About two weeks ago, I interviewed a guy about his Coast Guard career. He lives deep in the woods now, but he served the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes, North Atlantic and the Pacific (during Vietnam) for close to 30 years. Interesting guy. Nice fellow, who just turned 72.
The interview was for an article I wrote for our annual veterans issue, which we have been working on for the last few weeks.
As I was leaving, I saw a deer on his lawn. It's the kind of deer that doesn't move when you walk up to it, with an inch or two of snow on his wooden back. "Hey," I said in jest, "I see you have a deer on your lawn."
"Yes, we have them here all the time." He was taking me seriously--no laugh in his voice--so I looked around. He was looking out another window, and there [I]were [/I]real live deer out that window.
It seems the guy puts out bales of alfalfa for the deer during winter (which is still hanging on up here), about 20 yards from his house. I looked out, and there they were ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerfeedA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
It was lunchtime, and we watched as more deer walked through the trees to the buffet, while others left ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerfeedB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
He saw I was interested in getting pictures. "I'll see if I can get them to come a little closer." We went outside, and he went to a shed, where he keeps some of the feed he puts out (never corn, he says; it makes them fat), filled up a coffee can and threw out some of it on a far corner of his driveway, where it had been plowed ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerfeedC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Some of the deer were already looking. Moments later, they started moving in. But there was a guy with a camera standing nearby, and the thing would click at times. Loud enough so the deer backed off.
The Coast Guard vet shook my hand, said goodbye and headed inside, while I got into my car. But as I glanced off to my left, I noticed the deer were starting to move back in ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerfeedD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
And as I sat there, watching, more started moving in ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerfeedE-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
In just a few minutes, quite a crowd had gathered--with a few standing watch ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerfeedG-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
So it was a good morning to be a deer--at least a deer living near this fellow.
****
Overall, though, winter has dragged on way too long up here. It's not that we're still getting occasional snow. That's to be expected. The problem is that it's still so cold, and we really haven't gotten even a sniff of warmer weather. I just checked yesterday--we haven't had a high temperature of 45F or above (+7C) since back on Nov. 14, over four months ago. The advance forecasts call for more of the same.
It's gotten me down, I guess. Winter has had its time, and now it's time for it to move on. It has outlasted its welcome. Winter: Take the hint. When spring started last week, I deliberately stopped using my long winter coat and switched to my spring jacket (which is still heavy enough to ward off all but winter's worst).
It's just a lot of waiting and impatience now. The next big thing for us is the trip to Chicago, for that huge quilt show my wife wants to attend. It takes place over the second weekend of April. We are trying to decide on a schedule and whether we can visit S and her husband, either on the way south or on the trip back north. (All of us want to visit, but it's hard for her husband to get time off from his jobs (plural).)
Also, I need to do some research. Last night I spent some time on Google Earth, getting reacquainted with the highways around Chicago--in particular, the Tri-State Tollway near O'Hare Field, the area where the megashow takes place.
For my safety and sanity, I think it's in our best interests to focus on the show and not on other sightseeing or shopping. My wife gets tired, especially her feet, when she's been walking around all day (shopping, for example), and I really don't want her feeling worn out halfway through the show.
If we do a lot of shopping the day before the show, her legs won't be 100% for the big day. Of course, sitting in the car all day isn't the best thing, either. Basketball and football coaches always talk about the "bus legs" their players get when they have to make a long ride to the site of a game.
I want to take my camera to the show, and I probably will. But my main job description will be as pack mule--carrying around all the stuff she picks up at the different booths--and, of course, chauffeur. So I'm expecting to be walking around the show with the camera around my neck, trudging around while carrying several heavy bags of stuff.
After the show, she will be able to rest. We'll probably spend that night very quietly at the motel. The next day, we point the car back north.
That is also the first weekend of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The tradeoff for the pack mule is that he will be watching hockey on the motel's TV the night before the show. The night after, she won't care--her feet will be tired, and she'll be too busy looking over all the stuff we picked up at the show. Unless she zonks out from sensory overload.
That's two weeks away. This weekend, it's Draft Day for the fantasy baseball league I run. I've done that for years, but last year I stopped running my own team. Frankly, I'm just not as interested in baseball as I used to be, for a number of reasons. This year, though, I will be drafting players for someone else's team. He has to be out of town (for work) that day, so I said I would pinch-hit for him.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Party animals
On a sunny morning a few weeks ago, while I was putting on my coat to go to the office, my wife happened to glance out the kitchen window. Then she called me over.
