snow???

We headed out earlier than usual to go to the indoor garage sale at our local senior center.... only to fine that Spring had left us !!  Not only was it raining but there was snow mixed in. YUCK... March came in like a lion and is going out the same way. It's not cold enough for the snow to stick but still...

I saw NOAA's map of the flooding that is taking place across the US and according to them, will continue through May.






    



Worriesome...
Wet as we are Harper's "hole",  that she is digging in her backyard ,may get all the way to China ! Good thing she likes getting in the bathtub to get all the mud washed off!

Harper's last class

Here's Harper.... absolutely no hesitation climbing or going through the tunnel ( right hand side)!!  Aren't those ears something else?  She "graduated" !!
Bob is going to biuld some play equipment for her!!

water water everywhere

North of Blue Springs ( my home ) water has breached the levees all over the place ... SE Nebraska, SW Iowa, NW Missouri. Inundating towns and farms. Many farmers have last season's grain in bins and those who didn't remove it in time have lost it.  Towns have been sand bagging. Taking hay to stranded cattle. 
The river's crest is moving down stream and will be in the central part of Missouri shortly.  The Water Authority has asked the places that use water from the Missouri River to conserve their usage. Blue Springs gets some of its water from this and some from aquifers near the River. BS has turned off its water from the Water Authority to help in this.
We had a lot of flooding in '93 and I remember how long the land took to recover. River water carries lots of silt and junk which it leaves behind on flooded land. Farmers will have problems. The Corps of Engineers "took" land land  to help in future curbing  of the Missouri River and there is talk that this might happen again. People are not happy with this possibility.

I saw a video on Facebook... taken by a local TV station... of the river current. It was amazing and horrendous at the same time.

spring-like

The weather here is spring like and we are lucky enough to be on the high ground south of the Missouri River.  There has been lots and lots of flooding to our North - Nebraska, NW Missouri and SW Iowa. Leves have been topped... towns covered with water and so on.  The weatherman says the river levels are going down but the crest is moving toward Kansas City and then Eastward towards Columbia and St. Louis.
Lots of the area drinking water comes from the river and aquifers. So far just minor problems... no boil water... yet.  But they are asking people to cut back on water usage to take the pressure off...

Some daffodils are sprouting and grass is turning green... but no oak cat tails, red buds, or forsythia.

Tomorrow is Harper's last day of obedience training... It is supposed to be mostly play which will be fun to watch. She is still so full of energy but that's typical for a puppy even if she is huge!! Her ears are huge too and you should hear the loud flapping when she shakes her head!!

My teacher daughter had spring break... her children had spring break last week. They are in different school districts. So we had a chance to go out for coffee and croissants  ... and talk without company. She had a chance to go out with her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary too!! Alone!

I'll try and get a picture of Harper tomorrow!!

Sitting OUTSIDE

Would you believe ... it was warm enough yesterday for my daughters and I to sit outside at Starbucks?? Time for a chat  !!

I am glad we live in the higher part of my area. The Missouri River is going over its banks nearby. One of the interstate highways is closed. The Amtrack train is closed on its route from St. Louis to Kansas City though it seems like the freights are still traveling but with delays of up to 5 hours due to congestion. The trains are avoiding the routes north of us through Wisc., Minn and Nebraska.

From what I read... the water is going over the levees but the bigger problem is the current. The water is going super fast.

On Saturday I went to my daughter's non-profit's small fundraiser. Bingo and raffles ... didn't win at Bingo but did win one of the raffles!!  A $75.00 gift card to a restaurant near to my daughter's office. I think Bob and I will use the card to take her out to lunch!!

Tonight is Harper training class night!!

Harper's training class

I went with my husband and daughter to Harper's training class... just as an onlooker since Harper is getting so big that I am a little nervous about getting tripped. She is still easily distracted but is catching on to commands and is very treat oriented. She will do quite a bit for a treat!! LOL The part of the class which is obstacle oriented - tunnels, ball pits, trampolines etc. - she is really into with very little hesitations.
The class really tires her out ... Harper spent the last part with her head on my lap waiting for her turn!!

I have been checking out the weather reports ... while the weather is warmer it will be wet and very windy especially to the west of us and north.  Flood watches and warnings are up along the Missouri, Mississippi and the smaller rivers that flow into them. Luckily we live in the higher area and not too close to the Missouri River.

BTW blizzard warnings are up in Nebraska... yuck.

Still decluttering...some to recycle, some to give away and some for the trash!
Bob sold a "Lord of the Rings" book on ebay for $40 plus shipping. He found a box, packed it up and headed off to the PO !  The book had Merry Christmas in with totally unfamiliar hand writing... no idea where it came from!!  LOL

Cool but sunny

It is SO-O-O nice to see the sun again. We are still cool ( 33 when we went out) but Bob says he can see that Spring is on its way with the change in shadow direction.

Talked him into a trip to the Disabled Vets drop off...  a charity shop... with 4 large bags of stuff. I have been de-cluttering my storage boxes. Deciding what I dan't want or need. The only problem being that it doesn't seem to make things look any better.  But at least the bags are no longer a hazard in my bedroom!

My daughter and I are going to JoAnn's fabric store later this afternoon. She is going to make a costume for her fundraising event in April. The theme is the '70's... John Travolta era. I haven't seen what she has in mind... yet!  She has started "pushing" for Bob and me to have costumes too... probably not!

 95% of the snow is gone... just a few piles from the snowplow or Bob's shoveling.. now all the leftover leaves are VERY visible.  BTW... the weatherman says 60 by midweek but then down somewhat.

change in direction

I have been following some blog threads about plastic bags.... I have been trying to remember to take my reusable bags along with me to the grocery store. My grocery store takes off $.05 for each bag you bring and they use. That's not a huge amount but... better than having piles of plastic carry bags to get rid of.  And I don't put veggies or fruits in plastic bags when I pick them out.
But bags from stores are not the only plastic we have to get rid.  I don't use plastic water bottles and I don't got to Starbucks very often. I tell Hobby Lobby that I don't need a bag.... But I do get quite a few prescriptions and each comes in its own plastic lidded container.  What do you do with them?? The pharmacy won't take them back or even use them again with your prescriptions. I washed and removed labels from the bigger ones and took them to my craft meeting. Thought others might find them useful and indeed some did. A teacher took some for storing supplies in her classroom and wants more!  Hooray.. I hated throwing them out!

Our town used to have a recycling center but the gov't decided it was too expensive... and closed it. I don't trust the trash haulers to keep the recycle bin ( pay extra for that) materials separate. So stuff just goes into the trash and then the landfill.  Oops forgot - glass recycling containers are in the grocery store parking lot.  A beer brewery set this up so it could have a supply for making new beer bottles.

So this issue is going to get bigger and bigger

Winter slogs onward....any relief in sight??

Area schools are closed again. Our big, much touted, winter storm early Sunday morning only resulted in 2-4 inches of snow. Bob said that the snow was pretty light and shoveling was pretty easy.
But the school closings are due to the really really cold temperatures! This is the 9th day that the grandchildren ( and their Mother) have not had school.  It will be interesting to see what Missouri decides to do about this. ( yes, I mentioned this before!)

We haven't been out and about after our stockpiling shop earlier...and probably won't either. I really don't want to slip .
So I have been bear making and needle felting more Easter eggs.

That was yesterday... today was somewhat better. Do love the sun !!  We had "chores"  -so a trip to the bank was completed and then off to Starbuck's for coffee with a friend. Her husband has alzheimers . Luckily she has someone who comes in and she gets a little respite.
Then off to Kohl's to use my coupons and 30% off on underwear for Bob and jeans for me.