Monday, October 19, 2009

WWMD?

The weather is finally better. When it wasn't better (all of last week)it was cold, raining, and thoroughly nasty. My mom and I even had to cancel our much looked-forward-to jaunt to the Sheep and Wool Festival. Imagine how happy I was to see sun this morning. Then imagine my spirits quickly lowering as I realize the reason the sun is shining so brightly off my car is that is is covered in ice.

Now, this is a new car, and as it's only the middle of October I have yet to outfit it with any of the appropriate winter accoutrements such as an ice scraper. As I looked at my sparkly car, my first, optimistic thought was that it was just a thin, delicate little coating. This (perhaps misplaced) optimism was quickly dashed when I opened up my door and said ice let out a loud, cracking sound.

Then, I sat in the car and pumped up the heat and defrost. Ahhh, this will do the trick. Hmmmm.....still icy, and in fact it looked like I was sitting in an igloo. What's a gal to do?

I decided to go all McGyver - I opened up my purse and spied my credit cards! Five minutes later, the car was scraped and ready to roll.

I guess it's true what they say - "For everything else, there's Mastercard."

Friday, October 16, 2009

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful.....

That's right - snow in mid-October. We didn't actually see any here, but a few towns north got a bit last night. As the weather is supposed to continue its downward spiral this weekend, I will sadly be skipping the Sheep and Wool festival in Rhinebeck. It's a really fabulous festival complete with thousands (I'm talking tourbuses thousands) of knitters all bedecked in their knitting finery. I do find it a little creepy that there are quite a few food stands offering various lamb dishes, when the real live article is bleating and looking cute just a few yards away, but that might just be the vegetarian in me talking. However, as the temperature isn't supposed to climb past the mid-thirties, and there is a little picture of rain/snowflakes (yes, snowflakes, which the web designer made to look cute rather than cold and irritating) on the weather site, I'll be giving it a miss. I can do rain, or I can do cold, but I really am not in the mood to do both.

Guess I'll just have to knit at home (where the heat is abundant and lovely - our apartment building seems to think we need a temperature akin to being in the Bahamas) and pretend my children are sheep.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Happy Columbus Day!

I don't particularly have any strong attachment to Columbus Day, but a day off always makes me happy. This year, we actually attended the local Columbus Day parade to watch Big Trouble march with the Cub Scouts. He joined a couple of weeks ago, and has only attended one meeting, but today was the big day. Unfortunately, the day began with me having to sew the many patches onto his new (and frighteningly expensive - I actually suspected that it was sewn together with gold thread, but discovered this not to be the case) cub scout uniform shirt. I made the tactical error of deciding to sew them on by hand rather than drag out the machine, because, as my thought process went, it will just be easier.

Dur. My typing is rather slow at the moment, because my fingertips are sore and tender after being poked numerous times with a needle that didn't want to go through the patches. They are now all applied and he made an adorable little Cub Scout. It was a bit on the chilly side today (even The Professor pulled his jacket out of the closet, which is always a sign to me that I am going to be freezing), but the parade was fun, and it's always interesting seeing the local culture, such as it is.

Back to real life tomorrow!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

It's Awfully Dark

That was the thought in my head when I woke up this morning. It was raining, so I wasn't expecting it to be bright at 6:15, but I do remember thinking that it was awfully dark. I showered, dressed, and began making breakfast for me and the kiddoes when I noticed the clock over the stove read 5:45. I thought I was reading it wrong, but imagine my surprise when the microwave clock agreed with it. Were the appliances plotting something?

I ruefully laughed at my error, mistaking the 5 for a 6 on the clock radio, until I went back into my room and saw that it was a 6. Meaning the time button had been pressed and advanced the clock.

Now that it's finally my usual waking time, I am noticing that it's quite a bit brighter outside, and I have the feeling it's going to be a loooooong day.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Fakin' It

Well, I continue to teach technology (teaching myself first and then just relaying what I've learned....), and I guess I'm doing an ok job at it. Today there was a sub in for one of the teachers, and at the end of the lesson she asked me for some tech advice on her computer. Imagine how proud I was - both because she bought the whole tech thing, and because I actually gave her a correct answer to solve her problem!

Now for a more interesting question - who got hold of the camera?

Saturday, October 3, 2009

The Big 7

Well, one day late, but Happy Birthday Big Trouble! Every day for a couple of weeks he has woken up with the question, "How many days until my birthday?" answered by the inevitable, "Check the calendar." Well, the big day was yesterday, and the family party was today. We ate, we drank, we opened presents, and I think a good time was had by all, especially the birthday boy.

We were looking at old pictures of him, and it's amazing how his personality showed through in even those early shots. He has always been full of sweetness and humor, a good-natured little soul who looks out for the feelings of others.

We are so happy to have you as our son, sweet boy, and wish you a very happy 7th birthday.