From Heavy Coat To Light Jacket

The area's five day forecast:

KMOV

Yesterday we set a record for cold. Monday it will be 20 degrees above average! Mother Nature must be very confused.

Five years ago today: Cookies In Cups

Freezing Phone

Today the company I was doing work for asked me to audio record part of it. To do the recording I turned to the Voice Memo app on my iPhone, which has always served me well for things like this. One portion of the job involved driving in an enclosed, unheated golf cart from one building to another, and then backtracking to the start ten minutes later. Including walking time, each leg took about two minutes in a brisk (25°Fahrenheit) temperature.

At the end of the job I thanked my contact person and returned to my car. I tried to wake up my phone, but instead of my normal lock screen this time the screen was blank white and it didn't respond when I touched it. In addition, none of the buttons worked. I was concerned that my phone might have died, but several minutes later things returned to normal and I was able to open the phone up. Not everything was hunky dory, though. When I looked at my voice memo recording,  I found that only a third of it was there.

Uh-oh.

I came home and sent an email to the company, then turned to Google to research what might have caused the problem. Much to my surprise, I found out that Apple suggests 32° Fahrenheit as the lowest operating ambient temperature.

My phone didn't work because of the cold weather. It's more of a weather weakling than I am!

Moving Up, Moving Out

Son Donald is once again moving on.

In 2008, after high school and a year of college, he got a full time job and moved into an apartment with a friend. They eventually found some other roommates and rented a house. When that group disintegrated in 2013 Donald boomeranged back home. At first, he continued his full time job, but eventually started going to community college part-time. Part time turned into full time, and in 2016 he moved out again to attend classes at Missouri S&T. Last month he graduated.

Donald attended the on-campus job fairs and sent out resumes, but as his last semester heated up he dropped those activities to concentrate on finishing his class work. He left Rolla with a diploma, but no job. Right after graduation came the end of the year, when not much gets done in most offices. After the holidays were over Donald asked to be scheduled for some shifts at his old job. He also kept applying for professional jobs, and a little over a week ago got a call offering him a position.

Although Donald's been back in town for more than a month, we haven't seen much of him. One of his university friends asked him to do some house sitting for him while he was out of town, and while that was going on a second university friend was researching and renting a house in another part of the city. Donald also spent time there, eventually deciding to move in as a room mate.

Today was Donald's first day as a professional. He had worked a shift at his old job last night. Because it would mean a shorter commute, he chose to spend the night here. It was exciting to see him all dressed up and ready to start the next step of his life. Hubby Tony and I wished him well as he got into his car to drive away.

I know we'll still see Donald regularly, though, at least in the short term. He has several storage boxes of his items in his bedroom, and food he's purchased for himself in the pantry. 

Five years ago today: Cold Weather Is Good For Something

From One Grandma To Another

Back in June Son Brian and Grandson Jay had to come for an emergency visit. Because he would be traveling without DIL Nicole, Brian didn't want to have to carry a big car seat through the airport. Instead, he bought one online and had it delivered to the house.

At two years old, Jay is young enough that he still has to use a rear-facing car seat placed in the center rear seat of the auto. The one Brian bought would not fit into Hubby Tony's car, and it was hard to install in mine. However, we got it in and used it for several short trips over the two days they were in town.

Brian left the seat here, and in December just before Jay and family flew in Tony put it into my car again.  We had to guess how much Jay had grown and adjust the straps accordingly. As it turns out we guessed wrong, and his parents had to re-adjust them in the airport passenger pick up area (which was very stressful for everyone).  During the week the family was here the seat got a lot of use, but I heard from his parents that Jay was never really comfortable in it.  At the end of the trip Brian announced that they would get a different seat the next time they came into town.

I wasn't sure what to do with the barely-used seat, so I put it in the spare bedroom, and after a couple of weeks I started looking past it. However, last week I stepped into the bedroom, re-saw it, and decided it was time for it to go. After researching the seat's expiration date to make sure it was safe to give away, I posted its availability to my Facebook friends. Six people inquired about it. Interestingly enough, four of them were grandmas, and the other two were young people who said their moms might be interested.

I contacted the first woman who messaged me and told her the seat was hers.  She picked it up last night. The woman has an in-town grandson that was born in mid-November, and I know it will get a lot of use at her house.

Five years ago today: Car Wash

Good For Cats And Children

It's sad to think about, but our cats are getting older. When Pepper started having trouble jumping up on the couch for his nightly lap time with Hubby Tony and me, the vet diagnosed him with a bit of arthritis. For a while we would just reach down and pick him up, but that seemed to offend his dignity so I placed a small Amazon box in front of the couch for him to use as a boost.

That worked for a while, but eventually the top of the cardboard got weak and didn't provide the proper support. I looked around in thrift, craft, and hardware stores for something to take its place, but what I saw either wasn't the right size or cost more than I wanted to spend.  One day it occurred to me toddlers often need stools, and a baby supply store  might have what I needed. Sure enough, the "potty" section of a big box store had several choices. I brought home the one I thought was the most stylish.

Pepper's new lift

As an added bonus, the next time Grandson Jay comes for a visit he will be able to use it too.

Five years ago today: Back In Business!

Let Freedom Ring 2019

Hubby Tony and I wanted to do something today to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. My weather app said the temperature was going to be in the mid-20 degree range, so we passed on the outside commemorations. Instead, we decided to go to the Christ Church Cathedral, which was doing five continual hours of readings from Dr. King’s historic speeches and writings.

