So... that's it then?

It rained here the other day.
That would be Wednesday.
There was a whole .34 inches of rain recorded.
That means we have had something less than a half inch of rain since the beginning of the year.
The average for January is somewhere close to 5 3/4 inches.

Since July 1 there has been, officially, 3.92 inches.
The average for that time period is around 19 1/2.

The weather guys had said we were supposed to have a followup storm [sic] to this last one.
It missed.
We are once more suffering clear blue skies, with no relief in sight.

it's pretty bad when

 the weather is the most

 exciting thing to report

In a weak moment

I wasn't going to do this.

You'll notice I have made the print small enough to challenge even those with excellent eyesight.
It is Suldog's fault.
You are in no way obligated to read or otherwise act on the image above.

It's what happens when an unbalanced mind [mine, not his] needs to blow off steam.

a double-click

 will enlarge it

Don't get me wrong.
I like to hear other folks ideas, suggestions, opinions.
They help keep the cogs in the mind turning.
Sometimes they even get the cogs to work together.

What gets my dander up is when somebody fails to understand their point of view has only been sought for the purposes of evaluation or comparison and they go into a full blown sales pitch.
You know what I mean... the nickel tour's become the two week cruise... and their favorite thing now has to be my favorite thing because they say so.

Of course they weren't listening beyond waiting for a key word.
Then they could jump in and expound on their knowledge, however limited it may be.

One of my favorite examples of such a conversation relates to visiting Washington, DC.
I was talking to an acquaintance about it.
My experience had been entirely different that theirs.
I was a 14 year old with a large group and it was 57 years ago.
They were traveling with family (two adults and a child) about five years ago.
I said something about visiting the Capital, White House, and the Smithsonian.
Then they went on about the wonderful car they rented.

On another occasion I was volunteering at a Lions Club emergency distribution center.
We were preparing boxes of non-perishable foods for folks who'd evacuated because of a wildfire.
Another volunteer began a conversation on how important it is to have fire sprinklers in the home.
He particularly wanted to pass along information to the folks we were assisting, many of whom no longer had homes.

Really!

Ya know... I think I blame the news media.
Have you ever noticed how they can change the subject in the blink of an eye?
That, and it seems like they really want us to focus on suffering.

good grief

Remember...

I mentioned a week ago that I was going to the dentist.
I went again yesterday.
I have to go again tomorrow.

I had thought it was going to be kinda like getting new tires.
I guess it is if they're custom built tires.

At least the office is close.
And I really can't complain about the dentist wanting the fit to be perfect.

It's just there are other things I'd rather do.

a lot of other things

¿Dónde ha estado?

So I was at a conference for a good portion of the weekend.
It was just up the road.
I got to see a lot of friends and heard some really outstanding speakers.
I'm just going to let that sink in for awhile.

I did see truly funny Facebook post.
I even shared it.
It is too good not to share again.

aren't languages fun

Not here today, either

This happened to an Englishman in France who was totally drunk [but not anyone we know].
  
 The French policeman stops his car and asks the gentleman if he has been drinking.
  
 With great difficulty, the Englishman admits that he has been drinking all day, that his daughter got married in the morning to a French man, and that he drank champagne and a few bottles of wine at the reception and a quite few glasses of single malt scotch thereafter.
  
 Quite upset, the policeman proceeds to alcotest (breath test) him and asks the Englishman if he knows under French Law why he has just been arrested.
  
 The Englishman answers, with humor:  No!   Do you know that this is a British car and that my wife is the driver... on the other side?”

...and I'm not here today

Reality bites

I turned on the TV last evening and realized there is one thing ...and only one thing... I miss about the satellite service we used up until the middle of December.
I don't get the Sharks games any longer.
The cable company only carries Comcast Bay Area and not Comcast California.
Though the local ABC affiliate had Shark Tank.
So I was stuck without anything that really attracted my interest.

so... yeah, there's still nothing new 

Air stagnation

I heard that on the radio the other day.
The way the reader said it, it sounded like:
"Air...
"Stag...
"Nation."

What they're talking about is the weather around here has been so bland that there hasn't even been a breeze to stir things up.
That changed yesterday...
...bringing the overnight low temperature up to a balmy 56º.

Yep, when there's nothing else, you can always talk about the weather.

shirtsleeve weather ...WTF

Jefferson... huh?

