The bright sunshine

Salt Fork sunshine

The light reaching me in the photograph is roughly 8 minutes old. That is how long it takes sunlight to reach the earth. (I always thought it was 3 minutes. Wonder where I got that information?)

Sounds like we may have another snow day on Tuesday. The news is predicting snow fall coming in late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. If I say it out loud will I jinx it?

I didn't do much of anything exciting this week-end. I got some paperwork organized. Huge task because I was so far behind. Taxes are done and sent in, but I have this odd feeling that I did not sign them. I honestly do not have any memory of signing them. Weird.

Just for the record, if you were even thinking of renting Lady in the Water or The Black Dahlia. Let me tell you to save your money. I was disappointed in both movies. Seriously.

Salt Fork Adventure

Curios deer

I decided to skip lunch on Friday and drive through the Salt Fork State Park. I never got out of my car. I snapped about 125 photos from my driver seat. The sky was a beautiful blue, the sun was shining and the deer were out grazing. You can see more photos on the link at the right of the blog. From my personal web page, scroll down to the bottom and click on the Photos button. I also have a Photo Album set up here.

The blazing sky

Sky posted for Photo Friday .

Back at the lake

Another photo of the frozen lake

It is still cold here in the Ohio Valley. I have had to spray white grease onto the chain of my garage door for the last two mornings to get it to open all the way. Of course I wait until the last minute to leave for work and you know how that goes. Stupid garage door!

This is another view of the lake in Carroll county. It all pretty much looks the same from here on out. Frozen.

I will be travelling to Guernsey county tomorrow. I'll try to remember to take the camera along in case there is anything interesting to photograph. I'll be driving the Interstate and I have a tight schedule so I doubt that I will get any side trip excursions. I would love to detour around Salt Fork, but I don't think I can arrange that. I skip lunch to take pictures. More than likely I won't get a lunch break tomorrow anyway. I have a serious upgrade to do and things rarely go smoothly.

At dinner this evening I looked at my daughter. She is gray. Pale gray color. I told her she has to stop eating junk and eat more of the fresh fruits and vegetables. She told me that the lunches at school have changed and she hates the food. I need to get more fruit. I had fresh carrots and apples with dinner yesterday. She ate one carrot with the meal. Ugh. She received another compliment on her hair today. About once a week a total stranger tells her they like her hair. She wants to get the red refreshed. It is a pale pink. Red is a hard color to take hold.

Frozen lake

A bitter cold lake

What a nut. I stopped on the way back from a school meeting to take a couple of photos of the frozen lake. I am sure that people in the house behind me were thinking I was a bit touched in the head. It was warmer than it has been for a couple of days, but it was still pretty cold.

I had been looking at photos last evening of the lake during the beautiful summertime and I was wondering what it looked like in February. At least the sun was shining.

At the meeting we spoke of the school levies in the area that are NOT passing. "Why?" everyone is asking. Personally, I think people are just plain depressed with the way things are in our country. We have been pinched at the gas pump, pinched at the grocery stores, pinched at the retail stores and pinched in forking over our measly dollars every time we turn around.

Everybody is feeling the pinch. Health insurance is near collapse. They keep taking more out of our paychecks to pay for our health care. We hear about how we have been charged that "luxury" tax on long distance calling that should have stopped years ago. We tire of listening to how many billions of dollars are spent on this war. Just Google The cost of the war in Iraq and choose Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky". Sickening. Small outlying school buildings are closing left and right in our surrounding districts. More and more students are getting bussed to bigger, more crowded buildings.

My niece's ex boyfriend's sister got pregnant with her third child just so she could continue to collect welfare. Her other two children are six and two. She has subsequently kicked each boyfriend out after a while.

Every week we hear a new story about the bird flu. Or, another case of child pornography. Diabetes is on the rise, obesity is an epidemic, and the pharmaceutical companies are ripping us off big time. Autism, is it mercury in the vaccine or is it genetics? Then there is global warming, how dependent we are on fossil fuels, and orange snow falling in Siberia.

I don't know about you, but I want to turn up the heat and cuddle in my warm blanket and watch Disney movies. But, that is simple denial. A defense mechanism. An ostrich burying it's head in the sand. I am tired. It takes energy to deal with life's idiosyncrasies. It is all I can do to deal with a whiny, 15 year old, a full-time job, household chores (inside and out), car maintenance, bill paying, prescription reimbursement papers, tax forms and trying to squeeze in a little "me" time every other week-end or so.

