Cinderella and the Pea

Yeah, I know I'm mixing fairy tales, but stay with me and it might begin to make sense.

My spouse, who walks five miles a day five days a week has very sensitive feet.  So much so that it is a major project to find socks she can/will wear.  You'd think that all that walking would have toughened her feet to the point that she could wear anything or nothing at all, but it just hasn't worked that way.

No only is how they feel on her feet critical, she has very strong opinions on how high they go up her leg.  She doesn't like Bobby socks, or crew socks or the ones that hide just at the top of her shoes, they have to be anklets.

And, like Henry Ford said about the Model T, they can be any color you want - as long as it's Black.

At least some of this is my fault. A few years ago, I bought her the perfect package of socks at WalMart.  They were No Nonsense brand and they fit all the criteria described above.  They lasted  for quite some time, but eventually wore out. It almost goes without saying that I have been unable to find the same ones ever again.

My Latest Limerick

He hit pay dirt somewhere around Vail

Carried gold dust to town in a pail

Though a hole in the bucket

Left him out of luck, it

Left a spectacular trail

Harvey revisited

Yesterday was the six month anniversary of Hurricane Harvey's landfall, and it rained all day. 

We had a lot of standing water here at the old Boggy Thicket, nothing like we had then, but enough to keep us inside.  It almost seemed like Mother Nature was saying "I did it to you once, and I can do it to you again."

Keurig Kapers

One year ago today, I wrote 0-for-2 about my adventure with our Keurig coffee maker. Keurig is back on my mind today, but for an entirely different reason. 

When our coffee order arrived last Thursday, it contained the correct brand of coffee (Caribou Blend) but in the wrong configuration.  What I always order are K cups, but what arrived was three boxes of the newer style V cups for use in a Keurig Vue machine.

I called Keurig, and they are replacing the V cups with K cups at no charge.  I asked, but they say that they do not accept returns on coffee orders shipped in error.

Flowers

Our saucer magnolias have decided that it's spring.

Skating Ladies

Russian skaters placed one and two in last night's figure skating competition. 

15-year-old Alina Zagitova won , edging her friend and training partner 18-year-old Evgenia Medvedeva.  While there were a few others who skated well, the Canadian girl who won the Bronze medal was the only one who was anywhere near as exciting to watch.

In addition to watching in awe as the two Russians skated near-perfect programs, I came away with several impressions worth noting.

• Commentators loved to say the names of the Russian girls, and almost seemed to be in a competition to see who could pronounce them the most and the fastest without stumbling.
• There were a HUGE number of skaters who were born in the USA, and competed here until they figured out that they were not good enough - then used some family connection to skate for another country.  Honey asked why they would do that when they knew they couldn't win. I really didn't have a good answer.
• Music choices can have a lot to do with the success of a program, and they can also generate a lot of comments.  I noticed that the skater from Kazakhstan chose The Prayer, and wondered about that.  I failed to notice that the girl from Germany skated to Shindler's List, but I must have been the only one, since the web is full of comments this morning.

Christine Brennan, a highly respected sports reporter, has a column today saying that the wrong Russian won - mostly because Zagitova did all of her jumps in the second half of the program where they get bonus points.  I disagree.  She was just better - not by much, but better.

T-Stat

Years ago, our house had one of the first "smart" thermostats to control the central air and heat.  It featured multiple settings for each day of the week, allowing for different temperatures while we slept, when we woke, when we were at work, etc.  It even adjusted the time settings automatically for daylight saving time.  About the only thing it could not do was switch automatically between air conditioning and heating.  It was supposed to be highly efficient, saving lots of money on the light bill, and maybe it did.

When it finally died and went to thermostat heaven, I replaced it with a much simpler model - not "dumb" exactly - but one that just featured one temperature setting for cooling and one for heat.  We had just retired, so all those additional settings just seemed superfluous. 

It worked so well for so long that we had literally forgotten that it required two AAA batteries.

Not to seem ungrateful, but I wish it had lasted just a few hours longer.  The thermostat quit working some time last night, and I was up at five a.m. going out to the camper in search of new batteries.

More Gator

After reading my blog yesterday, Honey said, "It really did sound like an alligator, but how did you know?"

Elliptical Alligator

That elliptical exerciser that Alesha Graff gave Honey proved to be a real life saver, an ideal substitute for walking outside on cold and rainy days.  As a result, Honey has logged a lot of  "miles" on the thing, enough that it started to complain.

At first, it was just an occasional chirp.  That progressed to extended squeaks, and finally, it started making a noise like a bull alligator in heat.

This morning I took it out to the garage and did a major lube job.  It is so quiet now it's amazing.

Dead Oak Delimma

We have a dead oak tree on the property line between us and the Graffs.  It is clearly on our property and therefore my responsibility.

Almost all of the large variety of oak trees at the Boggy Thicket go dormant during the winter, so I didn't notice this tree until a few weeks ago. 

Since then, I have come up with a pretty impressive list of reasons (excuses) not to cut it down.

• When I first noticed it, temperatures were below freezing. Obviously, it was too cold.
• I was getting over a cold, and just didn't feel up to it.
• I need to go grocery shopping.
• It's been raining for days so it's too wet.
• I'm afraid that it's too windy.
• I really need to do laundry.
• It's time to go to the grocery store again.

I really need to break out my chainsaw and get to work, but at the rate I'm going, that tree may have to fall on its own.

Missing Post

No post here on my blog yesterday.  

It wasn't that I was too busy - I didn't accomplish a darn thing.  I just sat around thinking about things I might be doing if I could generate enough interest or energy to get up off my backside and get started.

I'm posting this now so that doesn't happen two days in a row.

Some Thoughts - No Solutions

Another school shooting, and even before the injured can be transported to the hospital, the news media and the internet are full of  opinions - knee jerk reactions from both ends of the political spectrum.

