Happy Chinese New Year!

The sights and sounds of the Chinese New Year are so stimulating and different from anything else I have experienced.  I lived down in the International District (or China Town as the locals call it still) for 7 years this was a time of a lot of partying going on.  Tonight will be a bit calmer with Damon and I enjoying Chinese food to mark the occasion. 

Uwajimaya was one of the busiest stores at this time of the year as shelves were stripped of a lot of favorite festive foods.  The sheer volume was amazing to watch.  I often had to plan carefully going and coming from the complex as parking became a real challenge.

This is the year of the horse.  In recent years, NBC News has had the pleasure of consulting with Feng Shui master, Chen Shuaifu, the 61-year old chairman of the Chinese Feng Shui Association, which has more than 50,000 members. For all zodiac signs, Chen says 2014 should be the year to travel. “Horses are legendary for their ability to run long distances on great journeys,” he says.

Viva Le Croissant

A perfect time to pause and enjoy a croissant is just about anytime, but today is the day of the year to enjoy one as it is National Croissant Day.  Did you have your croissant this morning?

 

A croissant is a buttery flaky viennoiserie pastry named for its well known crescent shape. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.
Crescent-shaped food breads have been made since the Middle Ages, and crescent-shaped cakes possibly since antiquity.

Croissants have long been a staple of French bakeries and pâtisseries. In the late 1970s, the development of factory-made, frozen, pre-formed but unbaked dough made them into a fast food which can be freshly baked by unskilled labor. The croissanterie was explicitly a French response to American-style fast food, and today 30–40% of the croissants sold in French bakeries and patisseries are frozen.

This innovation, along with the croissant's distinctive shape, has made it the most well known item of French food in much of the world. Today, the croissant remains popular in a continental breakfast.

Thanks to Wikipedia for this information!

Super Bowl Frenzy Continues To Build

It officially started Sunday as the streets of Renton to Sea-Tac airport were lined with fans in joyful chants and screams sending off the Seahawks to New York.  The above photo shows my friend Lisa Heaton, or at least part of her.  She is standing behind the woman holding the #12 banner.  Then me sister sends me this news...

Yes, custom Skittles that have become a hallmark for Marshawn Lynch as he set up an endorsement agreement with the candy maker.  While specific terms of the deal are unknown, sources told ESPN that Lynch will receive financial compensation. The brand also will donate $10,000 to Lynch's Fam First Foundation for every touchdown he scores in Sunday's Super Bowl. 

To celebrate the partnership, Skittles has made limited edition packages of a "Seattle Mix," a bag the brand will hand out this week that includes only candies of blue and green colors.

Lynch's connection with Skittles, combined with the team's success, has caused some Seattle-area supermarkets to run short on the candy on home game weekends.

But wait, there is more...Super Bowl Boulevard is opening up to fans from around the world Wednesday in Times Square.  Broadway between 34th and 47th Streets is shut down through Saturday thanks to endless activities including a Super Bowl Toboggan run.  The toboggan run is 60 feet high, 180 feet long and you can try it when it opens at noon.  Most activities on Super Bowl Boulevard are free, but the toboggan will cost you $5 for a ride.  Super Bowl Boulevard is open from noon to 10 p.m. through Saturday so click here to see a map of what they have created!

Tornado Tuesday

Seriously, this was one of those days where it is suddenly over and you have no idea what the heck happened since everything was going so fast.  From the moment I got to the office it was non-stop between calls and emails plus people stopping in to talk.  Calendar reviews and resumes for new coordinator in Chicago.  Once home a nap was a must and most welcomed.  Totally spaced on the State of the Union address.  But thankfully Damon and I got to have some quiet time in the evening.  Hope that tomorrow is a bit calmer.

Weekend Recap

To start off you can see that the paperwhites have begun to bloom.  They have gone wild and usually I would have used ribbon to hold them all together, but it has been fun to see them go wild.  Damon took a fun picture.

The bed platform is a tad tall in that when I sit on it properly my feet do not hit the ground.  In one way it is fun, but at the same time I do think I will reach out to Rob to cut them down by 2" to make it work better.

Dinner at Markie's was quite lovely.  Pork chops with a salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese.  We had an enjoyable evening and headed home.  It had been a full day and I was in bed by 10pm.  What a wonderful sleep I had on the new sleeping platform.

