Oatmeal Update and Other Things

Well, I did try the low-sugar oatmeal and trail mix without the wheat germ. It tasted better, but not as good as the regular maple and brown sugar stuff. And, the sad part is that I bought four boxes of the stuff because it was on sale. So, I am stuck with eating so-so breakfasts for the next 39 days. I may as well just add the dumb wheat germ!

I left work so I could get to ABD Warehouse at 10:00. Why? So I could get my NOAA All Hazards Alert Radio. Every year, our local Channel 4 teams up with ABC warehouse to offer them at a special price ($10.00 off the usual $39.00 price). And, every year I miss the damn sale. But, not this year!

And, why, you might ask, do I want one? Well, because it not only can function as regular local weather radio any time you want (and, as you know, I am a weather junkie) or act as an alarm clock with snooze, but, it interrupts everything when an alert comes in for your county. It’s programmed by county, BTW.

In addition to important weather announcements such as a tornado, severe weather, etc., it will also receive other emergency announcements such as: Child Abduction Emergency (Amber Alert), Nuclear Power Plant Warning, Biological Hazard Warning, Civil Emergency Message, Fire Warning and Landslide Warning (and who doesn’t want to know about an impending landslide?)

Seriously, though, it can just sit there, on and quiet until and unless an alert comes through (which is probably how I’ll use it) and then it gives an ungodly noise that would wake the dead. The alert can be read on the screen or listened to via the radio. It also has a battery backup in case the power in your house goes out from a storm. It’s freakin’ cool and could be a life-saver.

As I said, I’ve missed the sale in the past, but I’ve seen the lines at the store on TV and they remind you to get there early before they are sold out. So, I went right at 10:00 AM, when ABC opens. Sure enough, there were already 10-15 folks in front of me in line. But, I had to laugh, because by the time I got up there and bought the radio and the batteries (you have to have the batteries so they can program it) everyone else was gone and there was nobody behind me! I was there over 40 minutes, so If I’d come at, say 11:00 AM, I probably could have just walked in and out. I think the crowded shots they show on TV are just at the store where the Channel 4 weather folks put in an appearance.

It was nice and sunny, with little wind, but the temperature is only supposed to get up into the lower 60’s today.

I was going to skip lunch (because I’d already taken up a lot of time on the radio business) but I was hungry. So, I ran up to the Newburgh Grille and got a bowl of the bean and ham soup. I was back at work in about 25 minutes, so I didn’t feel too bad.

I made the mistake of stopping at the Post Office after work. I was puzzled by all the traffic cones, people directing traffic, postal worker outside with bins, etc. Then it dawned on me (admittedly a little late) that it was tax day and everybody’s trying to get that postmark on their returns.

It wasn’t near as crazy inside, so I took care of business and left. Outside, I had to wait for a postal guy to take pity on me and stop the traffic flow long enough that I could pull out of my parking space. Geesh! Haven’t you folks ever heard of eFiling?

Back home, I checked out my new NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) radio and set it up in my bedroom. I read the manual and went to the Midland Radio website to watch a video on programming the sucker (even though they program it in the store). I did change one thing. The lady in the store had programmed it for “single” and just put in the S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding) code for Wayne County. But, the video suggested using “multiple” to add in counties to the West South-West of your location (because that’s the direction weather usually comes from). You can program up to 25 counties in the “multiple” setting. So, I put in Washtenaw, Monroe and Lenawee counties in addition to Wayne. Now no stinking tornado’s gonna get me while I’m sleeping!

I took a walk while the sun was still up to check out the grass cutting today (yes, they did come). I checked out the front yard and saw a yellow tulip in bloom. I was going to take a photo, but I noticed there was a white tulip just behind it that was “almost” in bloom. So, I thought I’d wait and try and get them both open.

I stepped over to smell the lilac that’s also beginning to bloom when I noticed all the trash that big wind blew into my northeast corner of the fence. That’s where the arbor is and the morning glory seeds I just planted!

So, I grabbed a plastic grocery bag and went out back to pick that stuff up and let the morning glories sprout. One of the things I picked up was a nice clean dollar bill! Weird!! I walked the north fence all the way to the back before the bag was filled and my back and I were tired of bending over. I got a lot more trash, but no more money.

Back inside, it was after 7:00 PM, so I had missed all the news. I finally changed clothes and took my evening pills. I didn’t feel like eating more Shrimp Scampi tonight. As a matter of fact, I didn’t feel much like eating. So, I just munched down a few oatmeal cookies (I buy the cheap Kroger kind) so I wouldn’t get sick.

I alternated between watching the Red Wing’s playoff game and reading. I watched the game until the bitter end (and it was bitter) and then went to bed.