We Awoke to the Sound of

an error alarm sounding on the carbon monoxide detector downstairs.  Chloe really does not like that sound - at all.  It is really loud.  But judging by the way Chloe reacts to it, there must be some ultrasonic frequencies too.  On hearing the alarm she gets all nervous, and even after the alarm is silenced she spends 15 minutes panting before she relaxes.  That is partly because she really needs another haircut.  Considering that there is a strong east wind today, we went and bought a new CO detector.  If the wind does overpower the blower on the pellet stove and pushes waste gas back into the house we want to know about it sooner rather than later.  Although the rabbits and cat passing out would provide a pretty fair indicator too.  Take that back, the cat usually looks unconscious most afternoons, so that would be no help.

The new CO detector has a battery backup and tamper indicating alarm.  Chloe got to hear the alarm AGAIN because I tripped the tamper alarm shortly after installing the battery.  Thankfully, the manufacturer provided a means of disabling the tamper alarm.  The alarm is pleasantly silent now, and Chloe is finally relaxed and sacked out on the floor.

So far it is really windy, but no snow.  It would be really nice if we did not get snow from this storm.  As far as dance partners go, the snow blower can really throw the snow, but is rough on the shoulders.  The company of Mr. Shovel and Mr. Ice Scraper have become rather tiresome.  And indoors, Old Mr. Filter Queen and Mr. Shop Vac have really sucked at their jobs - so much that they were full of dirt.  Mr. Shop Vac had a full cleaning yesterday.  All that snow outside is good for something, scrubbing the ashes out of the inside of a shop vac and pre-scrubbing the hepa filter.

Have fun y'all.  In case you hadn't guessed, our life is pretty boring right now.

Killing Time and Conserving Energy

The snow has been falling lightly from the sky since last night, all day, and back into tonight.  Knowing that it would snow all day, this time the city had the sense to cancel schools.  I took the opportunity to use hubby's Element rather than my car to go get the new lenses put into my glasses frames.  Although initially quite expensive, titanium frames do pay for themselves over time.

Then I went over to mom's house and gave her insulin injection.  Driving with new lenses is always a bit awkward, because the world looks strangely clearer.  I wanted to get some more chores done this afternoon, but the eye doctor increased the astigmatism correction.  Moving around a lot made me feel a bit woosey, so I settled in to read for a while.  After reading about 10 pages, I gave up and rested my eyes by taking a nap.  The glasses don't seem to be quite as bothersome anymore.  When the snow finally stops it should be "fun" running the snow blower.  Hope it stops soon, any later and the noise might wake the neighbors.

Clear Skies

Enjoy them while they last.

More snow is on the way.

New Snow

Shiny

The Cold Seat 

Ice Shoves on the Lake

Valentine's Day, Gifts, and Magnetism

Valentines' Day took a bit of a detour.  It started with heading over to mom's to accompany her to a doctor's appointment in the afternoon.  On arrival, I found that mom and stepfather had completely forgotten about the appointment.  Drat! I could have kicked myself for not giving them a reminder call in the morning when I awoke.  Nothing had been shoveled.  Stepfather was in the bathroom in the middle of his "daily routine" which generally lasts for 30 minutes to 1 hour - no help there.  I tried calling the doctor's office to reschedule the appointment, but after more than 5 minutes of waiting they still had not answered the phone.  Ain't ObamaCare wonderful?  So I gave mom her insulin shot, shoveled the driveway (even though it was still snowing), loaded her into my car and we headed out for an afternoon of adventures and excercise for her.  We arrived at the doctor's office and did the great unloading and wheelchair shuffle.  I apologized for mom missing the appointment and asked if there were any other openings that day.  We were in luck; the 4:40 time slot was open.  Now, only one question remained, how were we going to kill the next 2 1/2 hours?  Mom answered part of the question by telling me she hadn't eaten lunch yet, so I took her over to the grilled burger place.  Loading and unloading with a walker was a bit tricky (more excercise for mom), but she enjoyed her fresh sirloin burger with the works.  We split an order of deep fried cheese curds.  They are horrible for the cholesterol, but have some protein and way fewer carbs than french fries.  Plus it was a consolation, because there was no way I was going to let her have a sugary soda or malt.

Then we headed over to the drug store to see what was left in the greeting card aisle.  Not knowing that they had a courtesy wheelchair, mom managed to "walker" her way all the way into the store.  Finding the wheelchair, we switched to it, and I put the walker back in the car.  Amid the crowd (mostly men) and almost empty shelves we found a card for stepfather, some dark chocolate for stepfather, and some sugar free turtles for mom.  That was when we found that mom had written her last check the previous day, so I paid for the items.  Happy Valentines' Day Mom!  Purchases in hand we rolled back out to the car and once again did the loading dance, and I returned the wheelchair to the store.  Then we headed back to the doctor's office, did the unloading dance again, checked in, paid the copay (she paid me back later), and finally saw the nurse and doctor.  The nurse took a blood sample and downloaded the stats from mom's glucose meter.  Then the doctor came in and congratulated mom for her improved numbers.  Guess all the work has been worth it!  Thanking the doctor's office for squeezing us in, we scheduled mom's next appointment and bid them farewell.  We again did the loading mom into the car dance and headed back to mom's house where we did the unloading dance and the long trek up the driveway with the walker.  We managed to sneak the purchases by stepfather, and mom was able to surprise him with the card and gift a little later.  I wished them both a Happy Valentine's Day and took my leave.

