What Storm?

For the last ten days, Boulder has had warnings about a huge winter storm that was due to arrive yesterday evening.  We were warned to be prepared for several days of snow and Arctic temperatures.  Yesterday's local newspaper shouted that we would have at least four inches of snow on the ground by morning.
  It was very windy yesterday, but the temperatures were up in the low 40s.  I wore my coat, hat and gloves.  We had high winds in the afternoon and early evening with gusts up to 80 miles per hour.  The wind died well before 7 p.m., and all was quiet when I turned out my reading light at midnight.
  The cats let me sleep in until 7 this morning.  I awoke to see bright blue skies and glaring sunshine.  It was only 5 degrees (F) outside, but there was no snow to be seen.  Late last night, the snow warning was changed to start about noon today.  This morning, we're being told the snow will begin this evening, and that we'll have 6 inches on the ground by morning. Uh-huh.    I'll believe it when I see it.
   In the meantime, Bea and I had left-over ham for lunch yesterday and turkey for supper.  We'll probably have ham for lunch again, but we've agreed on having pizza for supper.  While I was out this morning, I purchased a nice, plump baking hen for tomorrow's supper - I think we'll have sweet potatoes and a vegetable medley with it.  And I'll either make gingerbread, or a devil's food cake for us to munch on...
    Hope all of you have a good week!

Cold and Rain

I just added a pound of diced ham to the crock pot of beans simmering away, and I also added another two cups of water to the mix.  The beans have been simmering for two hours, with a good sprinkle of coarsely ground pepper and a dash of lemon zest.  Can't wait for this evening!   I'll have a left-over slice of pizza for lunch, along with a salad.   And I'll be sewing tablecloths today, also.
   The forecast for today was cloudy and cool, with a high of 40 (cold, compared to yesterday's high of 80).  They said the rain and/or possible snow wouldn't arrive until after 4 this evening.  It was 38 when I got up this morning; an hour ago it was 35 and misting rain.  I think our high temperature was at midnight.  The clouds were hovering just on the tops of Bear, Green, and Flagstaff mountains this morning, then dropped down to the tops of the Flatirons.  Now the Flatirons are invisible, and I can see 2 to 3 blocks away from my balcony, but no more.  We're getting socked in.  (And this kind of weather makes me want to curl up and sleep...)
   I've "rescued" the ivy from the balcony, but think I'll let the honeysuckle stay out overnight.  If it continues to be extremely cold, I'll bring that in, also.  Nedi wanted to go out this morning, but didn't stay long.  Now that the balcony is wet, he wants out again.  I was mean and said he couldn't go out. With the weather cold and damp, Rosie's walk was cancelled this morning, which I pretty much expected.  I might not walk her tomorrow, either, depending on the weather and how she feels, but I do have a date with her tomorrow night, so her parents (owners) can go out and relax.
   Originally, I was to pick up some clients from the airport on Saturday, but they've been delayed, and will return on Monday, so I have vehicle access until then.  Which means that Beatrice and I might go up into Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend...  We'll have to see what driving conditions and weather are like.
   I hope your Thursday is great!

Preparations

A final, pretty day before actual fall weather arrives - we're expecting a high of 80 degrees today, and a high of 40 tomorrow.  Tomorrow night's low is forecast at 17....  Guess I need to get out the turtlenecks and sweaters, as well as the long pants.  I'm sitting here in jersey shorts and a cotton T-shirt and am sweating at 10 a.m.  Don't think it'll be like this tomorrow!  The weather folks say we'll have rain, changing to snow tomorrow afternoon and evening - and that we might have 1 to 2 inches of snow...  I'd rather have a nice, steady light to moderate rain for a couple of days.  We just need the precipitation - we're pretty dry and fires are a hazard, especially with the wayward winds we have here.
    I need to go out and purchase a pile of canned food for the kitties before Saturday; and I'll also pick up the makings for our Thanksgiving Day meal....   Think we'll have a small ham, gravy, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, peas, biscuits, and apple pie. We'll probably have a half-turkey for Christmas - or a large roasting chicken. With nasty, chilly weather coming tomorrow, I'm going to make my ham and five bean soup tomorrow.  I'll have to soak the beans tonight - Anasazi, pinto, black eyed peas, garbanzo, and great Northern.  They'll simmer all day tomorrow with a pound of diced ham, and then I'll make biscuits around supper time....
   And, since the weather is supposed to be dank tomorrow, I'll sew up the new Thanksgiving and Christmas table cloths.  I don't have a sewing machine, so I'll be hand sewing the hems.  Each tablecloth is double sided, with a different print on each side.  I've already purchased the cloth, washed, dried, and ironed it.  All I need to do is make two cuts, pin and sew.  Time consuming, but easy - if the cats don't decide to eat the thread as I'm sewing.
   I also watered our two surviving plants today.  I guess I'll be bringing both of them inside tonight.  Hopefully Nedi won't decide to devour all the leaves on the honeysuckle tonight...  He generally ignores the ivy.
   I hope that all is going well in your life, and in your world!