Sunday proved to be a day of getting various chores done.  But the nice part is that I did not have to leave the apartment and that is a good thing.  Got to catch up with my friend Amy in Portland who I had not talked to in months followed up with a nice Skype chat with Anne in France.  Her daughter Jade has her 11th birthday tomorrow and so I got to see her on screen as well.

I do not know if I mentioned, but Rob and Jodie bought a new 3-D HD 55" TV.  Indeed, it is huge.  They sold me their old TV for a song.  They needed the room and my TV has been a bit on the fritz for a while.  Damon was so excited to get it all hooked up.  I am keeping the old TV as a monitor for the computer.  Glad he is here to get all of them set up.  Got most of the Christmas stuff consolidated and it will be packed up over the next few days.  Indeed, it was a full week.

Still Need To Get Through Another week

The city is going totally crazy.  All the buildings downtown are dripping in blue & green.  Restaurants have created special menus and cocktails.  Bakeries have gone to town.  Stores are offering all sorts of Seahawk specials plus TV stations are all scrambling to have "special editions" on just about every night.  I saw a special football advertised on TV for only $129.95 and they claim to only have 2,013 available.  Well, I am so not going to worry about that.  Do not need one.  It is fun to watch all this unfold, but seriously, it will be a very good thing when it is over.  Of course, if they win that is a whole new can of worms we will have to deal with.

A Very Full Day - Updated

This was a very full day around the apartment.  Consolidated a lot of the decorations to get packed away later on.  Then out the door at 8AM to go down and get Damon to then meet up with Rob at The Home Depot for the supplies for the new sleeping platform.  Back at the apartment by 10:30AM and unloading took place and then Rob went to work building the platform.  He is utterly amazing to say the least.  It took several hours to build.

The wood around the outside was set to be a half inch higher that the rest so the plywood inserts just drop in and the bed was made.  It did prove to be about 2" too high and seeing how it works out.  Rob shared the 9 vertical posts can be cut down.  The amazing thing is that the whole thing can be disassembled in about 10 minutes when it comes time to move. 

Once done Rob & Damon packed up the box springs and bed frame and off to drop them at recycling to complete the project.  As Damon needs to get some computer work done and I want to try out the sleeping platform, the decorations might have to wait until tomorrow to get officially packed away.  Since nothing was really planned for tomorrow that will not be a problem. 

Tonight we are going to drive down to Southpark and have dinner at Markie's place.  Have not seen him since Christmas Eve.  He has been traveling a lot this month.  In fact, yesterday he returned from a week in Victoria.  If I remember, I will come back and share what we had for dinner.  Have a good evening.

Friday Funny

So when I saw this I had a good laugh and hope you do as well.  We all need to take time and laugh when we can as there are far too many times when we get frustrated and do not know which way to turn.  Now I have to share that Damon has been getting me to laugh a lot by watching movies.  This week one of those movies was "Free Birds" and let me tell you something - I was really wanting to see this movie.

The basic story is in this adventurous buddy comedy for audiences of all ages, directed by Jimmy Hayward, two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.  And in theory it should have really pushed all my buttons because I totally loved "Chicken Run."  Well, I was wrong.  After 30 minutes we stopped watching.  Yes, it was that bad.  So now we are moving on to the weekend and will see what is in store.  Enjoy yourselves.

10 Days & Counting

My sister sent this graphic to me yesterday and with all the hype getting out of control as we draw ever closer I thought I would add this for the amusement of the day.  This morning on the local news they have a map of the United States and they have a little truck on it showing where it is on it's way to New Jersey.  The truck is full of Seahawks uniforms and all the things they will need. 

The hype continues to swirl as we are now 10 days from the big game.  The TV coverage is amusing as they try and figure a new angle for a story.  Now there is discussion of a possible chicken wing shortage, but not to be outdone is that Velveeta announced they may have short falls around the country.  REALLY?  Let's be serious.

 

Moonsong cleans for me this day and after work I drop Damon off at his friend's place for a couple of days.  Thus, this evening I shall have the place to myself and enjoy the quiet of the moment.  Kind of like the calm before the storm as Saturday will be a busy day indeed.  Rob is coming over to help build the new sleeping platform and then Damon and I will be packing up Christmas.  Trying to get all those projects out of the way before he departs on the 10th.

Will be taking some time to do some menu planning this evening as I get to begin eating real food tomorrow.  I will be trying to keep up with a 5 small meal pattern and see what happens.  The 2 snacks will be a lot smaller than the others.  What we have discovered is that in the long run I have not been eating nearly enough at breakfast and that I have not been eating enough calories.  Go figure.  Dr. Lindquist had a nutritionist review my food journal and make some recommendations. 

