Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude.
~William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Good grief is it cold and the wind is howling. I’m sitting here writing in this drafty farmhouse and my hands are cold. My hands are never cold. According to the weather site today, we have an Alberta Clipper passing through. When I envision a clipper, one of those speedy streamlined sailboats from the mid-1800s comes to mind. I suspect that’s a clue — speed. Well, not knowing for sure warranted a 
look-see. What exactly is an Alberta Clipper, why is it called that, and does speed play a role? This info hound poured another cup of coffee and went looking for answers.
I discovered the Alberta Clipper is a winter storm system that originates in the Canadian Province of Alberta. Hence the first part of the name. Clipper does indeed tie in to those ultra-quick sailing ships. This is one fast moving weather system.
The weather phenomena occurs when a low-pressure system develops on the lee side of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, though sometimes the system starts in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, aka Saskatchewan Screamer and Manitoba Mauler (Sometimes they originate in upper Montana). Fueled by warm Pacific Ocean air, the low-pressure system gets caught up in the jet stream. Riding along those lofty air currents, it travels southeastward gaining speed across the Northern Plains, and on through the Great Lakes. It will eventually pass the Mid-Atlantic coast and from there head out across the Atlantic Ocean. There can be snow with an Alberta Clipper but its typically quick snowfall bursts generate only 1-3 inches because of the speed and general lack of deep moisture involved. If conditions are just right, deeper snowfalls can happen. Especially on the Atlantic coast. Alberta Clipper are known for gusty winds that blow in colder temperatures. Oh yeah.
I used to love stuff like this when I was a kid. I still do, come to think. I love how things get their names. I think I’ll linger on this topic a bit.
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Another thing came to mind today. Bubble baths. Because January 8th is Bubble Bath Day. (I have no idea who decides what day is devoted to what, but sometimes they are fun to write about.)
For all the years I’ve known him, my husband has always been a fan of long bubble baths. His, not mine. lol
When we lived in Chicago in an 1890s wood frame house, we had a glorious bathtub — a big, high-backed, claw-footed, iron beauty just perfect for bubble baths. It was painted royal blue on the outside and that went perfectly with its white porcelain interior. I can’t imagine what it weighed when filled. Fortunately we never fell through the floor while bathing. In the winter, the tub had to be filled using only the hot water tap because the cold iron took forever to warm. A high-backed, cold-backed, tub is a real jolt to the body.
We don’t really use the tub anymore, haven’t in years. Baths waste too much water and there’s only so much clean drinking water in the world. Hubby and I compromised on the shower head. It’s a water-saver gadget that’s a tad more giving than the last. He said the last one was like taking a shower in the fog. His humor is why I married him.
More~
Remember this guy? Hard to believe he’s 54-years-old. He used to give me a head-to-toe rash. lol
http://mrbubble.com/history/
This is interesting.
History of Bathing
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I checked out the bathing history link. Very informative and interesting.
Glad you enjoyed that, Mike. I’m a trivia nut if nothing else. 😉
Two interesting stories. I am very interested in anything to do with weather. I have cities in both North and South America on my WeatherBug app. I even check the different times of sunrise and sunset in the different cities.
Bathtubs falling reminds me of the Navy Housing I lived in before retiring from active duty. The houses had full upstairs and downstairs full bathrooms. One woman was taking a bath when she and the full tub fell onto the tub on the lower floor. The Navy investigated and found the entire project was shoddy construction. It was shortly after torn down and rebuilt. There are fewer houses in the new project, which also helped reduce gang warfare. There had been over 600 units. There were White, Black and Filipino gangs that even resorted to using firearms. There was also a scam in the cleanup required when moving out. If you cleaned the unit yourself it was impossible to pass inspection. The people hired to administer the project got kickbacks from the cleaning company contracted to do it for a price. I got stuck for $300 because tar came up from underneath the tiles that had rugs on them. No matter how much we cleaned it kept coming up.
Our lovely old house was sold. Shortly after, the new owner had a death in the family and so never moved in. Within a month everything was stolen, including the tub and all the appliances. Within two months after we sold it, the house was burned down. The neighborhood was taking a serious turn for the worse. That’s why we sold. Still, it’s heartbreaking.
The stripping of the house is a sad commentary on “civilization.” When a relative of my wife died all the personal items disappeared before they could go to The family members who were named in the will.
The man who sold us the Colonial house was in his eighties. He wanted to move into his younger sister’s home. He left everything in the house except for his new refrigerator and a silver samovar. He told us all he wanted were his personal things and his refrigerator. My sister-in-law drooled over the samovar within earshot of the owner. So we never got the samovar. We wanted it because it was something we could use. She thought it was worth lots of money. Some people have a poor sense of values.
The pursuit of “things” brings out the worst in people.