Bold what you have done . . .

I saw this list on Jerry's blog and just wondered how many I have done. 69 of 150
Someone else's Life’s To Do List
(bold what you’ve done)
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink (there were only four of us . . . LOL)
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris, just the airport
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life

Friday fill in - 4-25-08

1. When I fell in love, I just knew it was right . . . right time, right place, right guy!
2. I really enjoy sitting on my back porch when the flowers bloom and it heats up outside!
3. Oh no! The internet connection is down, I'm going to bed!
4. CSPAN is the craziest tv show ever . . . seriously, why would anyone want to do that to their brain.
5. Cheese and crackers and wine make a great meal!
6. We will soon plant our vegetable garden. While I don't enjoy working in a garden, I do enjoy the fruits of the labor.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Zachariah and I having some time alone, tomorrow my plans include Zachariah's swimming and laundry and 4:30 mass and Sunday, I want to visit my sister and do a field trip with Zachariah and Lindsey!

28 years . . . and more . . .

So, another year has gone by, and Dave and I are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary. Today. Amazing.

He is a truly wonderful person.

He teaches 1st grade at a Catholic elementary school in Cleveland. Whenever I am at the school and watching him, I am totally in awe. He has infinite patience with the students and their families.

He is great with our kids . . . and trust me when I say that our kids would try the patience of Job or their Mom . . . and he just rolls with it.

And he loves me . . . with all my warts and weirdness. And he likes to vacuum and make the bed and thinks I'm funny. Gosh, I am blessed.

Friday Fill In - 4-18-08

1. The last time I lost my temper I was yesterday when I got home from work and my daughters had gone shopping and left their mess in the kitchen sink . . . took a deep breath and left a cell phone message that went something like "the next time you all decide to bake, you need to clean up after yourselves . . . thanks so much for starting dinner (they hadn't) . . . enjoy your shopping . . . see you soon . . . love, Mom"!
2. STUPID, MEAN people is what I'm fed up with!
3. The next book I'd like to read is The Other Boleyn Girl.
4. Tonight, with Dave, is what I'm looking forward to.
5. If you can't get rid of the skeleton[s] in your closet, pulverize their bones and plant them in the garden . . . I hear its really good for the tomatoes!
6. The best thing I got in the mail recently was a note from a friend, a real, honest to Pete, hand-written, thinking about you, note.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary, tomorrow my plans include getting my teeth cleaned and Sunday, I want to work on and finish the Freshman banner (and why did I volunteer to do this?)!

Lusting after things . . . and is it a sin?

So, if you are lusting after something that is supposed to be good for you, is it a sin?

Okay, here's the thing. Zachariah got a bike last year. My bike is about 13 years old. Sarah's is about 10 years old. Lindsey fell on my bike last year and flattened a tire. When I went to change it, I discovered that the wheel was bent. She then proceeded to also flatten Sarah's tire (she doesn't recall how, really, she was just riding it and had put it away and the next day it was flat, really, really).

But not to worry. Sarah is getting a brand new bike from a neighbor who had bought it for his 13 year old son last year. The kid had the nerve to grow about six inches since last summer. Last year, he was under 5 feet tall. Lindsey is getting a wonderful bike from a friend who has decided that she, too, needed something smaller.

Which leaves me without a bike . . . . and thus the lusting comes in. I started looking at bikes for me. A new bike. One with big fat tires so that I don't feel like I'm flattening them out and I also don't appear to be racing. Something that says "this woman is just out riding her bike and maybe her butt will get smaller in the process." The pink bike above is a Schwinn Roxie Cruiser. Very cool.

The other one is a Schwinn Clear Comfort Bike.

I like them both. A LOT.

And, this is probably the bigger sin than lusting over a bike, neither of my girls will ride either one, especially the pink one . . . of course, according to them, they won't ride with me either, especially if I get a pink helmet and pink shorts and maybe a pink vest, oh, and with either one, I'm putting a basket on the front. After all, our most favorite place to bike to is the Library!

So, what do you think? Is lusting after a bike a sin?

