Starting the Freezer Project with Step 3

 
We started emptying the pantry shelves today so that the old freezer can be removed. This is the contents of three shelves. Of course the mice have been running all over everything, so it all had to be washed. We also cleared the floor and did some measuring to determine what else would have to be moved.

One set of metal shelves with all my camping gear on them will have to be shuffled. That won't be as bad as it sounds because most of that is in boxes or tubs.

I'm rambling about this because it doesn't look like nearly a big enough pile for all the time it took to get it cleaned and on the table.

	See Not a Thing of Beauty
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Snow on Big Sauble Outlet

 
Earlier this month, I found myself at the Headwaters of the Big Sauble (Big Sable) River in the snow. Today, I had a few minutes to kill between appointments, and I wasn't far from the outlet of that same river to Lake Michigan, at Ludington State Park.



This is one of the best local locations for viewing migrating waterfowl and other birds. Today, though, there were only a few mallards. Not too exciting.

Instead I choose to share a couple of interesting texture pictures.





Hopefully, one of these days, this will be one of the rivers I can follow from point to point as I did with the North Branch of the Lincoln.

	See Snow on Big Sauble Headwaters See North Branch Lincoln River
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Foggy Day

 
Today was warm, as the weatherman promised. It was also raining, wet, foggy, some thunder and lightning. Not exactly a day for outdoor activities. But it had a few pleasures.

This morning, a flock of juncos showed up to eat seeds from some viper's bugloss I didn't mow because I think they are so pretty. I guess the birds like the seeds!

Here's a perky little junco contemplating one just out of easy reach.



After I watched a while, one single chickadee showed up and wanted to be part of the feast.



Later in the day, the fog thickened. This is certainly the best picture of the day!

	See The Fog is Lifting See One Little Junco See Viper's Bugloss
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Answers to Vocabulary- Jan 2013 (and a little funny)

 
I'll start with the little funny in case you aren't one of my willingly obsessive friends who wants to learn odd words.

I was driving past a big drugstore the other day and the lighted sign was advertising "Flu and Paranoia Shots."

Or maybe not. I think it must have been "Flu and Pneumonia Shots." My brain needs just a tiny tweak of an adjustment some days.

My new words this month and the multiple choices to guess are found at Vocabulary Day Jan 2013. Chuck brings us the best daffynitions in that day's comments. Perhaps you'll like them better than the real thing. Nevertheless...



1. parlous
a. worthy of discussion that would be parlez or parley in Southern
b. perilous (or dangerous)
c. a type of knitting try purling

2. condign
a. deserved (or adequate)
b. assign maybe you were thinking of consign
d. a standard nope, that's paradigm

3. redound
a. to carry, such as a noise that would be resound (are you beginning to hate me?)
b. elasticity rebound might work
c. a red dog from the West End of London red 'ound
d. to have an effect or consequence

4. atelier
a. a workshop or studio, particularly of an artist or designer
c. trees trained in a pattern of growth espalier
d. a maker of fine suits a tailor

5. etiolated
b. pale, and in botany a plant that has grown without sun, so is not green (like white asparagus)

6. pleached
d. woven

7. gralloch
a. strangle that would be garotte
c. disembowel, as of a deer in hunting (but yes, Chuck, it's Scottish)

There you go. You'll begin to see how my mind works, and start figuring out the answers by elimination. That's fine with me.

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Vocabulary Day- Jan 2013

 
I've read several books this month, two of which have outdated or botanical words that aren't in modern use at all. I'm not even putting those in the list for you. However, one word that was used twice in Travels in West Africa seemed pretty straightforward, but I can't find a definition even online. It is "ibet," as in "...unboiled water being my ibet." Downfall? Limit of tolerance? Dang! I like that word. I vote for resurrecting it. You can read free if you follow the link. It was written in 1897 and it's hilarious. (But Om says you have to have had adventures go bad to appreciate the humor).