Red bright berries

Red berries

I am still on the Oriental bright red theme today. I also like the coppery orange against green that is so prevalent in the far Eastern decor. In the 80's I decorated my apartment with beautiful bright fans and black lacquer vases, trays and trinket boxes. That was back when every mall had a World Bazaar store and it was only an hour or so drive to the Williamsburg Pottery. Sigh. Some items have been broken and the rest is stored in the garage.

Another time, another place. (A time in my life shared with the person that died a year ago today). So sad. His Mother lost two sons to senselessness.

All area schools were closed today, but I went in to work. There was plenty to do, but it was very quiet. I put a music CD in. Some of my all-time favorites.

Life in a Northern Town - Dream Acadmey
Here Come Those Tears - Jackson Browne
The Pretender - Jackson Browne
Like a Rock - Bob Seger
Seven Bridges Road - The Eagles
Sara - Fleetwood Mac
When I Call Your Name - Vince Gill
Do You Believe Me Now? - Vern Gosdin

Red bright silky

Bright red silky lantern

It was a busy week-end. I left off Saturday with the movie World Trade Center. I quickly understood that this movie deserved much more than me catching bits and pieces of it as I walked by, so I stopped and gave it my full attention. I cried. I clamped my hand over my mouth in horror. I could not help but feel for those that had fallen and were not found alive. Their families.

As a people are we being mislead? Is there a reason that we are all so confused by what is going on in the world? It seems the more I watch the news or read about current events, the more troubled I am. It is so easy to just click on something else or turn the channel. Perhaps we are just little sheep sitting in front of our television sets totally oblivious to the rest of the world. I think this has all be said before.

We had a 30th birthday party for my nephew on Sunday at an Oriental restaurant. One of the decorations is pictured above. I like the colorful atmosphere of the Orient. He is leaving for China at the end of March with his cousin (my niece). There are more photos of this crazy event if you follow the link on the right column of this blog to my Photos Album.

I think almost every school was closed today because of the frigid temperatures. They are also closed tomorrow, but I think I will be reporting to work. It isn't like I work outside or have to drive any where. I am only 2 miles away.

The humidity in this room is 29. What is that, 29%? It says "very dry". No doubt. What if it falls below 10? That is as low as the dial goes. Will I spontaneously combust? I never, ever add humidifiers to my rooms any more. Pleurisy. No thanks. I'll just keep putting on the lotion. Why isn't combust in this blog's dictionary? Is blog in this new dictionary? Blog is, but blog's isn't.

The headaches are gone, gone, gone. I have not taken even an Advil for two days.

Just enough to slide

My brother and his step-grandson sledding

There was just enough snow this past week to slide down a hill on those super slippery plastic sleds they make now days. It was late in coming but now the "kids" can get out and enjoy the fun. This photo was sent to me courtesy of my sister-in-law.

Calling my sisters last night I found out that my two eldest both were in bed with migraines. One on Wednesday/Thursday and the other is still sick with one. Not a one of us knew that the others were suffering. We had not been in communication for about a week. It has to be the stupid weather.

I watched Little Miss Sunshine. It wasn't the best movie, but it did have it's moments. I laughed out loud at the pageant dancing scene and I really liked the character of the suicidal uncle/brother (Frank), played by Steve Carell. He seemed to be very aware of his environment around him. Maybe too much so. I know it is "just a movie" but I find it difficult to imagine that: 1. The family did not have any idea how glamorous and serious some of the folks take these beauty pageants, 2. That neither parent ever watched the little girl's routine so that they were not completely taken by surprise and 3. They let the little girl spend so much time with the grandfather (unless they were completely unaware that he snorted drugs).

And, I would have liked to have kicked the father's rear end a couple of times. (Played superbly by Greg Kinnear).

We have for the week-end, Lady in the Water and World Trade Center. My daughter and her friend are watching WTC as I type and I am catching parts of it as I go through the living room to the kitchen to refresh coffee, fix food, etc...