Friday, May 11, Friday-Fill-In

Friday Fill-In #67
1. I love springtime in Cleveland . . . four seasons . . . its a beautiful thing!
2. Breads are foods I love to eat for breakfast.
3. It seems I'm always searching for my glasses!
4. A goodnight kiss is a great way to end the day.
5. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!
6. Coffee is what I've been craving lately.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to posting my Friday Fill In, tomorrow my plans include swimming, library and 4:30 Mass and Sunday, I want to work on the banner for the SJA Class of 2011 Banner!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

betcha didn't think I was going to get it posted!

Phew, where did March go to?

Easter weekend we had snow, gloom and gray. But March just flew by. I don't know if it was because Easter was so early or that the month was just filled with activities and travel (Lindsey to Dallas, Sarah to Tucson, me to Chicago -- all the week after Easter). The following weekend after Easter, we went to my sister's home in Kentucky to celebrate her youngest daughter's 6th birthday. Here she is getting ready to blow out her candles.

Zachariah picked out her birthday presents which included a baseball bat, glove and ball. From this photo the boys seem to think it is totally awesome. Aidan (the little boy in green) was shocked that anyone would buy a girl a bat and glove!

Mary is in kindergarten but had no problem reading her birthday cards. The only thing that threw her for a loop was that some of her relatives signed their names in cursive. Fortunately, my darlin' hubby is a first grade teacher and WE print everything (or we probably would have signed our names in cursive too!).

Last Friday, April 4, I wore my winter coat to work as the morning temperature was 32 degrees (F). Yesterday, we visited friends and spent most of the afternoon sitting on their porch. It was about 60 degrees (out of the sun) and got actually hot while sitting in the sun!

I have Zachariah's sweater done to the armholes. I keep reading the instructions to add the sleeves. Before I do that, however, I am going to have to measure the sleeves again. I noticed that some of his shirts are getting short in the sleeve so I think I may have to go back and add on to them. Sigh.

Friday Fill In - 3/21/08

1. Vacationing is so exciting!
2. Strawberry fields are really good when dipped in chocolate.
3. sounds like it would taste delicious!
4. Why does getting a pedicure make me feel so good?!
5. My Gram's girlhood home in Ireland is something I've always wanted to see.
6. It's sad when you see your children struggle.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting home before the snow, tomorrow my plans include going to the doctor and Sunday, I want to play with Zachariah!

Happy Easter everyone!

Our trees are budding . . .

Spring is coming . . . cause our trees are budding!

I finally finished with Fetching in Dave Daniel's kaleidoscope. It is great fun. And, I kept them for myself. Ha!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week has been one of those where I just can't seem to get off the carousel.

Monday was St. Patrick's Day. The girls (and one of Lindsey's friends) went to the Parade. They took the Rapid (our local train system) downtown and then came down to the office and then I drove them home.

Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I have had a disgusting nail fungus that the docs have been fighting with for awhile. Everytime, we begin to think it is all cleared out, it comes back with a vengence. Tuesday, he decided to remove the nail. Great fun. Ha!

Wednesday found me greating a repairman. Who, after examining our water-soaked crawl space, stated that it wasn't because of their water sealing job but a plumbing job. Fortunately, it wasn't a toilet problem but a pipe that is broke from the kitchen sink. So the only stuff dumping into my crawl space is all the stuff that has been coming from the sink, including the garbage disposal and dishwasher. A really lovely thing. I also picked up Lindsey at school and took her to the airport for her flight to Dallas. It was only about 45 minutes late in departing. When I got home, I had to remove the bandage from the toe. Not an easy job, especially since it hurt worse than it had when it was first removed.

Thursday found me at work, trying to get my act together because I am spending next week in Chicago. But, I there were crises after crises . . .

so what am I doing . . . . I am blogging . . . go figure!

St. Patrick's Day and other fun stuff

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.

The pic is of Achill Island . . . where my Gram grew up. This view is not far from her girlhood home. The wild west coast of Ireland.

When I was younger (a lot younger) my family and I marched in Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day parade. My youngest sister was a majorette (when she started, the youngest in the bunch), my younger brother was in the fife and drum corp and two of my other sisters and I were in the drill team. We practiced every Sunday afternoon, starting the first Sunday after New Year's. After doing this for about 9 years, I quit and have not been to a parade since. However, my oldest daughter went last year with friends and this year both girls are going. I have to say, while I might be tempted to join them, there have been too many years where I spent the day freezing or wet or both, to bear risking it.

