I'm making this up as I go along, so I don't know what direction it will take. Welcome to live blogging!
We had a good Thanksgiving, my family went to my mother-in-law's and we had a good visit. Traditional food was the order of the day, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cole slaw, rolls, cranberry sauce, celery stuffed with creamed cheese, and of course pies. Two choices this year, pumpkin and chocolate. As I do every year, I asked for a small slice of both since I couldn't decide. And that's not a lie, I didn't want to pass one of them up. One of these years I might just choose one, and everyone will look at me funny and ask if I feel all right.
There's an old saying, "You can't have your cake and eat it too". No cake though, as I mentioned Thanksgiving was a day for pie. The early results are in, and it seems like the old saying applies to pie as well.
So I've been trying to come up with more stories. A few days ago, I thought of a dialogue that could happen between just some average guy, and an alien. It went on for a while, and I thought it was pretty clever. At the last, the alien starts to walk off (presumably to his spaceship), and said, "You won't see me again".
It had possibilities, and now I sure wish I could recall their conversation. I have got to start carrying a notepad at all times and write this stuff down while it's fresh.
It was a nice fall day today. The fall season ran kind of late here, but by now all the colors are over and most of the leaves are down. Except for the big pin oak tree in my front yard. It will release leaves a few batches at a time, and it's liable to still have some old leaves to drop through the winter and maybe as late as the first of spring. It does that most every year. What are you gonna do?
Tomorrow December begins, and it seems like a clean break between Thanksgiving and the Advent / Christmas season this year. For me, anyway. I know shopping and running around will happen, but I'm not in a panic about that. We have our tree up and the lights put on; the boxes of ornaments have been brought up from the archives. We're poised to begin.
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
The Evening Rambler for about as late in August as you can get
This year will be remembered locally as one of the hot Santa-Cali-Gon festivals. Last year was the "downpour on Friday" S-C-G, and 2011 was the "microburst blowing some of the tents down" S-C-G. There have been other hot Santa-Cali-Gon weekends in years past, in fact, one was quite a bit hotter - like 105 or 107 degrees or some such insane thing.
I can almost hear you now, "What's with all this Santa-Caloo-Whatever"? Well they had to call it something, and "Big Fall Festival" was already taken. Actually, a big part of the local history here in Independence were the three trails west, the Santa Fe, the California, and the Oregon trails. The Santa Fe trail started over 100 miles to our east, in Franklin, Missouri; Independence was one of the last two stopping points (the other being Westport) where people could make repairs and stock up before taking the long drive west across prairies and mountains. At some point just west in Kansas, near Olathe or Gardner, the trails split apart.
The S-C-G festival for short (to save keystrokes, but I just blew that), has settled into a pattern over the years of a few carnival rides (always set up on the south end), food (funnel cakes, kettle corn, hot dogs, pickles, fried Pepsi doughnuts and the like), and crafts and clothing items (if any article can have a child's first name on it, it will be so). There's also a few music venues out in the open, and today I happened by one band who was playing some good blues. I also saw that a dulcimer club had set up under a tent, playing for all they were worth. They had a good sized, appreciative audience.
One thing you don't see there anymore are the re-enacted gunfights; that seems to have gone by the wayside here. Come to think of it though, I don't think we have a history here of shootouts, I always got the idea that was more of a Dodge City or Tombstone pastime.
And of course there are always crowds of people ambling along, though I think it was a bit less crowded than some times in the past.
Did I mention it was hot? Brutally hot?
My wife and I came with a bottle of water each, and it was a good thing too. We stopped by our church's booth for Fried Pepsi Doughnuts, and then began a search for a friend of mine, who helps his mom and dad sell some really good pickles (be forewarned, they have a bit of a bite). We finally found where Blake was set up, and found out that unfortunately his dad had fainted from the heat and dehydration, and had been taken to the hospital. We're still praying for Blake's dad, but we got an update that he's gotten good treatment and is doing quite a bit better now.
I hadn't planned on this whole Rambler being about Santa-Cali-Gon, but I think this has gone long enough. I'll save the other stuff for another time.
I can almost hear you now, "What's with all this Santa-Caloo-Whatever"? Well they had to call it something, and "Big Fall Festival" was already taken. Actually, a big part of the local history here in Independence were the three trails west, the Santa Fe, the California, and the Oregon trails. The Santa Fe trail started over 100 miles to our east, in Franklin, Missouri; Independence was one of the last two stopping points (the other being Westport) where people could make repairs and stock up before taking the long drive west across prairies and mountains. At some point just west in Kansas, near Olathe or Gardner, the trails split apart.
