I am going to just go ahead & take a running leap into the nearest fire pit.

 At least for a brief moment, I would be warm.

 Good Morning.

 I disremembered to note that on the 9th, it has officially been 2 years since I was de-married. Awesome!

 What else? On the 5th, my lovely friend Jenifgrr's senior cat passed. He was about 16. It is of some significance to me, as Once Upon a Time, he was once mine. I simply couldn't take care of them (he also had a brother, who passed a few years ago) when I was on the move. So, the brothers had a wonderful home & quite possibly the best owner anybody could ask for. He had a good life.

I am beginning to get sick again. I can feel my lungs begin twitch in agony. Whatever crap is building, I'm trying to nip it quick. I still hurt all over, and my bum shoulder is like a lead weight of pain, that inspires numbness to the rest of my arm & hand. Stupid thing.
 
 Last night, SPCO's performance at The Ordway was fantastic. They played two pieces by Shostakovich (Chamber Symphony Op. 83a & Piano Concerto #2 in F, Op. 102), then Kancheli ("Night Prayers" is fricking amazing!!) & Prokofiev (Sinfonietta, Op.5). Standing ovation for the concerto-- and well-deserved! Kirill Gerstein is a piano wizard.

Oh, damn... there is fricking snow on the ground. SNOW. AUGHHHHHHHH. See?!? What do you mean, you can't see anything? Look in the lower left-hand corner. Aha! Now you see?





Yes, I am too screaming! Gawd, I'm not ready for this. I am not ready for being cold for the next 6 months.I don't want to pay upwards of $300/month just to keep my stupid house at 58 degrees. Dammit.

 Oh, Hell to you too, MinneSnowTa. I have to find my gloves... Hell, I have to dig out my coats, my hats, my scarves. I still have to put up the storm windows. Drag in the water hose. Take down my outdoor table & chair set. Plug in the heat tape. Good Hannah in a dirty girdle, did I just type that?? *sigh* I am determined not to have my pipes freeze up this winter, so I am going to go to Hell because I shall always leave a tiny stream of water running, whenever I leave my house. I'm just not going to go through that again, if at all possible. Good grief.
 I feel as though I've just begun to recover from last year. I wonder if I can do this for very much longer? I realize I bellyache about this every year with the descent of Father Winter-- but the whole pansy-ass lungs, no light, depression, body-falling-apart-in-the-cold bits just aren't enjoyable.

 OK, I'm going to go sulk. I totally need to find a wreath so that I can dress up as an evergreen for Halloween. Stoopid MinneSnowTa.

 Cheers & All That

 I would just like to state that I believe our first snow fly will arrive within 3 weeks, possibly only two.

 Gah! Weasel is farting; I must flee.

 Pee Ess,

 It was fairly disheartening to wake up to a house that was 54 degrees, down from 60 degress last night.
 Crap. Here we go again. *sad, distressed expression* 

 I refuse to turn on the heat, just yet-- mostly that in itself is disheartening, too, as I can only keep the house at 58-60, to avoid $300/month Xcel bills. *sigh*

 I hate MinneSnowTa! Piece of shit state to live in, come winter. Suddenly my mood goes from sour to atomic sour. Grrr.

 Note to self: yesterday morning, upon letting Weasel back in, I said to myself, "Holy Hellfire, tell me that dog didn't smell like snow?!"

Pfffffffft.

   Didn't go to Transformers 2 last night,  d/t bad tum-tum from food. *sigh* Had to leave work early, it was so upsetting.
 Feeling much better today, but am not 100%. I think slowly but surely, I am giving up on some types of restaurants. I don't know about you, but I don't ever want to look forward to symptoms of botulism. Ugh.

 Am visiting my mom today, to belatedly celebrate her birthday & give moral support. She isn't doing well at all... Whatever disease processes are going on, they are kicking her ass... *sigh* AND it's raining. I know we need it, but sheesh. Day off= rain on me. Thank you very much.

 And that's enough of that. I am doing laundry for tomorrow & having more coffee. Waiting for the right moment.

 I dreamt I was living in the Smoky Mountains, living in quite the luxurious cabin, with burled oak flooring. Whenever my moods shifted, as I walked across the floor the burl patterns would change, too. The kitchen cabinets were made of cherry, the main bathroom floor was made of Italian marble, and my bedroom was more or less the Outdoors. My 4-poster bed was nearly overtaken by Engelman's ivy, English ivy and something that looked like hibiscus. Hummingbirds were darting everywhere to eat, and it was quite relaxing. There was a small pool of water nearby, and it turned out to be a heated pool. There were flowers everywhere-- some exotic stuff that I didn't recognize. Lots of iris & roses (which don't normally bloom together, I realize), and tulips galore. Ahhhh, good dream.

