Reflecting sunset

from a few days back...

Even more white stuff

Some would say this is beautiful... but to me it's sheer agony.
The official measurement at 7 pm was 45 cm but it looks much more like 60 to me. And still falling...

Flash 55

He plodded through the fresh-fallen snow, slowly but deliberately. He wasn't looking forward to what he he had to do. He approached a house at the end of a cul-de-sac and retrieved a key from his pocket. He wished his brother had told him where he kept the incriminating documents before dying in his arms.

3WT (in 139 characters)

He never meant to roblet her by his gnathonising but a streak of scaevity caused by a series of events made him lose the love of his life.

Weather report in 5-7-5

briefly the grey sky
gives way to some colour...
snow in the forecast

A lone dove

in freezing cold
she sits alone
a dove
on a snow-dusted bough
cooing
into the grey void
wooing,
maybe rueing?

... no response

Microfiction Monday

with the fabulous hostess Susan at Stony River

That's it! I'm moving out!
Can't stand the noise those folks upstairs make all the time partying.
Worse still, they never invite me!

A bit of me...

... and a reflection

Some musing on a Saturday evening

My faithful old laptop has become of age. It still works, more or less, but... it stutters and freezes at the most inconvenient times. It takes forever to run certain programmes. And most annoying of all, waiting for one or two of my favourite blogs to load is a trying exercise in patience (not that they load fast elsewhere either).

So, the obvious conclusion is I need a new laptop. The question is what to buy. A desktop PC is out of the question for space issues. It has to be portable and durable and a lot of disk space is a must because I don't want to search for my old photos on gazillion CDs (I know there are such things as external disks and so on but...). I have never used a Mac before so I don't think I want to go there and my budget has limits. Now, I'm not a tech person and I'm reluctant to learn more than I need to. I could go to a tech store and ask for advice but it's good to have some info before taking the plunge. And there's too much info available for an analphabet like me. Since one does not buy a new computer every few months I don't want to rush things as long as I don't have to but would still like to obtain some relevant information. Oh well, I guess I'll make myself busy in the near future...

Puppy love (Flash 55)

He loved her with a passion. Waited patiently and greeted her at the door when she came home from work. He enjoyed their long walks together. When she sat on the sofa he would lay his head in her lap and she would cuddle and caress him. All in all, he was a happy dog.

Winter can be pretty, too

The shame is, though, that such beauty only lasts a couple of hours after which we get days, even weeks of dull grey world...

This was yesterday. And today was as dismal as it gets... sub-freezing temperatures with a thick grey cover of fog and clouds not letting any light through...

Random haiku

frosty morning
a dry leaf rides
an escalator

On courtesy and ageing

Up until today I thought I was the one to give my seat to older persons. So, imagine my surprise this afternoon on an almost full bus when a young woman, most likely still a student, offered me her seat. I smiled, thanked her, and said I had always thought that was my line and had never thought about claiming a seat to myself. She looked a little embarrassed but smiled back and remained seated.

Actually, the surprise was twofold: first, that good manners still haven't died out completely; and second, do I really look so old and worn that someone might think I can't take a 20 minute ride home standing. Truth, I did age visibly in the last year or so and I'm in a desperate need of a hairdo (it's coming tomorrow) which surely contributed to my somewhat ragged look - I have early greying in my genes. However, I always looked younger than my real age and don't feel old at all - not that I really am - but the time is obviously not on my side and that is not the easiest thing to come to terms with.

Microfiction Monday

the hostess of which is Susan at Stony River



"Aphrodite, are you ready?"
"Almost. What's at stake this time? A golden apple? Fine. I know just how to make that human give it to me."

The faces of a mid-January Sunday

8.30 a.m.


11 a.m.


3.30 p.m.


4.10 p.m.


4.50 p.m.

At last!

This is just about as much sun as we have seen in two weeks. The sky opened up just for about an hour before sunset and let us see there still is such a thing as blue sky (albeit in patches) and the sun, pale though it may have been. More clouds and perhaps some snow to follow, though.

Flash 55

The melting snow and lengthening icicles (by the way, the sky is still grey and dismal) reminded me of an incident that actually happened some years ago. However, I allowed myself a bit of creative freedom.

Passer-by killed by stiricide
D.U., 84, was walking along the main street when, suddenly, a 60cm icicle fell from the eaves, hit him in the head and killed him on the spot. The deceased was a World War 2 veteran and a member of a squad renown for their usurious diversions during the German occupation.

I hate winter

Winter is hard on all living things. The pine in the photo is hanging on in spite of its drooping limbs weighed down by the heavy snow but my heart sank when I saw a few of its uprooted relatives in the city park.

Did I mention the constant lack of sunlight is driving me insane?

Haiku day

treacherous road
the swirling dance of snowflakes
in the headlights

Monochrome world

I don't even have to convert my photos to make them appear B&W. Truth be told, some colour can be found but more or less only where the graffiti artists had a go. But here are both versions of a photo taken today.

