Making A Few Changes

Currently Reading: When Character Was King by Peggy Noonan

I've been meaning to make some changes to the blog. Nothing dramatic, just a change of color, maybe layout. There are quite a few new designs available now and the options are much easier to adjust. I've settled on this one for the moment. I find it peaceful.

No blog entries for most of May. Sorry about that. Been a bit busy. I'll sit down and post a review of the past month and get everyone all caught up. It's been quite an eventful May, quite stressful and sometimes difficult.

Tonight is not the night for that though. It's after 10:00 and I've had a busy Sunday (more on that later too). With any luck, I'll have time to add more to the blog tomorrow but for now, hang in there. There's more coming. I promise.

How a simple trip to the mall became an adventure

Currently Reading: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Now, to set up this story we have to go back a week or so to when CC decided to join the YMCA.  She's really been enjoying it, taking her Zumba classes 3 or 4 days a week.  She decided to add belly dancing to that as well.  Great!  She took her first class earlier in the week and had a great time so we went out Saturday to get one of those skirts with the coin things on it.  You've seen them, it's what belly dancers wear.

It was raining when we left.  No big surprise there.  We had the occasional storm warning, flash flood watch, whatever.  We get those all the time.  I'm sure you get them too right?  I lived down in San Antonio 23 years and we were always getting flash flood watches and warnings.  Got them in Memphis too.  That was just a sort of heads up that you should avoid driving in places where the water tended to pool.  Don't hang out by the river or creek.  Careful at those low water crossings.

We got to the mall early afternoon and got CC's skirt then decided to have lunch.  It was raining when we got out of the car but the water was no more than an inch or so in places.  Again, the usual stuff.  Puddles here and there, a bit of water by the curb.  No big deal.  Even when we were getting lunch we didn't think much about the pouring rain we saw out of the window.  We're at the mall.  It's a big parking lot.  No rivers or creeks near us.  No big deal.  Hell the mall isn't even at the lowest point in the area.  The land slopes down a bit further.  Nothing to worry about right?

Right, well this was the scene when we got out of Macy's.  

And the water kept on rising.

And rising.

This is our car.  I waded out to see if it was possible to get it out of there, move it to higher ground.  No way that was going to happen.  

Of course, we weren't the worst off.  Check out this BMW convertible parked right in front of us!

We left the car there and just walked home.  Yes, you read that right.  We walked home.  Of course we had to wade around that big lake in the parking lot and there were several places where the current was moving pretty fast (but not fast or deep enough to be a danger).  The police had closed off the mall parking lot and were directing traffic to get people out.  Smaller roads all the way home were blocked.  People were having a very hard time trying to get out of the area.

When we got home, we turned on the news and WOW!.  You had parts of the highway closed due to flooding.  At one location they had this great footage of a portable building floating alongside the highway then it smacked into the bridge.  A car later floated up behind it and smacked into the back of it and the building just fell apart.  Pretty wild stuff.

This morning it was a little better.  We called the insurance company and AAA and arranged to get the car towed out of the parking lot.  We went to the mall and surveyed the damage.  It wasn't bad so much as dirty.  All the debris and mud and stuff that was carried by the water was covering everything.

Our car is not looking so hot.

Check this out though.  The Macy's exit where we came out Saturday.  The water was rising so high, so fast, they actually put up sand bags.  Now that's what I call flash flooding.

Right now the problem is we've got more rain heading into the area.  A lot of drains are clogged with leaves and branches and stuff so things aren't draining like they should.  Several areas have lost power.  It's a mess out there.  About the only vehicles moving around are the 18 wheelers and tow trucks.  City officials have said repeatedly that if you don't have to go out today, don't. 

So I guess today we'll kick back here at the apartment, watch the rain on TV and just wait for things to dry out.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures, including shots of the inside of our flooded car, I've posted them online here.

Yes, We Do Cats

Currently Reading: What The Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

Last week I had a rather interesting pair come through the clinic. We'd gotten a call from one of the animal rescue places here in Nashville asking if we did cats. Why yes, I do cats.

What they brought in were two Persians, one white, one tortoise shell. To say that they hadn't been groomed in a while would be putting it mildly.
I took before and after shots of the white one. This is what she looked like when she came in.


Didn't exactly give me a lot to work with. In general, when cats come in, my options are limited. You don't really STYLE cats so much as you clean them up a bit. A trim here, a snip there. Clip the claws, maybe shorten the whiskers, something like that. And then there's the other extreme, usually reserved for long-haired cats. I'm not a cat owner and I've never had one with long hair, but from working in the clinics, I know a few reasons why they get so messy. Most of the time it's a simple matter of owners not brushing/combing them out regularly. The cat will groom itself as best it can up to a point but if there are knots in the coat, it's up to the owner to remove them. Of course, sometimes the cat gets sick and they stop grooming themselves. In the case of the white one, it was a bit of both.


Clearly she wasn't a very happy kitty when she plopped down on my table. She wasn't mean and never tried to bite me. She was pretty tolerant for the most part, except for the belly. Cats, unlike dogs, really don't get thrilled with the whole belly rub concept. Their loss.

Anyway, after several hours of work, both before and after her bath, this is what she looked like when she left.

Yes, I will admit, she's a little rough around the edges but there really wasn't any way around that. Her coat was in such bad shape I was actually surprised it came out THAT smooth.

Over time, it'll grow back out and assuming the new owner takes care of her, she'll be a happy, fluffy, CLEAN kitty from now on.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, people do bring their cats in to have that done on purpose. Quite a few long-haired cat owners like to have them shaved for the summer. The most common cut is a lion pattern. You save the mane and the tip of the tail. Makes them look like a lion. Me, I prefer the bobcat instead. It fits the hair on most long-haired cats better and it's something different. I mean, EVERYONE gets the lion cut. Having a bobcat cut makes you stand out.

March Update

Currently Reading: Empire by Orson Scott Card

So here we are now at the end of March. I see from my last post that it's been just over a month. I'd LIKE to say there were lots of good reasons why I haven't posted since then and that it's been one HUGE adventure filled with great stories. If I said that I'd be lying though. The truth is just a LOT less interesting.

So, what HAVE I been doing? Well, CC and I have done enough in the past month to add up to one blog entry. Sad, but true, we're not doing as many interesting things. Most weekends we've been out shopping for things for the apartment. Over on CC's Facebook page she's posted the results. Took us quite a while to find all the little pieces but everything finally pulled together and now our living room and dining room are quite peaceful, especially when the weather's nice and we can open the place up.

Also, I'm no longer working at two salons. I've decided to concentrate on just one instead. You see, at the salon up the road in Brentwood, the one I first signed on to, they just don't have enough work for me. At one point I was doing maybe 5 dogs spread out over two weeks. Ouch! I'd get more than that in just one day where I am currently. And as much as I had hoped for a boost in business, it never came. So now I'm working the whole week at Carothers Parkway Veterinary Clinic. On the whole, it's a better fit.

On the entertainment front, we DID manage to visit the Frist Center For Visual Arts here in Nashville to see two exhibits they have running at the moment. One is a collection of art called "Masterpieces of European Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce." Lots of great pieces there. I actually got to use a little bit of that Art History class I took in college.

In the other gallery they have "Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece" which covers what the name says. They focus on the representation of heroes in various forms of artwork in Ancient Greece. Mostly it's sculpture and pottery. Very interesting and there was a hands-on area as well (mostly set up for kids but we had fun there too).

What was really cool about both of these was a little feature CC found on the Frist website. They let you download the audio for the tour in mp3 format so you can put it on your own player and bring it with you. So long as you bring your player and phones, you can do the guided tour for free and it really does make a difference. You get all sorts of information that's not in the guide books and since it's an art museum and not an art CLASS, they don't post in depth descriptions of everything for you to read. Yes, each piece DOES have at least a paragraph about where it came from or some interesting aspect of its history but that's about it. Having the audio tour made it MUCH more enjoyable.

Our latest adventure we just finished. My parents came up from Memphis on Saturday and we went to see the Detroit Red Wings play the Nashville Predators. I've got a few photos from that game. It really was exciting though I must say I would have preferred a happier ending. The Preds lost in the shoot-out after overtime. The games are SO much more fun when you're watching them live. Yes, they are plenty action-packed on TV but there's just no substitute for being in the stands with all of the other screaming fans watching the game.

You can see pics from the game here.

Random Ramblings

Currently Reading: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

I'm going to miss the Olympics when it's over.  For two solid weeks now I've had something to turn on in the background while I did other things.  Yes, I could always just turn the TV on to some other station and let it run but when I've got the Olympics on, I can always stop and watch for a little while.  The same cannot be said of any random TV station.  There aren't any, even with satellite, that show something I'd watch 24 hours a day.

