I was getting tired of raking anyway . . . .

No snow plows over here this morning.  I don't care if we get ten inches on this first day of spring.  I'm NOT plowing.

My arms and knees are feeling some new aches and pains, thanks to that practice I had with the lawn rakes over the past two days.

I'm not plowing because I raked most of the stuff we had plowed onto the lawn over the winter---a whole lot of heavy gravel, to be specific.

Now, after two days of lawn work, it time to use different muscles, time to put those rakes away and time to get back in tune with the snow shovels.

Bill just called.  He's in Moscow and says it's snowing there too.

I proudly announced to him that I had NOT uttered ONE cuss word this morning, not one, two or ANY, as a matter of fact.

Maybe it's my mini Lenten sacrifice.  

Or, maybe it's cuz none of those cuss words have done any good anyway.

The snow keeps coming.

Have I mentioned before that the calendar gods got it all screwed up this year?

This is really January 20, ya know.

When the calendar gods sent out this year's schedule, someone on the staff wasn't paying attention to business and messed up, piling the 2012 monthly sheets in the wrong order.

All this time we've been thinking we were two thirds of the way through March.  

We just weren't paying attention in January.  

For some reason---probably wishful thinking that we might just get a good weather deal for once in our lives---that bare ground and those nice walks through the woods failed to give us any inkling that we were actually experiencing a glitch in the schedule. 

We had March in January. 

Now, we're making up for January in March. 

Mother Nature never short-changes us when doling out winter misery.  We oldsters should know that by now.

But we still cling to hope.  As they say, hope springs . . . .

Damn, why do they use that word "spring"?

Oops, broke my Lenten discipline, and the day is young.

I might be weak on the vow of not cussing on this first day of spring, but I'm not bringing that plow out to redistribute today's snow and all those rocks back onto the lawn for anything.

This is Tuesday Twitterdum Day so a few news bits are in order.

I saw Rick and Ann Gehring yesterday at Yoke's.  Faithful readers may remember that Rick spent most of 2012 recovering from a massive stroke, including four months in hospitals between Florida and Washington.

Well, I'll tell you, he looks great.  He still has problems speaking, which for Rick, THAT IS A HANDICAP, but he's making the best of it.

We had a great time visiting and causing shopping-cart congestion near the pharmacy department.  

In the midst of that congestion, along came one of my former students and her family.  She proudly announced to us that she had earned her Master's Degree and now has her own nurse practitioner practice. 

She told us of being discouraged from even considering going to college because she'd probably never make it.  With that "advice," her determination kicked in.

Against some pretty formidable odds, she persevered and met a very impressive goal.

Our shopping-cart congestion yielded an inspiring moment for the three of us former teachers as we listened to her story. 

It's always nice to be reminded that the human spirit can conquer the most discouraging of odds.

Rick's recovery reflects a testament to that too.  

Speaking of conquering discouraging odds, those birds outside the window are singing a happy tune in spite of the January weather. 

Happy Winter.  Hope . . . . [fill in the blanks]