Tag Archives: Arkansas weather

OWPC: Sun

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This week’s ‘One Word Photo Challenge‘ is, Sun.

Yesterday, I attended an Archaeology lecture in Little Rock, held at the Whit Stephens Conservation building by the River Market. A large group of us, mainly college students and professors, meet up before the lecture at one of the restaurants located around the River Market, then walk over to where the lecture is being held. As usual, I arrived earlier than everyone else (an hour early) so, I decided to venture out towards the river. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was actually warm, considering the last few days we’ve had were rainy and cold.

The city had fixed up a couple of the train bridges, making them usable again, but for pedestrians; one of the train bridges was built in 1884, the other one was a few years later. There’s a jogging trail situated along the river, as well as a playground, splash pad, and pavilions. There’s also an amphitheater, which is used for outdoor concerts; I once attended a John Fogerty concert there.

Along the jogging trail you will notice many sculptures here and there. Most of them are donated pieces, but a couple of them are a representation of Arkansas’ history. One pavilion included Arkansas’ entire history, including the early settlers and those who came through Arkansas, such as De Soto and other notable Spaniards, as well as notable Frenchmen.

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More Snow and Another Snowman

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My daughter and I have only been to school one day within these past two weeks. It continues to snow, or we receive more freezing rain, or it melts then freezes, making the roads slick, to which all school close for the day. Either way, I’m getting further behind in my classes due to there not being any…classes. Plus, it’s hard to get any homework done with my daughter at home. I mostly get it finished when I’m at school, sitting in the library, where I can sit in a quiet spot and work.

It isn’t easy being a single mom and a college student at the same time, especially during the winter. There’s only so much whining to go outside and play in the snow that a mom can take before she gives in. I’m trying to be the model college student and work on my research papers and other homework assignments, yet my inner child is screaming at me to listen to my daughter and go build a snowman.

Of course I couldn’t say no to that! My inner child jumps for joy and my daughter does the same. She rushes around the house looking for her hat, gloves, and shoes with all the excitement of a five year old. I proceed to change out of my pj’s and into some jeans.

Of course it was still snowing when we walked outside. It was also mushy and melting, though relatively slowly. Guess it was too warm for it to actually snow, yet it was still coming down.

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I was surprised to find that this round of snowfall was easy to work with and it didn’t take much effort for us to build a snowman. I showed her how to roll a small snowball around in the snow, allowing it to grow bigger and bigger until we had the size we needed for the bottom half of the snowman. After we had the middle portion and then the head placed into it’s proper spots, she found a stick that was then used for arms and a mouth. I found a rotten pecan that I busted open, placing the two halves as eyes, and the pecan as a nose.

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We stood back and looked at it. It was almost as tall as she was.

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Winter Fever, Cabin Blues…

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Or is it ‘Cabin Fever, Winter Blues’?

Either way, it’s another fine winter day, stuck indoors. I’m actually being a bit sardonic, but who wouldn’t be unless you could be outside enjoying the weather. Though there aren’t any slopes here for me to grab my snowboard and head out to. Nor is the ground covered in snow, for mini me to go sledding. Instead, the ground is covered in ice that has been melted and frozen, again, and again, over the past few days. Today, our forecast called for a snow and rain mix, which didn’t began falling until late morning. It just made everything that much more slippery. I decided to stay home with my daughter, since I have to drive North where the roads would be much slicker.

Though I have driven in wintry conditions, it is very different here in Arkansas, especially when you’re surrounded by drivers who cannot drive on ice and/or snow. Some cannot even drive when it’s raining, so I find it best to stay clear by staying home. My daughter finds serenity in watching the snow fall. We have a large picture window in the living room with a wide window sill for her to lean on and to also give her plenty of space to play with her toys.

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On days like this, I find myself in the office, on the computer, trying to finish up homework, or work on the next research paper for a class or two, or do a bit of writing. I think if I redecorated this office, it would have more of a calm, soothing atmosphere where I can be more creative. I think it’s the only room that still has the fake wood paneling from the 1960’s, covering it’s walls. Plus, the photos that cover the wall space above grandpa’s desk are decades old and could be upgraded.

I think I may have found my next summer project…to redecorate and rearrange the office.

I mostly find my creative energy in a mixture of places, such as, bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, front porch. Sometimes, the recliner in the living room, next to our picture window is a perfect spot for writing, especially on days like today. Anywhere my mind can roam freely.

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Lately, I’ve been spending most of that free time between classes, in my college library. Just yesterday, I had my headphones on, music going, and I was able to finally finish editing chapter one of my young adult novel. This is the same novel I had tried querying agents last summer for, but without success. It’s a tough job, being an author. Tough market, actually. Some of them were very close in saying yes, adding tidbits of helpful info that would make the next round of querying a bit more successful.

