As you may

remember (well, I guess that depends on how long you've been hanging out here), neither of of the Ds are coming home for the summer. In the past they have been our lawn care service, but since that isn't an option and we knew someone in need of money for vet school this fall, we have a new lawn service. Thus you get a formal introduction:

"Blogland, meet Vet-Girl. Vet-Girl, meet Blogland."

Actually, I do believe that she has met the blog before to see pictures of Miss Oribel and see what DTE might be making noise about from across the room. She was pretty excited to have her very own name here and knew there was a really good chance she would need it. Yeah, she is sweet about indulging me like that, just like the other two.
I think I need to find out her shoe size and favorite colors (or at least if there are any she absolutely can't stand).

Weekend Visitors

We had several weekend visitors, starting with this guy. He stayed there, looking at tormenting Oribel, not even noticing me taking his picture. (Nope, no pictures of the cat going crazy.) Later on she got to go outside and give some torment back. She went out and hung around on the deck, and then down onto the patio for a good roll and who knows what else. Somewhere along the line I noticed a squirrel working its way toward the deck, not paying any attention to possible dangers lurking about. I, however, did happen to see one of its potential dangers holding very, very still in the grass. All of a sudden, that little guy was making a very fast run for the tree, with an orange monster very close on its tail. Both of them went racing up the tree trunk, but the squirrel managed to stay just ahead of her, and then get above her enough that it felt safe in giving her a major scolding. Not that she really seemed to care what it had to say to her, she just stayed in the tree with her eye on it for awhile, and then hung out under the tree, just to remind it who was really Queen of the Yard.

 

These guys also came wandering through the yard, but I think Oribel was glad she was on the inside of the glass that time around. She kept a close eye on them, stood up against the door to see, got into the kitchen window for a better view, but she never asked to go out. (Seriously, she really doesn't say much very often, except when she wants someone to open the door to the deck for her. Then she is all about trying to scratch it down and "crying" at us.)
These four (or maybe it was five at some point) guys kept trying to let everyone know just how fancy they were, and were more than happy to let everyone know what wonderful voices they had,

 

but their intended audience really didn't care in the least.

 

 

The weekend snowstorm turned out to be a bust, at least around here. Our "two to five inches" turned out to be just a dusting.
On the plus side of things, DTE found out she got her dream job for the summer, she is going to be paid to work in the theater at school this summer and it also includes housing. DTY is also very excited to have gotten the job of "Assistant Training Supervisor" at the reactor, but I am not entirely clear on if that includes the summer, or if it is her job for next school year. Either way, she is planning on staying in Portland for the summer.

It's cold out there

It is currently -6°F outside and this is how the day is supposed to shake out:

Today: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 0. Wind chill values as low as -31. Breezy, with a west wind 23 to 26 mph decreasing to between 14 and 17 mph. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around -13. Wind chill values as low as -26. West wind 5 to 13 mph becoming south.

Fortunately, tomorrow should be an improvement:

Tuesday: Snow, mainly after 2pm. High near 6. Wind chill values as low as -25. Southeast wind between 5 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tuesday Night: Snow likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around -3. Wind chill values as low as -15. East wind 5 to 11 mph becoming southwest. Chance of precipitation is 70%

I just wish we had gotten some snow here, like some people we talked to this weekend

PORTLAND, Ore. --Nearly all area schools were closed Monday, after the arctic blast froze over Portland roads and paralyzed the city. Scattered snowshowers tapered off Sunday evening but roads remained extremely slick. Temperatures were expected in the teens Monday, as some of the coldest weather in years settled in across the region.

Last night when I talked to DTE, she said there are no contingency plans for finials if campus was closed today, due to buses not being able to run.
Fortunately, DTY's campus isn't considered a "Commuter Campus" like DTE's is.

The daughters and I just got home

from the midnight movie premier. Very, very, good movie.

I do have progress on the "blob of black knitting," though it is no longer just black. When I did the measuring needed, it came out the way I was hoping for. I have no real idea if it will fit the intended recipient, as I was told a couple of weeks ago, "Auntie Barbara, Dad doesn't know how to measure me correctly. When he does it, it tickles." (I told him I wasn't sure that was all his dad's fault.) Well, we will find out in a couple of weeks if it fits as the sweater will be done, and the nephew will be here for his annual visit!!!!! We have big plans for all the things we will do and places we will go! I'll give you some sweater picture updates after I get some sleep.

