the DronesClub	the smackdown	Fierce Creatures	Little Blenheim	Barmy in Wonderland	the dernier cri

The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936

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February 28, 2010

9:03 p.m. - Meanwhile, someone in this house gave me a stern lecture about being "an energy vampire," which entailed my leaving the heat too high, leaving electrical devices plugged in which needlessly use energy - alarm clocks, and the like. So I make it a point to turn ceiling fans off when we're not using the room, unplug the laptop so it's not constantly charging itself, etc. But this same "someone" - I mention no names here - is found to leave lights on everywhere, and has committed the worst sin of them all - cranking the heat up needlessly to 67°. No wonder the house was roasting! I feel like I should throw open windows or turn on the air conditioner to balance it out a bit!

7:49 p.m. - Quiet day. Jennifer was up and out at 6-something in the morning, after clomping around like a hoard of elephants from about 5:30 a.m. Today was the bridal fair out at a hotel in LaVista, so she spent the day pimping the Garden to prospective brides. I slept very unfitfully from the time she left until 7:45 a.m.

I had a leisurely morning, followed by a hard core nap until my Mother called from Mexico. Then I ran out to Kohl's for a few things, followed by an errand to Office Depot. Then I spent the afternoon working on laundry and cleaning the bedroom, and straightening around the ol' homestead. At 4:00, I looked in on the LaVista hotel to help Jennifer pack up her display table. We got home, and had a leisurely bite of dinner, followed by an episode of Survivor on BBC. Quiet evening follows. Back to the grind tomorrow. . .

February 27, 2010

10:14 p.m. - Quiet evening around the Casa. We spent a bit of time putting all the Pampered Chef stuff in bags to deliver peoples' orders. Jennifer spent some time on the computer, and I watched the second half of the western Silverado, one of my all-time favorite movies. Jennifer went down to get a snack and make dinner, and I spent a couple of hours removing some 350 DVDs from the binder we put them in a few years back, entering the titles in an Excel spreadsheet, and ordering them back in the binder in alphabetical order, followed by nearly the same procedure for all the TV shows and TV series DVDs. That was a few hours of peaceful work, but I love order. Ordnung muß sein. Order must be. It's my thing. I also spent a good hour updating the new website for the Friends of Scottish Rite dinner on October 8, 2010. It's pretty much the same as the old site, but I had to change a great number of links and minor details in the coding. Not hard work, but again, very detail oriented stuff, and it's all about maintaining Order.

Jennifer has to be at the bridal fair by some un-Godly early hour tomorrow morning, so she went to bed a little while ago. Percy and Arabella are fast asleep, and it is a quiet, lazy evening here. I had too much caffeine earlier - broke my caffeine fast - and I'm not tired - which means I'll probably want a nap tomorrow.

2:12 p.m. - Delightful Saturday afternoon at Chez Evans. We wound up staying up late last night - a rarity for us - and sleeping late this morning. Self until 8 a.m., and Jennifer until 9 a.m. I hit the shower, tackled some laundry, balanced the checkbook, and when Jennifer was up, took Percy to the vet to have his stitches removed. The whole procedure took about 3 minutes, and he behaved himself with the dignity and grace befitting his personality. Which is to say, he shit on their floor right in front of the reception desk. I was so embarrassed, but they cleaned it up for me.

When I got home, Jennifer and I went back out to run a few errands. First down to the Garden, so she could check her truck, packed for tomorrow's bridal fair. Then to a well-earned lunch at Louis M's. She had chicken fingers and onion rings, and I had the guacamole cheddar bacon cheese burger and rings. Delicious! As always. Afterward, we went out to the Half Price Books and I got a gardening book to put with a silent auction package next week, and we both got a few good reading books. She got one on Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. I picked up Jack Beatty's The Age of Betrayal, about 19th century politics. Beatty is a fantastic writer, though I am dismayed to learn he bases his liberal approach to the Gilded Age on outdated and discredited historians. Oh well, it will be a thoroughly enjoyable read anyway, though I take him with a grain of salt. On the way back home, we stopped to get my car washed, and as always, I have the devil of the time getting my car into that damn groove so your car can be moved through the wash. I hate those things. Jennifer took her car out to get washed, and based on the dogs' frenetic barking, Jennifer is home just now.