It was getting dark outside.  "Rush hour" traffic was getting pretty busy.  And the snow did not look like it was going to quit anytime soon.  Keep in mind I drive the car with those lousy Michelin Harmony tires. (They have since discontinued that line - gee wonder why?).  So I decided that hubby's gift would be purchased at the only store in town where I had other shopping to do - the hardware store.  The .17hmr ammo they had was a bit pricey, so I opted for something else.  Nothing says "You have a magnetic personality, and being stuck together can be lots of fun." quite like a super strong magnet.  The display stated that it lifts 16 pounds.

Hubby liked it, he said "cool magnet".

It managed to lift our 14S skillet which weighs at least 10 pounds.

A useless piece of trivia: now we know the position of the center of gravity on the 14S skillet (just in case it learns to fly and we need to do weight and balance calculations)

The magnet should be handy for picking up dropped tools and other things.

Menu Fails for Valentine's Day

Roasted Garlic in a Limburger Sauce
served over Beet colored pasta

Liver and Onions

Pickled Herring

Baked Beans

Kohl Slaw

Chocolate Covered Prunes

Avoid exposure to open flames for 36 hours.

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas?

Not sure what to give hubby this year aside from the usual homemade steak dinner...etc.

Does anyone have some good gift suggestions?
(Please remember I'm on a budget, so a new firearm is off the list.  Is ammo an appropriate gift?)

Num Num Steak

Here's the thief savoring the moment.

 Here's the missing evidence.

No matter how careful you are,

smart dogs do manage to sneak a few extras from time to time.

If Chloe could talk, her excuses might include the following:

"It didn't smell quite right.  I was testing it for you.

Mom I decided to help you become a vegetarian, starting now.

You were busy in the bathroom.  I didn't want the steak to get cold.

I was still hungry even after that bowl of crunchy dog food.

You should feed me more.

Mom, you did notice that I left you the vegetables, right?

I wouldn't want you to starve after all."

Someone Shook The Snow Globe Again

Item 1: fuel for a day's adventures.

It was so nice that hubby had today off work.  Driving over to mom's house was so much easier with a 4WD.  Step-father is still down with a bad cold, so hubby cleared their driveway.  While he was doing all the heavy work, I gave mom her shot, tried to fill her meds box for next week, called the pharmacy to determine if two prescription refills had been collected-they hadn't, found out the final cost for the meds (OUCH - even after the insurance), balanced her checkbook, wrote out the check, and had her sign it.  Then we went to the pharmacy to pick up her medication.  I should have grabbed something from the deli for their supper.  Because, when we brought back the meds, mom asked if we could fetch them some burgers from Hardees.  Promising good burgers (not from Hardees) we headed back out again.  We went to a local place that charcoal grills their burgers even in winter - yum.


Now we are back home.  A double batch of molasses-wheat-spice bread is rising.  And we are waiting for the snow to stop so that we can shovel our own driveway and sidewalks.  The last time I checked the news, no schools have canceled classes for tomorrow-yet.

Update: It's after midnight.  It is still snowing.  It was supposed to stop, but now we are getting some wrap around lake effect snow.  None of the local schools have canceled.  Now the game of chicken begins between the school bus companies and the school systems begins.  If the rules haven't changed since I was a child, the one that cancels gets to foot the bill for the drivers.  If the bus company cancels, they have to pay the drivers out of company funds.  If the schools cancel, they pay.  Wonder who will flinch first?

Sorry for Lack of Posts

I have been busy sorting things from mom's house.  Last week I took 12 grocery bags of paper recyclables to the city garage.  Today hubby and I took another nine bags.  Although I am horribly tempted to rent a dumpster and start chucking, I cannot.  Sudden, drastic changes upset mom and stepfather, and their "filing system" has become as disorganized as their forgetful minds.  Everything is there, it is just scrambled.

On the plus side, I found some pictures that I have never seen before.  Dad's hobby when he and mom were still married was photography.  Finding old photographs that he took and uncovering old heirlooms that remind me of better times does help curb my frustration, a little.  Here's a blast from the past.  It is pretty easy to tell why I am left eye dominant; the right one was lazy from the get-go.

Quote from Hubby

Hubby:  "I want Ice Cream."

Me:  "Why, It's 4 degrees outside?"

Hubby:  "I didn't say it made any sense."

Me:  "What would you like on your ice cream?"

Hubby:  "Something Brown"

Me:  "Oh the possibilities!

         Soy Sauce?  Raisins?  Smart Pills?

Hubby: "NO"

Me:  "Oh, you mean the fifth food group - Chocolate?

          There's some chocolate sauce in the fridge.  Enjoy!

Good night all!  Sleep Sweet.

Well At Least It Isn't Snowing

The sun is visible.

The sky is blue.

And you will be too,

if you stand still too long outside.

The temperature is zero Fahrenheit.

McDonalds might run out of big macs.

They have this sale running.

Buy one big mac

and get the second for the previous day's temperature.

Wonder if they have to start giving money back

when the temperature goes below zero?

Thankfully there is enough sunshine to take some pictures today.

Have a lovely day!