We’ve been crazy busy since we returned from our motorhome vacation to North Carolina’s Outer Banks three weeks ago. Since the project that is taking up every spare moment (and more) of our time is directly related to our post-retirement plans to travel around North America, I’ve opted to blog about it in Two to Travel’s Phaeton Journeys. Click here to read the post.
When the weather warms up, Mui and I start our daily walk regimen around the neighborhood. There’s not much in the way of entertainment, nor is there much scenery. Townhomes and houses, cars parked on the street, plenty of traffic (unless we choose a path through some of the side streets). The walks are for exercise, so no complaints.
There’s a shopping center that we pass by frequently when we're out walking. Amongst the stores is a Safeway supermarket and gas station, a Michaels, a Starbucks, and several small shops and restaurants. There’s also a cemetery with two headstones on a grass mound that overlooks busy Lee Highway. One of the headstones usually has a small Confederate flag stuck into the ground in front of it. Often, there are silk flowers too. Each time we pass that way, we wonder who’s buried in the cemetery. Sure there are names inscribed on the headstones, but much of what’s written is so weathered that it can’t be read.
Well, wonder no more. Today we got our answer in the form of an article in the Washington Post. In fact, the title of my post is taken from that article by John Kelly. The mound is a family graveyard that quite possibly dates back to the War of 1812. Neither of the remaining headstones are that old. No one seems to know for sure how many are buried here — as few as 9; or as many as 70.
Armistead T. Thompson was a Confederate soldier from Fairfax. He was captured during the
battle of Gettysburg and was taken to the Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Maryland.
He was one of 4,000 prisoners who died there. In the 1880s, his father brought his remains
back to Virginia to be buried in the family graveyard.
The inscription on this side (L) is reasonably legible; not so the ones on the other side.
For those interested in reading the Washington Post article that was the inspiration for today’s blog post, see the scans that follow. (Click the images for a larger, more legible version.)
After all the near-misses we’ve had with snowstorms this winter season, we were due for a hit.
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We wake up to an inch (2.5 cm) of snow Wednesday morning.
at least that’s what Mui says; he’s already cleared the driveway.
wet reflections
It rained most of Wednesday. At times it was a light mist; at other times, it was a steady pour. As I pecked away at the computer keyboard in my home office, I was glad to be indoors. Even more so, with snow in the forecast, I was glad I wouldn’t have to deal with the afternoon commute. The Federal government released employees two hours early, so Mui beat the snow home. We were cozy inside the house when the snow started to fall around 4:00p. It started suddenly, with big fat flakes sticking immediately to the ground. It snowed without a break for the next 7 hours, falling thick, wet, and heavy.
At 8:30p, this is the scene on the back deck.
AT 9:15p, Mui decides to clear the accumulation in the driveway
even though it’s still snowing.
First he tries to use the snowblower, but the snow is too wet and too heavy.
Some manual labor is in order.
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I can’t resist clicking the shutter for a few snow scenes.
at 9:45p, Mui’s still hard at work.
The bench on the back deck has a nice soft cushion.
It took him about an hour, but Mui finished clearing the driveway and came back inside around 10:15p. I had a cup of hot tea waiting for him, but first …
MUI goes out to clear the snow from the satellite dish.
of course you wouldn’t know that from looking at this photo, would you?
We watched a bit of TV, sipped our tea, and called it a night around 11:00p. It was still snowing, but the flakes were smaller. The storm gave every indication of starting to taper off.
After a good night’s sleep, we were up at our usual o’dark hundred this morning. The Federal Government was reported as being on a two-hour delay with the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. Mui opted to telework. But first, he went out to shovel the overnight accumulation. There wasn’t much, and for that he was thankful … the knee-high snow berm the snowplow had piled in front of our driveway was enough of a challenge.
And here’s the aftermath …
We are not snowbound.
So where was I in all this? Well, behind the camera for sure. Being under the weather (darn cold bug), I was under orders from Mui to stay inside. He had to deal with this snowstorm all by himself.
When all’s said and done, we received a total of 8 inches (20 cm) from this snowstorm. Not bad; we’ve had worse (click here for last year’s Snomageddon, which came in multiple waves and dumped 55.9 inches (~1.40 m) on us). Compared to what the northeast has been seeing this season, we certainly can’t complain.
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It’s not always the quantity of snowfall that matters, however. There were far more traffic problems this time. People were stranded on roads around the DC metropolitan area for hours. The road that runs in front of our subdivision is a main thoroughfare and it was a parking lot for at least four hours that we’re aware of. We’ve never seen that happen before. In this case, the snow fell heavy and wet, and accumulated rapidly. Many driver’s simply couldn’t handle the conditions and abandoned their vehicles, adding to the problem.
The highway-turned-parking lot.
[taken with the blackberry; wednesday, jan 26]
I feel for those who were outside in the storm; I’m glad we were tucked away safely at home.
A quiet, but very busy day filled with chores that have been piling up thanks to some long hours at the office. And yet, we couldn’t not stop for a bit and give thanks for all with which we are blessed … family and friends … health and happiness.
Mui managed to put together a feast-for-two.
And let’s not forget … 29 years of marriage! We were married on Thanksgiving Day in 1981. Though the date that year was November 26, I see no harm in celebrating a day early this year!
