The Curmudgeonly Chronicler

By popular (?) demand

2010-09-22T19:07:00.005-05:00

Well, 66% (2) of my readers asked me to post more pictures of the backyard kitchen. The other 33% (1) is tired of hearing about it. The only things left to do on it are:

Flashing where the chimney goes through the roof (to keep rain from just running down the stovepipe);
Some sort of arrangement to hang some pots (check out the cool things Tom found for hanging utensils); and
Some sort of wire "trellis" on the outside for climbing vines (so we don't have to look at the steel siding).

But, it's essentially done and fully functional. I even test baked cinnamon rolls in it last weekend.

Check out the metal cabinet in the corner. Tom found it in the basement, and it's perfect. The doors have now been painted the same green as the other stuff.

Its next function is the house concert October 2. We're going to have chili and a couple other soups, homemade bread, and cinnamon rolls.

You know, it must be a Lincoln thing to always serve chili with cinnamon rolls. The whole concept was bizarre to me, but everyone from Lincoln seems to think they go together like Oreos and milk. It must be something that Lincoln Public Schools always served together or something. Personally, I think chili goes best with Fritos or soda crackers.

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather on October 2.

By the way -- HAPPY AUTUMNAL EQUINOX!

Summer's only good for tomatoes and sweet corn

2010-08-15T17:03:00.009-05:00

Greetings on the first day, in what seems like AGES, that it's been tolerable to be outside! Truly, this is the first day in weeks that we haven't used the air conditioner! In fact, I'm writing this sitting in my outdoor kitchen.

There's still a little work to do on it (primarily side walls to keep rain and snow out). I also want to make some provisions for hanging pots and utensils, as well as move the little refrigerator out here (which is currently up against the side of the house). I've decided to quit calling it a "summer kitchen," though, because when it's really hot out, there's no way in hell I'm going to stand cooking in front of a wood fire.

But last night, I cooked a feast of fried chicken and baked potatoes, with fresh tomato slices. Then this morning, I canned some salsa, and proceeded to make breakfast of bacon, eggs, and potatoes. Yum! It's supposed to be cooler all week, and Tom's sister Marcia is coming for a visit, so I'm anticipating using it more. It's really nice to be able to fry things like chicken and bacon and not worry about the splatters -- in fact, oil spatters are good for this stovetop. It also seems to be easier to regulate the oven with a wall behind it. I don't know why, but it's true.

Since my last post, I spent a fabulous two weeks at my brother's cabin in Lincoln, MT. We did a lot of work projects, but also had a lot of fun. The weather was glorious, and it was a real treat to get out of the Nebraska heat and humidity. In fact, the morning I left (at about 5:30 a.m. on July 15), it was a chilly 37 degrees! Remind me again why I live here?

I'm a slacker

2010-06-18T21:14:00.005-05:00

I just noticed that I haven't posted since May 5. Sorry. Maybe it's a good thing that I haven't had anything to be particularly curmudgeonly about for over a month. That's largely because I haven't been listening to the news as much as usual -- I'm re-listening to the Alera Codex by Jim Butcher, and finding it almost as engrossing as the first time I listened to it. I have a new series by the same author — Dresden Files — that I'm holding in reserve for my 2-week, 2400-mile trip in two weeks to Montana. Two weeks from tonight, I should be in Billings and roll into Lincoln, MT (my brother's cabin) about noon Saturday.

I can't wait to get out of this friggin' humidity. It just keeps raining. Lots and lots of rain. Every time I empty my gauge, it's another inch or more — about every other night. Then, when it gets up to about 90 during the day, it feels like we're living in the tropics. I hate summer. I've long said that the only good things about summer are tomatoes and sweet corn. I have to say, though, that the five bird feeders, two bird baths, and assorted weird bird houses in our yard are finally paying off. We've got tons of bird families around that are endless fun to watch. This bird house, out of an old license plate, was made by Tom's dad (who turns 94 this week) and has been hanging outside our kitchen window for nearly 20 years, has finally attracted a wren family.

We've also got families of downy woodpeckers, mourning doves, robins, and blue jays. We've even got a family of cardinals that have built a nest in my honeysuckle. There's a bunch of baby squirrels running around, and I saw a baby bunny this morning. It's hard to believe that the Solstice is Monday already. I just heard this year's first cicadas this evening, and the lightning bugs are out in force. And, here are a few pictures of recent blooms in my yard (largely for Gary's benefit):

Honeysuckle (where the cardinals have taken up residence): Catalpa tree, where there is a robins' nest:
And clematis, which is one of my personal favorites:
Okay. So, I don't actually hate summer. I just hate being hot and sweaty.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-05T17:37:00.002-05:00

I'm disgusted. Someone wrote a letter to the editor in the Lincoln paper Monday, deploring the racist new anti-immigrant law in Arizona, and the number of "comments" is now up to 148! People say the most hideous, bigoted, mean-spirited things when they can hide behind anonymity. This bothers me especially, since the person who wrote the original letter to the editor actually signed his name. I know from experience that the newspaper verifies that the name on the letter is really the person who sent it. Not so with the cowardly commenters.

I don't deny that illegal immigration is a serious problem, nor do I even pretend to know the answer(s), except to know that this law is NOT it. I am kind of baffled, though, when not a single proposal to deal with the problem addresses the fact that people from Mexico and Central America find that picking lettuce in CA, or working for minimum wage at a meat-packing plant in central Nebraska is worth risking their lives to leave their homes and families, and preferable to staying home. Why doesn't the U.S. government get on the Mexican government's case to make the living situation better there? Canadians don't risk life and limb to cross the border to work for peanuts here. Why? Because Canada has good jobs, good "quality of life," good health care, etc. Why can't Mexico enact laws that require employers to provide minimum wage, health care, etc.? Wasn't NAFTA supposed to address some of these problems? Apparently not, since the problem just keeps getting worse.

Granted, I'm not an economist, and most of my ideas come from pulleditoutofmyass.com, but this seems fairly obvious to me. I have long been a proponent of "maximum wage." Any person who can't live comfortably on $250,000 a year has a serious mental defect (and that is speaking as a person who makes less that 20% of that).

Corporate America is evil.

Good friends, good food, good music!

2010-05-05T16:02:00.007-05:00

We had a house concert last Saturday in our backyard. It's been a long time since I've had so much fun! We had a great mix of roughly 40 people; and I cooked up red beans, rice, and cornbread (which I burned) in my outdoor kitchen. It featured Ember Schrag with our mysteriously talented son, Günter; followed by John Walker, also with Günter. This first photo is a little dark, but I'm anticipating people sending me some more, at which time I'll replace it.

I've been a fan of John Walker ever since I was a student at Wesleyan in the mid-70s (he was a philosophy professor); and I'm really impressed that he's still at it, still enjoys it, and is so very supportive of young folk musicians. Kudos also to Ember for providing a Lincoln venue for folk music! We're going to try to do this again in September.

I wanted to post a couple of little ditties, recorded by our friend Don, but Blogspot doesn't seem to have an option for audio-only. You can get more info at Ember's website and at John Walker's website.

Life's too short

2010-04-24T17:40:00.009-05:00

My brother chastises me for fretting about stupid little things. The thing is, a lot of little things add up to really big things. This is a little thing that drives me nuts -- only because it's so incredibly stupid.

Why, oh why do manufacturers find it necessary to put a plastic screw top on a waxed cardboard carton??? Are consumers so stupid they can't operate a cardboard carton? I know it's pointless to be weirded out by something so trivial, but when you think about how many cardboard cartons there are in the world, why make something so beautifully biodegradable into something that's not??

This seemed appropriate to me today, since yesterday was Earth Day. I also want to talk a little about plastic grocery bags. I hate them. Grocery stores are kind of obsessed with them. I take my own bags to the store, but I have to stand guard over the sacker to keep them from giving me plastic sacks. Today they tried to put my eggs into a plastic sack. I have no idea why. They also try to put things like bags o' taters in my bags. But the main thing is, they try really, really hard to underpack the bags. Someone must have told them that people don't want to carry heavy bags, but come on . . . three cans of frozen juice and a bag of potato chips makes a full bag?

Okay, enough of that. Here's a few more reasons why I love my yard in the spring:

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

Happy Summer Cooking!!!

2010-04-17T20:53:00.007-05:00

I'm so excited!! I have an outdoor summer kitchen!!

After sitting idle in our dining room for 25 years, our antique wood cookstove has a new lease on life -- in the back yard.

It's no mean feat to move a 600+ pound chunk of cast iron, but with Hannah and Tony's help, we got it accomplished.

The picture below is Tom trying to make it level.

And here he is, putting together the stove pipe.

Getting closer . . .

Of course, once it was all hooked up and ready to roll, I couldn't stand the idea of waiting until tomorrow to cook something on it. It wanted me to cook something on it. So, we cooked several things on it.

Ummm . . . taters.

Tomorrow, I will attempt bread, and maybe cookies. It's been nearly 30 years since I cooked on this beast, so it will take me a little time to get re-acquainted with it. The whole thing is yet to be finished. The brick floor will be expanded, and it will have a roof and three walls (a lean-to). But, it can be used at this point.

Oh, and the picture below is an update on my bathroom herb garden. Looking good!

Squeaky Wheels and all that

2010-04-17T20:38:00.002-05:00

I don't know if any of you noticed the comment on my last post, but it was from Sears. We had a horrible week wrangling with their "service" center trying to get our water heater fixed. After 6 days without hot water, and complaining through every avenue Sears had to offer, and $150, it got fixed. I mentioned it in passing in my last post -- I was sick of dealing with it. Lo and behold, someone from Sears read it and commented. So, I talked to a very pleasant woman named Tammy; and the upshot was that they refunded our money AND sent us a $50 gift card. Now, having mentioned "Sears" by name in this post, they will probably read this one, too.

We learned two things from this experience:

Buy appliances from local merchants, with local service.
If you don't get satisfaction with service, complain in a public place (like a blog).

We're totally satisfied with the results we finally got from Sears, but definitely won't be buying any more appliances from them. My blood pressure can't take it.

Spring has Sprung

2010-04-04T10:51:00.004-05:00

I've been mentally formulating a righteous rant against Sears, and the fact that their absurd "customer service" system deprived us of hot water for nearly a week, but the weather is so gorgeous, and my flowers are so pretty, and our water heater seems to be working (for now, anyway), that I can't quite summon enough curmudgeonliness to effectively describe how pissed we were last week. So, enjoy these photos of my spring blossoms.

I planted the pussywillow and forsythia the first year we lived here (1986) -- sort of as an homage to my mom. Those were two of her favorites, and are planted at either end of my clothesline.

The photo below is my new indoor herb garden, situated directly under the bathroom skylight. I'm having fun with my Anthony Bourdain cookbook, but I've gotten really tired of paying $5.00 or so for a few little sprigs of rosemary or thyme. So, my little garden contains rosemary, thyme, chives, and sage. When watering them yesterday, I noticed that they are already sprouting.

I'm excited about being able to just cut some whenever a need it. I'll plant some more outside in a few weeks -- probably some parsley, cilantro, oregano, etc.

We're going over to Tom's folks' for pizza this evening. I guess it's a holiday or something. So, Happy Whateveritisyoucelebrate!

Biennial Bowling Party

2010-03-21T19:18:00.002-05:00

When our friend, Norman, visits from Chicago, we usually try to go bowling. This is the only time Tom or I ever bowl, so we're pretty crappy. Fortunately, so is everyone else in this group. This time was especially fun because all of Norman's sibings were in town, too. It was a snowy, crummy night, but the evening started with a delightful spaghetti dinner at Paul's house.

Then, on to the bowling alley. Tom exhibits his celebration dance below. Oddly enough, he even won the second game (with a score of 132). I broke my record and got a 109. I told you we were all crappy. But we had a great time.

Behind goofy Hannah and overwhelmed Tony, you can see the whole family: Audrey, Paul, Kay, Donald, Tom (who's not related to them), and Norman (seated). Beca was there, too, but she must have been bowling when this shot was taken. Günter had to work, so couldn't play with us.

I really didn't have anything of consequence to blog about, but wanted to put in an appearance anyway.

Happy Spring!!

Dem bones

2010-02-15T20:00:00.003-06:00

I spent the last couple days making beef demi-glace. I'm actually pretty pleased with myself. The picture below is a bunch of beef bones (got them at Super Saver, Günter). Lest you think I'm a ghoul, the red stuff on them is tomato paste. Anyway, I roasted these for a while, turning them frequently.

Then, I roasted some carrots, celery, and onion for a while. Then I put it all together, with a bottle of red wine, some rosemary, and some thyme. Simmered it for 8 hours, and strained it several times through cheesecloth.

Then simmered it about 4 more hours, straining it several times.

Then simmered it a couple more hours, after more straining.

After all that, I ended up with about 2 quarts of this intense jelly-like substance. A couple of tablespoons of it will be about the equivalent of a boullion cube, without the MSG and other chemicals.

I did this with chicken last week, so now I have a wonderful and delicious stash, which, with any luck, will result in some wonderful and delicious dishes (almost every recipe in my new Anthony Bourdain cookbook calls for it).

Political Sausage-Making

2010-02-10T16:12:00.002-06:00

I'm so sick of politicians. Specifically, I'm sick of Republicans. I know it's stupid, but I actually listen to Sean Hannity during my five-minute drive home (it's all I can stand). I generally figure it's worthwhile to hear what "those people" are talking about. Mostly, though, they just piss me off.

Don't get me wrong, I actually know and like some Republicans. I grew up in a Republican household. I live in a Republican state. I'm a state employee, and work for a Republican administration.

What really has me going right now, though, is the constant harping about Obama. There is no amount of hard evidence that could get these nut-jobs to open their minds, even a crack. It gives credence to the notion that "If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it." I truly believe that Obama is trying to reach out to Republicans; but if an idea comes out of his mouth, they reject it out of hand. Their whole strategy is simply to "block everything." They don't seem to have any ideas of their own, nor are they willing to participate in any meaningful discussion. It seems ludicrous to me that a majority in both houses of congress can still be so completely and utterly stymied. On everything. Even just confirming Obama's appointments as agency heads, not to mention judges.

This guy is one of our local loons, but he seems to have a lot of traction. If you click on the linked article, you'll see that even our local newspaper treats him like a hero. He has an investment company (actually called a "wealth management" company); and in his ads, he says that if you decide to do business with him, he'll give you $100 towards the purchase of a firearm. Yikes.

I actually heard most of Sarah Palin's keynote speech at last week's Tea Party convention. At the end of it, the crowd started chanting, "Run, Sarah, Run!" which sort of freaked me out. Can you even imagine what the rest of the world would think of us if someone like her could actually be a serious candidate for president?

No, I take it back. I hope she does run. I hope she gets the nomination. A debate between her and Obama would definitely be entertaining, albeit kind of sad.

I also find it disturbing that the federal government doesn't have time to govern. As soon as one election is over, the campaigns for the next one begin. I say "federal government," only because it's not as much as an issue at the state or local level (at least in Nebraska). But I guess it's true that a politician never stops campaigning.

I don't know what the answer is. I just know that, if I could afford it, I'd move to New Zealand.

Wild Life In the City

2010-02-07T16:20:00.003-06:00

I posted a picture yesterday of a snowy fence. What it is is a dilapidated enclosure where my dopey next door neighbor used to keep chickens and ducks. One by one they got picked off (and Zildjian was responsible for killing one of the ducks that got into our yard). I suspect the fellow in the picture below of being the instrument of at least a couple of the others' demise. Today, this guy got stuck in the enclosure. I managed to snap this picture while Tom was putting on his boots to go over and try to free it. The good news is, he didn't have to -- it got out on his own. So, what kind of bird is it? A hawk?

Okay, after consulting with my brother and a few Web sites, we have determined that it is a Cooper's Hawk.

There's a really old cemetary about six blocks from here. It's pretty big, about 7 blocks by 10 blocks (Charlie Starkweather's buried there), and there is all sorts of wildlife living there. I have actually seen a fox and several owls. We also had a panicked deer run through our yard a few years ago. Pretty strange, considering we're just a mile or so from downtown.

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-06T08:36:00.003-06:00

We're getting a little tired of winter, but the last couple of days have been pretty beautiful. The weather couldn't decide whether to rain or snow, but when it finally decided to snow, it's that wet and heavy stuff that sticks to every horizontal surface (and it covered up the ugly, dirty leftover snow). It's also been quite warm and non-windy.

Unfortunately, there's ice underneath that pretty snow. Makes driving a little treacherous.

Tom's been working on his cabin fever by building a new coffee cup shelf. It's really cool, and will be followed one of these days by more shelves underneath to replace the hideous metal shelves that I've had since I was in college (does that make it an antique?). Gary, notice the Hal cup in the middle!

Günter and Beca gave me an Anthony Bourdain cookbook (a late Christmas present). It's a terrific read, even if I never cook anything from it. Every recipe in it has witty comments. I had grand designs on making demi glace this weekend, but couldn't get the bones I need (I ordered them, though). Guess I'll have to save my own by roasting a couple of chickens. Almost everything in this book calls for demi glace (super-concentrated stock). I guess ingredients are a lot easier to come by in New York City than in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Going to the dogs

2010-01-23T08:29:00.003-06:00

We've been cogitating on why so many people feel that they absolutely HAVE to have a dog, but have no idea of how to have a dog. I think that at least 75% of the households in my neighborhood have a dog, and of those, only 20% do right by them.

Don't get me wrong -- I love dogs. I've had two fabulous canines in my life.

Nate, the Wonder Dog, who was half black lab and half old English sheepdog:

I had Nate when I met Tom. Unfortunately, he got hit by a truck in the Ozarks on Christmas Eve, 1981.

Then, there was Zildjian, who we got sort of accidentally, but was part of our family for 10 years:

What I don't think our neighbors understand, though, is what social critters dogs are. A dog is a lot of work -- almost like a kid. Would you just toss a kid out into the back yard with a bowl of water and a bowl of food and ignore it? I don't think so (plus, you'd end up in jail). Why is that considered okay for a dog? When Zildjian died, we decided that we will never have another dog. We just don't want to devote the time and energy to it (and it's wonderful to be able to walk across the back yard without watching for piles of dog crap).

One of our neighbors has a huge German shepherd (actually, it's crazy decorating people). They think they're being good to the dog because they take it for a walk around the block a couple times a day. But the dog never gets to run. It's resigned itself to its life; but when they go by, the dog is walking with its tail between its legs and looking very sad.

Other neighbors have put a heat lamp in a tool shed for their dog, and they feed and water him. But, I have NEVER seen anybody in that house talk to, play with, or pay the slightest bit of attention to him. And to make matters worse, they have put a shock collar on him, so if he barks to try and get their attention, he gets a shock. Why isn't that illegal?

Anyway, I find it all very sad. Tom's birthday is tomorrow -- maybe I'll get him a puppy.

Happy Holidays 2009!

2009-12-13T12:13:00.006-06:00

It's truly looking like a winter wonderland around here! This is what we've been dealing with this week:

My next-door neighbor's daughter, Claire, built a pretty amazing igloo, supposedly for their cats, but she seems to be enjoying it, too.

It's actually kind of unusual for us to get this much snow this early -- this is more like a February storm. Unfortunately, it's also been butt-freezing cold. Sure does look more Christmas-y, though, and we're really glad to have invested in a new furnace!

I know I said I would take some video of my crazy neighbor's decorating, but when I went over there, she had only done about half of what she did last year, so it wasn't really worth it.

Last night was Candy and Floyd's annual White Elephant party. We managed to divest ourselves of last year's Bob Hope statue, as well as a couple other oddities we had around here. Below are pictures of the bounty we received in return:

I'm constantly amazed at the things people will pay money for.

We also went down to the Zoo Bar to hang out with the BelAirs for a bit, and deliver some Christmas goodies. All in all, a very enjoyable Saturday night.

Miscellaneous Updates

2009-12-01T21:29:00.004-06:00

I'm deep in the middle of holiday candy-making, as you can see from the photo below. I found a new recipe (truffles) that I'm trying - Tom says I should make it to the exclusion of all others. I used kahlua in the ones I've made so far, and put chopped up maraschino cherries in half of them. They're amazing! I think I'm going to try another batch with creme de menthe. Oddly enough, the recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (the red and white checked one). Of course, using Ghiradelli chocolate doesn't hurt, either.

Hannah's Tony celebrated a birthday, too. Instead of a birthday cake, he got a quiche! Hannah's getting pretty good at crusts.

And of course, there was Thanksgiving. I include this picture because it was so funny. There were several missing cousins at the kids' table, so this was how they solved the problem.

I've been a little worried about crazy holiday decorating neighbor, but she finally turned on her lights tonight. I'll try to sneak over there and shoot some video this weekend so you can get the full effect. I was outside earlier trying to enjoy the electronic music, but there were so many dogs barking I couldn't hear it. You think I'm kidding? Check this out to see.

I'll try to post again this weekend. Just wanted to let you know I'm still around.

Feels like spring

2009-11-01T14:11:00.005-06:00

I was experimenting with the zoom on my camera, and was actually surprised to catch the cardinal in the lilac bush.

It really does feel like spring! It's sunny and about 70 degrees. I've got my windows open and my sheets hanging on the clothesline. Birds are singing, and we've had so much rain this last week (about 4 inches), that the usual fall dust isn't in the air. The only drawback I've noticed is that there are billions of GNATS. If I go outside, I get covered with them. My sheets are covered with them, too, so I'll have to shake them well before I bring them in.

This is a picture of our red oak in the front yard. I love this tree. I planted it about 12 years ago. Hannah named it something -- Phil, maybe?. I think everyone, including the city, should plant these trees. It grows really fast for an oak, it's drought-resistant, it's pollution-resistant, and it doesn't drop anything annoying (like acorns). Oh, and did I mention that it's gorgeous? And, of course a picture of the boys, just because I can never resist when they're being all cuddly with each other.

We had an uneventful Halloween, with very few trick-or-treaters (maybe 20). So at about 8:00, we turned out the lights and headed to the back yard for a campfire. We even put Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price reading Edgar Allen Poe (Masque of the Red Death and Tell-tale Heart in particular) on the iPod for our entertainment. Now we're finally back to "real time." Damn, why can't they just leave it here.

Guerilla Bumper Stickers

2009-10-21T16:05:00.003-05:00

This car parks in my parking garage. I've been thinking about it ever since I first saw it (and today was the first time I saw it AND had a camera AND nobody else was around), and sort of figure that if I write about it here, I won't do it (although I was really nice and blanked out the license plate). What I've been wanting to do is to make another sticker that looks just like the one on the lower left, only it'll say "Honk if you think I'm an asshole," and have him drive around wondering why everybody's honking at him. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

What gave me the idea was that a few years ago, someone replaced the fish like this one on my car:
with one that says "JESUS" and doesn't have feet. I noticed it one day at the grocery store while putting stuff in my trunk. It's anybody's guess as to how long I was driving around with that -- how often do you look at the back of your car?

I've never seen the owner of the car pictured above. For all I know, he's a nice (if misguided) guy, but I doubt it.

A Thousand Blessings on the House of Tim

2009-10-07T19:28:00.005-05:00

Now, I'm never one to complain about cool weather, but I just saw that we have snow in our forecast for Sunday, and it's entirely too early for that.

On a warmer topic, our good buddy Tim has earned himself a double helping of my Christmas goodies this year for giving us this fabulous grate for our backyard firepit! It raises the wood up off the ground just enough to let air underneath, and pretty much stops the smoky-ness. We had a fire with not entirely dry wood the other night, and it worked GREAT!! I think even Beca will be able to hang out by it without being miserable.

Last week we attended a really fun house concert at Ember Schraag's, featuring her trio (including our incredibly talented son Günter), John Walker, and another band called You & Yourn. It got us thinking about how much fun we had at the one we had at our house a couple years ago, and makes us want to do it again. We're going to try to have one next spring, hopefully in the back yard. Maybe Hannah will be able to sell some more coasters!

