Odds & Ends

There are just a few interesting or fun things I wanted to share, most of which really aren't worthy of a whole blog post.  I'll deliver them in the order that they were discovered.

1) I was having a key made at Ace and while I waited I was looking at the end cap right between the key making machine and the cash register.  I realize this is a hunting tool, but I still think the merchandising/branding is strange.

Also available in cow "flavor."

2) For those keeping score, I am getting almost adequately competent at pumping my own gas!

$2.96/gallon!  Well, closer to $2.97/gallon with that .9 cents, but still.

3) Information that makes this make sense: A) I don't walk around the hot tub in daylight very often. B) The snow had melted off the deck a few days before it started snowing again; yesterday morning we had a fresh 3/4" or so. C) Betty is one of those dogs who likes to greet us with something in her mouth (even if it's just to say good morning when each of us gets up).  Usually it's a toy or bone, but sometimes it's a small article of our clothing she's gotten out of the basket, a slipper, or shoe.

What is that?  Oh, frozen panties.  Of course.

4) The Alexanders left Christmas lights up around the living room window year round as a way to welcome each other home if one or the other arrived home late and they left them up for us.  E came home after dark yesterday so I had them on and while they don't put off much light they did enable us to see the Return of the Flying Squirrel! 

I used the "night vision" setting which is why it's all green and grainy.  That is not why there are dog nose smudges all the window.

Oh, The Mundanity!

This is just a list of stuff that's kind of a big deal around here, but probably boring as hell.

 1. It feels so good to finally be able to do laundry again! 

My new washer: the Frigidaire Affinity!  I could go on & on about all the features and special cycles (like pet bed, stuffed toy, etc.), but I'll save that for bugging Eric.

 I was pleased when I saw the clothesline when we looked at the house in July and since the dryer doesn't arrive for another week or two, I'm extra pleased now.  The only thing that doesn't benefit from that dried-on-the-line feel and smell are towels, but the rain is scheduled to start tomorrow so we're doing them anyway.

This seem to dry pretty quickly in the dry air here even when it's not that warm. 

2. We've no curbside recycling in Florence, but we do have a 60 gallon garbage can. SIXTY GALLONS!  That's the small size, the other size is 90 gallons.  NINETY GALLONS!  They pick it up weekly, too.  We're saving recycling to take into Missoula to a recycling center there, and figuring out composting in this climate with these critters, but it's quite a change and I'm having a hard time adjusting without being a bit resentful.  C'mon people!  Get with it!  Are you trying to fill this beautiful valley with trash!?  GAH!!! I'm sure I'll get used to it just like I'll get used to driving the 60 gallon can to the bottom of the road for pick up.  I don't know how we're going to do that when I get the canopy back on Bert.

3. Speaking of, I totally filled the tank in Bert (my truck) all by myself today like a big girl!  And gas is under $3.70/gallon now, too, so it's a good thing I waited until the last minute.
 

Four of the eight that were making a circuit around the NE side of the house from one bird bath to the other and back.  The Beastie Grrlz sure had fun eating all the turkey turds, which are the size of cat turds, an hour or so later.

4.  I'm sure everyone knows that feeling of surprise when you look up from washing the lunch dishes and see wild turkeys scratching around under the window.  This time the dogs slept right through it.

The New Normal I

There are two things that I already miss about Oregon, things that are so engrained in The Way Oregonians Do Things that I keep forgetting that I'm going to have to learn new ways as I become an Montanan.

The view from the driver seat the last I gassed up before moving.  I'm not normally one to spot inconsistencies in movies, but years ago when I watched Old Joy I noticed a thing that people from elsewhere probably didn't: the main character pumping his own gas at a rural station.  The film takes place and is filmed in Oregon: GOTCHA!

Almost everyone I know who has moved to Oregon from elsewhere dislikes it, but I love not pumping my own gas.  Well, more like I truly dislike pumping it myself.  Of course, I've done it before on road trips to other states or in other countries, but I always forget how to do it so I end up standing there at the pump looking confused and probably dumb and sometimes even failing to accomplish a complete filling.

Or you can just put your completed ballot in your outgoing mail, but these are nice if you wait until the last minute.  Photo from About.com

 The other thing I'm really going to miss is vote-by-mail.  Man, it is SO NICE to participate in democracy while sitting at the kitchen table with the Voters Pamphlet, a ballot, and a beverage appropriate to the weather and time of day.  Not only is it convenient, it helps me be informed by the facts about the measures, not just the advertising and aggrandizing.  Also, a voter can vote and mail it up to a couple of weeks before election day and stop paying attention to the ever-increasing ads for and against everything, because I-already-voted-you-jerks.

In other news: Eric has taken sick (as per usual when traveling) so our area adventures are diminished by that and its effect on dog care.  Also, I ordered our new washer and dryer yesterday from the local Sears store at the mall and they will arrive on October 6 and 26, respectively. I'm inordinately excited about new laundry appliances; I hope I don't end up missing the old ones we sold with the house in Portland.

UPDATE: I pumped my gas today!  Almost all by myself, too!  Baby steps.