Crying wolf?

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

A huge winter storm is headed our way. I believe the name is Saturn. Having named winter storms will take some getting used to. Are the weather forecasters crying wolf again saying our area could get anywhere from 10 to 18 inches of snow?

Snagged from weather.com

I admit I’m very sceptical when it comes to these forecasts. In the past they were either way over or way under the actual precipitation amounts. Oops, sorry. The storm track went farther north/south than expected or it fizzled out altogether.

Sometimes they get it right. Like the “Storm of the Century” in March 1993. I didn’t believe it was going to be as bad as predicted so I continued with my plans to visit my friend in Pine Grove, PA the Friday the storm hit. We were trapped in her house until Tuesday. All the roads were shut down for several days and it was bitter cold. When Interstate 81 finally did reopen, it was one-lane with snow piled 15 feet high on either side of the road. OK, they got that one right.

But the last several storms headed our way didn’t pan out. Hence my skepticism.

I’m not alone in this thinking. I stopped at the market this morning on my way to work (I forgot to get milk the other day) and overheard several people taking about how the media are constantly causing panic: Super Storms, the Mayan calendar panic, fuel and food shortages/price increases. I remember when Johnny Carson joked about a toilet paper shortage (many, many years ago) and people flocked to the market and bought up all the toilet paper! And it was a joke.

Is this another case of crying wolf? Time will tell.

An unexpected treat

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

Mr. Aitch and I were driving through Morgantown, West Virginia yesterday and decided to stop for an early dinner at the Tilted Kilt.

As we approached the entrance to the restaurant, a gentleman was leaving and he held the door for us. I noticed his shirt and told him that I really liked it. He nodded and thanked me.

Mr. Aitch and I sat down at our table, ordered and ate our meal. When we were finished eating, the waitress came over to tell us that our meal was paid for by the gentleman whose shirt I liked. We waved to him and as we were leaving, we stopped to thank him for his generosity. He replied that it was his pleasure to help out a fellow patriot.

What was on the back of his shirt? Join, or die. For more information about this woodcut by Benjamin Franklin, click here.

Reminiscing

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

My computer has been in the shop for a week. It needed the cmos battery replaced so it should have been a quick out-patient procedure. Mr. Aitch’s computer went from out-patient to ICU. It’s still not ready to be discharged so we decided to bring mine home today.

I’ve had lots of time to come up with some posts but I’m not comfortable posting with my iPad. I’ve done it before but I’m not happy with how the page looks. I should have written them down anyway because I can’t remember any of them now. Today’s post comes from a conversation Mr. Aitch and I had at dinner this evening.

In 1964 our aunt took my sister and me on a vacation to the New York World’s Fair. Traveling with our aunt was not unusual. Our dad saved his vacations for hunting or fishing so our mom and aunt (mom’s sister) would take us on vacations. Oh, our aunt hated to be called “Aunt” so we called her what the rest of the family called her: Ebby.

Anyway back to the World’s Fair in New York…

Courtesy of Trip Advisor

Our mom and brother went to visit a friend of hers so they didn’t accompany us on this trip. I don’t think driving to New York City in the summer of 1964 was on my mom’s top ten things to do. Ebby’s friend, Lois, was teaching in New York City this particular summer and was renting a cottage in Patchogue on Long Island. I don’t remember all the facts about this but I remember what I thought was important. We could drive a few miles and cross a bridge to Fire Island. I have lots of memories about this particular vacation but the one that came to mind tonight was about a meal we had at a “fancy” restaurant.

Now when I was growing up, eating out was very special and we only ate out two or three times a year. Sometimes our mom would let us go downtown to Defrance’s Drug Store for a treat at the snack bar (I always got a hot fudge sundae) but those times were few and far between. Drive through wasn’t invented yet nor was there a fast food joint on every corner.

One evening Lois took us to Three Village Inn Restaurant (I believe it was in Stony Brook) and we had to dress up. In dresses. I remember ordering a steak and a glass of milk. Our food came and it was good but the milk didn’t arrive with our meal. My sister and I wondered what was up with that. We only had water to drink.

The waitress brought our milk when we placed our order for dessert. (Guess what I got.) I remember thinking that maybe the “rich” people drank their milk with dessert and not with dinner.

We later learned that the waitress forgot to bring our milk with dinner. So much for an eleven-year-old’s imagination.

New Orleans – Can we come back?

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

I attended a conference in New Orleans the week before the Super Bowl.

We had a great time though I was stuck inside most of the time.

I’ve learned in the past that I can’t concentrate on knitting on an airplane. I managed to knit an Olive Oil Drip Catcher at the airport but that’s all the knitting I did.

And I don’t even have a photo of it!

Our hotel was on the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets.