Ice, Fog and Rain

The street in front of our house looked like a frozen stream this morning. I thought we had upgraded to waterfront property! The entire region was pretty much shut down. 500 cars spun into the ditches along the Indiana Toll Road, so they closed it. The expressway next to our house was closed, as well as several other main roads. Side roads were like glass. Even the birds couldn't walk on the ground without fluttering their wings. It's now 48 degrees and all the snow is melting. We have pea soup fog and they are predicting up to 3 inches of rain and thunderstorms tonight. Because of ice jams and the frozen ground the Kankakee River is flooding in some areas. Other rivers and low areas may flood as well from the combination of rain and melting snow. What a weekend!!!

Dinner was baked salmon and homemade potato wedges. The movie wasn't much worth watching, "Rails & Ties" with Kevin Bacon. I was a bit surprised that the movie was that bland. It was a sad melodrama with a rather weak script. No tears from me, though. I rate it "zero tears".

Gumdrop Tree

Here is the gumdrop tree! Since we weren't wrapping presents I decided to give dad his present a day early. Now doesn't that look yummy?

I bought myself an earlier edition of the AVSA Master List. A few months ago I bought issue number 4, but it became apparent that most of the unregistered violets I was trying to look up would be in number 3, if they were listed at all. After searching for months (they are out of print), I happened upon it accidentally on the Alibris website.

We spent a relaxing day going through old recipes. Now I have a small box packed, some junk thrown away and my old recipes all in one place. I even found some I want to cook!

We had a warm up today with everything turning to slush. All the ice came down out of the trees in a hail of tinkling the other night. Now it's back down to 9 and it's like glass out there. Not many salt trucks going around, either.

Ice in the trees

Dinner tonight was homemade pizza. The movie (on TV) was "It's a Wonderful Life". Oddly I had never watched it before. We enjoyed watching it.

Stay safe everyone and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Raining Ice Cubes

Sleet, snow, rain, ice, and a HUGE clap of thunder toward morning. Who could sleep? The ice kept tinkling on the windows, and every time it got louder we woke up, worried the power would go out. We used to have a very inefficient fireplace, but we don't have it anymore. We don't even have a generator. But the power rarely goes out here anyway. When we move, a generator will be a priority.

Anyway, about midnight I took out one of our oil lamps and set it on the stove, just in case, and made myself a cup of tea while I listened to the ice symphony. I pondered how I would keep roughly 125 African Violets from freezing. I finally decided that if I had to, I could place them all in boxes in the warmest room, which would be the kitchen. Good enough. So I went to bed. The power stayed on.

Dad is so thankful he doesn't have to work in this stuff any more! It's great being retired. We can hibernate in a warm bed and get up when we want. My part-time work is done right from the kitchen table between cups of coffee. Anyway, enough gloating. Here is the morning view out the living room window

And a closeup.

Since dad never reads my blog, I wanted to share what I won on eBay today. A vintage gum drop tree!! I can't wait to surprise him. A gum drop tree is a plastic (or sometimes metal) form of a tree and you stick a gum drop on the tip of each branch. Dad keeps missing the tree his mom had, so I'm hoping it arrives before Christmas. Now I need to go buy gumdrops!

Tonight we had stuffed cabbage and a movie. Dinner was good, the movie was....cold. We are planning to rent movies only shot in warm weather for the rest of the winter. Well, Mongol was really good, but mostly it looked cold in Mongolia. Then we watched Transsiberian, which was an OK movie shot in...you guessed it...the dead of winter in Lithuania. Tonight we watched Far North, which was a barely OK movie, which is too bad because I like Michelle Yeoh, and it was filmed...it the dead of winter in Norway. So that's it, no more winter films till summer!

Stuff

The rain melted all the snow, which wasn't much to begin with, but at least it was warmer. Dad and I made a quick shopping trip to pick up a few groceries. The best time to shop is 10 am. Not many people in the stores at that time.

Came home and I had enough time to create the ID badge for a new employee so I could get that in the mail on the way to the hospital. Oh, nothing urgent! Now that I have the state health insurance there is a whole battery of preventative tests they want everyone to have, and if you don't get them the state gets in a twit. So today I had a bone density scan, but it wasn't one where you place your heel in a little scan thingy. No, this was a hospital gown, lay on a table and get scanned all over deal.

The paper today listed a website where you can check on the air pollution surrounding the school your child attends. It's called "The Smokestack Effect" and it's on CNN. Some of the worst areas are near the mills, of course. One of the cleanest areas (in Indiana) is down by the Hoosier National Forest in one of the areas we are interested in.

Speaking of the environment, my mom would have said, "I told you so". My mom read Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" sometime in the 1960's, maybe as early as 1962 when it was published. I didn't read the book, but I remember my mom explaining about DDT and how it was causing wild bird's eggshells to be too thin, so they would break and the baby birds would die. My mom went on to join several environmental organizations. Her support of the environment, love of nature, and disgust over littering helped form my appreciation of the Earth. If she were here today, I think she would say, "I told you so, and I'm pleased that there is some progress, but why didn't you start 20 years ago!" And my mom would have been proud to see Obama elected. She would have voted for him, I know.

