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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. 
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| Another night where I cannot think of anything to write. I've read through prompts and searched headlines, I've looked back over the day, and nothing comes to mind. I know a lot of it has to do with being tired, I was up early this morning after getting to bed very late last night. I had about six hours to sleep, but it was interrupted and troubled. Another part of the problem is, I'm stuck here all day keeping an eye on the girls who are doing distance learning. In fact, I saw a post from a teacher who stated how great distance learning is because she has time to work on her crafts and even take a walk during the day now. She's getting paid her full salary and meanwhile, I'm stuck at home doing most of her job for nothing. So, not doing much doesn't give much to write about, and then people petting my peeves gets my goat riled up. Hey, has anyone actually thought about some of the goofy things we use in speech, like pet peeves, and something getting one's goat? Sure I know what it means to get peeved; to get annoyed or irritated. Of course, a pet is a tamed animal kept for companionship and pleasure. So how does it work to put the two together when they are all but opposites? It's probably why I state it wrong so that it's more accurate; do not pet my peeves! Why? Because I finally got the irritating little s***s settled down and out of my mind, and if you pet them, they're going to get all wound up again. And, that really gets my goat. What the hell does that mean? Well, it's quite similar to peeves; to bother or annoy someone. In looking this phrase up, it's origins are unclear, but it's meaning is very clear, it means to be peeved. So then, it only stands to reason that someone had a goat that was in fact a pet. But, when the goat got worked up, it probably did a lot of damage and maybe even sent the owner for a tumble, causing him or her to be peeved. In fact, let's take this whole thing a bit further and name that ornery goat Peeves. So Peeves is a pet, and sometimes Peeves is friendly, tame, and great companionship. But when something or someone gets Peeves worked up, all hell breaks loose. Of course, this kind of behavior upsets and annoys the owner so anything even remotely similar is referred to as a pet Peeve. Likewise, certain actions are equally annoying to the goat's actions, so the owner informs those who are annoying him, or her, they are getting his, or her's, goat. There now, it all makes sense, and if someone switches them around, we will still understand what they are saying when they state, "That really gets my Peeves." or, "That's one of my pet goats." |
| We had a beautiful day here, sunny and warm; mid-thirties, warm for us. I finished cleaning up the snow the plow missed and salted down the walks this evening. With the warm weather, the snow is melting and everything was getting icy as the temperature dropped below freezing. I was very tempted to go out on the lake and do a bit of ice fishing this afternoon since it was so nice out, but my wife was at work and I was watching over the girls. They should be old enough to be home alone, and most times they do fine, however, they had distance learning today so I needed to hang close in case they needed any help and to keep them on task. Also, if I did head out to the lake when they are home alone, I already know I wouldn't get any peace and quiet, they would be texting me about everything and anything. Hell, since we live very close to the lake, they may even show up to see what I'm doing. My next thoughts were to go after my wife got home, but by then it's getting late and dark. So, instead of going out for some time alone, I worked on our supper, helped the girls, and just did some odds and ends around the house. I was right in assuming that if I tried to get some time for myself I'd be interrupted, and so it was trying to get some stuff done out in the garage and even while I was working on supper. But, being at home it wasn't too bad. Besides, I know how to counter it at home, I just put them to work on dishes or something. They hurry and get their tasks done and then they vanish. Once schools are open again, I'll have plenty of time t get out fishing, I hope. It depends on the weather, the temperatures, and what else happens to be going on. Normally, they would have gone back today, but with so much shut down here again, the schools are doing distance learning through the seventeenth of the month. Of course, things may change a bit this Wednesday when the governor lets us know if he's going to lift any restrictions. I could really go a want over this whole thing, but what good does it do? Everyone is tired of hearing about it, tired of living it, and I think if it was up to the people, we would pretty much go back to life as normal. If things don't pretty soon, we may forget what normal was. |
| Another day down, a weekend over, and the girls go back to school tomorrow. Well, if they had school; they will go back to distance learning. I don't know what your thoughts are on distance learning, but I'll be happy to share mine. I think it stinks! The girls both want to be back in school with their friends, of course. From my side, I want them back to school, too; it's a lot of extra work and a headache having them schooling from home. For one thing, I cannot do much of anything or they will be off their Chromebooks and on their phones. I also have to help them with their studies, but unlike at school, they tend to try and get me to do most of their work by asking about everything. At the same time, I still have my regular work to do around home, as well as shopping and trying to do my own thing. Meanwhile, the teachers wait for students to contact them with questions and seeking help. But, once the assignments are posted, the kids are driving their parents crazy and not contacting the teachers at all. In our school district, the teachers have to work from school, so they bring in their hobbies and crafts to keep busy through the day. Meanwhile, at home, I'm too busy to work on any hobbies or crafts and am doing good if I can keep the girls focused on their schoolwork and get lunch cooked without burning something. Meanwhile, the teachers and school staff are collecting their salaries the same as any other time. Now, I don't think they should have their pay reduced, not at all. But, since I'm doing a great deal of their work, I think I should get some kind of compensation, too. No, not as much as the teachers, but a little something for all the added work I'm doing. I'm sure if the forces that be had to start paying parents who stay home to teach their children because of distance learning the schools would reopen. Maybe not full time, but at least back to the hybrid we had before Thanksgiving. Now, it's time for me to get to bed, I have to be up early to play the part of a teacher's assistant, an unpaid teacher's assistant. |
