storm predicted

High winds, rain, maybe hail and tornadoes......this is all forecast for the afternoon and evening, clearing out by midnight so it will be nice again Tuesday morning, like it is this morning.....didn't need a jacket for the newspaper walk, got a couple of windows opened a bit now with it 61 and sunny, SW wind, it's a warm moist wind.....which is going to run into the low and lead to the bad weather later today is how it works I guess.....I had leftover meatloaf supper yesterday, so I still have curried pork and a piece of steak left for today and tomorrow, and then it's shopping day again.....this morning I should go to the library, to have something to read if this storm knocks out the TV? My back was stiff and aching all day yesterday, but today it's not so bad.....don't know what I did different, unless it was mopping on Saturday that torqued my lumbar somehow.....well, it's after nine, so the library is open, I'll head ever there now.....

up to 76 today?

chance of thunderstorms on Monday.....snow in San Francisco yesterday.....on the ridges anyway I think it said....I remember seeing snow twice on Paradise Mountain.....last year it snowed here in March.....I made my french toast this morning with nutmeg and apple juice in the batter.....I guess that's the extent of the excitement here this Sunday morning......

warmed up nicely

in the afternoon...well, to 61 anyway....so I've been for a walk and finished my library books and sat out on the front porch eating peanuts a while.....looks like a wedding going on at the church across the street....they got good weather.....I put some mesquite rub on a little piece of steak to iron skillet with sliced mushrooms in a while.....I did mop the kitchen and swap down the bathroom this morning, and went around the place knocking down cobwebs with a broom....with these high ceilings I could just reach the corners......pre-Spring cleaning?

windchill 30

on the early walk, but it's 24 in Coos Bay, so for once Caroline is colder than Carolina.....I need to mop the bathroom and the kitchen, I've put that off long enough it looks like.....had rice and curry for supper last night, and watched half of the Thunder-Magic, couldn't stand any more commercials, so went to bed around 9:30, slept well......breakfast of poached egg on wheat toast, lunch will be a meatloaf sandwich I think, and supper could be 4 oz. of new york strip steak smothered in mushrooms, mac-and-cheese, and green beans sauteed with sweet onion.....it got up around 70 yesterday late, so it was warm enough still in the early evening to sit on the front porch and see some stars come out.....and the bats came out too.....but then the wind came up a bit , so I went back inside.....I just heard the mail truck drive by without stopping here.....

things going bump in the night

woke me up several times....I finally decided it was just the wind gusting.....it started raining at 5:30, and it's still raining at 7:40.....I'm trying to decide whether to wait for it to stop and walk for the paper, or just go drive over and get it.....I did get a second walk done yesterday after all.... the sun came out for a while around 12:30 and it was nice enough to get outside some......it's not cold, about 60 inside and out, but after this low goes on by later in the day they say it will start cooling off and be "much colder" tonight, but probably not freezing....

just stay inside

it's not warming up any this morning, and the wind is blowing cold.....and I've already got a runny nose and a blah feeling, so I'm not going to go out and walk around the park.....it's raining up in the mountains.....the utility bill came from the City, so I went ahead and paid that and the AT&T bill.....so the bills for this month are done.....the first week in March I need to go into the bank and figure out what to do with a couple of CDs that are ready to roll over or whatever.....we'll have to see what interest rates are at then.....probably nothing much.....I've got a bunch of stuff in the dryer, can fold and hang things up before lunch I guess.....

somewhat cloudy, 45 degrees

It might start raining tonight and go on through Friday morning.....that should help with the fire hazard some.....walking after lunch will probably work again today, was pleasant out that time of day yesterday......I let that curried pork dish simmer for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and it was tasty over a bowl of rice.....I'm sure it will heat up well for leftovers.....today will be meatloaf with a baked potato and cut green beans done with sliced mushrooms .......I'll use my last slice of rye bread at lunch, and then I've got a loaf of whole wheat to work with for a while.....

30 degrees colder this morning

than yesterday morning for the sunrise walk.....but it's sunny out now around lunch time, so maybe I'll go walk around the park in a bit.....I went grocery shopping, and the coming week looks like meat loaf with baked potato, strip steak with mushrooms, and curry pork stew.....or one thing called it pork curry hot pot.....you get the idea, browned cubes of pork stewed with whatever veggies, some sort of broth, and served over rice.....many variations and ideas online.....this because I found pork stew meat cheap, and I have curry powder to do something with.....and I got green beans to cook with mushrooms as a side for meatloaf and the steak meals, etc....mushrooms were cheap this week too, as you may have guessed......there should be a good basketball game on tonight, Spurs-Thunder......last night I watched a thing on public television about the early days of sit-coms....that was interesting.....part of it was about Dick Van Dyke.....I met him at Oxy one time, his son used to hang with our crowd for a while there.....

