It's Now the Year of the Horse

I was born in the year of the Fire Monkey, but with the new moon last night, we began the Chinese Year of the Wooden Horse.  In China, each year is named after one of twelve animals, which repeat.  My American birth date is 9 June, but in the lunar calendar it's 30 April - makes things very intriguing when trying to figure out your horoscope - especially when you only have an approximate time of birth.  Since Dad delivered me in the back seat of the Old Grey Ghost, he and Mom could only "guess-timate" that I was born about 3 a.m.
But that really doesn't matter.  Broncos are a type of horse; this is the year of the horse; therefore the Broncos should win the Super Bowl.  What?  You find find fault with my logical steps?  So do I.  However, I would love to see the orange and blue Broncos from Denver defeat the Seattle Seahawks in New Jersey on Sunday.
  We had about 3 inches of snow fall overnight and into this morning.  The weather folks say we'll get another 2 to 3 inches this afternoon and evening. It's 21 degrees out at 11:15; the ski resorts on the western slopes have gotten 2 to 3 feet of snow in the last 48 hours....  And the seven day forecast says snow here in Boulder every day except Sunday and Wednesday; we'll see if they are correct.  Just got back from a late breakfast with Nancy, and now her cat, Bob, is over here, eating  at my place.  She just came looking for him, and we had to chase him out from under my bed, as she is leaving again, and wants him home.  I'm home for the day, period.  Nancy's tried to talk me into going out shopping with her, but I've had enough people for the day, and would rather stay at home with only my kitties for company.
  I plan on watching Blue Blood tonight, and seeing Tom Selleck.  Almost two weeks ago, Sleepy Hollow had it's season finale - and there were some twists to the story that I had not expected.  Now I'm definitely waiting to see the next spate of episodes.  The Black List is back on NBC on Monday nights, and I watched Red kill a Washington big-wig without blinking an eye in the last episode.  And - next month, on February 27, Vikings returns to the History Channel...  The "sneak peek" for this bunch of episodes ,akes it seem that Floki is killed in battle by Rollo.... I certainly hope not!  I like Floki, and even though I'm supposedly descended from Rollo, I won't be able to like him if he does kill or incapacitate my darling boat-builder!
  In the meantime, after the Super Bowl on Sunday, we have the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on television on Thursday.  That will be quite a spectacle, and I'm sincerely hoping for no violence.  So it will be sports, sports and more sports for me.  (I suppose going a-Viking can be considered "sporting," can't it?)
 

Odds and Ends

It's already 40 degrees outside -wow! The sun is shining, and I have the patio door open since the wind is from the west. I walked over to Sunflower Market this morning and picked up a fresh loaf of bread, two chicken breasts, and some ground buffalo (it's leaner than ground beef). Gimpy was at the door when I returned, so I refilled the nut bowl and left the door open so the kits can run in and out a bit. Which reminds me, if any of you find odd smudges on your Christmas cards, it's thanks to Lovey and Banichi - they love to "help" me write. I have all sorts of odds and ends to write about today, most of them completely unrelated; since my brain is so disconnected, that shouldn't be a surprise. ... Ball Aerospace's WISE satellite will be launched into space tomorrow, and Joan Howard knows how to put things in terms anyone can understand. "We're MapQuesting the universe in infrared," Howard said when asked to explain the mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. ... Mark Ingram, a tailback from Alabama's Crimson Tide, won that university's first Heisman trophy yesterday. Having watched Ingram run over and through the Gators' defense, I will not contest his victory. It is well deserved. ... Our local sports announcers are having a Tom Swift field day stating that Tiger Woods "is being shaved from Gillette commercials." ... And last nights Denver Nuggets game was truly superb; they played the Phoenix Suns, and even though they trailed by 17 at one point, they won the game. It was a wonderful team effort. ... Today the Denver Broncos will play the (so-far this season) undefeated Indianapolis Colts. I love Peyton Manning, and I love my Broncos, so I'll be cheering on both teams, knowing that only one can win. ... And I was able to find several new books at the library by some of my favorite authors, so I'm happy to read for the next few days. The new books are by Terry Brooks (a Landover novel), Dick and Felix Francis, Dana Stabenow (a new Kate Shugat novel), Clive Cussler ( a novel based in the Great Pocomoke Swamp, about a 20-minute drive from Chincoteague Island), Diane Mott Davidson, Nevada Barr, and a new non-fiction by Rita Mae Brown titled Animal Magnetism. And I have never read Cross Creek by M. K. Rawlings, so I grabbed a copy of that, too. ... I'll be off to pet-sit and read to Rosie and Remy tonight; their folks are going out for dinner and a show in Denver, so I'll go keep the Rs company for 4 hours. I'll probably read to them... Have a wonderful Sunday.