There's a movement afoot by a number of folks in the northern portion of California to secede from the state.
It has actually reached a point where a number of the counties have taken a vote of approval.
The reason for this movement is the feeling that the folks here are being almost totally ignored by the folks in the capital.
It is easy for them to do for several reasons:

• the area is underpopulated compared to the rest of the state [the fact is folks in the rest of the U.S, are even aware of out existence because they think SF and Sacramento are in Northern California] - yeah, we're outnumbered here
• compared to the more populated areas of California, the area is slightly to the right of Genghis Khan [except in a few small, almost insignificant, enclaves] - that's a perception, not a reality  

This isn't the first time an effort was made to separate from California.
Back in the late '30s there was some pretty good steam behind a joint effort of Southern Oregon and Northern California counties along the border to form the State of Jefferson.
The Second World War pretty much scotched that effort.
About 20 years ago there was a referendum of the state ballot to divide the state into thirds.
The voters in the metropolitan areas pretty much defeated that.
Now the original counties from the first effort have expanded to include a few more with the idea of creating that State of Jefferson.
There's even a flag.

I'm not sure the plan will work.
It seems to me that most if the folks in the area of California covered by the counties involved are employees of the state.
They won't vote themselves out of jobs.

not to mention economic feasibility

Change

We'll probably work on this some more....
...maybe add some more pages?
...clean up some more of the clutter?

So I slept in this morning

Because that's how everything worked out.

GS didn't have to go to Outpatient Services for a shot.
I didn't have to leave my teeth at the dentist.
There was no rush to get out of bed today.
It was 8:30 am.
It was glorious.

On the other hand...
The dentist wants to do something creative with the fit of my uppers before she replaces the hardware in the lowers.
That means I get to go back next week.
GS still has to have labs done to determine if the hemoglobin numbers stay above the magic number.
That will determine if she has to go for the shot.
I probably won't sleep that late again for some time.
I totally screws up my routine.

I really do think I need to clean up the mess here.
There's entirely too much irrelevant stuff on the sidebar.
Who looks that far, anyway?

...when cows fly

Lotsa action on the wayback machine

There's nothing quite like posting a two-part story that gets the pageviews up.
The most popular posts viewed yesterday are from a year ago.

And in sports:
To say I am disappointed in the outcome of the game [if you have to ask, forget about it] yesterday would be an understatement.
But I'm not crushed.
The 'niners came up short.
Yeah the officials made some bad calls, but it was the turnovers that hurt most.

Then on a certain social media site:
It looked like anyone who watched the game took a shot at Richard Sherman, a communications major from the university I love to hate, who, in essence, blew up a post game interview and left a sideline reporter speechless.
A real class act.
But not quite as classy as the Seattle fans, who rained food on an injured opponent as he was being carted off the field.

Rumor has it the weather here was again perfect yesterday... a balmy 71 degrees, with clear skies.

Then there's the antic of Blooger.

I have to visit my dentist this morning ...something about replacement parts.
The one nice thing about my teeth, besides looking good, is they can be dropped off for service work and picked up later.
That makes working around other's schedules a little easier.

but not necessarily simple

Kind of a rerun

Last year on this date:

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Reference point

I'm going out now, but will be back later...

at about 7:00AM

...and, if I remember, will post the afternoon weather.

because it's going to take

 awhile to finish the

 story started last night

Today:

So yeah it's a little warmer, but that proves nothing.

Now I'm gonna try to figure out what story I was on about.

PHG is off in Sac with her son and grandson, celebrating their birthdays ...and avoiding what happens around here during important NFL games [for about three and a half hours this afternoon there will be a bit of a frenzy because GS is an avid 'Niner fan].

It was the end

 of the story that was

 rerun yesterday

This time last year I was laughing

To wit:

Friday, January 18, 2013

Hahahahahaha!

I have to laugh.
Today could easily have set me off.
I already mentioned the issue of the garbage disposal that was facing us this morning.
I already mentioned that we had to leave for Sac relatively early.

I woke without the alarm going off at about 6:10am and heard the furnace running.
That's not so unusual.
What is unusual is it was still running 45 minutes later and the house hadn't warmed at all.
The thermostat is set to run up to 74 degrees.
The temperature at the thermostat was still 66 degrees.
There was another challenge.

