Who would have thought a week ago that the 4-5 inches of snow we got then would close school for eight days so far (including tomorrow)?
AN UNPRECEDENTED WINTER EVENT. I know I’m just repeating what I wrote last time, but we have gotten a snow the likes of which we haven’t seen in 12 years--even if it really didn’t pan out to dump as much snow on us as originally predicted. What’s been really odd is the consistently colder temperatures that we’ve been having this late in February. And given that Robertson County simply isn’t equipped to remove snow and ice from its back roads we continue to be out of school. Since I work a 220 day contract, I’ve been told to burn some of my summer this week, so I’ve enjoyed all this time off with the kids.
We had a bit of a warmup over the weekend. The temperature shot up into the 40s on Friday and we got a lot of rain. This melted a lot of snow, but with ice damming and frozen ground the water had nowhere to go. Then the temperature fell back down below freezing, creating more of a mess that night (and delaying the Haiti Team’s return home). We also had a short lived ice storm early Saturday which took our power down for about 90 minutes.
As day broke Saturday, the temperature rose helping the snow melt but not the flooding. I went to church to help clear the parking lot for services the next day. That afternoon we went to the airport to pick up Jenna. And then that evening we were back at church cleaning up water from leaks in the flat part of the roof and a sump pump that had frozen. We had services Sunday, but fans were scattered here and there in the hallways to help the carpet dry.
Since then our temperature hasn’t gotten much above freezing and the only melting that has occurred has been due to radiation. This means those back roads that are shaded by trees still have ice. While this is a far cry from what folks up north experience in a normal winter it has been quite a week and a half for us. Jenna has just been glad to have some snow days while she is back home from Haiti. And with a little more snow a possibility for tonight (anything from a dusting to a half inch) it’s anyone’s guess if we’ll even return to school this month!
THE HAITI REPORT. As I mentioned above, Jenna and her team have arrived safely home from Haiti. Since I have just reported on all the snow, I’ll discuss their trip home before reporting on Jenna’s experience in Haiti.
Jenna and her team had no problems flying from Jeremie to Port au Prince and then on to Miami as planned on Friday, but American Airlines, watching the weather here, had canceled the flight from Miami to Nashville before they even left Haiti. This meant the team had to spend an unplanned night in Miami and try to get home the next day. It worked out that all 17 of them got to fly together the next day on a trip that bounced them to Dallas, Texas, before getting them home that afternoon. We met a bunch of tired people who were glad to be back and have people with warm coats waiting for them at the airport.
Jenna said she enjoyed this trip more than the first trip she made back in May, though she didn’t name one particular reason why. I think this trip just ran a little smoother than before.
I realize I am repeating myself from the last time a bit, but the purpose of the trip was to provide a medical clinic and do some construction projects there at the orphanage. On the medical front, we had a doctor from our church who was part of this team so this allowed them to do more than last time. They gave all the kids at the orphanage a check up one day (the kids were all healthy and had grown a lot) as well as hold a clinic for the general public for two days. I don’t think they have an exact count of how many people they treated, but the estimate is at least 300 people.
Thanks to our team the orphanage is starting to be a little more kid friendly. They were able to repair two swing sets and set up a basketball goal for the kids which were hits. They also built a chicken coop. They don’t have chickens yet, but they should be delivered from Port au Prince soon. This along with the goats delivered by one of our previous teams helps them to be more self-sufficient with their food. The good thing here is that in the last 18 months since we’ve gotten involved with the orphanage, the kids have gone from eating one meal a day to three meals a day. The kids are definitely thriving.
There’s also a new church building near Emmanuel Orphanage. The first service was held in this building back in December when Kenny was part of a team to bring Papa Noel to the orphanage. Naturally, our team went to this church the Sunday they were there. One twist on their trip was that the week they were in Haiti happened to be the same week as a Voodoo event called “Karnivall” (pronounced “Car-ni-vall”) as we understand it. This is a religious holiday in Haiti that closes school. As a result the church has a lot of meetings as alternatives to Karnivall. This meant that our team interacted with more kids than the ones at the orphanage because all the kids were out of school. Our team has no idea what lives they may have impacted in the larger community during this week even though they work through a language barrier.
Jenna has seen far more in life at 16 than I did at her age. She has a global awareness that I didn’t get for another ten years. I’m proud of her for stepping out and testing the waters to see what a difference she can make in the wider world.
