Chile Earthquake 8.8 Magnitude

MSN News Over ten confirmed dead and tremors felt as far away as Argentina and it set off the alarms in L.A., California!  Please pray for everyone. A Tsunami alert has gone out for Hawaii and the west coast of South America.

I just heard on the news that a major earthquake was felt off the coast of Japan just yesterday.

Waffle Maker

This was one of those … I always wanted one of those, last minute Christmas gifts from us, to us. We just had to have it. It only got used three times in two years. I pulled it out of storage, unwrapped and wiped it off and decided to give it a go. Then I remembered the reason I wasn’t anxious to use it more often.

The first waffle was stuck and after I pulled its grooves from the iron, mangling it in the process, I decided I hadn’t used enough non-stick spray. This waffle turned out to be my breakfast.

I sprayed the top and bottom grill and added the batter and this time it did turn out better. I’ll need to adjust the recipe and make it thinner, next time. Also, I’ll use clarified butter and will apply it with a pastry brush. I plan on setting the temperature a little bit higher, so I will have a more even browning for the entire waffle. Plus, it should turn out more crisp. I was actually hoping for a Belgian Waffle, not soft waffle. The next time I will be prepared, use a different recipe and have a fresh strawberry topping for a tastier meal. Oh, and I will remember to open the sliding glass door and turn on the fan before I begin to cook.

Do you have any of these purchases lying dormant and just waiting to be useful? Did you just have to have it, too?

A New Dawn

This is a watercolour and acrylic painting that I have been working on for some time. I still have detail work on the kitten and a few other little tweaks.

In The Grip Of Silence

Just like my little VW half-hidden under the recent 2010 snows, I hide away in my little protective shell. Here I am safe. Here I can stop thinking about the world, stop dealing with leaking windows, walls and shoveling away resistant ice. Here I can try to forget about contractors and the impending reconstruction of our bedroom and our privacy. Not to mention the reality of totally uprooting my creative work schedule. I am in tilt mode. This is a safe haven where I sleep more hours than usual and I refuse to budge from my escapism tendencies.

As I face my keyboard, the blank screen does not prompt me to be anything but silent. A few words are insincere and the emotional draw does not pull me into the sentences needed to portray what I am feeling, or to be jovial and entertaining or amusing. It is as if I am sitting within the quiet sadness of my car, looking out and refusing to open the door and walk upstairs to the warm condo. I feel frozen and in the grip of silence. Inwardly I am imploding and crying out for serenity, calm, for uncomplicated routines and responsibilities. I am not alone in this.

Millions of people face what feels like insurmountable odds, the winter blues, and everyday feelings of choking sadness. Why should I be sad? I have a very good life, family, colleagues and the ability to be the creator and artist that I am. It is something I must deal with, and I refuse to medicate or drink away these dark moods, that make me feel like a marionette. Letting the hands of emotional pitfalls wield my way of thinking and jerk me from my otherwise happy existence. No, I will wait it out, deal with the everyday challenges and pick myself up by my bootstraps. I will conquer this and return to my sunny self. I will not allow this to endure any longer. I choose to be in control and to break free from the grip of silence. It’s time to bring out the blank canvass and set up my oil paints.

Oh Damn and Blast!

See all that pretty white snow balanced on the edge of the rooftops? Do you know what happens to this gloriously romantic fluff once the temperatures drop, the winds howl and it is frozen? Well I’ll tell you.

During the daytime, the temperatures have been a little above freezing. The snow which had been lying on the top of the slanted roof, covering up the skylights, slowly slides downward until it meets up with its snow buddy that has been taking in the view, right from the edge of the roof.

Some of the melted snow begins to drip, drip, drip and in a few hours you get long icicles. Now aren’t they special. They make the building look a little like a fairy tale. In fact they are getting pretty long, about four feet and they are much thicker than those cute little icicles that usually adorn the edges of the window frames. These guys are getting huge. They are growing, and after two days they’re beginning to look a bit frightening as if they are leering, hovering even. Is that a droop in the bottom of the gutters which line the edges of the roof? Why yes they seem to be straining under the load.

