the squall line went through here

around nine something last night.....rain and lots of wind in a short time, but I haven't seen any reports of damage in this county from the event.....they showed that tornado in GA on the evening news.....this morning it was 29 windchill with 13 mph W wind....clear and bright out.....it's about the same right now, so it would feel like freezing if I went out walking again.....I'll look at the conditions later .....cut my second walk short yesterday 'cause the wind was trying to blow me off my feet....the tuna-and-noodles came out pretty much as I remember them, got leftovers out of that in the fridge.....today I might do steak and artichoke.....the checker yesterday asked me if that was an artichoke, she wasn't quite sure what it was....I forget to get more oatmeal....I have enough for another breakfast, and I do have grits in the cupboard....so I can eat grits, or make an extra trip for oatmeal if I want....I'll have a chili dog for lunch.....I have a nice Napa Valley Merlot this week.....I have a couple more Ian McEwan novels from the library, since I thought Atonement was a good one.....watched In the Loop the other night, funny movie.....in the British sort of way.....the publican in Bally K died that night too.....

damp streets and sidewalks

I think it rained some before I woke up.....64F, strong wind, blowing clouds on the early walk....got up to 71 yesterday.....will be warm again today with thunderstorms and maybe tornados in the afternoon.....and then a cold front comes after this warm front and it's back to Winter freeze by the weekend.....don't know if I want to go out walking again or not in this wind and possible rain.....got the fixings for tuna-and-noodles.....whole wheat noodles, solid white albacore, tender peas....already had cream of mushroom soup and bread crumbs in the cupboard....and parmesan cheese....also got an artichoke and a small piece of steak, cut up whole baked chicken from the deli section, chili dog material for lunches.....etc....I can finish off the meatloaf before I start on the hot dogs I guess.....I'll make the tuna noodles tonight, should be leftovers from that for another day.....got another loaf of pumpernickel.....

shift in the winds

should be much warmer today as a high moves in, winds from SW.....68 today instead of 48?  But then Wednesday 100% chance of rain.....and a cold front on the horizon.....misty this morning, but much brighter than yesterday morning....lunch Monday was grilled cheddar on dark rye with a sausage patty included.....supper was ribs, Tuesday supper can be the other stuffed pepper.....I need to think of cheap meals for another week....maybe I'll make a rice or noodle casserole of some sort for several suppers.....haven't made tuna-and-noodles in a long time, that's good....with peas in it?  or the peas on the side.....whatever, I'll think of something......

library opens at 9

so I'll go over there pretty soon.....not as cold this morning, above freezing anyway.....37 maybe.....I had a french bread pizza supper, and popcorn later watching some of the Pro Bowl....but not much of it....turned it off and read until around 10:30 and then went on to bed.....watched some of Torrey Pines, just for the scenery.....with the sound off and the stereo playing.....saw that Tiger is ahead though.....it comes back on this afternoon it says in the paper, to finish up......this evening I can have the rib platter, with baked potato and succotash.....cloudy and dim out right now still....hopefully there will be some sunshine sometime today....

frost and fog

seems odd to have frost and fog at the same time.....a weather guy the other day did mention freezing fog in the forecast, maybe that's what's going on.....windchill of 23 at sunrise, wind NE 5 mph.....high today of 47 predicted.....maybe I can finish the one library book I'm sort of bogged down in today, for the library trip Monday.....one stuffed pepper and some cheese toast was enough for Saturday supper, so there's one pepper left for another day.....finished up the curried chicken salad in a sandwich for yesterday's lunch, so today I might fry meatloaf for the sandwich.....done that before, it's good....it still looks not so nice outside at 9:30.....32F with the fog coming and going with the breeze....at around 4:30 this morning I went for a glass of water in the kitchen, and the room was pretty brightly lit by the full moon shining through the bare pecan trees....fog hadn't come up yet I guess....

