Reflections from the Softer Side of Bad Weather

Over the past weeks, I've seen my Facebook and Twitter feeds nearly fill up with friends and family along the Eastern seaboard talking about first an earthquake, then Hurricane Irene, and now even more raining and flooding.  With the exception of the earthquake - weirdness, all around - the thoughts of the nasty weather than can hit the northeast and its after affects has me reflecing on my childhood.

Growing up on Price's Drive in Mountainhome, I remember losing power. A lot.  In the spring, in the summer, in the fall, and even occasionally in the winter.  While the rest of the Poconos - and even, sometimes, the rest of Barrett Township might be restored - we'd sometimes sit without power for days.

As an adult, I imagine this would be a large pain in the butt.  Especially with small children.  Who are as used to and spoiled by "modern conveniences" as I am - like a constantly-open refrigerator, satellite television, online games and flushable toilets.  (You can't get more than a flush or 2 out of a toilet when the power's out and no water is pumping - did you know that?  And you thought your mom was crazy for keeping buckets of water to use - it was to force flush the toilet.  Heh!  My mom would save every gallon jug on the planet and fill them all with water ahead of storms.  We'd have flushing ability for days.  Good stuff.)

What I remember, though, is the softer side of bad weather rolled in. 

Forget cooking on the stove - break out the sterno.  Something about cooking over sterno with it's flickering flame, while rain pounds down around, makes whatever food is being cooked taste all that much better.  And speaking of food, getting it was an adventure.  My mother stocked our basement like a nuclear attack was inevitable and would make our house the town food bank.  I'm. Not. Kidding.  But...it was the basement.  And with bad weather, there might be water accumulated on the floor, especially if the sump pump wasn't keeping up.  So going downstairs to retrieve some of the millions of cans of food could become an adventure. 

And the refrigerator!  And freezer!  Forget this worrying about food going bad after a day or so when the power was out.  Ours never did, even after several days.  We learned to pack the freezer tightly, so that the frozen foods insultated each other.  That thing would stay frozen for a week.  The fridge?  It became a game.  Ok.  What do we need for this meal?  Make a list.  Ok.  Remember which shelves those things are on?  Ok.  Now...3...2...1...GO!  And then we'd open the fridge and in 5 seconds or less gather all the necessary things.  If something was forgotten, too bad!  And hopefully you used up everything you took out, so another door-opening mission wasn't necessary.

And lights - I remember the softer side of lights.  My mother thought candles were dangerous.  And, considering the klutz that I am, that was probably a wise fear.  And flashlights were just plain clunky!  So we used hurricane lamps.  I. Love. Hurricane lamps!  In fact, I still have several in my house that I try to trot out a time or two a year, even though we've never needed them here.  A bottle of oil and a bit of wick would keep you lit for quite a long time.  You could read books, listen to the radio, or enjoy a game of cards, all by Hurricane lamp.

No video games.  No microwaves.  No generator - at least not at our house. 

Lots of radio listening - was another front coming?  Would power come back soon? 

Lots of talking - my mom and dad sharing their memories of storms long past.

Lots of reading - Lord knows, I've never had a shortage of books in my life.

Some games, some food, some sheer downtime.

Bad things happy when nasty weather rolls in...but sometimes, there are softer sides as well.

To those who endured or are enduring flooding and damage, those of us in drought-ridden Texas are thinking of you and hoping for the best!

How bad is the economy? (Funny!)

(Hat tip to my Aunt Joan A.) THE ECONOMY IS SO BAD THAT: I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. CEO's are now playing miniature golf. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. I saw a Mormon with only one wife. I bought a toaster oven and my free gift was a bank. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore. A picture is now only worth 200 words. They renamed Wall Street " Wal-Mart Street ". When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room. And, finally... I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call center in Pakistan , and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

Eliminate Your Blind Spot!

Good Tuesday morning evening to everyone, and welcome to Tuesday Travel Tips with Tiffany! To read previous editions, you can find them here.

I drive between 15,000 and 20,000 miles a year - and I'm sure some of you drive many more. This is the best advice I've seen to-date on avoiding blind spots while driving, and I simply had to share!

Over on Car Talk, a site hosted by NPR, this thought is posted:

For years, we'd been setting our side-view mirrors so that they gave us a view of the back corner of our cars. This is the way it's been done for generations - from grandfather, to father, to us! But we finally discovered something very interesting. The back corner of the car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it.

By moving the side mirrors farther out, you can line up all three of your mirrors so they have minimal overlap -- and you can see everything behind you and beside you.

Here's how to do it.

For the full article and instructions, click here.

And until next time...

Safe Travels!

A.A.A.D.D.

(I originally posted this to my old MySpace blog in mid-2007, after my husband forwarded to me with a note that said "this is YOU."  Aw, honey.  Too funny not to repost here!)

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.

Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed the bills aren't paid there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

Samsung 500 at TMS

I love me some NASCAR and one of my favorite track is Texas Motor Speedway...by virtue of the fact that it's only a few miles away and we used to be season ticket holders.  And hopefully future season ticket holders, once the kids are older!

Here are my thoughts on this week's Saturday NIGHT race:

• How 'bout that wind???
• Hey Jerry - did you have 160k at the Super Bowl?  Yeah, didn't think so.
• Very classy National Anthem with the Armed Forces Brass Brigade.
• Note to Fox: never ever ever again break away from a flyover to show Jimmy Johnson making out with his wife.
• Note to Jimmy: Shave. That is all.
• Note to Fox, again: Gee.  Cowboy hats in Texas.  That's original.
• Note to Patti: thanks for letting me borrow .
• "Boogity, boogity, boogity - let's go racing TEXAS style, boys!"  Yeehaw!
• Lap 4: Husband asks Toddler for a beer.  Toddler obliges.  Husband remarks, "I knew I had a child for a good reason."  Mom rolls eyes.
• Laps 5-119: Yaaaaaaaaaawn.
• Lap 120: One word for this wreck: OUCH!
• Lap 298: Ya'll might like Pit Stop Roulette, but I am not a fan.
• Lap 300something: Can we go back to 2005 numbers and colors?  I just realized I was rooting for the wrong damn car.  *Sigh* It's late.
• Lap 320: Get off the track, Kurt.  Just go.  I don't care who wins, just not you.
• Lap 321: Kenseth.  Really?
• Lap 331: Kenseth.  Really.
• Lap 334: Kenseth.  Really!

Good race, guys.  Always glad to have ya'll in Texas.  And many, many congrats to Kenseth, one of the truly nice guys in racing!

See ya'll in 'Dega!

Introducing...the Flashing Light

Good Tuesday morning to everyone, and welcome to Tuesday Travel Tips with Tiffany! To read previous editions, you can find them here.

The entrance to my neighborhood is guarded by a flashing red light.  Not stop signs; nope, those are too mundane.  Not a full traffic signal.  Too structured.  All four spokes of the intersection are governed by this flashing light.

And you would think people needed a PhD in Trafficology to figure out this modern-day Clash of the (Nissan) Titans!

Ok, people.  Let's break it down for you.

Basically...someone who wanted to make money off lightbulbs instead of sheet metal transformed the STOP SIGN into a FLASHING RED STOP LIGHT.

Beyond that, the principle is the same.  Exactly the same.  We take turns once we get to the intersection.  The first Eastbound/Westbound cars in the corresponding lanes go...and then the Northbound/Southbound cars go.

But most importantly, and why you people tick me off, is this point of driving etiquette:

If no one is currently at the intersection, and I get there before you do, I get to go through first.  Period.

Let's recap.

If my wheels have come to a stop and yours have not, I was there first.  And thus, I get to cross the intersection first.  Period.

Here's another scenario that gets my gall.

If you're the second car in line, you don't get to go through the intersection at the same time as the first car in line.

We take turns, Bozo.  My toddler is learning how to do that; why can't you?

I've heard the argument that some people might not realize that it's not an actual fully functional tri-color traffic light.  I'd be willing to accept that argument if it (a) didn't flash 24/7/365, (b) didn't blink on and off in 1 second intervals and (c) I lived near hamsters with less than 1 second attention spans instead of living, breathing, and supposedly attentive human beings.

I don't know about any of the rest of you purportedly sane drivers out there, but when I'm alone in my car (read: no kids), and someone goes through the blinking red light intersection out of turn, I actively try to hit them.

Calm down.  I'm not actually going to hit them.  But if they're trying to jump my turn, off goes my horn, out comes my middle phalanges, and I proceed to take my turn.  I definitely stop if they continue through the intersection; no numb-numb is worth wrecking my car (and in the area surrounding my neighborhood, they probably don't have insurance).  But I make 'em work for it.

But Tiffany, why don't you do the Christian thing and forgive?

Heck no.  This isn't a forgiveable offense, and they have no intention of atoning.  Forgetting your turn signal at an intersection is an oopsie.  Going out of turn is deliberate.  Failing to understand basic traffic signals is ignorance.  And ticking me off when I'm in my car is stupid.

How about you?  How do you deal with the Battle of the Stupids when it comes to flashing red lights?

Until next time,

Safe travels!