My dad would have had his own "I told you so" with the crash of the economy and the outsourcing of jobs. My dad passed away in 1987, but what he talked about then rings true today. Though I can't recount my dad's complicated lectures, probably because I found economics boring, I do recall the part about jobs being outsourced to the point where the only ones that were left were in the service industry. Do we see much of that happening today? I think we do. My dad was always critical. I think he would be disgusted by the state of the Nation today. I really don't know for sure who he would have voted for.

Well, that is enough "stuff" for tonight.

Dinner & a Movie

And both were good! Hot dogs and sour kraut in the slow cooker and the movie Mongul. This was absolutely the best foreign movie that I can remember watching. It was filmed entirely in the desolate steppes of Mongolia, amidst beautifully sweeping vistas. Just the scenery alone is reason enough to watch it.

The movie is about the early years of Genghis Khan, from childhood up to his rise in power when he was still known as Temudjin. Since very little is known of Khan's life, there is much creative license taken by director Sergei Bodrov, so it is impossible to call it true history, although I felt culturally enriched by watching it.

The actors are all Mongolian, except for Temudjin (Japanese) and Jamukha (Chinese). The acting is superb. It is spoken in Mongolian and Mandarin, but dialog is short enough that reading the subtitles is not hard at all. They didn't use digital shortcuts, either. 1500 horses and riders had to be imported from Kazakhstan to China for one of the battle scenes. Some locations were so remote that the crew had to build roads to access them. Dad and I both give it a big thumbs up!!

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Note--Picture is of Tariat, Arkhangai Province, Mongolia from Wikimedia Commons, a freely licensed media file repository.

Some things on my mind tonight

First of all, I'm back out of my blues. They just happen, and then I'm better.

Secondly, thank you Jenny for all of your great info regarding Bedford and things we need to look into. It's nice to have someone to talk to in the area. Jenny and her DH bought a 1912 house in Bedford and are in the process of renovating it. I wish I could say we could do the same but we are just too old, creaky and lazy.

Regarding the homemade soup. It was ok. I probably won't make it again.

Now I will step up on my soapbox. Hey, Microsoft---I have really enjoyed playing with Windows Vista. I wanted to tab through those open windows in that dreamy glass mode called Aero ever since I saw it on TV. It has been a nice visual experience to play with. Now if you will excuse me, I would like to get back to work on my Windows XP. Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm all for progress, but I also believe if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So here it is, Microsoft---keep the Vista for everyone who wants the Vista experience, and then offer them the new, improved "Vista" when you release Windows 7, but let the businesses and working people KEEP XP for cryin' out loud. And what's with the Office 2007?? The file extension causes email attachments to be stripped out by mail servers because it closely resembles a virus. What kind of thinking is that!!! And Office 2007 pretty much sucks because anyone who works with Office for a LIVING can't figure out where you hid all the familiar features. So it looks cool, but dammit I need to get back to WORK. All the IT departments are screaming at you and you turn a deaf ear??? I'm warning you, Microsoft, you are about to drop the ball and someone will step in and pick it up.

Ok, stepping off my soapbox now.

Trying to move on

Sometimes I still get sad when I think of my mom. It's not just that she's gone, but also that she and my dad moved to Arkansas to be closer to us, but still we only saw each other once every two or three years. We were still too far apart. Then after my dad died and my mom came here, she missed living in the country and missed her friends. I still get conflicted feelings about moving. Yes, I need to get out of the city. Yes, I want to live somewhere where there are hills and rocks and fresh air. But we already have one daughter far away and now we will be moving away from the other. Some days I am ready to pack, and other days, not so much.

Soup I want to try and a bit of fun

Today was dark, blustery and it kept trying to snow, but mostly it was throwing slush at us and it kept melting. So it was a good day to pull out one of my mom's recipe books, "Saved by Soup". This book has over 100 soup recipes, and I have decided to make an effort to cook some of them. The soup base is chicken broth, so that's what I'm doing now, boiling some chicken, onion and celery. Anyway, we are planning on having toasted cheese sandwiches (home baked bread of course) with a homemade tomato-based soup sometime this week. I haven't decided which one.

When we were in Bedford I decided to bring home a bottle of tap water. Dad tests the water because of the fish and I test because of my violets, so I thought it might be interesting. I was interested in the difference in pH. I don't know if you will be able to see the details. Lake Michigan water is on the left and Bedford water on the right, all photos. Here is the pH test:

Lake Michigan pH about 7.2, Bedford about 7.6, which shows I would need to adjust the pH of the water more for my African Violets, which like more acidic water.

Next I did an Ammonia test:

I was surprised to see a level of 0.25 ppm in the Lake Michigan water. Bedford is zero.

The next test was for Nitrite:

As you can see, Lake Michigan has a level of less than 0.25 ppm but more than zero. Bedford has zero.