We have so much fun living vicariously through our kids! I find that more and more I'm introducing myself to people as Hannah's mom or Günter's mom, and I'm amazed at how excited that makes people. Their lives are so much more exciting than ours, and it surely looks like we did something right in their upbringing.

Summer's being followed by a moonflower

2009-09-20T12:51:00.008-05:00

Every time I look at or think about these flowers, I start humming Cat Stevens' "Moon Shadow" for some reason. Heh. Now that I've given you the ear worm, you will, too!

They're really, really cool. They're related to morning glories, except that they only bloom at night. They climb like crazy, and smell amazing! These are planted right by our front porch. Next year, though, I'm going to start them indoors in March or April and put actual plants in the ground. They just started blooming this last week, even though I planted them in early May -- I had just about given up on them.

This is what they look like during the day. I'm also thinking that next year I'll plant them in the window boxes and let them be a screen for the front porch. Then we wouldn't have to see the tatooed hillbillies next door jumping on their trampoline.

Just drop it already!

2009-09-14T15:51:00.003-05:00

I finally have something to be curmudgeonly about -- SC Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst at Obama's speech last week.

Yes, he's a moron. Yes, it was a stupid thing to do. BUT, he acknowledged that it was stupid, he apologized, Obama accepted his apology. Case closed. Move on.

I'm talking to you, Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow, Nancy Pelosi, etc., etc. By continuing to yammer on and on about it, you're proving yourselves no better than Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and the like. Take the high road, fercryinoutloud. Every time you open your mouths, you give the folks at Fox more to complain about. Yes, I know that if a Democrat had yelled "You lie!" during one of Bush's speeches at a joint session (no matter how true), there would have been no end of hell to pay. Does that make it right? Of course not. You're turning the guy into a friggin folk hero! I doubt many people outside of South Carolina had even heard of him until you guys started in on him.

So yeah. Shut up.

Canning Season . . . Again

2009-09-13T20:36:00.005-05:00

I've been in a chutney sort of mood. Last week my friends Shari and Doug gave me a big ol' bag of pears from their back yard. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them, so I made chutney. It was so yummy that I made tomato chutney this week. The tomato variety came out a little on the runny side (probably because the tomatoes were so juicy), but still delicious. It occurred to me that it would make a good marinade, so I tried it on some pork chops. I was right -- they were scrumptious! I made a LOT of chutney, so let me know if you want some.

I need to find a source for cabbages this week, as it's time for another round of sauerkraut. I've only got one quart left from last year's huge batch, and there's nothing like homemade kraut. I might even try putting some hot peppers in it this time and making it more like kim chee (sp?).

I've been noticing an awful lot of spider webs around here lately. It seems like I walk through one or two every morning on my way to the car. I took this picture this afternoon of one that was right above the hood of my car.

The glops are some weird little gnats that have been swarming around. Spider webs are cool, but kind of creepy to walk through at o'dark thirty.

I mentioned last post that I bought myself a new electric skillet. What is it about new appliances that makes me so giddy? I love them. Here it is frying up some chicken.

I really like it, except that it wants badly to slide around. I have to put it on one of those non-skid doohickeys when I use it.

You can probably tell that I'm still not particularly curmudgeonly. Maybe next week.

New Shoes*

2009-09-01T16:01:00.008-05:00

*Leo Johnson, from Twin Peaks

Well, I'm feeling pretty guilty about having ignored this blog for so long, but truth be told, I haven't had all that much to be curmudgeonly about. I've been pretty busy having lots of fun, which is a good thing, right?

It started with a delightful 2-week trip to my brother's cabin in Lincoln, MT. Good company, good food, beautiful scenery, beautiful weather. What more could one ask of a vacation??

Then, Hannah had this fun and funky art show at the Zoo Bar, and sold lots and lots of coasters.

Let's see, Tom's sister Marcia was here for a visit, too, which was fun.

Then, there was my birthday (yesterday, actually, although it seems I'm having a "birthday week"). Hannah & Tony actually convinced Tom & I to go to Omaha to the Taj Mahal/Bonnie Raitt concert. I'm really glad they did, too, because it is in the top five of all the concerts I've attended in my life.

Hannah also gave me these totally cool shoes (if you click on the picture, you can see them in more detail):

I wore them to work today and got lots of positive comments. Tomorrow my co-workers are taking me to lunch; and Thursday, Günter & Beca are taking us to dinner. I bought myself a new electric skillet yesterday, too, which makes me happy.

You know, most years I'm downright cranky at this time of year because I generally loathe summer (except for tomatoes and sweet corn). This year, though, we've hardly even used the AC. In fact, I'm sitting here right now in fleece pants and a sweatshirt! Weird.

I'm sure something will come up soon to make me curmudgeonly, but for right now I'm just enjoying the bliss.

Fourth of July

2009-07-04T09:20:00.002-05:00

Sometimes (actually, lots of times) my state really embarrasses me. Usually, though, Lincoln stands out as a little island of sanity, but not this time. This is just too stupid for words.

Do you know who "Larry the Cable Guy" (Daniel Lawrence Whitney -- "Git-r-done") is? He lives in Lincoln. That's embarrassing enough, but he decided he wants to do a 4th of July show at Memorial Stadium. The University mulled it over for quite a while and finally said okay. As a result, the City of Lincoln decided to do its 4th of July whoop-ti-do on July 3rd -- apparently because they thought so many people would want to go to Larry the Cable Guy's show (stadium holds about 80,000 people).

So, last night, Mother Nature put on her own fireworks display, and we had thunderstorms and pouring rain all night. Must have put a damper on the city's party. Today, I have my curmudgeonly fingers crossed that it rains again tonight so that anyone dumb enough to think Larry the Cable Guy is actually funny gets rained out.

July 4th isn't one of my favorite holidays anyway. I seem to remember liking it when I was a kid, but I think having a dog that would whine and cower for a week or more pretty much cured me. Now fireworks just piss me off (although I still sort of like the big public displays -- from a distance). If it doesn't rain tonight, the whole city will be blanketed with a sulphurous haze. I can't for the life of me figure out how over-priced, polluting, made-in-China fireworks is an appropriate expression of patriotism.

What about MEEEE??

2009-05-16T07:31:00.002-05:00

I will probably do a pleasant post (with pictures) later this weekend, but right now I have a curmudgeonly rant.

Stimulus stuff is all well and good, but I'm being left out in the cold AGAIN. All these measures I'm hearing about seem to be for "other" people.

Huge tax credit for first-time home buyers. Fine, but what about those of us who are going through their FOURTH re-finance? Nothing.

"Cash for clunkers" -- Great idea to get people to trade in their old cars. But guess what? The old car has to get less than 18 miles per gallon. We've got an 18-year-old car that is literally falling apart (even though it's only got 65,000 miles on it). Unfortunately, it's a Toyota and gets 25-30 miles per gallon. I suppose we could trade in our 1985 Toyota pickup instead (lousy mileage), but Tom needs a pickup.

Tax credits for people who buy energy-efficient appliances. Wonderful, but you have to buy the appliance in 2009. We bought a new energy-efficient furnace in 2008, so we're just SOL.

Credit card companies and car dealers saying they will make my payments for me for six months if I lose my job. All well and good, but I'm not likely to lose my job. Sheesh, just let me skip one month!

It's just frustrating. For my entire adult life, I've made too much money to qualify for anything, but not enough to PAY for anything. We live in a "target" neighborhood, where there is lots of money available for house projects; but we miss the cut-off by about $2,000 to qualify for any of it, and can't afford to pay for the things we want to do to our house. We're lucky in that Tom is skilled enough to do most of the necessary work (e.g. plumbing), but we certainly can't afford to replace our sewer line from the house to the alley, or build a garage.

I caught some of a program last night about Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer. Yes, she is very brave, but apparently has limitless funds that enable her to fly to Germany several times a year for treatments that aren't available here. How many people can afford to do that? Cripes, I had a filling fall out a couple weeks ago, but have to wait till I have a couple hundred extra bucks to get it fixed (it's not causing me pain -- I'd find a way if it was).

Enough. I'm just tired of falling through the cracks.

Gotta love this Nebraska weather!

2009-04-04T21:06:00.003-05:00

We've been having fabulous spring weather. In fact, we've been having thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, and a lovely warm day. I was cogitating on my window boxes, and what kind of flowers to put in them this year. Tonight, we're in a blizzard warning. Go figure. Below are a few of my spring favorites that may not be in bloom by tomorrow if it snows as much as they're predicting. I actually cut the daffodils and put them in a vase. My lilacs are just about to bloom, too, so I hope they survive (they're my all-time favorites).

Tom's cousin just deposited this lathe on our doorstep a couple days ago. Tom is kind of having fun with it, but doesn't really have any projects for it. He's trying to decide if he's going to keep it or give it to a certain wood sculptor we know, as long as he agrees to turn out little things for us if we need them (drawers pulls and the like).

I just found out that my Italian "brother" reads this blog occasionally, which is exciting to me. I'm being read overseas!!

Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night . . .

2009-04-03T15:40:00.013-05:00

I love to get mail. It's been pissing me off for months now that our mail doesn't seem to arrive before 4 or 5:00 — I really think it should be here when I get home from work. I was really upset when I heard that not only is the price of first-class postage going up again in May, but they're seriously considering dropping home delivery one or two days a week. Today, though, grim reality smacked me upside the head. What you see in the photo below is the sum total of my mail today.

It's been like that all week. The only non-advertising mail I've received this week is my car insurance bill (don't know why they haven't yet gone online), and my receipt for paying my property tax (which I paid online — why they had to mail my receipt is anyone's guess). So, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to cut back on home delivery. Consider that every single household in America receives at least this much junk mail EVERY DAY! Does anybody actually look at these ads? Does anybody really like getting them? I'm guessing that that most people just do what I do, which is to fan through it to see if there are any real envelopes, and then throw the rest away. How many trees gave up their lives for this? It's not even good for starting fires because most of it is glossy (and bad for recycling for the same reason).

I work for a state agency that mails a LOT of stuff, and postage is our single biggest expense every year. We've cut our mailings by two-thirds or so by putting things on the Internet, but this is Nebraska and there are still an alarming number of people who don't have and/or want Internet; and the cost of postage keeps going up. Plus, how do we know who they are, and most of our mailings are required by law.

My daughter used to work at a cool card shop (Avant Card), and I would keep a store of funky cards around and made a point to mail birthday, anniversary, etc. cards to people just for fun (and admittedly to amaze them that I remembered these occasions).

Anyway, maybe the U.S. Postal Service really is going the way of the dinosaur. And ecologically, it's probably a good thing.

First Day of Spring, and I'm Feelin' It!

2009-03-20T16:18:00.003-05:00

Mmmm . . . Backyard campfire, complete with s'mores!

Man, it's being hard to keep my mind on business! We've had an entire week when the temp hasn't gotten below freezing, and even slept with the window open a couple of nights. My tulips, daffodils, lilies, iris, etc. are all peeking up and waving at me; the pussywillow is doing its fuzzy-wuzzy thing, and the lilacs have buds. I just hope we don't get screwed by a late hard frost like we had last year, which meant that none of the spring flowers actually bloomed. I even filled the bird baths.

The down side of nice weather is that our hillbilly next-door neighbors are spending most daylight hours in their front yard jumping on their trampoline. It's really weird that they have it in their front yard when they have a big back yard. We have a privacy fence between our yard and theirs, but when they jump on the stupid thing, they pop up above the fence and look right onto our front porch. It's creepy.

If the good weather continues into the weekend, I plan on washing windows. Sounds strange, but I love clean windows. We're also going to put all the pieces of our wood cookstove together so I can take pictures of it and put it on Craigslist and/or e-bay. If it doesn't sell in a reasonable amount of time, the plan is to move it into the back yard, build some kind of construct around it, and incorporate it into my long-desired outdoor kitchen. Since it's cast iron, we have to build something to protect it from the weather. We used it when we lived in the Ozarks (it was our only stove), but it's just been a piece of furniture ever since we moved back to Lincoln. I think we've always harbored a secret desire to hook it up, but our kitchen's too small, we have no flue for it, and it would take a considerable amount to bring it up to code for the city.

