Beauty And The Bitch.

It was hard to believe. After all these months, we finally got some snow.

 But I looked out the back door, and it was true.

The story was the same out the front door, too. A truly beautiful sight.

But as with most beauties, there was a downside.

A long, snow-choked driveway faced me and my new orange snow shovel.

It was a bitch, but I got it done. And still the snow came down.

But then it turned to rain and the snow turned to slush. Not so beautiful, but easier to deal with.

P.

My Old Mom.

She's almost halfway through her 96th year, so when we got an email from my brother last week saying that she was in the hospital again with a poor chance of recovering, we got on a plane immediately. Southwest, with some prodding from O, was gracious enough to let us change the tickets we had for later this month to the very next day at no upcharge. Thanks, Southwest.

When we first visited her, she was emaciated and incoherent, but her face lit up when she recognized us. She can barely talk, but she managed to ask, "How are you?"

"We're good," said O.

Mom scowled. "You're not good. You're well," she croaked, an English teacher to the last.

O and I smiled at each other and said simultaneously, "She's back!"

Phyllis Jane in happier days.

Over the few days we were there, she gradually got better, with more moments of lucidity, and a slowly improving appetite. Now, a week and a half later, she's been moved out of the hospital into rehab, where they hope to get her eating and walking again.

But it's touch and go. She still isn't eating enough to sustain herself, though her appetite is better. The doctor says she'll be in rehab for two weeks, then we'll have to make a decision about next steps. If she recovers further, she can go to a managed care facility, or even home, though that's a long shot at this point. If she continues to decline, then she'll go into hospice care--at home, we hope.

So we wait and see, wait and see.

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That Word Does Not Mean What You Probably Think It Means.

I love the many misuses of English generated by Asian English users, but this example from a Japanese department store is one of my favorites.

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Eat Your Boogers!

It might be good for you. Check out this link. Even if it doesn't convince you to start snot gobblin', you'll learn far more about mucus than you know now.

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If The Snow Won't Come To Us...

No snow in Boise so far this season, other than a sprinkling one night last week. Everyone tells us they've never seen it so dry. There's enough static electricity in our clothes to power a small town.

Now we're not big snow fiends--don't like driving in it, shoveling it, or scraping it off the car--but WTF happened to our White Christmas? I mean, if you have to live in the cold you should at least have that to look forward to.

Alas, it was not to be. Christmas day was cold and clear and brown. So when our lovely friends the Smiths invited us to their cabin in Sun Valley for New Year's Eve, we hoped rather forlornly we might get to see some of the white stuff after all.

The night before we left for the mountains it rained in Boise, so our hopes were high for snow at higher elevations.

 And indeed there was a light blanket of powder on the peaks. The downside was that 

the roads leading to Sun Valley were a bit treacherous, but we drove slowly and carefully

and eventually reached our destination.

 After an excellent lunch, Steve and Jeanie drove us from 

their house to the Sun Valley Lodge. The snow was pretty light 

even here, but we were grateful for what we had.

 We enjoyed a delicious dinner and a happy New Year's Eve with our friends. 

The next day, we walked with them to the river which runs close by their home. 

The path was slippery, but the scenery was worth the effort.

That afternoon, we drove back to Boise. Most of the ice had melted from the roads, so we made good time. Thanks, Smiths, for a very happy, and snowy,New Year!

P.