HA!
I'll believe it when I see it!
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....we are expecting snow again.
HA! I'll believe it when I see it!
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I'm wondering how many of you have heard about the Tiny House movement? You haven't? GO HERE and learn all about it. I stumbled onto it through the documentary TINY - where filmmakers Christopher Smith and Merete Mueller document their experience building a tiny house. It was pretty cool and I was immediately attracted by the intimacy of such a small, self contained space..... until my little reverie was interrupted by the the extremely loud burst of music from the other room reminding me that I ALREADY LIVE IN A TINY HOUSE....sort of. What I live in is a tiny apartment. It was tiny when we moved here 15 years ago and got a bit tinier when the two cats came to live with us, but it got slightly bigger when there was only one human living here in the bulk of the in between years. But now it is back to two of us again, cozy was how I described it - until the boxes came..... all of it work stuff, most of them never opened, all of it important but at the same time, demanding their fair share of floor space. They won't be here forever, at least that is what I keep telling myself and at the same time, I marvel at how big the place is going to feel once they are gone, but it is only halfhearted. Saturday last I was up at the farm and I set in the family room and luxuriated in wide open expanse of space and delighted at the ability to simply walk across the room without a maze-like effect, and I didn't want to go home. Until the text came....an obscure note eluding to a problem with the boxes and the inability to breathe. Turns out he decided to wrangle the boxes into a more efficient order. He did a great job. I was amazed at how just a foot here and there of open floor space makes everything seem a little bigger! Please note - none of the tiny houses I saw on the internet were crooked, and neither is my apartment, I just felt the old nursery rhyme fit as a title.
I love snow. I have loved snow my whole life. I loved it when I lived in the suburbs when a few inches closed school for the day. I loved snow when I lived in the city when it made everything look clean, silent and beautiful (at least for an hour or two). I love snow storms. I love blizzards. There is nothing about snow I don't like. Except when a particularly interesting storm appears on the horizon, causing the weather people to go crazy over it - hyping everyone into overdrive and then POOF nothing. No. Thing. Drives me nuts. The problem as I see it? Too many machines. Too much computer modeling. Too many satellites. I remember in the 'old days' they would follow the radar and the jet stream and could easily put together a pretty clear view of what was coming our way - leaving the accumulation a complete surprise. I'm fine with that - I don't need to know the potential - I need to know when it is coming and what is it doing when it gets here. The rest is easily handled with smart bad weather driving, a good outdoor broom, a wide shovel and plenty of hot tea. I am really frustrated over this whole weather thing. I haven't had this much buildup since my last blind date.....and just like my last blind date, it was all build up and absolutely no follow through - in essence a complete waste of my time. It really isn't too much to ask is it? One big one - a real humdinger! I would be I have a very bad habit. Yes - I am guilty of tossing pens onto my laptop when it is open...which doesn't seem like a big deal except they manage to roll so nicely into the gap between the lid and the base. And you know what that means - if one isn't paying attention and tries to shut the lid? Well let's just say that after almost a year of near misses - my luck ran out.
I cracked just a corner of my laptop screen but it was enough to render it useless. Of course I panicked - just thinking of all the work I needed to accomplish the next day made me feel sick. Oh did I mention that performed this little trick at 7pm in the evening? What the hell can one do about a broken computer at 7 o'clock at night?? Lucky for me - I have a phone with internet access and my partner has lots of experience putting together and taking apart computers. That said - I talked him into this first laptop job he's ever done! So after watching a video on YouTube about how to replace the screen, he removed the screen, checked for the part number and awesomely enough - his favorite computer store (MicroCenter) had just what we needed. We ran over, picked it up and as soon as we arrived home - he got to work. It was one of those repairs that was easy and not easy but ultimately, the repair was made and my precious laptop is basically good as new! Thanks Honey! Now he randomly asks me 'WHERE IS YOUR PEN?' Lesson learned. "It's cold, man, f**king cold!" -January 1994 Actually, when we left the hotel for the office on Thursday morning, it was -3 degrees in Peabody (pronounced pee-bid-e) Massachusetts. I've been around quite a while now and even I don't remember the last time I've been in -3 degree weather in an east coast state that wasn't Maine. I'm not whining, it was an interesting experience! The inside of your nose freezes every time you breathe giving you a weird sticky feeling. Your fingers are almost instantly cold, yet I had clogs on with no socks and my heels (exposed to the frigid temps) were still very warm. I'm just glad I didn't have to stand around in it for extended periods of time. People say 'that's global warming for you' and others reply 'what do you mean global warming? it's -3!!' and to that I say that it IS global warming because we have gotten used to warmer temperatures (think anything above 25 degrees) when in fact, it was not uncommon to experience temps lower then 25 degrees. It is what it is. I got a good laugh out of the experience; no complaints here. So yes, once again it was off on a work road trip - I don't think that work trips qualify for the road trip blog anymore because they are pretty 'same ole/same ole'. That said - if something good happens, I'll post about it over there. On this trip the only thing that was out of the ordinary was that we ended up staying an extra day...oh and the random snow showers..and I figured that since we ate at Texas Roadhouse so much, I should buy some stock, so I did. As I mentioned in the bio, my family is a large one. I'm the eldest of 8 - 6 of those being boys. I had just turned 17 when the youngest was born on a bitter cold January night. So many stories and memories. Here he is just prior to his first Christmas - adorable, right? So why the mention? Well, because its now 33 years later and the once 'little' man has become a father. It is exciting but at the same time, a bit surreal. I held his beautiful little girl and was transported back all those years ago when he was the wee babe I once held. Time seems to disappear and its as if you are in two places at once - then and now. And you look into that beautiful innocent face and suddenly the world with all its situations & aggravations doesn't really matter because it isn't about that - its about this one tiny person. It is an incredible moment - and I'm just the aunt! I cannot imagine how much more profound it is for her mom & dad! She is the best Christmas present my family has gotten in a very long time. Welcome to the family little one! As your cousin Sam said on twitter - 'you are already so loved!' Which - if you know me personally, just doesn't make any sense. But more and more I have felt the urge to actually 'blog' (read: write something on topics that didn't fit into my previously created web pages) so I thought what the heck. So I'm all excited and get the page all set up and then realize I have no idea what to post - which gave me a chuckle. We have to be able to laugh at our selves - I think that taking ourselves too seriously puts us in a position to be more quickly offended at the reactions of others. I've been reading a lot lately about people using images they found on Google or other sites for their web pages and running into copy write issues. Please know that all the photographs on my site are ones I have either taken myself or am using at the permission of the photographer - which I point out as needed. I try to watermark my photos - but haven't found the best free watermark software so if anyone has any suggestions - please drop a comment! In other news, my partner and I were driving home the other evening from the torture known as 'Holiday Shopping' and I happened to catch this spectacle in our neighborhood. Ok - so I toss out potentially dryly humorous remarks about all this but at the same time - I love it! It may be crazy but it is festive and I love the festive. Its like the wintertime version of stationary fireworks (which I also adore). I think this would be even neater if the bank in the back had their lights off, but.... it is what it is. I plunge into Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Ok - I will admit to writing out the holiday cards prior to the turkey feast, but that's only because I send a lot of them and with my crazy work schedule, waiting till later just isn't an option. Yes - I send holiday cards - 1. because I like to get them and 2. I adore the US Postal Service and feel it is my duty whenever possible to utilize their services. So, our tree went up the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the cards got mailed over a week ago; the shopping was finished on Saturday and the wrapping was finished by Saturday night. As a kid, wrapping in our house was done Christmas Eve night - probably because there were a lot of little ones who still believed and probably because it just ended up that way. But I love to wrap and weirdly, I feel the gifts need to 'marinate' in their pretty paper under the tree for a a few (or more) days before passing them out. (I said it was weird....) Here's how it looks: I think it looks pretty. And yes - for those of you who know how my work has taken over my living room - the Christmas tree is in the bedroom. It was the only place it would fit. Don't judge me! ;) Honestly, it is such a lovely scent to wake up to early in the morning! Our cats have thus far ignored it, but they are 14 years old and I don't think they care anymore. I try really hard to make space to enjoy the holiday season - I have various little traditions that make me smile - hanging up the cards in the giant felt candy cane my mom made for me (it is almost as big as the door!), opening the little doors on the advent calendar, watching DVDs of my favorite holiday programs - they aren't big deals, but I think its easier to savor the small at this hectic and emotional time of year. This year we added a new tradition - I discovered 'Wreaths Across America' which puts holiday wreaths on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery. I've seen the photographs on the internet of how it looks all decorated and it is just beautiful. I made a donation in memory of Michael's father, who served in the Navy. There are graves at Arlington that date back to the Civil War; I hope our wreath made its way to one of those long gone (but not forgotten) veterans. Well - its after midnight and I've sent a text to my niece to wish her Happy Birthday, so it's time for me to sleep. Early around here really does mean early. Good night for now and thanks for reading! |
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