I'll post more later in the weekend.

Heya Herb!

2009-03-09T16:44:00.013-05:00

Last week I posted a little video of Hannah and Beca being totally silly with Günter's washboard contraption, so I thought maybe you'd like to see it being used in a more "serious" fashion. Günter and his friend Ember played a gig at the Jones Coffee House Saturday night, so I tried my hand at recording some of it. Lacking a tripod, it's a little herky jerky, and my zooming skills aren't really there, but you can get the general idea from this (but I don't know the name of the song, but I'm told that it's Ember's "naptime song" for her daughter).

And now, for your listening pleasure, is a little tune called "Cruel Woman Blues." Ember writes the songs.

I'm still trying to find a better way to upload videos — this takes forever.

When I'm done posting these, I'm going to try to join Facebook. I don't know why I'm so apprehensive about it, but I am. If I'm successful, I'll try to put up a few more songs there. I won't be looking at it every day — they have it blocked where I work (understandably), and by the time I spend all day on a computer, I don't usually even turn mine on at home. I'll probably be pretty active on it on weekends, though.

An update — Günter actually bought a Kindle, and was supposed to receive it today. I'll be anxious to see it and how it works. My niece told me she bought the app for doing the same thing (books) for her iTouch, and says it's pretty cool. I just think that tiny little thing would strain my old eyes.

Oh, and Herb? It was really fun hanging out with you this weekend. Don't be such a stranger!

Delightful afternoon

2009-03-01T15:59:00.004-06:00

Well, with March coming in like a lion, what better way to spend a snowy Sunday afternoon than with a yummy brunch? All the kidlets came over, and we had potato pie (like a quiche, but with shredded potatoes for a crust), bacon, fruit, and homemade bread. I hadn't made the potato pie for a long time and had forgotten how much I like it!

Günter had constructed a funny washboard instrument that needed a little Dr. Tom help, so below is their version of "Wipeout." Tony must wonder what sort of asylum Günter and Hannah grew up in.

Totally Star Trek

2009-02-28T14:10:00.004-06:00

Have you ever heard of a Kindle? I hadn't until about a week ago. My brother was telling me about it, and how it was being touted in the newspaper world as its possible savior. He said he was getting one for his wifey for her birthday. The very next day, I was asked about going in on one for Günter for his birthday, since he'd been drooling over it for months. Okay, sounds cool, count me in.

That was before I found out that they cost $359!! Anyhoo, Gary did indeed get one for Charlotte for her birthday— only to find out that it's affiliated with Sprint. Well, guess what? Sprint isn't available in Great Falls, MT. I looked on Amazon's site, and had a REALLY hard time finding out about that. I think that's terribly sneaky and totally sucks, and they're going to have to send it back. There's also something kind of creepy about Sprint knowing what a person is reading at any given time — I think you're connected the whole time the device is turned on. I wonder how that works on airplanes, which would be one of the most common uses for the device?

Then, last Monday, the head of Amazon was on the Daily Show talking about it. He didn't mention the Sprint deal either. Jon Stewart seemed rather unconvinced, too ( although he was alarmingly excited about the fact that you can hold it in one hand). The thing is, I think a lot of people (like Tom) are very tactile about reading books, and also rather technophobic and probably wouldn't be very excited about this device. Others (like me, for instance) love gadgets, do most of their reading in bed at night, and always lose their place by falling asleep in the middle of a paragraph. Not to mention the awkwardness of trying to hold a big ol' hard cover book while keeping your arms under the covers. So this dohickey might be just up my alley. They're just way too expensive!

Actually, I think the thing would be fabulous for newspapers and periodicals. We haven't had any magazine subscriptions for years (since the kids used to sell them for school fundraisers) — largely because they pile up and up and up and up . . . There is nothing to be done with a year's worth of Time magazine, and I shudder to think about all the trees that gave up their lives for those short-lived entertainments. I enjoy magazines, though, and would totally subscribe if I had one of these gadgets. I wouldn't spend the $359 for the gadget, though.

Bottom line — these things are really cool, and I want one. I also want everybody to have one. This is the coolest "green" technology I've seen in a really long time, but until that price comes down, I don't see it happening. I also think the semi-secret deal they have with Sprint is a crock.

God Bless Bill Maher

2009-02-22T08:11:00.002-06:00

We just watched Religulous. Oh my, it was wonderful. He articulated so exactly how I feel about organized religion (scared).

The trouble is, as is true of so many documentaries, the people who really need to see it never will -- preaching to the choir, so to speak. I was sort of disappointed in the people he chose to interview, too -- nut jobs all. I'm guessing that people higher up the hierarchical ladder refused to speak to him. Oh well, I liked it so much that I watched it twice.

We also watched Burn After Reading this weekend. That one was sort of disappointing. Next up on our Netflix queue is W and An Inconvenient Truth. I love Netflix -- this is the third year in a row that my brother has given us a gift subscription for Christmas. I recently finished watching all five seasons of Babylon 5, and am pleased to report that it held up well.

Economic Good News

2009-02-14T09:20:00.013-06:00

This may be sort of rambling, because I'm putting together my thoughts as I go.

I've heard a few stories on NPR recently that I regard as good news:

One is that auto repair places are experiencing a boom, largely because many people are being willing to drop a couple thousand dollars to keep their older cars running rather than buying new cars. Apparently, they're deciding that it's better to not be saddled with car payments, comprehensive insurance coverage, higher licensing fees, and sales tax. Well, duh!

Another is the popularity of cooking shows (and I'm a big fan of Top Chef and Kitchen Nightmares). People are finally figuring out that they can eat better and cheaper at home than at restaurants. I'm noticing that grocery stores are selling a much bigger variety of "gourmet" foods, which must be a result of that phenomenon. I'm even seeing it in my kids -- both of them are evolving into much better (and more imaginative) cooks than I ever was. We very rarely ate out while they were growing up. It's funny, because when they first moved out on their own, they ate at restaurants ALL the time. I'm really hoping that this signals the return of "dinner parties," which are my favorite sorts of gatherings. There's something about eating together that unites even very different sorts of people.

The third trend I heard about is the resurgence of "crafts" (are you listening, Shannon?). People are choosing to give homemade presents, rather than store-bought. Now, this could be dangerous -- I mean, how many dried flower wreaths does a person really need? It's a difficult thing to distinguish between "art" and "craft." "Art," to me, is something that gives me pleasure to look at -- forever. "Craft," on the other hand, is something that has a function, and can be beautiful, too. It's a difficult distinction, but the picture below illustrates my idea. The shelves that Tom built are, by my definition, "craft." The painting below them, by our friend George Couts, is "art."

I hope this makes sense. Anyway, these trends are probably not good news for car dealers/manufacturers, restaurants, or Hallmark stores; but I think they're a good thing. People are re-evaluating what is important, and everything is becoming less "disposable."

So, hey, Happy Valentine's Day! Drive your old car to a grocery store and a craft store, cook up a terrific meal, and make a homemade card!

Global Warming

2009-02-07T11:06:00.008-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's February! In Nebraska! It was 63 degrees yesterday, and I actually opened a couple of windows.

It was so nice last night, with an almost-full moon, that we engaged in one of our favorite activities -- a backyard campfire. We're not sure it's entirely legal, but it sure is pleasant. There's something about that pleasantness, though, that always keeps us up way too late.

One of the things we did while enjoying the warmth was call our friend Herb at the Little Farm (in NW Missouri). As luck would have it, pal Chaz was there visiting, so we got to chat with him, too.

One of my fondest desires is to have an outdoor kitchen, and a few friends who know what they're doing (like Herb and Chaz) might be able to make that a reality. The centerpiece will, of course, be a brick oven. What I'm wanting is a bona fide wood cookstove outdoors, but it has to be made of something that can withstand the weather. You can see in the kitty video here that we actually have a wood cookstove, but it can't be hooked up here; and it's cast iron, so it won't work outdoors either. I'm going to do some looking on the Web today and see if I can find plans for such a thing.

Ah Choo!

2009-02-04T19:12:00.002-06:00

I have a cold, which totally sucks. I haven't had one for a really long time, so I guess I can't complain too much. It has a lot to do, I think, with the fact that almost everyone at work has or has recently had one. We have a new "open office" arrangement there, which means everybody is exposed to everything. Fortunately, though, I have a job that lends itself to working at home and a boss who lets me. So, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Here's a consumer shout-out: Emergen-C. It's a powdered stuff that is packed with vitamins C and B (so it also gives a little energy boost). I drink one every day (or most days -- sometimes I forget), and haven't had a cold for about 2 years. It comes in yummy flavors -- my most recent favorite is black cherry.

My other favorite cold cure is to take a really hot bath -- as hot and as long as you can stand, and then wrap up in a whole lot of blankets and sweat. Basically, anything that will make you sweat without exertion. Do that for as long as you can stand it, and you'll feel a lot better. A sauna would probably be ideal, but I don't have one of those.

I need a hair cut

2009-01-30T16:59:00.003-06:00

I'm getting a hair cut tomorrow morning, and don't know what to do with it. It grows really fast, so whatever I decide won't last all that long. I'm thinking of just cutting the bottom layer to even up the length. The advantage to having waited about two months longer than usual for a trim is that my bangs are almost long enough to put behind my ears. What was I thinking when I got bangs??
Since my friend, Sher, is the one who cuts my hair, maybe I'll just let her decide what to do.

It's supposed to be really nice tomorrow (50-ish), so I think I'll wash sheets and hang them on the clothesline. That, and getting my hair cut, is the sum total of my weekend plans. I really like weekends like that.

Here's what I ended up with:

The sky is falling!

2009-01-30T15:23:00.003-06:00

So, Wednesday night, I was minding my own business and cooking supper. I was washing some dishes and had just turned back to the counter to give my stuff a stir, when behind me there was a huge CCRRAASSHH. I turned around to find lots and lots and lots of broken glass on the floor. As I was standing there trying to figure out where it came from, Tom came running up from the basement to see what had happened.

At just that moment, I looked up and saw that the glass cover on the ceiling fixture had fallen -- right where I had just been standing. Ours is a really old house with really high ceilings, so it had quite a distance to fall. It was one of the kind where there are two light bulbs, and a glass cover that is secured by three set screws. Apparently, at least one of the screws wasn't in tight enough (and fortunately, we're unsure which of us was the last to change the bulbs).

Anyway, glass went everywhere. I'm glad my supper had a lid on it! But now we have a new old light fixture:

I asked Tom how securely this one is fastened, and he assured me that it's much better than the previous one. So, that was my brush with death.

Let's mix it up

2009-01-25T19:07:00.006-06:00

Remember a month or so ago, when I said I'd love to have a KitchenAid mixer? Well, looky what Hannah brought me today!!!! She got it from a friend, who got it at an auction and then decided he didn't need it. So WOOTY WOOT!! Now I'm going to have to rearrange some stuff in my kitchen so I can leave it out to use it. The kids all came over today because yesterday was Tom's birthday. Now he's the proud owner of a Zoo Bar hoodie sweatshirt and a DVD of The Big Lebowski (his favorite movie). Also, Hannah wanted to make cottage cheese/dill bread. Hannah has a rather unique method of kneading bread. I must say that any time my kids get involved, it becomes a comedy routine.

It was her first attempt at bread baking, so the loaves aren't beautiful, but the fact that one of the loaves is already half gone attests to the yummiliciousness of this bread.

Then, Tony came over to pick up Hannah, and brought him some new clamps. According to Tom, "You can never have too many clamps."

All in all, it was a lovely day. It's snowing again, which really makes me wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Unfortunately, I live so close to my office that I can't really use snow for an excuse.

Allow me to curmudgeon a moment. It really ticks me off when people just scrape off a little hole of ice/snow from their windshields instead of getting it off ALL of the windows. They make me scared to be out and about. People's stupidity increases in direct proportion to the amount of snow on the streets.

It's a puzzling thing

2009-01-24T07:22:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday I was wandering around in Walgreens and found that they had jigsaw puzzles on sale for $1.00. I really love jigsaw puzzles and was facing a 4-day weekend with nothing that really had to be done, so I bought three of them.

