Greetings blog faithful, and thank you once again for being so supportive and interested in the rambling nonsense I so often provide. This week, however, I shall leave you with a few photos (only fair, since I provided none last week) and word that this week’s blog will be nothing more than this explanation of said photos and next week’s will likely (almost surely, but don’t call me Shirley) not exist at all. It’s that time of the year, and here in Wilber/Doyle Land that means travel.
As a matter of true fact, I just now got home and sat down on the sofa in Woodbury after a quick overnight trip to the south central part of the good old USA. Just a quick jaunt down there yesterday and now I’m back. However, on the day after Christmas next week, and that just happens to be a Thursday, Barbara and I will begin a “trip around half of America” excursion for four days. I’ll recount all the stops and sights the following week, but I’ll admit right now that it’s a combination trip in many ways. Barbara can’t be gone for four consecutive days, with all the work she’s swamped with right now, but it appears she might be able to join me on the front end and the back end of the Delta-centric trip. We’ll see, but I hope so. Both the first and last stop are near and dear to us, and it would be fun to stop in those places together.
Yes, it’s a thing we’ve done before when either or both of us get really close to the next level of elite status on Delta and a big looping trip seems like a good idea to try to make that happen. For me, it’s Diamond Medallion, which is the highest level you can achieve, so maybe it’s worth the effort and expense. Plus, the planned trip is full of fun stops so it’s a bit of a holiday vacation as well. It’s going to be close, in terms of elite miles, but I think I have it figured out and getting to Diamond is worth the effort. With CLEAR and Pre-Check getting us through security quickly, and the shorter Sky Priority lines at the check-in counters, there’s also the exclusive “Diamond Desk” number to call if things go haywire. They do take care of their medallion members and I’ll never forget how they saved me when Hawaiian Airlines botched my flight from Lihue to Honolulu, meaning I’d miss my Delta overnight flight home. That kind of hands-on customer service is basically priceless. And since we’re both travel fanatics, and Barbara still needs to take many long flights for work, it’s worth it to give the top level a shot.
So I’ll just leave with you these three photos to tide everyone over until the week after Christmas, along with a quick explanation of what you’re seeing.
The first is a shot of my brand-spanking-new glasses. I finally went pretty hipster. Red, maroon, and blue frames and I look both devilish and semi-attractive. No, seriously!
The second photo is of our Mama Turkey who lives somewhere in the trees back behind our home and those of our neighbors. None of us have seen her actually in a nest or even resting back there, but she’s around all the time and appreciates the seed we leave out for her. In Minnesota, most big birds migrate south (that’s a really good thing when it comes to the Canada Geese) and even many midsize birds like the robins, head somewhere south for the season. But the little finches of various varieties, many blue jays and cardinals, and the crows stick around. As do the squirrels, who would have a hard migrating if unable to hitch a ride somewhere.
When the snow comes early and heavy, and looks like it’s going to stick around until spring, all of us on our side of the street fill our feeders and even spread some seed around on the ground or wall. Birds gotta eat. So do squirrels. And no, turkeys don’t migrate. If you were ever a fan of the classic sit-com “WKRP In Cincinnati” you will recall the reason why. Think Les Nessman. So, we do what we can to keep everyone fat and happy. Nothing we can do to help her with a makeover to be a little better looking.
And finally, I don’t think I wrote about Buster’s trip to the veterinarian a couple of weeks ago, at least here on the blog. I know I addressed it on Facebook, but as far as I remember I didn’t give the Big Fella his due here in Blog World. We were worried that he’s slowing down a bit, and he is 12+ years old, so I took him there for a battery of tests and exams. He was such an amazingly good boy. I couple of cries in the carrier when we got in the car but then all good from that part forward. I let him out of the carrier so he could roam around the exam room until the doctor came in, and he was a prince. The doctor and her assistant fell in love with him.
And, most importantly, he aced all his tests. Yes, he’s getting older and is slowing down a bit, but all of his vitals were fine and his blood tests were remarkably good. Plus, he was a sweetheart about the whole thing.
Why did Boofie not go? Boofie is classified as almost sorta banned at the vet. He’s listed in his records as a “pillow case cat” because he goes so nuts he has to be brought in like that, inside a pillow case. He’s still crazy around the house too, so he got off easy.
So there you have it. I still have quite a bit of Christmas shopping to do, and there was a bit of drama right before I left the house yesterday for the airport, and I heard that the sump pump was trying to run but the drain hose was frozen solid. It had gotten well down below zero the night before and I still had the intermediate length hose attached to the pump’s PVC pipe, so that does happen. I was just glad I was still home to hear it. It’s a subtle sound, but if missed for a day or two it can burn the motor out.
I managed to loosen the frozen clamps to get the hose off, and I put on the curved PVC connector that won’t freeze up, but not before getting doused with a ton of water when the hose finally broke free and came off. The pump was still under pressure and I forgot to step to the side. And I was all dressed for the plane, too. It was 8-degrees out and I looked like I’d fallen in a pool. The joys of winter, on full display.
And here’s that shot of Buster waiting patiently for his tests at the vet. Good boy, Big Fella!
See you in a couple of weeks. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday season. I’ll be back soon!
Bob Wilber, at your service and finally dried out from the sump pump dousing.