5th day without power or phone...

ok, so.....what i really, really want is a long hot shower.....alas, we have no promise of power or phone service any time soon.....sadly, there is a shower at my workplace, but no hot water.....

small blessings...

ok, so.....despite the power and phone outage...there have been moments of pure bliss......we have taken time to walk the circle or out to the highway and back each day since this craziness began....and while the roar of the chainsaws has been deafening, the intense aroma of newly sawn cedar and pine has been intoxicating.....i have stopped in my tracks more than once to take in the smells.....eau de cold pine....wow....one of my favorite fragrances....

making the best out of a bad situation...

ok, so....we have had no power no phone service since early tuesday morning.....i have made my way to work to recharge my cell phone, and to check out the parking lot...., which remains a sheet of ice...several of our staff were at work calling restaurants about the mandatory boil-water advisory...and the possibility that the water may go off altogether....ouch....things could get really dicey.....i made my share of phone calls.....there are not many restaunteurs who want to hear that they will ahve to close if the water goes off....

on the other hand...the woodstove has performed well and our chimney concerns have not played out.....knock on wood...i cooked a lovely lunch of ravioli and meatballs in my copper casserole from Dehillerin...on my grill, along with yeast rolls and a streudal.....just cleaning out my freezer before everything is ruined...i am also pleased that i have enough boxed white to see me through these hard times.....nopw that is a glass half-full rather than half-empty...

ice.....

ok, so....we lost power at 6:30 am.....and so i gave my coworkers a 2 hour delay and then drove myself on in to work to survey the prospects for opening up at 10.....the parking lot is a sheet of slushy ice about 3 inches thick in places.....so we will close today and i will head back home once my phone has charged up.....thankfully i have gas for the grill, and if the power doesn't come back on we'll still have a hot supper.....

snow days....

ok, so.....it is quite a show of personal conviction to drag oneself out of a cocoon-like sleep on a cold day when one knows that one's child has no school.....the 6:00 am automated phone call from the district office prevents any hopes of getting a few more winks before the 6:30 am alarm.....prompting a full 30 minutes of feeling sorry for oneself at having chosen a profession that does not give snow days.....

a commercial from the uk.....

ok, so i am amused by this commercial.....but then, it doesn't take much to amuse me....

the pope weighs in....

ok, so this from the world wide web...Pope Benedict XVI says social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can foster friendships and understanding, but warns they also can isolate people and marginalize others.

Benedict urged a culture of online respect in his annual message Friday for the World Day of Communications.

Benedict welcomes as a "gift" new technologies such as social networking sites, saying they respond to the "fundamental desire" of people to communicate.

But he also warns that "obsessive" virtual socializing can isolate people from real interaction and deepen the digital divide by excluding those already marginalized.

He urges producers to ensure that the content respects human dignity and the "goodness and intimacy of human sexuality."

thankfully, the pope failed to mention blogger in his admonishments....

she's got a friend...

ok, so this from the international herald tribune...Folk singer James Taylor says he'll give Sacramento, California, resident Natalie Lenhart a brand new music player with his songs to replace the one she says she had to give up when her credit card was declined after a taxi trip to the airport last month, according to the New York Post.

The red iPod nano was loaded with oldies including songs by Taylor. He's penned classics such as "You've Got a Friend" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)."

Lenhart says officers at the airport made her give her $140 music player to the taxi driver as payment for the $49 ride from Manhattan. The driver has said he'll return her iPod in exchange for the fare.

