Shall we call this a February Challenge?

Someone else in blogland is committed to blogging each day of February. I haven't exactly decided to do the same but I have been remembering how much I used to love to just babble here a bit and how long it's been since I did much of that on a regular basis. And maybe that's not a bad thing.

February here is 2 1/2 days old and so far has been gloriously sunny. Today is 21F, bright blue sky and beautiful. I've not been outside yet...but it's on the agenda. For one thing, there was the phone call last night on the train. First there was the sms about UAH 40 having been put on my phone acct. And then the umpteen missed phone calls from an unfamiliar number. And then the one I actually answered (it was my smart phone which I seldom use as an actual phone- it's my mobile internet, actually- so don't ever have the volume on). This unfamiliar unknown person on the other end was begging me to return the uah 40 she'd accidentally sent to my number instead of her own. It's easy to do. We have these iBoxes everywhere (I just googled that- And I have no idea why we call them iBox! It's just a freestanding machine where you can punch in your phone number and then feed it money and your acct is recharged; you can recharge a lot of other accts, too but the phone is the only one I'm interested in). So if you accidentally switch a couple numbers or enter a wrong digit and that number exists- Bingo! You've given someone else a present! So, I need to go out and put uah40 on her acct...since it turns out doing it through the phone company involves passports and other rig-a-marole.
For another thing there's the nearly empty fridge out there.

When my little sis was in middle school, she was (for how long? Don't know.) the arm wrestling champion. I can only imagine all the boys were thrilled. 

 That Peanuts reminded me of this one. An old one featured on here before (back in 2008). Yup. That bro-in-law was just about to get creamed by his wife's sis. Who is one tough chick! ;)

The new room is progressing. There was just a tremendous crash followed by happy humming and scurrying feet and more sounds of drywall being mudded so apparently there were no casualties. Mr Man also sings while he works. He's about 2 inches tall, weighs about an ounce, looks like he's about a hundred and moves in fast darting motions. I can only assume it was a short trip to the floor. 

Aaannnnnddddddddddddd February!

The renovation is still going strong. Day 2 (yesterday) revealed that, although the landlady (well, her mom really. Wanna know something? The actual for-real landlady uhhh doesn't know about this little new room. Yup. I had a call the other day from Anya- the lady who originally rented this place to us. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the apt is in her adult dau's name. All our business was with Anya until a certain point last year when the dau stepped in and said- I'm the owner you know. Your dealings will be with me now. I think she thought her mom was too soft with us. heh. teehee. I wonder why. So anyway- Anya calls- Uhhh You're meeting with my dau later today? Yes, I say. Uhhh. Well. Do you mind not telling her about that work we're going to be doing on that room at the apt? She uhhhh doesn't know about it. She uhhhh doesn't think we have enough money for it right now. I thought for a minute. And then said Well I can just keep quiet about it. I had no intention of lying about it but I also couldn't see why it should even come up since Darling Dau had no reason to suspect, apparently. And sure enough, not a word was said. If I hadn't had so many frustrations with Darling Dau, I would feel a bit sorry for her but... so anyway- back to the proverbial ranch. Day 2 revealed that, although the landlady's MOM said they were going to redo the walls, it is, in fact, the whole room that's getting a new do. There is laminate flooring in that collection up there. And the walls and ceiling will be drywall. And Mr Renovator Man is one hard working dude. He works from 9 am to 6 or 7 pm with no breaks for anything- food, drink, toilet, nothing. He goes outside (ahem) about twice in that stretch for a smoke. And. That. Is. It. After a previous experience* with some handymen-types here, that is impressive, to say the least.  

So yeah- it's February and real winter has finally set in. It's so cold and windy that I had to put a sleeping bag on the windowsill in my room to keep the plants from freezing. And I'm wearing everything I can get on and still move. And I'm just in the apartment. Looking through the window at the few people out there trying to navigate cured me of the urge to go anywhere.

So- babble much? I guess.

