Well, sort of. Due to the snowstorm situation, we ended up getting the family together on New Year's Day - 2010. My sister-in-law, Tamsen, brought her 2 children down from The Cities a couple of day's ago and had already gone back - so it was the parents and my sister Sheila and family (minus Moriah due to a work conflict) who were here just for the day.
Tamsen stopped at my place on the way home from mom's place, and it was the first time she'd been there so I would have liked to have had it in better order than it was. Alas, one of my children must have thought it was too much work to bend over and pick up the straw the last time they used the vacuum hose, so there is now a big clog of crap inside the hose that I'm still trying to figure out how to remove. (The vacuum was made by whatever company made the original Electrolux - Aerus? - and has a power attachment on the hose. There's a hard, bent plastic piece upon which the power nozzle attaches - which prevents me from ramming the whole hose down the length of a broom handle to break the debris jam loose. Of course, that's way more detail than you need to know about any of this... but I could use some ideas. Or a really tiny dog - tied by a long and sturdy string to a bouncy ball just slightly smaller than the width of a vacuum hose - that I could place on one side of the hose and call him through from the other.)
So, since the house was in the usual state of disarray, I brought her outside and gave her a verbal description (as it was all under snow) of what I've been doing with the patio and landscaping. You can probably relate to how this worked as the only pictures of it have been on Sheila's blog, and those are already a couple years old.
Oh, I checked for any plants that were coming up. None so far. Only a few months... :)
Back to the topic but still on the patio subject... Mom got me an over sized toad statue thing that I've been wanting. We'd seen it at one of the local nurseries last summer so she knew it amused me. Alas, my paths and solar lights and shorter fairy statues and the other two toads are all under snow, so it'll be hanging out with Dangit (the cat) and me inside the house for the time being.
The statue thing was made by 'Toad Hollow', which probably has a website in case you want your own "pissy toad" (my name for it) to greet your garden guests.
The plan originally was to go to Sheila's for Christmas - but then the region was dumped on by one to two feet of snow and apparently snow plow crews prefer to not work on major holidays... or for a few days after... so we stayed home.
I had done no decorating so there wasn't much of a Christmas theme to the house, but we made it work. I invited the mechanic (the guy that deboned the deer David shot) to join us as the weather had also wrecked his Christmas plans.
We deep fried a bunch of stuff. And had a beer.
No beer for the kids as they are too young - and didn't want any... which is good because I only had 3 left - and who wants to share on Christmas, of all days! :)
On Christmas Day one of the kids' friends came over. He was still here on the 29th so I was starting to think I might need to Google a recipe for "figgy pudding" as it appeared he might actually not go until he got some. :)
I did, however, make them a pork roast and threw a pig heart in with it which I had them try before I told them what it was. I've been wanting to do this with the beef tongue but haven't had the opportunity yet. (This has worked with bear meat, elk, alligator jerky, etc. I'm surprised they never ask what it is until it's already in their mouths. I should find a rat and marinade it in squished cicada pulp.)
Satan sent her douchebag boyfriend to pick up the kids on Wednesday so they weren't here for the family gathering today. That in itself was annoying, but even more so as I kind of hoped to hit him up for a valid driver's license and proof of insurance as I'm thinking he might not have either as he also has no job. (She got him alcohol for his present. Her current husband, also still unemployed to my knowledge, is an alcoholic. I once again find myself struggling to understand her logic.)
She has a thing for losers. This does NOT help my self-esteem. :)
And then Douchebag picked them up early enough where the kids were gone before I got up, and I had put 3 packs of ribs in the Crock-pot and had no kids there to eat them. So the first kid that stopped by asking for them was invited in and he and I had barbecued ribs - and later when the mechanic mentioned he was taking his break and was off to find a place that was still open, I told him to swing by my place and grab the Crock-pot. And I still have some left!
But now it's 2010 and I should think happy 2010 thoughts and whip up some resolutions.
The cat and I haven't whipped any up yet.
I've had good luck with setting a few goals but haven't really worked the resolution angle.
I hope his is to eat less, shit less, and to stop pressing his cold, wet nose into my eye sockets when I'm trying to sleep.
And if he could stop using my testicles as stepping stones every time he walks across the couch, that would be okay, too.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Damsel in Distress
Well, I guess we'll be having a white Christmas. I have NOT been dreaming of a white Christmas - but since the ancestors saw it fit to settle here and I haven't taken the initiative to load up the Conestoga wagon and hitch up the oxen to settle somewhere warmer, I guess I can't complain.
It looks like I'll have to change my plans for Christmas as they're saying it's supposed to be the worst snow storm since the 1960's. I was not yet alive then, but I've seen a winter that left a house outside of Marshall under snow... so I guess this could be quite an impressive snow storm!
At least I live on a hill so I don't have to worry about flood insurance!
So yesterday morning I went to WalMart after work and did a few "test runs" with the Cadillac on the empty snow and ice covered parking lot. (It's much easier to get the rear end to swing than it is with the Buick... although the Buick is far better at "reverse cookies".)
And then I drove home...ward.
The snowplows had not gone by yet so there were a lot of drifts awaiting me. But we've had enough snow now where I've been able to practice my "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" style of winter driving, so I was merrily fish-tailing down the highway listening to Abba...loudly...(max volume, actually) when I saw a car up ahead that had its headlights situated at such an angle as to announce that it was in the ditch.
So I stopped and offered a ride to the person no longer driving.
I couldn't see the person until she was at the passenger door, and it ended up being this petite young college girl who was on her way to her grandparents place in Willmar from where she attends school in Iowa. She was dressed in shorts and had no proper attire for winter driving, so apparently when I do get around to pioneering off to somewhere warm, I only need to move one state farther South. It must be MUCH warmer there in December!