February 25, 2010

7:18 a.m. - Quiet in the River City. Jennifer called me around 5:30 for our Wednesday 'date night,' and we looked in on Crescent Moon for a bit of dinner. She had chicken fingers and onion rings, and I did my diet a bit of no good with the sourdough burger and onion rings and a Samuel Smith oatmeal stout. I haven't hard a stout in a while, and it was very good. Quiet evening otherwise. I channel surfed in the evening, and Jennifer played on the computer.

Meanwhile, it continues to be cold and dreary in Omaha. No adventures on the horizon.

February 24, 2010

7:38 a.m. - Made it back to the gym. It is so cold out that it is really hard to be motivated to go. I am trying to make it a point to go Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the remainder of the winter so I can get back into the habit of going, but it sure is hard. I think it will get easier when (or if) the weather warms up again in March or April. I managed just shy of 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I've found the elliptical is a much lower impact machine than the tread mill, and that works out fine. I get my heart rate up to about 155 or so for about 20 to 25 minutes without being utterly exhausted like the treadmill. It's still tough, but I can still achieve a good work out. 

Nothing new to report otherwise. Yesterday was the House committee at the Omaha Home for Boys, followed by watching Lost. They are answering old questions and revealing new information, and it's hard to see how they are drawing the six year old series to a close. Each episode has been a cliff-hanger, and I can't wait for next Tuesday!

I slept reasonably well last night, waking up once at about 4:00 a.m., and then again at 5:00, though I drifted in and out of sleep until 5:30 when I got up. Hopefully getting back into the routine of gym will help my sleep. 

February 23, 2010

1:07 p.m. - Greek Islands spanokopita for lunch. Nom! Not the lowest carb meal, but not horrible either. Full of spinach and anti-oxidants, right? My tummy and my brain both have a happy right now.

7:51 a.m. - Long day yesterday. I was cold all day and felt tired and achy and had a massive headache all day. Probably caffeine withdrawals, but I could also be coming down with something. In the evening I went to Florence Lodge so we could prove up with the Custodian, and prove we knew how to open in all 3 degrees. I did fairly well. I needed a bit of prompting on a few rare occasions, but once they started me off, I managed to get through my parts with the mistake of a word here or there. On the whole, it was pretty good. I went to bed not long after I got home, and slept like a rock until about 4:30 when I had to get up to use the bathroom. Couldn't get back to sleep at that point, though I'd fall asleep, wake up with a start, drift to sleep. Wound up sleeping in until about 6:15 or so, which is late for me on a work day. 

Tonight is the OHB Committee meeting. I had hoped to hunker down and relax for the evening and go to bed at a right proper (if not early) time, but such as not the case. Tomorrow perhaps.

February 22, 2010

7:50 a.m. - Made it to the gym for the first time in nearly two months today, and managed 22 solid minutes on the elliptical machine. I probably could have pushed myself the entire 30, but I chose not to overdo it my first time back. I also eschewing my usual morning Diet Coke, instead opting for a cold healthsome water. Hopefully I can get back into the routine of the gym at 6:00 a.m., but getting up at 5:30 is really hard in the cold wintertime! 

February 21, 2010

9:26 p.m. - Delightful time at the VNA Art and Soup fundraiser. We gorged on way too much delicious soup, hob nobbed with friends and acquaintances and had a great time for a few hours! We stopped at Goodwill on the way home, and once home, I managed to doze for a nice half hour in my warm, comfortable chair while Jennifer played on line. She made shrimp Creole for dinner, which we had over rice. Very, very tasty! Then we watched another episode of Survivor on BBC America, followed by a very funny episode of American Dad on Fox. Bedtime coming up soon. Off to pack the gym bag for tomorrow, wrap up the laundry, and then ravel the well-earned sleave of care.

