Bill's Big Bamboo: HILDA PICS

Well ... I guess things are improving here, weather wise. Not that the snow & ice has melted in any great amount, but the sun shown for a bit yesterday & that has been helpful in clearing the road in front of my house. Also, my neighbor using the front-end loader on his tractor to scraped off some of the snow from the road made a big difference in allowing the sun to reach & warm the road bed.

"Daily deliveries" -- that would be the morning newspaper & mail service -- are catching up. In the late morning yesterday, I found two newspapers, in plastic bags, on the snow near the yellow box the paper is normally placed in. I guess "tossing" them was easier than driving in the deeper snow on the side of the road ... where there had been little/no traffic. I received Monday & Wednesday's papers. No Tuesday paper ... yet(?).

In the mail yesterday, I got the Wednesday edition of the USA Today paper & FRIDAY'S copy of same, which had a big section devoted to the "upcoming" Super Bowl. I tossed it. I'm still waiting for the Monday USA Today paper.

I spent some time yesterday cleaning up the truck & running the engine. I decided to "test" the road & was curious to see the condition of the "main" road, which certainly had much more traffic activity on it & should have been clearer. It was.

Being brave, I made an excursion to handle two important quests -- [1] Get my mail at the P.O. Box I have at the Rose City Post Office. Included there was my expected Visa bill, postage stamps I'd ordered on the Internet & a box of cookies my Mother had mailed me from Florida. Waiting on me too, as well, was an un-expected BONUS -- the annual Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Edition". Life is good.

[2] While out driving -- on mostly very clear, dry roads -- I visited Target for "Kat Snacks". "WE" ... were down to the last half package in the house & I was getting some strange looks from "The Girls" over my efforts to steer them to other dry foods or canned goodies. It was reaching the point where I felt they were going to turn on me -- probably in the middle of the night -- if I didn't come up with the "Temptations" treats.

I called Hilda [Mom] when I got home, to thank her for the "goodie box" & update her on our weather "issues". Despite living the first 50+ years of her life in England & New York state, I think Mom has lost her conception of what snow & ice mean in a person's daily life. She's lived in Florida for more than 25 years now, & any time it is cold enough which requires her to turn on the heat, she's not pleased. Her blood has gotten too thin from all that Florida warm weather.

I try to write my Mother a letter almost every day. She doesn't have a computer, or, want one. She likes her "snail mail", which I am more than happy to provide. Now days, along with my letters, I include photos I print on my computer, to give Hilda a clearer picture of places I've been & activities in my life. She gets a lot of cat pictures too.

With all the "white weather" we have had, here is a sample of some of the typical "Hilda Pics" Mom is receiving:

Back of my house.