Storm of the Century...

is how the weather forecasters describe every new snowfall we get here.  As it was, my neighborhood wound up with about a foot of snow.  There was some wind along with it, but that didn't make much of a difference here in town.  Out in open country the snow drifted and the freeway was shut down further south.  Folks around here forgot how to drive on icy roads and many spent a fun filled evening trying to get their vehicles out of the ditches.  The tow truck drivers were ecstatic.  Their finances are now looking pretty good.  There were a few fender benders and a couple of jackknifed semis, all of which are par for the course when a storm rolls through here.

Oldest Son told me that the business where he works turned him loose about an hour early the night of the storm.  Said it took him nearly twice as long to get home, but the worst part of the trip was when he got into town ahead of the snow plows.  Said it took him a couple of tries to get into the parking lot here.  Yesterday morning the lot still had not been plowed, so he then couldn't get out.  Don't think he was too sad about having to take a 'snow day.'

Talked to my three youngest Grands on the phone last evening.  Got caught up on all of their activities.  My, but they are busy!!  I surely do love hearing about what they have been doing.  Afterwards I talked to their Daddy, my youngest.  He works for a landscaping company that does snow plowing in the winter.  It is his job to get the contracts and then to manage the crews who go out to remove the snow from driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, etc.  He is also the person the clients call when they think their driveway should be plowed half a minute after the snow stops.  He said that sleep would only be fond memory for the next couple of days.

Me...I watched the snow fall from the comfort of my rocking chair, which is the very best way to observe the latest Storm of the Century.

Toddlers and Grown-ups

After coming out of my flu induced stupor, I decided to take a look at the news headlines to see what I had missed.  I found that our government had again shut down.  Which begs the question, 'I wonder what life could be like if Congress were populated with grown-ups instead of toddlers?'

I have seen children who were much better behaved than those who make our laws.  The back biting, name calling, blame assigning, complete with posters and charts, is astounding.  I can't help but equate their behavior with a three year old who is on the floor, kicking and screaming because they can't have their own way.

I think we should limit Congress to sessions lasting only three months out of the year.  This would give them ample time to deal with the problems our country is facing without giving them the time to waste on posturing, rhetoric and outright lies.  They would be forced to work together rather than spending so much time arguing and tantrum throwing for their pet causes. 

It is way past time for politicians to remember who voted for them and why.

Upright and Taking Nourishment

Fruit juice and tea have been sipped.

Chicken soup, that cure for what ails you, has been consumed.

Audio books have been listened to.

Naps under the green fuzzy blanket have been taken.  Lots of them.

Yep.  Looks like I am going to live after all.  :)

Pride...

goeth before a fall.

Here I was.  All self satisfied, patting myself on the back for avoiding the flu bug that is running rampant across the land.

I had two bouts of the stuff earlier, but both only lasted a couple of days each and were comparatively mild.

Then BAM!!  Right between the eyes.  Tired.  Yucky.  Cranky. 

Like my friend SJ who often comments here and who has been dealing with the flu for a couple of weeks now, I am reduced to a diet of Jello for that is the only food I seem to be able to handle at the moment.

I am off to curl up in a corner, dragging my green fuzzy blanket behind me, and take yet another nap.  I am here to tell you, this flu bug is one nasty little creature.  I will return just as soon as I can kick it on down the road.

Playing With Yarn

I am about halfway finished with my grandson's graduation afghan.  I'm afraid I will have to send my daughter Jill back to the yarn store as I am running out of one color and will likely need more of a couple of colors to complete the border.  Jill is very good at picking out colors of yarn for me to turn into beautiful afghans.  I warned her that when I am ready to make the three graduation afghans I have left to make, I will just send her to the store and let her choose the yarn.

Jill proved her taste in choosing yarn at Christmas.  She gave me two very large gift bags full of these beauties.

She said that after making afghans for the grands, I might enjoy making one just for me.  She was right!