I was actually really surprised that she accepted the ride as readily as she did as I'd been at work and I'm sure I had some pretty good static electricity hat-hair going on. I figured she was either overly trusting or had a knife and some mad ninja skills. But she did accept the ride, so I moved my bag of frozen blueberries and my 4 boxes of Apple Flautas to the back seat, she got in, and off we went.
She said she'd been there for about half an hour and that 2 other cars and a snow plow had stopped. The two cars were people on the way to work that couldn't really do anything to help. I'm not sure what the snow plow guy was doing 'cuz he sure didn't seem to have plowed anything. (Although he DID give her the number to a towing service - that wasn't open yet.)
I prefer driving on bad roads by myself. With the Buick, as I come up on snow drifts I'd be thinking, "Ooooh! Here comes a BIG one!!", and fishtailing through the slop would get a "Wheeeee!!!!" With the Cadillac and a passenger it was more like "ohshitohshitohshitohshit..."
And of course the roads were extra sloppy whenever I met a semi.
I was also really, really tired. But for obvious reasons I wasn't going to let HER drive. :)
But I'm afraid that's really all there is to my tale. Through the combined efforts of my incredible winter driving skills and her ability to have a non-stop hour long exchange of text messages with someone at 4:30 am, we arrived safely at her grandparents place. She offered me $20 (I declined) for the help. I wished her a "Merry Christmas!" and a "Good luck with your car." and left.
So that was my Good Deed for the day.
I stopped at SA for a refill of the 64 oz pop and once again I was by myself and merrily slopping through the slush at speeds just a hair faster than the posted speed limit with the radio volume set back to the loudest setting. I got myself home safely, chatted briefly with the kids, and went to bed.
So then we fast forward to the afternoon. The kids are back home from school.
Something stirs in the back of my mind...
it's coming into focus...
Yes! There it is!
"David...Run out to the car and bring in the 4 boxes of Apple Flautas and and the bag of blueberries. Be careful with the blueberries so they don't drip all over."
I guess we'll be having blueberries with whatever I throw together to eat on Christmas Eve. I would have preferred to go to Sheila's and join the family in having our usual Bohemian meal.
Sheila and Rachel - thanks for the cards. They just showed up today! :)
Merry Christmas!!!
It looks like I'll have to change my plans for Christmas as they're saying it's supposed to be the worst snow storm since the 1960's. I was not yet alive then, but I've seen a winter that left a house outside of Marshall under snow... so I guess this could be quite an impressive snow storm!
At least I live on a hill so I don't have to worry about flood insurance!
So yesterday morning I went to WalMart after work and did a few "test runs" with the Cadillac on the empty snow and ice covered parking lot. (It's much easier to get the rear end to swing than it is with the Buick... although the Buick is far better at "reverse cookies".)
And then I drove home...ward.
The snowplows had not gone by yet so there were a lot of drifts awaiting me. But we've had enough snow now where I've been able to practice my "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" style of winter driving, so I was merrily fish-tailing down the highway listening to Abba...loudly...(max volume, actually) when I saw a car up ahead that had its headlights situated at such an angle as to announce that it was in the ditch.
So I stopped and offered a ride to the person no longer driving.
I couldn't see the person until she was at the passenger door, and it ended up being this petite young college girl who was on her way to her grandparents place in Willmar from where she attends school in Iowa. She was dressed in shorts and had no proper attire for winter driving, so apparently when I do get around to pioneering off to somewhere warm, I only need to move one state farther South. It must be MUCH warmer there in December!
I was actually really surprised that she accepted the ride as readily as she did as I'd been at work and I'm sure I had some pretty good static electricity hat-hair going on. I figured she was either overly trusting or had a knife and some mad ninja skills. But she did accept the ride, so I moved my bag of frozen blueberries and my 4 boxes of Apple Flautas to the back seat, she got in, and off we went.
She said she'd been there for about half an hour and that 2 other cars and a snow plow had stopped. The two cars were people on the way to work that couldn't really do anything to help. I'm not sure what the snow plow guy was doing 'cuz he sure didn't seem to have plowed anything. (Although he DID give her the number to a towing service - that wasn't open yet.)
I prefer driving on bad roads by myself. With the Buick, as I come up on snow drifts I'd be thinking, "Ooooh! Here comes a BIG one!!", and fishtailing through the slop would get a "Wheeeee!!!!" With the Cadillac and a passenger it was more like "ohshitohshitohshitohshit..."
And of course the roads were extra sloppy whenever I met a semi.
I was also really, really tired. But for obvious reasons I wasn't going to let HER drive. :)
But I'm afraid that's really all there is to my tale. Through the combined efforts of my incredible winter driving skills and her ability to have a non-stop hour long exchange of text messages with someone at 4:30 am, we arrived safely at her grandparents place. She offered me $20 (I declined) for the help. I wished her a "Merry Christmas!" and a "Good luck with your car." and left.
So that was my Good Deed for the day.
I stopped at SA for a refill of the 64 oz pop and once again I was by myself and merrily slopping through the slush at speeds just a hair faster than the posted speed limit with the radio volume set back to the loudest setting. I got myself home safely, chatted briefly with the kids, and went to bed.
So then we fast forward to the afternoon. The kids are back home from school.
Something stirs in the back of my mind...
it's coming into focus...
Yes! There it is!
"David...Run out to the car and bring in the 4 boxes of Apple Flautas and and the bag of blueberries. Be careful with the blueberries so they don't drip all over."
I guess we'll be having blueberries with whatever I throw together to eat on Christmas Eve. I would have preferred to go to Sheila's and join the family in having our usual Bohemian meal.
Sheila and Rachel - thanks for the cards. They just showed up today! :)
Merry Christmas!!!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Trampoline...no longer.
