What Happened To Winter?

Yes, there was the blizzard that hit the northeast and I get that there are enough storms happening that The Weather Channel has begun naming the storms, but we have not had winter here in the northwest!  It is frustrating to be sure and I miss at least one good storm that has everyone talking and the city in a sort of shutdown mode if only for a day or so.  I love it when Mother Nature surprises us and makes us all slow down and pause.  There is the silence that comes from a good snow storm.  It is a time to pause and at the same time see the world through a different perspective. 

The mountains have had good snowfall for the skiers and snowboarders which is just lovely, but here in the city we have had a whole lot of nothing.  Do not get me wrong, we have had a few really awesome rain storms this winter and even on a day like today when the sun is shining and it still has a crispness to the air it is a wonderful experience.  But really, how can you call it winter and not have one good storm.  The local news teams are starting to say we "dodged a bullet" and yet when I look at the calendar it seems we still have another month of winter to go.

Since I have been cooking in a lot these past two months, I guess I would like to have a good storm to go with that comfort food I have been enjoying.  By the way, last night I decided to cook some chicken for dinner.  I learned an important lesson, do not get interested in a movie when you have the chicken breasts under a broiler, it can only lead to bad things.  Yes, they were a bit charred when I got them out, but scraping them a bit left two fine pieces of poultry and cut up on a salad made for a fine meal. 

Today was our weekly management meeting and it is never a happy time.  I have found I like to jump in and share what I need to and then sit back and hold my breath.  It is sad really, how much I loathe coming into the office anymore.  It was never that way before, but after last week's tele-communications fiasco, I am finding that you just can never be good enough even when you are cleaning up other people's messes.  A simple thank you does not take a lot of energy to share.  Alas, now I need to put on my thinking cap for what is in store for this evening's dinner plans.