Then I heard a beep in the family room.
It was the control panel for the alarm system.
I was being notified one of the batteries for a door sensor needed replacing.
I was making a pot of coffee, a challenge when the kitchen sink is disabled, but not entirely undoable.
I got the coffee on.
The coffee maker is really fast because it has hot water already to go when a new container of water is added.
I grabbed a new battery and a chair to change out the sensor.
I forgot to bypass the sensor on the control panel.
Then I put the cover on the sensor on upside down alerting the alarm company that someone was fiddling with the system.
The phone rang after I managed to wake everyone in the house with the siren.
I explained to the alarm company what was happening and gave them the magic word that keeps them from sending cops.

It wasn't yet 8:00am so I couldn't call the heating and air folks about the furnace.
It was now 65 degrees at the thermostat.
I could feel just a little warm air blowing from the registers, but not enough to warm the house.

The coffee was ready.
I got Grandma Skip's breakfast ready.
The phone rang.
It was the District Governor for our Lions district.
He read last night's post.
Did I want him to come and fix my garbage disposal?
When a DG asks if he can do something you don't tell him "no."
One challenge handled and am I ever grateful.

It's 8:00am and I can call the heating and air folks.
They'll dispatch a repairman immediately.
"It'll be $70 for the diagnostic and additional for any repairs."
"Fine, my stepdaughter will be here and is authorized to approve repairs."
 Second challenge accounted for.

The alarm's been silenced.
I'll deal with it when I get home.

We pack GS into the back seat of the car.
(back seat so she isn't slammed by an airbag and damaged by said airbag)
The furnace guy shows up and heads for the water heater.
I steer him to the furnace.
As I am getting into the driver seat he hollers, "where's the access to the air handler?"
I tell him and drive off, thinking this isn't good.

It's still kinda funny.
But there sure is a lot of water under the bridge now.

Further inspection shows there was similar weather conditions, too.

anyone ready for some change?

It's all my fault

It seems like days ago [I guess it really was] I posted a simple picture of some railroad tracks at a crossing here in Anderson.
Now, everywhere [just an little exaggeration] I look on the blogs there's stuff about trains.
Even the Ol' Sarge put a train shot in his Friday Flyby.
Buck has two consecutive posts about trains.
I wanted to blame it on the Brighton Pensioner.
But I took the first swing and then did the follow up.
...and I'm not done yet.
I have at least one more photo I can post over here.

A lot of the conversations [because there is back and forth] have to do with experiences traveling on the train.
I've had the dubious pleasure of traveling across the U.S. and back two different times and halfway across and back once.
I have also traveled the Coast Route, from S.F, to L.A, on two different occasions ...once was courtesy of Uncle Sam.
None of those trips was on Amtrak.
I have heard numerous anecdotes that tell me trains aren't the best way to go, particularly if you want to be on time.

So what I have determined is the government has taken the fun out of flying and train travel.
What's next?
They're pushing folks toward electric cars, which pretty much slows down long distance travel, 'cause ya can't just stop and refill your tank.
Yup... I'm thinkin' they pretty much want us all stay pretty much in one place so the can keep track of us.

gratuitous train photo that I took

enough o' that!

I had no idea...

I've had a dearth of material for posting lately.
Well ...that's not exactly right.
There just hasn't been been anything I'd want associated with my name.

That kinda goes along with the expression, "You aren't responsible for your thoughts ...unless you act on them."

I don't have a clue who said that, but he's a wise man.


Where were we?
BP was amazed to find out that the main north-south railroad line on the West Coast ...which just happens to run right through Anderson... is a single track.
So I got to thinking about that a little.
When I was a kid it didn't occur to me, either, that there weren't parallel tracks for trains running in each direction.
Where we lived, on the S.F. Peninsula, there were two sets of tracks.
But now I realize it was because almost all of the rail traffic was passenger trains carrying commuters between San Jose and San Francisco.
In my home town there was another set of tracks that branched off that line to take freight trains across the south end of the bay, across the Dumbarton railroad bridge.
That line was a single set of tracks.
I don't know when I first observed the single tracks.
It could have been as early as 1947.
I won't go into any detail about that (not because I don't remember, but because you really don't care ...trust me).
It was about ten years after that, when on a cross country trip, that single track became an issue.
The reason a single track works is because there are sidings along the route for other trains to await the passage of trains headed in the opposite direction.
The train my fellow passengers and I were on was a special train ...not a regularly scheduled train... and, thus, did not have any priority.
Our train waited on a lot of sidings on that trip across the country.
One of the rules of waiting on the siding was we couldn't use the toilets while the trains were stopped.
(The only places where there aren't single tracks are where there's constant traffic in each direction.
Some places had four sets of tracks)
There were some other inconveniences as well, but that one stands out.
We spent two weeks, out of three, traveling across the U.S. and back again.
We got to see a lot of the country, too.
Train travel does have some advantages.

as long as you keep moving

Buck does this a lot

It really is disgusting ...innit?

