I'm headed out for camping for a week (in a cabin in Montana...no running water or electric, but a lovely wood stove and a pit toilet a mere 200 yards or so from the cabin...it seems much further when it is dark and cold).
Here are some things that have occurred to me:
If there really was a guy sleeping in my car...why didn't he take more crap? Is my crap not good enough for homeless people?
Do I care if my crap is not good enough for homeless people?
Did he put his nether regions on my steering wheel?
Is there any bleach or cleanser that will remove that residue from the wheel and my brain?
That is all.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Some A--hole Left My F'ing Car 4 Blocks from the Apartment
What sort of an asshole steals my car, and dumps it 4 blocks away in an alley by a gas station?
A stupid one. Probably a junkie.
So I'm leaving this morning in the humiliating Dodge Caliber that the rental car gave me. I drive the usual route away from the apartment...a route I didn't take Friday because I went to a coffee shop in another direction and Heather (who took me to lunch! Thanks Heather) went a different direction. Even coming home I turned a block before the spot where I would have seen the car.
Yesterday I took an unusual direction out of town so I could get used to the aforementioned rental vehicle before hitting the highway.
Today, I take the usual route. About 4 blocks from the house (2 as the crow flies...) I glance an old green subaru in my peripheral vision. I thought "That looks like my car" and hang a left and pull up. It IS my car. It looks OK. (well, as OK as it was when I last saw it.)
I called the cops and told them I'd found my car. In about 20 minutes a cop was there and we chatted about it. It started. The steering wheel looked a bit jacked up, but sorted itself out once I started driving.
The engine has the same ticking. It all felt the same. I called the insurance. They asked what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to drive it today (since I was headed to Moscow for Maia's B-Day...Hi Maia). That way if there was a problem I'd find out now, before I gave the rental car back. The insurance dude said "OK, the rental place won't take the car back today anyway" (which sounds stupid but might be true...I think they must be open on Sunday).
I asked the cop how they took the car. He said old subarus, hondas and toyotas get so you can just file a key down and it will work. I asked what one does about that and he says "get the 'Club' and use it."
Now I look like an asshole because I have the "Club" on the steering wheel of a 15 year old junker.
The only stuff that I can figure out is missing so far is all the change and cash from the console and the key to my Plummer trailer. I called the landlord and asked for new locks. Since I hope to stay there tonight, I hope he hasn't changed them yet. If he has, I'll just go to a hotel. If I stay at the Spokane apartment, it will drive me nuts. I'll just be up all night looking out the window at my car.
Tomorrow I'll come into town and get rid of the rental car and finish packing for camping.
The good news is that I was leaving early for the B-day lunch and still made it on time even with time out to talk to cops, insurance folks, and call people and say "I found my car."
The cop said it was unusual for someone to find their own car. I suppose it is.
Good, but unusual.
And a message for Angela: I am SO SO SO sorry I bogarted your super funny email.
A stupid one. Probably a junkie.
So I'm leaving this morning in the humiliating Dodge Caliber that the rental car gave me. I drive the usual route away from the apartment...a route I didn't take Friday because I went to a coffee shop in another direction and Heather (who took me to lunch! Thanks Heather) went a different direction. Even coming home I turned a block before the spot where I would have seen the car.
Yesterday I took an unusual direction out of town so I could get used to the aforementioned rental vehicle before hitting the highway.
Today, I take the usual route. About 4 blocks from the house (2 as the crow flies...) I glance an old green subaru in my peripheral vision. I thought "That looks like my car" and hang a left and pull up. It IS my car. It looks OK. (well, as OK as it was when I last saw it.)
I called the cops and told them I'd found my car. In about 20 minutes a cop was there and we chatted about it. It started. The steering wheel looked a bit jacked up, but sorted itself out once I started driving.
The engine has the same ticking. It all felt the same. I called the insurance. They asked what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to drive it today (since I was headed to Moscow for Maia's B-Day...Hi Maia). That way if there was a problem I'd find out now, before I gave the rental car back. The insurance dude said "OK, the rental place won't take the car back today anyway" (which sounds stupid but might be true...I think they must be open on Sunday).
I asked the cop how they took the car. He said old subarus, hondas and toyotas get so you can just file a key down and it will work. I asked what one does about that and he says "get the 'Club' and use it."
Now I look like an asshole because I have the "Club" on the steering wheel of a 15 year old junker.
The only stuff that I can figure out is missing so far is all the change and cash from the console and the key to my Plummer trailer. I called the landlord and asked for new locks. Since I hope to stay there tonight, I hope he hasn't changed them yet. If he has, I'll just go to a hotel. If I stay at the Spokane apartment, it will drive me nuts. I'll just be up all night looking out the window at my car.
Tomorrow I'll come into town and get rid of the rental car and finish packing for camping.
The good news is that I was leaving early for the B-day lunch and still made it on time even with time out to talk to cops, insurance folks, and call people and say "I found my car."
The cop said it was unusual for someone to find their own car. I suppose it is.
Good, but unusual.
And a message for Angela: I am SO SO SO sorry I bogarted your super funny email.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Some A-hole Stole My F'ing Car
Here is a wordle that summarizes the crux of the story:
Here is a song about my car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYZhjLrSbUw
(It won't embed so you'll have to click on the link)
6:45pm update:
I have a rental car, and a possible explanation on why someone
would steal my old crap car:
It is not going to have an alarm
It is going to be invisible in the sea of old crap subarus in this area
It is not worth the cop's time to look for so the thief is not going to get caught unless he/she is terminally stupid (which is possible).
STILL...if I were risking jail time, I'd do it for a nice Beamer or 'Cedes, not some old subaru with moldy carpet.
The rental car is nothing I'd ever want to drive. But the insurance will give me 2 weeks free while we wait-n-see if my car turns up drivable. Then, I get 2 weeks free again while they send me a check and I find a different vehicle.
I get up at 5:45 (I slept in. I'm usually up like an hour earlier).
I'm making a cup of tea and looking out the kitchen window like
I always do. And thinking to myself that this is stupid
because who would steal my car and yet every morning
I look out the window at my car while I wait for the
water to heat up.
Today, I'm just looking at an empty spot on the street.
I look all around. No 15 year old subaru in sight.
I run down the stairs in my jammies and socks and
look around. There is no car.
Well, there are several cars...NICE cars including
a much newer subaru.
