Monday, 1/5

Wow. It's a week later and we're still feeling its effects.

One week ago we had our “Bomb Cyclone”, the storm that dumped anywhere from four to 35 inches of snow across the Central UP and caused a vast majority of the city of Marquette to be without power for anywhere from nine hours (like Loraine and me) to four days (parts of North Marquette and Chocolay Township). Effects from the storm and the power outage are still around in the strangest ways, like this--

Loraine and I have woken up without heat two of the past five days.

Once our nine hour power outage (try saying THAT three times fast) was over the furnace in our building came back on and warmed us up. But both past Tuesday and past Friday something happened during the overnight hours, as we were awoken by 60 degree temperatures thanks to a furnace that hadn't kicked in. Someone came to look at it Tuesday and was surprised that it had actually worked after the power outage, and when he came back Friday he was a bit curious as to why it hadn't worked again after he fixed it.

But it was fixed, and that's the important thing. There were people around here without heat for four or five days; our few hours was nothing compared to that.

But hopefully—hopefully--our furnace will stay on and continue to keep us warm. Keep your fingers crossed.

*****

Another lingering effect of the storm? There was such a dumping of snow that the city is just getting around to clearing off sidewalks, and I took advantage of that to grab a yardstick and take a picture--

That's right. The snowbank outside of the station is 34 inches tall. Now, we didn't get 34 inches of snow; that's what happens when snow plows go through multiple times and toss crap onto the sidewalk.

But still. A 34 inch snowbank is nothing to sneeze at, especially a week after the storm, one that was so big that we're still dealing with the aftermath.  And today?  Well, it snowed another two inches here in Marquette, but apparently more outside the city as schools are closed all across the UP.

After several years of not even bothering to appear, it seems as if winter is making up for it--and more--this year.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/2:

I am never going to eat again.

First of all, hope you had a great New Year's Day. I spent part of it doing what I seem to have been doing quite a bit the past few weeks, and that's cook, and then eat the cooking. I stepped on the scale this morning and noticed I've gained a pound & change the past month, so I really should stop that habit (cooking, that is, not stepping on the scale). However, if this is indeed the end for a bit, I'd like to think I went out in style.

Let me present to you New Year's Day Kaiserschmarnn, topped with home made cranberry sauce and Nutella--

I've written in here about making the Bavarian delicacy before; it's just basically a super-charged pancake that's torn up & covered in some kind of fruit topping. Usually, that fruit topping is applesauce, but since I had leftover fresh cranberries from Thanksgiving (which I had frozen) and leftover Nutella from one of the few kinds of Christmas cookies I made this year, I decided to throw them all together in one last final shot of food gluttony.

Kind of like the finale of a Fourth of July fireworks show, except without the big “booms”.

I have to admit the dish turned out quite well, especially in the way the tartness of the cranberries played off the gooey sweetness of the Nutella. But I now think I may have reached my limit (at least for now) of dishes that take hours to prepare and contain more calories in them than any human should ever consume in a single day. In fact, I find myself craving not Greek food, not Indian food, not some insanely huge desert, but instead a simple turkey sandwich and a carrot.

No cranberries,, no Nutella, no bechamel sauce, no nothing.

I'm sure that, too, shall pass, and in a few weeks or months I'll start to get adventurous again. But for now, for (at least) the beginning of the year, it's back to normal. It's back to simple. It's back to healthy.

At least until my body says it's“okay”, and until I lose that extra pound and change.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 12/30

That was not fun. Let's not do it again any time soon.

Most of the time, the weather forecasts get it wrong when predicting a big storm. Yesterday, sadly, they got it right, as a dumping of slush, followed by snow and insanely high wings (with gusts of over 60 mph) caused massive drifts and power outages all throughout the area.

It was so bad I had to go into work early yesterday to let everyone know about it. That was not fun, nor was the struggle through unplowed streets and four foot snow drifts.

The pictures, though, made up for it a little--

In a way, believe it or not, trudging through the insanity was preferable to staying home. You see, like a vast majority of the city, we didn't have any power. At our place it went out around 2am, finally returning nine hours later. By then Loraine, who had a snow day, was getting a little chilly, so I was glad for her that it finally did come back.

I was also glad for all the food that was in our freezer, but I was happier for Loraine.

Once it finally ended, you could tell just what had happened--

Now the cleanup begins. I have no idea how long it's gonna take to remove the snow, make the streets passable, and reopen the city, but I have an idea it may take a bit.

Because that's just how bad it was.

*****

Because both tomorrow and Thursday are corporate holidays, this is the last one of these for 2025. I'll be back Friday, hopefully with the thought of what we just went through erased from my mind. So have yourself a Happy New Year.

