A Nose In Need

This picture shows what I've been doing lately. A lot. Almost non-stop.

Seriously - n o n - s t o p!

I have barely slept the past couple of nights because my nose is like a leaky faucet. It won't stop running, which is so annoying!

We have some basic staples in our house to help with situations like this, so I went searching through the bathroom closet. Did you know that if you have a thyroid disease you can't take many cold medicines, or even nasal spray? Sadly, I do now.

So I sit, and I drip, and I blow, and I cough, and I drip some more.

Meanwhile, my poor nose is trying to fall off my face. The poor thing is so red and so sore.

Have you seen these tissues? I've used the lotion variety before. I have also made the mistake of grabbing one of them to use on my glasses with the cleaner. Trust me, that's a mistake you only make once.

They say they have Vicks in them. Supposedly it will help open your sinuses so you will breathe easier. It's not working for me. I'm still so stuffed up (how I can still be so stuffed up when I'm a dripping faucet is a great mystery) that only once have I even smelled the Vicks smell when using one. For all I know, that one tissue could be the only one in the entire box that even had Vicks on it. But I must admit...the lotion does help.

So, have you got any tips on how to turn off this leaky honker of mine? Oh, and please do not recommend the neti-pot. Yes, I know, some of you out there LOVE your neti-pots, but just the thought of using one is just too gross for me.

What A Great Day

Yesterday was one of the best days we have had in a very long time. It was cloudy, rainy, damp and just plain yucky outside. So what made it so great?

This:

And this:

And do you know why we had mud on our roads and ponds in our fields? Because according to my vehicle, we had

This:

51 degrees!

F-I-F-T-Y O-N-E D-E-G-R-E-E-S!

People - this is February. This is Iowa. This is not normal.

Oh but we'll accept it!

It was still cold enough that when the heated water dish was empty the farm cats took turns sitting in it. The big sissies.

I don't feel bad for them at all either, because they are wild, and they are mean. This one for example growled long and loud at me for getting within a 6' distance to take this picture. I reminded him of the saying which has to do with not biting the hand that feeds you, but I don't think he cared.

For one brief second I felt a little bad that they were out of water until this nasty ol' kitty hissed at me as soon as I stepped closer to fill it up. Fine, deal with dehydration your own way and drink from a mud puddle. See if I care. I had Jay fill it up later.

I know that today doesn't signal the end of Winter. After all, this is February. This is Iowa. This is not normal.

But we'll enjoy it as long as it does last.

Winter In Iowa

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .

65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Iowa plant gardens.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Iowa sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Iowa drive with the windows down.

40 above zero:
Georgians put on coats, thermal underwear, gloves,wool hats.
People in Iowa throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Iowa have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Iowans close the windows.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico .
People in Iowa get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Iowa are selling cookies door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Iowa let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Iowans get upset because they can't start the Snowmobile.

40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Iowa start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?

50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Iowa public schools will open 2 hours late.

And if you think I'm kidding about this all being true, come to Iowa in March or April. As soon as it gets in the upper 40's we'll open our windows to air out our homes, we'll shed our winter coats and just wear a sweater with our shorts, and we'll also drive with our tops down on our cars.

As a matter of fact, just yesterday I ran a couple of errands and got groceries. It was 37 degrees at that time. I counted no less than 10 motorcycles out and about. I even ditched my winter coat for the day and had a hoodie sweatshirt on instead.

We are a hardy bunch here in the midwest.

Nature's Beauty

A couple of nights ago we were driving home around 10pm and it was very very foggy. Like, don't drive much over 30mph kind of foggy. I found that really bizarre because it was also around -10 degrees outside. How could you have fog when it was so ridiculously cold?


I have not attempted to hide my dislike of Winter. I admit it and I own up to it. But just when I am starting to look online for lakefront property someplace where it doesn't snow and they put umbrellas in my drinks, God gives me something to smile at right here in the frozen tundra.


The fog was still as thick as pea soup the next morning. Around 10:00am it started to lift and it left ice crystals on everything outside. Look at these two trees in front of our home:

How incredibly beautiful are they? They looked like the Christmas trees you can buy that have been flocked. These pictures don't really do them justice though. To see them in person was almost breath taking.

Ok, this is one thing you don't get to see in those tropical locations, so I guess that helps make winter, uh likeable? No. Enjoyable? No. Let's go with....tolerable.

Old Man Winter Is Getting On My Nerves

I have never hid the fact that I don't like Winter. But not wanting to be known as a whiner, I have actually tried to make nice with Winter. I have thought to myself "You know, honestly, this is not so bad. Yes it's cold, but as long as the roads are clear I can deal with the cold. Ok Winter, it's cold, but I will tolerate you with no whining."

Then the snows came.

Then the winds came.

It became whiteouts and blizzards that forced us indoors.

Snow continued all day and night, making it dangerous to drive anywhere.

And winter laughed at me. It mocked me, saying "No whining huh?" Let's see how you feel about this.....

Winter created nasty drifts. High enough to cover the 4' fence we had for our dogs (you can see the top of one section of it in the back towards the left side).

Winter created higher and higher drifts. Ones that reached up to the 6' fences and beyond.

Even in the shallowest of spots, the snow was up to Tuckers belly and he was not amused. After all, it's hard to go potty when your um... "woohoo" is buried in snow.

Still we did not whine. We kept singing "We Shall Overcome" (ok, not really, but go with it).

Then Winter brought forth dangerous wind chills. Cold enough to send Weathermen into a frenzy. Warnings were issued. Schools were closed. Panic erupted!

Dogs who don't understand the word "Windchill" continued to run over the snow, until their paws were frozen and they were stuck, unable to walk, meaning we had to go rescue them. Of course, with us weighing more than 12-15 pounds, we sunk to at least knee deep and were not amused.

Still we did not whine. We muttered unkind things to Winter under our breath, but we did not whine.

We had to take the dogs out one at a time on a leash to find a rare shallow spot, since there were no places for them to go to the bathroom. When it's -30 or worse windchills, it seems you are out there for hours!

We muttered under our breath at Winter some more. But still we did not whine.

Then my dear husband did a wonderful thing. He bought a snowblower. We have a large blower on our tractor, and a blade on the front of his truck, but this will do smaller areas....and most importantly, it will create potty places for the dogs. And they will rejoice!

I now laughed at Winter, because my man has outsmarted it! Go ahead and mock me Winter. Go ahead, I dare you!

Then dear husband showed me how to run the snowblower because he said it's something I will probably do most of the time while he's running the tractor and truck.

Ummmmm.....Excuse me? Wait...What? Me? Outside? Right now? Pushing that machine? Out in the cold?

Ok Winter, you win. You got me. I am not happy, and yes under my 6 layers of clothing....I am whining.