Random 5 for February 2, 2020 – Weather, addiction, theft, celebrations, snow mounds

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Weather-forecasting groundhog, courtesy of Wikipedia

Happy Groundhog Day! – It is the custom in our state to pluck a poor sweet hibernating groundhog (woodchuck) from its sleep to see if it sees its shadow. If it does, it means six more weeks of winter. It sounds silly but it’s about as reliable as our local forecasters. Wherever they do it (western Pennsylvania) is cloudy so he did not see it this morning. I am celebrating an early spring! Temperatures this week will be unseasonably mild. Curmudgeons everywhere are complaining about all the bugs we will have in the summer since there won’t be a proper winter kill. On the other hand, I am celebrating good weather! (Insert Snoopy dance!) #soreadyforspring

The walking group – There was a new person walking this week. My walking partner knew him as he used to walk a few years back. She told me he is a sex addict. I didn’t know what to say. She is 85 and he is in his upper 70s at least. She left early and I continued to walk and damn if he walk with me. He used to work at the same place I did a long time ago. We worked on different floors of a high rise. I didn’t know him nor had I heard of him (a reputation as a sex addict gets around fast). As I relayed the story to the beloved husband, he knew him (having worked at the same company) and didn’t think he was a sex addict at all. I wondered whether that enhanced a reputation among the seniors. #isthatarthritisorswagger?

Who ya gonna call? – Over the past few weeks the beloved husband has been losing guitar picks. They are costly to replace and we couldn’t figure out what was happening to them. (He even checked under the refrigerator!) We still don’t know where the lost ones are but he saw Gracie (our one-eyed cat) romping around on his music cabinet. We think the mystery is solved but where are the missing ones? #Gracieisonebay

There is much more toilet paper on the trees around the side of the house. They must have used a case of it!

Say what? – On my way to Starbucks the other morning I passed a house in our neighborhood that had been tp’d (toilet papered for those of you unfamiliar with the term). Locally (I don’t know if people do this in other areas) if a high school athlete performs well for a particular game, like a playoff, the other players come in the middle of the night a throw toilet paper all over the trees and house. It’s meant to be a positive celebration but what a mess. It has rained on it twice so it’s getting all mushy and there are lumps of white stuff all over. I suppose it disintegrates eventually. #toiletpaperstreamers

Speaking of messes – About two weeks ago we had two inches of snow. That’s all. Just two inches. However at our local mall the snowplows were overachievers and were able to make 8 foot mounds of snow that are now all black and disgusting. Even with the warmer weather, they are still there and probably will be for a while. #don’teatthedirtysnow

So how was your week?

65 thoughts on “Random 5 for February 2, 2020 – Weather, addiction, theft, celebrations, snow mounds”

    • When I started walking 3 years ago, I was astounded. These are older people 70 and up and many of them look like 90. That doesn’t stop them. There was one guy (now gone) who was handsy (not with me though). My 80-something walking partner had to have a talk with him.

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  3. Yes, tp-ing a house is a thing all the way over here on the west coast, although I haven’t seen any for a while.

    We haven’t had much snow this winter, but a couple of nights ago we had a scary-loud hail storm mixed with wind. Maybe the fact that I was already in bed, the house was quiet, and I have several skylights that make like drums had something to do with making it seem scary.

    I thought guitar picks were cheap. Does beloved husband get fancy picks or are they all expensive these days?

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  4. I thought of you when I heard the news about early spring. I did kind of smile at the idea there’s controversy about that, given the potential for more summer bugs. Every region seems to have its own complexities!

    The sex addict…does he know that he has this reputation? I think I’m a little amused by this, perhaps because the woman so ready to inform you is 85. I wonder where she got her information? This strike me funny! 🙂

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    • You would think this stuff (the sex stuff) would be lessening at these ages but there are a lot of hookups at the walking group. It’s not as active as it was a couple of years ago (at least so says my partner) but there is one pair that seem into each other but are married to other people who don’t walk. As the kids say, whatev!

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  5. One huge smile on the ‘sex addict.’ Although, likely not funny since it has the word ‘addict.’ Yes, possibly enhanced his reputation after a certain age. I did not think people toilet papered houses still. Two-ply likely takes longer to disintegrate.🙂

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    • They cleaned most of it up yesterday but with the rain there is some that will have to disintegrate. The sex addict walked with me again today. I’m trying not to outright ask him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he said that to my friend just to shock her.

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  6. You just reminded me of the time a girl my son had dated (high school) TPed our house, only she put the toilet paper KNEE DEEP on our driveway. yes, knee deep. I don’t know how many people helped her. It was absolutely beyond. And of course son was out of town at a wrestling match so he didn’t have to help us. Just me and the gardener cleaning it all up.
    That Gracie. It’s possible you will never find the picks. My Mac used to steal my earrings and we never found any of them. That was 20 years ago.
    Happy Monday!

