Thanksgiving in the Park

Today is Norine's first official day of not being homebound.  Although it was quite chilly, we took advantage of an otherwise pretty day to take a walk in Loose Park.

There were a few people walking dogs, some children playing, and ducks on the water.  A very peaceful setting.

The fall colors are gone, replaced by colorful balloons.

The silhouette of a tree without leaves lets us know winter is on it's way.

It was our first Thanksgiving in a long time without family around.  It made the day a little sad, but also made us realize that our families have grown up and that things are different.  It's so quiet....time for a nap...

...and now a word from our sponsors...

We never watch a television show live.  We record the ones we like on Tivo and then watch them on a delayed basis, sometimes as soon as 30 minutes after they start.  We do this so we can skip through the commercials.  Tonight we were watching the most recent episode of "V".  My finger seemed to be getting tired from an inordinate amount of commercials.  When the program ended, I decided to do a little analysis.  We went back to the beginning of the program and recorded the amount of program time vs commercials.  There were 5 commercials totaling 20 minutes during the 60 minute show.

In the 1960s, an average 60 minute show would run for 51 minutes.  Thats 11 minutes longer than tonights episode of "V".  That means commercial time has increased from 9 minutes to 20 minutes for an hour long show.  That's a 222 percent increase in commercial time!  If you watch any of the old shows that are being broadcast, you may see that they've cut up to 9 minutes of showtime for the increased commercials.

Not only are they increasing the amount of commercials, they are increasing the volume because they know that people head to the kitchen or bathroom during commercials.  They want to make sure that you hear them in other parts of the house.

What can we do about this?  It's not going to go away.  They know that people will see the commercial and buy the advertised product.  We can purchase the show through services such as iTunes or Amazon, but then we have to store the show and pay $2.99 or $3.99 for each episode.  Hardly worth it for something you can get for free.  We can wait and buy the DVDs for the season.  Again, it's expensive and you need to store the DVDs that you'll probably never watch again.

The ideal solution would be to turn off the TV and do something productive.  But hey, I like to watch some of the shows.  Is something wrong with that?  It's entertainment.  I will just sit back and realize that by pressing the fast forward button until my finger gets sore is saving me about $3.99 for every 40 minutes of TV I watch.  Let's see, I press the fast forward for 20 minutes of recording time.  since it's fast forwarding at 3x normal speed, I'm only holding the button for about 7 minutes.  If my calculations are correct, I'm earning $34.22 an hour for sitting in my recliner, pushing a button.

Hey, I can live with this!!!

Allergic to Bullets

This is old but I still love reading it.  Although I don't think the story is true, the message is valid.   I tend to let some insignificant things aggravate me and I need to have this where I can read it when I get that way.  I will post it here.  That way I can always find it.

Jerry -

Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "the first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "...The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a deadman'. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead'." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Chiefs and Chopper

We do most of our shopping at Price Chopper, mainly because it is one of the closest stores to us, but also because of the quality of their produce, house brands, and fresh food.  We occasionally get fried chicken from their deli because it is usually fresh and very tasty.  Much better than the colonel, in my opinion.  Last Friday we were in the Liberty area and stopped at the new Price Chopper store.  It was a very upscale looking store.  They even had a wide selection of Muir Glen tomatoes.  Since it was dinner time, we decided to get some chicken.

When we got home, we discovered the chicken was dry, mostly cold, and very old tasting.  Not spoiled, but more like chicken that had been sitting under a warming light way too long.  I went to the Price Chopper web page and submitted a complaint.

This morning I got a call from the deli manager, Cindy, who was very apologetic and wanted details so she could find out what went wrong.  She sounded very sincere and promised to take action to ensure that the food is always fresh and hot.  She offered a gift certificate which I said wasn't necessary, but she insisted.  When I got off the phone, I felt like I just talked to someone who really cared about her customers and wanted to make things right.  She didn't try to defend her department and made me feel like a valued customer.

I give Price Chopper an A+ on customer service.

Oh, and Kansas City area people will understand the title of this post.  ;)

eBay, Yard Sales, Craigslist, Donations

As we continue to go through a lot of stuff that we haven't used in years, we ponder the various ways to get rid of things.  I have used eBay quite a bit for items that are easily mailed and have a decent value, but I have often wondered about Craigslist for the larger items.  The yard sale route is not for us.  The last time we tried a yard sale, we opened our garage and within 10 minutes some guy came by and offered us a nickel for something.  A nickel!  I think we had it marked for a whopping quarter!  We sent him on his way and closed our garage door, never again to attempt a yard sale.

For the most part, donations have been our preferred method of disposing good quality goods.  We feel we're helping someone out as well as getting a tax deduction for the merchandise.  But what about the big item stuff?  Craigslist sounds perfect!  Now that we have a travel trailer to sell, I thought it was a good time to give it a whirl so I put my first ad on Craigslist.  Within an hour I got a response.  Some guy asked if I would give him a rent to own option.  Did he really think I would accept that?  Is this the yard sale guy that had a nickel in his hand?

