Get Well Card

So I was perfectly happy being miserable all afternoon when I decided to check the mail just a bit ago.  One of the letters was a Get Well card from work.  I work with some very nice people and I know a card goes around when someone is out for a while, but it still caught me off guard in a very good way.  I want to say a great big thank you to everyone at work.  Today was a great day to get this, it really lifted my spirits.

                                  Thank You!!



I Bought A Poncho The Other Day

I had a computer and time on my hands.  It's one of those things that I have never had yet always wanted.   They just seem like they'd be comfortable and functional for some situations and/or weather.

About 20 years ago I saw a poncho in a store that I really liked but, for reasons I can't recall, I never bought it.  I have regretted that ever since and have always kind of kept my eye out for one but never see any for sale.  So with that thought, free time, and permission from my wife I went about searching for one.  It wasn't as easy I thought - which makes me think I don't have fashion to worry about.  Fashion only matters as much to me as any other typical 40 something male, anyway.

I wanted black, but in the interest of dirt and lint, I got a gradated gray.  It has a hood, is made of sheep and alpaca wool and comes from Bolivia.  I got it here, less than 50 bucks total, and it should arrive in 10 days or so.  I really hope I really like it, but it's probably not smart to wear it while I still have to use crutches or a walker...

Friday Already?! All Right....!

Wow, you look up and its already Friday.  I haven't posted anything, but it has been an interesting week at work.  Unfortunately for you I stay away from talking about work here.  I'm sure I'll hint at it later, I won't be able not to.  Other than that a quiet week, and no big plans this weekend other than work on the bathroom walls and get some painting done.  I'm sure I'll document that a bit, maybe for a post.

I hope you have a nice weekend wherever you are.  If you're near here, enjoy it before the heat moves in Sunday to cook us again!

Excuses and Promises

Well, there has been hardly any posting here lately and I don't know why.  I haven't been too bored or too busy, just not alot to share, I guess. 

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.  To me it was just a tune-up for next week when I'm officially on vacation.  Nine straight days off!  Besides the R&R I have 3 big things to do that week.  First off, my 'Garage Redo' project will get taken care of.  Although my back has been about as good as it gets the last couple weeks, I have been saving this project for my week off instead of using up a weekend.  Secondly, I plan on cleaning all the windows and screens in our 3 season porch.  Easy enough, just time consuming.  And lastly, I plan on a trip to Cuba City to see both of my grandmothers, one probably for the last time (-she hasn't been doing so well lately).  My Sis has been supposed to get back to me on this for a while now, but if I have to I will go alone.  (Get a hold of me, Sis!  The kids help fill in the quiet moments!!)

Aside from those things, I'm sure I'll keep myself as busy as I want to be.  There's plenty more to be done, but not necessarily next week.  This list will also give me good things to post about, a pic dump is due soon, too.  So thanks for checking back even though there hasn't been much going on lately.  I assure you, this space will pick up soon enough!

Checking in...

Hello, just checking in.  I haven't been posting much because I have been doing some overtime lately.  Also, this week is my turn for the 'difficult' project at work.  My patience is frayed, my back is sore, and my feet are sorer.  Saturday I plan on building the garden so soon there will be more news here.  Other than that, all is well.  I hope you are enjoying the weather warming!

W.A.S.P. Show Tonight

I have always hated it when shows were on a school night, but as the bands I love come around less and less I'll take what I can get.  W.A.S.P. will be across town at Scatz tonight.  What could be a reliving of my youth seems more like a lesson in how old I actually am.  I have been down with a cold again (second this year so far), my back is pretty touchy today, and I have to get up at 5:00 am to get to work.  Still, I wouldn't miss this show for the world.

The first and only time I saw W.A.S.P. was in December 1984, if I recall correctly.  They were opening for Kiss on the Animalize Tour at the Dane County Memorial Coliseum (now called the Alliant Energy Center).  I was very close to the stage and a little to the left.  I still have pictures from that show somewhere.  I snuck in my little Kodak 110 camera.  Only a few pics turned out, and none of the W.A.S.P. pics.  I think I was 17, so it has been over 25 years. 

