... And On ...

With the help of extra anti-sliding-devices in addition to the ones already permanently attached to my snow-boots, I did manage today to fulfill my mission to post the letter to my Friend-who-prefers-not-to-use-the-computer.

In spite of being well shod, it was quite an Expotition. I did not bring Provisions when I set out; but since the letterbox is next to a grocery shop, I did manage bring some home with me. (Provisions, I mean. Things To Eat.)

Sorry - I've been reading Winnie-the-Pooh again:
An Expotition to the North Pole...


There's really nothing better to lean on in this weather.




Somehow it did not seem very tempting today to sit down and eat my Provisions at one of the picnic tables spread around the neighbourhood.





On a more serious note:

Picture from local newspaper website

The roof of a sports centre caved in yesterday, from the weight of the snow. Luckily the football team practising inside managed to get out in time and no one was injured. But according to the paper they had only 15 seconds to get out from when they first understood what was happening until the whole roof collapsed. (They had to leave their outdoor clothes behind.) The same kind of thing has happened with sports centres in other towns, and also warehouses etc (i.e. buildings with flat roofs).

Now all sports centres in the area have been closed for the time being.

A lot of busses and trains were also delayed and cancelled this weekend.

More snow is expected tomorrow...
And even more later on in the week...

. ~ . ~ . ~ .

'My tail's getting cold. I don't want to mention it, but I just mention it. I don't want to complain, but there it is. My tail's cold.'
~Eeyore~

Still Reading Winnie-the-Pooh

I'm still in a kind of Eeyorish mood.

Today (at 1 p.m.), they have not even bothered sending the snow plough round yet. They (whoever they are) have probably come to the decision that what's the point, there will be more soon anyway.

Or, like Eeyore would say:

I shouldn't be surprised if it hailed a good deal tomorrow. Blizzards and what-not. Being fine to-day doesn't Mean Anything. It has no sig- what's that word? Well, it has none of that. It's just a small piece of weather.

"A small piece of weather." You gotta love that...!

When I'm feeling "under the weather", whether it is really because of the weather or for some other reason, there are certain books that help better than others. Winnie-the-Pooh is two of them. (Yes that is deliberate use of grammar.)

One Mustn't Complain

"Of course, I've still got all this snow to do what I like with.
One mustn't complain." 

Eeyore (A.A. Milne)

PS. Eeyore pictures by E.H. Shepard. I hope no one will sue me because of the collage...

Tiddely-pom

'... The more it snows, tiddely pom - '

'Tiddely what?' said Piglet.

'Pom,' said Pooh. I put that in to make it more hummy.

The more it goes, tiddely pom, the more - '

'Didn't you say snows?'

'Yes, but that was before.'

'Before the tiddely pom?'

'It was a different tidddely pom,' said Pooh, feeling rather muddled now. 'I'll sing it to you properly and then you'll see.'

So he sang it again.

The more it

SNOWS-tiddely-pom,

the more it

GOES-tiddely-pom,

the more it

GOES-tiddely-pom,

On

Snowing.

And nobody

KNOWS-tiddely-pom,

How cold my

TOES-tiddely-pom,

How cold my

TOES-tiddely-pom,

Are

Growing.

A.A. Milne

Quotation of the Week (34/09), from Winnie-the-Pooh

Loosely connected to my other blogpost today.
(Read both, and figure it out...)

They had come to a stream which twisted and tumbled between high rocky banks, and Christopher Robin saw at once how dangerous it was.
'It's just the place,' he explained, 'for an Ambush.'
'What sort of bush?' whispered Pooh to Piglet. 'A gorse-bush?'
'My dear Pooh,' said Owl in his superior way, 'don't you know what an Ambush is?'
'Owl,' said Piglet, looking round at him severely, 'Pooh's whisper was a perfectly private whisper, and there was no need-'
'An Ambush,' said Owl, 'is a sort of Surprise.'
'So is a gorse-bush sometimes,' said Pooh.
'An Ambush, as I was about to explain to Pooh,' said Piglet, 'is a sort of Surprise.'
'If people jump at you suddenly, that's an Ambush,' said Owl.
'It's an Ambush, Pooh, when people jump at you suddenly,' explained Piglet.
Pooh, who now knew what an Ambush was, said that a gorse-bush had sprung at him suddenly one day when he fell off a tree, and he had taken six days to get all the prickles out of himself.
'We are not talking about gorse-bushes,' said Owl a little crossly.
'I am,' said Pooh.

What's the buzz

A couple of weeks ago, I passed through a little park with half a dozen or more of these fantastic trees close together in full bloom. Unfortunately, there was no way that I could get an overall view with my camera (the park being surrounded by streets and houses). Instead, I went in under the trees and took a few shots from below. This was an extraordinary experience in itself, because when I got in under the trees, I was also surrounded by the buzz of what must have been hundreds of busy bumblebees (possibly ordinary bees as well) collecting the nectar of the flowers. I could not get close enough with my camera to get any of them to pose for a photograph, though.

Standing there under these trees, I was reminded of this quote from Winnie-the-Pooh:

'That buzzing-noise means something. You don't get a buzzing-noise like that, just buzzing and buzzing, without it meaning something. If there's a buzzing-noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee.'
(My comment: Well, or possibly a bumblebee...)

Remembering the rest of the story, I did not try to climb the tree...

Quotation of the Week 10/09

.

The weather outside (still rather wintry) + yesterday's post about computer trouble made me think of this passage from Winnie-the-Pooh:

One fine winter's day when Piglet was brushing away the snow in front of his house, he happened to look up, and there was Winnie-the-Pooh. Pooh was walking round and round in a circle, thinking of something else, and when Piglet called to him, he just went on walking.

'Hallo!' said Piglet, 'what are you doing?'
'Hunting,' said Pooh.
'Hunting what?'
'Tracking something,' said Winne-the-Pooh very mysteriously.
'Tracking what?' said Piglet, coming closer.
'That's just what I ask myself, What?'
'What do you think you'll answer?'
'I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,' said Winnie-the-Pooh. 'Now, look there.' He pointed to the ground in front of him. 'What do you see there?'
'Tracks,' said Piglet. 'Paw-marks.' He gave a little squeak of excitement. 'Oh, Pooh! Do you think it's a - a - a Woozle?'
'It may be,' said Pooh. 'Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. You can never tell with paw-marks.'