11:20 a.m. - It's nearly noon! Where has the morning gone? Jennifer and I didn't get to bed until after midnight last night, and I slept until about 8:00 am, very late for me. Then I sat in the kitchen watching Citizen Kane until about 10:00 a.m. before taking the dogs back outside and hitting the shower. Jennifer's having breakfast, and I'm playing online right now.

Relaxing weekend thus far. We had Chinese take-out on Friday and enjoyed a quiet evening at home. On Saturday, I got up early, but wound up taking a nice nap from 10:00 to 11:00. Then we went to see Valentine's Day at the Marcus Theater. It had moments of hilarity, but on the whole, it was the American version of Love, Actually. It was cute in a saccharine kind of way. The very end featured a few outtakes, with Julie Roberts riffing on a well-known line of hers. That was, Jennifer said, worth the entire price of the ticket.

The ol' 357 at the Papillion Days parade in 2006.

Working the 357 Dinner last night at the Scottish Rite was a great deal of fun. The 357 Dinner is a prime rib fundraiser dinner supporting the Shrine's Mobile Nobles club, and helps with the upkeep of the train they drive in the parade. They sell approximately 250 tickets for $100, and have a drawing for $10,000 in prize money. Every year they pack the Scottish Rite, and it is a lot of fun! Everything was set up when I got there at 5:00, so I helped my fellow KSAers prop up the wall on the first floor, greeting guests as they came in, showing them to the stairs and elevator, and generally solving the world's problems. After dinner was served, we cleared 300+ dishes, 1,000 beer cans, and brought everything downstairs to the kitchen. Most of the KSA guys left around 8:30 or 9:00, but I stayed until 10:30 helping George and Greg run out the trash, wash everything, put away all the clean plates, glasses, silverware, coffee carafes, pitchers, etc. That is exhausting, and Greg and George were still hard at work when I left! That gives me a great deal of respect for how hard they work in the restaurant business!

Today is the Visiting Nurses Association Art & Soup fundraiser, which should be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to running into a few people I know from the non-profit world.

February 20, 2010

11:01 p.m. - Got home fifteen or twenty minutes ago from greeting and cleaning tables after the Mobile Nobles 357 Dinner. What a long evening! I got there at 5:00 and helped greet for an hour or so, then spent two to two and a half hour cleaning the tables, and another two hours cleaning up afterward, hauling garbage out to the dumpster, putting away plates, carafes, water pitchers, glasses, and so forth. A large portion of the KSA volunteers were gone by 9:00 or so like the proverbial fart in the wind, but George P., Ron, Ed, and I kept at it. A LOT of work goes into feeding and cleaning up after 300 people! I'm beat. They had me draw the winning names for the raffle, but alas no one I knew won.

February 19, 2010

7:22 a.m. - What an evening! I got home from work yesterday and did a frenized 30 minute dance with Jennifer, helping her put the final touches on cleaning the house for the Pampered Chef party she hosted. Snow blower outside, dog kennel outside, various and sundry items to the basement, pick a few items up here and there, sweep. . . Then I shot down to Scottish Rite for a meeting for this October's Friends of Scottish Rite dinner, benefitting the RiteCare clinic. The less said the better on that. . .

Got home by 7:30, as Jennifer's party was wrapping up. Our neighbor across the street brought her 4 year old, who is a delightful child. None of that hiding behind Mommy's leg in shyness. So I gave her a few swings and then hoisted her up on my shoulder for a while. She wore my Shrine fez for a bit, and then put it on my head declaring, "You look like a girl." I love children's unfiltered thoughts! Well, long story short, I pulled something in my back and by 10:00 I was hobbling around. I had Jennifer practice a bit of chiropractic medicine on me, which probably did no good but didn't do any (lasting) harm, either. Took 1000 mg of acetaminophen and went to bed. I was still a bit stiff about the anterior and I just took 500 mg of ibuprofen this morning as I head out into the snow and to work. Yergh. . .

On the plus side, the house was very neat. Jennifer laid out some of our best china and crockery, served a few wonderful noms - brownies, some kind of bean-and-cheese nacho dip, veggies - and her party was a success!

