I was reading the Cleveland paper about how this winter sucks even more than usual as far as cloud cover. They’ve only had two completely sunny days since mid-November and a half dozen partly cloudy ones. The rest were wall to wall clouds.
As much as I hate the hot summers down here I wouldn’t trade the sunny days the rest of the year. It makes such a difference in my mood. I know you’ll find it hard to believe, but I wasn’t always this cheerful and lovely. 😉
If what you have is anything like the crud we had in January, the only way through it is to sleep. I think I set a record for a couple days by only being awake about 4 hours out of every 24.
At least it’s not Minnesota. The mister had to go there last week and it was below zero – but worse than that (for him) were all the flight cancellations.
Well I hate to say it but I don’t do much either — traveling for work is exhausting and unless you’re a kid with loads of energy, it pretty much kills off your ambition to go exploring (though I’m always big on local cuisine; I just look for places with carryout or delivery).
I’m going to St. Louis the week of 2/24 (dinner with MaryB!) and I’m going to drive because between the time it takes to fly there and the hassle, I’d rather drive the 4 hours.
hi Omir, been meaning to catch up with you. Would you like to host the next Welcome Wagon? I remembered that you and boran2 had offered the last time I sent out a call for volunteers.
(boran2, if you see this, would you like to do the following week?)
Good morning, SN!
Valentine’s was a quiet home affair (some chocolate and flowers, though). Today looks like a beauty; a bit on the cool side.
My girl turns 18 this weekend; strange feeling.
We can’t really say it happened while we weren’t looking – because we were looking the whole time! The funny thing about that 18 y.o. is that his father wouldn’t recognize him if they passed on the street. It’s been almost four years since he’s managed a visit and at that time he hadn’t gone through puberty yet.
That actually happened to my younger brother when he was 18…he hadn’t seen my father since he was 12, and my father didn’t recognize him. It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever witnessed.
On a happier note, what are NBtY’s plans for the fall?
He’s waiting to hear if he got accepted at any of the colleges he applied to. Then we’ll fill out that uber-fun FAFSA form and he’ll borrow tons of money from his future self and hope that when he gets out he’ll get a job that pays enough to pay off his student loans. That 4K college credit for national service can’t come fast enough….
I used to be a dork, a nerd, a poor pathetic geek,
The only item weaker than my brain was my physique,
But then I felt his noodle-y appendage touch my cheek,
All Hail the F S M!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
All Hail the FSM!
F is for the Flying that he does above the trees,
S is for Spaghetti that we serve with sauce and cheese,
M is for the Monster who created all of these,
All hail the F S M!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
All Hail the FSM!
OK, there’s probably more but I haven’t written it yet.
Good morning from the land of the continual hacking cough and never draining sinuses. It’s so good to be alive, most of the time. This as with everything else will pass though.
I got one good thing that brightened up my day though. Tom our outside cat had been gone for two weeks. He’s gone from time to time, but never that long. A neighbor told me last week he saw a cat that looked like Tom and it had been run over and was on the side of the road. I went down to see if it was Tom and couldn’t find any cat. So I’ve been thinking that Tom was dead. This morning I go to take George out and there’s Tom. I was so happy I didn’t know what to do. Tom was acting like, what in the hell is the matter with you. Needless to say he ate very well this morning.
Other than that, FMom, Goerge, Cat, Tom and I are doing OK. Just waiting to get over this flu/cold thing.
hi Family Man! great news on Tom, I bet he feasted like a king. As for the walking ick, I think we may have spread germs via the intertubes to each other because I am barely starting to feel human again, myself. hope you’re on the upswing
I usually love winter, but the cold/flu season is the part that I hate. Glad to hear you’re feeling a little better. I think we’re on the upswing, but at the moment I can’t say for sure.
I agree about the summer flu/colds. It’s nothing worse than to have a bad cold and it’s hot and humid outside.