Taking the shovel that has been working overtime through the last two storms, I tentatively tap the ice. Nothing. The ice is clear and insanely thick. It is wrapped around the gutter and the roof. I feel icy water plop down onto the cotton-candy pink ski hat, which I have had since 1983. It’s a good quality hat. The cold water continues to hit me atop my head, until I decide to move out from beneath its path. It falls onto the two to three inches of ice which was underneath the snow I struggled to shovel off the deck. Naturally being in the top floor condo, I must look over the railing before I drop each shovel-full of snow. After an hour I decide to give it until tomorrow to warm up, because I am slip-sliding around and have no wish to be plummeting past my neighbors’ living room windows. Tomorrow. I enter the warm place I call home and after removing layers of clothing and hanging them to dry, I plop down on my half-moon shaped sofa to stretch out and lick my wounds. The snow was tough but the ice was kicking my arse.

Hours later, it is now 4:55 AM Thursday, and the reason I know is that I opened my right eye enough to see where I was walking, after I had brushed my teeth in the dark. I didn’t want to wake up because I was headed to the big sleep number bed. Almost there I was still dreaming when all at once yuck! My foot was wet from stepping into a wet spot. Oh, man, my sock was wet and now I have to hang it to dry. I thought I had dropped a blob of water when earlier, I had filled the cats bowl. Still functioning in my sleep-shrouded mind I turned to carry out this task when my other foot encountered another wet spot. That did it. I was fully awake and calling out to my husband who was in his studio. When he showed up he flipped on the bright light that cruelly made sure I was wide awake, he asked what I needed and why was I holding my socks in that manner, out to my side. I explained that there was water on the floor and as my feet encountered more wetness I told him it was very cold water.

We soon discovered water had covered perhaps a fifth of the carpet, in the middle of the room. We were trying to figure out where it was coming from, when we heard drip, drip, drip. Oh No! Icy arctic water was coming in above the window and we soon discovered it was trailing its way down and through the drywall. Now it was wet-wall. We exchanged looks full of meaning and sighed heavily.

At least I had been asleep for two hours. My poor husband had been in the studio and was just getting ready to retire for the night. We were at war and our armor was towels, buckets, strewn-together plastic that we shaped with electrical tape, in order to direct the flowing water, and fighting with determination not to allow it to encroach further into the bedchamber. We fought for five hours, well I did, because he had to catch three hours of much-needed sleep, with me interrupting him intermittently.

We managed to do that until we had it under control and later that afternoon, we went to Home Depot to purchase what we didn’t think we would need in a condo. We had left our shop vacuum with the buyer of our house that we sold, and that afternoon we bought a new wet/dry shop vacuum! Another ironic thing was that we had given them our heavy-duty show shovel, because the driveway and walkway and sidewalks are a huge job in the snow, and the lovely newlyweds would be able to handle the impending job. Well, Washington, DC area has had over five feet of snow since December and I think it’s poetically funny.

Ugh! Let me tell you that wet vacuuming is quite difficult as one must position the wand and the nozzle at an angle. You can hear when the suction has started and unlike regular rug cleaning, you pull the wand toward you. You really pull. This action encourages you to use stomach and abdominal muscles that most people don’t know they have. It was painful to move about an hour later.

Some of my readers will recall that about four or five months ago, we purchased a Bissell Spot Bot. It was intended for cleaning pet spots, such as hair-ball stains or for the odd time it was needed. I have to give a high-five to this little machine because without it we would have been sunk. It slurped up lots of water and even though I was pouring out the water it had collected every four minutes, we could not have gotten to the hardware store before we did, because we were still pretty much snowed in. So, hail to the Spot Bot! We couldn’t have made it without you!

We continued in this vein until Sunday afternoon. I prayed really hard for the water to stop dripping and when we woke up Monday morning, there was not any more sound of dripping water. Thank you.

Since Thursday I have washed and dried our towels, all of them, over and over. Now we are just waiting for the insurance people to send an adjuster and for the contractor to call me back. It’s been two days already since I left a message for him. There are many people who have been contacting their insurance providers and leaving messages for contractors. In Sunday’s Washington Post, Metro, page one at the bottom had a whole story about ice damming and even showed diagrams to explain how the water freezes, builds up, begins to melt and having nowhere else to go, forces its way through roofs, siding, insulation, bricks, mortar and cement to have its way with defenseless sleeping people. I tell you I believed we had left water damage at the house we sold, but it seems to have followed us. I will say however, that we do not feel singled out this time.

Unite For Iran’s Human Rights!