The S-C-G festival for short (to save keystrokes, but I just blew that), has settled into a pattern over the years of a few carnival rides (always set up on the south end), food (funnel cakes, kettle corn, hot dogs, pickles, fried Pepsi doughnuts and the like), and crafts and clothing items (if any article can have a child's first name on it, it will be so). There's also a few music venues out in the open, and today I happened by one band who was playing some good blues. I also saw that a dulcimer club had set up under a tent, playing for all they were worth. They had a good sized, appreciative audience.
One thing you don't see there anymore are the re-enacted gunfights; that seems to have gone by the wayside here. Come to think of it though, I don't think we have a history here of shootouts, I always got the idea that was more of a Dodge City or Tombstone pastime.
And of course there are always crowds of people ambling along, though I think it was a bit less crowded than some times in the past.
Did I mention it was hot? Brutally hot?
My wife and I came with a bottle of water each, and it was a good thing too. We stopped by our church's booth for Fried Pepsi Doughnuts, and then began a search for a friend of mine, who helps his mom and dad sell some really good pickles (be forewarned, they have a bit of a bite). We finally found where Blake was set up, and found out that unfortunately his dad had fainted from the heat and dehydration, and had been taken to the hospital. We're still praying for Blake's dad, but we got an update that he's gotten good treatment and is doing quite a bit better now.
I hadn't planned on this whole Rambler being about Santa-Cali-Gon, but I think this has gone long enough. I'll save the other stuff for another time.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Pet peeves
I was thinking about this subject recently, and it could be that you can learn something about a person by knowing what really annoys them. Now, I realize I might be “stepping on the toes” of some readers, but I decided this just might be blog worthy. So please take no offense if your mileage varies, as they say. At least I spared you my rant about planned obsolescence (for now). These aren’t ranked, just written down in the order I thought of them; and I'm sure this list isn't complete. Anyway, here's a few of...
Bob’s Pet Peeves
Having sleeves or pant legs turn inside out when I take them off.
I don’t know why this bugs me – and it doesn’t happen often - but I’ll go to great lengths and even risk a fall to shake my legs out of my pants when the pant legs start trying to turn inside out. It even bothers me a bit to find pants or jeans turned inside out like that in the laundry.
“Are you a dog person or a cat person”?
Hey, I’m friendly with other people’s cats, though I wouldn’t have one. I do like dogs, and I get it about the love and affection. But, I’m a bird person! I don’t like it that somehow our choices of pets seem to have been narrowed to only two.
I’ve had a total of six parakeets over the years. One could say just a few words and three were good talkers, but they all brought a whole lot of cheerfulness to the home. It seems that fewer people keep birds now than in years past, and it’s a shame. They’re missing out.
“Mother nature”.
Give me a break. If you’re an athiest, don’t personalize natural laws. If you’re a Christian, give glory to God and His works. There is no goddess.
“What’s your sign”?
I don’t hear this much anymore, but in the past when asked, my reply was “Don’t Even Think About Parking Here”. I’m a Christian, and I’ve studied and enjoyed astronomy. So don’t even get me started on that astrology nonsense. If you happen to find out when my birthday is, well you did, that’s all. If you want to make something of it, I’m not playing that game.
“The weatherman never gets the forecast right. Why, I shoveled three inches of partly cloudy this morning”!
They’re not always right, but weather forecasts are a whole lot more accurate now than they were 30 years ago. Give them some credit, okay?
Hats or caps with the label “one size fits all”.
What an immense, dastardly lie, they all cut off at about size 7-1/2 at most. I wish I had more hats to wear, but I need at least a 7-7/8 or size 8, and they’re very, very difficult to find.
Chocloate Easter bunnies, or cookies with cute faces on them.
Hey, just give me a plain cookie or a chocolate bar and spare me the twisted comments about “You bit his ears off first”.
Going to a pizza party where all the choices are some kind of “meat lovers” or “combo” or “supreme”.
You know the kind, with the flesh of several assorted beasts and every oddball vegetable under the sun (olives...shudder), including the latest variety of tongue searing pepper. (Also mushrooms...shudder.) Is it too much to ask that there be maybe one simple Canadian bacon or an even simpler cheese pizza? Apparently, sometimes, it is too much to ask.
By the way, what is a pepperoni anyway? Judging by its cross section, it’s some kind of round or tubular critter. I get this mental image of several cute little furry pepperoni, happily bounding through the meadow on a sunny spring day...while stealthy hunters approach with their clubs.
The poor little innocent things.
So readers...what are your pet peeves? Curious minds want to know.
Bob’s Pet Peeves
Having sleeves or pant legs turn inside out when I take them off.
