Flashback Friday

As I already mentioned, my birthday was Monday, and to honor the occasion, the 'Rents dug around and found the recipe that Grandma used when she made my birthday cake every year -- it was titled Wellesley's Chocolate Fudge Cake." 

When they said they would be making that cake, I started reminiscing about how moist and fudgey that the cake was back in the day when Grandma made it.

No offense to the 'Rents, but the cake didn't taste anywhere near what Grandma's cake tasted like.  It was good and chocolatey, but it just wasn't like the cake Grandma made.  Of course, I would never tell the 'Rents that, and as I type this, there is one small slice of the cake left and it's in the freezer.  But it just wasn't the same. Grandma's cake was very moist and very fudgey.  This cake wasn't.  And I know for a fact that the 'Rents followed Grandma's recipe to the letter.  I guess it's just one of those things.

I Still Don't Like The Garbage Man

When I was a toddler, and the time came for the 'Rents to get me off of the baby bottle, they did what any quick-thinking parent would do: they told me that the garbage man took it.  Well, it wasn't far from the truth, because the garbage man did in deed take my bottle after one of the 'Rents or Grandma threw it in the garbage can.  Mom said that I immediately hated the garbage man, and would fuss and carry on whenever I would see a garbage truck, because the mean old garbage man took my bottle. 

Fast forward to today, and I still don't like the garbage man.  Thursday morning is our garbage pick-up, and I honestly do not think that our garbage man could be any louder. Add to this the second garbage man in the 'hood comes to the store down the street and empties the dumpster on Thursday mornings.  I don't think I can begin to describe the sound that a large, heavy, cast iron dumpster makes when it is dropped down on the ground after it has been emptied.

All I can say is I'm glad that both of these garbage men come on the same morning, about an hour apart.

Birthday Reflections

The birthday partying is still going on here at The Compound, even though it's not still our birthdays.  But we're not letting that stop us.  Me and Dad (and Mom) are still partying, even though the second round of the Polar Vortex is still going on.  Rumor has it that it might even get above freezing tomorrow. I'll believe that when I see the temperature on my cell phone. 

Happy Birthday, Dad

TWIT would like to wish a very happy birthday to my Dad.  He is 80 years young today.  And this morning I reminded him of the best birthday present he ever received 51 years ago -- ME! 

The Streak, Part Two?

Today is my birthday, and until January 27, 2012, there was a long, long record of it either snowing or there being snow on the ground on my birthday, including my actual birth day.  But on this day in 2012 and again in 2013, there was no snow anywhere near The Compound.  But today, part two of the streak is on.  There is still some snow on the ground here at The Compound. That's still a cool (no pun intended) record of there being snow 49 out of my 51 birthdays.  Yes, I know it's January, but humor me.

App Of The Week

We're at the end of January, but we've still got plenty of winter let, and that means the chance for a lot more snow.  The kids already have days to make up, and I'm sure they will have a few more snow days to make up before spring gets here.

I found a fun app this week for those with kids in school who are antsy on the night before snow is predicted.  I'm sure you parents are tired of hearing "I wonder if we'll have school tomorrow?"  Download an app called Whiteout Watch and enter some basic info and the app will tell you the percentage chance of no school or a delay.  It's only available for iOS now, but given its popularity, it could be available for Android before the winter is over.

Security Tip Saturday

First of all, this isn't really a security tip; it's more of a safety and convenience tip, but it's my blog and I can label the posts however I want. And I know that I posted about this last month, but I think it bears repeating.

We had two rounds of snow in the past week, accompanied by temperatures in the teens down to below zero.  There were a lot of people that couldn't get their car doors opened, and who also spent a lot of time scraping ice and snow off of their cars.  I have a tip for you all, and I can say with 100% proof that it works. 

Get an empty spray bottle, fill it about half way full of rubbing alcohol and then fill it up with water, and spray this on your windshield and windows before snow or ice is expected to hit and I guarantee the snow and ice will scrape off effortlessly.  Also, open your car door and spray this on the rubber around the edges of the door and this will prevent the door from freezing.  And while you're spraying, don't forget to spray your wiper blades, too. 

Polar Vortex, Round Two Update

It was zero degrees this morning when I was getting ready for work.  Thank the Lord and LG&E that it was a warm and comfortable 70 degrees in the house.

They're calling for anywhere from one to four inches of snow tomorrow morning. Yep, that's a big variance, even for the weatherazzi.  But apparently they can't pinpoint where the heaviest snow will be, so they're covering all of the bases. 