Pictures worth a thousand words

There are several...

I'm going to Costco today.

There's at least one big football game this weekend.

Some things are just nuts.

th-th-that's all, folks

Finally!

Tuesday mornings are kinda busy around here.
It's the GS gets her hemoglobin shot when she needs one.
Lately it has been every week.

It involves going up to the Outpatient Services at the hospital.
What it really means is starting preparations about two hours before the appointment.
That means one of us has to start about an hour before we start preparations.

There are other steps involved in the process, but we're only talking about today, not yesterday or last Friday.

Obviously this is a very important shot ...if she has to have it.
Sometimes she doesn't.
That only gets us off the hook for Tuesday [or whatever day she's scheduled for the shot].

It's fun dealing with the hospital.
They are really big on records.
They are fully automated.
There are still a number of things they still have to do each time a patient visits...
...questions to answer... they're always the same ones.
At least this time they didn't ask her if she is abused at home.
It usually takes about 15 minutes to go through the interrogations question and answer session.
The next step is the shot itself.
The medication has to be ordered from the hospital pharmacy.
The attending nurse usually places the order by fax before she even retrieves GS from the waiting room.
Invariably we find ourselves waiting for anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half for the little vial to be delivered.
We have been assured they are not manufacturing the drug at the pharmacy.

I forgot to post a picture of downtown Anderson to accompany yesterday's post.
I have remedied it today.
You can find it here.
Maybe I will put up some more later this week.

if I remember

Monday update?

Nah!
Not today.
The excitement, minimal that it was, occurred on Friday.
The story came out on Saturday.
Everything is back to (there has to be a better word than normal).

Normal for us (GS, PHG, and I) means we have to be prepared at any time to change from whatever is currently underway to whatever is necessary.

About the closest thing I can relate to that is how things are on a naval ship.
There is daily routine, where everyone performs routine stuff, mostly some kind of maintenance or preparation for some activity.
Then, suddenly, a gong goes off and everyone drops what they're doing and does something else for awhile, usually related to some kind of emergency or possibly critical state.

The difference is the ship does that stuff for practice.

Buck wrote an exercise on small towns.
I'd like to do something similar.
This is the only small town in which I have ever lived.
Conversely, I have never lived in a "BIG" city.

The biggest city I ever live in is San Francisco.

Population - about 750,000
Area - about 49 square miles 

Of course, the metropolitan area is huge.
But I got away just as the various community borders were becoming blurred.
We could actually leave one suburb before entering another.
Cities like San Jose ended all of that by annexing all of the surrounding unincorporated area available.

When we moved from San Francisco, south to Menlo Park, we actually were not within any city limits.
To this day where we lived is still outside of any city limits.
It was even semi-rural when we move there.
There were horses up the street on some vacant land and other undeveloped property, as well.
Folks shopped in their own community unless what they sought was unavailable.
There were even neighborhood loyalties.
We went where we were known.
So, even though Menlo Park had nearly 25,000 folks living there, it was kinda like a small town.
It would've been more like a small town if all the kids went to the same schools.
Having two separate school districts (actually there were more) created another set of issues.

All of the other communities operated pretty much the same way.
Folks stayed close to home, maybe slipping into the next nearest town once in awhile.

When I came back from the Navy everything had changed...
...nope, I'd changed.
Four years away (except for short leave) will do that.

I moved around the South Peninsula while attending college and beginning my career.
Folks traveled further afield to shop and for entertainment than before.
Heck, they were earning more and moving to bigger and better homes.
Commercial development had arrived.
So did discounters.
And the South Peninsula (and the Santa Clara Valley) became Silicon Valley.
And growth trumped community loyalty.
Locally owned commercial businesses slowly disappeared.