I don’t know why this bugs me – and it doesn’t happen often - but I’ll go to great lengths and even risk a fall to shake my legs out of my pants when the pant legs start trying to turn inside out. It even bothers me a bit to find pants or jeans turned inside out like that in the laundry.
“Are you a dog person or a cat person”?
Hey, I’m friendly with other people’s cats, though I wouldn’t have one. I do like dogs, and I get it about the love and affection. But, I’m a bird person! I don’t like it that somehow our choices of pets seem to have been narrowed to only two.
I’ve had a total of six parakeets over the years. One could say just a few words and three were good talkers, but they all brought a whole lot of cheerfulness to the home. It seems that fewer people keep birds now than in years past, and it’s a shame. They’re missing out.
“Mother nature”.
Give me a break. If you’re an athiest, don’t personalize natural laws. If you’re a Christian, give glory to God and His works. There is no goddess.
“What’s your sign”?
I don’t hear this much anymore, but in the past when asked, my reply was “Don’t Even Think About Parking Here”. I’m a Christian, and I’ve studied and enjoyed astronomy. So don’t even get me started on that astrology nonsense. If you happen to find out when my birthday is, well you did, that’s all. If you want to make something of it, I’m not playing that game.
“The weatherman never gets the forecast right. Why, I shoveled three inches of partly cloudy this morning”!
They’re not always right, but weather forecasts are a whole lot more accurate now than they were 30 years ago. Give them some credit, okay?
Hats or caps with the label “one size fits all”.
What an immense, dastardly lie, they all cut off at about size 7-1/2 at most. I wish I had more hats to wear, but I need at least a 7-7/8 or size 8, and they’re very, very difficult to find.
Chocloate Easter bunnies, or cookies with cute faces on them.
Hey, just give me a plain cookie or a chocolate bar and spare me the twisted comments about “You bit his ears off first”.
Going to a pizza party where all the choices are some kind of “meat lovers” or “combo” or “supreme”.
You know the kind, with the flesh of several assorted beasts and every oddball vegetable under the sun (olives...shudder), including the latest variety of tongue searing pepper. (Also mushrooms...shudder.) Is it too much to ask that there be maybe one simple Canadian bacon or an even simpler cheese pizza? Apparently, sometimes, it is too much to ask.
By the way, what is a pepperoni anyway? Judging by its cross section, it’s some kind of round or tubular critter. I get this mental image of several cute little furry pepperoni, happily bounding through the meadow on a sunny spring day...while stealthy hunters approach with their clubs.
The poor little innocent things.
So readers...what are your pet peeves? Curious minds want to know.
Monday, January 31, 2011
From January Thaw to January Blizzard
And really, that's about all I have to say about that. Seems like it was only last week - because it was - that our last 7 inch snow mostly melted. I didn't even take any pictures of that one, I've got better snow pictures from prior years. Today we've had just enough freezing rain to make a few slick spots on the pavements and motivate us to put down ice melt chemicals a couple of times. No threat to tree limbs or power lines here.
Tomorrow, the snow will begin after 3 a.m. and turn into blizzard conditions around 11 a.m. Depending on who you listen to, by the time this is all done on Wednesday, we could have:
from eight to ten inches, or
from ten to twelve, or
from ten to fifteen, with some areas just southeast of here getting maybe 16 to 18 inches. And half way across the state in Columbia, they could have 20 inches or more of snow.
We're all stocked up, and there's plenty to keep us occupied at home.
I don't think any of us are going anywhere tomorrow.
Tomorrow, the snow will begin after 3 a.m. and turn into blizzard conditions around 11 a.m. Depending on who you listen to, by the time this is all done on Wednesday, we could have:
from eight to ten inches, or
from ten to twelve, or
from ten to fifteen, with some areas just southeast of here getting maybe 16 to 18 inches. And half way across the state in Columbia, they could have 20 inches or more of snow.
We're all stocked up, and there's plenty to keep us occupied at home.
I don't think any of us are going anywhere tomorrow.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
2009 in Review: May Travels, part 2
It was one year ago today that my family and
I attended my nephew's wedding in the St. Louis area, and I should have posted about this much, much earlier. Truth to tell, when I got back home I went through a period of writer's block. Looking back, I think the trouble was I was trying too hard to find something clever and out of the ordinary to say.
We went, had a great time, it was a wonderful wedding, and we were all happy for the young couple. That kind of sentiment would easily fit on the back of a post card. There were no problems, and we were very glad to be there. What more is there to say?
So, I'm more relaxed now and less concerned with being clever. And with the occasion of their first anniversary, what better time to let fly with a few photos and captions, and see what happens?
