Thread Drift

[chicago]

It does look like a shotgun, especially with the square thicker section at the bottom.

CC- people has been bicycling on crowded city streets for over a hundred years. Those Chicago streets look like a piece of cake compared to cycling in say Shanghai:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44145000/jpg/_44145891_bike.jpg

:eek: :eek: :eek:


A balmy 25F degrees this morning.... :)

I like the cigarette in this guy's mouth... classic!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I like the cigarette in this guy's mouth... classic!

It's the working man's Cliff Shot.

[Pax]

Happy Birfday Kit!!!!!!!

[crazycanuck]

We're off to Rottnest for my first open water swim event :) Pictures to come

If you can send some good vibes etc, i'd love it :D

[Pax]

Good vibes on their way CC, enjoy your swim!

[LBTC]

Thank you all for the wonderful positive thoughts and the beautiful butterflies! They must be working - it looks like we have a plan. DH will have to take courses, there will be some investment, and we think he can work, or at the very least collect EI, until he starts making money at it - hopefully within just a few months.

The next little while will be tough, so, if you can spare them and think of it, your random good thoughts and butterflies will be greatly appreciated.

CC - sending you special amphibious butterflies to keep you fast, and keep the stingers away. You'll have a great swim!

Kit - have a fabulous birthday and a great weekend!

We had snow and then freezing rain today. I guess it is winter.

This week we saw Metallica - great seats, big show, big stage, big flames, good sound, huge crowd. It was quite good. Then we saw Nine Inch Nails - smaller venue, amazing light show (curtains of LEDs that did soooooooooooooooo many things), great sound. It was fantastic! And I got to see my friend that I haven't seen in 3 years! That was sooooo wonderful! And she's got a franchise business called Kix4Chix - a ladies only kickboxing business. I used to go to the classes before we moved and it was so fabulous. I sure hope that DH or I can find someone who wants to invest and start one locally. I really want to start taking those classes again!

And she's interested in selling products that my company has. I'll be talking to my boss about that next week, and am hoping we can get her carrying our programmed stainless steel water bottles. She's really pumped about it.

Life really is good. :) Everyone, have a great weekend!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[salsabike]

CC, didn't you once tell me about the Australian movie "The Black Balloon", about a family with an autistic son? There's a review of it in the NY Times online today because it's opening in NYC.

Good morning, all. I do in fact have a cold. So be it. Punishment for not drinking the Drambuie when I had the chance,

[Zen]

It's never too late (or too early) for Drambuie ;)

[salsabike]

Just for your entertainment, a couple of NY pics. The first one shows the back of my coat against the architecture of the Guggenheim Museum. For some reason, I found that juxtaposition entertaining. As you know, I am easily amused. The second is Chris' $20 picture of NYC at night. $20 because that's how much they charged to let people go up to the building's viewpoint. He asked me if I wanted to come along and I said something like "I'm not paying $40 to those people for one $%($%^U# lousy aerial view picture", so I stayed on the ground and watched the ice skaters at Rockefeller Plaza. It IS a good picture, though. The third is a picture of an especially gorgeous bowl at the Museum of Art and Design.

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[salsabike]

PS CNN posted Chris' NYC skyline pic yesterday on its travel page.

[OakLeaf]

Whoa Salsa, what night was it you all went up to Top of the Rock? We were there Wednesday the 26th. Maybe we saw you guys!

[salsabike]

We were there that night! Around 5-6 pm. Now THAT is funny. If we had only known?

[crazycanuck]

Salsa-yep it was me who mentioned The Black Balloon.. What did the NY Times say about it?

[salsabike]

http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/movies/05ball.html

It was more of a descriptive review. The reviewer seemed to think it was well done but didn't really say anything evaluative.

[pardes]

Just for your entertainment, a couple of NY pics. The first one shows the back of my coat against the architecture of the Guggenheim Museum.

Fabulous, fabulous photos. Thanks so much for posting them!

[chicago]

Just for your entertainment, a couple of NY pics. The first one shows the back of my coat against the architecture of the Guggenheim Museum. For some reason, I found that juxtaposition entertaining. As you know, I am easily amused. The second is Chris' $20 picture of NYC at night. $20 because that's how much they charged to let people go up to the building's viewpoint. He asked me if I wanted to come along and I said something like "I'm not paying $40 to those people for one $%($%^U# lousy aerial view picture", so I stayed on the ground and watched the ice skaters at Rockefeller Plaza. It IS a good picture, though. The third is a picture of an especially gorgeous bowl at the Museum of Art and Design.

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salsa...love the photos!!... in fact, i think we should all post photo's... c'mon everyone, let's see where you live... let's see your journey's on your way to work everyday. c'mon... give me something to think about other than the breakup...haha... 4 weeks one day today post break-up... and I'm doing better... sorry to make this about me:D:rolleyes::p

[salsabike]

Break-ups...it'll get better, chicago. You'll get through it and it'll get better.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

salsa...love the photos!!... in fact, i think we should all post photo's... c'mon everyone, let's see where you live... let's see your journey's on your way to work everyday.

Hmmm....here's my view on my way to work every day (I work upstairs in my office, at home)..... :D
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[LBTC]

Great way to get a new picture of Ruby in! :rolleyes:

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Velobambina]

Lisa, those are furry kitty puddles! Very sweet. I had to give up my kitties after DH became allergic. Now three golden retrievers let us live with them...

Those dolls by your monitor. Do they come to life after you go to bed?

[crazycanuck]

VB-Do your doggies rule the house?

In regards to the dolls by lisa's monitor, one of them is Ruby. She's famous for all the wrong reasons in Rubyland! :eek: ;) Be warned, she's evil to the other girls who inhabit the house!!!

I recall an incident where she pushed a new girl Edith (Lisa what are thier names again) down the stairs. Poor clara was in a rollerskate though :eek:

Lisa, when will we see more tales from Rubyland?

[Bruno28]

It's never too late (or too early) for Drambuie ;)

I try to hold off until after breakfast - hence my reaction on the link the photo thread. Had I been suitably fortified it would have been no problem.


Salsa - GREAT photos.

[Velobambina]

Of course, the goldens rule the house! ;) This morning, for example, there would be no peace until I took Maeve and Fiona for "walky walks," which I was loathe to do since there was some black ice on the roads/side walks. Both behaved quite nicely, though, even though Fiona did insist on taking the leash in her mouth and walking me (this is the norm). The benefit is that they are now sleeping, pooped. They'll perk up when it's time for their lunch.

Dogmama (if you read this), I know, I know. I was reading "The Loved Dog" and trying to incorporate some of Tamar's teachings!!

[Biciclista]

wow, I love the NYC photos and the kitty photos.
I'll share a cloud photo I took on Friday from my street at dusk
http://www.sersale.org/images/clouds.jpg
http://www.sersale.org/images/clouds2.jpg

[chicago]

wow, I love the NYC photos and the kitty photos.
I'll share a cloud photo I took on Friday from my street at dusk
http://www.sersale.org/images/clouds.jpg
http://www.sersale.org/images/clouds2.jpg

biciclista... what kind of clouds are those?!!! do you see those often? holy cow... they look like funnel clouds to me. If we saw those in Chicago, we'd all be running:eek: I have honestly never seen clouds like that here in Chicago... pretty cool:p

[Biciclista]

I was informed they are lenticular clouds, and they are formed near high mountains. (you can see Mount Rainier to the right)
They have to do with different temperatures, i guess.

[salsabike]

More info on lenticular clouds. We see them over Mt. Rainier a lot.

http://www.komonews.com/weather/blog/35631614.html

[Zen]

I was watching my local morning weather recently and they were talking about lenticular clouds. Very dramatic!

Here's a photo of me all tarted-up to go to a party.
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....................................That red lipstick is just too much.
But she did a good job otherwise. I didn't recognize me at first.

[Bruno28]

Where's the accordion? Still - lookin' good :D

I agree we should post more photo's - I like the idea of the photo on the way to work. Will try and remember my camera tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too dark.

And we really get our education here - those clouds in Seattle are something else.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yeah I never see clouds like that around here....we have lots of hills and small mountain ranges like the Catskill mtns and the Berkshire mtns, but no huge mountains like Rainier nearby.

Zen- you look great all 'tarted up'! :)

One of these days I'll put up a website for Ruby and her friends, but after all my Ruby adventures got deleted without warning in OT:A, I hesitate to post those kind of things here anymore. Frankly, it was a major bummer.
Currently, several of Ruby's new friends who have recently arrived are getting work done late at night in my little 'clinic' in a corner of my office. Since none of them have jobs or earn any income (at least that I am aware of), they qualify for free health care as minors. I did post a link a while back to show a bit of little Edith's 'surgery':
Edith's surgery (http://picasaweb.google.com/Strumelia/EdithSReStringing#)
When Edith arrived her hips and shoulders and neck were no longer functioning well and she could not even stand up without crumpling to the floor. Good thing the others could not understand her frequent French expletives.
Now she is quite spry and nimble.

[jobob]

One of these days I'll put up a website for Ruby and her friends, but after all my Ruby adventures got deleted without warning in OT:A, I hesitate to post those kind of things here anymore. Frankly, it was a major bummer.

Why can't you back them up on your own computer? :confused:

[Zen]

Maybe Ruby needs a website or a blog...

[Biciclista]

Why can't you back them up on your own computer? :confused:

because Ruby and her friends keep her busy enough!

[crazycanuck]

Perhaps Ruby has taken over lisa's computer? Kind of like the Blob ya know..

[Biciclista]

Perhaps Ruby has taken over lisa's computer? Kind of like the Blob ya know..

yes, that's possible. Little kids have amazing computer skills.

[salsabike]

That Ruby is no CHILD....she just wants you to think she is... :eek:

[kelownagirl]

That Ruby is no CHILD....she just wants you to think she is... :eek:

she scares the crap outta me....:eek: :o

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well in truth I actually was getting ready to give Ruby and her friends their own website....and I still plan to go ahead with that project, probably after Christmas when our work typically slows down substantially for 2 or 3 months (hopefully not too badly this year). I usually am very good about backing things up but obviously I lapsed in this case. I'll pull some adventures together when I start to construct the website or blog, but in the meantime I am doing some repair work on some of Ruby's little companions whenever I get the spare time at night after work.
I do truly appreciate the kind words and I honestly did not expect this enthusiasm for Ruby to linger on, and I will say it does my heart good and inspires me to continue with it. Thanks you guys. :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We actually had an inch of snow this morning, which turned icy and then melted by the afternoon, but it's been very cold these days. Between that and Christmas and Thanksgiving and needing to get a few things and lots of extra food....it's all been conspiring to keep me from riding my bike this week or even using it for grocery shopping and errands. :(
Tomorrow I have to buy a load of yummy health food (x3) as xmas gifts to send our 3 grown (and struggling) children, and I'll need to take the car because it will be quite heavy, plus the high temp tomorrow is supposed to be 22F. :eek:
Winter is coming in early this year! :o

[Tuckervill]

I have been taking a computer break (okay, I admit--it was really a KNITTING immersion). Here's what I look at when I make my tea every morning. It was after a severe rain storm in March during which my studio was flooded. That's my boy, playing a game he made up, with lots of balls, paddles and water. Those pecan trees back there have produced about 150 lbs of pecans this year! :)

[Tuckervill]

If Ruby had her own website, I know lots of people who would enjoy it!

Karen

[LBTC]

Once again - thank you to all of you wonderful TE ladies who were kind enough to send positive vibes, good energy and butterflies when DH was handed his @ss on a plate the other week. I have good news to report! He now works for the same fabulous boss that I do!! He's the go to guy for the boss's grounds, for the office, etc. He is now working at a bit of an increase in pay, and has a Jeep Commander as his work-supplied vehicle. And, yes, if I want him to get me tea, I have the right to tell him to get me tea.

:D

I am hoping he loves this as much as I think he will. One of his tasks will be washing the boss's cars. Considering that he has 3 Mercedes, a truck, and a whole bunch of equipment, DH is going to really love that part! And then there are the horses......:)

Anyhoooo....we can happily spend a bit on Christmas now, and life really is good. Thanks for your support when we needed it!

So, who needs these butterflies now? They are slightly used, but I think they may be energized by this experience. :o Any takers?

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[kelownagirl]

Yay T and J!!!! :D:D:D:D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That's good news- it's really hard to get a job these days! It must be reassuring going into the holiday season.

This year I decided to get our 4 offspring-units (all 23-30 yrs old now and struggling on their own) more practical holiday gifts than usual. I got them locally made alpaca gloves, wool socks, and a whole bunch of healthy and yummy things from our town's local health food store to eat. I'll be sending out these care packages in the mail this week. The health food store owner was so happy to have me doing my xmas shopping in her store that she gave me a 15% discount on the whole total bill at the end! =8-O I was so surprised, but she insisted. A nice end to the day.

This morning was 0 degrees F and the power was out all over town so we had no heat either since 5am. We started a fire in the fireplace in the morning and waited it out, unable to do much. DH wanted to break out the coleman stove to make coffee, but we waited a bit more. Happily the power came back on around 10am right before the house inside sunk into the 40's. The high today was only 20F....and it's back down to 10 now as I go to bed....cold!

[Zen]

Last winter my power was out for four days. I wore many layers and slept with the two dogs under the covers with me. They did a darned good job of warming!

[crazycanuck]

Most Aust & NZ houses don't have cental heating. Fireplaces yes, central heating no. When it only really dips down to 4c in our cool months, why have it? I still wear shorts but put on a sweater or warm item of clothes.

T-that's way coolio!!! YAAYYOOOOO

Karen, I love pecan pie! mmmm..

I had a forgetful day :o I thought today was the 8th..not the 9th..I register for uni on the 9th! I was sitting at work & peeked at my "me" folder on my inbox around 10am this morning & realized today was the 9th!!! :eek: FARK! Good thing my boss knew about uni registration & was cool about me running out the door! I didn't have time to ride home & ian just happened to have the vehicle so i took it & ventured home. I need a "bing bing bing bing bing" reminder in my head & a calendar...

It was my first visit to Curtin Uni's campus (close to my house & am biking to my classes when they start in Feb) & got rather lost!! AGH. I found the particular building I needed to register & it was quite easy. Ok, that was until the student services person marked me down for 4 classes each semester & wondered about it all the way to the Admin building where i had to pay. I knew something didn't look right but i thought it might show a different way on the cashier's computers. Nup..walked back to the student services & sorted it out *phew*. Just 2 classes each semester for the first year.

All paid for the year :)..I will have to forget about having a bike built for me until I finish uni. The fees for the year were the same as a nice new bike!!! *sigh*

Now all I have to do is find a part time job! Since I have to leave mine due to other admin folks departing as well :( Poo.

[Pax]

T - Wonderful news!!!

BSG - Wonderful ideas for presents.

[bmccasland]

T - That's great news about DH being gainfully employed again! :D
Smile sweetly when you ask him for that cup of tea. ;)

[crazycanuck]

hello?

Hey how are you guys today? What's up in cyberland?

[chicago]

hi all... I was busy this weekend finding fabric and then cutting 192 squares!:eek:

what do you think of the colors, patterns? this is a quilt for my sis for Christmas. It's a rag quilt which means the seams will be sewn up, sheared and then fringed... after it's washed and dryed... I will post a pic when it's done... but right now this is the stage I'm in... the laying out phase... well actually tonight I will start sewing, yipee!:D

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1154.jpg

[sbctwin]

Great colors, Chicago. Please show a pic when it's done...

[Blueberry]

what do you think of the colors, patterns?

I think it's beautiful! I'm sure your sis will love it!

CA

[salsabike]

Lucky sis, Chicago! I'd love to have something like that. I WANT to like sewing...so far in this lifetime, I've always hated it. So I especially appreciate stuff like your quilt.

[OakLeaf]

That's a great quilt Chicago!

Hooray LBTC & H!



I'm in a cr*ppy mood. I'll spare you the details. :rolleyes: I'm p*ssy and negative and hate everything right now.


But on the "plus" side, - for a wool weenie anyhow - I just washed a load of delicates and now my whole house smells like wet wool. :p:D

[Duck on Wheels]

Very nice colors and arrangement, Chicago!

[LBTC]

Chicago - that's a beautiful, bright and cheerful quilt! Anyone would love to receive it! :)

Oak - here's some butterflies to lift your mood. I'm hoping there's no basis for it so they'll just pick it up and fly all the bad stuff away.

CC - Life is pretty good, I must say. other than a wierd knee.

Hugs and butterflies all around,
~T~

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Beautiful quilt- she will love it!

Oak, I hope you feel better soon.

It's been raining all day here, but it was around 50F degrees out, so I went for a 4 mile walk in the rain. Glad I did- my muscles, hip joints and legs feel good now. It's hard to find good weather days in the winter for walking and biking...gotta grab whatever comes up.

[Biciclista]

boy that's the truth. nice weather windows are smaller and smaller when you only have 8 hours of daylight to "dance" in.

Chicago, the sight of all those squares that need to be connected is very very scary to me! :eek::eek:
good luck!

[salsabike]

Only 12 more days till we start getting more daylight again! :)

[Duck on Wheels]

8 hours??? We have about 3:eek: And it only hit 14F outside today. We have that squeeky kind of snow that when walked on sounds like squeezing a bag of potato starch. Glad I live down here by the fjord, not up in the mountains where it's -30! But it all balances out in the end. We have no nighttime in June/July, with 70F which is comfier than 100. The cold you can always dress for (wool over wool over wool ... and then something windproof).

I've started packing for California. Tuesday Weld is down from the attic. Empty suitcases. Gifts all wrapped. Now to start counting up clothes. Only a week, so won't need many. Tuck an empty soft-sided suitcase in on top for all the stuff we've mail-ordered to Mom's address. Some of that is bike clothes, so I won't need to pack too much of that either. Finished a committee report today. Finish oral exams tomorrow. PhD defense event on Friday, then maybe a spin class on the way home. Saturday when I take off I'll be almost up to date at work :D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We're having some ice 'issues' today. Woke up to 1/4" of ice like glass on everything, and completely encasing my car. I yanked open my car door and I'm warming up my car now for about 20 minutes, then I should be able to scrape that off the windows. I see one of my tires is almost flat too....gotta go take care of that somewhere once the ice is off....because I also have to take Pearl to the vet in 2 hours. :rolleyes:
Tonight we are supposed to get another 3/4" of ice on everything :eek: so I don't even know how I'll open my car door after that! Nasty- I'll take snow any day. Already canceled our plans to go out tonight to play music.
I broke out my YakTrax boot crampons (thank god for them) so I don't break my neck now when I go out for the tire and the cat trip. Even the rough gravel driveway is as slippery as glass right now. :(

[Biciclista]

wow! nasty weather you're having! i'm glad you have those gizmos for your feet. its supposed to go below freezing here this weekend too :eek:
nothing to report here sorry zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Bruno28]

So about a week ago I'm getting ready to take Mr Bruno to the airport at some ridilculous hour in the morning and my doorbell goes. My neighbour is at the door asking if my car is locked - it's on the driveway with the engine running to de-ice the windows.

Apparently someone had just stolen his jacket with his house keys in the pocket from his unlocked car. He had only gone back into the house for a couple of minutes to pick up something he had forgotten. This is at something like 6.30am in a totally residential, quiet nighbourhood.

That evening the police came to my door to ask if I'd seen anything. Apparently there's been a series of car thefts in the neighbourhood from people leaving their cars to defrost with the engine running. People do it all the time around here.

I now know it's illegal to do this and insurance won't cover you if you leave the keys in the ignition. Well that's me learned a lesson. Poor neighbour had to have all the locks on his house changed. Luckily he had taken the car key into the house with him.

Just thought I'd post this in case anyone here leaves their car unattended to defrost.

Having nice neighbours can lull you into a false sense of security about how safe your neighbourhood is.

[Blueberry]

Having nice neighbours can lull you into a false sense of security about how safe your neighbourhood is.

This is SO true! Someone in our neighborhood just got robbed for the 2nd time in 10 days. UGH!!! And we live in a good area too. Seems crime is just on the rise everywhere - at least around here:(

At least the 2nd time - someone saw the guy breaking in the door and called the cops. They got a look at the suspect, chased him, and in his haste to escape he dropped most of what he stole - including all of their Christmas presents from under the tree.

CA

[Biciclista]

This is a common occurance here too. but insurance generally covers for stupidity!!!

[Bruno28]

but insurance generally covers for stupidity!!!

I guess they have to take into account that you're americans. Oh, oh....I'm in trouble now :eek:

[Zen]

Now for something entirely different :D
(https://mysantapics.com/addtocart2.aspx?id=3)

I've been wanting to do that for ages.

[katluvr]

Hello all! Seems like I have not been here for ages...1st out of town then back to work just in time to be out again for GI bug! But all better now!
Looks like I have some reading to catch up on. Toooooo bad I am swamped at work (time off = catch up time at work).

No cold or snow here. Very balmy in Florida. We do have rain now and a "cool" front moving in. Should be in teh 70's for the weekend. Perfect weather for a Holiday Party (my house). IT is too small for all to fit inside so we need nice weather so people can spread out to the outside!

[LBTC]

ah, Florida. :) My boss is there right now....

Here it is right around freezing. There was that little skiff of slippery this morning, but it's okay now. I've had that 1/4" or more of ice on everything before.....at -30 it doesn't come off the doors of the car no matter how long you run it. Only the passenger door would open for a week. heh. That was further north, though. It wasn't common there, and even less so here.

The leaving your car running thing is, of course, illegal, but in a lot of colder communities, for a long time, the police would be very lenient about it. In our old town that was true until someone's car got stolen and that stolen car drove into a group out running, killing one person and badly injuring another. They had pretty low tolerance for it after that.

I've never been clear on the details, though. If the car is running but locked, is that legal?

So far it's been pretty casual being DH's co-worker / supervisor. He's been doing little things here and there that I've wanted to fix / do since I started. It's cool. :) The boss phoned today and said to send him early once he's got his regular tasks done. He didn't tell me the same thing. hahahaha

Oh, well. Better get back to it.

Happy Thursday, everyone,

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[crazycanuck]

Ahhh..only 4 days left of work until we are on de road :D Get me out of hereeeeee.. It's a way coolio but very long drive from perth to sydney..Check it out MSN or Google maps.

it's a boooooteaful day here & the weekend looks :cool: :) Great weather for the open water swim tomorrow morning! YAyyyyyy..

ahhhhh

[SadieKate]

The leaving your car running thing is, of course, illegal, but in a lot of colder communities, for a long time, the police would be very lenient about it. In our old town that was true until someone's car got stolen and that stolen car drove into a group out running, killing one person and badly injuring another. They had pretty low tolerance for it after that.

I've never been clear on the details, though. If the car is running but locked, is that legal?I think the point is not that it will be stolen but that cars periodically get a mind of their own and take off without a driver.

Been the recipient of that one. Fortunately, no one was injured but my brand new, pretty red Subaru wasn't happy and my neighbor was mortified.

He finally learned to use his parking brake.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Any car thief would first have had to slowly chip my car out from within it's block of ice if they wanted to steal it this morning (thus probably doing me a favor), plus they would have had to ice skate to my house to get here in the first place. :cool: The ice is supposed to accumulate another 3/4"-1" tonight :eek: ....ice storm warnings are out and the lights have flickered a few times already. People are expecting some power outages tonight.

I did get my flat tire fixed after I thawed and chipped the car out this morning (a nail was embedded in the tire). We pumped up my car tire with our bicycle pump until it was inflated well enough to get to the tire fixing place. Took a while, DH and i took turns. :D

Then I got to the vet appt on time with my beloved Pearl, who has not been well for a few days.
Turns out she has a general infection with inflamed gums and REALLY swollen lymph glands in her neck. No wonder she felt bad! Vet said it could be caused by various other health factors, including her thyroid or her kidneys (which we had a lot of trouble with 4 years ago), but before we go investigating all possibilities in depth again we are just going to kill the infection off with antibiotics (a pill twice a day for 20 days) and also increase her dietary fluids a bit more to help her kidneys in general. The antibiotics should knock out this infection and we'll see how she does after that. If she gets sick again after that we will then do some lab blood tests.
She was SO glad to get home, and purred up a storm!
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7833&d=1226116026

[OakLeaf]

Aw, hoping Pearl feels better soon. But... how do you push fluids with a cat??

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Aw, hoping Pearl feels better soon. But... how do you push fluids with a cat??

I've cut back on her dry food and now she gets her favorite canned organic cat food instead, in three small meals a day- each serving mixed with enough warm water to make it a bit soupy. :) She seems to like it a lot, so that helps. With her inflamed gums she's probably happy to not have to crunch the dry food for a while anyway.

[pardes]

Turns out she has a general infection with inflamed gums and REALLY swollen lymph glands in her neck. No wonder she felt bad!]

Bless her little heart! Hope she feels better VERY soon.

[Zen]

forward to 1:42
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM4vDr9_77k&feature=related

Catchy tune :)

Later that night Jed teaches Granny to smoke (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIdqj7YaZOA&feature=related)

[crazycanuck]

I'm off to bed as i have an open water swim event tomorrow morning :)

If you can send safe swimming vibes that would be lovely :)

Have a coolio friday!

[Tuckervill]

Vibing for the swim, CC!

Poor little kitty. She's pretty. I'm glad the "push fluids" question was answered!

Watch out on that ice, Lisa. I know three different people who died after head injuries from slipping on ice. When we get ice, it's an event--you are certainly more prepared than we, but ice is different than snow. We just hunker down and pray the trees don't fall. Are any tree limbs threatening your electrical wires?

Karen

[Biciclista]

a 56 year old man riding to work yesterday got killed by a car yesterday about 6 miles from my house. He was wearing a helmet, had lights and a reflective vest. He was going downhill fast and was hit (or flew into) a car turning left in front of him. the driver of the car was very old, 79, and is not being charged. it was still dark out. We're pretty freaked out about it. I don't know who he is yet, but he bike commuted every day.

Lisa, beautiful photo of your cat.

[Selkie]

Lisa - I hope Pearl recovers quickly! Is it still icy up your way?

The storm that blew through here and is now up in New England was horrible. Lots of rain. Cold rain. Had a weird electrical short last night because a bit of water leached into the basement wall (just wet on the cinderblocks). Consequently, I didn't get much sleep, so I took today off. The joys of having an old house!

Now it's windy and promises to get back to winter, after a short break from the "lower than average" temperatures we've been having. I'm hoping this all means an early spring for us East Coast folks.

[LBTC]

Mimi - that's very sad. Butterflies going out to his family and your riding community.

Snow here. It might be pretty once it is light out....

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Tuckervill]

What a sad story about the bike commuter. I used to think 56 was old, but now that I'm almost 47, it seems so YOUNG. He was so young, really.

Karen

[Fredwina]

geez, will I ever ride again?
I was going to sneak in my club chirstmas lights ride, but found today that goes right by my PT's home:o
anybody have an invisibilty cloak I can borrow?

[OakLeaf]

I'm ticked off at REI.

When we signed up as members we told them not to put us on their paper mailing list. Then when we got a catalog I sent them an email and asked to be taken off the paper mailing list. Then when we got another catalog DH sent them an email asking AGAIN to be taken off the paper mailing list, and reminding them that we do not patronize companies who send paper catalogs (although in practice we won't hold one catalog at holiday time against them). (Yes there was enough time between catalogs for them to have processed a change - although of course we shouldn't have got the first one.)

In response (at least they responded) he got an email talking about their "environmental stewardship" and referencing a link that said they actually used 100 tons MORE paper to print catalogs this year than last. :mad:

[Pax]

I'm ticked off at REI.

When we signed up as members we told them not to put us on their paper mailing list. Then when we got a catalog I sent them an email and asked to be taken off the paper mailing list. Then when we got another catalog DH sent them an email asking AGAIN to be taken off the paper mailing list, and reminding them that we do not patronize companies who send paper catalogs (although in practice we won't hold one catalog at holiday time against them). (Yes there was enough time between catalogs for them to have processed a change - although of course we shouldn't have got the first one.)

In response (at least they responded) he got an email talking about their "environmental stewardship" and referencing a link that said they actually used 100 tons MORE paper to print catalogs this year than last. :mad:

I'm a member of the Human Rights Campaign and they kept sending me TONS of mailings, to the tune of 5-6 a week. I emailed the division that handles the mailings four or five times and finally emailed the membership division with an ultimatum "if I receive one more item from you other than my annual renewal request I will cancel my membership". Amazingly, it worked.

[crazycanuck]

I feel like a blind & navigationally challenged turtle! :eek: :mad: :(

The open water swim today was not bad the first 800m as i could sort of see the Yellow Bouys. The last 800m I & quite a few other people got a bit off course!! I thought i was the only one out there that had a hard time seeing the bouys at the other end! Nope, my friend in the wave before me said she had issues with sighting as well.

I even had one of the surf lifeguards assisting at the event get me back on course! :o I need to do something about not being able to see in the distance, even with prescription goggles!!! :eek:

It was a good swim though & a beautiful day..ahhhhh


Another reason not to go shopping! http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,24793395-1242,00.html

[Biciclista]

uh oh. I think Bleeker Strreet Girl is without power in 23 degree weather! I wonder who else is not "present" because of the weather.

[OakLeaf]

Oh goodness, I hope not! She did post after the ice storm - and I think most of it was east of her - so keeping my fingers crossed! I think most of the New Englanders have checked in in the "ice storm" thread... ?

[Biciclista]

no she didn't post. and i sent her an email last night :(
and WE didn't get snow (as usual)

[salsabike]

The friends we spent T'giving with in Albany have power, but his parents (she, 89; he, 94) who live nearby do not. I think it's pretty bad in the region. By which I mean to say, BSG may well not have power since she lives in upstate NY.

[Biciclista]

Lisa sent me an email from a laptop. They have no power, but they are able to keep their house at 50 degrees (BRRR!!) because they have a woodstove (at least the kitties can hang out by the stove!!)
and don't expect to get power back any time soon!

[OakLeaf]

Thank goodness she's safe and keeping warm. Does she have water, though? That's our biggest concern during a power outage.

[Biciclista]

she didn't mention water. I do know she can go 2 miles to get to a store, so if she runs out, she can get more.

[kelownagirl]

I was wondering about BSG, thanks for posting Mini.

We got at least a foot of snow.

[Biciclista]

you got A FOOT of snow!! that is awesome. We have wet corn snow falling right now. i wonder if it will accumulate.

[kelownagirl]

My back deck.

[OakLeaf]

Eeeeek KG, that gives a whole new meaning to thread DRIFT.

[Selkie]

Keep that white stuff out west!!

[Biciclista]

ooo beyoootiful photos. we got snow too, a rugged inch.
and the wind is howling and it's below freezing. I wonder how many of the tender plants i put in the ground in September are going to survive THIS!?

[chicago]

Eeeeek KG, that gives a whole new meaning to thread DRIFT.

LOL!!... that made me laugh!!

hi girls... here are some pics from the barn yesterday. Lady is the Saddlebred (brown horse)... stalking Snowflake in the first three pics, LOL!! I always train on Lady... unless I ride the trail, then I ride Lance.. the big teddy bear, he he. Lady is too fast for me for trail, she'd kick my butt!!! Snowflake is the white fluffy one... she's a bit old and doesn't get ridden much... but Lady keeps her company and is her best friend. Whereever you see snowflake, you see Lady. Lady rocks.. she is sooooooooooooooo fast and sweet!! The 4th pic is Lance... the 1800lb gelding... a big sweetheart :) The last pic is ET.. the ham, LOL. When we let the horses loose in the arena, most of them play and run... but ET follows me all around... and just keeps posing for the camera, LOL!! Great day at the stables yesterday. I can't wait until I buy my horse! :)
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1169.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1170.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1163.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1168.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1159-1.jpg

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm back! :)

I posted about our 2 1/2 day power-less ice storm experience in the Ice Storm thread:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=28278&page=2
Good to be warm again!

[OakLeaf]

Oh good to have you back! I was just reading this morning how some people don't expect to have their electric back on for days... glad you aren't one of those!

[Biciclista]

we were thinking we'd go for a walk, but the streets were kind of like an ice skating rink, so we just walked around the block. Exceptionally cold here; 31 degrees with a stiff wind blowing, so the ice and snow isn't going anywhere for a while!

[salsabike]

Ha. Teigyr and spouse and Salsa and spouse did the Jingle Bell 5K this morning. Teigyr ran it all, I ran part, and the guys walked damn fast. It was actually pretty nice by the time we got going, around 9 am.

[Biciclista]

isn't it icy up there Salsa? I'm glad you had some traction. if you had what we have, you wouldnt have gone 5k believe me!

[Tuckervill]

It got up to 70 today. A rare treat for December! I think the wintry mix they're expecting is not going to happen.

Karen

[salsabike]

The Jingle Bell 5K is downtown, which doesn't get/keep as much snow and ice as the hinterlands. It's like your neighborhood where we live too, but it wasn't hard to get out, and once we were out, driving was okay.

It was really pretty fun. By the time we started at around 9 am, it was reasonably nice out. People wear costumes, and some of them are pretty cool, like the people dressed as presents complete with big fancy boxes around their middles, and bows, and the guy wearing a big cardboard train engine around HIS middle. The Arthritis Foundation organizers give out lots of bells so people jingle as they run. I was glad we did it, although at 6 am when it was pitch black and the wind was blowing gusts of snow off the roof, we did have a 10 minute sit-on-the-bed-and-ponder-staying-in-it session. Glad we didn't, though.

Here's the crowd near the start:

8174

And here are the runners and walkers on the part that goes on the express lanes of I-5:

8175

[Biciclista]

looks like a lot of Santa's Elves were out there, getting in shape for Christmas!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow, all kinds of interesting winter activity pictures! I love seeing all your pictures. :)

I'm trying to catch up on some work this evening.

I also managed to do my laundry, put away all the 'power outage supplies', repack the cleaned fridge and freezer with the foods from the coolers out on the cold porch, and get the boxes of Xmas goodies packed up for my daughters and ready to ship out tomorrow.

[Biciclista]

wow, I'm impressed, Lisa. We've had all 3 events canceled this weekend due to weather (so you think i'd have more time) and i still haven't gotten everything done!

[LBTC]

Lisa, you're amazing!

Salsa, you too!

I am decidedly lazy these days. I may have just figured it out. I get lazy when I get stressed and, even though it has all turned out well in very little time, I think my body isn't finished processing the stress yet. :o

It has been a lovely weekend, though. We had a nice get together with the girls from belly dancing on Friday night. We've done a bit of shopping, a bit of trying to make up for the sleep deprivation, watched some movies, played with the dogs in the snow - nice and mellow.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey it's easy to be a whirlwind of activity after 3 days of sitting around layered up with gloves and hats and basically doing NOTHING much but wait for the power to come back....feeding the woodstove and reading by lantern light every evening. I should have brushed up on my knitting but somehow never felt inspired enough or there wasn't enough light. Couldn't clean up branches outside because everything was frozen rock solid into place.
Then suddenly you get a WARM, LONG 8 hour night's sleep, TWO blazing hot showers, and shed all those stifling layers of sweaters and blankets and believe me you'd be rushing around excitedly doing a thousand things too! :D

KG- that's a LOT of snow! Wish I was there with my snowshoes! I look forward to some nice fluffy deep snow (and hopefully no more major ice layers this winter). I am badly in need of some fitness walking/biking/jump-roping, or SOMETHING! Gotta get caught up and get my act together again before I turn into a blob.

Mimi- I liked your snow pictures as well! I see you are wearing orange as usual. :)

[kelownagirl]

KG- that's a LOT of snow! Wish I was there with my snowshoes! I look forward to some nice fluffy deep snow (and hopefully no more major ice layers this winter). I am badly in need of some fitness walking/biking/jump-roping, or SOMETHING! Gotta get caught up and get my act together again before I turn into a blob.

)

It'll be around for a while with highs of -13C all week. Light and fluffy, easy to shovel.

[crazycanuck]

I love the snow photos KG!!! :) Oh how i love to walk in fresh snow. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch. Ah...

Walking in the sand doesn't sound like walking in snow:(

Yellow Snow & Yellow sand should not be eaten.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I love the snow photos KG!!! :) Oh how i love to walk in fresh snow. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch. Ah...

Walking in the sand doesn't sound like walking in snow:(



Yes but on the beach you get the soothing sounds of the waves and the seagulls and the whispering dune grasses..... :)

I love the 'silent heavy blanket' non-sound when it's snowing heavily....all sound is muffled and the silence is so magical.

One of my early memories was as a little girl in NewYorkCity- my mother was walking with me during a heavy snowfall at night, and we stopped under a street lamp to just look at the snow on the ground there- in the street lamp light it was glittering and sparkling like millions of diamonds on the ground, and I was completely transfixed by its amazing beauty.
Another time, I think I was about 4, we took a train upstate to visit a friend of my mother's. I was used to riding underground city subways mostly, not trains out in the country. We got off the train at the station, and walked across some tracks. The tracks were covered with fresh snow, and suddenly I stopped to stare at the amazing combination of colors and textures I saw at my feet- my new bright red shoes stood in the sparkling white snow, and some pieces of perfect shiny jet black coal were there too, with their glasslike finish. The black coal, red shoes, and sparkling white diamond snow, all together! I was amazed.
Then we went on to visit the friend, whose elderly mother ran a little antique shop from one part of her home. The one thing aside from the coal on the tracks that I remember from that visit was going by myself into a little side room of antiques....
I thought I was entering an enchanted world....
the room had only some large tables all around (the table tops being about my head height), with dozens of old wooden painted bird decoys, wonderful birds of all kinds...mallards, Bufflehead, Canadian geese, brilliant wood ducks! The windows had various colored glass antique bottles lined up on the sills and tables in front of the windows, and the golden late afternoon sun poured through them like stained glass...patches of blue, red, amber, and green shining onto the walls and onto the birds. I focused on a huge wooden white swan decoy, his beady black glass eyes stared at me while all the colored bottle lights poured in with the sun.

[Biciclista]

Lisa, is that where you first met Ruby?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, is that where you first met Ruby?

Not that I know of. But come to think of it, I could have been being watched. :eek:
Nah... that was like 50 years ago!

[Biciclista]

But Lisa, Ruby is more than 50 years old, really!

[Fredwina]

two days without a post? The horrors!!!!!!;)
any adivice for dealing with folks who have LWS (lazy worker syndrome)

[salsabike]

I dunno--do you mean you or someone else?? My answer would be different! :p:p:p And...could you please remind us the kind of place where you work/job you do?

How are your bike/car wounds healing?

[Pax]

Saw the cutest thing on my way into work today, there's always this very old greyhound being walked along the street that carries it's leash in it's mouth as they amble along...today she was wearing an adorable bright red cape, she looked like SantaPooch!:D

[LBTC]

Pax - that's so cute! Thank you for the early morning smile! :)

Fredwina - have you been watching me???