So, I began working on it….again.

There was originally a prologue, but I had cut it out entirely. Now, I added it back into the novel, but instead of it being a prologue, I made it the beginning of chapter one’s story line. I then moved some of chapter three into chapter one, so the next on my to-do-list is to edit chapter three.

I’m coming up on 60K words total…on the manuscript that is. I’m going to make that a goal that I must achieve. Once that’s done, I am finished…I hope, cross my fingers and knock on wood. I’m looking forward to seeing it finalized once more and also hope that I can send it off to the publisher very soon. I think I’ll try querying agents again, if not, I know a few small publishers that wouldn’t mind publishing it for me.

When It Storms

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Sometimes it’s hard to be the adult when you’re a parent. I like to act more childish than my daughter at times, though that’s only around her. I enjoy making her laugh, it lightens my heart.

These past few days we’ve been enduring thunderstorms. My daughter is frightened of the thunder…most children are. Every time there’s a loud noise or something that scares her, she’ll run into the hallway. There she finds it safe, probably because there aren’t any windows and it seems more closed in.

When I was growing up we moved around a lot; most of those places were in tornado alley. Every time we had a thunderstorm or tornado warnings and/or watches, my youngest two sisters and I would find shelter under the kitchen table. This was honestly the safest place we could find in our tiny house. We actually turned our kitchen table into a fort. We would turn the chairs around so that the backs would be right up against the table. Then we would hang blankets over the back of the chairs, then place pillows around the back of the chair legs. We made it comfortable and dark, though we always made sure to bring a handful of flashlights with us, as well as books and snacks. Meanwhile, our mother would be in the living room, listening to the weather on the TV, to which we could hear from where we were, under the table. We would stay under there until the storm went away.

That was twenty-five years ago, give or take a year or two, when my sisters and I made our thunderstorm fort. Lately when a thunderstorm comes through, my daughter and I would sit on the couch together, far from the window. I would watch TV, while she would have her headphones on, playing with her Kindle. Yesterday she kept complaining about the thunder. It rumbled so loud, it made the house shake. And each time it would thunder, she would dart off into the hallway. She finally just hung out there for awhile. She looked sad and depressed, not to mention she left her kindle on the couch, so she was also bored. I decided to join her, but with toys, pillows, her kindle, her portable DVD player, and some blankets. I made us a little pad, partially in the hallway, where we stayed until the storms left our area.

 

 

OMG! The weatherman said it’s going to snow!

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How does everyone react where you live, when the weatherman/woman says the forecast is calling for snow? Here in central Arkansas it’s like an Apocalypse is coming. Everyone rushes out to the store to clear the shelves of bread and milk.

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This was taken today at Walmart here in Bryant, Arkansas. This is suppose to be the bread aisle, but as you can see, the bread has been wiped out.

A few days ago, our very own weatherman said it was supposed to snow today – it didn’t. Though that didn’t stop everyone from clearing the shelves at the local grocery store. I just happened to go to the store myself, but it was for a few items my grandmother needed for a recipe. I also ran out of grape jelly and my daughter was almost out of her cereal. I usually don’t pay much attention to the forecast, unless it calls for several inches of snow and/ or that it’s going to snow for a few days straight. So when I got to the store this morning I found it crowded on the grocery side of the store and most of the shelves were either empty or looking a little bare.

Last year, around Christmas, we actually received a lot of snow, as well as ice. The trees became top heavy and limbs began snapping, falling on power-lines and across roadways. Many were without power for days, some without power for weeks. My family and I were actually stuck in our house as our giant Magnolia tree in our front yard split. One giant limb fell across the driveway, then another fell across the yard and on part of the wheelchair ramp (was built for my grandfather years ago), blocking us in completely. There was also a limb that fell against the house, pulling one of the wires out of the wall, knocking our electric out. We had trouble getting the power company to come out here to look at it, as they wanted us to have an electrician check it first.

I called an electrician and was put on a long waiting list. Some electrician’s were without electricity themselves, so those they did have electricity, found themselves busy busy. After a few days someone showed up and said we were good to go. Now the wait for the power company to come turn the power back on. That in turn took a few more days. All the while the house was almost as cold inside, as it was outside. We all bundled up under a huge pile of blankets in the living room, sealing off the rest of the house. After about eight days we finally got our power turned on. It was like this across most of the state.

The weatherman did call for several inches of snow and some ice. I had stocked up on food, but what I didn’t expect was the power to go out. Everything here is electric. Now we are better prepared; I have a little camping stove, bottled water, lanterns, and batteries.

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Our giant magnolia tree

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