Joe
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
The Snow of 2015
Snow is beautiful!
A LONG OVERDUE SNOW. Our local weather started predicting some serious snow as we went into the weekend, calling for it to hit Sunday night or early Monday morning. They said this would be a snow event the likes of which Middle Tennessee hasn’t seen since 2003. According to several forecasters Robertson County was due to get 6-10 inches. Everyone was stocking up at the grocery store on Sunday.
We do have snow, but the storm shifted north a bit so things didn’t turn out quite like all the computer models predicted. The sleet began sometime in the wee hours of Monday morning and continued all morning. By lunchtime we only had about an inch and a half accumulation of sleet on the ground, however, it changed over to snow at noon and snowed for several hours that afternoon bringing our total accumulation to about four inches.
The roads are a mess, and the odd thing about it was that we didn’t see a TDOT truck out scraping the highway at all yesterday. (They were all assigned to the interstate on Monday.) School has been canceled for the week. Even central office employees were told to stay home. Woo-hoo! A week off!
Snow like this is such a novelty for us (granted it is a hardship for some) that it brings life almost to a stop. Not only are schools closed but many other activities are canceled. It really brings life to a standstill and allows time for things you don’t normally get to do. For example, we took supper over to Mom’s house Monday night and last night and had the time to stay and play a game of Spades both evenings. It was a lot of fun.
The boys have enjoyed the snow. The last two days the boys invited the boy next door to go sledding with them back on the farm. We don’t have much of a hill, but they had fun anyway. This afternoon we went to Kilgore Park to do some sledding on the hill there. We were having a lot of fun until Nate sprained his wrist.
As I mentioned above, this snow will stick around a bit. Our temps are expected to take a drop down to 0°F in the morning. Another wave of precipitation is due over the weekend with a brief bounce into the 40s before plunging back down again.
WARM, SUNNY HAITI. Even though Jenna hates to be missing the snow here she sounds like she’s having a great time in Haiti. She has spotty Internet service at the compound where she is staying so we only get to text with her every evening. Due to connectivity issues we’ve only seen a handful of pictures from the trip.
I will wait until she gets back to share the details, but we know they’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with the kids at Emmanuel Orphanage there in Jeremie. They’ve also worked on several small construction projects (a swing set, a basketball goal, and a chicken coop) for the orphanage. Yesterday and today have been devoted to hosting a medical clinic for the community and from what we gather they were very busy both days.
The team is due to return Friday. If the weather forecast holds true they may have an overnight delay in Miami. Either way, coming home will be a tough reminder that it’s still winter here in Tennessee.
TWELVE YEARS. Nate celebrated his birthday Saturday. Actually, he got his cake (strawberry with strawberry icing) Thursday so Jenna could enjoy it before she left. Then Saturday night after the game we came back to Mom’s house with a pizza and threw him a little party. Not quite the same as celebrating your birthday at Disney World like last year but fun none the less.
RAISING MY BOYS RIGHT. What I am about to say is no great revelation if you know me at all, but I say this to own my own geekiness. I have always been a fan of Star Trek, and yes, I’ve even been to a couple of conventions (I got to shake hands with James “Scotty” Doohan once). Whether you want to call me a Trekkie or a Trekker the fact is that I have simply enjoyed the show and it’s spinoffs, and naturally I’ve shared that with my kids.
The boys and I completed watching all the Original Series episodes on Netflix the other day. It has taken us about a year. We’ve moving on to the Next Generation now, which Nate says is a bit of an adjustment (he’s not taken with the bald captain). I’ve always been partial to the Original Series, but I think what I will miss most is how Ben always attempted to sing along with the soprano during the opening credits, especially trying to hit the high note at the end. We’ve laughed more at that than at the campiness of some of the stories.
Joe
A LONG OVERDUE SNOW. Our local weather started predicting some serious snow as we went into the weekend, calling for it to hit Sunday night or early Monday morning. They said this would be a snow event the likes of which Middle Tennessee hasn’t seen since 2003. According to several forecasters Robertson County was due to get 6-10 inches. Everyone was stocking up at the grocery store on Sunday.
We do have snow, but the storm shifted north a bit so things didn’t turn out quite like all the computer models predicted. The sleet began sometime in the wee hours of Monday morning and continued all morning. By lunchtime we only had about an inch and a half accumulation of sleet on the ground, however, it changed over to snow at noon and snowed for several hours that afternoon bringing our total accumulation to about four inches.
