The Ice Storm That Never Was....

We survived the Ice storm.   It was not as bad as everyone feared... however many people in the surrounding area did lose power for a large chunk of time.   Including many of my friends and relatives on Facebook!  ( Who knew Facebook could be effected by an Ice Storm in Wisconsin?)    But the roads were clear and not as terrible as everyone feared.  Hurray!

I tend to like looking at the "Half-full" Side of the glass.  Unless there is more Comedic Value in looking at the negative.   And then I try to spin it as if the world were falling apart and everyone is doomed!   Over the Top style!  But unfortunately,   the Weather channel and the News make the absurdity of certain situations "Main Stream"  so no one knows what to think these days.  

But there were moments of Beauty that I managed to capture Early morning in front of the Warehouse.  Sometimes I think the most magical moments are lost to many people.  And it is not helped when you have many others pointing out the flaws or the disaster instead of the beauty or benefit of things.   And so....  That is why I am posting these pics.   Just because.   If for nothing else... To remind future me of the wonder that surrounded him back when he worked at ZEBRA in Kenosha Wisconsin.  

Other than that... A mostly relaxing, boring day for me.   I organized my area here in the basement... A project that was long overdue.  Now that I have a couple dressers to store my clothes in again,  I have cleaned things up and made it look almost cozy!  Not that it was not cozy before!  Most of my clothes were still upstairs in the guest room.  Now they have been safely reunited with me here in the bunker.   

I still have to do embroidery.. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.   And then there is the muffler issue.  Dave told me of a local fabrication place that bends Pipe to fit your muffler system.  I might check it out first.  But if the cost is too expensive,  I may DIY it with a welding unit from Harbor Freight!  How hard can it be?  I watched several You Tube videos... And they make it look easy!  

Just kidding, I know it will be a steep learning curve..   But if I gain a new skill AND can fix my muffler for less than replacing it.... I will consider that a win!

Hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing Weekend so far.   The weather is supposed to be nicer next week, I think....  Let's hope Spring finally gets here and we can begin Mushroom Hunting in earnest once again!  Thanks for stopping in.

And Then The Rain... And Then The Ice!

They called off schools today!   BEFORE the actual storm hit.   Just the HINT of a storm seems to make those Public Schools scamper for their safe spaces these days.   Back when I was a kid,  they would not call off school for snow days unless the Wyoming ( Michigan) schools closed...  And they NEVER DID!   ( Remember the snow storm of 1976?  Only two snow days!)   Did I just age myself?   Did I just sound like my Mom?  "walked 10 miles to school.... In two foot of snow... Uphill.... Both ways!"  

Yep.... I'm officially old. 

Ah well.   It rained in Wisconsin, and everyone was was as scared as a frightened School Girl  because there was a prediction of freezing rain later in the evening.   Some folks did not even bother to show up today.  ( Fellow Former DIM guy... Yes you!  We are on to your deception!)  Some of the folks were asking to be let go early so they could get a jump start on the storm. ( Fellow Put-Put Away guy...You know who you are.)   Yes  But in the end, we all had a great day and there was much rejoicing..  Too bad Phil That guy who wasn't there couldn't make it. ( There was food and dancing girls!)  

But when the day was finally over,  we headed outside to an world of Candy Coated Ice sculptures.   It reminded me of a slightly lesser version of Niagara Falls  in the Winter. ( Ever go there?  It is Visually Stunning when the mist forms an ice coating on everything.... Except that the sidewalks are impossibly slippery.) 

The good news is that the ice was "soft" and not fully formed yet.   And the Salt Trucks were able to stay ahead of it mostly.   I encountered no accidents on the highway and had plenty of grip for the Subie's bald tires.  That being said... Tonight will be a different story....  

Because of that threat, they canceled Ash Wednesday Service this evening...With the complementary Soup and Sandwich Meal that was to accompany it...  That was supposed to be my Dinner!  But fortunately,  Dave found himself free for the evening and took the opportunity to cool up a fine Roast Beef Diner with Asparagus and mashed potatoes on the side.   And I did not have to starve.

On a brighter note:   The bosses said that if we come in a little late tomorrow because of the storm...  They will not deduct a point from your attendance.  In other words..  Drive safely and arrive alive.  Of course Jeff  "That guy concerned with employee safety"  asked if he could come in after 11:00!   There is always one of those guys who will try to find a loop hole and take advantage.  

I probably should not use my blog to call out fellow "workers" as it might come off as rather "unprofessional."  But I have heard that they read the blog occasionally and I think they enjoy knowing that they were able to make this weeks posting.  So really, I'm doing it for them!   And they LOVE it!  Right?  Former DIM guy who's name I strategically did not use....

