Rain, Snow, Running, and Chalk....

Time moves fast!  Today, we are chained to the Apartment waiting for the Cable Guy to show up.  "But Eth!  Didn't you say MediaCom sucked as a Cable Provider?"  It is a long story... but apparently we need the service to score from home.  I will leave it at that.  

In the mean time,  Monday's Wonderful weather has given way to Winter's last ditch effort to stay annoying.   It snowed today.   The temps have been slowly dropping over the last couple days with occasional rain.  But today it snowed.   

I think it was just to attempt to demoralize us.   Well think again!  Mother Nature! Cheryl went out and ran in this junk anyway.   Luckily, the snow did not stay long and the temps, even though they dipped below freezing, did not ice up the trail.  

I wanted to capture the White Pelicans today.   They have been hanging around the lake and river for a couple days now as they fly up north.   It is always a treat to see them here.  Normally, we only get to see them if we run by the Mississippi.   There must have been hundreds hanging out on the river as we ran by them yesterday. ( I had left the camera at home...)  But even today,  they could be seen on the lake.   Too bad they are skittish.  It is about as tough to get a close up of them as it is for Eagles.

And finally,   Some more chalk.   Even with the threat of rain, I was able to do a little chalking on the Rec Center building.  I made sure the receptionist knew I was there so no police would be called.  ( By now, most people know who I am and what I am doing....)  I managed to add a couple more figures before the cold became too annoying.   Also, I noted that the rain had not done much damage tot the last figure.   Perhaps they will last longer than I had initially planned. 

In the mean time, I will practice a little more on the portrait.   The human face is a very difficult thing to capture.   Sure,  They look like human faces..  But not like the one I'm trying to replicate.  Then again,  taking things to the next level might require years of practice and study.  I just want to keep things light for the time being.  

Hope everyone is staying warm today.   I think this is the last of the cold weather and we will soon get the spring stuff.  Fingers crossed... Now that I have a place to chalk without it washing away immediately.  ( or until they tell me to stop... which ever comes first.)  Thanks for stopping in.

49 Stockings in One Day!

49 Stockings! 

No place to put the Cut outs

Perhaps it was the last Hoorah for people, but they flocked to our shop and purchased a bunch of stockings Sunday night.   We had figured folks would be nervous about getting stockings in the mail this late in the season; and as such, they would stop ordering.   We were wrong.

Cheryl's Desk is Covered in Animals!

49 Stockings Finished! Whew!

Well for that day.  Today was a totally differant scenerio.   We only sold 13 today and it was a nice break from the MOUNTAIN we accomplished yesterday.  After doing 49 stockings in a single day, all we had the energy to do was pack them up and head to bed. 

Normally, we cut ourselves off at 30 stockings.   And the only reason we fall behind is because we either visit family or schedule a run during the rush.  But this year,  we have been trying to stay on top of things and did not want to fall behind in the final weeks of the rush.

Heavy Covering of Frost.

Besides, this is when we finally begin to stockpile the money. Up to this point, we have been spending it as quickly as we earn it.   Etsy fees,  shipping,  resupply and other things have all conspired to keep that account low.  Now that we have the supplies,  we can finally hold on to some of the earnings.

Other than that,   this last week was cold. (Mid Teens!)   It climbed up to 40 degrees today,  but we still ran in the coldest part of the day.  The forecast says mid 40's this coming week.  I could sure use the nicer temps.

The Eagles are now Regulars along the River.

As a final note,  the internet is holding!   I have been able to blog and answer questions from time to time and we are still OK.   I even have my phone with all those bits of data untouched.    We wondered how we could go through the Stocking season without that blasted Cable Company ripping us off and harrassing us.   Well,  It appears we have discovered a way.   It may not be the best,  but at the moment,  it appears to be good enough for us.   And that is better than any Dealings with MediaCom.

Thanks for stopping in.

Fixing the Trek, Internet, Garden, And Everything Else In Life....

Internet from Home?   Or Anywhere!

Greetings from HOME!   That is correct!   We finally have the internet!   But before we celebrate too much, (Because EVERYONE wants to read my clever blog posts.) There are a few catches that limit the fun and good times.   (There is no happiness in America,  on the Pursuit of Happiness...)

Cheryl says," Fix Your Bike!"

Cheryl bought a Hot Spot on her phone.  It was (And still May Be) a gamble since our reception out here in the sticks of Iowa is sketchy at best.   She was forced to purchase a new phone and set things up while I worked, alone, at Pearson.  Bu now we can take the Internet with us wherever we want...  And, if things work out, we will be paying LESS than we were with MediaCom the Evil Corporate Monopoly that was Trying to Break Into Our Small Aparment And Mess With Our Service Until We Upgraded!!  I felt like it was being married to the MOB!   Only without the weddings and baseball bats.

