Christmas in Shepherdstown

We're lucky enough to live close to Shepherdstown, WV, a little town on the Potomac that knows how to bring people together.  Last night was their annual start to the Christmas season as well as the kick-off to their 250th town anniversary.  We usually go over the Friday evening after Thanksgiving to see the Grinch and then Santa.  Usually, Santa arrives on a fire engine, but this year he appeared out of nowhere and sauntered down to the mob scene at McMurran Hall.  Since we had positioned ourselves along the wall near the sidewalk, we were able to jump right to the front of the line this year and go in to see Santa and Mrs. Claus after a short wait.  The town was beautifully decorated this year with a huge campfire beside the Chinese restaurant, a roasted chestnut vendor in front of the library, and stunning displays in many shops.  After Santa's arrival, a choir walked around town caroling at storefronts, and musicians sat in the windows at the Sweet Shop and Mellow Moods to serenade the crowd.  We had eaten at Tony's before the festivities, but the Men's Club did have their chili and cornbread available as usual; we often eat there, but the girls really don't like chili much yet.  The town extends their festivities through today, tonight, and then next weekend again. 

Hope in the Next Generation

When we were going to and coming from WV today, we spied these young folks cleaning out the plastic from the debris field dammed up behind the Ironworks bridge on the Antietam Creek. The clogging is a result of the March 14-15th flooding, and it truly is a horrible sight to see. Not only is there a ton of logs and sticks, but there are virtually thousands of plastic bottles and other trash stuck in the mess. These three told us that they are from Shepherdstown; I'm not sure if they're students at the college, but we are truly grateful to them -- should have been us too out there stuffing bags. Really, we should all be this concerned about our watershed.

Holidays and Snow Days

Gung hee fatt choi and happy Valentine's day!! We here in the Hollow sincerely wish you peace, love, prosperity, and happiness this year! And NO MORE SNOW! -- Yeah, right. Seems that Mother Nature has other ideas in mind . . .

Today was a bit of a recovery day; we got home very late last night as George and I went to the first annual Tanner's Touch Valentine Gala -- more on all that on another post. Sylv and SG stayed at my mom's in Taneytown for the evening with my niece and nephew while we parents had a little grown-up fun with a whole lotta Stambaughs at the Inn at Roop's Mill for Tanner. We all had a great time, but the drive home was killer. Both Crouse Mill Road and Route 340 were drifting a bit and it was late and cold . . . and I had to drive. Ugh. But we made it safely. The cut-through drifts on Route 340 are absolutely impressive; I mean, they are worth the drive just to see themselves -- especially now on the westbound side. Apparently, they had to bring in Idaho snowblowers from Garrett County to get through the 15 feet drifts. Many people were stranded, but no one was seriously hurt. Even G was told not to come into work either Wed. or Thu., which is incredibly unusual. As a matter of fact, there was a state of emergency on Thu. in the county and no one was allowed on county roads except in the cases of emergency vehicles - pretty hard core.

Tomorrow we have off for Presidents' Day and then we're supposed to be back in school for Fat Tuesday a.k.a. Mardi Gras, but that is now in question . . . And next week is my birthday . . . it ALWAYS snows around my birthday . . .

Here are my Valentines and some shots from our short trip today to Shepherdstown for Chinese and groceries.

Precipitating

Whew! What a week! It's been very busy around the hollow, so I've been unable to post. In my absence on-line, we got soaked. There are a few flakes falling now (while our neighbors to the south get slammed with a vicious snow and ice storm), but a few days ago we were experiencing our fair share of raindrops. As a result, first all the creeks swelled and then the rivers. Here are a few photos of the Antietam Creek at the Ironworks on Thursday morning.

This is looking north from the bridge.

Notice the log jam

This is looking south from the bridge toward the Potomac River. I believe the water came up into Harpers Ferry Road sometime on Wednesday.

The inhabitants of this area have always dealt with flooding. Harpers Ferry in particular, having been built at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, has been flooded many many times. Apparently, they missed a big one this week. It was last in January and September 1996 when the town dealt with major floods; the Blizzard of Jan. '96 and then Hurricane Fran marked the first time in the town's history that the waters rose above 29 feet in a single year. The most devastating flood was that of March 1936 when the waters rose to 36 1/2 feet and swept away two bridges and many homes and businesses. Check out this interesting page for photos and more floods.

Oh, by the way, since I've written this post this morning, we have accumulated more than a few flakes . . . There is nearly a white-out with a bit more than a dusting already on the ground . . .

edited a few hours later to add: We now have almost 5 inches! A surprise snow for us!

edited the next day to add this link to a pic and vid of flooding at Shepherdstown this past week

MLK Day: Peace of Mind in Our Hollow

So, today we've done "nothing much," which is great. George is still out on a big bike ride in Williamsport with a bunch of other Lance-wannabes, so I took the girls to Martinsburg. We picked up a few clearance items at the new Target, then went over the mall to see if they still had a merry-go-round and train. They didn't. So we spent a few quarters on the kiddie ride-ons instead and bought some unneeded shoes at the Payless on sale. Then we headed back to Shepherdstown to eat some tacos at Maria's Taqueria and get a star lamp at Sky's the Limit. Gotta support those local businesses! I grabbed a few pix through the randomness, so here you go: SG is showing you her cowgirl boots; she donned them today with a white fluffy skirt and rainbow heart tights. Fabulous.

A scene along the canal

This is the property next door to us that just sold at auction; we tried our hand at it, but the price got too steep for us. It was kind of a fun new experience though giving it a go. We have our fingers crossed that the rumors of our young new neighbor being a little gun-happy aren't true . . . time will tell.

Shepherdstown provides . . .

Chips & Salsa from the brand new Maria's Taqueria

Sarah Grace's PB&J sandwich (w/no J) and fruit cup from Mellow Moods

Don't let this photo fool you: that long-haired beauty is in fact George, not me, and he is not watching our children. He is talking on the phone to Dr. Paul. In any case, these are the remnants of our picnic lunch at Shepherdstown's Morgan's Grove Park. We love it here - despite the gnats.