Been gone this weekend

.It's one of those rare Sundays when neither Sue nor I had any commitments or obligations.  So we played Hookey.  We had tossed around the idea of East Tennessee but for various reasons decided not to do that. So we headed east.  We have trouble finding a place within an hour or two we don't have some experience with.  One place neither of us had been was Nashville, Indiana

http://www.nashville-indiana.com/
It's an interesting little town, but we were very surprised how crowded it was this early in the season.  So we wandered on down the road a ways to Columbus, Indiana.

http://www.columbus.in.us/

We didn't near see everything in town, but it was fun and interesting.  OH! And if you get there be sure and stop by Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor 

http://www.zaharakos.com/
Take time to explore the place.  Besides fantastic ice cream there is a museum and a shop and this:

We ended our Saturday staying Martinsville, Indiana at the Best Western.  For supper we went to Bynum's Steakhouse.

Sue felt there was something a little unsettling about a restaurant right next to the hospital (kidding, just kidding).  I guess it has to do with expectations.  We loved it.  Looking at Yahoo reviews this evening I see someone was distressed because "The waitress actually sat down at our table while taking our order." Obviously she's never been to Chilton's.  When you look up and the lights are made of deer antlers, just how "professional" do you expect it to be?

Sunday morning we went to church at Eastview Christian Church in Martinsville.
http://www.eastviewchurch.org/  We really enjoyed it.


Bruce and the Jr High were leading the singing this Sunday  We felt right at home.  Rick Miller had a great sermon on Communion.  If you are ever in the area on Sunday morning be sure and stop in


We ended our weekend by a visit to the outlet shops at Edinburgh, then wandering our way through Bedford, Loogootee, and Washington then home.  Stopped in Washington for supper at Humey's BBQ, another great place to visit.

Got home to find the house was 60 degrees.  Seems the regulator feeding the furnace has a problem.  Fortunately we have alternative heat just for times like this.  WVHG will be here in the morning.

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER NEW ELEMENT

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER NEW ELEMENT

from http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=158189&mid=1135748#M1135748

Oxford University researchers have discovered the heaviest element yet
known to science. The new element, Governmentium (symbol=Gv), has one
neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons and 198 assistant
deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons*, which
are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called
pillocks*. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However,
it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it
comes into contact.

A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally
take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 to 6 years. It does not decay,
but instead undergoes a reorganisation in which a portion of the
assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since
each reorganisation will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming
iso(dopes* = idiots*). This characteristic of moron promotion leads some
scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach
a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as a
critical morass*. When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes
Administratium (symbol=Ad), an element that radiates just as much energy
as Governmentium, since it has half as many pillocks but twice as man

Sometimes ignorance really is bliss ...

I spent the weekend at Charleston in Senior officer's training provided by the Illinois State Fire Chiefs Association

Sometimes ignorance really  is bliss ... We looked at state requirements, new codes rules and regulations, standard operating practices, on and on.  Even spent a few hours listening to and talking with lawyers.

We've always operated under the premise of we are doing what we can to work toward compliance.  Problem is, the bar keeps getting raised higher out of our reach.  I don't think a career department paying full time firefighters can realistically meet all the standards for training and education.  Well, they could, but they wouldn't have anytime left to fight fires.

Learned other interesting things, like if I drive my truck in Chicago I'll probably be arrested.  I would have to remove my blue light to drive it in Chicago.  Oh well...

But it was a good school.  Learned a lot, was exposed to even more.  Got some new resources to use.  Met some good people.  Folks drove from Effingham, Blue Mound, Peoria, just outside of Chicago, and of course Mattoon and Charleston to be there.

The instructors were first rate as well.  When you get guys like Bob Graham

who is internationally known and travels all over the world doing fire training or Greg Render

from Signal Hill at Belleville

teaching it HAS to be good.

I don't want to leave Pat, John, Marilyn, or anyone out,  I'm just out of space and time to include everyone.

We spent a lot of time on FOIA stuff,  which is good since I am the FOIA officer for both the Fire Dept and Walnut Prairie Cemetery.  That gets scary real quick, too.

Another new experience

Sue didn't think she was up to teaching kindergarteners Wednesday evening.

Yes, I did. 

We got along fine.  I told them Sue was sick but I had her bag with everything we needed if they would help me.  Kids behaved well, we read a Bible story, we colored, we played with PlayDoh, we had snacks.  It went very well.

The biggest trouble was me.  I was going up the stairs shortly before class started and something popped in my left knee.  Just about got me down. That's why I'm here right now.  Fell asleep watching TV.  When I woke up it hurt enough I got Sue's neck warmer, heated it up and wrapped it around my knee.  I'm not sure it did as much good as the Tylenol but I'm heading for bed as soon as this posts.  Later Y'all!