A Nice, Quiet Weekend

For once, I had no other animals to care for this weekend, so the kits and I (and Beatrice) had a nice, quiet, pretty-much-at-home kind of weekend.  I read two books and started a third,and loved all of them.  Decades, a television station, showed a marathon of the old Peter Gunn series, and I got to enjoy the fantastic music of Henry Mancini all weekend.  I cooked supper for Saturday and Sunday - preparing Chicken Parmigiana, with mashed potatoes and buttered, steamed green beans with crunchy bacon bits on Saturday; I don't usually make mashed potatoes on back-to-back nights, but the pork chops I baked Sunday gave the makings of a rich gravy, so I fixed glazed carrots and mashed potatoes to go with them.  When I took the pork chops out, I put a nice pan of gingerbread in for dessert...  Everything turned out well.
   Nedi and Lovey were very content, as both Beatrice and I were home, almost the entire time, to wait on them and see to their needs.  Nedi wanted in and out onto the balcony, Lovey wanted to touch me at all times.  Nedi wanted chin scratching and stroking, while Lovey wanted to try eating everything that entered my mouth.  She discovered that while she likes the sauce that comes with baked beans, she does not like Tropical Blend Diet V-8 Splash.
  Yesterday afternoon Beatrice and I went to the cinema - the first time I've been in 18 months.  We saw, of course, The Secret Lives of Pets.  We laughed hugely at several points, and giggled through several others.  In scenes where the pets were in danger, I was like a small child, trying to lend them my strength.  Happily, it had a very happy ending and we left the theater feeling satisfied.  If you want to see a sweet, cute movie about pets, this is for you - even though there are a few scenes that might be a bit traumatic for very small children....
   Getting ready to go walk Rosie, and I'm watching the helicopters carrying dump buckets and the planes carrying fire retardant pass overhead on their way to the fire in Nederland...   sigh....

At Loose Ends

What do I do with myself? For the first time in seven weeks, I didn't have a dog to walk in the morning, nor a house to visit, nor plants to water.  OK, I admit I'm dog-sitting at this exact moment, but it's only for 90 minutes in the evening.  I was able to stay at home and nap and catch up on projects around the house (apartment, actually) today.  I'm at Rosie's, but she had an acupuncture appointment this morning, so our daily walk was canceled.  I put together a swanky-looking stand with shelves for Beatrice, and I chose eight photos to go into a wall collage, put them in place, and then hung the collage in the hall.  I scrubbed everything in my bathroom, including the kitty litter boxes, and washed the runner-type rug in there.  I colored a little on my agility dogs Celtic knot drawing.  I called and had the apartment handy-man stop by to check on three things - the warp in the floor under the main bathroom's door, the leak from the upstairs neighbor's water tank, and to tighten the nut under the kitchen sink so the faucet base would stop swiveling.  Chris, the handy-man, stopped by, checked and fixed what  he could, and is writing up a ticket for the warrantied objects.  I also took out the trash and recyclables, and made spaghetti and meat sauce for supper, along with garlic-asiago cheese biscuits.  Then I washed the pots and dishes and came over to Rosie's.
  Saint Patrick's Day is tomorrow, and it almost crept up on me with surprise.  I'll have to find a green shirt to wear tomorrow, or I can just wear my green sweater when I go out.  Tomorrow morning I walk Rosie and Tessa, and make a bank deposit, and then I'm back over at Rosie's tomorrow evening. Lovey has not allowed me out of her sight, except when I took the trash and recycling out today.  If she knew how to attach herself to me with Velcro, she'd do it.
   I did get to laugh at Beatrice's face last night.  Usually, whenever I get up from my reading chair in the living room, Lovey is curled up where my bottom has been in less than 30 seconds.  Bea got up from her usual seat to put sheets into the dryer last night, and Lovey jumped off my lap and was curled up in Bea's spot before she was at the edge of the living room.  Bea has laughed frequently at how quickly Lovey gets into my seat - last night, when she turned around, and stepped back into the living room, I got to laugh...  Her expression when she saw Lovey all curled up, and with her eyes tightly closed, was priceless.  Then she thanked lovey for the honor, and very gently tugged the pillow out from under her.  Lovey gave Bea a disgusted look and came back over to my lap.