icicles

and the sound of ice cracking off the eaves.....unusual around here, but in evidence this morning.....official word on the news last night from safety officials was stay home and off the roads until Saturday noon if you could, please.....they had about half an hour of showing icy highways and car wreaks, people off the road and in ditches, etc....here in Clinton there wasn't any snow, just freezing wet.....high of 30 yesterday.....I cooked iron skillet ribs and potato in the oven for supper, half of that left for another night.....I have curried chicken salad and also meatloaf for lunch sandwich choices....clouded over and 32 outside.....don't know about taking a walk right now, maybe things will look better in the afternoon.....

driving in freezing rain

the windshield was sort of glazed over until the defroster got it warm enough for the wipers to work right.....I went over to Walmart to get a blind for the laundry porch like the one I'd put in the bathroom window a while back.....they are only 4 bucks, and it looks better from the street with something in those windows that are in view now with the house gone next door.....on the radar it looks like it's snowing some one county over in Spartanburg.....here it's just been a mix of rain and ice pellets.....it still might get a dusting of snow here as the day goes by.....nasty out though with the cold damp.....did get the walk for the paper done, but I don't think I'm going out again soon.....more meatloaf platter last night, with succotash instead of black beans this time.....this afternoon I can heat up the house some when I do some country ribs in the oven....lunch can be cold meatloaf with cheddar cheese and mayo on pumpernickel.....so I'm going to go put up that blind in the porch window.....28F, high of 35 called for today.....

meatloaf

I usually make meatloaf with pork sausage, ground beef, an egg, BBQ sauce, and oatmeal.....but I had cornbread stuffing left over from the chicken meals, so I used that instead of oatmeal.....delicious and a good consistency.....google "cornbread stuffing meatloaf" and you find a page or two of entries.....most of them are using a cup of dry stuffing mix, but the already cooked stuff worked fine for me.....so my supper was meatloaf, baked potato, and the last of the black beans.....the last of the bratwurst went into lunch sandwich yesterday, so today can be curried chicken salad sandwich.....37F windchill at sunrise, cold walking in the wind.....the lowering jet stream will slide a "clipper" from the north-west down into our area Friday.....Winter Storm Warning.....slight chance of snow in the afternoon....time for a heavy sweater and running the heat some.....Stouffer's items were $1.98, so I got my french bread pizzas, and stuffed bell peppers also.....something different.....got three novels in progress at once on kindle, two sci-fi and one sea story.....found a Coen brothers movie I hadn't seen before last night before bedtime.....

grocery day

the ad did come in the mail yesterday.....those ribs I like are featured again....and I might do a meatloaf this week.....could get a couple of potatoes for baking with ribs and meatloaf....I made quite a bit of curried chicken salad yesterday, it made a tasty lunch sandwich and there's enough for more lunches....I'll look at the bakery bread again ......was 25F at sunrise, low humidity still......the central heat is pumping along......it was pretty chilly walking the park yesterday, but I got it done.....now I guess I'll go see if the Jeep wants to crank over this cold morning.....and go to the store.....

freeze dry

below freezing but no frost 'cause of the low humidity.....low for around here anyway, where things are damp a lot.....30F, clear calm cold and dry for the sunrise walk.....they picked up the trash this morning OK, but not as early as usual since they are doing a double day because of the Monday holiday....I should drive somewhere today I suppose, just to warm up the motor....these cold dry days are going to last 'til Friday, when they are predicting a chance of snow again, like last Friday night.....on the weather map for the evening news it says "Arctic Blast" over this neck of the woods.....I can have the last bratwurst supper tonight, and maybe turn what's left of the chicken into lunch sandwich meat.....and then I'll need to come up with ideas for another grocery shopping.....yesterday I cleaned the bathroom and did laundry, and finished a library book.....so I have half a library book left and something on kindle for reading material.....

below freezing overnight

32F at sunrise.....I fixed a little supper at half-time of the 49ers game.....hash and eggs.....also ate a bag of microwave popcorn while watching the football....two good games I thought.....So San Francisco and Baltimore meet in New Orleans.....Pacific Coast and Atlantic Coast on the Gulf Coast.....seems reasonable....will that make for  big TV ratings?  The couple of days with sunshine have most of the mud and puddles dried up .....more of this cold and clear expected for a few days I think.....I can do something with leftover chicken today for supper.....I drove out through the woods some yesterday after lunch, haven't done that in a while.....not much traffic or anything else moving on a Sunday afternoon....

