Category Archives: Daily Drama

I had the strangest feeling of unreality yesterday during a visit to a local winery and it wasn’t because of ingesting any interesting substances. (I switched to non-alcoholic wines and beers 27 years ago.)

We were visiting this showplace tasting room/restaurant/expresso bar/gift shop where every service was exquisitely performed by attentive and personable staff members in a spotless architectural wonder constructed of the most expensive natural materials available. I almost forgot to mention that this elegant structure was topped by a solid copper roof with copper gutters and downspouts.

Everywhere you looked, there was incredible attention to detail. The fittings and furnishings were right out of Architectural digest. The presentation of the food on the limited, but exotic, menu was reminiscent of a posh urban restaurant. Staff members were well spoken and immaculately groomed in their subtly understated uniforms. The food, the expresso, and the specialty condiments were absolutely top quality. Upon talking to the staff member in charge, I learned that the staff included several chefs imported from top New York restaurants. This was even more puzzling, because the place could not serve more than fifteen people at once.

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It just started snowing. The temperature is 20 degrees outside and large fluffy flakes are falling in increasing numbers. I had better move the vans to the top of the driveway or we could be stuck here until it melts. … Continue reading →

Skies were a leaden gray and the temperature stayed below freezing all day. As I went about my chores, I could see chimneys smoking on neighboring houses while the neighbors bustled around getting everything under cover.

Gretchen reported long lines of retirees with full shopping carts at the Food Lion today. If snow falls, many roads will be impassible for days. A full cupboard is a necessity if you become housebound.

Even the wild animals seem to be stocking up. We have had more than the usual number of squirrels, crows, doves, woodpeckers and small birds visiting today. But the most visible sign of some great change occurring is the presence of vast numbers of deer during daylight hours.

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If the Weather Mistress is right, we may have a repeat of last December’s weather. It is twenty degrees outside and Gretchen tells me to expect several days of freezing rain and snow. Just what I needed, of course.

This delays further the replacement of our damaged roof. We still have black plastic covering the many holes created by hurricane Isabel. We have been anxiously waiting these last months for our roofing contractor to complete his backlog and begin work on our house. We had hoped to replace the roof and kitchen ceiling before snow fell. Looks like we may have to work between storms. Should be interesting, to say the least.

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