Icewind's Ramblings

Today I have been Blogging for 4 years now so I thought it would be fun to look back to where it all started . . . the Downy Ball. Did you ever wonder? A couple of nights ago after a really long week I was sitting in my washing machine trying to figure out how the Downy Ball works. The water was really cold until I hit the button for Hot/Cold water and changed the setting to “extra large” load.  I like using the Downey “Enhancer” Ball for that clean fresh smell it gives all of my clothes and sheets.  I especially like the “April Fresh” scent. The “Soft Ocean Mist” really didn’t do a lot for me as I guess I have never really been a “beach person”.  The “Mountain Spring” scent was nice but the constant draw of mosquitoes and other flying insects kept me from using this one. I pour that nice silky Blue Liquid into the Ball, put the rubber top on it and drop it into the water next to me.  It floats along side me during the wash cycle.  I watched and waited for something to

I was standing in line at the bank yesterday. As if there isn’t enough anxiety about banks these days, the branch where I go has a giant plasma screen TV behind the tellers so you can watch while you’re standing in line. Great. They always have it on CNN.  I’m worried about my account because of a mistake they made earlier and now I get to watch another war and more people with blood on their faces in Texas at Ft. Hood from an Army Major who is a coward killing soldiers and civilians as I wait to speak with a representative. Please pump all the fear and loathing you can into an otherwise normal trip to the bank, Wells Fargo! A shipment of Viagra was high jacked today I saw it on the news.  Police have put out an All-Points bulletin: Be on the lookout for two hardened criminals! They will face a stiff sentence when convicted and they'll surely be sent to a Penal Institution. Have you realized that in about 30 years, we'll have thousands of OLD LADIES running arou

This is one of those days with life lessons and realizations about people and how they really are and how we wanted to perceive them.  The only problem is the reality of what they are comes through and the hope they were honorable is thrown out the window as their true nature finally sinks in.  It is sad when people take no accountability for their actions instead blaming everyone else hoping the slight of hand takes the spotlight off their actions. It reminds me of a story my father told me many years ago when I was a young boy just learning about how to live your life and dealing with people you are in contact with in business.  Sadly many fathers never shared the story with sons leaving many to Barney Fife their way through life. An elderly carpenter was ready to retire.  He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family.  He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to ret

Living up north can sometimes be a trying experience in so many ways.  There are the cultural differences in food with this town being a melting pot of various countries and cultures.  There are many Far Eastern influences as well as the thirteen Alaska Native Tribes.  There is such a variety of foods as well as languages found within the state. Originally being from the South it has sometimes been fun playing with everyone when asked where I am from.  I still have my southern accent which I am sure will never go away nor would I really want it too.  I have fun with the locals when getting gas or paying for a meal when they ask me where I’m from.  (Not sure if that is correct English or not but don’t really care)  I tell them I am from South Anchorage and the look on everyone’s face is almost priceless.  I usually get a response something along the lines of “Really?”  I will eventually tell them where I grew up and will then give them a little extra Southern slang with a couple o

Halloween fun is over and everyone will get back to normal. Being anyone you want for a day can be enlightening for some and awkward for others.  I worked on the bathroom all night and played carpenter, electrician, and general contractor as I was dressed in my sweat pants and tee shirt.  There were only a few kids to come by our house this year partly I think from the cold weather last night and also that I did not light up the house well for people to know we were home since I was in the rear part of the house. I did eat a ton of chocolate candy I had gotten a big bag at Costco which included Snickers, Three Musketeers, Butterfingers, Baby Ruth, Twix, and Milky Way mini candy bars. After much work I sat and ate candy and this is what I felt like after a night of heavenly Mars . . . I tried to sleep in this morning for that extra hour with the clock roll back but I could not sleep so as I went outside to get the morning paper this is what happened again . . . I fe