Life Continues - Busy as Anything and ICE Is Still Lurking in the Cities

Yesterday was VERY busy, and I ended up spending almost all afternoon on stuff for Travis. But I did get my meals made for the next week, and my "Ogre Juice" for the next week as well. Today. after swimming, I have a dental checkup at 7:30 am, and then on to work. I have 14 items that I need to send to Travis in three days, so I'm pushing to get those finished and sent off. DH apparently has some of the information I need, but I don't think he's actually given it to me yet. *sigh*

I suspect Travis is a good 20 years older than this 
photo, but it's hard to say for sure. I haven't met 
him in person. I do hope if I get a chance to meet him, 
he won't be this wizened little old man - LOL. 

I ended up going to the grocery store closest to me THREE  times yesterday. Once for my regular shopping, a second time because I forgot something, and a third time because their shelves hadn't been restocked when I had been there earlier, and I needed two more items. It's a good thing the store is only a mile from my house! But it still was a major rush. 

This is my main grocery store - Lunds & Byerlys. The two 
stores merged in the late 70's or early 80's. It's only a mile 
from my house, which makes it very convenient. It's not 
the least expensive, but that's OK too - the quality is there. 

I spent a lot of time yesterday on the phone getting this or that changed or this or that notified about things regarding our upcoming sale or business closure. There's just SO much to do. But these first two weeks are the worst, at least in terms of things I need to check out and notify Travis about. Then we'll be getting things worked out, and, of course, we're also still in the middle of reorganizing, pulling items that we don't want to put into the clearance sale, and otherwise working on stuff. Stuff never truly ends. 

I'm not really much of a fan of to-do lists, 
but sometimes they have their place. When 
it comes to this store closing, they're 
essential. He's supplied us with a very 
detailed schedule, and we need to get everything 
on the schedule done on time. 

It's 25 degrees today, almost balmy (which will make going to my dental check-up appointment this morning much easier). Oh, and the government will be pulling 700 ICE agents out of Minnesota. Of course, that will still leave 2000 agents remaining! Can you say "Overkill"? Such bullshit! So, that's life in a war zone. It continues onward, but those "interesting" times that we would rather not be living in are continuing. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Still Cold, We Still Have ICE, But Life Goes On

So, we continue onward - cold and under seige. Although the general world is appalled at what went on in Minneapolis over the weekend, it's not stopping ICE from doing whatever they think they should do. At least Mother Nature isn't being kind - it's been damned cold. The "agents" are, of course, dressed in their cold weather gear, but it's got to be uncomfortable for them, despite the layers. The protesters gather together, and they've got warmth in numbers and crowds. But it's a stand-off and not a comfortable one. 

We're not backing down - we want ICE out of the Twin 
Cities. Minneapolis is in turmoil right now, and the only 
thing we've really got working for us is our weather, which 
is NOT kind to protestors or ICE. 

I did get the second payment off to Travis yesterday. I has asked Chickie to write down the directions from A to Z and she actually did pretty well at it. I did have to phone her, but it ended up being an easy find to get the check attached to my email to Travis. He sent me a return email within 30 minutes informing me that he had received it, so we're still on track for liquidating the business. 

It's a good photo of Travis. Does he actually look 
like this now? Hard to say. His book has actually 
been around for a while, and I suspect he's older, 
just like the rest of us. He lives in Florida, so 
who's to say? 

We need to bring a set of print drawers home. I think I know where he wants to put them, and they'll fit - snugly, but they'll fit. I have four double sets, so a total of 20 drawers between the upstairs and the framing area. We want ten of those at home. We'll probably sell the other set and I'm sure we'll get a buyer for them - they're lovely, and we've had people inquire about them in the past. 

We have two sets of wooden print drawers. They're lovely, 
and we'll bring one set of ten drawers home, but we'll 
sell the other set. I'm quite sure we'll have a buyer, we 
actually get a fair number of people asking to buy them 
over the years. 

DH did a major remodel on the North side of the shop over the past few days. He removed about half of the library area and consolidated the books onto a single bookshelf and extension instead of two. It looks a lot better. He also built another artwork display/sale case from an old fixture we had used for Pendleton blankets (when we used to sell them - when they were still reasonably priced). What he did was excellent and we'll get some good use from the new artwork display fixture. 