Anyway, my husband decided to buy corned beef for dinner for last evening. He does the grocery shopping and since it has been years since I made corned beef (seriously, the last time I did, it was sooooo awful that we called it LURCH SOUP . . . I don't remember why but it just seemed appropriate at the time). However, I decided to give a shot again and being internet savvy now, I searched out recipes and ended up with this one:

combine:

3 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Put the following in a crock pot in this order:

2 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet, cut in three chunks and fileted
1 medium onion, cut into wedges

2 stalks celery

1 pound carrots cut into big chunks

4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 small head cabbage, chopped

The recipe said to put all the vegetables in the crock pot first and top with the beef. With flashbacks to my previous attempt, I reversed the order. I also cut the hunk of meet into three chunks and then fileted them. The reason being is that all the comments made about the various recipes said that any of the meat that was not covered with water ended up tough. I turned the crock pot on high for 3 hours and then reduced it to low for another 3 hours. I then sorted out the vegetables (not an easy task) but threw the potatoes into a pan with butter, chives and garlic and browned them a bit, sauted the cabbage with butter. I left the carrots and onions in the "broth" with the corned beef while the cabbage and potatoes were in the other pan.

The corned beef was totally wonderful, even Zachariah loved it. Lindsey isn't eating meat but she was sorely tempted. Instead she made a vegetable sandwich . . . a sight to behold.

Since Dave had bought a large head of cabbage, I only used half and used the other half and made stuffed cabbage. We will have that on Wednesday.

To top the whole thing off, I made Irish Soda bread. It was my Gram's recipe and is just a lovely thing. Of course, Zachariah didn't like that. Instead, he ate three slices of regular rye bread.

Gram's Irish Soda Bread:

4+ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tbs. caraway seeds
1-1/2 cup butter (soft - not melted)
1-1/2 cup raisins
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rehydrate raisins by covering raisins with water and bringing to a boil. Drain just before combining with dry ingredients.

Soften butter if necessary (it should be soft but not melted). Combine dry ingredients. Add caraway seeds. Mix. Add drained raisins. Mix. Add butter and milk. Mix. If batter is too goopy, add more flour. Dump into large (about 8" to 10") cast iron fry pan or use any round pan. (Pampered Chef's bakers work well too . . . cake pans do not).

Bake for about one hour. Bread should be brown and dry on top. Yummy.

Okay, so that's all I've got . . . well, except that this is a map of Achill Island. My Gram grew up in Pollagh.

March 3 to March 9, 2008, a lovely week

So what did you do this past week? My week has been controlled by the elections and the weather. Sarah and I worked the elections on Tuesday. It only took about 50 minutes of chiseling to get the van open. For the election, we dealt with a vast number of individuals who switched their party loyalty from Republican to Democrat. We also had to deal with the idiocy of paper ballots as opposed to the wonderful electronic system that worked well in November. From the comments made, Ohio's secretary of state will only be a one term public official!

Wednesday morning I awoke with a hideous sinus headache, no doubt having to do with the ice storm and wacked barometric pressure. I got dressed, went downstairs, looked outside, Dave told me that it was horribly icy, looked outside again and went back to bed! Wise decision. I spoke to a couple of people I worked with and those that did make it, spent up to two hours getting there! All the schools, including colleges, were closed on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, just as I arrived downtown, a major water main broke in the middle of Public Square. I took a cab home that evening. Traffic was still standing at 6:30 p.m.

Friday evening, the office closed at 4:15. I left at 4:30 and pulled into my garage at 6:30. The next time I left the house was Sunday afternoon when we took Lindsey out for her 14th birthday lunch.

The back yard in the height of the storm . . . and Sarah's car in the driveway, around the same time, 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2008

Sunday, March 9, 2008 at around 9:00 a.m., the storm had stopped, the winds died down and what is left is about 20 inches of snow and 4 foot drifts!

Dave and the kids spent a little more than two hours clearing the driveway. It would have been longer except that a good neighbor came over with his snow blower and helped them with more than half the drive.

Friday Fill In - 2/29/2008

Friday Fill-Ins #61

1. I'm looking forward to the election next week . . . cause it will mean I'll stop getting calls from Hillary and Obama and John.

