My close encounter with Jimmy Carter #SundaySalon
Happy Sunday! Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz. Check out her post and the links to see what other bloggers have been up to in the last week.
How’s the weather?
We’re bracing for a major winter storm. The St. Louis area is in a narrow band that’s proving hard to predict. North of us, they will get heavy snow. My hometown of Louisiana, Missouri may get a foot or more. South of us, they’re getting an ice storm that will likely bring down power lines. In the St. Louis area, we’ll get a mix of sleet and snow. The exact mix is hard to predict. According to our local CBS station, Channel 4, “It’s a challenge to pinpoint which will fall where as it comes down to just a couple of degrees in temperatures at 5,000 feet above the ground.”
After the storm, we’ll have freezing temperatures for many days. So, whatever falls will be around for a while.
I bought two weeks of groceries yesterday. So, I guess we’re rooting for more snow and less sleet. We’re well prepared to be housebound for a while. We’re much less prepared for a power outage.
I’ll spend part of that time looking at real estate sites. A challenge for us is that we live in a house with a very steep driveway. That is difficult to deal with in snowy conditions and impossible when it’s ice. We’re ready to downsize to a home that is easier to maintain in many ways, including snow removal.
What are you reading?
I’m continuing to read The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear. The main story happens in 1947, during continued rationing in Britain after the war. We also learn about the Elinor White’s adolescence in Belgium during World War I and get some hints of her activities during World War II.
What are you watching?
I enjoyed bringing in the new year on British time. The BBC broadcast the fireworks along the Thames at 6pm, my time, which is much more reasonable for my lifestyle than midnight. It was a really good show, recapping some of the events of the year. Here’s the replay from the BBC channel on YouTube.
What are you doing?
We will all have an opportunity to remember Jimmy Carter this week, given the coverage of the state funeral. The National Park Service published this timeline of events.
My close encounter with Jimmy Carter was standing at the Mississippi riverfront while the President of the United States, the First Lady, and their daughter waved to us from the Delta Queen. These pages are the first and last of our high school yearbook, The Alamo, published in 1980 — our school year began with this event in 1979. I almost cried at this wish for the future: when the President will be referred to as “she.”
What are you up to this fine Sunday?
I admire Jimmy Carter more than any politician I know of. It made me cry to think that he wanted to stay alive long enough to vote for Kamala and then she wasn’t elected. It is such a travesty. What a fun photo of him and his family.
Good luck getting through that storm!
Have a good week and better weather… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I graduated from high school in 1974, and I felt the same sense of hopefulness about the future then that you shared with us from your high school yearbook. Jimmy Carter is a powerful role model for me.
That storm will even make its way down to us on the Texas Gulf Coast, though we probably won’t get freezing temps.
Good luck with your real estate search, Joy.
I loved seeing those pages from the yearbook. What a wonderful man.
Goodness me the weather is worrying, stay safe and warm.
Wishing you a great reading week
The stores were packed Friday and Saturday. My son works at a local Schnucks and he said it was a madhouse. Luckily, he doesn’t work today. Last night my sister said it was starting to get ugly in KC last night but hopefully it starts to slow down before it hits us.
Such a sad loss. But President Carter had a long full life and now he gets to be with his beloved wife.
Good luck with the snowstorm! I hope it doesn’t hit you guys too hard. Stay safe!
Ooof, hope the winter storm doesn’t hit too hard! It’s snowed here, quite a bit, and it’s very cold… and since it’s the UK, everything’s slammed to a halt. But I doubt it’ll last too long!
We have gotten around a foot of snow, we have a chance to get another 2 inches tonight, but they were off (we were only supposed to get 6 inches and it started snowing a day earlier than anticipated), so who knows what will happen tonight. I don’t think we are supposed to get ice and hope you don’t as well. Have a great week!
I hope the storm won’t be as bad as is expected. We’re expecting heavy winds where I live, but nothing as bad as what your forecast is. Stay safe and warm!
Celebrating the New Year on British time does seem like a great idea! If I hadn’t had to pick up my daughter from her friend’s house after midnight, I likely would have celebrated at East Coast time (9 p.m. where I live).
I hope you are enjoying your reading. I haven’t read anything by Jacqueline Winspear, although my husband has and thinks I would like her work.
What a great memory of Jimmy Carter! I like to joke that the very first vote I ever cast was for him. It was in 1980 and I was with my parents. The polling place had an old fashioned voting machine and the election officials were letting the kids use it to vote–unofficially, of course. He was such an admirable man.
I hope you have a Happy New Year, Joy!
Fingers crossed you “only” get snow!
I loved snow growing up in Ohio and still love it! I hope you don’t get a bad storm!
If only more politicians – in your country and ours were like Jimmy Carter. (I’m Canadian.) I live in a semi desert, so we don’t get a lot of snow. I woke up to a skiff yesterday, but this morning it is gone. This warm weather is dangerous for the fruit trees and grape vines, especially if we get a cold spell.
Happy reading in 2025!
That’s cool you got to see the Carters on the Delta Queen. What a life-long highlight to remember. Did you get ice or snow from the storm??? I hope you could get out of the driveway.