We used to carry a large variety of Pendleton blankets for 
sale (until their prices went through the roof). They were 
always a good seller - they're used for a variety of special 
occasion gifts, and are also an essential funeral gift. 

I have a lot of work to do in the downstairs framing area. We still have prints down there that need to be mounted and shrink wrapped, or framed in some cases. That'll be my focus over the next week, for as much as possible in any case. I'll also have to take a trip to my framing supply company tomorrow to get some frame stock, and get some assembly components. 

I used to do a lot of picture framing, especially when I ran my 
Mall of America store. I still have my supplier, however, 
so I can still get frame stock when I need to get some. 

So, I'm off to the swimming pool, grateful for the fact that I live in St Paul, not Minneapolis, and hoping that my city can continue to avoid ICE and the trauma that our Twin City is facing every day now. Have a good Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

It's Cold, ICE Kills Again, and We're Continuing Onward

Today is Monday, it's -12F outside (so just a BIT chilly!), and ICE is still in Minnesota creating havoc. The last person that ICE killed was a Veteran who worked at the VA Hospital and yes, he had a weapon on him, he had a concealed weapon permit and always carried. He didn't raise his weapon towards anyone, he was attempting to assist people who had been tossed to the ground. That's three unjustified deaths that I lay directly at Trump's doorstep. To say I'm angry is an understatement. I'm angry, I'm filled with sorrow, and I'm seriously upset. My state has become a battleground in a battle it never asked for. 

It's slightly warmer, but still sub-zero - so VERY cold. Anyone 
who's homeless hopefully found shelter, but the shelters will 
have to empty for the daylight hours and people will, quite 
literally, freeze to death under culverts and on park benches. 

In other news, however, I need to get my next payment out to Travis for our business liquidation. Last time Chickie was at the shop to help me over the bumps in the road. Today it's her day off, so she's not at the shop, but I had her write me out step-by-step directions so that I could get this accomplished. Next week I need to upload a five-minute video walk-through of what a customer would see if they came to my shop. I'm learning a lot of new things that I never anticipated learning - LOL. 

Travis is sharp, and hopefully will do well with 
our very eclectic shop. No guarantees, of course, 
but I have confidence that he'll give us our 
greatest chance of success. 

DH has been busy working on the shop. He's moved and repurposed sales displays, set up a new art stand for prints (we have a LOT of prints for sale), and things are starting to look really good. We've always been a store divided - Native American art on the one hand, the supplies used by our Native American (and other) customers such as beads and jewelry making materials on the other. There's overlap, but not a huge amount. Still, that's the store that we developed over the decades, and it's the one we'll have to sell off within a very short time. I'm pinning a lot of hope on Travis and his methodology. He's costing us a lot of money, but if he comes through and we're successful in liquidating the store, he'll be worth every penny. 

Travis' book is our bible, so to speak. Everything 
is detailed in it, and sure, we could have just used 
the book to progress, but we really needed someone 
to guide us a bit more, so we hired him. I'm really 
hoping for the best. 

So, I'm going to bundle up and brace for the cold. That cold is also part of living in Minnesota. We had an unusually warm and mild winter last year, and it's not quite that nice this year - LOL. Have an excellent and safe Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Happy Last Day of February - Ice, Cracks and Insurance

Happy last day of February, everyone. Today it's "relatively" warm - still below freezing, but closer to thaw than yesterday. I'll keep the ice chopper in my car. I'll likely end up needing it as we start the thaw/freeze cycle that March will begin. But, today, as I said, is still February - the shortest month of the year. 

The Freeze/Thaw cycle can break concrete, it can 
also break people because the ice can be quite 
dangerous to walk on, and the irregular concrete and 
walkways can be unexpected. Caution while 
walking is important. 

Tomorrow I have my next orthodontic appointment. I assume I'll get some more adjustments and perhaps instructions on different rubber band set-ups. I'm super pleased so far. I've never had my bottom teeth in an even horseshoe, and now they are aligned and wonderful. It's only been three months and I have more than a year still to go, but I'm seeing amazing results and considering this a total win situation. 

Doctor DeVoe is doing a tremendous job on my 
teeth and I'm amazed and delighted. I can't wait 
for my appointment tomorrow morning. 

