Boy, Was I Wrong!

Boy, was I wrong! I foolishly thought we'd had an ice storm! That wasn't an ice storm, NOW we've had an ice storm. And even as things stand now, we are much better off than some parts of the state. For one thing, we never lost electricity!!!! I'm not sure how much ice we got, but it is a substantial amount.

This is the same branch, two days later......some of it is very pretty. Note, we haven't gotten any snow, this is all from freezing rain and sleet. Gheez! And we had been planning on driving back to N.W. MO this weekend to visit family. As if!


As cold and nasty as it has been, somehow the creek is still running!!! I suppose it's because the precipitation has come down as rain. And it really hasn't gotten that cold yet. The temperature is supposed to start dropping today though. And although the weather folks said there wouldn't be anymore precipitation, there are definitely some snow flurries out there right now. Hmmmmmmm.
Since walking across the yard has been comparable to walking across a frozen pond, I've been trying to take Bud outside off his leash. (he pulls, I fall) It worked fairly well until this afternoon. He decided that it was time to explore the neighborhood! Although he had gotten very good at coming when I called him every time we tried it in the house, he ignored me today. That was pretty frustrating. I guess it's back to the beginning of "Positive Dog Training for Idiots", the book I've been using. The only good part was I finally got to see the backs of the houses across the street. When you're chasing your dog, you have a very valid reason to trespass.
I got to find out where the dog that came to visit the other day, who looks enough like Bud to be his mother, lives.

Blurry, she was movin' a lot!

The same inquisitive look!

Hopefully, this will be the last of our bad weather. (I just knocked on wood--you can never be too careful about these things) Even though cars seem to be getting by on our street okay right now, we're pretty much stranded. Our car is safely in the garage--which you would think is a good thing. However, the garage is in the basement, and it is at the back of the house. The driveway is a curving hill down to the garage. It's all just a thick sheet of ice. Who knows when we'll get out, could be a very long time. Sigh.

Talk About the Weather!

Looks as if we've had a nice, pretty dusting of snow, doesn't it?

Even the creek (currently undergoing construction for a new man-hole) looks nice, and is still running some.

Ah, but upon closer inspection, the truth can easily be seen.



That's right folks, it's ICE!!!!!! (oh, and a little sleet) Pretty? Yes. But dangerous, impractical, annoying---oh yeah. It started raining yesterday morning, and the temperatures dropped quickly all day. We are currently "on a break" from precipitaion, but it is supposed to start again later this afternoon. Tomorrow--Sunday--we are supposed to get snow. Won't that be fabulous???? A nice coating of snow on top of all of the ice. I don't know how much ice we have right now. We could get up to 1 1/4" of ice before it starts to snow.
Yesterday afternoon, Lee and I went out to "stock up" We picked up medicine, lots of extra groceries, (including the all important dog and cat food) and went to the hardware store. Lee had thought that this might be a wise time to invest a little money into a small kerosene heater. Unfortunately, time has marched on from Lee's financial mind-set. What he thought we could buy for around $40, was more like $100. Our solution???? We bought a little "chimney cleaning log"---you've seen them on t.v.---you burn it, and it cleans the creosote out of your chimney. Only $15!!!! Of course, this was done with great trepidation, and probably a little stupidity since our chimney hasn't been cleaned or used in decades. I'm sure that it's full of bird's nests, twigs, and who knows what. I doubt that creosote build up would be our biggest problem if we tried to burn a fire in the fireplace. But, we feel just a little bit better knowing that we could at least try something for heat if we lose power. I'm sure that the fire department would be happy to hear this too!

You Can Let Out Your Breath Now

Well, I'm sorry that I left ya'all hanging for so long in regards to Bud. Things have gone wonderfully, overall. And yes, he has definitely found his new home right here with us. Who was I kidding, with those eyes???? Like I could even consider giving him away???? He's adjusting pretty well. Still quite a bit of pup in him, of course. He was so pathetically sick when we got him, every day as his health has improved, he's gotten a little more energy--a little more ornery. He would very much like to be friends with Kitty Explorer '98, but alas....they have very different ideas of what should be involved in a friendship. Explorer, um, tolerates Bud. But not very happily.

"Avoidance"

We had company this week. My dear old friend Curt, along with his wife, Pam, and their children Paulo and Zoraya visited briefly on Tuesday. It was a great visit, but was far, far too short. It was great fun to see my friend in the role of "father" for the first time. Like everything else in his life, it seems to come naturally, and he is very good at it. Although I loved having them here, it did help make one thing very clear in my mind. They had been gone less than 5 minutes when I looked at Lee and said, "Wow, we're too old to have kids, aren't we?" He thought a minute and replied, "Well, we're pretty set in our ways. They'd have to be just like us very quickly." Not too likely. I guess that parenthood has perhaps become a fun place to visit, but not someplace I'd want to live. This was a very important understanding to have reached at this point in my life. I've wanted children for the past 13 years, as long as Lee and I have been together. But, we've been unable to have any. Now, I realize that it is probably something that was never truly meant to be. (watch, I'll get pregnant within the month!) Precious Zoraya