Yup. That's what I've accomplished this weekend. I took down the trampoline. And I'm using the bouncy black mesh stuff to cover my utility trailer because it still has both my new push mower and one of the riders in it. And tomorrow I'll have to hook it up to the car and try to back it up to where the trampoline used to be so it's out of my driveway when the snowstorm hits.
I just love winter. It makes my life so much less complicated.
I would have gotten more done if I would have gotten up earlier. But I didn't. And then one of the kid's friends stopped and asked if I could run his family to Willmar because the driver that was lined up to take them had a family emergency. And so I did.
When I picked them up I thought they might be getting their pictures taken because they were dressed up very nicely and the mom (who I am just officially meeting for the first time) is fighting with her little person trying to get his hair combed just right.
It turned out that they were going to a Christmas party that was apparently sponsored by a women's shelter or something... so I felt a little stupid dropping them off as they are a black family and I was driving the Cadillac and I had my cap on backwards like some homey wannabe and now looked like a wife beater.
And then I went shopping (bought notta) until the party was done, picked them up and brought them back to Granite. She said she also felt a bit stupid as she had seriously overdressed the 3 of them for the occasion and felt that everyone was staring at them.
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as she was talking about the meal that was served. She specifically stated that she appreciated it and that I wasn't to take it that she didn't, but she felt they should have included corn bread and a couple other items that I've never even considered to be part of a traditional Christmas meal. (My family has always done a very simple meal of a sweet bread in molasses with ring bologna and prunes. I think it's something that came from the Bohemian part of mom's side of the family, and I have no idea how to spell the word for the bread stuff. It sounds like "bush-ta-keys" - and people who are not directly from the blood line seem to enjoy it even more than our own family.)
So then we talked about whatever came to mind. It's always interesting to see how similar and different you can be to someone at the same time. But I do give this lady credit because she wouldn't let her son stay overnight at my place the one time he'd been over...while I was home, anyway...because she hadn't met me yet. And now she has, so I think he's good to go.
(She gave me gas money and a tray of homemade cookies. Score!)
But anyway, I do like the Christmas part of winter. I think people generally are more friendly during the month than they normally are. I'm not sure why the people who decided what day to celebrate The Birth picked the middle of winter for that day, because to me it seems like it would be a lot more handy to put up Christmas lights in May through October rather than in one of those months where the weather forecast includes chances of flurries.
Maybe it's because they didn't have electricity and therefore didn't put up strands of lights.
But still. Plan ahead a little bit, OK?
And at Job2, like we have for the last few years, we listen to 94.7 FM - which plays nothing but Christmas music for the entire time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's amazing how many times we hear the same classic songs during a night that are sung by different artists.
And when you hear them often enough, you question the lyrics.
For example..."There's marshmallows for roasting..." Do people do this somewhere during December? Is this really part of someones holiday tradition? Cuz' I sure ain't about to bundle up in my freezer suit from Job2 and huddle up against the fire pit to burn a marshmallow.
And from the same song there's the line..."There'll be scary ghost stories..." Really? I'm thinking you're running a couple of holidays together there, Tim Burton. (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Not that I have anything against these songs. I sing along even if I think the lyrics could use tweaking. I even do some tweaking. Like so...
"A Child, a Child, shivers in the cold. Let us bring Him silver and gold. And an electric blanket."
See? Now here again we run into the problem created by having no electricity during this time period. At least He could use the blanket. Not sure what the silver and gold would've done. Unless they also hadn't created wrought iron and needed silver and gold to make a headboard for the cradle in the manger.
Whatever. I'm sure December 25th was an important day for some pagan ritual or something so Christianity used it to detract the significance from the pagan beliefs. (I don't know if "pagan" gets capitalized. I hope "spell-check" corrects that if it's not right.)
Time to move on. Pretend that the "electric" part of electric blanket, wrought iron, silver, and gold somehow ties the first part of this in with the second part. Although none of this really ties in with the title...
So anyway, I mentioned yesterday that I had talked to David's science teachers. Blah blah blah David has good grades but is missing assignment whatever so write that down and get it turned in there David or I'll have to pummel you love dad.
I asked them about the Table of Elements and if there were only the 4 or 5 metals that were non magnetic. Turns out I had it backwards and that there's something like 88 metals and only 4 or 5 ARE magnetic. So then I asked them if there was a way to bend magnetism. But before they could answer I asked how to make metal magnetic as I'm thinking that you can do so by pounding two of the right metals together. They said to run an electromagnetic current through the metal.
Oh, sure. Let me just strike my MacGyver pose and I'll use this piece of chewed gum and the foil wrapper it came in to rewire my vacuum cleaner (now that the lice problem is taken care of) to make me an electromagnetic current producing thingy.
So by then I knew that it was time to move on to the next teacher, which just happened to be Todd's cute English teacher. But that was across the gym so I had time to think a bit.
If there are 88 metals and only 4 are magnetic, what are the chances that some don't conduct electricity? How about some that store electricity but can't run it through from side to side? How about something like that that doesn't start on fire when you accidentally microwave it?
Just think! The people at Arby's could wrap their ham sandwiches and beef-n-cheddars in this electricity storing metal instead of the fire hazard foil they currently use, (which burns in approximately 5/8 of a second with the microwave set on "high" - by my accidental experimentation.) and then, when you are done warming a sandwich on your lunch break, you can cram the sandwich's nuclear charged wrapper into your Ipod's battery compartment and let it run on that!
Or how about a portable microwave? Just run the non sparking, electrical current conducting wire from inside the microwave to the power cord in the back and the thing'll run on it's own nuke power! (Probably will have to have a nuke charged Arby's wrapper compartment installed to get the power to kick in.)