It's another snowy day! It would be so nice to stay in bed allllll daaaaaaaaaaaaaay

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I dunno--do you mean you or someone else?? My answer would be different! :p:p:p

That's right!
If it's you, we'd say: "Hey, cut yourself some slack and don't expect so much of yourself- you have every right to take a little break over the holidays, it's GOOD for you!"
If it's one of your co-workers, we'd say: "Tell that lazy %$*))#$ to get off their totally LAME butt and pull their share 'cause it's causing more work for everyone else to take up their slack!"

Because that's the TE way.
:D :D :D :cool:

[Fredwina]

I dunno--do you mean you or someone else?? My answer would be different! :p:p:p And...could you please remind us the kind of place where you work/job you do?

How are your bike/car wounds healing?

will post more over the weekend (I'm back at being a wage slave:o)
PAX,
I have three more weeks of PT. I'm supposed to talk with my atty today and get an update.

[Tuckervill]

I'm SIIIIICKKKKK! could be sinuses. headache!

ack!

Karen

[salsabike]

Karen--long steamy shower and hot tea with lemon. Do you get to stay home today?

We have a snow day. It's somewhat irrelevant since I'll have to make it up later, but it's still nice. Even though there's only about two inches of snow. This is an improvement over yesterday's snow day, when there was NO snow in the Seattle area at all, not one flake (but plenty of snow just north and south of us). Meteorology here is a real challenge because of the different systems that interact from the north (cold air), west (marine air with moisture) and south (warm air). I had a long talk with a Cornell meteorology student a couple of years ago when they were making alumni fund-raising calls and she said they all always want to come out here to do internships because it's so interesting to try to understand the weather here. It was very funny.

I even talked my spouse into working at home today, which he can do some days. This would never happen in my home town of Albany, but here they just don't have the resources to clear the roads and they quickly become really dangerous. Not to mention the "I don't know how to drive in the snow" folks.

That's right, BSG---TE friendships are based on a heavy enabling factor! Gotta get that SOMEWHERE in life... :)

[Biciclista]

we're "stuck" home too! SNOW! whooopeee!!

[dex]

I tried to be responsible and go to work. I didn't make it past my driveway without falling down...twice. Looks like I'm staying in today.

[salsabike]

No falling allowed for you, Ms. Dex!!! How's your knee?

[salsabike]

By the way, for anyone who cares about this: when the temps fell below freezing this week, I called the Wild Birds Unlimited store and said, hey, do you guys have any ideas for how I can keep my hummingbird feeders from freezing during the day? I can take them in at night, but it was cold enough in daytime for them to freeze also. And they said, yeah, we do--rubber band some of the little handwarmer pouches on the bottom. It works perfectly! My hummingbirds have been able to feed during this cold weather with no problem--the feeders stay unfrozen all day long.

[Tuckervill]

I do get to stay home--every day. And the boy just went to a friend's house, so I can stay in bed and eat leftovers. I really want a coke, though.

We don't have hummingbirds here in the winter time. That would be interesting. We do have cardinals, though, and one my cats brought one in this morning! :(

[dex]

No falling allowed for you, Ms. Dex!!! How's your knee?

Hah! Of all the things that are wrong right now, my knee is not one of them. It has been surprisingly well-behaved for the past month or so.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be getting a nice big bruise on my right hip/buttcheek for Christmas, though. Joy!

[salsabike]

I love cardinals and I miss them--they don't come across the mountains here--but would definitely rather see them not in a cat's mouth...

Anna's hummingbirds winter over in the Puget Sound area, and I've had them for years. I put up a feeder in November when the flowers disappear and keep it up till I get my first hanging fuchsia basket, usually in mid April. I love them. There's nothing like seeing a hummingbird in the dead of a PNW winter to cheer you up a little. I'm kind of a bird weenie anyway, I guess. I think birds are really enchanting critters.

[Aggie_Ama]

And they said, yeah, we do--rubber band some of the little handwarmer pouches on the bottom. It works perfectly! My hummingbirds have been able to feed during this cold weather with no problem--the feeders stay unfrozen all day long.

I will pass this along to DH's grandma. She loves her birds and was upset when it froze last week. We tend to have some hummingbirds year round in Texas. Thanks for the tip!

[Biciclista]

It's been snowing all day here and there is a solid 6 inches so far. DH & I went for a walk, about 4 miles, enjoying the sights around us. We walked to an arterial with a 6 % grade and got much entertainment watching cars and trucks sliding and getting stuck on the ice-paved street. Seattle drivers are the most entertaining when it comes to driving on snow. We took lots of nice photos too

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We too are supposed to get between 6 and 12" of snow tomorrow (friday) and tomorrow night. :eek:
Might be dusting of my snowshoes (probably after dusting off the snow shovel though)
I just hope the power doesn't go out again because of all the still dangling branches everywhere. :(
It's been a bang-up start to winter so far.

Mimi, at first I laughed at your dinky 2" of snow....but now 6" is more respectable. :D My DH and I went for a cold walk for 4 1/2 miles this morning too, but no real snow yet.

[Biciclista]

believe me, we would have been thrilled with 2 inches. but it's still coming down, 25 inches have fallen on our mountain pass !

Here's a couple photos. This guy rode 1/2 way to work and gave up. He rode off holding his cigarette in one hand :eek::eek::eek:

[Biciclista]

then the big truck tried to go up the 6% grade where several cars were already stuck

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Great pictures! :p

[Biciclista]

can you see the guy on the right sitting in the snow watching the show?

:D

[Tuckervill]

I'm so glad it's 55 degrees here right now. But the high on Sunday is forecast to be 14! yikes.

K.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

can you see the guy on the right sitting in the snow watching the show?

:D


Yes, and I especially like the "Safe Way" truck logo and the "End road work" sign. :D

[tulip]

Your snow is lovely! I don't expect we'll get any here anytime soon. I would love to see how Shiloh likes the snow, though. He loves jumping in a big pile of leaves in my backyard. Do all dogs do this? (asked from a novice dog owner).

[Pax]

Your snow is lovely! I don't expect we'll get any here anytime soon. I would love to see how Shiloh likes the snow, though. He loves jumping in a big pile of leaves in my backyard. Do all dogs do this? (asked from a novice dog owner).

Our dogs loved to eat snow, they chowed on it like ice cream.

[Tuckervill]

My dogs romp in the snow, but they don't know if it's good to eat.

My cats spent so much time outside when we had ice pellets everywhere. I couldn't understand it.

Hey, Lisa! Here's a picture of teeny socks I made for my grandbaby with the wool you sent me (he's not born, yet. I hope they fit!) I'm getting good at toe-up socks. Don't even need to look at the pattern. I wish it only took 2 hours for grown up socks like it does for baby socks!

Karen

[Biciclista]

wow! you KNIT those socks!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey, Lisa! Here's a picture of teeny socks I made for my grandbaby with the wool you sent me (he's not born, yet. I hope they fit!) I'm getting good at toe-up socks. Don't even need to look at the pattern. I wish it only took 2 hours for grown up socks like it does for baby socks!

Karen

Oh my gosh Karen that is wonderful!!
So nice to see that ball of wool transformed into such lovely sweet little socks!!
Thanks so much for posting that picture!

[salsabike]

Hummingbird at the feeder today:

8223

8224

[Selkie]

I love cardinals and I miss them--they don't come across the mountains here--but would definitely rather see them not in a cat's mouth...

.

You'd love living in Arlington or probably, anywhere in Virginia. It truly is the Cardinal State. My neighbor has a "bird sanctuary" (numerous feeders) so we see a lot of birds -- and squirrels!!!

[Tuckervill]

I did knit them! They're probably the most perfect pair, yet (no holes where I dropped a stitch...no screwed up ribbing). Believe me, I'm surprised, too! lol.

I'm knitting dishcloths for my DILs for xmas, and the thing I like about knitting is that you think about the person you're knitting for a lot, and that good energy is spreading out into the universe the whole time. It's very meditative.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Oooh, hummingbirds in the snow! Would never happen where I live!

I came across the most delightful hummingbird houses at the War Eagle Craft Fair. They are made from branches of trees, turned on a lathe. The branch is about fist sized, is hollowed out with a drill, then turned on the lathe until just a bit of the bark is left. A little pointy top, also turned on the lathe, is added, and they hang from a string. They are way more elegant than my description. The are made at a place called Mellon's Country Store in Mountain View, AR, but darned if he doesn't have pictures of them on his website. (mellonscountrystore.com) I bought one for my friend who is into her hummingbirds, too. The house is so small, he suggests you hang them on the Christmas tree!

Karen

[Blueberry]

Those are great socks! The vast majority of my holiday presents this year are hand knitted by me - hats, scarves, a neck warmer, an ear warmer, and a large shawl. I've been busy, but I think it will be worth it!

CA

[salsabike]

Hey, Tuck, I did try to see the hummingbird house on their home page but couldn't find it. Sounds cool. However, their website DID make me instantly crave country ham.

I am a bit of a bird lover. I have seven feeders out right now---two hummingbird feeders (if you don't put them out of sight of each other, they will fight over the territory and no one will get to eat for long, so they are on different sides of the house), one peanut feeder, two black oil sunflower seed feeders, a sunflower chips feeder, and a suet feeder. Saw a little downy woodpecker on the suet feeder this morning.

It is clear and cold here at about 23 F. And expected to stay that way till Saturday night/Sunday, when it may snow again. The side roads are very icy. It's funny how different it is from where I grew up in upstate NY, where you'd have to have more than a foot of snow for things to shut down. Here, a couple of inches will do it because they don't have the resources to clear it out.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We are supposed to get about a foot of snow later today and tonight. :cool:

[salsabike]

Yeah, I saw that. And just got an email from my best friend in Albany saying it had just this minute started snowing like mad.

[Tuckervill]

Oh how I wish I could find those hummingbird houses online. They would FLY off the shelves, they are that cute. Not cutesy, just cute, and well done.