Grey Friday

Yesterday, the tops of the mountains, foothills and Flatirons were wreathed in clouds and mist. Today one can't see them at all due to the moisture in the air. I swept the patio early this morning, and discovered that some of the grass seed is actually sprouting. There are quite a few patches of thin, quarter-inch high greenery appearing through the black topsoil - at the moment, it looks like rye grass, but I'm probably wrong about that, as most newly sprouted grass looks the same. Lovey was adamant about going outside last night - it was drizzling and in the mid-40s - and I was just as firmly convinced that she was staying inside. She stayed inside (for once). The sprinkler beside my patio just turned on and startled a squirrel - it ran inside, across my reading chair, and then up the cat tree. When I turned around and said "Hey!" to it, it went tearing outside with both kits in pursuit.

The city is gearing up for the big Memorial Day weekend - and I was surprised by a headline in today's newspaper: this is the last year that the Boulder Valley School District will honor graduates with the titles of Valedictorian and Salutatorian of their class. And a group of high school students is planning on leap-frogging the entire 5 K course of the Bolder Boulder, to raise money for charity. - Also in the news, ex-professor Ward Churchill has petitioned the court to make a decision about his reinstatement at CU (and/or his monetary compensation) before the 12 June, so that he can be prepared to teach for CU's fall semester. CU has countered with a 31-page document stating that Churchill should not be re-instated, and that the jury's award of $1.00 to him should show that he does not deserve the amount of compensation he is demanding. They also show evidence that Churchill has not tried to get a job equal to his professorship at CU. (Oh, boy!)....

The Denver Nuggets came back and defeated the LA Lakers last night to tie the Western Division Finals at one game apiece. They play again Saturday and Monday nights in the Pepsi Center here in Denver. - The WWE? - Vince McMahon has accepted the offer of the Staples Center in LA, and Monday Night Raw will be broadcast from there. Vince likes to stir the pot, so I'll probably switch back and forth between the two shows to see what outrageous thing he can come up with. Because they cancelled the Pepsi Center visit, wrestling shows were also cancelled in Colorado Springs and Loveland. WWE has already re-scheduled all three shows for early August. ... Several newcomers to the Triple Crown trail have worked out at Belmont, while Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird have had good workouts at Churchill Downs. The owners and trainer of Mine That Bird have agreed to wait until the owners and trainer of Rachel A. have decided whether they will run her in the Belmont before naming a jockey for Bird - in hopes they might be able to get Calvin Borel back on board the Derby winner. Of course, if Rachel A. runs in the Belmont, Bird will have another "new" jockey for the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Hot Boulder; Local Sports

Things are back to normal around here... the kits are running in and out, and we're expecting to make a record high temperature for this date. It's bright and sunny out, and I'm expecting the sprinklers to start at any time, meaning that Lovey will come in and leave muddy tracks on me. Sports are the big news items around here - the controversy over Todd Helton's hit in the 9th inning last night (was it his 2000th hit, or was it an error?); the crush of folks expected in Boulder over this up-coming weekend for the Bolder Boulder and several other events; and the fact that the Pepsi Center (in Denver) signed a contract with WWE wrestling to appear on Monday the 25th, but now that date is also the 4th Playoff game at home (in the same Pepsi Center, at the same time) for the NBA Divisional Finals between the Lakers and the Nuggets. Vince McMahon, the owner of WWE, says he has a contract and he doesn't plan on changing venues, as his show is almost sold out. I find all of it funny.

More than 50,000 people are expected to converge on downtown Boulder for Monday's 31st annual Bolder Boulder 10k race. Thousands more will flock to the 22nd annual Boulder Creek Festival, running Saturday through Monday, while more than a dozen high school graduation ceremonies later this week at the University of Colorado should draw even more visitors. I'm going to have to deal with people overload... A world famous Ironman triathlete was riding his bike here in Boulder and was run down by a car - he's had to have his clavicle pinned back together.... And a 60-year-old lady was out walking with her exercise group, when she was hit by a cyclist on the CU Cycling team. The rider was shaken, the bike was bent, but the lady fell and struck her head on the Boulder Creek Path, and is now in critical condition in an ICU. Be careful when you're walking on the Creek Path!!

If Rachel Alexandra doesn't run in the Belmont, then Mine That Bird might be reunited with Calvin Borel for the race. Jockey Mike Smith, who rode Mine That Bird in the Preakness, has a previous commitment on June 6th and will be riding races in California. So Mine That Bird might get a third rider for the third leg of the Triple Crown. ... Today is niece Sarah's birthday; she and her boyfriend had dinner with her parents last night. ... I was asked this morning if I could house-sit for someone who's going to China in August/September (hmmm... he told me he has a Golden Lab, and when speaking with his current lady, she told me he doesn't have a pet at the moment, but that he used to have a Lab...) - interesting! ... I need to get ready to walk the red kids.... Have a good day!