I’m a little bit miffed at one of FMom’s friends. She’s a retired RN and she told FMom not to get her flu shot when they first come out. She told her that its effectiveness would wear off before the beginning of the new year so to wait until Jan/Feb. I tried to talk FMom into getting it earlier, but she wouldn’t. Now it appears she has the flu.
Yep it is ludicrous, but trying to talk sense into old people sometimes is just a waste of time. I’m not usually one to say I told you so, but I have mentioned to FMom a couple of times that if she had already had her flu shot, she wouldn’t be going through this. OK I am one to say I told you so. 🙂
Here the county offers flu shot clinics at the end of October. We’ve been participating for the last five years but this year there’s a virus going around that wasn’t included in the shot’s three virus mix. Still, I don’t think that whatever it was that we had hit us as hard as it might have without the protection we did have. Hope there’s nothing out there waiting to pounce!
Here they do the same with the county and the end of October. I had heard that some of the viruses weren’t covered this year, but I still think taking the shot would offer more protection than not.
I’m sure that it does offer more protection. I can remember back in college it would seem like I’d get the flu right after I got the shot so I avoided them for a couple decades. When I got the first shot five years ago, I wound up calling the county nurse because I felt so sick afterwards. It turns out that your body can make you feel achy and a bit feverish while it is producing the antibodies and it really wasn’t the flu because I was over it within 36 hours. I haven’t had a reaction like that since – just a little sore where the shot goes in.
While I was in the military you got a flu shot every year whether you wanted it or not. Had some bad colds, but I can’t ever remember catching the flu while I was in.
I know anytime someone tell me they caught the flu from the shot, I try and explain to them, but most people don’t want to hear it. They know they took the shot and it made them feel bad. If they ever really caught the flu, they would change their tune very fast.
I had my first flu shot at NAS Memphis the year James Meredith was first attending Ole Miss. The federal marshals were staying at the base. The medics kept us outdoors in a somewhat rare-for-that-area snowstorm for a couple of hours waiting in line. We didn’t get the flu that year, but boy, the pneumonia ran rampant!
I’ve had my issues w/ Charles Barkley, but wow, he’s earned himself some forgiveness with these comments:
“I’ve got great respect for Sen. McCain, great respect, but I don’t like the way Republicans have taken this country,” said Barkley. “Every time I hear the word ‘conservative,’ it makes me sick to my stomach, because they’re really just fake Christians, as I call them. That’s all they are.”
Blitzer moved on to a different question following the comment, but later followed-up at the end of his interview and asked him to elaborate on what he meant by “fake Christian.”
“I think they want to be judge and jury,” Barkley replied. “Like, I’m for gay marriage. It’s none of my business if gay people want to get married. I’m pro-choice. And I think these Christians, first of all, they’re not supposed to judge other people. But they’re the most hypocritical judge of people we have in the country. And it bugs the hell out of me. They act like they’re Christians. They’re not forgiving at all.
Well, alrighty!
I first heard about the comments on the Michael Baisden Show, which is a syndicated “urban” (read: Black) radio show played during the afternoon drive time. I was in need of a laugh because my best friend has just suffered a huge loss.
Anyway, I know this is awful to say, but it just felt so GOOD hearing someone say it out loud, and not give a damn. Especially after a day like today.
You’re welcome! And I know you’ve earned your time off. I was on some thread talking about NCLB, and I said, “I wish Teacher Toni was here to talk about it.”
Anyway, I just got such a chuckle out of this. It was just something else hearing someone, especially an ex-jock, saying that he favored gay marriage because it was none of his business.
It also showed just how fearful our media has become. I’m sure Wolfie was trying to “help” by “warning” Barkley that he’d receive a lot of “feedback.”
And Barkley’s response? “I don’t work for them.” Basically–bite me. Classic.
Glad to hear. I had a persistent cold/cough around X-mas time – almost ten days, as I recall.
