Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
Let's compare weather!
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Weather - What's YOUR weather today? (Part ONE - Started Sat., March 14, 2009) (Let's keep this going.)
I guess that weather is pretty chilly for KY, Jim! Our current temp is 25 and we had more snow today, not much but enough to keep our small Maltese dog from enjoying the backyard. I tried to sweep a new path for him but broke the broom. :) He had to be satisfied with a small patch of ground.As for the hay and horses, etc., I can see where a lot of things could make a big difference.
This is about the 'average' for this time of year here, Joy. We bounce around so much though that it's tough to tell sometimes. It's 22 out now. It would be nice if the sun came out today & cleared the lane. According to the weatherman, we're supposed to be mostly sunny today & Frankfort is supposed to get up to 34. We're usually a few degrees cooler, so we'll see.I plan to get all the Xmas stuff packed away today, if the snow melts off it. I don't like keeping it out for too long.
I like to extend the holidays into January. After doing all the work of decorating, I like to enjoy it a bit longer. Since I never get the decorations up until near Christmas, I'm not yet tired of them. Instead, I'm still enjoying them. So our tree and all the rest of our holiday stuff will be around for a while in January. I could never understand the folks who like to cut it short.
1/3/13 - Queensbury NY - CURRENT TEMP: -15°F / -26°Chttp://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick....
"Last Update on 3 Jan 4:53 am EST"
Brrr! It's 20 here & that's chilly enough.
Jim wrote: "Brrr! It's 20 here & that's chilly enough."It sure is. I hate to put the dog out at these temps! I'll let him sleep a bit more and I'll keep my eye on him. (lol)
Joy H. wrote: "I like to extend the holidays into January. After doing all the work of decorating, I like to enjoy it a bit longer. Since I never get the decorations up until near Christmas, I'm not yet tired of ..." This is our home exactly.
Nina wrote: "Joy H. wrote: "I like to extend the holidays into January.Nina wrote: This is our home exactly. ..."
Nina, if it weren't for the electric bill, I would keep our indoor Xmas Tree lights on all the time! LOL
As it is, our outdoor lights are on a timer. Every night we still have our outdoor Xmas lights on. There's even a lit-up statue of Santa.
Some people keep Xmas decorations until "Little Christmas" ** on Dec. 6 (whatever that is).
Sometimes my indoor stuff stays up until Valentine's Day. Hope the "decoration-police" aren't reading this! LOL
** PS-FROM WIKI:
=========================================
Little Christmas is one of the traditional names in Ireland for January 6, more commonly known in the rest of the world as the Feast of the Epiphany. It is so called because under the older Julian calendar, Christmas Day celebrations fell on that day whereas under the Gregorian calendar it falls on December 25. It is the traditional end of the Christmas season and the last day of the Christmas holidays for both primary and secondary schools in Ireland.
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_C...
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I am presently reading, "Old Filth," by Jane Gardam. Are any of you familiar with it? Seems it has gotten rave reviews. I have mixed feelings; very good writing but frustrating the way it jumps back and forth with flashbacks; too many. However, it is spellbinding..
Nina, I've read Gardam's excellent ghost story, "The Meeting House," but that's my only acquaintance with her work.
Nina wrote: "I am presently reading, "Old Filth," by Jane Gardam. Are any of you familiar with it? Seems it has gotten rave reviews. I have mixed feelings; very good writing but frustrating the way it jumps back and forth with flashbacks; too many. However, it is spellbinding.. "Re: Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Nina, I haven't read the book but here's a link to the review of one of my favorite GR reviewers, Jeff Neuman:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I checked out the statistics on the number of stars given by GR reviewers.
See them below:
5 Stars - 620
4 Stars - 1125
3 Stars - 511
2 Stars - 117
1 Star - 28
As for time-shifts, many of the negative reviews of this book complained about the time shifts because they were too hard to follow. I usually don't enjoy a book with too many time-shifts. I prefer a linear storyline.
I totally agree with the above review of "Old Filth." Somewhat spell binding plot but just when I am "into" it oops it skips back and forth until my head is spinning. Too bad, otherwise I would have given it five stars.
Nina wrote: "I totally agree with the above review of "Old Filth." Somewhat spell binding plot but just when I am "into" it oops it skips back and forth until my head is spinning. Too bad, otherwise I would have given it five stars."Nina, I see that you gave it 4 stars. That's a pretty good rating.
