Sights and sounds

Walking to work yesterday, I was crossing the City and County Building steps when a very irate man stomped by, yelling into his cell phone in a very intimidating, booming voice:

I don't want to see him in that f**king house. You want to see him, go somewhere else.

A woman about a dozen paces behind him was walking the opposite direction of me. When our eyes met, we both giggled, wondering who was in trouble on the other end of the line.




Also seen and heard yesterday during work, snow flurries accompanied by thunder? Lightning? Yes, folks, it was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen in all my years living in Denver, where our motto is, "Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes."

It's just a little snow, people

The remnants were on the road last week on my midnight drive home from work. Black chunks of ice and snow peppered the interstate heading east, a sign that trucks traveling across the Rocky Mountains had accumulated enough of the fluffy stuff. When they reach the bumpy stretch of the highway, the ice is jarred loose, leaving a little maze for all of us "dry" motorists.

Then when I awoke Sunday, I saw it here. Our grass, our patio, our flowers were dusted lightly with snow. The city's first snowfall had arrived! It continued to lunchtime, the snow so fluffy and light that even a slight breeze pushed it along sideways. It was pretty. I thought of the mountains, the aspen we had just gone to see two weeks ago, the trail we climbed probably hidden by inches of snow.

When I drove to work later that day, the roads were clear. Wet, but clear. They were still warm from the day before, when the temperature rose to almost 80. Today, I see only faint traces of snow in the long, northern shadows.

And to hear Al Michaels describe it on the Sunday Night Football broadcast from Invesco Field at Mile High, we were in full-on blizzard mode all day. More than once, he said the snow was blowing in sideways. True, but we weren't in panic mode. This certainly wasn't what hit us last Christmas. Seriously, it's just a little snow, people!

Only the shadow knows

Here's a different take on the belly photo.



C. and I drove up to the high country yesterday to take in the sights of autumn. We saw snow on our hike near Echo Lake. This next shot is from the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnel. We drove up into Silverthorne to hit the factory shops, but the altitude might have been a bit much for me.



We also saw a few aspen along the way, this photo taken from our moving car. Sadly, I think we might have missed the beautiful reds and oranges on the leaves that sometimes flutter in the breeze. Maybe next year.



The crisp air in Idaho Springs was perfect for me. A woman at the Sinclair station in town told me it was gray and blowing snow around 8 a.m. that day. But as you can tell, the sky was a deep blue by the time we arrived in the afternoon.

C. was wishing for a heavier jacket. But since I'm my own personal heater, 50 degrees was no sweat!

Let it snow

Just when the tiny patch of snow remaining on our equally tiny patch of grass was threatening to leave after the warm temps this week, more white stuff started to fall late Friday. Or I guess it was early Saturday . . . about 12:30 a.m. when I was on my way home from work.

And the moment the temperature was just right, the snowflakes arrived. But it was more like a rush of the tiny flecks dancing across the headlights of the oncoming cars. Whoosh. It is here. And I have two Netflix movies, a chest full o' yarn and plenty of lounging intentions for my Saturday off. Don't be mad if I fail to answer the phone. :D

Snow days!

I've been home all week anyway, but over the last two days I couldn't leave the house if I wanted to.

Denver was buried under 2 feet of snow and blizzard conditions for about 36 hours, ending earlier at noon today. But now, the sun is out (until it sets in about 15 minutes) and our driveway and neighborhood streets are still covered under drifts up to 5 feet tall.


This was a view from our master bedroom last evening. Yes, that is a street in our complex filled with mounds of snow. I think the plow truck got stuck; at least that's what it sounded like last night.


By the look of it, the sun has a lot of snow to melt in the coming days, including the massive amount on our rooftop.

Lest anyone worry, C. and I have plenty of food, drink and stuff to do. To wit, he has been playing a Tom Clancy game on his Xbox while I've been uploading photos, updating this space and sending e-mails to friends far and wide. Yesterday, I baked 11 dozen cookies and 16 mini loaves of lemon and pumpkin bread, wrapped them in cellophane bags and prepared to pass out the holiday cheer. I think a game of Scrabble might be in the cards later. Today, I even have done a bit of crocheting and knitting. (Below: Thanks, G., for the new Ballband Dishcloth pattern! As you can see, I'm loving it and almost have two scrubbies completed! Thank God I buy the kitchen cotton almost every time I'm in the craft store. It's so inexpensive at just over a buck a ball.)



That is all for now. I hope you and yours are staying warm and safe!