Karen

[Biciclista]

well, nanutka from the north checking in.
left the house before 7am and waited about 30 minutes to take the bus that goes downtown. got on it and got off at 4th and spokane, out of my way but the only way to connect to another bus to take me to work. After almost 40 minutes, the bus didn't come, so i started walking (i was getting too cold)
I arrived at work at 1045am, having walked the 4 or so miles from 4th and spokane on unshoveled sidewalks (and paths) all the way to my office.

my legs are TIRED


your hummers are cute Salsa!

[Blueberry]

Wow! Wish we'd see some snow - please keep the pictures coming - I love to see them! NC hasn't seen a good snow in 3 years now if I'm counting correctly. I'm not sure I'd want as much as you guys have, but *some* would be nice;)

CA

[Zen]

Salsa- that second hummingbird photo needs a text bubble. She's saying "hey! Look what I can do!"

[salsabike]

I know. "Look, Ma, no hands!" I love that in the second picture you can see her teeny little feet, drawn up like landing gear. I'm having a lot of bird watching fun. It's also pretty funny to watch the squirrels get wildly excited when they find the peanuts and then scurry around like maniacs burying them in new little holes. Our squirrels are FAT and happy.

Today so far I have seen Anna's hummingbirds, chickadees, nuthatches, bushtits, rufous-sided towhees, dark-eyed juncos, a downy woodpecker. I also heard the hummingbird squeaking grumpily at me when I went out onto the porch near the feeder there. Get OUT of my territory, she was saying. They are so combative and so fairylike at the same time (Tinkerbell-like, come to think of it. She had a crabby disposition too. Can you tell I'm totally at leisure here?).

[sgtiger]

The pics of the hummingbirds are sweet, Salsa. :)

[salsabike]

Holy ____, look at this:

http://www.komonews.com/news/36458659.html

It sounds like everyone's okay, mercifully.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Holy cow, a miracle that no one got hurt on those buses. Very very lucky.



Wow! Wish we'd see some snow - please keep the pictures coming - I love to see them!

Ok.
Here is just the first 2 inches of our snowfall which is supposed to be about a foot deep tonight.
2 of our backyard spruces in the rapidly fading daylight:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/3120537803_6269054fc0.jpg

and our 'xmas tree' which is a large cactus we decorate:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/3120537167_eedf251b99.jpg

I like the odd mix of cactus and snow, separated only by a pane of glass.... :D

[jobob]

Holy ____, look at this:

http://www.komonews.com/news/36458659.html

It sounds like everyone's okay, mercifully.


Good freakin' grief! :eek:


Passengers and the bus drivers were reported to be shaken up after the accident, but no one was seriously hurt.


Shaken up must be an understatement {{shudder}}

[salsabike]

Truly. It's amazing, really amazing, that no one was seriously hurt. That poor bus driver must have been beyond terrified. I'm sure the passengers were too, but the driver's the one who stared right into the abyss. Blechh. I'm mighty glad we both stayed home today.

[sgtiger]

Salsa - Eek!:eek::eek::eek: Talk about a close call.


Lisa - Your Christmas cactus is beautiful.

[Biciclista]

what about the folks on I-5 that happened to look up? I might have wet my pants!!!!!!!

[Fredwina]

Snow pic Socal Style:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/20081220snow/100_0144.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/20081220snow/100_0145.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/Fredwina_photo/20081220snow/100_0142.jpg

[salsabike]

Ah, Fredwina photos. Always nice to see those. I especially like the one with the palm trees. What mountain range is this?

[Fredwina]

Ah, Fredwina photos. Always nice to see those. I especially like the one with the palm trees. What mountain range is this?
The San Gabriels and specifically, Cucamonga Peak

[Biciclista]

nice photos Fredwina.

alert alert; it's snowing here.

[crazycanuck]

Ello from the burbs of Sydney :)

We drovvvvvveeeeee for 2 1/2 days straight (we can take our time going back though!!!) & saw a dingo, emu family etc etc. The drive through central NSW was really interesting!

Tomorrow we do the Bridge Climb & fly to enzed on tues:)

[salsabike]

Okay, this weather just isn't funny anymore. Yikes!

[dex]

Agreed. I'm starting to worry I won't be able to get to work on Monday. *sigh*

[Pax]

Hey CC, glad you made it and had a nice trip!!


It's 1F here with a -23F windchill, we usually don't get this kind of temp until February. :(

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Snowing VERY hard here now....says we're going to get a nother 3-7" today.
23F degrees.....we're bundling up to walk into town for Sunday breakfast. :p

maybe snowshoeing later....?

[Bruno28]

We're still having typical summer weather - driving rain and wind :rolleyes:

Still - not long till I'm in -20 conditions!

[bmccasland]

The warm muggies - very still air, day highs in the mid 70's have been forced out by the north wind. Today only supposed to be in the 50's with a freeze this evening. But no worries, supposed to be 75 on Christmas. Welcome to life in the semi-tropics. Never pack away all the summer clothes.

[Fredwina]

55 and sunny. but more rain tonight
I managed to upload photos from my cell. These were taken after therapy:
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq93/Janalingo/downsized_1217080742a-1.jpg
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq93/Janalingo/1219080739.jpg

[salsabike]

Oy. It's snowing again. We got about six inches last night, with a nice little cover of freezing rain over it. We just shoveled the walk. Then I went outside with the camera chasing a red-breasted sapsucker and a pileated woodpecker (Woody!) for pix. Then it started snowing again. If only they cleared the roads here...

My camera was a regular old "snail mail" kind, so I can't post pics, but here's what each of those birds looks like, from the Cornell bird site:

8250

8251

[Blueberry]

Wow! Beautiful snow pictures!!! And Lisa- I LOVE the holiday cactus! I almost did the same thing with my key lime tree - will have to next year!! Wish our weather would make up its mind - we were almost 70 on Friday, and we're headed for 19 Monday night.

CA

[DebW]

Here's the 16 or more inches of snow we've gotten since Friday, and it's still coming down. The picture is my deck - you can see the snow depth on the picnic table. I've already shoveled my driveway 7 times.

[tulip]

Deb, That is beautiful! I miss snow! I lived in Cambridge for the Blizzard of 78, and except for the cabbage that we were reduced to eating for a few weeks because the Star Market had run out of everything else, I had a blast!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow Deb, that is a lot of snow! You have us beat by about 5" right now....but giant flakes are falling bigtime at the moment...more is still coming, and it's starting to get dark now (and only 4:00!).
We'll see what the morning brings.
....Is that a flying saucer there coming through your woods? :eek:

[DebW]

Wow Deb, that is a lot of snow!
....Is that a flying saucer there coming through your woods? :eek:

I suspect it's a reflection from the window, but you can believe in flying saucers if you want to.

Off to shovel yet again.

[kelownagirl]

I suspect it's a reflection from the window, but you can believe in flying saucers if you want to.

Off to shovel yet again.

Suspiciously like the pic of the "ghost" over the bed in the other thread. Must be a day of weird lights in pics.

[Tuckervill]

It's cold (20F) here, but no snow anywhere or in the forecast. I'd just as soon there be snow, if it's too cold to go outside. I've been in bed all day anyway, trying to recover from this cold/sinus/flu/whatever it is I have. I haven't even felt well enough to sit up and knit, and I don't feel guilty about being in bed, which is a big indicator of how sick I am. I think tomorrow will be better, though! :)

Karen

[OakLeaf]

Aw Karen, hope you feel better soon! Being sick is miserable. :(

[jobob]

I lived in Cambridge for the Blizzard of 78, and except for the cabbage that we were reduced to eating for a few weeks because the Star Market had run out of everything else, I had a blast! Get out, I was there too! I was holed up in a dorm at BU, right across the river from you. What were you, two years old then?

My best memory of that blizzard was walking across the Christian Science Plaza and sinking up past my waist in snow! :cool:

[tulip]

Get out, I was there too! I was holed up in a dorm at BU, right across the river from you. What were you, two years old then?

My best memory of that blizzard was walking across the Christian Science Plaza and sinking up past my waist in snow! :cool:

No I was 10, and school was out for three weeks. People were XC skiing right over the cars, which you could tell were there by the antennas sticking through the snow. I have fond memories of that storm, probably because I had no responsibilities except feeding my hamster and my cat.

Here, however, it rained all night and my roof leaks. Still. (like it's going to just "heal?")

[OakLeaf]

I was in college in '78 too, but at Oberlin. I remember walking to a friend's house for dinner. I walked through a portico I knew was there - I could tell I was on the sidewalk - but couldn't see the pillars. When I got to my friend's house, my eyelashes were frozen together. :eek:

[salsabike]

The house last night just before the snow started:

8261

And tonight, after about 9 inches fell:

8262

[crazycanuck]

Ahhh..lovely to see the snow!

1978..I was 6 :o & we were stationed in Victoria :D

We did the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb today & loved being in the middle of traffic /under traffic/over traffic! I thought it would be a waste of $$$$$ but I was pleasantly surpised.

The Sydney Opera house on the other hand..:confused: I still don't see the appeal.

Tomorrow we head to NZ & am hoping it doesn't rain the whole time we're there!!!

One day, i'll be able to catch up with the stuff happenin on TD.

[Selkie]

I think I'm finished with my cookie baking binge!! There is no more room in the freezer. After the last bunch cools, I'll make up a gallon-sized zip locs for DH and I to take to our respective offices tomorrow.

Chocorgasms, Toffee, M&M, M&M Chocolate Crackles, Veronica's Oatmeal (w/Chocolate Chips w/Toffee chips), and my favorites, oatmeal w/chocolate chips & pecans!

I meant to make only three batches. Then I went into a frenzy!!! My mother, rest her soul, always made batches of cookies at Christmas, so it's a family tradition. I really can't get in the holiday spirit without baking some.

[jobob]

Do you deliver? :D

[redrhodie]

My mother, rest her soul, always made batches of cookies at Christmas, so it's a family tradition. I really can't get in the holiday spirit without baking some.