I moved, too.
To a small town in Northern California.
Redding

population of 17,000
area of about 8 square miles

Actually I lived in an unincorporated area.
I could drive through open country on my way home.
In five short years that changed.
Redding's population doubled and the area more than tripled with an annexation.
(Today there are 92,000 folks and 62 suare miles)

City folks were moving in.
Yeah, I see that there's an irony in that statement.

So I moved again... to Anderson.
The industrial center of the county had three major employers.
But there were only 9,000 residents.
Besides I was in the country, outside of town.
That was 35 years ago.

Only a few things have changed in Anderson.
The population is up to about 11,000
None of those three major employers is around any longer.
In fact only one of the three plants is still in operation ...and that's on a small scale.
The largest employer is probably Walmart.
Stuff that used to be available is not because the merchants who carried it is gone.
I live in town now.
I've lived in my house longer than all but one of my neighbors.
It doesn't feel like a small town any more.

Blooger has been playing games for the past two or three days.
Strange things are going on.

The rain we had the other day...
...it was .05 inches.
It lasted all day.
Winter is over.
It is supposed to reach 71º today.
The closest thing to a cloud in the sky is an aircraft contrail.

was wondering how to end it

'nuff said

Update on yesterday's update (still like a Monday)

I called GS regular Docs office.
They told us we could come in at 2:15.

Okay let's backtrack for a sec.

I reported that GS took a spill.
The truth is she tripped over a wheel on the walker she is supposed to be using.
As she fell she scraped her forearm, tearing the skin.
At the time [on Thursday] that was what PHG and I treated.
Lots of hydrogen peroxide from a new bottle, some anti-bacterial ointment and a sterile bandage.
The would was not bleeding much... if at all.
It wasn't until yesterday morning [Friday] that GS informed me her ankle hurt.
Actually she told me she could put any weight on it.
One quick look told me it was swollen.

We fixed her breakfast and did the early routine stuff.
Then we checked the wound on her arm.
It was still seeping blood.
That's when I called the Dr.
The only other alternative was the ER.
None of us wanted that.

GS's own Dr office handles things like sprains, lacerations, and their ilk ...if you can get an appointment.

I should mention here that GS and I had never ever met this doc.
The original doc took a job with a private company in Southern California.
The Nurse Practitioner who took over routine visits for his patients is on maternity leave.
We knew we were seeing a new doc and are happy with that.
She's it up to speed as much as possible regarding GS medical issues.

I should also mention that GS ankle was feeling a little better.
She'd had two acetaminophen with breakfast.
The wound on the arm wasn't hurting at all.

The short version of the outcome is we'd pretty much done what we could.
The Dr re-dressed her wound, wrapping it a little tighter, after having had another Doc look at it, as well.
She (GS Doc) had the ankle x-rayed to see if there was more damage than obvious from the outside.
There isn't.
It is a sprain.
GS is to rest, ice it down, we have a compression bandage, and keep it elevated as much as possible.
We don't have to go back [at least for six months] unless nothing improves.

We're sorry if previous posts have alarmed you.
We were concerned, but not overly so.
There's something about the relativity that comes into play here.
The situation was serious, but it wasn't an emergency.
In fact the relating of the story in person is kind of humorous.
But you had to be there.

Update (kinda like a Monday)

GS had a slight fall yesterday and scraped the crap out of her arm.
There's some light bleeding that continued ...so there is some concern.
This morning she complained she can't put any weight on her left foot.
Further investigation noted the ankle is swollen.
She has an appointment with her doc this afternoon.

more later

Temporarily out of order

Inconveniences prevent us from posting at the moment

Don't ask for a recipe

Over here are a couple of photos.
They aren't exactly self-explanatory.
It has been some time since we've had chili here.
Last weekend I made it a point to assemble the necessary ingredients.

Onions
Garlic
Peppers
Cumin
Chili powder
Tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Meat

The above list is about as close to a recipe I have.
That's the order in which the ingredients are added.
Everything else is pretty much eyeballed.
The heat is determined by how many of each type of pepper is added ...and to some extent the chili powder.
I suppose I could tell you I used a combination of beef and pork.
Neither is specified because then it would allow for the use of fish or fowl ...or even just vegetables.

