Author: miri

Amazing – a man was arrested in New York for wearing a “Give Peace a Chance” t-shirt.

Caught on Film – Bush rhetoric vs. reality.

If you are seeing this message, it means my domain name has transferred to the new host. Yeah!

So, I signed up with a new webhost and I’m just sitting here waiting for them to set up my account…

And now it’s time for some ice day pictures. My back patio is covered in ice (except for the bit that’s under the umbrella – just a hint: if you have a patio umbrella, close it before it gets covered in ice). I was slipping and sliding all over the place!

Irises just off my patio:

Back Patio – the part under the umbrella had no ice:

Flamingo-irises – a rare breed of irises on my patio:

Stepping stone near my front porch:

Garbage can:

Front yard:

Or, to be more accurate – ice day. It’s 10:50am local time and it’s still below freezing out. That in itself is rare here – add to the fact that there’s a coat of ice over the whole city and people are freaked.

Ah yes, the “ice storm” as it’s being called on the news. It was interesting to hear thunder and see ice falling at the same time. Here are some pictures (if you are a northerner, don’t laugh).
Icicles start to form along my roof:

Sleet starts to take over the front yard:

… and bury my garden hose:

My car’s rear view mirror:

My city is currently being held hostage by an ice storm. (Hey, this is central Texas, it doesn’t take much ice to cause complete and total panic.) Personally? I think the bad weather is a conspiracy to keep me from eating junk food.

You see, it’s once again time for my bi-annual and completely futile attempt to change my eating habits. I’d eaten healthy all weekend – salads, nice sandwiches, a wee bit of pasta with marinara sauce, etc. Well, on the way home from work, I was craving something fast-food and greasy. I didn’t want to drive too far, because Texas drivers and ice aren’t a fun combo, so, I pulled into the Taco Cabana that’s right near my house. Just after placing my order, their power goes out. Okay. Well, not deterred in my desire to break my promise to myself, I drive a few blocks down to Dairy Queen. As I pull into their parking lot, their power goes out. Hmmm. There’s one other fast food place near my house that I can go to and not have to cross any intersections with down traffic lights (most of the traffic lights were out on the roadway). Yep – power was out there too. I finally took the hint and went home. Guess what? My power was out. It didn’t come back on until 9:15pm – by then, it was 53 in the house and my cats were most unhappy.

This just really cracked me up. I have visions of college students mobbing poor mail-room clerks and demanding their bongs and sex toys be delivered to them…NOW!

There’s been a weird power struggle going on in my house. Usually, when I feed the cats, Freya hides behind a box until Miri’s had a bit first and then Freya will join in. This Wednesday, after putting down their food and going back into the kitchen, I heard some noise. I looked back out in laundry room and Freya was munching away at the food while Miri was sitting off to the side looking chastised. Hmmm, that’s weird.

Then, when I came home from lunch that day, I see that Miri’s sleeping on my bed. That’s kind of an odd thing for her to do on a day that’s not cold. (She sleeps on my bed when she’s cold because she can hunker down in the blankets and comforter.) I look in the guest room (where Miri usually hangs out during the day) and see that Freya is asleep in Miri’s fluffy white bed! (Freya has her own fluffy white bed in the living room.) That’s very interesting.

This change in the power structure seems to have lasted until Friday night, when things returned to a more normal state. Is it because I’m around more? Do I unintentionally reinforce the notion that Miri is top-cat? Do I make her feel more empowered?