No more peanuts on long air flights! "No, ma'am. Won't be needing those peanuts today! Got me my portable microwave and my Arby's sandwiches here! Hey. What's this mile-high club thing I hear tell of?" *wink wink*
Or better yet, just wire a couple portable microwaves to the engine of one of those ugly-ass Toyotas that run on part electrical, nuke a bowel of water and convert the vapor into steam power for other half of the hybrid power, and thereby eliminate the need for foreign fuel? (If not the ugly-ass foreign car.)
Yes. I am a genius. And this is why I stand in a freezer or load boxes on a truck for my money. :)
And while I'm on the subject of magnetics again... have you ever put a magnet over sand and found that some of it will "stick" to the magnet? Well, glass is made of sand. If this same glass were to be made of all magnetic sand, would the glass then be magnetic as well?
The speakers in a car all have magnets behind the cones. They could then be stuck to your windows wherever you want them instead of producing "clear and accurate" sounds...to your knees!
"True Surround Sound" has already been used. Probably has a trademark on it.
False advertising. :)
I just love winter. It makes my life so much less complicated.
I would have gotten more done if I would have gotten up earlier. But I didn't. And then one of the kid's friends stopped and asked if I could run his family to Willmar because the driver that was lined up to take them had a family emergency. And so I did.
When I picked them up I thought they might be getting their pictures taken because they were dressed up very nicely and the mom (who I am just officially meeting for the first time) is fighting with her little person trying to get his hair combed just right.
It turned out that they were going to a Christmas party that was apparently sponsored by a women's shelter or something... so I felt a little stupid dropping them off as they are a black family and I was driving the Cadillac and I had my cap on backwards like some homey wannabe and now looked like a wife beater.
And then I went shopping (bought notta) until the party was done, picked them up and brought them back to Granite. She said she also felt a bit stupid as she had seriously overdressed the 3 of them for the occasion and felt that everyone was staring at them.
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as she was talking about the meal that was served. She specifically stated that she appreciated it and that I wasn't to take it that she didn't, but she felt they should have included corn bread and a couple other items that I've never even considered to be part of a traditional Christmas meal. (My family has always done a very simple meal of a sweet bread in molasses with ring bologna and prunes. I think it's something that came from the Bohemian part of mom's side of the family, and I have no idea how to spell the word for the bread stuff. It sounds like "bush-ta-keys" - and people who are not directly from the blood line seem to enjoy it even more than our own family.)
So then we talked about whatever came to mind. It's always interesting to see how similar and different you can be to someone at the same time. But I do give this lady credit because she wouldn't let her son stay overnight at my place the one time he'd been over...while I was home, anyway...because she hadn't met me yet. And now she has, so I think he's good to go.
(She gave me gas money and a tray of homemade cookies. Score!)
But anyway, I do like the Christmas part of winter. I think people generally are more friendly during the month than they normally are. I'm not sure why the people who decided what day to celebrate The Birth picked the middle of winter for that day, because to me it seems like it would be a lot more handy to put up Christmas lights in May through October rather than in one of those months where the weather forecast includes chances of flurries.
Maybe it's because they didn't have electricity and therefore didn't put up strands of lights.
But still. Plan ahead a little bit, OK?
And at Job2, like we have for the last few years, we listen to 94.7 FM - which plays nothing but Christmas music for the entire time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's amazing how many times we hear the same classic songs during a night that are sung by different artists.
And when you hear them often enough, you question the lyrics.
For example..."There's marshmallows for roasting..." Do people do this somewhere during December? Is this really part of someones holiday tradition? Cuz' I sure ain't about to bundle up in my freezer suit from Job2 and huddle up against the fire pit to burn a marshmallow.
And from the same song there's the line..."There'll be scary ghost stories..." Really? I'm thinking you're running a couple of holidays together there, Tim Burton. (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Not that I have anything against these songs. I sing along even if I think the lyrics could use tweaking. I even do some tweaking. Like so...
"A Child, a Child, shivers in the cold. Let us bring Him silver and gold. And an electric blanket."
See? Now here again we run into the problem created by having no electricity during this time period. At least He could use the blanket. Not sure what the silver and gold would've done. Unless they also hadn't created wrought iron and needed silver and gold to make a headboard for the cradle in the manger.
Whatever. I'm sure December 25th was an important day for some pagan ritual or something so Christianity used it to detract the significance from the pagan beliefs. (I don't know if "pagan" gets capitalized. I hope "spell-check" corrects that if it's not right.)
Time to move on. Pretend that the "electric" part of electric blanket, wrought iron, silver, and gold somehow ties the first part of this in with the second part. Although none of this really ties in with the title...
So anyway, I mentioned yesterday that I had talked to David's science teachers. Blah blah blah David has good grades but is missing assignment whatever so write that down and get it turned in there David or I'll have to pummel you love dad.
I asked them about the Table of Elements and if there were only the 4 or 5 metals that were non magnetic. Turns out I had it backwards and that there's something like 88 metals and only 4 or 5 ARE magnetic. So then I asked them if there was a way to bend magnetism. But before they could answer I asked how to make metal magnetic as I'm thinking that you can do so by pounding two of the right metals together. They said to run an electromagnetic current through the metal.
Oh, sure. Let me just strike my MacGyver pose and I'll use this piece of chewed gum and the foil wrapper it came in to rewire my vacuum cleaner (now that the lice problem is taken care of) to make me an electromagnetic current producing thingy.
So by then I knew that it was time to move on to the next teacher, which just happened to be Todd's cute English teacher. But that was across the gym so I had time to think a bit.
If there are 88 metals and only 4 are magnetic, what are the chances that some don't conduct electricity? How about some that store electricity but can't run it through from side to side? How about something like that that doesn't start on fire when you accidentally microwave it?
