It’s glorious out this morning. We started the day with the lightest of snow flurries, and they have passed through leaving us with mostly clear sky and almost blinding light. It’s quite a change from the gray we’ve had.
There are icicles hanging from the gutter outside the window of my office, and they are dripping at a fast pace. The sun on the dark shingles must be melting the snow cover on the roof.
This morning I was getting ready to feed the birds, and looked out the window. What birds? Just a few moments earlier the feeders had been busy, and now there wasn’t a bird in sight. Of course, that means there’s a hawk nearby. The hawks are having the same problem finding food that plagues the little birds. The chipmunks and voles and mice must all be hibernating.
The hawk had landed in a tree about thirty feet from the feeder. He was absolutely still, and if you looked from the wrong angle, he really blended into his surroundings. But, the smaller birds weren’t conned. They all left for safer places. As I walked out the door to fill the feeders, the hawk took off, flying south through the grove. He’s a beauty, but I’m glad he didn’t get any of our little friends.
We have blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, Eastern starlings, juncos, nuthatches, chicadees, finches, sparrows, downy, hairy and red-breasted woodpeckers, fox and gray squirrels, rabbits, a possum and deer, that we know of, and probably more who come to our feeders this time of the year. I hope Mr. Hawk continues to find his dinners elsewhere.
Boil It! Part 2
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!
What a bunch of fools!
The water department is STILL trying to figure out where the coliform contamination in the water is coming from. Finally, today, they listed information on what to do during a Water Boil. They have known about this problem for one full week, and they have just NOW informed the citizens of the safety proceedures.
The Water Department has been testing thirty sites throughout the city. The contamination they are finding at some of the sites could simply be due to a dirty faucet, since at least two of the sites are in public restrooms. However, there is sufficient evidence that the 4-million gallon, underground clearwell is contaminated to justify shutting it down. We are now drawing water from two one million gallon above-ground reservoir. Unfortunately, the water from the contaminated tank has to be flushed through the system, and our appliances, such as the water heaters, so we are boiling our water.
If you would like more detail on what you must do during a Water Boil, read on.
A Quirkie Day
This is another of those entries that are hard to categorize. It could be “Off the Bookshelves,” but it’s not just a book review, so I’ve tossed it into Def-y’s.
I just finished J.D. Robb’s “Divided in Death.” Robb is a nome de plume for Nora Roberts, who is very probably the premier romance writer of the past two decades. In addition to the scads of romance books she has written, she has also penned a series of 18 hard-edged, gory mystery/detective books, with one more book due in August, 2004. The main character is Eve Dallas, a police lieutenant in New York City, in 2059. Her husband, Roarke, is an Irishman of uncommon beauty, who has made his wealth and position through a number of shady deals in the past. Roarke has gone (almost) straight for her, and uses advanced technology created by his companies to help her crack her cases.
All of the books are good. The gore is there, and it is not a wise choice for the impressionable reader. With each passing story, we learn more about their relationship, and of those who people their world. I highly recommend this series to all of you, not just to fans of Roberts or the romance genre. Guys will enjoy her plotting to overcome the bad guys, as much as her vision of the future.
Repairs
Every home owner learns that there are a plethora of repairs that have to be done if you wish to own a home. Things wear out and things break. If you are not an innate do-it-yourselfer, then you are wise to begin collecting the phone numbers of those repairmen you can trust to do a businesslike job, and not scalp you in the process.
BOIL IT!
No, this is not a cooking entry. Unfortunately, the city in which I live has announced that we are to boil our water for drinking, brushing teeth, cooking, making ice and any other use where we are likely to imbibe the water.
Friday night, in the middle of quilting bee, all the phones in the house rang. DH answered one of the lines, and it was a recorded message telling us to boil the water for the next two days. Since then, the boil order has been extened to “sometime” this week.
Do you know how something like that can disrupt the running of a household? You have to bring the water to a boil and continue to boil it for five minutes for it to be safe to drink. Then, the water has to cool before you can transfer it to plastic jugs. I purchased six gallons of drinking water on Saturday morning, and we’ve used part of that water, and keep refiling the empty jugs.
I had to call to see whether the dishwasher was an acceptable way to wash our dishes. I couldn’t figure out how to rinse the dishes in boiling water with out hurting my hands. They said the dishwasher was safe, but that I should let my water run first to raise the temp of the water going into the dishwasher. Actually….that sounded rather stupid to me, but I was desperate.
Movie Music
I think that music is the determining factor in whether I like a movie or not. In fact, my favorite movies are those with great music.
