Monday, December 15, 2008

Brrrrrrr

I feel like Nanook of the North. We don't usually have this cold of weather this early. It got down to 20 below last night and it didn't get above -5 all day. The snow is still on the ground. Being from California, there are many things to discover about the snow and the cold. First off, you don't go out the front door barefooted with no sweater or jacket. That's a biggie. The first thing the ol Coyote noticed (now this may be gross to some of you, others will just consider the source and laugh)BUT....I guess you just have to go with the "redneck" - you can tell how cold it is by how fast your nose hairs freeze...no comment.

The snow up here is gorgeous. It is very dry, so it actually looks like styrofoam but sparkles. Today I was looking out the window and it looked like sparkle dust flying thru the air. It's beautiful. Also, because it's so cold and dry, when you walk on the snow it sounds like you are walking on broken glass. And if you walk on a "welcome mat" it feels like you are walking on wood, not something that is soft. It's really neat to find new things. The lakes are all frozen over; we were surprised that there were no ice fisherman out. That's another site I had not seen before we moved up here. It's funny to see little tents sitting on top of a frozen lake.

Well, now for the not so happy things. The Ol Coyote had put up with Dish Network long enough. (It goes out constantly and we have all sorts of problems since they took away the east and west feeds and gave us the Billings stations, grrrrr, what a disaster). Soooo, since Direct TV was running a special, I caved and said ok to changing the companies. WELL...we had our Direct put in on Friday and Saturday morning we lost the signal...no tv...until... the soonest they can get someone out here will be this Thursday....AND, not only that, we don't get any of the network stations, i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW, PBS...are you ready for that????? And this is supposed to be better??? What is wrong with his brain....I'm convinced he is losing it. Sometimes he is such a loveable guy, but sometimes!!!! Now we are stuck in a two year contract with these people....I'm doomed. More movies, that's all....more movies. sheeesh! Today, the Ol Coyote went up on top of the shop roof to take the TWO dish network dishes down, so Thursday, when Direct shows up again, we can have the guy put the dish down lower so it is not sticking up at the roof top catching all the wind and snow....they grow them different out here...

Christmas in ten days, wow...how the time flies, I don't know where November went and soon we will be changing the year's calendar. We have been practicing for the Ward Christmas party, we have to sing the opening song, then we have to sing a little later in the program, after we have a nice ham dinner, then Santa will come....We are also practicing diligently for the Sunday Christmas program. So, we have been busy. I didn't make the cookie exchange or the ornament exchange, I just couldn't get into it this year. We won't be doing Christmas cards this year either, cutting back with the money situation. Being on a fixed income and hoping our retirement doesn't run out before we do can get really exciting.

Daysee got in trouble today, she broke her hook on her cable and ran out in front of a car (there was only one for miles) so Coyote got really upset with her. Then there's nosee, the cat. Daysee can't stand for her to be in the room without chasing her until she leaves the area for her safe house. With all the running over furniture, yelling, "Get off the table" "sit, Daysee" "I said, sit!" Oh it's so much fun around here. Sometimes I wish I was the deaf one...well, on that note, I guess I will sign off, we are going to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still" tonight, so gotta get ready...stay warm and happy....

Thursday, December 04, 2008

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

It's been a while since I have posted and not much has gone on. I was sick for 3 1/2 weeks and am finally feeling better. Out of the forest, but not in the clearing. I still have that hacky cough and sore throat. Yes...I did go to the doctor and was on antibiotics, thank you for your concern.

Night before last it snowed and the land is still covered with the snow. That is very unusual here as it is usually blowing so hard that our dry snow is gone the next day. It's really beautiful. It really gives you a sense of Christmas. The shoppers are all bundled up and carrying their packages and bustling to the next shop. It's so fun to watch. The lights are all up in the city and the homes are decorating one by one. I love Christmas time. The lights are so bright, they sparkle and remind me of all the stars in the sky. Can't you just imagine at the time of Jesus' birth, with no smog and no huge buildings to block the sky how bright the stars were....living in the country (well, maybe desert) where it's so dark, it is really beautiful seeing all the stars. I even got to see the Trident Triangle the other night, it was great.

This is also one of the busiest times of the year. Our church has so many things going on, you hardly have time to breathe. We have a womens Holiday luncheon/Ornament exchange, then we have a Christmas Cookie exchange, then we have the Ward Christmas party for the youth and the adults...this year they will even have a visit from Santa. Normally, we concentrate on the real Christmas values, with the birth of Christ. This activities chairwoman has decided that we will share both at the same party. This will be interesting, but fun for the children. Then there is the Christmas choir, we practice for the December 21st performance...whew, I hardly have time to vaccuum...

Speaking of which, I got a new vaccuum....I LOVE IT!!! I always thought the dyson guy was a bunch of hype and never considered it. We had a Hoover Wind Tunnel and it was crap. The belts kept sliding off and burning, uck, terrible smell, plus it was heavy and loud. We went vaccuum shopping (under duress from the ol' coyote) and we spent 2 hours looking at vaccuums...I hate shopping. Anyway, the sales lady convinced Mr. Coyote that the dyson was the best. She had - are you ready for this- 18 cats, all living inside the house...and a husband! Anyway, she just raved about this machine and how it sucked not only the carpet, but clear down thru the pad. Ok, Ok...fine, spend the money (gulp) get the stupid machine, let's just go...so of course we got "the animal" and brought it home. The Ol' coyote had to try it. so we had just vaccuumed with the wind tunnel, so now we put this thing together and start. We started in the bedroom, the path from the bathroom (where the cat has all her stuff) and went to the end of the bed. It was unbeliveable. It filled the canister!!! and, it's a big canister. Talk about amazing, I would definetly recommend the Dyson to anyone. We filled (ok, I'm embarrased to say) 6 canisters by time we were done with the house. Totally unbeliveable...

Ok, I guess I have bored you long enough, I'm starving, time for lunch...gotta go, hope your day is bright and shiney...TTFN