Just think! The people at Arby's could wrap their ham sandwiches and beef-n-cheddars in this electricity storing metal instead of the fire hazard foil they currently use, (which burns in approximately 5/8 of a second with the microwave set on "high" - by my accidental experimentation.) and then, when you are done warming a sandwich on your lunch break, you can cram the sandwich's nuclear charged wrapper into your Ipod's battery compartment and let it run on that!
Or how about a portable microwave? Just run the non sparking, electrical current conducting wire from inside the microwave to the power cord in the back and the thing'll run on it's own nuke power! (Probably will have to have a nuke charged Arby's wrapper compartment installed to get the power to kick in.)
No more peanuts on long air flights! "No, ma'am. Won't be needing those peanuts today! Got me my portable microwave and my Arby's sandwiches here! Hey. What's this mile-high club thing I hear tell of?" *wink wink*
Or better yet, just wire a couple portable microwaves to the engine of one of those ugly-ass Toyotas that run on part electrical, nuke a bowel of water and convert the vapor into steam power for other half of the hybrid power, and thereby eliminate the need for foreign fuel? (If not the ugly-ass foreign car.)
Yes. I am a genius. And this is why I stand in a freezer or load boxes on a truck for my money. :)
And while I'm on the subject of magnetics again... have you ever put a magnet over sand and found that some of it will "stick" to the magnet? Well, glass is made of sand. If this same glass were to be made of all magnetic sand, would the glass then be magnetic as well?
The speakers in a car all have magnets behind the cones. They could then be stuck to your windows wherever you want them instead of producing "clear and accurate" sounds...to your knees!
"True Surround Sound" has already been used. Probably has a trademark on it.
False advertising. :)
Friday, December 11, 2009
Oh. Hi!
Yes. I seem to have "pulled a Sheila" and taken an unusually long absence from Blogger. I've had plenty to talk about but haven't got on the computer much. In fact, it's been so long since I've used Facebook that I could use a refresher course! (Connie - I'll message you in "chat" sometime. I tried leaving a comment on your wall and it showed up on mine. Must be some new updated funk the Facebook folk have going on.)
So, in the last couple of weeks we finally got hit with a decent amount of snow. Not as much as Sheila and Sindee down in Nebraska, but it sounds like we've got an incoming blizzard currently scheduled for Tuesday...ish, so maybe we'll get dumped on then. Hopefully not, but maybe.
I don't know about NE, but it's been cold here! One of the drivers at Job1 said to me, "Chad, if it was any colder I'd be able to cut glass with my nipples!"
And yet, even with the snow and the cold temperature, I have a plant outside my front door that still has green leaves on the lower half and the hint of some purple on the last few shriveled flowers. I think it's an Aster, and I was really impressed that it's hung on so long... but now I just find it creepy that it hasn't gone dormant for the winter and I'm about ready to dump Round-Up on it and hack it all to hell with the rapier I have for my Renaissance Festival outfit! (Plus, it increased in size by at least 5 times over this summer - thereby blocking the sun from a couple other perennials that now most likely won't be paying a visit next spring. I look forward to transplanting it when the ground is no longer frozen.)
And of course, with the first large snowfall of the year, many elderly people who refuse to admit that they should no longer be driving decide to take their vehicles out and drive around. I think they fear they'll get snowed in like on "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" or something. And then they stop and stare at the weather related accidents which ironically are probably caused either by someone like them who shouldn't be driving in the first place or someone like me who has an underdeveloped sense of self preservation and is driving too fast for the current road conditions. At any rate, they ignore the fact that they are blocking the traffic behind them. (In this case...me. Oh, and the 2 fire trucks that have come up behind me while I was waiting for the old fart to move. I'm not a road-rage type person, but the thought of using my Buick to push his car out into the intersection did cross my mind.)
I don't know what the outcome was for this particular accident, but last Sunday I again came upon an accident before the emergency vehicles did. It was by Cottonwood on a divided highway with 2 lanes on each side and no intersection. Naturally, I couldn't help but wonder how two drivers who were most likely the only two cars on the road for a 5 mile stretch at 4:20 am in rural MN, on a snow-free road, managed to hit each other.
Turns out one of them came down the divided highway on the wrong side. Both drivers were killed.
It makes me wonder if I would have been paying close enough attention to avoid the accident if I'd been the car that met the errant driver. But that's a little more serious than I like to be, so I'll change subjects.
There's mouse shit on the engine of the Cadillac. I found it there just now. That's not the subject I'm changing to but I felt like sharing that with you. :)
Ok. Subject change.
A few weekends back, Todd went to his mom's and David stayed home.
Todd had a concert. His mom missed the concert...again...but was able to find time to go shopping with her mom in a town 40 miles away. (I'm used to stupid shit like this now, but it still annoys me.)
Then, the next day, both kids had their school conferences. I left work for a while because I knew the teachers would like to speak with me. (David is on the "A" honor roll. Todd needs to work on his organizational skills.) I'll come back to the conference part of this later.
When the conferences were done and I was back at work, I received a call from David. He told me that his mom had called them and that she had told Todd to check for lice because everyone up there had them. And yes, for the 4th time now since she moved to Wadena, I had to deal with lice that came from her place.
But whattayado? I took the night off from work, drove to Montevideo and bought the lice treatment stuff and laundry supplies, and cleaned.
I think I may have mentioned a time or two that I'm not a big fan of cleaning. I like having a clean house, I just don't like cleaning it.
Alas, there was cleaning that needed to be done. No way to avoid it. So my vacuum saw more use in a weeks time than it probably has for total combined time since I bought it last spring, and Todd had about 8 months worth of lice treatments crammed into a one week period.
The kicker to it all is that Satan didn't understand why I wouldn't let the kids go to her house the following weekend. (You'll like this.) She's the one with the lice and yet I'm the one left "scratching my head!"