Unofficial MFM

"Why did you throw yourself from the bridge?"
The boy, still shivering, replied: "I wanted to know what it's like to be a Pooh stick."

Colour(less)

I'm so tired of this monochrome world surrounding me that I played some with the colour so... oh well, I realise this patch of snow looks a bit like a dog with a bladder infection pissed on it but... at least it's not grey...

Reflecting on snow

A somewhat confusing photo but it gives some perspective on the amount of snow we got in the last few days. Official measurement was 44 cm (about 18 inches) but it sure seemed more in the area where I live (which is quite possible as the density of precipitation can vary even within a few kilometres of the weather station). We weren't spared snow showers today either but they didn't add much to the existing snow cover. I'm still nursing a cold so I didn't venture outside at all today.

Fairy Tale or Nightmare?

Definitely no fairy tale for me.

We haven't had a day without snowing since Sunday. And the white stuff (I'm tempted to call it something stronger) just keeps accumulating. It's driving me mad already! And, according to the weather people there's more of the same to come and there is no end to this madness in the foreseeable future! I want to burrow in a den and hibernate this misery away!

Tagged!

Thom tagged me with a meme called EMINENT EIGHTS - whatever that is supposed to mean. Now, if I do memes at all I do them my way and don't give a flying fig about the rules.

Oh well, here goes:

8 TV shows we like to watch:
(we? who on earth is 'we'?)
I reckon I should rephrase this question to
8 TV shows I remember watching in the last 5 years
(and I'm still not sure i can name 8)
oh well, let's try then:

CSI: Miami
CSI: New York
CSI: Las Vegas
Without a Trace
Shark
House
Midsomer Murders
Foyle's War


8 Favorite Places to Eat & drink: I don't think I even go regularly to 8 different places, and even if I did, they would mean absolutely nothing to anyone living outside Slovenia


8 Things I Look Forward To:
end of this boring snow/rain cycle (the prospects are bleak)
the sun (when, oh when...)
longer days
recovering from the cold
spring
good food
good drink
hanging around with friends


8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
(happened to me or happened in general - can't you be more specific?)
woke up
went to work
it f**ing snowed again
coffee with friends
home from work
have dinner
watch sport on TV
blog a little


8 Things I Love About Winter:
Pft, whoever dreamed up this question must be a masochist or has never spent a winter someplace like where I live
8 Things I Loathe About Winter is something I can answer, though:
snow in the urban areas
slush ditto
cold
fog and low clouds (especially low clouds hanging above the place forever)
no sun for weeks
short days
having to wear heavy clothes
christmastime


8 Things I Am Passionate About: Passionate? Moi? Pft!
Ok, here's a few things I enjoy, sort of

good food
good drink
photography
friends (when they don't break my heart)
sea
sun
warm weather
a good book


8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:
erm... I don't use phrases in English all that often but
Pft!
is surely no.1
As for the rest...:
Oh well...
Beats me
I'm sorry
So what
Shit
I love this (hey, I blog, too)
Oh no!


8 Things I Learnt from the Past:
I often wonder whether I have learned anything at all...

You don't choose your family
Don't pretend to be who you are not
Think before you speak
Always mind your Ps and Qs
A broken heart is a horrible thing
Humans are disappointing
Fair play won't get you anywhere but it may win you a friend now and again
Treat everybody with respect


8 Blog friends we want to tag:
I am so not doing this and nobody can make me!

3WT in 55

The beast snapped at Sheitan's thropple but the mutt evaded the attack. No second attempt ensued and the two adversaries stood staring at each other in a stalemate.

"You two really are incompossible," said the man, harling startled Sheitan away from the beast. "Perhaps rescuing that orphan cougar wasn't such a great idea after all."

The song says it all...

Well, the title at least...

Another snow day

The sun didn't last long... it started snowing yesterday around noon and hasn't stopped since. Luckily the snow is dry and fluffy and thus not too appalling - for now at least. However, worse is yet to come: more snow and yet more snow mixing with rain later on and so for at least another week...

Besides, my (in)significant other has contracted man flu and getting ill is the last thing I need now.

Microfiction Monday

A year ago Ruby sneaked from the party to meet with her lover.
Now she will make sure nobody sees her when she deals with her blackmailer.

Almost a miracle

I stopped counting the dismal grey and rainy days we've been having for seemingly forever when I woke up this morning to see this. And the blue sky held throughout the day which, quite understandably, drew out masses of people crowding on every path in the neighbourhood. Crowds make me nervous, though, so I didn't join thefrenzy for long.

But guess what's forecast for tomorrow? Clouds and snow, and then more of the same for the rest of the week...

Weekends are supposedly for reflecting

So, here's a simple one...

For Thom

and, of course, anybody else who chances by

Fire in the sky...

Actually, smoke on the water too - after the rain had stopped the fog drew in so these are about the best I could muster on the occasion.

Happy 2010!

If not exactly happy, I'm glad 2009 is finally behind me.

I wish everybody that about a year from now you sit down and say, "Wow, this twenty ten was insanely good! If only the next year were just as cool!"