61 degrees at sunrise

Was able to walk for the newspaper without a jacket.....and some blossoms are starting to scent the air as you walk past on the sidewalk.....the county is under high fire danger.....but there are no laws here to stop you from burning, they can only fine you if it actually gets out of control and burns somebody else's property.....so there was a big fire the next county over, from a burn pile that the guy thought was out but the high winds kicked it back up and power lines burned down and all sorts of stuff like that.....there's a City guy out front cleaning the crabgrass off the curb and sidewalk.....he uses a gas edger, and then comes back with a shovel and scrapes the grass and weeds and dirt out into the street, where the sweeping truck will get it eventually.....I've seen this same guy working in the neighborhood for months, it looks like a real slow job.....but I guess it hasn't been done for years, at least in the mill village area......I edge it myself as best I can with a line trimmer in the Summer, but I haven't done anything with it for months now.....

68F

scattered clouds with a 15mph WSW wind.....so it's warm enough to walk, if the wind doesn't knock me over.....brand new cover of "I'm a Believer" playing on the radio....what comes around goes around I guess.....spent part of the morning trying to figure out this "streaming tv" stuff......just got more confused.....

sort of a holiday

The bank and the Post Office are closed, and the schools too I guess.....but they picked up the trash this morning, so the City doesn't take it off.....it appears to be a big day for furniture stores, judging from the advertising in the newspaper yesterday, lots of sales in progress......sunnier this morning, it should get warmer than yesterday......it sounds like somebody is running a chipper or a stump-grinder or something noisy down the block.....

sun came out

for a couple of minutes this afternoon.....otherwise a gray lazy day......thinking of breakfast for supper....steak and eggs and hash-browns? I guess the NBA all-star game is on tonight.....sometimes those are good, and sometimes they aren't that interesting.....

sausage patty, rye-pumpernickel french toast

OJ, black coffee.....for Sunday breakfast......clouded over this morning, mid 40's, might get up to around 60 later in the day.....so not as nice a day to sit on the front porch as yesterday.....I finished a library book about Genghis Khan, and I'm in the middle of a real scary book by Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of The Remains of the Day......I think I saw that movie some time or other.....last night I saw that Disney-Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland thing.....that was odd......Sunday morning....I guess I could turn on Breakfast with the Beatles.....we need a Brunch with Jimi Hendrix, that would be cool......

Spring here, snow there

Yesterday was like 20 degrees above normal here, and Caroline posted that it was snowing up and over at the opposite corner of the country.....I sat out on the front porch last night around 8:30 watching the full moon come up, not chilly at all......well, pretty soon it's going to be yard-work season again.....I need to clean up sticks on the ground from Winter storms, and do some tree trimming......today is warm with blue skies and birds singing......I probably won't do anything that resembles work this weekend.....unless I run the vacuum, that needs doing it looks like.....I might drive over to Laurens, to look for various sundries at Wal*Mart, and just for a run in the Jeep.....

heaters off

the forced-air system and my electric space heaters in the living room and bedroom got a day off....and, more to the point, a night off.....in the paper they were saying the natural gas price might go down a little by March.....well, March is when it starts warming up enough to use less gas anyway.....if the price went down in December, that would be something worth mentioning maybe.....the gravy came out good for my pork steak supper, I put some half-and-half in it so it was creamy gravy.....lots of it left for another such meal.....in fact the fridge has a variety of leftovers in there right now....baked beans, mac-and-cheese, petit pois, garlic mashed potatoes.....so for meat-and-two meals I can just cook the meat and microwave the sides and it's easy.....the fridge also smells like pastrami, with that half pound sliced up in there.....which isn't a bad thing.....I should google pastrami and find out what they do to make it exactly.....didn't even need a jacket yesterday walking after lunch, hope this weather lasts a while....