We have Round Three of the Polar Vortex hitting us on Monday, just saying.

And for the record, I am over all of this.  I'm tired of wearing my long johns every day.

Polar Vortex, Round Two Update

It's cold. You know when I say it's cold, it is cold.  As I post this, it is 5 degrees. There's not much else I can say about it.

Polar Vortex, Round Two

This morning when I woke up, it was 1 degree here at The Compound.  Yep, 1 degree.  We're in another big deep freeze like we just got out of.  According to the weatherazzi, the lows are going to be in the teens to the single digits for the next week and a half.  I haven't heard the weatherazzi say the phrase "polar vortex" yet, but I'm pretty sure it's implied. 

On the positive side, I'm happy to report that the old Blazer started right up this morning with no hesitation, and at the mid-point on my 15 minute drive to work, I had to turn the heater down because it was getting a little too warm. 

 

BINGO!!!!!

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Louisville man was charged after police said he was drunk when he inappropriately disrupted a Bingo game.

According to police, Deharra Waters was arrested at a Bingo hall in the 9200 block of Blue Lick Road Thursday evening.

Police said he was running through the Bingo hall with his pants down screaming "Bingo."  That action, according to police, caused alarm to patrons and employees.

Waters is charged with disorderly conduct and alcohol intoxication.

 Damn.  The news story didn't say if it was a valid bingo or not. 

Crowding The Season, Ya Think?

On my way home from work today, I saw two young teenage girls walking down the side of the road.  They were both wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts.  The temperature was 51 degrees.  Yep, 51 degrees.  It got worse. 

When I ran into the WalMart to pick up some fresh fruit, I was clearly in the minority.  I was one of the few people wearing long pants and a jacket.  Most people I encountered were wearing shorts and flip-flops.  Adults and children.

Keep in mind we're expecting 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow, with a high of 18 degrees.  But this evening, it was 51 degrees and shorts and flip-flops were out in full force.

There are no words.

Link Of The Week

Later on this evening, we will know which two teams will play each other in this year's Super Bowl. Personally, I'm rooting for the Patriots. 

Regardless of what teams will play in the big game two weeks from today, you can get all of the info about the Super Bowl at http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/48.

Saturday Thoughts

There's a lot that I would like to write about today, but I am just not in the mood.  Nothing's wrong, but I'm just not in the mood to write anything today.  So I will just give a few observations from a morning trip to the store.

First of all, I was happy to see that 99% of the shoppers I encountered were wearing winter coats today.  Usually in cold weather this is not the case. 

Second, the majority of the shoppers I encountered were wearing proper snow/cold weather footware.  RE: they were not wearing flip flops, or Crocs, or tennis shoes.

Third, there were not a lot of shoppers out this morning when I was doing my shopping.  This is usually not the case.  Normally, when I go to WalMart on a Saturday morning the store is packed.

All that having been said, there's not much left to report.  It's just a slow Saturday, and I like it that way.

Flashback Friday

Twenty years ago today, we had one of the biggest snowstorms ever to hit Louisville.  We awoke on this day twenty years ago to find 18+ inches of snow.  And the day before, they were just calling for a dusting to maybe a trace of snow.  Boy were we fooled. 

We woke up to now power.  Mom, Dad and I bundled up and trudged out in the foot and a half snow to bring in firewood to get the fireplace going.  Dad had just got the fire roaring and Mom had put the grate inside and had the coffee pot on, when we heard the faint sound of a car horn in the distance.  Then we looked out and saw the faint beams of car headlights, and before we knew it, our company CEO/old friend Uncle Don was pulling in the driveway to take me to work.  

Uncle Don came in the house and sat down and had a cup of coffee, and then got a grocery bag and started filling it with food from our pantry.  He looked at me and said "Are you going to wear that to work?"  Never mind I had called him the night before and told him that if the roads were bad, to not stop by to take me to work.  I quickly put on jeans and a sweatshirt and after we had our provisions, we headed out to the office.

Needless to say, his Blazer, aka the Teal Taxi, was just about the only car out on the road as we made our way into work.  

When we got there, we were both faced with major obstacles.  His office and my department were in the infamous United Furniture building, and the pipes had frozen and burst on the first floor, while up on the second floor where my department was, the roof had caved in from the weight of the snow.  Yep, there in the office was piles of snow on various desks, filing cabinets and floors.  While Uncle Don was trying to fix the burst pipes, I was trying to scrounge up big garbage bags and cut them open to spread out over the file cabinets and other office furniture and then tried to scoop the snow out of the office. 

