Friday, January 13, 2017

How to weird out kids when you are walking to the store.

(Husband and I really enjoy the Lord of the Rings series, book and movie.  There is a scene where one of the characters, Samwise Gamgee is talking to Gollum about potatoes.  “Pot-ta-toes! Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew…”  I add this so that the following will make a bit more sense.)

It was a sunny(ish) day, no snow, the roads were clear, and we were out of milk, dog food, and a few other items, and Husband had an item he’d bought ready for pick up in town.  So, we went to the big box store, to resupply.

Said big box store had shoveled the snow into large, dirty piles at the edge of the parking lot, looking like a rather… messy animal had left some items un-buried.  Lovely, white, and new-fallen, it was not!
 
We walked up by 2 children, clad in puffy jackets and gum boots, who were playing climb the hill on the man made drifts.  The Mom and Dad were watching rather disinterestedly, I think they were just glad the kids were out and moving, the way it looked.

We walked, and Husband got the sneaky smile he sometimes gets, and said, in the same tone as Samwise, “ Snow piles, Mash ‘em, squish ‘em,” whereupon we glanced at each other and finished up with, “Put 'em in a stew”, and laughed.

The kids looked up, and then ran, not walked, to Mom and Dad.  Dad looked amused, Mom, not so much.  We walked by, and I was tempted to say “Gollum”, or “Precious”, but since our geek flag flying had such a reaction, I decided just going into the store might be a better bet…  But we were still laughing.

This snow has been not too bad for us, we are in the “finger” of Oregon, according to one weatherman.  They showed a satellite, and Washington and Oregon are white covered, except for a line at the coast, and this small area from the coast to where I am, and a bit beyond.  Which is odd, as about 2 weeks ago, they were getting nothing, and we had snow.  Go figure.  The temperature has been nasty.  I am not used to 16 degree (or less!) temps.  I am happy to say my hand spun wool gloves and scarf are great.  Not as much when they are soaked, however.  I had to carry water out to the animals, and oh, my did it get cold when the water splashed into the left glove.  Let’s just say, I was very glad we had a fire going in the house!

The animals seem to be coping all right, Rudee is doing much better, since we came up with a “heating pad” for him.  It’s actually a seed warming pad.  I guess that would be what a doctor would call an ‘off label use’.  It doesn’t get very warm, I believe 20 or so degrees above what is on it, so it won’t burn him.  The chickens are doing pretty well, they were confused with the snow, and didn’t go out in it much.  I have a Flock Block inside for them, a little extra nutrition, and since they want to stay inside, it also keeps them from pecking each other so much. (The avian version of Mean Girls, I guess…)  The llamas are just fine, they just look at me like I am an idiot when I try to encourage them into a shelter of any type.  They don’t seem to be cold.  They DO like the extra food.  And Buzz, our outside cat, is very happy, as I am feeding her gooshy type food, to supplement the dry stuff.  She has been VERY friendly of late.

So, I hope all you blog friends are doing okay with the weather where you are, and stay comfortable!

7 comments:

messymimi said...

Heeheehee! It would have been fabulous if one of the parents had responded with "Precioussss!" There's nothing quite like letting your geek show and having someone recognize and respond.

Keep warm!

Sharon said...

Happy to hear that you are in such good humor this winter! LOL! Kids do react so well, don't they?
Seed warming pad, huh?
Our cat has been real lovey when our paths meet. I now let her inside - IF she wants to come in. She visits for about 10 minutes and then wants to go back outside.

Tom Stephenson said...

Our snowfall was a light dusting, like icing sugar on an Italian cake. It last for 8 hours. I didn't know Gollum used potatoes.

Cat said...

I suspect, possibly, the husband would have...
And yes, geek brethren (sistren?) in the wild is fun.
Cat

Cat said...

Oh, yes, kids can react, even if you don't want them to... eep.

Yep, the pad seems to work well for him, and even his walking seems improved... Hips warm, hurt less, I guess.

Oh, I would love to do that for our outdoor cat, but she wouldn't want to come in, and our indoor cat would probably have heart failure...
Cat

Cat said...

No, Sam was talking about potatoes, and Gollum didn't know/remember what they were, and Sam then said the line. We had a bit like that, about a week or so ago, but not a thing since.
Cat

Cperz said...

This has been a crazy weather year. I am happy to hear all the animals are doing OK.

We were supposed to get a major ice storm here over the weekend but it was more like heavy frost. Even the weather forecasters are confused.