We arrived at my sister's place the afternoon before, for a catered dinner in their yard.
The area was under a tornado watch, but we were able to finish dinner and have a fine time of visiting with a lot of folks before the storm moved in.
Niece #1, Nephew, and Niece #2
The wind began to pick up. Here my niece was posing for a photo for her husband...I'm pretty sure neither were aware that I captured the project in this shot. Well, until now, anyway.
The wind started to blow in earnest, the rain came, and the sirens blew. We all retreated to the garage.
The next day, the day of the wedding. Place: a park in Chesterfield, Missouri.
During the ceremony
After the ceremony while official photos were taken of the wedding party, the rest of us were invited to tour "The Butterfly House". Many colorful butterflies, the shot of this black and white one turned out better than my other photos.
I managed to find a vantage point to get this photo from "behind the scenes", while the photographer had the wedding party lined up.
Left to Right: Brother-in-law, Sis, Me, Daughter #3, Wife, Daughter #2, and Son.
The most interesting place I've ever been to for a wedding reception, the Kemp Auto Museum. If you're thinking old T-Birds and '57 Chevy's, um, no. These were rare, old Mercedes-Benz and others of very fine quality. One was insured for over one million dollars, maybe some of the others were as well.
And I'm sure my nephew and his wife have had a great day celebrating their first anniversary. Congratulations!
I attended my nephew's wedding in the St. Louis area, and I should have posted about this much, much earlier. Truth to tell, when I got back home I went through a period of writer's block. Looking back, I think the trouble was I was trying too hard to find something clever and out of the ordinary to say.
We went, had a great time, it was a wonderful wedding, and we were all happy for the young couple. That kind of sentiment would easily fit on the back of a post card. There were no problems, and we were very glad to be there. What more is there to say?
So, I'm more relaxed now and less concerned with being clever. And with the occasion of their first anniversary, what better time to let fly with a few photos and captions, and see what happens?
We arrived at my sister's place the afternoon before, for a catered dinner in their yard.
The area was under a tornado watch, but we were able to finish dinner and have a fine time of visiting with a lot of folks before the storm moved in.
Niece #1, Nephew, and Niece #2
The wind began to pick up. Here my niece was posing for a photo for her husband...I'm pretty sure neither were aware that I captured the project in this shot. Well, until now, anyway.
The wind started to blow in earnest, the rain came, and the sirens blew. We all retreated to the garage.
The next day, the day of the wedding. Place: a park in Chesterfield, Missouri.
During the ceremony
After the ceremony while official photos were taken of the wedding party, the rest of us were invited to tour "The Butterfly House". Many colorful butterflies, the shot of this black and white one turned out better than my other photos.
I managed to find a vantage point to get this photo from "behind the scenes", while the photographer had the wedding party lined up.
Left to Right: Brother-in-law, Sis, Me, Daughter #3, Wife, Daughter #2, and Son.
The most interesting place I've ever been to for a wedding reception, the Kemp Auto Museum. If you're thinking old T-Birds and '57 Chevy's, um, no. These were rare, old Mercedes-Benz and others of very fine quality. One was insured for over one million dollars, maybe some of the others were as well.
And I'm sure my nephew and his wife have had a great day celebrating their first anniversary. Congratulations!
Friday, January 1, 2010
01-01-10
This is just nuts, as I told my wife earlier in the day. 2010 already? When we were younger, The Year 2000 was a ways off yet, but it was something we could kind of imagine...it was on its way. Then, there was that movie 2001. But 2010? Yeah, right.
Where did the last 25 years go?
The kids spent New Years Eve with some good friends of the family, so my wife and I had the house to ourselves. We built some popcorn and watched a movie we hadn't seen in a long while, The Princess Bride. We enjoyed the quiet evening at home, and the kids had a good time at their party...stayed up until midnight even.
This morning after breakfast my wife and I bundled up and drove to the local Wally World to exchange the flannel pajamas I got for Christmas for the same thing in size XL. That, and we bought a few other things.
It's been bitterly cold all day, it may have made it up to 15. In the afternoon, I went out to sprinkle some snow melt chemicals on the worst of the icy patches, and to take the trash cans to the curb for tomorrow morning's pickup. Other than that, I've stayed in. The weather guessers say it may get down to one or two below zero tonight.
We're starting to put the Christmas decorations away, bit by bit, which always makes me a bit sad. That, and I had hoped to light the oven to bake some snack mix this evening. Our oven is tempermental about lighting, and it was nothing doing tonight.
Not much of a report, I know. But I thought it was interesting how today's date looked, using just the last two digits of the year. There will be some fun number sequences this year...08-09-10, 10-10-10, and 12-11-10, to list some obvious ones.
