It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

• Snow-packed
• Schools Closed
• My Neighborhood Plow
• E-470
• Drama Queens
• Nebraska

Every major school district was closed yesterday – save the one north of me 41 miles where I was working. The snow was definitely deeper where I live, but since that district was open, I figured it wasn’t bad past the airport. My partner couldn’t get out of her neighborhood to join me at work. Others refused to drive in the icy, slushy mess if they didn’t have to. With that in mind, here are the reasons I set out 15 minutes earlier than normal, and arrived ten minutes earlier than normal.

The neighborhood roads were snow-packed. Easy to drive on. Schools were closed, roads were less crowded. My neighborhood always gets plowed first for some strange reason, while other ‘hoods don’t even get a plow. The E-470 toll road is privately owned, therefore, well-maintained and plowed exceptionally well. The weather peeps like to draw out the evening and morning broadcasts to “create” weather events, with odds being it wasn’t as bad as they reported.

I rather enjoyed my peaceful drive, even able to maintain the speed limit once I got past the first 20 miles of snow, slush, then water. I was greeted at the school with a free lunch day – a blessing given the awful mess I threw together the night before. My boss brought me coffee and thanked me for coming – and she lives way out west! It was like I accomplished some Herculean task.

“I heard you’re from Nebraska,” was her comment. That about says it all.

Who knows? It’s like waiting for the ball to drop – you figure it could happen at any moment. (Unless it’s New Year’s Eve and you know exactly when it will drop!) I’m talking about viruses, infections, hacking coughs, laryngitis, flu.

Yes, I’m back in the elementary schools. I have dodged the bullet at home with three family members having nasty chest colds and the lovely hacking and congestion accompaniments. Dodged it again at church with my choir member announcing his illness and fever. I may be living on borrowed time.

It’s super-exciting when you bend down to help a cute imp who coughs on you and tells you she just lost her voice today! Ooh! Or speaking to the Kindergarten group who probably couldn’t hear a word I said over the constant hacking and sniffling. Or working with the teacher returning from the doctor with her flu-stricken child. Really – it’s unavoidable.

I’ve accepted the challenge and called in the cavalry: doubling down on Vitamin C, using germ gel after every classroom chat, neti-pot, Vick’s Vaporub, (Just because I like the smell) and invoking my Guardian Angel for added protection! Let’s see if I exit from this book fair season unscathed. Who doesn’t relish a challenge?

Ah yes. I had to pull the log out of my own eye yesterday (Matthew 7:3) after returning from the movies Tuesday night. Remember Pringle guy? Hm.

I am the worst popcorn eater on the planet! I am too noisy for my own self when the theater becomes quiet. (At least I recognize it? Credit?) That large refill tub – no challenge there! As a matter of fact, that was my cherished dinner for the evening. (I did share. Credit?)

The real logjam came when I returned home and got ready for bed, as well as when I left for work yesterday. There is a carpet of popcorn in the closet from disrobing there, and when I packed my satchel (large purse) for work, there was popcorn in there, also. This is no surprise to any member of the household, nor myself.

Pringle guy and I are kin. I will be hacking away at that log today.

We’re talking Sharpie markers here. My sister asked the question as she was pondering her non-purchase of the colorful multi-pack at the local office supply chain. So true…you can’t see yellow very well when you need to mark something. As a matter of fact, all you need is the black marker, but the colorful array just looks so happy together!

All of this, and the fact that she was then cleaning her junk drawer, prompted me to clean out my junk drawer(s). Apparently I have various stashes of “useful” things needed in a pinch: Old straps from satchels gone by. (You might feel the need to sew a new one some day, thus seeking a strap). Bent paper clips. (They fit the tiny reset hole on the outside thermometer, and you’d hate to rebend one). Used chopsticks. (They are good for tying up droopy orchids). Mints with restaurant logos on them. (I guess you could have a hankering for a Chick-fil-A mint one dreary day). Seven screwdrivers in one drawer. (Laziness in putting them where they belong). Voice modifier gadget. (It’s just fun).

You get the drift….odds and ends, but a delightful adventure nonetheless. Time to reward myself with a restaurant mint.

Yes, it is winter. Even though Denver was warmer than central Florida this past weekend, it has not remained so. We returned to snow, ice and cold today, leaving the sunshine state which promises to warm up this week. We got the traveling backwards!

Positive travel notes: Our flight came in 20 minutes early even with the threats of turbulence and delays. My husband argued for upgrades a month ago and voila! They posted before the flight home – extra space! No lost luggage. The car started. The dog was still alive.

Travel woes: Only one. Pringles potato chips should be banned from flights. Or perhaps only one can allowed per passenger? The man next to me had two cans of the stacks and ate them one by one, crunching loudly. He hadn’t learned the fine art of closing his mouth when he chewed. Two cans?

