Run For Cover

The week is not yet over and I am ready to...well, I won't go into what I am ready to do.

Let me set this up for you.  Last Sunday was one of the best days of my life because my driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., won the Daytona 500.  For me and the rest of Junior Nation that was huge.  More than anyone can imagine even if they are not a fan of his.

So, I was walking on air.  Elated to the max.  And then Monday morning came and lowered the boom.

We did not get a newspaper.  Now, I know a lot of you out there will say, big deal, it's just a newspaper.  I have grown up with a paper and in my later years I appreciate a good, hot cup of coffee and the morning newspaper.  And when that doesn't happen, this woman is mighty pissed.

With all my ranting and raving, my husband started making phone calls.  We knew our regular motor carrier stopped delivering about a week ago and we stupidly thought a new carrier would take over and the transition would be smooth.  Yeah...right.  Try and hunt down an apparition.  Because that is what our local newspaper has become since they were bought out awhile ago by another huge newspaper located in Chicago. It is the only newspaper in Lehigh County and surrounding counties as well.  Needless to say, my husband got nowhere.  Oh, but we did get a paper delivered later in the day.

Come Tuesday and again no newspaper.  More phone calls.  It was delivered later in the day as well.  The same thing happened on Wednesday.  Finally, on Thursday (today) we didn't have to call.  Fingers crossed that the problem has been resolved.

During all that I also had a sick cat.  With all the upchucking that was going on for a week or two, I thought all four were responsible.  It turned out that only one was, but she was so good at hiding the fact she wasn't feeling well that it took witnessing it actually happening to realize which one it was.  By then, she was also squirting liquid out the other end.  In the litter box, thank goodness.  That went on all day Tuesday and she slept most of the day between potty breaks.  I didn't let her out of my sight that day.  I told my husband if she wasn't better in the morning we would call the vet.  There was no need to do that because she was back to her normal self the following morning.  And by now you would never know she had ever been sick.  But that is what I was dealing with while the newspaper dilemma was going on.

Wednesday morning, making sure Dakota was OK, I wanted to check my Email before we went grocery shopping.  To my surprise I could not access my account.  When we came back from shopping that was where I headed.  Still no access.  I fired up my laptop and started researching why I was not getting mail.  Believe me, I tried everything I could think of and then some and worked into the wee hours of the morning.  So that when I awoke this morning (Thursday) the first thing on my mind was my mail.  When I got all my morning chores done I worked on more things I had thought of with a clearer mind.

Nothing I did worked, so I caved and got in touch with my server.  Well, they saw some pretty mysterious stuff going on with my account, like Emails flying out left and right supposedly being sent by me.  So they shut down my account.  And didn't tell me.  Just the Email account as I still had access to the Internet.  After I got in touch with them, they called me back and told me my address and password were compromised.  Holy sh*t!  I panicked.  But with their help my password was changed and all is well with the world again.

And just to cap off all this craziness, when I went outside to take care of the cats this morning I discovered that the large heated water bowl we recently bought apparently gave up the ghost because there was a huge chunk of ice in it.  I could have cried.  Actually, I think I did a little bit.  The temperature tonight is going down close to zero or less and the wind chill will be somewhere in the vicinity of minus 25.  Of all the times for something like that to happen.  Life is not being very fair right now.

So, yes, I am ready to run for cover...

WOW!

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finally did it!  I am so proud of him.  This is his second Daytona 500 win having won back in 2004.  

Hopefully this means 2014 will be an awesome year for him and maybe he can finally win that elusive Championship title.

Winter just got a little easier for me to bear.

Pardon me now while I relish this win and pop my heart back into my chest.

Sigh...

This has got to be the longest winter of my life.

I'm just sayin'...

It Just Keeps Falling Out Of The Sky

This woman will be one elated human in a few months when she will be able to see grass.

This was taken from the sliding doors leading out to the deck.

 I got a little lower to take this one from the sliding doors as well.

 This one was shot from a prone position.  Love the blue sky peeking through, but it didn't last long.

 Can you see that drift in the upper middle of this photo?  That is mild compared to the drifts we used to get, but since the neighbor slapped a crappy plastic fence up it has slowed down the drifting somewhat from the empty field.

 This was shot from our front window.  Our poor hedges.

 I always find it amazing how the camera cannot capture the depth the human eye can.  The snow just doesn't look the same through a camera lens.

Guess what?  It snowed again overnight, stopped this morning, and continued snowing well into the afternoon.  No relief for the weary.

Mother Nature Just Keeps Dumping On Us

I am not sure but I think what we just got overnight was the ninth snowstorm this season.  

This latest storm brought around 6-8 inches but I just learned that it isn't done with us yet.  There is more coming tonight into the morning.  Coupled with what we just got they predict a total accumulation of 12-18 inches. And that's on top of what we already had from previous storms, not to mention the ice coating as well.  I am beginning to wonder if we will see bare ground much before May.

And more snow is coming for the weekend...

Every time we get significant snow it is up to me to clear everything to and around the hothouse for the cats outside.  They also need a path shoveled from the door to under the deck where there isn't any snow and they can at least remember what ground is.

This morning I watched two cats come out of the hothouse, stop halfway between it and the deck, put their paws on the snowbank and looked over  the expanse of our back yard, thought a bit, decided that it wasn't a good idea to go there, and continued on to under the deck.  Can't see as I blame them.  Where would they go?  They fall through the snow when they walk on it and I can only imagine that's not a good feeling for a cat.

All I can say is thank goodness for the Olympics to keep me occupied and my mind off the snow.  And Friday begins the first practice sessions for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.  Yes, it's finally here.  Maybe that will pull me out of the snow doldroms.

A Bit Of Color

When I looked out the front window during our last big storm, this is the only color I saw other than the blue above it which is on our flag wind chime.

The garden flag is for Valentines Day.  I like to change those flags for every holiday or season.  It makes things a little brighter for me, especially when I look out that window and see something other than snow, snow, and more snow.  My eyes are always drawn to that flag.

More snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  Ho hum...

At least there are the Olympics to keep me occupied.  Next weekend NASCAR starts with the Sprint non points race to get the season underway.  Finally.

One Of Our Outside Cats

I named this kitten Jackie One-Eye.  I could have named it One-Eyed Jack.  Since I didn't know its gender, Jackie it became since that name works for both genders.  When its mother first brought it up to the hothouse it only had the one eye.  I have no idea how it lost the eye either, but to this day it seems to get around as well as the cats with both eyes.

Snow, Snow, Snow

This is what we woke up to this morning...

It is currently 31° and still snowing.  The forecast is 4-6" but it seems like we have already gone over that amount.

It's days like these that I am thankful I no longer have to drive to work in this fluffy, wet snow.  Or any kind of snow for that matter.  Or even having to drive to work in the first place.

The cats outside will have to wait until later to get fresh water and food.  If I go out now to do that they will all want to leave the hothouse and there is no place to go but into deep snow.  That would not be very kind of me so for now I will let them stay inside where it is dry and comfy.

According to meteorologists we are supposed to get more nasty weather in the next couple of days.  Since the groundhog saw its shadow, that is quite fitting.  I don't believe in that groundhog hooey because whether it sees its shadow or not we still get six more weeks of winter.

OK, back to my den of hibernation.