Let's get to work.

With our connection re-established, but limited,   I now felt confident to tackle a few of the problems that have been impossible to address while we were working.  One of those tasks was getting my bike fixed.

Wrong Bearing size.

I'll spare the details of the past.    Let's just say that the bearing assembly in the handlebars was broken.  And with bearings missing,  I felt like I was riding on a sheet of Ice whenever I would ride along with Cheryl. No very fun. 

Where do we get Single ball Bearings?

How about trying Steel Shot?

I head to the bike shop and they are USELESS!  Meaning, they sell me the wrong bearing and do not have the actual one I need.  So... I have to get Creative in my sollutions.   Because Cheryl has to run long this weekend and she has threatened me with physical violence if I am not there with fuel and hydration.

Disassemble Bike.

Removing Extension.

We ordered some bearings from Amazon.   3 MM and... (Drum Roll..) they were too small.   I check them out and figure a BB would have worked better.  And "DING!"   A moment of inspiration hits me.  I'm ashamed to say it had taken that long, but my mind has been fried since the Pearson gig.  Sometimes creativity is hurt when you have to score 400 papers a day.

See my "earlier atempt"?

Let's get those bad bearings out of there.

By the way, finding single bearings ANYWHERE you would normally think to find them is impossible.   Hardware, automotive, Even BIKE SHOPS!  Do not have the bearings as single units.  So off to the Outdoor Sporting goods to find 4 MM BB's from Shot gun reloads.

Gerry Rigged version didn' work very well.

Add new Grease

  As it was, these bearings came in steel,  where somewhere between 4-5 MM and fit perfectly.   I disassembled the bike and loaded up the bearings  with some bike grease to hold them in place.  I took it out for a spin and everything works.  Perhaps later, I will find the actual part to go in there, but for now,  I will give it a test tomorrow and see how things handle.  If it is good enough,  I will leave things as they are.

Add in bearings one at a time.

All done! 

Assemble!   Let's check it out.

In other news,  the garden has run its course and I think we have harvested the last of the tomatoes.  The rain really did a number on the ones that were remaining.  Most of them split and got fruit flies in them.  I was getting kinda sick of tomatoes anyway, so it all worked out.  I will leave the rest for the Bugs.   Including this really awesome Spider that I discovered this afternoon.    Yellow and white stripes with a black base and striped legs. He/She is only about 2-2.5 inches from tip to tip.  Not the largest spider I have seen, but certainly the most colorful  one for a while.   We also have had White-lined Sphinx Moths visiting our cardinal creeper.   As well as the Hummingbirds. 

Spiders have taken over the garden.

She shows up better with paper behind. 

As the weather is getting cooler, I'm sure the Hummers will be heading south soon.   And while I have a break in the heat, I want to work on a few of the little things on Subie.   I have not been able to change the oil in a while.   Almost 1500 miles past due!   ( I hate how jobs steal your time...) And then there are the brakes.   It has been almost three years since I replaced the shoes.   With all the driving we do on Subie, I'm sure they are at their limit.  So tomorrow will be the first time in a long time that I will be able to get back under the hood.   I hope I will be successful in all my endeavors.

Very colorful!   And scary! 

So that is all for now.  Cheryl wants to Upgrade my phone and get a signal Booster so that we can actually use the internet without having to camp out in the middle of the yard.  Apparently,  the signal does not like coming through the window unless we are right on it and the window is open.   Hooray for Rural Life! 

Pirated signal from a Bagel shop. 

So now you can look forward to many more posings from me.  I have so many pictures that were not able to make it in posts over the past two weeks.  It seems so long.   But fingers crossed that things work out.   Thanks for stopping in .

UPDATE!   Low signal forced me to post this from Breugers Bagels.   Seems Cheryl's hotspot did not like downloading my pictures.   We will have to get those signal booster soon!

Cheryl and Ethan Vs The Tornado!

Greetings from the HyVee Free WIFI Parking lot!   I should first mention that the big news this week was that Cheryl and I cut the cable....  Literally.   We ripped our Router out of the wall and handed it back to the guys at MediaCom.  It is a long story for another post...  But I'm sure you will get a good understanding if you read these past posts....

Now, on to the Movie! 

Ready to run

clear skies

You may not have heard about it, but apparently,  Iowa City had an "incident" with a Tornado.  Normally,  whenever a barn burns down, it becomes tomorrows headline. But this is one story where Cheryl and I had an Active Role in....

