photos

There are some photos of the Oklahoma ice storm on Kelly's blog. Just click on the "Life with Kids" link on the right side bar.

cold

This turned out to be the worst ice storm ever. We've lived in Oklahoma for 29 years and I've never seen anything like it. I thought we might lose power for a day or two, but the power company says be prepared for weeks of no power. Crews are on their way from other states to assist. So far we're making do with a kerosene heater and the burners on the stove top. We took our meat and other perishables to my Kelly's house and Dorothy's brothers house to keep in their freezers. We've been keeping some things on the front porch since it's been colder there than in our freezer. I'm keeping a daily journal so I'll describe this adventure in some detail when I can. My camera isn't working so I'm depending on pictures taken with Kelly's camera for illustrations. I typing this post on a computer at the public library in Stilwell, OK. about 15 miles from home. I'll get back to you when I can.

ice storm

The weather service is forecasting a major winter ice storm for our area tonight. Kelly, Burk, and the kids came down yesterday and Burk cut wood to add to their pile. I got my kerosene stove ready just in case we lose power. Ice accumulations can break power lines and wreak havoc everywhere. Dorothy went to work today and she will get home just before the storm hits, but I don't expect her to be able to manage the slick roads for the next two days. Our winters are not as cold as they were twenty years ago. The ponds would freeze and the mercury would stay below freezing for days at a time. Now the temperatures take more of a roller coaster ride through the season and we get more ice than snow. Driving on snow is manageable if you're careful, but ice, that's another story. There are few things more terrifying than being at the wheel of a car that has lost traction and is unresponsive to brakes or steering as it do-se-do's into oncoming traffic or a steep embankment.
The positive side is that Dorothy and I will be wrapped in a blanket on the couch watching old movies and sipping hot chocolate laced with a touch of brandy. Let the north wind blow! We'll be toasty.

what i'm reading now

The Country Girls by Edna O'brien is a story about two girls living in rural Ireland in the 1950's. Kate and Baba grew up together in a safe country environment and then both go to college in Dublin and find life there to be an unexpected challenge. Baba is just looking for good times as a single girl while Kate dreams of finding her true love.

quote of the day

You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.

– Saint Francis de Sales

catfish hole

For Christmas, my daughter Rachel came home from the Virgin Islands. During her stay we went to as many of her favorite restaurants as possible to eat food that is unavailable down there. These photos were taken at the Catfish Hole in Fayetteville, AR.
Dorothy and Jenna

Tara and Dusty

Blake and Rachel

Hunter, Marley, and Sam

Yours truly, Kelly and Hunter. Hunter is a ham; he wants to be in more than one photo.

quote of the day

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

who wants to be a millionaire?

what i'm reading now

This is the third novel in the Border Trilogy written by Cormac McCarthy. It takes place in New Mexico and Texas in the 1950's. It's a depiction of the life of the last of the old cowboys of the west. This will be the last book by this author that I'll read. Although I enjoy stories about cowboys and their struggles against the forces of nature, man, and animals, I'm done with graphic scenes of violence in books and movies. I think I'll go back to Louis L'Amour.

quote of the day

A good relationship comes down to conversation and sex and good manners, I suppose. And if you can continue your conversation and your bawdiness and your good manners for more than ten years, then you're doing awfully well. Conversation is the truest barometer in a relationship, and when you're not moved to open your heart to your lover, something's wrong that needs fixing. We all know that. And yet it's a fabulous gift, true conversation. The world is full of cant and rote and reflexive chatter; good talk is pure gold, and it's what lovers need from each other.

--Garrison Keillor

my first car

In 1963 when Dorothy and I were kids we would cruise around La Puente, California in a '57 Plymouth.

quote of the day

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.

- - Albert Einstein

here's the deal

OK, here's the deal. A lot of friends and family members have expressed disappointment in the demise of the Resident Curmudgeon. The blog has served well over the years in the capacity of keeping loved ones around the country updated on the news of the Blue family and keeping recent photos of the grand kids posted. I'm going revamp the site. I really don't qualify as a curmudgeon so I'll go back to the original title of my first website: "Life on Peach Eater Creek". I'll post quotations that particularly move me, book reviews (because I read a lot and like to share with people), and a funny story once in awhile. Only when I feel inspired. So you may have to wait out a word drought from time to time. OK?