Charlyn’s Web

One can’t really call it Global Warming because this part of the globe is not warming.

Click on the photo to better see this panoramic photo that The Col. took.

Tuesday’s storm set a rainfall record in town; the .77 of an inch flooded the previous half inch record set in 1923. Also broken was the maximum low temperature record; the high of 50 degrees breaking the 59 degree previous record set in 1972 for our area. I hope none of the schools were going to the pool for end of the year activities! Burrr!

In the mountains the “rainfall” was not rain. It was snow. Lots of it! With areas reporting between 9″ and 14″. Yes- Fourteen inches of snow fell on June 10th. We saw chunks of snow lying on the freeway where it had fallen off of the trucks. Chains were required for awhile and the snow plows were out in force.

We were supposed to meet up with others at a local park to play. Ha! We were not that hearty and choose to stay indoors.

The low temperatures have been in the 40’s but on the 8th and last night, they dipped to 33 degrees. No wonder it’s so hard to grow things here.

Now, remind me about this cool weather in August when I am complaining about the heat.

Have you ever had one of those phone calls where you pick up the phone, you hear a voice and all sorts of questions start running through your head? Like:

Who is this?

Oh, it’s a recording.

What?

And they just keep talking and after a bit your brain catches up and then becomes disgruntled.

I had such a call the other day. Before I really realized what was going on the man had gone on quite a bit. I caught that he was a person, apparently of importance, in the Political Party with which I am registered- which is not the same thing as being the Political Party I am Totally Thrilled With but will hereafter be known as “my” Political Party for convenience sake. I didn’t recognize his name but that is neither here nor there. He informed me that he was throwing his support behind a Candidate for President from The Other Political Party. He suggested that if I also was going to do that then please press one. I idly wondered if I would be given any other choices as he prattled on about why this Candidate was the best choice for all of us and if I planed to support the Candidate then please press one. I was getting the picture and eagerly waited for other choices.

None were given. But he helpfully informed me that I had only a few more days to change my party affiliation if I wanted to vote for The Most Wonderful Candidate in our primary elections. Gee, thanks!

Then, just in case I missed it, I was again reminded that if I was going to support this Candidate then please press one. I wondered what would happen if I did press one- probably hit me up for money.

I just wish I had other options. Like one of these:

If you would never in a million years vote for this Candidate then press 7.

If you will only vote for this Candidate when a certain place freezes, press 9.

Now those were numbers I would have been pressing.

Another year. HP is very excited and is amazed at how fast the years go by. He is 7! This evening he pointed out how the first day of 2008 was already nearly over. How fast it flies.

I have no big resolutions. I tend to float through life taking it as it comes. Have you made any resolutions?

A very big Thank You to all who served our Country or who are currently serving. Where would we be without you? Our Country stands strong because of people like you!

Today, hug your favorite veteran!

Never forget.

I mentioned No Impact Man earlier in a post where I jokingly said that we may be “pioneering” it without a microwave but at least we still had toilet paper and electricity. No Impact Man is a writer who is undertaking a year long project where he tries to leave the smallest carbon impact on the planet. They are working at it in stages and just recently threw the breaker to turn off the electricity. The difference between him and us, of course, is that our microwave broke (and only our microwave- as traumatic as that has proved to be) and he is making a choice. So there is no real comparison.

I have been following him with interest after finding him due to reading a conservative blog that made fun of him and his no toilet paper rule. That does leave a person open to derision and, personally, I don’t think I’ll go there. What I find interesting is the challenge of living in New York City without the creature comforts we all take for granted. They eat locally, don’t ride elevators, only human powered transportation, compost their garbage and are looking for ways to wash their laundry and keep their daughter’s milk fresh without electricity. One commentator I read cast despairing remarks at him because he turned off the electricity AFTER the New York winter but I think it will be equally challenging to keep the fourth floor apartment livable in the New York summer.