Personal Victories & Challenges

What a wonderful thing to arrive home from work to find a new toilet installed that is 3' higher and oval in shape.  Above is what it looks like, but not the actual one I have as I found this photo via Google.  Sadly, I discovered this morning that there is a crack in the tank as there is water all over the floor behind the toilet.  Called the apartment complex and let them know.  Will see if it is fixed by the time I get home.

So today is day 3 of my 4 day fast.  I am going to be glad when I can have solid food once again.  It has not been horrible as I have tried to be creative.  But it has made for some interesting runs down the hall on short notice.  Damon has been a true champ as he has taken on his own food needs.  Let's just say he is a master of warming up soup. 

One thing I did not share about the Ya-Ya weekend was my serious concern about whether I could make it up the stairs at Jodie & Rob's place and then also getting from where I parked to the restaurant on Sunday.  While short on distance, both were challenging, but I did succeed.  Did have to pause a couple of times, but I knew I had to overcome the fear I had.  I refuse to become a prisoner of my current weight situation.  And I did.  Is it done and done - hardly.  But I know that I can move on and it has been noted that getting dressed in the morning is getting easier  

 

My next weigh-in is on February 4th.  Last time I was finally down 4 pounds and look forward to seeing where I am this time.  Perhaps all the tweaking we have been doing is a good thing.  Getting back into doing exercise has helped.  Jodie has been really working a lot with me to get portion controls under control.  It is all in the baby steps.

 

Tuesday Musings

Outside it is so foggy and it was really cool driving into the office this morning.  The commute yesterday and today was so easy.  I have been working on trying to let go when doing the commute and not let the jerks out there who do not know how to drive or are overly aggressive not get to me so much.  Since I am not moving I need to make the commute more calming and thus will not be as wound up as I have been in the past. 

Yesterday, we headed home by going north so I could swing by the dealership where I bought my car for a free car wash.  Then it was northbound on I-405 and let me share that I would avoid that option like the plague in the future when I do not have Damon in the car.  Why?  Because with him in the car I can use the HOV lane and it was the ONLY one that was moving due to a massive accident.  We then swung by Safeway to get gas and on home. 

By about now you might be wondering what the heck does the picture above have to do with today's posting?  Absolutely nothing!  I happened across the picture on facebook and it was just so calming and fun that I decided to add it to today's post since it was just musings I have.  Do enjoy.

Last night Damon went to great length to set up the projection TV and we ended up watching "The Help" which I had seen before but glad to see again.  It reminded me a lot of "The Butler" which I saw last week, yet different.  It is challenging to look back at our past and be proud of how people treated others. 

When I get home this evening there should be a new toilet waiting for me.  Yes, I am quite excited about this.  We talked at length last night at how pleased I am not to have to be packing up everything for another move.  At the same time we are going to be doing a couple of projects before Damon departs in just under 3 weeks.  As they get done I will keep you updated. 

My 1,000th Post

Ya Ya Weekend Finale Brunch

At Le Bastille

To cap off our weekend the Ya-Ya's met up at Le Bastille which is located in Ballard.  The restaurant looks like a Parisian train station.  The group got a prime table in the center of the restaurant and our server was amazing.  Coffee around with several of the group opting for Bloody Mary's (I did not) and then it was time to order.  Above, the Farmer's Lunch was Rob's choice.  They kept him supplied in wonderful crusty bread to make it a fabulous experience.  Jodie decided to go with the classic breakfast which is two eggs, harissa-roasted Yukon potatoes, bacon or sausage and I think Jodie went for the sausage.

Damon started off with a serving of their soup du jour which was a cream of cauliflower soup.  Then Cindy and Damon decided to order the same thing.  Eggs en Cocotte which is eggs baked in cast iron with Skagit River ham, kale, béchemel & aged Comté.  It appears the eggs were a bit overdone for both of them.  But overall, they enjoyed the experience.

Sandy opted for the classic Eggs Benedict.  Marinated piquillo peppers, fines herbs Served with harissa-roasted Yukon potatoes.  Again, she commented on the overcooked eggs.  This seemed odd as their food is so usually spot on.  It was fun to see the farmer's market going on outside as we diner and while we arrived right as they opened by the time we left it was packed and the noise volume was quite high.