*Little T and I once were called by a frantic (sort of) male from our little team- Get over here as fast as you can. These clowns who are supposed to be doing the painting aren't working fast enough. We need to use this place for GUESTS next week and they're slow as molasses. So off we went. To paint. And sure enough, there were 2 handymen. Painting. Sort of. Reality was they took a 20 min smoking and tea break once an hour. I kid you not. We worked circles around them and they laughed at us. What do you want to get this done for so fast, they asked. There'll just be more to do after that. One of our team said to me He doesn't want to hurry up because he's out of the house and away from his wife while he's here. Well haha. We gotter done, thanks. And they got fired. 

Ahhhh yes! Winter!

Remember those days? We did this. I loved it! :) 

We had a really warm winter until about 2 weeks ago. And then it was like someone flipped a switch. So now, instead of mud we do, indeed, have ice. And snow. And very cold temps.
And in some places, there's been lots of wind. Which is why I've been alone this whole week. Sometimes when you go make a short visit to your parents you end up getting 'wintered' in there. N was supposed to be there for a couple days but they've had so much wind that they can't keep the roads open and no bus has been by in days. (Or hadn't been.)
Yesterday, I made a pot of this (sort of) potato soup- only there's not much in the recipe that we actually can get here- like canned soup (which isn't good for you anyway, right?)- boiled chicken on the bones and used the broth and milk and white sauce for the soup and the broth in the recipe; no hash browns- used potatoes; no cream cheese- used a local sort of same thing; no cheddar cheese- used regular cheese; no bacon bits- used fried, diced ham. So- um, I guess that's the whole ingredient list. The thing is, while it needs some tweaking (not thick enough, needs more pepper in the actual cooking), it's pretty good was very easy to make and didn't take long. One thing living here does is break your dependence on processed foods... there just aren't many.
And then, when I needed a break in the evening, I went back to the kitchen and made these fun little donut-y things- also found here at PW. Ok- they need to be eaten while they're hot. But they sure are yummy! And kind of fun. I saw them on someone's page- don't remember whose- but Thanks, Whoever you are!
And I found this in my newsfeed- a fun first-lines-of-various-novels quiz.

And if you've been around Facebook, you maybe know that my parents got hung up in the Atlanta Snow Jam. Let me tell you- from across the ocean, it suddenly felt like they were tiny, helpless children caught up in a mad crush of danger. Ok, I'm sure it wasn't quite like that. We were all really really glad when some very nice people helped get them into a hotel room for Night #2 in the Snow Jam. (All the time they were holed up in that Waffle House, I was nourishing this hope that they were in a booth where they could sort of fall over sideways and catch a nap...which turns out to not have been the case.)

This is for Mom who had these nervous kids that kept calling and texting to make sure they were still frost-bite free and alive and not starving...every time she'd just managed to doze off again. See when we were little, we kept her up with our incessant crying (I suppose); now that we're not little, we keep her awake with our incessant worrying. ;)

What to do in winter

Why, strip down the walls and repaper, paint and put up drywall, of course. That's what our landlady decided, at any rate. So yesterday, I moved out the stuff (note- not my stuff, N's; N went to her folks for 3 days and got completely wintered in.)
Today was Day 1.

All the stuff from the other room's in my room now- 

fun times!

But the mess in my room is nothing compared to the mess in that other room. I'm just glad it's not me having to take that old paper off. 

Curse? Necessity? Plague?

You've probably seen that video sneaking around Facebook. The one where Person #1 on a cell phone bugs Person #2 on a cell phone by pretending to have an equally loud conversation but just responding to Person #2's (supposedly too loud) conversation prompts. I say "supposedly" because it didn't actually seem to me that Person #2's conversation was all that loud...and Person #1 came across as rude...to me, at least.
There are an awful lot of rude cell phones out there, though. (Oh, you mean it's NOT the phone that's rude? Oh.)
Yesterday we had a 3 hour bus ride and were immediately in front of a whiny-voiced woman who used the whole time to catch up on everyone and everything. Actually, yesterday was full of rude cell phones.
A few years ago, I had the extreme good fortune to spend New Year's Eve in the same room as someone who was so important that she got phone calls and sms'es ALL NIGHT long...wishes for the new year and such. You know, important stuff. I guess she didn't know the phone's volume could, you know, be shut off. She also doesn't know how close she came to having that phone take a swimming lesson in the toilet.
Do I sound crabby yet? I do? Oh. Sorry. It's just this woman's phone apparently only works on speaker phone. On a crowded bus.
I value my privacy more than that. But whatever.

Knocking on Closed Doors

or at least on one. One morning, someone phoned me on my old number- the one I use for mobile internet but not actual phone calls. So, since the volume to that one is seldom actually on, I never heard it. 

So then there's a gentle knock on my door and this meek little voice- Uh Anita? (D) would like to talk to you. 

I glance at my very quiet phone- the one that's for talking on. And shrug- OK- Coming.

But the door stayed like this:

firmly shut. And no amount of persuasion or wiggling helped. I've never much liked that glass and considered breaking it...briefly (WHY do you need glass in the doors of rooms INSIDE a house? Esp if someone SLEEPS on the other side. Yes, I should cover it.) N is looking at it from the other side and says- There's no way to get ahold of the latch thing from here. (And Yes, I called D back on my real phone. Had the conversation. Told my predicament. He said- Uh, do you want me to come let you out? Well- since that would take at least 3 hours, I don't guess so. And everyone seemed relieved at THAT!)

So I find an empty bucket on the balcony and a ball of twine. (3 cheers for the genius who decided to keep at least some of the tool-y stuff (twine qualifies, in my book) on the balcony instead of in the toolbox in the closet in the hallway on the other side of that crazy door.)

Off to the window I go with my bucket.

And wait. See that little figure? :) My hero!

I lower the bucket to her, she puts this in and I haul it back up.

And lay into that door knob from my side. 

And was free at last! (Only to discover that there were screws on the other side, after all.... heh. See- I knew there should be but apparently there was a lack of clarity in that bit of communication and not everyone involved understood what those screws were all about. Oh well- that door knob was dangerous. I mean- what if I'd been alone?? See then the glass would have had a problem.)

So the next time- maybe I'll say- Sure D, come help us!
Or at least- Um, could you go get a neighbor and see if he can help? I mean the kind of neighbor that knows all about screwdrivers and door knobs. Not the kind that sometimes wears a skirt.
Sorry. But sometimes.... it's true.

Yum

One little tiny reason to love this time of year a great big lot!

Link post, did you say???

Hello there People. I cleared out (finally) all my saved stuff from Feedly...which still included a bunch of stuff brought over from Reader...where I apparently saved everything I thought was remotely interesting once upon a time. Here are the best of those (according to me)!

Spiced Pumpkin Smoothie- made this on my birthday and it was pretty good, actually. Couldn't find coconut milk so used some regular milk with lots of shredded coconut- not bad, actually. :)

A visitor to L'viv- the first city I lived in here- This city wasn't one where you'd walk down the street and meet people you knew. In fact, people here were mostly too busy to care about what you were doing. The first place we lived, though, had a nice neighborly feel to it. L'viv is still my favorite of the cities I've lived in here. L'viv is just plain cool. Hills. Cobblestones. Old buildings. Ancient buildings. And some grocery-cart grocery stores. :)

Whose toddler needs one of these? I mean. I wish I was a toddler! ;) Ok- I wish I was not so artistically challenged. My GORGEOUS niece- Baby B- NEEDS one!

A world wide driving tour. Gulp. These are quite the roads. I can't actually say that I have much desire to see some of these. But they are amazing. I was on one in Spain (that never made this list) that did it for me. It wound around a valley and you could see several wrecks down over the sides- they were irretrievable so left there...and then served as warnings to other motorists to Be Careful! And that wasn't even the road up to Dalsnibba. Gulp. (I'mSorryMrBerghForBeingSuchAWimp). And yes, it's gorgeous up there. But I'm still amazed I'm still alive. (Remember the cow that ran in front of the car part of the way, Trude? Poor thing. I'm still fretting about it!) ;)

And this is one of my favorites- Kids' drawings of their grandparents recreated in photographs!