February 18, 2010

7:39 a.m. - I noticed that the plastic bag my socks came in have a re-sealable flap, like those plastic baggies you put sandwiches in. Why? Do they reckon I can keep my socks fresh in my bureau this way?

Crookshanks learned from yesterday's contratemps, and largely avoided me this morning. I do need to make more time for the poor kitty. The dogs get 90% of my time and attention and he needs more.

February 17, 2010

8:55 p.m. - Nice evening at the ol' homestead. Jennifer called me at 5:30 and said to meet her at Crescent Moon for a bite of dinner. She had the fish sammich and I had the cheese burger and two woodchuck ciders. Yes, ciders. I like ciders, so don't bust my balls about it. Quiet evening now. Arabella is fast asleep at my side, and has been happily napping in my lap while I watched TV earlier. Percy is fast asleep on his pillow. Gryffindor is in bed with Jennifer, while she talks to her mother.

So this morning, Crookshanks managed to come into the bedroom at 5:00 a.m. and immediately began dancing on my head. I booted him out but I could not get back to sleep even though I stayed in bed until 6:00. I've been dragging all day today, in spite of a busy day. Can't wait for bedtime in t-minus one hour.

9:09 a.m. – So I’ve been reading Sherlock Holmes stories for the past month, and I’m starting to notice a trend. We hear our client’s foot upon the stair. And it’s the same story again and again. Client is lured away by the promise of money to some off-site location, and he wants to know why.

• Client is “hired” by a mysterious organization to copy out of an encyclopedia for a few hours each week. (The Red Headed League)

• Client is lured to Bumblesquat County with the promise of a lucrative job (The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk)

• Client is sent off to some unknown location to find a some guy who shares his last name (The Adventure of the Three Garidebs)

Our client's foot is upon the stairs.

Every time, the Client has been sent away while the Criminal plots his crime, digging under the Client's store to the bank next door, or weaseling into the firm to steal the bonds, or what have you. While the Client is out of the way, Holmes picks up some insignificant clue which doesn’t really appear in the story and solves the mystery! Ah ha! I detected the faint smell Sakura cigarettes, which I neglected to tell anyone about, which means that the man in the gray suit was left handed and had recently been to the dentist, and is therefore . . . Sir Gaspard’s evil twin brother recently returned from South Africa!

Really the part that gets me is that Conan Doyle really isn’t trying when it’s the exact same plot again and again. And the caliber of his criminal is really lacking. We are told that the Criminal has been in Reigate Prison for murder, but rather than simply kill the Client to have access to his home or secret papers or whatever, the Criminal goes through a great deal of work, elaborate plans, and unnecessary costs to place an advertisement, call on the hero, secure work as an Inspector of Drains, rent an office, purchase and train a deadly snake, and invest in false mustaches. Sheesh! Just kill the guy and be done with it! I could have been Dr. Moriarty, the Napoleon of crime, in Victorian London, given half a chance, compared with these bozos.

Of course, Holmes would catch me based on a fraction of footprint. He would deduce that the Criminal is 5 foot 11, 19 stone, a Freemason, right handed, and had eaten a scrambled egg three nights before the crime. Don’t you think Sherlock Holmes could be wrong sometimes? I was actually carrying a heavy load which made my feet sink into the mud, thereby accounting for the weight. I was running, so my strides are farther apart, and I am only 5’ 8.” I’m not a Freemason, but I was wearing my uncle Ray’s ring on the way to the jewelers to have it repaired. And I detest scrambled eggs, and he just made that last one up to sound like he knew something.

In the stories where Holmes doesn't really solve the crime or unmask the criminal, he asks a few pertinent questions and the story kind of resolves itself. By the time he arrives at the house of the three gables or the engineer's house, the criminals have fled and there's nothing he can really do but offer insightful but functionally useless advice. Thanks for nothing, Sherlock.