I couldn't stand having that yarn just sitting in the bags without applying a crochet hook.  After a bit of experimenting I came up with this design for the granny squares.

I found that the variegated yarn showed up better sandwiched between the solid gray than next to the teal.  True colors don't always show in photos.  The blue is a lovely teal color.  The yarn is soft to the touch and will make up into a cuddly afghan just right for afternoon naps.

So thanks again, Jill.  This one is going to be fun.  :) 

Messing with my computer...

gave me the opportunity to learn some brand new swear words.  They didn't help much except to vent some of the frustration of losing the battle between computer and human.  I was able to fix enough to make my laptop usable again but there are still strange noises coming from within.  So I tossed some money at Duane and he went to the local computer store and came back with a very reasonably priced laptop.

It sounds a bit crass to say I tossed some money at Duane.  That is sort of a running gag between us.  He often buys the things I need but can not get out to shop for myself.  When asking him to do those errands for me, I usually tell him to stop over and I will toss some money at him to cover the cost. 

The reality is that I have made it a practice to stash cash for emergencies, a little at a time.  I try to keep a couple of months rent on hand - just in case.  And because I can no longer go shopping, it has been fairly easy to save enough so that I can replace a wonky computer without breaking the bank.

So now I am in the process of transferring information from the old computer to the new.  Several years back, the lady I worked for gave me an external hard drive.  I'm pretty sure it is now considered obsolete, what with the popularity of flash drives and other sources of data transfer.  It still works like a charm and has really come in handy for this use.

Now I just need to learn the ins and outs of the new operating system.  They seem pretty straight forward, but I am no computer genius, so it may take a little time to become comfortable.  At least, nothing growls at me when I use this new one!! 

I'm Still Here

Just dealing with some computer issues.  Hope to have them straightened out shortly.

On other fronts, we happily have moved out of the sub-zero deep freeze with a high today of 34 degrees.  But this is January and this is Minnesota, so we are looking at single digit temps on the weekend.  Guess I won't be working on my tan any time soon.

I will return as soon as I finish swearing at my wonky computer!!

Thursday Ramble

It is cold.  It is January and it is Minnesota, so this is not a surprise.  Looks like we have a heat wave of plus 30 degrees coming over the weekend.  I don't care.  I don't plan on going out until the tulips are in full bloom.

I am giving up on watching the news for a while.  Today I spent some time looking at several news websites.  Most of the news programs consisted of a moderator who announced a bit of a news story.  Then they went to a panel of so-called experts who voiced their opinions.  Before long all of them were talking or shouting over one another so I couldn't tell what anyone was saying.  I wonder what happened to the nightly news where the newsman just read the news of the day.  Seems to me we used to be able to form our own opinions without 'personalities' telling us what to think.  Phooey.  Done with them.

I am feeling a bit spoiled.  The lady who comes in to clean once a week does a terrific job, leaving me more time to indulge myself in the things I like to do.  I have been working on Zach's graduation afghan.  It is coming right along, but will take at least the rest of this month to complete.  His mother, my daughter, Jill, gave me two large gift bags of yarn for Christmas.  There are skeins of a light teal, gray and some variegated with those two colors.  I haven't quite decided just how to put the colors together, but I will show you how pretty the yarn is when I get a few squares made.  She said that after making so many afghans for the grands that I might like to make one just for me.  She was right.

The last time my sister came to see me, she and her husband brought me a box full of pork from their farm.  There were pork chops and sausages and I can't remember what all else.  There was one package left in my freezer that contained a large pork roast.  Yesterday I thawed it out and slow baked it all afternoon.  Duane came over when he got off work and shared supper with me.  It is always more fun to cook when the meal can be shared.  The roast was delicious.  Tasted better than anything you can buy at the store. 

And now I am off to do some serious damage to the leftovers.  I think a hot pork sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy is just the ticket for a cold, below zero Minnesota night.  :)