2. I don't handle compliments very well.

3. Bread is something I could eat every day.

4. Warmth and sunlight, will we ever see them again?

5. Sprint here I come!

6. I despise tattoo(s).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and family, tomorrow my plans include sleeping in and Sunday, I want to work on my vacation album!

The House that Yarn Built

So sometimes we just knit along and make things for the sake of making things. If you are like me, you also buy yarn because it is luscious or soft or delicate or because . . .

Anyway, Christy Clark is working on a Make It Right project. And here, I am going to copy directly from Lime & Violet:

"Christy Clark, the bell behind the scenes of the Confessions of a Misplaced Southern Belle blog, is using her sock diet mojo to do some good this 2008. She’s jumped on board the Make it Right project (yep the Brad Pitt thing) to help build homes in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. In her own words:

'This year, I’d like to do something to make a difference. Many of us have yarn stashes that can keep us in yarn for years without ever having to darken the door of the local LYS or point and click on our favorite online shop. Many of us have declared 2008 the year of the yarn diet. I know that I can certainly knit all year at least with the stuff in my stash. For 2008, I’d like for everyone to donate money to Make it Right. I figure that an average skein of sock yarn runs about $20.00 and that if 7,800 knitters would donate the equivalent of one skein of sock yarn, a family in New Orleans might just be able to get their lives back on track.'

Now that is truly the power of yarn. I think she’s right. I think we can do it. Of course we can do it! To sweeten the pot she’s playing some fun and games too. Fibery goods are pouring in and she plans to do a series of drawings from the pool of those that donate…so yes Virginia, there may be more sock yarn after all. Check out the official site at The House That Yarn Built for full details."

As I said, I couldn't improve on this plea. So think about it and send a $5 or $10 or $20 donation . . . or whatever you would be comfortable with. It is a great opportunity to help just a bit.

Have a great day everyone!

Happy Birthday Dad

My Dad was the sweetest guy around. He had the patience of Job (one bathroom, five daughters . . . seriously, the man deserves sainthood!). Dad died in 1984. He had a stroke and nine days later, he had a massive heart attack. He had not been sick and had been retired for a couple of years, golfed every day and had told me only the week or so before, that he hadn't felt so good in years.

It is amazing that so many years have passed. I can still hear his voice and know that he is still watching out for all of us. I can still see him with all of my nieces and nephews as babies. He could take any fussy, crabby baby, and he would just wrap them up tight, snuggle down in his chair and coo to them. Pretty soon, he and the crabby baby would both be sound asleep.

I would have loved him to have met my children. I know that he would have loved Sarah's gentleness and Lindsey's laughter and brilliance. And Zachariah, he would have been the one sitting on our family room floor and playing with the train set. It is so strange because I can see him there, adjusting the tracks and loading the trains. They would have had so much fun together.

I miss you Dad. Give Mom a hug for me.

Friday Fill In - 2/22/2008

1. Returning home is the best thing about traveling.
2. I love a good cup of hot tea when I'm cold.
3. I often use the bus (LOL).
4. I'm reading "Mindless Eating" right now; I am enjoying it, although I find myself nodding in agreement with all the things being said.
5. My weight is something I dislike talking about.
6. When I visited California I most looked forward to seeing the ocean.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to salad, garlic bread, wine, tomorrow my plans include Zachariah's swimming and Sarah and Lindsey spending the night at a friend's home and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

Friday Fill In - 2/15/2008

1. Snowdrops are beautiful, as long as you are inside, have no intention of going anywhere and everyone is safe.
2. I'm going to get organized today
3. "Everlasting Love" is a song whose lyrics have meaning to me.
4. Just one sip and, if it is gin, I get sick.
5. Home is where I'm happiest.
6. I believe that continuous learning is a necessary part of life.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to salad for dinner, tomorrow my plans include Zachariah's swimming and Sunday, I want to work on our vacation scrapbook!

and other things

So far, I have lost 25.6 pounds . . . how cool is that. Unfortunately, I need to multiply that amount by, ummmm, never mind, to get to goal. But, I had set a mini-goal for me on December 4, that of losing 10 pounds by Valentine's Day. I have two days to lose 2 pounds, well not exactly two days to lose two pounds but two days when the end of the mini-challenge ends and I start a new one. My official weigh-in is today at lunch but it has been such a really bizarre thing. I lost weight over the holidays and in that entire time, there was only one weigh in where I gained (a total of .2 pounds).

