Wanted: Weather forecaster; St. John's

They missed the boat in predicting this storm.  Was only supposed to be 4-5 inches; it's probably twice that.  Had high winds, blowing the snow around and creating whiteout conditions.  Schools and government offices closed midday. Traffic was snarled on city streets and the TCH.

Greg got home safely after wisely letting the worst of it pass.

Newfoundland Gothic

Snow this morning

It's supposed to last all day.

That's what happened on Saturday - but we're expecting less with this storm...maybe only 4 to 5 inches (10-15cm).







Saturday's storm gave way to a spectacular Sunday.  Went for brunch and errands we couldn't do the day before.  But it was so gorgeous out (sunny & no wind), we went for a walk in The Battery before heading to Home Depot.

We wend our way through what was once a fishing community.  The trail at several points has the right of way through property owner's yards.  The trail is now shuttered for winter as it reaches the base of Signal Hill.  The walk would be treacherous in the icy months.  It reopens in April.

Here's hoping tomorrow is half as nice as Sunday.

Another conversation (about photography experiments)

S:  I should dig out my macro lens, now that I'm a shut in.
G:  You're not a shut in -- I give you the car two days a week.

Geographer in the house

Living with a geographer has its pluses.  Talk of maps and GPS is something I find intriguing.
Greg recently commented we are located below the 49th Parallel.  Trying to give me a point of reference as to how far north we are, he said we're about parallel with Minneapolis.  I discovered that was incorrect (bad geographer) when I started looking on the map for where 49th Parallel ran.

St. John's is at 47degrees, 34minutes.  Minneapolis is 44degrees, 59minutes.
So we are on a closer parallel with:
Seattle WA:  47d, 36m
Grand Forks ND:  47d, 55m
Duluth MN:  46d, 47m
Caribou ME:  46d, 51m


The affection for this topic also informs some decorating choices - I love our new rug.

We got it at Attica, a home furnishings store that has two locations; here and Halifax.







I want to get this table from Ballard Designs.
It's a compass...and it works!

Dare alla luce

Welcome Luke and congrats to Steph, Jim & James!

The title references the Italian phrase for giving birth.  The literal translation is to "give to the light".  Fitting that he's been named Luke, which is derived from the Greek and Italian words for light.

Any connection to light sabers ?

source:  Wikipedia

Accent on Paradise

One of the tag lines connected to St. John's is "A Walker's Paradise" - courtesy of the Grand Concourse Authority.   I always thought New York City was a walker's paradise.  I certainly walked almost everywhere.  I once walked from the Metro North train station in Riverdale to Washington Heights.

The city certainly scores high with WalkScore; my old neighborhood (and pretty much everywhere in Manhattan) scores a 100 out of 100 pts (based on amenities being close enough to walk for daily needs/errands).   Our current location gets a 33 (a score that equals "car dependent").



What you don't get in NYC is this, close enough to walk to everyday.

It gives you amnesia about having to shovel.

Send Wheaties!

I figured it would be pointless to shovel yesterday.  It was so windy, I imagined I'd be shoveling and 50% of every scoop would be blown back in my face.  And since I didn't need to be anywhere until Sunday eve (to pick up Greg at the airport), there was no rush to clear the driveway so I stayed inside with NPR.

Forecast for today was flurries and some wind.  But it was still when I got up.  So, made some coffee and got out there for about an hour.  Ours was the only driveway unshoveled on the street.  I felt like such a slacker.

Only took about an hour.  Not too bad.   Thank goodness we only have a modest amount of black top.