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Sunday, February 14, 2016

every rose has its thorns

First off, Happy Valentine's Day!  Or as the guy on the local news last night dubbed it - "Singles Awareness Day!".  Magnum and I don't typically make a big deal of Valentine's Day, so I hadn't really been thinking about it, but since it's all over the place once I turned the computer on, I'll give a shout out.

Actually my first date with Magnum just happened to be on Valentine's Day many moons ago.  He remembered that date was on a Sunday also.  We were both full time college students, and I had a part-time retail job and he was in the national guard.  So that particular Sunday, after I got off work, happened to be a time that fit into both our schedules.

I remember a coworker commenting that I had a "hot" date after work, and I replied that it was just "tepid".  HA!

This was a nice week.  It's been unseasonably warm, so all our snow is melting.  I've also become more comfortable with the fact that both my parents are gone from this earth.  It was time, and I'm thinking my dad is thrilled.

Magnum had Friday off from work, so after I finished some school stuff, I invited him and bicycle Bob to go for a ride with me and Bella.  I had to stop by the university, so we took the long way.  When we were about to head home, I noticed that Bella had a flat tire. No!  She "never" gets flats!  But alas, there it was.  (It was a goathead - remember the *#% goatheads, ShadowRun?)

I knew the  outdoor office on campus had a bicycle workshop facility open for anyone to drop in and use, but had never used it or even checked it out.  But, heck, I pay tuition!  It's great - tools and equipment for easy use.  They even sold bicycle tubes in all kinds of sizes.  We were soon back on the road in fine form!

So it was a nice week.  And the daylight is nicely longer, have you noticed?  I know it starts happening after the winter solstice, but seems to take a while to become noticeable.  It's noticeable  now and I like it!

On that note, however, the school district has decided to tack on an extra 10 minutes to the school day after all the snow days it's had to use, to hopefully avoid having to add extra days to the schedule.  So Meego now has to get up a whopping 10 minutes earlier for the remainder of the year.  The hardship!  I make fun of him, but I'm secretly happy that I'm no longer a crossing guard - 10 minutes earlier would be a pain.

And brother Hagrid informs me that, once he retires from his government job, his identity will no longer need to be so secret.  He's offered a solution for the meantime:




I'm thinking my genetics just keep getting better and better!



14 comments:

Sparkling Red said...

Yes I have noticed that the days are getting longer. Hurray! I love this part of winter the best. Post-Christmas, and spring seeming not-so-far away.

agg79 said...

Pretty nice genes Hagrid has there. We're like you - too darned old and cheap to fall for the Hallmark and Russel Stover's holiday shtick. We prefer something a bit more meaningful (hey, honey, I cleaned out my side of the closet).

Sorry to her that Bella had a rough encounter. Hope she is able to avoid those damnable goat heads. They can put a hitch in your giddy up.

Abby said...

Yes, I think there's light at the end of the cold, dark snow tunnel!

Abby said...

Even tough Bella was no match for that goat head. Or maybe it was all just a ruse when she saw that nice shop on campus.

Happy Valentine's Day, sounds like you know how to do it up right!

ShadowRun300 said...

Those goat heads blew out my "tires" too! Poor Bella! I know it musta hurt!
I love that your community and even your school is so bicycle friendly! Around here, you would have had to limp back home with her.
I've noticed the longer days too. Lovin' it!

Tee said...

We don't get all hyped up over Valentine's Day either. We each usually remember to pick up a card. (I was reminded on Saturday while at Walgreen's picking up prescriptions for Mom. Couldn't miss the all the hearts and candy taking up the center of the store.)

Glad to hear you were able to get poor Bella back in running order pretty quickly. Nice!

Yes, I've happily noticed the extended daylight lately. Makes it feel a bit less like the days are soaring past us at warp speed!

That Hagrid! A sense of humor AND good looks!

Abby said...

I'm not even sure of where along the route I picked that goat head up. At least Bob was spared!

Abby said...

Normally, I would have probably grabbed some chocolates, but I guess I didn't get ambushed by any Valentine's displays this year.

Ginny said...

We just exchanged cards and had some champagne at home. Nothing too crazy. It was just too cold!

Is ten minutes really going to make a difference? I feel like I'd be asleep during those 10 minutes anyways.

Hagrid looks just like Brad Pitt. It's uncanny!

Abby said...

I don't think 10 minutes a day is going to make much difference, especially tacked on in the morning when teenagers are still in sleep mode. Gotta get the all important "contact time" in, though.

Funny how I never realized until now, the striking Brad Pitt resemblance.

Lori said...

Single Awareness Day - funny! We just had dinner at home, although I did have to share the spotlight with his dog. It's been weirdly warm here too, but I do like the hint of Spring coming. It used to be dark when I left work at 5:00 and now it's still light out. I feel like I should be doing more when I get home then putting on pajamas.

Anita said...

Is that the real Mrs. Hagrid in the photo? I'm not up on my celebrity sightings.

My husband proposed on Valentine's Day. Some day in the future, I'm going to get misty eyed over that; but not now. The day had been reduced to a card giving day (because he like cards) and a gift from him to me (an electric kettle - because I drink lots of tea - that my daughter is threatening to take to college with her). A few years ago, I hinted to him to halt the roses. Too expensive and then they die.

Abby said...

I guess we did a passive boycott of Valentines day, to not give the card companies the satisfaction. I'm sure they felt our absence.

Abby said...

Now I'm wondering the percentage of marriage proposals that have occurred on Valentine's Day. I like the tea kettle, seems thoughtful.

Yes, that's the real Mrs. Hagrid. She's not as "Get Smart" as Hagrid is.