I decided to enjoy a "special of the day" It was a brussel sprout tartan with bacon and a frisee salad that was lightly dressed and topped with a perfectly prepared chicken's egg.  I added a side of bacon for some added protein.  Again thanks to Damon for the fun pictures.  Afterwards we parted ways and headed home to get some chores done and while Damon watched some of the tutorial on Access, I watched the game.

And Yes, The Seahawks go to the

Super Bowl in New York City

This was on facebook within minutes of the game starting and it made me laugh.  Quite the game, even for someone who is just that much into football.  Appears the city went into full party mode after the game and while watching the news this morning it seems there was only one minor fight among the celebrating fans.  I have a feeling the next two weeks will be a lot of hype and by the time the Super Bowl happens we will know every possible detail of the Seahawk's and their history.

 

So there you go...a double posting to mark my 1,000th post on the site.  It has been fun and I plan to continue doing it while I enjoy myself.  At the same time I do feel the need to pause and acknowledge the day as it is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Last week I watched "The Butler" and it really brought to focus just how horrible it was - and we are talking within my lifetime. 





Ya Ya Weekend Memories

Well, it was a fun time for all.  Friday night the gang, less Michael, arrived by 6:30pm to enjoy some nibbles and cocktails.  No pictures of Friday night as I was not thinking, but rather entertaining.  Chinese was ordered up and what a feast.  Some games and the group broke up at 10:30pm or so.  A good thing as none of us ended up in bed until after midnight from the reports the next morning.

Arrived at Jodie and Rob's place about 10:30am to find that Rob, Sandy and Cindy had headed off to Central Market for food needed for dinner.  Jodie was in the kitchen preparing bacon deviled eggs.  We were chatting away when they returned.  Now Friday night I had given everyone a custom martini glass filled with M&M's so of course it was time for more gift giving.  The top 2 pictures show all the fun we were having with our delayed celebrations.  The red covered basket with filled with homemade jams plus miniature liquor bottles and candy plus a lovely glass ornament.  The bag on the right had a book and homemade pickled spears and tomato jam.  Thanks to all for the lovely gifts.

Then it was time for breakfast.  Jodie and Rob were fabulous at making the day kickoff with a bang.  Multiple bottles of champagne were consumed with fantastic egg rich crepes.   Jodie was cranking them out in the kitchen and let me tell you that we had no problem eating them.  Above is what you started with and from there you could use butter, Devonshire cream, strawberries and blue berries plus toasted slivered almonds.  I do believe we each had 2 and that was more than enough.  What a great way to enjoy a Saturday brunch.  Below is one Damon created, perfect for a magazine or a blog!

Once done with brunch and champagne it was time to play a couple of games of Catan.  I somehow won both games, mostly through the roll of the dice.  We switched over to various white wines and then mid-afternoon brought nibbles from the kitchen.  Yes, the deviled eggs tasted as good as they look.  Above them is a platter of pickled asparagus, cheese and crackers, olives and English cucumbers.

After that it was time to watch a movie and have time to chat.  Damon worked on Sandy's iphone and we knew dinner was still coming up.  Well, needless to say it was a lovely meal as Sandy made a seafood dish she often makes at Christmas time with shrimp and scallops.  Jodie cooked petite steaks with a balsamic and butter sauce.  Salad and rice competed the meal.  It was noted that everyone was drinking water with dinner.  "Men in Black" was the 2nd feature of the evening after having watched "50 First Dates" earlier.  By then it was time to call it a night.  Headed for home and a good night's sleep as today we met up at Le Bastille for  brunch but you will have to wait until tomorrow for that tale!  Thanks to Damon for all the great pictures.

No Post Saturday - X

It's Ya-Ya Weekend and a perfect time for the no post Saturday to fall for the 10th time!  Next week I will be posting my 1,000th post on this blog.  Stay tuned!  Happy Saturday to all.

Superfood Salad

A few weeks ago, Jodie turned me onto superfood salads.  Mighty tasty and oh my the various combinations do not stop.  Below is a recipe I saw online and it can be changed out to fit your desires.  I like to switch out different nuts and add edamame for crunch.  Have a great day!

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated brussels sprouts
• 2 cups shredded kale
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 small cucumbers, chopped
• 2 cups broccoli florets, lightly steamed

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients and divide between four salad bowls.
2. Top with your favorite dressing, if desired.

Seahawk Humor...Good Laugh

Hump Day Humor

Next month Jimmy Fallon takes over "The Tonight Show" and it is going to be based out of New York City once again.  I think it is a smart move by NBC and I am a fan of Jimmy's originality.  Below is a skit from this week which had me laughing a lot!