Me too! I made Russian Tea Cakes, and they really bring memories of my mother back. She and I would bake dozens and dozens of Christmas Cookies. I stuck to three batches, and it looks like plenty! I was going to make Thumbprints, but I have no room left. Maybe later.

[tulip]

Oh, I have kitchen envy. I wish I had a kitchen!

[Pax]

Oh, I have kitchen envy. I wish I had a kitchen!

That made me laugh out loud, thanks. :p

[Biciclista]

Tulip, how can you live without a kitchen? where is your food?


i am back at work today; a total waste of a perfect snow day.

[Bluetree]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/3120537167_eedf251b99.jpg



That's awesome! :)

[tulip]

Tulip, how can you live without a kitchen? where is your food?

*sigh*

I've been without a kitchen since I bought this house in August. The renovation finally started in October, and it's getting there, slowly. I do have appliances--very nice ones (new)--in my livingroom. My fancy French-door bottom freezer fridge is plugged in, filled with oh-so-delicious-and-nutritious microwave meals--in the livingroom. I have a big basket on the table that is jammed in front of the fireplace filled with soup and instant mashed potatoes and pretzles and tea and oatmeal and bananas. My stove is a staging area for my paper plates and plastic cups. My dishwasher is next to the front door wrapped up in whatever dishwasher insulation is made of. Sitting on top of it is the new microwave/convection oven, which makes a great place to put my mittens and dog leash, since it's next to the front door. My old (very old--like 20 years old) microwave is in the diningroom on some plastic milk crates. Lovely.

I am less one whole wall, and I have new HVAC, new water heater, new electricity, new plumbing, new recessed lights...but the cabinets are not finished yet. The contractors come tomorrow to finish up the drywall repair and patch the floor where the old wall was, and the final inspections are supposed to be tomorrow, too. Then I have to paint the ceiling and walls. Then it's just waiting on the cabinets, which are supposed to be ready to install in mid-January. Then the concrete countertops have to be made, the sink and stuff installed, the pendant lights hung, and the appliances moved OUT of the livingroom.

Then I'm going to bake a bunch of cookies and drink mulled wine--for a week!

[Biciclista]

ooooh renovations!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

DH's son is visiting, there's a fire in the fireplace, and I have small twin chickens roasting in the oven right now. Stuffing is made, and green beans, and cheesecake waiting.....mmmmm

[Aggie_Ama]

What time should we be there Lisa? Your cooking always makes my mouth water. ;)

[jobob]

We should throw tulip a virtual kitchenwarming when her remodeling is done!

http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/chef.gif (http://www.millan.net)

[Bluetree]

I hate it when I can't find a place to park! ;)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/3128401613_fbaedd55b0.jpg

(Post-ride coffee shop on Saturday)

[salsabike]

We should throw tulip a virtual kitchenwarming when her remodeling is done!

http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/chef.gif (http://www.millan.net)

You still thinking about cookies?

PS OK. I am, anyway. :D

[jobob]

Cookies, pizza, beer - it's all good.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am impatiently waiting for tulip's after photos. She has shared some really neat plans in the remodeling thread, should make us a bit jealous when she is done.

tulip- I never posted a picture of my finished landscaping but I took your advice and planted something (Katie's Dwarf Ruellia) in front of those Japanese Barberries. They are grassy right now but when it was warmer the pink and violet blooms were nice too. Thanks for the suggestion, it looks more complete. Couldn't get DH to got for bringing the bed any further out, maybe future years. Even with him getting the plants for next to nothing he was tired of spending money.

[Tuckervill]

Back among the living! After about 48 hours solid in bed, I managed to get up AND work out today, and make a beef stew with the roast leftovers hubby cooked yesterday.

The house is a total wreck, and Christmas is in how many days???

K.

[tulip]

Cookies, pizza, beer - it's all good.

I LIKE this jobob person! I'll take some more photos tomorrow after they patch the drywall and the floor where the old wall was. Then when the cabinets come in January I'll certainly let you know. Thanks for the well-wishes.

Aggie, I'm glad the landscape worked out. I can certainly understand your husband's not wanting to spend any more money. I have Big Plans for my yard come spring, so I'm starting alot of perennials from seed in my basement this winter.

[salsabike]

Tulip, did you ever see the pictures of our big '07 remodel? Aiyiyi. In case you didn't, here they are. I love the intro picture, where it looks like the house is just barfing out its old contents.

http://home.comcast.net/~remodel001/index.htm

[tulip]

Salsa, those are great photos, almost like watching an animated short! Mine's just the interior, no additions. The main work is the kitchen. I can't wait to see how it looks all done, as this is the first house that I've owned that I can actually do whatever I want to (within reason, of course).

[Zen]

I'm starting alot of perennials from seed in my basement this winter.
Do any of them have five jagged leaves :cool: ?

[Pax]

Do any of them have five jagged leaves :cool: ?

Man I miss the 70's.

[kelownagirl]

Man I miss the 70's.

LOL!

Hey Pax, do you know what's up with Friedquads?

[Pax]

LOL!

Hey Pax, do you know what's up with Friedquads?

I heard it's been down for four days, one of the gals on my MC board (same owner) is emailing the big guy to see what's up. If I hear anything I'll let you know.

[Aggie_Ama]

I have Big Plans for my yard come spring, so I'm starting alot of perennials from seed in my basement this winter.

We let the guy the company pays to grow plants do this for us! :p I did get a big ol' batch of really awesome pansies from him. He gets seed samples every year and we get those free. My favorite price!

[Biciclista]

I can't find my yard. it's under a foot of snow encased in ice.

but temps are supposed to jump above freezing today.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I can't find my yard. it's under a foot of snow encased in ice.

but temps are supposed to jump above freezing today.

Wow- tough conditions, Mimi! :eek:

We have about a foot of snow here, but it's still fluffy and easy to push around.

It's 15F right now, and in an hour I am going snowshoeing with some other folks from the Land Conservancy, if it doesn't get canceled for some reason. Should be 20F by then though! :D

[Aggie_Ama]

I wish we got the fluffy stuff here. It is 30's and foggy, at least it looks like winter. My plants finally got enough of a freeze to die back (the ones that were supposed to that is). Looking forward to 70's tomorrow for a Christmas Eve bike ride and camping New Years Eve- that is Texas for you! :rolleyes:

[Crankin]

We just spent 15K on a new roof with special flashing to prevent leaks from ice dams.... well Sunday we heard "drip, drip, drip" and low and behold, water was coming in our kitchen. My husband cleared the ice and then proceeded to punch a hole in the ceiling, to let the water escape and not spread the damage. We had about 4 gallons :eek:. So now the roofer is here, trying to figure out where the leak is coming from, so they know what to fix. He has thrown about 10 gallons of hot water on the spot and can't see anything.
I am waiting for him to finish, so I can go x country skiing! All dressed up in my new Jones Wear pants and my half zip Shak hoodie, Smart Wool base layer, and wool socks. Well, my long underwear and sock liners are silk, but I have never been so naturally clothed for winter!

I have such a lovely view of the hole in my ceiling as I type this.

[chicago]

I hate it when I can't find a place to park! ;)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/3128401613_fbaedd55b0.jpg

(Post-ride coffee shop on Saturday)

that's an awesome pic:D

what part of the warm climate are you luckily from?

[Biciclista]

We just spent 15K on a new roof with special flashing to prevent leaks from ice dams.... well Sunday we heard "drip, drip, drip" and low and behold, water was coming in our kitchen. My husband cleared the ice and then proceeded to punch a hole in the ceiling, to let the water escape and not spread the damage. We had about 4 gallons :eek:. So now the roofer is here, trying to figure out where the leak is coming from, so they know what to fix. He has thrown about 10 gallons of hot water on the spot and can't see anything.
I am waiting for him to finish, so I can go x country skiing! All dressed up in my new Jones Wear pants and my half zip Shak hoodie, Smart Wool base layer, and wool socks. Well, my long underwear and sock liners are silk, but I have never been so naturally clothed for winter!

I have such a lovely view of the hole in my ceiling as I type this.
i would be furious if i were you! 15K and they didn't get it right??!?!!
:eek::eek::eek:

[tulip]

We just spent 15K on a new roof with special flashing to prevent leaks from ice dams.... well Sunday we heard "drip, drip, drip" and low and behold, water was coming in our kitchen. My husband cleared the ice and then proceeded to punch a hole in the ceiling, to let the water escape and not spread the damage. We had about 4 gallons :eek:. So now the roofer is here, trying to figure out where the leak is coming from, so they know what to fix. He has thrown about 10 gallons of hot water on the spot and can't see anything.
I am waiting for him to finish, so I can go x country skiing! All dressed up in my new Jones Wear pants and my half zip Shak hoodie, Smart Wool base layer, and wool socks. Well, my long underwear and sock liners are silk, but I have never been so naturally clothed for winter!

I have such a lovely view of the hole in my ceiling as I type this.

Ugh, I have a roof leak (or two) as well. It'll have to wait for spring when I have some funds...it's not a big leak, nothing a bucket can't handle (and it's only in the attic). I hope your roofer finds that leak and fixes it in time for you to go skiing.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm back from snowshoeing up and down a couple of miles of steep hills through the woods....whew!! My legs feel like r~u~b~b~e~r. I am going to be plenty sore tomorrow, I just know it. When snowshoeing, two miles always feels more like 5 miles. :cool:
It was cold, beautiful, and fun. We were a group of ten. There was an incredible view of the whole valley when we got to the top of our climb.
I'll be sleeping like a rock tonight, after some nice leftover roast chicken and stuffing. :p

[Crankin]

Lisa, your snow shoe sounds lovely.
I did go skiing. I only had time to do the "easy" side of the touring center, which was good, since I was slow and I fell (well, not completely) on a little downhill. But, the conditions were perfect and it got up to 30 degrees by the time I was done. On the edge of being too warm, actually. I am glad I went because we are leaving for Jackson, NH next Wednesday and we will be with our friends who ski much better than we do. This is the one sport that I am better at than my husband.
The roofer found the problem. It was way up, higher than we thought. My house is a contemporary, has 4 levels and many, many roof lines, so it's hard to explain.
Now they just have to fix it. They will be fixing the inside, too and painting our ceiling.

