Third Snowfall of the Winter

Here, you can see the same flowerpot as below, but after our "blizzard" weather event dumping 10 inches of snow overnight earlier this week. Another inch and I wouldn't know where the flowerpot was in the yard.

Second Real Snowfall

So, this year it appears we're getting our snow in February. This was the second real snow we got, about 4 or 5 inches. This is a flower pot that came with the yard. I've not touched it. My mom planted some pansies in it. But otherwise it leaves me alone, and I leave it alone - this is LOW maintenance gardening. Here, you can see by the base of the pot what our secondary snowfall was like.

Thank Heaven for Snow!

Earlier in February we got a little snow. A fellow Texan co-worker, Gary, and I made BIG plans to play outside at my place after work. It was to be a BIG deal. Hot chocolate, cookies, and snowman supplies - including non-toxic paint instead of coal for snowman eyes and buttons. And some Calvin and Hobbes classics for inspiration. Except this was only about 4 inches of snow, and it was super-fine powerdery stuff that would make talcum powder seem like grease. With this stuff, you couldn't even make a snowball. Of course all of our Ohio old-fuddy-duddy co-workers knew this, and rather than take delight in the fact that two adults were experiencing the joy and anticipation of 5-year-olds, many of our colleagues found it more enjoyable to piss on our anticipation. We were unstoppable in our plans, though. Snowman plans or no, by God, we were going to play in the snow. So we made a snow angel or two, and spent the rest of the time outside using a few garage implements to design patterns in the snow. Unfortunately, footprints got in the way. But the hot chocolate was DARN GOOD, anyhow.......dag nab-it!!

Now Time for a Stretch....

And, Two Floods in January

At some point in the new year, we went through 6 weeks with abnormally high rainfall resulting in 3 flood events for the city. Only one resulted in my back yard looking like this. In fact, this was what it looked like after I got home from work - it was worse in the morning falling the all day and all night rain. The rainfall amount? A measly 2.3 inches. 2.3 INCHES! How lame. I come from Houston where 10 inches in a half a day might cause a problem for the evening commute. The good news was that my back yard accumulation was gone overnight, and didn't reach my deck.

Finally! The Christmas Shot

OK, so I had to wait until February when we actually had snow to take this shot, much to the chagrin of my neighbors who have all since packed away their Christmas decorations. But I refused to put mine away until I could snap a few shots of the house done up with lights framed with REAL SNOW.

December Decor

Well, I've finally done a bit of decorating....Here's a daytime shot, but my tree at left looks pretty pathetically decorated - ala "A Charlie Brown Christmas". That strand has a whole middle section that is not functional for some reason. The rope lights around the columns are crooked - I know - but the paint / epoxy on them is recent, so I don't want to fasten them too tightly and make any impressions in the paint, which needs to cure through the winter. Note the newly stained deck flooring -

And here's the evening shot - it's a little blurry, didn't use a tripod. I suspect I'll have to get more creative with my red light hanging when those strands stretch out a bit. In our current cold front the fireplace is getting regular nightly use - currently my favorite aspect of the house! That blob of light at the top is a lighted wreath in the upstairs "camping room" window.

More Shameless Self Promotion

Wow - somehow I feel legitimized. I always travel with camera in tow, snapping photos to share with friends and to share with my neice and nephew to expand their worldview. Lately, I have been getting some props for photos posted to Flickr, with occasional requests to use them for various works. This one, though, caught me off guard - a journalist wanted to use it for reference to peace talks in Nepal. How could I say no? When I did and forwarded him the story behind the otherwise non-spectacular photo, he published that too (with my permission, of course....). Click here for the whole story....er, my story!

2007 Calendars Available Now!

I've opted to self-publish calendars for 2007 featuring some of my favorite images from, in no particular order: Norway, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Nepal, Morocco, and the US. Any worldwideglimpses readers who purchase a calendar get a spiffy personalized Giant Thank You! Click here to purchase..

Tools of the Trade

Playing with depth of field.

Tools of the Trade

Front Porch Railing

Here, the railings have been prepped for priming, but it's hard to tell from the photo that they are 3 steps away from being the finished product!

Column Base

This is one of the column bases on the front porch. Because of some longitudinal cracking, this one needed some repair. It's been repaired and sealed with an adhesive sealant that is fill or primer ready. The next stage for the porch is filling in the uneven spots, sanding them smooth, and starting with the primer before the paint can be applied.

Holy......hole!

The previously existing hole and light fixture. One more case in which the former owners opted to do things half-assed. The hole is just thwonked in there....and the fixture is rusted through. It's an indoor fixture, not an outdoor fixture (and will be replaced poste haste). Why bother doing something if you don't intend to do it right? Take the ceiling wood. It's beautiful tongue-in-groove, original construction (1886). Yee-haw.

This Old House Home Repair - Front Porch

I've been working on what I call my "last 2%" - the last few dozen or so things on my to-do list for the house. The current project is my front porch. The paint on the columns, ceiling, and railings was peeling pretty horrendously, with some patches of wood showing through - even the primer had peeled away. Rather than wait through winter for additional crack and peel activity, I've opted to have that addressed with priority.

Luckily, I've found a fantastic contractor. I can't call this one a handyman because that's degrading to the level of skill and quality he provides. The first phase of the porch repair is complete; next steps are filling in the low spots, priming, and painting. He has already spent some time and effort into getting the porch into its current upgraded condition. Namely, filling cracks and holes with a primer-ready adhesive sealant. Except for the surface unevenness, it looks painted - but it's just at the almost-ready-to-prime step, so I'm sure the end product will be gleamingly beautiful. And for a bonus, he doesn't mind me being invasively curious - not so much that I would do the work myself (not possible to his degree of skill), but just enough so that I want to know why this sealant and not the other is the best choice. The best part: hearing him describe the things he likes about the house, from a construction point of view, and his admiration for All Things Old.



Front porch column joint to railing (with new seal).