I did get in touch with the insurance company. Apparently they didn't send bills out for December and January because of the postal problems, so they combined those payments with the March payment on the current bill. ARGH. That's beyond frustrating, because DH gives me the monthly household check based on the bills received, and we hadn't gotten the insurance bill. I'm going to try and backload the payments, but that may not work for them. I got "disconnected" from the one customer service rep I was speaking to yesterday, so I'll try again today. I did pay the current month, however, and probably will dip into my personal savings to pay the other two. It's frustrating because that money will be coming out of my New York money, not the household funds. But so it goes, sometimes. 

I always hate dealing with insurance companies, and 
I'm paying the penalty of relying on paper copies of 
my bills before paying them. Guess I'm sunk on 
this one, but it was a stupid decision on their part 
in any case. 

I'm calling this done here. It's a swimming day and I don't want to run late. We're warmer, but the roads may still be icy so caution and a bit of built-in time is advisable. Have an excellent day and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Will There be Ice? Only Time Will Tell

I got caught up in reading over the weekend's posts and responding to friends who had posted, and almost forgot to post my own update this morning. Silly me! 

We had a hockey game at 1:00 pm yesterday, which took 
up the center part of the day. It was an excellent game, and 
we ended up the winners, so all was well in my world. LOL

Yesterday was a relaxing day - we really didn't do a lot at all. It was a nice change from earlier in the week when we were dealing with the snow. We're supposed to be getting rain over the next few days. That's good and bad. Good because it will tamp down the snow piles, bad because it has the potential to freeze on the roadways, making driving quite hazardous. I don't mind driving on snow, but I absolutely despise driving on ice. If it is icy, we'll have a really boring day at the shop. 

I truly hate driving on icy roads. I'll take the snow 
anytime over the ice. The only way I want to tackle 
ice is with skates on my feet. 

DH is up early today, not for any reason that I can tell. He's at his computer already, so he's running more than an hour early for the day. In some ways that's a bit of a PITA, but he's not very interactive first thing in the morning, so I'm still getting in my quiet time. 

I need another cup of tea, so I'm wrapping this up. 
I'm already cold and haven't even ventured outside yet! LOL

Still, I'm hungry and want my next cup of tea, so I'm going to plug in some photos and call it a day. Have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

The Normal Winter Stuff - Ice and Hot Air

Today begins my week of Jury Duty. We'll see how it goes. The first hurdle is dropping by the shop and chopping the ice from the back door walk so that Chickie and DH can actually get into the place. (We have a heated deflector installed on the wall above our door that keeps melt-water from sheeting directly over the door (a very bad thing indeed), but it does build up on both sides as a result, and sometimes that can get thick enough to impede opening the door properly. That's a problem because we do have to turn off the burglar alarm and if we can't get into the door, it's impossible to achieve that. 

We often get ice built up on our short walkway from 
the parking lot to our store's back door. Sometimes 
it builds up enough to keep the door from opening 
properly, so we all carry ice choppers in our cars to take 
care of it when we arrive at the shop. My ice 
chopper is heavy-duty so I'll drop by the shop 
quickly on my way to the courthouse and chop up 
whatever came down yesterday. 

So, I'll go chop ice and sprinkle salt liberally, then continue on my way to the courthouse. I'm still quite undecided about where I'm going to park, just know it will be a few blocks away from the courthouse itself. I need to be there two hours from now, so this will be a rather short post because I can't waste a lot of time before starting my "epic journey". I hope I've dressed well - not too warm and not too cool. I have no idea what the heat level will be, so I'm wearing a turtleneck, leggings, and a sweatshirt dress. I'll have to see. I'm also carrying a small handbag with me - it has my dental things - necessary if I eat anything, although they probably won't have anything other than water that I can eat/drink anyway. Also my phone and portable charger. I'll have the phone on "Do Not Disturb", of course. 

Our furnace is in the basement, and it has three pipes 
coming from it, one for each of the three heating 
zones we have in the house - basement, main floor and 
upper floor. The upper and basement zones are 
heating fine, but the main level isn't. We haven't had 
anyone out to take a look at the system in more 
than 20 years, so it's probably not a bad idea to get 
them out to take a look and bleed out the air if needed. 

DH and I have determined that I will need to contact a local furnace firm and have them come to the house to look at our boiler. We have a zone boiler - three zones in the house. The top and bottom zones are heating well, but the middle zone - kitchen, living room, dining room and guest bathroom - are at about 58 degrees. That's too cold. There might be air built up in the pipes that will need to be bled out, but it might also be dirt in the boiler around the flame area. We think a professional might be the better option at this point. So ... one more thing on my list of things to do today. 