Where did the last 25 years go?
The kids spent New Years Eve with some good friends of the family, so my wife and I had the house to ourselves. We built some popcorn and watched a movie we hadn't seen in a long while, The Princess Bride. We enjoyed the quiet evening at home, and the kids had a good time at their party...stayed up until midnight even.
This morning after breakfast my wife and I bundled up and drove to the local Wally World to exchange the flannel pajamas I got for Christmas for the same thing in size XL. That, and we bought a few other things.
It's been bitterly cold all day, it may have made it up to 15. In the afternoon, I went out to sprinkle some snow melt chemicals on the worst of the icy patches, and to take the trash cans to the curb for tomorrow morning's pickup. Other than that, I've stayed in. The weather guessers say it may get down to one or two below zero tonight.
We're starting to put the Christmas decorations away, bit by bit, which always makes me a bit sad. That, and I had hoped to light the oven to bake some snack mix this evening. Our oven is tempermental about lighting, and it was nothing doing tonight.
Not much of a report, I know. But I thought it was interesting how today's date looked, using just the last two digits of the year. There will be some fun number sequences this year...08-09-10, 10-10-10, and 12-11-10, to list some obvious ones.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The New Year's Eve Evening Rambler
My last post of the year.
Christmas update, part 1
Well, Christmas Eve the power stayed on, the dimming of the lights was caused by an infrared heater cycling on. In fact, the sleet quit just a few minutes after I posted, and it snowed the rest of the night and pretty much all day on Christmas. We got five inches of snow here, and I heard mention that some parts of the metro got as much as 11. Another inch and a half fell on Sunday the 26th. That's a bit misleading if you expect I could measure 6 1/2 inches of accumulation out there now...since then, the snow's blown around some and compacted some. And Tuesday (or was it Wednesday?) it got up to 34 briefly, so some has melted. It's colder now, and it may get down to the teens or even single digits tonight.
I took a lot of pictures this week, and I planned to transfer some of them from my camera to the computer earlier in the day, to post here. But that didn't work for some reason, and I'm not sure what I was doing wrong. So for now, allow me to back up to late November, and show you a few older pics...
Lights!
It was a reasonably temperate day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when I finished putting up my outside lights and tested them.
A few days after that, we had a visit from my Sister and Brother-in-law. They gave me the address of a good friend of theirs who lives on the Kansas side, and who is seriously into decorating.
This display really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
This is an actual show or program, computer controlled, synchronized to music which is broadcast by a low power FM transmitter to your car radio. There was the effect of motion; different segments of the tree would change color in synch with the music, at times a star on top of the tree appeared to spin, there were "leaping arches" around the tree, the lights outlining the roof would change color and so on. Planning for this year's display started months in advance, and I understand there is a group of people who put on these elaborate displays in different locations all across the country. My Brother-in-law helped set this up in October, and mentioned a big, thick three ring binder with page after page of detailed instructions, and custom made wiring tagged with numbers or letters to keep the assembly in the proper order while hooking it all up.
By the numbers:
5 - days to set up and test
14 - minute program
47,000 - lights.
More Christmas stories and photos to follow. Also, I plan to start January with a few blogs with some highlights of 2009 - things I should have posted months ago but somehow didn't get around to.
For now, have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! And remember...it'll be 90 years before we have two zeroes together in a year again. I don't know what that bit of trivia does for you, but there it is.
Christmas update, part 1
Well, Christmas Eve the power stayed on, the dimming of the lights was caused by an infrared heater cycling on. In fact, the sleet quit just a few minutes after I posted, and it snowed the rest of the night and pretty much all day on Christmas. We got five inches of snow here, and I heard mention that some parts of the metro got as much as 11. Another inch and a half fell on Sunday the 26th. That's a bit misleading if you expect I could measure 6 1/2 inches of accumulation out there now...since then, the snow's blown around some and compacted some. And Tuesday (or was it Wednesday?) it got up to 34 briefly, so some has melted. It's colder now, and it may get down to the teens or even single digits tonight.
I took a lot of pictures this week, and I planned to transfer some of them from my camera to the computer earlier in the day, to post here. But that didn't work for some reason, and I'm not sure what I was doing wrong. So for now, allow me to back up to late November, and show you a few older pics...
Lights!
It was a reasonably temperate day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when I finished putting up my outside lights and tested them.
A few days after that, we had a visit from my Sister and Brother-in-law. They gave me the address of a good friend of theirs who lives on the Kansas side, and who is seriously into decorating.
This display really has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
This is an actual show or program, computer controlled, synchronized to music which is broadcast by a low power FM transmitter to your car radio. There was the effect of motion; different segments of the tree would change color in synch with the music, at times a star on top of the tree appeared to spin, there were "leaping arches" around the tree, the lights outlining the roof would change color and so on. Planning for this year's display started months in advance, and I understand there is a group of people who put on these elaborate displays in different locations all across the country. My Brother-in-law helped set this up in October, and mentioned a big, thick three ring binder with page after page of detailed instructions, and custom made wiring tagged with numbers or letters to keep the assembly in the proper order while hooking it all up.
By the numbers:
5 - days to set up and test
14 - minute program
47,000 - lights.
More Christmas stories and photos to follow. Also, I plan to start January with a few blogs with some highlights of 2009 - things I should have posted months ago but somehow didn't get around to.
For now, have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! And remember...it'll be 90 years before we have two zeroes together in a year again. I don't know what that bit of trivia does for you, but there it is.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Christmas Eve Evening Rambler
This has been a pretty good day, I managed to get everything I had to get done, done. And at a reasonable pace, too.
Only one problem. The much anticipated Winter Storm began to make itself known right at 4:30, when we were going to leave for the 5 PM Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church. Right as my kids were getting into the car and I was about to close the garage door, the sleet began in earnest (it had been raining on and off all day).
I don't like snow, but I'd take a foot of it over any amount of sleet any day. My wife and I hadn't gotten in the car yet, and we looked at each other and briefly discussed the pros and cons. We decided we'd stay home and have a last Advent devotion instead. After an hour and a half of sleet, who knows...it might be difficult to walk from church out to the car, much less drive home.
That's been three hours ago, and even though this is supposed to change over to snow any time, I still hear sleet hitting the window. Four to Eight inches of snow predicted...and while four isn't that uncommon, eight is pretty rare around here. At least we haven't lost power yet.
Well, I really shouldn't have typed that last bit; the lights just flickered. I've already rounded up candles, flashlights, and batteries. This could get interesting.
Years ago in similar situations, adults would joke about too many kids praying for snow. But I wonder if kids do that much these days.
Anyway, If any of my readers are traveling in this mess tonight, you're in my prayers. A safe and Merry Christmas to you.
(Man, that was kind of loud...something bigger than sleet just twanged off a window or the siding. Tree branch, maybe. Hopefully nothing big.)
Think I'll shut this down now.
Only one problem. The much anticipated Winter Storm began to make itself known right at 4:30, when we were going to leave for the 5 PM Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church. Right as my kids were getting into the car and I was about to close the garage door, the sleet began in earnest (it had been raining on and off all day).
I don't like snow, but I'd take a foot of it over any amount of sleet any day. My wife and I hadn't gotten in the car yet, and we looked at each other and briefly discussed the pros and cons. We decided we'd stay home and have a last Advent devotion instead. After an hour and a half of sleet, who knows...it might be difficult to walk from church out to the car, much less drive home.
That's been three hours ago, and even though this is supposed to change over to snow any time, I still hear sleet hitting the window. Four to Eight inches of snow predicted...and while four isn't that uncommon, eight is pretty rare around here. At least we haven't lost power yet.
Well, I really shouldn't have typed that last bit; the lights just flickered. I've already rounded up candles, flashlights, and batteries. This could get interesting.
Years ago in similar situations, adults would joke about too many kids praying for snow. But I wonder if kids do that much these days.
Anyway, If any of my readers are traveling in this mess tonight, you're in my prayers. A safe and Merry Christmas to you.
(Man, that was kind of loud...something bigger than sleet just twanged off a window or the siding. Tree branch, maybe. Hopefully nothing big.)
Think I'll shut this down now.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Fat Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday, because of the primary elections.
Fat Tuesday, because this is after all, Mardi Gras (French for Tuesday Fat).
And throw in the Winter Storm Warning for the Kansas City area, plus Mike's mention of late sixties music, and we could call it Psychedelic Fat Super Tuesday Blizzard.
But I don't have to do that, so I won't.
Item: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In), by the First Edition (Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell and others whose names escape me). Their first hit, and certainly not their usual country / rock / pop sound. Made it to number three on the "WHB 40 Star Super Hit Survey" here in K. C., the first week of March 1968 (and made it to number two on the "KUDL Boss 30 Survey" a week later).
You guessed it, I got out my shoebox of surveys...
Anyway, there are several songs from that Psychedelic era that I like when I'm in the right mood, but I always thought that one was trying too hard to be "relevant". Kenny Rogers settled into the more country sound right after that, and I was a bit surprised to find that "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" was recorded in 1969. I thought that one was from the early to mid seventies.
Mike, I'll bet I could jog your memory on sixties music, but that would call for a whole lot more typing than I'm motivated to do now. Maybe later. Similar to your comment about remembering sixties songs from when you heard them in your youth, you could ask me what fifties music I remember from that time - not from later on the oldies stations. My list from that era would be short.
Tennessee Ernie Ford "Sixteen Tons"
Chuck Berry "Johnny B Goode", "Maybelline"
Elvis Presley - probably two or three of his songs I could pin down as actually remembering from back then, not from later. I'll have to ponder that.
Buddy Holley "Peggy Sue", "That'll Be The Day"
Eddie Cochran "Summertime Blues"
And some novelty songs. Lonnie Donagan "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?", also the Alvin And The Chipmunks stuff.
On the subject of getting decades confused, a while back I ran across mention of The Everly Brothers songs from the fifties. I would have sworn their music hit in the early sixties. Just goes to show you.
Item: Super Tuesday. I left for work extra early this morning, what with the dire forecast for the evening rush hour. I thought it might be wise to be able to leave early and get to the polls before the roads got icy (more on that in a moment). Before I got on the interstate, mention was made on my car radio of the polls being open, so I changed plans and voted in the morning. I did vote for Mitt Romney, but if John McCain gets the nod, I'll vote for him in November.
Item: Winter Storm Warning. So far today it's been just cold and rainy - after yesterday's 71 degrees, no less! No trouble on the drive home, and then my wife and I made a quick trip to the grocery store, no problem. I haven't looked out in an hour, so for all I know the freezing rain has begun. Then we're supposed to have sleet, then changing to snow overnight and into the morning "rush". We could have three to six inches of snow here in the metro, and somewhere nearby there could be 10 inches, with drifts to two feet and blizzard conditions for a while. Of course, if the storm track changes a bit, that "somewhere nearby" could end up right on top of us.
Item: Mardi Gras, then Ash Wednesday tomorrow. This year, Easter falls on as early a date as it can, so the Lenten season is upon us. Us Lutherans aren't required to "give up something for Lent", but some of us like the idea anyway. Starting tomorrow, I'm cutting way back on the junk food, especially sugar. I don't expect to cut out sugar entirely, but I hope to I'll be able to take a step in the right direction and start to notice some improvement.
Well, I've sit here long enough. Guess I'll go downstairs and turn on the TV - maybe there will be some election results or weather updates.
Or...I could search for my Beausoleil tape and listen to some Cajun Zydeco music for Mardi Gras. Sounds like fun.
Fat Tuesday, because this is after all, Mardi Gras (French for Tuesday Fat).
And throw in the Winter Storm Warning for the Kansas City area, plus Mike's mention of late sixties music, and we could call it Psychedelic Fat Super Tuesday Blizzard.
But I don't have to do that, so I won't.
Item: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In), by the First Edition (Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell and others whose names escape me). Their first hit, and certainly not their usual country / rock / pop sound. Made it to number three on the "WHB 40 Star Super Hit Survey" here in K. C., the first week of March 1968 (and made it to number two on the "KUDL Boss 30 Survey" a week later).
You guessed it, I got out my shoebox of surveys...
Anyway, there are several songs from that Psychedelic era that I like when I'm in the right mood, but I always thought that one was trying too hard to be "relevant". Kenny Rogers settled into the more country sound right after that, and I was a bit surprised to find that "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" was recorded in 1969. I thought that one was from the early to mid seventies.
Mike, I'll bet I could jog your memory on sixties music, but that would call for a whole lot more typing than I'm motivated to do now. Maybe later. Similar to your comment about remembering sixties songs from when you heard them in your youth, you could ask me what fifties music I remember from that time - not from later on the oldies stations. My list from that era would be short.
Tennessee Ernie Ford "Sixteen Tons"
Chuck Berry "Johnny B Goode", "Maybelline"
Elvis Presley - probably two or three of his songs I could pin down as actually remembering from back then, not from later. I'll have to ponder that.
Buddy Holley "Peggy Sue", "That'll Be The Day"
Eddie Cochran "Summertime Blues"
And some novelty songs. Lonnie Donagan "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?", also the Alvin And The Chipmunks stuff.
On the subject of getting decades confused, a while back I ran across mention of The Everly Brothers songs from the fifties. I would have sworn their music hit in the early sixties. Just goes to show you.
Item: Super Tuesday. I left for work extra early this morning, what with the dire forecast for the evening rush hour. I thought it might be wise to be able to leave early and get to the polls before the roads got icy (more on that in a moment). Before I got on the interstate, mention was made on my car radio of the polls being open, so I changed plans and voted in the morning. I did vote for Mitt Romney, but if John McCain gets the nod, I'll vote for him in November.