| 2021 seems to be starting out pretty good. Sure, there's still plenty of the same old crap, but one can hardly expect everything to just suddenly change overnight; it's going to take a fair amount of time for things to turn around and take on any semblance of normal. Hell, somethings probably never will return to what was normal. And, even as some things return to normal, there are bound to be new problems arising. Let's just hope and pray that the new problems are far less severe than some of the problems in 2020. But, as I was saying, the new year seems to be starting out pretty good. First of all, I purchased a small snowblower to save my back from shoveling snow. It's nice that our landlord has someone come in and plow out the driveway, but the person doesn't plow behind my pickup and doesn't get very close to the garage. He, or she, also leaves a lot of snow around the dumpster and the mailbox. Of course, we are responsible for removing snow from our sidewalks and patio. So, I decided to get a small snowblower to clean up around the garage, behind my truck, around the mailbox, and around the dumpster. I also figure, and this is just based on how things usually go, but if I'm shoveling all that snow, it's going to snow frequently and we will get a lot each time. But, with a nice little snowblower that makes it almost fun to clean up after it snows, we probably won't get near as many snowstorms and they will probably not give us a lot of snow when they do hit. Also, I received a check in the mail from the telephone co-op I used to be a member of. I haven't used their services in a few years, since we moved, but I still got a dividend check from them this year. Not just a couple of Andrew Jacksons, but five Benjamin Franklins and four Andrew Jacksons! It's like getting paid back for what I spent on a snowblower. I also gathered up all my ice fishing gear and did a test fit in the sled I purchased to haul it all out on the ice. It's a tight fit, but everything fits and will ride nice. Well, almost everything, I will still need to find a place to stow a thermos of coffee and a couple of bottles of water, and my tackle box. I won't have any problems fitting in the thermos and water, but I'm kind of short on space for my tackle box. I can't believe I forgot it when I did a trial set-up today, but I did. I'll figure it out tomorrow, I think there's room in the very front, but if that doesn't work out, I can always set it on top of my five-gallon pail or on top of the minnow bucket and use a bungee cord to hold it in place. I also checked out the area I want to ice fish and it's plowed out to the lake and there are a couple of wheeled fish-houses out kind of in the area I want to fish. That's a good sign that the ice is thick enough, they had to use something to pull them out there. Not only that, but their fish-houses easily outweigh me and all my gear. I'm also pleased that they didn't set up in the area I want to fish. Their close, but missed the mark for the bottom contour, at least by the map I looked at. Now, however, it's getting to be time for me to wrap this up and head off to bed. I have quite a bit to accomplish tomorrow and if there's time, we may have to go do a bit of shopping with the gift cards we received for Christmas. My wife has one for Dick's Sporting Goods for a new bike she asked for, and I have one to use for whatever I decide I want to get. I was thinking about a new camera with BlueTooth and wifi, something with a little better zoom than our old one. There I go, rambling on again. Good Night |
| And so ends day one of the new year. I was up late last night, or would that be early this morning? Either way, I didn't hit the sack until about 3:30. The girls didn't get to bed until after 1:00, and the youngest was up reading until after 2:00. Then, finally, some quiet time for me, even if I was almost falling asleep in my chair. I did sleep in late today, not getting up until a little after 10:00, and just kind of loafed around while I waited for the coffee to kick in. This afternoon we headed over to pick up the snowblower I had purchased online. It was a nice day and I nice drive, but when we arrived at the store, a Menards Home Improvement Center, it was packed. I was glad I had purchased online and just had to drive to the back to pick it up, but after we did venture in to pick up a few items. I really don't understand why we have no inside dining, yet we can be in stores that are wall to wall people? Seriously, with that many people wondering the isles and handling anything and everything, is there any greater risk to sit in a food establishment? It's really kind of a bummer, man! I mean, our entire family enjoys the occasional going out to eat as a change of pace. But on days like today, when it's just my wife and me, stopping by some nice restaurant and having a good meal and time to sit and talk to each other is the highlight of our shopping trip. It's a nice respite for us and something we seldom get to enjoy. I'm sorry but stopping anyplace and ordering through a speaker, waiting for someone to bring it out and hoping it's not messed up, then sitting in a parking lot and eating in the car is just not the same. That's another of my pet peeves, I've got a small herd of them started now; ordering take-out food. First is the fact that the speaker never works right and you can barely understand what they say. Then, you're trying to tell them the order with a car full of people reading off the menu that is always placed so someone can't see it. I have yet to order drive-through and have an order come out correct. Sometimes it's pretty close, but there's always something missing. The closest we have come to getting our order was all the food was correct, the drinks were correct, but instead of a double order of chicken nuggets, they only sent out a single. Oh, and they didn't include any dipping sauce, ketchup, napkins, or straws. The worst was getting someone else's order and not a single item we had placed. Then, once the food arrives, it's a matter of where to eat it. We're all hungry, that's why we stopped to get food, so we don't want to wait till we get home, besides, the food isn't' all that good to begin with, and it never improves with time or a drop in temperature. But for all four of us to eat in the car is a pain and a mess. It's extremely difficult to try and drive while you eat, and if texting is a distraction, what about trying to find the ketchup to dip your french fries? Of course, having sauce, bits of lettuce, and other sandwich fixings falling down the front of your clothes is always a nice experience, especially if you still have more shopping to do. And then there's the mess in the vehicle; we could probably support a large family of rodents for a month with the food that gets spilled inside the car. Now, I'll probably have drive through nightmares! m |