I'm out of here. Have a fabulous Monday and hope that if I do get chosen for a jury, that it's at least something interesting and quick. LOL Slava Ukraini. 

Sleepless in St Paul and A Day of Icy Roads and a LOTR Walking Challenge - Yippee

We're right at the point of freezing - within a degree or two. With the wet rain/snow we had yesterday (shoveling wasn't fun) and the overnight temps possibly actually going below freezing, the roads might be a skating rink today. I'll have to be very careful on my drive over to the YMCA today, as well as getting to work and my work parking lot. 

Petra was the first challenge I did. I found out 
that I really loved doing a virtual challenge like 
this. I track my mileage through swimming and 
on the treadmill anyway, I figured I might as well 
"see" new parts of the world while doing it. The 
medals are spectacular. I'll be signing up for the 
"Lord of the Rings 5-quest bundle" today. Guaranteed. 

When I returned to working out at the Y, I also changed the location where I park. I remembered days like today, parked next to Rosemary in the South lot. There's a slight slope from the building down to that lot, and there were times when I walked it in fear of falling the whole way. So, when I returned to the gym after Covid, I decided to change my parking spot to the West lot. It's actually closer to the entry, has most of the handicapped parking spaces, and is a straight shot to the doors, so no slopes to deal with. I'm very happy with my new location. Jack usually parks directly behind me, and Sherry parks in the handicapped lot, so of the four early birds, three of us park on this level. 

The second quest I walked was the Giza Plateau. Anyone 
who knows me at all well knows Egypt is where it's 
at for me. The medal is spectacular, and mirrors my 
head tattoo. My photo of my tattoo and medal garnered 
more than 1200 likes on the Challenger facebook 
community. 

I'm going to be glad for that parking spot today. I might even put cleats on my shoes. I have a set that would work well, and I'm sure the parking lot at work will also be a challenge. I'll probably have to sprinkle salt on my part of the sidewalk at work, just to keep people safe. 

The Inca Trail was one of my shorter challenges, but 
walking to Machu Picchu sounded like something 
that would be beautiful and a lot of fun. It was all 
of that. 

On a different note, have you heard of the Conqueror Challenge? I've been doing these challenges since the year started and having a great time. I've got my medals for Petra, the Giza Plateau, the Inca Trail, Easter Island and Yellowstone, and I'm currently working on the Great Wall of China (only nine towers, not the full length). I also just finished one where all monies raised went to Ukraine - we didn't get medals for that one, but that was just fine. Why mention Conqueror? Their newest ones which officially launch today ... a Lord of the Rings 5-challenge bundle. 

I purchased a 5-pack of quests after those first three,
and got Easter Island for free as a bonus.
It was a fascinating walk with some great
photos. I was quite happy with the walk as
well as the medal at the end. 

I've walked the Eowyn challenge before, but this will be a huge difference. Since it's new, I don't have a lot of information yet, but I guarantee I'll be signing up for this challenge. No question. I'll let you know when I have more details. I decided to feature my Conqueror Challenge medals in today's post. They're a special treat when you finish a challenge, and they're quite fabulous. 

Yellowstone is the latest challenge I've completed (except 
for the Ukrainian challenge which was totally for raising 
funds to help Ukraine - no medal awarded for it). The 
Yellowstone medal has a lever that will cause Old 
Faithful to erupt. Quite fun. BTW - On the Ukrainian 
challenge, we raised more than $500,000 for Ukrainian 
relief in the five days sign-up was open. Conqueror is
a generous community of walkers, bikers and runners. 

Have an excellent Thursday. I'll be a bit tired - I didn't sleep well last night, although I was exhausted. Oh well, those days are rare, and I'll catch up on some sleep tonight. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Ice, Oven Racks and Holiday Cards - Today's Blog Touches on Everything

Yesterday dawned with an icy rain sifting over the snow that had fallen overnight, creating a crispy crust that sparkled in the light - artificial or, later on, sunlight. In some ways, it was easier to break through the ice crust to walk than it was to walk on the already-cleared portions which were treacherously icy. The part of the driveway I shoveled first in the morning - the side where my car is parked - reflects light rather like a skating rink right now, whereas the part that DH cleared a bit later in the day is dry and quite nice. I'll be putting my ice-crampons onto my boots this morning - I'm quite sure the parking lot at work will be a challenge and I don't want to slip if I can help it. 

