Freeze Dried Laundry

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! There was a beautiful blue sky that nearly hurt to look at! A good breeze. And if it hadn't been 22 degrees, I might have believed that spring was on its way.

Despite the freezing cold, the day was too gorgeous to waste. Out went the sheets and another load of clothes that I prefer not to dry in the dryer. They were freezing, turning stiff, as I hung them. After a day in the sun, they were nearly dry, only the thick collars or bands of skirts were still stiff with cold and moisture when I took them down at dusk. My sheets were bright white and smelled like a bit of heaven.

The Joy of Freeze Dried Laundry!

!Decadence!

It has been a busy week. I've missed several calls from my sister, my mother in law, and friends. I'm tired. While I've slept better the past few nights, I've not slept enough. It's not yet 7:00 p.m. and I am shameless. I am going to bed.

Sweet Dreams!

Good News!

A couple of weeks ago I submitted my IRB protocol form (permission to collect data) for my dissertation. Last night I heard from the compliance officer that I would be forwarded on to the next level and that she felt there were no corrections to be made. I will begin (again) collecting data February 25 on my trip to Northwest Arkansas!

93-116-100

Bowling was interesting last night. The approaches were terribly slippery (imagine- hippo on ice skates). My knee was sore. My back ached. But I made it through three games. My new average is 102! So technically I bowled above my average (just barely!) last night. So I've not given up on most improved player! I want that bowling trophy!

Happy Day!

Happy Lupercalia or Saint Valentine's Day - you decide! I hope that this day brings a little something special for each of you.

Canada, O Canada!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we live in Canada. Here's a video of Orion sledding about ten days ago.

Happy "First" Anniversary!

And you know who you are!

Fall Down - Go Boom!

My sister, Tree, only thinks she lives in Canada. I actually do. Monday we had highs around 15 (Which was much warmer than it had been earlier this month!). Some minor precip began to fall as I was exiting my car on campus. I got to the side walk where I promptly fell ass over teakettle. I looked up at the grey sky and wondered how it was that the buildings looked so tall when I finally realized my perspective had changed- dramatically. Despite landing on my ample rear, I somehow bruised the heck out of my knee.

Thankfully I didn’t tear my pants! I went in to call the safety office and they did NOT offer to take my report and I insisted they clear the spot where I fell. Twenty minutes later Dr. R. B., colleague and friend, fell in the SAME spot. Long story short, we had a personal visit from the safety office and our statements were taken and reports were filed.

While we haven't had the huge snowfalls that we did last year, we have had MORE snow and ice this year. And even though I bought YakTrax for both myself and Dr. R.B. (Who fell last year too!) we both succumbed to the poorly maintained sidewalks and parking lots on campus!

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

As you know, gentle readers, my sleep patterns have been totally shot for the past two weeks or so. I have yet to identify the reasons for thus, but I have an idea or three.

My sleeplessness aside, I remembered seeing an odd advertisement in one of my favorite catalogs (Signals). The items were decal quotes from authors and movies that one could place on their walls. The one photographed for the catalogue was Shakespeare's "To sleep, perchance to dream" from Hamlet's Soliloquy. You can see the picture here. What really got me going was the dark humor of placing such a quote ("To sleep, perchance to dream") above one's bed. For when Hamlet says these words he is contemplating the favors of suicide. Not a good night's sleep.

It's been years since this decal came out (before I moved to the 'Burg) and I wonder how many folks unknowingly placed this decal above their beds?

And better yet, how many folks knowingly placed this decal above their beds?

A little Friday morning dark humor for you!

N is for Naps

I love napping. I miss napping. Here is a picture of Orion napping in the sunroom of our St. Louis flat (circa 2000). You can see trusty Elephant (Gift from my cousin, Sarah Tyran) snuggled up with him. In fact, Elephant just returned from a sleep-over at Calvin's house on Saturday night. She accompanied Orion, of course!

Sleepless in the 'Burg

It's nearly 11:00 p.m. The snow will either begin soon and dump four to six inches or pass us completely. It is a good thing we don't expect too much from our meteorologists up here. I think we'd have a lot less weathermen and weatherwomen if we had the same expectations for them that we have for school teachers (but I digress!).

It's been nearly ten days now of sleeplessness for me here in the 'Burg. I cannot seem to sleep. Usually I am up till 3:00 or 4:00. Then I finally crash right before Orion comes to wake me up at 6:30. Last night I had full intentions of going to bed at 9:00 but Orion had other plans. It was around 11:30 before I finally crashed. Only to wake up at 3:30. I've been up for nearly twenty hours today. I am craving eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Maybe tonight will be my lucky night.

Did I mention it was 71 degrees yesterday?