| So, this is 2021 and another year passes. Will the new year be a good year or not? For that matter, was the last year a good year or not. It was, from a historical point of view, an interesting year. Sometime in the future, it will be read online or in textbooks and there will be those who refuse to believe what we lived through; hell we're still living through it. Others will believe it but think we all blew everything out of proportion. And, then there will be those who will be convinced it was some kind of conspiracy. I know it's been a difficult year for many people, there has been loss, there has been destruction, and there has been fear. We also had a lot of terrible things we lived through, a lot of frustrations, a lot of fear of not knowing what was going to happen to us. But, we didn't bury our heads in the sand or close the world out. We did what we needed to do, difficult as it was, and we pushed forward and survived. Now that it's all done and we enter a new year, I look back and instead of focusing on all the negatives, I look to see how many positives we gained through the year; there are a lot. The choices we made would have been different if not for the pandemic and the problems that arose from it. It's like looking back upon one's life and realizing that if we were to go back and change anything, it would change us. I'm not saying that we are shaped by our circumstances and our environment, but by the choices we make in regards to our circumstances and environment. I don't know what 2021 will bring, will it be a good year and we will see an end to the pandemic, will people set aside their differences and we will enjoy a period of peace and prosperity? Or, perhaps the virus will continue to mutate and stay a step ahead of our vaccines. Perhaps people will become frustrated and look for others to blame and civil unrest and lawlessness will break out around the globe. Perhaps some madman will take advantage of the problems the world is facing and rise to power and engulf us in yet another world war. Hell, maybe this year the aliens will arrive and enslave all of us or exterminate us completely. Anything is possible. Well, almost anything. I did read a headline that stated the aliens don't visit Earth because it's too expensive. But, that's for another day, for today, what I'm saying is what the year will bring is unknown, but I do know this, I'm going to focus on the positives and have a good year and wish the same for all of you. |
| It's officially New Year's Eve, 2020 comes to an end, and 2021 begins. Or at least that's what they say... I'm sure there's a reason, but have you ever stopped and thought about why we end the year at the end of December and start a new one on the first day in January? Why not end the year on the winter solstice? Or, even better for those of us who live "up north", the summer solstice? If you think about it, we could pick any day we want to say one year ends and another begins. In fact, many companies do not end their year on December 31, nor does the government. Also, what is up with New Years'? I mean, after the way 2020 turned out, everyone is eager for the new year. However, nothing is actually changing as far as the pandemic and the problems it's created. The vaccines have already come out, they didn't wait for January first. A lot of places are locked down or highly restricted, and we are all still wearing our masks and waiting for something to change, to get better. We pick a set point in time, midnight on December 31 to say, "Go to hell, 2020!" Then we add, "hip hooray, it's 2021 and things will be better." But, are we setting ourselves up to fall? For me and my family, 2020 was a big deal. We had fostered our two granddaughters and in August, adopted the youngest. It was a tough year, a lot of things to do in 2019 to make that adoption happen. But then, 2018 was going just fine until we found out that we could finally step in and foster our granddaughters. Then, towards years end, we had to quit our jobs, walk away from our lives, and start all over in a new state. We had so much to do and accomplish to get our foster license and get the girls out of the system and into a home. 2019 didn't bring any improvements, just more of the same, but then in August, the youngest was adopted and things were finally falling into place. Then, the adoption was approved for the older granddaughter, but not until the end of January. We were ecstatic! We had finally reached the goal we had started over fifteen months before. Yes, 2020 was going to be a great year. Then the virus arrived. Then the schools shut down, we had stay-at-home orders, the girls, already inflicted with many problems, both emotional and traumatic had a difficult time with everything shutting down. More problems and troubles. Then the riots started and we had troubles all around us. We lived in an apartment complex that was very diversified. We didn't mind, but some of the other tenants didn't seem to approve of us. As tensions climbed, we had troubles with threats against our dog, we had scratches in our vehicles, and it was beginning to feel unsafe to walk across the parking lot. I don't know why, we mostly kept to ourselves, as did most people, but we were polite and considerate, we got along with all our neighbors, then one day the bottom fell out. I know it wasn't anything directed at us personally, but still, it was time to move. We fought tooth and nail to keep our adopted daughters, we found a nice location in a rural setting with a good school, we managed to get moved in despite the quarantine and the loss of wages, and we survived. We love our new location, even if the duplex is a bit small for all of us. The girls are happy with the school and eager to be able to attend it until they graduate; they have never gone to the same school for more than one year, and quite often had to switch during the school year. Even the people around us are nice, even though we are new and don't know anyone. Sure, like anyplace, there are problems, but it's one of the better places I've lived. So 2020 started good, we had our girls adopted. Then it turned bad, the pandemic hit, but as a result, we found a nice place to live and are happy here. The girls were going to school on a hybrid system, so it worked, but then after Thanksgiving, they went to full distance learning until mid-January. But, the girls have friends and they are able to stay in touch; they are eager for school to reopen, as are we the parents. What I'm saying is, 2018 was a good year for us, but it ended with a lot of difficult decisions and problems for us. 2019 was filled with obstacles, oversight, and so much to do and accomplish, 2020 started out as a great year but turned very bad, but then turned good, and then ended with more problems. What will 2021 bring? A vaccine and hopefully life returning to normal. Maybe, but how long will it take, how much worse will it get before it gets better? Even if everything is better, will our leaders return things to normal, or will they continue to feed upon fear as a means of controlling and feed their power-lust? Will the vaccine work? Will we begin to see problems with the vaccine? There is no way of knowing what will come in the next 365-day cycle. We do know, however, there will be good things, there will be bad things. Will everything just change for the better tomorrow? No, nothing will have changed, life goes on and the only way to have a good year or a bad year is to make it one or the other. I could say that 2020 was the worst year I have ever had, but it wouldn't be true. It was a difficult year and there was plenty that went wrong. Some of it due to the pandemic, some of it due to behavior problems, some of it due to people in positions of government that are hungry for power and control. So yeah, it was a difficult year, but here I am, writing my blog on New Year's Eve and thinking if it wasn't for all the problems and troubles, where would I be right now? Where would my daughter's be? Would life be better or worse? This I can honestly say, no matter how screwed up this year has been, our family survived and we are stronger because of it. New Year's marks a beginning on a calendar, but what the year brings is determined by us. No matter if we have good leaders or bad, viruses or health, natural disasters or paradise-like weather, it is what we make of it in our hearts and how we treat our friends, family, neighbors, and even those we do not know. The New Year cannot bring us anything, only we control our destiny and what we make of what we have makes all the difference in the world. |
