weather

It’s humid in Oregon, right?

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It got cold this weekend for maybe the first time this fall, and we realized just how dry our apartment is.  We can crank up the heat, but it’s not going help the dry skin we’re both suffering from.  This morning (after brunch at Miss Shirley’s Cafe (Wow – I tried to type Miss Shirley’s Face over and over.  It took three tries to get Cafe right (and I just did it AGAIN).), which was disappointing, I’m sorry to say), we went to Home Depot and bought a humidifier.  We have high hopes for it, although it didn’t seem to help in the front room today.  I just moved it to the bedroom and shut the door.  Maybe it’ll be better by the time we go to bed.

In more positive news, I gave up on the steampunk short stories I was reading and moved on to a fantasy novel by an author I like, and I feel SUCH relief at being able to dive into a book I really enjoy.  Apparently, forcing myself to read something causes me stress.  The whole day turned around once I made the change.

I thought this only happened in the movies

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A few weeks ago, during a very heavy daytime storm, we found out that our roof leaks right through the kitchen ceiling.  I told our landlady, but she didn’t seem too concerned.  She certainly didn’t send anyone over to check it out, and IF she sent someone to fix the roof, that person did a terrible job.

The other night, the rain started around 7 or so, and it was serious rain.  We could hear it against the windows, hear it on the roof, and, shortly after we went to bed, we could hear it on the kitchen floor.  We only saw the one leak, so John grabbed a mixing bowl to catch the rain.  Rain dripping on plastic is still pretty loud, so he folded a washcloth in the bottom.  That helped a little.

I couldn’t stop listening for it at first, but it must not have bothered me too much because I can’t remember if I the rain stopped before I fell asleep.  Luckily for us, it didn’t rain ALL night.  We didn’t have to empty the mixing bowl during the night, and it was only half-full when we got up in the morning.

I should try to remember to tell our landlady about it, though, even if she decides not to do anything.

What am I going to do when winter comes?

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It rained all day on Saturday (seriously, ALL day), but Sunday was beautiful.  We went out for coffee and the worst croissant ever in the morning (the worst croissant ever was not what we went out for – why would that be my goal?  rotten goal – but it’s what I ended up with) and walked around a bit, discussing trips we’re planning (or maybe planning) for the fall.  We both have some vacation time we’re going to lose if we don’t use it by the end of December (which would be a crime), and we want to take an actual fun vacation without spending a ton of money (at least not while we’re also spending money on the flying lessons).  The question is where and when.  Still an open question.  But it’s a nice thing to talk about as you walk along on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Later in the day, after we managed to NOT go to the grocery store, AGAIN – no, seriously.  It’s not that hard.  In this case, we wanted to check out Graul’s Market, a store that doesn’t look all that great on the outside, but could be fine on the inside (better than fine would be nice) and is the closed grocery store to our house.  It was a little after 5 when we got there, and guess what?  They close at 5 on Sundays.  So rather than go to Giant or Whole Foods, we went home.  We can go without groceries for another day or so, right?  Sure!

Anyway, after we gave up on food, John spent some time working on his Android app, and I went over to the dock to read in the sunshine.  I’m trying to be mindful of how quickly the seasons change and how soon it’s going to be dark by 5pm, and I really really really really really want to make sure I’m appreciating the light and the nice weather while we have it.  And you know what?  It was really nice.  There were a lot of people coming and going, kids playing, dogs clearly wishing they could play with the kids, boats and the sky and the clouds, and oh yeah, my book…it was a nice evening to be out there.

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Check out the change in lighting.  These pictures were taken just a few minutes minutes apart, on my phone, and are shown here without any filters (because I don’t know how to do that).  I didn’t move at all, except to turn.  I was seated with my back to a post.  Looking ahead, I could see the dock.  Looking left, boats.  Neat.