I will be going alone, although I expect to see many familiar faces from the old days at the (long gone) Black Bear Lounge.  The heavy metal bar in Madison in the late 80's and early 90's.  At the most I may have a drink or two upon arriving, otherwise it will be a sober evening.  I will be flying out of there as soon as the show is over to get home, unwind, and hopefully get enough rest.

Wish me luck!

Boat not Noah

I had a recent exchange with a podcaster that I listen to about every week or so.  Part of it was, I asked him to give my little blog here a look and I would welcome any advice he had to give me. He mentioned having a title that people could spell and pronounce.  I hadn't thought of it like that, I guess.  Then again, I'm not really sure what I'm doing here anyway, really.  I'm not looking for any commercial success or widespread whatever. (I know I did add some ads lately.  That was just me playing with this blog.  It kinda looks like a real blog now, huh?)  When it comes right down to it, this blog is 90% for myself.  Most of the rest is because it is an easy way for my family and some friends to know I'm well and what I'm doing.  I have never been referred to as a great communicator, I still don't have, need, or want a cell phone.

The word 'scoakat' is something I came up with when we got our very first computer and had to come up with names for these pesky username thingies.  What it is, is simply my and my wife's names combined: (not yelling) SCOTT AND KATE, SCO A KAT.  I have always pronounced the OA like boat or goat, not like Noah or boa.  It always rhymed with 'go cat' in my head.  My word, my grammar rules.

Oh, I can see how it seems difficult to pronounce or remember for other people.  People have had trouble pronouncing my last name for as long as I can remember.  1 in 100 gets it right and 95 of the other 99 say it as this podcaster did on the last show.  (Yes, he read my email on the show and I was horrified for about 3 seconds, then realized nobody I know listens.  Just as well, they probably wouldn't care if they did.)

So, Podcaster, thank you for having a look.  That makes me feel good.  I probably would have a link to your podcast here but, you must admit, the podcast was updated pretty inconsistently for a while there last year.  It has been like clockwork lately though.  I'm not going to link right now,  that would be too obvious.  I'm afraid my family may look you up instantly.  Anyway thank you for the advice,  it did open my eyes to something I hadn't considered.  If I want to get bigger I will think about changing the name.  For now, I think I'll just keep posting for me and the few visitors I do have and go from there.  Maybe just fade in to oblivion or suddenly just sto

Sunday Stuff, Cat Pics

I'm stuffed.  We went to Wilson's for lunch with my father in law.  Soon the USA takes on Canada in the men's hockey gold medal game.  And I found a few pics of our cat, Puddy, on the camera from a couple weeks ago.  She needs brushing, but she always needs brushing since she makes it such an ordeal when we do do it.  I hope your having a relaxing Sunday!

My snoWeek snow far... snow

Monday morning, snow on the car.  Not alot, just enough to blanket everything.  Not cold enough to really want to warm up the car but I did so I could clear snow off it a bit before I left.  Bonus:  It mostly melted during the day.  I used the broom to sweep the front steps.  All else was negligable, but keep in mind this is on top of a foot or more of standing snowcover in places.

Tuesday morning, snow on the car.  Only an inch or so and real light, fluffy and, it turns out, really slippery on the roadways.  I didn't have a problem in my SUV but I heard of all the slide-offs and accidents on the news before leaving and on the way to work.   A bit cooler out, so I warmed it up and cleared the snow off it about ten minutes before I left.  Bonus: It melted off, or blew off, the walk and driveway before I got home!

Wednesday morning, snow on the car.  Inch or so, same as the last two mornings.  A bit cooler yet,  low teens.  So I warmed it up and cleared the snow off it about ten minutes before I left, again.  Bonus:  Snow from this morning may have melted or blown away, but there is snow to clear yet... as soon as it stops snowing.  You didn't think it just snowed at night here, did you?
 
Tomorrow morning, snow on the car? From what I heard this morning, it sounds much the same but colder yet.  Five degrees.  Bonus:  I need to stop and get gas tomorrow.  Hmmph.

Its like an annoying 'Groundhog Day' or maybe living in a snow globe.  I hope it gets a bit warmer soon... I think I want to shave, for a change.

America's Top Drunkest Cities

Jonco's city came in at #6 (F), Madison came in at #15 (D-).  Look up Men's Health's grading of 100 of America's Drunkest Cities to see where you rank!  (I hope you're not from #1 Fresno, it sounds dangerous there.)

Getting The Blog In Order

Well, it's starting to get better. I've been trying to get all the buttons on top to do what they're supposed to do.

-Home. Here, the frontpage.
-About. Sends you to my profile, for now. I do plan on writing something more significant at a later date.
-Posts RSS and Comments RSS are just that. Don't ask me what, but they work. (Remember, I'm the guy who still refuses to get a cell phone.)
-Contact. I'm still working on this one. I haven't figured out how do it quite yet - and yes I have been trying.
-Log In. This is for logging in to your Blogger account (if you have one).

And just to tie up some loose ends:
-We did get the car out of the shop after work Thursday. All in all, it cost less than expected.
-Friday evening went well. We didn't stay too late. It will be different without Lisa at the front desk now, though.
-My back is acting up again, so I've been able to sit at the computer only for short periods of time. The same reason I'm not at work right now. And that's about my time...

Car Repairs Ongoing...

The car is still in the shop. 5 days and not much has changed, just had to wait for the part. They finally have the correct hose now and the car should be ready later this evening, they say. My wife and I would rather just pick it up tomorrow after work, so if they call too late that's what we plan to do. We're both tired - always tired during the week. My next post should liven me up a little, though.

Edit: What was supposed to be the next post is being difficult, I'll try what I wanted to do again later, but for now you get Superbowl commercial stuff. Demmit.

Car Repairs and the Weekend

We had to have my wife's car towed to the shop Saturday morning. On her way home Friday she had no heat and just as she was getting close to home she said the temperature was getting really high. There was hardly if any coolant left in it when I looked, so I called AAA (they really come in handy sometimes!).

Now I'm hoping we can get the car back tomorrow. There was a broken coolant hose under the engine. Dangest thing, according to the shop. Not the smaller hoses usually found, not the larger hoses usually found, but in between. About 5-8 inches long from what I can gather. They said they've called everywhere but no one has the right size. So we waited until today, when they could get a hold of a dealer. Well the dealer seems to have been not much help at all. It should also be known that the car is a 1997 model and the dealer is dealing with a major recall at the moment.

It not as bad as it could be. My wife and I do work at the same place (different buildings), so we can ride together. But we do have slightly different hours that can be adjusted only temporarily at best. At worst, she'll start work eary (no OT) and I'll have to wait around a while after work for her. Normally am home 15 minutes before she gets off work. We used to drive together when we lived much farther away, but now driving separately doesn't seem like as much of a waste.

Unforeseen Bonus: I get to park my truck in the garage tonight when its snowing. In fact, this is the first time my truck has ever been in the garage!

Other than that a pretty normal weekend. We had lunch with a couple friends, Jerome and Lisa, on Saturday. Just a good little bit of socializing to break up the usual errands and cleaning. We'll get to see them again after work on Friday. There's a little get-together to celebrate Lisa's promotion. Good Luck, Lisa!

Helpful Hints

I liked this helpful hint in a post from Bits & Pieces. Just because we now own a new dryer since we bought the house. I don't think we've used the dryer sheets in it ever, just fabric softener in the wash. Still, good to know. See the full post here with some other helpful hints.

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material . I’m sure you know what your dryer’s lint filter looks like. Well …. the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh – that’s what burns out the heating unit.

You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box … well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush ?at least every six months.

He said that increases the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn’t know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I’d share!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it … the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn’t any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Holiday, Health, and Packers

Every time I say here that I'll post tomorrow, inevitably it ends up being a day later. This has happened at least 5 or 6 times now. I must stop doing that. I know I haven't posted as much as normal recently. I'll get back in the groove soon I'm sure.

Anyway, I hope all had a well and safe holiday season. Seems a little far removed for a full holiday recap from me now. Suffice it to say that it was pretty much as expected and the same as it has been for the last few years. It's definitely not my favorite time of year. I did get to see my nieces and nephews, which is always the highlight.

As I mentioned I have had a pretty severe cold that kept me pretty lazy and miserable. It started almost 2 weeks ago and although I'm pretty much over it now I'm still going through alot of tissues.

I just watched the Badgers beat #4 Purdue. And of course it is Wildcard Weekend! All sorts of sports on TV! My wife hates it, so I do try to limit my watching or I would have it on probably all 48 hours this weekend. The Packers will demolish Arizona again tomorrow afternoon. Actually, I'm sure it will be much closer than the last game, but I have no doubt Green Bay will win! Go Pack Go!

Classic Pizza Pit Commercial

I'm still feeling less than 100% and I have been super lazy. Yet, I am still alive and must get my act together for the work week. Until I have more gumption, enjoy this classic commercial from right here in Madison. This commercial has run every year since I think the late 70's.

Updates, Bricks, and Holiday Sweets

It's been a long, somewhat trying week around here so I haven't been posting much.  I've had the 'difficult' project at work, while still trying to get my back back to feeling normal.  Not much sunlight brings on minor seasonal affective disorder.  Tensions were high between me and my wife holiday shopping on Saturday while dealing with all the people and traffic jams.  Still buried in snow and a bit more expected soon.  

Remember when I fixed up the bricks at the corner of the house?  Yeah, well somebody actually walked up, brushed the snow off the top, then walked away with one of the bricks.  The fourth one up in those pics.  Who would do something like that?  I can get the same ornamental brick for just a couple bucks come spring, but not weathered the same.  I'm just a little flabbergasted.  I try not to speculate since that just makes me want to blame our 'bad' neighbor.  It was probably just some kids and the brick is probably in the creek at the end of the block.  I hope it broke the ice and made a nice splash/kerplunk for them.  Who knows?

My wife is off to her friend Terry's tomorrow at noon to make holiday cookies and sweets with her and her sister.  Sadly, their mom died a year or two ago, but they are keeping up a family tradition.  My wife has been bff's with her forever, so its just a natural thing to do for them.

Meanwhile, I guess I get the day off.  I  will sleep as late as I can since the Packers don't start until 3:15 this afternoon.  I will clear snow, maybe wrap presents, and do little things around the house as needed, but mostly I plan on sleeping in then relaxing with the Sunday paper before football.  Maybe prepare a supersize pic dump for early this week, as now that I'm doing that as a regular post I all of a sudden have a ton of pics saved just from my recent surfings on the web.  I must be more selective in the future, oh well.

It's late, I'm sleepy.   Good Night...

Cigs Vacation

It's that time again. A little over a year ago I quit for five months. I wish I hadn't started up again, but I did. Shoot me. I started the Step 1 patch on Monday. I had 3 cigarettes Monday, and 3 today. It may be a rough week.



I need a vacation. With the new job I've pretty much started all over. I haven't accumulated enough time for any real time off. My back kept me out for six days early last spring. Then, with the house purchase, came a half day for inspection, a half day for closing, a half day for the tree trimming... You get the idea. Throw in some illnesses and a back spasm or two and there goes my time. I'm looking forward to a 4-day weekend coming. I really don't want to do anything, but I may have to be with the in-laws while the Packer game is on. Oh well, minimal travel, I gotta remember to take beer, and focus on the game... The rest of the weekend I want for us here at home. I'm selfish. My batteries need recharging, more often than has been able this year.

My Wife Made Chili...

...earlier this week. I absolutely love her chili, but I can't have any more on a school night. Maybe I'll have some for dinner Friday. I think I have Saturday morning free. While all this is true, I've really just been looking for an excuse to post this pic. :)

Happy Halloween!

Just got home from being out with friends. Had a good time, but I had to stay okay to drive. Actually a good thing, I have alot to do tomorrow before the big Packers/Vikings rematch at 3:15. I ran into Roger, a friend from the past, and Larry, a guy I used to work with -and had a lot of fun along the way! I'll write more about this weekend in a few days. It is a busy one! Good night.