Saturday, February 29, 2020

Jorge Comes to Call


I slept until almost 7 a.m. this morning! Fabulous! It felt so good to have a "lie-in," especially with the dismal weather outside.

We're supposed to be getting another named storm this weekend -- Jorge. If, like me, you're wondering how we got alphabetically from Dennis to Jorge so quickly, you'll be glad to know that we didn't. Apparently the Spanish weather service named this storm and they use a different naming system. Anyway, it could be very bad news for Wales and Northern England, where there's already a lot of flooding. We're getting some high winds here and spatters of rain but I think we'll be spared the worst of it.

I know you're all wondering how I resolved the Chivas Regal question. (How to drink it, I mean.) I had the bright idea to buy some sour mix and make whiskey sours -- but it turns out sour mix is not to be easily found in shops. I was told I'd have to order it online. Rather than go to all that trouble, and add the carbon burden of my whiskey sours to our planetary woes, I bought some ginger ale. I mixed the Chivas into that, in roughly the same proportion I would for a gin & tonic, and it's not bad!

We got word yesterday that most school trips over the next few weeks have indeed been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak. So Dave won't be taking his students to Prague. It's a shame, particularly for the seniors who are losing their last chance to perform overseas before graduation, but we all understand why the school can't potentially put anyone in harm's way. It's a huge decision -- these trips are usually a highlight of the school year -- and I'm sure there are economic ramifications for the school.


Did you see that Clive Cussler died? He wasn't high literature, but I enjoyed a lot of his books. I read "Raise the Titanic!" in high school (back when no one knew where the Titanic's wreckage really was) and I remember reading "Sahara" while lying in bed with a virus in Ghana. He wrote some good thrillers. I wasn't even sure he was a real person -- I thought Clive Cussler might be a nom de plume or an amalgam of multiple people like Franklin W. Dixon.

Speaking of reading, I spent yesterday putting together a new blog on our school library's web page to track my Newbery reading project. I'll be posting all my reviews there. When it's publicly available I'll link to it so you can take a look. We were considering allowing comments, but apparently every time someone comments our system sends an e-mail blast to all the site administrators -- we learned that the hard way. So for now, no comments. When I say "Miss Hickory" is a tedious book, no one can dispute it!

(Photos: A rubbish bin at the cemetery with a dramatic shadow, and forsythia on our patio.)

18 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Let's hope that the "economic ramifications" for the school do not lead to the closure of the library and redundancy for the library team. I do not wish to alarm you but it is surely a possibility.

Moving with Mitchell said...

Exceptional, of course, photos. I love the bin and shadows.

Mary said...

Instead of moonshadows (Cat Stevens), you've given us binshadows. Great shot.

crafty cat corner said...

I didn't know that Clive Cussler had died. I read several of his books in the 80's and remember Dirk Pitt very well. lol
Briony
x

Edna B said...

Your forsythia is gorgeous! I am envious of all your beautiful flowering plants. Ours still have a while to wait before we see any blooms. I love the idea of the trash bins. They look much nice than barrels. I'm hoping the storm goes by you quickly and leaves no damage. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

Ms. Moon said...

I see the Grand Illuminati has found you too.
Bah.
Your bin photo reminds me of a math problem where one has to add up the angles or something. I only have vague memories of what was once so important in my life.
Sorry about the canceled trip. I'm sure the kids are disappointed.

Anonymous said...

That bin shadow is so beautiful. Great photo. Well, the Coronavirus is starting to make its way into California, Oregon, and Washington with patients that have it with unknown origins. It's troubling facing this kind of pandemic with someone as incompetent as you know who in the White House. It's all a hoax!

Blondi Blathers said...

You're drinking like a Canadian: rye & coke, rye & gingerale.
I thought you Americans always drank your whisky straight. That's how they do it in the movies, anyway!
xo
Kate

Red said...

Five good topics this morning. For some people they need a break from nasty weather.

Catalyst said...

That photo at top of your post is positively artistic. Good eye to notice that shadow!

e said...

Love this photo!

Sharon said...

I have a close friend who is a scotch lover and he would be mortified by your adding ginger ale. He tends to be a purest when it comes to sipping scotch. Don't tell him but I'd probably cook with it. ;-).
I just read a blog post from someone who lives west of London and south of Oxford. He posted a lot of photos of flooding there. I hate to think they will get hit again.
Love that shadow photo.

The Bug said...

I’ll jump on the bin shadow loving bandwagon - that IS a great photo!

jenny_o said...

As soon as I read Sharon's comment, I remembered Scotch on the Rocks (the bagpipe hit from 1975! yes, really): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UQwUpfRSww

I love seeing forsythia here because it means our spring has arrived. I hope your storm is not too bad.

Penelope said...

I am sorry to hear Dave's trip has been cancelled but believe it is a smart decision.
I think you should hang on to the scotch and save it for guests. Or use it for barter in the coming weeks. Putting it with ginger ale would be like drinking Tangueray (sp?) With grape koolaid. Ha!

Steve Reed said...

YP: I'm not worried about that. I don't think we're so close to the bone that the school would need to cut services or staff.

Mitchell: Thanks! Some days even a trash bin can be interesting.

Mary: "Binshadows" -- I like it! LOL

Briony: Cussler apparently modeled Dirk Pitt on himself -- a legend in his own mind! LOL

Edna: When does your forsythia usually appear? When I lived in New York I used to begin seeing it in March, so I would think it should be soon.

Ms Moon: It DOES look like a geometry problem. Yeah, the kids are bummed but they understand.

Robin: I saw that, about the patient in California. This idea that it's all a political hoax is so ridiculous. And yet I bet Trump's followers believe him.

Kate: Is that a Canadian thing? Maybe people who like whiskey drink it straight, but I need a mixer.

Red: Yeah, I can't write about weather all the time! LOL

Catalyst: Thank you! Honestly when I took it it didn't seem like that big of a deal, but when I got it home and on the computer I liked it more.

E: Thanks!

Sharon: Oh, I'm sure a lot of people would be appalled by my ginger ale technique. At least it's just plain ol' supermarket whiskey and not something super fancy.

Bug: Thanks!

Jenny-O: A bagpipe hit?! Are you kidding? I wonder if that was a thing in Canada that didn't make it to the USA? I'll watch the video, I promise.

Penelope: Ha! I think ginger ale is a slightly more acceptable mixer than Kool-Aid. But maybe only slightly. :)

ellen abbott said...

someone gave me a forsythia once but my yard in the city was too shady so I gave it to my sister thinking that it wouldn't ever bloom anyway since it doesn't get cold down here much but it grew and even bloomed a bit for her. then she sold that house and the forsythia with it.

N2 said...

Here's a link to a recipe for home made sour mix. I'm in Northern CA, but if we were closer, I'd give you some of my sour oranges which I think would make Fabulous Whiskey Sours. x0 N2
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-whiskey-sours-recipe-2106527