From the Completely Frozen Tundra

G-g-g-g-g-good M-m-m-m-m-morning All;
Flintville Wisconsin comes a bit chilly today...
The kind of morning that makes you want some hot chili for breakfast.

So far, so good; knock on wood. We have power, and we have heat, and we have running water. Not too much else matters in this weather.
I took the above picture about an hour or so ago.
The weatherman says it is now 16 below.
The weatherman also says that we have to go back to January 2009 to have a morning this cold. Almost 2 years.
At least it is to warm up to the teens today. (That would be on the plus side of zero). Tonight promises not to be so bad

Whatever. Nasty is nasty.

Ask Casey about "nasty"... Her car is in the shop. Front end probably frozen; with an possible additional tie rod problem.  She has my car for the duration.
Life goes on.
 ~ Sorry Punk, I am not walking anywhere in this.
Casey and Greg were here last night and brought my dumpsters down the driveway for garbage today. Had it not been for them, they would not get taken away today either.

Time for to find a nice warm blanket.

XOXO
Me

Jeopardy! The Humans vs The IBM Machine

Start:	Feb 14, '11 07:00a
End:	Feb 16, '11
Location:	- Your TV -

NEW YORK –
The game show "Jeopardy!" will pit man versus machine this winter in a competition that will show how successful scientists are in creating a computer that can mimic human intelligence.

Two of the venerable game show's most successful champions — Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter — will play two games against "Watson," a computer program developed by IBM's artificial intelligence team. The matches will be spread over three days that will air Feb. 14-16, the game show said on Tuesday.

The competition is reminiscent of when IBM developed a chess-playing computer to compete against chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.

The "Jeopardy!" answer-and-question format is a different kind of challenge. It often requires contestants to deal with subtleties, puns and riddles and come up with answers fast.

"Watson" is named for IBM founder Thomas J. Watson. It will look nothing like the computer "maid" on "The Jetsons." Rather, IBM said its on-screen appearance will be represented by a round avatar.

The computer has already been tested in some 50 games against past "Jeopardy!" champions. But neither IBM nor "Jeopardy!" representatives would say what "Watson's" record was.

The winner gets a $1 million prize. IBM said it would donate its winnings to charity, while Jennings and Rutter said they would give half of their prize money away.

Jennings had the game show's longest winning streak, taking 74 games in a row during the 2004-2005 season. Rutter has won more money than any other "Jeopardy!" player, nearly $3.3 million during his original appearance and three subsequent tournaments.

IBM is hoping the technology it exhibits will have some practical uses eventually, for instance helping doctors diagnose illnesses or solving customer problems at technical support centers.

__________________________________________

I do love this show, and the thought of man -vs- computer is intriguing!
Methinks one man may be able to do this quite well...  Ken Jennings.
I will be setting my DVR for these 3 days.

XOXO
Me

But where to poo?

Punk wondering what the heck happened???

Good Frigid Morning All;

I have 2 driveways. For a while yesterday I had none.
Now, once again I have 2 driveways!
hehehe
Jim came with the snowplow about 12:30 yesterday afternoon.
Yes, it was still blowing around something wild, but the snow had quit coming down, and the weather had settled down enough to move most of the snow. Not even sure how much we got- Probably not as much as was predicted, but enough to hide most everything left outside.


Waking up yesterday, Sunday, the first thing one does is check out the windows...

First to the kitchen window...




Yes. That is drifted up the side of the house.
Put there by the winds, as the snowfall was deep but certainly not that great. hehehe


Then to peek out the east windows...



No wonder there is snow everywhere! Still coming down.
I do hate when the snow flies across, instead of in a soft downward fashion...


OK. Now to the living room window to see if I can still see the yews.





I see them!   Kinda.   Sorta.   hehehe

So out to the entrance...




The screen door was/IS frozen. I put silicone on it last night. It still frosted up the handle.

By this time, Miss Punk was begging to go out.


   ...   A dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta doo~doo.





Off she goes, in search of her favorite place to poo...

She couldn't find it!




She looked to me to see if I knew something...




So she was off to find her 2nd favorite place...




"Well, where IS it, Mom?"

And then back again across the yard...

... A little faster this time-




She literally pranced through the drifts!

I have never laughed so hard at doggie doo~doo in my life... She finally gave up looking for someplace perfect, and found a place to squat.


It is cold, and very white, outside this morning. 
Not as windy, so the only weather advisory today is the windchill warning. 
* COLD AIR POURING INTO THE AREA WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILLS TO
AROUND 20 BELOW ZERO THIS MORNING.
* WIND CHILLS THIS LOW CAN PRODUCE FROST BITE IN 20 MINUTES.

 School buses are running about 2 hours late- A few extra minutes for the plows to ensure the roads are (mostly) open, and the buses are all warmed up.
Yesterday, Governor Doyle issued some snow emergency for the entire state.
Well hell, it doesn't take an idiot to know you go nowhere when it's like this.