My car, Betty, is GONE.
Who the f- - - steals a 15 year old car full of crap
with dents, a cracked windshield, busted bug guard,
never been washed (at least not in the last 6 years),
filthy, and 207000 miles on it.
CRAP!!!! my mileage notebook was in there!
CRAP CRAP CRAP! I get most of my tax refund
from that notebook SH!T. That is probably more
valuable than the actual car.
The "good" news is that I have full coverage and
thusly should get a rental car and a pay out.
I'm at the coffee shop (I get a coffee when someone
steals my f'ing car) writing this since I didn't
make it to work.
Cripes.
Anyway, I was supposed to go out with girls from
work tomorrow morning...I'll have to figure that out.
I've got to get to Moscow on Sunday.
I'm going camping Tuesday.
I need my car.
My hiking boots were in there. I probably need to
get hiking boots today so I can start breaking them
in before I go camping.
Who steals an old car?
Also, my snow shovel was in there.
Here is a song about my car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYZhjLrSbUw
(It won't embed so you'll have to click on the link)
6:45pm update:
I have a rental car, and a possible explanation on why someone
would steal my old crap car:
It is not going to have an alarm
It is going to be invisible in the sea of old crap subarus in this area
It is not worth the cop's time to look for so the thief is not going to get caught unless he/she is terminally stupid (which is possible).
STILL...if I were risking jail time, I'd do it for a nice Beamer or 'Cedes, not some old subaru with moldy carpet.
The rental car is nothing I'd ever want to drive. But the insurance will give me 2 weeks free while we wait-n-see if my car turns up drivable. Then, I get 2 weeks free again while they send me a check and I find a different vehicle.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inaugural Speech
You have to admit, whether you voted for him or not...it's pretty amazing to be alive when the first black president of the USA is inaugurated. I'm watching the speech right now. Not bad.
He's all about the thrift and hard work. It will be an interesting change from that last guy who just told us to keep shopping while he shuttled our money to his cronies. If you disagree, feel free to. That's supposed to be the point of living in this country.
The crowd looks HUGE!
By the way, I've heard all this crap about how Obama's inauguration is costing more than Bush's last one. It's not. The figures they are using for Obama's include the security, porta-let rentals, etc. What they are counting for Bush when they say "40million$" is actually JUST the $$ Bush raised to fund the actual event. NOT the security costs etc. The last report I heard where the reporter compared similar costs for the last Bush inauguration the total sum was higher than Obama's total cost. AND, with only about 400,000 people at the Bush one, it was about 392$/attendee. For Obama, the total cost is lower, and with an expected 2million (will be recalculated when a better count is available) it will be about 78$/attendee.
Obama is clearly the fiscal conservative and getting more bang for his buck.
I do hope people are well behaved and patient at the event. I also heard on liberal-diatribe-radio that there was one porta-let per 5,000-6,000 attendees...there is no way one porta-let can hold 5000 poos and/or pees. I hope people wore diapers or peed before they left their housing and restricted their liquid intake (it's cold...they won't pass out).
I don't know what I would choose if it was to be the 5000th person in a porta-let or to poop my pants. If those are the options, what do you choose?
I'll have to post a vote thingy on the side of the blog. Please vote.
OK, back to listening to the speech.
He's all about the thrift and hard work. It will be an interesting change from that last guy who just told us to keep shopping while he shuttled our money to his cronies. If you disagree, feel free to. That's supposed to be the point of living in this country.
The crowd looks HUGE!
By the way, I've heard all this crap about how Obama's inauguration is costing more than Bush's last one. It's not. The figures they are using for Obama's include the security, porta-let rentals, etc. What they are counting for Bush when they say "40million$" is actually JUST the $$ Bush raised to fund the actual event. NOT the security costs etc. The last report I heard where the reporter compared similar costs for the last Bush inauguration the total sum was higher than Obama's total cost. AND, with only about 400,000 people at the Bush one, it was about 392$/attendee. For Obama, the total cost is lower, and with an expected 2million (will be recalculated when a better count is available) it will be about 78$/attendee.
Obama is clearly the fiscal conservative and getting more bang for his buck.
I do hope people are well behaved and patient at the event. I also heard on liberal-diatribe-radio that there was one porta-let per 5,000-6,000 attendees...there is no way one porta-let can hold 5000 poos and/or pees. I hope people wore diapers or peed before they left their housing and restricted their liquid intake (it's cold...they won't pass out).
I don't know what I would choose if it was to be the 5000th person in a porta-let or to poop my pants. If those are the options, what do you choose?
I'll have to post a vote thingy on the side of the blog. Please vote.
OK, back to listening to the speech.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Check out the Flood Blog!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Bring Back National Thrift Week
Here is a SHORT history of National Thrift week that I swiped from
www.getrichslowly.org (a favorite blog of mine)
In still other news, Sher's kitchen is progressing apace. There have been people there all weekend working to install the cabinets and countertops. I think after this it will be ready for floors. And Sher will be ready for her vacation to Hawai'i. Interesting how Sher is headed to Hawai'i and I'm busy planning our next vacation to Nova Scotia (and hoping we can switch to Newfoundland because there is even LESS going on there).
In still other news...I tried to help a friend strip wall paper yesterday. We consulted Sher for tips and got very good direction. BUT, the friend got super sick and wouldn't just go to bed and let me finish. It was just borders and the vinegar water wash Sher recommended was working just fine. So, I had to leave the job half done. Perhaps she'll be back on her feet next weekend and we can finish then.
Why is it so much easier to do projects at someone else's house? I have needed to paint the bathroom at the trailer for years. I've needed to sort the piles of paper at both homes for...well, since about a week after I moved into each. I can't get that done. But take me to a remote location and I'm fine. I wonder if I could find a friend to trade housework with. I don't mind cleaning other people's homes (I was a janitor and a hotel maid in the past). It's just cleaning mine that doesn't interest me.