Things have been pretty quiet here since we’re back from vacation. But this weekend will break the boredom; swimmer’s boyfriend (she insists they are only friends, but this is the guy she went to see over the holidays + now has ticket booked to Sweden for Spring break) is coming to NY. Much to my surprise, she has agreed to have brunch with/introduce him to us on Sunday!
Do I get this right … he’s coming from Sweden to see her and she’s going over later to see him? And she’s going to let you meet him. Hmm, better be nice to him, Dad, I think they might be kind of serious. 🙂
I tried taking pictures from the plane with my cell phone. First time I ever used the camera and, boy, am I not impressed. Here’s the only one that wasn’t complete crap and that’s just because the patterns are kind of interesting.
Here’s your new cafe!
And I think I finally feel a little (just a little) better. I gave up and slept a lot yesterday since the weather was so horrible.
Good morning – glad you’re feeling (a little) better.
Great balloon!
Finally, clear skies again.
The blue sky almost looks odd after all these days of gray, doesn’t it?
I was reading the Cleveland paper about how this winter sucks even more than usual as far as cloud cover. They’ve only had two completely sunny days since mid-November and a half dozen partly cloudy ones. The rest were wall to wall clouds.
As much as I hate the hot summers down here I wouldn’t trade the sunny days the rest of the year. It makes such a difference in my mood. I know you’ll find it hard to believe, but I wasn’t always this cheerful and lovely. 😉
If what you have is anything like the crud we had in January, the only way through it is to sleep. I think I set a record for a couple days by only being awake about 4 hours out of every 24.
I think it might be similar: I make it through about half the day and then collapse.
And I have this weird aversion to eating anything cold. Hot liquids are all I want.
Hi Ask and CG.
The main thing I would love right now is to be home. As a second choice, asleep would be good.
There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…
I clicked my heels three times but I’m still here in the hotel room, listening to highway traffic. What did I do wrong?
Are you wearing the gingham dress and the sparkly slippers? I thought not.
How about:”just one more day, just one more day”?
If I just say it for the next 34 hours, it’ll work perfectly.
At least it’s not Minnesota. The mister had to go there last week and it was below zero – but worse than that (for him) were all the flight cancellations.
The weather here is, in fact, very nice. It’s in the upper 60s, skies are blue, and there’s been a pleasant breeze. And I’d still rather be home.
The Mister leaves for Rome on Sunday, where he’ll scope out the nearest Applebee’s and Burger King and only leave the facility for meals.
Well I hate to say it but I don’t do much either — traveling for work is exhausting and unless you’re a kid with loads of energy, it pretty much kills off your ambition to go exploring (though I’m always big on local cuisine; I just look for places with carryout or delivery).
Are you heading home tomorrow?
Yep. Got a 6:45 a.m PT flight. Between flying time, airport sitting time and driving time, it’ll take about 11 hours total to home.
Flying is such a pain in the ass. I get very disgruntled.
I’m going to St. Louis the week of 2/24 (dinner with MaryB!) and I’m going to drive because between the time it takes to fly there and the hassle, I’d rather drive the 4 hours.
Ick. The trip to STL sounds much better.
Well duh — dinner with Mary makes any trip much better. 😉
Good mroning all. The ice is finally melting a bit after making for some treachorous driving.
I know at home it’s finally getting above freezing today so maybe some of that will head your way and get rid of it all.
That would be great. I passed numerous accidents during my ill-advised travels yesterday. Have a good trip back home, Andi.
It’s been a gorgeous day here, so I’m hoping a lot of your icy wet mess has melted.
to everyone. We need some color around here for all of you who are sick of winter gray.
The inner bits are just exquisite. More please.
but I keep forgetting this place is here.
hi Omir, been meaning to catch up with you. Would you like to host the next Welcome Wagon? I remembered that you and boran2 had offered the last time I sent out a call for volunteers.
(boran2, if you see this, would you like to do the following week?)
Yeah, I think I would Shoot me a mail with information about what’s involved, wouldja?
will do! thx
’cause I’m heading off to the airport to go home.
See ya much later.
Safe trip home!
