Something To Look Forward To

OMG, can't you just smell 'em?!


This is my favorite Spring flower. I love them in every color.

The Olympics are almost over and the same goes for February, which has been quite the nasty little bugger, hasn't it?

March is one day away and although it has brought some nasty snow storms in the past, it is another month closer to Spring...that magical wonderful season that I love so much.

Daylight Saving starts on the 14th, St. Patrick's Day is on the 17th, and Palm Sunday is four weeks away from today. Soon we will be hunting eggs, eating chocolate bunnies, and wearing our finest Easter duds. Not really. I don't own any Easter duds and even if I did I certainly wouldn't wear them. I also don't hide or hunt eggs and chocolate is the last thing I should be thinking about when I look in the mirror.

So put on a happy face, do a happy dance, and let's all get ready for what's finally right around the corner: Spring! It arrives March 20th.

Bode Miller ~ Gotta Love This Guy

There was no one more disappointed than me four years ago at the Olympics in Italy when Bode Miller left empty handed. I had great hopes for him back then and I was both stunned and devastated by his actions.

When he won two silver medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, he was happy and I was happy for him. But that elusive gold just wasn't meant to be. And then came the 2006 debacle where no medal was meant to be. I can't even put in words how I felt when his last event was over; I thought his career was over, too.

Since then he's become a father to Neesyn Dacey who turned two years old this month. She has become part of his resurgence, as children can do that to a person. He has mentioned her numerous times at these Olympic games (he calls her Dacey). That makes me all the more proud of him not only as an athlete, but as a father too.

Bode started the games slowly in Vancouver and built to a crescendo. He placed third in the Downhill earning a bronze medal. Next, he placed second in the Super G earning a silver medal. And then he won the Super Combined and earned his first gold medal.

No other American Alpine skier has earned more medals in the same Olympics. Bode stands alone. Just like I had hoped he would when I first started following his career, long before most people had ever heard of him. And he's not done yet.

Never A Dull Moment

Yes, I once made that remark about our house. Especially with the three cats we have inside. My older two (they are 3-1/2 years old) never got into much trouble. They kept each other entertained. But Punkin' is a whole 'nother animal.

Two days ago I found him on top of my radio console with one of the two live plants I have left and it was laying over on its side, dirt and pebbles spilling out. Months ago he had the entire plant upside down on my beige rug in the family room. I wasn't all that happy then and I sure enough wasn't happy two days ago. I did the only thing I could think of which was quite spontaneous. I yelled at him. He didn't see me coming and I guess I scared him. He jumped down and it was higher than he is used to. And then he cowered and froze. I felt terrible at that moment and consoled him soothingly so he wouldn't be afraid.

Around noon my husband noticed he was limping. His right front foreleg seemed to be the culprit because when he walked he didn't put his full weight on it. I monitored him all day and it wasn't getting better.

Wednesday morning my first order of business was to call the vet. I was lucky enough to get an appointment later in the day. I was worried he had a fracture, although I was fairly sure it wasn't broken. The vet said it is a common thing for cats. She said he had a sprained elbow. She gave him a shot (painkiller) and said that will last three to four days so he doesn't feel the pain of the sprain while he mends. She also said it may take three to four weeks for it to fully mend.

Even though he had that sprain, he was still running around like nothing happened. He favored his leg when he walked or ran but he still played ninja cat with the other two cats. He still jumped up onto things and jumped down. He was doing everything that he normally did before the sprain.

And once the painkiller kicked in he was back to normal. But he's in for a surprise when it wears off. I need some of those shots for my pain but the vet wouldn't hear of it. Foiled again.

Congratulations, Dale Jr

Finishing second in the Daytona 500 is just what the doctor ordered. He almost won the thing, but I am very happy with a second place finish. Congrats also to Jamie McMurray on his win. He deserves it. He's one of the nice guys.

It was a long race, interrupted by two red flags due to a hole in the surface of the track. But the wait was well worth it. Watching Dale Jr. cut through traffic during that last lap was freakin' awesome. Such a beautiful sight to see. I'm looking forward to more of those throughout the season.