Anyway, I need to finish websurfing before I run out of power on the laptop. Then I should clean the car...but I probably won't.
www.getrichslowly.org (a favorite blog of mine)
In other news...I'm going to lunch today with Dean Yohe. A cousin I haven't seen in decades. Like 3 decades. that should be interesting! Me and El Kid are meeting him and his family after they go to church (Yes Aunt Mary, they invited me to church but I declined). I know I'll recognize him because he looks like a taller version of his mom (the aforementioned Aunt Mary...technically "Great Aunt Mary" but the original "Great Aunt Mary" was such a character that I don't think the current reigning Aunt Mary wants to be mixed up with the original...have I told the horse-turds/AuntMary's Ashes story?) (OK, just typing that made me giggle and sort of put americano up my nose).In 1916, with the First World War looming imminently on the horizon, the leaders of America’s major civic organizations launched an ambitious education campaign designed to ready the American public for a wartime economy…
The activities of National Thrift Week were guided by several specific principles and behaviors and each was given its own day. Hence, Americans joined together every January in celebrating:
- Have a Bank Account Day
- Invest Safely Day
- Carry Life Insurance Day
- Keep a Budget Day
- Pay Bills Promptly Day
- Own Your Home Day
- Share with Others Day
Then, as today, critics often maligned thrift as simple hoarding, but these principles demonstrate how the founders envisioned Thrift Week as so much more — they saw it not as a way to encourage miserly behavior, but instead to cultivate responsible consumerism and civic progress. Rather than self-denial, the goal was self-control…
National Thrift Week fizzled out in 1966, after being passed from one sponsor to another. Around that same time, thrift as a national virtue seems to have faded from the collective public consciousness as well…
I'm a few days late getting this posted but that is because I just heard of it. I've had to cut back on my internet use at work and with dial up at the apartment...well, there is no point in signing on if all you have is dial up. Anyway, it seems I'm the "Bandwidth Queen" at work. They installed internet use monitoring software and I've been the top bandwidth consumer! Woohoo! I'm number one. Apparently letting videos run in the background while I work is not as common as I thought. Perhaps it's because I sometimes have 2 or 3 video sites open at once. Anyway, the upshot is that I'm trying to cut back on internet use at work and was not reading my fave blogs for a while so I missed the beginning of National Thrift week.
It isn't actually a current holiday but maybe we can get Obama to bring it back. lord knows in this economy people need to be a bit thriftier in general (as I sit at a coffee shop with organic locally produced strawberry coffee cake and a hazelnut americano).
If you're interested in bringing back National Thrift Week check out
In still other news, Sher's kitchen is progressing apace. There have been people there all weekend working to install the cabinets and countertops. I think after this it will be ready for floors. And Sher will be ready for her vacation to Hawai'i. Interesting how Sher is headed to Hawai'i and I'm busy planning our next vacation to Nova Scotia (and hoping we can switch to Newfoundland because there is even LESS going on there).
In still other news...I tried to help a friend strip wall paper yesterday. We consulted Sher for tips and got very good direction. BUT, the friend got super sick and wouldn't just go to bed and let me finish. It was just borders and the vinegar water wash Sher recommended was working just fine. So, I had to leave the job half done. Perhaps she'll be back on her feet next weekend and we can finish then.
Why is it so much easier to do projects at someone else's house? I have needed to paint the bathroom at the trailer for years. I've needed to sort the piles of paper at both homes for...well, since about a week after I moved into each. I can't get that done. But take me to a remote location and I'm fine. I wonder if I could find a friend to trade housework with. I don't mind cleaning other people's homes (I was a janitor and a hotel maid in the past). It's just cleaning mine that doesn't interest me.
Anyway, I need to finish websurfing before I run out of power on the laptop. Then I should clean the car...but I probably won't.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Two Moose and Hideous Scarfery
As soon as I wrote the blog, something interesting happened…we saw 2 moose on the way to work. A mother and …what is the term for a baby moose? A mooselet? A mosling? A mooppy? Anyway, a juvenile moose. They were eating bark or something off a tree near the road. The mother was blocking the view of the younger one, but we know that either there was a younger one or the mother had an underdeveloped twin hanging off her left side with fully functional, though shorter, legs. Basically we could see a moose with 8 legs, the center 4 legs shorter. So we’re really just assuming there was another, smaller, moose on the side we couldn’t see. Given all the hazmat in the area, an undeveloped twin hanging off her side is not an impossibility.
Either way, it was cool.
All the SNOW SNOW SNOW we’ve had has given way to ICE ICE ICE.
The roads are clear of snow (more or less…streets in Spokane are a 3 dimensional maze of ice berms), but the freezing fog makes for an interesting morning drive. Once we slid most of the way through an intersection narrowly missing another car. This morning the driver (NOT ME) was trying to slow down to turn into the parking lot at my office. He hit the brakes but there was pretty much no effect on the speed of his vehicle. It did make that disheartening sound of snowtires on ice. (Hey! There’s an Icecapade for you…Snow Tires On Ice…I’d see that one..they’d all be wearing carharrts and doing synchronized snow-shovel work as they dug cars out of fluffy white drifts and dodged speeding Dodges shooting across the ice as wild-eyed drivers helplessly spun the steering wheels.) Anyway, he did manage to make the turn after a single bit of gravel helped the car slow down a bit and gave it a pivot point to make the turn.
I have my yaktrax now so I feel safer. Though one must put them on for them to be effective.
I got the “pro” model with the extra strap over the toe. The non-pro model is good, but tends to fly off my larger boots when I’m in deep snow or slush. They are hard to find in snow and slush especially when one is flailing about and falling down.
In other news…I’m making the world’s ugliest and heaviest scarf on my loom! I wish I had a photo but I don’t know that it would capture the full horror. I’m using “tangerine” colored RedHeart yarn (I hear that brand is the pinnacle of crap yarn). It was at the thrift store in Pullman WA when I was down there the other day. I’d already bought some variegated green yarn to try for a camo effect. When I saw the orange I was way too excited. I don’t have enough at this time, but I’m thinking that with some planning, I could make a hat that was orange on one side and camo on the other. That way it would be good for duck hunting AND deer hunting. Just spin it around so the appropriate side is forward. Of course, this leaves the back of your head unprotected in deer season, but what the hell. You have to die some time.
If it works (and if I ever get around to it), I can make a coordinating scarf…camo on one end, orange on the other. Wrap as needed.
The yarn IS made of petroleum (it’s orlon) which makes me feel bad, and yet, most of it has been acquired at thrift stores (I had given up on thrift when I bought the camo stuff at a regular store). Then again…it’s washable. It specifically says to feel free to wash it in the machine on the regular setting and throw it in the dryer. But no bleach.