I followed the Olympics quite a bit during the first week but, as usual, once it moves to the second week, I tend to miss bits and pieces more often.  It's not that the events during the second week are boring or anything like that.  You've got the finals in hockey, there's bobsledding, lots of good stuff.  I just lose interest after a while.

So yes, even though I'm losing interest, I will miss having the Olympics.

On the plus side, we'll be heading into spring pretty soon and that means the end of hockey season.  The playoffs are always fun to watch.  Plus basketball will start their playoffs too.  And let's not forget, with spring comes Spring Training for baseball and then baseball season will start.  Yes, I know, most of you don't like baseball and find it boring but I still enjoy watching it.

I must say, I don't really have much to blog about at the moment.  I've been working at the two clinics and it's been keeping me busy.  I had 5 dogs today and three of them were energetic.  I don't mind doing dogs like that but it does take longer and it can really try your patience.  For the most part, you just have to let them settle down and be persistent in what you're trying to do.  If you're shaving feet and the dog keeps pulling away, you just keep at it.  Sooner or later the dog will realize that the shaving doesn't hurt and it'll stop pulling away.  The trick is keeping your cool until then :-)

And speaking of cool, it's starting to get cool again.  What's up with that?  We had two really nice days when it was in the 60's.  We actually opened up the windows and aired things out.  Now it's cold again.  Going to be back in the 30's for the high tomorrow and they're talking about snow flurries.  Thank goodness it won't be accumulating.  I'd hate for things to shut down AGAIN.  

Where did the month go?  It's already the end of February.  We've been in Nashville 2 months already.  It seems like a long time and yet it's still just 2 months.  8 weeks.  That's all the time we've been here.  I guess it's relative.  Sometimes a day goes by like an hour.  Sometimes a week goes by so fast I can barely keep up with it.

Yes, I'm rambling again.  Just opening up the doors and letting things flow out through the fingers.

I'm on twitter now.  Not that it matters all that much.  There are only a few people following me and at least 2 of them are spam.  It's nice to read the tweets from other people though, at least famous people.  Not everyone does it mind you, but some actors, writers, directors, etc. have accounts and they send out little messages now and then.  It's more interesting when they're in the middle of filming.   You get a bit of behind-the-scenes notes; a little glimpse of what it's like to be filming.

CC has a pretty cool little program that lets her update her Facebook status, blog and twitter account all from her cell phone. She just types in a message and it sends the message everwhere.  I was thinking maybe I'd get that but I haven't decided.  I mean, would anyone really be that interested in me yammering about a barky shih tzu that I'm shaving?

I was reading the news online and I though, "wow, it's pretty boring out there."  I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Slow is good.  It's nice and peaceful.  But a part of me wonders what's lurking in the shadows behind that peace.  Is something really weird about to happen?  This is especially bothersome with the government.  Those idiots are never more dangerous than when they're quiet.  It means they're up to something.

I think that's about it.  Head seems pretty empty now.  I'm going to get some reading in.

Have Shears Will Travel

Currently Reading: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

After several slow weeks at the clinic, it became pretty apparent that it's going to take longer than we hoped to build up a steady stream of grooming clients. Originally we'd all hoped that after a month or so, after word got out that the clinic was offering grooming now and after the coldest part of winter that more customers would be coming in. That just didn't happen.

There are several reasons why it didn't quite come together as planned. First off was the rather unusual snowfall we've had up here. In fact, I read an article in the paper this morning that students in the area haven't had a full week of school since January. We've had iced roads, cold temperatures, canceled school and work. Naturally that's going to trickle down to my little corner of the universe. And let's not forget the big giant-killer: the economy. Much as I'd LIKE to believe all the happy numbers coming out of Washington, there are still too many people who are out of work and cutting back on their spending. Let's face it, I provide a mostly luxury service.

Anyway, we can only dip into savings for so long so the need to bring in a little more bacon was getting more and more obvious. I tried to wait it out but that just wasn't going to happen soon enough SO I contacted some of the other clinics again, clinics that were interested the first time I was looking for work, and I managed to land a second grooming job. So now I'm working 3 days at one clinic, 2 at another.

This works out rather well in fact. Right now, neither clinic has enough work for a full-time groomer. However, if I put the two together, plenty of work. I've even let both clinics know that if there are clients who wish to come in on a day I'm scheduled to work at the other clinic, they're to call me and let me know because the two are close enough together that I can drive from the one to the other and do dogs at both locations. In fact, due to a scheduling problem on Wednesday, I did just that. 3 dogs at one clinic, 4 at the other. It's good to be busy like that.

Of course, the real trick is going to be balancing these jobs once things pick up. Both clinics are staffed with very nice people and they like the work I do. I'd like to keep working for them both but that might not be possible. We'll have to wait and see.

Wing Nuts

Currently Reading: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Yeah, I think all this global warming is starting to drive the wings on both sides a little nuts. Seriously, they're losing it. Maybe it's because they've been trapped inside for so long or perhaps if not trapped inside, all they can see is snow, snow and more SNOW. Not that TV is helping them. What's the big news on TV? Winter Olympics baby! More snow indeed.

Just a few examples that have me wondering about the sanity of these people. Let's start off with the global warming crowd. Now, as you're all fully aware, the east coast is getting HAMMERED by snow storms. Two have hit already and many records were set for both temperature and inches of snow. Further, down south they're ALSO getting hammered by snow. No joke. I saw a forecast that was calling for snow down in Atlanta, parts of Alabama, Mississippi, etc. Texas got hit too. Saw some pictures from Dallas just this morning. Rare snow events to be sure, but not so rare that we need to change every aspect of our lives here. It's snow. There's a lot of it. It's cold. Very cold. It happens. Remember back in '76 they had that big blizzard in New York? They even made a board game out of it it was so bad. All I'm saying is that it's cyclical. Some years are warm, some not so warm. We had no hurricanes hit the east coast this summer. Mexico got a BUNCH. And all of this, according to folks on the left, global warming. Yes, that's right, the ONE degree increase in temperatures are now causing record cold all over the US. I've sat through several explanations on how that's supposed to work but I've never been convinced. It just defies logic doesn't it? Plus, there's that whole big "lack of proof" thing.

Then there's Sarah Palin. Say what you want about her, crazy or not, she's the target of yet another liberal rant. Actually there are some right wing nuts on her case too this time. You see, she had the nerve, the gall to jot notes down on her hand before speaking at the tea party convention in Nashville. Seriously, folks are going wild over this. I've seen several articles about it already, none of them flattering, and even the White House spokesman (not a brilliant man by any measure) joined in the mocking by jotting down fake notes on his own hand. Petty. Stupid and petty stuff this is. So she wrote the notes on her hand instead of an index card. So what? She needed some reminders. Again, so what? Hell Obama practically falls apart if he's not able to use his beloved teleprompter. Take that man off book and who knows what craziness will come out of his mouth. And he's the President for crying out loud. She doesn't even hold public office anymore. Never really understood the sort of reaction she prompts from either side. The guys on the right drool, the ones of the left fly into a rage. So much anger and hatred over someone they don't even know. I was thinking about that the other day. Is there anyone out there I hate THAT much? Nope. No one comes to mind.

And finally, a man some of you would call a right wing nut repeat offender, I'm talking about Glenn Beck. I listen to the guy's radio show a few days a week and I'll admit, he can really go of on a wild tangent now and then. Usually though he's got facts to back up whatever theory he's espousing. Even if it's something totally off the wall he'll present some facts, lay out his logic and you can at least follow his reasoning even if you don't agree on the conclusions. So I'm listening on Tuesday and he starts off on a rant about Captain America #402. He latches on to one scene in particular about a rally that Cap and the Falcon come across. It's a pretty standard scene of protesters carrying signs, all the usual slogans you've seen on TV at the tea party rallies and other anti-tax gatherings. Nothing new there. In the story, an evil Cap clone is fomenting dissent out in the heartland and raising an army to "take America back!" Again, this is nothing new. It's the sort of thing White Supremacists tried to do for years. Probably that's where this story will lead. Crazy groups taking advantage of the current environment and Cap will come in and set them all straight. So why are the right wing nuts going crazy over this? How many times has this sort of thing happened to Chuck Norris in one of his movies or on TV? Happens all the time right? Jack Bauer is no stranger to the home-grown terrorist either. But now, since Cap's author is no fan of Sarah Palin and her group, the right wing nuts are freaking out?