Oh my- and the part of me that loves the Lord of the Rings (I mean the book) and The Hobbit (again, the book)- I love this interactive map of Middle Earth. Google does some cool stuff every now and again. Although this is, apparently based on the movies as there are characters in here I've never heard of. grrr

A Chernobyl post- something I'm always interested in. The original post. And the one it links to- a good and simple explanation of why the accident happened.

Um- some old time baby names? Whee- some good ones here! How many of these have you met? I know some from this list and some others that could be on this list!

Oh yes- and where to get (highly overpriced) American food when you don't live on the other side of the ocean. Ahem. When you see a small box of HayBale Shredded Wheat for $13 in the 'ethnic foods' aisle you might be tempted (I did not cave, though. Sigh. I fasted. :0 )

You want to know what the countries around you are best at? What they lead the world in? Here You Go. (And cough- I have no idea what they mean about Ukraine and THAT. Um.)

A little unclear on the concept

This is a comic I only recently found- and Oh haha- they can be funny. Not that you have to know what 'Tae Bo' is. But oh this conversation. It's just hilarious. 

No Want Kiss U!

Did I ever tell you this story? The story about the little 3 year old boy who was cornered by a Big Older (WellNotThatOld) Lady? He was trapped in a corner as Big Older (WellNotThatOld) Lady closed in. Big Older (WellNotThatOld) Lady said- Come here I want to give you a kiss! Little Boy shrinks further into his corner and, in complete desperation shouts- I have a RUNNY NOSE!!
And No- he did not get kissed.
At least not that time.
And like little boys seem to do, he grew and grew and grew. I just looked him up on Facebook... he's in college. Oh my. And I remember him from when he was 3. (And no, Big Older (WellNotThatOld) Lady is not/was not me!) ;)

I needed this pic after wading through Google's new Terms of Service.  I don't pretend to even begin to understand most stuff about the web. And I know that it's nearly impossible, really, to make things completely private or to delete them once they're created and posted. But I'm not kidding- You'd better make sure your Google profile is where you want it. Those folks scare me more than Facebook. They seem even more intent than Facebook on making everything public UNLESS you specifically specify otherwise. (I keep both accounts because- Well, I do need to be in touch with people. And both sometimes work better than regular email for some people...especially people who change their email address more often than.... Than what? Than Ukrainian roads need potholes fixed? Than you sing in the shower?  Something like that. 

And while I'm at it- Be careful with what you put on your profile. Does everyone need to know what year you were born? Do they need to see your face tagged in every single picture? Does every stalker on the planet need to know your home address and telephone number? Or the names and ages of all your kids AND the school they attend? (A few years ago, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was quoted as having said: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. (this is a link, fyi)"  Of course, he's right. Duh. We need to be honest, upright, moral, etc etc etc. We need to be that for our own conscience's sake. We should all be concerned about THAT first and foremost NOT because of what Google or Facebook or LinkedIn or whatever will share with the public or government. BUT there are other reasons for guarding privacy fiercely. Identity theft. Stalkers. It's a long list, and does include the government and what exactly they'll do with your web search data- but you can fight about THAT one somewhere else. The point is- We Need To Be Careful. Because I doubt that Google or Facebook care about more than their own earning reports or bank accounts. They don't really care about your privacy. At. All.)
Just saying.

In other random news:

• In spite of being dead tired and wanting only to go to bed, I took a shower last night AND washed my hair (does every stalker on the planet need- or want- to know that?!?)- And this is a Big Deal why? Because there is no water anywhere in the city today (and tomorrow, we hear)- the twice annual cleaning of the water pipes has begun. Natalya went to the train station to buy tickets today and did find out that the bathroom there has water. But the hospitals don't; the university doesn't; we certainly don't. 
• Have you ever seen Orc Children? You know- Tolkien's little monsters. We had 2 hours on the train recently with some kids (age 0, maturity wise) who'd been for a tour of Western Europe. After watching them on the platform and hearing how they talked with their adult chaperones- I'm pretty sure they're Orc Children. I have Tolkien's Lord of the Rings as an audio book and some of them sounded exactly like the Orcs of Mordor. And were about as refined and polite and nice, too. I'm going to persist in my belief that not all kids that age are like that. Please please tell me I'm right. I mean- there are some MYP's I read about often who surely are NOT like that. (I guess someone knows what that's all about.) 
• Early fall was cold and unfriendly. No heat. Freezing temps outside. Much need for camel hair duvets. The past 2 weeks have been gorgeous. Warm. (And full heat in the apt- go figure). Gorgeous foliage. I'm sure it won't last. But it's been great! 

I'll leave you with a pic for evidence! :)

And no- that isn't my car. Not even close. I'd want a Hummer anyway, for the roads we cover. Uff.

Et tu Family Circus?

Sigh. Grammar and spelling. How old fashioned. Let's just do away with all the words that confuse us so much. There, their, they're? Pick one and use it every time in every situation. It's and its? Ditto. Awhile and a while? Ditto. You're and your? Why bother learning the difference? Or proofreading? Just go with your...I'm sure we'll all understand.
Sigh.

A Little Unclear...all the way around

Apparently, at least in some venerated circles (or are those circles ventilated?)- the old 'from scratch' is now 'from itch'...because itch does come before scratch, you know.

Long Break

I'm not sure where the time went. Ever heard that one? ;)
Yeah, original.

One thing I did this summer is occasionally save a link I found and enjoyed on this post. I'm sure you'll be just over the moon with them, too.

This really interesting article about vintage bathing suits...wow

Have you ever wondered what the EU is? Well-- wonder no more! Or maybe do... (And- in case you're wondering- We here in the Wild East are trying to get into the EU. I don't really understand it all but it's causing quite a row with Russia and there is some resolution being signed very soon- next month, I think- about it. Not that much will change here, methinks. Call me a pessimist. And see that other post about the Norman Rockwell pic.)

This needs to be tried. Seriously. Frozen coffee. Oh Yum.

Oh wow- so does this. Greek Shrimpy things done some amazing way with feta cheese... I'm drooling. Time for my Shredded Wheat, I guess... what a substitute...(On the other hand- if you ever come to see us and want to tuck a box of the big 'hay bale' kind of Shredded Wheat in your suitcase, Well- feel free. I mean, I don't know anyone who'd mind. ;)

The Trees of Chernobyl - My first lesson with the students is a general one about stereotypes and how people see Ukrainians (and how they see Americans- now that's fun! We're fat and rich and dumb or smart (depending) and smile all the time, in case you were wondering!)- and Chernobyl is part of that. They live in a place that is still under the shadow of Chernobyl (although not as much here as in the NW) but they don't think about it. They don't think about radiation or its long term effects on them or the environment. And I think I understand that. I don't think about it, either. It's just part of being here. And here is where we are. And we live here. That's what we do. We Live.

A transcript of a space flight. The part about 'my watch is 10 seconds fast' sort of made me giggle. Imagine that being important. But I suppose it might be...might have been...(FYI- I did NOT read the whole thing. I skimmed the first 20 or so pages and then threw in the towel. But it did sort of look interesting. If you have a chunk of time you were wondering what to do with.)

hand drawn (beautiful) atlas of the early US. (another link to that atlas...and more links from this one. Really beautiful work) I wish I had this kind of talent!

and one about naps!! Nap On, Everyone! ;)

It just depends on where you were born

There's a new school year. In fact, it's not even that new anymore. I have a few weeks under my belt already of classes again. One of the things we've done this fall is tell a story based on a picture. Someone (some wonderful creative person) left a pile of Norman Rockwell calendar pictures. And they are great. That Mr Rockwell knew how to tell a story in brush strokes. And the kids do pretty well making up their own little tales, too. The pic below has been a fun one. 

So take a look at it and tell me what you see. 

Pretty straight forward, eh? I mean. Naughty kid. Writing lines. (And when? Can you tell me that? And WHO is that man?)

Now here's the thing- Without exception, from my students, this pic has elicited this story: The boy is in trouble with his teacher. His father comes to school with a gift for the teacher to placate her and get the son out of trouble. (Today, the word 'bribe' was used.)
The first time, I was sort of surprised and had a good look at this innocent picture. After 6 classes of the very same story, though, it's quite clear that this really is a different culture and that Rockwell depicted something that is universally recognizable by Americans.
And here's the thing- When I asked if they have 'detention' here, they just gave me blank looks. I guess not. But they do buy their way out of trouble. (Chocolate, coffee, liquor and money are preferred methods.)
Again and again and again.
Sometimes I think I'm used to the little nuances that make this place tick. And sometimes, it completely catches me off guard.
Again.

Ahhhh

Went with a dear friend this afternoon out into the valleys and ravines to simply ramble, breathe and be. And Oh, it was perfect. I have about a hundred more pix but will be content with these for now. Took plums from the tree here in the backyard with us and ate heaps along the way. Came home and had pancakes, eggs and smoothies for supper. And lots of good conversation along the way. Does it get better than that?

Good Idea

Snagged from somewhere on Facebook

Sweden's Best Kept Secret

My new friend.
It really is too bad this little dude and his friends and relations don't occupy a spot in every checkout aisle on the planet. You know- by the chewing gum, chapsticks and batteries.
Or maybe it's just as well that they don't. They sure are delicious, though. Oh My.

We are here just now. No matter how much of this I see over here- Europe is full of tragic war stories- I will never get used to it nor (hopefully) hear/read about it without shuddering. No family in Europe is unaffected, it seems.

And this is just a pop in to say hello! Yes- it's been a long time. And it'll be a bit longer!

:) Smile

It’s not raining here. Not right now. But it looks like it could. And it will. But hey- It’s spring! Yay! Here’s to walking in the rain and feeling it in your bones and loving it!! Have a great day!

Recent stuff on the net and things from my Google Reader starred list. (And when did I begin to use Reader? Well- I'm not quite sure but the first starred item is from April 18, 2007. Uh yeah- the digital closet needed cleaning.)
Chernobyl 27 years later The disaster itself happened April 26, 1986.

Cab drivers meet all kinds. And there are all kinds of cabbies. Here's a great story by a great cabbie from a Sept 2008 post I'd saved.

How about some double-mint stuffed Oreo cookies?

Or how about Reese's Overload (for sure) cake?

Along the food line but not so sweet this time- English Muffin bread. Is there any bread quite as yummy as an English Muffin? I think not. 

Alzheimer's prevention? Little Anecdote #1: My friend and cohort Lillian used to try to beat me to the crossword (and here's the thing- she was a lot older than me and I'd let her have first crack, usually). Do crosswords, she'd say. Prevent Alzheimer's. In 2000, I left the US and didn't see her again until the fall of 2005. By which time she no longer knew me and often didn't know what she'd just done. I've wondered since if she knew back in '97 that something was up. That there were things going missing. I still enjoy the crossword. Now if we only knew if Angry Birds or Words With Friends are good for keeping your mind active. The second one maybe. hmmm

Abandoned mansions from around the world. The first one's from Ukraine...which is basically why the article made it into this post (but stuff like this always catches my eye. There's the mansion down in Kentucky, visible from a major highway. The story, as I remember it: Rich Man builds it for his wife. Wife divorces him. Rich Man loses everything and isn't able to finish the 'house'. When I saw it, someone had fenced it and was pasturing cattle on the grounds. Right up to the house. Which truly was magnificent. That pic often comes to mind. How sad we humans can be sometimes.). Ukraine has quite a lot of old fortresses/castles/the likes. Unfortunately, the country has no idea, for the most part, of how to capitalize on this potential wealth of tourist dollars.

"A satirist is a man who discovers unpleasant things about himself and then says them about other people." (Peter McArthur- whoever he is) 

and this remodeled saying: "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll buy a funny hat. Talk to a hungry man about fish, and you're a consultant." (Scott Adams this time)

And another- from Mark Twain: "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."