So why is the current blaze orange (“tangerine” is the color name but not the actual color) scarf the heaviest in the world (the color explains why it is the ugliest)? I’m not sure. According to the loom, that weight of yarn should be knit as a double strand (fortunately there were TWO skeins at the thrift store). I’m doing that. But the scarf is so heavy and …well… firm, that it barely bends. In my mind, this makes it funnier and even more hideous. I may have to hang sinkers on the fringe to get the scarf to lie down a bit on the unfortunate wearer. It will be the perfect accessory for your “I can’t put my arms down” snow suit.
While I have figured out how to make flat knit on the round hat loom (thank god I didn’t go for the full “tube” style scarf…it would weigh more than one human could support), I have not yet figured out how to END flat knit on the round loom. For a hat, you knit a tube, then when you have enough tube, you run a new piece of yarn through each loop, take them off the loom, and pull tight. This makes that end of the tube come to a rounded point and forms the top of the hat. I could make the final end of the scarf come to a point and hang a big pompom off it if I can’t figure out another way, but I know there is a way to finish it without making it come to a point. The loom people tell me that you can do flatwork on the loom, but they want me to PAY for instructions on how to do it. I don’t want to do that. There must be a loser loom knitters discussion group on the web where someone will just tell me how to do it. I have plenty of yarn left at the moment and room on the loom to knit a shorter smaller item to practice finishing techniques so I’m not too worried. If all else fails…duct tape.
I’ll try to get a photo of the hideousness soon, if only to show the color.
Here it is:
(Note the background…it’s my bedsheets. These are sheets Marcie got me when I started college in 1984!!! They are a cotton poly blend that is apparently the most durable fabric in the world. I’ve used them as sheets, made a wall out of the flat sheet, used the fitted sheet to turn a shelving unit into a vaguely private cupboard, nailed them to walls at various times to cover holes or stains, and now they are back to being sheets again. I suspect that someone will inherit them when I die. They may be the only thing to survive the nuclear war. It will give the roaches a start on their interior decorating.)
Either way, it was cool.
All the SNOW SNOW SNOW we’ve had has given way to ICE ICE ICE.
The roads are clear of snow (more or less…streets in Spokane are a 3 dimensional maze of ice berms), but the freezing fog makes for an interesting morning drive. Once we slid most of the way through an intersection narrowly missing another car. This morning the driver (NOT ME) was trying to slow down to turn into the parking lot at my office. He hit the brakes but there was pretty much no effect on the speed of his vehicle. It did make that disheartening sound of snowtires on ice. (Hey! There’s an Icecapade for you…Snow Tires On Ice…I’d see that one..they’d all be wearing carharrts and doing synchronized snow-shovel work as they dug cars out of fluffy white drifts and dodged speeding Dodges shooting across the ice as wild-eyed drivers helplessly spun the steering wheels.) Anyway, he did manage to make the turn after a single bit of gravel helped the car slow down a bit and gave it a pivot point to make the turn.
I have my yaktrax now so I feel safer. Though one must put them on for them to be effective.
I got the “pro” model with the extra strap over the toe. The non-pro model is good, but tends to fly off my larger boots when I’m in deep snow or slush. They are hard to find in snow and slush especially when one is flailing about and falling down.
In other news…I’m making the world’s ugliest and heaviest scarf on my loom! I wish I had a photo but I don’t know that it would capture the full horror. I’m using “tangerine” colored RedHeart yarn (I hear that brand is the pinnacle of crap yarn). It was at the thrift store in Pullman WA when I was down there the other day. I’d already bought some variegated green yarn to try for a camo effect. When I saw the orange I was way too excited. I don’t have enough at this time, but I’m thinking that with some planning, I could make a hat that was orange on one side and camo on the other. That way it would be good for duck hunting AND deer hunting. Just spin it around so the appropriate side is forward. Of course, this leaves the back of your head unprotected in deer season, but what the hell. You have to die some time.
If it works (and if I ever get around to it), I can make a coordinating scarf…camo on one end, orange on the other. Wrap as needed.
The yarn IS made of petroleum (it’s orlon) which makes me feel bad, and yet, most of it has been acquired at thrift stores (I had given up on thrift when I bought the camo stuff at a regular store). Then again…it’s washable. It specifically says to feel free to wash it in the machine on the regular setting and throw it in the dryer. But no bleach.
So why is the current blaze orange (“tangerine” is the color name but not the actual color) scarf the heaviest in the world (the color explains why it is the ugliest)? I’m not sure. According to the loom, that weight of yarn should be knit as a double strand (fortunately there were TWO skeins at the thrift store). I’m doing that. But the scarf is so heavy and …well… firm, that it barely bends. In my mind, this makes it funnier and even more hideous. I may have to hang sinkers on the fringe to get the scarf to lie down a bit on the unfortunate wearer. It will be the perfect accessory for your “I can’t put my arms down” snow suit.
While I have figured out how to make flat knit on the round hat loom (thank god I didn’t go for the full “tube” style scarf…it would weigh more than one human could support), I have not yet figured out how to END flat knit on the round loom. For a hat, you knit a tube, then when you have enough tube, you run a new piece of yarn through each loop, take them off the loom, and pull tight. This makes that end of the tube come to a rounded point and forms the top of the hat. I could make the final end of the scarf come to a point and hang a big pompom off it if I can’t figure out another way, but I know there is a way to finish it without making it come to a point. The loom people tell me that you can do flatwork on the loom, but they want me to PAY for instructions on how to do it. I don’t want to do that. There must be a loser loom knitters discussion group on the web where someone will just tell me how to do it. I have plenty of yarn left at the moment and room on the loom to knit a shorter smaller item to practice finishing techniques so I’m not too worried. If all else fails…duct tape.
I’ll try to get a photo of the hideousness soon, if only to show the color.
Here it is:
(Note the background…it’s my bedsheets. These are sheets Marcie got me when I started college in 1984!!! They are a cotton poly blend that is apparently the most durable fabric in the world. I’ve used them as sheets, made a wall out of the flat sheet, used the fitted sheet to turn a shelving unit into a vaguely private cupboard, nailed them to walls at various times to cover holes or stains, and now they are back to being sheets again. I suspect that someone will inherit them when I die. They may be the only thing to survive the nuclear war. It will give the roaches a start on their interior decorating.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Worst Blog Entry EVER!!
Sorry for the gap in the "action" here.
I've been busy. OK...I've been lazy.
Well, I've tried two recipes out of the "More with Less" cookbook Jonny sent. Both were quite good. Beans and rice and...I forget what the other one was. Something simple and delicious. That resolution is going fine.
Yesterday I briefly flirted with the idea of signing up for the weight loss incentive program at the gym in Plummer. But, they weigh you alot and when I weigh myself I just end up eating more. I'll just hope the Christmas fat goes away on its own. They are also having a fitness challenge where you log your minutes at the gym and if you log enough, you get a gift certificate. The certificate is to the pro shop at the golf course. There is nothing there I want. Not joining that challenge either. I think it would be a demotivator for me...why go to my yoga class if I'm just earning points toward a gift certificate I don't want?
That said, I skipped yoga yesterday because I was having intestinal distress. Didn't want to do all the bending and twisting in public. Since I wasn't there, I was available to take a call...to help a friend move her big screen TV to her brother's house. This resulted in more intestinal distress, but was very funny. The TV would not fit in her van...no one had a truck handy. So as a JOKE I mention the lift on the back meant to carry her wheel chair (which she no longer needs after knee surgery). ... We ended up hauling the TV strapped to the wheel chair lift. We looked ridiculous but it did work. It hit the road if we went over about 2 miles an hour or went over the least bump (of which there are many on the dirt "streets" in the winter here). People were pointing and laughing but I'm thinking we started a trend. We were able to roll the TV right off the lift and into the house. Strapping it on was a challenge but we know how now. I'm thinking we'll be getting calls to move other large awkward objects. It took quite a while but we got to hear great stories...I'll see if I can get permission to put them in the blog, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. They are pretty good stories partly because they are gross and embarrassing involving blood, a body part falling off, and a bar fight. That's just ONE story. I'll see if I can get it.
I spent the week of christmas and the next one in Plummer and since then have been back in Spokane supposedly so El Kid could go to school. Last week was a bust. They went 2 days. The other days were cancelled due to whiny parents saying their precious children could not possibly walk in the street. So the superintendent canceled school for the entire district! What the hell? Even HIGH SCHOOL? Other reasons given: The parking lots weren't plowed (they had 2 weeks of break to get that done). They hadn't checked the roofs to see if they could take the snowload (again, they had 2 weeks to do that). They didn't have the school sidewalks de-iced (It's winter...sidewalks will be icy, and they had 2 weeks to deal with that). This was all announced on MONDAY that the kids were supposed to go back. Sounds a bit stupid to me. And a bit "snowflake generation". Why are kids too special to walk on ice now? Are they going to expect days off work when it's icy when they are adults? (Won't it be infuriating if they get them?)
Enough ranting about the stupid schools here. The city-wide performance art piece called "I can't plow snow" continues. I'll rant about that. The snow is melting. This makes ice. But there must be some sort of sand and gravel shortage because they are not gravelling the streets (they don't sand here, they put down basalt pea gravel which the passing vehicles throw onto each others' windshields producing the requisite cracks and chips). They are putting gravel in the CENTER of a few intersections but frankly, once I'm in the middle of the intersection, I no longer want to stop. I'd prefer to just keep going and get past the hazard. I'm using rocksalt on the walk to the apartment and the parking on the street. It's helping some. I had El Kid shovel out an extra parking spot but one of the neighbors in explicably parked in a way that prevents that shoveled bit from being used (not enough room to get in or out of it) and has not driven her car in a week. Usually she's in and out every day so I can take up the leading or trailing spot and force her into a more efficient parking position, but not now. Now she's committed. The kicker is that she drives a jeep! She could make it over the remaining 8 inch ice berm even if she parked way at the front of the shoveled bit. I don't know what her plan is. Maybe she just wanted to park under the pine tree. That will be self punishing (I even was tempted to try it once this winter...nothing like a snow dump over pine needles glued to the roof of your car).
Man. No wonder I haven't blogged. My life is dull and I'm all whiny.
I've been busy. OK...I've been lazy.
Well, I've tried two recipes out of the "More with Less" cookbook Jonny sent. Both were quite good. Beans and rice and...I forget what the other one was. Something simple and delicious. That resolution is going fine.
Yesterday I briefly flirted with the idea of signing up for the weight loss incentive program at the gym in Plummer. But, they weigh you alot and when I weigh myself I just end up eating more. I'll just hope the Christmas fat goes away on its own. They are also having a fitness challenge where you log your minutes at the gym and if you log enough, you get a gift certificate. The certificate is to the pro shop at the golf course. There is nothing there I want. Not joining that challenge either. I think it would be a demotivator for me...why go to my yoga class if I'm just earning points toward a gift certificate I don't want?
That said, I skipped yoga yesterday because I was having intestinal distress. Didn't want to do all the bending and twisting in public. Since I wasn't there, I was available to take a call...to help a friend move her big screen TV to her brother's house. This resulted in more intestinal distress, but was very funny. The TV would not fit in her van...no one had a truck handy. So as a JOKE I mention the lift on the back meant to carry her wheel chair (which she no longer needs after knee surgery). ... We ended up hauling the TV strapped to the wheel chair lift. We looked ridiculous but it did work. It hit the road if we went over about 2 miles an hour or went over the least bump (of which there are many on the dirt "streets" in the winter here). People were pointing and laughing but I'm thinking we started a trend. We were able to roll the TV right off the lift and into the house. Strapping it on was a challenge but we know how now. I'm thinking we'll be getting calls to move other large awkward objects. It took quite a while but we got to hear great stories...I'll see if I can get permission to put them in the blog, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. They are pretty good stories partly because they are gross and embarrassing involving blood, a body part falling off, and a bar fight. That's just ONE story. I'll see if I can get it.
I spent the week of christmas and the next one in Plummer and since then have been back in Spokane supposedly so El Kid could go to school. Last week was a bust. They went 2 days. The other days were cancelled due to whiny parents saying their precious children could not possibly walk in the street. So the superintendent canceled school for the entire district! What the hell? Even HIGH SCHOOL? Other reasons given: The parking lots weren't plowed (they had 2 weeks of break to get that done). They hadn't checked the roofs to see if they could take the snowload (again, they had 2 weeks to do that). They didn't have the school sidewalks de-iced (It's winter...sidewalks will be icy, and they had 2 weeks to deal with that). This was all announced on MONDAY that the kids were supposed to go back. Sounds a bit stupid to me. And a bit "snowflake generation". Why are kids too special to walk on ice now? Are they going to expect days off work when it's icy when they are adults? (Won't it be infuriating if they get them?)