"I think we missed a big party," she said.
I looked outside. No question about it. We missed a big shindig at the bunny club ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Turning towards the left ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
When I went home for lunch, I took more photos as evidence. This is looking towards my wife's little lilac bushes ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
I walked next to the car and took a shot ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
There were two areas with plenty of footprints. This one must be where they set up their disco and did the bunny hop ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesE-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
The other one was around the base of the neighbor's big lilac bush. I can't really tell what went on here, but there plainly was a lot of traffic ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesF-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
I think there's only one thing we can say for sure: There probably will be plenty of baby bunnies hopping around in the weeks to come.
****
It's been rather quiet here. I haven't been driving that much due to the rising cost of gas and the near total quiet on the local sports scene. I got some photos of a local hockey tournament last weekend, and there's a youth wrestling tourney this Saturday.
Today, I drove up to Marquette for a sportswriters' meeting. They still have plenty of snow up there, but it was a sunny day, and the roads were dry. It was a lot warmer than the last time I went to an all-U.P. basketball meeting ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/MstqTrip-RoadCurve-3-07.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/MstqTrip-19below-3-07.jpg[/IMG]
I talked recently about getting a new TV. It arrived during the day Monday, I set it up, hooked up all the cables and--after finally discovering a bad cable connection at a splitter, we have been enjoying it a lot. Monday night, we watched "2001: A Space Odyssey." Tuesday, it was the 1940s comedy "Harvey" with Jimmy Stewart.
Tonight, the feature was "Microcosmos," a French nature documentary about mostly bug life. That was a great show with the big screen and stereo sound. We also watched the end of tonight's Red Wings game, an episode of "Gunsmoke" and some Popeye cartoons.
Charlie (our new cat) has been sleeping most nights next to my legs. On recent nights, it's been playtime after the lights go out, as she pursues, stalks and pounces on hands moving mysteriously under the covers. After a while, she is ready to settle down and get to sleep.
She's just like a little kid at times. For a while, she is playing busily and energetically. Then you get busy with something else for a few minutes, and when you turn back she is fast asleep. Ah, for the life of a cat!
"I think we missed a big party," she said.
I looked outside. No question about it. We missed a big shindig at the bunny club ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Turning towards the left ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
When I went home for lunch, I took more photos as evidence. This is looking towards my wife's little lilac bushes ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
I walked next to the car and took a shot ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
There were two areas with plenty of footprints. This one must be where they set up their disco and did the bunny hop ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesE-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
The other one was around the base of the neighbor's big lilac bush. I can't really tell what went on here, but there plainly was a lot of traffic ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/BunniesF-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
I think there's only one thing we can say for sure: There probably will be plenty of baby bunnies hopping around in the weeks to come.
****
It's been rather quiet here. I haven't been driving that much due to the rising cost of gas and the near total quiet on the local sports scene. I got some photos of a local hockey tournament last weekend, and there's a youth wrestling tourney this Saturday.
Today, I drove up to Marquette for a sportswriters' meeting. They still have plenty of snow up there, but it was a sunny day, and the roads were dry. It was a lot warmer than the last time I went to an all-U.P. basketball meeting ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/MstqTrip-RoadCurve-3-07.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/MstqTrip-19below-3-07.jpg[/IMG]
I talked recently about getting a new TV. It arrived during the day Monday, I set it up, hooked up all the cables and--after finally discovering a bad cable connection at a splitter, we have been enjoying it a lot. Monday night, we watched "2001: A Space Odyssey." Tuesday, it was the 1940s comedy "Harvey" with Jimmy Stewart.
Tonight, the feature was "Microcosmos," a French nature documentary about mostly bug life. That was a great show with the big screen and stereo sound. We also watched the end of tonight's Red Wings game, an episode of "Gunsmoke" and some Popeye cartoons.
Charlie (our new cat) has been sleeping most nights next to my legs. On recent nights, it's been playtime after the lights go out, as she pursues, stalks and pounces on hands moving mysteriously under the covers. After a while, she is ready to settle down and get to sleep.