It does bother me that the news stations ALL say that the Sheriff's Deparments have warned everyone to stay off the roads. Then they proceed to tell you what a terrible drive it was as they drove from here to there to report that it is snowing and slippery and downright dangerous.
What the hell is up with that? St00pid people.

I sewed for a while yesterday...
But damn!, my back is awful, and my head kicked in.
(Must have something to do with the weather).
I napped a little too! hehehe
Apparently so did the Packers. Oh well.
I watched until the 4th quarter. Should have kept it on...

The news has just stated that we received about 11+" of snow. Seems like a lot.
They also said the windchill advisory will be canceled around 10AM, when the windchills will be above 10 below zero.
The weatherman also said that this blizzard came one year to the day after our first blizzard last year.
Weird that.
To see those pictures, please click here. (www.flintville.multiply.com/journal/item/916)

I'd better close and get in the shower-
Am waiting to hear from Miss CaseyFace. Perhaps she will be coming out today.
I have some thick cut pork chops for our lunch if she does... Mmmm

Speaking of Casey, her new pictures are uploading as I type.
You can see them by clicking here. (www.edbdkcn.multiply.com/photos/album/13)
Great comments on there by the way! hehehe

Must fly for now, the dryer is buzzing...
Love to all

XOXO
Me

The Minneapolis Metrodome has collapsed! Hopeful that no one was inside...

Snow Today, Blow Tomorrow...

Good Morning All;
We got an inch or three of snow on Thursday- Casey came out and helped me shovel yesterday. Then we were off to buy a few necessities for the weekend.

Soon, our clouds will open and cover our little corner of the world. We have already gotten about an inch this morning.

From my weather email:
WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST SUNDAY. (Crap, that's a long time for any storm).
* SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY...AND MAY BE MIXED WITH SLEET AT TIMES DURING THE MORNING.
THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

Now they are saying that we might be upgraded to blizzard status by tomorrow morning. Our winds are to be N at 25 to 35 mph... Gusts much higher-
Apparently too we are at the warmest we will be for the next week or so too. Temps tomorrow will be nasty cold, and go down from there- (Wind chills will be dangerous at best).

If I am not on or around, it is only because I will be watching the storm. OK, that is not going to happen; (that's akin to watching the grass grow as far as I am concerned).
Or may be it will be that mouse has turned to 'Igloo' status. I then will be frozen solid wherever I stood last. hehehe 
Hmmm   Do sewing machines freeze?
Yes, I am still sewing patches for most of every day.

Casey had an infusion on Thursday morning. As soon as it was up and running, her blood pressure was OK, and she was in the least amount of pain, I was up and running too.  I had a few stops I needed to make before it snowed.
Casey asked that I return by noon, as Nick goes to lunch and she would be left with Lori- (who is a raunchy nurse and does everything in her power to cross Casey).
This infusion was set to run for 4 hours. Casey has had such terrible reactions to these infusions, and the pharmacist and her doctor thought the reactions would be lessened if it ran much slower- Her skin breaks out from just the pokes- As always, her veins shut down and refuse to cooperate.  And once placed, the IV runs like razor blades up her arm. Her blood pressures generally go way down.
All was as well as it could be, so I left.

I returned 5 minutes late. Oops.   Casey met me at the door -as she'd waited.
As soon as I'd left, her arm pained something fierce, the IV infiltrated, and, and, and.
Long story short, she'd been waiting since 10:30. I generally take her cell phone with me- (We both forgot that, that day. It won't happen again).  At least she knows everyone there- from the pharmacy to admit, to front desk, (not to mention she is on a first name basis with the nurses and doctors as well).
Not like she was abandoned, or that any of them would allow her to be, for long!
hehehe


I do have a few pictures, and will add them to the comments below, when I can. I still have to send them from the camera to the machine... Slow that way lately.
My back is doing as poorly as it has been for the last few weeks, so it bugs me to sit here overlong-
At least when I am sewing I am up and down between the machine, the table, the ironing board, and the cutting board.
Not sure if that is good or bad for it.   It is the way it is though.

I have to shovel out the doorway every now and then so Miss Punk can get out and get her business done. Neither herself nor the cat have much energy today- I do think this coming storm affects them so. (Is that odd? Or have I just been slow to notice)?

Time for me to get in the shower and then shovel a wee bit.

My love to all!  Have a 'wunnaful' weekend.

XOXO
Me

My Saved Locations

• Green Bay, WI   22...34 °F
• Sault Ste. Marie, MI   15...23 °F
• Fort Myers, FL   53...76 °F
• Temple, TX     34...69 °F
• Lomita, CA 52...76 °F
• Minneapolis, MN   -7...22 °FYes, the Minneapolis *low* is BELOW zero.
• Philadelphia, PA   37...45 °F
  
  
• Prattville, AL     38...60 °F
  

 

Close

 

Where are YOU? 
Maybe the better question for those of us in Wisconsin, is "where would you like to be?"
For myself, I pick Alabama or Texas to see a few of my grandbabies- warm as they are...