I Forgot One

(Michael Anthony, Michael Angelo, Michael Philip, and Michael Mangione, circa 1986)

Did I forget to mention that you can't swing a dead cat in my family without hitting a Michael Mangione? Thanks to my brother, Michael Philip, for sending me this picture! Here you see the fourth Michael Mangione, my cousin from Montreal.

Mom or Michael, if you have any more information about Michael or when this picture was taken, please email me.

M is for Michael Mangione (plural)

M is for Mangione or Michael- take your pick
Two beautiful names- several interesting men:

Michele Mangione, Grandfather born in 1890 in Campobasso, Italy, photo circa 1940.


Michael Angelo Mangione, My Father, born in 1931, photo circa 1950.


Michael Philip Mangione is pictured above at the Little Missouri River in 1997. My big brother- he came to my volleyball games in High School. He taught me how to drive- a stick! The best big brother ever!

I am lucky enough to have another brother. His name is Michael too! He lives far away in New York. I'd like to visit him one day soon.

Michael Philip Mangione and Michael Anthony Mangione (Goat Trail, AR)

L is for...

LOVE!

K is for Kat

Not Kathy, Katie, or Kate. Three people call me Kitty. One person calls me Katta. A few call me Katherine.

Most call me Kat.

K is for Kat

Weird Weather

Last Thursday we got snowed on. It was great. They even closed school on Friday! The weekend saw temps in the mid 40s. This morning I was awakened by Thunder and Lightning! (It's been months since we've had a good storm!) (While autumn is my favorite season, February and March are two of my favorite months- I love the violent thunder storms!). Today it hovered around 34 degrees, the rain washing much of the snow that didn't melt over the weekend away. Tomorrow we're expecting a high of 60. Tuesday a high of 34 with wintery mix and ice in the forecast. Weird weather.

J is for Judaism

Top 5 reasons why I think I am Jewish.

5. Easter Swiecona, our special Polish Easter breakfast, consists of an amazing amount of pork products, hard boiled eggs, horseradish, butter lamb, braided bread, etc. Remove the pork products and you’ve almost got yourself a Passover Seder.

4. I collect children’s stories about the Golem. (You all didn’t know that did you?)

3. My favorite “comfort food” is potato pancakes (aka latkes). (Mom knows that!)

2. I make matzo balls that float.

1. I have schmaltz and I know how to use it!

~ Pictured above: Mary, my favorite Jewish gal.~

I is for Immaculate Conception

65 to 9 in 18 Hours

Today was a gritty day. A day I shouldn't have bothered brushing my hair. A day I should have worn goggles to protect my eyes from the blowing dirt.

It was a gorgeous 65 degrees today. We had sustained winds of 35 mph with gusts of over 50 mph. Holy smokes! I wondered if Michael would take me out on the boat on a day like today! It would take NO time to race across the lake, eh?

It's just after 10:00 p.m. and I am preparing for bed. I thought I would check the weather. It's just about 55 degrees, but they're predicting that it will be 40 by midnight with impressive thunder storms (my favorite) rolling in around 3:00 a.m. By morning it will be 27 degrees and snowing! Yay! And by noon it will be 9 degrees. That's -12.8 for my brother-in-law in Canada! Brrr! I can't help but wonder about the strange weather here in the 'Burg.

Another 45 Minutes

And the Embarq saga continues.

After the horrors of Embarq from Saturday (You can click here to read that post!) I came to school today ready to do battle again. This time I was armed with the knowledge that I could indeed live without the Internet, a phone, and a cell phone. I have done so several times in the past.

At 2:42 I picked up the phone and by 2:50 the automated voice told me my wait would be at least 15 minutes. It was. And then I spoke with Devin. I asked her for help in figuring out my bill. 1) Why am I being charged for a service I do not have access to? Long distance. And 2) What do I need to cancel to cut my phone bill in half. (How can I have a $200/month phone bill if I do not make long distance calls?!) I explained my 45 minute ordeal from Saturday. She commented that David made NO notes in my file, it was as if I had never called. (I am thinking of a very dirty word right now!). She commented that I had not made any long distance calls since October. I reminded her that I can't! We went back and forth and finally I said, look, I am going to have to cancel my services. I am not willing to continue with the expense, the hassle, and the headache. Would you please connect me with someone who can help me? (Thinking back to David assuring me that I would need to speak to another entity to cancel services!). She said, "that person would be me." And I said, "Alright. Let's cancel the following: long distance and home phone, Internet, and cell phone." She asked, "Are you cancelling because you're angry about the $30 for long distance?" "No," I replied, "I am cancelling because I am unhappy with the service I receive and I cannot afford $200/month for services that I don't even have access to and therefore cannot use."

Long story short. After a 45 minute chat with Devin I will continue to have local phone services, Internet and a cell phone (all the things I 'enjoy' now) and my bill will be $120/month. Imagine that. I still won't have long distance, but at least I cut by bill by nearly $80.

Wankers!