More

The world ran out of eggs during the snowstorms, so when they came back, I went ahead and got what was available – 24 eggs. Good grief. How long is it going to take us to finish those?

I usually like to make a fried egg on my cast iron skillet, but that thing might need to be re-seasoned. I dug out an old little pan that I’ve had for ages, and guess what?

I’ve discovered that I don’t need a spatula to turn it over. (If I’m holding it over the sink.)

(I’m not skilled enough yet to do this at the stove.)

By the way, the clock in the background had a dead battery.It’s not 11:30 at night – it was actually early morning.

This January is so weird – I just feel like it never got started and I just can’t get my legs under me. With the weather, we hadn’t had a ‘normal’ week of school until this week….. and then sickness hit the center like a ton of bricks. We’ve sent soooo many children home sick, but they often return too soon. (“They didn’t have a fever when we got home!”) I have thought about making a cartoon-style chart to show all the things children say to us. “I’m not supposed to tell you I’m sick.” “I had purple medicine last night.” “I threw up last night.” I mostly take these things with a grain of salt because young children also have a terrible sense of time. ‘Last night’ can also mean three days ago.

Anyway, we also have many staff out sick. We had to close one classroom for the week because we can’t staff it correctly with two lead staff out. (College students are great, but their schedules are piecemeal.)

Anyway, it’s been National Lutheran Schools Week and we’re supposed to focus on how great it is to be in a school where we can learn about Jesus, but the overarching message has been Keep Your Sick Children Home.

So, Happy KYSCH.

Lloyd and a bunch of people went in together to purchase a couple of thermal imaging cameras from an auction. There is just one problem….. I never want to stop playing with them, so how on earth can we share them?

We didn’t really get to play with them until just this past week, and it was great to do it when it was so cold. It’s helpful in a old house to see where the insulation is working and where it is failing.

I put together a documentation/demonstration video. The first part is when we played with the cameras on a below-zero night, the second is a little tour I made Saturday morning. (In that first shot, the care is white/warm because Lloyd had just returned from Missouri.) Also, sorry for the bad camera work. It’s hard to balance a phone/iPad while using it.

After I made and published the video, I wondered what would happen if it read something that was actually hot. Guess what? It’s not just black and white!

Here’s a crazy thought: when you get smoke detectors, hang them up ON THE WALL in a logical place, and replace the batteries every time we change the clocks. Sounds like something most people do, yes? Well, not Lloyd and Lauren.

A while back we bought smoke detectors that required batteries. Then, when some friends were having smoke detector troubles, we bought some that have 10-year batteries sealed inside. We actually hung those up, but took the old ones and tucked them away into ‘convenient’ spots. Why that happened, no one knows. We must have been drunk.

A couple of weeks ago, while I was doing my ‘sleeping-on-the-couch-because-it’s-the-weekend’ thing, I heard a beep in the night. I got up and listened several minutes to echolocate the mysterious beeping, and discovered it….. tucked on top of a piece of pottery on the tower of snacks.

Grrrrrrrr………

This weekend, the same thing happened. I woke up at 2:30 to a beep every 30 seconds. Again, I got up to echolocate in the cold, cold house. (The thermostat is set to 55 at night.)

Beep. Move closer to the beep, count to 30.

Beep. Move closer to the beep, count to 30. Yes. Closer.

Beep. Move closer to the beep, count to 30. No, not there.

Beep. Move closer to the beep, count to 30. No, not there.

It wasn’t on the first floor, but I could hear it. Down to the basement.

Beep. Move closer to the beep, count to 30.

Beep. Move closer to the beep, count to 30. …… you get the idea. This went on for a fair number of minutes, half minute by half minute. I thought I was going crazy – it could be anywhere!

Where was it?

Tucked in the joists, of course. WE ARE SO STUPID.

Thankfully we are not using those anymore, and just have the regular detectors that are in regular places. Good grief.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

I can’t remember if I wrote about the cold. (Checks past posts) I see that I didn’t. We’ve had a bit of a Polar Vortex going on over the past week and a half or so, with the high temperatures well under zero. At work it affected the heating system in half the building, icing up the furnace vents on the roof, so several rooms were without heat for a while. ‘Yay’ for space heaters and workers who know what they’re doing.

Last Saturday we had tickets to Les Miserables’ in Lincoln, and it was the tail end of a snowstorm. The wind died down by the time we left, but the temperatures were still incredibly cold. We had about a 4 -5 block walk from the restaurant to the theatre, and even though I was bundled up, my face was experiencing the beginnings of frostbite. When people say ‘why do I live where my face hurts’, now I get it – it’s actual pain.

Lloyd had to go to Missouri for a meeting on Monday, and since the truck doesn’t do well in extreme cold, I walked to work. The temperature was -10 with an I-don’t-know-what wind chill, but I was SUPER bundled: boots, snow pants, gigantic coat made of 18 geese, scarf, a mask, and the crowning glory: goggles. Unfortunately the goggles were covered in paint and scratches, so they were useless. I just took off my glasses and walked blind since they kept fogging up.

Council fire is still happening, except that my Fire Can is lost in a snowbank. I’m just lighting little stick fires for two minutes on a piece of foil and coming inside as soon as possible.

This coming week? The temperature is supposed to get to the 30s! Woo-hoo!!

Happy weekend!

I forgot to write more posts, so I just ate breakfast and am looking through photos I have uploaded to this place. Let’s talk about kettles.

When we were in Ireland, I learned that electric kettles were a big deal. There was one for the little coffee station (in a drawer!) at the first hotel we stayed in, and the other places had them, too – for coffee or tea. They are so handy since they transfer the heat directly to the water. I ordered one for school and Deborah gifted one to me for home.

When we were in Colorado, I missed it. Lloyd was at Wal*Mart and I asked him to buy the cheapest one he could find. He found one on clearance ($15), but it was so fancy. It’s the kind that people who make pour-over coffee like since a small stream comes out, but if you are used to pouring from a top-spout kettle, you will make a royal mess the first time.

Anyway, it’s still in Colorado, ready for my next visit. I think I’ll see you at Easter, kettle.