Oh, Atlanta

I learned this morning on the news that Atlanta owns ten snowplows. And those are really just dump trucks with snow plow attachments. Since that was not nearly enough to get anything productive accomplished, the city contacted 48 local residents that happen to own tractors to help them remove the layers of snow and ice that have paralyzed the city since Monday morning.

I walked to the grocery store yesterday and I noted three things: 1) no cars on the road, 2) no produce on the shelves and 3) friction is desirable, especially on hills.

Since public transportation has been down, I spent my time productively yesterday using this

to do this

and Bobby, my landlady's friend, swept behind me

Because why wouldn't you sweep snow off a driveway?

It was like chipping off an ice sandwich piece by piece. Ice-snow-ice. I guess that would be a snow sandwich. About five inches of snow fell Sunday night, the first layer melted, and then after the snow fell freezing rain. The major roadways are clear now except for a large amount of water, which refreezes at night to cause large black ice patches, and the city doesn't have and can't mobilize enough vehicles to properly clear and salt the roads. Therein lies the trouble.

We actually ended up doing this whole part too, you know, just for fun.

At first I thought we were actually shoveling the entire driveway (as opposed to a path) for a good reason. Turns out we weren't because neither of them intended to use their cars on those roads.

But at least they COULD if they WANTED to.

Be prepared.

My Sister as Elf #2

I hope Beth won't mind me sharing this picture of her.  It was taken about 6 or 7 years ago, and I can't say it's a very accurate portrayal of how she looked then or now.  Nonetheless, my house elf picture that Katie posted below somehow reminded me of it, and since my wife is gone and posting pictures on our blog is more fun than studying, here it is for all to enjoy!

I need to share some things

There are three things I need to share.

1. This picture. I can't keep it to myself any longer.

Alex made the second to last cut as a house elf on Harry Potter.

2. This story (recounted from a Jewish rabbi in a book called Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom)

A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer. It reads simply, 'He sleeps in a storm.' The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man.

Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley.

Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly.

So he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed. He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and are wrapped in tarpaulins. He races to the silo. The doors are latched, and the grain is dry. And then he understands. 'He sleeps in a storm.'

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of 'I could have, I should have.' We can sleep in a storm.

And when it's time, our good-byes will be complete.

3. This song: 

PS I am living in Atlanta for six weeks starting yesterday. I desperately miss everything about Illinois except for the cold. Including Ruben and my elf.

Lola's run in with the veterinarian

 

A couple of weeks ago, we discovered a teeny tiny mass on one of Lola's legs below the hock. We stuck a needle in it, stained it and looked at it under the microscope and were shocked to see that it had some malignant characteristics and might be cancerous. 

The next step was to take it off and submit it to the pathologist to find out if it really was cancer or not. That was last Thursday and we have been anxiously awaiting the results since then. You know all the terrible things that run through your head when you are awaiting test results...

We got the results back today. 

Translation: cancer. 

However, there is good news: 

That is really, really low. 

The bad news is that it was incompletely excised because it was adhered to surrounding tissue. So, for now we will wait and see how long it takes to grow back and how fast it grows when it does. There is a chance that Lola may need her rear leg amputated sometime in her life, but there is also a good chance that she won't. We are grateful for every day we have her and she is grateful for every day she has four legs (although she doesn't know it yet).  

Chicago part deux

Chicago part uno.

This time around, my friend Katie Schneiber from the BYU glory days decided to give the Midwest a try and stop by for a visit. We spent our short time in Chicago, because... why not?

Chicago is a large city, but

we found the bean. 

We also found the largest Christmas tree in Chicago.

One thing we did not find was Ira Glass. Where were you, Ira? 

We found a stained glass museum absconded at the back of Navy Pier. There were some truly beautiful pieces. Maybe I found my new hobby.

This is a piece by Louis Comfort Tiffany of the Garden of Gethsemane. This photo truly does not convey the magnificence that you might feel standing in front of it. 

We all found a Santa friend.

Alex has shifty eyes. I think he wasn't all good this year. 

Katie was a good girl. For her reward, she gets to golf in Florida over Christmas.

This is what I get for Christmas. Maybe I wasn't so good either. 

Katie's Great-Aunt/Second Cousin/First Cousin once removed Betty was kind enough to let us sleep under her roof. Katie hadn't seen her for nearly twenty years and Betty gave Katie all sorts of wonderful family photographs and told some great stories. She also had a great Christmas sweater which had dancing pink flamingos.  It was great to be able to meet her and hear a little about her life and family.

Christmas Newsletter

Merry Christmas, everyone!! As there are still only two humans in our family, I hope my friends with children won’t think it presumptuous of me to update all of my Christmas newsletter readers on the status of my pets. Just to be clear, I don’t think that my pets are my children. Neither do other people, which is evident to me by the fact that some people that come over to our house tell us they don’t care for our animals. That would be considered rude to say about someone’s child, I think.