What's kind of disconcerting about me and jigsaw puzzles is that I sort of obsess about them. Tom groans when he sees me dumping one out on the table because he knows that I'm going to be utterly useless until it's done (and NO, I don't want help with it). I started the first one Saturday evening. It must have been too easy, because I finished it Sunday evening. I still had two days, right? So I started the second one on Monday, and finished it during the inauguration Tuesday.

They're charming pictures. Not something I'd want on my wall, mind you, but they're sweet little scenes. They're by an artist named Heronim. The first one is called "Wing Walkers." The one below is "Grandma and Grandpa at Christmas."

Then I had to go back to work on Wednesday. I left the completed puzzles out on the dining room table. I like to look at them for a while. Then I take them apart, put them back in the box, and give them away at next year's White Elephant party.

But every day I kept seeing that third box (called "Harvest at the Mission"). It was crying to me; so when I got home from work yesterday, I started it. I'll probaby finish it today.

These seem to be just the right amount of difficulty for me, because each one only consumes me for a couple days, and they're hard enough to not be insulting -- yet not so hard as to drive me crazy. I think I've got the jigsaw puzzle jones out of my system for a while. Gary tells me, though, that he's got a couple I can do next summer when I go to his cabin in Montana (but I hope he doesn't have anything else he wants me to do while I'm there).

There's a really funny Monk episode where a bunch of kids entertain themselves by dumping about four jigsaw puzzles in a box, jumbling up all the pieces, and presenting them to Monk. Of course, he has to stop everything and put together all four puzzles. That'd be me. Don't ever do that to me.

Wow, I'm actually hopeful!

2009-01-20T18:50:00.002-06:00

I don't want this to become any sort of political blog, but . . . just . . . wow. Considering I'm 52 years old, this is the 13th or 14th inauguration I've lived through. BUT, this is the first time I've actually watched it on TV FOR 12 SOLID HOURS! I was very moved at several points:

When the camera would zoom in on elderly African Americans, crying.
When the camera would zoom out and show the millions of people cramming the mall.
The sheer number of people who went to great lengths to be there, no matter what.
The beautiful little Obama girls, and what they must be thinking.
Watching Bush get on the helicopter and wave bye-bye.

Things that made me laugh:

Rolling Dick Cheney around in a wheel chair. I wonder how tempting it was to just "lose control" of the chair at the top of the stairs.
Aretha Franklin's hat.
Chief Justice Roberts choking on the oath.
Reverend Lowery's benediction.

There was entirely too much praying for my taste, however.

I must say, though, that I'm a little apprehensive about how much he has on his plate, and how the right-wingers will blast him for every delay or failure, no matter how slight.

Well, enough of that. I just felt a need to put something down about this momentous day.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2009-01-16T20:53:00.005-06:00

There's never a dull moment in our neighborhood!

Tonight I was out on the front porch when I heard someone yelling. I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from, but it was really loud. So I went out to the sidewalk, and finally saw him. Funny thing is, everybody else on the block came out to look, too; and considering it's only about 10 degrees, presumably everyone had their windows closed -- that's how loud he was.

Anyway, he wasn't being profane at all, but was yelling about how this "nasty neighborhood" would be destroyed if it was in Colorado(?). He wasn't stumbling or acting drunk, just loud and angry. It was weird. Maybe his car was stolen or something. I'll probably never find out. It wasn't quite as weird as when the naked guy came down the street yelling about how his wife had thrown him out without any clothes, but weird nonetheless.

Soooo, Hannah and I made minestrone last weekend. 16 quarts' worth! Below is a picture of it, about halfway through. It was definitely an all-day project, but very yummy.

Hannah asked me not to post this picture, but I think it's cute. And of course, washing dishes is a part of any cooking process.
She's coming over again this Sunday to make cottage cheese dill bread.

Tuesday we get to come out of our 8-year national nightmare. Monday is a holiday, but I also took Tuesday off, since I consider it even more of a holiday (and I admit that the idea of a 4-day weekend was appealing). We have a bunch of anti-Bush stuff (refrigerator magnets, a "Smush Bush," etc.) that we don't quite know what to do with. I suppose we'll keep them around for a while. My cousin sent me a funny e-mail of Bush quotes today. I know they're available all over the Net, but I'm posting them anyway, for old time's sake:

'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared.'
'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments inthe future.'
'The future will be better tomorrow.'
'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe.'
'Public speaking is very easy.'
'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.'
'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
'For NASA, space is still a high priority.'
'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.'
'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'

I'm really looking forward to presidential speeches for the next few years!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!

2009-01-10T07:53:00.002-06:00

And look at the lovely young woman she's grown into!

I prefer winter. I really do.

2009-01-09T20:17:00.009-06:00

I was just thinking the other day how much I prefer winter to summer. I HATE hot weather. But I also really hate winter when it's brutally cold and there's no snow — everything looks so dirty and gray. Have you ever noticed how quiet cars are when there's snow on the street? It's bright as daylight, too, especially since the moon's almost full (Sunday).

So, tonight, Mother Nature decided to beautify my environment. This is from our front porch. The red lights in the background are the Crazy Decorator Neighbor's Valentine house.

I decided to take some random photos of weird, quirky things around our house, starting with my husband. Here he is coming home with the weekend's libations. This is actually the same view as the photo of our Christmas tree a month ago.

This is my favorite new appliance, the pressure cooker. Here it is happily cooking kidney beans for Sunday's minestrone marathon.

These are two of the quirkiest things we have: Raymond ("Calendar Cat") and Davey ("Scrawny Varmint").

This is our wedding invitation (October 1981), with a picture of our younger, sexier selves.

And this is Tom's what-not cabinet. How quirky is that? I was complaining the other day about the amount of dust that accumulates on all those tiny things, so he obliged me by making a plexi-glass door for it. Woo-hoo!

Our little girl, Hannah, will turn 24 tomorrow. This is some of her artwork from a few years ago. They hang in our kitchen. I really love these pictures.

Perhaps this provides some insight into us and our space. This was a difficult week — the first 5-day week I've had to work in quite some time. Feeling curmudgeonly in general, rather than anything specific.

Change is good, right?

2009-01-06T19:27:00.003-06:00

You may have noticed that I changed the title of this blog. I was sort of feeling that "Consumer" was too limiting. Saturday, I received a book in the mail from a friend (Curmudgeon Woman, which is a compilation of curmudgeonly quotations by women), and it was addressed to "The Curmudgeonly Chronicler," which seemed a more appropriate title for me. Tom also pointed out that he's not doing anything connected to this, except tossing out occasional ideas, hence, it's actually my blog.

So, I'm claiming it as my own; and it is now called "The Curmudgeonly Chronicler."

Love,
Jo

These boots are made for walkin'

2009-01-06T16:04:00.003-06:00

This is an old topic, but it bears repeating.

Nebraska's gas tax went up January 1 by .4 cents per gallon (from 26 cents to 26.4 cents). Big deal. But judging from the brouhaha over it, you'd think people were told they had to give up their first-borns.

My opinion of this is that they should have taken advantage of the fact that people were used to paying high prices for gasoline and raised the gas tax to at least $2.00 per gallon. People were squawking about it last summer, but you know what? They coped. They drove less. They bought smaller cars. They demanded fuel economy from the car-makers. They took the bus. They bicycled. They bought scooters. They, gulp, WALKED.

I suppose they could make some provision for low-income people who need to drive to work, and possibly even for local delivery vehicles, and maybe even for mass passenger transport (e.g., airlines, trains) but that should be the end of the exemptions. To those who say, "What about me? I live in Omaha and work in Lincoln!" I say, that's your choice. If you don't like it, move to Lincoln or get a job in Omaha! (or wherever)

It would have all sorts of positive ramifications. People would be healthier. The air would be less polluted. People would eat more locally-grown foods and buy more locally-produced goods. The roads would be less congested, making less wear and tear on the infrastructure. People would stop buying Humvees. More employers would allow their employees to telecommute.

Of course, we in Nebraska would have to give up (or pay more for) our pineapples, avacados, mangos, bananas, seafood, and other things that can't be produced here, but I think all sorts of good things would come from it. For instance, bartering -- "I'll give you a case of home-canned beef stew if you'll handle this legal matter for me." Plus, those of us who choose to buy locally when we can would be pleasantly surprised at the abundance that would become available, cheaper than it is now.

No concessions should be given to mega-corporations like WalMart. They've made their billions on the backs of their workers. This would be the time for local retailers to step up and shine.

Okay, I'll stop now. Too utopian for most people. But we (Tom and I) are also guilty of driving too much. It's just too easy! Last summer when gas prices were high, we used our mo-ped for errands (and for my 1½-mile commute to work). We have two old Toyota vehicles (a 1991 Corolla and a 1985 pickup). Both have less than 70,000 miles on them. Between the two of us, we drive less than 5,000 miles a year, and we could halve that without much hardship. It's mind-boggling to me that the national average is 12,000 miles per year PER VEHICLE!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T17:50:00.004-06:00

First post of 2009! I'll start with a couple of updates:

Crazy Decorator Neighbors have morphed their Christmas decorations into Valentine's Day decorations. I'm not going to post a picture of it, but you can probably imagine it -- just think about lots of red lights and hearts. But don't forget about Baachus and Venus (and, I suppose, Uncle Sam and the soldiers)!

Pressure Cooker worked GREAT on the pot roast; and I tried Swiss steak, which was also wonderful. I haven't been this tickled with an appliance for a very long time. Hannah and Beca are coming over next weekend to make and can minestrone, so I'll give it the acid test of cooking kidney beans and garbanzos (chick peas) from dry.

I'm going to talk a little about video games. I'm finding them slightly disturbing. They are so cool, and I totally understand the attraction, but I fear that all the technology is taking the place of actual human interaction (and I'm speaking as someone who was hopelessly addicted to "Legend of Zelda" some years ago). The Wii games are amazing, and I have to say that I'm at least glad to see that it's getting people off their asses. For example, bowling. But you know what? Getting a bunch of friends together and going to a bowling alley is one of the funnest and cheapest nights out I can think of.

Another one that totally boggles me is Guitar Hero. Hannah brought it over here one night, and Tom and I just sat shaking our heads. Günter, who is an accomplished guitar player, wasn't any better at it than the others (it's really hard). So, here's the question: If you're going to invest that much time and effort into getting good at the game, why not just learn to play the guitar?

Well, I could get myself in trouble if I go on, so I'll stop. It's just one of those things I think about, and I know it shows my age (and curmudgeonliness).

I love my gadgets, I do!!

2008-12-26T16:13:00.003-06:00

I have a new favorite kitchen gadget! And the funny thing is, it's an old-timey kitchen gadget that I will use extensively to replace more modern kitchen gadgets. Want to know what it is? It's a PRESSURE COOKER!

I blogged a few posts back about using a pressure canner, but this is a cooker. Hannah gave it to me for Christmas, and it will totally replace my rice cooker (Günter and Beca, you want it?), and my microwave for many things. It will also replace my crock pot for actual cooking (but the crock pot is still a good thing if you're taking a hot dish to a pot luck).

I had to play with it today, of course, so the first thing I cooked in it was brown rice. 15 minutes from measuring to eating. Then I did some dried pinto beans. I had soaked them, but cooking time for perfect beans was 10 minutes total. I bought a chuck roast this morning that I will cook in it tomorrow. I'm excited.

I had told Hannah that I wanted one, but that it had to be stainless steel. She said she had to go to 6 different stores to find it (and she actually even set foot in WalMart), and finally found it at Sears. You can get aluminum ones many places (which is what my canner is), but I don't like the idea of cooking in aluminum.

I love kitchen gadgets. I would love, love, love to have a KitchenAid mixer. Trouble is, we have a TINY kitchen. If I had a big kitchen with LOTS of counter space, I'd have every electric gadget I could lay my hands on and just leave them out and ready to use all the time. The trouble with a little kitchen and gadgets is that I have to dig them out, unpack them, use them, clean them, pack them, and re-bury them. Too much trouble. So finding a gadget that will virtually replace several others is truly a blessing. Thanks, Hannah!

