More snow and cute stuff. Yea, yea, yea.

Yes, I am breaking my own rule.

The Monday after we left Vermont it snowed. I am so thankful I did not have to drive through the Adirondacks in that snow. It was bad enough just being cold with no shoes.

That is not the white snowsuit I got her, mine is still too big. It is so damn hard to buy for babies, especially ones not close.

Well, church Sunday took 1 hour and 40 minutes. I was a little pissed. It was confirmation Sunday and then they did the rail communion and it took forever. I felt bad, we are supposed to be supportive here, but geez, can't we hurry some of this shit up.

Then we went to the Cotswold Cafe at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford estate for lunch. First timers for that one. The fact they serve decent wine helps with the slow service and wacko servers. The food is good just slow. Except for the popovers, not hot and the butter, weird. Big Daddy seems to think I am spoiled by the Irish butter and perhaps I am.

I took my mom's car back after my pedicure. This is about a one hour drive to my brother's house. BD followed me to bring me home. My brother and I are barely speaking but being polite. At some point during the 10 minutes I was inside it was mentioned that my brother thought he was driving me home. I would walk and find an Uber first. My real question is, do these people really think a woman of my age and intelligence would drive across the city without knowing how she was going to get home. Spare me.

Personal Beauty Care

The long awaited manicure and hand care post. With a bonus.

The jar on the left is a jam jar. A jam jar that matches my 1950's bathroom. The object on the right is a crystal and silver powder shaker.

This is the crystal and silver plate jam jar that sits in the kitchen. I got them all from eBay for under 10 dollars apiece. The current "manicure in a minute" type stuff I got from Sephora was made by Loccitane and was close to 20 bucks for a small jar. And it was the only one I could find. Then I heard about making your own. So I bought the jam jars, some fine salt, fine sugar and Vitamin E oil from Trader Joe's and made my own. You can use either salt or sugar, and any oil. I might try grape seed oil next. You can add drops of fragrance oils, I did not. So here is how you do it. Pour about half the container full of either the salt or the sugar. Add oil and stir-you are looking for a consistency of thick but all wet. When you get there continue adding oil until you get loose oatmeal. Now you are good to go.

This is not to clean your hands, so start with relatively clean dry hands. Put a scoop from the spoon in your palm and rub in just like you are washing your hands. Pay attention to the cuticles. Rub at least one minute. Rinse well in warm water and now you will feel all slithery and oily and will be cursing me for this stupid idea. Dry your hands well with a fluffy terry cloth towel-paying special attention to between the fingers. When you are done you will have the softest and nicest hands you have felt since your last paraffin treatment. And it is so cheap you can do it a couple times a day if you need to. I wash my hands with industrial soap all day and it is really drying, and I cannot use hand cream at work.

The bonus, the powder shaker is full of baking soda. This is what I use to exfoliate my face a few times a week. It is cheap, now looks luxe and does the job.

Okay done with the girly stuff, but I will tell you Big Daddy uses the hand stuff and loves it. But he also used the olive oil in the bathrooms in Italy. He is that guy.

Went to Car City today and I think it will be okay if I can find more bathrooms. Engineers are the same as ever, disorganized and kinda strange. This launch has a bunch of parts and some are not so good.

So tonight it is once again cold and a predicted 3 to 6 inches. Hurray.

Snow Monsters

This morning when I was backing down the driveway this caught my eye. Oh my, I thought, that looks like a snow angel on the side of the Slav's house.

This afternoon when I returned home it had turned into the snow monster-getting ready to creep over to our house and eat us all up.

New adventures

Sammy Dog trying to convince us an empty bowl is a problem. He sits and softly grrs for attention, the he starts flipping and pushing the bowl all over the house. Then he gets the food, he takes a look and goes and snuggles in for a nap.  The orange safety vest is something I wear every day in the plants, isn't it attractive?

I received a text Saturday night asking me if I was prepared to transition to Car City this Tuesday. Will see how this is gonna work Monday and how current boss handles this change. It will be nice to say ta-ta to people that I like and have grown to appreciate.

Big Daddy printed off 2 different map routes for my trip, just in case there are backups and construction. It will be a longer drive-but as it is all freeway it won't take that much longer than what I am driving now on surface streets.

We are making chili for dinner, I finally finished and sent the recipe to Badger, and we are still fighting over how to make it. I taught Big Daddy how to cook the basics and then he soared as a fabulous cook. But I am still protective of my few recipes and how things taste. It is funny how this all worked out, and how Punkin Head takes after his dad in cooking. Good thing as it is not good to starve like I do when left alone.

Oh, it snowed again today and the crew came to clean the driveway again today.

Friday tidbits

Can you guess what it is? I am starting to like this category. I have been berating myself for not taking more pictures and this could solve my problem. Here is a hint-it is inside my car. Yes that is a crappy assembly plant parking lot that has been plowed over one hundred times. No, I don't think the people who take care of the lots are union.

I think I found one of the Slav's enterprises. There used to be a fabulous Italian restaurant in the Woods, Bucce-it is now a sad caricature of it's former self. And most of the people working there now seem to be Slavs. And the "horror of a server" at the Kitchen Counter spent most of her time (when she was not telling patrons they were stupid) trying to do the Chef right there in front of most of us. And she had really badly dyed trying to be 90's red hair. One less place to spend my money. And it was really expensive to be screwed over that badly.

By the way, I did dress up for our first night out since Christmas and it was enlightening to remember how cold it is wearing a dress, how hard it is trying to find a place to get out of the car without boots, how careful one must be not to fall on one's ass walking to the restaurant. This is the Grosse Pointes for all that is holy, we cannot afford a smidge of salt?

Last Friday I called my old boss and inquired if they had any plans for me after Valentines Day. That is when my hours would revert to 15 hours a week. I explained as that was not acceptable I would need to be seriously considering the "opportunities available in this short period of time".  Yesterday I got a call from my current boss, very curt by the way, asking what I knew about Car City. I played dumb, but it looks to me like I may be going to Car City and current boss may start having to work a full time job again.

Sammy Dog and I are so tired of this snow. There is no more room for the snow. I cannot make a left turn out of my lane without saying a prayer as you can no longer see if you are gonna get T-boned or not. And the tire spinning on trying to get going is hilarious. And we are supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Yippee.

Oh, speaking of Sammy the Spanky Dog, I bought him a new sweater on Amazon. It seemed a bit large but he was okay with it. Big Daddy came in a bit later and remarked on the strange attire Sammy was wearing. He had somehow squiggled the sweater down and now the turtleneck collar was under his front legs and his hind legs were in the front arm holes. Almost a strapless gown, but with pants.  And he seemed quite a bit happier.

Standing Rib Roast 4 ways

I am joking

Bet ya can't guess what that is.

Well, I am treating the blister on the back of my heel from the Uggs.

We have lots more snow and I cannot believe I never had proper clothes for this weather. We never had weather like this for a very long time.

Big Daddy is off to get Sammy the Spanky dog from the dog Salon and Spa. This morning when he got Sammy's coat from the closet I thought the pup would pass out from excitement. Little did he know he was just going for a bath and a hair cut. And he whined the whole damn ride.

I called my old boss and very tactfully asked if I was out of a job after February 14 and if I should be pursuing the few new opportunities available. He is leading me to believe life is grand and I am not buying into all the bullshit quite yet. Plans have changed though and my next assignment might be quite a drive.

Seriously though, we are having a standing rib roast with Yorkshire pudding and brussel sprouts and a chopped salad for dinner. And leftovers will be hash for later in the week and frozen.

Continued: We did get some snow, it is either not that much or no one cares anymore. Big Daddy is making a New Orleans dinner, TBA. I did not get my neck thingie from Amazon but the seller already filled out my response stating he is a 5 star seller. And I never got a pearl bracelet from my horrid eBay experience, and that was the only damn thing I wanted. Life is good.

Blinding Sunshine

Sunrise in West BFE

All I can see is the snow.

You know we expect people up north and in other out of the way places to bitch about snow and cold this time of year. Those folks signed up for it when they agreed to live in the frozen tundra spots. Those of us south and west of Lansing expect better this time of year.

I cannot believe . . .

it is still snowing every day.

Hardly any snow on the ground, just the swirling snow on every gray and dismal day.

Today the high may be 30 to 32 F.

I am so done with winter.

Shamrock Saturday

Shamrocks in my living room.

Big Daddy picked up the stereo receiver this morning and is currently trying to hook up all the speakers. We have speakers everywhere in this house except the bedrooms and the Living Room. The repairman apologized for the whopping fee of $135.00 for what turned out to be a total refurb of the unit. When BD went into the shop there was music coming from all directions and it was our receiver making it happen, the guy said our unit sounded better than the new ones he sells. Quality shows.

There is snow on the ground and the sky is gray so this is an indoor day. Hope the weather is better tomorrow for all the St. Patrick's Day parades in Corktown.

They can't steal my joy

This is our stereo, it is built in the wall.

I think I told you about the stereo before, well it broke. First I noticed it was cutting out and the next thing you know it just died. Big Daddy took it in for repair, this is the second time we have had to repair it in the 20 or so years we have lived here. It came with the house. The only time we use it really is for the news and traffic in the morning but that is important. I am not sure we even have a cassette tape to test that appliance out. Punkin Head thinks we are crazy getting this fixed.

The visit to the blood-taking place was a horror story. The woman that was there was Ms. Nasty Grumpy and yes I have a lump where she took the blood. On a high note my blood pressure was 107/74 which is normal. When I go to the doctor it is always high. Oh, and for the second time in a week I have seen a new number on the scales. Don't know if my body finally admitted I am on a diet or the increased thyroid medication is responsible.

I have investigated improving my cholesterol and losing weight without having to take statins for the cholesterol. Green tea, physical activity, eating properly, oatmeal and fiber were the biggies. So, I went to CVS for some more Benefiber and that turned into a mess.  They did not have any and I ended up with some other stuff that seemed kinda like it. Then the clerk asked me if I found everything and I said there was no Benefiber, he called a manager who after checking insisted the stuff I had was Benefiber under a new name and package from the same company. When I got home and checked this seemed false. So I checked on the Internet and called the Benefiber company. They informed me that no the stuff I bought was not theirs, but, tada . . . there is no Benefiber because of some blah, blah, blah, which I interpreted as corporate bullshit for there is a huge problem and we can't make it right now. So, there is no real or phony Benefiber. WTF.

Well, we are supposed to get 6 to 12 inches this evening so we will see.

The Weekend Snippets

Friday morning was pedicure time and wouldn't you know it we had a snow storm. An unpredicted snow storm. They said a flake or two and I had 4 inches on the front of my car in 90 minutes. Big Daddy cleaned it off before he left and I still had a mess. That reminds of a past snow cleaning. I was in Tennessee on a business trip and our return flight was delayed due to the weather. It was a bad snowstorm and we were flying into Detroit Metro rather late at night. It was extremely cold and all the cars were buried under a massive amount of snow at Airlines Parking. All except mine. Big Daddy had traveled to the lot and scraped the snow off my car. I don't know how he convinced the people he was not parking only scraping but he did. And I was teased for awhile on that one. 

Saturday was hair day and we altered the front a bit so I look less like a crone and friendlier, still blond blond of course. 

We made a new recipe from our Christmas present to ourselves cookbook, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, pimento cheese. And it is delicious. I cannot wait to eat it today. And we are making lasagna which I have not made in 4 or 5 years so that should be interesting. Saturday we had duck cassoulet and it was divine. 

BD is now hooked on House of Cards, that is such a good show. TV is boring right now, Survivor and Swamp People. Nashville returns next week. 

I just finished The Beach Trees, a book by Karen White and it was pretty good. Murder mystery in the south both Biloxi and New Orleans are featured. Next I am reading Private Berlin by James Patterson. I am ordering A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy, I did not know there was one left to publish after she died. I just adore her books. 

Next, our music story.

White Trash

My brand new plastic white picket fence.

Sammy dog is flummoxed by the snow and has decided he wants to pee and poop in the front landscaping bed. Besides the fact I do not want him to kill what is left of my landscaping he creates havoc. First he gets caught on the pavers, then he wraps himself around the tree and gets caught in the rose bush. It got so bad last week I had to keep boots and a coat at the front door to rescue him all day long. Big Daddy heard my bitching and came to the party with White Trash plastic fencing.

Sammy dog tried to jump it, managed to slide past it at the brick wall and as you can see is scoping out other ways to foil this barrier. By the way, his manicured plot for his and only his use is on the other side of the walkway.