On another note...more snow is coming. They say 6-10 inches. Good grief. Maybe I'll see you all in the Spring thaw.

Tighten Your Seat Belts And Hang On

You're in for one helluva ride while watching today's Daytona 500 at 1:00 EST.

Dale Jr. took a ride on the wild side during the Nationwide race Saturday when his car was turned by a driver whose wife is expecting their child any day now. I believe that driver was daydreaming about the new baby and lost his focus. Because he made one bonehead maneuver causing Dale Jr. to fly.

And although I didn't watch the second half of the truck race, I read that they too had some wild crashes. I just hope everyone got it out of their systems and what they refer to as "the big one" won't happen during the 500. I want to watch cars racing, not flying through the air.

Buried Up To My Eyeballs...Almost

We ended up with 17.10" of snow. On top of the 7.7" we got over the last weekend. That's a total of 25.5".

I remember back in '96 when we had 26". The husband and son-in-law had to clear off our roof. One of them lost a rake and we didn't find it till Spring.

Another bad snowstorm for our area was back in '83 when we got 25.2" and that was a record because it all fell on one day. I didn't go to work that day and I was living in an apartment complex. I cleared out a parking space for my Jeep and decided to leave and go play in the snow. When I came back someone was in my cleared spot. Knowing who it was, I marched my behind to their door, damn near broke it down with my knocking, and told them they can kindly get their vehicle out of the spot I cleared by myself. They did. I take no prisoners when it comes to stuff like that.

More snow is coming Monday evening but they are saying it won't be much. I've heard that before...

No Escaping It This Time

That's an old photo from two years ago. It looks like we won't be that lucky this time. Or as lucky as we were just a few days ago when we ended up with 7 inches and Philly (60 miles to the south) got almost 30 inches. No, this time it's taking dead aim for us, too.

They say anywhere from 12 to 18 inches. We are on the northern fringe of the storm. There are two storms, by the way. The first one is already here (Tuesday evening), and the second one will arrive sometime Wednesday and it is supposed to stop snowing, oh, maybe Wednesday evening close to midnight. Good grief.

We usually do our grocery shopping on a Wednesday. Since NASCAR is gearing up with a lot of coverage today, I decided we had better get our shopping done a day ahead of time. My excuse was, of course, the storm. My real reason, of course, was NASCAR. But I couldn't confess to that now could I? I get enough grief from the husband about how much NASCAR I watch as it is.

After our grocery jaunt was over and we were on our way home, I felt it was safe to tell the husband of my plans. I told him I was commandeering the remote for the TV around 11:00 am Wednesday and was not giving it up until the news was on Sunday evening. That's five days, people. Five days of a lot of NASCAR. Pure heaven.

While I was doing my shopping today and calculating what I needed, it was on my mind that I wasn't planning on going out of the house for the next five days. And every time I said that to myself, I felt giddy and excited. Sort of like being in hibernation but staying awake during it all.

I fully expect all the snow to be gone when I wake up Monday morning. Yeah, I know, but it's nice to dream.

Welcome to NASCAR, Danica

She started 12th in yesterday's ARCA race and finished 6th. And what a show she put on in between. She made a believer out of me.

I followed her career in open wheel, but when I heard she was considering NASCAR I was worried she didn't have what it takes. Oh how wrong I was. Of course, this was just one race but I think she's going to be okay.

NASCAR Off Season Is Officially Over

And it's a good thing too...because I was so bored out of my mind without my NASCAR. And wondering what this guy was up to:

The uniform looks the same, the car has a new paint scheme, and the driver is sporting a full beard and mustache. Looking good...

Dale Jr. started a new season Thursday when he and the rest of the drivers finally practiced for the Budweiser Shootout which will be run Saturday night at Daytona.

Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin got into an oops-I-didn't-know-which-way-you-were-going accident involving 7 cars. Most of them will need a back-up car and will have to start in the rear. I've never seen Denny that calm during his interview afterward. Give him a couple of weeks and he'll be his old self again. He's great at that whining stuff. They say Dale Jr. whines a lot. I don't see it. But then I'm biased. Seriously, I just don't see it.