Hopefully you are somewhere safe and warm.
(And if not, please get there and batten the hatches).

Methinks too, that Detroit is darn lucky that the Packers will play *there* tomorrow. They are to get snow, but not like what we are forecast to receive.

From here:  *Aiden could be one of the biggest December snowstorms on record in Northeast Wisconsin. Blizzard Allison, of December 2009, was the biggest dropping 14.7 inches of snow."

Andrew

Good Morning.
Seems as most? people have their holiday plans well in hand by now.
Not everyone knows that same joy.

My friend Denise, from Panama City Beach, lost her youngest child; her 21 year old son, on December the 4th. Much like my own Casey, it seems as though Drew has been ill forever...

Won't you please take a minute to offer your sympathy? Click here.
Thank you.

XOXO
Me

Of all the people in history that have reached 65 years of age, half of them are living right now.

Nekkid Chickens, ... and "Belties"

Good Morning All;
A bit of a headache today, so will lay low until it is better. (Aw, come on now, a few stitches won't hurt anything). Methinks I am addicted to my sewing machine, which is working just fine once more...

Another blog here that I should have posted almost a month and a half ago.
Bear with me, I play "ketchup" a lot...  hehehe


On one of my blogs from Minnesota, you might, or might not, recall that I once had written of a pasture full of striped cows just off Highway 29. I think I had posted a picture or two also.
I had made up my mind that on one of these trips home we would stop in.
On our last trip home, we finally made that stop...
And oh! Punk wanted to get out of the car so bad!  No such luck for her though-

Mr Farmer was on the Skidster, clearing out the stoop in the back of the barn. Having learned long ago that when a farmer is as busy as all that, one does not interrupt him. (I am not even sure if he saw us prowling around)! 
There was no answer at the door of their huge farmhouse, so I figured there was no one else around.
We took a few pictures as we wandered about, enjoying the cattle, but still wondering about them too. A beautiful layout they had, and lots of places to look!
As we thought to leave I was leaving them a note, when the Mrs. came up from another barn to greet us. She had been feeding the goats.



Oops. Wrong picture.   hehehe
These are just a few of their sheep!

I explained that we have made many trips past their farm, and was more curious each time. She was happy to oblige us, and to answer our questions- A request to see everything was met with a smile.
She took us into the big barn. Once used as a dairy farm, it was now converted into pens and such.

In the first pen were these creatures!



So pretty, and she could point to, and name off each breed of hen they had!
(To my ignorant brain they are all just "chickens").

To the back of the barn then, she showed us these ladies...



HAHAHA  They are all naked! 
(Molting season kids, they are not sickly).

The molt has no effect on the lay of the eggs either...


..........
Laying lots of eggs..........   ........... And the size of them just blows me away!
(Dang. Now I am hungry). hehehe

This next bird must have thought he was a cow~hen, as he seemed to be hellbent on corralling this heifer-
Maybe he thought the heifer was his mama?




Casey got some very cool pictures of the cattle in question as well...


The expression on this ones face just cracks me up!




I laugh at the little one, peeking around his mama-



At the scratching posts-



"King of the Hill"  by Mama and son...



Chewing his cud, he could not have cared less about the camera...
So CUTE! 

She told us ALL about these beautiful creatures.
They are called Belted Galloways.
She called them her "Belties". (So cute she was)!

She said that, furry as her Belties are in these pictures, these are actually only their 'summer coats'. They grow yet another coat for winter! Too bad we didn't make it to Minnesota last week, I would have stopped for pictures of those coats too. I just can't imagine them any furrier than they already are!

From here: "The Belted Galloway is a rare beef breed of cattle originating from Galloway in SouthWest Scotland, adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and windswept moorlands of the region. The exact origin of the breed is unclear although it is often surmised that the white belt that distinguishes these cattle from the native black Galloway cattle may be as a result of crossbreeding with Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle.
Belted Galloways are primarily raised for their quality marbled beef, (Dang. Now I am REALLY hungry),  although they are sometimes milked; {or} purchased to adorn pastures due to their striking appearance.
In the US these cows are often informally known as "police car cows,""panda cows" or "Oreo cows"."
 - - end quoted text

We chatted for quite a while- (Neither Casey nor myself were standing too well by the time we left).
But we are both SO very happy that we finally stopped in-  to learn something new, and to meet new friends as well.

As we drove out of the yard, she walked up to her house...



She is such a lovely lady!
Small in stature, but big on wisdom and kindness. Welcoming a couple of strangers with open arms, and a tour. Not too many good people like that left in our world these days.
Her husband worked throughout our visit. I am sorry to have not been able to have met him, perhaps next time. As I stated before, I do understand that work ethic.

