hippo birdie to me

45

feeling older than dirt today... aw well, it beats the alternative.

That nor'easter was something else. Did someone on the Eastern seaboard cheese off the weather gods? Man, it's been some winter. There was a lot of rain and wind at the farm but no damage - I guess Easton is too far inland. My parents, in Westport, were mostly spared, just an enormous amount of branches down. They were in Manhattan all weekend celebrating Dad's 71 birthday (March 12) and no matter where they went they got completely drenched. They came back to a debris filled yard but no real damage, thankfully.

Last night my sister and I met up with the parents at Saint Tropez in Fairfield. It's been my birthday dinner pick for three straight years and it was yummy! I had the sauted shrimp in apple raisin curry... for the third year in a row! Yup, it's that good!

Chile

I was at my sister's home over the weekend and woke up to the news of the Chilean earthquake. We watched the coverage all day Saturday (why? I don't know... we were doing craft projects and just got a little obsessed). See Google Crisis Response for ways to donate and other information on Chile.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund

AmeriCares

Habitat for Humanity

Doctors Without Borders

Oxfam America

Water.org

Still in shock

and awe

and I have a sore throat

and I completely screwed up the afghan I'm working while I was watching the US beat Canada.

In Hockey.

Did the bebe Jebus show up too?

Looking at the game stats, you’d think Canada blew out the US team in the game, with a 45-23 advantage in overall shots taken. However, Team USA goalie Ryan Miller made 42 saves to help his team win. Now US awaits to see who wins the Finland-Sweden game. Depening on that winner, the US might go into their quarterfinals matchup as the top seed in all of the groups. Meanwhile, Canada who was a gold medal favorite heading into the Olympics has a must win game on Tuesday. This was not expected as the Olympics Hockey matches started for the 2010 Olympics.

Team USA is now 3-0 in the 2010 Winter Olympics. While this win has been compared to the 1980 Miracle on Ice, an interesting fact was noted. The well known coach of the US Hockey team in 1980 was Herb Brooks, who the current Team USA defenseman Brooks Orpik was named for.

Pet for Vets

Early morning web surfing, while drinking my coffee and trying to wake up, revealed a wonderful story about Healing and Homes for Vets and Pets.

"I used to not get out of the house at all," said Velez-Collazo, 37, whose 12 years as an Army combat battlefield nurse included deployments to Iraq and Kuwait. "Now I have to take her out. I get out of bed and put on some clothes."

That motivation to participate in normal daily activities is the goal of Pets for Vets, founded in 2008 by 27-year-old animal trainer Clarissa Black. The Los Angeles-based program matches homeless pets that may otherwise be euthanized with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other ailments from their time in a war zone.

"A lot of times, these veterans who are coming home feel abandoned, and they have a difficult time adjusting to civilian life," Black said. "A lot of them tell me that they would just like someone to say thank you. Pets for Vets is that way to say thank you. Both [the veteran and the pet] have been through traumatic events, and together they can help each other heal."

Both Pets for Vets and the other organization Pets2Vets accept (and probably badly need) donations. So, if you have a few dollars to spare for both pets and vets, please donate.

~ ~ ~

In not so cheerful personal news... long story short my car had a fit on Tuesday and I need a new alternator. I'm hoping it will be ready today because I've been relying on friends and family and co-workers to get me about for two days. Living in the boonies has its draw-backs.

Snow Days

Yesterday was a snow day for me. I stayed inside all day, hair in a tangled, messy pony on top of my head, wearing my favorite faded jammies and holey socks, knitting and watching tv: Angel, Charmed, The West Wing, JAG and NCIS - in that order.

Nothing like life down on the farm, eh? If you are determined to remain single, unattached and alone in this life, re-read the paragraph above. Works for me!

Raven and Pewter were a little shocked by my mid-week interruption of their equally exciting lives. Every time I left the chair Raven would hop up and take over. When I shoo'd him he'd glare at me and then hunker down on the floor at my feet. Pewter showed his confusion by chatting at me all day (instead of sleeping) and dropping one of his meece on my feet for me to throw for him every half hour or so. They're probably shredding the couch as I type this. It's never a good idea to confuse cats.