One way to figure out what to set the alarm for (this came in a newsletter):
The Best Part of Waking Up...

... Is Sleepyti.me, a Site That Maximizes Restfulness

We all wish for a little more shut-eye, but the truth is sleeping longer isn’t always better. Let us explain using Sleepyti.me, a barebones website that calculates the optimal time for you to go to bed or wake up depending on your current sleep schedule. But first, a quick science lesson. Sleep is broken up into 90-minute cycles, and it is much easier to wake up at the end of a cycle than in the middle of one. Hence, shortening your beauty sleep to accommodate this cycle actually leaves you feeling more rested. That’s where Sleepyti.me comes in. Tell it when you need to wake up, and it tells you when to fall asleep, counting backward in 90-minute increments. Skeptical? We were too. But in our tests it worked. Sleepyti.me can also work in reverse, helping you set your alarm if you are going to bed right now. In which case, you should probably get off the computer.

Last night

Yesterday was a busy day for us...in the afternoon. So, in spite of the fact that I had my cousins' bib numbers and had wanted to keep track of them as they ran the Boston Marathon, I really couldn't. By the time I could check on them via the Marathon's site, they were long done. They both did very well, finishing 1114 and 1632 (out of 23,336 who started, 17,580 who finished- honestly- I have rather a lot of runners on my mom's side of the family- (thankfully, it didn't infect me) and they are good and I knew it but I didn't know they were that good). They're both just barely in their 30's with families- little kids, one has a newborn- so I'm just really glad they are fast, that they are distance runners up to the race. Really glad.
Because by the time the finish line exploded, literally, they were on their way back to the Midwest and their homes with their families still intact.
A family friend was also running. And she's good and I've known it for a long time. She started the race about an hour after my cousins did. So when I finally got to my computer last night, I looked her up on the marathon site and found her. A little pink avatar running towards the city of Boston. Nearly there, actually. I did other stuff. Got ready for bed and thought- Wonder where A is now? I'll just check once more before shutting down for the night. And she was so close. Another 20 min, I thought, and she'll be there! Done! Who wants to go to bed now? I'm gonna watch her cross the line...or at least watch her avatar do that. So I read some other stuff and came back to the site every few minutes. And she was moving along. Had picked up her pace again and was at the Apple Store on the map*. What looked like about 2 1/2 blocks from the line. And then she just stayed there. And a thought flitted through my head- I hope nothing happened, hope she didn't get knocked over or something like that.
20 min later, she was still there. So I hopped onto facebook (love it or hate it, f/b last night was the meeting place, in the end, for all of us wanting to know just where and how A was). Of course, it took no more than a few seconds to realize that, in fact, 'something' had happened.
And from across the ocean, my blood pressure and heart-rate just went right up.
I read what was available online (not a lot) and waited. There was no more thought of going to bed. Should I have not checked once more? I don't know. Truly. But this family goes way back with our family. We were friends as kids; our parents were friends. We did Thanksgiving together- not every year but several times. She and Mom are 2 days apart in age. She came to see me just before I left the States, spent a night with us. We all reconnected. She's more than just an acquaintance, in the end, and knowing that she was in that group of as-yet-unaccounted-for people... I'll admit it- I was afraid for her, for her kids, her grandkids. I was wide awake and waiting, waiting, waiting. 
I didn't go to bed. I couldn't. Not then. There was a group of people commenting on f/b posts, trying to find her. The sister of the lady who, with her husband, was at the line waiting for her was 'there', too.
It took hours. I'm not just sure how long, 2 hours anyway, before there was, finally, a peep (on f/b) from her. And it was longer before the people looking for her finally got to her and before her kids were finally able to talk to her. And in the end, her danger was probably more from the toll the race takes on your body and then not being able to take care of those physical needs in a timely way than of actual proximity to the bombs.
From over here, I was impressed with how quickly there were websites up and running to track down people- both runners and spectators. But it's a chilling feeling to go on one of those sites and find a post for your friend made by her son but no news yet.