Item: Winter Storm Warning. So far today it's been just cold and rainy - after yesterday's 71 degrees, no less! No trouble on the drive home, and then my wife and I made a quick trip to the grocery store, no problem. I haven't looked out in an hour, so for all I know the freezing rain has begun. Then we're supposed to have sleet, then changing to snow overnight and into the morning "rush". We could have three to six inches of snow here in the metro, and somewhere nearby there could be 10 inches, with drifts to two feet and blizzard conditions for a while. Of course, if the storm track changes a bit, that "somewhere nearby" could end up right on top of us.
Item: Mardi Gras, then Ash Wednesday tomorrow. This year, Easter falls on as early a date as it can, so the Lenten season is upon us. Us Lutherans aren't required to "give up something for Lent", but some of us like the idea anyway. Starting tomorrow, I'm cutting way back on the junk food, especially sugar. I don't expect to cut out sugar entirely, but I hope to I'll be able to take a step in the right direction and start to notice some improvement.
Well, I've sit here long enough. Guess I'll go downstairs and turn on the TV - maybe there will be some election results or weather updates.
Or...I could search for my Beausoleil tape and listen to some Cajun Zydeco music for Mardi Gras. Sounds like fun.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Could have been worse
The ice storm turned out better than it could have been. Our electricity didn't go out, and we got maybe 1/4 of an inch of ice. I was able to get out around 10:30 and shovel an area of our driveway near the garage door, and put down some ice melt chemicals. While I was out, I heard a crack and watched a medium sized branch fall from our neighbors tree.
I like how the snow caused this exposure to darken the sky. 
Close-up...icicles on lights, not icicle lights.
Love these digital cameras.
I heard that parts of southwest Missouri had a bigger storm these last few days, and a lot more trouble with the ice. Mike, how are things at your place?
Later I went back outside with my camera, and noticed a few more small to medium sized branches had fallen from the same elm tree, landing on my side of the fence.
I like how the snow caused this exposure to darken the sky.More pics:
If there's going to be an ice storm, I prefer it to be just enough to give a "winter wonderland" effect for a few photos, and stop short of major damage like we had in 1984 and 2004.
If there's going to be an ice storm, I prefer it to be just enough to give a "winter wonderland" effect for a few photos, and stop short of major damage like we had in 1984 and 2004.
A view from a different porch...
Close-up...icicles on lights, not icicle lights.Love these digital cameras.
I heard that parts of southwest Missouri had a bigger storm these last few days, and a lot more trouble with the ice. Mike, how are things at your place?
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Hot heat
Since everybody talks about the weather, I almost didn’t mention this. That kind of stuff is old news. But, it’s as good a place to begin as any, so why not?
It’s sure hot and dry here. Here being Missouri, more specifically the Kansas City area. Depending on what part of the city, or which suburb you live in, temperatures have reached highs of 97 to 104 this week. Monday the 6th (mid to late morning), I went out to check my garden. I wasn’t outside ten minutes, and I didn’t do anything I thought was strenuous. But in the process of opening part of the fence, picking two cucumbers, and putting the fence back, I almost passed out. I got back into the air conditioning just in time. A few hours later a reporter on the TV news said that temperatures and heat indexes are measured in the shade. In direct sunlight, you could be exposed to 115 to 125 degrees.
Now he tells me.
I’m not surprised that it’s hot (after all, it is August), and I’ve heard all the warnings before. What did take me by surprise was how quickly this affected me. Not that many years ago, I would stay out in the heat for hours. Bring it on. But now, it seems I don’t tolerate it as well.
My wife and I talked about this, and the discussion turned to how different our lives are from years ago. Long gone (for many, though not for all) are the days of houses without air conditioning. Gone also are long summer road trips with “470 air conditioning” (four windows rolled down, 70 miles per hour), sitting on hot vinyl seats with your shirt drenched with sweat. Sometimes we had to adapt our travel plans, driving mostly in the evening or at night. At home, we’d draw the shades and turn on some fans. When we were kids, we’d sometimes run through a lawn sprinkler outside to cool off. But now, we wouldn’t stand for houses or cars without air conditioning.
Enough about how times have changed. If it’s hot and humid enough that a heat advisory or heat warning is in effect, do the smart thing. Don’t go out unless you have to, and don’t stay out long. Wear a wide brimmed hat. Keep hydrated; drink more water than you think you need. If you have pets, make sure they have enough water. And, if you know people who have health problems or don’t have air conditioning, do them a favor and check to see if they’re all right.
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