We have a few cancellations for my nephew's birthday because of the cold weather and migraine sufferings, but that is okay. I have reservations at an Oriental restaurant and they are allowing us to bring in a birthday cake. It is only about two miles away, so I have a pretty good chance of getting the cake there in one piece. I found about half a dozen cards that I liked and I bought them all. I let my daughter pick one out and I'll show them to my niece and sister in case they have not picked up a card, yet. Hallmark has a promotion of sorts going on, where if you purchase three Ambassador cards you get a free "Sweet Hugs Bear" with a glowing heart when you hug him. He is cute!

I will watch the Super Bowl tomorrow night, mostly for the commercials. There was a special last night on CBS that showed some of the more popular Super Bowl commercials of all time. They were pretty good. I think my favorite was the one where the guy sets the mouse trap with Doritos or something similar and the mouse crashes through the wall and starts pounding him. I am not one for violence but this one tickled me. It is a man-sized rodent dressed up in a mouse costume. You cannot see the details of the violence. I know it sounds gruesome, but they did it in a way that it didn't seem that violent.

Okay, I just found it on line and yes, at the end it is kind of violent. But, it surprised me and I laughed out loud. Go, Mouse! You can find all the Doritos commercials here.

Checking out now. Chili has been in the crockpot for three hours. Must brave the frigid temperatures and get some last minute food and decoration items. Stay warm.

Strange

Photo Friday's Challenge for this week is "Strange". So, I am not sure which is more strange, the fast food worker who poses for a complete stranger taking his picture, or the nut taking the picture. So says said nut.

I caved

My good friends decided to wait until I could make it before they celebrated the birthday that we were supposed to have on Saturday. Well, there was a bit more to it. They all got trashed and decided to wait. See what happens when I am not there to keep them straight?

Anyway, I tried. Really I did. I went to bed early last night. I sat at work all day today eating Advil. I would give my headache until 5:15 p.m. when I headed to the get together before I would cave in and take yet another Relpax.

5:15 came. It hurt. It hurt like the dickens. Just one little tablet and by the time I arrived 45 minutes later I was pain free and quite good company. I felt they deserved more than a pathetic miserable headache sufferer. Sometimes I feel horrible complaining and when somebody asks about my migraines, I tend to change the subject.

Being the youngest of 8 children, I was always labeled a "BABY". So I am real careful not to complain or whine. Nobody wants to hear it.

Above are some facts on Relpax. It is not a narcotic pain killer.

Back in Blue

Yes, I still have Christmas decorations up on my patio

Did I ever mention the fact that I like blue? Of course I have. I do have some decorations left hanging on my patio. I'll probably get them down before Easter. Maybe.

I forced myself NOT to take any migraine medicine tonight. I did take Sinus medicine and went to bed at 7:00 p.m. So here I am wide awake at 11:00 p.m. I feel better and I did not resort to a migraine pill. This medication (as the others before it) end up giving me rebound headaches two days after taking the first tablet. Though I have to admit - this one took a lot longer. That is, if I take a tablet on Monday, on Wednesday the migraine has returned (or a form of it has in a rebound headache). It is a maddening cycle. One that I recognize and will probably go to the doctor to get a new prescription for.

You need only to Google the question "Is it migraine or sinus" to see how many times the two are confused, related or suffered by thousands of people.

I can already feel the computer work is straining my eyes, but I am sure I won't be able to sleep for another hour or two. I can't read, watch t.v. or work - so I'll probably just lay in the dark and think.

It is 18 degrees Fahrenheit outside, so I guess a walk is also out of the question. LOL!

Snow Day!

The neighbor's pine

I stumbled out of my bedroom this morning making a beeline for the coffee pot. I glanced out the front window and saw three inches of snow on the ground! I yelled to my daughter (who was already showered and getting herself a bowl of cereal) "I'm checking school closings!"

I logged on and saw six schools closed and about four on a two hour delay. A refresh brought up my daughter's school as closed. Every refresh would bring another one. By the time I was done checking 23 had closed and all who were on a 2-hour delay had caved in and closed. We have our first Snow Day of the school year!

We ate breakfast and relaxed a bit, then we bundled up and took the dog and camera outside. I figure my camera is pretty banged up anyway and getting a few snowflakes on it won't do it any more harm. The piece that slides over the lens to turn the camera on and off is making a grinding noise and I have to almost force it to work.