Both Lake Michigan and Bedford had zero Nitrates. Now I am wondering what is going on with the Lake water.

Dinner and a movie

Actually two movies. It's the end of the month, and we want to return the NetFlix rentals tomorrow, so two movies it was. "Get Smart" and "Iron Man"---both excellent! "Get Smart" was way better than the TV series, thoroughly enjoyable. "Iron Man" was fabulous. The special effects just blew me away. So, just how long before we can do 3D holographic modeling that you can actually try on for size and manipulate with your hands? Dad is guessing ten years, so I cut it in half and said five.

Reflecting on our trip

First of all, we had a good trip home. We took Hwy 46 west from Bloomington to Spencer. Then we took Hwy 231 north through Greencastle. From there we took Hwy 36 west to Rockville and the Hwy 41 north all the way home. It was a nice scenic drive and it didn't take much longer than taking I-65 to I-465 to Hwy 37 on the way down. Hwy 41 used to be bumpy but it's been repaved so it's nice and smooth. It was good to be home. The kitties missed us.

If anyone wants to know, the Super 8 in Bedford is clean, very clean, and has smoking fast DSL. If you like Mexican food, you should eat at the Casa Brava.

We drove around a lot, with the intent of covering as much area as possible. We drove around Bedford, Mitchell, Orleans and Paoli. The weather was cold. Very cold. Walking around town will have to wait till spring.

Bedford has the most in the way of services, but Paoli, population about 4,000, is the one that caught our eye. It is right on the edge of the Hoosier National Forest. I have health coverage there, but I have no idea about high speed internet and package service (UPS or FedEx). I just subscribed to their online newspaper. Paoli has a hospital, CVS, Walmart, along with quite a few other businesses. It looks like a clean, yet affordable area.

So, that's where we're at right now, thinking about Paoli, trying to learn more.

Going Home

Up early and ready to go. Wouldn't you know, it's going to be a beautiful, sunny, warm day---just like when you go fishing! I feel fine this morning, so what I ate last night didn't affect me.

Bummer start to an OK day

We came this >< close to leaving this morning. I woke up at 4 AM, couldn't get back to sleep for hours, got up finally, had vertigo and looked like death warmed over with a headache. We decided to stay, figuring the trip might make it worse and we should wait it out, or I might get better. I was about 90% better by noon. That is why we rarely go out to eat. (see bottom of previous post)

We took a drive around Bedford, came back to the hotel for a snack, and then drove to Mitchell, population 4,500+. We didn't care too much for the huge concrete plant. Some neighborhoods are very nice and some are run down. In all fairness, Mitchell is proud of the fact that it is the home of astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom, one of the seven original NASA astronauts. It is also located near the beautiful Spring Mill State Park. Bedford, population about 14,000, has just about everything we would need in the way of shopping, at least the way dad and I shop. After some looking, dad and I decided to eat at the Casa Brava. It was a good choice. I even had a Margarita.

On the way home we plan to drive the scenic route, from Bloomington, Hwy 46 to 231, then north to Greencastle, then to Crawfordsville, then 74 west, then over to 63 and then 41 north to home. We're leaving early, so we'll probably be home early afternoon.

When we get home I'll look into subscribing to a paper from Paoli. Next spring we hope to drive down and zero in on an area, take some time to meet and talk to the locals. Friendships are important, even more than rocks and hills.

Friday

Today is a sunny but cold day. Hardly a cloud in the sky, unlike yesterday, which was dark and gloomy the wold drive down. Here is a picture taken this morning from our room.

Note the blue sky---no brown haze on the horizon!!

We took a drive on a Lawrence County scenic route and came to this pretty spot on the East Fork White River, which is in Williams, a tiny town west southwest of Bedford on highway 450.

Williams Dam

East Fork White River just downstream of Williams Dam

Before we drove the scenic rout we drove down to Paoli, so we went from Bedford south through Mitchell (near Spring Mill State Park), then on down through Orleans and then to Paoli.

Paoli is very hilly. It has a quaint, attractive little town square that is like a mini version of the square in Crown Point (northwest Indiana). We like Paoli, although some of those hills are a bit intimidating to a flat-lander like me. We do like the fact that Paoli is right next to the Hoosier National Forest and too hilly for farm fields. The thing about farm fields---allergies when they plow or spray.

We saw a lot of nice country around all of the towns, nice hills and woods, and only a couple yards full of junk. I mean it was rare to see any junk.

This evening we will drive around downtown Bedford.

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6:30 PM---Note to self----do not eat at Bob Evans.

We are here

We just arrived in Bedford. Going out to eat soon.

Bedford instead

We have decided to drive down to Bedford, already reserved a room at the Super 8. Most of the areas we are interested in checking out are nearby.

And...I was kindly reminded that #6 should be "a place with high speed Internet and UPS pickup and drop off" (so I can do my job). Thanks, Karen!

Thursday!