She's just like a little kid at times. For a while, she is playing busily and energetically. Then you get busy with something else for a few minutes, and when you turn back she is fast asleep. Ah, for the life of a cat!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
By a waterfall (winter edition)
A little over a year ago, I wrote a post titled "By a Waterfall." It wasn't about the big production number from "Footlight Parade," one of the most mind-blowing 1930s production numbers you could ever imagine. (Yes, I have a weakness for Busby Berkeley's creations; click the link and watch Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler in all their glory.)
This was about an actual waterfall in the western Upper Peninsula--Bond Falls. The previous September, we had gone to a football game in Ontonagon and got the notion to stop there on the way over. I took some pictures that went with the blog entry. It was early fall ...
In comments made later, Lady Visine (I think) asked for photos of the waterfall in winter, when much of the water freezes. I couldn't get there last winter--winter ended too soon, and basketball season lasted way too long.
This winter, it's been the opposite, so I've had a little time. Last Sunday morning, I drove west to Watersmeet and then north to Bond Falls. I was pretty sure I would still see a lot of ice--we got well below zero F the night before.
I had no way of knowing the conditions there. My last long winter hike was with S in southern Ontario during December 2005, when we visited a nature preserve located nearby. That day was cold but sunny with about six inches of fresh snow on the ground. I had no idea what conditions would be like this time.
After all, Bond Falls is a lot closer to Lake Superior and its lake-effect snowstorms than we are. How much snow do they have? Was anyone going to the park and looking at the waterfall? How far would I have to hike in? Most importantly, how deep would the snow be? Two feet? More?
There was just one way to find out, so I dressed for deep snow, putting on my heavy boots and socks. The weather would be relatively mild--close to 20F--and no wind was forecast. So I didn't have to dress for an Arctic expedition. But still ...
It's about 45 to 50 miles away, as the crow drives. I found the road that leads to the falls. The sign has pointed the way for a long time ...
Four miles later, I came to the park entrance. As I suspected, it was blocked off--hadn't been plowed for a while ...
But that doesn't mean the road wasn't being used. I quickly noted the snowmobile and cross country ski tracks.
Near the entrance, a family was putting on snowshoes. Snowshoes would have been nice, but I don't have any. I waved at them and started walking down the entrance way, following the many paths through the snow ...
As it turned out, it was an easy walk--plenty of people had been there before me. The trail leading to Bond Falls itself was just as easy a hike ...
It wasn't long before I heard the running water, and then I was looking at Bond Falls in winter ...
There was another photographer there--he said he was from Ann Arbor, about 500 miles away--getting some pictures. (Well, what else do photographers do?) He pointed out an ice cave visible in the ice on the waterfall. You can't get much closer in summer--but now there was a nice frozen walkway in front of the main falls. He walked over there, and then so did I.
My trip down the steps was a little more spectacular than I planned. A lot of ice had accumulated on the steps, and my old boots don't have much tread left in them. As I tried to climb down, one foot slipped forward, and I rode down the rest of the way on my backside.
No damage done, and a minute or so later I was at the ice cave ...
There is a walkway up the right side of the falls. It's old and narrow, and the concrete steps are chipped. Most people going up the hill walked along its side, using bushes and tree limbs for balance and support. As did I...
I climbed about halfway up and got a few more shots of the rushing water ...
I didn't climb to the top. The hill was pretty steep in that area. And those concrete steps ... well, they didn't look very safe to me ...
I also walked that walkway at the bottom, to get shots at the eastern end of the falls. On the other side of the walkway, the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River resumed its journey towards Lake Superior, about 40 miles away ...
The hardest part of the trek came right at the end. That hill I climbed down earlier from the road now had to be climbed. It took a while, and I rested a bit, but I made it OK. No problem.
By 1 p.m. I was back home. My arctic expedition was now behind me, and I finally have the photos Lady Visine wanted to see.
This was about an actual waterfall in the western Upper Peninsula--Bond Falls. The previous September, we had gone to a football game in Ontonagon and got the notion to stop there on the way over. I took some pictures that went with the blog entry. It was early fall ...
In comments made later, Lady Visine (I think) asked for photos of the waterfall in winter, when much of the water freezes. I couldn't get there last winter--winter ended too soon, and basketball season lasted way too long.
This winter, it's been the opposite, so I've had a little time. Last Sunday morning, I drove west to Watersmeet and then north to Bond Falls. I was pretty sure I would still see a lot of ice--we got well below zero F the night before.