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  10. We have Woody the Woodchuck here in Michigan and that GIRL is accurate … even better than Phil. She has predicted correctly 15 times in the last 20 years. She predicted the same as Phil, by coming out of her house at the Howell Nature Center. The PETA people won’t complain about Woody and ask to have a robotic groundhog, as she is pampered … she even picked the winner of the Super Bowl – let’s see how she did. Woody favored Kansas City Chiefs. She had two paper mache footballs and put her nose on the KC one multiple times – very scientific! I remember TPing back in the day – we did it here in Michigan and I have seen it done now after a big game here when I’m out the next day driving around. I’ve seen it done with crepe paper in the school’s colors to add some pizzazz, probably since toilet paper does not come in orange and royal blue the colors for Lincoln Park High School. 🙂

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      • Same with us – they call for shovelable snow and we get flurries; we are having an ugly weather week with multiple chances for wintry precip beginning tonight, so I hope they are wrong – it was another beautiful day today (unfortunately it was a work day – sigh)..

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          • I’m trying to get past my feeling about walking in the rain – it’s easier in the Summer than now. We had two days of great weather and tomorrow night snow and sleet will come in – they say 3 to 6 inches of snow, but I think my part of the state will get 3-4 only (that is enough, especially with sleet in it – it will be heavy).

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              • Yes, it is still scheduled to arrive at 8:00 tonight and through tomorrow morning, some in the afternoon. They are wavering on the exact amount, but for me the general consensus is 4 inches right now, but wet snow again and sleet. I had a long walk this morning – it was sunny so I got out earlier, clear as a bell.

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  11. Now that is a pile of ugly snow. They are whispering “possibility” for Wed/Thurs, but I’m counting on not. Especially since the groundhog is calling for early spring. (This years’ looked pretty cute – and not as terrified as last years’ groundhog) Anyway, we mowed for the first time this week, and plan to put out fertilizer next weekend after the “big freeze”..if that front is really that cold, a whole bunch of native reliable sprouting plants are going to be really shocked.

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  12. We had ALMOST an inch of snow on Friday. Naturally this sent the city into a frenzy of snow prepping. Kroger was cleared of all food stock. There were no snow shovels, snow brushes or ice scrapers to be found anywhere. It’s quite silly. But because we have relatively mild winters anyway and this one particularly so, I think they all have a pent up snow anxiety that needs to be exercised.

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  13. Wow, I haven’t seen a tp’d house in ages! I seem to remember that they were sort of a badge of honor when I was young… they did it to your house if you were popular and well-liked. Your story about the missing guitar picks reminded me of something I saw recently… it was a device that made picks out of used gift cards. Just insert the card, close the hand levers, and it punched out a pick. I’m sure real guitar players would be horrified, but I thought it was an interesting way to recycle old cards.

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    • I don’t ever remember TPing a house when I was a kid. Probably because our parents would have been aghast at the waste of good toilet paper! I don’t think my husband is ready for reused picks just yet.

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    • That’s what’s odd. He cleaned out under the furniture and couldn’t find them. They are fairly large and plastic so they didn’t eat them (and they didn’t poop them out either!). I’m guessing they sold it on ebay for catnip money.

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      • BTW: I think that Phil’s response this morning was FIXED:

        1. I watched the video and I could see his shadow until all those men and their top hats crowded around him blocking the sun.

        2. He wasn’t even going to come out of his burrow until they dragged him out. Clearly, he wants to hibernate for another 10 weeks or so.

        3. They pushed the scroll they wanted him to pick towards him. When he didn’t pay any attention to it, they pushed it towards him again. Still nothing from Phil, so the head hat honcho picked up the scroll that says Spring is around the corner.

        Bottom line . . . don’t unpack your flip flops just yet!

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  16. I guess I am a curmudgeon because the weather here has been strange with few cold days which mean lots of bugs this summer. SC has enough bugs without a too warm winter.
    It’s sunny here so I guess the groundhog saw his shadow. Darn!

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  19. Perhaps the “sex addict” started that rumour himself…? Could have increased his dating potential among the curious or fellow sex addict community! Back in the early 60s there was TP’ing of houses but interestingly it was a Halloween thing not done on other occasions. I just remember it was a pain to get rid of for those who were victims of the prank. Is there a chance Gracie has taken up guitar? 🙂

    Hugs, Pam

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  22. Are you sure we don’t live in the same neighborhood? The photo of the TPing looks like it could be from around here. I gotta give it up for whoever did this, very thorough. As for the alleged sex addict, I dunno… one person’s healthy libido is another person’s perversion. I’d take it with a grain of salt, aware, but perhaps not worth worrying about?

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    • I’m not worried about it as I don’t think he’s dangerous. After talking with my husband, I’m not sure he’s a sex addict. Maybe just flirtatious. He did nothing unusual during the 5 minutes he walked with me. He thought I looked familiar (yeah, an old line but we did work for the same company all those years ago). A few years back the house across the street was TP’d. The son was a swimmer and I don’t think they even used a full roll! This made all others look feeble. It’s a female athlete. Based on timing I’m guessing basketball.

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  23. Getting your house TP’ed is a good thing now? Angry ex-boyfriends generally did it to our house. One of my older sister’s exes burned a cross in front of ours, too. We must’ve been the only white people in Virginia to experience a cross burning.

    I wonder where Gracie’s stash is?!

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