Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Finishing Off January

 The Denver Stock Show finished up this weekend. 

I should be embarrassed to admit that we have never in nearly 40 years of living in Colorado, gone to the Stock Show. Sometime I hope to. 

     There is one very interesting event -- the Grand Champion Steers are invited into the Brown Palace, a very snooty hotel, for afternoon tea. Yes, you got it -- gracious music, fine linen, tiny sandwiches, teapots...and two very hairy Black Angus puffing away in a small corral, not far from the Christmas tree. Seventy-seven years for this Colorado tradition!

     Another quiet week. The Brick put in a lot of work on the tractor. (We need it to keep the driveway plowed, out here in the boonies.) I did some appraisals, cooked some, read some -- and slept a lot after flu reared its ugly head. We also got more than a foot of snow. More is expected. 

Meanwhile:

19 ways your income tax credits -- and taxes -- are going to change for 2022. Time to start working on these, if you haven't done so already.

The oldest-known surviving books in the world.

So much for the Florida 'hurricane-proof' dome homes on the ocean -- Hurricane Ian finished them off last September. 

A lost diver miraculously found in the middle of the ocean -- by his family, who went out to search for him. Nearly four hours and two miles later. Yay, God!

Decisions that unexpectedly made you a lot of money. I love these Quora confessionals.

Kim Kardashian buys a 'Diana' necklace. And pays big bucks for it, too...

The lights haven't gone off for more than a year at a Massachusetts school -- because the software program set up to run them failed. And no one's figured out how to turn the software off!

How to make a tomato pincushion...a fun quickie craft--and present for a dull winter's day. (From One Hundred Dollars A Month)

 Dozens of restaurant copycat recipes... from Betty Crocker.

The turned, twisted and fascinating story of Benedict Cumberbatch's slave-owning ancestors. Remarkably, some of them were ex-slaves themselves. (Now what do you do with the reparations debate, in this case??)

From the Department of "We Know Best:" a 'family man's' relatives write him a glowing obituary as a devoted father.  They just omit that he happened to murder the five kids he loved so much, plus their mom, before he offed himself. Hey, nothing to see here -- move along.

All the things you didn't know about redheads -- that were true.

A Sunday tea tray supper -- recipes included.  (From Lavender and Lovage)

If you're into Star Wars memorabilia -- an auction to watch. 

A very nice off-grid cabin -- explained in detail.  

Ten medieval era recipes you can actually make!

Ten ghost stories from above the Arctic Circle.

'Arctic zombies' -- and more scary stories yanked from Canada's history.

GoFundMe campaigns you DON'T want to give to.

A 17th-century baby portrait -- found on the back of a door.

Hansons Auctioneers - Verkins 1626 

This is a weird one -- artist Peter Doig finally gets a gallery to stop forcing him to acknowledge making a painting -- that Peter DOIGE, not Doig, painted! (The gallery gets penalized financially, too.) I've been following this story for some time -- the painting's owner has been insisting that it was Doig's work, and trying to sell it under that name. Doig kept saying it wasn't. 

Here's another odd-but-true one: after 5 years by himself, a lion is learning to roar again. 

Have a good week.

Oops...

 

Best Prescription for a Dreary Day

 

Hey!

 

List of Shame -- And Updates

 

More interesting responses to entitled people here. (Thanks, Bored Panda.)

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About 10 inches or so of snow on the ground, as of tonight. And much colder. The tractor is still being repaired, and we were wondering how to get out tomorrow morning. And lo and behold, a friend stopped by and plowed the driveway!  (Thank you so much, Terry.)

We watched the Michigan funeral service for our dear aunt, Maxine Cumings. I am so grateful for this opportunity on Youtube.

     She didn't have an entitled bone in her body. A gracious, kind lady -- and a devoted Christian.

Mr. Flu stopped by, and dispensed a scratchy throat and achiness all over. I medicated myself with hot soup, homemade bread (Mavis' recipe), tea, the Brick's wonderful coffee, lots of sleep -- and 6 Godzilla movies. (Hey, you do it your way -- I'll do it mine.)

Hopefully tomorrow will be better. 

Ever Done This?

 

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We got a new (to us) car, which was delivered while I was on a gig. And the Brick was headed out of town before I got back. No problem, he said -- he'd get me the keys (which he did) and leave the car in the airport parking lot.

(I should mention here that I can be just a little absentminded. I can tell you about the history of indigo, but am not always sure where my glasses or purse are.)

I fly home. It's late, and pouring rain. I ask the parking lot van to drop me by the car, which I can see vaguely through a rain-streaked window. They drive off, and I unlock the car.