All of the parking lots up here in the 
Frozen Northlands should have had 
signage like this yesterday. An icy 
rain after a 3"+ snowfall made for 
treacherous walking conditions. 

We were busy all day yesterday and pulled in good sales. As usual, only about half of our customers had a "Year-end Blow Out Sale" email, the other half were just miscellaneous people looking for this and for that. We sold everything from lots of beads to some pieces of jewelry and a few Christmas tree ornaments which I put on sale at 50% over DH's objections. (As it turned out, those people who bought the ornaments did so before we had a chance to get the sign up, so they actually paid full price - still a bargain, but not quite as much of one). Since DH doesn't want the ornaments on sale, I'll probably pull the sign down before we open for business today. 

Yesterday, I ordered aluminum oven racks
for my new oven, along with a broiler pan. 
The racks come in a set of three and I had 
wanted two, so I'm fine with that. I hope 
they'll slide along the guides with more ease 
than the current porcelain racks. Merry 
Christmas to me - LOL. Christmas money 
well spent. 

I telephoned the Customer Service dept at GE yesterday morning and ordered a set of three aluminum oven racks and a broiler pan. DH had given me some money for the holiday, so I spent most of it on these. I'm hoping the aluminum racks will slide on the side rails much easier than the porcelain ones the oven came with. The porcelain ones are almost immovable, and that made me quite upset when I was pulling out the roasting pan with the turkey. I expect I'll have the new supplies within a week or so, so I'll see how they operate then. 

I do love my veggie smoothies. I've gotten making 
them down to an art, my only problem being the 
blender issues which do seem to be ongoing. I have 
enough money for an industrial blender, but will 
wait until this latest blender has died before I 
order one. 

I'm mulling my schedule over in my head - I don't get my usual Wednesday off, so I have to push a lot of my usual tasks off until Friday. I have to make sure I have enough salad fixings to get me through until Friday (shouldn't be a problem) and enough "Ogre Juice" (veggie smoothies) to get me to Friday as well. I'll need to shop to make more "Ogre Juice" on Friday, but the grocery stores don't close for New Year's Eve. I'll also start my Friday out in the swimming pool - I think the YMCA might be closing early for New Year's Eve, but that won't affect my 5:00 am water time. 

Isn't this a lovely idea for a holiday card? It's one 
of several DIY ideas I came across this morning 
while looking at images. I think this is absolutely 
adorable. 

I've been getting some wonderful Holiday cards in the mail and want to thank each of you who were thoughtful enough to send one to me. I appreciate them. I usually do a recap after the beginning of the year, so keep your eyes open. I look forward to sharing the variety and beauty with all of you. In the meantime, have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Icicles - Frozen Wonder

There's a section of "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie takes his brand new BB gun into the back yard to try it out. He had asked for and wished for the BB gun for his holiday gift, and each person he asked had replied "You'll shoot your eye out...". But when it came time to actually shoot his brand new, beloved gift for the first time in the backyard, he doesn't take the recoil of the weapon into consideration and it knocks him flat. What does he do? He blames his bruised eye and broken eyeglasses on being hit by an icicle falling from the house. 

Ralphie just before the rifle recoils, breaking his glasses, in
"A Christmas Story". 

Yesterday's weather of heavy, blowing snow coupled with warmer temperatures led to lots of icicles dripping and forming throughout the city. DH cleaned snow off the roof at home in the morning, but by mid-afternoon, we had icicles across our front awning. I actually had to contact my landlord about ice buildup that was dripping onto my back walkway and getting enough height that I wouldn't be able to open my back door to leave when I closed that night. He had heater cables installed above the door to keep that from happening, but they were being overwhelmed. Large and long icicles were forming and as I knocked them down in mid-day, "You'll shoot your eye out," was ringing in my head. 

A beautiful view of icicles along a roofline. Of course it damages the
roof and the gutters, but it's so pretty. 

Icicles can be stunning and beautiful. Ice being water, after all, can reflect and refract light into amazing colors and depths. Ice on roadways, walkways, and along the tops of buildings, however, can be dangerous. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just wave a magic wand and have these temporary beauties appear where we want them? For a day or two of enjoyment before we leave them behind and continue walking toward Spring? 