Jeff Neuman gave it only 2 stars.
Ruth B. gave it 5 stars and said: "Beautiful writing. I loved it."
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Joy, I haven't quite finished it so I might change my rating when I do. Average January weather for here so far; in forties in daytime and twenties at night but way below moisture lever; 16 inches deficit. Just had an essay published in a local News magazine. Fun to see my name in print again.
Nina wrote: "... Just had an essay published in a local News magazine. Fun to see my name in print again. "Congratulations on your essay, Nina!
What was it about?
Finished "Old Filth" and decided after thinking it over I have given it four and one half stars; not five because of the multitude of flashbacks. However, in spite of those irritations, I did really enjoy reading it more than most and am now into a sequel which strangely enough is taken from the middle of the book; not the end. "The Man with the Wooden Hat."
Joy, the title of my essay is, "Facing the prospect of no more Driving,,," I did get my license but for a while there was a question and this essay is about how you face that problem once it happens.
Nina wrote: "Finished "Old Filth" and decided after thinking it over I have given it four and one half stars; not five because of the multitude of flashbacks. However, in spite of those irritations, I did reall..."Nina, congratulations on sticking with "Old Filth" and finishing it. I'm almost finished with "My Name is Mary Sutter. I think you'd enjoy it but it's sad to read about the horrors of the Civil War and all the suffering of the soldiers.
Nina wrote: "Joy, the title of my essay is, "Facing the prospect of no more Driving,,," I did get my license but for a while there was a question and this essay is about how you face that problem once it happens."Nina, that's an interesting topic. I hate to think about facing that problem.
Guess I'd be taking a lot of taxis!
Joy, I ordered a sample of My Name is Mary Sutter on my Kindle as it's free and I have decided to order it from the library. Looks very interesting. I am now reading, "The Man in the Wooden Hat." it's sequel to "Old Filth," but strangely the sequel is a take off from the middle of the book.
I'm almost finished with the Sutter book. My eyes are very tired lately. Too much time on the computer!Nina, please let us know what you thought of the Sutter book after you've read it.
Its about 53 degrees today. Very warm for January. I'm up in Massena NY today by the St Lawrence River.
We currently have 39.2°F here in Glens Falls.Tomorrow: 45°F - Snow - 30% chance of precipitation.
I'd like to see 53!
Here's the link to the weather for Glens Falls:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/f...
I think we hit 60 again, but it's wet. Lots of rain, they're calling for 5" over the next few days. Better stay warm as we'll be swimming soon.
Jim wrote: "I think we hit 60 again, but it's wet. Lots of rain, they're calling for 5" over the next few days. Better stay warm as we'll be swimming soon."Jim, weren't you wishing for rain a few weeks or months ago? Or was that Nina in Kansas?
We needed some rain back in June - July, but had plenty since August, Joy.
Jim, you know what they say... be careful what you wish for. :)
I don't wish for weather, just deal with what we have.
I wish for nice warm sunshine and balmy days.As they say in the song, "the sun'll come out tomorrow". :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yop62w...
"Aileen Quinn in musical "Annie" (1982), singing legendary "Tomorrow" as little orphan Annie"
PS-I love that cute little face on Aileen Quinn.
Here's her face after she grew up:
http://www.playbillvault.com/images/p...
Interesting how faces change.
And when you get REALLY old, you hardly recognize yourself! LOL
That was me Joy, wishing for rain as we are seventeen inches deficit.
Nina wrote: "That was me Joy, wishing for rain as we are seventeen inches deficit."Yes, Nina, now I remember. I guess it's OK to wish for rain, as long as you don't end up getting a Tsunami!
The Bluefields are being buffeted with a massive snowstorm (it had been predicted) which began around 1:15 p.m., and is still coming down thick and fast. (By mid-afternoon, the accumulation was supposed to be three inches; but it's now much more.) BC announced that it would close as of 2:30 p.m., so I never did have to report for work today. It's a good night to be home inside, where it's warm and dry!
I hope all goes well with the snow & you don't lose power, Werner. That's my biggest worry.Thankfully when that storm passed over us, it just left some sleet & ice behind. That melted today in all the sunshine. Unfortunately, we're knee deep in mud. Except for a couple of days, we've never really frozen up properly & certainly haven't dried out.