No you are not seeing double!  Click here and enjoy.  If you have not heard all about what has been happening in New Jersey this might not mean anything to you, but if you have been watching the news or any of the comedy shows, it should have you laughing.  Have a good day!

Seattle Seahawk Insanity!

Go anywhere in town and you cannot miss the blue and green.  Friday is "Blue Friday" while downtown you cannot look anywhere and not see either the above banner or a 12th Man flag.  It is just too amazing to see how this city is going crazy for the upcoming game on Sunday.

Movie Mania Weekend

So Damon has been at me to watch some movies.  He loves movies and while I do as well, not as much of a maniac as he is, but that did not stop us this weekend.  So following are the movies that we took in:

"The Butler" is an amazing movie and it is hard to see what has gone on within one's lifetime.  It was a hard movie to watch and yet one I think everyone should see.

Very fun movie to see.  A few twists and turns that were not expected, but great animation quality that one would expect from Disney.  Have to say the snowman was a hoot to watch.

Alright, I hold my head in shame as I watched not only the first movie in this series on his last visit, but now the 2nd one.  It is clever animation and totally childlike but in the end, not one I have to watch again.

"Zoo Keeper" is a perfect movie to fall asleep on.  Why?  Well, I missed most of the middle of the movie to a nap and still knew what the whole thing was about.  Glad I did not pay to see it in a theater.

Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  Had never seen the trilogy before.  I guess there are a couple of other movies, but watched the main three.  The second one has to be the best of the three.  Kind of a tie on the first and third one, but all flow tighter and is a good story overall, but I will not be running out to get any of the comic books.

Hawkitecture

The 12th Man is a running tagline for the fans of the Seahawks.  Yesterday they took another step towards being in the Super Bowl by beating New Orleans so next Sunday will be the last stop before having a chance to be in the Super Bowl.  The whole area has been overtaken by something they are calling "Hawkitecture" where blue and green are decking out a lot of the buildings and 12th Man flags are everywhere.  From the top of the Starbuck's headquarters to the top of the Space Needle.  It has been amusing to see all the various buildings getting involved.  With yesterday's win I can only imagine that there is even more to come as we go through the week.  All the above pictures are real sites around Seattle and surrounding communities.

Joy - Two Weeks Later

If you look back on December 28th you will see that the bulbs were just starting to grow.  Well, two weeks later and what a difference!  Yes, the Christmas decorations are still up for Ya-ya weekend next weekend and then they will be coming down.  There is a whole mental shift going on now that I am not moving.  The new toilet should be in next Friday or the following Monday.  Moonsong has a fob and key now to be able to get into clean and not have to wait at the office so much.  In some ways I am glad to not be moving right now, especially on the pocketbook taking a beating.  Parking is going to remain the same and not double.  Jodie & Rob are popping over to play some Catan this afternoon.  Damon is going to help me build a sleeping platform in the bedroom in the next couple of weeks.

And Speaking Of Time

A friend of mine was out shopping and found a place that sells vintage neon.  Well, he could not resist taking a picture of this and passing it along.  Of course I had to do the same and it made for a perfect way to acknowledge that time has passed and it is Friday.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

How Time Flies

It really is amazing at how time flies when you don't think about it too much.  In the past 24 hours life has been a blur.  I am getting ready for my 4 day fast and it is not a pretty thing let me tell you.  We decided to have it be January 21-24 in that I got some very happy news by reaching out to a friend.  As many of you who have read this blog from time to time know, Jodie and Rob are dear friends.  I was sharing how I have noticed that they are eating well and put out an inquiry if Jodie would be interested in helping me with food prep and portion control.  She readily agreed.  Saturday she will be over with spread sheet and we are going to go over planning for a 2,00-2,500 calorie food intake menu. 

Next, I have begun the process of looking for a new place to move to and it has not been the most positive of experiences yet.  I decided in order to be more focused I would make a list of what I liked about the current apartment and what I did not.  After writing out the list of negatives, I decided to take action and called the manager yesterday and ask for a new toilet and also for a fob and key for Moonsong who cleans for me.  He agreed.  Now granted, that means I will still have black appliances and a washer/dryer where I do not like them.  But I will have my balcony that I like and there is the "Waste-valet" where I put out garbage and recycle in the evening and it is gone in the morning.  Additionally, I will not have to deal with the whole move thing.  Yes, I will still have a commute and the whole fob thing gets to me from time to time, but I was pleased to see that parking is not going up as had been planned and rent is going up by only $40 a month.  When you factor in all of that, well, I will be staying put for 2014. 