Here's a house that should have cleared their snow. The icicles indicate
issues and they're probably getting all kinds of water leakage inside
the house and between their walls and insulation. It's a serious problem
when it gets away from you. 

Just got a text message that the plows are operating, even though we're supposed to be snow free for the day. Guess I'd better wrap this up and check my driveway. I may need to shovel before heading out to the gym. Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy the photos of icicles, I'll be back tomorrow. 

Winter Car and Foot Skating Really Sucks!

Yesterday was absolutely VILE! As I left the house to drive out to the WBL YMCA and then visit my Chiropractor for my bi-weekly appointment, it had started misting. That was coating the windshield of the car, but more importantly was coating the roads. The salting trucks were out and the main roads had been salted, but the temperature was just below freezing and the mist was coating the roads. 

Freezing rain/mist brought traffic in the Twin Cities to a crawl. On my
way home from the Chiropractor, traffic was moving 20 miles slower
than usual, making my usual 10-15 minute drive almost 30 minutes. 

Walking into the gym was an exercise in caution and walking back to the car after my swim was even worse. I really hate walking over slick ice - it's frightening because I'm usually carrying stuff. The parking lot at my Chiropractor's was so bad I pulled myself to the sidewalk using my car for leverage, then grabbed the parking sign to swing myself from the icy sidewalk to the snow still remaining in the "grassy" area fronting the building. The snow was safe and got me to the door. I reversed the process on the way back after my appointment. 

It's no fun walking on icy sidewalks. If I was facing this (in fact, I was),
I'd be moving to my right and walking in the snow. It's the only safe
thing to do with the sidewalks this icy. 

I wasn't looking forward to the walk in from the back row of my parking lot at work into the door of my shop, and it was even more vile, but I made it. I could see a mental image of myself falling backwards, Franken-Smaug flying to one side and my lunch bag to the other. My lunch and I would probably be fine, but I'm not sure Fraken-Smaug has many more repairs left before he gives up the ghost, and I can't afford and don't want a new laptop computer. 

I've torn my laptop apart and fixed it so many times that the hinge
broke and I replaced it with a strip of copper. I don't use the
binder clip at the bottom any more - I taped it instead and it seems to
be holding the screen together. Another serious impact, however,
might be the end of my dear Franken-Smaug! 

I breathed a sigh of relief when we got a light snow in the afternoon. Walking back to the car at night, although still slippery, was much better because of that small amount of snow. I never thought I'd be grateful for snow! How bizarre. 

Wondering where I came up with Franken-Smaug? I have this picture
on the cover of my laptop - the dragon reading the spellbook. He's
my Smaug, my guardian, and now that he's been repaired so often,
he gets called "Franken-Smaug". 

I hope all of you have a safe day. We've back into the cold, but if we can keep the ice under control, I'll just bundle up and be happy. I'll be back on Wednesday. 

Rain is a Downer Here in the Frozen Northlands

Yesterday's overnight snow led to a day of rain followed by a night where things may have frozen over. If that's the case, driving to the gym and work today might be more challenging than usual. It did finally stop raining late in the afternoon, however, so the street crews may have been able to salt the roads. If that's the case, I might be able to get around without too much trouble. 

The salt mixture spread by the crews isn't just salt, it
has other additives. It's not always great for the
environment, but it saves lives on the roadways. 

Five pounds (so far) is what this holiday has cost me. That this weight will come right back off in the New Year is a given - I won't allow otherwise. But I still have end of the week stuff coming up - Brunch on Sunday, a family gathering at a nephew's house on Monday, and a relaxed day home on Tuesday before I wash, rinse and repeat another yet year of work, working out, and stress. I vote ick on the stress levels but OK on the upcoming events. 

Sometimes my family seems like a large, never-ending
crowd of people. I have eight nieces and nephews, most
of whom are married with children of their own. Getting
together with the family can be a bit overwhelming. 

Still, my week is winding down. Yesterday was so dismal (people in my area of the country really don't like rain - they won't go out in it if there's a choice - they'd rather deal with snow). Today might be cloudy - it often is during our winters - but if it is not raining or snowing, we might have a nice, busy day. That's my hope, at any rate. 

