first no summer - now no autumn?

The summer of 2009 felt different to me than most summers in recent memory have. I believe this was for a couple different reasons. First, for a personal reason: Brian and I didn't go to Las Vegas in August, like we have been doing since 2005. We instead went to Niagara Falls and Seneca Lake, New York: both water-related sites, quite different from the desert of Las Vegas (although Niagara Falls did have casinos).

The other reason the summer seemed strange to me - and almost not really like summer - was the weather. It never got really hot around here. Although we had a few 90-degree days scattered throughout the summer, we never had an official 'heat wave' of three or more 90-degree days in a row.

I'm not necessarily complaining about that, because I'm not the biggest fan of the summer heat (although it's the humidity that I dislike the most). However, those sweltering days are what I've come to associate with summer, and because we didn't really get too many, it never really felt like summer to me.

And, I found out that I wasn't the only person who felt similar to this - I came across this article by author Bob Greene a few weeks ago: Commentary: The summer that never was

So now we're in the middle of October - the heart of autumn. And when I think of autumn, I like to think of a warm golden sun, brilliantly blue skies, and breezes blowing the just-colored leaves, some of them fluttering to the ground here and there.

But once again, reality is not meshing with my expectations. Instead of the lovely scene I've described above, this week has been one of steel-gray skies, cold that goes right through to your bones, and an incessant, annoying drizzle. And just a couple hours north of here, people are getting snow!!!

I realize that this is not atypical weather for fall, but it really is way too early. I would expect 40-degree rainy days (and snow up north) around the end of November, but not the middle of October! The leaves haven't even fully changed colors yet! And now all this rain and wind may knock them off the trees before they get a chance to change.

So now, I'm kind of grumpy. I feel like I'm getting gypped out of two seasons this year - first summer, and now fall! I don't know why, but Nature is just not cooperating this year. :-(

I realize that there's a good chance we'll have an "Indian Summer" - where it will get really warm and sunny again for a few days- but right now that seems like a distant hope.

I just hope that if winter comes early this year - which, the way things have been going this year, seems entirely possible - that we will actually get a "good" one, with some decent snowfalls that will keep us home for a couple of days! Cross your fingers!!

A strange transformation

Later on today, I'm going to be doing something that, if you had told me a year ago I'd be doing, I would have said, "Really? That's kind of surprising," but two years ago and prior, I would have said, "No way. I don't believe that at all."

No, it's not riding my bicycle - although those comments actually do match pretty well with my change in attitude towards bicycling over the past couple of years. (Not to mention the fact that it would be a good day for a ride today!)

No, instead, what I will be doing in a couple of hours is accompanying my husband to a local bar and grill to watch an NFL football game.

This may not sound remarkable, except perhaps when I mention that for more than 18 of the almost-20 years we've been together, Brian never cared for football at all. In fact, he and I would have "anti-Superbowl parties" each year, where we'd sit around, eat snacks, and not watch the Superbowl.

So why, now, do I find myself washing NFL replica jerseys each week and looking through my closet for purple or green tops to wear?

It started in August 2008. We were in Las Vegas for our anniversary vacation. Because every casino has a sports book, and all kinds of sports betting is allowed there, there are TVs everywhere tuned to sports channels. The big news at the time we were there was Brett Favre - whether he was going to retire, whether the Green Bay Packers would keep him another year, etc. It was on all the televisions at all hours of the day and night, and Brian became quite interested in the story. He was very excited when Brett Favre signed with the Jets, but I figured his interest in the subject of football would fade once we got back from vacation.

I was wrong. Not too long after we got back, after some persuasion by his friend Toly, Brian purchased the "Madden 09" football video game for the Xbox 360 (with Brett Favre- still in a Packers jersey- on the cover). He started playing it online with Toly, and he began getting into it. And playing the video football game seemed to give him a better appreciation for real-life football.

I don't think he watched a full Jets game last season when Brett Favre was playing, but when it came to be playoff season, both of us actually did watch a few of the playoff games - and even I found them to be pretty exciting. And, for the first time ever, in February of this year, we both watched an entire Superbowl game.

This summer, as you probably know, there was more Brett Favre drama, which Brian again followed very closely. In fact, early in the summer, long before Brett signed with the Vikings, he had a custom Vikings jersey made with Brett's name and number on it. He wore it in public a few times, and it caused quite a few comments and questions from people, which was pretty funny. He ended up returning that jersey because the number was peeling, but weeks later he was happily able to order an official Brett Favre Vikings jersey.

However, even though Brian is definitely a Brett Favre fan, he has not abandoned his support of the New York Jets. He has a connection to the Jets from way back - one of his favorite moves as a kid was the 1980 movie Flash Gordon, in which the lead character was a quarterback for the New York Jets.

So, in addition to owning a Favre Vikings jersey (and a Favre Jets jersey), he also has the jersey for New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. And he's following both teams this year - so much so, that he's actually going elsewhere to watch the games when they aren't being shown locally. And, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I've been going with him.

There's a little more motivation now for Brian to more closely follow those two teams- as well as many others. Toly talked him into joining a Fantasy Football league this year, and with the help of another friend, Bob, who really studies and knows a lot about football, Brian set up a team. And as of right now, he's in second place in his league! He seems to be enjoying it pretty well, although he's the first to admit he truly doesn't understand every aspect of Fantasy Football. From what I've seen of it over his shoulder, it does seem kind of complicated, but I guess you don't really have to know every single detail about it to be able to participate - or win.

And so, after many years, our household has been transformed into a 'football household.' I'm still kind of marveling at this change, but I don't mind it. I've actually enjoyed watching the few games I've seen so far and learning more about the game. And Brian is happy to have me join him in this new pastime.

So maybe in February of 2010, we'll end up hosting our first-ever "Superbowl Party" - and cross your fingers that the Vikings will be one of the teams in the game! (I'd say 'or the Jets' too, but I'm not sure they have as good of a chance as the Vikings do. :-))

I just don't understand this...

The other day I was performing my regular ritual of cutting out coupons from the Sunday paper, when I happened upon an ad/coupon for a new product. Without going into any more detail at this time, let me just show you the ad right now...


You may need to view the larger version of the photo to be able to read all the words, but let me also just tell you that this is an ad for VIBRATING MASCARA.

OK, now I admit, I have only started regularly using mascara in the past couple of years, but I have never once thought as I was applying it, "Gee, I really wish this bristly wand I'm putting right next to my eyeball had a tiny electric motor in it so it would vibrate at a fast pace and most likely increase my chances of poking myself in the eye with it!"

I truly don't understand the point. Again, it could just be my lack of experience with the product, but I don't see how making the brush move around quickly is going to help improve your application of mascara. It kind of seems like something you want a steady hand for. (Forgive my ending the sentence with a preposition - it just sounded too stuffy the other way.)

And, of course, I can't help but point out the tagline in the ad... "Discover the power of vibration." They sure have left the door open for a slew of raunchy jokes and comments with that phrase! However, I will refrain from doing any such thing here. I'll leave that to the imaginations of those of you so inclined to think that way...

However, I would love to hear your (non-raunchy, please) comments on this product. Does anyone else have a better understanding of why the mascara-using population of the world is now better off because of this invention? Or are the rest of you just as baffled as I am?

Twinkie Sushi

A friend of mine at work is retiring tomorrow. He is a big fan of sushi, so today I brought in a special treat for him - Twinkie Sushi!

It's very easy to make. All you need is Twinkies, Fruit Roll-Ups, fruit snacks, and dried mango. You slice the Twinkies into about 1 1/2 inch slices, wrap a section of Fruit Roll-Up around the slice, then cut up the fruit snacks into smaller pieces and place them on top. The dried mango is used to represent the pickled ginger that accompanies sushi. For the wasabi, I just used a few of the green fruit snacks, which kind of looked like 'wasabi blobs.'

I've seen some pictures of Twinkie Sushi that have long thin green strands of something-or-other coming out of the rolls, but I don't know what they were made of, so I didn't add that to mine.

Still, I think it came out pretty good. See if you agree:
When I presented it to my friend, he was rather amused, and after trying a piece, he declared it to be 'very sweet.' But I think he appreciated it.

Man vs. Nature (?)

As you should remember from English class, one of the classic struggles is man versus nature. Countless stories, with this conflict at their centers, have been told over hundreds of years - some ending with man as the victor, others ending with nature besting man.

Today, that battle was replayed once again - and in today's contest, man (and woman!) triumphed over nature.

This morning dawned cool and cloudy. Rain was definitely on the way and was forecast to linger throughout the day. But how soon would it arrive? That was a question Brian and I didn't know the answer to as we set out to mow the grass.

We have two mowers, so Brian took the back yard, and I took the front. After about 10 minutes, we started feeling tiny drops of water on our skin. It was starting to drizzle - but just barely. By no means was it enough to cause us to stop mowing, so we continued, with increased fervor.

The spotty drizzle continued as we cut down the grass (hence winning one battle against nature already), but it didn't increase in intensity. After about 40 minutes, we had finished mowing, so we put the mowers away and headed inside. Take that, nature!

About 10 minutes after we came in, the rain that had only been coming down in tiny drops increased to a heavier, steadier rainfall. Now, 40 minutes later, the roads are wet and puddles are starting to form.

I started this post planning to brag about how we triumphed over nature by completing our lawn mowing before the skies opened up, but as I've been writing, I wonder if that was, in fact, more of a collaboration between man and nature - with nature holding back the heavier rain until we were finished with our task.

I would say we still can claim one victory over nature today, in our successful attempt to deter the continued growth of our grass, but as for the timing of our mowing in regards to the rain, I'm wondering if instead we should be thanking nature instead of thumbing our noses at it.

Yes, I know this is all rather silly, but hey, isn't that one of the reasons to have a blog - to post silly thoughts? ;-)

Irony

I looked up the word "irony" on Wikipedia before I started writing this entry, and I'm reasonably certain the story I'm about to tell qualifies as being ironic. I welcome your comments as to whether or not you agree.