This particular batch is mild, in deference to a certain member of the household, whose dietary issues must be taken into consideration.
There were only three jalapeño peppers used.
Other, less fiery, peppers (namely Anaheim chilis) were substituted.
On other occasions I have been known to substitute green Fresno chilis or Serrano chilis.
If they were available locally, I could easily use New Mexico green chilis.

In any event, even with a food processor, there is a great deal of hand prep.
It can take up to an hour and a half for all of the ingredients to be ready to add.
Then the mixture must simmer for a minimum of three hours over a low flame.

Of course it was sampled last night.
But tonight will be the true test ...if we don't have burritos, that is... because this dish is best served after it has been refrigerated and then reheated.
Something about the blending.

If anyone wants it hot...

 

but don't add too much.

Sometimes a topic kinda falls into our laps

What we do with them is a whole 'nother story.

Yesterday the Cranky Ol' Man posted a tale about an incident [or series of incidents] which took place in the late sixties.
It reminded me of how attitudes create situations and how current attitudes make us look at those situations today.

Back then, if memory serves, most households were still supported by a single wage-earner, typically a husband.
The ladies who worked were relegated to support tasks and considered, for the most part, to be only temporarily in the labor force.
There were any number of employers who based their hiring practices on this premise.
I worked in such a place.
We seldom ...like in once a year maybe ...had a lady even apply for a job.
It wasn't that the company didn't hire ladies.
There were a number of them working on the administrative side, handling paperwork, crunching numbers, and doing payroll.
I might also mention they were  nine to fivers, earning as much as and more than most of the men, the majority of whom were college aged and working part time.

About the attitudes, because that's what this is about.
They were shaped by our mothers back then.
I was in my mid twenties [no, I'm not a baby boomer, I'm officially old*].
My mother had stayed at home raising kids and keeping things nice during my entire childhood.
My friends and schoolmate's mothers, with a few exceptions, had done the same thing.
Nobody ever explained to us that this wasn't normal.
It was how things had always been.
The only ladies who worked were single girls, who'd not yet married and had kids, or single mothers, or those helping in a family business to maximize profits.

Back then it was a lot easier to get by on one salary because most families only had one car to support ...until the sixties.
That's when cheap imports became available the stuff we had became a status symbol.
In order to have stuff, purchasing power was necessary.
At first the guys would work a regular job in the day time, then take a part time evening job.
Eventually, wives started working part time ...if they could find an employer to hire them.
Many did.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of employers who took advantage by paying less than optimum wages because the demand for jobs was greater than the supply.
The rationale was the ladies weren't long term employees.
They wouldn't stick around.
Ultimately, though, they managed to infiltrate virtually every business, either through persistence, or, eventually, through legal channels.

Anyhow, I don't have a clue what this has to do with riots on Wall Street ...other than to explain men's ...particularly young men... attitudes in 1968.

I do know that anyone can make assumptions based upon observing those conditions.
But those assumptions do not apply today, except in maybe a few isolated instances.

an assumption is already suspect

*I read it in The Economist

Really, it's just life happening

I've been reading through any number of blogs since I last posted [yesterday].
There are so many different stories, a lot relate the bitter weather conditions.
Some deal with family issues, others with more mundane, but no less, urgent items.
They help put things in perspective.
It really doesn't matter that I have to set an alarm to get up early enough to prepare for a trip to Redding for yet another medical visit [a shot... nothing serious].
I am reminded, that as a participant in life, stuff happens around me, not to me.
If I choose to participate, I am affected.

I also get to see some pretty spectacular Sunrises.

another day

Monday update #(oh yeah, we forgot to number them)

What I failed to relate yesterday, because there were some time restraints, was the fact that it was almost balmy weather wise at 6:00am.
The temperature was in the mid fifties.
Up to yesterday morning the temps have been in the low thirties or high twenties.
That made the start of the day most pleasant.
It got better.

The breakfast went off almost without incident.
The regular fry-cook is laid up with a bad back so we've a replacement who's still learning.
He has a tendency to get a little ahead of himself.
Nobody went hungry.

Did I mention the weather?
There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
There was a light breeze ...down from wind gusts to 30mph in the previous 24 hours [which just might explain the balmy temps?].
It was an occasion to do something outdoors.
...probably as good a time as any to remove the outside decorations.
It was either that or stay inside and watch PHG and GS handle the indoor decorations.