I don’t buy into the whole idea that Man is causing the planet to heat up. I found a very interesting read here. The whole site is very informative but what I have specifically linked to is the 15 year old girl’s debunking of Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” . It is long and takes a while to get through but it is worth it. Fascinating Captain. I have nothing but disrespect for the soon to be Dr. Al Gore because I don’t see that he lives his beliefs. The energy it takes to heat his house and pool are outrageous plus he jets all over the world collecting fees for his speeches. I agree with the site I linked to earlier in her concluding paragraph:

“It’s easy to see why Al gore’s movie should not be shown in schools. An Inconvenient Truth is a political commercial that misrepresents a whole area of science. He admittedly uses scare tactics to get people to listen then shows them a professional slide show that blames every thing bad on so called man made global warming.

Al did not make and publicize this movie because he cares; something obvious when you consider his own lifestyle. He did not make this movie to run for president. This movie has grossed over 60 million dollars to date and it hasn’t even made it to cable. Al charges over $100,000 per slide show. But the real money that Al will make is through his new company, Generation Investment Management, a company that seeks to establish the rules and licensing for the new carbon-trading scheme. We have all heard of politicians who lie for money and power; it looks as if Al did not retire after all.”

Are you aware that he set up the (non-profit) company from which he buys his carbon credits? Those intangible things he says he buys to offset his carbon impact. Doesn’t that just smack of a condescending rich guy? It’s like he is saying- “You should alter your lifestyle but I don’t have to because I have the money to buy offsets.” No Impact Man, on the other hand, is trying to live his life by his convictions. Many people in this day and age do not do this.

So I will check in with interest once in a while to see how he is doing. I found out how hard it is to live a couple of weeks without a microwave- did you hear my whines? But he is going without air conditioning, a refrigerator and to some people’s horror- TV. He commented once that the pace of life has slowed for them. No jumping in taxis or cars to rush off somewhere, no TV to distract, moving with the natural rhythms of the day instead of lighting the night and enjoying life as the adventure that it can be. I feel many of us miss the simple pleasures because of the rushing around we do and the “noise” all about us from radio, TV, cell phones and MP3 players.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to check on my children who are out picking strawberries in our garden. Life isn’t much sweeter than that.

Oh, and the microwave is supposed to be here Thursday.

Brett received a phone call last night from an acquaintance asking him to play and sing at a funeral today at 10 AM!   Talk about short notice, although funerals don’t normally give advance notice.  He thought about it and decided to do it.  It was at the little church about 3 miles from here.  We can see it from the house so the commute wasn’t far.  The problem was that he had planned on going in to town early to get his blood drawn for a cholesterol check before his doctor’s appointment next week.  He needed to fast for it.  He went in early, ate, ran a few errands and then came back home before heading to the church.

He said the lady sounded like she was a lot of fun and that things went well.  He saw a few people we knew and met the new pastor at Pilot Rock.

Since it’s a burn day, he is doing that and then, after lunch, will head back into work.

We have company coming tonight for dinner, hope they don’t forget!  I’m fixing Arroz con Pollo, guacamole, my not so famous salsa and beans.

 Saturday started out pretty relaxed but with the idea that things needed to be done because a family from church, the Burtons, was coming over for dinner.  I saw them on Wednesday and forgot to remind them so I called on Saturday morning.  Ooops.  She had forgotten and invited their neighbors over for the evening.  They felt pretty bad but I was ok with it- didn’t take as much work to clean up for it.  We had garlicky rotisserie chicken anyway and it was yummy!  They gave me some pansies as a peace offering.

It was Potluck Sunday at church.  Always a popular event, even if when we get home Kirsten is asking “what’s for lunch?”  I guess potluck isn’t a meal.  The girls ate well this time, not too many snacks in the nursery, I guess.  One of the ladies left her lights on and ran down her battery so there was a little excitement there, mainly because no one had jumper cables with them.  Even Brett had taken ours out when he hauled some stuff around in the Suburban.  We had the Suburban because the car wouldn’t start again.