I'd guess we got eight-something inches of snow at the farm. It's hard to tell because there was steady, howling gale all night and this morning. As soon as the drive was plowed it was recovered with blowing snow. Hopefully it will be cleared enough for me to get back to my little bungalow tonight. I have a spaghetti dinner at the nursing home to attend and won't be back before nine. Getting stuck out in the country, on a cold night, where my cell phone doesn't work is not my idea of a good time.

See the first paragraph for what is my idea of a good time.

Explosion

I had a television/computer free Sunday so it wasn't until this morning I heard about the Middletown Explosion. The footage of the damage was just horrifying to see. I feel so badly for the families affected by this.

It was strange to see the DC metroplex on the news trying to dig out of the snow this morning. They're just not ready for that much snow. I guess the weather gurus were right for a change. Late Friday afternoon I was online teasing friends in the DC area about the "snowpocalypse" and how they were wussies for leaving work early. They reminded me of my harrowing trip home last week and cried "pot, kettle, black"... all in good fun. Then I saw what they were dealing with today and see they're still offline. I hope they're warm and at least having some fun with the snow at this point.

More snow and possibly a blizzard for Tuesday into Wednesday - and southern New England might get hit this time. Think warm thoughts people.

For the love of the game

I spotted this story on Yahoo! this morning and thought I'd share:

Soldiers find time for hockey in Afghanistan.

My first love is baseball (go Yankees!) but my second is hockey (go Rangers!). I'm used to seeing stories about the armed services playing baseball but this is a first for hockey. Well, for me anyway. Leave it to the Canadians. I love how the soldiers have adapted the game for their environment and their attitude:

In fact, the teams don't even leave the rink. As the warning siren wails, they hit the floor and press themselves against the wooden sidings. Goalies aren't very mobile anyway, Stark said.

"It would be a bit of a challenge to run to a bunker with all that gear," he said. "As soon as the 'all clear,' the game picks up again and away we go."

Go Canada!

And speaking of Canada and hockey... is it me or does it seem the Olympics are late this year? I thought the winter games took place in January, not February. Seems Obama isn't going for security reasons - which must make everyone's life a bit easier.

Wolf Moon

Biggest and Brightest Full Moon of 2010 Tonight

A Wolf Moon. I noticed this morning (I'm up long before the sun) that the moonshine seemed incredibly bright but I thought it was just the reflection of the snow and ice on top of the greenhouses. Apparently not.

Driving home last night was Not!Fun! I left Stratford around 5:15 pm, headed for Easton. There were very dark clouds in the west but I didn't think much of it until, on the 8/25, I drove into a snow squall. Clear and perfect visiblity and then WHAM!Blizzard! That was a first. I couldn't see beyond the front end of my car. The roads froze over fast and by the time I hit the Merritt Parkway people were slip-slidin' away. I am an accomplished and confident foul-weather driver but that mini-blizzard scared the crap outta me. When I finally made it to Sport Hill Road the local roads were a sheet of ice and there was a huge crash/multi-car pileup on the Sport Hill. I got stuck twice trying to get up the hills and finally made it to the Farm an hour and a half after leaving Stratford -- door-to-door is usually 20 minutes. It was a nightmare of a trip home.

Driving in extreme rain, snow, wind, fog... not an issue for me. I'm pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself. Ice? shudders Had I known what was ahead of me I would have thought twice about going home.

I could have used a shot of something when I finally reached my tranquil litle bungalow... tequila, scotch, bourbon, vodka. Sadly the house is free of alcohol. I will have to rememdy that deficiency post-haste!

Scream and Cry

My new Shock and Awe (remember that from the last decade?).

The Guantánamo “Suicides”: A Camp Delta sergeant blows the whistle

I just have no words.

Christmas gifts

Edited to add an LOL!