Holmes is the worst roommate, leaving his science crap everywhere. Staying up all night to jam on the violin. Smoking whenever he wants. Firing bullets into the wall. Reminds me of my old roommate John 'Bluto' Blutarsky at the ol' Delta Chi Tau house. And he's so lazy! You can't read a single story without Holmes asking Watson to hand him an encyclopedia, make with the tea, answer the door, look something up. You just want to shriek, "Do it yourself, you lazy SOB!" For a guy who is supposedly an excellent boxer and in reasonably robust physical shape, Holmes is the laziest devil. 

Sometimes the Criminal gets away. When that is the case, Watson concludes the narrative with something like “It was widely believed that Sir Gaspard’s evil twin brother Sir Ralph was aboard the ill-fated Donnatar Castle, which was lost at sea with all hands.” Conan Doyle is something of a douche. I mean, he kills off an entire ship full of people in order to SPECULATE that the criminal was on board and drowned with them. 130 people had to drown in order that he might guess that one bad guy was among them. Wow. That’s harsh.

But you have to admire Arthur Conan Doyle’s great Sherlock Holmes stories. After 120 years or so, they still are fun! You have to admire a writer who wanted to be known for more weighty works but figured hey, Holmes is coining the money, so lets bring him back from the dead and keep cranking out more stories.

February 15, 2010

7:23 a.m. - Jennifer got home around 11:00, give or take 15 minutes. I went to bed almost immediately thereafter, and she stayed up for a bit longer.

This morning, I let the dogs out and they were in no way amused with the drifts of snow and bitter cold. But I did give Arabella her pill, and I split the last can of wet dog food among the puppies. They practically licked their plates translucent in an attempt to get it all. I hope Percy and Arabella take to the dry stuff after several days of the moist food. Gryffindor may get the wet food from now on because of his teeth. I go through it without loss of limbs and minimal biting. Both Percy and Arabella are fast asleep now, and I'm off to work. . .

February 14, 2010

10:24 p.m. - Jennifer is still at work, and I don't anticipate her home for at least another 90 minutes. I'm bone tired, but there's no point in going to bed because the moment she comes home, the dogs will go crazy for 20 minutes. I really hate Valentine's Day, since it is A) a bullshit holiday designed by corporate shills to sell chocolate, jewelry, flowers, and overpriced greeting cards, and B) it means Jennifer is at work for a 14 hour day.

The dogs are still passed out, and I'm beat myself. Ready for bed time!

A grainy picture with my cell phone camera - the Grand Lodge installation at Scottish Rite.

6:28 p.m. - Quiet weekend. We did little on Friday except look after the puppies. Jennifer picked up a couple of cans of wet dog food on the way home so it would be easier on their sore teeth after the cleaning. With Gryffindor having lost his bottom two front teeth, eating will be very difficult for him so he may move to wet food permanently. We'll see how he does. They do love eating the wet food, and it looks like they've had nothing else in the last couple of days but about 2/3rds of a can of the wet food each day. The hard part has been getting Percy to take his medicine, and only pressing his pill into a disgusting piece of meat will get him to eat it.

Friday was utterly boring. Jennifer ordered pizza and we stayed home. On Saturday, I had KSA in the morning and then we went to the estate sale at the former Emmy-Gifford theater. Nothing amazing there this time. We picked up a few things from Target on the way back, and otherwise enjoyed a quiet Saturday evening. Jennifer picked up Greek food for dinner and we watched 17 Again on HBO, which was very amusing. Today was somewhat busy. Jennifer headed off for a long day at the Gardens with the Valentine's Day dinner they host each year. She'll be working until midnight! I went to the Scottish Rite for the installation of the new Grand Master for Nebraska's Masons. I stayed on my feet and busy from 12:30 until 5:00, exhausting, but not as rough as Jennifer's day! When I got home, I grabbed dinner, tackled another load of laundry, and have been generally relaxing. The dogs alternate between sleeping and barking at any and every sound. 