I had no way of knowing the conditions there. My last long winter hike was with S in southern Ontario during December 2005, when we visited a nature preserve located nearby. That day was cold but sunny with about six inches of fresh snow on the ground. I had no idea what conditions would be like this time.
After all, Bond Falls is a lot closer to Lake Superior and its lake-effect snowstorms than we are. How much snow do they have? Was anyone going to the park and looking at the waterfall? How far would I have to hike in? Most importantly, how deep would the snow be? Two feet? More?
There was just one way to find out, so I dressed for deep snow, putting on my heavy boots and socks. The weather would be relatively mild--close to 20F--and no wind was forecast. So I didn't have to dress for an Arctic expedition. But still ...
It's about 45 to 50 miles away, as the crow drives. I found the road that leads to the falls. The sign has pointed the way for a long time ...
Four miles later, I came to the park entrance. As I suspected, it was blocked off--hadn't been plowed for a while ...
But that doesn't mean the road wasn't being used. I quickly noted the snowmobile and cross country ski tracks.
Near the entrance, a family was putting on snowshoes. Snowshoes would have been nice, but I don't have any. I waved at them and started walking down the entrance way, following the many paths through the snow ...
As it turned out, it was an easy walk--plenty of people had been there before me. The trail leading to Bond Falls itself was just as easy a hike ...
It wasn't long before I heard the running water, and then I was looking at Bond Falls in winter ...
There was another photographer there--he said he was from Ann Arbor, about 500 miles away--getting some pictures. (Well, what else do photographers do?) He pointed out an ice cave visible in the ice on the waterfall. You can't get much closer in summer--but now there was a nice frozen walkway in front of the main falls. He walked over there, and then so did I.
My trip down the steps was a little more spectacular than I planned. A lot of ice had accumulated on the steps, and my old boots don't have much tread left in them. As I tried to climb down, one foot slipped forward, and I rode down the rest of the way on my backside.
No damage done, and a minute or so later I was at the ice cave ...
There is a walkway up the right side of the falls. It's old and narrow, and the concrete steps are chipped. Most people going up the hill walked along its side, using bushes and tree limbs for balance and support. As did I...
I climbed about halfway up and got a few more shots of the rushing water ...
I didn't climb to the top. The hill was pretty steep in that area. And those concrete steps ... well, they didn't look very safe to me ...
I also walked that walkway at the bottom, to get shots at the eastern end of the falls. On the other side of the walkway, the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River resumed its journey towards Lake Superior, about 40 miles away ...
The hardest part of the trek came right at the end. That hill I climbed down earlier from the road now had to be climbed. It took a while, and I rested a bit, but I made it OK. No problem.
By 1 p.m. I was back home. My arctic expedition was now behind me, and I finally have the photos Lady Visine wanted to see.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Frustrating Friday
Friday was a busy day, one that I had been looking forward to for a long time: the day we would get ourselves a new TV. A widescreen. An LCD. Not a big honkin' one, but it would be bigger than the one we've been using. Hey, now we would finally be able to see our widescreen DVDs in their full glory.
It's been a while coming. A major sticking point, frankly, was my wife, who seemed dubious about the idea. Lately, though, she has fully come on board in favor of it. Last week, we got a new cabinet for the thing to stand on, and we worked together to put it together one night last week (except for the two drawers; that's to be done this weekend). All was in readiness: On Friday night, we would be watching a movie on our new TV.
Instead, we watched a movie on our old TV. It's a simple story, which I will get to ... eventually.
Our first stop Friday was at a place where we may get some new upstairs windows installed this summer. On the way there, I talked to my wife about a major purchase we will make in the next year or two: a new/different car. For a while, I had been thinking about doing it this year. Later, I decided to put it off until 2009 or so.
One reason: The model I am leaning towards the most (a Prius) gets remodeled in 2009, with a expected jump in gas mileage. The little Mazda I've been driving for the last five years does fine with gas (32-35 mpg), but I'd like better. The Mazda also has some major disadvantages. One of the biggest is the size of its trunk. (That's the boot, if you're in England.) Next time, I've said to myself many times, I'll get a hatchback with more cargo room yet good gas mileage.
Anyway, we looked over the windows, got some brochures and asked questions, and then we headed off to Iron Mountain. First stop was lunch (Arby's). Then we got the new cables the new TV will need. Then we visited my mom. Finally, we hit the store to get the TV.