Speaking of the car;  Brett had left it plugged in on Sunday so after we got home we started it up with the hair dryer and took a long drive to Ukiah.  Oregon,  not California.  It’s  not a thriving metropolis by any means but it is the little town where Brett graduated from  high school.  Pretty drive and about long enough to finish off the tank of fuel.  Hans stayed with the Burton’s to play with Micheal and I had left my purse and Hans’ jacket  at church so we picked that up and dropped off the jacket and a pair of sneakers at Burton’s before taking  off.  The girls slept all the way up, which was good as we stopped several times to take photos and backed up to get better views.  We didn’t have to worry about the Weak Stomached One when she was sleeping.  Made it back without any mishaps too.  Ate a light supper at Burton’s, we had planned on getting home to eat left overs but they insisted.  Had a nice visit.   Although the car still didn’t need to be fueled up, Brett wanted to get it pretty low.  It got pretty good fuel economy on that tank! Of course, the one we want to use up quickly!

I know Monday is not part of the weekend but I thought I’d continue with the car stuff.  The kids and I went into town on Monday for a home school field trip to the fire station.  I am getting good at starting the car with the hair dryer.  The reserve light finally came on so the fuel was getting low.  The Fire Station tour was fun.  The kids stuck to me like glue for part of it but Kirsten was getting adventurous at the end and seemed to enjoy it.  She told Brett all about it when we dropped off his thermos full of coffee and then wanted to dress up like a fireman when we got home.  I had a Taste of Home Cooking School (demonstration really) to go to that evening.  So after naps (everyone but Hans) we loaded back up, didn’t need the hair dryer this time, and met Brett at his work to trade rigs.  I wasn’t going to try and get the car started after it was sitting for 5 hours in the cold and dark on the street!  He filled up the car on the way home.

Tuesday, the car would not start for him in the morning but did start without the hair dryer for me in the afternoon after being plugged in for several hours and it was 60 degrees.  Brett checked the glow plugs again and two more were out!  He changed them last night and the car started without being plugged in this morning!  Yeah.

So, that’s the weekend, and a little more, in review.

Saturday was a beautiful day here. It was sunny and warm. It got up to 69 degrees! It made one think spring was coming.

Today? It’s snowing and hovering around 32 degrees! It’s been coming down pretty steady for the last hour and a half and there is a skiff on the ground.

I guess winter is still with us.

Another week has zoomed by. Hans is excited because tomorrow is Saturday- partly because his Dad will be home and partly because he gets to watch cartoons (a lot of them).

Illness: It seems to be receding but is still here. Kirsten says she has a “funny, little voice”. It is rather squeaky. She is bothered by stuff in her throat and her nose is still runny. Talia is pretty chipper but has a runny nose also. Both girls are giving me no trouble at nap time- going right to sleep so you know they are tired. Hans is better but still some nose stuff. Brett is slowly improving also but has had trouble sleeping, partly due to a stuffy nose. I keep thinking that maybe I am getting something too but still am keeping it at bay. I am sleeping really soundly and quite a bit too.

Surprises in the mail! One was a fun “pic-a-nic” basket from my friend Boo Boo yesterday. A touching card and green Crocs (clogs). They have been quite comfortable for my picky feet so far. There are nubbies on the sole to massage the feet- feels really nice! Then today a nice long letter from our harvesting friends in Kansas. What fun to catch up on all of the goings on. Makes me feel like I am right there. It’s the little things in life that make it fun.

Walks: I got up the gumption to insist on a walk again today. The sun is shining! Yeah! Praise the Lord! It so helps the spirits when the sun is out. It shines in the windows and warms the house as well as my soul. It stated out pretty cold this morning but was up to 32 when we went out for the walk. There was a slight breeze but the sun felt so good. The kids didn’t fight too much about going out- I think the sunshine helped with that. We just walked down and back- didn’t do any extra because I think everyone is still not totally up to full energy. It felt nice!

Now on to the weekend!