I wonder if it means Spring is really here? Oh I hope so!

The kitchen is being overrun with Giant Ants! Big aggressive, getting into everything ants…..we’ve had ants before but never in Winter. This reminds me of yet another advantage of renting vs. purchasing your home. It’s good to be able to pick up the phone and say, “there’s ants in the kitchen, send the exterminator” OH gee, so far 2010 just sux. At least the roof is still on…knock wood.

There was a magnitude 3.2 earthquake in Missouri this afternoon. That’s the New Madrid fault. If you aren’t familiar with it, please look it up in Wikipedia. I’m waiting for the mainstream media to start asking why there are so many earthquakes lately.

I’m Depressed. Beautiful creatures always cheer me up. And as part of my ongoing series  TURTLES IN THE NEWS I ran across news from the San Diego Zoo. The herd of Galapagos turtles which live at the zoo are getting their habitat refurbished. A million dollars worth of remodeling- lucky tortoises!
I first met these guys around 1957, and some of the tortoises that lived there then are still around! Just precious in an ancient and wondrous sort of way!

On the other hand, I do enjoy the odd world leader who looks like a leader. To me, that means passing my “cowboy test” Could he (or she I guess) wear a Stetson and not look absurd?  Here’s the latest entry. John Boehner, R-OH; Ohio, the House Minority Leader. Yeah, he’s got the look.

Or maybe I just have a thing for German-Americans from Ohio?

He’d look right smart in Captain Von Trapp’s trachten suit too, come to think of it….

So Pyrate returned all educated Friday night. Saturday, he did some snow clean up. Remember that one scene in “Dr. Zhivago” when he arrives at his old house in the country and it looked like the icicle palace? Our house had been looking that way! There’s still snow on the roof. We’ve had a gradual warm up, which is the best thing. So he cleared the gutters, restored the front walk and made a path wider for the doggies. (poor things can’t run out back because the snow is too deep) He also came home with a bad cold, so he spent the afternoon napping and trying to recover from that long drive.

Technical difficulties Our automatic washer is on its last legs. If I try to wash anything other than a very light load, it leaks from the bottom. We’re on a well with fairly acidic water, and it think it likes to eat metal! No kidding, we replace the water heater every three years or so. In some places a 30-40 year old house will have the original water heater. When we moved in here, we brought our old washer and it lasted about nine years before it kicked off. We’ve had this one, the “new” one for over ten years now. I have a mindset that a washer should last 20 years….not around here I suppose.

Sunday, we spent our morning at the lovely Washeteria! We had his and her clothes, two sets of sheets and an afghan which smelled too much like dog. As I fed over $20.00 worth of quarters (oy) to washers and dryers, I would say over and over, “I don’t like this casino- it never gives anything back!” There’s an idea: combination washer and slot machine! Hit the jackpot for a free wash!

But I always like the feeling of coming home with all the clothes clean and ready to put away.

After March 1, we’ll go washer shopping. There will be a Federal incentive program in place to give rebates if you purchase an “Energy Star” appliance. Hmmm, there’s more to the story. My daughter the Duchess looked up some consumer information about the new washers and a common thread is that some of these newer machines are rough on clothes. Really? I’m wondering if the trade off for using less water, is agitating the dickens out of the garment.

So will the consumer save money on energy, only to shell it out for new clothing? I need to do more research.

Carroll County Read-A-Long Our library system has an annual “all on the same page” reading event. This year, the book is See You In A Hundred Years by Logan Ward Its about a young couple who took themselves away from their life in Manhattan, to spend a year in rural Virginia living the way people lived a hundred years ago. Interesting book and the library will have discussions; I hope to make it to one, or fingers crossed there will be a “meet the author” event. He’s not a 1967, back to the garden type; this is a social experiment this couple chose to live, hoping to learn and grow as a family. I’m about halfway through the book now- excited to see how things turn out. Then I know I’d like to hear him talk about what life has been for them since then. After 9/11 neighbors offered them the use of the telephone, to check on family and friends, but instead they wrote letters and waited for news. Their neighbors brought them stacks of newspapers and magazines. Contrast that with how most of us were glued to the cable news networks for weeks! So, yeah, interesting.