Here in the United States, the woman pictured in this photograph would be respected, listened to, not required to tread gently around the delicate sensibilities of the male dominate ego, allowed the right to better education and a true political voice.

Tyrants are usually such little men, aren’t they? They should never be allowed to be in charge of any country and I don’t care about traditions. They are insecure male traditions. We need to remove them from power and replace them with women.

I do not mean to go willy-nilly into a country and hurt the innocent people, or wreck their country, I mean remove these dictators and put them into jails to be tried by world courts. They commit crimes against humanity and should be held accountable.

This is supposed to be an advanced world but I see chaos all around the globe and you know what fellows? We women are sick of it! I stand with my fellow bloggers to ask that the so called leader of Iran step down, and elect a women to run the country. Bring equality to the region and stop oppressing the females, children, elderly and some of the men, too. Equality for all … but put a woman in charge.

Happy 6th Birthday Daisy!

I have been reading and visiting this sweetheart since June 2007. Once I discovered her blog I read all the way back to the first entry. I have viewed every photograph, seen every video, watched live cam, corresponded with her Mommeh, sent her presents, read the stories, worked out the puzzles she created and have highly recommended her to everyone who can read the English language. She is a true delight and a highlight to my day. My Bobby absolutely loves this little darling and if she wasn’t already going steady, he would try to win her heart. I love her and I wouldn’t dream of missing her Fashion Show Fridays. Please wish her a Happy Birthday.

*Photos of Daisy the Curly Cat were taken by A.R.

Late Lunch

Knowing there is more snow on the way, I got in as much reading, reviewing and communication time as possible. Good to read so many interesting writers. If you are interested in good stories I invite you to three of my favorite places on the internet.

BlogCatalog The premiere social network which is chock full of authors, writers, artists, photographers, fashion and so much more.

Half Hour Meals A place to browse and try new recipes, add your own and chat about food.

BrooWaha A Community Newspaper where you publish your views on topic that matter to you.

They are all free and just full of bloggers, writers and food lovers from around the globe. Fill your time with interesting reads, photographs and meet new people.

Basil Shrimp Pasta

After shoveling snow, I threw this together in about 20 minutes, plus a salad with lots of vegetables. It was a triumph after being a tiny bit defeated by the snow. The car is still stuck and I think I’m calling it 3 feet of snow. We really enjoyed filling up. We were so excited by the falling snow earlier that we forgot to eat.

If he would do it, we would go sledding. Tomorrow.

End Of Blizzard 2010

Two hours of shoveling outside and feeding the babies and cooking dinner and we are going to veg-out. The ironic thing is there more snow in the Tuesday forecast. Oh, me and my wishing for snow. I’ll confess to doing one snow dance back in September, but that’s all I’m admitting.

Blizzard 2010

Here are the latest pictures of the snow in the Washington, DC metro area. We are getting ready to shovel the deck, for the third time, and keep the snow on the table for measurement. Looks pretty impressive to me.

Going to invite you over to Half Hour Meals today. We are Talking Chocolate at 1:30 PM and want you to join in, too. Signup is free and it is brought to you by the owners of the premier social networking sites, BlogCatalog. We’re gathering food lovers from all over the globe and the site is really growing. Won’t you stop over? Valentine’s is just a week away. Perhaps we might inspire you to create something delicious.

Let It Snow … Again

I heard we are going to experience Thunder Snow and Lightening. It has already dumped ten or more inches and is expected to continue for another 22 hours. Oh boy.

Want to send a shout out to Monseiur Zach, who braved the weather to deliver us a delicious pizza. Thanks again!

What a difference 1 1/2 hours makes. After posting this I went down to find another foot of snow on the deck! I shoveled it for the second time and I left the snow on the table for measurement. It shows absolutely no indication whatsoever of letting up. 21 more hours to go. Wow. I’m going to bed.

Feist, Haiti Fundraising Concert

My nephew, Matthew, is second from the right. This was in Toronto.
There are more videos on Youtube and they are performing at the Olympics this month in two concerts.

Forecast Predictions

This is the prediction for our upcoming snow day. They said the word Blizzard. We received six inches last night and now, Friday we will receive two to four times as much. Here is a photo from last night and from Saturday.

Groundhog Day 2-2-10

If I were P. Phil, I would bitey the man in the big black hat. I predict six more weeks of winter. Let’s see what Phil predicts. I also predict he needs more sleep. Poor baby, being wakey’d up.

More story here.