So now there are a couple of projects that Damon and I will be tackling over the next 4 weeks before he departs on the 10h of February.  Among them is building a sleeping platform.  I had one when I lived on Flanders in Portland and loved the firmness of it.  Also, I am going to be releasing about 50% of my book collection.  We are going to be writing down all the titles and authors and Damon is going to set up an electronic version for me.  That will make any future move all the more manageable.  Also, as we pack up Christmas and we arrange some of the apartment, I am going to let go of more of the "stuff" that I have not used since I moved back in April of last year. 

Ya-ya weekend is the weekend of the 17th - 19th and it will be fun to see Sandy and Cindy who I have not seen forever.  Michael will not be joining us and that is sad, but understandable.  There are things happening where he needs to focus his energy down in the Long Beach area right now.  Damon will get to step in to fill his place for the weekend, but really can anyone really fill in for Oyster Boy...I think not.  Like I said, it is amazing how time flies and what can change in 24 hours.

This Is How I Felt All Day...

This is the first full week of the new year and it has been intense.  We got a new website up and running and to say it is stunning what is going on is an understatement.  Normally we had been averaging 60-80 leads a day and converting to 20 appointments.  Well, since the new site went up we are hitting 270+ leads a day and converting to nearly a 100 appts. a day around the company.  The owner is a happy camper, but I have spent most of the day getting 4 new cubicles set up down in tele-marketing.  Arranging phones to be brought in and chairs plus computers - thankful for Damon being here.  Oh and since I have nothing to do except the calendar as the owner keeps telling me, why not go ahead and decide on paint and carpeting for the Dallas office plus review three calendars for February and hold a conference call with half my staff.  Yes indeed, just another boring day at the office!

Coffee & Wine

This just made me laugh on a day that is so often riddled with stress and way too many meetings.  A friend shot this to me and it does sum things up when moving along through life.  This day is one that has already proven taxing and it is not noon yet.  But I am now counting down the hours until my hair cut tomorrow.  The hair is way too long as is the beard.  Hope you are all having a good day.  I know it will get better at some point.

Pondering The Weekend

It would be a delight to share that I got all sorts of things done over the weekend and in a way I  did.  Mostly at a social level.  Phone calls and emails went out, yet we took time for a couple of movies and some good food.  Tonight we are going to treat ourselves to Chinese.  We have been cooking in a lot this past month to save up for the move.  

 

Must share one item that just kind of amazed me quite frankly.  A couple of friends live out on Vashon Island and came into the city on Saturday primarily to attend the symphony.  They emailed me last week to see if we would be around.  Sure I shared.  They told me they would be by to visit about 1pm.  Perfect.  Well, finally heard from them about 2:30pm saying they were being "more fluid" that day and if it works out they would be by later.  Well, I had to break the new that I was not being so fluid and had a commitment and would see them another day.  OY!  The way people think sometimes.

 

Several of you have been asking about Damon.  He is doing very well and we have now been hanging together about 7 weeks and it is going a hell of a lot better than I thought it would.  He is so much fun and really is a lifesaver at times.  He gets me out of my stress filled funks at times and jumps in to help around the apartment.  He did laundry yesterday and without a word put out recycling and garbage last night.  He will be of such help with the move coming up and let me tell you, he is an awesome cuddler!

Images Of The Winter Storms

Today I have selected a random selection of images from the past few days.  I am stunned by how hard the rest of the country has been hit.  The west coast and southern Florida are among the few places that are not caught up in the deep freeze.

They are calling it an Artic Vortex and is making for some of the coldest weather in the past several decades.  Tomorrow Minneapolis is to be -47 with wind chill and Chicago is close behind with -37.  This is just crazy.  The game being played in Green Bay today is to be the coldest ever.  Why would tens of thousands of people put themselves through that?

Don't get me wrong, I love the snow and it can be beautiful at times.  But then you get to a point of where it is nothing short of dangerous.  They were showing that due to the roller coaster of temps that an ice storm will be on track for tomorrow and that icicles are going to become a real hazard for many.

I remember several years ago when Portland had a horrible storm and Janet got stuck there going back to Dallas.  She ended up spending the night at my place and when I took her back to the airport the next day we arrived just as a massive sheet of ice came sliding down off the building like a guillotine.  It was scary and they have since built a covering over that area of the airport so it cannot happen again.