it snowed. again. i'm scared for my head.

Seriously, life right now isn't that exciting - that doesn't mean it's bad, it's not a thrill a minute, which is sometimes quite nice, actually.

The biggest recent events have to deal with the abundance of snow. We had a lot, and then it started snowing again. Apparently it's warmed up a bit as we were expecting sleet today instead of more snow. We haven't gotten either, but something far more... dangerous? deadly? The both fit so take your pick.

The snow has frozen on the roofs and has been creating this huge lips that are hanging over the building. I noticed a few days ago when sections of the sidewalk were blocked off due to the danger of falling snow (no joke, that stuff is heavy!) Today I was in my flat (3 floor European style, 4th floor American - 12+ foot ceilings and not the top floor so the top floor is pretty darn high up there) when suddenly the building shook and there was a loud crash. For a moment I thought we'd had an earthquake (forgot they don't have those here) as I knew that a semi (lorry) didn't just run in to the building... we live on a very quiet semi-free street. I jumped up and looked out the window and saw... nothing out of the ordinary. Just lots and lots of snow. And people staring back up at the building. It took a bit but then I realized there was an isolated abundance of snow relative to the rest of the street - and the cars were covered far more than they had been... the snow had fallen off the building.

So, when I walked to work today I was a little jittery - lots of areas had the sidewalks blocked due to falling snow (kinda reminds me of the FALLING ROCK signs you'll see in California, but I'm actually more likely to encounter the snow) and I kept jumping whenever water dripped on my nose, in my eye, down my neck... When I finally got to school, that's when I realized how treacherous it really is - the snow had weighed down the roof tiles and the courtyard was full of fallen snow, chunks of ice and broken tiles.

The workmen came back today and took the big, long piece of wood they used last week to knock the icicles down and tried to knock the abundance of remaining snow off the roof. They got a lot, but there's still some left... it just has to slide closer to the edge I guess. Falling snow is one thing... frozen snow is quite another... but frozen snow and huge roof tiles is obviously to be avoided all together. I wish Coral could get a snow/roof-tile-day off from school... it's nerve wracking having her outdoors walking around with her head not so great... She has a field trip this evening... one of Smetana's operas. It's been pretty cool lately - when I've come home the past few days she's been playing classical music while studying - she's acknowledged it helps her brain get in the right mood for some work.

SIDENOTE - please, please, please friends and family and those of you who might like to be one or other - I've lost all my snail mail addresses and most of my email addresses. I owe numerous letters - I've not forgotten about you - I just need your contact information! If you've not gotten a card or email from me in the past 2 months there's a reason!!! PLEASE leave me a comment with your contact information. I will not publish your comment so it will remain private and with me, alone. If you have my email then please just send it there - it'll be a lot easier.