2.25.04 — Sloooooooow!
Things in the Midwest are definitely slower. And for the most part, it's a good thing. A slower, more relaxed lifestyle is nice. A slow visit to the dentist, however, is not. Today I went to the dentist and was in their office for 1 1/2 hours. I had to wait over 20 minutes after my cleaning for the dentist to come around and check my teeth. Don't get me wrong, everyone was very nice. I even got a recommendation for a sushi restaurant in Omaha (along with a warning: don't even try to get sushi in Lincoln). But I should have been a little concerned from the start when I sat down and they handed me the remote to the TV.

2.23.04 — Busy!
We had a lot going on last week. A quick recap: I started working for T's company two days a week to help them out with marketing for Williams and EMRlogic. I also attended two mornings of their FastTrack seminar for optometrists. I was very impressed with the amount of quality of marketing information they give the doctors. They sure do get their money's worth!

We went out to dinner twice last week (living the life of luxury, we are!). Tuesday we used a gift card to Macaroni Grill (thanks mom and dad!), which is consistently good—and the free part made it even better. Friday we went to a Chinese restaurant called Vincent's House of Hunan. Ok, so we didn't realize what it was called until we were already seated. Good Chinese food from someone named Vincent? What do you think? The Tsingtao was good, though.

Saturday was ethnic night, and we made one of the best recipes we've ever cooked at home! A friend gave us a recipe for African Chicken and Cardamom Rice. Not only did it make up for Vincent's, but we had enough to indulge again on Sunday. (Are you noticing a food theme here?)

We had a lot of snow meltage over the past week. And we have power in our neighborhood. So, you guessed it, they've started framing our house! (See update photo on the right.) One of the drawbacks of so much snow melting over such a short period of time is mud. All of the constructions trucks are bogged down in the mud around our new neighborhood. But they have power! They are working!

And for those of you who have been keeping track at home, Chloe went to the vet last week and her creatinine levels are holding at 2.7. That's a little high compared to the normal range, but they've been holding steady since last September. The good news is that she seemed unaffected by the two weeks we were away and weren't giving her fluids. So we've gone down to giving her fluids once a week. We are very excited and hopeful, but no one is happier than she is.

2.15.04 — Are you on the bus?
Lincoln has a public transportation system. Really! In fact, "Lincoln has had a public transit system since 1883, when Lincoln Street Railway initiated the first horse-car line with a 5 cent fare." We've been here for six months and just found out. It's hard to believe the fact, since this city is really quite small.

How did we find out? An ad claiming, "Put our savings in a college fund, go on a vacation, buy a computer or just have some extra cash to spend how you please. You can save hundreds of dollars on the maintenance, wear and tear, and gas of your own vehicle; avoid the stress of traffic and parking hassles; meet new people; and forget about the weather."

Wear and tear on your car? Stress of traffic? Well, sometimes you have to sit at a light or two during Friday afternoon "rush hour." Meet new people? That's what we should be doing to make new friends in this town: Go ride StarTRAN! What a great idea for date night!

2.07.04 — Early Valentine's Celebration
We usually celebrate Valentine's Day the week before the date. Call us crazy, but we don't find waiting to eat in a crowded, noisy restaurant all that romantic. (We did this by mistake one year by trying to get reservations to the Elkridge Furnace Inn and finding out they were booked. So we went a few days before. We had the back room, complete with roaring fireplace, all to ourselves. We haven't been out on Valentine's Day since.)

This year we splurged a little since we've been so budget conscious with regards to the new house. We went to the Lodge at Wilderness Ridge. Even though it's just across the street, it felt like we were away on vacation, somewhere up in the mountains. (OK, it was dark. Using our imagination, we could have been in the mountains.) The Lodge is essentially a huge log cabin, complete with animal heads on the wall (they made me feel a little guilty, so I got the fish), and chandeliers made with antlers. The tables were oversized and comfy, and we got to sit next to another roaring fire. Outside you could see the snow covered patio and evergreens (and the imaginary mountains in the darkness). Dinner was absolutely fabulous.

And just when you think the evening couldn't get any better.... On the way back home, we stopped to visit our foundation. The roads by the house hadn't been plowed, and T decided they were perfect for playing World Rally Cup. After a few spins around the neighborhood I finally had to tell him enough was enough: "Honey, don't make me puke on you!" Ah, yes. A romantic evening, indeed.

2.06.04 — Chop, chop, scoop... Chop, chop, scoop...
I planned my week around the snow. I did most of the errandy things earlier in the week and saved around-the-house things for the days I'd be stuck inside. But just when I thought I had it all planned out, I went outside to get the mail and realized the plow has created another snow wall in front of our driveway. It was 4:30 pm, the sun was starting to set, and the men who usually dig us out were nowhere in sight. The snow wall was about 5-8 inches in spots and was starting to freeze. There was no way T's car was going to be able to cross it. And with the temps below zero for the next few days, it wasn't going to melt anytime soon.