So, my next mini goal will be another ten pounds by my wedding anniversary, April 18.

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We had a bitterly cold weekend and yesterday. None of the schools were open, so everyone, except me was home, although Dave did go to school and redid bulletin boards and updated the computerized gradebook.

Today we are supposed to get snow, up to 10 inches depending on where you are in Cleveland. Shades of last February where on February 14, it took me almost five hours to get home from work (gotta remember to put some knitting or some such stuff in my bag . . . even if my hands hurt, I can go slow and get some knitting done).

This is a knitter's blog, sort of

I have to tell you all the truth, and it is hideous, my fingers keep falling asleep. You know that numbing down to the tips. It used to just happen if I had spent tons of time knitting or crocheting. Then it started happening when I would be spending too much time typing. Now it happens when I'm sleeping. Bah humbug and all that other stuff. Give it a rest (which is what the doctor recommended before) hasn't actually done much of anything. I'm thinking that given the alternatives, I will have to give up work (the alternative being giving up knitting).

Ah well, I am going back to the doctor in April and we shall see what she says.

Friday Fill in - 2/8/2008

1. I'm looking forward to sleeping in this weekend (LOL . . . gosh that is so funny).
2. Ireland is a place I always wanted to visit and haven't made it there yet.
3. I've fallen in love with my husband, again . . . he is so darn funny.
4. Six of one, half dozen, whatever.
5. Addiction, every one has an addiction, it is in how they deal with it that proves their mettle.
6. The kids crack me up!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to fish, tomorrow my plans include bread making and mass and Sunday, I want to sleep in -- see no. 1 above!

Lake effect snow and Lake Erie

A couple of weeks ago, I was explaining to someone from Virginia about lake effect snow. Actually, it was to explain to her why the office may be closed the next day. A day or so later, the Cleveland Plain Dealer had several articles about the Lake and how it impacts our weather in winter. The bottomline is that Lake Erie has to get cold enough to freeze mostly over (it doesn't generally freeze over totally). If it doesn't freeze over, the winds off the lake pick up more moisture and it turns into snow, mostly dumping to the east of Cleveland and on into Buffalo. The following is an excerpt from the Plain Dealer article.

"Freezing season?
Lake Erie (the shallowest and easiest-freezing Great Lake) actually rarely freezes over entirely, but the shallower Western Basin is usually first to cover up.

"The lake actually only freezes over completely about every 30 years," said John Hageman, who owns a Put-in-Bay ice fishing charter company and works for Ohio Sea Grant at the Ohio State University Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island.

But an unfrozen lake can be unlucky for the snow belt. Open waters provide the moisture for lake-effect snowfall that can quickly bury towns like Chardon and other eastern suburbs.

"There's no doubt that a bit of ice off Cleveland will help cut down on the lake-effect snows," Adams said. "But that's not looking likely this year, so we may end up with some heavy events in the snow belt as the winter goes on."

Ice troubles and benefits
Whether Lake Erie freezes or not affects more than just snow-shoveling in Geauga County.
The duration and the extent of an annual ice cover on Lake Erie - and the other four Great Lakes - also has economic and environmental effects.

A cold winter, with thick ice on all the lakes, can severely impede commercial navigation and even interfere with hydropower production, according to government reports.

On the other hand, wide-open waters evaporate more readily, threatening to lower the already diminished water levels of the lakes.

A recent University of Wisconsin study funded by the National Science Foundation extends those concerns to many North American lakes - from local ponds and reservoirs to the Great Lakes.
The study, released last week, suggests that lakes aren't freezing as early or staying frozen as long when compared to records of the last 150 years. "

If you want to read the entire article, it can be found here. Fortunately, I live to the west of Cleveland and generally only have to drive INTO the heavy snow, although last February 14, we got nailed and if you want to see pics of what we dug out that day, go here. (By the way, for some reason blogger isn't allowing me to post pictures . . . so that is why I keep linking to former posts :))