[chicago]

well girls (and guys)... it's done... the quilt is done. two weekend of full-time work, but i made it.

here's the finished product. i posted a few close ups so you can see the fringed edges...i do fancy it myself, i must say. i hope my sis likes it.

front side
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1192-1.jpg

back side
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1195-1.jpg

upclose
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1194.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l143/pigfinn/IMG_1196-1.jpg

[Zen]

She's gonna LOVE it! that's just beautiful.
A job very well done :)

[crazycanuck]

Chicago-nice quilt & i hope your sis appreciates your work!!!!

I hope you're all keeping cozy & warm!

Enzed's weather is not the greatest but it's not freezing & snowy like Canada/US. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can do some mtn biking on boxing day here in rotovegas :cool: Way coolio!!

Have a wonderful holidayayayayay

[Bruno28]

The quilt is beautiful.


My folks are both in bed with the flu. I know they feel really ill because they never take to their beds when they are unwell.

Did they have a flu jab? No, of course not, because they 'don't believe in it' ???? No, I don't know what that means either.

I'm doing Christmas lunch so it looks like it will be a meals on wheels job. I'll prepare the food at my house then drive it round to them and plate it up. Wish me luck.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wonderful, COZY cheerful quilt! Great job- she'll love it. :p

[Biciclista]

yes, lovely quilt. did you like making it? you want to do another one?

well... it's SNOWING here in Seattle. In order to get mail i am going to walk and bus the 4 miles to the Post Office. UNBELIEVABLE. at least our newspaper is being delivered again.

[Aggie_Ama]

Chicago- I love it! Will you be my sis?

I really need to get off TE and bake those cookies for the goodie boxes and finish the French memo board for my husband's (and I call her mine) grandma. Woohoo staple gun!!

[chicago]

yes, lovely quilt. did you like making it? you want to do another one?

well... it's SNOWING here in Seattle. In order to get mail i am going to walk and bus the 4 miles to the Post Office. UNBELIEVABLE. at least our newspaper is being delivered again.

yep, I liked making it... it's fun!!... and it's very easy. I'll make another one... but something tell me you could do it... as long as you can sew a straight seam, piece of cake:D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi...your postal system over there is SUPER WIMPY!!! :cool: ;)
A few years ago we had a THREE FOOT snowfall and they STILL delivered the mail, even out over all the rural roads. (And we can't even use chains here!)

I posted a couple pix of my snowshoe trek yesterday over in the snowshoeing thread. Here is the post and the pictures:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showpost.php?p=390378&postcount=149
I'm surprised I am not as sore today as I imagined I would be. Last night I felt pretty beat up, but this morning only mild muscle soreness. A good long night's sleep helped.

[Fredwina]

after PT this morining:
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq93/Janalingo/1224080731.jpg

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The 3 grown children are not visiting right at Xmas this year, so DH and I were on our own this year....an odd sensation. This evening we went down into town where our local Welsh pub owner Tom serves up traditional steak & kidney pie and plum pudding to the townsfolk at the pub for FREE every Christmas Eve. He makes it all himself, and serves about 100 or more people. :eek: He does this several times a year during certain holidays- (free corned beef and cabbage for St.Patrick's, etc) he's a cool dude.
So we did that and are back home again.
Tomorrow we will open our few modest presents over morning coffee, probably go for a brisk walk, and maybe watch some movies after I make some chicken soup from the leftover chicken. A peaceful day.
The snow is m-e-l-t-i-n-g.......and more days above freezing are ahead. :)

I hope everyone here has a cozy enjoyable day tomorrow.

[Crankin]

Your day sounds nice, Lisa. I can't believe someone makes all those dinners for free. He must be quite a guy. A lot of our snow melted in the rain and warm temperatures yesterday. Now the winds are howling.
We had our annual Jewish Christmas Eve at a local Chinese restaurant last night. The 2 couples we do this with have included our cycling friends (Brant and Janine) the last 2 years, so now we joke that we have our token Christian to help us celebrate. The food was really good, but I've having too much wine this week! We are going on an AMC local walk/hike in an hour and a half. It's right near our house, so hopefully, it will be fun and we might meet some additional outdoor oriented people.

[Fredwina]

we've got a nice rainy Christmas. I'm supposed to go do altar guild for X-mas mass, and then go make home made tamales :)

[bmccasland]

Very humid and foggy here in the Big Easy, supposed to rain later. The air is so heavy it hurts to breathe. I know I live in a banana republic, but didn't think I lived in the true tropics??? :p Our local paper did a collage (sp?) of all the little snowmen photos people sent in from the snow we got 2 weeks ago for the banner above the headline, together they were rather cute.

[OakLeaf]

DH's favorite rendition of Dickens, with a video collage:

http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/20928-scrooge-as-put-down-by-lord-buckley

Merry Christmas all!

[salsabike]

Good morning, New Orleans. The snowman collage sounds like fun--can you post it?

[bmccasland]

Good morning, New Orleans. The snowman collage sounds like fun--can you post it?

I found a pdf of the front page of the paper:
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/pageone/pdfs/2008/122508A01metro.pdf

Probably some where on http://www.nola.com is the collage itself, but I'm not sure where.

[salsabike]

Love the guy with the green hair!

[Biciclista]

checking in after an exhausting family day.
We live on a hill which is still covered in slush and snow. the 11 miles from my mother's house to here is bare pavement. the last two blocks are hilly and snowy. we instructed my stepfather to leave his car at the supermarket and we would come get him. no, he wanted to drive his car up the hill. so he did. and got stuck. he wouldn't let my son who drove down the the safeway take him home nor would he let him drive HIS car. we finally got his car safe and we had a very nice time. but then he wanted to leave early (and i'm glad they did...). and he got REALLY stuck in a depression between two little hilly streets 1/2 block from here. it took both sons and DH to get him out. Then finally DH convinced him to let DH drive him to the bare pavement.
lots of nonsense about all that. My sons were great. both DH and i want them to kick us in the head if we get like that...
meanwhile, even though the weather reporting places are saying it's 33 degrees out, ICE has formed all over the place again!!!
:eek: be careful out there. And yes, i got some awesome gifts.

[jobob]

lots of nonsense about all that. My sons were great. both DH and i want them to kick us in the head if we get like that...
LOL! We just got back from dinner with my sister-in-law and she told us a story about her & Lee's dad very similar to that. Well, without the ice & snow, but the same general stubbornness that ultimately leads to huge hassles for all involved. :rolleyes:

Must be something about holidays that brings that out in people ... :p

[bmccasland]

I had a good time with my Jewish friend - Chinese buffet, then we played dominoes. I've never played before, and tied for 2nd :D

Drove home in fog thick as pea soup. VERY happy to get home. The streets were wet with condensation. If I was a fern or Spanish moss, I'd be a happy plant. Driving a car, not so much.

[salsabike]

Yesterday--We had 12 people here, including us, to eat fresh Dungeness crab, steamer clams, salad, asparagus, mashed potatoes. We got four more inches of snow overnight, total in the last week about 16-17 inches, in a city whose government apparently is quite proud of its strategy not to clean the streets. Chris had to go pick up his 89 year old dad and 88 year old stepmom and 80-some year old auntie (he has a four wheel drive pick up truck). Then he had to go to a local big parking lot to pick up his brother, wife, mother in law, and three kids because they couldn't drive their van down our uncleared streets.

Just before he had to leave for the first trip, he dropped a can of Pepsi (NOT diet), and it exploded all over our pantry. :eek::eek::eek: YEE-ha! The pantry is where our bike stuff, cleaning stuff, boxes of garbage bags, and various other miscellany lives. The bathtub is full of the bike panniers, backpacks, hiking boots, and whatever else got splooshed with sticky soda, waiting to be rinsed. I am thinking of just emptying them of all their contents and then just stepping on into the shower and taking a shower with them all. On the theory that I'm gonna get wet anyway...:p:p

We had a great time, though. I made cheddar scones and gorgonzola scones and Dutch cookies. Our friend Neal made apple and lemon and pecan pies. We got our third, or maybe it's our fourth, oven mitt from my husband's aunt, for Christmas--I love her, although I don't use oven mitts much. Actually, I really like everyone in his family. Was glad to host our pie-baking friend as well, who is going through a very bad divorce and would have been alone at Christmas for the first time in 20 years. Glad he was with us instead.

Neither of Chris' presents arrived in time because of the snow, so we haven't done any present exchange yet.

I was snoozing on the couch by 8:30 pm and finally staggered off to bed before 9:30, which I never do.

It's thawing! Hurray.

Happy holidays, you all.

[Crankin]

We went on an interesting 6 mile AMC hike yesterday. Well, the listing said hike or snowshoe, depending on conditions. We brought the snowshoes and wore the gaiters in case. When we got there, it was kind of a toss up. The snow was not super deep, as it had rained a bit, but we were going into the deeper woods. We decided not to wear them.
Well, it was kind of a bad decision. It wasn't terrible, but let's say that my calves are screaming today. I was able to hike in the snowshoe prints mostly, but a few places were wet and mushy and I was glad I had the gaiters on! The hike itself was beautiful. We went through 3 conservation areas. Two we had partially been in, and the third is bordering a road we ride on all of the time. The leader said these trails are good for mountain biking, too. We passed through pine forests, open meadows, streams, and ponds. It got up to about 40 and I had my headband and gloves off for part of the hike.
By the end, me, my husband, and one other woman were fairly far ahead of the leader, always keeping him in sight. He got a little mad, but I calmed him down. I was exhausted, felt like I taken a 50+ mile ride, so I just wanted to get back.
I came home and lay in a bath with the shea butter epson salts that my son's girlfriend gave me.