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When I handed out my wishlist for Christmas to family it included Dunkin' Donuts coffee, suggestions from the Nordic Needle (or just a gift certificate), a gift card for iTunes and gift certificates to Knitting Central in Westport, CT. My family, being generous and kind, filled my list to bursting. A week ago Saturday Mom called to say she saw a sign saying Knitting Central was going out of business - damn! I was going to use the gift certificate for more advanced classes in knitting but I think I'll use it for shopping this weekend.

Normally I hunt down yarn for crocheting and knitting projects as cheaply as I can (see Noble knits) because I'm cheap, but I'll be getting some really nice (and expensive, no doubt) yarn on Saturday. Knitting Central will continue its online store but the bricks'n mortar store will be closing in March. It's always sad to see those small businesses close and there are so few in southern Fairfield county it just makes it doubly sad to see. People like me are a small part of the problem. I just cannot afford the higher prices for yarn or stitching projects the small stores have to charge. Shopping online means I get more bang for the buck but it also means the small specialty stores cannot compete with the lower prices. Vicious circle. Economics sucks.

le sigh

~ ~ ~

For Haiti

Google Critical Response has a list of well known charities accepting donations for Haiti relief. Please give what you can.

And, if inclined, wish hangnails on Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. Edjits.

In case you haven't seen these

and you probably have, because I'm usually six months out of date...

Yarn Find, kinda like eBay for yarn

and

Woot, which describes itself thusly:

Woot.com is an online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. It started as an employee-store slash market-testing type of place for an electronics distributor, but it's taken on a life of its own. We anticipate profitability by 2043 – by then we should be retired; someone smarter might take over and jack up the prices. Until then, we're still the lovable scamps we've always been. But don't take our word for it: see what the online community has to say at this Wikipedia article.

I like their sense of humor. My sister wondered if our youngest brother was behind the site but he denies all responsibility. As his wife concurs... it must be true.

~ ~ ~

In other news, we have more snow in CT. Thanks so much Canada! And I still have the never-ending-cold-from-hell thing going on.

Happy New Year

3 Democrats — 2 senators, 1 governor — to retire

I'm happy to see Dodd go. He's pretty much useless. Would that he could take the other totally useless Senator, Lieberman, with him.

Longtime Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Wednesday morning that he will run for Dodd's seat. Blumenthal, a Democrat, is seen as one of the state's most popular politicians. He planned to publicly announce his candidacy later Wednesday.

Considered by many insiders to be the most endangered Senate Democrat, Dodd planned to announce his retirement Wednesday, according to Democratic officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly pre-empt the senator's remarks. Dodd told Democrats of his plans late Tuesday and scheduled an announcement on Wednesday.

I'm not sure what I think about Blumenthal. I think it's been a given for years he'd be after a bigger stage, and frankly I've been surprised he hasn't done more movement before this. My guess is CT will send him to DC. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

2010 is going to be an ugly year.

Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year! I hope it's a wonderful week ahead for everyone.

A Christmas Carol

Top Ten and a Rant

Time is out with its Top Ten Everything of 2009. My favorite is the Top Ten Under-reported Stories because I learned a few things. Here is the entire list, some of which is just... odd.

I spotted a sad story on Yahoo this morning: Pop culture main reason Calif has Chihuahua crisis

Chihuahuas make up 30 percent or more of the dog populations at many California shelters. And experts say pop culture is to blame, with fans immitating Chihuahua-toting celebrities like Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus, then abandoning the dogs.

Pop culture and stupid, selfish people who think it's okay to take an animal in then just dump it off on someone else when it becomes inconvenient. This sort of stupidity just pisses me off. A member of the family pulled this stunt recently and my sister and I went ballistic on that person. Sadly neither of us can take in the animal in question so we're hunting for a home.

For the California Chihuahua problem there is something of a bright side:

"We never have enough supply for the huge consumer demand for small dogs," she said. One of Webb's biggest problems is a lack of money to fly the dogs to other states. Buchwald said she would be happy to help. "Nothing is outside the realm of possibility here. We have a supply-demand isssue," she said.

But it is no solution. Of course there is no solution for stupid, selfish, thought-less people. We just have to put up with them and correct their mistakes.