My daughter and I goofed off a good bit. I had already set up beef vegetable soup the night before for the crock pot and that simmered along nicely all day. I added corn bread. Perfect snowy day food. For dessert we had french vanilla cocoa. We watched the snowy blizzard in the late afternoon from our living room.

The only thing I had to do was take Sable to the vet's office for an allergy shot and to get her toe nails clipped. The poor thing. She is getting to where she knows the vet's office and she makes a beeline for the back door once we get into the examining room. She gives me the most sorrowful "you tricked me!" look. It breaks my heart.

My daughter is at her boyfriend's house and I cracked open the "Object Oriented Programming with Java" book that I borrowed from work. So far, so good. It is going over basic HTML which I am familiar with. Whew. At least I am not starting off lost.

Another month or so

March sunset

Just another day or two of January, then a short month of February. The above photo was taken last March 11th. Although with the little snow we have had so far, we will probably have winter clear to Memorial Day.

I finally switched over to the new Blogger. Not sure what difference it will make if any. Just going through the motions. Yes, yes, whatever.

I borrowed a new book on web page building from work. I hope I get time to sink my teeth into it. It may be way over my head. I'll give it a try, though. It is titled Object Oriented Java or something to that effect. It will give me something new to learn during the long winter evenings.

Little Drummer Boy

My Grand Nephew

You know it is a rule somewhere. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles can buy little boys and girls toys that make noise. It is a sort of payback to the parent. (grin). I am so glad that he was not in my house this week-end with that drum. My head would surely have exploded.

I missed two birthday parties for two very good friends. It ticks me off. If I get even one migraine this week I am calling the doctor. This was ridiculous. My daughter had a doctor appointment forty miles away Wednesday night. I had to go shopping Thursday night and Friday I logged about 200 miles on my car. By Saturday my head said "No more." I am "sensory sensitive" I think. I need to have down time to counteract the surplus of activity. I dreaded this week-end, I knew that I was going to be stressed with all the running. It built up and my system said "That's it. If you wont' stop, I'll stop you." And, it did just that.

Oh, well. Both friends were very understanding. I am finally getting some energy this afternoon to fix a nice dinner, clean up the house and play with my dog and daughter. Easy does it, though.

Ear hair

Moose

Usually ear hair grosses me out, but not so much on this precious face. Next month, she will celebrate one year with the Peruby household. We still have clumps of matted hair on her, she does not like me to mess with them. She is our twice-spayed cat. She is becoming friendlier with each passing month.

I had a family get together last night, and I won't be making to a friendship dinner tonight. I may go to the after dinner party, so that I can give my gifts. I am worn out. I had a full blown migraine this morning and I wasn't sure I could pull out of it with my medicine, but after six hours I am able to move around a little. It still beats the 24 hour downtime with vomiting.

The stress from the family episode last night left me reeling. It hit me like a two by four in the face. People I have known all my life falling apart at the seams. Life just has a way of smacking you in the face, doesn't it? There you are, the youngest of eight children. Ages range from 46 to 64. Life's road is twisty and a bit bumpy at times, but all of a sudden you turn a corner and BAM! The family runs into a brick wall and everyone is staggering backwards stunned and in shock.

My dream a few weeks ago about the swinging bridge? Did my sister fall off or is she still hanging on? Did somebody else come along in time to save her? Did she save herself? Knowing my sister, she probably built herself a whole new bridge.

Oh, Brother.

The topic for Photo Friday is "Brother" when my sister is causing most of my worries tonight.

Hurts

Yep. This is kind of how my head feels when I have a migraine. LOUD, disconnected, painful.

I had one today. I am averaging two a week. Stress at work? Crazy weather? Barometric pressure? My new barometer is nice. It shows a little separation between the needles today. Humidity in my room is really low. I can't abide a humidifier. Every time I am in a room where they have humidified the air, I get pleurisy.

The picture above? Not mine. Somebody sent it to me in an e-mail. It is an optical illusion. It is not really moving and looks really neat if you click it and see it in the larger size. People must be getting real bored these days. I am getting an abundance of jokes and neat e-mails in my mailbox these days. The winter blues.