The roads are a mess, and the odd thing about it was that we didn’t see a TDOT truck out scraping the highway at all yesterday. (They were all assigned to the interstate on Monday.) School has been canceled for the week. Even central office employees were told to stay home. Woo-hoo! A week off!
Snow like this is such a novelty for us (granted it is a hardship for some) that it brings life almost to a stop. Not only are schools closed but many other activities are canceled. It really brings life to a standstill and allows time for things you don’t normally get to do. For example, we took supper over to Mom’s house Monday night and last night and had the time to stay and play a game of Spades both evenings. It was a lot of fun.
The boys have enjoyed the snow. The last two days the boys invited the boy next door to go sledding with them back on the farm. We don’t have much of a hill, but they had fun anyway. This afternoon we went to Kilgore Park to do some sledding on the hill there. We were having a lot of fun until Nate sprained his wrist.
As I mentioned above, this snow will stick around a bit. Our temps are expected to take a drop down to 0°F in the morning. Another wave of precipitation is due over the weekend with a brief bounce into the 40s before plunging back down again.
WARM, SUNNY HAITI. Even though Jenna hates to be missing the snow here she sounds like she’s having a great time in Haiti. She has spotty Internet service at the compound where she is staying so we only get to text with her every evening. Due to connectivity issues we’ve only seen a handful of pictures from the trip.
I will wait until she gets back to share the details, but we know they’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with the kids at Emmanuel Orphanage there in Jeremie. They’ve also worked on several small construction projects (a swing set, a basketball goal, and a chicken coop) for the orphanage. Yesterday and today have been devoted to hosting a medical clinic for the community and from what we gather they were very busy both days.
The team is due to return Friday. If the weather forecast holds true they may have an overnight delay in Miami. Either way, coming home will be a tough reminder that it’s still winter here in Tennessee.
TWELVE YEARS. Nate celebrated his birthday Saturday. Actually, he got his cake (strawberry with strawberry icing) Thursday so Jenna could enjoy it before she left. Then Saturday night after the game we came back to Mom’s house with a pizza and threw him a little party. Not quite the same as celebrating your birthday at Disney World like last year but fun none the less.
RAISING MY BOYS RIGHT. What I am about to say is no great revelation if you know me at all, but I say this to own my own geekiness. I have always been a fan of Star Trek, and yes, I’ve even been to a couple of conventions (I got to shake hands with James “Scotty” Doohan once). Whether you want to call me a Trekkie or a Trekker the fact is that I have simply enjoyed the show and it’s spinoffs, and naturally I’ve shared that with my kids.
The boys and I completed watching all the Original Series episodes on Netflix the other day. It has taken us about a year. We’ve moving on to the Next Generation now, which Nate says is a bit of an adjustment (he’s not taken with the bald captain). I’ve always been partial to the Original Series, but I think what I will miss most is how Ben always attempted to sing along with the soprano during the opening credits, especially trying to hit the high note at the end. We’ve laughed more at that than at the campiness of some of the stories.
Joe
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Unseasonably Warm
Back in the fall it seemed like everyone was predicting a hard and snowy winter for us. So far it has not turned out to be. Oh, we’ve had some cold weather--I reported as much a few weeks ago--but for the most part we have stayed pretty warm. Yesterday was a beautiful 62° here! Warm as we’ve been this has been as much of an exception to the rule and the single digit temps we had earlier. The adult in me that pays the utility bill is loving this, but the kid in me is really disappointed.
UPWARD BALL. Now that Ben’s season is over we are down to ball games on Saturday afternoons now. Nate’s team has dominated with it’s 5-0 record. What has been unfortunate for this type of league is that all but one of the games have been complete blowouts. The team we played last weekend did give us a run for our money, and had they simply played a keep away strategy the last minute of the game they would have won. Nate does not have a lot of points to his credit--there are several players on his team who are older and taller than he is--but he’s right in there scrambling for the ball with the rest of them.
PACKING. Jenna leaves for Haiti on Friday. She will be gone a week. The goals of this trip are to do two medical clinics and take on a couple of construction projects. I think the same nurses that went along with Jenna back in May are returning along with a doctor. She has been counting the days. She’s also been trying to get her homework done ahead of time which has really made her burn the midnight oil.