| Well, last night I was going to blog about something but ended up interrupted. I put the topic off for tonight, but guess what? That's right, I forgot what I was going to blog about. That's alright, however, because I have something else that I think is bloggable and worthy of my time tonight. I'm talking about Sriracha Sauce! Perhaps you've heard of it? I'm sure you have at one point or another, and it's pretty likely that you've tried it. From what I hear from most people, you may have even liked it. I have heard of it, and I tasted it once, on some chicken fingers. I know, chickens don't have fingers, and I really don't want to know what the fingers are. These weren't actually chicken fingers, they were chicken McNuggets. Again, I don't think I want to know what part of the chicken his McNuggets are, but it sounds worse than they taste. And, speaking of taste, the McSriracha Sauce wasn't very appealing, but it could have something to do with that clown's McRecipe. Just a side note, I have not heard anything about anyone feeling upset over Ronald's statue and I haven't heard anything about anyone knocking over or defacing ole Ronald. If there were still Big Boy joints you can bet someone would have been offended by both the name and the statue! But I digress. I do quite often, but then that's why I like to get into my blogging and let my mind wander; as long as it doesn't wander too far or fails to return, I figure it's all good. So, tonight's topic is Sriracha Sauce. I"m a member of a health site and am trying to lose weight, and it was there that I saw someone bragging this sauce up. It had my curiosity, so I researched it a bit and found myself even more confused. At its basics, the base is just hot sauce! So, why all the hype about it being some kind of wonder sauce that has all these wonderful benefits? Sure, most of what I read about the health benefits are true, but that's the case with just about any hot sauce, especially red pepper hot sauce. I personally like Frank's Hot Sauce, I think it has a better taste than a lot of other hot sauces. As far as what sets Sriracha Sauce apart from the others is it's supposed to have a tangy, sweetness to it. But, what really sets it apart and adds a bit more health benefit is the garlic. Yes, garlic is a very healthy food, and Sriracha Sauce has garlic while Frank's does not. But, any added health benefits seem to be wasted on the other two ingredients, salt, and sugar. And not just a little bit, either. I looked at a few different recipes and they all average about the same, some even higher by substituting honey in place of the sugar. Let me show you: To make a basic Sriracha Sauce, you will need about a half-pound of chopped up Red peppers or chilis, four cloves of garlic, one teaspoon of salt, a cup of vinegar, and two tablespoons of sugar. Once finished, this recipe makes one and a half cups of sauce. Yes, 6 ounces! Let that sink in for a minute, 6 ounces of sauce contains one teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar! Now, don't' get me wrong, I'm not saying the sauce is not good, I'm not saying it's all that bad for you, all I'm saying is the amount of sodium and sugar kind of counterbalance the healthy benefits of the garlic and red pepper. No, it's not going to hurt you, not unless you start drinking this sauce as I drink coffee. And, I'm not saying that it doesn't have some health benefits, either. I'm just saying that once again a food has been taken out of context and placed on a pedestal that so many people gather around and do not even question or research. That's all I'm saying, quit being like Lemmings and following blindly everything your shown and told; Check things out, think, and make rational choices based on what you learn. I know, some of you do, but there are a lot of people who don't. As for Sriracha Sauce, yeah, I'll try it again. Not from some fast food place, but a Sriracha Sauce I know will be good; Homemade. Just a quarter batch, it should be easy to divide out, and then I can decide if I like it or not. If I do like it and it will get used, I'll check around and purchase a good brand and compare it to my homemade. Sure, homemade is always going to be better, but I like to do things the easy way sometimes. Oh, and speaking of the easy way, I won't be chopping up red peppers and having the house smell of vinegar, I'll just add the garlic, salt, and sugar to Frank's and have about a quarter cup of Frank and TJ's Sriracha Sauce. |
| So, are you ready for another night of idle rambling? I hope not, I don't think I could ramble on much more. Oh, who am I trying to kid, if I can't think of anything else to write about, I can always ramble on about something, or perhaps even nothing at all. Then again, some nights it's hard to write anything at all; I like it quiet and peaceful without interruptions. But tonight, my youngest daughter is still awake. I thought she would read for a while on her Kindle E-Reader, then set it to the side and drift off to sleep, like most nights. But, she finished her second book already and needed another. I don't mind purchasing her books but would prefer she would get something she can spend a bit of time reading. Her preference, however, is for graphic books, or as we called them, comic books. She is reading a series and can get the regular book for about seven bucks, but the graphic novel costs twice as much and only lasts her a couple of nights. Of course, we set up Kindle Unlimited so there are many books she can read for free, but the series she wants isn't included. I did take a break and had her look for a few books that looked good, not graphic books, but regular novels. She found three in the Unlimited that are now on her Kindle and she is reading one of them. Hopefully, she enjoys it and discovers that regular books are so much more in-depth and better than the graphic novels that she will want to get more books that will take a little longer to read. Now, with that out of the way, I could get back to my topic for the night, but then again, I think I've written enough and will save tonights topic for another night. |
| Another uneventful day. Not that it's bad to have uneventful days, they're kind of nice, relaxing, and restful, but it doesn't provide anything to write about. That's my problem again tonight, I want to write, but I cannot think of anything to write about. The girls are still on Christmas break through the New Year, then it's back to distance learning through mid-month when the schools are supposed to reopen. My wife goes back to work tomorrow, but with New Years', it will be a short week and another long weekend for her. It would be nice to get out and do something with the long weekends, but as everyone knows, the pandemic makes that a little difficult. I'm still waiting on some items for my new hobby, ice fishing. Some will arrive this week, the rest should get here the following week. I'm looking forward to spending some time alone out on the lake; alone with my thoughts. I got a Kindle reader for Christmas that I will be bringing along, and I already have quite a few books to read on it. I love to read, but I don't get much of a chance anymore. It seems that as soon as I get lost in a book, the girls need my attention. Of course, this is the case no matter what I get lost in, except for work around the house, then they get lost into anything and everything until the work is done. Tomorrow I want to start logging my food intake, I need