Just before the surprise snowfall here in DC on Jan. 6, after it was 65 F just days before, I came back from visting my son in W Va. for the holidays. I don't plan on going back there any time soon, so I said goodby to the mysertious castle with the green gargoyle wearing an orange scarf flapping in the breeze, as well as to all the Confederate flags although W Va. was never part of the Confederacy, and to the many houses with a veneer of fake brick or stone over wooden siding, something quite popular there.

I often sat by the fire at the entrance to CoolFont. near the front desk of the hotel in Berkeley Springs, W Va. where my son works.

Below, there I was in B.Springs last summer.

Here above is the scene at dawn as my son and I were leaving W Va. for my return to DC.

Below, friends Joan and Chip dropped by from Bethesda, braving the cold to visit me.

A friend whose daughter lives in Southern California sent this message: Hi Barbara, my daughter and her boyfriend are under a fire evacuation order. They were only able to leave with the dog and a go- bag of important documents. As of last night their apt. building had not burnt down but whether it will remain depends on the strength and direction of the winds. They are staying with a friend. She says the air pollution is horrific and lots of people untouched by the fires have lost power and had to evacuate as well. Seems like bad news just keeps piling on.

Wash. Post, As more snow arrives, D.C. region still cleaning up from earlier storm

Yes, I looked out on Sat.morning. Jan.11, and saw more snow on the steps that Derek the Plumber had cleared after the first snowstorm earlier this week. Derek has left the bathroom sink with hot and cold faucets reversed but I can live with that.

Speech writers don't always use correct grammar. I turned on the radio to hear the late Senator Mondale's son say "for Joan and I." Would he ever say "for I"?

A few days after I came home from W Va., due to a series of miscommunications, I found myself outside in the snow only lightly clad, waiting for a ride that never came. Then when I tried to go back inside, only got as far as the entryway, as the inner main door was inexblicably locked. Some hours later, after I felt frozen like an icicle, Alex, a sometime handyman, was located and managed to open the inner door with some effort, then placed a swatch of blue tape over a problmatic part of the lock mechanism.

Meanwhile, former President Jimmy Carter has died at age 100.

Here was my family with President Carter in 1977, soon after his election.

Here again, I'm shown (lower left) with Carter in 1990 in a photo appearing in my Confessions book.

(Other photos on those pages are of me congratulating Costa Rican President Oscar Arias after he inauguarated a brand new pool by swimming the entire length underwater, of Nicarguan President Violeta Chamorro after her election victory, and of a supporter of Haitian President Aristide hailing his 1990 election with a live rooster.)

I've known Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for decades. One memory especially stands out. In 1990, when several of us election observers and supporters had gathered at the home of Violeta Chamorro to celebrate her presidential election victory, Jimmy Carter strode in. Speaking Spanish with a Georgia twange, he advised Violeta, as she was popularly referred to, about delaying the announcemnt of her election victory until the next morning to allow the Sandinistas and their supporters time to adjust to her win.

The contrast between 2 US presidents, Carter and Trump, could not be more stark and yet a small majority of American voters have now chosen Trump, who appears to be a very petty vindictive sort of guy.

Donald Trump fumes over flag flying at half-staff to honor Jimmy Carter during inauguration

Jimmy Carter’s death must not mean flags are at half-mast for my inauguration, says Trump

Donald Trump was heard publicly fuming, as usual, about something inconsequential. In my own opinion,
Carter was a much better president and a better man than petty, small-minded Trump will ever
be. But voters have now expressed their preference, so we all must live with the consequences
of 4 more years of a Trump presidency.

Promises, promises. Mr. Trump has promised to tackle 59 issues on "Day One" of his next term, including deporting "11 million illegals." However, deporting 11 million people in a single day would be impossible and even deporting that many over a 4-year presidency is hardly feasible either. Any efforts to actually try would create havoc and major economic and social distruption. Those workers are here because our country needs them.

NY Times editorial: America Needs More People

NY Times,

Honduras Threatens to Expel U.S. Military if Trump Orders Mass Deportations

Here's what an American friend now retired to Honduras just told me: "Not sure if you heard but the Honduran president has stopped extradition to the USA. So now drug dealers will pretty much go free. Her brother-in-law left for Nicaragua when a video showed him meeting with drug dealers. Crazy! Now she is threatening to take back Palmerola, the US military base if Trump deports undocumented Hondurans from the US.

It's a stand-off, that I do not think will deal well with her.

Miss you Barbara."