Thursday, February 10, 2011

Be My Valentine...




Every once in a while there is a glimmer of hope that these two really do love each other. Those moments are few and far between and are not easily captured.

We needed some color in our Valentine life the other day, so after I picked Mr. Bywater up at the airport from one of his many trips this month I claimed we needed milk, and came out of the store with these little delights.
Tulips scream spring, and that is a little of what I need right now. :) Who couldn't use a little reminder right now.
This morning I went out the the car at an hour that really shouldn't exist (again Mr. Bywater off to one of his many meetings in another state) only to turn on the car and see that the temperature was 6 degrees below zero. That is right folks, add the wind and you have 15 below zero (courtesy of the news this morning.) Our car finally warmed up when we got to the airport. Now, had I known it was going to be that cold I would have stayed in bed, but the fact of not having a car all day leads to a bit of a trapped sensation. Needless to say it has been a cold week. I got all this gusto on Monday (not normal) to take Olive for a walk, lets just say the poor dog has been shut inside with me because I finally decided it wasn't fun to walk in frigid temperatures. Anyway, back to having gusto...my gusto only lasted until the end of the driveway to our condo. I found I was shivering, that makes for an interesting walk. I gave up my gusto and Olive sadly hung her head as we turned and headed for home again.
And just think...last year at this time we were in Costa Rica....

Monday, February 7, 2011

Snow Day

We recently had the storm of the century in Chicago. Tuesday didn't look to stormish of the centuryish, so really Scott and I just rolled our eyes and kept on keeping on. However, at around 2:00 in the afternoon I happened to glance out my window. Okay, so it had turned into a blizard outside, and I didn't have any quarters for laundry. Sad that that was the first thought out of the little door in my mind. I jumped up and grabbed the car keys and headed to the bank. I kid you not, combined with the wind Chicago is known for a mild snowstorm can turn into a deadly one. I made it to the bank and home while narrowly missing several possible accidents.
The next thought out of the little door in my mind..."Oh no, what if the trains stop and I have to go get Scott!" For as much snow and cold as these Chicagoan's get you would think they could drive in it. Well, just like Utahn's they can't. Which in turn makes the two hour drive downtown into the stuff made out of nightmares.
I must back up for a second here. We went grocery shopping on Monday night, which is a usual ritual for us, and can I tell you, the grocery store was packed full of people planning for Armageddon. Scott and I snickered and threw an extra candy bar into the cart.
Chocolate saves people.
But in all seriousness, we later learned that several gas stations were all out of fuel, several stores had bare shelves and produce was at a nill. And I thought Utah was crazy....It looked like the local caselot sale after everyone gets their tax return in Utah.
Back to Tuesday... Scott called at 3:30 p.m. "I just barely got on the train" (Relief for me) "And I had to push to get there. I felt bad for the guy that I had to push out of the way, but he'll figure his life out. Oh, and this train is supposed to leave at 4:10, but they can't stick another person on, so they are not making any stops in the city and I should be straight home." Sometimes the beauty of mass transit can be a little rough on a very winter day.
Needless to say Mr. Bywater was soaking wet when he cam through the door, but otherwise all was well and good. We went to bed, because really, what else was there to do.... :)

We woke up to this....
That is right folks, notice that the snow is taller then my large dog. She was loving life, while we began digging out. Well, sorry, let's be honest here...Scott began digging out. Just because he got a day off work didn't mean that I did. :)
I need to mention here that the city was in a state of disbelief. We laughed a lot at the hype, and news reports on this blizzard. One very sad, idiotic thing that happened was the closure of a much used highway Tuesday night during the middle of rush hour. Folks sat on this freeway so long they ran out of gas, and many ended up abandoning their cars and walking to their homes. The emergency rooms were busy with frost bite and hypothermia, and then to add to the insult when it came time to clear the roads and cars were still buried in snowbanks, the city cleared the cars, and no one knew where to find said cars. I say, good form Chicago mayor.
Anyway, I am done boring you with my stories, here are some other good photo's...
The plow finally showed up around 1:00 in the afternoon, but the snow here is so heavy and wet, and again, they are not used to dealing with this much, the plow spent most of it's time being stuck in our parking lot. There was a group of men from our building that mostly included my hubby and a neighbor who were out helping the plow shovel and get unstuck for about four hours. It was crazy.
The snow drifts made things all the more interesting. Apparently the wind was stronger at the back of our building, the snow is almost up to Mr. Bywater's hips. This makes things hugely funny for the dog, and talking care of her business. We went out to get some dinner on Wednesday night and were met with a very closed city. McDonald's, Giadorno's (famous pizza) and a little Mexican restaurant were the only things open. And there was so much snow that there was no place for the plows to put it. We drove down Glen Ellyn Main street with a huge bank of snow in the middle of the two lanes. It has all been very interesting.
We had a little more snow on Sunday, but the plan now is just for negative degree temperature...JOY....Here was my game face for the Super Bowl.

The Boss, signing off.

Friday, February 4, 2011

The Goings On...

We have been somewhat busy lately. Okay, well I have, and I guess the Mister has been too! We had a terrific snow storm this week, so terrific in fact that it will get its own post later on. First I had some musings that I would like to muse. :)

I have been doing a lot of scrapbooking lately. Imagine that... :) But my only problem with this hobby is this...
I know, I have a heart attack every time I open the office door, literally. I have been on my hands and knees scrapbooking for several days, and I woke up yesterday with a hearty, happy back. I think it was done, I had to push through one more layout, but I am done for a while, so maybe now I will just have to beg cupid to bring me a table that I can fold out when I need it and then put away when I don't. With limited space it makes things all the more fun. Also, the cats and dogs have not been allowed in the office for a week, they were thrilled...
However, I have been having a riot lately with cork. I found these beauties from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. They are adhesive back cork sheets and are perfect for the Big Shot!
I will post more layouts a little later. I must muse now on the new addition to my kitchen cupboards. Meet the traveling post it note...

Okay, so this is the freezer, but here is the cupboard...

It is a very well suited job for Mr. Bywater to sell vacuums because he is one. I know his mother would agree with me wholeheartedly. If I purchase something for myself at the grocery store I will find the empty container on the bedside table the next day, or somehow that lovely treat that I was so looking forward too, has found itself into the "treat drawer" at work. The phrase "whats mine is mine and whats yours is mine" is the best description of the Bywater kitchen I can think of. While I don't mind sharing at all, I do mind not getting even a taste of the treat, and that has happened before. Now, however, we have the traveling post it note. All of our problems are solved.