Thursday, February 21, 2008

Goodnight, moon

(Photo from http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html)

I watched the lunar eclipse last night. In 10-minute increments. I dashed out of the house onto the walkway crossing the front yard and stood in the -16 degree night, shuffling my feet and staring up as the Earth's shadow took an increasingly larger bite out of the bright white moon, listening to my neighbour's dog barking, and a slight breeze rattling the dry brown leaves still stubbornly clinging to the branches of my oak tree. Then I vaulted the stairs and went back to the welcoming warmth of the living room for a 10-minute warm-up, before doing it again. From 8:30 til just past 10:00.

When the eclipse was almost total, I tried to wake Leah up to watch it with me, but she was sleeping so deeply -- at one point I had her semiconscious and sitting up, but as I turned to get her some clothes, she had flopped back over and was sleeping again. I let her be.

The moon turned an eerie orangy red colour. I can only imagine how an eclipse might have scared and amazed people living long ago.

I didn't set up Leah's telescope, so I didn't get to check out the rings of Saturn, it was too cold to set it up outside. (I really wish they had scheduled this for a warmer time of year :-).) But I did see Saturn, it was the bright star underneath and to the left of the moon. The skies were clear and the view was amazing.

The temperature dropped overnight, and it was -20 when I left my car for the 5-minute walk from the church parking lot (where I leave my car) to my office. My upper body was all snug in my down jacket. My feet were nice and warm in my Columbia boots. But what was in between, man oh man, was it ever cold. I think I can see a growth industry for Ottawa. Down pants. No, really, who wouldn't want to slide their goosefleshed legs into a warm cushy pair of down pants? Or, if the pants seem a bit over the top, how about down undies? Yeah, that's the ticket, but they'd have to be down granny panties. More coverage means more warmth. A down thong would be kinda pointless. You'd want as much coverage as possible. Which brings me to the ideal brand name: Total Eclipse Panties. (Get it? Covering up the moon? Sometimes I just crack myself up.)

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:12 PM

    We were thinking that same thing: that we would be FREEEEEEEAKED OUT if we didn't know what an eclipse was.

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  2. LOL, love your idea for the panties. That's just too funny. I didn't even know there was an eclipse last night, how sad is that?

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  3. Anonymous2:26 PM

    TEP's...love that idea :-)

    I own a pair of down pants. Actually they're jeans, with a down-quilted flannel lining. They rock! Cablela's, maybe? Bass Pro Shops, perhaps?

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  4. A down thong? *snicker*

    You can get fleece and flannel lined pants from L.L. Bean.

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  5. I had the SAME EXACT THOUGHT about down pants this morning as I waited for the school bus with one of my daughters. And I'm not even in Canada, so it was not -20 degrees, but my legs were cold anyway.

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  6. LOL..too funny...I hope they make them big enough for the full moon-ed women!!

    "crack" yourself up....lol!!! Hmmm....I obviously love a good butt joke!

    I somehow managed to pretty much miss the whole darn eclipse!

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  7. Anonymous8:05 PM

    I just felt really really little and it was a bit odd when there was no moon. I felt kind of lost...

    Panties! I am all about feather panties...

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  8. I missed the eclipse last night. I was on a bus on the way home from a field trip, and it was on the opposite side of the bus!
    Minus 20? Down panties? Yikes!LOL

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  9. Down panties? Aren't they called Pull-ups?

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  10. Anonymous4:55 PM

    Okay, there could be the "full moon" model (grandma panties), "half moon" model (bikinis), "crescent moon" model (French cuts)...but what to call thongs? "New moon", cause there ain't nothing there?

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  11. How cool about the eclipse. It has been ages since I saw one.

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  12. I didn't even know we were having an eclipse. How's that for living under a rock!?

    I know exactly how Leah was when you were trying to wake her. I've done that with Logan, trying to let him get up to watch a special holiday show (Charlie Brown ones usually) and he gets so mad in the morning when he learns that i was unable to wake him.)

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