I have my doubts

They hung a menu from the Ichiban Sushi & Hibachi Grill Japanese Cuisine on my doorknob.....reading this, one item for example is the Eel Lover sushi entree, with miso soup and salad (miso soup described as tofu, seaweed, and scallion in clear broth).....includes 7 pcs sushi, 1 eel, avocado roll.....13.95. Somehow I don't see many of the folks in this neighborhood going for that deal.....I could be wrong, but I have serious doubts about the research these people did on their business model..... I mean, looking at the prices and selections, I'm not going there....I don't see any tempura at all.....

got nice

yesterday afternoon....walked around the park, sat out on the front porch a while.....today should get even warmer they say, but right now it's clouded over.....was 50F on the early walk.....for supper yesterday I pan seared a piece of that flat iron steak smothered with grilled onion, and had mac-n-cheese and baked beans as the sides.....today might be a pork steak with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas.....went to bed around ten last night, slept well.....

groceries

swiss cheese was .79 off, and I did get some pastrami, and rye-pump swirl bread.....and flat-iron cut of beef, boston butt cut of pork steaks......seasoned lima beans, baked beans, frozen homestyle mac-and-cheese....corn bread mix was half price.....and I got a packet of their country gravy mix....so it's looking like some down-home cooking going on this week.....for lunch today I can use the last two tortillas, and then tomorrow start in on grilled pastrami and swiss on rye for the mid-day meal for a while......had oatmeal for breakfast......it was still around 34F going out shopping, but it should warm up enough for an afternoon walk?

deli sliced pastrami

might as well get a half pound of that if I'm getting swiss cheese....and get rye bread too.....no ads in the mail today.....in fact, no mail today at all, so far anyway.....so I don't have the grocery circular to look at for meal planning.....I'll have to fake it at the store....which doesn't always work so well, I end up with strange things, odds and ends......

colder today

the high will be ten degrees lower, around 60 instead of around 70.....some thin clouds, still windy.....I need to start thinking about doing the shopping tomorrow......but my mind seems to be blank as regards menu items......I do need more olive oil......and I'm low on bread and orange juice.....and cheese too I think......I'll get swiss this time.....

breezy walk around the park

it's in the 60's, but with a 17mph wind the walk wasn't exactly balmy feeling.....but I 'm not running any heating today anyway, so that's a step in the right direction energy-cost-wise.....going to fix iron skillet hash for supper I think.....with an egg on it.....found something to read at the library......

around ten degrees warmer

than it has been in the morning.....it's above 40F, and it's been below freezing for a long time.....and it might get up to almost 70 in the afternoon.....windy right now.....I'm going over to the library in a few minutes......

sunny sunday morning

but it was still down in the 20's overnight.....might get to the 60's in the afternoon.....the mexican food is almost gone, the Baja Week stretched itself to more like two weeks.....there are a couple of tortillas left....might have them with scrambled egg some morning.....Sunday supper will be heated up rice casserole and peas, and there is still sausage and hash browns as a potential meal or two.....tomorrow I should pay the natural gas bill, and go to the library......today there is a Lakers game in the afternoon......I watched part of "Prince of Persia" last night, but decided that it sucked pretty much, turned it off.....I didn't think the people even looked like Persians....

saturday saturday

clear and cold.....in the 20's in the morning.....weekend will be dominated by a high pressure system.....sausage-rice-mushroom casserole and a side of peas made for a good "comfort food" supper Friday evening......couldn't find any movie I wanted to watch, but did tune in to the Lakers-Knicks at 8 and watched that until the end of the third quarter, when I went on to bed since it looked like the Lakers had the game well in hand by that point.....there is now a Japanese restaurant open two blocks from my house....at least there are some colorful plastic flags out on the storefront, and there's a banner sponsored by Pepsi-Cola that says "Grand Opening".....but I haven't seen any people going in, or any cars parked nearby.....maybe some evening I'll go check it out.....the taco fixings are pretty much gone, except for a few tortillas and some cheese.....so maybe quesadillas for lunch? I have Old El Paso taco sauce.....I guess sliced olives would fit in a quesadilla......

don't text and drive

on the evening news there was just a thing about some guy who rolled his car and died.....he was apparently texting while driving....they found him with his phone in his hand.....so let's all sing this in a country-western drawl....