NASCAR has finally decided to let the drivers police themselves. That means they don't have to be so politically correct any more. It means the sponsors were told to give the drivers some slack so they can let their personalities come through. It's about time we get back to the old way.

Between NASCAR, the Super Bowl this Sunday, and the Olympics starting next week, I will be in hog heaven...my own self-imposed hibernation, as it were. If I don't post for a bit, I hope you'll understand. I'll be up to my ears in sports. And loving every minute of it.

Oh, and then there's that snow coming our way, too.

Now Singing Soprano

The deed is done. The nuggets are gone. He will be 6 months old on the 9th of this month. I am very eager to see how he acts within the next week or so as a result of this snip-snip operation.
(As you can see by the date, this is an older photo.)

Our other two cats were so bent out of shape after seeing us leave with him and coming back without him. They don't eat cheese, but they sure had a lot of whine going on once we returned.

We dropped Punkin' off at 8:00 am Monday morning and picked him up at 5:30 pm. I decided to put him in his cage till the anesthesia wears off. Poor little thing doesn't understand that either and it breaks my heart to have to do it, too. He hasn't had anything to eat since Sunday midnight but come Tuesday morning, he will be freed from the cage so he can eat his first meal without his two little friends. And I don't mean the other two cats.

One more thing:
HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

What A Pain In The...

Being the wonderful driver that I am, I have been in quite a few accidents in my lifetime. Nothing really serious but eventually after getting jostled and bruised so often it takes its toll on the body.

I am also what you would call a klutz, a clumsy dolt, if you will. It means my feet don't communicate with one another or the rest of my body it seems. I have fallen over unseen objects and stumbled into ground depressions so often, I have lost count. Sprained a few ankles along the way too. But I am proud to say I have never broken anything.

Two really bad episodes stand out in my mind. Once when I slid down a slanted wet cellar door while barefoot (I was cleaning the kitchen window above it) and falling on my butt with the back of my head violently hitting said cellar door. That was 4 or 5 years ago. The other time was more recent, about 2 years ago, when I stumbled over an umbrella stand on our deck (it was full of sand and immovable). My right side fell onto the stand and the side of my head again violently kissed the deck.

I know...I should be loony by now. Maybe I am and just don't know it. But that's another story for another time. I am finally realizing that these accidents are finally catching up to me and taking a huge toll on my body.

Many years ago I started having lower back pain. Thus began my numerous trips to a chiropractor. I used to get severe headaches short of a migraine, but once I started seeing a chiropractor those headaches eventually went away and I haven't had one since. That was almost 20 years ago. But getting back to my present day dilemma; the chiropractor had finally hit a brick wall with me. Nothing he did or suggested for my back was helping and it was only getting worse. There were times when even if I could get out of bed I didn't get too far and had to sit. These days it takes me almost an hour of activity before I am human and the pain goes away, till the next morning and it starts all over again. Some days I feel like a penguin walking down the hall from my bedroom to greet the rest of the world.

Last November while I was at the chiropractor (when he hit the brick wall), he suggested I get X-rays done. He could have done them at his practice but my insurance only pays for adjustments, nothing else. I got the script from my family doctor where my insurance would pay for them. My doctor suggested that my hips needed to be looked at also just to be sure. So with script in hand, I finally went to have the X-rays done in mid December. Yes, I am a procrastinator so don't ask why it took me so long.

Needless to say I wasn't in a great hurry to find out the results either. I like to think there's nothing wrong with me, so why put myself through all that and get bad news? However, I had to face the facts so I made an appointment with my chiropractor this past Monday. The facility that X-rayed me was supposed to pass the report along to my chiropractor but apparently they didn't, so he called and had them fax the results while I waited.

It was then that I learned what was wrong with me. My right hip has calcific bursitis. Which means I have had chronic inflammation of the bursa and that led to the calcification of said bursa. Not a pretty picture. Where or when that happened, I'll never know, but I am wondering if it was when my hip hit the umbrella stand.

My lower spine has severe multilevel degenerative discogenic disease, L2 through L5. I have been taking chondroitan-glucosamine pills since November suggested by my chiropractor. He tells me that by staying on them things won't get worse than what they are now. It will never get better either. I can live with the pain I have now because I have become used to it. Sort of like a tag-along friend.