I ran into an old school friend today at the mall. This is one I tracked down and called a few times, we would chat, but she never initiated the phone calls. I took the hint. I "think" she was trying to avoid me at the store, but we were best friends for 8 years, so I wasn't going to let this opportunity go. She and I were neighbors and we both ended up moving to this area. We reminisced for about an hour and she left me with a "Call me, we'll have dinner" remark again, but I wonder. I will give this one more try. I will call her when I have some extra time in late February or March. If she fails to respond then I will sadly close that book.

Call me Colonel Mustard

Another cold lake photo

This is another lake photo from my drive yesterday. I put it through the wringer with Paint Shop Pro.

About my post yesterday and the baloney I mentioned. I figure I am the mustard. Sometimes sweet, sometimes hot, always versatile, very vivid and I tend to go with baloney. So move over. The mustard is here to stay!

Baby, it's cold outside

View of a very cold lake

Driving back from our home office, I stopped by the lake thinking I could catch some of the beautiful sun rays streaming through a cloudy sky with the cold gray water. Not to be. I passed up the places that had a great view of the sky and ended up here where the sun barely shines. It was cold. The wind was wicked. I didn't stay long.

Here is my 2 cents worth of a subject titled "Management 101".

I have a co-worker who has been in neck/back/facial pain for 18 months. She has hopped from doctor to neurologist to chiropractor to dentist and back again. She asked my manager about new office chairs since he does most of the purchasing. He took us shopping last week and told us to try some chairs out at Office Max. We chose two - moderately priced. She lobbied for one for her shorter legs. I could have cared less. I picked out one in slate blue. I sat in it, felt good and I said "This one suits me."

My co-worker seemed excited about the chairs. I (having worked there for 11 years) told her not to hold her breath.

We received an e-mail from our new "director" and it was worded as such,

"Thing One and Thing Two, (not our real names)

We will order you a chair from this selection (she included a URL). If you want a more expensive chair, you will have to buy it yourself."

How I would have worded the e-mail had I been the manager,

"Thing One and Thing Two, (not our real names)

Unfortunately our budget will only allow us to order from this selection. I am hoping that one of the chairs listed here will suit your needs. Please choose a chair from the following link."

That is all she had to write. My co-worker was crushed. She cried and wanted to rant and write our "new" director a nasty e-mail about how much pain she is in and her chiropractor recommends that she get an ergonomic office chair. Boo Hoo. I just shrugged. Big deal.

I don't want anything above and beyond what my co-workers get. Not at all. I just want my fair share. As our "new" director was quoted as saying a month or so back, "It isn't about FAIR!" I guess not.

Let me remind you that this "new" director and my co-worker were the two that teased an older gentleman about him liking me a couple years back. Inside a school building, he was a widower and very much a gentleman. They said (so that he could hear) "Peruby, I think he is sweet on you!" I cringed in empathy for the older gentleman. He was too mannerly to let on that he heard them. I gave the both of them a mean, stern look. Sigh. Neither one has matured much, it is just that my co-worker has found out what a real snake our "new" director really is. I laugh in her face. I warned her as much years ago. She cries because she thought that this female (I can't call her a woman or a lady) was her friend.

You know what. There just isn't enough antacid to put up with this baloney. I thought I could deal with her being the "new" director, but it is going to take some major re-adjusting of my attitude and I am not sure that is possible. Like the old radio dials, it is way over on one side of the band and it is stuck there. Stripped. The knob turns and turns, but it no longer comes back to pick up any signals. Okay, you have to really understand the old radios to get that. I took one apart and looked at it when I was little.

Big breath. Breathe deep. Relax. Go to your happy place.

I am sitting here

This evening I spoke with a co-worker on the telephone. He had a serious heart attack the day after Christmas. He has Type I Diabetes, he had pneumonia, and he is now on dialysis three times a week. He is trying to focus on things one day at a time. As the world continues to turn around him his days are filled with sending his vital signs to a hospital over the phone line, having a physical therapist come in to see him twice a week, going in for a dialysis treatment three times a week that takes four hours for each visit, trying to keep his new onslaught of medicine straight as to which one does what, and dealing with his regular dose of insulin shots.

My newspaper is full of the sad story of a grandmother and granddaughter who drove into the Tuscarawas River and drowned yesterday afternoon. Two men from the nearby skating rink attempted to jump into the river to assist, but the current was too strong and the water was too deep and cold. The authorities are saying road conditions contributed to the accident.

I just want to rock back and forth with a blanket over my head.