a Sunday morning

39F, mostly clear, some wind at sunrise.....french toast and sausage links for breakfast.....read the paper....football doesn't start until 3:00 this afternoon.....the Jeep started OK yesterday and I went to Walmart for slow niacin and club soda....did my second walk inside, 'cause it was still cold outside....heated up a plate of chicken, dressing, peas for Saturday supper as planned.....might make a chicken sandwich for lunch, or maybe a sausage and cheddar sandwich with onion.....the sign says they have the McRib now, but I probably won't get around to getting one of those.....they can't be good for your health anyway.....

central heat in operation

20 degrees windchill on the sunrise walk.....clear, calm, frost.....had bratwurst, mac n cheese, and black beans for Friday supper....lunch was a sausage and avocado sandwich.....I have microwave popcorn for the football games Sunday, a special treat.....I might drive over to Walmart in a bit, if the Jeep isn't too cold to start, it looks frozen solid this morning.....did get all my walking in yesterday, but it was dang cold the whole time....at least there was sunshine.....it looks like freezing lows will be here for a while now, Winter makes itself felt.....I put some gas dryer in the gas tank, and started the Jeep with the aid of the portable jumper yesterday .....I don't know if they will pick up the trash on MLK day or not, can't remember what they did last year.....and I didn't read anything about that I don't think.....doesn't matter too much, it would take me a whole month to fill that big rolling trash thing up to the top.....

no snow here

just lots and lots of rain....but by 10:30 when I went to bed the storm had gone through.....the sky was clear, you could see the moon.....this morning clear, calm, 32F.....but even with no wind and the sun shining it probably won't get out of the 40s .....there were a few places where I had to tread carefully on the sunrise walk, two or three icy spots on the sidewalk.....lots of frost....yesterday afternoon it was raining so hard things were washing down the street.....pop bottles, etc....the chicken meal worked, with dressing and peas....plenty on the bird for more suppers.....I should start the Jeep and drive it around some, just on general principles in this freeze, keep the juices flowing.....I could buy some of that Heet for the gas tank if this weather is going to continue.....maybe by the afternoon I'll try walking some more.....finished a library book last night instead of watching a movie....

the bird is in the crock-pot

and I have a can of chicken broth to use in the cornbread stuffing mix....and there are sweet peas.....rained all night, going to rain all days looks like.....after midnight, small hours of Friday morning, it might get cold enough to turn to snow.....heavy snow in the mountains already.....so no walking will get done today I'm afraid.....52F now.....yesterday I made a bologna and avocado sandwich on rye for lunch, with some store brand BBQ corn chips and a glass of merlot.....same lunch for today I guess, with the last of the bologna.....that makes a good sandwich really.....can you get that at Subway?   There's a Subway in Clinton but I've never been in it.....guess there's no sense driving anywhere in the rain today, can't think of any shopping I could do anyway.....read a book I guess.....

went shopping in the rain

but didn't get much on me.....did need headlights and windshield wipers.....got groceries and gas....10 gallons of regular for $30, last time I'd filled up was 11/28 it says in the checkbook....at the store they had fish oil capsules two for one, so I got the larger bottles....I had just run out of those this morning.....it rained at breakfast time, stopped while I walked for the paper, started up again when I was ready to go out on my expedition....got the weekly paper which I can sit down and read since it's too rainy for another morning walk now.....I have a chicken I'll slow-cook tomorrow....they had good avocados out again for $1.....got pumpernickel from the bakery section, a dollar cheaper than the brand in the bread aisle.....so bratwurst on pumpernickel for lunch sandwiches.....