Enough ranting about the stupid schools here. The city-wide performance art piece called "I can't plow snow" continues. I'll rant about that. The snow is melting. This makes ice. But there must be some sort of sand and gravel shortage because they are not gravelling the streets (they don't sand here, they put down basalt pea gravel which the passing vehicles throw onto each others' windshields producing the requisite cracks and chips). They are putting gravel in the CENTER of a few intersections but frankly, once I'm in the middle of the intersection, I no longer want to stop. I'd prefer to just keep going and get past the hazard. I'm using rocksalt on the walk to the apartment and the parking on the street. It's helping some. I had El Kid shovel out an extra parking spot but one of the neighbors in explicably parked in a way that prevents that shoveled bit from being used (not enough room to get in or out of it) and has not driven her car in a week. Usually she's in and out every day so I can take up the leading or trailing spot and force her into a more efficient parking position, but not now. Now she's committed. The kicker is that she drives a jeep! She could make it over the remaining 8 inch ice berm even if she parked way at the front of the shoveled bit. I don't know what her plan is. Maybe she just wanted to park under the pine tree. That will be self punishing (I even was tempted to try it once this winter...nothing like a snow dump over pine needles glued to the roof of your car).
Man. No wonder I haven't blogged. My life is dull and I'm all whiny.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Cabin Night Fever
Symptoms: unable to sleep due to obsessively checking the weather and hoping for it to break.
Treatment: None known.
I couldn't sleep last night. The weather..>AAAA. Snow. Snow. Snow.
In Spokane they don't so much plow or shovel as simply rearrange the snow. I watched 3 plows in a row pass my today as I walked. They were all in one lane and snow flew about. But landed BACK ON THE STREET!!!! Seriously. The streets are 6inches deep in new snow (over ice running from 1-12inches deep an rutty). After the plows went by the snow was brown but there was no other effect. Wierd. And why not spread out across the two lanes and plow that crap OFF THE STREET?
I was mostly walking in the street because sidewalks are not shoveled mostly. I came across one that was snow-blown FULL WIDTH! I climbed over the berm from the street to the sidewalk. Walked about 10 yards then turned the corner to see that the snow-blowage DEAD_ENDED about 10yards up from the corner. What the f---? Why bother doing a lovely job making 20 yards of handicap accessible sidewalk to the entrance to your business only to have it COMPLETELY surrounded by snow berms on all sides and both ends? Was it some sort of wintery performance art? If so, it was good.
I also watched a business man in a suit drive his big-ass 4wheel truck INTO a burm and get it stuck in his own parking lot. I stopped and took a photo but it didn't turn out. He didn't appreciate my giggling and I'm sure if/when I get stuck I'll regret laughing.
I'm walking about Spokane today because my ride to work guy took the day off. It was too dangerous to drive. A few people did...but the highways were closed and I'm not having the rescue guys go out on a closed highway so I can check e-mail (instead I'll go to this lovely coffee shop just 2 blocks from the house and not check my e-mail...heh heh). (Actually, I think I will check my email... there is supposed to be a big meeting that I'm probably missing).
(OK, totally should not have checked my email...now I'm in a crisis loop at work and must sign off)
P.S.....my favorite thrift store had the roof cave in and is closed! Son of a bitch!
Treatment: None known.
I couldn't sleep last night. The weather..>AAAA. Snow. Snow. Snow.
In Spokane they don't so much plow or shovel as simply rearrange the snow. I watched 3 plows in a row pass my today as I walked. They were all in one lane and snow flew about. But landed BACK ON THE STREET!!!! Seriously. The streets are 6inches deep in new snow (over ice running from 1-12inches deep an rutty). After the plows went by the snow was brown but there was no other effect. Wierd. And why not spread out across the two lanes and plow that crap OFF THE STREET?
I was mostly walking in the street because sidewalks are not shoveled mostly. I came across one that was snow-blown FULL WIDTH! I climbed over the berm from the street to the sidewalk. Walked about 10 yards then turned the corner to see that the snow-blowage DEAD_ENDED about 10yards up from the corner. What the f---? Why bother doing a lovely job making 20 yards of handicap accessible sidewalk to the entrance to your business only to have it COMPLETELY surrounded by snow berms on all sides and both ends? Was it some sort of wintery performance art? If so, it was good.
I also watched a business man in a suit drive his big-ass 4wheel truck INTO a burm and get it stuck in his own parking lot. I stopped and took a photo but it didn't turn out. He didn't appreciate my giggling and I'm sure if/when I get stuck I'll regret laughing.
I'm walking about Spokane today because my ride to work guy took the day off. It was too dangerous to drive. A few people did...but the highways were closed and I'm not having the rescue guys go out on a closed highway so I can check e-mail (instead I'll go to this lovely coffee shop just 2 blocks from the house and not check my e-mail...heh heh). (Actually, I think I will check my email... there is supposed to be a big meeting that I'm probably missing).
(OK, totally should not have checked my email...now I'm in a crisis loop at work and must sign off)
P.S.....my favorite thrift store had the roof cave in and is closed! Son of a bitch!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A Camping We Will Go...
So, I just read an email from Jeanne (Hi Jeanne) who is going camping with me in January...come hell, highwater, or blizzards I'm going f'ing camping (can you spell "cabin fever"?).
I'm about sick of coming into the office, farting around, then going home. I work a bit but with the snow, and the overcast sky and having El Kid at home bored because it's grounded...well, I need a break.
Jeanne suggested we try some sourdough experimentation while we're there.
If people have hints or recipes, please send them along!
I used to have sourdough starter going but haven't done that for a while. It took too much babysitting. Perhaps next year while El Kid is overseas and I only have one home I can get back into the sourdough. I remember it being fun when I was in college.