I suppose I will just stick with eBay and donations.  As far as the trailer, I'll wait for spring and try some other advertising venues.

What is my point with all of this?  Nothing.  I just wanted to kill some time while Norine was getting ready so we could go out to look for framing supplies.

Three Weeks

It's been almost three weeks since we got back from the Tetons.  A lot has been going on and the time has been flying.  Shortly after returning from the trip, we booked a place for next year.  We'll be going with friends and we reserved a nice house in West Yellowstone.  Well, at least it looks nice in the photos.  The owner was a pleasure to talk to so we're expecting a good experience.  Since we'll be in West Yellowstone, the focus of the trip will be Yellowstone NP instead of the Grand Tetons.  I only hope that we enjoy the trip as much.

A week after returning, Norine had her first knee replacement surgery.  She's doing great and I'm actually enjoying doing things around the house.  I'm getting a lot of little projects done, some of which have been haunting me for years.  I've even made some progress on the basement.  Not a lot, but some.  I really want to get the basement in order since basically half our house is down there.

What I'm enjoying most is cooking.  I'm trying to get more adventurous and have actually produced a few decent meals.  I am not letting Norine's incapacity lead to more carry out.  In fact, we've had very little (maybe none) from carryout since she got out of the hospital.  I'm progressing from the easy dishes to the more complex.  Today I started pork posole.  It's two day recipe, but it was smelling so good today, that it was very difficult to resist.  Stage one is refrigerating overnight and I will finish it tomorrow.  While at the grocery store getting the ingredients, I had to fight two women over the remaining pork roasts.  They were on sale for $.99 a pound and going fast.  Fortunately I was able to wrestle away the required 6 lbs of roast.

I look forward to the day when Norine is back on her feet.  This is a very difficult time for her, but I know she will be glad she did it.  I expect 2010 to be a lot more active for both of us.

Home Again

The 1 - 2 inches of snow that was predicted for North Platte turned into about 13 inches by the time we got up.  After clearing off the car, we got out on the snow covered interstate.  The first two hours were quite treacherous.  There were a number of cars off the road and one 18 wheeler overturned in a ditch.  The only problem we had was a windshield wiper that broke from the ice.  Fortunately it was on the passenger side and not the drivers.  After a couple hours, the roads improved and the rest of the drive was trouble free.  We even had a brief period of sunshine.

We're home, had dinner, and we're unpacked.  Now it's time for a drink and some rest!  Oh, and tomorrow I need to look into reservations for next year!

Snowy Drive

We dropped off our condo keys at 8 am this morning.  We were planning on taking the route through Dubois since our Nuvi told us it was faster.  We headed north toward Moran Junction and the snow started falling heavier and heavier.  The roads were covered long before we got to the junction and visibility was very low.  I knew it would be really bad going over the pass to Dubois, so we turned around and took the southern route.  An hour and half later we were back where we started.

It was a good choice since the roads were clear all the way to I-80 at Rock Springs.  Things were going well until about 12 miles west of Cheyenne.  Then the snow started.  The roads were a bit treacherous in stretches and our windshield and wipers were freezing.  We had to stop at a rest area to clean them off, but it was a short term fix.

We monitored the storm and decided we had to try to get to North Platte, Nebraska so we would get past the worst of the storm that was coming during the night.  We made it here, but it is snowing hard.  Hopefully it will be better in the morning and we can continue home.

Such a stressful day compared to the great times of the past week!!!

Goodbye to the Tetons

Tomorrow morning we must leave this beautiful place.  We are already talking about making reservations for next year.  This morning we set out down our favorite road and stopped to see our moose and her baby.

We then took a walk on the Taggart Lake trail and through the yellow wood we took the road less traveled.

And we saw the reflection of the mountain we have grown to love.

We will pass through the beautiful place called Jackson Hole one more time in the morning.  We will be sad, but we will leave knowing we will be back.

Grand Tetons - Day Seven, Wildlife

This morning we headed off to the Oxbow Bend, Willow Flats, and Two Ocean Lake areas of Grand Teton National Park. Just a few miles into our journey, we came across the sure sign that wildlife are in the area - a lot of cars along the road and people all looking off in one direction. This time it was one of the mother bears and her two cubs. They were very close to the road and put on quite a show going after berries. We watched the show for about 45 minutes. I put a condensed 5 minute video on YouTube.

We headed on and tried to eat some packaged chicken breast we brought along for lunch. It was not very good so we decided to try the lodge at Signal Mountain. Like the lodge in Yellowstone, great atmosphere but mediocre food (you were right Kevin).

We spent the rest of the day driving around the areas mentioned above. Supposedly the areas we visited were prime habitat for moose and grizzlies. All we saw were two mule deer.

We headed home as the sun was going down. Back on the road between Moose and Teton Village, we once again came across the parked cars. This time it was for the moose pictured above. All this time we spent in the Grand Tetons, most of our wildlife sightings were on that 9 mile stretch of road between our condo and Moose Junction.

Grand Tetons - Day Six, Yellowstone

Today we took the road to Yellowstone. Yellowstone is so big that we are going to plan a separate trip there. We were only able to see such a small portion of it today, yet it seemed like we saw so much. We started at Old Faithful and had lunch at the lodge. From there we went towards Madison and visited the lower, midway, and upper geyser basins.

The only wildlife we saw in Yellowstone was buffalo, and there were plenty of them. One walked right down the main road and right past our car.

We'll spend our last two days in the Grand Teton area. There is still a lot we want to see here.

Grand Tetons - Day Five, Part II

We went out this evening during prime wildlife sighting hours. The road between our condo and Moose Junction is a great area for seeing wildlife. On the way into the park, we came across the sure sign of a wildlife sighting - cars stopped along the road. This time it was a black bear and at least one cub. Although the view of the momma bear was obstructed by trees, you could definitely see her size when she stood up.

We continued our wildlife search when we were greeted by a masterpiece. The fog starting to lift from the mountain with some sunshine down low. It let us know that we are in for a great day tomorrow!

Heading back down the road towards our room, once again we saw the cars parked along side the road. This time was a little different. No one was outside their car. The reason was one very large bear and one big bear just off the road. There were also three bear cubs. When they moved a little further in the woods, people got brave and started getting out of their cars. We all stood there for a long time watching the cubs climb a tree. I'm sure momma bear was keeping a watchful eye on us!

Grand Tetons - Day Five

As expected, we woke up to a blanket of snow. There was about 6 inches of snow on our car when we were ready to go. It continued to snow the entire time we were out and it looked like a good 8 - 10 inches by the time we got back to our room.

We stopped in Jackson and walked around the town square. It was pretty with all the snow. Then we headed out to Gros Ventre Slide area. The road to the slide was covered in snow and beautiful beyond words. The Grand Tetons were no where to be seen today, but the views were still breathtaking. We stopped for coffee at Dornan's and enjoyed the mountain-less view of the snow covered landscape. From there we drove into the Lupine Meadows area.

Coming back on the road between Moose Junction and Teton Village, we took note of the tracks in the snow. We will go out soon and do an evening animal watch.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. If the snow is still on the ground and the mountains visible, we should have some awesome sights. We are getting up early and heading to Yellowstone in the morning.

Grand Tetons - Day Four

Hmmm, that looks like Jenny Lake again. Well it is. This time from the south shore. I love that lake! The weather forecast was right. We woke up to cold temperatures and snowy weather. Actually, the snow didn't start until a little later, but it was quite cold.

We left a little later this morning because of the weather, but we weren't going to let it keep us inside. We thought about looking for indoor attractions, but neither of us are museum type people. We'd rather be in the outdoors. We bundled up and off we went. Not long after we started, the snow began to fall. Our first stop was an old church and settlement near a ferry that used to cross the Snake River. It was fun walking around and looking at the old ferry and buildings.

From there we headed north and went up to the summit of Signal Mountain. Fantastic views of Jackson Hole as well as some obstructed views of Jackson Lake and the Tetons. It was definitely chilly at the top!

We continued north to Colter Bay. On our way back, we stopped at the south shore of Jenny Lake. We intended to hike to hidden falls. About a third of the way, the snow started falling hard so we turned around and headed back.

When we returned, our condo smelled wonderful from the roast we had in the crock pot. Dinner was great and we're settled in for the night. Although we had quite a bit of snow, it wasn't enough to cover the ground. We may get that tonight.

Grand Tetons - Day Three

The south entrance to Grand Teton National Park is about a mile from our condo. Shortly after entering the park this morning, we approached a lot of cars pulled off to the side of the road. We knew that meant one thing - wildlife. Sure enough, there was a bull moose grazing on the side of the road. After taking some photos of the moose, we headed further into the park. We made a stop to get photos of these horses.

We came across a dirt road that looked interesting. There was a sign that said "Four Wheel Drive Recommended" so we couldn't resist. The road wasn't that bad, but it definitely required some vehicle clearance. The views were fantastic.

After 4 bumpy miles, we came to a pathway that lead to the Snake River. It was the end of the road. I was walking along the river and looked down and saw some bear tracks. We decided it was time to move on!

We left the park, had some lunch, and stopped at the grocery store. We rested for awhile at the condo and then headed back into the park and ended up at Jenny Lake. The eyes of Jenny Lake were staring at us. It was a great day and we look forward to tomorrow, even though we may be in for a couple of bad weather days.