I'm not one for operations, especially where the spine is concerned, so that is totally out of the question. With a small miracle, I'm hoping it gets better and not worse. I just have to tough it out like I've been doing all my life where other pains were concerned - some people included. Actually a lot of people included.

Half Pleased, Half Upset

The pleased part is Peyton Manning and his Colts winning the AFC Championship.

The upset part is Brett Favre and his Vikings losing the NFC Championship by three points in overtime.

I had hoped to see a Super Bowl with Manning vs. Favre.

Not to be. Maybe next year?

My money is on the Colts to win the Super Bowl. What can I say, I'm a fan of both Peyton and Eli Manning.

Speed It Up NASCAR

Sixteen days. Sixteen long days. Sixteen very long days.

That's how long I must wait to finally be able to see some NASCAR action. The Shootout will be televised Saturday, February 6th. But before that is run, the boys will be qualifying for the Daytona 500 earlier in the day. Normally they would qualify on Sunday the 7th, but as we all know that day has been spoken for by the Super Bowl.

Then on Thursday, February 11th, the twin duels will be run to set the rest of the field for the 500. Sunday's qualifying is only for the first row.

Finally, on the 14th, the Daytona 500 will be run. The official start of the NASCAR season.

I would love to see more photos like this one after the races this year:

There's a lot of high hopes coming out of the #88 camp. Dale Jr. is looking forward to racing and has great expectations of winning races this year. He said if he didn't win at least three races, he would be disappointed in himself. I look forward to seeing him running up front every week. And staying up front for the entire race. I am very optimistic with everything I have read so far this year coming out of the #88 camp. I know, it's one thing to talk about it, it's another thing to follow through and do it and they are all very aware of that.

I have put his dismal year of 2009 in the trash basket. It's over and done with and there is no sense in rehashing it any more. It's a new season and a fresh start. The future looks bright for Dale Jr. and his entire team and I am about as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.

So speed it up NASCAR. I need my fix.

(Updated to correct date of Daytona 500)

Angels When Asleep

These two are so good when they take their naps, but that little guy, Punkin', is a holy terror when he is awake. He pests both the older cats almost nonstop. I'm hoping when he gets neutered that he will stop being so aggressive.

I titled this one Brotherly Love

Punkin' loves to play, therefore he is always wanting attention from the two older cats. The female, Dakota, doesn't want to be bothered most of the time so she runs for higher ground. She goes places where she knows Punkin' can't follow. Right now that is on top of the washer, so I have to keep the lid closed. This morning she chose to jump into one of the three hanging laundry bags and couldn't get out because the material is slippery.

There is never a dull moment in this house. The good thing is that Punkin' keeps the two older ones on their toes. They get a lot of exercise when he is awake. I know he will calm down somewhat once he is neutered but I also hope that he is still active. He keeps us entertained.

Shelter For Our Outside Cats

When we had this concrete project done we did it with the outside cats in mind. They were using our deck for shelter where we had two dog houses with bedding inside for them. Their food and water dishes were also on the deck. As a result, we haven't been able to clean and paint the deck for some years and it is in dire need of that. When the cats started using the one for an outhouse, it was time to rethink what we wanted to do. So we had this concrete pad installed:

We were supposed to get a greenhouse-type shelter from one of my husband's former customers that he delivered goods to, but eventually that fell through. And before we knew it, the cold weather was upon us. Drat that cold weather. And so we started shopping around for something that would be feasible for the cats and would also enable me to enter so that I could feed them. We found a 6X8 greenhouse made of indestructible material and were lucky to get the last one in stock. With the help of my daughter's significant other, my husband put it together.

What I hadn't planned on was having tiny guests so soon after it was constructed. One of our resident queens gave birth in the wee morning hours of New Year's Day to five kittens. One didn't make it through the day and I imagine the same thing would have happened any other time of the year. It's nature's way. Needless to say, I have been worrying about the remaining four ever since they were born. They just opened their eyes and are starting to explore, so now I have to worry about keeping them on the bedding and not the concrete floor. We will be adding a barrier for that purpose. It will keep the kittens off the concrete while still enabling the other cats to be able to sleep in the bedding area.