So here's my advice to the nuts on each wing: medicate. I don't care what you use, but you folks need to seriously chill out. Both sides, hit the pubs or on the left, grab some weed or something. On the right, I dunno, go meditate in church about it all. Just chill out for a bit and stop freaking out so much. If you've got enough time and energy to freak out over this stuff, I'll have to put you all to work shoveling snow. Don't make me come out there!

The Other Guys

Currently Reading: The Civil War by Julius Caesar

Did you know there was another team playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday night? No, really it's true. I looked it up and apparently the New Orleans Saints are playing a team from the mid-west. Yeah, they're called the Indianapolis Colts. I'm not making this up guys. I'm being 100% serious. There's more to this Super Bowl thing than just another party in Miami and New Orleans.

Not that you'd know it by watching the national media. Yes, the Colts get mentioned on the big sports networks but on the non-sports stations you'd think this was all bout the Saints and the parties in Miami. Now, I won't lie to you, I've never been a fan of the Saints. I couldn't really say WHY. Maybe it's the black and gold uniform. Maybe it's the general FRENCH nature of their logo. Or perhaps it's something about the atrocious grammar of "Who dat?" I do know for certain that I don't like the fringed umbrella Tom Benson uses when he does his Benson Boogie. For that matter I don't like the Benson Boogie.

This dislike for the Saints goes back before this season. They've had some very disappointing games where the snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They've had plenty of over-hyped seasons where everyone SWORE they were the next best thing. Then they pulled a Tony Romo and just choked and fell apart.

This may happen again you know. A lot of non-sports people will say that experience doesn't count for all that much, or at least it shouldn't. It's just another football game and they're a good team. Maybe. But anyone who's done live performances of ANY kind can tell you there's big difference between the comfort of your home stadium and the less familiar road stadium. And like it or not, the closer you get to the final game, the more pressure there is to perform. These guys have had two weeks living in a pressure cooker. That's where the experience comes into play. The guys who have been through this before know what it's like and can help the other guys stay focused on what's important (no, not the commercials, the game).

About the only thing I've really heard about the Colts leading up to the Super Bowl are things that are related to the Saints. Take Peyton Manning. Of all the things to write about him what's the one thing they keep drilling over and over? That his dad played for the Saints. Yeah. Years and years ago. So long ago that a large portion of fans never even saw him suit up. And yet, there it is, in article after article.

As for the Saints, well there isn't much information about the team and players themselves (unless you count Reggie Bush and his Kardashian girlfriend). What you hear about is how this team overcame adversity, though when it comes time to elaborate, the story always talks about hurricane Katrina (seriously, enough already!) and how they spent half of one season playing on a different home field while their stadium was being rebuilt. You get stories about how New Orleans, the city, is rebuilding after all the flooding. Sometimes there's a mention of the quarterback but mostly it's all about the city.

Just for the record, for those of you who may have forgotten, the New Orleans Saints is a football team that plays in the city of New Orleans. That's it. Their playing in the Super Bowl or even winning it has nothing to do with the city itself. Two separate stories and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of them both.

It's easy to see why the Colts don't get as much press though. Think back, as many years as you can. What's the big story coming out of Indianapolis? Yeah, off the top of my head I can't think of anything either except that THEY won the Super Bowl a few years back. So here's a little history about the team playing the Saints on Sunday:

• 1946 (12/28) Bankrupt Miami Seahawks franchise of All-America Football Conference moved to Baltimore. Bob Rodenberg headed purchasing group and the team was renamed "Colts" via a fan contest.
• 1947 (2/10) Cecil Isbell named head coach. (9/7) Colts won inaugural AAFC game, defeating Brooklyn Dodgers, 16-7, before 27,418 fans at Baltimore Stadium. (9/28) New York Yankees defeated Colts, 21-7, before a then-record Baltimore crowd of 51,583. Colts placed fourth in Eastern Division with 2-11-1 record, while drawing 199,661 fans.
• 1949 (12/9) The National Football League and the AAFC reached a "peace" agreement and the Colts were assigned to the NFL for the 1950 season.
• 1958 (10/26) Rookie DB-Lenny Lyles had 101t KOR vs. Washington to become first player ever with two 100t+ KOR in same season (other was 103t vs. Chicago 10/4). (11/2) Colts recorded first shutout, 56-0 over Green Bay, marking their sixth straight win and setting the club record for largest margin of victory. (11/30) Colts clinched first Western Division title, 35-27, over San Francisco before second straight record crowd of 57,577. QB-John Unitas tossed a scoring pass in a 23rd straight game to set a new NFL record (QB-Cecil Isbell, 22 games, Green Bay 1941- 42). (12/28) Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, at Yankee Stadium in "sudden death" game for World Championship. Weeb Ewbank and 12 players from "The Greatest Game Ever Played" eventually became NFL Hall of Famers.
• 1969 (1/12) Colts dropped Super Bowl III to New York Jets, 16-7, at Orange Bowl. (5/17) Colts, Pittsburgh and Cleveland joined AFL teams to form American Football Conference as the NFL realigned for the 1970 season.
• 1971 (1/3) Colts captured the AFC Championship by topping Oakland, 27-17. (1/17) Colts won the first AFC-NFC Super Bowl, 16-13 over Dallas in the Orange Bowl on K- Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with :05 remaining. Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl (later matched by San Francisco's George Seifert in Super Bowl XXXIV)
• 1984 (3/28) Colts in Indianapolis. (4/18) Season tickets offered for sale and overwhelming response yielded 143,000 requests in two weeks.
• 2006 (9/10) The Colts posted a 26-21 win at the New York Giants in the first NFL contest pitting brothers as starting quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli Manning. (1/21) Erasing an 18-point deficit with a 32-point second-half flurry, the Colts captured the AFC Championship with a 38-34 victory over New England. Manning (27-47-349, 1 TD/int.) scored on a 1t rush and guided the club to 17 fourth-quarter points. Indianapolis had second-half scoring drives of 76, 76, 67, 59 and 80 yards. The final drive concluded with a 3t rush by Addai with 1:00 remaining as the club produced the largest championship game comeback in NFL Super Bowl-era history. Indianapolis knotted the contest at 21-21, 28-28 and 31-31 before the final gamewinning drive. The club's berth in Super Bowl XLI followed those earned by the franchise in Super Bowl III and V. (2/4) The Colts earned a fourth World Championship in besting the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. In a contest played in steady rain and 67-degree temperatures, the Colts overcame a 14-6 second- quarter deficit. Led by Manning (25-38-247, 1 TD/int.), a rushing attack that produced 191 yards behind Rhodes (21-113, 1 TD) and Addai (19-77) and a defense that surrendered only eleven first downs and 265 net yards while helping produce five turnovers, the Colts out-scored the Bears 23-3 over the game's final 41 minutes. Manning teamed with Wayne (2-61, 1 TD; 53t) for the club's first score. Rhodes tallied on a 1t rush midway through the second quarter, and Indianapolis would not relinquish the lead. Vinatieri added field goals of 29, 24 and 20 yards to boost the club's lead to 22-17 late in the third quarter, then DB-Kelvin Hayden's 56t interception return early in the fourth quarter provided the final points. Manning became the first Colts Super Bowl MVP. Addai (10-66) set a Super Bowl reception mark for a running back. The victory marked the club's first title in 36 years, the last coming in Super Bowl V against Dallas, 16-13 on January 17, 1971. The franchise won NFL titles following the 1958 and 1959 seasons.

So there ya go. A little history about the OTHER guys playing this weekend's game. They're a good team. They're a solid team. And you know, they just may have the answer to that question: Who dat say day can beat dem Saints? Day be da Colts my friends :-)

Snowed In

Currently Reading: The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Well, if you've been following the news or if you live anywhere along its path, you know about the snow/ice storm that's been moving across the country this weekend. It hit us Thursday night into Friday morning and then all of Friday. When I woke up this morning the snow had stopped and as far as I know we're not expecting any more though we will stay below freezing until Monday.

Have a look at this. This is how things progressed starting Friday morning at around 9:30 until late afternoon when was getting too dark to take clear photos. The last shot is from this morning. Yes, I know they're a little blurry. Low light pictures aren't as clear plus I'm shooting out of the bedroom window.

When I went out and walked the dogs last night, it was a very fluffy, loose snow that blew around in the wind fairly easily. This morning though, I'm not sure how to accurately describe it. It isn't really packed in but it does have a hard layer of ice on top of it. You step and if you're heavy enough, you sink.

The dogs weren't quite sure what to make of this. They've seen snow before but not THIS kind of snow. The snow THEY know is the kind where you step in and sink. They've never dealt with a snow that could actually SUPPORT them. Katya, the aussi, didn't have any problems adjusting to this. She pretty much did her business just fine and tried to avoid slipping. Jack on the other hand was NOT amused and quite confused. He ran out into the snow, expecting to sink and nothing happens. So now he's not sure if he's allowed to pee on this stuff or what. To him it must have been like a giant tile floor or something. Eventually I got him over to a grassy spot under a tree where he could tell that yes, it's ok to pee there.