I think I've been into this homesteader/self-sufficiency thing longer than I thought. What college student works two jobs and still bakes her own sourdough bread while taking 24 credits? That was before I needed sleep. And when I had an apartment in Ames, Iowa that was essentially unheated. The thermostat was in the front apartment for all three apartments in the building. The front apartment had about 2 windows and all the other walls were interior. I had the back apartment which had 2 exterior walls that were mostly windows (single pane...no insulation in any walls). It was COLD. The guy in the front apartment would never answer his door so sometimes those of us in the other two apartments would SHOUT through his door begging him to turn up the heat (old steam radiators) and he would mumble back something about being too hot and we would shout something like "then shut the f'ing valves on your f'ing radiators a$$hole" or something like that but with more foul language.
What that apartment (200$ all utilities paid...ah, good times) DID have was a little Roper (brand name) stove that went up to 750degs fahrenheit AND THEN had "broil". I would turn it on to about 600 and open the oven door. I'm sure the gas fumes would kill me eventually but at least my body wouldn't freeze solid quite so fast. There were many days when it was about 35degress in that apartment when I got up (I only ran the stove for about a half hour at a time and only when I was home).
SO...to also help with heating the place (space heaters only blew circuits and I didn't have the $$ to buy them anyway...the stove was already there and the gas to run it was paid for), I would bake alot. Bread, brownies, cakes, broiled chicken breasts/jerky (same recipe only for jerky you make a phone call and forget you have chicken under the broiler...but you're poor so you eat it anyway).
The stove was in the kitchen which was a separate little room and thus didn't heat much of the apartment very well. But, it was next to the bathroom so sometimes I could get the bathroom up in the 40s before I had to take a bath and wash my hair (no shower).
Still, I loved that apartment. HUGE, cheap, and lots and lots of light.
It was plenty warm in the summer what with the windows being all south and west facing, no shade, and no insulation. If I had known about solar ovens, I'm sure I could have made something out of foil and a cardboard box and put it in the kitchen window in the summer.
As it was, in the summer I ate just cold food. It was too hot to light the oven.
Since then, I haven't had the time or inclination to do much with sourdough. But I got quite good at it back then. Sher was into sourdough when I was in junior high or so. Must have picked it up from her.
She also got food from a co-op in the 70s (a buying cooperative, not a store), and marketed rugs out of the house and tried several home based businesses along with having a HUGE garden, canning and freezing everything in sight.
As much as she finds my quasi-hippie was amusing, she totally started it!
Hey!...she also sewed many of our clothes (she's quite good...blazers, skirts, pants, etc), knitted, possibly crocheted, and braided rugs. Hmmm....I think she was a closet hippie! I'm going to look for roaches and seeds next time I'm home (and I don't mean bugs and garden supplies!) (you know....Fred does have those grow lights in the basement....hmmmm......nah. He'd be in a better mood if he were stoned).
Anyway, in my previous post I mentioned making a recipe from the mennonite cookbook once a month in 2009 (I think I did anyway).
I made a beans-n-rice recipe yesterday that was quite good. Here it is (my modified version):
2-3 cloves garlic
2 med onion
olive oil to fry in
28oz can of tomatoes (chopped, diced, crushed, whole, sauce...whatever)
1-2T spices
4-5 cups black beans
1-3T lime juice
Rice to serve it on
I boiled up the beans and rice the day before.
Heat the oil in a big pot (I used a 6qt soup pot..enamel ware with a nice lid...thanks Pam!)
Chop the garlic and start it frying
Chop the onion and throw in with the garlic (I used red onion)
Fry the onion until it smells good
Throw in the tomatoes
Add the beans.
Stir
Add the spices (I used a mix sent by Aunt Marcie, it was intended for chili).
Stir
Add the lime juice
Stir
Heat over medium heat for a while until it's heated threw and smells good. Stir it to help some beans squish up into a thick sauce and to keep it from burning.
Taste and adjust spices if you like.
I used chopped tomatoes with their juice. I added no other
Serve over rice.
We had a side of Kombocha squash with it.
Quite a healthy dinner really.
I'm about sick of coming into the office, farting around, then going home. I work a bit but with the snow, and the overcast sky and having El Kid at home bored because it's grounded...well, I need a break.
Jeanne suggested we try some sourdough experimentation while we're there.
If people have hints or recipes, please send them along!
I used to have sourdough starter going but haven't done that for a while. It took too much babysitting. Perhaps next year while El Kid is overseas and I only have one home I can get back into the sourdough. I remember it being fun when I was in college.
I think I've been into this homesteader/self-sufficiency thing longer than I thought. What college student works two jobs and still bakes her own sourdough bread while taking 24 credits? That was before I needed sleep. And when I had an apartment in Ames, Iowa that was essentially unheated. The thermostat was in the front apartment for all three apartments in the building. The front apartment had about 2 windows and all the other walls were interior. I had the back apartment which had 2 exterior walls that were mostly windows (single pane...no insulation in any walls). It was COLD. The guy in the front apartment would never answer his door so sometimes those of us in the other two apartments would SHOUT through his door begging him to turn up the heat (old steam radiators) and he would mumble back something about being too hot and we would shout something like "then shut the f'ing valves on your f'ing radiators a$$hole" or something like that but with more foul language.
What that apartment (200$ all utilities paid...ah, good times) DID have was a little Roper (brand name) stove that went up to 750degs fahrenheit AND THEN had "broil". I would turn it on to about 600 and open the oven door. I'm sure the gas fumes would kill me eventually but at least my body wouldn't freeze solid quite so fast. There were many days when it was about 35degress in that apartment when I got up (I only ran the stove for about a half hour at a time and only when I was home).
SO...to also help with heating the place (space heaters only blew circuits and I didn't have the $$ to buy them anyway...the stove was already there and the gas to run it was paid for), I would bake alot. Bread, brownies, cakes, broiled chicken breasts/jerky (same recipe only for jerky you make a phone call and forget you have chicken under the broiler...but you're poor so you eat it anyway).
The stove was in the kitchen which was a separate little room and thus didn't heat much of the apartment very well. But, it was next to the bathroom so sometimes I could get the bathroom up in the 40s before I had to take a bath and wash my hair (no shower).
Still, I loved that apartment. HUGE, cheap, and lots and lots of light.
It was plenty warm in the summer what with the windows being all south and west facing, no shade, and no insulation. If I had known about solar ovens, I'm sure I could have made something out of foil and a cardboard box and put it in the kitchen window in the summer.
As it was, in the summer I ate just cold food. It was too hot to light the oven.