Or I try to. I try and try...and the car just sits there. My stuff is getting wet. I'm getting wet-- and frustrated. Why didn't the Brick give me the right directions? How come I can't unlock the car?

A kindhearted man stops and takes pity on me. He'll help me, he says, looks around...and points to a similar vehicle a few rows over. "Is that yours?" he says. (To his credit, he didn't laugh.)

I have always wondered what Car #1's owner would have thought, if he'd seen this dripping-wet girl trying to break into his vehicle...and getting madder with the minute. God gave me another heads-up on the rainy drive home when I couldn't figure out how to run the windshield wipers more than a few seconds at a time. 

I made it, though. Whew.

Monday (er, Sunday) Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Persevering

 Cold weather (but sunny). The Brick has been out in the garage, working on the tractor. (It broke down during the last big snowstorm, and we had to tow it back. He worries that we'll get stuck here when the next storm arrives. It's expected in a few days.) 

     I've been doing reports, signing contracts and other Stuff. (That's why this report is a day early. Deadlines to meet.)

     We had a lovely belated anniversary dinner at the Rodizio Grill. But that's been about it, excitement-wise. I'm trying hard not to spend too much on either groceries or other 'needed' items -- we had to pay off a cruise we'll be taking later this year, plus insurance, PLUS my ASA appraiser's membership. And the $$ will hit the fan shortly. We've got the cash...if I behave myself. 

Oh yes -- yet another batch of classified documents has magically turned up in various Biden estalishments. But no big deal. At least that's what our revered President (and his press secretary) are saying. He locks his garage (where some docs were), after all, because his Corvette is in there. (I feel so much better, knowing this.)

     Hey, the enchantment never ends. 

Meanwhile:

Celebrities -- 24 of them -- who went from lavish to broke. (And sometimes back to rich again.)

Fifteen liars and catfishers -- who were eventually found out.

Ten historical figures who just plain disappeared. Some were most probably kidnapped and/or killed, based on the circumstances. For others, though, there's no clue what happened. Also...

Ten historical figures famous for one thing -- who actually made contributions for something else.

Speaking of historical figures, one of the strangest films ever -- an inventor whose 'flying parachute costume' didn't exactly work. (1912)

America's highest chairlift officially opens -- in Breckenridge, CO!

Some very big fossil bones found near Colorado's Royal Gorge. The discoverer just stumbled onto them...

Thanks to neutron imaging, we knew there ARE relics inside this German medieval pendant!  (We just don't know for sure who those 'tiny bone splinters' belonged to.)

Charlie Munger's advice on how to invest in stocks and real estate.

A 12-foot snake... in a hotel swimming pool??  It happened in Thailand, and the bemused tourist who filmed it being removed said the hotel staff 'stroked its head' to calm it down as they took it away. 

How a janitor built an $8 MILLION dollar fortune.  Sylvia Bloom, a career secretary, was another secret millionaire.    More here. And a bunch more here. Plus:

The parking lot attendant who's debt-free, and saved more than $500,000... on a salary that was never more than $20,000. 

     I love these stories. They give you hope, and are a gentle reminder that patience, persistence and research are the key to getting ahead.

Did you ever wonder what the 'Wilhelm Scream' really was?  Well, here it is -- named for the character who first did it!

DNA proves it -- Julia Roberts isn't really a Roberts!  For those of us with 'secrets' revealed by DNA in our pasts (like me), this is fascinating.

Strangest things caught on home security cameras.

A blue-and-white postage stamp quilt tutorial. It's a pretty one, too. (From One Hundred Dollars A Month)

A Canadian school decides it might just want to change its dress code policy.  About time, too.

Letting a baby continue to live, after the abortion attempt failed? That's "extreme," according to our revered Vice President. 

Thousands of employees laid off from Goldman-Sachs. Interesting...and a bit scary. I'm wary, though -- not terrified.

A California ski resort had to close for a day -- too much snow!  (441 inches, so far.)

Overnight cinnamon rolls -- yum.

Ten female swindlers from the Gilded Age. 

Ice mummies. Weird -- but fascinating.

They look alike. They have the same name -- and job. So were these twin brothers, separated at birth? The DNA results are telling. 

Powdered doughnuts -- that are baked!

Beans, beans, the musical fruit -- once a week.  (From Donna Freedman) Plus a recipe that was a favorite at the state capitol building in Lansing, Michigan:

Senate bean soup. 

A huge chunk of highway... just falls down a California cliff. 

Have an exciting week.