The model we wanted wasn't in stock, but they had the next size down, and it had the same specs I liked in the bigger one. OK, we can go with that--it's not that much smaller. They brought it up on a big cart--I was surprised how big the package was. The credit card went through, we got our receipt, and I drove up to the front door to load it for the trip home.
Uhh, did I mention the lack of trunk space in the Mazda? How about the small back seat? The big TV box would no way fit in the trunk. Not enough clearance, even with the rear seats folded down. So we tried loading it crosswise in the back seat. That was a no-go, too. The door opening just wasn't big enough, and I wondered whether the box would even fit lengthwise if we ever could get it past the edge of the seat.
In short, no way my car could ever take that box home, and I didn't want to take the TV out of the box. Do they deliver? The loader guy went in to check. No they don't. So we agreed that he would wheel the big thing back inside, over to the customer service desk, and I'd cancel the purchase.
That was disappointing. After we got home, I checked some online TV retailers. Places like Best Buy and Circuit City don't deliver up here (which is, after all, on the other side of the earth). ("You can't get there from here." The nearest stores for both is Green Bay, about 125 miles away.)
Some places do, though. To my surprise, Amazon does deliver--and to my greater surprise, the webpage says "Free shipping"!
So how about that? That's the way we decided to go. Once we get it inside the house the house, we'll have no problems. The trick is getting it to the other side of the earth. We'll let UPS take care of that little problem.
***
A few other things to report. I suppose you heard that Brett Favre has decided to retire after so many years as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. It's been a long, fun ride for Packer fans. Now it will be a lot more fun for Packers' opponents, who never could rest easy in a game, even if their team was winning, wondering how Favre is going to beat them ... this time.
I've only seen Favre one time in person. It was in August 2004, when David and I drove down to see a Packers practice. It's always a spectacle. They have bleachers set up alongside the sidewalk, on the other side of a chain-link fence from the practice field, and those seats are always filled during a practice ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Favre-Practice-8-04.jpg[/IMG]
Here is No. 4, coming out to the practice, talking with coaches...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Favre-Brett1-8-04.jpg[/IMG]
... and waiting for his turn to run plays ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Favre-Brett2-8-04.jpg[/IMG]
I've got some other thoughts about Favre's decision, but I'll save them for Vox, which is evolving into a spot for my essays and thoughts and ruminations on various things. (The other day, I wrote about Gary Gygax's death and my miniscule part in the worlds he created.)
I'm also working on a piece (for here) about the "naughty meme" that circulated around Efx2blogs last month--and my wife's score when she took it. A photo entry coming up has the working title "party animals."
Our new cat is doing very well. My wife says it's time we come up with a name for her. She likes "Venus" because Venus is the Roman goddess of love--she's a very loving little cat (My wife was inspired by a song played on the local moldies radio station.)--or "Charlie" because of her charcoal color.
I'm holding out for "Aphrodite," who is the [I]Greek [/I]goddess of love--the Romans apparently stole a lot of Aphrodite's traditions for Venus, way back when.
They say that one gaze from Aphrodite would cause any man to fall in love with her. Well, that fits our new kitty to a T. She loves to snuggle in my arms and purr and make her little cat noises. Plus, the various paintings of Aphrodite (and Venus, for that matter) show her with a full, voluptuous figure. That's our kitty, too. She's a lot of cat.
My wife doesn't care that much for "Aphrodite." "It's too long," she said.
We had expected a struggle to give her the antibiotics (three times a day) she had to take following her spaying operation. But guess what? She seems to like the stuff! We fill the eyedropper with the pink medicine, she sniffs it, starts licking the end of the eyedropper, and we get it into her mouth and squeeze the bulb. Yum-yum! ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Kitty-Eyedropper-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
That job is over--the final dose was given today.
It's been a while coming. A major sticking point, frankly, was my wife, who seemed dubious about the idea. Lately, though, she has fully come on board in favor of it. Last week, we got a new cabinet for the thing to stand on, and we worked together to put it together one night last week (except for the two drawers; that's to be done this weekend). All was in readiness: On Friday night, we would be watching a movie on our new TV.
Instead, we watched a movie on our old TV. It's a simple story, which I will get to ... eventually.
Our first stop Friday was at a place where we may get some new upstairs windows installed this summer. On the way there, I talked to my wife about a major purchase we will make in the next year or two: a new/different car. For a while, I had been thinking about doing it this year. Later, I decided to put it off until 2009 or so.