A Fallen Woman, Again

I slipped and fell twice yesterday - walking along a sidewalk, and there was an angled bit for a driveway to a home.  There was a thick layer of smashed snow and ice on that part, thanks to a usual thaw during the day and freeze over at night weather...  I had walked over that section on the way to walk the dogs, and I didn't give it any special thought on the way back - even though I was treading carefully.  I somehow landed on my belly with the first fall - realized I was suddenly on the ground with my arms trying to encircle a small trash can that was frozen in the ice.  I took a few breaths, and slowly got into a four-point crouch, straightened up, and took a step onto what looked like slush with crushed ice underneath.   Appearances can be very deceiving on a bright sunny day with snow and ice all around you.   I fell sideways that time, landing on my left side with a good impact.  My left shoulder, breast, ribs, and my head took the most punishment.  I was out cold for a few seconds, I think.  I suddenly realized that I was lying on something hard and cold and that I couldn't see clearly, and I tried to think why I'd be in that condition.  Then I remembered falling, and realized my poor vision was due to a lose of my glasses.  I found my glasses about 2 feet from my head and put them on - discovering that the left arm had broken off.  I felt my face and found a few scratches, but because of the cold and ice, they hadn't bled.  I inventoried the rest of me, and decided everything was in working order, so I crawled to an area where the sidewalk was again level and stood up.  I was in a residential area, but no one was home - they were all at work.  So I brushed myself off, and went to the bus stop.
     Visited the Urgent Care Center and was told I had a concussion and a cracked rib.  Then toddled on down to the Vision Center, where I had bought the glasses, and was lucky to find a replacement arm in stock.  Got home, took a long hot shower, and took a 30 minute nap.  Then took another long hot shower.  Discovered my teeth had cut the inside of my cheek when I fell.   I didn't feel too badly last night when I went to bed - but boy howdy, was I stiff and sore this morning.  My left shoulder is nasty and I awoke with hiccups that hurt my ribs.   Otherwise, I'm A-OK.   Spent today puttering around the apartment - made pumpkin waffles for breakfast, had turkey breast and veggies for lunch, had pizza for supper.  Making homemade marinara sauce and meatballs tomorrow....  and, maybe, a chocolate cake with vanilla icing...   We'll see.  Cooking always makes me feel better.

Books and Critters

Yesterday and today have been busy - met the Brittany Spaniels' family at 5:20 yesterday morning, and was a passenger to DIA, then drove back home to feed the girls.  Roxie and Finney are fun.  Then over to take care (feed, water, and walk the dogs, and feed and water the hens) of the Chandler critters.  Discovered their Subaru in the driveway has a flat tire this morning - I hope they have a spare.  Spent the night with the girls, and enjoyed the fireplace.  But, after feeding and walkin them, and taking care of the Chandler critters this morning, it was still only 4 degrees (F) when I came home to my place to feed the kits and clean their boxes.  Lovey attached herself to my chest and wouldn't let go, once I sat down.  Nedi explored the balcony for 5 seconds and returned inside.  Taking down the Christmas tree tomorrow - have to find a small box to place all the new ornaments in.  Finished re-reading Betrayer and Intruder yesterday - began another Jack Reacher novel last night, and it's very good, as usual.  Then I'll begin The Bone Labyrinth....
  Beatrice made herself Belgium waffles for breakfast today - glad I picked up milk on the way home from the Spaniels.  Looks like I'll have a pizza while watching the Broncos and Bengals play tonight; I could prepare chicken and broccoli risotto, but I think I'll put that together tomorrow.  It's 3:55 now, and the sun is going behind a cloud that's sitting on top of Mount Sanitas - it'll be behind the mountains in 8 minutes and the darkness will begin again.  I don't like winter, even though I know that the natural world has to have time to prepare for Spring renewal.  I want sunshine and warmth!  Or the sea, at least!

Sister Kathy

I was disappointed by the Denver Broncos game on Sunday.  At least Kansas City and Green Bay were winners.  Yesterday was a weird day.  Kathy had a mid-afternoon appointment with her surgeon for drain removals and her first follow-up after the surgery.  She also had a pile of paper work from her employing company that both she and the surgeon were supposed to fill and and return.  When she first spoke to the corporate staff, they told her they were sending information and paperwork immediately - that was on 3 November. She was told on the phone that the paperwork needed to be returned to the company by 14 November.  On 14 November she received the paperwork in the mail, and the cover letter was dated 4 November, but the packet wasn't stamped until 12 November.  The paperwork inside said that she had to return all paperwork within 14 days of the dated cover-letter.  - Hunh? -  She managed to work herself into a panic attack about the paperwork, and I sat her down, and we wrote out questions to ask corporate, and she called them We got everything cleared up (supposedly).  Thursday, Kathy and Jim will visit the Care Team leader and then see her oncologist.  That's when we'll find out what is planned for her recovery after the surgery - chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or hormonal therapy.   I have the feeling she'll be wiped out physically and emotionally today.  I'll find out pretty soon.
  I'm making their supper for tonight - will cook the main item at their house after walking the doggies today.  I'm making a small portion of homemade marinara sauce and turkey meatballs; they'll have vegetable pasta, a cranberry-walnut-spinach salad, and Parmesan-garlic bread sticks, too.  That ought to fill their tummies on another cold night!
  My kits are still a little bit upset with me - I won't let them roam outside for long periods of time.  It's warmer than it has been, but it's still pretty darn cold.  And I'm keeping a good supply of nuts and seeds out for the squirrels and birds - they definitely won't starve.