But enough of them... I just wanted to share these really cool videos of how the ice was on the cars after work.   I used to watch videos of this and found them so satisfying.   So here ya go.... Enjoy!   And thanks for stopping in.   Make sure you are driving safe if you are in this area.   I'm sure as the sun sets, it will turn to a different form of ice and no one will like that at all.  Be safe!

Vallentine's Day... Part Two! The Sequel...

Last Tuesday was Valentine's day... And Cheryl and I celebrated it early with a run in Milwaukee.  I figured my obligations for romance would have been met and ended there,  but out of the blue,  Cheryl calls me up on Friday and requests that I drive all the way to Iowa so we can get together on Saturday.   

What was I supposed to do?  An unplanned trip?  The drive is long and treacherous!   

Subie is an old car... With nearly 400,000 miles on him.  

There was a blizzard warning!  With 8-10 inches of snow predicted....   Who in their right mind would attempt a spur of the moment rendezvous with a sexy Valentine?   Especially after all romantic obligations were supposed to have been met!  

Well,  Me.   Obviously!

As predicted the roads were "terrible" ...( Meaning all of the snow and ice had been removed and the roads were dry and clear...)   But Subie made the trek like a champ... only losing his muffler along the way.  ( Technically, it is not "lost".   I have it in my trunk at the moment.) 

So with no run scheduled,  what were we supposed to do for the weekend?   

Buy some food. 

Buy some beer!

Buy some flowers!

Buy some.... Oil?  Wait!  What now? 

Yes,  I gave the Bean an Oil change since Cheryl has been running him all around the state of Iowa and Wisconsin.   I also fixed a small annoying rattle that comes when you straddle snow.   The ice and snow ripped off all of the clips that hold the heat shields around Bean's exhaust system.    An easy fix.  

While working to maintain the Bean,   Rocket, the neighbor's cat who thinks he is ours, came over to help.   Mostly he just got in the way while tracking in mud  onto the car seats.  

I also fixed the leather sofa for Cheryl, after a guest broke it.   It would have been an easy fix, had I had all of my tools and a few other resources available.  But, currently, it is repaired enough to sit in and not notice any issues.  

Cheryl spent most of Saturday doing the taxes.  A fun job!  I think I got the better end of the "Honey do!" list. 

And after all of that, We enjoyed some beer, strawberries, and a bunch of Cheese and Crackers.  And we talked.   Talked about her job, Wisconsin, home ownership.... Moving?   Really?   Well,  it's out there at least.   Kenosha is a wonderful place from what I have seen.  And they have great Mushrooms here!  Who would not want to move to a place that has all these wonderful, edible Mushrooms?

Oh!  Right... I kind of have a job and work here too.   That's kind of important.  

The Three Cat's Feeding Time.

Leo showing Cheryl love.

But the weekend was over too quickly, and I am now back in my basement abode.  Prepping for work for tomorrow.   I can only imagine the reaction I will get when Subie comes roaring in like he is a Rally Cross WRX! ( Because, the muffler is missing...  Or rather:  In the trunk until I can reattach it. ) I figured I would post this update before I head to bed while it is fresh in my mind.   And keeping it shorter than usual... since I do have to get up early tomorrow.  

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Weekend!  They fly by so quickly when you have a job.   But they do seem more precious when you are able to spend them with the ones you love.   Thanks for stopping in.

An Update On The "Human Element!"

Remember the Human element from the last post. ( *The "human Element" is a term that we use for an item that was obviously created by human hands, but has been abandoned, and now stands out separate from the surrounding elements as the environment attempts to reclaim it.)   The poor thing had too much character and backstory to leave there, abandoned in the parking lot of a Hilton Hotel.   So....  We decided that one of us should take him home and see if we can give him a second chance at life.   Cats usually have nine lives, so obviously, this one had not used them all up already.  

So I won the honor of taking him home.   And cleaning him up.   Which I did. I was the obvious choice since I am currently light on cat attention lately.  And Cheryl already has several stuffed cats AND three LIVE cats to cuddle and play around with.   It is also true that Cheryl probably has better equipment to clean the little guy up...  but she lacks the time.   So....  The cat was MINE!

The picture of him in the parking lot does not fully show just how hopeless he was.   He was frozen to a large chunk of oil and dirt.   When I got him home, I soaked him in a large wash tub and he turned the entire 5 gallon container BLACK!   I figured I would have my work cut out for me. But thankfully, there was very little physical damage to the actual body.   Except for the small fact that he was missing an eye. 