February 12, 2010

5:24 p.m. - Picked up the dogs at 4:30. Poor little guys. They brought out each one, one at a time. Three tired little puppies, just coming out of anesthesia. Gryffindor had three extractions. It's lucky he has any teeth left! Arabella had gingivitis but was in good spirits. And Percy was fine other than having a cyst removed on his back. He has a huge patch shaved on his back, with four nasty stitches. Then they brought out the bill for services rendered. $720 - with discounts! Yikes! I had anticipated $300, not more than twice that! Maybe I should not have had the blood tests before hand to test their liver and kidneys. Perhaps I ought not have paid for anesthesia, and just had them walk it off. I needed a bit of anesthesia myself after seeing the bill, and I think I annoyed the vet tech when I asked for various discounts and questioned various expenses.

I've got medicine for both Percy and Arabella, and they are dragging around the house right now. We'll stay in to keep an eye on the wee beasties.

7:58 a.m. - There is nothing more heart wrench than taking your puppies - who offer nothing but trust and love - the vet to leave them there in the cold, heartless kennels awaiting the doggie dentist. They stood at the little kennel doors on their hind legs pleading for Daddy to come take them home. This is all a cruel joke, Daddy. You're coming back? Right? I could have cried as I left them in the vet's back room. I feel horrible leaving them there, but they need their teeth cleaning.

The real cruelty about it is the vet's bill. If I walk away from this with a bill for $600, I suppose I should count myself lucky for the three of them! Thankfully we don't do this but every couple of years. After all, what else could I possibly have done with a federal income tax refund? Save it? Spend it on things we want or need?

February 10, 2010

9:23 p.m. - When Jennifer got home at 5:30, on a whim I suggested we look in on 360 Steakhouse for dinner, mostly because they were donating a portion of the evening's receipts to the Chapter. So we headed back to Harrah's for an excellent steak dinner. She had the porterhouse and I had the New York strip. Deeeeeeelicious! And the asparagus was so thick, I could have had lumber hewn from each stalk. What a fantastic dinner, and the view across the river at the Omaha skyline was a nice backdrop for a great dinner! Since it was benefitting the Chapter, and therefore in a sense work, I wonder if I can bill mileage? They tempted me with crème brûlée, but Jennifer held the line and I stopped while I was ahead. Afterward we looked in on the casino with a couple of Andrew Jacksons in hand, and in spite of playing the penny slot machines, managed to blow $40 in about 5 minutes. Ah well, for five minutes we dreamed of hitting that million dollar jackpot, so it was an exercise in fantasy that was worth every penny. Nice evening, and a great dinner. Since we're both working on Sunday, this will be our Valentine's Day.

7:16 a.m. - Another cold morning, True Believers. I didn't get to bed until late - after 11:00 - well past my bedtime - but I slept like the proverbial rock until 5:30, which is a rare thing for me. Last night I went to the OHB meeting, thinking it was the monthly Trustees meeting. Turns out the Trustees meet twice per year as a group meeting, but monthly in committee meetings. It was actually the Board meeting, and they invited me to stay. I felt like a fish out of water there, but no one accosted me, demanded to know what I was playing at, and threw me out onto the street. I learned quite a bit, and I gained another Tuesday each month for myself. Not a bad haul, if I say so myself. 

We watched Lost last night, and between getting a horrible splinter thanks to our uneven and rough floors upstairs, which Jennifer extracted between my tears and moans of agony. She sterilized the tweezers with mouthwash which was handily available, leaving my wounds clean and minty fresh! At any rate, Lost was a curious episode. I see they are pulling together the strands of the story, and we were reintroduced to Claire, both in the alternate 2004 timeline and in "present" day 2007 on the island. Most curious. I'm interested to see how this plays out. 

Tonight. . . nothing. No meetings. No committees. No events. I will actually sit down with Jennifer for dinner for the first time since Sunday. Yay! 

February 9, 2010

7:45 a.m. - Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but it is 0° outside with a nice dusting of snow on everything, a 50% chance of light snow, and cold weather for the next week. On top of that, the market dropped like a stone last night, and NEWFX is down to $43.95/share. My father predicted a precipitous drop in the Dow, and I scoffed at him like an old man in dotage. Who's having the last laugh now, as he sits snug in the ancestral manse, clinking his gold sovereigns together and calling for Tokay (the wine, not the gecko)?