He told her by text that he loved her

And would be home as soon as he can

But when they found his body in the car wreck

He still had his phone in his hand.....(ph-ooo-ne in h-i-s haaand)

it wasn't too bad

walking early in the afternoon, with a wool scarf and a ski jacket.....plenty of fresh air anyway.....so I came back and took a little nap, and then turned on the Lithium station and was jamming along and broke the first string on the Bullet.....but found an 11 in the desk drawer and put that on.....maybe it won't break as easily as the 9 or 10 that was on there......with "90's Grunge and Alternative" on the space-radio I just turn the knob on the Fender Mustang to "90's American".....that seems to work pretty well.....it's a Mesa Boogie model.....such excitement on another Winter afternoon.....well, I'm going to go to the kitchen and see what needs to be done for my casserole......

clear skies overnight

so it got down into the mid-20's.....23 degrees windchill on my morning walk.....Lakers beat the Celtics, and they play the Knicks tonight on their east coast road trip....I had a couple of tacos for lunch, and I'm thinking of going for a walk around the park now, but it's still pretty chilly out.....nothing in the mail today except something offering disability insurance.....if I can't work, they will pay me.....but I don't work anyway.....I wonder if there's any way to scam them.....probably not....I guess I'll make the sausage- rice casserole tonight.....with a box of long grain and wild rice and sliced mushrooms, early peas as the side.....tomorrow is Pink Anderson day here in his birthplace (the Pink from Pink Floyd).....and it's Flag Day in Mexico......

see image below

It snowed during the night and then rained a little bit before clearing off....the sidewalks were dry for the morning walk, and a walk around the park should be do-able later.....I did do the park walk yesterday afternoon too....it's good to get some exercise after lunch.....and then maybe take a short nap? There really wasn't that much snow, but the schools are on a two hour delay today.....do they stay two hours late? Beats me.....last night I saw Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus......I'd seen good and bad reviews of that.....I thought it was brilliant myself......tonight the Lakers-Celtics are on at eight......

thursday early

19 degree windchill

on the sunrise walk around 7:30.....and 23 degree windchill still at 9:30 when I went out grocery shopping.....now they are saying that there might be an inch or so of snow on the ground tomorrow morning, and it might still be snowing until ten in the morning.....it's bright and sunny out, just dang cold, NNE wind......I got a two pound can of coffee today, that will last for months.....

eleven minus six is five years?

Yesterday was Feb. 7, but it looked like rain in the morning so I didn't drive out to visit WB's resting place until today.....it was cold when you got out of the car.....went past the old farm on the way to Laurens, and then went from there the back way to Clinton, on Forest Rd. I put some anti-freeze in the Jeep before that trip, 'cause it looked low.....and some more Heet in the gas tank, 'cause more sub-freezing nights are coming.....the grocery ad was in the mailbox when I got back.....but I shouldn't have to buy much this week, as there are still four or five meals left of mexican stuff.....looks like pork sausage and rice mixes are on sale, so I'll probably get the fixings for a sausage rice casserole.....I have a can of sliced mushrooms could go in that.....that should carry me to the 16th, when SS comes through again.....

"Arctic blast on way"

that's at the top of the front page this morning.....today's weather should be pretty much like yesterday's, but without the cloudiness.....it was raining last night right before bedtime, but that blew through before dawn.....Thursday night is when the snow might get here in the latest predictions......Dave and Tree sent me a box of avocados and limes, so my beef tacos last night had excellent guacamole in them.....and I can put guacamole and lime juice in my tortilla soup tonight, like they did at mexican places in Escondido......they are grading to build apartments behind the bank, next to the Post Office.....the city got funds from somewhere to encourage this project.....the idea is that it will benefit downtown by providing "quality housing" and some public parking for Pharmacy School students, and regular people too I guess.....I think the walk-in medical clinic in the Pharmacy School is now open, so if I need any medical I could just walk the two blocks over there.....yesterday for lunch I had fried Bacon Spam and avocado on wheat toast, bbq chips, wine....lunch today will probably be beef tacos with guacamole, since that will need using up before it turns funny....

that was an interesting game

went down to the last minute......so I got to bed around 10:30, not too bad.....this morning early it was 32, no wind, some clouds around the edge.....and now later in the morning it is all clouded over and 37....they were saying it would warm up some today like yesterday, but it looks to me like there's not going to be enough sunshine for it to warm up much.....and it might rain in the afternoon.....so I thought about going for another walk, but decided it was too cold and so I'm staying in.....got a load in the washing-machine......the tortilla soup came out pretty much like what they call "chicken stew" around here, except with tortilla in it instead of rice.....it's tasty, and would probably cure what ails yuh if you had a stuffy head or sore throat.....makes your nose run anyway while you're eating....which is a good thing.....plenty of it left for more meals, and I have about a half pound of ground round to use up too, so I'll make more beef taco meat tonight I suppose.....beef tacos and the last of the pintos.....