And really- I cannot comprehend the kind of person who could actually place bombs like that. We are in touch with humanity all the time; we see, maybe more than some, the saddest, the most discouraging things. And yet, this kind of thing- it is monstrous and incomprehensible. Regardless of how you feel about religion, about faith, about those kinds of things- the world really is full of people who couldn't do this kind of thing. But unfortunately, there are a few who apparently can. One article I read today called them cowards. And I would have to agree.

And I'm so glad that, in spite of being on track to finish her fastest marathon yet, she wasn't just a little faster this time.

*Zooming closer, I don't think she was actually quite there yet but that's what it looked like.

stuff and stuff and more stuff. Some of these will make you smile. Some won't.

Ancient Iranian citadel destroyed in a 2003 earthquake (from 360 world cities, so well worth the look- panorama 360 rotation). Wikipedia article about said citadel- Arg-é Bam.

Buchenwald as it was liberated. (series of photos from Life Magazine- Warning- some pretty horrifying pix- I quit partway through. Yes, I have a weak stomach for things like this. I no longer visit war museums or places like the Holodomor museum in Kyiv. I have no quibbles with whether or not those things happened. I don't need to see it to believe or feel the horror of it. I put the link here because of the historic nature of the pix as well as the event and because I think some of you will be interested in seeing them. And because Life Magazine was phenomenal and their website is great.)

Someone mentioned St Louis' "City Museum" recently. Wow! Anyone been there? Reminded me a bit of 'The House on the Rock' in Spring Green, WI. One of my favorite places. on Wikipedia

Collection of photos from the Viet Nam war.

Zip...found alive in a bag of mulch (this is an ongoing story and, I understand, is still being updated. It'll activate your cute receptors, for sure...just not at the start!)

Biscuits and gravy? Yes, Please! These look fab!

What not to give a knitter...and why.

Quirky street art...by a Russian artist.

Why spelling does, after all, matter. Tongues, anywone?

For your inner child...and then invite me over, please. No, I don't want to actually take a trip down that thing- but I want to watch you!

Kids and their favorite toys. (I thought of a certain little girl and a typewriter and could picture her wanting her picture taken with that!)

Someone (that would be you, Kristina! :) ) recently referred to the fact that Google Reader is being discontinued. And, while I was in mourning for awhile, I've now switched (and mostly adjusted) to Feedly. But her comment reminded me that I have a raft of articles starred in Reader. Things I wanted to keep track of, for some reason or other. Sat afternoon when all was quiet, I started wading through them. These are some of them. I'm sure you'll see more. Since I'm enjoying posting links. For now. :)

Did you know....

….that a ‘babushka’ is not actually a scarf? It means ‘grandmother’ in Russian, Ukrainian (and possibly other Slavic languages). Interesting that the term made it into this comic strip. I never heard it used in the Midwest but I understand it’s common in Western Canada where there are many Ukrainians.

I've had this post open for umm awhile now- and have been adding a link or 2 each day. So some of them are rather old now. But still good/interesting/funny/scary...

Food for thought about internet use. RAT...had never heard of this before.

and one about cancer survivors

and one about differential gears. (hey hey- Have you thought about your differential gear lately? Yeah- I hadn't either. Not that I have one...)

from Yahoo news- a mama elephant fighting off hyenas to save its baby.

a pretty decent article about Facebook privacy.

and another about F/B privacy. Yes, I have f/b. Yes, I'm careful. Very. Believe me- you need to be careful.

40 years of cell phones...well really, only 30 but...

you like cats? Wild cats, too? How about this one?

tree house envy, kicking right in

ok- does your dog eat peanut butter?

or would you like some pre-Revolutionary War events? Oh. My.

oh- And did you hear about the man who thought he bought a poodle...only it wasn't. It was a....(on steroids).

And in case you were wondering- it's technically spring here, yes it is. But we had another couple of inches of snow this morning (mind you- it did us the courtesy of melting this afternoon). It doesn't exactly feel like spring yet, though. It's been a most unusual winter, that's for sure!

only instead of rain...

we have this:

sigh.