Sunday, November 24, 2013

ISOP and other sundry things....

So the comet ISOP is out there, however fleeting.  I thought it was out there the other night, but watching through binoculars reevaluated.  Then I pegged it for a helicopter, due to what I thought was a red blinking light at its rear.  I rechecked tonight and I think it's the comet, the red blinking lights the comet's tail.  It's pretty cool, esp for an ex-astronomy jock.  I think this is the first one I've seen since Hale-Bopp (a much cooler name) about a dozen years or so ago--maybe longer.  I remember running right along side of it during the Light Fest 8K at night.  It was pretty cool, esp with its long tail.

Last Sun AM we ran in shorts and tee shirts.  This AM it was 13 degrees!  Temperatures were forty + degrees colder this AM than last week.  Heh Heh Heh......

And I filled up with petrol tonight.  Granted, I didn't have my 10-cents off per gallon Kroger bonus, but I still paid 40 cents more a gallon.  Ouch!  That's five bucks.  I guess I should be thankful it's not already back up to $5 a gallon?

I read two letters to the editor in recent newspapers from folks who noticed what I did last month--their auto insurance premiums have gone up, one, I think, was 15% and the other 10%.  One said a call to his insurer revealed, yep, you guessed it--ObamaCare and personal liability increases because of it.  All told, so far, our insurance premiums--health and auto--will cost us at least $1500 in '14.  Good thing I have that money tree in the backyard--and that the windstorm blew down the black walnut tree instead of it!

Are these the beginning signs?  Yesterday, I was driving to my blind buddy's for our weekly run.  I left a bit early, to scrape the frost off my windshield and, at least planned, to buy petrol.  It's about an hour there, an hour to run, and an hour home.  I took a gander at the car clock and smiled a bit, if only for a short while.  I thought I had a few minutes to spare, making my drive home a bit less hectic since K and C were walking and I had to be back to watch the kids.  Oops!  I suddenly remembered, so K and C could walk, that I had moved up my run with my blind buddy by half an hour.  I had forgotten.  After all, I did make the change on Fri afternoon!  Now, I wasn't ahead of the game, but behind.  How could I have forgotten?  Beats me, except that......  And, the drive home was hindered by snow squalls, heavy ones that left the last 10-12 miles of my drive home on some very slick roads.  Then, today, I was proud of myself that I wrote and typed two articles for which I had end of the month deadlines.  They took almost six hours, including a little bit of last-minute research I had to do.  Good!  Now, only one more article, one column, and one review left by the 30th, next Saturday.  Then I remembered; I already did the other (the third) article and had sent it in to my editor last week.  I felt pretty good about finishing it, not so good about not remembering.  One would think I'd remember, but I didn't.

OK, out to get Ashley, Cody, and Michael a piece of cherry pie I baked this afternoon.  Then, it's off to bed for them--with Grandpa not far behind.

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