Life Out Here

Yes. I live. In spite of the efforts of the universe to crush my spirit to dust. I have proof of my existence. I have been taking photos even though I have been very lax in posting and commenting on them.

Misc.

Fungus. Very dead, but I still keep it around.

New cat

The new cat amuses herself.

Have you ever heard (or had the experience) that you buy a kid an expensive toy and wait anxiously for them to enjoy the hell out of it only to find they are playing with the box the toy came in? That is what this cat is doing to me. I bought her a frigging play station with dingles, dangles and scratching posts. Her favorite toys? The bathroom rugs and the dog's food. Really, I think she likes the dog's food the best. And the very best thing is to scoot dog food under the rug.

Bowling

The season never seems to end. I'm sick of it and yet -- it is the only time I see people. Except for my weekly shopping. Which is not "shopping", it is going to town and buying shit. Big difference.

The entire bowling alley. I'm not kidding!

You know what's really funny about this 6 lane alley? Every week one team has to bowl alone (the blind) because we only have 5 teams of 4 women. Move here! Join the Strikettes! Make things interesting! Any team than I am on will still be in last place. You have a chance to make the sports news in the local paper every week.

Waiting for spring

Hope springs eternal. I haven't been kvetching about the long, arduous winter like I did last year because I foolishly thought spring was here on March 20.

Long before that I started some petunias. It is something I have never done before but this year tried it with seeds I harvested from dead petunias. Have you ever seen a petunia seed? They are smaller than a period in one of these sentences.

I planted them and gave up on them. But they didn't give up on me. They actually sprouted.

Teeny tiny tunias.

What spring?

Still waiting for spring. Flurries here and there. Windy. Dreary.

You can't see it, but there is snow.

I Love Him More Today Than Yesterday (But Not As Much As Tomorrow)

If he breaks my heart I will die. Or go on a rampage and never, ever trust another human being again.