We both had a good lunch of chili and bologna sandwiches and good hot coffee that day, and then spent the afternoon on damage control for the pipes and holes in the roof.  On the way home, we both laughed about how the liquor stores and bars had their parking lots clear of the 18+ inches of snow. 

That is a day that will be in my memory bank forever. 

Parking Lot Crash of 2013 Final Update, I Hope

After a full day of driving and waiting, and driving and waiting some more, I am very proud to say that the old Blazer is back and is road-worthy.  

The day started out with me driving the Blazer up to the sheriff's to get it inspected.  It took longer to drive there than the actual inspection process.  But I digress.  After it was inspected, I drove it back home, ate breakfast, and then got in the Odyessy for a trip to Frankfort to get the title crap taken care of.  Once again, it took longer to drive there than the actual time spent at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. 

Once I got back in Louisville, the next stop was the Jefferson County Clerk's office to get the license and registration crap taken care of.  Once again, this process took almost as long as the round-trip to Frankfort.  When I got there, I was ticket number 87, and they had just called ticket 51.  

When that was finished, I then stopped by my office to use the fax machine to fax a bunch of paperwork to my insurance company.  After they quickly called me back to tell me everything was in order, I headed home. 

As soon as I got out of the Odyessy, I grabbed a screwdriver from the garage and put the license plate on and then pulled the Blazer back into the garage where she belongs.  It's been three months to the day since she'd been in the safety of The Compound.  It sure is good to have her back. 
 

Awesome Quote Of The Week

Back in the mid-80's, a childhood friend was working on a project about friends and friendships, and part of this project was interviewing people of all ages about friends and friendships.  She came out one evening and interviewed Grandma.  She had a small tape recorder and she recorded an hour-long conversation with Grandma.  Grandma talked to her about friends she had when she was a little girl, as an adult, and as a senior adult.  At the end of the interview, Grandma said something that hit me and that has stayed with me through the years, and it is one of the truest statements ever made.  And I quote:

"Old time friends - they're the best."

Mullet Watch

I admit I really sat down on the job of reporting mullets in 2013, but honestly, I never saw that many.  But here we are, just a week or so into the new year, and I spotted what could possibly be the best mullet I've seen in ages.  My neighbor actually spotted it first and then brought it to my attention.  We had stopped at Krogers on the way home, and my neighbor pointed it out when we were pulling into the parking space.  The mullet host was probably early to mid-fifties, and the mullet was very long and light brown.  He got into his truck and drove off in a hurry, so I wasn't able to get a picture of him.

2014 Mullet count: 1

Parking Lot Crash of 2013 Update

Unfortunately, I didn't get the old Blazer back today like I'd hoped.  The body shop manager was out sick today, and since he's the one that said he'd cut me a deal on labor, I sure don't mind waiting until tomorrow when he's hopefully back.

So if the guy is back and everything goes as I hope it will, I'll be driving it home to The Compound tomorrow evening.

As always, I'll keep you posted.

Link Of The Week

We survived the Polar Vortex last week, and as I type this, the temperature here in the 'Ville is in the upper 40's.  That seems warm compared to having -20 degree wind chill temps last week. 

A coworker sent me a link to a map that shows the current wind chill temps across the country, and I wanted to share it with you.  You can find it at http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/currentweatherusnational/uscurrentwindchill_large.html.  It's pretty uneventful right now, and the map only shows wind chill temps below 40 degrees.  But just wait; we've still got a couple months of winter left.

Parking Lot Crash of 2013 Update

I spoke to the body shop yesterday, and (drum roll, please) they said that the old Blazer should (key word) be ready on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.  Believe me when I tell you if I could have physically and gymnastically done a cartwheel, I would have.  

I'm anxious, but cautiously optimistic. 

In typical style, it won't be as simple as writing the shop a check and driving home.  I have to fill out some paperwork and have it notarized, drive it (without a license plate) up to the clerk's office and have the sheriff inspect it and get more paperwork, go to Frankfort to take the paperwork and get the title, and then go back to the clerk's office to show them the title and get it registered and get a license plate.  Yep, that wore me out just writing it.  

As always, I'll keep you posted.  

Flashback Friday

Does anyone still buy wax paper these days, or are we the only ones that still buy the old school Cut-Rite wax paper?

Quote Of The Month

"If you got it when you're young, you'll still have it when you're old."