 And now...  I need to rescue my laundry, shower up, and glare out my window at this rain. Makes for very sloppy & somewhat dangerous driving. Pffft.

 Cheers & All

 YES!

 I forgot that Transformers 2 was coming out so soon... If I'm up to snuff, I'll be seeing it tonight, thank you very much.

 The weather continues to suck and make me want to just lie down and a pool of cool water. I just scratch my head with conspiracy theories. I am doing worse than last year, as far as humidity is concerned. Ugh, awful.

 OK, time for work.

 Cheers & All

 I would just like to state that last Wednesday I felt the faint twinge of winter returning. Today, as I was out & about in the gloom & drizzle, I felt it again. The light is wrong, and I'm beginning to wonder just where the Samuelson Hill I am. No, not the Nuthouse.

 Winter. To say that the return would be shockingly premature would be an understatement, as it's not officially even summer, yet.

 I am just going to assume that this unsettlingly dry & cool weather has gone & eaten my brain; otherwise we're really up the creek (pronounced the MinneSnowTa way of "crick") without a paddle or a canoe. Gah!

 Oh yes, and I'm going to keep pimping Southern Brit's trip until... well, until he and his mates are done traveling. Bring on the Daddy Hat of Pimpdom! Go read & cheer him on! I know you want to. Do it! Do it now.

 OK, done pimping, time to go read something.   I bought a few new (used) books  that called to me, today. I am TOO going to read them-- just as soon as I finish the 'Twilight' series. 

 You know, the more I read, the more I think that Bella is a fainting goat. Seriously. Hmmf. I'll still watch the movies when they come out, but... Sheesh. Though my mother was barely a twinkle in her mother's eye, from the stories I've been told & the way that I was raised, it seems that in this series, suddenly we have been blasted back into a stereotype of the 40's & 50's. I'm not sure if I'm going to scream, grunt, spit or laugh. Hopefully not all of the above at once. We'll see...
 Maybe I should start the 'Left Behind' series. The series is a bit old (started in 1995), and apparently Christian faith-based, but I like the premise: The Rapture, and yes, those who were Left Behind. Quit laughing. The books were there, they called. I don't ignore the call of a book. 'Tis very unwise. I also scored an awesome book on architecture. As in, this is how your brain needs to work in order to understand the rudimentaries of architectural scaling. Whoa (in a Keanu Reeves tone of voice)!

 Cheers & All

*glares at what's stuck to the trees*
*glares at what's on my car, my steps and the ground*
*glares at Henri, one of the resident neighborhood black squirrels, who's munching away on some sunflower seeds*

"It's all your fault, Henri, I know it," I mutter. Henri knows I'm talking about him. He whips his tail around angrily & focuses a beady eye in my direction. Henri starts to make those special angry-squirrel-gonna-do-kung-fu noises ( you know, the ones that sound suspiciously like a cross between an invisible chair creaking loudly & a bird call? Yeah, those noises). Uh-oh. The Evil Eye & kung fu Henri. Now I'm in for it.

Weasel dashes outside madly, as he's been trying to scare the black off of Henri for some time. No such luck today, either. Weasel pauses in confusion, sniffs at the stuff at the ground and eats a mouthful. He looks pleased with himself. Ugh. He can have it. All of it.
*sigh of genuine dismay* It's still snowing. It will melt soon, but in the meantime, it's snowing the sloppy-assed heavy stuff; the stuff that weighs 25 pounds per square inch. OK, not really, but it's heavey.  I want to make snowballs and throw them at something.

But not at Henri. Number One, that's not a very nice thing to do. Number Two, Henri knows Kung Fu.

Cheers & All

 Mmmmm. I am savoring the last of my Kasteel Rouge. I'm smacking my chops, see? *smack smack*  Now then, I'm going to continue cursing, in language most unladylike-foul, the weather in MinneSnowTa....

 It's snowing. Again! Aughhhh.  I am gonna...!@#@!  I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm so disappointed. I am beginning to lose my gentle, loving nature. See this little angel halo of mine? Yes, the one that's glowing red with crossness? It's about to turn black with disgust!
 I realize that I can't be changing the weather to what I want, but this... this is complete crap. Pffft.

 This is almost as bad as Weasel snapping a fart and running away, leaving me to "enjoy" the lingering odor. Maybe worse. At least I don't have to get a shovel for what he leaves behind. *sigh*

 In Other News, the day was indeed long & full. Got all of my projects done with the help of some of my crew (yay crew!), and drove home in the rain. I was really hoping that this was finally Spring.

 Off to bed, for tomorrow's shift comes early enough.