I still had about two hours before game time.
My team, the San Francisco 49ers, were off in the land of the freeze, playing to remain in the playoffs and an opportunity to once more vie for the NFL championship (aka Super Bowl).

Did I mention I have a new ladder?
It's a stepladder.
It's big.
It makes taking down the lights lining the eaves a simple task.
Now I need something to make storing the lights a simple task.

Whilst moving my ladder I took notice of a plant that's been in the front of the house forever at least ten years.
It bears fruit.
In January.
It's not citrus.

I forget what it's called [and the little nursery sticker thingy is long gone].
Anyway, I never noticed the fruit before because...
Well, may this picture will explain.

the bush is about 2 1/2 feet tall

Then it was time to go in to watch the game...

...and deal with Christmas lights...

...better now than next year when we want to use them again.

Do you have any idea how hare it is to relate to cold weather when the outside temperature is hovering near 70 degrees?
Maybe someone, some day, will be able to explain to me why the game was played so late in the day... I mean other than to optimize the earning potential for the TV network [and the NFL].
I thought it was a good game.
Just about any time the 'Niners win is a good game.
Have I mentioned I am a long time* fan?
I know I probably haven't mentioned I'm not nearly as hyped as I used to get.
That is most likely because something keeps telling me the season should be finished.

We should be able to concentrate on basketball and hockey [do I have to say ice hockey?].
Speaking of hockey, I no longer get all of the Sharks games.
I'm not even sure I get any of the Sharks games.
Other than that I am really happy with the cable provider.
I don't have to pay extra for HD TV now.
All I need is for someone to explain what the big deal about HD TV is.

cows are ubiquitous

 in the kitchen and

 other parts of the

 house, ducks are not

*60 plus years

Yawn

Once more it is the first Sunday of the month.
That means there's a community breakfast at the Frontier Senior Center.
That also means somebody has to get up early and help set up and then cook or serve.
I would be one of those somebodies.

On the plus side I woke up before the alarm and that means there is no rush, because I can't get in until 6:30.

Better still, PHG had the coffee already to go so all I had to do was pour the water.

now, where're my socks

A followup...

...and a video

The rest here is somebody else's words:

"...Lions Rose Parade Float 'Lions Built Matteo's Dream' was awarded the Tournament Special Trophy for exceptional merit in multiple classifications at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses on Wednesday. This is our first award since 1993!"

"The most important part of our Rose Parade entry is the story our float tells this year. It is the story how one Lion 'Lion Liz Lamach' followed her dream and worked with Lions to make her dream come true! The title of the float is 'Lions Built Matteo's Dream Park'. It is a replica of the park built by Lions in Northern California for children of all abilities. Over 2,000 Lions from more than 43 clubs worked together to help make the dream of Lion Liz Lamach come true! She is truly a Lion who 'Followed her dream!' "

the last word

Grrrrrr...

So yesterday I drove to Redding to shop for items unavailable at any of our stores here [or in stores that I try to avoid at all costs].
My first clue that it was not going to be any ordinary trip was when I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a scrip for GS I had ordered online last Friday.
I'd been in Monday to pick it up, but they'd not had it ready with another scrip I'd ordered.
I knew they were going to have to request the refill from the doc, so I wasn't entirely surprised at the time.
Yesterday I was totally flabbergasted.
The pharmacy tech told me they hadn't received the order I had placed.
So they never contacted the doc for the refill.
They faxed a request then and there and told me to allow for another day to fill it.
"Gaaaaahhhhh!"

So then I proceeded up the road to finish the errands, noting some peculiarities in other drivers' behavior.
They all seemed to be in a rush.
I saw some really unusual demonstrations of vehicles passing other vehicles and I was tailgated almost all of the way.

My first stop was the bagel shop.
GS is pretty much addicted to onion bagels.
As I prepared to get into the left turn lane, another vehicle exiting a different driveway pulled into the lane I was expecting to occupy and cut me off, speeding on to who knows where.
Then in the bagel shop I was informed there'd be a wait because they were short of onion bagels.
I told them I'd return and went off to my next stop nearby, TJ's*.

I must have mistakenly worn my cloak of invisibility, because every time I moved it seemed like someone else tried to occupy the space I was in [yeah, yeah...wrong place for a preposition].
That, and it seemed like every child accompanying another shopper was having some kind of tantrum and required much space to exhibit said tantrum.
I somehow forgot a couple of items I had planned to purchase.
C'est la vie.