It’s not supposed to rain inside

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We had some pretty major thunderstorms today.  All afternoon, actually.  It was pretty cool, although I couldn’t enjoy them all that much because I was on the longest conference call ever.  Someone was having a crisis, and John was wrapped up in his work, so even though we heard dripping, we assumed it was outside, and neither of us got up to check.  The rain stopped, we stopped working, and that’s when we found the giant puddle in our kitchen.  Yes, it appears the roof is leaking in our charming old rowhouse, right through the ceiling into our charming kitchen.  We are crazy-happy to NOT  be homeowners right now.  I have texted and email our landlady.  SHE can take care of this mess.  (It’s not actually a mess.  The puddle has been mopped up, and since it’s not raining anymore, I don’t plan to worry about it.)  Oh, did I mention we have ants?  So maybe it is a little bit of a mess.  Also, I got a mosquito bite on my knee during the three minutes I was outside this evening.  Maybe I’m a little bit of a mess.  Tomorrow is Friday!

Who can you trust?

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The weather people continue to lie to me.  We were supposed to get thunderstorms today.  We even saw really threatening (and cool-looking) clouds to the west.  But we got zero rain and no more than two rumblings of thunder.  Tomorrow’s temperatures were supposed to drop to the 60s (in contrast to the high 80s and low 90s of the last few days), but the forecast now shows more of the same high temps.  Why do the weather people insist on all these lies?  Do they think it’s fun?  Taunting us, teasing us, and then snatching the things we look forward to away?  Mean.  More importantly, why do I keep believing the forecasts?  Some people just never learn.

No more (for now)

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We’ve decided to take a break (again) from Downton Abbey.  Last night, all we did after we got home from work was make dinner (John was in charge – penne with olive oil, mushrooms, spinach, and parmesan) and then watch several hours of that show.  (You can’t watch just one episode!)  I feel like a slug.  Maybe it’ll be a weekend-only show.

I need to get outside more.  The forecast is encouraging…in fact, I might try to get outside at lunch time today.  I brought my lunch (Again!  I know!), but that’s not a reason to stay chained to my desk.  Leaving the building doesn’t mean I have to get something else for lunch.

Abandoned the lunch idea.  The plan: work through lunch (which I usually do anyway) and try to get out of here a little early and go for an easy jog!  Get some sunshine and feel less slug-like at the same time!  I feel confident I can pull this off.  Semi-confident.  Okay, there’s a 50% chance I can get out of here early.

I make an easy target

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Apparently, all it takes is one day of nice weather for me to get hit with the shopping bug.  It’s still mild (for now), but I’ve started to feel twinges when I drive by DSW, and I’m getting itchy clicker fingers when I get emails about sales from stores.  I got an email about the Ann Taylor Factory Store sale at the outlet mall that’s only a few miles from me, and now I’m fighting the urge to take an afternoon off to shop.  It’s only the beginning of spring.  It’s going to get so much worse.

Breathe deep and remember: I don’t need more stuff.  I don’t need more stuff.  I don’t need more stuff.

Epiphany: If I get rid of things and replace them, it doesn’t count as more stuff!

Wish I hadn’t thought of that.

Sunflower

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It sounds a little…hippie? flower child-ish? new age-y? pretentious? something…to compare myself to a sunflower, but I’m going to.  Because I love the sun.  Sunshine.  I don’t worship the sun in the I-must-be-tan-all-the-time way (I am very pale and I have come to (mostly) embrace it), but I like to be in warm sun patches.  Like a dog or a cat.  I follow the sun that way.  Like a sunflower!  Except sunflowers don’t move when the sunny patches move.  They just turn…okay, this is falling apart.  Mostly what I mean is that I’m much happier when the sun is shining.  And much MUCH happier when the sun is shining and it’s at least semi-warm outside.  (THAT’S how cold this winter has been: 54 degrees and super-windy counts as semi-warm.)  I don’t drift into depression in the cold and the dark (SAD is a thing, but I don’t think I have it, at least not in a serious way), but a sunny day can cause a shift in my mood that I didn’t even know it needed.  I’m sure that’s true of most people – I’m not special in any way here.  Who couldn’t love a sunny day?  Besides John.  I mean, he likes sunny days, but he’s the only person I know who prefers clouds and overcast days.  And he REALLY doesn’t like heavy, humid heat.  We could never live in Florida.  (This is not a problem for me – I don’t particularly want to live in Florida, either.  Visiting for a while, though…that’s okay.  Especially if Disney World is involved.  I would like to live in Disney World.  Because I am a pretty pretty princess.)