I like to think I still got it,

Annoying Phrases From The First Winter Storm of 2014

1. Wind chill

2. Polar vortex

3. Frostbite

4. Frigid

5. Arctic blast

6. Deep freeze

7. Sub-zero

8. Exposed skin

9. Hypothermia

10. Record-breaking cold

Thank You Lennox and LG&E

This was a very welcome sight this morning when I got up.  It was 3 degrees below zero at 6:30, and if you look close at the top number on our thermostat, it was a comfy 71 degrees in the house.  I checked, and the wind chill was -20 below most of the night.  Not once did any of us get uncomfortable during the night.  Thank you Lennox for making an awesome, durable furnace and thermostat and thank you LG&E for keeping the juice flowing.

Another First Snow Storm of 2014 Update

Even though I love the snow, I was thrilled that we barely got a dusting in Louisville.  And what few flakes we had were blown around from the wind.  But we did have the record low temps.  When I left the house this morning it was -2 and it stayed close to that all day long.  As I type this, it's 1 degree according to the thermometer at Louisville International Airport. 

I was as warm as could be this morning.  I had on my long underwear, two pair of socks, and topped it off with my new Good Shepherd Security Consulting winter coat, Nordic ski cap and gloves.  In fact, I was a bit too warm.  My ride to work was late, and I had to take my coat off while I waited.  

I forgot to start getting ready to leave work a few minutes before quitting time today, and I didn't want to make my ride home wait while I went and put on my long johns, and boy, could I tell it on the walk through the parking lot.  I will make sure I make time tomorrow afternoon.  

 
 

First Snow Storm of 2014 Update

The weatherazzi have changed their forecast for Louisville since we last spoke.  As of now, they're calling for only 1-2 inches of snow, and the timing of the storm has changed significantly.  It's 2:20, and it just now started raining; they had originally said the rain would move in early in the morning.  And it's also 56 degrees here.  It's hard to imagine that they are saying the high tomorrow will be zero degrees when it's just a few degrees shy of 60 right now.  Who knows.  

I will be adding to this post throughout the afternoon and evening with updates.

2:20 pm  56 degrees, windy and raining hard

4:00 pm  46 degrees, windy and raining

7:00 pm 43 degrees, windy and raining hard

8:00 pm  38 degrees, slushy rain

9:00 pm  32 degrees, slushy light rain

10:00 pm  29 degrees, light snow, windy

First Snow Storm of 2014

The weatherazzi have already started working us all up over our first major snow storm of 2014.  They're calling for 3-5 inches of snow here in the 'Ville tomorrow, but even scarier is the forecast for the first half of next week - the high on Monday is supposed to be zero degrees.  Yep, the high.  And that's after a low of 20 below on Sunday night, with more sub-zero lows expected Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  

I have to say that I honestly don't remember a high of zero like they're expecting on Monday.  But time will tell.  Anyhoo, we've got a lot of bread, milk, potato chips, and chicken breasts so we can take whatever Mother Nature wants to throw at us.  And we have plenty of gas to use in the snow blower or generator if needed.  Bring it. 

As always, I'll keep you posted. 

Flashback Friday

I know I'm getting older and starting to get forgetful, but I don't remember when the cold has bothered us more than it does right now. 

Today at work and in talking with friends, the big topic of conversation is the forecast for Monday - the weatherazzi is calling for a high on Monday of zero degrees.  Yep, a high of zero.  I honestly don't ever remember us having a high of zero.

Back in the day when the weatherazzi wasn't as radical and militant as they are today, we didn't get all that worked up over a cold weather forecast.  DUHHHH - it's winter and it's supposed to be cold.  But somehow today we think it's much, much worse.  As I type this, the network news is just now coming on and the lead story is the big snowstorm and cold temperatures that's covering the eastern half of the country.  Twenty or thirty years ago, I don't think winter weather would have made it to the first news story. 

It's A Great Year Already

It's only the second day of the new year, and it's been an awesome year so far.  Today, I got a phone call from a friend who normally would just text me.  She read my posts on here and on Facebook about how I have been calling friends and actually carrying on a conversation with them instead of just texting or emailing or leaving a note on their Facebook wall, and she wanted to do the same.  We had a great conversation earlier this evening, and it made me crave that personal contact with my friends even more.  I told her how I really missed our phone talks the past few years.  Getting text updates just is not the same.

I urge you in the new year to do the same, faithful readers.  Take a few minutes and call someone instead of texting them or leaving a post for them on their Facebook page.  I promise you it will make you feel great. 

Let's Start The Year Off Right

Welcome, 2014

TWIT would like to welcome 2014.  So far, it's been pretty good.  I hope that it will treat everyone well in the next 364 days.