Finally...I'm caught up enough in my work! We're planning to start our short little trip around Indiana on Thursday. The weather looks like it will hold out, not all that cold and most of all no rain or snow. We plan to drive down I-65 and stop somewhere south of Indianapolis, could be Seymour. Not sure at this point where we will spend time looking around before driving to the Bedford area. From there we can look at Mitchell (Spring Mill State Park area) and I don't know where else at this time. Hopefully I'll have Internet access every night and can let you know what's up and maybe upload some pictures. Our choices of places to look are based on:
1. Do I have health insurance coverage there?
2. Hills and rocks---gotta have some.
3. Affordable housing.
4. Decent place to shop without driving a bazillion miles.
5. Excuse me but I just can't handle motorcycles roaring past my house (like here), so it has to be a quiet side of town.
6....I'm sure there are more, just can't think of any tonight.

Checklist---clipped the dog, tomorrow she gets a bath. Watered my violets. Lined up pet sitters (thank you daughter and neighbor). Went shopping. Not much else to do but pack---plan to travel light. Not sure what day we'll be home, Saturday, Sunday, Monday? Who knows.

Maybe next week!!!!

I am so excited!! We might be taking our drive around Indiana next week. We've missed the fall colors, I'm pretty certain, but the weather looks good. I think I've caught up enough on my work, plus I'll have a laptop with me and as long as I have an Internet connection at the hotel I can do everything except shipping. I'll try to put up an itinerary in the next couple days. Not sure what day we leave, maybe mid-week.

Mom's got faster wheels

Ha! What do you do in a home office when you're really bored? You have Office Chair races. Mom's sleek chair from Staples runs circles around Dad's slow, old jalopy. I offered to switch, but Dad said no. Hey, it's really, really good leg exercise!

Dinner tonight nothing special---Chicago style hot dogs. Weather has been mild. Did some house cleaning, washed the car windows on the inside. We're supposed to get some rain again. Still have no idea when we might be able to take our drive. Maybe next week.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day, and I wanted to honor my dad, Frank, who was a bombardier and navigator in WWII, flying in a B17 named El Diablo, shown in the picture behind him. He was in the 347th and flew bombing missions over Hungary, Germany and Italy.

And my grandfather (pictured below), my dad's dad, Frank senior, who served at the Mexican border in 1916 as a member of the U.S. Infantry. He also served in WWI and as a member of Company B 327th Battalion, 311th tank corps. He was gassed with Phosgene (mustard) gas in the Argonne Forest in 1918. He died from lingering effects in 1932, when my dad was only 9.

I have his bugle!

And hugs to Dad, who served in the Navy on the U.S.S. Porterfield in Viet Nam.

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Dinner was interesting. The flavors were interesting. Dad said it was good. I think I'd change it a lot. For one, the ginger sauce had a great flavor, and I liked it on the couscous and veggies better than on the salmon. But it had a lot of oil in it, so I'm hitting the bottle of tums. I'm in no mood to copy the recipe tonight, but see if this link works, then you can go right to it:

Roast Salmon With Ancho Chili-Ginger Sauce and Saffron Roast Vegetable Couscous

I didn't use the saffron, too expensive, and unless you really love cilantro, you might want to omit that as well. I bought a bunch, it was only 50 cents. Wasn't crazy about it.

The two times I had really great salmon was years ago at Red Lobster (mesquite smoked sockeye), and Maple glazed, that was in Ohio a couple years ago.

The Wall

Today I shipped "the Wall", and hopefully it won't be back. The Wall is the big, black case that Dad calls the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the cats call a cool perch, and the boss calls the wall.

The Wall and other boxes shipped out today

Actually it's a trade show display in a case. When it is assembled it's something like 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and is the backdrop for a trade show booth. On it hangs about $2,000 of custom graphics. How the wall got here is a long story.

Back in July the wall was shipped from Ohio to a trade show in Texas. It arrived with the lid torn off. The boss called me up and asked me to make a damage report. After the trade show it was picked up for inspection. Then it was lost. So the claim had to be escalated. I had to gather a paper trail of receipts and explain over and over again why 69 pounds of poles, fasteners, lights, stands, panels and graphics were't removed from the case and carried on the plane so only the empty case could be turned in (DUH!!!). As the days wore on, the wall obviously wasn't turning up, and since the shipping company lost it after they picked it up for inspection, any bird-brain should know they were responsible and better pay up!! (they kept denying the claim).

Finally the boss had to order another $1,000 wall and $2,000 worth of custom graphics for the trade show in October. THEN the old wall was found. So again the shipping company didn't want to pay up. Finally after two more weeks of phone calls, faxes and letters, the claim was approved and paid (and yes, I got paid to hassle the shipping company). Now that the company owned two walls, the old one was getting a new home. So that's how it ended up here, so Dad and I could figure out how to securely attach the lid so it could be shipped to North Carolina.

In other news, I was real happy to receive my replacement AVSA magazine (the Sep/Oct issue never turned up). Lots of good articles and pretty pictures. I also went shopping and picked up ingredients for tomorrow's dinner. I'm cooking and I'll tell you tomorrow how it turns out.