Hm.  I think I’m going to end all of my blog posts that way.  Anyway, I am sitting on my bed in the apartment, in a patch of sunlight, all windows open (to get rid of the smell of fajitas from last night), and I am very happy.  Also, I am a pretty pretty princess.

Trying to rush spring

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After a ridiculously cold winter, spring seems to be in a hurry to get here, and I’m in a hurry to have it here, but I may have been a little overly-enthusiastic Tuesday morning.  We decided to go for a run instead of heading to boxing (we got to sleep in a whole extra 45 minutes!), and since the temperature was in the upper 50s on Monday (and the overnight lows were in the low 30s but above freezing), the snow was melting and the sidewalks were clear and dry.  Well, they looked dry.  We started out fine, but we found out the hard way which side of our new complex doesn’t get direct sunlight.  Those wet patches where snow was melting were just damp pavement on one side of the street, but we turned a corner and woooo!  Damp patches of pavement turned into icy patches of pavement.  In my memory, we slid a lot and eventually stumbled to a halt, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that dramatic when it actually happened.  It definitely dampened my enthusiasm.  It was still dark out, so I couldn’t tell shadows from black ice, and I didn’t want to fall down and – way to ruin a run.  So I cut it short (I wasn’t going to go long anyway – it’s been weeks and weeks since I ran last) and headed back.  The 10-day forecast still shows a few nights with below-freezing lows, but maybe they won’t be after rainy days.  I am DETERMINED to find the bright side.  Also DETERMINED not to fall on my ass.

Happy Birthday To Me

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I’m officially rescheduling my birthday to some weekend with perfect weather in the spring.  Possibly late spring.  I definitely need a do-over.  One that involves wine.  On the one hand, yay – we got a lot of moving done, and that’s something I wanted.  On the other hand, it was maybe the WORST weekend we could have scheduled a move.  Let’s start with Friday.

Friday: My actual birthday.  My gym was closed, so there was no boxing.  John and I went to the normal gym, but eh – it wasn’t that much fun.  Then I stayed at work late, which is also no fun on your birthday.  Highlight #1 (during the day): Chastity took me out to lunch.  We went to the Cheesecake Factory and ate only appetizers and cheesecake.  Delicious.  Highlight #2: everything after I got home.  John picked up Indian takeout (yay!), so that was waiting for me when I got home, but even better, as I walked in the front door, I was enveloped in the smell of a cake baking in the oven.  Best smell in the world.  The smell was so good I wanted to dig myself a hole in the middle of the cake and go to sleep in it.  So for my birthday (the part that counts), I ate Indian food and cake while watching Stardust (I love that movie). That part was good.

Saturday: The forecast called for 5-8 inches of snow, but it wasn’t supposed to start until late morning or early afternoon.  We picked up our truck at 8:30 and were back at the house before 9.  The snow started before we got home.  We spent the next four hours carrying a bed, 10 bookshelves, and 54 boxes (all books and office stuff) from the basement out through the garage and up the ramp into the truck (thank goodness for the ramp), then back down the ramp and into the storage unit (which is only 2 miles from the house), all in below-freezing temperatures (I think it was in the single digits) and driving snow.  We had to keep sweeping snow out of the storage unit before we could put anything else down on the floor, and it was SO cold.  Three pairs of gloves were not enough to keep my fingers warm.  Getting the truck back to the house was treacherous (the roads were awful and windshield wipers on the truck didn’t actually touch the windshield – useless things), and then, to add insult to actual injury (we were sore and achy and I’m bruised all over my arms and legs from schlepping heavy stuff), we couldn’t get it into the driveway again until we shoveled the four inches that had accumulated so far.  We left the truck idling in the middle of the street while we cleared the driveway and sidewalks.  Then we collapsed.