I went back to the bagel shop and picked up my order.
They almost forgot to charge me.
I didn't let them.

From there I headed to Costco, which is also nearby.
I should have taken a picture.
The parking lot was about as full as I have ever seen it on a weekday.
And now I know where all of those drivers who were in such a rush were headed.
...and, of course, dontcha know none of the rules of the road apply in Costco (or any other large store with grocery carts [more on grocery carts later]).
I saw, literally, every form of bad behavior while I was there ...in my cloak of invisibility.
I really felt like giving some folks an attitude adjustment.
Instead, I remained above the fray.
The capper to my stop was in the check-out line.
Unfortunately I wasn't privy to the entire conversation, but the female member of the couple was telling her partner he had ruined her entire day... about ten times she told him he'd ruined her day.
He was rather stoic about it and just stood with his arms folded.
I was just kinda wondering if she realized everyone within about 30 feet could hear here.

Getting out was an adventure, too.
It seems the merchandise return in strategically place such that it is between the checkstand and the exit.
Yesterday the folks returning merchandise were going to let things like other wanting to get out of the store interfere with their mission.
My cloak of invisibility made it even more difficult for me to get out.

Then, in the parking lot, everyone seemed to want to park as close to the entrance as possible.
Cars were bumper to bumper, so it was like a maze traversing to a point where a grocery cart to get through to where those exiting ...when they got past the merchandise return ...could find their vehicles.
Once more I saw the woman whose day was ruined, sitting in the passenger seat of an SUV, doing her best to ruin her partner's day.
Finally I reached my car, Misty the Honda.
I stopped my cart at the rear bumper and began to transfer the purchases.
The cart kept rolling away.
The parking lot is built on an incline.
Carts do not remain in one spot unless they are blocked in some manner.
I was parked in such a place as I couldn't block my cart to keep it from rolling unless I placed it between me and the vehicle.
Gaaaaahhhhhh!

I finally managed to get the job done.

Then it was time to play dodge the carts that others had allowed to roam free.
I managed.
Then I drove home without much incident.
There was one A**h***.
However, his stupid behavior had no particular effect on me.

today I'm going back to the pharmacy

*Trader Joe's

What'd you do yesterday

There's no question mark in the title because it's a rhetorical question ...okay?

Once again I forgot I have a camera so there are no pictures of yesterday's activity.

You aren't missing anything.
It was a quiet day.
As was New Years Eve.

I did manage to sleep until almost 8:00am [this morning I was up just past 6].
After the usual routine I proceeded to prep the fresh stuff for a crock pot of split pea soup.
That's a tradition here at our house.
We also used to do shrimp cocktail on NYE, but someone has a reaction to shellfish, so we forgo that delicacy now.
There may have been a touch too much garlic... even after simmering in the pot for more than eight hours.

While prepping I had the Rose Parade on the TV.
I never realized just how many different networks broadcast that parade.
I also never realized how little I care about how many flax seeds glued to a piece of wood it takes to create a cartoon image of a lion... or that someone spent 20 hours doing so.
If you were here yesterday, you saw my efforts at video of a float in the parade.

After the parade, I tried to find the Winter Classic.
Evidently I have to pay extra for hockey ...when, and if, the cable service carries it.

Later on I switched the channel to ESPN for the Rose Bowl (aka "the granddaddy of them all"), mostly out of curiosity.
Some folks figure that I should have an interest in how Stanford does in such events because I was raised almost in the shadow of Hoover Tower.

Not so...
UC Berkeley has long been the beneficiary victim of my adoration.
Thus Stanford [and if you rearrange the letters it becomes Snodfart] has be relegated to the list of teams I love to hate.
Actually, it goes a little deeper than that and is more personal.
Though, they don't quite reach the level of the Dodgers [or the Lakers].
That said, I couldn't maintain interest in the game.
But I offer my congratulations to Michigan State.

By the time the game was over it was time to make the cornbread we'd consume with the soup.
I have never baked cornbread before.
I never knew how simple it is.

Once more, I am truly sorry there are no pictures.
The food looked almost as good as it tasted*.

On another note... it was 73º yesterday.
It's hard to believe we had snow here less than a month ago.
Harder still to believe that has been our only precipitation for about three months.
Officially 2013 is the driest year on record.

*and there are leftovers