The Normal Abnormal

We are here in KS for 2 weeks by now. The temperature did not reach above freezing except for one single day, and have been low in the teens and low 20’s. It is not normal, say the local. The average high for January here is 38. And I am thinking – both in this and the last winter – that’s all what I hear. It is not Normal, it is never like this. It just became a Normal thing

End of the world

When we visited TX last year, we stayed in Galveston Island, where snow and sub-freezing temperature hit us. We tried to escape from the weather, but the cold wave hit all the way to corpus Christi. We rushed through the state to Big Bend and from there escaped through NM to southern AZ (Bisbee) to see the snow again.
It is very unusual, everybody said. We never get so cold here. Maybe a cold winter I thought. But then, this year we drove to MN for the holidays through freezing blizzards, and the cold fronts hit one after the other. Here in KS the temperature suppose to be higher 30’s for this season. I saw more single digit highs than any temperature above freezing.
It is so unusual, they tell us. I heard it too many times lately. It must be me, or maybe it is just a saying, a phrase in the American culture that I didn’t catch up yet, or maybe the Abnormal became the norm. Maybe the skies are telling us something. Maybe the end of the world is coming. Maybe.

It’s complicated

Friday, January 21st. 2011 – No – I am not in a new relationship. See – speaking about phrases, in the US, the saying It’s complicated means just another one of those social statuses. Single, in a relationship, Married, and “It’s Complicated”. At least in that respect it is very simple for me – Happily married!
So what is complicated? Here is the deal. We woke up this morning (yes, another phone call) and Patti wanted to take a shower. I said – one sec, let me open the sewer we are getting full. I guess she didn’t hear me, she checked the grey water level, and decided to take a shower.
When I got off the phone, I went out to open the valve, but nothing came out. The valve froze! I can’t even see the valve as it is covered in the underbelly, so I can not wrap it with tape or anything. I don’t think anything broke except –

• I can’t close the valve now. Probably the thing will decide to open up when I drive down the highway. I can see the face of a driver that his front window gets smeared with some brown matter that drifts out of the huge RV side in front of him. Ooops
• The grey tank is almost full now, and we have 3 more days to live here in KS.

So what are our options? One is to drive back to OK. You wouldn’t believe how far 300 miles can go. While we are here bellow freezing all week, Checotah, OK are in the mid 40’s.
Problem is – we need to drive back here on Monday night, get a hotel so we can be on time for the flight on Tuesday morning. We will also have to leave the RV there and not in the shop as originally planned. So on top of the time we already paid here we will have to pay gas for 600 miles round trip, hotel and camping in OK. Too expensive.
Next option. Hmmm.
We are staying here. What does it mean? That I carry the dished every night to the bathrooms here to wash the dishes, that I get to take the shower in the public showers, and that the most entertaining sight we get, is the city birds around our RV, like the one on top. That’s all I got to take pictures of.

What’s for dinner

No, tonight I didn’t take a picture of our dinner. Not that it wasn’t good, it’s just too much to put a food picture everyday… But we did have good dinner. Based on our bitter experience last year, and a recommendation in the comments of the last post – we are trying to empty the freezer.
So – tonight’s menu – Turkey meatballs with jalapenos, garlic and spices cooked in a home made spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash. This time, Patti cooked used the microwave for the last 15 minutes cooking of the squash. That made it much softer and sweeter. Real treasure.
Hey - 4 more days! Are you counting?
Was great to see you around and really thank you for stopping by and dedicate some of your time to read my blog.
Until next time.