Sunday: Weatherwise (hee – hi, Margaret!), Sunday was the complete opposite of Saturday.  The sun was shining and the temperature climbed into the 40s.  We still had to start the day with shoveling the four inches of snow that fell after we collapsed Saturday afternoon, but after that, we loaded the truck with a few more things for the storage unit and some stuff for the apartment.  The storage unit part was comparatively easy, but the apartment – whose idea was it to take the apartment on the 4th floor?  Sure, we’re in good shape, and on a normal day, three flights of stairs is no big deal.  But over and over?  Carrying odd-shaped and heavy boxes?  Really?  That was not fun.  We quit around 3:30 and returned the truck, then treated ourselves to cheeseburgers and fries at Cheeburger Cheeburger, with milkshakes to go.  It was around 5 or 5:30 when we got home, and after those two days, we were wiped out.  We showered, climbed into bed with our milkshakes, watched TV for a couple of hours, and went to sleep early.

Happy birthday to me!

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It’s the little things

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I am not going to talk about the weather, even though it’s snowing.  I suppose it’s February, and snow should be allowed in February, but John and I had really hoped we’d be out of the house before we had to shovel again.  With 5 to 8 inches in the forecast, shoveling is almost certainly in our future.  On the plus side, it’s likely we’ll be working from home tomorrow.

Our neighbor has been over here twice today.  They don’t have any water (he thinks the meter is frozen), and the water people haven’t shown up yet.  He’s been here filling a big cooler with water from our sink.  I’m not entirely sure what the water is for, actually.  His wife has already gone to their daughter’s house, but someone has to be around when the water people show up, so he’s still here.  I offered up our shower – no idea if he’s going to take me up on that offer.

Update from John: the water is probably to fill the toilet tanks.

I started a new book at the gym this morning – it’s an evil take on Peter Pan.  The prologue sucked me in.  I hope it holds up.

Update on the neighbor (because I know you’re dying to hear): their water is back on.  They’re unlikely to need our shower now.  Thank goodness.

I was productive today (kind of), so I’m going to forgive myself my afternoon of The Vampire Diaries (I only watched two episodes).  I slept through boxing, but then I had breakfast with John (not really productive, but I was out of the house), then I went to the store (we’re COOKING tonight!  And tomorrow!), then I went to the gym, then I cleaned the house and started laundry and helped my neighbor – twice!  And I rolled up all my boxing wraps.  (I might be reaching a little.)

John just got home.  We have no intention of being productive again (except for cooking dinner), and we finally finished the last few episodes of How I Met Your Mother last night, so we’re starting at the beginning of Futurama.  We always need a good half-hour show in our back pocket.

A terrible, no good, horrible day (for John)

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Sunday, John replaced the side mirror on his car (it was cracked, and he needs to get the car inspected), and then he replaced the door-lock relay in my car.  Remember that?  How I’ve had manual locks for FOREVER because they kept cycling on and off and draining the battery so John unplugged the relay?  Well, he ordered a new one and installed it Sunday, and now our fingers are crossed that it was actually the relay that was bad and not the switch in the door.  We’ll know if my battery dies.  So yesterday morning, in the cold, I half-expected us to have to take John’s car to boxing since surely my battery would be dead.  But no – it started right up.  Hooray!  And then it started up again when we left boxing, and again when I left for work.  Hooray and hooray again!

Then I got to work and heard from John.  His day didn’t go so well.

HIS car wouldn’t start.  I was already gone, so I couldn’t jump it for him.  He tried to pop-start it, but he couldn’t get enough momentum to back out of the driveway and into the street.  (Our driveway has a little bit of an incline towards the street, but not much.)  Then he tried to push it back up the driveway and let it roll back again, but that didn’t work.  After about half an hour, the neighbor we almost NEVER talk to (the one who mows his lawn (when he mows it) in khakis and a button-down shirt) came out to go to work, so John got him to jump it (which I’m sure took a lot of explaining on John’s side).

Side note: I just typed “hump” instead of “jump”, and I had to pause for giggles.  And more giggles, because that really would take a lot of explaining on John’s side.

Okay, I’m back.  So, his day didn’t start off well.  THEN he found out that his window wouldn’t work when he tried to order lunch in the drive-thru.  It just wouldn’t roll down (he assumes he did something when he replaced the mirror on Sunday).  It’s always embarrassing when you have to open your door to place your order.  In the cold.  At lunch time on a weekday when there’s a line of cars behind you.