On the bright side, he relished each individual chip. It is an art to which I could aspire.

What a wonderful diet! I’ve lost five words already…amazing!

Scrabble is just one addiction to live with. I have three boards of various styles, and one of them is missing a formal “x.” How we figured that out years ago isn’t as fun as the fact that we did. The “x” is whichever extra letter was in the game that my father was able to turn into the “x” with my handy wood-burning tool. That particular board is an heirloom.

The best board in my arsenal is one that rotates, much as a “lazy Susan.” (I have never known a Suzy/Susan to be lazy. Who coined that one?) The difficulty with that board is its non-compact size. You can’t drag it with you on public transportation.

The third board is the travel board, which has seen more action than most people. It is missing the “J” tile, which went AWOL on a train headed to Florence. You need the “J” as it’s worth eight points. If you get it on the triple letter spot, you might Just seal the deal. Or…on the double letter with the triple word…kind of like a skating maneuver. Triple double lutz.

Aside from the recently retired app, Scrabble has been good to me.

I’ve have to put myself on a Scrabble diet. This is akin to the Solitaire diet. It requires one to delete the app which is sucking up all of your valuable time, time which could be spent mastering the art of Jijitsu or tap dancing.

The only problem with the diet is that sometimes it is quite lovely to have a distraction which does challenge the mind. Waiting in a doctor’s office, sitting on an airplane next to another human being who sniffles, watching NASCAR with your spouse, waiting for the light to change at an intersection. (Okay, that one is not a habit I have acquired.)

The true reason for the delete is that my app quit updating its dictionary. It’s okay though – the dictionary was a British English reference, not American English, so all of my great words had to be taken in the context of me living in England or Australia, or some other past colony of the empire. It wouldn’t let me do cool words like “noob,” or “evite,” both which have letters I hate getting. Those “B”s and “V”s are tough to use properly for points.

I had begun to think in terms of ae-spellings and weird words which never made sense. I would try combinations that looked awkward and unpronounceable. When I would win against my British app, I felt pretty smug.

So, as an act of humility and patriotism, I am no longer playing Scrabble.

Isn’t that a cool word? It’s what most of us would like to do when the weather turns cold. Unfortunately, it’s been so dry and warm most haven’t considered absquatulating to a warmer clime. We have been stuck here enjoying the opportunity to drag garden hoses around watering the trees. I’m sure that quarter of an inch of snow will be the miraculous cure we needed though!

A year ago we were able to absquatulate to Antarctica, although it was a choice, not a decision to “flee” as the word implies, and it certainly wasn’t warmer! I changed the photo on the blog earlier in honor of the anniversary – and to see if I could remember how to do such a technical thing! (Actually, I cheated and had my son help me again. It’s just easier that way.) I’m looking forward to a warmer photo in the coming months, but for now, enjoy the penguins.

Even though the temperature at home will be nearly as warm as Florida, we have absquatulated south in the hopes of inspiring snow back at the ranch and to visit friends.

(You can absquatulate to your bedroom and read a good book, too. Happily, the word works the same way!)

I know…I make a few as I’ve discovered when I’ve returned to a past blog for referral. (Yes, sometimes I can’t remember if the stupid thought I had made it to print!) It’s easy to overlook the same eRror when you keep seeing it and you are in a hurry to move on. It’s kind of like the windows.

Our windows are last fall/winter wind-pelted with dirt. They are not the shiny bright glass my mother sports because whoever visits gets to reinvigorate her view. At least we can reach her windows. My cleaning demands the extension ladder in the family room, which further requires a vacuum for the moths who found eternity on the sill up there. Of course, that entails a drapery dusting in the dryer. This all came to light as I looked across the family room from the upstairs hall and saw the dead moths yet again. I guess I’ve gotten used to seeing them, too.

Thank you, friends and family, for ignoring my eRrors and lack of moth mitigation.

Yesterday morning I was subjected to my yearly physical exam, sans breakfast, at 7:45 am. I walked in and the receptionist asked if I had an appointment. There was no one in the waiting area. Two office people, one PA, one nurse, and no doctors were there when I arrived. I was amused.

“Do people come without appointments this early in the morning?” I asked. My next thought, “Can I come without an appointment?” Various possibilities were opening up for me!

She was a young, new receptionist and just smiled at me. Thankfully, all was boring and seemingly normal. I did not grow an inch height-wise as I had hoped. My brother thought I might have after the Christmas height-measuring ritual he now performs as the eldest male of the family. (Every religion has their traditions!) In our family ritual, we measure how tall grandkids get each year as we measure how much shorter the adults are getting. We all thought I had possibly grown taller with my new hip! Apparently, he measured incorrectly. I did grow an inch width-wise, which was not a celebratory moment.

I concluded I truly need to become a houseplant.