It works!!!

We tried our Crofton food sealer today and it works!! I am so happy! It comes with two sized bags and you can buy more bags from any manufacturer. We sealed 2 pork roasts and two bags of pork chops, plus one beef roast. All the meat was frozen, although the pork roasts had been in the refrigerator for a couple hours.


The first pork roast we sealed leaked a very tiny bit of juice, but not enough to affect the sealing. The directions say to use a paper towel to absorb it. The second roast, pictured on the left, has a paper towel added as a barrier between the meat and the opening. I might add that if the frozen food has frost on it that starts to melt you should be careful of that as well. The machine exerts quite a bit of force when extracting the air, so you don't want it sucking up moisture. Here is a picture.

First roast on the right, second on the left.

Now those roasts should last a very long time with no freezer burn. I am very happy with this unit. Only $35 at Aldi.

Oh, forgot to mention, I got my Nov/Dec AVSA magazine last week. Should get the missing Sep/Oct one soon because I called them last Monday.

Be thankful for water

Did you know that Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth? It is, and not only that, some parts of the country have endured extreme drought for ten years. Yes, that long. People there practice water conservation in many different ways, mostly because they have to to keep from running out of water. My younger daughter and her husband have a rainwater collection system that channels rain from the roof into a large tank. They use that water on the gardens. They also have a "gray water" system that diverts used water from the washer to the lawn, and I think the orange tree, which is producing much better with that added moisture. We can certainly have too much water here in the US in the form of rain or snow. If only we could spread it around a bit!

Tonight for dinner we had Dad's still experimental tamale pie. It was a tad dry this time. Is that why I thought of the drought? Oh my, I hope Dad doesn't read this!!! But it was still yummy. Tonight's movie was "Martian Child" with Joan and John Cusack. It was good, touching.

Winter is around the corner

I guess the nice weather couldn't last forever. It was nice being able to open the windows nearly every day, and in November! I finished the concrete job under the front door, just in time before it started to rain.

I'll tell you how mild it's been---the tomato plants and Inpatients have yellow leaves. Normally they just turn black from frost. There are still a few peppers to be picked. The zucchini plants died, though.

As for our trip, I have no idea when it will be. We couldn't go during the nice weather. I have a doctor appointment on the 14th, a dental appointment on the 24th and then there's Thanksgiving. And I'm still swamped with work! Somewhere in between all that, if there are a few decent days with no ice or snow we might go.

Dinner tonight was spaghetti and meatballs. Dad baked the meatballs in the oven this time. They came out better than trying to roll them around in a frying pan. It was good :-)

November 4th

This was an exciting and historic election to follow. Daughter in Australia and I followed the results online via chat, using CNN online for live updates. It was decided by 10 pm! I thought McCain bowed out with a gracious speech. The whole world stood up and noticed this election. The last time I remember being this excited about an election was in 1961 between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon. I was 11. My parents and I lived in the California desert. Kennedy was a great orator. People would listen, and be moved, inspired. I remember feeling that energy when I heard Obama speak a few years ago. While the rest of the nation did not know him, the Chicago area did, and I think many of us already knew he should run.

Dad and I voted early, then went shopping. I was happy to find a Crofton Vacuum Food Sealer for a good deal, only $35. At least I hope it is, haven't tried it yet. I've wanted one for some time. How many times have we cleaned out the freezer only to throw away freezer-dried food!! The best deals on meat are usually bulk purchase, but just the two of us eat very little meat. The instructions say you can freeze vacuum sealed beef for 2 years, ground beef for 1 year, fish 1 year, and pork chops 2 years. If it works out that well, I'll be happy :-) I'll let you know.

Today I helped Dad fix the porch. There is a space under the front door, outside, under that metal plate you step on when you enter. I think it's called a stoop. Anyway, Dad wanted to fill the space with cement, but he can't bend over very well, so I did it. I still have a bit more to do tomorrow, if it's not raining. I couldn't finish it until what's on there sets up. We still didn't buy a new storm door, but we need to because this one is falling apart.

Running On Empty

I love that song by Jackson Browne and I wish I was on the road in central and southern Indiana right now!!! This would be the perfect time to do it! Fall colors and nice weather. But we can't. I have a bunch of post-conference work and shipping to do first. By then it will be snowing or sleeting or something rotten. So then we have to wait for dry weather and go. I have my neighbor on standby for watching the kitties and daughter on standby for taking the dog. Dad keeps looking at the map and plotting out the itinerary while I pace the floor. In any case, we intend to move next summer, even if it's just to rent until this place sells.

Running On Empty ~ Jackson Browne

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Watched a movie tonight (on TV) "All The President's Men" (1976) with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. Was a good movie. Makes you wonder how much is going on now and nobody is getting caught.

Salmon tonight!

Oh, I don't believe it!! After all that writing there was an error and I lost my whole post!!! Ok, starting over. Sheesh.

I wanted to say that Dad made a good salmon dinner. He basted it with lemon, butter and dill, and made a sour cream sauce with the remaining lemon dill butter and put that over it near the end of cooking it was good. I would like to find a recipe for the maple glazed salmon I had in Ohio.

Today was kind of gloomy. Monday is supposed to be back near 70. I'll take all the nice weather I can get in November. I didn't do much today. Rested. Cuddled with Sophie. She hopped up in my chair and slept next to me while I was watching TV. She's gotten real lovey in the last couple years. She was half-wild when she was rescued in Indianapolis in 2000. Now that she is tame she comes bounding out to the kitchen every day and talks to Dad. "Meow-woo wow wuh woo!" She chatters until Dad gives her treats. She keeps one eye on Murry, though. If he wakes up and looks at her she's gone in a flash. Murry is such a putz!

Sophie in Indianapolis when she was still named Maggie

Sophie in 2002

Dad and I ordered movies today but I can't remember the titles. Did I tell you we rented the new Indiana Jones movie. It was horrible! Stupid, boring. We shut it off. What a shame. We loved the other Indiana Jones movies.

Oh! One more thing. Dad and I are planning to move next year pretty much for sure we just don't know where yet. We are still planning to drive around this fall to look for an area. Might have to rent while we wait for the house to sell.

Sunny and Mild!

It got up to 71 today! We opened the house, and between jobs, you guessed it, I hung up clothes on the line. So I'm old fashioned. Old fashioned gray haired lady who hangs clothes between doing work on a computer. hahaha

This morning the boss stopped by and dropped off the other three laptops and couple other items I sent home with someone who was driving. I know I have to get off my butt and contact Dell about getting the warranty repairs done. But it's so much more fun to take pictures of my African Violets! Ok, I am sooo busted.

Actually I spent the morning finalizing the shirt order with the uniform company. Six shirts are on back order, two items were missing and two people needed replacement shirts because the ones they got didn't fit right.

Dad was going to cook salmon tonight but decided against it. It was easier to make a pot of chili that could wait on the stove while we handed out candy to trick or treaters. There were a few cute costumes, but several kids were just making the rounds with a plastic grocery bag, no costume, just a mumble instead of a thank you. On the other hand, there were several parents with their children in costume who made sure the little ones were polite and said thank you.

We watched "Fun With Dick and Jane" tonight for the umpteenth time, I mean third time. It's funny no matter how often you see it, only now it is so relevant to what is going on. Tomorrow is going to be another nice day. I can't wait to take our mini trip around southern Indiana!

Home--on Sunday

The equipment-cleaning-laptop-upgrading marathon is over. Actually, I finished on Saturday with an hour to spare before dinner. I had two helpers inventory and clean the ICALs (inventory calculators) and printers. I also had help with check-in and packing. I could never had done it alone. Here are some pictures:

The gift bags stuffed on Thursday night. Two free shirts for everyone, plus other assorted gifts.

Friday, equipment arrives. From my room looking into the equipment area.

In the equipment area with my sleeping room to the right

My view of Little Rock

That's about all I got to see because I had my head stuck in all the equipment. I don't mind because that's my job, it's not a vacation. Every piece of equipment is checked for loose or missing screws, cracks, or broken parts. All the keyboards are cleaned, and all laptops were updated with new software and scanned for problems. I had three new laptops that I issued and five dead ones to bring home.

Dinner on Saturday was good. It was at the Loca Luna, a very trendy, artsy place, rustic, lots of candles, neat atmosphere. I had the salmon with some kind of cranberry glaze. It was nice to relax and talk to people.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel so people could pick up their equipment. Sunday is usually pick-up day but most people pick up on Saturday if their stuff is ready. I was glad because I had to have absolutely everything packed and ready to go for Sunday. Two people loaded up their cars with all the boxes of equipment that needed to be returned. I vacated the room by 9 AM Sunday and those of us flying home caught a shuttle to the airport. The flight was about 2 hours long. I landed in Midway about 12:20 PM, grabbed a bit to eat at "Pegasus on the Fly" in the food court at Midway Airport. (I had a Greek savory pie made of Philo dough, spinach and feta cheese---yummy!!!) and then caught the bus home by 1 PM. It is so nice to be home!! I was so tired I was incoherent, so I took a nap. I think I have recovered. One more picture:

Sunday morning sunrise, Little Rock.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Thursday, the day I'm flying to Little Rock. The only thing left to do is throw a few things in my carry-on bag and go. Oh, and water my plants, tell Dad again how much I'll miss him (I will) and pet and hug all my kitties. I fly out of Midway at 2:50 pm and land at 4:35 pm. I leave Little Rock on Sunday. My flight is at 10:40 am and I arrive at 12:20 pm. I really wish Dad was going with me. I'll have some helpers, though. Well, see you all Sunday!

OH! Dad cleaned the furnace and it seems to be working fine!

3 more days

I asked Dad if he was ready to handle the "family circus" (three cats & a dog) while I'm gone. He said they just sleep. Apparently they only cause trouble when I'm home because they are all competing for my attention.

