Baby, Its Cold Outside!

Yikes! 31 this morning. It is almost 9am and it is only 32 outside now.

Twas a two dog night last night, with both Goldie and Token under the covers with me. Bailey did not join us. Maybe to a fur coat wearing cat it wasn't cold enough to bed with a human and 2 dogs but the rest of us were all hunkered down (under down), trying to stay warm. Both dogs are still under the covers in the bedroom at this moment.

I don't use my heater unless I absolutely positively have too. I got up this morning and turned on the heater but only while I got the wood stove going. It was so cold that I had to warm up the lighter in my hands before it would work.

If it is going to be cold enough to snow it just doesn't seem fair to be that cold without the white stuff making a temporary appearance. Would make this cold morning more bearable if there were fat snowflakes floating by the window. Eye candy snow. Not enough to last but enough to be able to make a snow angel, take pictures, and maybe convince Bailey to join us under the covers.

Stormy Monday

It started raining yesterday afternoon - not really a hard stormy rain - just a light but steady rain. I've gotten 3/4" so far, bringing my year to date total to 4 inches. The sun is trying to break through the clouds with little luck although it is supposed to clear later today. The maple tree off the deck has lost a good deal of its leaves - compare this one with the picture I posted 11/19.

It has been cold up here on the mountain. Friday's dawn revealed a temp of 33 degrees and it stayed there until a wee bit after 9am. Since then, lows have been hovering around 40 degrees. Usually when it rains, my temperature moderates with the high running around 55 and the low 50 but this is a cold storm and the weather dude said it will get colder today. Yikes, it is only 48 now. Last night, Bailey the cat crawled in under the covers with me. Amazing how friendly she gets as the temperature drops. It will be officially cold when she gets under the covers when there is a d-o-g also under the covers. Last night did not count because Token had a sleep over at Goldie's.

Thanksgiving

It is not Thanksgiving to me without Arlo and Alice's Restaurant. This song has been a Thanksgiving tradition for me for many years and, yes, I do have it in vinyl.

Officer Obie. 27 8x10 color glossies. The Judge's seeing eye dog. The Group W bench. The Alice's Restaurant anti-massecree movement and all you have to do to join is to sing when it comes around on the guitar, with feeling.

Thanks, Jane, for the post with links to two (!) versions.

You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant (excepting Alice).

This Is So Me At Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, referred to by many as Turkey Day.

It is always wise to be prepared, to know what lays ahead, and prepare accordingly. This is my idea of the perfect version of a public service announcement, courtesy of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (who produced this for radio back in the 90's).

Listen and learn why Skippy is my favorite 'roo. Then head over to his place and check out the Sheryl Crow Thanksgiving.

KO's Special Comment

Keith Olbermann delivered another special comment last night. Crooks & Liars has the transcript.

KO directly compares George W. Bush to Lyndon Baines Johnson and Iraq to Vietnam. Here is a snippet:

And the fifth crucial lesson of Vietnam, Mr. Bush, which somebody should've told you about, long before you plunged this country into Iraq — is that, if you lie us into a war — your war, and your presidency, will be consigned to the scrapheap of history.

Consider your fellow Texan, sir.

After President Kennedy's assassination, Lyndon Johnson held the country together after a national tragedy — not unlike you tried to do.

He had lofty goals and tried to reshape society for the better. And he is remembered for Vietnam and for the lies he and his government told to get us there and keep us there… and for the Americans who needlessly died there.

As you will be remembered for Iraq and for the lies you and your government told to get us there and keep us there… and for the Americans who needlessly died there — and who will needlessly die there tomorrow.

Keith Olbermann - one of that rare breed of newscaster - a truth teller.

Watertiger's New Digs

Watertiger has moved her blog, Dependable Renegade, away from blogger to her own dot com. Change your bookmarks and links and go check out her new tropical digs. Don't you just love the new hot tub?

Sunday Sunshine

A bit of fall color as eye candy. Took this just as the early morning sun was hitting the big leaf maple just off my deck. It has been slow to change color but is finally starting to show.

So many of the trees around me are redwoods, which stay green all year. The maples are a real treat to my eye. The yellow and rusts stand out in contrast to green. Some of the local maples turn red but not this one. Since living up here, I really enjoy the changes each season brings. Now that it is getting down to the mid to high 30's at night, Bailey is staying inside more. She spends each night sleeping on top of my bed, even if there are puppies under the covers. When it gets down into the 20's at night, Bailey will get under the covers too. She tends to make sure that I am between her and the puppies, preventing any accidental dog/cat contact while we all hunker down under the down comforters and quilts.

The days are slipping by so fast. Thanksgiving week is upon us. I'll be spending the day next door with Bman and Naomi. Naomi's cooking is always something to give thanks over.

I haven't decided what I'll make for the dinner. I'll have to ask Naomi what she wants me to make. I do make a superb sweet potato or yam casserole, in addition to the baking I do.

My New Look

I decided to do a little housecleaning around the blog. What do you think of the new look?

On My Mind

Thoughts on my mind:

Cheney and the Dickheads have filed papers seeking the dismissal of Valerie Plame's lawsuit. From the Reuter's articled linked above:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration asked a federal judge on Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband against Vice President Dick Cheney and others for alleged involvement in disclosing her employment as a clandestine CIA operative.

Cheney and the other high-level defendants in the lawsuit have valid claims of immunity because of their official positions, Justice Department lawyers said in their request to have the case thrown out.