Anyway- take some guesses, leave some daffynitions, enjoy some words that were either new or rediscovered by me this month.

1. parlous
a. worthy of discussion
b. perilous
c. a type of knitting
d. divisive

2. condign
a. deserved
b. assign
c. allow
d. a standard

3. redound
a. to carry, such as a noise
b. elasticity
c. a red dog from the West End of London
d. to have an effect or consequence

4. atelier
a. a workshop or studio
b. a shopkeeper or hawker
c. trees trained in a pattern of growth
d. a maker of fine suits

5. etiolated
a. peeled
b. pale
c. pickled
d. painted

6. pleached
a. bleached
b. pleated
c. beaten
d. woven

7. gralloch
a. strangle
b. grill
c. disembowel
d. a mountain lake

	See Vocabulary Day- Dec 2012
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Snow on Hamlin Dunes

 
You've seen these dunes before, but not like this!

This is frozen Hamlin Lake. You are looking across to point 5 on the map at Hamlin Lake, from just south of point 4. When I swam the lake it was from 4 to 5. But there wasn't any swimming today!



Here are a couple of closer views. First is the south dune, and then the north dune. The look of snow on sand- the way they sort of mix- is always interesting.





I like visiting places in different seasons. You can see these same dunes in pictures at the two posts below

	See So Slow but Undaunted See Overheard on Hamlin Lake
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How Do the Newspapers Leave the Stuffer?

 
Today was a 9 hour day. I confess that my legs are pretty tired after a whole day of this job on the cement floor.

Sorry, but I'm skipping around in the process again. There is a second row of stuffing stations that put four inserts in the paper at the same time, but we'll have to come back to that.

This video is where the papers come out of the stuffing machine. The force of their speed smacks them against the far "wall" and straightens them. They are jogged toward the wall until the moving belt grabs them and carries them up to the ceiling on their way to the stuffer.



This video shows how it looks when it works right. I was hoping to get a photo of how it looks when this step goes wrong, but of course, after I got the camera out, it worked perfectly the rest of the day. I would be pretty stupid to actually complain about that!

It snowed all day long, and I hadn't cleared the driveway yesterday. Ha! I did manage to make it up the drive, but I think I have to run the snowblower before I leave tomorrow. Look at where the snow is on the wheel. That's how deep it is.

	See How Do the Newspapers Move See The Stacker
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White and Blue

 
The snow stopped and the sun came out. What a beautiful day! Just enjoy a piece (peace?) of my kingdom.





This one is my favorite. I love how round the tree is and how the snow stuck to the "spokes."



Off to stuff newspapers again tomorrow.

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Not a Thing of Beauty, but hopefully...

 
Not a thing of beauty, but hopefully it will be a joy forever. At least as long of a forever as we need.

This is actually the saga of the old (working but declared to be walking dead) freezer. I'll tell you all about it when it leaves the premises. Today's project is part of the lead-up to that event.

So, we found a used freezer that was the right size. (A little smaller, but close enough.) I bought it two months ago, and managed to get it here when Robert and I did the tree day, because he has a truck. However...

We got a great deal on it because it has no internal storage baskets. The baskets in the old freezer would fit, but there was no way to support them. So, I figured out a way to make a frame to hold them. With snow outside, I have nowhere to work except in the living room. Not enough space, had to use a chair for a sawhorse. Made a big mess.



But it's done. It is definitely nothing lovely, but it will do the job. We have two baskets, and this will allow them to slide along the upper level.

It takes up more space than I would like, but it will work.



Next step will be the big one. We have to find another friend with a truck and a muscle, since Om isn't supposed to lift much any more. The following will all have to happen on the same day, so the food won't thaw- although if the temperature is nice and cold we can put it outside.

