Sloppy New Year

I awoke to some sunshine this morning, and it is still out there, but not for long! There is a big Pacific weather system heading our way that will be clouding things over and bring in some snow by the end of the day. I am very happy that we are not intending any New Year's Eve carousing, as it will be rather nasty out there, weather-wise, this evening. After an inch or two of snow quickly piles up warmer air will be pushing in turning it to rain. By New Year's morning there will very likely be slush all over everything, with improving conditions through the day as temperatures rise to near 40 degrees. From there the weekend will be rather mild and cloudy, with a few sprinkles of rain or a little drizzle. Highs on the weekend will be in the mid to upper 30s, with lows near freezing.

This is New Year's Eve day...out with the old and in with the new (soon)...2009 was quite a year, and I am sure that 2010 will be just as eventful. My hope and prayer for all of us is that we can get through it safely and joyfully. We all must remember that God never gives you more than you can carry, and is always there to carry your burden for you, if you let him.

Just A Dust

As expected, a little bit of snow came our way overnight...a few tenths of an inch. We will probably be a little flaky at times today, but again, it won't amount to much. Our total snow from last night and today should be all of an inch or less. More snow will be coming in later tomorrow afternoon, but turning to rain by New Year's Day morning.

I'll be back out on the court, tennis and basketball, this morning. First a little tennis practice with Kay and Beth, and then a couple of basketball games to referee in Cheney. I don't know what what level, or where the teams will be from, but the first is high school boys at 11:00am, and then a girls game at 12:30pm. All I know is that it won't be varsity.

Oh What A Night!

At the 11pm service last week on Christmas Eve my message was titled "Oh What A Night", after the song that Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons did back in the 70s. Of course, the relation was to the events of the first Christmas some 2014 or 2015 years ago. The same could be said about tonight, for very different reasons. My Wisconsin Badgers beat Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl, and the score was no indication of how much better the Badgers were than "the U". I am flying high, and will take a positive attitude through the rest of the week...not that I wouldn't have anyway...but this certainly helps!

We are in line for a little bit of snow later tonight into tomorrow morning. The accumulation will be around an inch, maybe a bit less. I have to drive out to Cheney tomorrow morning to officiate a couple of basketball games, so I am hoping that the roads aren't too bad. They shouldn't be, but you can never count on the other drivers. Otherwise it will be another quiet day in a week that I am trying to lay as low as possible in.

Bless the Badgers!

A Little Bit Of Snow Coming

The sun is shining again this morning. It is actually rather nice. Temperatures will be around 30 this afternoon with a partly sunny sky. Late tonight and tomorrow morning there will be a little bit of snow that comes our way. It looks to be an inch or less for the Spokane area, with a little more, 1 to 3 inches down across the Palouse and into southeast Washington and the southern Panhandle of Idaho. The system bringing the snow will be weakening and splitting in two, with the stronger portion passing by to our south. After that more snow is expected by New Year's Eve, but that should turn to rain by morning on New Year's Day, so it will be a sloppy and slushy mess to start the new year on Friday. That's okay...I won't be going anywhere.

As I mentioned last night...I need your help. The Wisconsin Badger football team will be taking on the Miami Hurricanes in the Champs Sports Bowl this evening, kickoff is at 5:00pm PST. I need all of you to be in front of your TVs, tuned to ESPN, cheering for the mighty Badgers to weather the storm and beat Miami. If all of us do our part, and cheer wildly, victory will be assured...Bless the Badgers!

Hard Day's Night

Tough day...let's see...tennis this morning was somewhat successful. I had the opportunity to take a nap. This evening we all went to a movie, and it was all topped off by a nice dessert of pumpkin eggnog pie. Not too bad a day? The movie was "Blind Side", and I would highly recommend it, as I would the pumpkin eggnog pie. I can share the recipe if anyone is interested.

Tomorrow evening is the Champs Sports Bowl. Champs are those stores in the malls that sell shirts and hats at way overinflated prices. The significance of the Champs Sports Bowl is that the Wisconsin Badgers are involved, playing the Miami Hurricanes. The game is in Orlando, Fl so it seems to be a home game for Miami. That is why I need all of you to tune in and cheer on the Badgers at 5:00pm Pacific Time, 7:00 Central and 8:00 Eastern. GO BADGERS!!!

Gonna Get A Bit Messy

After more than a week of quiet and cool weather, this week looks a little more eventful. Today won't feature much, just a few flurries, and tomorrow looks to be nothing special either, but by late tomorrow night into Wednesday a little snow will be coming our way. It won't be a lot, as the system producing it is week, but it should cover the ground with an inch or a little more by Wednesday afternoon. Later in the week more snow will be coming, probably New Years Eve into New Years Day. This is going to be another transition situation, as we go from a cold weather pattern to a warmer one, so after a few inches of accumulation the precipitation will be changing over to rain again Friday into the weekend. Temperatures will stay below normal through Thursday, with highs in the mid to upper 20s, then rise into the 30s Friday and could reach 40 degrees this weekend.

And now, after eating my way through the Christmas holiday, it is just about time to head back out onto the tennis court. Uff-dah!

More Pictures

Have camera...will travel! I told you that I got a new camera from my dear wife for Christmas, so I am trying to put it to good use. These pictures were taken earlier today in the new church building for St John's Lutheran in the Latah Valley of Spokane. As you can see the walls are all painted so now the floors can be laid, the woodwork installed and all of the other finishing work can be done. We are now entering the home stretch of the building project, and all should be done by the middle to latter part of next month, January. We had hoped to be able to worship in the new facility for Christmas, but that was a little too ambitious. Considering that there wasn't a stick standing vertical on July 1st of this year it is pretty amazing that we have come this far in just 6 months. Over the next week or two the changes in the interior of the building will be amazing. I will keep you posted with more pictures...have camera...will travel!