The lawyers also said that Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, failed to allege that any of the defendants had violated a constitutional right.

According to the Dickheads, any sitting official can do anything against any citizen and that citizen has no right to hold that official responsible and accountable for their action.

Yeah, right, and if you believe that, there is some ocean front property down in Arizona with your name on it.

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff reports to prison this morning. ABC sources say Abramoff was about to provide information about Bush administration officials, including Karl Rove, "accepting things of value" from Abramoff.

Can't you just hear me snicker?

Picked up an additional inch and a half of rain in this last "storm", putting the little cottage by the creek in the redwoods year to date rainfall total at 3 1/4".

This is a banana slug I found crawling up the wall outside the bedroom slider to the deck. If I remember correctly (and I am reaching that certain age where one does start to wonder), oldest daughter had to kiss a banana slug while attending 6th Grade Science Camp. That was many years ago but now not so far away. I'm less than 10 miles from where she camped.

Boots Wants A What?

A Sunday kinda love.

Picked up slightly more than 1/4" of rain yesterday, bringing the year to date total to 1 and 3/4" at the little cottage by the creek in the redwoods.

Veterans Day

Thank you.

Thank you for being there when our country needed you. Thank you for being there in anticipation of being needed. Whether you wore a uniform or worried about a loved one who did, thank you for your sacrifice.

Thank you for your service.

Yeah, Baby!

Yeah, baby! From Friday morning's LA Times:

Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led House: resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

The panel was disbanded by the Republicans after they won control of Congress in 1994. Now, Skelton (D-Mo.) intends to use it as a forum to probe Pentagon spending and the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war.

It has been 12 years since Democrats were in control of both the House and Senate. But they are looking to make up for lost time, and in some cases, make the Bush administration and its business allies sweat.

With control of every committee in Congress starting in January, the new majority will inherit broad powers to subpoena and investigate. And that is expected to translate into wide-ranging and contentious hearings.

The agenda is likely to be dominated by the Iraq war, but could include probes into the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance, environmental policies and new prescription-drug program for seniors. Industries, such as oil companies, could also come under closer scrutiny.

"The American people sent a clear message that they do not want a rubber-stamp Congress that simply signs off the president's agenda," said Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), who is in line to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "Instead, they have voted for a new direction for America and a real check and balance against government overreaching."

Conyers and other Democrats say that sort of scrutiny has been noticeably absent over the last six years. Democrats accuse Republicans of being complicit as Bush has led the nation into an unwinnable war and adopted economic polices that favor the affluent and big business.

Under Republican control, Congress did subpoena baseball players to discuss steroid use and summon oil industry executives to justify record profits at a time of high gasoline prices.

(snip) Go on, click on the link above. There's lots of goodies in there to look forward to.

For more fun, check out Conyer's blog.

(Photo of Rep. Conyer from LA Times article linked above)

Let The Investigations Begin

Well, it looks like the American people spoke and they have "Had Enough"!

Say Hello to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, here to do some House cleaning now the Democratic Party has taken the House of Representatives. There is a real chance the Democratic Party may even take the Senate, depending on the outcome of the Montana (Tester vs Burns) and Virginia (Webb vs Allen) races.

We should shortly be hearing raging howls coming from DC. They will be the results of accountability, checks, and balances returning to Congress. Nothing like a subpoena to make politicians grumpy.

George "Lame Duck" Bush isn't gonna be a happy camper.

Vote!

Vote - Because We Can't Make It Here Anymore.



In case my HTML screws up, here is the link to the video.

h/t to Nate over at Get In Their Face for reminding me.

The Purple Finger of Freedom

Picture courtesy of The General.

Absolutely top rate, mon General. Reminds me of the Nixon era Flying Fickle Finger of Fate, updated for the current crop of office holders that are soon to be investigated and/or recommended for indictment. Gonna make Watergate look like chump change.

On the home front, a total of one inch of rain, giving the little cottage by the creek in the redwoods a total of one inch and a half for the year. I used to have a chalkboard next to the door to the deck where my rain gauge is. I would come inside from emptying the gauge and keep the totals on that chalkboard. Since I've packed the chalkboard away, I've decided to keep track of the totals here. Not enough rain to wash away the leaves that have been collecting in the creek all summer. The first big rain will push it downstream, changing the water from crystal clear to muddy brown.

Token and I just took a short walk about in order for him to do his business. It has stopped raining but water is still dripping off the trees. The air is damp and misty, smelling clean and fresh yet with undertones of damp decay that mixes so well with the smells of fireplaces burning creating what is in my mind the true smell of autumn. The damp air reminds me of talk when I was a wee thing of the reason English lasses have such fine complexion is because of the fog and damp air.

Rain

It's raining! Started with a few sprinkles as I was fixing dinner. Eased off for a while and I thought that was all we were going to get - just a few showers. But, I have been listening to the sound of a gentle rain falling for several hours now. I've recorded a quarter inch so far, bringing my year to date total to three/quarters of an inch.

I've been looking forward to the rain (except for that whole selling the house and moving in the rain part). 71 inches here last year. Nothing like a gentle rain outside and a toasty fire going in the fireplace insert, while wearing fleece and drinking warm beverages. Token lays on the floor in front of the insert, sometimes resting his head on the warmed rock of the hearth, wearing a tshirt that proclaims he is an official snow dog even though the probability of snow at my elevation in Boulder Creek (627') is highly unlikely.

Completely Different

And now for something completely different:

Cat has a toilet flushing obsession