to lose some weight and a good place to start is logging everything I eat. I know exercise would speed things up, too, but with my back bothering as much as it has lately, I'm kind of limited by how much I can do. That's another concern with ice fishing, I want to load up at the landing and pull my gear out on a sled, but not sure how my back will handle it. I have a harness ordered that will distribute the weight and the pulling so that I'm able to prevent any twisting and straining one side or the other, so I think it will go alright. I know I'll be a bit sore and stiff from taxing the muscles the first few times, but I have a good, supportive, folding chair that will provide comfort once I get set up. It's kind of crazy, I know that if I drop even ten pounds, it will make a big difference for my back. I also know that working and increasing my core strength will improve my back even more. The biggest problem is getting that first ten pounds off and working the core muscles without getting myself laid up for a week or two. It's what so many refer to as a "catch twenty-two", however, I'm not really sure what that even means. In my own terms, I think of it as being all Twenty-twentied! And with that, I bid you good night. |
| It's funny how I come in here to write some nights after everyone's asleep so I have quiet and can relax and unwind. But when I get here, I can't think of a damn thing to write about. I had a couple of topics earlier, but of course, I didn't write them down; I didn't have anything to write them on when they hit. It was a pretty uneventful day as a whole, but the older daughter got herself in trouble again. She wanted to go spend a few hours with her friend but is behind on school work. The deal was, get some of it done and then you can go for a few hours. But she didn't work on any of it all morning, then asked if she could go. They are adopted, granddaughters of my wife, so they call us gramma and grampa, not mom and dad. Gramma had given in after she finally did some school work, and once again, instead of coming home at the allotted time, she texts and asks if she can stay another hour. This is the case each time she has gone to visit a friend lately, and it's got gramma pretty upset. On the other hand, the younger girl is doing pretty good right now, but that's the way it always seems to go, one or the other is creating problems, almost like they take turns. My great task for the day was to set up the X Box we all got as a family gift for Christmas. I should be upset, Santa brings this stuff and leaves it under the tree, then I have to figure out how to set this stuff up. The least he could do is set it up; I think we need a new Christmas rule; if Santa delivers electronics, he either has to install and set up the contraption, or leave an elf with the device to assist with set-up. It wasn't difficult to hook up, but once it was hooked up and plugged in, I had no idea what to do. This brings to mind a new pet peeve I have. Why in the 2020 doesn't anyone include directions with electronics anymore? From the Kindle readers to the portable photo printer, the X Box, and the wireless ear-buds, as well as a few other gadgets around here, none came with any instructions. A few came with enough to set it up, but then nothing with operating the device. I even looked online and found, in sick humor, operating manuals that didn't explain anything more than the card that told how to set it up. Yes, I stated 2020 as a cuss word. My daughters just roll their eyes at me when I say it, but I think it's very fitting. I can use 2020 to fill in a lot of blanks. It covers frustration, confusion, all nine levels of hell, the excretions of a male cow, and even a few variations of the very versatile fornication word. So for now, some might wonder what in the 2020 I'm talking about, but I'm sure it will catch on, and sooner or later, someone will tell another to go to 2020, or even accuse them of trying to 2020 them. |
| I hope everyone who honors Christmas had a wonderful day, and for those who don't, I hope you had a wonderful day as well. W had a terrific Christmas eve and day, despite the pandemic. I would even venture to say that this Christmas may have been even a bit more special because of the pandemic. I mean, it put more focus on what Christmas is really all about. For example, instead of getting together like we usually do, merry Christmas wishes were sent by text, cards, and email. This year, those messages seemed to hold deeper meaning for everyone. We spent Christmas eve and Christmas morning at home with the girls and had a wonderful time. This afternoon we went to my mother-in-law's to make her Christmas dinner and spend some time with her so she wouldn't be home alone today. Usually, most of her family spends the greater part of the day at her house; this has become a regular tradition over the years. Since her family has grown quite large and her house isn't very large, plans were made this past summer to rent the local hall and have Christmas there. But then the second wave hit (when did the first wave end?), nobody wanted to get together and the plans were canceled. Even though a lot of her family lives close to her, they didn't want to risk getting together with her for Christmas day. They stop and visit her other days, they take her shopping and to appointments, and they have her over from time to time for dinner, but this year they canceled Christmas because of the pandemic. A couple of them didn't even celebrate with their own families, they canceled Christmas completely. It's like, in my opinion, a small child who can't have his way and refuses to compromise or give in unless it's his way. In fact, we went over about one o'clock and stayed quite late. During the entire time, only one of her children called to wish her a Merry Christmas. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand people being concerned about the increased cases of Covid and taking precautions. We are very careful about going to visit my mother-in-law and if there are any doubts about being exposed or if anyone even has a sniffle, we stay away. She's over eighty now and vulnerable, so we are careful. But, she doesn't care; she knows the risks, but she explains it quite well, she could die of old age or have a heart attack and die anytime. Why give up living when you have very little time left. She always tells us, I would rather visit with my family, catch covid, and die than to live another month alone and unable to visit them. Still, we are cautious but I do not have it in my heart to not go visit her or help her. As for the others who are being so cautious they cancel Christmas; I understand, and if that's their choice, I will respect it. However, if that was truly the case, I shouldn't see them out and about with some of their family, extended, or with friends when we go shopping. If you cannot go to our mother's for lunch or have her over for lunch for fear of catching the virus, but you can go out once or twice a week to eat or get together every Sunday at church, I think there is something wrong. I don't want to get into it with them, and it really isn't any of my business, but I see their bluff. They use the pandemic as an excuse when it fits their needs, but when it doesn't, they pay no heed. In fact, one person who didn't want to get together for Thanksgiving or Christmas because of the increased chance of spreading Covid, came over a few days ago to drop off some Christmas goodies. She always bakes a lot of stuff and normally would bring it over for the big get-together. But this Christmas she canceled out on any get-together with anyone, too risky. But, she could drive to everyone's house on the same day, drop off her package, visit and then head to the next person and the whole time, not even wear a mask. So, how concerned was she about the pandemic? I didn't mind, she's nice, makes awesome goodies, and we had a nice visit for over an hour. I'm just saying, her reasoning and her actions are in conflict, as are so many peoples. For some, it's just not thinking things through, for others, it fits their true desires. For me, I just live my life as much the same as I always have. If we meet, I will shake your hand and not feel a need for masks. But, if you are more cautious than I am, I will respect your desire to not shake hands, and if you desire, I will wear a mask for you. I've stated it before, in different terms, but my opinion is, if I have to stop living to stay alive, what have I gained? |