I am not sure what the solution is - not even sure that there is one - but I'm sure the answers I'm hearing from both sides are wrong, or at least incomplete.

I do know that the world kids grow up in today is totally changed from the time I grew up in.  I didn't have video games or social media.  Bullies in my day didn't spread snarky rumors or embarrassing photos on SnapChat; they knocked you down and stole your lunch money.

We had guns back then.  In fact, almost every pickup in the high school parking lot had a rifle in its gun rack.

We had fights, but they were almost always settled with fists.  Pulling a knife, much less a gun, would be seen as socially unacceptable, and the perpetrator would be ostracized.

Most notable, we had parents who loved us.  Parents who had our best interest at heart, but parents had made it crystal clear what constituted acceptable behavior, and who were not afraid to use corporal punishment to enforce the rules.

We had weird kids back then, too, kids who felt like they had been dealt a losing hand in life.  But instead of shooting up their schools, they either lived through their time of crisis, or, in at least one case I remember, shot themselves. 

Shanna

Our beloved daughter Shanna lost her fight with breast cancer and left this world on this day in 2006.  She left a space in our hearts and in our lives that we will never be able to refill.
Love you, Bumper, and I miss you.

Too Good to BeTrue

My old house shoes had seen better days.  Actually, they have been worn out for months, but I'd been nursing them along until the soles split and fell apart.
Yesterday, at Walmart, I found a perfect replacement.

Fake leather, lined with faux fur, but with a nice rubber sole - just what I was looking for.

I hadn't worn them yet, but looking down at them on the floor last night, I noticed that the right one looked a bit longer than the left.  I picked them up and turned them over, and, sure enough, they were different sizes. The left one is a 7-8, the size I wear, and the right one, a 9-10, is too big.

I'm dreading taking them back.  Walmart has a good return policy, but it's still a pain.  On top of that, I only remember seeing one pair in my size, and we already know how that came out.

Olympics

Watching the Winter Olympics brought to mind this picture from Sochi, and the Limerick I wrote in 2012

On ice as smooth and as slick as glass
The skaters perform with grace and with class
His movements are agile and fleet
And he’ll jump about twenty feet
When she bites a chunk out of his ass

My Spirit Animal Is A Hibernating Bear

This winter has me wanting to hibernate.  It has been either too wet, too cold, or both.  It has left me with no ambition at all.

All Wet

We have had one day of sunshine in the last two weeks, and the forecast isn't predicting any more until Thursday.  It is cloudy and rainy today with two inches of rain overnight.

In the book Sun Signs, Linda Goodman said that Leos cannot function without sunshine.  That is one of the few things an astrologer ever said with which I totally agree.

Speak of the Devil

In yesterday's post I mentioned that Honey's all-time favorite ice cream flavor was Blue Bell's Mocha Almond Fudge.  I also noted that it was one of their seasonal flavors and not currently available.

About two hours after posting to my blog, I made a trip to my local H-E-B, and, lo and behold, what should I find in the freezer?

You guessed it.  It's back!

Calorie/Enjoyment Ratio

In an effort to maintain her target weight, Honey has come up with what she calls the Calorie/Enjoyment Ratio.  It isn't a formula written out on paper, but something she does in her head.  Even if she likes something, but doesn't think she likes it well enough to justify the calories, she won't eat it. It has proved to be a highly effective approach.

The latest example is Blue Bell's Chocolate Almond Marshmallow Ice Cream.  Honey's favorite flavor is Mocha Almond Fudge, but it is one of Blue Bell's seasonal flavors and not currently in stores.  I bought some Chocolate Almond Marshmallow in hopes that it would provide a temporary substitute. 

It did not.

She tried some the night I brought it home, and announced that it failed to pass the Calorie/Enjoyment test.  This left almost a full carton of ice cream that she will not eat, and I don't particularly like. To avoid being wasteful, I guess I'll eat it. 

Somebody has to. 

Slow Day

Nothing to report today.  Cold. wet and windy. Cabin fever setting in.

The Gate

A friend of mine posted a picture/ cartoon/ sketch on Facebook saying that it was guaranteed to generate warm feelings in anyone who had grown up on a ranch.  I agree with his statement, but think it should generate memories for anyone who had ever had to get out of the truck to open a gate.

Super Bowl Thoughts

We watched the Super Bowl yesterday, and (if you don't count a truly rotten half-time show) it had to be one of the most enjoyable in years.  
I kept saying that I didn't have a dog in that fight, so I surprised myself with how pleased I was that the Eagles won.
I don't like Bill Belichick, and Honey will never forgive Tom Brady for Deflate Gate, but even she admits that he is a heck of a quarterback.
At least Nick Foles is a Texas boy.  He led Austin Westlake High School to a state championship in 2006, ten years after they had won the title with Drew Brees as QB.  Of course Westlake seems to stand in the way of a lot of local schools  when it comes to winning, so I can't get too excited about that.
Some of this year's ads were pretty good, and some, as usual, fell short of achieving the sort of response they were going for.  For my money, the best of the bunch actually aired during the pre-game show.  In case you missed it -

Man of the Year

No surprise - J J Watt picked up the prize as the Walter Payton Man of the Year at the NFL Honors event last night.  
He should also have got a prize for -

• Best acceptance speech
• Nicest suit
• Prettiest mom
• Prettiest girlfriend

For such a prestigious honor, the trophy is really ugly.

Cleaning Up

Our daughter Cheryl is coming to visit, and is due to arrive in a couple hours.  
We have spent the last 24 hours cleaning a house that wasn't all that dirty to begin with. 
I'm not saying that it didn't need doing, but she grew up here.

With a Nod to the Movie

Hint for Tomorrow