Improvisational Cooking! I opened up a jar of pumpkin cubes I canned last July to make pumpkin bread. Unlike the Libby’s kind, there is a lot of water in the jar, full of vitamins so in the bowl it went too. It made a lot of batter. I filled a loaf pan, and still had batter left. So to the remaining, I added a bit more sugar and about 1/3 cup of cocoa powder and baked it in a pie pan; sort of a pumpkin brownie. I’m going to make a browned coconut frosting for it later. It will be dense for a cake, but chocolate-yum!

Monday morning he woke up throwing up (eeeewwww) My reaction was “good grief Puppy, what did you eat now?” He’s terrible about stealing goodies out of the waste basket. I figured as long as he kept drinking a bit of water he’d get better.

Tuesday, the storm arrived and both dogs “hibernated” When the weather is bad they just sleep all day. They didn’t have their evening meal because they were sleeping: their activity level was so low and they weren’t running into the kitchen looking for food.

Tes is getting on in years. I started to worry about what to do if he took a bad turn- 2 ft. of snow n the driveway makes ya think about things like that!

But bad as he felt, when he had an urge, he was a gentleman and went downstairs and out the dog door in that cold and snow- no mishaps.

Wednesday was much the same. Vera was sleepy, but she’d get up and eat and go out reluctantly.

Early in the evening, as the storm moved out, they were like new puppies. You’d never know Tes was feeling bad. Tails were wagging, “smiling’ and they were throwing stuffed toys out of their stash and tussling. And as usual, Tes wanted to eat everything!

It was like instant transformation. I think Tesla had Blizzard flu.

We just ordered a new camera and it arrived this morning. I haven’t quite figured it out, but I got some pictures uploaded.

This is the homestead with 40 inches or so of snow hanging around.

And  this is the “after” shot of the driveway, so you can see how deep it got.

Cabin fever is setting in, but projects like blogging help.

The “snow emergency” is over, so people are driving. I’m not going to try it until tomorrow. Then I’ll get some DVDs at the library and see if there’s any milk left at the market. Not like the deliveries have caught up as yet. (note to self-get chocolate) The forecast is calling for “light snow” on Sunday night.

Sure. That’s how this thing we got Tuesday night started!

Got some action shots!

This is the front end of Pyrate’s truck….the lump next to it is my little car- buried!

This is the front yard. Mail delivery was suspended, so I don’t have to wade out there!

And this is the official “snow gauge” picture. That’s the picnic table on the deck, demonstrating how many inches of snow we’ve had in the last 18 or so hours!

So if you’re in the neighborhood, drop by for tea. I’m sure not going out today!

Imbolc or Candlemas today. Choose your tradition. I lit one candle this morning. I worry a lot and to me a flame represents Hope, or Remembrance. I was in that sort of mood.  I look things up, like the Day in History for this blog, and that’s how I found out today is a special day.
“Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and mistletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all,
Wherewith ye dress’d the Christmas Hall”
— Robert Herrick (1591–1674), “Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve”

As another evidence of “racial memory” I took the Christmas cards down and said a prayer asking for blessings on the people who sent the cards.

The Saint of February 1 is Brigid of Kildare. Coincidentally, the name of the Celtic goddess, Brigid. In Ireland the old Celtic traditions are mixed with the newer ones of the Christian era.

Wikipedia quotes from a book by Marian McNeil, The Silver Bough:

One folk tradition that continues in both Christian and Pagan homes on St. Brigid’s Day (or Imbolc) is that of the Brigid’s Bed. The girls and young, unmarried women of the household or village create a corn dolly to represent Brigid, called the Brideog (”little Brigid” or “young Brigid”), adorning it with ribbons and baubles like shells or stones. They make a bed for the Brideog to lie in. On St. Brigid’s Eve (January 31), the girls and young women gather together in one house to stay up all night with the Brideog, and are later visited by all the young men of the community who must ask permission to enter the home, and then treat them and the corn dolly with respect

And far to the West, Native Americans revere the Corn Maiden: The presence of corn as a spiritual symbol can often be seen in the hands of the “Yeh” spirit figures represented in Navaho rugs, in the rituals associated with the “Corn Maiden” and other Kachinas of the Hopi, and in various fetish objects of tribes of the region. (source Wikipedia)  Small world, isn’t it?

Coral or Jade Anniversary Mr. Pyrate and I celebrated our 35th anniversary yesterday. We went to see “Avatar” in 3D. I do enjoy flying dragon creatures!I’m still at the “whoa- what was that?” stage.
I think it’s going to change film making forever. I’ve already heard that the Harry Potter final films will now be 3D. What will come someday is a completely digital movie with stars past or present: so the virtual Clark Gable will appear opposite Catherine Zeta Jones and so on. It will be wild!