You can make donations of money or supplies at your local shelter. Petfinder.com (and other sites) can give you a list of shelters in your area. Please, people, don't adopt now - the holidays are the worst time to adopt pets - just go visit them, take some food and think about whether or not you can take on a new family member in the coming year.

Just sharing

an article I spotted:

The Afghanistan War Through a Marine Mother's Eyes

In other news, I had three or four inches of snow at the Farm overnight. It's howling like mad outside right now. The ride back home tonight should be "interesting" if this all freezes up.

First Snow

We got a tiny bit of snow at the Farm on Saturday. It looked like a blizzard out there but very little stuck. What little did stick is now frozen solid to the ground. More snow is predicted for Tuesday night and then rain. So... winter has finally arrived.

Even though very little of the white stuff stuck to the ground I thought I'd take a picture and post it. I have unearthed the camera but it needs to be charged and I can't find the charger. Ah, the joys of moving. I'll come across it eventually I guess.

On my wish list this year is a large embroidery stand with scoll frames. My hands keep cramping up holding onto the hoops so it's time to move up to the big time and have a standing frame. As if I need one more thing...

But no books this year! Seriously, Santa, I've appreciated the books you've given me over the past forty something years but I just don't have any more room for them. Of course this means I'll go on some crazy book-buying binge at my birthday, but for right now no.more.books!

Oh, and for what it's worth, I have not had sex with Tiger Woods.

DONE!

I finally moved.

Yesterday.

It has been a long, strange saga... complete with getting mauled by a cat.

Now comes the unpacking.

Are you kidding me?

I couldn't believe it when I heard this announcement on the radio this morning: In a surprise, Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize. He has done nothing to deserve this. What the hell was the Committee thinking? The award to President Wilson made far more sense than this does - it was for starting the League of Nations. Even though the League failed and was replaced by the United Nations, Wilson had actually accomplished something. Obama made some nice speeches but he hasn't done anything.

Someone else, much nicer than I am, said:

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate.

"This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.

The Peace prize wasn't created to encourage actions but to reward extra-ordinary actions taken by a person to bring about peace. From the Nobel Peace Prize site:

According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize is to go to whoever "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". The prize includes a medal, a personal diploma, and a large sum of prize money (currently 10 million Swedish crowns).

Awarding the Peace Prize to Obama at this time actually cheapens it. This is just ludicrous and I'd like to know what the hell the Nobel Committee was thinking when they decided to do this.

If you haven't seen it

read a fascinating article in the New York Times by Sara Corbett entitled The Holy Grail of the Unconscious.

It was this last part — the idea that a person might move beneficially between the poles of the rational and irrational, the light and the dark, the conscious and the unconscious — that provided the germ for his later work and for what analytical psychology would become.

1st woman takes charge of Army's drill sergeants

I liked this story:

1st woman takes charge of Army's drill sergeants by Susanne M. Schafer and AP. The article states that Command Sgt Major Teresa King is 48 and unmarried. If the Sgt Major were male, would that be stated?

I do like the story but I also noticed it had a bit of a Donna Reed undercurrent:

Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King can dress down a burly, battle-hardened sergeant in seconds with a sharp phrase and a withering look, then turn around and tell trainee soldiers to be sure they get seven hours of sleep.

It this were about CSM Tom King, would they write that, even if true? Or this:

"She's got this unique way of dealing with soldiers where she can be correcting them, but it's in a manner that they're wanting to please her and wanting to do the right thing," he said. "It's not degrading to them."

That statement is by her battalion commander, Lt Col Dave Wood. I'm not criticizing Wood, you can tell he means that as a compliment, but would he say the same thing about a male CSM?

And what does this matter?:

A touch of bright red lipstick and kohl-dark eyeliner doesn't soften her stern gaze when she spots a sheet corner not properly tucked or a young soldier with a uniform askew.

Overall the article is positive and I enjoyed it. I'm not much of a feminist but the above strikes me as condescending and pointless.

~ ~ ~

Still in the process of moving. New date is October 3.