The story actually starts almost six months ago, when we purchased a new 52-inch LED HD television, to replace our old 51-inch rear-projection TV. There was nothing really wrong with the old TV; it was just too old to properly take advantage of the excellent picture a Blu-Ray DVD has, and my husband really wanted to get a Blu-Ray player. So, we had to get a new TV as well.

He offered our old TV to his aunt and uncle, and they accepted the offer, saying they could put it in their (finished) basement.

Plans were made on several occasions for them to pick up the TV, but weather got in the way. Then everyone's schedules got crazy with weekend activities, and before we knew it, almost six months had passed, and the old TV was still sitting in our living room.

Finally, on the morning of August 1st, all the stars aligned (although we couldn't see them since it was daytime :-)), and Brian's uncle and cousin came to our house to pick up the TV and take it to its new home! Brian's dad showed up as well to help with the transport.

It really wasn’t too hard to get the TV out of our house and up onto the trailer – luckily the thing has wheels. And with Brian, Brian’s dad, and Brian’s uncle working together, they were all able to lift it the short distances they needed to, like to get it down the couple of porch steps, and up onto the trailer.

However, I was very vocal about how I did not want to go over to see the TV being taken down the stairs into their basement, because ever since the idea was first was brought up six months ago, I imagined it to be a very scary and dangerous scenario. I mean, trying to successfully maneuver a large, cumbersome, top-heavy piece of electronic equipment down a flight of stairs just didn't sound like a good time to me. I was very nervous that something would go terribly wrong. So, I stayed home, where I was safe from having to observe that spectacle.

After running a couple of errands, I decided to mow our yard. I was still working on that when Brian returned home.

Brian told me he would help outside too, by powerwashing some of the siding on the house I had pointed out to him as having some algae on it. Oh, but did I mention that this siding was up on the second floor of the house?

So, we had to get out the long extension ladder from the garage, which he then secured at the base with a bag of sand and a bucket of driveway sealer (since I couldn’t stand there and hold it, as I was still mowing), and, leaving the powerwasher at the base of the ladder, he climbed up the ladder with the hose and the powerwasher wand.

So far, so good. I was a little leery of him being up on the roof, but I was still busy mowing, so I wasn’t thinking about it too much.

Soon after I finished mowing, Brian called down to me. He said he wanted to wash more of the front of the house (the area above the front porch), and asked me if I would be able to ‘hand’ the powerwasher up to him so he could put it on the roof.

I was a little uncomfortable with this idea, but I figured I could at least give it a try.

So, holding the ladder with my left hand, and the handle of the powerwasher with my right, I started climbing up the ladder. I finally got to the point where I was able to lift the powerwasher high enough (with one hand) so Brian could pick it up and place it on the roof. (Thank goodness I’ve been working out!) Then I made my way back down the ladder.

So at this point my husband is on the roof of our front porch, with the powerwasher leaning against the end of the porch roof, and he’s spraying the front of the house and the windows to make everything nice and clean. And of course the excess water is going right onto the roof. Oh, and did I mention he was wearing his normal summer footwear – flip flops?!?

Then he decides he needs to move the powerwasher farther down the front of the house, so he can reach the end of the house, and he calls to me again. He asks if I can go upstairs to the computer room, open the window, and hold onto the powerwasher from inside as he travels farther down the front of the house to clean the rest of the siding and the windows.

Once again, I obliged. This job was certainly less difficult for me than the previous job, but it unfortunately gave me a different vantage point: I could now more clearly see the angle of the (increasingly wet) porch roof that Brian was walking on – in his flip flops, holding a powerwasher wand, which he sometimes did with two hands, so he could better control the powerful stream of water rushing forth from it.

Oh, but the fun didn’t end there, because then he had to go over to the other end of the house to clean our bedroom windows, and he said he needed me to come over and help fix one of the screens. So I did that, and then I proceeded to watch him continue cleaning the siding in that area – which, by the way, is directly over the driveway. My imagination was running wild with horrible scenes.

Remember how earlier in the day I had been so worried about watching a TV get transported down a flight of stairs?? I think I would rather have watched that 5 times in a row than to witness my husband walking along the wet, angled roof, wearing flip-flops, with a powerwasher in tow.

Thankfully, in the end, everything turned out just fine: the siding and windows got clean, nothing (and more importantly, no ONE) fell off the roof, and I eventually got my heart rate back to normal. But I think that was a fine example of situational irony at work. What do you think?

21 Miles!

Just got back from my longest bike ride EVER - 21 miles!! What a far cry from last Sunday, when I was barely able to complete 9.5 miles without collapsing!

Although the weather conditions today were much the same as last Sunday - warm and humid, with patches of sun and clouds - the route we took today was much more forgiving. There were hills, to be sure, but nothing nearly as daunting as the ones of last week.

And now that we're done, I'm tired, but I'm not exhausted. And mentally, I feel great! I'm very pleased and proud to finally have ridden more than 20 miles at one time.

We're planning to go again tomorrow evening, although it'll have to be relatively short. But I'll definitely be ready for it!

But for right now, I've gotta hit the showers! :-)