I just wanted to share this "wonderfilled" visit with everyone.
I'd better close for now, my dryer has been buzzing that my rugs are done. (Not 'dry' mind you, but the first layer of cat hair and puppy fur has been removed). I dry the rugs very carefully as the lint filter always fills up quickly- And we all know that a dirty lint filter will ruin a dryer in record time.

Have a 'wunnaful' weekend!   My love to all!

XOXO
Me

Green Bay, WI 

Mostly Cloudy , 24ºF
Hi: 25 Lo: 23

View: extended forecast and maps | records & averages

hehehe

Frequent flyer, anyone?

Rating:
Category:	Other

From my email...
I must share this with you. Too funny not to.

XOXO
Me

*******



*******


hehehe

Da Craziest Thing. (Arf)!

Off to da woods we went...

ARF!
   ...   And we ALL know what THAT means...

Means?  Mean?  (Yeah, you know who I'm talkin' about)!

"She" is mean!  Just wait 'til ya hear this story...

"She" takes me back to the woods.








I like da woods ya know.
So I smile.   BIG!

"She" knows I love playing fetch...
So I find a stick, an bring it to her.

She throws it real far. This is great fun. I always find it too!






Well mostly always I find it.

Sometimes not...




So...
As I am sniffin' around, lookin' for da right stick, wouldn't ya know I get snapped in my hinder?!  And by a tree!!!  (Is nothin' safe ennymore)?

My 'she' starts laughing and laughing and... LOUD too! (She's mean like that).

I gets really mad then, and am going to destroy that tree that paddled me!



It doesn't move.
I did get kinda stuck- well, my teeth sorta did... This made my 'she' laugh even harder!
Keep in mind that "she" iz there, taking the pictures of my pain!
How humiliating for me!!!

So I turned 'round so she couldn't see.



She just moved a little... (I should know bedder by now).

I have heard them 2 legged people say, "if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em."  I am no dummy, and I know what it means.  So I gave her my best shot; even if she is still laughing hysterically AT me.
I don't know WHY she keeps laughing so hard, (or why her eyes are full of water either)?!?



I give up.
As she moves away, I get snapped, right in the backside. AGAIN!
This time I see that "she" is stepping on a dead tree, and it is really long.  Every time she moves her foot this dead tree moves. If she rolls her foot just right, it pops up and snaps my arse.
That's NOT funny,  (is it) ?!?
No it's not!  I tell ya, it's da craziest thing I ever seen!

So I grab that dead stick and drag it down the big hill...



It broke - and I bring it back to her then.

Then she throws it halfway down the big hill for me! 
(This IS fun)!
Almost as fun to play fetch too, as it is for me to go paddlin' down the river!





"She" tells me I have had enough 'paddles' for one day, and then really loud again she says "Do NOT go in the river."
   - Mean she is! Just plain mean!!!

Since we are back in the woods, and I am having lots of fun, I listen to her.
(I really am a good Punkin, ya know).



We get to walk the whole ridge that day! 
Whoo~Hoo! Er, I mean "ARF" of course.
I jumped over that dead tree this time, backed away, really safelike too; and watched her hafta step over it.

Then, I smelled something really good. (I don't know WHY "she" says 'pee-you' when she smells these kinda things too).  It sure was smellin' good to me!




Oh-Oh.




Right she is. 
This wasn't a feast after all...
At least the leaves are covering it all up for now.
Good thing too, 'cuz I wouldn't want the poo in the hole to end up in my river.



It IS pretty, isn't it?
Would YOU go swimmin' with me some day?


"She" finds another stick for me...
I headed right on down to find it...

And I couldn't find it ennywhere!
But I could hear her again sayin' "Do NOT go in the river."





And then the worst thing ever happened...

 

and  I fell in!

I told her I was sorry though and she wasn't too mad then. 




Well 'cept for the dead fish I found on the way up. (Part of it is still stickin' out of my mouth).

I mean, could YOU stay mad at me if I said it this nice?



So I was a 'lil stinky. Big deal.  (I like it just fine like that, but "she" doesn't).
"She" is a killjoy, ya know.

For my punishment, she makes me go fishin'.   (This is punishment)???
I don't think so!

I tell her I'll catch 'em, but she's gotta clean 'em...

It's a deal.
















We work pretty well together, don'tcha think? 
And the house smelled really good after all that!
Mmmm...
It woulda smelled even better if she'da cooked 'em all, but she didn't. After wrappin' them all up, she puts them in the big cold box in the back.
Now I gotta wait for one more 'lil bite...

I'd better close before she catches me. Ya know how mean she can be.
A big old "ARF" to y'all.
May all of your own 4 legs be as good as I am, and may your bowls always be full.

Love, Punk