I've never experienced a litter of kittens during the cold months; they have always been born from Spring through Autumn. But this little lady below is responsible for giving me more to worry about than I ever anticipated. She was born in 2006 and the oldest of our colony. She is the grandmother to our rescue, Punkin', who was lucky enough to be brought inside when his mother was killed by a careless car.
I have always liked this photo of Gizmo. Gizmo's daughter and mother of Punkin', Mini-Me, looked exactly like Gizmo and that is how she got her name, may she rest in peace.

Have I Told You Lately I Hate Winter?

Darn this nasty weather. I imagine most of the country is having the same stuff. The temperature is supposed to drop to 6 deg. today and that isn't even factoring in the wind chill.

Here is Junior our three-year-old male cat looking out over his realm from one of his favorite perches on the front window sill.

This is what he sees. There's a road there somewhere. All the way over to the left of the photo is a light post and to the right of that post is our newspaper box. That's where the road is.

I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I am sick up to my eyeballs of this stinkin' weather. And I suppose the cats outside are too. At least we were able to get the greenhouse up for them on the concrete pad we put in over the summer. The greenhouse is in a protected area and it gives them shelter.

I wish we could hibernate...that would be right up my alley.

I'm Ba-aaaaaaaack

Seriously folks, did you really think I was going to do all that transferring stuff by myself?

I unhooked everything and a friend of my husband's worked his magic. First he stripped the crap off the new computer tower, then he transferred everything for me over to the new one.

I could have hooked back up last night but I needed to clean the dust bunnies from all the wires behind the desk, not to mention disentangling them. And I didn't want to rush things knowing full well that I have a very short fuse and it doesn't take much to ignite it.

Once I got everything cleaned up this morning, it didn't take long to connect everything. The biggest hurdle was getting connected to the Internet. I managed, but don't ask me how.

Now I have to figure out how this Windows 7 works. It's a huge difference from XP, and I don't think I will know what I am doing for a long time to come. Hell, I don't even know the basics but somehow I will figure things out. I'm very stubborn that way...to figure things out on my own.

Undergoing Changes

Starting Wednesday, January 6th, I will be changing to a new computer. I will be going from a 256MB to a 6GB that can be expanded to 8GB. I will be going from a 32-bit to a 64-bit and from Windows XP to Windows 7. It will be a whole new ballpark for me, better yet a whole new playground.

I will be off the internet for a few days only, so bear with me while I take a deep breath and get things done.

See you in a few...I hope.

A New Year, A New Decade

What can I say about 2009...not much except that my sports teams all sucked. Starting with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #88 team. And the NY Mets. And the NY Giants. And the San Francisco 49ers. I can only hope they all do better, especially that #88 team. Dale Jr. is far overdue for a good year. It won't be long before Daytona is upon us.

2009 wasn't so bad for us personally, we've had far much worse years than that one. 2010 sounds so new, so crisp, so hip. I can't wait to see what it brings to the table. I like even years.

I have been having computer problems for the past few days and I really thought it was going to puke. Whatever it was has left the building and I am back to the way things were before it was invaded, which wasn't all that great. Needless to say I now have strong thoughts about replacing this computer. It was eight years old last November. I have Windows XP. I never wanted any part of Vista and now that Windows 7 is finally here, I will start to look around to see what's available.

We are currently experiencing a deep freeze in this part of the country. With the wind-chill factor, the temperature is in the single digits and it makes me very crabby to say the least. I hate cold weather. And anything below 60 degrees is cold. January cannot get out of my life fast enough to suit me.

Do you hear those cats meowing from a prior post of mine? They are driving me crazy, so I turn the speakers off. I don't know how to stop them and I guess I will just have to post more often so they get off this page.

One of my Christmas presents to myself was a camera. With an attached 20x zoom lens. I can't wait to start playing with it, but right now I have too many other things I'm involved in and can't find the time to figure out how to use it. But I will eventually.

It's time to wrap this up, get to bed, and dream about warmer days.

Here Comes 2010

Kindly replace that bottle of likker with my favorite wine and you've got the picture.