| It's officially Christmas but still my Christmas Eve. I'm waiting for the youngest girl to fall asleep so Santa can come and do his thing, then it's off to bed; it's been a long day. It's also been a good day for all of us. Well except for the girls playing a game that left them with upset stomachs. We have tried a few different things for Christmas Eve, the first year they were with us, we let them open a gift after dinner. Last year they opened a few gifts on Christmas Eve and this year we let them start opening gifts after lunch, spacing it out through the day. It's been a tradition in my family to open gifts from each other on Christmas Eve, but on my wife's side, they waited till Christmas morning. However, most of her family now does Christmas at home on Christmas Eve, then we all get together at my mother-in-law's Christmas day. That's how we ended up letting the girls open gifts the night before. Then, on Christmas morning, they open gifts left by Santa. This year, instead of waiting through the day, we decided to let them space it out through the day. They enjoyed it, they had lots of time to enjoy each new gift, and I think we may have found a new tradition to share with them. Of course, know we are going to do it this way would work well if we numbered the gifts so they open them in a specific order; it would be fun to pick out something for them to open first thing in the morning, maybe some games after lunch, and so on. Oh, I must go back to the game that upset their stomachs, Pour Taste. It involves filling small glasses with various drinks, then spinning to see what gets mixed with what, and who will drink it. I gave them a few suggestions towards what to use for the game, but they wanted to be silly and added in a few other things, like hot sauce, pickle juice, and soy sauce. They also had some milk, cranberry juice, and grape drink. I thought about warning them of the side effects but then decided to let them learn this one on their own. They learned well! Tomorrow we will be up pretty early, I'm sure, but maybe with their stomach aches and being up late tonight, we will get to sleep in a bit later than the last few Christmas mornings. Once up, they will have to wait for my wife and me to get a cup of coffee in us, then they can hand out gifts from Santa and start opening them. We are also going to my mothers-in-law's to fix her a nice Christmas dinner. Normally most of the family would be there, but this year everyone is spending Christmas at home, so she would have been alone; she would have been heartbroken to not have Christmas. Also, she's over 80 and no one knows if she will even get to see another Christmas. Now, time to check on the girls, and hopefully they are both sleeping -- Santa's getting tired. |
| It's Christmas Eve, so Merry Christmas! The Blizzard has officially ended as of midnight, but the snow stopped late afternoon. We averaged what the storm predictions stated, I'd guess about four inches, maybe five. It's difficult to measure with the high winds and drifting we had. The temperature dropped through the day, it's negative eight right now, but with the wind blowing at 20 miles per hour, it feels like negative thirty-one. I still have my fish shelter up, it took the high winds well, although it is more sheltered here in the yard than it would have been out on the lake. That's alright, though, I don't see myself going out fishing during a blizzard or with winds gusting over fifty miles per hour anyway. I'm still using it for a smoke shack right now, and with the little propane heater going, it warms pretty quickly and stays comfortable, even with the wind. But, with it being so cold out, the inside frosted and iced up from condensation. I thought about getting an insulated shelter, but the difference in price and weight just don't seem to be worth it. I ordered the rest of the fishing gear I'll need to go out on the ice; I bought some locally, but the selection was limited and a lot of the items I wanted or needed they either didn't have or the price was too high. I do have enough right now I could go out, but it would be a pain in the caboose to carry everything. I have a sled ordered to fix that problem, but with the cold weather we're having, I may be able to drive out by the time it arrives. I also ordered a set of cleats for my boots so I can get traction on the ice when I pull the sled, but again, I may not need them. Of course, I tend to be over safe when it comes to driving on a frozen lake, so they may still be needed if the ice isn't thick enough. Also, part of the reason for taking up ice fishing is to get some exercise, so when the weather is nice, I'll likely pull my stuff out just to get a workout. The other part of the reason is for quiet and time alone to think and recharge. |
| Last night before I turned in I wrote about an impending storm that could hit this morning. It was supposed to move in this morning around nine, with a ten percent chance for light snow increasing to one hundred percent by noon, falling temperatures through the day, and increasing winds reaching gusts over fifty miles per hour by afternoon. I also wrote that most of the time, they are wrong and we either get better weather or worse. Since our move here in June, it's been better weather, so we are due for worse weather. We got it! I woke around eight and it was already snowing enough to have covered everything. By nine, the winds had picked up and the snowfall had increased. Now, at ten o'clock, the snow is still falling steadily, the temperature has dropped to eighteen degrees, and the winds are up to twenty miles per hour gusting to forty. Visibility is about a mile but drops to near zero when the gusts hit. We are no longer under a winter storm warning, we are in a blizzard warning until midnight. We are sitting pretty good as long as the electricity doesn't go out. We have electric heat, cooking, and our water is from a well. I have an indoor propane heater and plenty of gas I can bring inside if we need it for heat, but our propane camp stove is not designed for indoor use. We would have to vent the house to use it inside, which would also make the house colder inside. The power company did trim trees and branches a few weeks ago, so let's hope the power stays on. The only other concern was my wife having to work from nine to five-thirty today, but her boss sent a text telling her to stay home and take a vacation day. I may venture into town, about six miles, a little later to fill our five-gallon water containers and look for some eggroll wrappers, but only after the plow truck goes by; it will give me a good test of our snow/winter tires. I also have my portable fish shelter set up just off the back deck. I wanted to set it up and take it down a few times before I take it out on the ice. Today is also a good test to see how well it holds in the wind and how warm my heater keeps it in below zero temperatures. Although I purchased it for ice fishing, which I'm taking up as a winter hobby, it also makes a terrific smoking shack to keep me out of the snow, wind, and cold. Since it goes up and comes down easily and quickly, about ten minutes for me alone, but it will go faster with practice, it's handy for both. Also, since it's not a good idea to pack it away wet, and it does collect a lot of condensation, it's nice to have a place to set up by the house when I"m not using it out on the lake. |