So, rewinding back to the conference part I mentioned earlier...
Todd's English teacher is attractive. I told him I thought she was cute and asked if she was his favorite teacher. He just smiled. (She also has a habit of spinning her wedding ring while she's talking. I picked up on that for some reason.)
I talked a bit with David's science teacher and the student teacher from the class. It "sparked" an idea for a blog topic for sometime later when I'm not running a bunch of ideas together like some big run-on sentence that cute English teachers would surely be annoyed by.
I also talked with their band teacher. David is going on a marching band trip to Washington, D.C. this spring so I talked briefly with her about that and then I asked her if she had 3 part trumpet Christmas music that she could send me.
Sure enough, she did! So, Sheila - please have Moriah bring her trumpet home and hopefully I'll remember to bring our trumpets with us when we come down this year!
Oh! And I'd like you all to know that Val is not dead. (I start to worry after a couple of months. I think about calling after a couple more.) Anyway, she called tonight and she was in a Marshall's store somewhere out in CA doing some Christmas shopping.
I still need to do that. I haven't started yet. Maybe later today I might.
I need to get in the holiday spirit. I was thinking about writing a holiday poem to the ex but I'm struggling finding the words to make it fit the season.
Here's what I have so far.
If I had extra to give I'd wish you holiday cheer,
and I hope you pay your half of medical next year.
I wish you and the douchebag that lives in your basement
would merrily jump from Santa's sleigh and try for a faceplant.
And if all 4 people in your house have heads that itch
consider checking them for head lice, you stu...
Nope. I don't think it's going to happen. :)
So, in the last couple of weeks we finally got hit with a decent amount of snow. Not as much as Sheila and Sindee down in Nebraska, but it sounds like we've got an incoming blizzard currently scheduled for Tuesday...ish, so maybe we'll get dumped on then. Hopefully not, but maybe.
I don't know about NE, but it's been cold here! One of the drivers at Job1 said to me, "Chad, if it was any colder I'd be able to cut glass with my nipples!"
And yet, even with the snow and the cold temperature, I have a plant outside my front door that still has green leaves on the lower half and the hint of some purple on the last few shriveled flowers. I think it's an Aster, and I was really impressed that it's hung on so long... but now I just find it creepy that it hasn't gone dormant for the winter and I'm about ready to dump Round-Up on it and hack it all to hell with the rapier I have for my Renaissance Festival outfit! (Plus, it increased in size by at least 5 times over this summer - thereby blocking the sun from a couple other perennials that now most likely won't be paying a visit next spring. I look forward to transplanting it when the ground is no longer frozen.)
And of course, with the first large snowfall of the year, many elderly people who refuse to admit that they should no longer be driving decide to take their vehicles out and drive around. I think they fear they'll get snowed in like on "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" or something. And then they stop and stare at the weather related accidents which ironically are probably caused either by someone like them who shouldn't be driving in the first place or someone like me who has an underdeveloped sense of self preservation and is driving too fast for the current road conditions. At any rate, they ignore the fact that they are blocking the traffic behind them. (In this case...me. Oh, and the 2 fire trucks that have come up behind me while I was waiting for the old fart to move. I'm not a road-rage type person, but the thought of using my Buick to push his car out into the intersection did cross my mind.)
I don't know what the outcome was for this particular accident, but last Sunday I again came upon an accident before the emergency vehicles did. It was by Cottonwood on a divided highway with 2 lanes on each side and no intersection. Naturally, I couldn't help but wonder how two drivers who were most likely the only two cars on the road for a 5 mile stretch at 4:20 am in rural MN, on a snow-free road, managed to hit each other.
Turns out one of them came down the divided highway on the wrong side. Both drivers were killed.
It makes me wonder if I would have been paying close enough attention to avoid the accident if I'd been the car that met the errant driver. But that's a little more serious than I like to be, so I'll change subjects.
There's mouse shit on the engine of the Cadillac. I found it there just now. That's not the subject I'm changing to but I felt like sharing that with you. :)
Ok. Subject change.
A few weekends back, Todd went to his mom's and David stayed home.
Todd had a concert. His mom missed the concert...again...but was able to find time to go shopping with her mom in a town 40 miles away. (I'm used to stupid shit like this now, but it still annoys me.)
Then, the next day, both kids had their school conferences. I left work for a while because I knew the teachers would like to speak with me. (David is on the "A" honor roll. Todd needs to work on his organizational skills.) I'll come back to the conference part of this later.
When the conferences were done and I was back at work, I received a call from David. He told me that his mom had called them and that she had told Todd to check for lice because everyone up there had them. And yes, for the 4th time now since she moved to Wadena, I had to deal with lice that came from her place.
But whattayado? I took the night off from work, drove to Montevideo and bought the lice treatment stuff and laundry supplies, and cleaned.
I think I may have mentioned a time or two that I'm not a big fan of cleaning. I like having a clean house, I just don't like cleaning it.
Alas, there was cleaning that needed to be done. No way to avoid it. So my vacuum saw more use in a weeks time than it probably has for total combined time since I bought it last spring, and Todd had about 8 months worth of lice treatments crammed into a one week period.
The kicker to it all is that Satan didn't understand why I wouldn't let the kids go to her house the following weekend. (You'll like this.) She's the one with the lice and yet I'm the one left "scratching my head!"
So, rewinding back to the conference part I mentioned earlier...
Todd's English teacher is attractive. I told him I thought she was cute and asked if she was his favorite teacher. He just smiled. (She also has a habit of spinning her wedding ring while she's talking. I picked up on that for some reason.)
I talked a bit with David's science teacher and the student teacher from the class. It "sparked" an idea for a blog topic for sometime later when I'm not running a bunch of ideas together like some big run-on sentence that cute English teachers would surely be annoyed by.