Poor John.  At least his car has started without assistance every time since then.  Of course, then today arrived, with its two to three inches of snow.  We shoveled the driveway, and I started to head off to work, but I changed my mind when I heard they hadn’t even plowed our parking lot yet (at the office, at ten after eight), and then I fishtailed a bit when I took a turn at the bottom of the street, so I came home just as John was backing out of the driveway.  I gave him my car and stayed home.  It STILL took him 25 minutes to go 3 miles, but at least he was in a car with 4-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive.

Cars and winter – these do not a good combination make.

Go home, January, you’re drunk

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January appears to be confused.  Yesterday, the high was 45.  Today, almost 65.  I went for a run.  It was nice.  Tonight’s low is 35, which happens to also be tomorrow’s high, and then it’s going to be in the 20s for a few days.  I suppose that’s closer to normal, but come on!  I didn’t actually ask for winter.

The rules don’t apply to him

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It was SO COLD Tuesday morning when John and I got up to go to boxing.  I think the temperature was in the teens.  God awful cold.  But we bundled up (sweatshirts over normal workout clothes and I was wearing ear muffs (not the fuzzy kind – my ears get cold, so I have some that don’t get totally gross when sweat is involved)) and headed out.  We were a couple of minutes early, so we sat in the warm car before attempting the short walk from the car to the gym.  We should have stayed in the car.  Instead of walking into a reasonably warm gym, we walked into more freezing temperatures.  Doug said he had the heat cranked up to 80, but no warm air was coming out, and the thermostat was stuck in the low 40s.  We did our warm-up fully bundled up and didn’t lose the sweatshirts until 20 minutes in.

This morning, not as cold as Tuesday, but still plenty cold (right around freezing), there was a sign on the door: “No classes today. The heat is broken.”  But the door was open and the lights were on, so we went in and found Doug on the weight machines in the freezing cold gym.  So again, we stayed bundled up and warmed up with him and had class anyway.  We mentioned the sign at the end, and it turns out Doug never noticed it.  It wouldn’t have mattered, not to him.  He says he’s going to be there to work out those mornings, every week, and we’re welcome to come work out with him, class or no class.  It’s like we’re his playmates.  I am totally okay with that.

It never ends

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We’re being all companionable today, sitting next to each other on the couch with our laptops on a rainy Sunday, and wait a second – does that rain look white?  Is that SNOW?  It doesn’t look like it’s entirely snow, and it’s not exactly sleet – what the hell?  Is it STICKING?  Is the ground white?  Okay, everybody, take a deep breath.  No, there’s nothing white on the ground, but that rain looks really odd and snow-like.  Ugh.

Sorry about the momentary panic. We can move on now.  To some headlines written but never published.

[A couple of hours later.]

We’re back from the gym, and while we were gone, my fears about the weather were realized.  There is now a white slushy ickiness all over the ground.  I repeat: there is white slush on the ground.  In my YARD.  On March 30th.  I give up.

Information you need

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Wine update:

Once Upon a Vine = good red blend, maybe a little drier than Apothic Red and Stark Raving Red.

Apothic White = yummy white blend, a somewhat sweet (but not too sweet) mix of chardonnay, pinot grigio, and reisling, according to the label.

It’s snowing again, which may or may not have any bearing on the wine update above.  You decide.

Stop with the flip-flopping, Mother Nature, or we’ll stop voting for you

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Wednesday was the last day of spring.  We said hello (again, grudgingly) to winter yesterday.  Then we pretended to see someone else on the other side of the room and gave it the cold shoulder the rest of the day.  (Hee.  Cold shoulder.)

To make me feel better, I like to look at this picture (from Reddit), captioned “Minnesota Yeti Caught on Film“:

The picture is even wintry, in keeping with the mood and weather of the day.

No more, I’m begging you

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It’s not supposed to snow in March!  We got another 5 or 6 inches today.  It’s over now, and we shoveled most of it just before noon.  I think Riley is tired of it, too.  We were playing out front, and when he was done, he headed to the house at a fast trot (a hop-trot really, since his trot doesn’t look so horse-like anymore).  Sadly (for him, hilariously for us), he found a slick spot on the edge of the driveway, lost his footing, and faceplanted into the snow in the front yard.  He’s not hurt, just embarrassed.  Now we’re all hanging out in front of the fire, working and napping and dreaming of summer.