cloud blanket Tuesday morning

and now they are saying chance of snow Friday morning.....but only 20% chance....have to wait and see.....63F again early on here.....the rain went through in the morning Monday, so I got some walking done after lunch.......stayed up a little late, slept well, woke up thinking it was a Thursday, but it isn't.....the grocery ads came yesterday, and whole fryers are .99/lb.   Might get one and put it in the crock pot with sweet pickle relish and honey BBQ sauce, no other liquid added.....done that before, works pretty well.....box of brown and serve sausage for $1 also, could stock up on those tomorrow.....today I have petit sirloin, baked beans, cheese toast, and a bottle of moscato on the menu.....lunch can be a fried egg and baloney on rye.....if I go for another walk now I might not even need a jacket, it's that warm.....flood watch in the mountains along the state line still.....maybe we can raise the lake levels some, help with the on-going drought situation.....

raining

they are calling for cloud cover and rain all week, leading up to freezing rain and sleet next weekend.....computer models predict something called a "southern slider" to dump snow in the mountains, with the wintry mix spilling down into the Upstate.....San Francisco comes down into Dixie next Sunday too, for the championship game......was 73F for a high again yesterday, is 63 outside now, and wet.....drove to get the paper.....the ball games over the weekend were interesting......finished a library book too....can have either a small piece of sirloin or a pork chop tonight....so, too wet to walk really.....in any comfort....was nice out Sunday afternoon though.....

1/13/13

Miss Laurens County came in second in the Miss America contest.....we are all very proud....at least that's the official line around here.....I've been reading various articles about how cold it is in San Diego, they had to turn on heaters in the monkey house at the zoo or something.....use hot water at Sea World.....frost on the surfers......here it's 59F in the morning, mostly sunny, calm .....some scattered showers in the night, a few puddles in evidence on my early walk.....stayed up until midnight watching the 49ers.....more football today with the Seahawks and Falcons playing locally.....sort of locally anyway.....fixed oregano-curry pork chop with parmesan-romono cheese grits and baby limas for Saturday supper.....Sunday breakfast-for-dinner will be eggs over easy on corned beef hash, rye toast.....still baloney sandwich for lunch.....ran the vacuum, swept and mopped yesterday.....played guitar during football, providing my own sound-track.....was warm enough for the front porch in the late afternoon, eating pecans.....they say it got up to 73?

foggy, 54F at sunrise

they were saying it would get to 65 Friday, but it was only 55.....the clouds hung around all day....a little rain in the evening too.....I read in the paper that the Grapevine is closed with snow and black ice....been there, done that.....I can remember going down the grade and seeing cars doing 360s in the fast lane up ahead.....kinda scary.....I hope it burns off here in the afternoon, get some sunshine today maybe.....the NFL games are on at 4:30 and 8:00 in this time zone.....I could do some cleaning up around here I suppose......I walked yesterday early afternoon, because it was raining at my usual late morning time.....around 1:00 there were more cars parked on Musgrove than I've seen in a while.....the eateries there all had customers it looked like.....PC students .....Pharmacy School, whatever.....Wilson's Curb Market Snack Bar looked like it was doing a good lunch business too when I walked by there.....steak platter last night, so pork chop tonight looks like.....well, I can walk some now....and then drive a little bit just because I haven't started the Jeep since Wednesday.....

mist/drizzle

a little damp walking for the paper, some cars had wipers on.....59F.....they were saying it would get up to around 70.....but I don't think it will unless these clouds break up sometime.....stayed warm enough overnight that I didn't need to turn on any heat for a change.....pork chop last night, sirloin steak again today.....yesterday I made a lunch sandwich with whole grain rye, onion, pickles, baloney, swiss cheese, mayo.....I should look at the weather radar before I go out again, see if any of that 50% chance of rain looks like it's in the neighborhood.....stayed up later than usual watching some old movie, slept soundly......can't think of any reason to go out shopping or driving at all today....no mail yesterday.....so the excitement continues.....

a little warm spell

fine with me, even if it is just for three or four days.....the gas bill came yesterday and for December it was only $3 more than November.....mild Winter?  The sirloin steak cooked up tender ....with some onions on it.....mashed potatoes and little limas and pepper gravy.....enough leftover for two more meals like that....today a pork chop with the same sides.....fried bologna and swiss grilled rye lunch sandwiches.....I got a pinot noir this week.....used the last of the butter at breakfast, but I did remember to buy more at the store, instead of just walking past something I needed like I do sometimes.....tropical snack mix this week.....did forget more Fritos.....well the sun is out this morning for my walking, not too much wind either......the back lawn is still loaded with pecans, ate more of them yesterday afternoon sitting on the front porch.....finished the latest Iain M. Banks novel and then downloaded the one I'd missed, after Matter......that one I bought hardcopy online when I first moved here, and then I donated it to the library with the idea of getting more high class scifi into the community.....