One reason: The model I am leaning towards the most (a Prius) gets remodeled in 2009, with a expected jump in gas mileage. The little Mazda I've been driving for the last five years does fine with gas (32-35 mpg), but I'd like better. The Mazda also has some major disadvantages. One of the biggest is the size of its trunk. (That's the boot, if you're in England.) Next time, I've said to myself many times, I'll get a hatchback with more cargo room yet good gas mileage.
Anyway, we looked over the windows, got some brochures and asked questions, and then we headed off to Iron Mountain. First stop was lunch (Arby's). Then we got the new cables the new TV will need. Then we visited my mom. Finally, we hit the store to get the TV.
The model we wanted wasn't in stock, but they had the next size down, and it had the same specs I liked in the bigger one. OK, we can go with that--it's not that much smaller. They brought it up on a big cart--I was surprised how big the package was. The credit card went through, we got our receipt, and I drove up to the front door to load it for the trip home.
Uhh, did I mention the lack of trunk space in the Mazda? How about the small back seat? The big TV box would no way fit in the trunk. Not enough clearance, even with the rear seats folded down. So we tried loading it crosswise in the back seat. That was a no-go, too. The door opening just wasn't big enough, and I wondered whether the box would even fit lengthwise if we ever could get it past the edge of the seat.
In short, no way my car could ever take that box home, and I didn't want to take the TV out of the box. Do they deliver? The loader guy went in to check. No they don't. So we agreed that he would wheel the big thing back inside, over to the customer service desk, and I'd cancel the purchase.
That was disappointing. After we got home, I checked some online TV retailers. Places like Best Buy and Circuit City don't deliver up here (which is, after all, on the other side of the earth). ("You can't get there from here." The nearest stores for both is Green Bay, about 125 miles away.)
Some places do, though. To my surprise, Amazon does deliver--and to my greater surprise, the webpage says "Free shipping"!
So how about that? That's the way we decided to go. Once we get it inside the house the house, we'll have no problems. The trick is getting it to the other side of the earth. We'll let UPS take care of that little problem.
***
A few other things to report. I suppose you heard that Brett Favre has decided to retire after so many years as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. It's been a long, fun ride for Packer fans. Now it will be a lot more fun for Packers' opponents, who never could rest easy in a game, even if their team was winning, wondering how Favre is going to beat them ... this time.
I've only seen Favre one time in person. It was in August 2004, when David and I drove down to see a Packers practice. It's always a spectacle. They have bleachers set up alongside the sidewalk, on the other side of a chain-link fence from the practice field, and those seats are always filled during a practice ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Favre-Practice-8-04.jpg[/IMG]
Here is No. 4, coming out to the practice, talking with coaches...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Favre-Brett1-8-04.jpg[/IMG]
... and waiting for his turn to run plays ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Favre-Brett2-8-04.jpg[/IMG]
I've got some other thoughts about Favre's decision, but I'll save them for Vox, which is evolving into a spot for my essays and thoughts and ruminations on various things. (The other day, I wrote about Gary Gygax's death and my miniscule part in the worlds he created.)
I'm also working on a piece (for here) about the "naughty meme" that circulated around Efx2blogs last month--and my wife's score when she took it. A photo entry coming up has the working title "party animals."
Our new cat is doing very well. My wife says it's time we come up with a name for her. She likes "Venus" because Venus is the Roman goddess of love--she's a very loving little cat (My wife was inspired by a song played on the local moldies radio station.)--or "Charlie" because of her charcoal color.
I'm holding out for "Aphrodite," who is the [I]Greek [/I]goddess of love--the Romans apparently stole a lot of Aphrodite's traditions for Venus, way back when.
They say that one gaze from Aphrodite would cause any man to fall in love with her. Well, that fits our new kitty to a T. She loves to snuggle in my arms and purr and make her little cat noises. Plus, the various paintings of Aphrodite (and Venus, for that matter) show her with a full, voluptuous figure. That's our kitty, too. She's a lot of cat.
My wife doesn't care that much for "Aphrodite." "It's too long," she said.
We had expected a struggle to give her the antibiotics (three times a day) she had to take following her spaying operation. But guess what? She seems to like the stuff! We fill the eyedropper with the pink medicine, she sniffs it, starts licking the end of the eyedropper, and we get it into her mouth and squeeze the bulb. Yum-yum! ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Kitty-Eyedropper-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
That job is over--the final dose was given today.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Getting busy at home
Sometimes things happen fast, and you just have to deal with it.