Yay! Have a safe trip, hopefully with no delayed flights.
Good morning, everyone!
The end (of the week) is here!
good morning, ask! Is it any warmer up your way? I hope you had a fine Valentine’s Day.
Wishing Andi a safe and headache-free journey today and the comfort of her beautiful woods when she wakes up tomorrow.
Good morning, SN!
Valentine’s was a quiet home affair (some chocolate and flowers, though). Today looks like a beauty; a bit on the cool side.
My girl turns 18 this weekend; strange feeling.
I know what you mean about having mixed feelings at that milestone. This guy, my youngest, turned 18 last month.
What a funny baby face! And those blue, blue eyes.
18 years is a damned short time.
Yes it is. And no matter how many older, wiser people told me that when I had four little kids, I didn’t, couldn’t believe it.
Aw, what a cutie! And he still is. 🙂
Funny to think I’ll be saying the same things you and ask are 2.5 years from now when CBtE turns 18…how could that have happened so fast?
We can’t really say it happened while we weren’t looking – because we were looking the whole time! The funny thing about that 18 y.o. is that his father wouldn’t recognize him if they passed on the street. It’s been almost four years since he’s managed a visit and at that time he hadn’t gone through puberty yet.
That actually happened to my younger brother when he was 18…he hadn’t seen my father since he was 12, and my father didn’t recognize him. It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever witnessed.
On a happier note, what are NBtY’s plans for the fall?
He’s waiting to hear if he got accepted at any of the colleges he applied to. Then we’ll fill out that uber-fun FAFSA form and he’ll borrow tons of money from his future self and hope that when he gets out he’ll get a job that pays enough to pay off his student loans. That 4K college credit for national service can’t come fast enough….
I guess the only consolation is that with 3 in college at the same time, you have no trouble demonstrating financial need.
How is that national service credit supposed to work? Can you do the service at the same time you’re going to school, or is it a full-time thing?
He’s definitely a cutie. Just wait until your baby turns 36 – that’s what I have to look forward to next month, that and counting grey hairs {g}
I’ll have to check back later when I’m not at work and the photo isn’t blocked. Congratulations on the milestone.
What is that wonderful picture???
It’s His Noodly Appendage, the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM).
Hallowed be thy name.
rAmen!
I used to be a dork, a nerd, a poor pathetic geek,
The only item weaker than my brain was my physique,
But then I felt his noodle-y appendage touch my cheek,
All Hail the F S M!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
All Hail the FSM!
F is for the Flying that he does above the trees,
S is for Spaghetti that we serve with sauce and cheese,
M is for the Monster who created all of these,
All hail the F S M!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
Pastafarians forever!
All Hail the FSM!
OK, there’s probably more but I haven’t written it yet.
That’s great, Omir – keep going!
I agree with Ask. The psalms of the FSM, or the songs of Omir. Keep going! 🙂
Good morning from the land of the continual hacking cough and never draining sinuses. It’s so good to be alive, most of the time. This as with everything else will pass though.
I got one good thing that brightened up my day though. Tom our outside cat had been gone for two weeks. He’s gone from time to time, but never that long. A neighbor told me last week he saw a cat that looked like Tom and it had been run over and was on the side of the road. I went down to see if it was Tom and couldn’t find any cat. So I’ve been thinking that Tom was dead. This morning I go to take George out and there’s Tom. I was so happy I didn’t know what to do. Tom was acting like, what in the hell is the matter with you. Needless to say he ate very well this morning.
Other than that, FMom, Goerge, Cat, Tom and I are doing OK. Just waiting to get over this flu/cold thing.
Hope everyone else is doing fine.
hi Family Man! great news on Tom, I bet he feasted like a king. As for the walking ick, I think we may have spread germs via the intertubes to each other because I am barely starting to feel human again, myself. hope you’re on the upswing
Hi Manny, good to see you.
I usually love winter, but the cold/flu season is the part that I hate. Glad to hear you’re feeling a little better. I think we’re on the upswing, but at the moment I can’t say for sure.