Note to Günter and Beca: I also adored my stocking (they gave me my very own stocking, which I hadn't had since I was 18). Whistling chickens and fish pens aren't exactly blog material. BUT, Tom has barely taken off his Mr. Rogers cardigan.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2008-12-26T15:02:00.007-06:00

I certainly hope you had a joyous holiday!! I know we did (except possibly Hannah, who's been suffering from a stomach malady for several days, but had a big ol' bowl of suck-it-up soup and managed to fool everybody). I've posted a bunch of pictures here, primarily for the benefit of two of Tom's sisters who live far away and were unable to be here.The post-gift mess.

Hannah's sweeter than sweet beau, Tony.

Günter and Beca with assorted cousins.

Nice hat, Hannah!

Grover (our grand-nephew) -- the star of the show!

Günter got a mortar and pestle, which thrilled him no end.

Eating is always a good thing (unless you're Hannah).

Grandma, always the party animal, makes the kids work for their goodies. Here they are, playing a game that involves rapid passing of gifts from right to left on certain cues. Hilarity ensued.

More eating. Yeah!!

And more!

Anyway, it was a delightful day.

From Tasty to Tasteless

2008-12-14T10:05:00.014-06:00

I said last week that I really love the holidays. I do, I really do, but one of my neighbors could easily turn a person off. I have posted some pictures of this over-the-top house, but they don't really do it justice. This house is a monument to bad taste! The house actually blares electronic Christmas music, and the lights flash in time to the music. It's unbelievable. Check this out:

If you click on the image, it will show up full size. You almost have to do that to get the full effect. Note the odd juxtaposition of the plastic dog, Baachus, and what the hell are Uncle Sam and the tin soldiers doing in the caged off area?.
Through the gate, there is a lit up nativity scene. It's all white, though, and looks like ghosts. It's positively frightening.
And here we have the seven dwarves. WTF?? This one's a little dark, as I was afraid to use the flash (Tom and I snuck over there at about 1:00 a.m.).
Here you can sort of get the essence of the ghostly nativity.
And who can forget the Wise Men being guarded by Frosty the Snowman. There's a Santa Claus on the porch.
Okay, I get it -- they're using Venus as Snow White! I braved the flash this time.

On another note, the reason we were up so late last night is that we of little social life actually went to TWO parties!! Woo-hoo! One of them was a party we go to every year at Candy and Floyd's house, where everyone exchanges "white elephant" gifts. Here is a picture of our swag from this year:
Of course, everyone needs a statue of Bob Hope. And the leather obelisks are just beyond comprehension! They still have price stickers on the bottom -- someone paid $26 for the big one, and $20 for the smaller one. Go figure.

Who Can Take the Sunshine, Sprinkle It With Dew

2008-12-07T18:31:00.007-06:00

This is our Christmas tree. Maybe someone can enlighten me on what is actually eco-friendly for holiday trees. First, I have to say that I have to have one. This is an artificial tree that I got about 10 years ago. It's not exactly biodegradable, but it also means I haven't killed a live tree for 10 years. It's also not messy, and not a fire hazard. And I have to say that it looks damn good. It's a 9-foot douglas fir. You can see Davey hanging out beneath it.

I've been busily making lots and lots and lots of candy to give away for x-mas. I have to say, this is my best bunch EVER!

This is a tray of chocolate covered carmels, with crushed roasted almonds. The picture above is prior to the second chocolate dipping. These are so amazingly good!

Above is a bumper crop of glass candy. It has to be stored in glass jars because it is so strong that the smell seeps into everything around it. I made cinnamon, anise, wintergreen, spearmint, peppermint, clove, and butter rum.

And this is a picture of the boys. Inserted here just because they were being very cute.

This is "marbelized mint bark." Not my favorite, but Hannah says it's hers. Oh, and to the left you can see some of my homemade sauerkraut.

Peanut butter balls, prior to second chocolate dipping.

I love the holiday season!

Home Canned, With Love

2008-11-22T08:12:00.004-06:00

I love to can things. Sometimes I even find myself thinking about what I can can (:>). Or, give new meaning to the campaign phrase, "YES, I CAN!" It's odd, though, since I don't use cans. "I love to jar" doesn't have quite the same pizzazz.

We never had a vegetable garden when I was a kid, so I don't have memories of my mom canning; although I do remember her going to my grandparents' farm for a couple weeks every August/September to help my grandma. I was never asked to participate, and so never learned. Tom taught me to can when we lived in the Missouri Ozarks (1980-1982). Boy howdy, was that an old-timey experience! Our only stove was wood burning, so stirring a big ol' pot of blackberry jam on top of a VERY hot stove, when the air temperature (in South Missouri, mind you) was about 100 was not all that pleasant. We had a gigantic crop of tomatoes, though, and had to do something with them. We tried doing it outside once, but the jars broke as soon as the air hit them.

The student has now surpassed the teacher. Tom's not all that into it any more (although I think he likes it that I am). I'm totally into using a pressure canner now. I was always sort of scared of a pressure cooker, but Tom's mom loaned me hers one year to can a bunch of green beans, and I was hooked. I went and bought one as soon as I returned hers.

My daughter is kind of into it now, which I think is totally cool. We have canned salsa and spaghetti sauce recently. She wants to do some minestrone soon.

Soup is my favorite thing to can. I always make too much soup (especially since it's just Tom and I at home now), and we have very limited freezer space. Now I intentionally make too much (in fact, I make it in my 16-quart electric roaster). When it's canned in quart jars, it's the perfect amount for two people. Currently, I have jars of turkey soup, beef stew, and chili in the basement. When you make soups with meat in them, you HAVE to use the pressure canner to make it safe.

My fantasy house will have a place to display all my home canned goodies -- they look so pretty! My reality house has no such place, so my canned goods are in boxes in a little room under the stairs.

My brother loves to can things, too, which is sort of funny considering we didn't grow up with it. He and I call each other all the time to get and give advice. We've talked before about why we do it, since really good commercially canned stuff is available and cheap. No answers to that, except that it's just immensely satisfiying.

It's really cold today, so I think I'll go open a jar of chili.

Please, Mr. Postman

2008-09-05T17:36:00.002-05:00

This is maybe a little petty, but I'm really pissed off at the post office. Our mail rarely seems to arrive before 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

The other day I was sitting on the porch at about 4:30 when the mail carrier arrived. When we're outside, they generally just hand it to us. I asked him how come our mail always comes so late (and we never seem to have the same carrier 2 days in a row). He said he didn't know, but that he was just doing our route because he was done with his regular one.

So, I called the post office to ask them. I was told that our route is "low priority," and since they had had cutbacks, other carriers do our route when they're done with their regular one. There is no current plan to assign this route permanently.

I wasn't feeling particularly confrontational that day, and I'm sure the guy I was talking to wouldn't have been able to do anything about it anyway. I want to know, though, how they decide which neighborhoods are "priority." It never really matters much to me, since my paycheck is direct deposited, but damn! We live in what is generally considered a low income neighborhood (read "inner city"), and I would certainly think that getting checks (or other mail) to people in time for them to be able to actually, you know, DO something with it the same day would certainly count as "high" priority. I'm pretty sure a lot of our neighbors are actually WAITING for their check to arrive.

Unfortunately, we can't really take our business elsewhere.

2008-08-18T20:07:00.003-05:00

Greetings from Madison, WI! I'm here for the Midwestern States Association of Tax Administrators (MSATA) annual conference. Before you start hee-hawing, I have to say that this conference is a LOT more fun than it sounds. There are 13 states involved, and hosting it revolves between these 13 states. Nebraska hosted it last year (in Omaha), and I was one of the three coordinators. I have a whole new appreciation for people who plan these events -- I couldn't believe how much work it was.

To save money and send as many people as possible (12), we drove here in mini-vans. I was dreading the drive, but was pleasantly surprised. It was only about an 8-hour trip, and mini-vans are quite comfortable. I had my audio books, and the people in my van were nice, so no worries.

Madison is an amazingly beautiful city. Tom and I were here maybe 15 years ago (or more) for our buddy Ken's wedding, but that was in November and the weather sucked. This time, the weather is perfect. The hotel is right downtown, so there are all kinds of cool places to walk to -- but no time to walk to them. [Hannah, there are at least three vintage clothing stores within spitting distance of my hotel -- I'll try to check them out tomorrow.].

Last night's activity was a reception at an art gallery down the street. It was very nice. Tonight was a "tailgate" party at the governor's residence. Not being a football fan, I didn't enjoy this too much. They had bratwurst & shredded pork (neither of which are on my "desired foods" list), as well as the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, and BUCKY BADGER. Other people were really enjoying it, though, so I was just my curmudgeonly self and caught the first bus back to the hotel. The beer was free & from local breweries, so that made it worthwhile. Tomorrow night will be the Big Banquet, and then home on Wednesday,

Next year's conference will be in Fargo, ND. They have a booth set up here, with twice-a-day drawings. I actually won the first one, and have a bottle of chokecherry wine & box of chocolates to show for it. I had a chat with the tax commissioner from ND this evening, and he told me that he's a Montana native and grew up with North Dakotan jokes. I hope I get to go -- I've never been to North Dakota, and have sort of a negative image of it in my brain. He assured me that I'll like it, and said he'd tell MY commissioner that I need to go next year.

Lest you think this is just a junket for state employees, I have to tell you that I spent the entire day today being entertained by such scintillating topics as "Issues with State Business Taxes" and "Economic Trends for Tax Administrators." Tomorrow, I get to hear about "Outreach to Non-English Speaking Customers" and "Creating a Customer Focused Organization," among others.

I have to say that, despite the less-than-inspirational daytime sessions, I get a lot out of these types of conferences -- primarily from the breaks, meals, and evening activities. I know that "networking" is one of those annoying buzzwords, but it's really true that there's a huge benefit in personally knowing people that have similar jobs to yours in other states. If you're faced with a problem or project and know that another state has just done something similar, it's a huge benefit to know someone you can call and ask how they did it. It's a classic "why re-invent the wheel" scenario.

I'll blog again when I have something more curmudgeonly to say.

Who thinks about a furnace in August?

2008-08-10T17:17:00.003-05:00

We just bought a new furnace.

When we bought our house 22 years ago, the furnace was 8 years old. Now it's 30 years old. Every fall, we hold our breath and don't release it until we feel the blessed warm air coming through the vent.

Now with warnings of heating bills being twice as high as usual this winter, we decided not to take a chance on our old workhorse Rheem for another year. We're pretty conservative with the heat here, and our heating bills are consistently lower than most of our friends, but we certainly don't want to pay twice that much, and we don't want to wait for cold weather to do it.

Enter Sears. We fully intended to get several estimates, but ended up going with the Sears guy, who showed up first. We might have been able to get a better deal, but this guy was here for over 3 hours and wore us down. Plus the idea of going through that 2 more times was pretty off-putting. So, we're getting a Kenmore high-efficiency furnace, which he told us would pay for itself in about 3 years.

We'll keep you posted on that.

Late Summer Miscellany

2008-08-05T18:56:00.004-05:00

Besides just being curmudgeonly in general, I don't have anything to be specifically curmudgeonly about. I've been told, though (by 2 of my 3 readers) that I'm a bad blogger by not posting more often. It just seems silly to me to post even when I don't have anything to say.

I could be curmudgeonly about summer, I guess. I hate it. People complain about getting cabin fever in the winter -- well I get it in the summer. I just can't bring myself to get excited about anything if it means having to be outdoors. That's why my gardens always go to hell by late summer -- I start out great guns in the spring; but once it gets hot, forget about it.

Hannah loaned me a book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, which is all about a family's effort to eat only locally-produced food. It's really interesting, and less than 50 pages into it, I started feeling guilty. I can't really see us becoming farmers (or giving up our bananas, pineapples or seafood), but I have to say that I'm paying much more attention when I shop. Given a choice between a melon from Mexico, or a melon from Ashland, NE, I will choose the Ashland one. Here's pertinent quote:

If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 barrels of oil every week. That's not gallons, but barrels.