Snow stories

So all day on the television and radio there are kind warnings about how we should behave in the snow storm as we are all stupid assholes. The biggest warning is not to shovel as you will have a heart attack and die, this seems to be especially important for older males. Older being over 35.

My snow removal team shows up, 2 guys of sketchy appearance with snow shovels. The older dude has a cig hanging from his lips as he shovels.

If he dies this is not gonna be pretty. I hired the company so I will not be responsible, but I will have to call the police and answer the questions. And I never did take that damn CPR class.

Snow Week

I think it has snowed every day this week. My snow removal people are happy. My Sammy dog is not happy and will not be happy until Big Daddy gets home and shovels a new poop spot. The snow is up to his shoulders now and he is not a happy camper.

The Mormons are across the street with the cops so I guess they are going to get some of their stuff. The kids half assed shoveled the snow and now the old guy is trying to start the snow blower.

Yep, we got about 4-5 inches instead of the 1-3 today so there is a fair amount of snow. We should be getting high winds later so we can get some lovely snow drifts.

Hope BD gets home on time, he has spent the week in Mexico and is travelling Monterrey to Dallas, Dallas to Chicago, Chicago to Detroit. Because it is cheaper you know. 9 hours of travel is cheaper than 3 hours of travel. And that is if there are no delays.

Off to do my hair so I look cute when BD arrives.

Those were the days my friends

Christmas decorations not on sale.

Well we painted some areas with the test paint and I think it is fine. I had them match the trim paint to the paper flower and then go 3 shades lighter for the ceiling and walls.  There is some prep work left to finish and then we can begin painting. Big Daddy had to get some new light bulbs so I could see the paint and ceiling with a critical eye. First he went to Ace Hardware and was told that he was a cretin and moron from hell for wanting a light bulb over 40 watts, and he was not green to boot. So he went to Ex Way Electric and learned that the manufacture of 100 watt are no longer allowed. WTF. Well they still had some so we can now see to paint and don't have to worry about mercury from broken light bulbs. When the day comes that I have to pay more for a light bulb than a pair of underpanties, well I am gonna be one cranky bitch. Hell, I remember when the bulbs were free, you took the burned out bulbs back to Detroit Edison (they had little stores) and they gave you new ones for free. Then you went next door and got a case of Faygo pop, any assortment you wanted. Those were the days.

Then we found out that China has perfected the Great Fire Wall and most VPNs are no longer operative. The is one that can currently be used, it is the same type as most corporate VPNs and they are terribly expensive. Also some personal VPNs (isn't that an odd phrase) can be used at times. I am so glad we are gone from there, the also banned the New York Times and I can't go without my crossword. It sounds like they are also going to ban Amazon and iTunes, almost as if suddenly they are afraid of the outside world. Big Daddy dropped his VPN and will deal with whatever when he has to go back.

Well, tomorrow is hairdo day and I think we are back on track and can go back to every 4 weeks as it seems like I am living at the hairdresser lately.

17 degrees F this morning and another inch of snow today. Will have to wear my fur tomorrow so I don't freeze. Wow, sounds like Big Daddy got the snow blower working, that thing has sat in the garage for over 3 years. Yowza. And man does it smell horrible.

Let it Snow

Well you can tell we haven't seen snow in a while, we are the only ones excited. While we wait for the snow removal guy Big Daddy forgot to make a poop and pee area and Sammy Dog is not amused.

Sammy Dog went to the vet yesterday for his meet and greet and to find out if his cough is a problem, he has been coughing more in the colder weather. He seems to be okay and we know what to look for if things change. And he got to have fun at the vet's office, an older couple came in with their pup and just our luck it was a dead ringer for the black dog across the street. The hated black dog. The sight of the black dog sends Sammy into a state of enragement*, so of course exactly the same thing happened at the vet's causing the black dog doppelganger to cower and pee on the floor. This of course upset the old people (the guy was using a walker) as I am certain they made sure that their dog was peed prior to the visit.

Speaking of dogs, once again Grosse Pointers have proven themselves to be the cheapest people on the planet. There were 2 Golden Retrievers out for a walk and their owner had wrapped them in bath towels held on with Bungee cords. WTF.

*I invented a new word.