Glad Tom’s back.
We seem to have the same never-draining sinus bug here in the northeast too. I hope you all feel better soon, ’cause being sick like this is a drag.
Hi CG.
Just got back from running an errand. Yep having Tom back is making me feel better.
Never thought I would say this, but I’m ready for summer. At least then the bug will be gone.
Hope all of you get to feeling better soon.
I haven’t had the flu in years. I don’t know if it’s because I get a flu shot or if it’s just coincidence.
At least in the winter you can sip hot tea and snuggle in your bed when you’re sick. When you get sick in the summer it’s icky and hot and sweaty.
Hi SN.
I agree about the summer flu/colds. It’s nothing worse than to have a bad cold and it’s hot and humid outside.
I’m a little bit miffed at one of FMom’s friends. She’s a retired RN and she told FMom not to get her flu shot when they first come out. She told her that its effectiveness would wear off before the beginning of the new year so to wait until Jan/Feb. I tried to talk FMom into getting it earlier, but she wouldn’t. Now it appears she has the flu.
Hope everyone at the Nature house is doing well.
I’ve heard they start to lose efficacy after three months, but waiting until Feb is ludicrous.
Here’s hoping all of the bad luck is over at your house and the rest of 2008 is a breeze. 🙂
Yep it is ludicrous, but trying to talk sense into old people sometimes is just a waste of time. I’m not usually one to say I told you so, but I have mentioned to FMom a couple of times that if she had already had her flu shot, she wouldn’t be going through this. OK I am one to say I told you so. 🙂
sense? what sense?
Gawd I miss my mind!
Hiya Mainsailset.
I’m getting to the point to where geezerhood is starting to effect me that way too.
“THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY.” 🙂
Here the county offers flu shot clinics at the end of October. We’ve been participating for the last five years but this year there’s a virus going around that wasn’t included in the shot’s three virus mix. Still, I don’t think that whatever it was that we had hit us as hard as it might have without the protection we did have. Hope there’s nothing out there waiting to pounce!
Hi Denim.
Here they do the same with the county and the end of October. I had heard that some of the viruses weren’t covered this year, but I still think taking the shot would offer more protection than not.
I’m sure that it does offer more protection. I can remember back in college it would seem like I’d get the flu right after I got the shot so I avoided them for a couple decades. When I got the first shot five years ago, I wound up calling the county nurse because I felt so sick afterwards. It turns out that your body can make you feel achy and a bit feverish while it is producing the antibodies and it really wasn’t the flu because I was over it within 36 hours. I haven’t had a reaction like that since – just a little sore where the shot goes in.
While I was in the military you got a flu shot every year whether you wanted it or not. Had some bad colds, but I can’t ever remember catching the flu while I was in.
I know anytime someone tell me they caught the flu from the shot, I try and explain to them, but most people don’t want to hear it. They know they took the shot and it made them feel bad. If they ever really caught the flu, they would change their tune very fast.
I had my first flu shot at NAS Memphis the year James Meredith was first attending Ole Miss. The federal marshals were staying at the base. The medics kept us outdoors in a somewhat rare-for-that-area snowstorm for a couple of hours waiting in line. We didn’t get the flu that year, but boy, the pneumonia ran rampant!
When you were getting your first flu shot, I was probably living about 40 miles away from where you were at.
I’ve been through the military medics before. Some were good, but some weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. 😉
Don’t know what happened to Mama Kicks, but Huckabee’s band Capitol Offense got a thumbs down from Boston rocker Tom Scholz
Yeah! I thought I recognized that name. Guess my memory isn’t completely shot after all.
Good evening all! Don’t mind me while I stretch out to enjoy an upcoming week off. I’ll just sleep in the corner.
Hellooooooo Toni!
Congrats on having the week off. Now all you need to do is slack.
Indeed and I can’t wait! What’s new FM?
Not much new here, just trying to get over the flu.