As for the roads, well not covered in enough ice to SKATE on them but you'd sure have a hard time getting anywhere in anything lighter than an SUV. Crusty snow and most people stayed home last night so there were very few tracks in all that mess. In fact, the city and state authorities were telling everyone to just stay home.

I wonder. There was supposed to be a Twilight convention here this weekend. Did the sparkley boys and girls make it out to Opryland for that or was it called off? I never checked the closings list today though I do know everything was closed yesterday. Probably no convention today and since we're not getting above 30 until Monday, probably nothing tomorrow either. I guess it'll depend on whether or not the sun comes out and melts off the street snow.

We took advantage of the fact that we can't go anywhere and unpacked all but one of the boxes left laying around. I mentioned before that we had two areas of clutter. Well, now there's just ONE area of clutter. The bedroom is now all cleaned up (except for my desk which will take more time). That just leaves part of the dining area. I tried to take some pictures yesterday but due to the odd light from the snowfall, nothing came out all that well. We'll wait until we've got better, natural light and take more pictures. When we get something good, CC or I will post them.

When was the last time I blogged?

Currently Reading: The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

When WAS the last time I blogged? Mid-December? Wow, that's a VERY long time between posts. That's less than once a month. I guess the main problem is Facebook. Yeah, let's blame Facebook for this one. Why not? Though to be honest, I haven't really posted all that much on Facebook either.

I left off right before the big move to Nashville. I remember posting about the HUGE Great Dane that came in for a bath. I'm pretty sure I posted a picture or two of our new apartment complex from when CC and I visited it. This was all before Christmas of course.

No Christmas decorations or lights to photograph this year. Left them all in the bat cave, packed up and ready for the bit trip. Didn't make any sense to drag it all out for 2 days. That's right, we moved here right after Christmas. Spent New Years Eve sleeping here in our apartment in Nashville.

And what have I done SINCE then?

Let's see, first two weeks were spent unpacking. You'll no doubt recall seeing Facebook messages of mine bitching about the unpacking and how many boxes we had. Those are pretty much finished now. I did a little box juggling this morning and we now have the patio cleared off and ready for use if we ever thaw out. There are still a few rough spots though. We've got a clutter accumulation in the dining area and another in the bedroom. Once we untangle those we'll be all set and we'll take pictures.

I also got another job. This one came up VERY fast. I did my usual mass mailing and, I'm not kidding about this, 24 hours after I dropped them into the mailbox, I had a job. Apparently the post office here in Franklin processed the mail the day I sent it and since it was all local, a decent number of those letters were delivered the next day. A call was made. An interview was set up. And the next thing I know I'm the groomer at Noah's Ark Animal Hospital and Suites.

Now, this new clinic I'm working at, they haven't had grooming for a few years so things are starting off slow. Plus, you have to factor in that this is the slowest period in these parts for dog grooming. Most people who have dogs needing grooming had them done right before Christmas. And since it's now rather cold, they aren't looking to have their little angels shaved short. What I DO get a lot of are owners wanting a medium or long cut or they need matting removed. Doggie plus wet grass plus sweater equals nasty tummy matting.

And so there you go. CC and I have spent a relatively uneventful month unpacking things, putting things away and working. We really do like it up here. Less stressful for certain. We're about a mile or two from a very large mall so we have access to all of the major chain stores and restaurants. In fact, within a 10 minute drive from our apartment I have FOUR large bookstores. Seriously. There are two Borders stores, A Barnes & Noble, and another store that sells half-priced books.

It's funny, CC's birthday is coming up and I'm now facing a similar problem from our Memphis days: Where to take CC for her birthday to eat. The problem in Memphis was that we only had a handful of places to pick from. Now it's the opposite. We've got SO many places to pick from, and we're talking just in the neighborhood, that I'm not sure where we'll go yet.

It's certainly much colder up here and less humid. There's a large winter storm heading for us tonight/tomorrow which may shut things down all day. Supposed to snow too. Could get as much as 6 inches in fact. That would make it our SECOND snow of the year so far and we haven't been here a month yet.

All in all, we're happy here in Nashville :-)