Ruben (aka Rubers, Rube, Rubes, Rubey-Dube, Bube, Buben, Bubes, Redneck Ruben, Master Ruben), our Siamese cat, had an eventful year filled with sleeping, snuggling, and regurgitating. In December, he went to the dentist (read: vet) and had two teeth pulled because he has been very bad about brushing and flossing and had horrible teeth to show for it. The tooth pulling didn’t slow him down one bit.

Master Ruben

Honestly, there isn’t a lot to say about our dogs. Lola knows plenty of tricks and hasn’t killed any chickens yet. Lucy is living out the life that fate and genetics have dictated for Bassets – she is as lazy and cute as ever. Lola and Lucy continue to prove their usefulness by cleaning up food that falls between the slats of our picnic-dinner table and alerting us to squirrels in the front yard. They are both good running partners, and Lola’s need to expend energy is motivation to get outside even when it is bitterly cold.

The yearly dog shower.

Spoiled

Our watchdog

Our household has more than doubled in size over the past year if you count our three rabbits and five chickens. The rabbits are Champagne d’Argent breeding animals (and supposedly they breed like rabbits, although we haven’t seen it yet) and the chickens are a few varieties of bantam that produce bantam-sized eggs. They are a fun addition to our home except for the occasional dog-chicken run-in and the having to go outside in below freezing temperatures to do the “farm” chores. At least the distance between my back door and the animals now is a whole lot closer than it ever was in Idaho. There are bonuses to having a small yard.

Illiana

All five hens. Elvis (on right) is lucky to be alive after a Lola run-in.

Quote from my husband, a graduate chemistry student: “I have to tell you something a little embarrassing about myself. Up until a week ago, I thought nitrous oxide was NO₂, not N₂O.” He told me that just now as I was typing this up.  I asked him how he could live with himself. He said “I don’t know. I live with you.” I’m not sure how to take that...

So that brings us to Alex, who is currently in his sixth (and final!) year of PhD work. Don’t get TOO excited folks, we still have 3+ years in Urbana, our fair city. Alex will be completing the final three years of medical school after this year. In his “spare” “time”, he has transformed our home into a palace and had an amazing garden this past year. I never cease to be amazed by the wide skill set with which my husband came equipped.

Hard at work

That brings us to me, president. (Alex is supreme dictator). I am in my fourth and final year of the veterinary school curriculum. Assuming all goes according to plan and that I passed the little quiz I had last week (boards), I will graduate in May. I will then be doctor missus president and will be able to work as a veterinarian and fix broken dogs and cats. I also plan on finishing a Master’s of Public Health online through the University of Illinois – Chicago. As far as a job goes, after May I will be either a) gainfully employed or b) happily unemployed. That is for the job market and kismet to decide. I am not sure which I would prefer yet.

On a large animal rotation

I thought I was done but supreme dictator told me I needed to tell people what we actually do with our lives instead of just about our animals.

In our “spare” “time”, we sleep. I decided I need to take up a new hobby. Does anyone have any suggestions? My current hobby, baking, is plenty fun but encourages gluttony. I have considered jewelry making but I don’t wear much jewelry and wood working but it seems that the start-up costs are a little steep. Maybe I could get into family history or upholstery or pottery or stain glass or pest control. If you have any ideas, send them my way.

We like dark chocolate, wish we could spend the winter in Florida, and have become much more attractive in the past year (supreme dictator told me to say that).  We have a blog, which we update when we have something useless to say (7weaverplace.blogspot.com – go there for real pictures). Someday I want to have milk goats and maybe a dairy cow. I would get a Jersey. I would need strong strapping children to do the milking.

(This is Alex’s space to talk about himself.)

(Guess he didn’t want to say anything.)

I think you know enough about us now. Thanks for reading. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Love,

Katie, Alex, Ruben, Lucy, Lola, Zdzisław, Illiana, Juno, Henrietta, Elvis, Wasabi, Cluck and Clack

Everybody Loves Sydney

December 12th is a special day.  Does anyone know why?  I'll give you a hint: What is the common element in these pictures?

She's good with kids: Mom with her mom, her brother Tim, and little Ephraim

Mom, Dad, Roger, Candy and Eph

Isn't she beautiful!? Mom, Dad, Christmas Goose, and baby with large pacifier.

She's good at Geneology.  (At the grave site of John Virginio Minetti)

She's pretty in pink!

What a great smile!

Count the candles: only 8 years old!

Very stylish!

She a cancer survivor!

She's fun-loving!

Chillin' in the back yard!

That's right, it's my mom's birthday!  Happy Birthday, Mom.  You are a wonderful, smiling person and have taught me so much.  I hope you had a great day! Thanks for all you've done for me throughout the years.  I hope the coming year is the best yet!