 Cheers & All

 Ugh, I'm so crabby this morning. I couldn't say why, other than that I'm profoundly tired of being cold, I'm tired of having half of my year be winter (and the other half is Road [de]Construction), and I'm really wanting some sun. Even on cold days, sun makes everything better.

 Today also marks seven years without my brother. That's damned depressing, all by itself. I would have liked to take today off, but there was no way to balance out both jobs' schedules.

 Frick, I really do need a few days off. I need to wait until May... 

Mostly, I just miss him & wish I was on my way to Gooseberry Falls to leave a wee bit of ashes & a stone behind. Must wait, that's all. Silly to say, but every now and then I resent that work has to come before grieving. The funeral party may have been 7 years ago, but it doesn't hurt any less.

 Fawk, I reject this day. Reject, reject, reject.

Off to get ready for work.

Cheers & All


*post-edit* Damn. I just found out that Andy Hallett died of heart failure on Saturday. Sunofabitch. This is somehow fitting. Bro died from heart failure, and would have been 33. Andy died of heart failure and was 33. So very young, so very shitty.

 There's no hope for it. The only way to cheer myself up right now is to listen to Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and The Chipmunks.  And a little bit of Elvis.

 I am going to jump up and down on Mother Nature's head. See if I don't. No. More. SNOW! Aughhhh.

 On the upside, this will add precious moisture to our needy water tables... but ugh.

 OK,  I'm running away to get ready for work.

 Cheers & All

 Just when you think that you've got it figured out, along comes a challenge. You think, from previous experience, that what you call your guns is what you should stick to. Then comes the push, and you feel all whack-a-doo, and you don't know if your guns need to be retired or what.

 Frick! Of all of the times to be truly interested in a man... Gah. I should just konk myself on the head and get it over with. It's inevitable anyway. I'm not his type. Not by a long shot.

 I am a complete nincompoop of epic proportions! Augh. Damn it. Forget it. I can go without. I've made it this long. Besides, he lives a bit too far away, I don't know him well enough to get my collective panties in a bunch, and I keep on trying to remind myself that I'm not his type. Plus (and more importantly) I think he already has someone "in progress." I don't go stepping on other women's shoes.
 *sniffle* But I really like him. For the second time ever, there's someone who shares more than just a few of my passions. 
 Bah, I'm going to quit sniveling. The sooner it's over in my head, the better. Right? Right.

 *sigh* On the upside, Zack Attack uploaded some music for me... I seem to have misplaced every single damned Disturbed cd that I own, and that is... uh, disturbing.

 I need music. Must have music. It's cold in here, damn the weather and its incessant need for blizzards. Up yours too, MinneSnowTa.

 Cheers & All,
Your Crabby Raineth

 


 

 

  Some of you are aware that the Midwest has just been socked with a nice load of snow... I know I bitch about where I live nearly nonstop, but I gotta tell you that sometimes, the people just crack me up. Maybe it helps that I'm a country-bred Redneck. 

 It's been snowing since noon, and yet again I wished I had a monster truck (or something with equally high clearance) instead of a bleeping front-wheel drive Dodge that can barely make it up my short driveway, let alone over a bank of snow made by the drunken-assed plow boys. I decided to put my snowthrower to good use (couldn't find my snowpants, but at least I still have my boots out), and while I was out blasting away snow, one of my neighbors drove by--- on a snowmobile. My first thought? "Man, I totally wish I had one of those; I'd ride it to work tomorrow." I flagged him down (this is very unlike me, but I just couldn't resist) for a quick chat about "rural suburbia."

 It turns out the owner was testing it (he hadn't run it the entire season) to take to work tomorrow!  "Well, this weather's shit. Why bother to take a car and deal with the idiots who aren't paying attention, or slide all over the road, just like that car that's still in the ditch up there by the entrance. Did you see that (yes I did, it was scary)? This is more fun, it cuts down on the fuel, and... I'll smell like gas when I get there!"

 I heart Minnesotans.

 Cheers & All

 You know what I need? A picture of someone who is waving their arms frantically, being buried in snow. Or maybe I could find that old pictor of my dad, who looks like an ant next to the enormous plowed-out-by-tractor snowbanks that were the norm in MinneSnowTa over 30 years ago. I don't remember those snows; I have to be told "that's how it was-- back then that was normal for us." Ugh, yuck! Being buried alive was normal? Fooey.

 Anyway. I'm crabby. It's cold, windy, and generally useless as a mood booster outside right now. In turn, that makes me even crabbier, as it means our largest customer base for this day most likely won't venture out-- and that means we'll sag behind for our daily budget. Frick.

 Bleah. Are we there yet? I mean... Are we there yet? I'm DONE with winter, already.

 Cheers & All