Your life — slow down and soak it up
Yesterday I posted the picture of my temp gauge showing -4F…..err, 253 Kelvin outside. Yes, it really is that cold here in Kentucky. So cold that a prison escapee turned himself in just to get out of the cold. Seems like he’d rather be IN prison than IN the cold.
News story here — http://news.yahoo.com/police-cold-escaped-inmate-turns-himself-142135234.html
You can’t make this stuff up.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
I cannot believe it is so cold outside. While Kentucky did not get the snow that other parts of the country received, we are still in the midst of this polar vortex. Hey global warming clowns — whaddya think of that?!?
However, in an effort to stay positive (literally) I am going to be referring to everything in Kelvin. For example, the temp displayed below, instead of being a negative number, will merely be 253 Kelvin.
How’s that for a positive outlook?
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
Today our family celebrates 9 years in Kentucky. On this date back in 2004, we closed on our property, moved in to our house, and proceeded to make a house a home. Much has transpired — as tends to happen over the better part of a decade — and we continue to soak up God’s blessings.
That seems like such a long time ago.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
I don’t follow college sports. There were rare times when it might grab my attention for a game or two. UCLA vs. USC back in California usually did that and I might catch part of a game. Certain Rose Bowls did that. In fact, I attended the 1992 Rose Bowl and rooted for the victorious University of Washington Huskies and ended up on ESPN that night while spending after game time at coach Don James’ hotel suite. But as far as college sports go, I am usually a fair weather fan or Johnny come lately.
However, as bowl or tournament season heats up I will definitely root for local teams. I was very proud of the University of Kentucky Wildcats last year for winning the NCAA basketball tournament and walking away champions. And I was rooting for both Western Kentucky University and University of Louisville as they entered March madness. And for U of L to be playing tonight and vying for the championship is pretty cool. So, of course, I am on board rooting the Cards. Both mens AND ladies basketball teams. THAT is a pretty big deal!
So go Cards!!! I’ll be asleep at the time of tip off but I hope you come out victorious.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
Yesterday my son excitedly called me at work to tell me that one of our chickens laid the first egg. He was so excited! Along with our abundantly producing garden, we sure are enjoying God’s provision through our chickens.
My wife made the brown egg (see the picture above) for my son for breakfast this morning and he said it was the best egg he ever had. Pretty funny. I can’t wait for more.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
A fellow co-worker had a great idea a few weeks ago. Our work is very close to the Ohio River and there is a boat launch about a quarter mile away. So he brought in his canoe and we had a maiden voyage back in June. It was so successful and fun that we both brought in our canoes today and took ’em out. We paddled about 1/2 mile down river to check out a barge that was offloading its cargo. We saw lots of fish jumping, didn’t get sunburned because of the nice cloud cover, and were able to get some exercise while we were at it. It was a very nice way to spend a Friday lunch.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
100+, 100+, 100+, 100+, 100+!!!!!
We have just completed our fifth day of 100+ temps. FIVE, 5, cinqo!!! And there is not much chance ahead for a reprieve. I am just thankful that we have power, unlike a few million people east of us. We can run the A/C, the fridge, and the pool pump which give us several options for cooling off.
Stay cool out there.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
This last weekend while most here in Kentucky were thinking about horses and racing with the 138th running of the race for the roses in the Kentucky Derby, I was working out in the yard. There are several projects that either needed a final push towards completion or that needed to be started and completed. When I started out Saturday morning, I had four staring me in the face. Thankfully, after hard work and family involvement, we were able to completely knock out three of them and make headway on the fourth. Below are some pictures as proof.
The first was “Opa’s Rose Garden”. Many years ago, when we moved into our first home in California, my father-in-law helped me plant a rose garden in the front yard. Those roses flourished in the direct sun and we enjoyed many beautiful blooms from them until the day we left. We moved and unfortunately, my wonderful father-in-law also succumbed to Alzheimer’s. He is no longer the man we all once knew and loved. This rose garden that we worked so hard on this last weekend is our tribute to him and who he was. He loved roses and gardening and we named it in his honor — Opa’s Garden. We added a few chairs and it has become a favorite place to spend the early evening watching the sun go down behind the treeline after a long day. Opa — we love and miss you!
The second project that was completed was more out of necessity than want. You see, about 5 weeks ago we brought home 13 baby chicks from our local favorite country store — Metzger’s Country Store. Those chicks quickly outgrew the Rubbermaid container I had them in and I had to relocate them to a bigger container in the garage. Soon enough, that was also outgrown as well as odorous, not to mention the fact it booted my car outside for the month of April. So putting the finishing touches on the chicken coop was a definite necessity. I am very proud of it because, aside from the $30 roll of chicken wire I bought, I spend $0.00 on the structure. I was lucky enough that a friend of mine informed me of a house build in his neighborhood which allowed my son and I to dumpster dive. We recovered, repurposed, recycled and reused plywood, sheeting, 2 by 4s, 2 by 6s, roof paper and shingles. The whole thing nicely came together with a few modifications to the design in my head. The finishing touches on it will be solar panels for light/heat (notice the perfect south facing sloped roof) and water reclamation off the roof into the whiskey barrel which will provide water for my egg laying hens. The whole project has been very rewarding and self-sustaining and I am looking forward to mid-summer farm egg production for our family.
The final project was getting our garden planted. We put in multiple types of tomatoes, red, green, yellow peppers, banana peppers, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe and zucchini — all stuff that my family eats. Along with the eggs, corn planted on the back property, hunted deer in the freezer, and the occasional cow provided by our farmer friend, we have a great bounty of food that we know where it came from. And that is pretty cool!
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
While today might be March 14 — technically still winter — nature and the weather beg to differ. The link below shows the record high for Louisville – set today at 82F degrees! Eighty-two!!!!! In March!!!
Record high temp for Louisville, KY on 3/14/12
It’s beautiful outside. I even ate lunch outside today. It’s about time global warming meant something.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
My last post was Friday afternoon right before the devastating tornadoes hit. We knew it was going to be bad — we just didn’t know where and we didn’t know exactly when.
Well, now we know — Henryville, IN; Marysville, IN; Pekin, IN; West Liberty, KY. All those towns and several others were either literally wiped off the map or severely impacted by Friday’s severe weather. And shift those winds a few miles here or there and that could have been the city of Louisville or it could have been us.
The devastation that has been shown on the news or social media is staggering. I was working in the garage on Saturday and watching The Weather Channel coverage of, what seemed like a different world less than an hour away. I had half a mind to grab my son and head up there to help some how — but they are encouraging all non-professional people not to help. Instead folks were encouraged to pray and to give monetarily to organizations like the Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse or their local church efforts. My church has a campus in Indiana as well as a lakeside retreat in Henrysville. They mobilized the spared retreat center and are now using it to house some of the families that were displaced as well as to feed emergency workers.
Below are a few photos that begin to tell the destructive story of the EF3 and EF4 tornadoes that forever changed people’s worlds. And there have been some very sad and touching stories as well. I am going to include the links below as an attempt to provide proper credit to stories and photos.
Mom loses both legs while saving her kids from the tornado
Toddler found in a field miles away after the tornado dies and is laid to rest with her family
HOW YOU CAN HELP — http://www.wdrb.com/story/17077774/help-for-kentucky-and-indiana-storm-victims
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