nice

It got sunny enough to sit out on the front porch and catch some rays, eat a little green apple.....without shivering or feeling like your nose was frozen enough to break off....birds singing, church bells ringing.....inside it smells like spicy chicken soup simmering, as well it should.....

heavy frost, frozen puddles

ice on the sidewalk in one shady place.....but the sun's out with no clouds and blue skies.....rain is predicted for Monday night, and snow is possible Wednesday-Thursday......I'm going to seperate the bones and skin and such like from the good chicken meat and chop up garlic, onion, cilantro, bell pepper....throw in some kidney beans too I guess.....and start the tortilla soup simmering for later in the day.....I'll eat a decent meal before the Super Bowl....I'm not big on snack food in front of the TV.....might have popcorn after half-time.....but no chips and dip, etc.....watched some strange French movie last night with subtitles, went to bed on time, slept like a rock.....Bacon Spam and french toast for breakfast, and I made an extra chicken taco last night to microwave for lunch today......

a little drizzle or mist

on the walk after breakfast.....it rained all night, moved to the east around dawn, so the gutters were still running while I was out. I should be able to get the park walk in today, after several days of inclement weather.....I think I'll fix chicken tacos and pintos for supper today, and maybe do tortilla soup for Super Sunday?

cold soggy conditions continue unabated

the radar map looks like tutti-frutti ice cream, all the different colors mixed up indicating light rain heavy rain freezing rain sleet.....whatever..... all with a windchill of 26F at 2:30 in the afternoon....."Well, it's good for the crops." The region is in a "light drought" status I guess, so we should be glad it rained all night and is going to rain all day and through the night again.....started my last library book, the one about Lewis and Clark.....since I had some ground round on hand, I made a half a patty melt for lunch, with grilled onion and a little german mustard.....

too wet and cold

to walk for the newspaper, I drove over there.....the weather lady last night said that today would be "soggy".....I think she got that right, at least so far.....last night I watched "Men Who Stare at Goats" and the first half of the Heat-Magic game.....that was enough excitement for one evening, I went on to bed around ten.....Dish has Starz for free until Feb. 2012 it said on the screen last night....so it looks like I'll have a larger menu of old movies to work with now.....it said they were doing this as a gift to their customers to celebrate 30 years in the business.....has it been that long? Must be.....the saucy chicken, beans, and tortillas were filling for supper, and today we move on to taco salad, with the bagged mix and olives and kidney beans and fresh made tortilla chips, taco meat, cheese.....ranch dressing?

colder than yesterday

but the wind isn't as strong, so the morning walk wasn't that bad.....chance of rain later today, and then sleet and freezing rain predicted after midnight and on into Friday morning.....taco night was a huge success, I made myself a plate of four ground beef tacos, with garlic, cilantro, onion, chili powder, Kraft shredded "taco cheese mix" and "esalad fresca" in a bag.....iceburg lettuce, red cabbage, carrot I think.....the heads of lettuce looked sort of iffy, the small bag was the same price and was dated to sell by the 13th, so I can probably use it up before it starts rusting. The little hen is in the slow cooker with enchilada sauce, so for supper it looks like pollo with tortillas and pintos.....the beans cooked with onion and cilantro.....I prefer these to frijoles refritos....looks like a bit of sun is coming out right now, but it still says 36F outside.....watched "Five Easy Pieces" last night, from 1970....those were strange days.....

wind 14 mph

it is warmer today....mid-50's.....but the wind isn't that pleasant to walk in.....maybe after lunch I'll try again.....went and got groceries, with a list, and only bought what was on the list.....trying to be organized.....so the coming week will feature beef tacos, taco salad, chicken tacos, chicken tortilla soup.....you get the idea.....they had a good deal on white corn tortillas.....and those cheap whole chickens.....

winter light

ads in the mail today

and BiLo has whole chickens .79/lb. so I'm thinking crock- pot a bird with a can of enchilada sauce.....and get some tortillas.....and also some ground round.....and have a Baja week, with tacos, pintos, taco salad, (angel hair cabbage and kidney beans).....etc.....some warm food for what looks to be more cold weather.......it's too raw outside today to take a comfortable walk, so I'm staying inside with the electric fire again .......

was raining at 7 am

but had stopped by 7:30, so I could go for my usual early walk......more rain coming later in the day looks like......watched old movies on TCM until around 10 last night, and then slept pretty much through the night OK......finished one library book yesterday, so I have two left, both historical type things....one about John Paul Jones and one about Louis and Clark......I should work on a grocery list for tomorrow......if I don't go with a list, I'll forget something.....