Snowy Weather Weekend Open Thread

Well, here we are with another big snow storm blanketing the East Coast, or parts of it anyway. Well, maybe not so much where we are, though we did have some (very) light flurries here Saturday morning. Mainly, we are just getting a bunch of rain. I should say, MORE rain. Ugh. The worst part about it is the impact it continues to have on the horses at the barn, including our beloved Jordan. The seemingly incessant rain we are getting is affecting the horses’ coats and hooves in a BIG way, and Jordan is no exception. We have taken to calling him “Fuzzy Wuzzy” since he has had to have a bit of a shave. It is even worse on the hooves of these horses. There just isn’t a whole lot to be done for it, unfortunately. Weather just IS.

But in my home town of Charlotte, NC, they are getting a fair bit of snow. I am sure those of you who routinely have snow will find this anecdote from my childhood a bit funny. One year when I was in elementary school, we got two inches of snow – TWO WHOLE INCHES!! Naturally, we were outside making snowmen, running inside for hot chocolate, all of that good stuff. And we were out of school for a WEEK. I swear. An entire week. It is Charlotte, after all, and we aren’t exactly used to big snow storms, ergo, we don’t have the equipment to move it either. Back then, that was especially true, not to mention some of the more rural areas that were two lane, hilly roads. They just stayed too icy for the school buses to travel around them safely. That might be less true now, but still – it is a HUGE event for us.

And as you have no doubt heard, Washington, DC, is just about shut down.  I don’t want to make too light of this, since they are calling it a “life and death blizzard,” one of “historical” proportions, for the Northeast. Flights have been canceled, road conditions deteriorated, and the wind isn’t helping matters.

That said, I appreciate that many of y’all who routinely live with snow are thinking this is just, well, normal. I don’t think the media ever freaks out this much about Wisconsin or Minnesota getting feet of snow. But we aren’t used to it, that is for sure, and too many people haven’t the foggiest (!) how to drive in it, or have the sense to stay off the roads because they don’t know how to drive in it or they know others don’t know how to drive in it. Hopefully, not too many people will lose power – a big problem, especially if they don’t have alternate sources of heat.

But since it is going to be a cold, snowy weekend, I have a couple of things to share with you to bring a smile to your faces as the insanity of the Campaigns and fallout from Obama’s policies, particularly in regard to Iran, continue.

Along those lines, let me just say, the Congress sure as hell better step in to thwart Obama’s moves to make it easier for IRANIANS to get Visas into the USA. His attempts to undermine United States’ National Security are astonishing. And to cave to YET another demand from Iran is just mind-boggling.

But no more so than the affirmation of what many of us knew would happen with this whole Iran deal and the money they were going to get. Sec. John Kerry had to acknowledge that, um, uh, yeah – terrorist groups in Iran are gonna get their hands on some of that loot. AWESOME!!! Way to go! Thanks so much for keeping Americans safe – NOT.

Ugh. It is definitely time to take a break from all of this political insanity, don’t you think? Let’s begin with this heartwarming story about a young woman who is a gymnast. But that isn’t all of her story. From HuffPo:

[…] According to a blog from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, Katherine was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia back in 2011. The gymnast and avid CrossFitter needed her leg amputated after doctors discovered an infection in her knee joint. Since then she’s been through remission, relapse and is now once again in remission. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

Seeing is believing. Check out Katherine’s balance beam routine below:

Isn’t that just great? Good for her for getting back up on the beam. Heaven knows, that isn’t easy with two real legs, much less a prosthetic. The courage, tenacity, and grace this young woman demonstrates is moving indeed…

And then there is this. A friend had this up at Facebook. It is just TOO cute not to share for a Weekend Open Thread:

Isn’t that so cute?? I love kittens. I mean, really, who doesn’t? AND  studies show that watching all these cat videos are GOOD for you. Bonus, right?

I bet watching goat videos are ALSO good for you, especially baby goats in PAJAMAS:

C’mon, how CUTE is that?! They are fast little things, too. I just love watching them bouncing all around. Adorable! And there are a TON of cute videos of these little bouncing babies. So, so cute.

Well, that’s it for me. I hope you all are safe, sound, and WARM. Feel free to share stories, music, or cute videos. This is the Weekend Open Thread.

Tags: Iran Deal, President Obama, Sec. John Kerry