The Blackburn Digest

Call me a “weather wimp”, but it is bitterly cold outside and the mercury is dropping as I type. We are also under a high-wind advisory until this evening. The combination of 30.5 degrees ambient temperature and heavy wind gusts made todays’ necessary foray to our local Walgreen’s a truly uncomfortable experience. (Chill factor - 20 degrees.) Hummmmph - when I was younger (about mumble40mumble years younger), Tolerating 17 degree weather in Newport, Rhode Island was no big deal! Youth+proper clothing+good health makes a big difference:(

PS - The forecast for tomorrow night is 18 degrees. This is freakin’ nuts!

I realize parts of the Midwest are experiencing -52 degree weather (and massive snow drifts) - I shouldn’t complain, but this is So. Central Texas (land of several-weeks-over-100 degrees) and our bodies and winter wardrobes just aren’t geared for this frigid blast!

Happy New Year, everyone!

“2010″ - even when I adjusted to entering the 21st century, 2010 seemed somewhat futuristic! It simply sounds like homes a la The Jetsons should have somehow proliferated by now, hydroponic gardens should be the norm in middle-class dwellings and our fuels (and fuel consumption) should be vastly different! Well, of course, none of the above has happened:)

Truth be told, a streamlined house-of-the-future would not be sympathetic to my (or DH’s) collecting-and-creating urges. There are some single-family hydroponic gardening systems available now, but they require a lot of space and our somewhat-new (added 2008) greenhouse is doing quite well at assuring a ready supply of fresh Greek oregano, chives and parsley through the winter, with space left over for my decorative potted plants. Fuel changes? Well, there seems to be more attention being paid to alternative fuels, at least. For now, daughter’s Ford Escape Hybrid and son-in-law’s bicycle commute days remain the family contribution to reducing toxic emissions. Given the current condition of the economy, I’m not willing to take on a new car payment, nor am I willing to give up The Lady - my ‘97 Camaro.

Just when I am standing at the counter of our local UPS store, ready to ship off two very overdue flower orders. . . .ready to tick off one more entry on my “catch up from surgery down-time” list - - - - - just when I think I have reached the Final Two (overdue by mumblewaaaytoomanymonthsmumble), cushions for G’daughter’s toy box and hemmed slacks for DS. . . . . . .Karma speaks up and says “Don’t be so proud of yourself! You just think you have everything under control. Giggle!” (Yes, I am completely convinced I heard Karma giggling. It certainly wasn’t me!)

I have served as President of my local miniatures club for two terms (4 years), and my loyal and supportive board of officers has backed me up throughout. I have cheerfully mangled Robert’s Rules of Order at each and every meeting, for the sake of swift-moving meetings and maximum time for projects and general mini-fun. Besides, rules or no, controlling a large group of gregarious miniaturists is much akin to herding cats! Why fight an uphill battle when humor works better than “rules”?

Before I led a larger-than-usual group through a lesson in miniature flower making today, there was the usual “Christy version” of a business meeting. Along with minutes of the last meeting, a quick report from our treasurer, collection of yearly dues and some discussion of upcoming projects and some good-natured arm twisting to produce instructors for said projects, it was time for a new board of officers to be installed. Well, that is what the calendar said, anyway! While I realized that the current board hadn’t had a single serious internal disagreement or ’spat’ over our four years, and everything has run remarkably smoothly, I assumed that the general membership was probably tired of my refusal to take myself (or much of anything else) seriously Um, wrong - LOL!

Well the title got your attention, anyway:)

As I was leaving our house to run errands and buy a few things I’ll need when I teach my class on Saturday, I noticed the big “automated trash pick-up” containers being distributed in my neighborhood. I hoped we would receive our *very own set* of 96 gallon containers (brown for trash and blue for all recyclables), but held the pessimistic view that they would run out of containers before reaching our street. Delivery of *any* goods or services can be a bit slow in Texas ~ it’s something about that ‘Southern cadence’ . . . I was introduced to that phenomenon in Athens, Georgia in 1968, and it truly hasn’t changed very much in forty years:)

I now have one less doctor on my “With whom/when?” appointment list. I wasn’t thrilled at the need for trekking across a fair amount of the city this morning to attend the post-op visit with my foot surgeon; the weather has turned freakin’ cold and WET the past few days. Wet is good. . . .wet is great, actually, as the Edwards Aquifer levels have been dropping near water-use restriction levels recently. In San Antonio, however, rain is best dealt with inside the safety of one’s own domicile. Our drivers seem blissfully unaware that a speeding car does not stop as quickly on rain-slick streets, nor does said car perform right-angle turns as obediently as it might in dry conditions. Coincidentally, they also are unaware that their cars (especially white & light blue ones) are much more visible in a heavy downpour if they Turn On Their Headlights. Sigh - with thunder rumbling and rain striking the roof, I was not happy to leave the house!

She is sleek and beautiful, has eyes that seem to follow me everywhere and poses with regal grace. I thought I had a name chosen for her, but she’s much too elegant for it ~ I shall have to think awhile. She is a birthday gift from my son, formed from an off-white modeling compound and tardy in her arrival because he spent many, many days painting/sanding/painting/sanding. She is worth the wait, for she looks as if she is sculpted in ebony! I would love to put a link right here to pictures of her, but that will have to wait until my new camera battery and battery charger arrive in the mail; at this moment, my Nikon Coolpix is a paperweight Thank you again, Thomas!!