The agency responsible for police at the airport says it is investigating.

elizabeth alexander on the colbert report

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Elizabeth Alexander

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

ok, so...i loved this interview about poetry...

slum dog millionaire

ok, so...2 remarkable details from my day.....slum dog millionaire scored 10 Oscar nominations, and the local theater announced that slum dog millionaire is coming tomorrow.....go figure....i went to see this fabulous film in lexington over the holidays because i was so very certain it would never, ever be shown in our rural locale.....who knew....i will see it again with my spouse this weekend, despite my inner urge to spare myself the pain and angst....

the rev. lowry's closing prayer

ok, so i really enjoyed this guy....

leftward leaning....

ok, so....my favorite part of the entire day was when obama sat down to sign his first documents, with his left hand....and my daughter and i shrieked at the very same time...he's a leftie......!!!!!....it takes a leftie to know a leftie.....

the prayer from the gay espicopalian priest from lexington that didn't make the hbo cut...

ok, so....i am saddened to read the o's folks allowed hbo to cut this prayer....

le ruisseau

ok, so.....i scored a framed art print at the beaumont plaza goodwill....cezanne's le ruisseau (the brook)....with a fairly deep ecru matte and a mahogany-ish wooden frame.....will look just fine above our sofa now that the stanton macdonald-wright (poster) still life with calla lilies that was above the sofa is at my office....

pardons?

ok, so.....today is the last full day that dubya can issue pardons as thanks for services rendered by his cronies/colleagues/donors.......i will personally be shocked if he fails to pardon scooter libby.....i would be only mildy surprised if he pardoned larry craig and/or ted stevens.....i would not be surprised at all if he attempted to pardon boy george, despite the fact that he is not an american citizen.....dubya has never troubled himself with such details.....

turn, turn, turn......

ok, so.....we watched the reprise of the hbo we are one concert on-line at 7:00 pm this evening....given that we opted out of both cable and dish reception..the two of us huddled around the pc screen......wow.....what an assembly of meaningful music and orators....tom hanks performing the vocals to the copeland piece about lincoln.....U2 performing one.......john cougar mellancamp and his little pink houses....josh groban singing my country tis of thee in the same spot that marion anderson sang it in 1939 having been barred from performing in the space controlled by the DAR......i was moved to tears by pete seeger, and his grandson and bruce springsteen singing the woody guthrie anthem...this land is your land as a sing-a-long with the thousands on hand around the reflecting pool.......pete seeger was part of the march on washington, and was on hand for mlk's i have a dream speech......i was not aware until i read the wikipedia summary of pete's life that he was a life-long protest singer, known for standing up for the common man...he wrote if i had a hammer,...and where have all the flowers gone...among others....he was sentenced to 10 years for contempt of congress for refusing to testify at the mccarthy anti-american hearings......he never served due to flaws in the indictment...... i also was unaware that he was the fellow who put the verses from Ecclesiastes 3:1 to music in a song made popular by the byrds...turn, turn, turn....

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

yes, there were many talented and deserving artists on hand on the mall to celebrate in the inaugural of president obama....but it cheered my soul to see the joy in pete seeger's face as he reminded us all that this land was made for you and me.....

heart attacks and harleys....

ok, so...so i got up really early for a saturday, and was at the big lots by 9 in hopes of getting back home from my shopping/library rounds in time to have the afternoon to walk and read......i go to big lots for the cheap dog chew toys and rawhide bones....i was 3rd in line at the checkout, in back of a man and wife buying marked-down christmas wrapping paper, and a guy buying cat food......and both the men ahead of me were wearing harley davidson logo hats....and they were compelled out of brand loyalty, i suppose, to tell the story of how they happened to splurge on a harley.....both scenarios involved dramatic heart attacks....and/or cancer scares.....and miraculous against-all-odds recoveries.....one wonders at such occasions how much truth lies beneath such public pronouncements of survival.....was there really only 2 months to live before the doctor failed to find the fatal cancer on the post-biopsy scan?......did the cardiologist really massage the heart in the office waiting room until the rescue squad arrived?.....do both harley #1 and harley #2 purchased as rewards for making it out alive have over 100,000 miles?.....from riding back and forth to florida, though neither go anywhere near fort myers because of the competing hispanic gangs......i was not surprised to see the wrapping paper couple and the catfood guy still chatting in the parking lot as i exited with my chew toys........

fun t-mobile ad

ok, so i enjoyed this ad from the uk.....

buh-bye....

ok, so sometimes there just are no words.....

fantasy island....

ok, so if i ever win the lottery and can afford to buy an apartment in paris, i want it to look just like this one, that rents for an outrageous 2500 euros a week.....