I have a DVD/VHS player at the table where I piece my quilts. I realized the other day that I choose the same movies over and over as I piece. I thought at first that it was because I was listening to them, and could follow without having to watch the screen. But it occured to me, as I walked through the house singing phrases from the movies, that it’s the music that draws me in.
Totally Ticked Off!
Yep…..that’s me. I am totally ticked off!
Like my friend, Jamie, I have been visiting the doctor to try to determine just what’s going on, healthwise. Seventeen months ago I was handed off to a new doctor in the practice that oversees my medical needs. My doctor of more than ten years was leaving private practice to research ways to more effectively deliver health care. How could I complain about her going, when it was for such a good reason?
So, here I am with a new doctor, having to break her in on the changes that have taken place in the last year. I complained about something that was really bothering me, and she said “That is probably arthritis.” So, I let it pass for a year, and then brought it up once more last October at my next physical.
The joys of going to bed early
This evening DH decided to call it quits early. Tomorrow he will have to take the trash down the drive, so it means that he will need to be up earlier than his usual 4:30 a.m. He organized some of the recyclables and walked the dog. On his way in, he commented that they had startled deer in the back yard.
Once you’ve startled the deer, there’s no point in looking for them. They sprint and bound and take off hither and yon. They are a joy to see, when you can catch a glimpse of them.
So, I walked down the hallway to the bedroom, intending to turn back the covers, and the door to the guest room was open. It looks out over the south lawn, and there was one of the deer, standing as still as a statue. I moved so the light from the kitchen was not behind me. I stood and watched that deer for some time, and it never moved. I slipped out of the guestroom and into my bedroom, finished turning back the covers, and looked once more. The deer was still there, checking to make sure that it was safe for the herd to follow.
Groundhog Day
I know, I know…..it’s already Groundhog Day and I haven’t posted in February yet. All the hoo-haw over the Super Bowl bummed me out. First, I really don’t care for football. Second, I don’t like the entire idea of the Super Bowl being the highlight of winter. I was ticked that Beyonce was invited to do the National Anthem, but she was delightful compared to the goings on at the Halftime.
When did we get so far away from simple, wholesome entertainment? I’ve probably missed the past ten Super Bowls because the commercials received more attention than the competition. Unfortunately, the Super Bowl was on, here, at least for the first half. I noticed that the game was interrupted about every ten minutes for more commercials. I bet the football players just love that their momentum is interrupted every ten minutes. Wait…..what am I saying?? I bet they get a cut of the cost to air those commercials, so who gives a rip about the game?
DH left the room to get some work done, and I was washing dishes. I went to turn the TV off and saw that Janet Jackson was performing at the halftime. Had I stayed just a moment longer, I would have been treated to the sight of her breast. I guess I was lucky. I shut the TV off and went on with my dishwashing, blissfully unaware of the furor.
Personally, I think the entire halftime performance was inappropriate, not just Janet’s baring. The style of dance, the style of clothing, the words to the songs…..it’s all simply inappropriate. Apologies from CBS are a waste. As the network responsible for the show, they should have known what was planned. I can’t believe they thought that MTV would produce a show appropriate for prime time TV on a Sunday night. And furthermore….most of the commercials were just as inappropriate.
Looking over my entry, I suppose this should have been categorized as “On the Soapbox.” It’s one thing to push the envelope. It’s another to totally disregard guidelines that have been put in place for good reasons. Who knows? Perhaps Janet felt she needed to draw some attention away from her brother. Or, maybe she felt her career needed a boost. Maybe she is feeling the competition from the kiddies moving up the ladder behind her, or maybe she’s learned from Madonna how to keep a sagging career going.
I don’t know the whys and wherefores behind the decision to flash what should have been kept covered, but I’m really glad my TV was turned off at the right time last night.
Grow up, Janet. And while you are at it, find some good taste and talent.
Test Blocks
It is SOoooo wonderful to have the chance to sit down and piece quilt blocks. A number of years ago I bought several yards of a batik that were talking to me. The fabric is a melange of color that is basically shades of a reddish orange and black, with tints of blue and gold. I needed a block that would allow me to show a huge chunk of the fabric in one block, rather than dispersing it in smaller pieces across the face of the quilt. I didn’t have a clue how I was going to use it. A friend knew what I was looking for and quickly sketched out several options, which I set aside. Over the years, I’ve collected fabrics that I thought would go with the quilt. Now, I’ve had the chance to make four test blocks to see if the design would work. This is the result:
