winter

 We are finally in a snowy period

    Years ago I would welcome that. I would strap on my cross country skis and head out to Skare Park. Once I went to Nachusa Grasslands, before the bison, and used my snowshoes to walk out to a huge rock, where I sat in the freezing cold and had some hot chocolate from my thermos.

    It was so peaceful and beautiful.

    But I was younger then.

    I don't remember the last time I went snowshoeing.  I know it was at this house, but we have been here 12 years.  

    I could try to stomp around the yard tomorrow, but it is going to be cold and windy and my balance is still not the greatest.  I could literally become a pop sickle by the time anyone missed me.

    I suggested Mexican food tonight, and Julia came to me at about :15 and said if I planned to go into town, look out the window.  

    The usability was near zero!  Snow was blowing like mad.

    So, of course I went into town for supper.

    Julia ordered, I fired up. the car and went.

    It wasn't so bad.

    But the return trip was horrible.

    The wind was not blowing from one direction, but all 4 directions at the same time!  I could barely find the road.  

    The snow seems to have stopped for now, but the cold will follow. 

    Emily gave me a battery operated snow shovel for Christmas.  I had a chance to use it tonight and it was really slick!  

    It's basically a 12 inch snow blower.  It  throws the snow a good distance and is ideal for the porch and sidewalk.

    The biggest news is we have a lead on help.   I'll know tomorrow.

Peace and Love

brrrrr

 I just can't get warm tonight

    I got back from a museum board meeting and I was freezing.  

    Not even having the heat turned up in the car and the seat heater on helped.

    I just finished a can of soup and sandwich for super and that has not warmed the innards sufficiently.

    My friend Siri says it is 6 outside, but it was 1 on the car thermometer when I came home.  I guess a 5 degree difference doesn't matter much when it is cold.

    I saw a woman coming up to the door and I recognized her as, let's call her Cruystal to protect everyone's identity.

    She looked like Crystal, although she seemed shorter.

    As she approached the door I yanked it open and said ,"Yeeeesssss?" in a deep voice.

    The totally unknown woman. who in fact did not look like Crystal, took three steps backward as if she was afraid I was going to grab her and drag her into the house.

    She was a solar system salesperson and said our house was ideal for solar panels.

    I know it is .  I also know that the payback far exceeds our life expectancy, which is why we don't have solar panels.

    Among the other surprises of the day was the Fed Ex guy drove past the house. That was the first time this week.

    Also a first:  Driveway was plowed.  We finally had enough snow to get it plowed.

    Now it is cold.  Very cold.  Too cold for thes guy, who will be going to bed early and huddling under several layers of coverings.

    At least early in my mind.

Peace and Love

not again

Oops, I did it again

    I was surprised when I walked into my PT appointment at exactly 12:15 and I was the only patient there.

    There were 4 staff people standing around the front desk, and I said, "I see the hospital now has maternity ward with OB-GYNs."

    All 4 of them looked at me like I was nuts.

    I said, "There's a sigh outside that says delivery dock!"

    They thought it was funny.

    Then they said, "Terry, you are early.  Your appointment is at 1:15."

    How did I screw that up?  

    Nobody was there because it was lunch time.  DUH!!

    I told them I would go to wander around in the snow and freezing winds for an hour, but they said wait a minute.  They asked Ashley what I should do, and she told them to have me wait, she was just finishing up her lunch.

    So I did my therapy early.

    Last night I visited the school district's web site and saw a school closed due to weather announcement.  So I posted on FB that there was no school.

    The announcement was from 4 years ago!

    OMG was I embarrassed!  I immediately deleted the post and reposted that there was school, not to listen to me, that I had posted fake news.

    And a couple of weeks ago I posted that Exit 99 was doing a comedy show, and I listed the wrong date for that!

    Holy crap!!

    Tonight I had a meeting on Google.  At one point during the meeting I hit a button and muted myself and hid my picture.  I could not figure out how to recover and a message came up that I had to exit the meeting and re enter, changing my settings to display image and play sound.

    I did that but nothing changed.  So I did it again.

    I don't know what I did the third time, but I was back, with my beautiful face showing and my wonderful, melodious voice projecting nicely.

    The good thing is I did not have to call Julia, the bad thing is I had no idea how I lost the picture or regained the picture.

    As you locals know, snow is falling but nowhere near the amount that had been forecast, although they said 2-4 or 3-6, and we may be on the bottom end of those ranges.

    And I don't know if there is school tomorrow.  I am not going to say, either way.  Just to be safe.

Peace and Love

waiting

Well, we may be getting our first real snow tomorrow 

    It's predicted to be 4-6, or 5-8 inches.  

    Of course, if a dog farts in Iowa, it may push the storm north or south and we would not get anything.

    What concerns me is the cold that will follow.  Wednesday night it is going to be 10, Thursday 15 and Thursday night -5 o something like that.  The snow doesn't bother me, but the cold does.

    I went to Headon's for meat today.

    Jackie asked me to buy lunch meat when I was there.

    As I was unpacking my $130 worth of meat at home, I realized I forgot to buy the lunch meat!  I really have to write things down,

    The other day I had some water to toss in the bathroom.  For some reason I threw it in the garbage can, not the sink.  That was a mess.

    And this  is day 3 of organizing the Christmas stuff.  Well, at least 3 days where I said I would organize the Christmas stuff.  So far I have looked at it once, and that was while I was putting away the meat.

    There has been a lot of talk about the half time show.  I was told something to the effect that rap is king and the other stuff is out of style.

    So on the Sirius channel today, I was surprised to hear Naughty by Nature talking about the Beatles and the influence they had on them and how their music is still relevant in today's world.

    The Naughty guys sounded like a fun group.  I enjoyed listening to them introduce their favorite Beatles songs.  But I have a feeling their music is not my style.

    I wonder what the music will sound like in 40 years.  Granted, I won't be around to hear it, but I still wonder.

    Speaking of wondering, Emily and I went to Key West a few weeks ago.  While there, I had a crazy dream.

    I am haunted by some of the images of the dream:  running across grassy fields to see the next attraction, swimming in a pool green with algae, staying in a hotel that was a dump......

    Why do those images stick with me, especially when I am awake?

    And how do I let them go?

    Any advice would be appreciated.

Peace and Love

    

huh????

 I don't understand what I did wrong

    I started to write this drivel, but the html format kept coming up...which is darn hard to read. 

    I tried again and all the words had lines thru them, again making it hard to read.

    I sure as hell don't know given my limited understanding of computers.  Every. time I look up in the sky I see a cloud and wonder  how it holds my data.  

    We had a FedEx delivery today.  

    Julia, in her never ending quest for values, orders a lot on line.  The FedEx guy and the UPS woman seem to know us now, In fact, I think we are invited heir family reunions this summer.

    Anyway, thy guy gives me 2 little packages and then says, "I have a wheelchair for you" and disappears back into the truck.

    Jackie has a transport chair that does not lock tightly.  Yes, I have tried tightening the locks, but for some reason (limited ability?  limited knowledge? too much wine?) I can't see to tighten the locks.  That may be a contributing factor in my dropping her.

    Anyway, he hauls out this huge box and I say, "I can take that."

    Without a beat, the guy says, "No, you have worked along enough and deserve a break."  He then carried it into the garage.

    I thought that was a nice way of saying, "I don't want to be responsible for some old guy carrying a box and having a heart attack on my route."

    Statistics don't lie, right?

    Well according to the weekly  stat page the Feb. 7 entry on fortune cookies had over 500 page views!  The leading 3 countries were Singapore, the US, and Hong Kong.

    But according to my daily stat page, that same entry had a little over 50 views.

    I wonder why the folks in Singapore think of all. this.

    I don't think I will ever learn.

Peace and Love

Stupor Bowl

 I lost interest early in the Big Game

    I was hoping the Chiefs would win, but it was obvious from the get go they were not going to.  They looked like me after a Thanksgiving dinner and the left overs come out.....I had already eaten so much, I don't care if I eat again.

    At some point, one of the announcers was talking about a specific player and he said, "He really wants to win,"

    That got me thinking.  Are there really professional athletes who play and don't want to win?  When I buy my lottery tickets it with the intention of winning, and I think that is the sam with pro athletes.

    I missed some of the commercials, but I did have two favorites.

    I loved the Ultra pickle ball commercial.  And I loved the Lays chip commercial where the cutest little girl in the current world picks up a potato, plants it, nourishes it and finally harvests the perfect potato for Lays chips.

    I did not like the Dunkin' commercial. 

    I also liked the messages of inclusion, participation, and acceptance I saw.

    And the half time show?

    I am wondering how many people over 60 enjoyed it, although the dancing was amazing.

    That brings a close to the season in NFL football.

    I would like to point out the Bears are still undefeated in 2025.

    Now it's time for baseball.  Go Cubs!!!  This is the year!!!

Peace and Love

some pictures too

I saw these decorations in the Anderson's Book Store in Naperville.....neat way to recycle old books and paper

Julia took this picture on Monday or Tuesday

I took this on Friday.  Same bird?  I am not sure.  Tail looks different.  But it is a , different gargoyle. 

31-23

I already know who Weill win the Super Bowl 

    The team with the most points!!  (rim shot)

Why did the GM of the Bears give $1 for a 75 cent drink?

    He wanted to get a quarterback!  (rim shot)

Why did the cash strapped team owner introduced Travis Kielce to Mike Ditka?

    He was trying to make ends meet!  (rim shot and explanation.  Kelce and Ditka are  famous tight ends)

Why did one side of the offensive line smell so good?

    They had Right Guard!!  (you got it...rim shot)

What famous speech dealt  with a team down 28-0 and facing a fourth down with 7 yards to go?

    Gettysburg Address.....Four score and 7 yards to go.... (feel free to groan)

    As you can tell, I am psyched up for the Big Game.  I hope to see fantastic plays, great commercials, a half time show I understand, and certain people with VIP status booed.  And I don't mean Tay Tay.

    I am kind of leaning toward the Chiefs.  I like the QB, but I also like Philadelphia's QB.  I would rather have seen the Lions, Bears, Packers or Vikings in the Super Bowl just because they are all Central Division teams.  But I think it will be a couple of years for the Bears to make it.

    In case you missed it, Virginia McCaskey died the other day.  She was 103 and the daughter of George Halas, one of the founders of the NFL and Bears owner.  A few years ago she told her son she was "pissed off" at the way the Bears were playing and the GM and coach were fired.

    I just can't imagine all the things she saw in life....The Depression, WW II, the Roaring 20s, Prohibition, The Korean War.......all things before most of us have missed.  Luckily, in many cases.

    I like to think her last football memory was being in Green Bay when the Bears beat the Pack for the first time in 74 tries, or something like that.

    I think she would die with a smile on her face with that memory.

    It's almost time for the pregame shows to start......

    By the way, pitchers and catchers report Sunday for. the Cubs.  Play Ball!!

Peace and Love