Icewind's Ramblings

It was many years ago since the embarrassing day when a young woman, with a baby in her arms, entered a butcher shop and confronted the butcher with the news that the baby was his and asked what was he going to do about it. Finally, he offered to provide her with free meat until the boy was 16. And she readily agreed. The butcher had been counting the years off on his calendar and one day the teenager who had been collecting the meat each week, came into the shop and said, "I'll be 16 tomorrow." "I know," said the butcher with a smile, "I've been counting too. Tell your mother, when you take this parcel of meat home, that it is the last free meat she'll get and watch the statement on her face." When the boy arrived home he told his mother. The woman nodded and said, "Son, go back to the butcher and tell him I have also had free bread, free milk and free groceries for the last 16 years and watch the statement on his face . . . !"...

I remember when I was young going to the local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC in recent years) was a big deal for the family and a lot of fun.   I even met the Colonel once dressed out in his hat, cane and that funny laugh of his. I do not eat there very often as it seems like each time I head over the prices keep going up and up.   My granddaughter wanted Mac & Cheese from KFC so I took her to the location just around the corner from my house. Blasted by a menu board with many items and large print size prices (I guess to keep you from going into shock).   I stood there looking at all the prices, kid’s meals, family meals and for individual meals. What struck me was how much the cost of chicken has gone up lately.   A 12 piece meal was $ 29.99 and this is for mainly thighs and wings with one breast thrown in.   What a rip-off. A two piece chicken meal was almost $ 9 bucks but that did come with a side and biscuit.   It’s crazy how they seem to dict...

I usually hit Costco every Saturday morning after my breakfast meeting with several friends and business associates. I normally will do one time a month that is a bulk buy of most of the things we will need during the month and the other times I’ll hit the local Fred Meyer (Kroger) for a few items to get us by. Standing in line at Fred Meyer I had a revelation. That little plastic bar you put down to divide your purchase from the next person's purchase in front of or behind you is amazing; couldn't we all use that bar in other areas of our life? That is not my stuff, says your bar. I am not buying that, it tells other people. Don't mix your stuff with my stuff. These issues are not to be confused with my issues thank you very much. I can just see it now you are in line for the movies when a guy starts telling you about his colon cancer. Boom, the bar comes down. The ex-wife or girlfriend is explaining how her new boyfriend just doesn't do ...

I decided to buy myself another pair of blue jeans recently and discovered a couple of things since my last foray into the world of fashion. I guess the first thing is there really is no ‘fashion’ living in Alaska as there are so many different looks, styles, and clothing to adapt to the sometimes harsh conditions we have here. Buying a pair of jeans should be a simple thing but as it turns out that sometimes brings with it a mixture of things to ponder or deal with. I had thought I had given it the proper amount of thought in that I had found myself wearing the same pair each week, washing them over and over because the several other pair didn’t quite feel comfortable during my long workdays. I’ve gone through different periods of my life where it seems I am either “dressing nice” by someone else’s standard in a suit with a tie during my corporate pilot years and my brief stint in motivational sales speeches but most of my ‘older’ life has been spent in jeans or ...

I was up late last night working on a couple of things for work and I had the television going in the background. I wasn’t really paying attention to it as it was on mainly to drown out the noise of the washer and dryer going behind me. Yes, I’m still writing from the laundry room . . . it’s great to have an office with peace and quiet so I can put all of my weird thoughts on paper. Sunday nights are usually a busy place in my ‘office’ as there are the final loads of laundry to be washed and dried. The constant folding of towels, underwear, and clothes along with the constant thumping sound of the washer drum as it needs a new belt and will bang the sides of the washer if things are slightly out of balance within the wash drum. It keeps me on my toes making sure it does not throw a belt. Anyway I am at a stopping point in one excel spreadsheet and was about to open another when I stopped to take a sip of my coffee. I will drink a cup or two late at night to he...

It has been another crazy week here in the Arctic northland. We have had several days of milder temperatures, falling gasoline prices (it finally dropped below $ 3.00 a gallon here in Anchorage ), and several days of off and on snow showers. I saw Aurora one night this week earlier in the evening than I normally see the lights. Work endeavors pulled in many directions all week keeping us busy trying to stay ahead of the game. We sent crews out in bush Alaska to start work on another health clinic and in an almost predictable time found several of our conex containers were missing some of our plumbing materials. We suspect that they may not have been loaded fully and made the several barges that carried our equipment and materials to the jobsite. We scurried around the last several days buying new materials and getting things air lifted out so the crew was not waiting around. Things turned costly quickly flying things out especially after sending things out on the...

With grandkids in the house there are times lately that we have had to ‘child proof’ some things as now the kids are mobile and getting into things. The drawers in the kitchen and dining room seem to draw them over for a look see and as they watch us put trash away in the cans in the cabinet they immediately go over and open the doors. The trash cabinets are not too bad but getting into the ones under the sink could prove to be a problem. There are the cleaning supplies, those little dishwasher tablets with the little blue ball embedded on it. There is the sponges bought in bulk at Costco and my cooking can for my grease drippings. I guess it is time to look for those little locks to put on the cabinet doors and drawers. I head out in search of these nifty little devices after my Saturday morning breakfast and add it to my chores for the morning. What I discovered in the years since I had a small child in the house surprised me and makes me wonder who thinks up thi...

Everyone needs a good laugh and today is no exception. Too much to go into right now but this was sent to me today and brought with it a smile. Maybe one will find its way to your face. To bad we cannot have commercials here like Australia with that little bit of fun. Enjoy! Ice

America . . . we are going into a big recession. Buy yourself something nice . . . Before it catches up to you. Ice