On the way to the downtown church we stopped for lunch. Tony pointed out a restaurant that had advertised they were giving away free meals to furloughed Federal workers. (It was shortly after 11 AM, and they had just opened. They didn't look very busy.) Thanks to the holiday the downtown streets were quite empty, and we didn't have to feed a parking meter.

When we entered the church two friendly people at a registration desk encouraged us to sign in, and told us what to do if we wanted to take a turn reading. We took seats about halfway back and settled in. There was a screen in front of the altar showing a selection of photos from Dr. King's life, but I also spent some time looking around at the beautiful sanctuary area while I listened.

Eventually Tony decided to go up and read. I was content to stay in my seat and enjoy the beautiful, serene space.but when he returned he encouraged me to take a turn. Eventually I went and sat in the staging area seat next to the lectern until the current speaker was done. As he left he let me know where he left off. I stepped up to the microphone and saw the three-ring binder holding the double spaced pages in nice large font. I read two pages, then stepped down for the next volunteer.

Taking my turn

Life On Their Own Terms

I was cleaning out the drawer of an end table today when I uncovered a copy of Wild Women: Crusaders, Curmudgeons, and Completely Corsetless Ladies in the Otherwise Virtuous Victorian Era by Autumn Stephens that I must have stashed there several years ago.  I immediately stopped what I was doing to sit down and visit with it again.

The book contains short biographies of 150 noteworthy women that from 1837-1901 who bucked the system in many different ways. Some of the them (like Louisa May Alcott, Nellie Bly, Emily Dickinson, and Carry Nation) were familiar to me. However, I thought the lesser-known females were even more fascinating. Like:

• Belva Lockwood, one of the first female lawyers in the United States who ran for President on an equal-rights platform
• Ah Toy, a San Franciscan call girl who appeared in court to sue her clients for failing to "make appropriate payment for services rendered".
• Annie Taylor, a schoolteacher who survived a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
• Amelia Bloomer, who gave her name to the divided garments for the lower body that revolutionized women's dress.
• Sarah and Adelaide Yates, who married Siamese Twins Chang and Eng Butler, and gave birth to 21 children between them

Five years ago today: Offline

This Is The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Yesterday we ordered lunch from our favorite Chinese carryout restaurant. Hubby Tony and Son Donald got lunch specials. (I wasn't hungry, so I decided to have some Hot and Sour soup.)

Because only two meals were ordered, the bag only contained two fortune cookies. Donald isn't a fan of them, so he usually opens the package, reads the fortune, and leaves the cookie part for me. I asked Donald if he wanted to do that again, but he declined. So I took care of both parts.

I read the fortune out loud, then Tony started laughing. He had received the exact same sentiment!

It will remain to be seen which of the three of us gets the luck.

Five years ago today: Things Are Not Always As They Appear

How Do You Sleep At Night?

I was surfing the internet tonight and I came upon a mindless quiz called Which Position Do You Sleep In? by Karina Collins. According to the home page of the website, she is a psychic and tarot card reader.

The quiz starts out by explaining that the way someone curls up in bed says a lot about their personality. Next it offers six popular positions-Fetal, Log, Yearner, Soldier, Freefaller, and Starfish and describes the characteristics imparted by that position.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't fit myself neatly into one category. At the beginning of the night I start out laying on my right side with my legs are curled up a bit, but not quite to Fetal. But before I fall asleep I turn over onto my left side, and assume the same position.  (If I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I repeat the procedure each time.) When my neck hurts I'll lay on my back like a Soldier, turning my head to one side and stretching out my neck. If it's hot the Soldier turns into a Starfish, with my arms spread out to catch some coolness. Sometimes  I'll also snuggle a small pillow up against my chest, which puts my arms out in front like a Yearner. The only thing I never do is sleep on my stomach.

On the website every position had positive characteristics attributed to it, so I must be a sociable sensitive romantic who is open, spiritual, sophisticated, and reserved, and has good self esteem.

Five years ago today: Operation Cold

The Tell-Tale Stain

The last time we talked I told you about the snowstorm in my area. By the time it was over we had a foot of fluffy snow at the house, which was on the high end for the metro area. Hubby Tony and I shoveled twice-once on Friday night and again on Saturday morning. By the afternoon the temperature rose just above freezing, which helped melt the dregs on the shoveled areas. The roads looked pretty clear, so we drove to church and a nearby restaurant for dinner.

This afternoon I ventured out again to run some errands, including a produce run. One of the things I brought home was some fresh beets. My plan was to roast them and have them on hand for snacks. I carefully peeled the two pounds of beets, chopped them into pieces, and put them into the oven.

I didn't have any rubber gloves to wear, but I thought that if I was careful I wouldn't get beet juice on my hands. I thought wrong.  By the time I was done my hands were red. The cutting board was red. There were red spots on the counter, and even a blob on the floor where one piece of peel fell.

Yuck!

I washed my hands thoroughly with soap and water, but the stain remained so I turned to my friend Google for advice. The first site I visited suggested I rub the stain with a raw potato. I didn't have any potatoes in the house, so I moved on. The next one recommended a combination of lemon juice and salt, which helped a little. The third site told me to use a paste of cornmeal and lemon juice. Bingo!

All better

As an added bonus, the cornmeal also did a good job of exfoliating my hands.

Five years ago today: You're Only As Old As You Feel