wow.....

ok, so....i am so impressed that the pilot managed to bring this plane down safely and that every passenger was rescued.....

ok, so.....buddy makes a really cute obamicon.....

short-sleeve shirt

ok, so the outside temp is around 13 degrees, with a windchill nearer to zero, and my youngest child is preparing to walk to the bus-stop in a short-sleeved shirt.....and a short leather jacket....this is status quo made more ironic on this morning by her contention that our rather shaggy dog needs a doggie coat to keep him warm while he is outside......

survivor supper

ok, so, last night i hosted a survivor supper, a gathering of folks that i once worked with at the local hospital....we all have one thing in common, even at this late date.....we were 'run off' in one way or another by the same woman......the notion to get together took form when we made contact with each other to pass along the delicious news- that SHE has been run off by the hospital ...i'd like a nickel for every time a person has mentioned the phrase what goes around comes around but i digress from our get-together.....we all had a chance to tell about what we have done since, and for the most part....we are all better off......we chatted far too long, and i found myself forced to take my 13th walk in a row after 10:30 pm......

obamicon.me

ok, so this website allows you to create your own obama-like photo.....you have to register, get a user name and password, and reconnect from your email address before the magic camera will let you save a photo.......i rather enjoy my finished photo....

sarah responds to anonymous bloggers...

ok, so this short film by blue gal....

Q & A

ok, so....i stayed up til 11 to watch the entire golden globes.....with fingers crossed for slumdog millionaire's propects.....and i was thrilled that this film swept the categories for which it was nominated...best screenplay, best soundtrack, best director, and best drama....

fruit salad

ok, so.....i dreamed that i attended a potluck lunch with the staff at a local medical practice....and a co-worker of mine brought a salads in one bowl to safe space.....and in order to disentangle one salad from the other we had to rinse off the dressings.....i spent part of the dream sequence searching through cabinets for a colander.....and the other part trying to figure out how i came to be taking a nap on a neighbor's sofa, with the neighbor's children.....i have never been past the kitchen of this house....when i woke up i tried to explain that the steel beams inside the rafters of the house had become disconnected...and i kept trying to point up toward the rafters in hopes that others would take notice.....in order to walk back home i had to borrow a pair of shoes, and i could not find a pair in the basket of shoes by the door that fit......no idea if the fruit salad ever got rinsed off......

drama....of sorts...

ok, so....in the midst of my grocery rounds i stopped to fill up my gas tank at the kroger's to get my 10 cents off per gallon...and as i was trying to hold my jacket closed with one hand as i pumped gas with the other, i noticed a sad bit of drama unfolding just across the right-of-way.....a saturday morning child hand-off between estranged parents.....the diaper bag, the toys, the carseat, the bottle, and finally the toddler.....i suppose the list is what caught my eye...the mamma was trying to engage the daddy in what was written on a yellow legal-pad....and he was focused on the transfer of stuff, and his inattention to the legao pad appeared to upset the mamma, and the tension i could feel yards and yards away eventually caught up with the little one, who started crying......and i nearly started crying myself, what with the dreary rain priming the pump......i was reminded of trying to escape the heights of the spires when we visited the sagrada familia in barcelona.....my party had gotten off the elevator, and i was immediately stricken with the fear that i would fall over the barriers to my death.....i managed to inch my way to the steps leading back down to earth.....and as i was just about to grasp the handrail, a father and son bolted past me...the son hurrying down the steps and the father in pursuit....and i recall the father berating the son so passionately of his cowardice in italian that i started to cry the moment the son burst into tears....gentle readers.....i do not speak italian, but i know when i am being shamed in many languages....yeah- pappa italiano was not shaming me directly, but i felt his biting words as sharply as the child he belittled...... so what do these two scenarios have in common?....i suppose it is the fantasy we all cling to...that our interactions with friends and family are somehow insulated and separated from the world that surrounds us....and that nobody pays attention to our public antics......ah well.....my countertop is filled with the makings of vegetable soup, and if i am very efficient with my cooking time i can still sneak in a nap before supper.....and sleep- perchance to dream of sweet and positive family dynamics.....

