't say if they're moving south for the winter but they're out there this year in mass. 

I started researching old wives tales used to predict the coming winter weather.

Forecasting in a nutshell:

Hickory nuts and walnuts have a hard shell and a "fruit" surrounding that shell. The story goes that the thicker the outer shell, the worse the winter will be. This theory extends to acorns and the thickness of their shells, and it could be nature's way of protecting the tree species during harsh weather.

Since this is our first year of "Old Wive's Tales" weather prediction I don't really have a frame of reference for the thickness of our acorn shells. All I know is that we sure have a lot of them this year.

Caterpillar colors:

Woolly bear caterpillars are the larval stage of the Isabella moth. They are black with a red-brown band in the middle, and according to folklore, the more black you see on these caterpillars, the harsher the winter will be.

Most of the woolly caterpillars I've come across look very much like the one in the picture, some with even more red than shown which would indicate a milder winter.

According to Donald Lewis, an entomologist at Iowa State University, there is some year-to-year variation in the amount of black hair on these caterpillars, but the differences are caused by age and wetness. Older caterpillars have more black than young ones, and if the fall weather is wet, they will often have more black. 

This has been an exceptionally dry fall. We are even having some (California like) forest fires in the outlying areas due to the extreme drought. So maybe we just have a bunch of young caterpillars that haven't been rained on much.

Is color the key?

Picture from my back porch today!

Some people believe that the brighter the leaves are in the fall, the snowier and colder the coming winter will be. Leaf color is actually determined by several things, like the amount of moisture received during the growing season. However, once the days get shorter and the temperatures drop in the fall, the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves decreases, causing the changes in leaf colors we see in the fall.

Last year we had an exceptionally rainy fall and all of the leaves were washed off the trees before they could become vibrantly spectacular resulting in a horrible fall tourist season. Remember the pictures of me raking the leaves? So again I really don't have a good frame of reference for this prediction method. This year has been a much better tourist season because the leaves are staying on the trees longer, although I have had to rake my lawn once already and may have to again before it's all over.

Hornet high-rises:

If you notice hornets, bees, and wasps building their nests higher than usual, like in the tops of trees rather than closer to ground level, a harsh winter with lots of snowfall may be coming.

I get quite a few wasps nests attached to our house. The last one I knocked down was attached to an upstairs window frame which is higher than I've had to deal with so far. I'll have to keep an eye on this from now on.

Fluffy bunnies and squirrels:

If rabbits and squirrels look especially fat in the fall, they may be bulking up for a cold winter. Likewise, if you see squirrels burying nuts at a more furied pace than usual, that may be a sign. 

Buddy has been especially diligent in keeping the wild life out of our yard despite my reassurances that it's OK to share. He even chased off a couple of deer the other morning much to my dismay (if I had seen them first before I let Buddy out that morning he would have had to just cross his legs for a while). So it has been difficult to view a good representative sample but I don't think the squirrels really look all that plump this year despite the over abundance of acorns in the yard.

Note: Many of the descriptions above have been plagiarized from the following website: 

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/country-life/weather-wise/old-wives-tales-predict-winter-weather/?page=2

So what is my prediction?

I predict that I will spend the winter comfortably holed up snuggling with my beautiful bride in front of a nice warm fireplace and reading an unlimited number of books thanks to the kindle apps on our tablets. And about the weather; who really cares?

Happy Holiday Season everyone!