| Is this the calm before the storm? It's warm out tonight, no wind, and the moon is shining through a light haze, making a halo effect in the night sky. The temperature has slowly increased through the day and into the night, with midnight being our high. Then, by seven tomorrow morning, the temps will have dropped by ten degrees and the winds will be blowing at twenty miles per hour. By five o'clock in the morning, we'll have a ten percent chance for light snow, but by seven it will increase to sixty percent and climb to one hundred percent in the next two hours and hold there until afternoon while the temperature continues to drop and the winds continue to increase; they are predicting gusts in excess of fifty miles per hour tomorrow afternoon. The temperature will drop through Christmas Eve morning, with a low of negative eleven. According to the forecast, we will get a nice coating of ice before the snow starts and see up to five inches by the time it stops. We are pretty well settled in for the storm with plenty of food on hand and no plans to go anyplace except for my poor wife who has to work tomorrow. She'll be driving in about the time it hits, so hopefully, we don't get the ice. She will have to drive home about the time it's supposed to start letting up, but with five inches of powdery snow and fifty plus mile per hour winds, it's going to be wicked. If the storm hits as predicted, I may just have to drive her in and go get her, since she hates driving in these conditions. My biggest concern is that the power may go out. Since we moved here in June, we have noticed that anytime we get high winds, the power tends to go out. They are quick to get it back on, but with a winter storm, it could take longer. We have electric heat and our stove is also electric, so we don't do well without power. If needed, I can bring our camp stove in from the garage, it works on propane, but then we need to be cautious of carbon monoxide and make sure we keep the house vented. In the summer, this isn't a problem, but with temperatures dropping below zero, it becomes a problem. Oh, and I already have an indoor propane heater for my fish shelter that we can use to keep it warm if we lose power. Now, we wait and see what tomorrow will bring us. It's been my observation that the storm predictions are incorrect, we either get far less or far more. So far, since we moved, it has been far less when it's come to bad weather, sooner or later, however, that's going to change. No matter what, it's going to get very cold. |
| I'm happy to say I did not have any bad dreams last night, or at least that I remember. On the flip side, however, I also did not do anything more with the story I kind of started that I thought may give me a nightmare. Not much happened today, it was a lazy day, but relaxing and nice. I did work on my old netbook trying to get it working faster, but I'm not sure I accomplished much. We were trying to remember when I got it but were not sure if it was in 2007 Or 2008. It had Windows 8 on it, but we updated it to Windows 10. It still works fine, but it's just so slow. I did a complete Windows reload with the disc cleaning option, but it took most of the afternoon and evening to finish. I did get it set up, then turned off my Windows account so it won't sync. I want to run the bare minimum on it and see if it will work well enough for the girls to use for their graphic pads. If it does, great, but if not, then maybe I'll load it with Linux and used it for a portable computer for writing. I had set my old laptop up with Linux for the same purpose, but it's so heavy and big. Also, it doesn't have Bluetooth or anything, it's a bit too old for that. Yes, older than my netbook by at least a couple of years. The laptop uses more power, too, so the battery doesn't last nearly as long, even with the new battery I put in. Of course, the battery in my netbook is the original and may not last as long as it used to, either. Other than putzing around with a few things and working, more like waiting, on the netbook, I watched some television, we started the Star Wars movies by watching the first one tonight. I've seen about half of them, so my wife and I decided to start from the beginning and watch them in the correct order. That's about it for today. |
| It's late about half-past midnight and I just finished writing for a prompt in the Newsfeed, "Saturday Night Horror Prompt". Maybe writing something like this wasn't the best idea this late at night. The bit I wrote is good, perhaps the making of a good horror story someday. Even after I posted it, ideas began working in my brain on how to develop this item into a full short story. That's the problem, my brain never shuts down. I know it's going to keep working around while I fall asleep. The question now is, "Will the story unfold in all its gore and horror in a nightmare?" It wouldn't be the first time I've done this, worked on a horror story before going to bed, and then having the story become real within my dreams. In fact, there's one case that the nightmare it generated woke me and I got up and finished the story, based on my dream. Then, once done, I returned to bed only to have the same nightmare all over again. If it does, perhaps I'll be up most of the night writing out a short story about a Christmas horror. Well, if the dream wakes me, if it doesn't I hope I can remember enough to write down some notes on it when I wake in the morning. But, I prefer not to have this nightmare materialize, so I'll finish up with something happy. We, my wife, both daughters, and I, went shopping and finished up our Christmas shopping except for the girls who still want to get a gift for a friend. After we grabbed a bit to eat and then drove over and surprised my mother-in-law. We also brought her Christmas present over for her. She opened it right away, as we had planned, and almost started crying. A few weeks back, she asked if I could change the light in her microwave, it had burned out. The microwave was old, bought in the late eighties. I was surprised to see it was that old when I took the information off the tag on the back. I was even more surprised that it still worked at all. But, it was getting tired, taking about three minutes to heat a cup of water for tea. I knew it wouldn't last much longer, and with the extended time to heat things and just being that old, I'm sure it was costing a lot just to run the thing. It was also huge, taking up a lot of her limited counter space. My wife and I had talked it over and decided that she really needed a new one. But, we