Monday, (The same day we cancelled the internet.)  Cheryl and I went out for a run/bike at our favorite place in Iowa City.  We were feeling pretty anxious over the whole cable thing, so both of us wanted to run a little of that energy off.   Let's Run!

clouds?

Whoa!

Nothing fancy,   nothing unusual.   I did find a couple of fall Puffballs on the ride and stopped to pick them up.   About 3 miles in ( The farthest point from the car...)   My phone starts buzzing and ringing with an Emergency Weather Alert!   How wonderful.   I tell Cheryl about it and she thinks it is a hoax.   The skies are blue and there are no clouds.   And besides,  she has run in the rain before.  She only needed 4 more miles.

Cheryl changes her mind.

There is something about that color.

But then we turn a corner and the dark skies that were hidden behind the trees reveal themselves!   We get a little closer and the sirens of Iowa City begin to blare....  all three of them!

Looks Ominous

Cheryl does a quick rethink and decides maybe we should head back to the car.... just in case.   The greenish color from under the clouds hints that there may be some merit in the alert. 

Is that cloud...twisting?

The wall approaches

We can see the wall of clouds coming towards us with a spiral note to them.   I don't see any funnel clouds, but there were rumors of sightings...somewhere.   And no one wants hail damage on their Silver Bullet Subaru!

Bring on the rain!

At least we are near Hyvee

We load the bike, towel off and climb into the car seconds before the rain hits us.   Lots of rain!    We decide to head to the only place where we  might be "safe" ... and be able to refill our drinks for our return home.  It is important to stay hydrated after a run.

Check Weather

Warning ends at 6:30

Cheryl checks her phone and we find out the storm will only last another 15 minutes.   We choose to park near the building, but not to close so "just in case" any roof parts fly off.   With fresh images of Marshaltown in our heads, we choose NOT to park under the gas pump station.   Even though it may protect us from hail, it may also crush on top of us.  We roll the dice.

Weather map....RED!

Sounds kinda bad.

Everything seems fine.   Cheryl checks out the weather channel to see what this thing looks like.  I count down the minutes until it passes. 

Cheryl looks happy.

wasn't there a building there a second ago?

And then the wind picks up.   The visibility drops!  The car begins to rock and the mirrors on the Subaru push inwards!   I'll admit, for a moment there,  I was actually a little scared.   Cheryl kept ranting about the dangerous airbag that Subaru keeps warning us about....  Who cares about that when the entire car might be scratched!

Inside the Hyvee "Safe House"

After storm damage.

We wait for a break in the action and make a break for the Gas station door.  One of the attendants was near the door waiting for us to gain the courage to leave our car.   We looked back and saw that the area under the pump station was filled with other people caught out in the storm.   After getting SOAKED!  We headed inside and the employees pushed us into the interior boiler room.  A few moments later,  we hear a very loud earth shattering kaboom!   Thunder?   Nope.   The building next to us collapses.

A narrow miss for the Subaru!

Careful of the debris

After about 20 more minutes, the entire thing blows over.   We head outside to check out the damage.   The building wall had missed Subie by just a few feet!  If I had parked any closer, my bike and the roof of the car would have been crushed!   I was very thankful!

watch out for Spikes!

Cheryl removes the nails.

  We still had to be careful since the parking lot was littered with shrapnel.  No one wants to change any tires in the rain.    I made Cheryl get out and clear the path.  ( She might be small and skinny, but she is strong.... and loves the rain.)

She loves the rain.

Our return home is flooded.

 We pile into Subie with Fresh drinks in hand and head out.  Our return trip, hindered by flooded roads.

Here comes the Sun

Right in front of us.

All the way home,  Sun!  Oh Sun,  Where were you 20 minutes ago?   Cheryl has to shield her eyes as we head straight into the rays.   I was concerned that perhaps our apartment might have been hit, but nothing was out of the ordinary. 

Blinding Cheryl

Rainbows!

One final note,   A rare and spectacular rainbow appeared when we finally got home.   The colors were so sharp that the spectrum began to fold back over onto itself!   If you looked carefully,  you could see three rainbows. ( ok,  2 and a half.  After the purple,  the red part was really faint.)  But you can definately see the two!

Two..(and a half...if you look for it.) 

I guess this means we survived?

Pretty!

So we survived...  that was last Monday.  And I just now get to explain that litle adventure because we cut the cable the same day.   Oh the Timing of it all.    From now on I am going to have to plan my blog postings a little more in advance.   We shall see how things go.   Maybe this will be good for me.  Since the Internet was way to expensive; Kept me depressed; And was run by a terrible company.  I say good riddence!  I don't know how soon we will get it back, but for now, I think I will enjoy the peace and quiet.    Thanks for stopping in.