I am talking about Obama, of course.

~~~~~~~~~~~UPDATE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I started this post a long time ago, got interrupted, and didn't get back to it until now.

It was written after Obama's address to Congress and contained various gushy stuff (love him! love Michelle!) and snarky stuff (Ruth Bader Ginsberg's doily over her Justice robe) and notes on what Obama said. I took notes during the speech because I wanted to be prepared for bowling night.

It turns out that the congressional speech was not discussed at bowling but the address to the nation a few weeks earlier had been. From that discourse (I bit my tongue for a change and was all ears) I learned that: he talked in circles during his press conference and said nothing; the stimulus package is full of pork that will benefit big business; the damned Democratic Congress will rubber stamp anything Obama says; that under Obama's health care plan you will no longer be able to choose your own doctor; and Obama is trying to turn this into a socialist country.

I'm glad I didn't have to argue Obama's case after the Congressional address. It would have been a waste of air. I am in the wrong place, or I am thinking wrong. I must be thinking wrong. The letters to the editor in the local paper tell me so! The other bowlers tell me so!

I think I'm going to be stubborn and contrary just a bit longer. And bite my tongue often. You will recognize me and others like me by the blood dripping down our chins.

Fun With The Animals

I'm Alive

I see that before tonight the last time I posted was January 23. Thanks for calling to see if I was still alive.

I have had two people this month check on my viability. Crab doesn't count.

This is what I spent on gas from December 29 2008 and January 29 2009: $21.39.

I don't get out much. When I get in my car to make my weekly shopping trip (as I did today), I realize the last time I was in the car was Thursday night the week before when I went to league bowling.

I'm doing my part to save the planet. And I am still driving around with a burned out CFL bulb in my car.

Always About Weather

Today was kind of a crappy day. Right now the wind is blowing hard and it reminded me of the last time the wind blew hard. I thought this old house would implode.

It didn't, but the lights went out. It afforded me the opportunity to cook by candle light with the aid of a small flashlight in my mouth.

Cooking by candle light.

Dining by candle light

The lights weren't out for very long and we didn't freeze. The temps had been unseasonably warm for days and we lost our lane glacier and snow cover in flat places. Piled snow, drifted snow and snow filled ditches remain.

Today was a mixed bag of flurries and spitting stuff. I was compelled to replace my windshield wipers when in Big Town. The kid that sold them to me actually went out and replaced the blades for me. I could tell the passenger side blade was too short but by that time I didn't care. I had new blades that worked and got to go home and listen to the wind whistle through this old house.

We Are Here

Again

January Thaw Preview

The January thaw is coming tomorrow! One day above freezing is something to get excited about. Late this afternoon I went for a short walk with Gretchen and took some preview pics.

Gretchen

Gretchen's butt

The corn stalks glow in the light

The 911 address sign has ruined this for me

I mean really. No one lives there. Why does it need a frigging sign?

Drift

RR Xing

Tracks

I can't believe a collector hasn't snagged these insulators

Scrub trees

Fence Line

More fence

I hope you enjoyed the photo walk. Tomorrow I will be going to the supermarket. I don't think it will be a photo journey.

Getting Comfortable

The new cat, Skittles, is continuing to make her place in the family. Sometimes I think she is channeling her most recent predecessor. Tonight she climbed up the back of my chair, over my shoulder and into my lap, demanding the attention she felt she deserved.

Here she is finally getting brave with the giant Mouse:

Attack!

It is futile to resist!

The *Gown*

Dress from the front

She couldn't control the thing and kept tugging at it.

The back, close

The back

This has nothing to do with the dress, but wouldn't that hurt after a while?

I Have No Room To Talk -- But...

Michelle Obama's gown looks like a chenille bedspread.

She looked gorgeous on election night. She has a great figure and could wear anything. So why would she drape herself in the spread off the bed?

I leafed through pictures of gowns designers were begging her to wear. Most were stunning. This thing is not becoming at all.

Like I said, I have no room to talk sitting here in a dirty sweatshirt and jeans. This is not the biggest problem our country faces. But OMG, that dress is horrible.

Inaguration (Part Two)

"Please stand while Barack Obama takes the oath of office."

I stood in front of the TV.

I wasn't instructed to, but I cried.

The time has come at last.

Inaguration (Part One?)

I've been listening to NPR all morning. I finally flipped on the tube and the first thing I saw was Dick Cheney in a wheelchair.

Wow, he's getting out of there in the nick of time.

Or so I thought. Turns out he pulled a muscle in his back while moving into his new digs.

Hurry up. Give us a new administration already.

A Poem

I got a forward today that I enjoyed because the sentiment within was oh, so true. Well, mostly true. The winds were not 70 mph today (yesterday they were 40) but if the actual temperature does not get above -11, WTF does it matter? Cold is cold.

It's winter in Iowa
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.

Oh, how I love Iowa
When the snow's up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave Iowa
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

I really am frozen to the ground because my trusty Subaru would not start today. Not even after the wonderful neighbor came over to jump it. We messed with it for over half an hour til my fingers and toes were frozen. Wonderful Neighbor told me that it is supposed to warm up tonight and by midnight the temps will be above zero. One can only dream.... And surf the internet.... And write blog posts....

Asked and Answered

Captain Crab asked this morning, "How Cold Is It?"

Today is is cold enough for sundogs.

Left Sun Dog

Right Sun Dog

Mush reports spring-like conditions in Walla Walla, Washington and is happy to be away from "that Midwestern-style frozen tundra crap". Frozen tundra is an apt description of what I see out my front door.

Snow blowing on the tundra

The good deed of the neighbor has been undone but I'm sure he will return with his snow moving machine after the wind stops. If the wind stops? I don't want to think it...

Neighbors

Where would we be without them? Our neighbors make sure our lane is cleared.

Here the neighbor is building up our "snow fence". It really helps control the drifting.

It really is a beautiful day, if you don't mind temps of -9F. I was snapping pictures and it wasn't too bad. Except for my fingers and toes which starting losing feeling after a couple of minutes. The neighbor stepped out of the cab to chat for a minute and was only wearing a hooded sweatshirt over his shirt. It must be pretty toasty in that tractor!

Thanks A Lot, Al. Now What?

Inspired by my friend, Al Gore, and his movie about global warming, I bought CFL light bulbs. They're great! They save energy! They last a long, long time!



The down side is that the CFL's contain mercury. Heaven forbid you should break one in your kitchen. Call the Haz Mat team!

Last week I had my first burn out. I learned there is no "green" way to dispose of them. At least not around here, according to my internet search. I emailed the regional recycling center to find out what I should do.

A homeowner can throw away a few in the garbage. That is all we have in place at the present time.

A few? What if all 5 of my kitchen bulbs burned out? Could I throw all 5 of them away at once, or would I have to wait between tossings? And how do I know how many have been tossed by other people? And wait, I don't own my home! Can renters throw them away?

I have a CFL bulb in it's original hard plastic package sitting on the floor of my car in case CFL recycling boxes start popping up. Or maybe I'll throw it in a dumpster in a town farther away. I'm open for suggestions, people!