1. Move new freezer back outside (it's currently taking up every bit of open floor space)
2. Empty old freezer contents into boxes
3. Empty and remove shelves from one entire side of pantry
4. Wrestle old freezer out (this one is going to be really bad)
5. Move new freezer in
6. Put food in new freezer
7. Replace pantry shelves and replace all stuff (sigh)
8. Wrestle old freezer into truck
9. Take old freezer to recycle.

Guess what the blog post will be about the day THAT all happens. Stay tuned.

I'm guessing step 7 might actually happen last, since I'm sure whoever we get to help won't feel like hanging around for that part of the project.

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Jean Hall and Joan Hall

 
You've seen this picture before, but it was a long way back, so I'll repeat it. On the left is my cousin Jean. We have the same middle name. I am about six months older, and I'm on the right. Her two younger sisters are between us, Lavina (Viney) and Wendy. This picture was taken in the summer of 1956.

I call us cousins loosely. We are related somehow, but had never actually figured it out. We both know that the documentation existed, but hadn't looked it up. Actually, Jean and I haven't seen each other since we were 14, but have connected by email in the past few years. So, now, we are getting interested in figuring this out. We speculated that our grandmothers were first cousins, but after some intensive searching of piles tonight, I now have the actual answer.

Since I scoured the family albums this week for any other childhood pictures I had of her family, I declare this "Family Friday" so I can post it on Chuck's linky. (Since I often have trouble remembering what day it is, I might as well embrace the confusion.)

First of all, here are Jean and me. She recently revealed her face on Facebook, and it's neat for me to see her. She looks like her grandfather's side of the family, but I look more like my mother's.


I have a picture of all our parents together, also taken in 1956. My dad is on the far left, then Jean's dad, George Kilquist. Next is my mom, Catherine Rowe Leary, and then Jean's mom, Nancy. Nancy is still alive and doing well. The blood connection is George and Catherine.



I can do one more generation back with pictures together. The lady on the far left is Mabel Hall Kilquist, Jean's grandmother. Then come her two siblings Mary and Gilbert (Bert). Jean thought there was another, Percy, and she was right. It's in the records, but he had died before this picture was taken, I believe. On the far right is my grandmother Emily Marquerite Fisher Rowe. Did you notice the re-appearance of the "Hall" name?



And that was as far as Jean and I could take it in our heads. But, drum roll, Jean, here is the answer. Percy, Bert, Mabel and Mary were the children of Henry Hervey Hall and Helen Leonard Williams.

Emily (and Lew, Ben and Charlie) were the children of Charles Alfred Fisher and Catherine Louisa Hall Fisher. There's "Hall" again.

Now, we have to go back once more. Henry Hervey and Catherine Louisa are both children of Hervey Smith Hall and Lucinda Cornelia Fisher. (Don't get too confused. It's the same Fisher family as Catherine Louisa later married into, but not a close cousin.)

So... yes, our grandmothers were first cousins, but the generations are a perfect match, so I think that makes us third cousins. Chuck will straighten me out if I'm wrong.

Whew... sorry, no interesting stories about the people, tonight's project was just to figure out the puzzle.

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Cold Beach

 
Brutal here. Temp at 3 pm was 5 degrees F, and the wind chill was something like -12. I had some cases to do in Ludington and drove through Stearns Park to look at the beach. The snow kept coming in waves, so that the water was visible and then it wasn't. It was like a magic show, one second there, then just gone.

I put this picture on Facebook when I got home, but I'm sure some of you haven't seen it. I was basically disappointed with it because it's not nearly so dramatic as the real thing, but lots of people are liking it, so I guess it's ok.



The waves seemed to be rolling in higher than the beach.



But the video is the best. Even though it's still a poor substitute for what it was really like, it shows all of what I described, and the motion helps give the real feeling.



I hear they've already closed school for tomorrow.

	See Ludington Beach in January
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How the Magic Worked

 
I can't seem to find the pictures I wanted to show you today, so I'll settle for showing you the secret of yesterday's picture.

	See Early Morning Magic
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