The Fence is Up!
So approximately four weeks after I left for Minnesota, I have returned home to Wyoming. While I was gone, my neighbor seems to have gotten some motivation and put up a new fence. Only one problem, Gracie can totally walk under said fence. Now she'll have to wait a month or so until I decide to go to a real town to get some fencing before being allowed to play chase whatever E throws.
I also picked up my mail today. In it, I found very few bills (quite an achievement when you've been gone for a month), two paychecks and a Christmas present. Yay Christmas! It included cash so I was much pleased. One of my parents apparently slipped some cash into my wallet the other day too. I find it vastly amusing that my parents think I need money. My dad claims I'm quasi-unemployed. I'm actually quite happily employed. I just don't work very much. It makes life much more enjoyable.
And apparently, Obama's stimulus bill is providing me with the ability to elect COBRA benefits for 65% off the original rate quoted. This discount is only available to people who didn't elect COBRA when they were laid off. Apparently, it sucks to be you if you took the ridiculously overpriced COBRA right off. If it weren't retroactive to March 1, I'd totally take the dental insurance, do the whole cleaning thing, then cancel after only paying a month.
George has taken the loss of Gracie quite hard. My mother is really excited because Gracie's visit convinced my dad that they need another dog. She is scouring Petfinder to locate just the right companion for George. Until then, he'll just have to pine wistfully for the return of his girlfriend. Until he comes out here to visit her.
Spring!
After spending the last two days working outside digging up stumps, I've decided that I'm happy spring has arrived. Bright blue skies, warm sunshine and short sleeved shirts are nice. The weather also makes it more fun to walk the dogs and has melted most of the snow off the trails so the four wheeling has been fantastic. Yay spring.
Metrodome Thoughts
* It occurred to me last night that the Call to the Bullpen guys are not going to make the transition to the new stadium with its nifty new scoreboard. This makes me sad.
* It seems Justin Morneau needs my presence not to suck. This does not bode well for him. Hopefully, he just needed me to help jump start his bat.
* The ushers at the Dome are awesome. Or at least mine was. She kept hordes of people waiting until the half inning ended. Once when some people stood at the railing and she wasn't there, we panicked. Only to see her flying down the stairs yelling, "I'm coming!" I also heard her ask a couple of little girls who had been going up and down every inning whether they were actually planning to watch the game. The girls did not come back down again. I loved her.
* Damn you Nick Punto. Couldn't you have at least made an error so I could win Twingo? Also, the Thriller walk up music has to go.
* Not Dome related but, I love the Hennepin County Library system.
Holy Blizzard Batman!
Last night, I was sitting on my couch watching TV and reading a book when it sounded like my house had moved into a wind tunnel. It had been very windy all day (no surprise since this is Wyoming), but this was extreme. I looked outside and could see absolutely nothing. Sustained winds of 60 mph and heavy snow created a zero visibility nightmare - later I looked out to see how my trash can (and the trash inside it) had survived the wind...not well. This was one instance when I totally agreed with the freeway closure.
Today, my mother called, ostensibly to tell me I should be at their house by Sunday to help the choir with their boom whacker practice (don't ask). She's still not getting the idea that floods and blizzards make it a challenge to drive to their place so the "maybe" is still in place. Really though she called to tell me that her "other daughter" called and is probably coming to Easter dinner with my mom's granddaughter and don't I want to meet my niece? Nice try mom. Still not getting grandkids from me any time soon.
The thing that does actually make me feel bad about maybe not going home is George. Poor baby hurt his foot really badly and now has a staph infection. Apparently, he's not eating & drinking, can't pee, whines all the time and runs into walls. They hope if I bring Gracie around, he'll forget about his foot a bit and be more interested in getting some action.