So, I bundled up and started chipping away at it. Lots of chopping with the edge of the shovel to break up the frozen snow, and then scooping it up and out of the way. There was also about a foot drift in front of the garage door, which meant my car was blocked in, too. Plus, the two sets of steps. It was colder at the end of the driveway because of the wind, so I alternated between the steps, garage and driveway. Round and round and round. Chop, chop, scoop. Shovel. Shovel. Repeat. It took about an hour. I had to wear my ski gloves, and lots of layers of clothes, scarf, hat—the works. I have a new appreciation for the guys who dig us out. And I find myself lusting after the neighbor's snow blower. Very strange.

2.05.04 — And yes, more snow...
Regular snow dump sites filling up fast. "Most years, snow-removal crews worry little about where to put the stuff they take from city streets. This year is different."

Schools close again as third major winter storm sweeps Nebraska."Nearly 10 inches of new snow closed schools Thursday across central Nebraska, a day after icy conditions were blamed for four road deaths and dozens more accidents in the region. Weather forecasters were predicting another seven to 12 inches of snow Thursday in parts of eastern Nebraska - on top of nearly two feet of snow already on the ground in places - as the third winter storm since Jan. 24 swept the state."

This would be really cool if our foundation wasn't sitting all by its lonely self, waiting to be framed. We love the snow. But we are getting tired of our rental. Even with all of the winds and drifting, we can no longer see any grass.

2.04.04 — Off topic
I'm not sure what concerns me the most. The fact that Janet Jackson exposing her breast during the Super Bowl halftime show is the most-searched event in the history of the Internet (almost equal to September 11th!) or that Lycos monitors our search criteria. The data is interesting, and one would suppose that its collection is harmless, but you have to wonder: What else do they collect?

2.03.04 — More weather-related news
We are mostly dug out from the last snow. Yesterday the men came to plow/shovel our driveway and steps, but last night the street plow came through and built a snow wall between our driveway and the road. Just when we thought things would settle down a bit, it looks like another storm is brewing. (New weather link; we've changed the one on the right, too.)

Snow removal provided by the landlord before the street plow
came through. All of that snow is from our driveway.

We are still working on the interior planning of the house, and met with the cabinet maker today. He was a big help with suggestions on how to make our kitchen work with the appliances we like. We are close to making some final decisions. We will continue to plan the interior of the house, as it looks like our foundation will be buried in the snow for some time. Local residents say this is a normal amount of snow for January and February. The past few years have had less, but mainly because of bad droughts. Guess we'll be looking for end-of-season sales on snow blowers.

2.01.04 — Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
We are under a siege of snowflakes. Last night it started with freezing drizzle. We went out to dinner and had to scrape the windows of the car afterwards. Not just a little frost, but the kind of ice that you have to dig at with the edge of your scraper before you can get it to come off. Once the windows were finished, we drove across the parking lot to Barnes & Noble. (Yes, it was too cold to walk across the parking lot.) We only spent a half hour in the bookstore and had to repeat the whole scraping process when we came out. The forecast says we'll get anywhere from 6 to 14 inches of snow. What kind of forecast is that? Maybe they're covering their meteorological butts became last Monday they were off by about 10 inches.

All of the cool drifts have been covered because the wind isn't blowing very hard. We realized some interesting differences between North and South Lincoln yesterday. North Lincoln is older, more developed, with houses and buildings closer together and mature tree growth. South Lincoln, where we live, is just one step up from prairie. We don't have many trees, tall buildings or houses. (Yet. There is a lot construction going on down here.) We are about a mile away from endless corn fields. And if you go east on Yankee Hill, it's not paved. (West on Yankee Hill is where we our building our house.) These differences are obvious in the snow because North Lincoln doesn't have these crazy drifts of snow everywhere. And since there is more traffic, they get black snow on the edges of the road. Down here, there is no black snow. It gets a little gray in the road, but the edges are still as white as when the plows came through last Monday.

We have a house update. Interior update, obviously. We received plans for our kitchen layout last Thursday, and we spent yesterday shopping for appliances. We are still reeling from sticker shock. We have champagne tastes and a beer budget. T has spent most of Tao on the internet trying to find a way we can get what we want at a price we can afford. We'll let you know when we've made some decisions. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the snow drifts from last Monday.

View out our front door.

Our neighbor (on the left) has hardly any snow,
but we have it piled up to the front steps.

Side of our house.

Our backyard. You can see the tops of the utility boxes on the right.

Last month's Blog.

click to see larger image

House Update
2.19 - Framing begins.
1.31 - Planning the kitchen.
1.22 - Foundation gets brick.
1.15 - Exteriors are ordered.
1.6 - We're waiting for power.
1.3 - Foundation is poured.
12.28 - Hole digging has begun.

Photo Albums
August 18, 2003
September 9, 2003
December 3, 2003

Notes about Lincoln
soda...pop
shopping bag...sack
restaurant check...ticket
7-digit phone numbers

Lincoln Weather

Nebraska Firsts

EMRlogic in the News

Archives
Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan

Keep in Touch
j k u n d h i [at] inebraska [dot] com