Since then, I haven't had the time or inclination to do much with sourdough. But I got quite good at it back then. Sher was into sourdough when I was in junior high or so. Must have picked it up from her.
She also got food from a co-op in the 70s (a buying cooperative, not a store), and marketed rugs out of the house and tried several home based businesses along with having a HUGE garden, canning and freezing everything in sight.
As much as she finds my quasi-hippie was amusing, she totally started it!
Hey!...she also sewed many of our clothes (she's quite good...blazers, skirts, pants, etc), knitted, possibly crocheted, and braided rugs. Hmmm....I think she was a closet hippie! I'm going to look for roaches and seeds next time I'm home (and I don't mean bugs and garden supplies!) (you know....Fred does have those grow lights in the basement....hmmmm......nah. He'd be in a better mood if he were stoned).
Anyway, in my previous post I mentioned making a recipe from the mennonite cookbook once a month in 2009 (I think I did anyway).
I made a beans-n-rice recipe yesterday that was quite good. Here it is (my modified version):
2-3 cloves garlic
2 med onion
olive oil to fry in
28oz can of tomatoes (chopped, diced, crushed, whole, sauce...whatever)
1-2T spices
4-5 cups black beans
1-3T lime juice
Rice to serve it on
I boiled up the beans and rice the day before.
Heat the oil in a big pot (I used a 6qt soup pot..enamel ware with a nice lid...thanks Pam!)
Chop the garlic and start it frying
Chop the onion and throw in with the garlic (I used red onion)
Fry the onion until it smells good
Throw in the tomatoes
Add the beans.
Stir
Add the spices (I used a mix sent by Aunt Marcie, it was intended for chili).
Stir
Add the lime juice
Stir
Heat over medium heat for a while until it's heated threw and smells good. Stir it to help some beans squish up into a thick sauce and to keep it from burning.
Taste and adjust spices if you like.
I used chopped tomatoes with their juice. I added no other
Serve over rice.
We had a side of Kombocha squash with it.
Quite a healthy dinner really.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year
It's new year. Woo-hoo.
So what am I doing?
Well, I'm at work. I'll work in a bit after I'm done with breakfast. Right now I'm catching up on the blogging and watching a Woody Allen film online (I love Woody and I've never seen Celebrity before).
Here's one quick new year's resolution:
My friend Jonny got me a cookbook I've looked at in stores for years but never bought (because I hadn't seen it used), More-with-Less. It's Mennonite and based on the idea that there is nto enough to go around in the world if people keep eating a standard American diet. The author, Doris Janzen Longacre, wrote this in 1976. It's probably more true now. We eat too much protein which screws up our systems and depletes food supplies in the world. Doris doesn't say we need to all go vegan, just that the world will be better (and we'll be putting our mouths where our mouths are) if we use more beans, lentils, whole grains, and vegetables; preserve some food when it's in season; and eat less feelot beef.
It's pretty much where I'm at so a nice gift with some good recipes.
So, the resolution: at least once a month, I'll try a recipe from the book!
Right now...I'm not only blogging and watching a movie, I'm also soaking black beans so I can make beans and rice later from a recipe in the book.
That's the only resolution this year (so far). It seems doable.
Last year's resolutions...I think they went OK. I don't remember them all. I did resolve to not buy any "new" clothes (other than undergarments). That worked out. All my "new" clothes for '08 were from thrift except for 6 pairs of undies. My sox lasted OK and I did buy one pair of thrift sox but I don't think they'd been worn. I just kept mending the ones I already own. A friend, Diana, gave me a little tiny dresser that was her mother-in-law's sewing storage thing. The stuff was still in it. While the dress-shields will probably not get used, and the bra-elastic (seriously, there was bra-elastic in there still in the package) was aged beyond usefulness...the rest, including the darning egg, has come in very handy.
It's been a fun week in Plummer...shoveling, working, shoveling, slipping on ice, working, slipping...
Another fun thing I've been doing this week while staying in Plummer, is watching a film by the son of a colleague. It's a hoot! Very ambitious to try to do a period piece set in London when one lives in Spokane and has not budget. But some scenes work well. Not all of them btu I've seen worse on the commercial market when people DID have a budget.
Well, I should probably find something else to do now.
Happy New Year to everyone
So what am I doing?
Well, I'm at work. I'll work in a bit after I'm done with breakfast. Right now I'm catching up on the blogging and watching a Woody Allen film online (I love Woody and I've never seen Celebrity before).
Here's one quick new year's resolution:
My friend Jonny got me a cookbook I've looked at in stores for years but never bought (because I hadn't seen it used), More-with-Less. It's Mennonite and based on the idea that there is nto enough to go around in the world if people keep eating a standard American diet. The author, Doris Janzen Longacre, wrote this in 1976. It's probably more true now. We eat too much protein which screws up our systems and depletes food supplies in the world. Doris doesn't say we need to all go vegan, just that the world will be better (and we'll be putting our mouths where our mouths are) if we use more beans, lentils, whole grains, and vegetables; preserve some food when it's in season; and eat less feelot beef.
It's pretty much where I'm at so a nice gift with some good recipes.
So, the resolution: at least once a month, I'll try a recipe from the book!
Right now...I'm not only blogging and watching a movie, I'm also soaking black beans so I can make beans and rice later from a recipe in the book.
That's the only resolution this year (so far). It seems doable.
Last year's resolutions...I think they went OK. I don't remember them all. I did resolve to not buy any "new" clothes (other than undergarments). That worked out. All my "new" clothes for '08 were from thrift except for 6 pairs of undies. My sox lasted OK and I did buy one pair of thrift sox but I don't think they'd been worn. I just kept mending the ones I already own. A friend, Diana, gave me a little tiny dresser that was her mother-in-law's sewing storage thing. The stuff was still in it. While the dress-shields will probably not get used, and the bra-elastic (seriously, there was bra-elastic in there still in the package) was aged beyond usefulness...the rest, including the darning egg, has come in very handy.
It's been a fun week in Plummer...shoveling, working, shoveling, slipping on ice, working, slipping...
Another fun thing I've been doing this week while staying in Plummer, is watching a film by the son of a colleague. It's a hoot! Very ambitious to try to do a period piece set in London when one lives in Spokane and has not budget. But some scenes work well. Not all of them btu I've seen worse on the commercial market when people DID have a budget.
Well, I should probably find something else to do now.
Happy New Year to everyone
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