Surviving The Dreadful Dreariness Of WINTER!

Today, the first official day of winter is also the shortest day of the year - the day with the least amount of daylight . . . . .

Which means it will seem like the l-o-n-g-e-s-t day. And it's icy cold. And there's already snow on the ground. And tomorrow will be even colder!

Okay, maybe you'd like to live in Florida or California or Arizona where it's (presumably) warmer. And maybe you do live there already. If so, good for you.

But maybe you're stuck here where it's cold and you're not able to move anytime soon.
And maybe you'd like to head for a tropical island but you can't. Maybe you just can't afford it and/or can't get time off from work.
Which means you have to hang around and endure the cold weather which has already (forget climate change!) made its wintry debut.
Here's how to get through the rest of December and the two dreadful months that lie ahead. Remember that starting tomorrow, it's all downhill to summer.
Each day that follows the winter solstice (December 21) will have more daylight. From that standpoint, each day will be a little bit nicer. And each day will have less darkness.
We've about reached the low point. Soon, we're on the way back up again.
So, even though winter is technically just beginning, winter's demise is already underway.
In other words, the dead of winter is really the beginning of the death of winter. Hooray!

You Learn Something New Every Single Day . . .

How To End This Time Changing Madness!

Congress has been playing around with daylight savings time  as long as we can remember.

So we "sprang ahead'  last night and we did it earlier than we did quite a few years ago.

That's why you turned your clock forward one hour before before bedtime last night.

And this is why you will turn it back again in the fall.

This also means you have to reset all of those pesky digital clocks on various devices all over your house. And you lose an hour of sleep.

Hey, I love DST and wish we could have it all year round - which makes this ritual even more of a nuisance.

This is what happens when you let the federal government mess around with the time.

I have a solution for this twice-a-year time madness: Let's set the clocks ahead (or behind) one-half-hour and leave them there.

It's a permanent compromise. In the fall, leave the clocks where they are.

Next spring, no change. That oughta do it, right?

Spectacular Autumn Sky

The autumn sky with the sun setting about
20 minutes ago in South Jersey

Spectacular!

Maybe someone can tell me what happened to global warming.
We have been enjoying beautiful late summer days with relatively cool temperatures and pleasant sunshine. Air conditioning is unnecessary.
In fact the entire summer has been remarkably pleasant and relatively mild.
And the sunsets of late have been spectacular with vivid, slowly changing pinks, oranges, blues and greys.
I took the photo above earlier this evening as as the sun set over the Philadelphia area.
Slow down, take a deep breath, look up. Enjoy every moment. Let your thoughts wander and feel your cares melt away!

Photo copyright 2008 by Dan Cirucci

Sunset, Philly Style

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset in the Philadelphia region this evening.
To begin with it was a perfect day with comfortable temperatures, low humidity and a refreshing breeze - all ushered in by yesterday's rain.
Then, this evening the sun embarked on its magical descent and lit up the sky. It was clear with a light, balmy, airy feeling - a fresh, windswept feeling.
This is why I love summer and why I treasure each and every one of its days!