The furnace has been acting wacky. It started doing this last winter, but only a few times, now it's doing it a lot, so Dad has to fix it. It short cycles and then shuts down. Then it won't come back on until we cut the power to the furnace and then turn the power back on. I suppose that "reboots" it. One morning we got up and it was about 67 in the house. I turn the furnace down to 68 at night. Sorry, I just don't handle it being much colder than that.

Smaller than a bread box, or, Macey Loaf of Bread

Now didn't that make you laugh?

Yummy dinner tonight! Roasting chicken, stuffing, gravy, candied yams, cranberry sauce, green beans, deviled eggs. Lots left over, so guess what's for dinner tomorrow.

Saturday

Nice sunny day today, breeze is a bit cool, though. I went shopping in Munster today. Amazing how you notice the lay of the land after a flood by the mud line on the bushes and houses. And it still smells like sewage along the river.

Anyway, I bought slippers for my trip, and a few small items I needed at Target. Then I went to Jewel and bought No MSG smoked sausage. I hope I can still find that after we move. This stuff is Jewel brand, and I'm pretty sure the Jewel stores are just around Chicagoland. I bought split green peas, too. Have you guessed? Dinner tonight is split green peas and sausage. I add sour kraut and a little diced potato, too. Yummy comfort food.

Last night I forgot to mention the movie we watched was Rescue Dawn, a true story. It was a good movie. We have Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to watch before my trip. Looking forward to that one!

Did I mention I'm still waiting for my AVSA magazine to arrive? I had to call the office and tell them my issue was missing, so they said they will send another. Watch---the past issue and current issue will all arrive at the same time!

A quiet day, except for ouch

Today was quiet, not much work at all. It would have been much nicer if I didn't need to go to the dentist, but it had to be done, and I know I'll feel a lot better after the soreness is out of my jaw.

Tomorrow Dad and I need to pump down the fish tank and do a water change. We have a really big angelfish. I'm not sure how we will catch him when we move because he's as big as my hand! Maybe hook and line. I'm kidding!!! Dad's favorite fish is the "shark". I put quotes because it's not really a shark. My favorites are the Cory Cats and the Mystus Cat. The Mystus Cat only comes out at night but I can see him resting and he has an array of long whiskers. I have a picture somewhere. Here is the angelfish and all but one of the Corys. The three tiny ones are dwarf. That's about as big as they get.

Everything is on the way...

Wednesday was supposed to be the day my boss was stopping by to pick up all the stuff for the Conference, but not everything had arrived, so we changed it to today. Since Staples was flooded last month and won't be open until the end of November, I have to order everything online. I miss just driving over there and browsing through the store. Below is a picture of the flooding that happened September 14, 2008 in Munster, IN. The tall building is the clinic. It was flooded, too. The Staples store is just to the right of the clinic. Target (on the far right) is on higher ground, so only the parking lot was flooded.



Anyway, it felt good to get all those boxes out the door. I didn't take a picture. Maybe I will when they arrive in Little Rock. I did take a picture of the gift bag labels I printed today. I only had 5 sheets of round labels left, and no time to order more, so, having the exact number needed (30), I couldn't make a mistake.

I am not taking these out of the bag for pictures, so please excuse the reflective wrinkles.

The only thing left to do is print name tags and lists of equipment. Piece of cake.

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In other news, winter must be around the corner because I just killed spider # 2 running around my computer. My Dendrobium orchid has it's once-per-year buds. And amazingly all of my violets are continually trying to bloom. That has been going on all summer. I have been picking off the flowers on most of the plants to get them to rest. Tomorrow or Saturday I'm sending that Desert Rose plant to the lady in Florida and some species leaves to a lady in California. These will be her first species :-)

Target--> Wednesday

The orientation went well today, but I'm always glad to get home after driving though all that traffic. The boss called today to let me know he will be here Wednesday night to pick up the things I'm sending with Amy (the employee who is driving the van) to Little Rock. So that means tomorrow I'm setting up all the laptops I have here and getting supplies together. I will probably pack my suitcase. I do not want to check luggage, so...busy busy busy.

The weather is still nice, and the breeze is fresh, so all the windows are open. What a blessing. The guy across the alley is NOT burning wood in his back yard, which had pretty much gone on every night almost all summer. I cannot tolerate wood smoke drifting in the house.

Speaking of things that go on at night, the Dark Sky Association has an exhibit showing how light pollution confuses birds so they sing at night or even loose track of the Northern Star which they use for migration navigation. The poor things end up flying around the skyscrapers until they drop from exhaustion. The exhibit is called "In the Dark" and can be seen at the Nature Museum in Chicago.

The reason a dark sky is so important to me is because I grew up with a sky so dark my father taught me how to find the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye. Observing the Milky Way in all its glory and searching the desert sky with a telescope is a cherished childhood memory. On a moonless night you really could not see your hand in front of your face and the stars seemed close enough to touch. It breaks my heart to look out and see nights that are not even close to being dark. The only stars you can see are the few brightest. Somewhere in Indiana there must be a dark sky!!!!