SPEAKING OF PREPARATIONS. Vicki and Jenna spent most of the day yesterday shopping. Their main goal was to buy some last minute things needed for Haiti, but they also started shopping for a prom dress. That’s right, the Junior Senior Prom is a little over two months away so it’s high time to start looking for a dress. For me it’s another reminder that the days of having my little girl living under my roof are getting fewer and fewer.
Funny, I don’t feel any older than I did ten years ago when Jenna was in first grade, but she sure has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Of course, with her brother now knocking on 6’2” and trying to push me around like a young bull feeling his oats I’m reminded most every day that these kids are growing up.
WE’VE STOLEN A CAT. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that our neighbor’s cat has adopted us. (These are the neighbors who live in Pauline’s old house.) Actually, I think the cat has adopted several houses around here because Jimmie and Susanne Pitt said they see the cat regularly at their house too.
This cat, which our neighbors call Meow-Meow, is a long haired calico and very friendly. We had been catching glimpses of it through the window for months, but it wasn’t until Christmas break that I happened to be outside when I saw her. She was on the far side of the strawberries when I came out and she came running as soon as I squatted on the porch and called to her. Obviously a tame cat.
Some six weeks later Meow-Meow is well known to all of us. We see her early in the morning and in the afternoon when we return home. She knows when it’s feeding time. I chuckle now to think that we asked our neighbors to feed our new cat while we were gone to visit the Jones family in Georgia when as it turns out we were actually asking them to walk over here to feed their cat at our house.
I really think Meow-Meow a dog in a cat’s body. She rolls around like a dog, enjoys a belly rub like a dog, and even plays like a dog. I understand she is a good mouser, but with at least two families feeding her she may drop her hunting habits and just make sure she’s around for mealtime.
Joe
UPWARD BALL. Now that Ben’s season is over we are down to ball games on Saturday afternoons now. Nate’s team has dominated with it’s 5-0 record. What has been unfortunate for this type of league is that all but one of the games have been complete blowouts. The team we played last weekend did give us a run for our money, and had they simply played a keep away strategy the last minute of the game they would have won. Nate does not have a lot of points to his credit--there are several players on his team who are older and taller than he is--but he’s right in there scrambling for the ball with the rest of them.
PACKING. Jenna leaves for Haiti on Friday. She will be gone a week. The goals of this trip are to do two medical clinics and take on a couple of construction projects. I think the same nurses that went along with Jenna back in May are returning along with a doctor. She has been counting the days. She’s also been trying to get her homework done ahead of time which has really made her burn the midnight oil.
SPEAKING OF PREPARATIONS. Vicki and Jenna spent most of the day yesterday shopping. Their main goal was to buy some last minute things needed for Haiti, but they also started shopping for a prom dress. That’s right, the Junior Senior Prom is a little over two months away so it’s high time to start looking for a dress. For me it’s another reminder that the days of having my little girl living under my roof are getting fewer and fewer.
Funny, I don’t feel any older than I did ten years ago when Jenna was in first grade, but she sure has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Of course, with her brother now knocking on 6’2” and trying to push me around like a young bull feeling his oats I’m reminded most every day that these kids are growing up.
WE’VE STOLEN A CAT. Or maybe it is more accurate to say that our neighbor’s cat has adopted us. (These are the neighbors who live in Pauline’s old house.) Actually, I think the cat has adopted several houses around here because Jimmie and Susanne Pitt said they see the cat regularly at their house too.
This cat, which our neighbors call Meow-Meow, is a long haired calico and very friendly. We had been catching glimpses of it through the window for months, but it wasn’t until Christmas break that I happened to be outside when I saw her. She was on the far side of the strawberries when I came out and she came running as soon as I squatted on the porch and called to her. Obviously a tame cat.
Some six weeks later Meow-Meow is well known to all of us. We see her early in the morning and in the afternoon when we return home. She knows when it’s feeding time. I chuckle now to think that we asked our neighbors to feed our new cat while we were gone to visit the Jones family in Georgia when as it turns out we were actually asking them to walk over here to feed their cat at our house.
I really think Meow-Meow a dog in a cat’s body. She rolls around like a dog, enjoys a belly rub like a dog, and even plays like a dog. I understand she is a good mouser, but with at least two families feeding her she may drop her hunting habits and just make sure she’s around for mealtime.
Joe
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