monster truck....

ok, so i dreamed that we had a monster truck on our porch- a porch that was not really OUR porch here at the house...but a porch that was up a ramp from a gravel drive.....i recall the gravel part because i walked the truck down off the porch and the gravel was unpleasant to my bare feet.....i recall seating inside the truck, and not being able to reach the radio (to turn it off) or the headlights....no clue why i did not move up the front seat, and no clue how one 'walks' a truck.....and no clue why the c-dubs would have a monster truck.....

scrabble....

ok, so...after supper we played scrabble- even grandma....i started out with the letters to spell vortex.....only i never got the chance for my big move.....that is the nature of scrabble....i suppose.....the eldest cleaned up with some high-ticket words......he has flown back to austria.....and now we are feeling kind of alone in a house that got used to maximum capacity for a short but special while.....

6 days.....

ok, so....i came home and walked on the treadmill while the roast was in the oven...just to get it out of the way.....i had gone out at lunch to buy the roast in question, as i was expecting an extra child for supper......but that did not happen.....i have other dinner plans for this evening, so we will finish off last nights leftovers tomorrow.....i finally got the book i ordered in the mail- a short history of tractors in ukranian.....an unexpected tale told partly in flashbacks in the way that slumdog millionaire is told in flashbacks as the main plot pushes forward.....i sat in the front room under an afghan to read- the lamp is positioned perfectly by the armchair for this purpose.....i had planned to go to bed mjch earlier, given the fitfull night i had on monday......but the book was too good to put down...thankfully i slept the night through and feel somewhat refreshed as a type.....praises be....

sleepless....

ok, so....i stayed up far too late hoping that osu would stage a comeback against texas...they came close but did not prevail...and while i must have gone right to sleep, i woke up sometime around 4:00 am with a headache- and a throbbing arm.....i got a combo tetanus/pertussis vaccine yesterday, and was warned that the throbbing arm was part of the deal.....the ibuprofen must have kicked in at some point because i am pretty sure i was asleep when the alarm went off at 6:30 am....

and then there were three.....

ok, so....i drove a child to the airport in lexington to catch a plane back to school yesterday....i had thought about stopping at the marshall's to pick through the post-holiday bargains, and then to a goodwill or two.....but i was so emotionally wrought by the trip up- rainy and tense- that i drove right back home to walk on the treadmill and then curl up to read the rest of the day away.....

losing track of time and space.....

ok, so.....i was greatly amused this morning when my youngest stumbled down the stairs just after 9:00 am...fussing about how i was supposed to get her to church by 9:15 and why did i not wake her up earlier and it was all my fault.....except that she does not have to be at church until sunday morning at 9:15.....seems she lost track of the days of the week sometime after school let out for the holidays.....

sign of the times

ok, so....i took a peek at my new class roster....and was not surprised to see fewer names than usual.....just over half-full rather than a waiting list.....uncertainty could easily cause perspective students to work as many available hours rather than chance the scheduling changes necessary to accommodate a college course.....this semester i have an unusually high number of upperclassmen dual-major students.....should make for an interesting dynamic....

curious collection of connections....

ok, so....we stopped by the phone store to connect a xmas phone for one of our family lines....and there were no fewer than 4 employees in the showroom area that we knew....either from my eku classes of yore, or from my children's school acqaintances, or both.....thankfully these folks wear name tags...so i did not have to recollect either of the 2 who i taught in separate semesters....the fellow who waited on us is a brother to a fellow who either waived or stopped by my class 2 semesters ago to ask about my sons......and that is how i knew that he had been stationed for a time in iraq....employee # 4 is a son of one of my children's teachers.....and he has also been in iraq in the past year.....but with all those connections, i was still required to show picture ID before we could alter our phone service.....rules are rules.....

from crooks and liars

ok, so this is just too funny....

12:03

ok, so...i stayed up til midnight to ring in the new year. Being too old to stay up so late, I was in bed by 12:03 am.......and likely asleep by 12:05 am.....