Pretty thought-provoking stuff. There must be some other people paying attention, too, because I've noticed that even the supermarket carries local produce and advertises it.

I have something else to post, but I'll do it in a separate entry, since my beloved brother told me to keep them short.

Happy Fathers' Day

2008-06-15T18:12:00.002-05:00

I don't really have anything in particular to blog about today, but was feeling guilty for not having made an entry for a long time.

"Holidays" like this one sort of annoy me. My brother and I have talked about it frequently, and I guess it is sort of a "consumer" topic. He calls them "Hallmark Holidays," and they include Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, and Valentine's Day -- holidays that serve no purpose except to encourage consumerism. Maybe it's the fact that both of my parents are gone, but I would hope that people express appreciation for parents and mates on days besides the ones the calendar tells them they should. I suppose one could throw Christmas into that category, too, except that I love everything about Christmas, save the religious stuff. I love the music, the lights, the tree, the presents (given and received), the food, the rekindling of old friendships, the special efforts family make to be together, and the general feeling of good will (although I do object to it starting at Halloween). Tom tends to avoid all holidays as if they were a virus he might catch. In the meantime, he's off celebrating the day with our daughter and his family (Günter and Beca are on vacation) while I stay home nursing a sore back.

I recently returned from a lovely solo trip to Montana. I've never taken a road trip all by myself before and, while it's fun to share experiences with others, there's a definite up side to traveling alone. I could eat when and where I wanted, listen to whatever I wanted, stop whenever I wanted, and just think about stuff. Here's a weird consumer-related thing, though: Why do car rental agencies give you two keys to the car, but put both of them on the same key ring that you can't take apart? We've rented a car for three trips now, and that's been the case each time. The only other consumer-related thing I would mention about this trip is that "cheap" motels (like Super 8) are generally better than the 4-star hotels in so many ways: free wi-fi, free phone, free cable tv, in-room refrigerator, etc. Fancy hotels charge $10 a day for wi-fi, $1.00 for each LOCAL phone call, and give you about 10 channels of tv. Not to mention the 10 people you have to tip between the driveway and your room. All a traveling person really wants is a comfy bed with clean sheets, to call home & tell them they're okay, a cold beer, maybe check e-mail to see how work is faring without them, & anything they usually watch on tv. The lobby of a fancy hotel is usually pretty schnazzy, but how much time does the average person spend in a hotel lobby? There's not much difference in the rooms.

Maybe it's my sore back, but I'm crabby. Probably not the best time to blog -- I'm irritated with everything today.

Heirloom, Schmeirloom

2008-05-18T08:06:00.004-05:00

I had a bit (just a bit) of an argument last night with my daughter. I'm going to go help her put in her garden today (she's never done one), and she's being very political about it. She wanted to know where she could get heirloom tomato plants. I didn't know, and told her that when I bought heirloom tomatoes last summer at the farmers' market, they weren't very good, and she'd be better off just getting Celebrity or Big Boy plants somewhere (the old "tried and true" for me varieties). Oh dear. She said she'd been doing a lot of reading and doesn't want to contribute to Monsanto and other seed companies by buying their hybrid plants.

Oh to be young and idealistic! I can't even think about such things. Guilt guilt guilt. If I took the time to research every item of food I buy/eat, I'd probably starve. She's right, of course, but I feel like I've got to pick my battles, and garden tomato plants ain't one of the ones I'm feeling like fighting. Isn't just putting in a vegetable garden being "green" enough? I guess not. I'm kinda thinking that driving all over town looking for heirloom tomato plants is going to make a bigger carbon footprint than walking to a close grocery store and buying some Big Boy plants. Oh well. It's her garden, and I'm pleased that she wants my advice.

On the consumer front, I just got some audio books from Audible.com. It's pretty awesome -- downloaded them directly into my iTunes. One thing I don't like, though, is that I bought some credits from them for my brother for Christmas last year, and they automatically made me a subscription. I don't always pay close attention to my bank statement, but suddenly noticed that they'd been taking $15 a month from my account since Christmas. I don't think I ever consciously subscribed, but there it was. No e-mails, no nothing. Just $15 disappearing every month, which I thought was sort of sneaky and rude. It worked for them, though, because now I will probably continue the subscription. I'm taking a solo drive next week from Nebraska to Montana, and some audio books on my iPod will be nice company (and won't be making me stop for bathroom breaks).

Gardening update -- a few hous later

We put in one heirloom tomato plant (called "Green Zebra"), and three "normal" plants (a Celebrity, a Jetstar, and a Better Boy). We did get them from a garden center that was local, so that was the compromise.

Cleanliness and Godliness

2008-05-04T08:23:00.003-05:00

I'm a cleaning supply whore. I'll try anything once. So I thought maybe I'd list a few of my favorites -- things that I've tried, loved, and now won't be without.

Webster. This is a bizarre tool that looks something like a big koosh ball on the end of a telescoping handle. The koosh ball part has some sort of electrostatic property that make cobwebs stick to it. We have a 100-year-old house with really high ceilings, and always have cobwebs, so this tool is a wonder.
Swiffer duster. At the risk of sounding like a damned advertisement, this thing is everything it claims, including being "fun" to use.
Glass Plus. I love clean windows, and hate streaks. Of all the glass cleaners on the market, this is the one that works best for me.
Cloth diapers. Our youngest is now 23 years old, and I still have one or two diapers left. Nothing is better as a dust cloth/window cleaner. They're hard to find, though, but I've heard a rumor that you can get them at Shopko, so I may sally forth to find some. It seems weird to go buy dust rags, but you really have to try them before scoffing at me.
Pledge Wood and Glass. This stuff is great for what-not shelves with glass doors, glass covered pictures with wood frames, etc. Actually gets the glass clean, and doesn't damage the wood. So, why don't I just use this instead of the aforementioned Glass Plus? It's expensive, so should be used sparingly.
Kelso industrial dust mop. You can only get them at janitorial supply places, and they come in 1-foot, 2-foot, and 3-foot. We have a 1-foot. This thing is amazing! It pivots every which way, goes under things, is washable, and picks up and holds everything. If you have pets and hard floors, it's indispensible.
Miracle brush. These were invented when I was a kid. You brush one direction to pick up stuff, and brush the other way to clean it. I have never found anything better for getting cat hair off of furniture, drapes, clothes, etc. They really are a "miracle."
Tilex "Fresh Shower." I was skeptical of this stuff, but my dad used it. I just spray the shower curtain lightly after each shower, and I have never (after six years) had to clean the shower curtains. I'm allergic to mildew and am therefore paranoid about it (gives me hives), but haven't seen a trace of it since I started using this.

And now for a few things that simply aren't worth the money (in my opinion, of course):

Any of the Swiffer-type damp mops. Give me a good sponge mop (emphasis on "good") and a bucket any day. My biggest complaint about these is that the sprayer thing never works very well. Maybe some day the manufacturers will improve that, but I'm not holding my breath.
Antibacterial anything. I think these are why people are sick all the time and why there are so many antibiotic-resistant illnesses around. Trouble is, it's gotten really hard to find products that aren't antibacterial (dish soap, hand soap, etc.). I seek them out, though. If I really need to disinfect something, I use a little bleach in water.
Any hand-held vacuum. They never have enough suction for anything. They look so tempting and terrific, but they never work.

I may edit this later, but I'm not coming up with any more "not worth the money" products to be curmudgeonly about.

Update on the yard sale front: Yesterday was our neighborhood cleanup, and the PTA at the elementary school was collecting items for a fundraising garage sale. We were able to take ALL of the stuff from our aborted sale to them, so hooray! We got rid of stuff!

Yard Sale Blues

2008-04-26T10:44:00.003-05:00

This is sort of a departure from the "consumer" meme, but oh well.

We tried to have a yard sale this weekend. Stupid Nebraska weather! I took most of the week off from work, and worked like a maniac pulling stuff out of closets, drawers, etc. to sell. Got it all consolidated in our living room/dining room, and spent HOURS putting price stickers on everything. Put an ad on Craigslist, and made signs.

The sale was supposed to be yesterday and today. I got up at 5:30 yesterday morning, had a couple cups of coffee, and went out with signs, staple gun, & packing tape. Put up the signs, came home, hauled everything out to our front yard. Ready to roll at 8:00. It started raining. Not just raining, but windy and cold. Pulled everything up on the porch, then checked weather.com. Supposed to rain all weekend. Shit.

Went out and took down all the signs, then removed the ad from Craigslist. The biggest (size and price) thing we had to sell was bunk beds, so I put up an ad on Craigslist for that. Within a half hour, I had 2 calls about them. First guy that came to look at them bought them. He also looked around on the porch and bought a bunch more of our stuff (and said he'd come back today, but only had $10 with him then).

So, I guess this is a plug for Craigslist. What an amazing thing!! And it's beautiful that as soon as the item sells, you can delete the post & not have to field any more calls.

It's also a good thing that we have all of the stuff that we consciously made the decision about that we don't need consolidated in one place, and can dispose of elsewise. So, even though it cost a few days and didn't make much money, we get to get rid of a whole lot of stuff that we really shouldn't have gotten to begin with. There, I brought it back to consumerism.

Good Things Come In Obnoxious Packages

2008-04-22T17:13:00.005-05:00

Our son and his wife were over the other night and said, "Mom, we've got a topic for your blog!" They wanted me to write about the annoying pseudo-Ziploc packages used for some food products, specifically cheese. Okay, I agree, they're obnnoxious and only work about 20% of the time; and, considering the money that packaging must cost, why bother? It occurs to me, though, that those are just the tip of the packaging iceberg.

Most annoying of all have to be the hard plastic packages they use primarily for electronics. We just bit the bullet last weekend and got cell phones. Our "package" included the phones, ear piece, car charger, and leather cases. All well and good, except that I had to break out the utility knife and waste nearly an hour just getting the stuff out of the stupid packages. Not to mention the myriad little cuts inflicted on my hands by the hard, sharp, plastic edges. They are truly the most evil invention ever foisted upon consumers.

I also hate styrofoam packages. Our favorite local Chinese restaurant has recently abandoned the charming little cardboard take-out boxes with handles in favor of styrofoam. If I didn't love their food so much, I'd boycott them until they went back to cardboard. HyVee Food Store also uses styrofoam for its meat. Not just the little trays -- really big styrofoam boxes with a shrink wrap top -- even for just a pound of burger. I totally avoid those and get my meat at the counter, even though it costs a little more (HyVee has really good meat).

Even weirder than that is a delightful little Lincoln grocery store called Ideal Market. It's a lovely store, very expensive, with the most helpful employees on the planet. They shrink wrap their vegetables. Want ONE bell pepper? It's shrink wrapped. They've been doing it for years, and I can't believe they still do it. It's totally perverse.

Have you purchased any sort of electronic product recently (like a TV)? The product itself only occupies about 25% of the box. The rest is all styrofoam. I don't even want to think about how much of that stuff is in the landfills.

I just got the link to the Fail Blog. This is one of the entries that I thought was particularly appropriate here.

I understand the need of manufacturers to protect the products during shipping, but fercryinoutloud there's GOT to be a better way! And I totally don't get how shrink wrapping an ear of corn protects it from anything (it actually accelerates its decomposition).

Anyhoo, this seemed like an appropriate topic for Earth Day. Please, please consider the packaging when you're making your purchases! At least, voice your concerns to the store manager when you see things that don't make any sense. There's a "green" movement nowadays, and it's gaining strength, so I think they'll listen if enough people complain.

Happy Earth Day, and go plant something (unless you live in Great Falls -- then you should wait a couple of weeks)!!

Those Crazy Men In Their Flying Machines

2008-03-06T15:41:00.003-06:00

I've been ruminating on something all day, ever since I heard it on NPR this morning. It has to do with the Air Force awarding the contract for tanker planes to France's EADS-Northrop instead of Boeing. All during the news piece I kept waiting for the big "duh" but it never came.

The Pentagon dude they interviewed said that they made their decision based on five criteria, and the Airbus plane was superior in all five. He said they weren't just a little better, they "blew [Boeing] out of the water." They then went on to interview Boeing executives and workers, and made it a story of how upset Congress and Boeing is about the decision.