I also talked with their band teacher. David is going on a marching band trip to Washington, D.C. this spring so I talked briefly with her about that and then I asked her if she had 3 part trumpet Christmas music that she could send me.
Sure enough, she did! So, Sheila - please have Moriah bring her trumpet home and hopefully I'll remember to bring our trumpets with us when we come down this year!
Oh! And I'd like you all to know that Val is not dead. (I start to worry after a couple of months. I think about calling after a couple more.) Anyway, she called tonight and she was in a Marshall's store somewhere out in CA doing some Christmas shopping.
I still need to do that. I haven't started yet. Maybe later today I might.
I need to get in the holiday spirit. I was thinking about writing a holiday poem to the ex but I'm struggling finding the words to make it fit the season.
Here's what I have so far.
If I had extra to give I'd wish you holiday cheer,
and I hope you pay your half of medical next year.
I wish you and the douchebag that lives in your basement
would merrily jump from Santa's sleigh and try for a faceplant.
And if all 4 people in your house have heads that itch
consider checking them for head lice, you stu...
Nope. I don't think it's going to happen. :)
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thankful
I'd imagine that even normal people who have produced offspring are pleasantly surprised from year to year when their children haven't done something stupid enough to end their own lives. I also believe that, at some time or another, they have more than likely compared their kids to each other and against other children.
If not...oh well. I do. However, I tend to run on a little long so I'll save the comparison part of that for a later entry.
So anyway, the kids and I went down to Nebraska to my sister Sheila's house for Thanksgiving. (Her house is old and big and has sliding doors and a grand stairwell and a separate stairwell that was once used by servants and it's just really neat.)
Our mom also made the trip. Mom lives about half an hour away but we drove separate 'cuz I had Black Friday shopping to do. (Mom also has an old house. Also beautifully done. I seem to have house envy. Maybe I should clean mine.)
Anyway, Sheila is the oldest of the children in the family. (I'm the youngest. I like reminding her of that.) Sheila and her husband have 3 children - all of who are now out of high school with the youngest being in college.
I have always admired their family. They have a strong relationship and even with the thousand other things that go on in a family's day-to-day lifestyle, they always have time for each other, work well together, and laugh about it.
Sheila also makes an incredible loaf of banana bread. :)
We had the usual turkey-stuffing-potatoes-gravy-corn-cranberries-green been casserole-pies-pink salad-dinner rolls-wine-(more?) meal that we usually have, but for some reason it was extra tasty this year. And, as it's the tradition in our family, we each said one thing we're thankful for.
I like funny. My niece is funny. She's in college now, and was thankful for the police officer who reminded her of little things like "speed limits", or something to that affect.
On my turn, I couldn't help but think of a high school girl from Granite Falls that had died in a single vehicle car accident the day before Thanksgiving the previous year. I didn't know her, but in looking through David's yearbook the day of the accident, I had seen that she was in just about every sport and extra-curricular activity she could have been in. Plus, the paper said she was very active in her church and she was outstanding academically. She was obviously someone who would be missed by her family, her friends, and her school.
The same could all be said for my niece. So this year again what I was most thankful for is that she, along with her brothers and my own children, were all at the table.
So, fast forward to the next morning. We (David, Todd, and myself) awake at 3am or so to "Mmmm Whatcha Say" by Jason Derulo which is what Moriah (niece) has programmed into her phone which she's set up for us to use as our alarm clock. (A fine choice, I might add! And so was the second "get-yer-ass-up-ya-got-shopping-to-do" alarm song!)
And it just so happened that Todd's 13th B-day was also on Black Friday. He wanted a RipStick, which is what his brother had got...because I have no self restraint whatsoever and just give stuff to them whenever I buy it instead of saving it for special occasions and therefore had nothing waiting to be wrapped.
So, as we're driving down the road back toward MN, I tell him to remind me to get the RipStick. (It's kind of like a skateboard but only has two wheels and your feet rest on two platforms that move independently but are connected. Another reason to be thankful if they haven't killed themselves off by next Thanksgiving.)
Anyway, after I say this to Todd, David says, "Happy Birthday, Todd!"
Shit. I remembered the gift but overlooked the reason. I also wish him a happy birthday.
Anyway, we take the longer way home than either of the parents as there are fewer roads to miss when I'm not paying attention to the signs... and along this road is Vermilion, SD. I hadn't planned to do any shopping until we got to Sioux Falls, but then my eyes behold the glorious vision of a well lit Wal-Mart parking lot.
Sweet! I forgot they had one!
We wander in and leave with a couple video games, a stack of cheap movies, something else, and a pack of gum.
Before the day is done I accumulate 39 new movies, two video games, a Rip-Stick, a new coat for Todd, 2 new PS3 controllers (so we can do 4-player on one of the new video games), some other stuff I can't think of right off hand but figured it was worth having at the time, and a pack of gum.
And of course, I gave it to them already so I have nothing saved for Christmas presents.
(This is also part of the reason I haven't been on here all week. I've been watching movies.)
So, rewind a bit to later on on Black Friday. The last stop we make in Sioux Falls is the annual Taco Bell run. (I see no good reason why there isn't a Taco Bell closer than a two hour drive from where we live.) Then we continue homeward.
As we're passing through Pipestone, MN I tell the kids that it's supposed to snow after this weekend and that we need to plant the few remaining bulbs that haven't gone in the ground yet.
There was some snarling and protesting and gnashing of teeth in response to this news. I'm not really sure why. So, after we planted the 2,380 bulbs... (Slight exaggeration, but there was a helluva lot more than the "few" I was thinking we had left to plant.)
