our little corner

the area on the corner that we've been re-landscaping is finished. we're pleased with how it turned out and i'm wondering how it will look after a season or two. i'll guess i'll find out.

original ...


step 1, front and back ...



step 2, front and back ...

step 3, front and back ...

romantic storms?

if a thunderstorm is about to happen or is in progress, you should not only hang up your cell phone, you should throw it far away from you.

"... usually when someone is struck by lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash over the body in what is known as a flashover. But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal injuries and death ... 'The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm' ... " (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13491467/)

did i know that? do you? regardless, lightning is really dangerous -- we just don't hear about its adverse effects very often.

for example, if you are indoors during a storm don't touch electrical equipment (lightning can follow a wire) and stay away from bathtubs, faucets, and sinks (metal pipes transmit electricity). there are additional rules plus more for if you're outside, but here's one you need to remember: never lie down flat on the ground during a storm. (http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/oem/emd/thunder.html)

if lightning strikes 20 million times a year, that's about 38 times a minute. and the air near a lightning strike is 50,000 degrees. whoa. dude. seek safe shelter.

landscaping

we've been busy the last couple of days putting a new spin on our street corner. our builder thought the corner (which has the street sign implanted there) needed to be a mulched area with plantings. we never really liked it, although it was okay, and couldn't figure out how to add stuff to make it look good. finally the husband decided what he wanted to do with the space and when some small boulders unexpectedly came into his possession at an excellent price, the project got started.

on tuesday he (i was out-of-town) took out the old plants, laid down some more fabric, and told the rock guy where to place the boulders. on wednesday hubby got a bunch of melon-sized rocks and we both worked on placing those, then we purchased some plants more to our liking and placed them around the rocks. yesterday he planted plants while i dug weeds out of the lawn, then joined him on the project by placing pebble-size rocks around the plant/rock groupings. we worked hard all day (lunch was at 3pm, supper at 8) and both of us got sunburned. today we are kind-of sore, but mostly just bushed. i took a 3-hour nap this afternoon.

i'll try to get some pictures taken and online tomorrow so you can see what we've done. i love working in the yard. too bad it makes my arm swell up so much since it can take weeks for it to go back to normal size.

i've also been working on sewing a present for a friend and, strangely, the sewing aggravates my arm so even thought her birthday is tomorrow, i have to take it slow and it will be lated. right now i'm listening to my favorite station (overxposure.fm) and sitting down to read a murder mystery.

all is well here.

small town crime

June 13: Two truckers engaged in a pushing contest after becoming frustrated over a perceived incident of queue jumping in the northbound commercial truck traffic line-up. Police calmed the men, who declined to have the matter pursued criminally.

June 12: Officers mediated an argument between sisters who had become tired of living together. Apparently the younger juvenile sister was upset over being "bossed" around. The mother arrived home in the middle of the argument and took control of the situation. When everything had calmed down, officers cleared without further incident.

June 7: Police received a report of a traffic cone pattern in a construction zone which was causing south and northbound traffic to converge head-on. Officers found that construction workers had forgotten to move the cones back after moving equipment in the area. No collisions occurred and the problem was fixed.

June 7: An apartment complex resident reported that a neighbor was playing music extremely loudly. An officer responded and could hear the music from one to two city blocks away because the stereo owner had placed her speakers in an upstairs window facing the outside common area of the apartment complex. The officer gained the music lover's compliance in turning down the stereo at the time.

wow!

it is with great delight that i share the news from My Older Son -- he has a new job! at $25,000 more a year and THREE weeks vacation! his title is project engineering manager and he and the wife are as pumped as we are! of course, with costs in seattle being what they are, the young couple still may not be able to afford to buy a house, but we shall see. all in good time, as they say.

CONGRATULATIONS, JEFLA !!!11!11111!!1!!! w00t!

prices change over the years

we’ve been needing to get a new mattress for a long time now. we’ve been so unsure about what we should get that will work for both of us, however, and with the cost of the things you hate to make a mistake. one of us has jumpy legs and several of us snore a bit and one of us occasionally has bad dreams and makes noises. at any rate, we’ve tried twin beds, a full-size, a queen-size, two twin beds pushed together to make a king-size, a couch, and the floor. the twin beds pushed together actually works the best, but since one of the twins is an air mattress that needs to be replaced yearly and pumped up occasionally, it seems that we really should just get a king-size set and go from there.

so when we got a macy’s sale flyer in the mail last week, hubby sent me to look things over and see if anything would work, figuring we could find something for about $1200. one of the gals who works there is an absolute favorite of ours (she came over one day and gave us two hours worth of excellent asked-for advice about arranging the furniture, picture-placement, colors, etc), so i spoke at length with her about our concerns. she was totally helpful and we will go back next week to make our final choice -- hopefully we’ll soon have a new king-size stearns and foster mattress.

but the point of this whole thing is that when she and i were talking, she had me lay down on a whole bunch of mattresses without looking at the price. it was pretty easy to make some eliminations (i prefer firm but on a second trip we found that hubby prefers pillow-top), and two of the mattresses that i eliminated were fairly pricey. she made an off-hand comment about them being $10,000 and i about croaked, but she said she was just kidding. i looked at the price tags -- one of them was $7,000 and the other was $8,000. and i’m not kidding. thank goodness i didn’t like them.

exploration chronicles

Exploration of Planet 4B-163, Day 5

We lost Jimmy today. We left base camp at 0800 and proceeded outward along the 150 radius. Just after four kilometers, the terrain flattened out and vegetation quit growing. The ground surface became soft and spongy but well able to support our weight.

We continued along our direction for another two kims, with Jimmy at Lead. The surface gradually became softer. We debated continuing since the terrain was the same as far as we could see forward and if it were to continue to lose integrity, we could expect to become mired at some point.

The decision was made for Jimmy to continue alone for a bit more to see if the surface changed. He set out and had gone no further than approximately 300 meters when he stopped. He was observed looking at the surface, then appeared to be trying to extricate his right foot from the surface. Since we were fully suited with pos-radio trans, he was able to explain the occurrence as it was happening. The following is a complete transcription until he disappeared from sight:

Jimmy: Captain, the surface has just gotten markedly softer and I am starting to sink.
Mark: You’re starting to sink? Is there suction? Can you retreat?
J: I can’t lift my foot -- it’s really weird. The surface feels soft and swishy-like, but I can’t lift either foot at all.
M: Retreat, Jimmy. Back up and retreat.
J: Yes sir, I would if I could, but it’s like there’s something holding onto my boots -- I can’t move them and if I fight it, I think I’ll just fall.
M: We’re on our way. Jeb, Slim, and Bertie are on it.
J: Yes sir, but I don’t think they should come out here. I am not going to be able to move and they’ll just get sucked in. You better move them back. I’m already up to my knees and there’s no way I’m getting out of this.
M: Hold on, Jimmy, they’re halfway there.
J: Captain, unless you want to lose more men, you better move them back.

Captain Claney ordered the men to halt and within a few seconds Jimmy had completely sunk, the whole downward movement seeming to increase in speed from start to disappearance. Jimmy was still alert and able to speak to us for another two minutes after the surface smoothed back in place. He reported that rather than darkness as you would expect, he was able to see the material around him fully lighted, just as it had looked on the surface. Then he stated that something had grasped his hand, and his legs regained mobility. He was able to move forward, as if being towed. Rather than feeling afraid of what was happening, he reported a sense of calm. There were no further trans.

The three men who had advanced were ordered to mark the area from three meters back, then they successfully returned to the group. The decision was made to retreat to base and continue the exploration as scheduled tomorrow. Mems were held at 1700.

We lost a good man.

can't go home

well, here it is late at night and i should either be reading or sleeping, but what i'm doing is ... playing games. actually i've been trying out some new ones and the one i just lost was 'uncle sam'.

it was very basic, with me being on the ground and having a gun and shooting at ufo's. but then i got a bigger gun and a space ship of my own and went up in the big blue sky and fought the bad guys. and then i got a bigger gun and fought some really big bad guys. and then i was captured and taken off into the sky. and a message came floating down which said, "probably you can not go home." hahahaha! yeah, probably.

it's "know HOW to fold 'em," kenny...

i ran across some interesting information yesterday concerning origami:

ever heard of Satoshi Kamiya? apparently he's an origami genius. he started folding when he was two and was designing his own sculptures at ten. the designs below are his creations, with the last one being one he made in 2004, when he was twenty.

origami, you remember, is made from one square sheet of paper.







go to http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~qr7s-kmy/g/index.html if you'd like to see more of his work.

happy news

ah! The Hubby is due back today. he's been gone a looooooong time! well ... since tuesday anyway. but it SEEMS like a long time. i've missed him!

a different world

the latest information about my dad, from my bro:

"Our father continues to thrive. Every time I see him now he seems to know who I am, sometimes he even says I'm his son. He had another episode of that accute sleep apnea, or what ever it is. They didn't panic, he recovered, and they called to inform me. About seven or
eight years ago a Dr told Dad he needed an operation on his heart. Dad told the guy to take a hike. Now tell me, if Dad has a bad heart would it be able to stop and start on its own with no detectable damage being done? It would appear he has attained some kind of Zin state. He has lost more weight, which has made him more agile, and a little faster. We have also had to make some wardrobe adjustments."

alzheimer's is such a curious disease. thanks for the update, b ...

small town crime

May 25: An officer contacted an intoxicated driver, who was passed out behind the wheel stopped on a main thoroughfare in a traffic lane with the engine running. The driver failed standardized field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

May 24: A business person in the 200 block of G Street contacted the police department to report that an unauthorized person filled the trash container with items not belonging to the business. The business had not given anyone else permission to utilize the trash container and has to pay to have it emptied, so the unauthorized use constitutes a criminal theft of service. The suspect was identified and appropriate action will be taken.

May 24: An anonymous complainant requested an officer check a shopping center parking lot for a group of juveniles practicing their filmmaking skills. One of the "stunt" actors was wearing a large helmet, and being towed in a wheelchair by a vehicle circling the parking lot. An area check was conducted; however, the production "took five" and were no longer in the area.

May 19: A resident heard possible gunshots as a car passed his house and called police. Officers stopped the car and its five occupants. They found that the vehicle was backfiring and there were no weapons in the car. The resident was advised of the officer's findings.

word to the wise -- even though you may not have any more room in your trash can, do not take the trash to an apartment's trash bins -- it's illegal. hmmm, who knew? i thought it was just something you weren't supposed to do.