Well, here's a novel concept for you, Boeing -- have you ever thought about making a better plane? Could be that this is a giant wake-up call.

Which leads me to my main topic -- manufacturing being done overseas. I'm so sick of people whining about that. Yes, I'm sorry U.S. citizens have lost their jobs, but have they ever considered that perhaps their unions are, at least partially, to blame? Unions have their place, certainly, but they really need to back off on that higher and higher wages platform. There's a guy in Seattle making $50 an hour to put screws in a piece of metal all day, every day. Doesn't it stand to reason that there's someone (say, in France) willing to do it for $30 an hour?

My job is covered by a union contract. I work for the state, though, so our union is pretty limited in what it can and can't do. They do provide the very valuable services of negotiating benefits and providing an avenue for grievances; as well as assuring people can't be fired on a whim. Perhaps manufacturing unions should adopt this philosophy, and let wages land where they land. I have a college degree and a very responsible and demanding position, and don't think for a minute that it doesn't piss me off that the guy in Seattle putting a screw in a piece of metal is paid twice as much as me.

So, pretend I'm at a store and looking for an electronic gizmo, say an MP3 player. The store has two of them, one made in the US, and one made overseas. The US one is mostly plastic, has little or no online support, will hold 500 songs (that can only be uploaded via CD). The foreign-made one is sturdy and elegant, provides all kinds of support and uploading options, a 5-year warranty, and holds 1,000 songs. Guess what else? It costs 25% less than the US one. Do you really think I'm going to hesitate in making my decision???

Enough ranting, I guess. It's just something that really bugs me. The same scenario could go for almost any consumer item -- cars, furniture, toys, tools, etc. There's nothing I can do about it, except rant, so lucky you.

p.s. Happy 26th birthday to Günter!

Paint Your Wagon . . . and your fence, and your picnic table, and your porch, and every other surface

2008-02-24T11:20:00.003-06:00

Tom just came upstairs and I asked him if he had a good subject for this. With no hesitation, he said, "Paint."

The issue is specifically oil-based paints, varnishes, and stains. It used to be that you could keep these around for years. If you opened a partial can, even years later, you could skim off the top and the rest was still viable. No more. Within the last six months to a year, a entire can "gels" and becomes unusable within a couple of months. So, once you open a can, you'd better be prepared to use the entire thing (hence, the title of this entry).

So, you say, why don't you just buy what you need? Well, that's a whole 'nother issue. Have you ever price-compared a quart vs. a gallon? It would cost three times as much! And what if you need slightly more than a quart? You buy two quarts, and it costs more than a gallon. So you buy the gallon, and well over half of it goes bad before you have a chance to use it up.

Tom just came back up and told me to add joint compound and vinyl spackle to the list. They used to keep forever, but now mold in short order. Apparently, the manufacturers have ceased to include some sort of mildew-preventing agent.

The leftovers of these products are considered "hazardous waste," and Lincoln doesn't make it very easy to get rid of them (only at certain places, and only on certain dates), so it's not just the pocketbook that gets hurt, but the environment. Did the manufacturers of these products decide there were too many people like Tom?

A Nation of Wimps (or at least a state)

2008-02-20T16:57:00.002-06:00

Well, my first post here in nearly a year. I sort of started out great guns, but lost my inspiration. I'll try to do better.

This entry isn't so much about consumerism as it is about my disgust with the wimpiness of my fellow Nebraskans. It started this morning when I heard on the radio that Omaha Public Schools were closed today because it was ........ wait for it ........ COLD. -4 degrees, with a windchill factor. Come on, people -- it's February and this is Nebraska! What the hell do you expect?

Now, when I came up through the public school system (in Grand Island), the policy was that school was always open for whoever could make it. If you couldn't get there, your parents called the school, and the absence was excused. My parents would never let me stay home. Granted, I didn't have to walk 2 miles uphill both ways (more like 4 blocks), but I definitely remember some pretty brutally cold days. And that was back in the days when it actually snowed - a LOT.

Here in Lincoln, every time it snows an inch or two, the "letters to the editor" are filled up by people complaining that the streets aren't perfectly clear and dry. Common sense would suggest that a person should listen to the weather forecast the night before, and if snow is in the offing, that person should perhaps set the alarm a little earlier so the car and driveway can be cleared, and allow a little extra drive time. But no, that would inconvenience them.

I could rant on about the wimpiness we're instilling in our children. Many of the newer safety items are terrific (bike helmets, safety seats, etc.), but playgrounds have been made so "safe" that they're no longer any fun. My worst childhood injury was on a merry-go-round in the neighborhood park, and I lived to tell about it -- and no, my parents didn't even think about suing the city. If it had happened in recent years, my family would be set up for life! We had so much fun in that park!

Toothpaste

2007-04-07T16:31:00.000-05:00

Why oh why oh why is it necessary for there to be a bajillion different kinds of toothpaste? They cover an entire wall of my local Walgreens. It's nuts.

Once upon a time, there was Crest, Colgate, and some weird Swedish concoction called Vademacum(?). I always preferred Crest, because it didn't make my eyes water. Now I have to decide between flouride, whitening, sensitive gum, breath freshener (or any conceivable combination of those), and an absolutely crazy selection of flavors. AND all those things are available in about 20 different brands.

And of course, there is a bizarre array of freaky-looking toothbrushes.

I believe in dental hygiene, but for cryin' out loud. Who knew it could be so stressful? What if I make the wrong choice?

Kitchen Range

2007-03-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

I cook and bake a LOT, so this is a subject that really matters to me. My theory is that companies who manufacture kitchen ranges know that the majority of American consumers don't cook and bake much, so they can get away with inferior products.

When we bought our house in 1986, it came with a wonderful old Norge gas range. It was terrific (and looked really cool, too). 8 or 9 years ago, it died -- to the point where even Tom couldn't fix it. So we went shopping for a new range. Off to Best Buy.

We're not, by any measure, rich, but quality matters to us. We found what we thought was a pretty good Amana range for about $500. It was delivered and installed. The first thing we noticed was how much we hated the black oven door (even though the rest of the range was white). The way it sits in our kitchen is such that the range is almost the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. It just looked like a giant black hole. The next thing we noticed the first time we tried to cook on it was that the burner plates weren't level (cast iron grates - gas stove). Every pot we set on it wobbled. It was awful, and we knew we couldn't put up with that. So back to Best Buy, where there is a decent return policy (although this happened within 24 hours, so we were pretty sure it wouldn't be a problem).

Armed with an average size pot, we tried every range they had. It was amazing how many of them had the same wobbly burner problem. We finally found a Maytag that had level burner grates, and oddly enough, a beautiful white oven door. It cost about $750, but we figured it was worth it. Sold.

On the whole, this has been a very agreeable range. BUT, there are things about it that just irritate the hell out of me. First and foremost is the fact that our cats have tried to kill us with it on several occasions. The control knobs for the burners turn too easily. The thing is, with an electronic ignition, you have to turn the knobs to a certain point, and it click click clicks, and the burners ignite, then you adjust the flame. If you turn it past that point before they ignite, the gas just comes out without any fire. Several times, our cats jumped up there trying to get to the window, and (accidentally, we hope) turned the knobs. We walked in and smelled gas. Very scary. So now, we have to pull the knobs off whenever we're not using them.

I like a really clean range. This one is very difficult to clean. Within a month, something got between the layers of glass in the oven door and made an ugly drippy thing. The wells where the burners are located are impossible to clean. They're white enamel, and get stained the first time something boils over. Tom's suggestion for the ideal range is that those wells should be black cast iron. It would look cool, be super easy to clean, and durable as all get out.

The only other things I find really annoying is that all the plastic bits (and there are quite a few) really yellow with use (contrasting in an unattractive way with the bright white of the rest of the range), and that the first time I tried to wash the control knobs, the painted markings started to flake off. Oh, and we had to replace the oven igniter about 2 years ago, and now it's making the same noise that means we'll have to replace it again soon.

Like I said, I cook and bake a LOT, and this has been, for the most part an agreeable appliance. It's just that for $750, I would expect a lot more. I certainly don't believe the bit about Maytag repairmen not having anything to do.

Disposable Society

2007-03-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

Tom didn't get me his list yet, so I'm going to vent a little about disposable "stuff." There's too much of it. Think about how many things in your house are disposable (and yeah, we've got a lot of them, too). Those little plastic dental floss-pick things? We love them. But we got along just fine without them, and could and should again. Disposable razors? We don't have any of those (Tom is be-whiskered) -- in fact, those are about the dumbest things ever invented. Is it really so hard to change a blade? And a package of blades costs more than a new razor, so go figure.

Those are just little things. It's the big things that we object most to.

Vacuum cleaners that are nearly impossible to repair, even though they're repairable. It's cheaper (and easier) to buy a new one than to even replace the belt. We've had a rental house next door to us for years, and every time a group moved out, a vacuum cleaner ended up in the trash. Tom pulls them out, fixes them, and keeps our kids and their friends in vacuums.

One that has most recently irritated me are ink-jet computer printers. I have a really good Epson printer/scanner that came packaged with my computer. It retails by itself for about $150. Pretty good deal, right? But the damn ink for the thing costs $80 (4 color cartridges). Buy ink twice, and it's cheaper to buy a new printer. Where's the sense in that? I hate to think how many perfectly good printers end up in the land fill.

The one nearest and dearest to Tom's heart (and that he soap-boxed to me about for over an hour this morning) is bicycles. He keeps picking them up and fixing them up. I picture him someday as one of those eccentric old guys who makes sure every kid in the neighborhood has a bike. The thing is, anyone can afford a decent bike at Wal-Mart, and as soon as the least little thing goes wrong with it, they dump it and buy a new one. The most recent one he picked up is a most excellent 70s-era Raleigh, and he pulled it out of a dumpster at an apartment building.

The list goes on and on. We're such a selfish and spoiled society that we just can't be bothered. Those garbage trucks come in the dark of the early morning, and magically cart away the flotsam and jetsam of our "busy" lives.

We have a lady that cruises the alley behind our house every Sunday and Wednesday night (nights before garbage pick-up), looking for anything salvagable. She's been doing it for years, and you'd think she'd figure out that we rarely have anything of interest to anybody in our trash. I guess she gets so much "good" stuff from the neighbors that it makes it worth her while.

This whole issue is the bane of Tom's existence, so I'm pretty sure the topic will show up here again.

Random strange thing I noticed today: The guy behind me at the supermarket was buying 4 giant bales of toilet paper, 12-15 boxes of Kleenex, and 4 cases of Keystone beer. Nothing really wrong with that, I just thought it was weird.

Welcome Fellow Curmudgeons!

2007-03-16T18:17:00.000-05:00

Many, many thanks to Melia for setting this up for us. I've been thinking about doing some sort of blog for a long time, so I guess she's "Jo's Enabler." Maybe "facilitator" would be a better term.

Not really sure where to start, there's so much. Jo's all-consuming "gripe of the moment" is that Fred Wilson Jewelers has seemingly lost her mother's wedding ring that they were supposed to be re-sizing. That doesn't really fit with the theme here, though.

Tom's going to start making a list. The one he came to me with today was pretty good, so I guess I'll start there.

Aerosol cans that come with the long, skinny tube thing to supposedly enable you to accurately direct the spray (WD-40, canned air for electronics, etc.). As soon as you start spraying, the tube thing falls out. Aggravating as hell. So, why can't they make the tube thing go in just a little deeper? Nothing like a greasy, noxious substance all over your hand and project instead of the little connection you were aiming for.

That one was maybe a little dull, so I'll go way back in our irritation file and pull out "Progresso Minestrone" soup. It used to be so fabulous that we bought it by the case (literally). Then came the "NEW AND IMPROVED" version. It's vile. We initially thought it would be sort of like the "new" Coke, and they would revert to the old recipe. No such luck, because it's been years now. Damn.

We intend to spice this up with pictures from time to time (after I talk to Melia and find out how to do that). I know it's irritating to some people, but there will undoubtedly be pictures of Raymond and Davey (our cats). We don't want to get too "Andy Rooney-like" here.