I’m reading Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. It’s interesting, and reminds me of a James Michener novel, or certainly Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd- another good book about the establishment of Stonehenge and the ancient people. Stonehenge right now is at what I call the “Mugg and Ugg” stage. I’m not sure if they’re Pre or Post Ice Age people, but Humanity has progressed to where people live in tribal groups, raise a few domestic animals and the guys all aspire to be fierce warriors. They’re always sacrificing somebody to their gods- primarily the Sun and Moon.

I won’t be able to do this next month….but so far, with the new KitchenAid, I have made: oatmeal raisin cookies, bread, lime triangles, chocolate cookies, sugar cookies and pumpkin bread! I better start making angel food cake! Oh Pyrate and I hooked up the grinder attachment and fed it lean round beef, which we used to make a delicious meat loaf!

Top Secret Crochet Project—I’m about 20% done, so all is well there.

Knitting Jean of Jean’s Knitting has been making the effort to knit from her stash. Always a good idea.  Every needleworker has one. I have more than one. I have enough Cross Stitching stuff to keep me busy until 2025! Well, the yarn supply has been increasing here. I’ve got a backlog of sock yarn. So, at the very least, I’m going to knit up some socks before I buy any more yarn!

I’m in the home stretch! I finished the first sock back before Thanksgiving and i’ve been noodling around, not progressing with the second sock. This is known as Second Sock Syndrome. It seems to happen when the sock pattern is repetitive and boring. Still, the Pyrate needs socks. I want to move on to exciting new patterns with some neat-o yarn I have in the stash.  I’ll keep plugging away on the sensible gray socks. I kind of like this yarn- it looks “snake-y”

Note to Joan : I still look forward to and read your blog. I haven’t got around to setting up a Google or Open ID, which is why I haven’t said much lately.

Pyrates Hand: The operation he had last April didn’t take care of the problem. He hurts all the time these days. There is an operation which severs the nerve and “buries it in the bone”. Trouble with that is, he’ll lose the feeling in his thumb. He’s an electronics technician- hand work and all that! So, the next thing to do, is see another hand specialist and explore treatments which don’t involved taking his thumb out of commission.

I took this interesting quiz. I knew I’m not the fittest athlete in town for durn shure. My numbers reflect that I don’t have a lot of relatives (many have passed) and, being sort of retired and living in the country, I’m not a social butterfly. It’s okay, I love my loved ones a lot!

Spiritual quest, eh? I’ve been meaning to read the Bhagavad Gita

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	5.7
Mind:	5.8
Body:	5.3
Spirit:	6.8
Friends/Family:	4.7
Love:	7.3
Finance:	6.3
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

1. Fresh Halibut - my Dad would go on fishing trips and bring home a flattie now and then- delicious! I could add Rock Cod to this list too.

2. XLNT Tamales- just because they’re not sold in this part of the country. Once my cousin froze some and I brought them home on the plane. What a treat!

3. Diedesheimer Hofstuck Kabinett- Rhine Wine It’s just really excellent wine, and I haven’t seen any in stores for years.

4.Douglas Burger More California food nostalgia- just an awesome burger joint in my home town.

5. Callard and Bowsers Celebrated Butterscotch It was the best stuff. Imported from the UK. Rectangles of butterscotch, wrapped in that paper foil used for ciggie packages. C & B is now a division of a bigger corporation and they make Altoids, but not the butterscotch!

6.Bonomo Turkish Taffy It was great stuff! Came in all kinds of flavors. You could put it in the fridge and then take it out and give it a whack on the table and have broken up taffiness!

7. Bubble Up “Kiss of Lemon- Kiss of Lime” Oh where are you now?

8.Fruit Flavored Certs Think about it- when is the last time you saw a roll of Certs?  Lots of Altoids though.

9.Santa Rosa Plums They are soooooo good. I just don’t see them in the store.-

10 “Classic” Dennison’s Chili- canned ambrosia  Best served with those Tamales listed above. The last time I bought some, it wasn’t the same- there was vegetable protein, i.e., soy added to the recipe- YUCK!  But hey, if they come out with “Throwback” chili, with the original recipe, somebody tell me!