In any case, the Dark Sky people must be getting the word out because at least one town that I know of near here has installed all downward-shining dark-sky-saving outdoor lighting. Yay for them!! If you are wondering what type of lights these are, they have a shield on top so all light is shining on the ground, where it is needed, not across the street into your neighbor's bedroom, which is ridiculous.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox for now.

Got it done, some of it anyway

Saturday was remove the window air conditioners day, then wash the windows and curtains and replace the screens. The kitties are happy. They have two more windows to look out. It's always nice to be able to open all the windows on a beautiful day, and my windows are clean! Humidity was low, hung clothes on the line and they dried well.

I found a new home for one of my plants. My Desert Rose is going to a lady in Florida! I just don't have the desire to learn how to care for it and make it bloom. I bought it 10 or 12 years ago, maybe more. It was blooming when I bought it, but has never bloomed since. Here is the Desert Rose:


I might have to trim it up a bit to make it fit in a box, and the pot is not going (too heavy). You can see the frost damage on the leaf tips.

I also took a picture of a new plant that was given to me, a Pencil Cactus. It is growing new leaves and shoots so it must be rooted.

Getting sleepy, so I will wrap it up and post tomorrow.

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Sunday---another beautiful day! Sunny, got up to 83 degrees, light breeze, fresh air (at least fresh by this area's standards). I washed some more clothes (trying to catch up while I can still hang out---I like hanging clothes on the line) and mostly just enjoyed the day. Dad studied the map of Indiana and thought about our pending trip. He's thinking of heading down I-65 to Seymour, then over to Bedford and back up. Depending on how we feel we might loop around a bit to visit some other areas, maybe Salem and Paoli. I've been reading and studying but nothing can really tell you much about a town until you visit. We have to choose an area that has a hospital and doctors on my health plan.

I have an orientation tomorrow, so I have been gathering supplies and equipment together for a new employee. Tomorrow I drive to Tinley Park, IL where I'll meet the new employee and show her how to use the equipment and the company website. So, I better wrap this up, it's getting late.

More Work

Today Dad and I went shopping. Dad bought winter clothes and I bought gift bags for the Conference. 30 of them! They probably don't need ALL of them but, hey, one could rip, or the sticker could get goobered up or something. Yes, they all get stickers, front and back. One says Welcome to the Conference and the other has the company logo. Anyway, here are the bags:

This is the first time in Conference history they have been different colors! There were no subdued hues available, so I went bold and wild. Hey, give the job to me, I'll kick it up a notch. The employees will like them. They like color. And you can see I bought matching tissue paper to complete the theme.

Next project---print the labels. Then collect the supplies, make up bags or boxes of items to take, finish setting up laptops...etc, etc. One employee is driving a van. She will stop here and pick up all the stuff and drive it down because I'm flying and I don't even plan to check luggage. Nope---carry-on bag and purse---that's it.

On another note, dad and I were happy to enjoy nice, sunny weather today. I didn't notice any mold in the air so it must be clearing out. Towels hung on the line dried well. I really do enjoy hanging clothes on the line. Really.

Dinner tonight was from the China House. Dinner and a movie---Stargate Continuum

Back to Work

With the Conference coming up in just 2 weeks, I will be pretty busy almost every day. A Dell tech was here today fixing two laptops returned by employees. One simply "died" and the other was abused by a former employee. Thankfully the boss buys the Complete Care package that takes care of neglect and accidents, so the laptops were resurrected successfully.

So, what is a Conference, you may wonder. Once a year the employees gather for a company event, usually in a different location every year, where they attend some meetings and then relax, have fun, go to dinner, etc., while I clean and check all of their laptops. Here is a picture of my usual set up:

The usual---three or more tables set up with check-in sheets, soon to be filled with laptops and printers! Yup---there you have it---they party, I work! But I don't mind. The rest of the year they work hard while I part-time at home :-)

This year the Conference is in Little Rock, Arkansas, and I get to fly! That would be waaay too long a drive. I hope to complete my work in time to join everyone for dinner Saturday night.

It's getting late so that's it for tonight. Plenty more to come later.

First Post

Though I have written now and then over the years on my website, I find myself curiously out of words for beginning my blog. Adding insult to injury is the fact that words finally come to mind once I've turned my computer off!

Well, I may as well begin by sharing my projects. Aside from work, which I won't get into now, dad and I have been looking for an area we might like. We really hope to move next year, and now that I have been accepted into the statewide health insurance, it will definitely be somewhere in Indiana! So there you have it---the title of the blog---"Somewhere in Indiana".

Where in Indiana is the question. I must have hills and rocks! Enough of this flat land! And stars at night, fresh air---am I asking too much? Hopefully after the Conference (work) we will have time to drive around and look.

My other project is getting rid of junk and packing things I absolutely must keep because they are special to me but I don't need to use them, such as photos and keepsakes. I don't think moving is easy at any age, but when you are our age it can only get harder.

So, I ended up writing after all.