Well,   after some scrubbing,  rinsing, soaking, and a full wash with LOTS of grease cutting soap...  I was able to get him back to his original colors.   And he had white fur on his underside!  I'm actually impressed!  And quite pleased that he was able to come back to what looks like a normal stuffed kitten. The only real question now is should I cut off the ribbon collar and /or replace the missing eye.  ( his one eye is blue!) Personally,  I feel like the missing eye gives him a little character.    Ally cats from a "life of hard knocks" usually have a battle scar or two.   

Currently,  he is hanging out with the rest of my Motley Crew of acquired, mismatched Stuffies. I think he will fit in.... If he does not end up taking over the place and becoming the leader of the pack.  Cats do have a tendency to claim ownership of things... And People!  

So a new life for Hilton.  That's his name!    I put forth "Valentino" since we found him on our Valentine's Day. But Cheryl suggested "Hilton" for the place where we found him.   I think that name seems to fit better. He may not be as warm as Leo, or Rocket,   But he certainly is cuddly.  

Thanks for stopping in.   And Happy Valentine's Day.   Or "VD Day" as Dave likes to call it. ( I can't believe I have not heard that joke before.... But I had to laugh and add it to the blog.)  Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. 

Happy Valentine's Day Cheryl And Ethan! I Run My First 10 K And Survive!

I know Valentine's Day is not for another two days.... But Cheryl and I decided to Celebrate Early!  The way it was Pitched to me:  

Cheryls Car is Easy to ID... With Rocket and Haru's muddy paws all over the hood.

I had envisioned  her coming up.    

We would exchange treats and cutsie stuffy things. 

We would go Shopping for Beer. 

 She would put on a Fashion Show of Sexy Attire....   

And then we would have a night to remember!  Filled with Hot "R rated" frisky things....

Instead....  Cheryl signed us both up for a race.

I know, I know.... " What were you expecting from a runner?"  You would think that by now, I would be used to such things.   But every now and then,   I let my imagination get the better of me.  ( And my Imagination is Awesome!)  What else could I do but run the event and hope I did not die or humiliate myself in front of a bunch of strangers. 

To be honest,  I was a little scared.   I have never run that distance before. ( that I know of.... We did run in the Army a lot)  Officially, I wanted to beat 50 minutes.   I had been running 8 minute miles all week.   But when the rubber finally met the road this morning,  I ended up running a solid 9 minute mile pace.   On a bright note,  I DID manage to keep the run under an hour. 

Cheryl was a little disappointed as well.   She managed to get her age group award, but did not finish the overall race as one of the Top three finishers.  Too bad, Because they were giving away a free bag of coffee to the overall winners!  

I got 4th in My age group...She tells me.

She wondered why her performance was so bad in comparison to her previous races... and I offered the weather and lack of training as possible reasons. Cheryl, however, blamed the previous night of "excessive drinking." 

Personally,  I felt that the adult beverages we had consumed would boost our hydration and push back our pain threshold.  I mean,  Isn't that why they offer beer after races to begin with?   

But, apparently,   enjoying beer Before a race is somehow "bad."    Sometimes I just can't figure out these runner rules that athletes place on health and fitness.   I personally felt fine during the race.   I was happy it ended though.   That is for sure.   And I doubt I could have run much faster or for very much longer.   I finished! And that was all that mattered. 

The Human Element.  We need to Name him.

As for the rest of the weekend.   I will say that Cheryl and I stumbled upon a Human Element and decided to rescue him from the sad conditions where someone abandoned him.   I am currently  in the process to clean him up and revive him.   Every Stuffed Animal deserves a happy home.   Just like real cats. I will post updates as the process unfolds.  

I finally finished the Dragon I began a week ago.   You may notice that he is black instead of the initial pink I started with.  That is because I could find neither black nor red as the initial paper color.  So I knew I would have to paint him.   And I was curious about using spray paint instead of trying to paint the paper and having it crack as I folded it. I hope the guy I folded it for likes it well enough.   And now I have no origami projects on the horizon.  

Sunrise At The Warehouse!   Days are getting longer.

The last several days at the Zebra have greeted me with spectacular sunrises.  The days are getting longer again, and I am looking forward to being able to travel in the sunlight of the morning rather than in the darkness of Winter. 

 I hope everyone had a great weekend this weekend.  And if you celebrated Valentine's Day early,   I hope you had a great time as I did.   Nothing says "I love you!"  better than running a 10 K with the one you are trying to impress... Right?

Who wouldn't want Mushrooms for Valentine's Day?

And all this time I was thinking Flowers and Chocolates were the answer.  And to be honest,  that would have been a lot simpler to pull off.  

Thanks for stopping in.