A Snowy Birthday (by sarah)

This year my birthday has been a bit of a flop again - most people I invited for a gaming weekend were still too tied up with xmas or had no money left to come up because of Christmas etc...

So I rearranged things and thought I'd get to see the new 'hot stuff' guy I've found who plays music that's a cross over of say Nick Cave and The White Strips with Claire and a few others but then the snow caused most other people to cancel and in the end I canceled as Claire had an opp on Monday that I couldn't let her risk missing.

So my birthday weekend was out of the window - then worse we had run out of fuel for the fire and the water wasn't working - some very nice and helpful people from the village came and rescued us and we had bottled water (for drinking melted snow for everything else!) and fuel!

And lo!

With heat down stairs our water came back - I wonder why!

Anyway so my actual birthday Monday I spent home schooling Jean (school is still closed due to snow) and tidying downstairs which due to being were food is but warmth wasn't had become a shambles!

Al had wanted to take me out to dinner with Jean but snow forbade it and due to work commitments and Barbara's washing machine in the stable deciding to jet water everywhere - the yummy home made dinner was very late indeed.

Jean stayed up to sing me Happy Birthday and have some cake - which was infact our Christmas cake remastered - ie I stuck some candles on it!

She'd bought me two lovely presents - an enamald butterfly in purple and turquoise and a purfum bottle in glass and silver metal enamald black with 'diamonds' on it - very art deco - Al said she went straight for those things in the shop! She knows my tastes well 🙂

She also gave me a purple box of purple glittery and lavander gauzy hair accessories 🙂

Most of Al's presents he had giving me when it started snowing as they were all things to help keep me warm - reusable lavander and wheatgerm heat pads and a heated blanket. The difference these have made to me is unbelievable and I'm very happy he didn't wait to give them too me!

He also got me a book on Secret Societies to help me with The Punk storyline 🙂

Rainbow Sky (by sarah)

Yesturday after Barbara's birthday party just as everybody was leaving a rainbow arched through the sky - you could see both ends of it - one behind the mill and the other up by Manscourt at the top of the hill. There was also a faint double rainbow for part of the time.

Snow Catagory (by sarah)

Ok due to the iternet issue at home I'm not getting to put post live when they are written so there are back dated ones appearing which may have been missed.

What I have done is added a Snow catagory - I have only gone through recent posts but will do the rest shortly hopefully.

http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/categories/snow/

I am also thinking of adding in just a caragory for extreme weather to be honest - I think this will be a parent catagory mind!

Of Blizzards and Floods (by sarah)

Last night saw a blizzard, this was proper low visibility, swerlling winds the lot. So I got Al up early this morning to go and take photographs of the village.

We didn't get far not becuase it was impassable though I was up to my knees in some places - no what we had failed to factor in was meeting people who talk to you!

Still we found out some interesting things about last time it was like this 1963 (I think don't quote me on that!) and how the schools hadn't closed etc... The village school is still closed - yesturday it was becuase the snow might fall off the roofs and hit the kids - sigh.

But it turns out the village has several farmers with snow ploughs who have been doing their community duty and clearing the roads! Gloucestershire is out of salt so we haven't had salt bin refills. One of ours has also been 'relocated' which is always interesting.

Last night I was a little concerned about the 'pools' of melt water me and dad abserved - these were icing over at the time but today whilst out on our walk we noticed that once the sun was up it was thawing fast and there is a lot of water locked up in that snow.

I have cleared our drain out and things and tried not to panic when one of the old ladies from the village told us of the dams they built last time to stop it flooding down the valley as it melted. By the time we got back to the bakery the road leading down was already resembling a small stream.

Not that I'm paranoid about flooding these days :/

I will try and add some photos later.

On the Common with the Sledge (by sarah)

Yesturday me and Dad went out to get supplies such as painkillers and the like - plus Barbara had run out of milk. We still have had no post and our last milk delivery they walked too us for quiet a distance.

Al and Jean however went for an exertion to the common with the sledge that belonged to Al's Dad. I made Al take the camera though when we finially climbed out of the village I slightly regretted this as I was presented with fantastic views but I would prefer to have pics of Jean in the long run!

He stopped at the church first though took a landscape and none of the church which was looking very postcard-esk.

Here are his landscapes of the common.

Jean sledging without her hat! (Bad Daddy)

Many of the villagers were out and about with shovels and there was a sense of community which I feel we are slightly missing out on. Still if it continues we will have to get up into the village more.

Al said the common wasn't very good for sledging as the snow was too fluffy and too deep but it was nice anyway - I got a phone call to say we were nearly out of hot chocolate so Jean had her statutory warm drink when they got home 🙂

The only down side to the day was that I started it off by having a painfull fall but I am amazed I got this far in without any misshapse.