No worries

So when I told DTE what her dad had said about the owner's manual, she started laughing. It turns out the DTY drove up to The Cities and she was asking her older sister where the cruise control was. DTE told her the truck didn't have cruise and wound up getting out the owner's manual to prove it. (This would be the same truck that DTY has been driving back and forth across the county since she was 15 to go backpacking in the mountains. I think if it had cruise control her dad would have shown it to her by now.)

Should we worry?

Hubband went out to the truck this morning with an armload of stuff to drop at FedEx. (This would be the same truck that took the daughters to the Twin Cites yesterday to drop DTY off for a trip to go visit a friend and to chauffeur DTE to visit a friend as well. You know, a 180+ mile round trip.) He came back inside to pick up the second armful and said, "This is a bit ominous, the owner's manual is out and sitting on the seat. I wonder what this means?" (This would be the truck that delivered DTE home at around 1 AM this morning.) Guess I'll have to ask the daughter about this when she gets up.....
I decided to double check that he had his cell phone with him before he left; you know, just for safety sake.

Only 115 miles

this time to bring the other one the rest of the way home.

After 474 miles

of driving today, I have one down and one to go. The other one gets home next Tuesday.

Stuff we have been known to do in stores

My daughters and I have been known to do random and weird things in stores while shopping, like play "Who can find the ugliest shoe?" (In case you haven't noticed, there are some really ugly shoes out there, more in the women's department, but for men too. BTW, I have nothing to do with Hubband's shoe purchases. Well, not since I requested he have a new pair of cowboy boots for our wedding.) It is fun and entertaining for us, but we get really weird looks from other people in the store, especially the people that work there. We also have a tendency to smell shampoo and soap and have discussions about them. Stuff like, "This shampoo definitely smells like flowers and then you would have bees around your head."
"Well, it smells like coconut all right. Ewww!"
"The cucumber and melon is alright. Do you want to smell it?"
"Hmmm, I wonder what this one smells like?" Daughter, looking at the label, "The promised land, of course!"
Guess what went home with us? And I wasn't even planning on buying soap that day.

Oh well, I'll try some more later

Well, I thought had it all figured out how to load a video and needless to say I was very excited about this. It worked in the preview window, but then nothing actually showed up after I hit publish. Le Sigh. Maybe someday. I'm sorry. Of course I am not sure who is really more disaponted, me or you (of course, I know what it was a video of....). I'll work on it some more.
So instead I am going to have to give you this link to a comic that seems to be kind of true around here since girls got home from college. Hover your mouse on the comic for additional text.

Updates

DTE's hat fits and she likes it! (I don't have a picture of her in it yet, maybe while she is home for Thanksgiving.)
I am still working on Dr. Who, but making progress. I think it will be done before DTY gets home from school in December, but maybe not in time to make it worth mailing to her. We'll have to see how much time I get after Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll just spend my whole birthday working on it. (That would be in just barely over two weeks for those that are now wondering.)

Somebody is busy trying to teach herself how to open the cupboard doors. Somebody also has decided she really doesn't like being squirted with water.




Last weekend's painted gift has reached its new home, and my uncle loves it.


I made him an "Owl in a Bucket".
Just because it seemed like something only a select number of people could rightfully own, so they should!

The Tomato Basil Cabbage Head...

 
This is a Tomato Basil Cabbage Head that I had mentioned previously and someone had asked what it was. It is a cube of mozzarella cheese, a basil leaf, and a grape (or cherry) tomato, all on a frill pick, and then stuck into the leveled head of cabbage (apparently for DTE's open house, we stuck them into melon halves). Very easy to make, tastes awesome, and always gets lots of compliments and rave reviews. Can't beat it with a stick (but if you are going to have a lot of folks, make two).
The last of our many and varied house guests went home today, so I am hoping to have a few minutes in the next few days to catch the rest of the world up on DTY's graduation, the party, and the bit of knitting I have actually been able to do this week (want to guess how much of a scarf one can knit during a HS graduation ceremony?).