Category: Blog

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?

I finally finished the cross-stitch project that was supposed to be a Christmas present for my mom in 2001. Whew!

Sometimes I dislike his opinions, sometimes I don’t…but I always respect him for saying what he thinks. In a recent interview, Bill Maher talks about the comment that got twisted and taken out of context…and probably lost him his TV show. Looking at it now, he says it seems very tame and that the reaction to it just shows you were the public’s mind-set was at the time. He follows that comment with:

But you know, there was a good side to that time too. For about a month or two, this country was ready to change. And I will always hold it against this president for not taking advantage of that and asking people to really do anything to change.

Darn good point. We needed leadership, we were told to go shopping. We needed to understand the real issues, we were fed lines about “axis of evil” and “the evil-doers.” *sigh*

Oh my. Bono’s on the list of nominations for a Nobel Peace Prize. Amazing…and wonderful. He’s helped put together some inventive campaigns for international debt relief and AIDS prevention/treatment.

I really don’t know what to say about this other than…Bravo! I wanted to quote the whole thing here – I agree with that much of it. Here’s a tease:

This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of preemption — the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future — is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our — or some other nation’s — hit list.

I just put a pair of white ankle socks in my mailbox. You probably don’t want to know why. I just hope they get picked up before the mail-person sees them and fears what the future might hold…

There were tons of anti-war protests all over the world this past weekend. Here in Austin (supposedly Bush-country) one of the largest political rallies in the city’s history was held. Here are some great pictures.