See you in 2026!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 12/29

Sure. For once I had to be “average”.

I think I insinuated this in Friday's entry, but one of the things I did on Christmas was to eat. A lot. In fact, I figured that between noon and five on Christmas Day I did nothing but prepare food and eat food. By the time I was done, around five in the afternoon, I was stuffed. So stuffed, in fact, that I didn't eat anything until just after 4 Friday afternoon, meaning I was so stuffed from Christmas Day that I didn't eat anything for another 23 hours.

Sometimes, I amaze even myself. And usually not in a good way.

However, I shouldn't feel too bad. I was curious, so I did a little research and found out that the average American consumes 7,000 calories on Christmas Day. Now, realizing that the average American needs between 2,000 and 2,500 calories to survive, and that it takes 3,500 calories to put on a pound, the average American, after eating enough to survive, will then further eat enough to put on a pound and a half of extra weight.

Just on Christmas Day by itself.

So, when you look at it, maybe the fact that I didn't feel like eating for 23 hours isn't weird. Maybe my body was trying to tell me something. Maybe my body knew, deep down, that I didn't want to gain that extra pound and a half. Or maybe my body just threw up its (metaphorical) hands and said “I give up. Eat what you want. But you'll pay for it the next day”.

Whichever it was, Friday was my body getting its revenge.

Actually, that revenge probably extended through the weekend, as well, as I really didn't seem to eat much Saturday or Sunday. I'm guessing I'll get back to normal today, which is my busy day of the week, as I'm (literally) running from gig to gig. If not?

Well, maybe I'll start eating sometime in 2026. The way things are going, what's a few more days to recover from my Christmas binge, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 12/26

Survive the holidaze okay?

I did myself, thank you very much for asking. I spent some very enjoyable time with Loraine, did virtual visits with family members, I ate waaaaaaaay too much, and was able to just spend a few moments with absolutely nothing at all going through my brain.

It was weird. But it was nice.

Oh, and if I have to say so myself, I have the greatest parents in the history of parents.  Knowing how much I like certain German teas, they decided to err on the side of caution when getting me some--

I think that will last me a month or two, don't you?

8-)

Now I know for some of you, you're actually in the middle of an 11 or 12-day break from reality, but not for all of us. No, some of us have to go back to work today. In fact, some of us actually have work extra this week because it's a short week sandwiched between other short weeks. But that's okay; I'll think of all the work I'm doing now when I'm spending a summer half-day playing at the beach.

And trust me—I'd much rather be stuck working between Christmas and New Year's Day than be stuck at work when it's warm and the sun is out!

So matter if you're at work, off, or somewhere in between, enjoy your weekend. After the holiday, you deserve it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 12/23

I have to go leave in a few minutes to set up equipment for a couple of church broadcasts tomorrow, so I'm gonna take the easy way out.

Because, you know, I never do that.

However, I spent a lot of time over the weekend putting together my TV spot from yesterday, this year's holiday epic. In the past, I've had Yooper versions of things like a letter to Santa and “The 12 Days of Christmas”. This year, I went the poetic route.

And I stole from a classic--

I'm off tomorrow and Thursday, and then back Friday. Have a GREAT holiday filled with whatever you want it to be filled with. See you Friday!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 12/22

Who knew the gloves had it in them?

I've been wearing the same pair of winter gloves for, oh, almost a decade now, and over the past couple of years they've started to get into rough shape. Several of the fingers started to poke through, one of the buckles had fallen off, and well, look for yourself--

You know—typical gloves after being used in the UP for a decade.

I bought a new pair several years ago when these ones started to get a little fragile, figuring that if my old gloves were deteriorated that much that I'd just wear them until they were unwearable and then switch to the new pair. But you know what?

My old gloves aren't going down without a fight.

Since I purchased the new pair the deterioration on the old pair seems to have stopped. I thought by now all of the fingers would have holes in them and the stuffing would be popping out everywhere. But I must have underestimated my old gloves. I don't know if they had some kind of survival instinct kick in, or they were weren't just as bad as I originally thought, but they're not giving up the ghost.

They're bound and determined to make it through an eleventh Upper Michigan winter. They're bound and determined to have my new pair of gloves spend their fourth winter warm & cozy in my apartment.

Those old gloves do not want to be put out to pasture.

So I'll keep using them. Maybe they'll once again last the entire winter. Maybe, like a star about to go nova, they're just shining a little brighter than usual before they explode. I have no idea; I just know that I now have another one of those strange games I play with myself to keep me sane during the six long months of a UP winter.

And don't worry. I'll keep you updated. It's the least I can do.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)