Hang in there, Jim. (I'm also hoping that we don't lose power here, and that nobody else does, either!)
It seems really strange to be concerned about no rain in the winter or snow. We are concerned that our trees and bushes won't survive. On warm days I am watering them.
Werner, that sounds like quite a snow storm for Virginia!Our temp is supposed to go down to 5 F tonight.
It's currently 16 F. Glens Falls Weather Forecast: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/f...
Nina wrote: "It seems really strange to be concerned about no rain in the winter or snow. We are concerned that our trees and bushes won't survive. On warm days I am watering them."Nina, sounds like the "feast or famine" syndrome. :)
Jim wrote: "... Unfortunately, we're knee deep in mud. ..."Jim, don't forget to wipe your feet before you enter the house! LOL Mud can be depressing.
Jim wrote: "That's why we have a mud room. ;-)"Good idea, Jim. The room is well-named.
We've never had a mud room.
Ours doubles as a laundry room. It's just a hallway out to the back with the washer & dryer on one side.Marg's got the flu bad & now Erin's fighting it, so I fed everyone & took the dogs for a run while riding Chip around tonight. It's super sloppy out. It should dry out some, but everything is supposed to freeze solid Monday. We'll have 3 days with nights down in the single digits & days in the mid-20's, if the weather guys are right.
Jim wrote: "Ours doubles as a laundry room. It's just a hallway out to the back with the washer & dryer on one side.Marg's got the flu bad & now Erin's fighting it, so I fed everyone & took the dogs for a r..."
We've got a room like that in the back. It also serves as Ed's tool room. You can imagine what it looks like! It makes me crazy!
Hope Marg and Erin will recover from the flu soon. Did they have flu shots?
Our current temp is 16 F.
I don't know about Erin, but Marg didn't have a flu shot. The doctor said it wouldn't have done any good. The strain going around isn't the one I was vaccinated for anyway.
Hope they soon feel better, Jim! Barb and Deborah (and the grandkids) have been fighting flu on and off for weeks, so you and your ladies have my total understanding and sympathy.
Jim wrote: "I don't know about Erin, but Marg didn't have a flu shot. The doctor said it wouldn't have done any good. The strain going around isn't the one I was vaccinated for anyway."Gee, Jim. I thought Eddie and I would be relatively safe from the flu but if it's a different strain going around, I don't feel so protected anymore.
Werner and Jim, what are the symptoms of the flu your family is fighting off?
Marg has a really bad cough & high fever.
Joy, right now all of the grandkids (except Luke at the moment --he'd have gone to school yesterday, if it hadn't been closed) are carrying low fevers, under 100 degrees, but still elevated. Some exhibited vomiting and diarrhea earlier, with general lassitude. Barb has had intermittent migraine headaches and nausea, unusual lack of energy, and stuffed up sinuses which are worse when she lies down; the latter has been bad enough that she's had to sleep sitting in the recliner for the past month. Deborah doesn't complain much, but she has a lot of nausea and headaches, and sometimes low fever. So we're sort of a walking hospital ward down here! :-( I'm the only one who's mostly escaped it, so far (I have a cast-iron constitution). Thanks for asking!Two days after the blizzard, our deep snow is still laying. The last thermometer reading I heard about, last night, was 17 degrees above zero.
Joy, The medical expert on NBC evening news said the flu now going around was definitely affected by the shots; most won't get it but if you do it will be a lesser illness than if you had no shot. Hope she is right!
Thanks, Jim, Werner, and Nina, for the info about the flu. I'm almost afraid to go out for fear of catching it, even though I've had the shots.Well, that's a good excuse to stay home and read! lol
Hope all the "poorlies" get better soon.
NOTE: "poorlies" is a UK word for "sick people".
I've seen in used at the UK newsgroup: uk.people.silversurfers
But I can't find it anywhere else online.
I've posted a topic at the newsgroup. See it here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?from...
(Hope the link works.)
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Farming can be pretty tough & brutal, but that doesn't mean the folks are dumb. There's a lot more to it than most people can begin to even imagine. That's why so many people who adopt horses wind up treating them badly. They just don't know. It's a terrible shame.
Glad you liked the snow pictures. It doesn't stick around too long, thankfully. Seems like this batch might though. We're supposed to get another shot New Year's Eve & the temps are supposed to stay below freezing. We just made it to 32 today & it was down to 27 an hour or so ago.