Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

      Why do you have to go back to regular life, after the holidays are over?
      But you do.
      The Brick is back to driving field trips a few days a week. (He got a big kick out of a schoolbus figuring prominently in the finale of Independence Day: Resurgence.)

    Kind of a doofus movie, with plot holes big enough to drive a schoolbus through. No wonder it (the bus) was featured. (I couldn't resist.)

    The chickens are beginning to lay more eggs. We realized that they'd been sleeping without a heat lamp, and replaced the defective bulb. I'm hoping they lay even more now. 
     The Broncos aren't in the playoffs, even though they beat the Raiders in their last scheduled game. As a matter of fact, the Raiders aren't, either. Nor are the Lions. (Not that The Mama is particularly heartbroken about that. People in Michigan are used to the Lions not winning.)
     Colorado got beaten in its college football bowl game. So did Michigan. (sigh)
    We had some snow last week -- about 10 inches. Daughter #2 and Keith got much more in Nederland: about 3 feet. Whew. We have the strangest temps -- single digits or below zero at night, then up to the 50s during the day. Plays havoc with whatever white stuff we've got, not to mention adjusting, body temperature-wise.

Karma, Charley's buddette, investigating all that new white stuff.

    Which also plays havoc with fighting off the flu. The Mama brought the Michigan version with her, and the Brick and I are still dealing with it. Sometimes we feel great -- sometimes not. While we were playing during Worship Team this morning, things went awfully gray. I managed to stay upright, but needed to rest all day today to feel anything like normal again. Even the dogs are subdued versions of themselves. (Charley didn't even want any popcorn tonight -- a shocker!)
    So on to this week.

    I have a weighted quilt to finish up (which I'll explain how to make later), piano lessons to give. (All my students start up again.) Dog biscuits to bake. (A belated Christmas present for my doggy clients.) A new dogsitting job, some appraisals to finish up, and piles to tidy and put away. 

     I've got prep work for a Seniors Luncheon at church on Saturday -- which The Brick will take care of. Meanwhile that same day, I've got an appraisal day to do for Holly's Quilt Cabin Saturday, Jan. 14 in Littleton, CO. (There are still a few spots left -- the day goes from 9:30 - 6 p.m., but much of the time is already spoken for. Contact the people at Holly's if you're interested. More info here.)  
     The holidays have been fun...but it's time to go back to regular life. 
                   I guess.

It's a cat-and-mouse world out there.

How the Georgia Tech swim team dealt with snow.  Their meet got cancelled because of it...so why not?

An Alaskan bay that's produced its own tsuanamis...from the landward side? (From Damn Interesting)

The nice young 18-year-old who opened his own medical clinic in Florida... but 'forgot' to earn the credentials to go with it. ('I never said I was a medical doctor,' he protests.)

From the department of  'sweet revenge': now you get to pay 2 cents AN OUNCE extra for any sodas you buy in Boulder, Colorado. I'm not making this up. They're not the only ones, either: Philadelphia, San Francisco and other places have approved similar 'soda taxes.'  (From Len Penzo)
     What can you expect, from the state that loves to tax...

"What's the scariest thing that happened to you on a night shift?" My favorite: the animatronics that chased the security guard through the building. (They couldn't be turned off, or they wouldn't reboot properly. Think Chuck E. Cheese. From Quora)

A Christmas village for minimalists.  I only wish I'd found this a month ago...but am flirting with the idea of a wintertime village now.  (From The Nester) One of her easy-to-make creations:

Twelve practical tattoos. Ranging from a ruler to an "if lost, please call.." notice!  (From Oddee)

Six mug (i.e., microwaveable) cake recipes, from our buddette Betty Crocker. Confetti cake, shown below, is one of them.

Remember Rosemary Lehmberg, the Texas DA who got busted for a DWI in 2014? She was obnoxious both at the scene, and while being processed in jail. (See the video attached to the link.) She copped a guilty plea and served time -- but refused to resign. And she didn't! In fact, she went after Governor Rick Perry to try and get HIM indicted, for refusing to fund her office while she was still employed there. (Didn't work.)
     Did you realize Perry is Donald Trump's suggestion for Secretary of Energy? (Nope, I didn't, either.) 
     Normally, I would say this was some kind of made-up story...but it's true.Lehmberg just retired this past month, believe it or not. Gutsy...or knew enough dirt on all the right people in Travis County to stay in office?

Ten moments of of TV foreshadowing you may have missed. I sure did.  (From Mental Floss) While we're at it:

Ten things you may not know about Bill Murray. Love this guy's work.  (From Rolling Stones)

Six game show cheaters who were caught -- or confessed.  Some got to keep the money. (From Looper)

The benefits of frugal friends.  I would be a much poorer person without the influence of Jeff and Renee, Tim and Ellie, Tom and Chris and Jo.  (From Moneysaving Mom)

21 cats on bad behavior.  (From Pawsome.) You've seen some of these before on this site...but they're still funny. Like this one:





Have a great week.