The next day I'm sitting on the couch and watching a movie. Two of their friends are over and all are outside. I hear something hit the side of the house. Loudly.
I'm comfortable. I let it slide.
A few minutes later I hear something roll down the roof. They can't possibly think I'm not hearing this. I decide it's time to check on them.
They're standing next to the trampoline. It's 4 years old, has blown behind the house once, has a small hole in the jumping surface, and had already lost a spring. I'd already told them that it's no longer safe and has seen it's last summer. And now that the stitching on 3 more springs has given way and the springs are literally bouncing off the house, they finally agree with me!
Behold the great minds of 4 teenagers at work!
Yet another potential catastrophe averted. :)
So, once again, to our Guardian Angels and the Higher Powers that watch over us...
"Thank You!"
If not...oh well. I do. However, I tend to run on a little long so I'll save the comparison part of that for a later entry.
So anyway, the kids and I went down to Nebraska to my sister Sheila's house for Thanksgiving. (Her house is old and big and has sliding doors and a grand stairwell and a separate stairwell that was once used by servants and it's just really neat.)
Our mom also made the trip. Mom lives about half an hour away but we drove separate 'cuz I had Black Friday shopping to do. (Mom also has an old house. Also beautifully done. I seem to have house envy. Maybe I should clean mine.)
Anyway, Sheila is the oldest of the children in the family. (I'm the youngest. I like reminding her of that.) Sheila and her husband have 3 children - all of who are now out of high school with the youngest being in college.
I have always admired their family. They have a strong relationship and even with the thousand other things that go on in a family's day-to-day lifestyle, they always have time for each other, work well together, and laugh about it.
Sheila also makes an incredible loaf of banana bread. :)
We had the usual turkey-stuffing-potatoes-gravy-corn-cranberries-green been casserole-pies-pink salad-dinner rolls-wine-(more?) meal that we usually have, but for some reason it was extra tasty this year. And, as it's the tradition in our family, we each said one thing we're thankful for.
I like funny. My niece is funny. She's in college now, and was thankful for the police officer who reminded her of little things like "speed limits", or something to that affect.
On my turn, I couldn't help but think of a high school girl from Granite Falls that had died in a single vehicle car accident the day before Thanksgiving the previous year. I didn't know her, but in looking through David's yearbook the day of the accident, I had seen that she was in just about every sport and extra-curricular activity she could have been in. Plus, the paper said she was very active in her church and she was outstanding academically. She was obviously someone who would be missed by her family, her friends, and her school.
The same could all be said for my niece. So this year again what I was most thankful for is that she, along with her brothers and my own children, were all at the table.
So, fast forward to the next morning. We (David, Todd, and myself) awake at 3am or so to "Mmmm Whatcha Say" by Jason Derulo which is what Moriah (niece) has programmed into her phone which she's set up for us to use as our alarm clock. (A fine choice, I might add! And so was the second "get-yer-ass-up-ya-got-shopping-to-do" alarm song!)
And it just so happened that Todd's 13th B-day was also on Black Friday. He wanted a RipStick, which is what his brother had got...because I have no self restraint whatsoever and just give stuff to them whenever I buy it instead of saving it for special occasions and therefore had nothing waiting to be wrapped.
So, as we're driving down the road back toward MN, I tell him to remind me to get the RipStick. (It's kind of like a skateboard but only has two wheels and your feet rest on two platforms that move independently but are connected. Another reason to be thankful if they haven't killed themselves off by next Thanksgiving.)
Anyway, after I say this to Todd, David says, "Happy Birthday, Todd!"
Shit. I remembered the gift but overlooked the reason. I also wish him a happy birthday.
Anyway, we take the longer way home than either of the parents as there are fewer roads to miss when I'm not paying attention to the signs... and along this road is Vermilion, SD. I hadn't planned to do any shopping until we got to Sioux Falls, but then my eyes behold the glorious vision of a well lit Wal-Mart parking lot.
Sweet! I forgot they had one!
We wander in and leave with a couple video games, a stack of cheap movies, something else, and a pack of gum.
Before the day is done I accumulate 39 new movies, two video games, a Rip-Stick, a new coat for Todd, 2 new PS3 controllers (so we can do 4-player on one of the new video games), some other stuff I can't think of right off hand but figured it was worth having at the time, and a pack of gum.
And of course, I gave it to them already so I have nothing saved for Christmas presents.
(This is also part of the reason I haven't been on here all week. I've been watching movies.)
So, rewind a bit to later on on Black Friday. The last stop we make in Sioux Falls is the annual Taco Bell run. (I see no good reason why there isn't a Taco Bell closer than a two hour drive from where we live.) Then we continue homeward.
As we're passing through Pipestone, MN I tell the kids that it's supposed to snow after this weekend and that we need to plant the few remaining bulbs that haven't gone in the ground yet.
There was some snarling and protesting and gnashing of teeth in response to this news. I'm not really sure why. So, after we planted the 2,380 bulbs... (Slight exaggeration, but there was a helluva lot more than the "few" I was thinking we had left to plant.)
The next day I'm sitting on the couch and watching a movie. Two of their friends are over and all are outside. I hear something hit the side of the house. Loudly.
I'm comfortable. I let it slide.
A few minutes later I hear something roll down the roof. They can't possibly think I'm not hearing this. I decide it's time to check on them.
They're standing next to the trampoline. It's 4 years old, has blown behind the house once, has a small hole in the jumping surface, and had already lost a spring. I'd already told them that it's no longer safe and has seen it's last summer. And now that the stitching on 3 more springs has given way and the springs are literally bouncing off the house, they finally agree with me!
Behold the great minds of 4 teenagers at work!
Yet another potential catastrophe averted. :)
So, once again, to our Guardian Angels and the Higher Powers that watch over us...
"Thank You!"
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