A Wednesday morning

A lot warmer than Tuesday morning, clouded over.....no wind....got the shopping and my walking done.....sirloin steak, mashed potatoes, early peas, Lima beans, thin pork chops, grits, corned beef hash.....the grub for the week.....bologna for lunch meat.....more rye bread.....I've got the weekly paper....it's the second Wednesday of the month, so by the afternoon there will be cars parked up and down the street for USDA food day at the old company store on the corner, which is now the charity headquarters in town.....anyway, some rain might get here later....they say it's a slow moving front...

orange-and-pink sunrise

as I went out the front door this morning.....28F windchill, clouds around the edges....but no rain predicted until late tonight, and then 40% chance through Friday..... close to 70 on Saturday?  roller-coaster weather again.....ate that can of beans with spam yesterday, filled me up.....still have two chicken wings left.....shopping Wednesday.....the grocery ad came yesterday.....and a Guitar Player.....Boston Butt featured at the store again, might pork out cheap in the coming week....maybe not....I'll need apples, orange juice, butter, bread......watched some strange French movie from the 80s last night....the kind where after it's over you aren't really sure what happened.....I wasn't anyway....with the subtitles at least you can pick up a little of the language....a City truck is going around picking up Xmas trees from the curb....

frosty monday morning

but it looks like the sun will be shining some......it's library day for me, I'm headed over that way in a few minutes.....I read in the paper that the jet stream is going to keep the cold up North for a while, so there will be warmer than usual temperatures in the South......for part of this month anyway....and then there might be a freezing air coming down for next month......this warm spell might have thunderstorms with it.....if it gets here, it's still cold enough today.....Jeep is iced over .....I ate some chicken wings last night, and today I'll fix pintos with the last of the cornbread.....I've got Spam and sweet onion to dice up in the bean pot.....lunch can be grilled swiss on pumpernickel.....watched the NFL yesterday.....won't watch the BCS tonight since I don't have ESPN.....I don't like either one of those two teams anyway.....so, library time.....

a little rain moving through

I noticed it just starting when I went out the back door to empty the kitchen trash.....some rain was in the area earlier when I went for the paper, but it missed Clinton then so I didn't get any on me.....so it's clouded over and hence warmer today than yesterday.....40s instead of 30s.....the Packers game looked like a foregone conclusion by the half, so I went on to bed at 10.....did watch all the Texas game earlier....ate most of the ribs at supper, but saved one big rib for a lunch or a snack.....wings this evening  probably, with cornbread and collard greens.....pumpernickel french toast with fried spam for Sunday breakfast.....not really much of note in the Sunday paper, just the usual stuff....maybe no news is good news.....Monday morning should be back to routine for a lot of folks, with the holiday break over....such considerations don't confront me much anymore.....

beautiful morning

just a few clouds, lots of sunshine.....23F windchill at sunrise.....I'm glad the central heating works, it got a new fan motor back near the end of the Summer I think it was......next best chance of rain is between 3 and 4 Sunday morning.....20% is all though....so NFL Wild Card Weekend.....something to watch on TV in the evening.....didn't stay up for all the Cotton Bowl, but I see the Texas team beat the Okie team.....I did those chicken wings in the oven in the iron skillet with a little curry on one side, and turned over half-way through and then store brand honey bbq sauce on the other side to finish.....good sized wings, and really tasty done that way.....so today I can have ribs, baked potato, butter beans nuked for supper....lunch Friday was a slice of lightly toasted pumpernickel spread with 1/4 of an avocado, and the two small ribs from the tip of the slab.....enough meat on those for a lunch.....I'll use the last of the avocado today in a Bacon Spam sandwich.....finished one kindle novel and downloaded another one.....