I want a nice, busy sales day today. Maybe not quite
as busy as this, though. This image is from old Chicago.
Quite the busy intersection, isn't it? 

So it's a boring post today. I need to think about livening things up a bit for future posts, but it's hard to get excited about things when it's dismal outside. Oh yeah - I'm not fond of rain and grey skies either. Have a wonderful Friday and I'll be back tomorrow for my last regularly scheduled post of the year. 

Freezing Rain - NOT My Favorite Thing

Remember Julie Andrews singing about her favorite things in "The Sound of Music"? I guarantee that roads of ice and tractionless tires weren't on her extensive and rather exhaustive list of faves. They most certainly aren't on my list either. I have no idea how good/bad the roads will be for me this morning, but as I drove home last night we were already starting to get freezing rain. Since the past two winters were really mild, I haven't had an icy drive to the gym yet. Today may be the first. ICK! 

I'm not making a list of favorite things, but driving on ice
will never make that list. Nope - never! 

Aearwen found the missing prompts for the 365-day-meme list so I'm totally up to 365 days now. Of course, that means I'll be posting two a day until I'm caught up, and of course I'll normally be posting two a day on either Saturday or Monday since I don't post my blog on Sundays (my day to sleep in and be with DH). So here we go - two days for January 2 and 3. 

DH and I twist around each other, different and yet
the same. We approach things in opposite manners, yet
achieve the same joint goals. Usually we work pretty
well together and complement each other. 

2          What are you most grateful for?

I have to go with DH for this one. We've been together for 40 years this year, and we've had our ups and downs, but no matter how annoying he may sometimes be to me, deep down I know he loves me. I'm NOT an easy person to live with (nor is he), but somehow we manage to complement each other in the important ways. I often think of the two of us as the twin helix twist of DNA. 

This was DH a few years ago celebrating
his birthday with "the boys". Unfortunately,
since Matt's cancer, he rarely gets together
with them any more. I think he misses that. 

3          Are you content?

In the main, I'd have to say "yes". I have a wonderful husband, a nice house, a business that still manages to pay our bills and keep us going, I'm still healthy (looking for wood upon which to knock) and I still have a sharp mind (most of the time). I'm much luckier than many in this world, so for me to not be content would be ... well ... ungrateful and rather stupid. No, I'm very fortunate. 

I'm hoping I don't have much ice to deal with on the way to the gym. It's white out there, but it doesn't look like we got a lot of snow. Of course, we don't need a lot to have a nice, ice base. Here's hoping you have a wonderful Tuesday. Be safe, be happy! 

Snow and Ice Finally Came to the Northlands

Well, we got our first snow yesterday and we'll be below freezing all day today, so the roads will be icy as I drive to the gym and to work. I will have to build in a little extra drive time this morning because the roads might be a bit dicey with the first snow of the year.

The roads may be icy this morning, and since we'll be below
freezing for the day, driving may be nasty. We'll all be relearning
our winter driving techniques. 

I'll be changing my jackets today. It's time to put away my fall leather bomber jacket (love it) and pull out my winter parka (certainly not as cute, but a lot warmer and more waterproof). Suddenly I will become one of the masses of Minnesotans who exercise really poor fashion sense for months while pushing through the winter months. I expect I'll be able to put the parka back into the closet in April.

It's time for our winter coats. This is the season of scarves, hoods, hats and
little eye contact because we're watching the surfaces we're walking on.
Nobody wants to slip and fall on an icy sidewalk. 

I have a 16+ pound turkey sitting in my refrigerator slowly defrosting. Thanksgiving is rushing toward us and will be followed by our two-day After Thanksgiving Day Sale. I started working on the e-mail notification yesterday and I'll be working on it again today, getting it ready to send out early next week. I only run two major sales each year - one after Thanksgiving and one after Christmas.

We love our Thanksgiving Day meal. Turkey and stuffing and lots
of veggies - it's a wonderful meal that almost cooks itself. 

I'm setting up the final printing file for my Holiday Card envelopes. I'll be contacting some of you directly to find out if you would like a card again this year. I don't want to miss anyone who might want one!

Sure it's not Christmas (yet), but I'm making my envelope
list for my holiday cards and yes, I'm checking it twice. 

So, a boring post today, but I have snow and ice on the brain and I'm focused on getting things completed here before I can head out. Sorry ... not every post is a winner. Winter is calling! Have a wonderful weekend.