You Can't Freeze Pudding

Last week, as I'm sure a lot of people are painfully aware, we had a heat wave.   And storms.  The two are synonymous with summer on the east coast.   Spring is heavy rain, summer is heat and thunderstorms, fall is pretty when there isn't storms and hurricanes.     During all of these events, trees tend to fall and around here a lot of the power and phone lines are above ground on poles.   What happens when a tree or giant limb falls on a line?   Shockingly it comes down.    Or a transformer or substation gets hit either by lightening or trees or recently.a raccoon.  

A week ago friday we had a storm about 9 at night.   I stood on the porch as I ted to do during storms and watched.   I love thunder storms.  Freaks Mr. Tinkerpro out every time and if lightening is cloud to sky I come in, but I told him this storm is different.    Thunder but not a ton, wind like a hurricane and lightening that was cloud to cloud.    Sounded like hail was falling for awhile yet it wasn't.    Yep, it was a different storm, but not the worst we've seen.     Millions of people were withouth power.   When the temperature at 5 am is almost 90 degrees that is a problem.    I'm not going to go into all the whining and complaining and calls for "they have to DO something" that the news chose to air day after day after day.    Yep, it is stinkin miserable if you don't have power, but do you have options?    Can you go to a hotel?    Harumph, some hotels were gouging prices charging up to $500 a night.    They ought to be ashamed.    Do you have friends or family with power, can you go there for a few hours or to sleep?    Is someone forcing you to be a martyr?    I had one of those in my neighborhood, half the area was without, half had.   We were very fortunate to be on the side that had.   TinkerDaughter's friend on the other side of the neighborhood did not.   TinkerDaughter was talking to said friend, and told her to come to my house.    I found out and spoke to friend several times, said come over, I have everything except good cell phone reception (towers lost power) and no cable tv, but other than that, we're in fine shape.     She never showed up, I assumed she got power back.   Nope, she complained on Monday about how miserable she was all weekend in the heat and humidity until TinkerDaughter told her to shut up.   There was no reason for her to suffer like that it was a choice she made.    She is also extra extremely pregnant.     You can't fix stupid.

Only one woman did they show on the news who had common sense and when I saw the story I wanted to know why they couldn't find more people like her.    Her response to the news crew who was trying to muster up the sad and downtrodden said, "I have my house, hot water and my toilet works.    We are fine and grateful.   Yes it is hot, but we will survive".     A woman after my own heart, except she forgot to mention the wine.    

Saturday when my power came back on I took most of the expensive stuff out of the kitchen freezer and put in the chest freezer in the basement with the thought that if power would be an issue, a full freezer would keep a little longer.   In the upstairs freezer I kept the ice cream, a small amount of meat and then I got the bright idea to put the homemade pudding in thee.   I figured it is milk and chocolate, it is good extra cold, it would help fill the freezer so it kept better, and what the heck.   A few days later (after the refrigeragor decided to die, which is another story all together) I put the pudding back in the fridge thinking we'd have it for dessert that night.

Nope.    When thawed, homemade pudding looks like curdled milk and gets a chalkey taste.   I could have overlooked the asthetic unplesant look, I couldn't get over the icky taste.

Would You Like to Pet it?

The words any fiber enthuastist loves to hear.   Heck, we don't usually even wait for an offer.   We go to our LYS, we check out yarn stores whenever we travel.   We go to festivals, clubs, garage sales, and friends homes.    We all know that the first thing you do when entering the door of a yarn shop is to pet the fiber.    A time honored tradition.

Last night I went with Mr. Tinkerpro to a local gun shop to pick up a few things.   He saw a 20 gauge that caught his eye.   He looked, read the tag from across the counter.   J.C. Higgins.   Hmmm, he said, those aren't too bad, been around a long time.   They were made by Sears at one time.   The girl working at the counter came over, he asked a few questions, she asked someone else for the answers - it was  a slow night and they were getting ready to close.    She offered to hand it to him so he could get a better look. 

Mr Tinkerpro:  No, you're closing in a minute,  I'll think about it for awhile and can come back. 

Girl:     Would you like to pet it?  That's what most guys do when they come in here.

I'm sorry.   I busted a gut

Beautification

This weekend was all abou me.   It was rainy and icky and I decided I hadn't had a all about me weekend in a long time.   So nails done, which I do regularly anyway, bought some new shoes, colored my hair, had a massage and got a new "doo"

I love the guy who cuts my hair.   The first time I walked into the salon, it was a step of faith when I sat down in the chair.   My hair was longish, thick and just blah.    When I started to tell him what I wanted he told me to be quiet, he knew what to do.    I closed my eyes and 40 minutes later was so glad I let him have at it.    About every 6 months or so he changes my look.    Yesterday I told him it was time to change and then he actually let me tell him what I didn't want.  we have a pact, he makes sure my cut is flattering and I don't have to take care of it other than regularly or irregulary as in my case, I get it trimmed up.   This morning I washed, wrapped my hair in a towel for a few minutes, then bent over and fluffed it up.    Thirty minutes later it is try and fantastic.    Oh, he did fuss at me a little because I color my own hair, and Saturday afternoon when I got rid of the roots I wasn't so careful, so the skin around my face was stained a little purble at the hair line.    He just frowned at me, I opened my eyes all big and then said, well it fades in a few days.    He went and got some magic stuff so now I don't have a purple frame around my face.   

Hackers

Dear Hacker in Japan: 

My facebook friends are 90 percent knitting sites, knitters, a few fashion sites and my kids and a few of their friends.    I don't have any personal information on my about me page.  What information that is there was filled out because facebook required it.  It isn't quite accurate - I'm not a 59 year old man so your attempts to sell me viagra really aren't going far.    Your recent attempt to hack into my facebook account only resulted in them blocking the acount until I tried to access it this morning.    I guess at least someone was smart enough to realize I probably wasn't in Japan.   And since I only look at it about once a week it has probably been blocked for a long time.   But really?   

If you have to choose between a rock and a hard place,
pick the rock, then throw it at the person who got you into that hard place.

Oh Noes

Of course, today I decide that maybe it is time to visit the blog again.   And I see that they are changing the blog format?   I also don't deal with change well.   technology isn't my strong suit.  So I will start posting again and figure it out.  

At the same time I'm getting a new computer becuse mine crashed last week, before I could print out the taxes that I had finished.  And it took all my pictures with it.   The ones that I never backed up because I knew that "it wouldn't happen to me".  

I'll show you!

If go away this is what I will do:

I went away for a few days to visit my mom.   Upon return home yesterday I went straight to laundry room to get the clothes washed so I'd be ready for my week.   The hang up stuff first, then the rest.

Usually when I go away, Jack shuns me for a few days to teach me a lesson.   Mind you, he is home with Mr. Tinkerpro who spoils the you-know-what out of him, and at least one kid will stop by so it isn't as if he was locked in a house alone for days.  

When I went to move stuff from washer to dryer, what did I see on top of the freezer hiding behind clean clothes?   Jack.    Sitting on my wet sweater.    Now I'll have to re-stretch the screen.   That cat weighs 15 pounds.