Last night was the Scottish Rite line officers meeting. I found myself on the 100th anniversary committee, which won't be unpleasant work for the next few years. Tonight is the Trustees meeting at the Home for Boys. I'll enjoy that, but missing Lost would be unconscionable if it weren't for the fact that Jennifer will DVR it for me. 

All quiet on the midwestern front otherwise. . . 

February 8, 2010

Percy last night. Fast asleep on his pillow, with his rawhide at his side. What a tough life puppies lead!

7:03 a.m. - I watched my first Super Bowl last night. Or rather, I've watched little pieces of other Super Bowl, but I put considerably more time into last night's contest betwixt the Saints and the Colts. Of course there was plenty of channel surfing in between, and I probably averaged about an hour of game watching, over the course of a 4 hour game (with less than 15 minutes of real play time in the entire game). It was tedious, with only one or two plays exciting my attention. It is an exercise that will probably not be repeated during the course of future Super Bowls. The Saints won, if you're following these things, but since I am neither from Indianapolis nor New Orleans, I have no dog in this hunt so to speak. I'd even go so far as to say that the Saint's patented expression "Who dat?" is an utterly ridiculous slogan, and I could go the rest of my life quite happily if I never hear it again.

Percy and Arabella are both on the floor beside me working on rawhide treats. What thorougly blissful lives these pets lead. On that note, I face yet another Monday as Sidney Carlton faced the tumbril, and off to work. . .

 

February 7, 2010

4:20 p.m. - Still quiet at the ol' homestead. I had my well-earned 20 minute nap, and later Jennifer made a great healthsome snack of edamame with a bit of kosher salt on top. We enjoyed them while watching the Puppy Bowl on the Animal Network. Meanwhile, it's still snowing. Winter begins to displease me.

12:51 p.m. - Still quiet at Casa de Evans. I went to the grocery store around 9:00ish for weekly  provisions. I shoveled the accumulated snow -barely an inch. Jennifer made lightly fried okras and hamburgers for lunch, and we're relaxing upstairs with the dogs.

8:30 a.m. - Very quite the last few days. Very little to report. In fact, Friday was abominably boring. Jennifer played on the computer and I channel surfed. 10:00 bedtime couldn't come soon enough. Not much different yesterday.

The snow fell very lazily yesterday, and it seems to be a bit more industrious about falling today. We'll have some accumulation, but probably no more than 2 to 3 inches by tomorrow. No plans for today. I slept very poorly, and I'm looking forward to a nap. Since it is Super Bowl Sunday, and since the Evans could truly care less about the contest between the Colts and the Saints, we propose to enjoy a quiet day about the house.

The morning is still quiet. Jennifer is fast asleep, and both Percy and Arabella are with me, also sleeping peacefully.

February 5, 2010

7:18 a.m. - It's been snowing all evening and into this morning, and I estimate there is 5 inches of the white and fluffy outside. Except that it isn't quite so fluffy. Fortunately, I was up at 5:30 and out the door by 6:30, shoveling for a good 30 minutes. I hate shoveling when it continues to snow, because I'll have to do it all over again this evening. At any rate, I did manage to clear the sidewalk, front walk, and steps so we can get to our cars with minimal hassle. The roads, of course, are awful, but I made it to work with no major mishaps. If this were Saturday, it would really be quite as lovely as the first snowfall, and I would admire it over a bowl of oatmeal from the kitchen window.

February 4, 2010

7:22 p.m. - Quiet evenings around the ol' homestead. It's snowing, and I suppose I may suit up and do some light shoveling presently. Not looking forward to it, other than is something to shake up the evening. Jennifer has been splashing around in the tub, and I've been playing on the computer and listening to the band The Pietasters online.

Of great pitch and moment, the market has betanked itself, dropping 268 points down to 10,002. New World has nose dived $1.42, dropping to $44.76. The last time it was at that amount was October 30, 2009. We've lost 3 months of growth in a manner of a week or two. I wonder if the Dow will fall below 10,000 tomorrow.

February 3, 2010