My father-in-law died just before Christmas, and since then his sons and daughters have been working on all the stuff at the house. (Like I did last summer at my mom's house.) They had been planning a family meeting to discuss the estate, etc., and invited us to come over, since they had arranged for a financial counselor to come over and talk with us. We told them we regretfully must miss it, due to my work and winter weather. It's about 175 miles away.
But after all the teams I cover exited at the first (district) level of basketball playoffs, the trip suddenly seemed much more possible. The last team was eliminated Wednesday night. I talked it over with my wife on Thursday, and on Saturday we drove to Ladysmith.
She wasn't sure until Saturday whether she would go. First of all, I knew I couldn't stick around--I had to be back at work Monday, the day the financial consultant was coming over. Then, the weather forecast was talking about freezing rain on Sunday--so I didn't want to drive back Sunday. In the end, we left at 3 p.m. Saturday. I drove her to one of her sisters, and within a half hour I was driving back east. Got back home at about 11:30 p.m.
On Sunday and Monday, I "batched it" at home, taking care of myself and the two kitties. Things went OK. Rather quiet. I did some reading and went through a few things--stuff to clean up and throw out--while keeping the kitties fed and loved up. Sunday afternoon was spent on the couch, the new cat on my lap, sleeping and purring, as I watched a recording of a hockey game (Devils vs. Canadiens) from the night before.
My wife was driven back home Monday by a sister. She was accompanied by boxes and boxes of cargo. Lots of stuff from my father-in-law's place. From the freezer, from the fridge, from the closets, from the kitchen. Boxes and boxes.
The most immediate problem was several large bags of frozen stuff--meat, beef cuts and the like. We don't have a freezer of our own, except for the little one on top of the refrigerator. So what could we do? We couldn't take it inside. Where could we put it?
There was no choice but to leave all the frozen stuff on the back porch overnight, under a tarp. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't be a viable option, either. But this time it was. The temperature was right around 0 F when she got home, and it dropped down to about -15F (-26C) overnight. Who needs a freezer? My wife called one of her friends, who said we can take the frozen stuff there today--she has lots of empty space in her freezer.
After that, my wife has to do a triage of the other things that came home with her. Some of it will be delivered to St. Vinnie's. Some, to the bible training center out of town, which always needs household products. Some will basically be thrown out.
I'm doing some of the same kind of work inside. On Sunday, when not watching hockey or playing with the kitty, I was working on a corner of the living room, moving out various cassette tapes and CDs. The tapes are being junked. The CDs will be boxed; some will be kept, some will wind up at St. Vinnie's, too. The ancient stereo equipment I got from my brother after he died was scrapped--it hasn't been used for years. The big cabinet on which everything sat may wind up at St. Vinnie's, too.
We are clearing space for a big table that will hold my recorder and VCR, some DVDs and a new TV we plan to buy fairly soon.
Upstairs, I also was working in the computer room. I have a color inkjet printer and a black-and-white laser printer. The color printer came when I bought the new computer a year or so back. Recently, while thinking about printers, I realized I could have both of them hooked up to the computer--something I wanted to do, since it's cheaper to print routine stuff with the laser printer.
That has now happened--the HP Laserjet is the default printer, and if my wife wants to print something in color, it's easy to switch output to the Dell inkjet.
But first I had to clear space (on the floor in front of the printer stand) for the laser printer, and that meant clearing out CDs and stuff and junk. Brochures from possible future family cars. Office supply catalogs. Magazines. Dust bunnies (they have been propagating prodigeously). Pens. Cables, such as the one that recharges my cell phone and the one that links my camera to the computer.
It's still a mess, and I didn't get done, but it's a lot better than before. More work needs to be done there. At least I'll have a lot more time at home for a while, with basketball out of the way.
My wife was tired after she got home. We went out for a pizza after her sister left. (She had to hustle back home, too.) The rest of the evening was quiet, talking about this and that--mainly, how I fared by myself for two days.
I fared fairly well. I had been thinking about making some clam chowder for supper on Sunday--my wife told me what to use--but I opted instead to hit the drive-through at a fast food place. The kitties got fed on schedule.