Quick update

We got home about noon Tuesday.  Sue is sore but improving.  Don't think she'll be going square dancing for a while ...

Surgery is over

If you recall very early last Wednesday we make a trip to the ER for Sue's abdominal pain.  That was followed the next day by an ultrasound and  a visit to our family doctor.  They confirmed the problem was gall stones and referred her to a surgeon.

Monday we visited him and they scheduled surgery today. So 5:45 (AM) Indiana time we walked into Union Hospital's Wabash Valley Surgery Center.  Doc did laparoscopic (like I spelled THAT right the first time) surgery to remove her gall bladder.

As I write she is resting.  She tends to fight the anesthetic so they gave her something to calm her down.  So I'm just setting here quietly while she rests.

Terre Haute traffic is pretty light at 3 AM

Terre Haute traffic is pretty light at 3 AM.  Which begs the question "What were you doing driving in Terre Haute at 3 AM?"

Sue had been feeling some discomfort in her stomach for a while.  About 2 AM Wednesday she decided it had gotten to the point she needed to visit our friendly ER.  The nice thing about 3 AM trips is traffic is pretty light.  On the other hand I recall someone saying that over 50% of the drivers out at 3 AM had impaired  judgment.  Couldn't argue that.  Anyone who chooses to be out at 3 AM is definitely impaired.

They did some tests, gave her some happy juice, and we came home.  Got in about 6.  I went to bed at 6 AM.  Something not right about that as well.  I had to get up in time to make a 9:40 dentist visit.  We go back early Thursday for another test.

You entered a contest to win a WHAT?

I said I entered a contest to win 2 KitchenAid 5 quart mixers

 

A site Jill follows has a give away going.  They will draw at random and give one of their followers a KitchenAid 5 quart mixer ... AND one to your "friend"  Here's how they explained it:

When you tweet, or Facebook, or Post, make sure you tell your readers to MENTION YOU when they come here.  For example, let’s say you are SpongeBob and you Facebook everyone you know.  Try something like this:

“I just entered to win a KitchenAid Mixer at www.doughmesstic.com – but I need YOUR help. Go check out the giveaway yourself, Comment to win, but mention that “SpongeBob” sent you.”   Say anything you like. Beg. Plead. Just get them OVER HERE and have them comment that YOU sent them.  

Why?  Because if THAT comment is randomly chosen as the winner, BOTH of you win a KitchenAid Mixer.  BOTH OF YOU! I’ll even let each of you pick the color of your choice!  That means you could have hundreds, nay, thousands of chances to win. It just depends on how many of your friends you can get to enter!  Of course, they too can repost the info on their own page, and thus invite even more folks over to the giveaway. It’s a WIN-WIN for everyone. Call your Aunt Lucy and tell her to enter. Email your college roommates from 1996. The more friends, the better your chances. Make sense?

You may be wondering, what happens if the random winner comment is one of the comments that only says something like “I Tweeted..” – Still great news for you…YOU get to choose a friend to give the other mixer to!  it just needs to be someone who commented and listed YOU as the referral. 

So I posted I was a fan on Facebook and that I had entered their contest. You never did anything silly for your kids?

Is winter over ?

This blog is titled Wonderings from Walnut Prairie.  Here are some Wonderings, not necessarily related to each other

Snow is pretty much gone, getting too warm for my flannel lined jeans, geese are getting fewer, Spring may actually be just around the corner!

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I was at an Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts (yes, there really is such an organization) meeting in Teutopolis last week and saw this on a wall.  Wish I knew the author so I could give credit

I need to set down and type it out

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We ordered replacement windows for the kitchen today.  We live such an exciting life.

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Lost a friend yesterday.  Norman Boyd passed away Thursday. I posted this on a private forum Chris and I frequent.  Norman was one of a kind:

I was trying to think of my earliest memories of Norman. I'm no good with dates and stuff, but it had to be in high school. I remember meeting him and making some comment and he just gave me an awkward grin and quietly said "Yeah.." and went back to what he was doing. At first meeting you suspected he should have been in the hills of Kentucky instead of the flatland of Illinois ...

You knew he was there, but he let others take the spotlight. I remember things like a grain handling system on a farm, crank up radio tower, Christmas lights, a big picture window in the living room, and of course the solar water heater. 35 years ago folks, Norman made a solar water heater ... out of a plastic pipe and a scrap of plywood. Oh! and the pond house! How could I forget the pond house. He built a pond back off the road, planted a grove of pine trees between it and the road and built a white rock drive to it. One end was a totally concrete dock and then he put a party house for his family on it. You knew Norman by what he did.