also knew she would have a lot of difficulties trying t figure out anything fancy. We looked around and couldn't find anything that looked right for her, so I looked online and found the perfect microwave for her. My wife agreed it was just the right one. I looked on Amazon and they had it, so we ordered it for her and it arrived a couple of days ago. It's plenty big enough inside for her needs, it has 1200 watts of cooking power, and it only has one knob. All she has to do is put the item in and set the timer until it's done. She tried it out right away with a cup of water and was overjoyed by how quickly it heated. From tap to just right for tea in forty-five seconds. And, the timer illuminates as you turn the dial, so it's very easy for her to see, given in the gloom if she doesn't turn the kitchen light on. We visited for a few hours then came home. Once we were home, my wife called her to let her know we were home safe and found out that she was making a cup of hot chocolate to enjoy before bed. She had also taken out some frozen leftovers and heated up an evening snack and thanked us again for the gift. I think the microwave is going to get a lot of use. It not only heats her food and beverages, but I think with every use, it will warm her heart as well. |
| We received a package today with Christmas gifts in it. Not just any package, one sent by a man named De'Vondre Campbell and his wife. We don't know these people personally, he's a linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals. He wanted to do something for some families that have adopted troubled children, and the agency we adopted our two girls through submitted our names. We received a form to fill out with some information about all of us, my wife, our two girls, and myself. It also had a place to list a few different gifts that each person wanted. We filed it out and submitted it, wondering if any of these items would be sent or if something else would arrive instead. We really weren't given such information except that the Campbells wanted to help make some families Christmas special. We opened the package and all the gifts inside were wrapped and tagged, so we put them under the tree. We had not told the girls anything about this, since we didn't know for sure if anything would even arrive. So, tonight we showed them the gifts, told them who the gifts were from, and I brought up De'Vondre's statistics for them to see. They were ecstatic that someone famous had sent them gifts and couldn't restrain from getting on their phones and sharing this with all their friends. I still don't think the full magnitude of this has sunk in fully for any of us. Not only did the package have gifts, but there were also a couple of cards, one for my wife and one for me. We opened them to find that they had also included two gift cards for a couple of items that would have been difficult to ship; one item my wife listed that she wanted was a bicycle. Since we had unintentionally opened part of our gifts, we decided the girls should get to open one of theirs as well; the package contained two gifts each. They each received one of the items off the list, not cheap little gifts but very nice gifts. When we listed things they wanted, we tried to think of things that would last and benefit them as well. One got a Kindle E-reader and the other got a graphics tablet that interfaces with the computer. Reading and creativity, what wonderful gifts, and they love them. Thanks to the Campbells Christmas started a little early this year; a year when so many people wonder if Christmas is even coming because of the pandemic, and here it is, the spirit of Christmas in full bloom. Not only wonderful gifts but also treasures because of who gave them and why. |
| Here I sit trying t think of something worth writing. My pop-up fish shelter arrived today and the ice auger came a couple of days ago. It's great to have them, but not really blogable. Perhaps when I get the rest of the stuff I need and head out ice fishing I will have a blogable experience. Yes, I made it up, my term: Blogable; worthy of blogging. Nothing blogable, so I turned to The Hub and looked at some prompts. I came across this one: You hide, but nobody seeks. Instead, they leave you alone in the woods. This actually happened to me once. I was probably fifteen and a bunch of us kids from the neighborhood decided to play hide-n-seek. We lived in a small town on the Mesabi Iron Range, so there were woods right close by, and that is where we took up our game. It progressed through the afternoon and good places to hide were becoming scarce. It was time to hide and everyone scattered in different directions except the girl who lived a couple of houses down. They had moved to the area that spring and we had hung out a few times but that was about it. I was actually surprised she had joined the game since she usually kept more to herself. We were close in age and I kind of had a crush on her, but she just didn't seem to be interested. Anyway, we both ran in the same direction and every place to hide seemed taken. I heard, "Ready or not, here I come." I had to find a place to hide and quick. There was some very thick brush a bit to my left, and in desperation, I headed to it and pushed myself into it. To my surprise, she followed. I tried to get far enough into this almost solid wall of brush and tangled vines so we would both be hidden. I made another thrust forward and broke through to find myself almost toppling down some old steps. It was dark and damp in this stairway into the blackness, so we just went far enough in so we could both hide. As our eyes adjusted, we could see that we had stumbled upon an old root cellar, the door now gone and the steps crumbling away. We went down a bit further, but just enough to be able to huddle together out of sight. She whispered softly that she was kind of scared of the blackness just a few feet away from us and pressed closer to me. I put my arms around her and was going to whisper back that it was just an old root cellar and nothing to be scared of, but before I could, she pressed her lips to mine. It surprised me and I must have tensed up because she pulled back a bit and said, "I'm sorry." I pulled her closer and leaned in and kissed her a bit longer than her kiss had been. This time she tensed a bit, but then relaxed. We spent a minute after the kiss just looking into each other's eyes, then almost at the same time admitted that we had never kissed like this before. That had us giggling and hushing each other so we wouldn't be found. Then we tried it again, with a few more kisses that went a lot better. She was the first to say we should head back. I agreed but told her I would like to return and explore the root cellar more. She took my hand as we headed back and asked if she could explore it with me. We were so caught up in our conversation that we didn't notice everybody was gone. They had given up looking for us and gone home but we did get teased a bit over us coming back together; we denied it all. We did go back a couple of days later to explore, with a flashlight and some candles. The root cellar had collapsed in the center, so no big adventure there. We did find kind of a natural trail that took us to a small cliff in the mine pit where we found a cave, but it was so low you had to crawl into it, and of course, there were bats. We did quite a bit of exploring together that summer, in more ways than one. |
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