It was a little lonely for both/all of us. But last night was a lot better. We just sat together, and that was nice. Then we slept together. That was nice, too. Back to our "menage a quatre."
My father-in-law died just before Christmas, and since then his sons and daughters have been working on all the stuff at the house. (Like I did last summer at my mom's house.) They had been planning a family meeting to discuss the estate, etc., and invited us to come over, since they had arranged for a financial counselor to come over and talk with us. We told them we regretfully must miss it, due to my work and winter weather. It's about 175 miles away.
But after all the teams I cover exited at the first (district) level of basketball playoffs, the trip suddenly seemed much more possible. The last team was eliminated Wednesday night. I talked it over with my wife on Thursday, and on Saturday we drove to Ladysmith.
She wasn't sure until Saturday whether she would go. First of all, I knew I couldn't stick around--I had to be back at work Monday, the day the financial consultant was coming over. Then, the weather forecast was talking about freezing rain on Sunday--so I didn't want to drive back Sunday. In the end, we left at 3 p.m. Saturday. I drove her to one of her sisters, and within a half hour I was driving back east. Got back home at about 11:30 p.m.
On Sunday and Monday, I "batched it" at home, taking care of myself and the two kitties. Things went OK. Rather quiet. I did some reading and went through a few things--stuff to clean up and throw out--while keeping the kitties fed and loved up. Sunday afternoon was spent on the couch, the new cat on my lap, sleeping and purring, as I watched a recording of a hockey game (Devils vs. Canadiens) from the night before.
My wife was driven back home Monday by a sister. She was accompanied by boxes and boxes of cargo. Lots of stuff from my father-in-law's place. From the freezer, from the fridge, from the closets, from the kitchen. Boxes and boxes.
The most immediate problem was several large bags of frozen stuff--meat, beef cuts and the like. We don't have a freezer of our own, except for the little one on top of the refrigerator. So what could we do? We couldn't take it inside. Where could we put it?
There was no choice but to leave all the frozen stuff on the back porch overnight, under a tarp. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't be a viable option, either. But this time it was. The temperature was right around 0 F when she got home, and it dropped down to about -15F (-26C) overnight. Who needs a freezer? My wife called one of her friends, who said we can take the frozen stuff there today--she has lots of empty space in her freezer.
After that, my wife has to do a triage of the other things that came home with her. Some of it will be delivered to St. Vinnie's. Some, to the bible training center out of town, which always needs household products. Some will basically be thrown out.
I'm doing some of the same kind of work inside. On Sunday, when not watching hockey or playing with the kitty, I was working on a corner of the living room, moving out various cassette tapes and CDs. The tapes are being junked. The CDs will be boxed; some will be kept, some will wind up at St. Vinnie's, too. The ancient stereo equipment I got from my brother after he died was scrapped--it hasn't been used for years. The big cabinet on which everything sat may wind up at St. Vinnie's, too.
We are clearing space for a big table that will hold my recorder and VCR, some DVDs and a new TV we plan to buy fairly soon.
Upstairs, I also was working in the computer room. I have a color inkjet printer and a black-and-white laser printer. The color printer came when I bought the new computer a year or so back. Recently, while thinking about printers, I realized I could have both of them hooked up to the computer--something I wanted to do, since it's cheaper to print routine stuff with the laser printer.
That has now happened--the HP Laserjet is the default printer, and if my wife wants to print something in color, it's easy to switch output to the Dell inkjet.
But first I had to clear space (on the floor in front of the printer stand) for the laser printer, and that meant clearing out CDs and stuff and junk. Brochures from possible future family cars. Office supply catalogs. Magazines. Dust bunnies (they have been propagating prodigeously). Pens. Cables, such as the one that recharges my cell phone and the one that links my camera to the computer.
It's still a mess, and I didn't get done, but it's a lot better than before. More work needs to be done there. At least I'll have a lot more time at home for a while, with basketball out of the way.
My wife was tired after she got home. We went out for a pizza after her sister left. (She had to hustle back home, too.) The rest of the evening was quiet, talking about this and that--mainly, how I fared by myself for two days.
I fared fairly well. I had been thinking about making some clam chowder for supper on Sunday--my wife told me what to use--but I opted instead to hit the drive-through at a fast food place. The kitties got fed on schedule.
It was a little lonely for both/all of us. But last night was a lot better. We just sat together, and that was nice. Then we slept together. That was nice, too. Back to our "menage a quatre."
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