How are ya’ll doing and most importantly, how is Andrew doing? Any new pictures lately?
Sorry about the flu. Andrew is great. I think I’ve got some pictures. I ‘ll have to see what I’ve got. I’ll check this week!
I’m going to be a geezer and head to sleep. See you later.
Have a good sleep and a good week ahead.
This geezer isn’t far behind you. 🙂
I’ve had my issues w/ Charles Barkley, but wow, he’s earned himself some forgiveness with these comments:
Well, alrighty!
I first heard about the comments on the Michael Baisden Show, which is a syndicated “urban” (read: Black) radio show played during the afternoon drive time. I was in need of a laugh because my best friend has just suffered a huge loss.
Anyway, I know this is awful to say, but it just felt so GOOD hearing someone say it out loud, and not give a damn. Especially after a day like today.
He has never cared about what anyone thinks about him. Thanks for sharing this AP!
You’re welcome! And I know you’ve earned your time off. I was on some thread talking about NCLB, and I said, “I wish Teacher Toni was here to talk about it.”
Anyway, I just got such a chuckle out of this. It was just something else hearing someone, especially an ex-jock, saying that he favored gay marriage because it was none of his business.
It also showed just how fearful our media has become. I’m sure Wolfie was trying to “help” by “warning” Barkley that he’d receive a lot of “feedback.”
And Barkley’s response? “I don’t work for them.” Basically–bite me. Classic.
Ah, NCLB. I’m glad I wasn’t there. I’m trying to stay calm!
Sorry! You ARE trying to take it easy, are you not? My bad!
:<)
Hope everyone has a good w/e in front of them.
We’re looking for rain later today and heavy thunderstorms on Sunday.
I have a long weekend — I get President’s Day off. Yay!
Hi Andi.
I’m glad to see you. I was wondering if you got home yesterday or got delayed.
Good for you on the long w/e. Just what you need after a long week in the beige room.
Good morning!
We’re back in the cold.
How is your recovery, FM?
A happy pack this morning, Andi?
We’re back in the warm for the time being.
Recovery is coming along. FMom is feeling much better. I’m still coughing, but better.
How’s things at the home of Ask?
Glad to hear. I had a persistent cold/cough around X-mas time – almost ten days, as I recall.
Things have been pretty quiet here since we’re back from vacation. But this weekend will break the boredom; swimmer’s boyfriend (she insists they are only friends, but this is the guy she went to see over the holidays + now has ticket booked to Sweden for Spring break) is coming to NY. Much to my surprise, she has agreed to have brunch with/introduce him to us on Sunday!
Bar the door Katie! This sounds serious.
However, it is good that she’s bringing him to meet Dad. 🙂
Do I get this right … he’s coming from Sweden to see her and she’s going over later to see him? And she’s going to let you meet him. Hmm, better be nice to him, Dad, I think they might be kind of serious. 🙂
(And yep — the pack was ecstatic.)
And she still insists they’re just friends? Too funny.
I remember when I (mistakenly) thought my parents were that naive…
Glad you’re getting to meet him.
and now I’m home.
I tried taking pictures from the plane with my cell phone. First time I ever used the camera and, boy, am I not impressed. Here’s the only one that wasn’t complete crap and that’s just because the patterns are kind of interesting.
A collage of abstract art and images from a weather radar?
Or the Rockies?
It shows the canyons, ridges, and the edges of plateaus.
That’s not a bad picture at all.
When you were taking pictures with the cell phone, did anybody go, “sheesh…..tourist.” 🙂
Absolutely not. Everybody in my row was a jaded traveler and commenting on what your seatmate is doing violates airplane etiquette.
You must have been in first class. The only etiquette I remember had something to do with emitting gases. 🙁
I was flying Southwest — it’s a classless society. 😉
Well it’s time for a real nap. Dozing in my chair just isn’t getting it.
Andi next time tell your bosses that FM says, you deserve a chartered jet to take you back and forth.