clear, bright, frost white

with the sun out maybe it will warm up as the day goes by.....yesterday it ended up colder and wetter in the afternoon than it was in the morning even.....30F today on my sunrise walk.....bracing air.....finished off the black-eyed peas, might make oven BBQ chicken wings this evening, serve with greens and cornbread.....is it the Cotton Bowl tonight?  the one with Joe Football, or whatever his name is.....it's still below freezing out after a couple hours of sunshine.....don't know if I want to walk again or not right now.....finished my library books pretty much, one I might not bother finishing since it's sorta silly.....watched Horatio Hornblower from 1951 last night....that's a classic......I've got a Taylor jug wine this week, from New York...."for any occasion".....I have salt-and-vinegar Pringles too, they were marked down cheap and I haven't had any of those in a long time.....no sweets in the house now though, the holidays are over.....

dark this morning

dark with thick clouds and fog.....the street lighting was still on an hour after dawn.....damp out walking, it must have rained some during the night.....but around sunrise the rain was all down South of here.....Augusta to Columbia area looked like on the radar.....43F here.....my rib platter last night hit the spot, and there's leftovers from that.....tonight I think I'll finish off the black-eyed peas.....the avocado and spam on pumpernickel was really tasty, so I'll have that for lunch again.....slices of rye are pretty thin.....as it said in one of those Berlin detective novels I read recently...."the mattress was as thin as a slice of rye bread, and about as comfortable".....the detective dude had taken a room at a flea-bag hotel 'cause the bad guys were chasing him and he was afraid to go home.....they took the seasonal decorations off the streets yesterday, and put them back in that little garage looking building behind the City headquarters......so much for that .....doesn't look like it's in any hurry to warm up today, but I guess I could go out walking some more all layered up again, if I want to.....

ribs, wings, pinto beans

some of the groceries for another week....got a decent looking avocado for $1......I couldn't eat all the black-eyed peas I served myself last night, so I can reheat what I didn't eat for another meal.....got leftover cornbread that can go with pintos.....chicken wings and some of the collard greens.....ribs and baked potato with butter beans.....we'll get through 'til next Wednesday OK I think.....pumpernickel bread......50F at sunrise, under a cloud blanket.....rain stopped earlier in the morning finally.....was raining as I went to sleep around 10......going to try a walk and then read the Clinton weekly paper and then maybe avocado and fried Spam on dark rye for lunch......

overcast, warmer

48F and calm....that's better than the freezing 12 mph wind of recent days.....rain called for later today, 90% chance.....in this time zone the Rose Parade doesn't come on TV until 10:30.....so that will be brunch time I guess.....I watched BBC live from London at 2400 hours GMT last night....that was pretty cool.....Big Ben tolls 12 times and then they have barges in the Thames that shoot off 15 minutes worth of fireworks.....the fireworks in Clinton went by pretty quick too, it was mostly quiet by 12:15.....black-eyed peas are already soaked, so the meal will be easy.....brunch can be spam scramble with BBQ sauce mixed in, and buttery sourdough toast with Concord jam.....last lunch of 2012 was fried egg on sourdough toast with melted swiss and a little mayo.....and black pepper.....this morning's paper says that a fried egg and pepper sandwich helps with a hangover....never heard that before.....an amino acid in the egg yolk helps detox the liver, and pepper contains the same active agent as aspirin.....no hangover here, I felt fine on my morning walk.....I watched a Johnny Winter concert from 1979 on Prime for my personalized rockin' New Year, since what was on the networks wasn't appealing to me.....the Sun Bowl was a bad joke, I turned it off.....an ugly half-empty venue, and 45 mph wind gusts....the ref would place the ball and it would move before the center could hold it down.....the Rose Bowl isn't on television in this part of the country.....maybe it will be on ESPN on the computer, I'll check later.....well, Happy New Year!