Ugly, Cute and Ten Years Ago

The residents along our road are not happy.  

This will be a chronic condition until someone figures out how to correct the mess made last summer when crews put some new topping on the road. 

Let's just say it ain't no yummy chocolate sauce.  

Instead, the Subaru pretty much shows you want it looks like.  As do my pant legs.  As does anything that comes in contact with anything that came in contact with the soupy stuff which, when it dries, turns into near cement.

Last fall, every time I washed the car after a trip on the road, the stuff fell off on the lawn and turned so hard, I had to use a sharp spade to remove it from the lawn AND in some cases actually had to dig up some of the lawn. 

To say you can track down a person or a car that lives on our road would be an understatement.  We leave signs everywhere we go.  

The neighborhood has voiced their individual opinions to road officials, and we have received assurance that when and if a fix can be done, it will happen. 

During the interim and for the past few months, the photo above illustrates a portion of what happens to the car when the road is not frozen.  

Another portion of what happens during these times must be experienced firsthand, while inside the car, to truly appreciate the fact that we are not happy with our road.

Try driving in thick, slimy soup when the consistency makes the car meander all over the road. 

We're also hoping our cars and our bodies survive this endless road misery. 

In fact, try walking in thick soup.  Not a pleasure, especially knowing you're gonna bring a lot of that soup back to the house. 

To make matters worse, right now, we're also playing "dodge the potholes."  

I think what irks me the most, however,  is that when I actually do escape the churning, potholed mess (it's about eighth mile from our driveway to Selle Road) and drive to town, I have to leap out of the car.

If I forget and don't leap from the car, the calf area on my left pant leg is covered with a large, thick patch of oozy mud.

Furthermore, prior to walking into the grocery store is NOT the time to attempt removing the big blight off the back of the leg cuz, of course, it's still wet.  All you're going to do add to the mess by having your hands covered with mud.   

Instead, I guess maybe I could stand at my car before entering the store and do some fingerpainting on my pant leg, so at least I'd look artistic. 

Hmmm, just thought of that.  And, by golly, maybe there's a contest possibility:  who can come up with the best pant-leg artwork?  Only requirements:  must be Selle Valley ooze. 

Anywho, things are icky, filthy dirty out here, and from what we can all tell, it's gonna get worse before it gets better. 

Today, because of a steady downpour, my car is getting a bath from Mother Nature, but I'm betting there will be tracks left where the car now sits, and, of course, when we walk through even those tracks, the stuff comes into the house.

This morning, when I put on my boots in the garage, a large patch of Selle Valley ooze remained on the floor. 

Enough of that:  time to talk about cute.  

Little CB has only one antibiotic treatment left, and as you can see from the photo, he thinks his medicine is lickin' good. 

My little guy also seems to like me, and I love that.  

Last night I listened, over the phone, about how another little 4-legged guy seems to like his new owner.  

My brother Kevin received the gift of a little Palomino named Newly from his wife Joyce for Christmas.  

Newly aka comes from the same "litter," as Kevin calls it, at Ravenwood Arabians, and he went to his new home in Frenchtown, Mont., yesterday.  

A bunch of us family members and friends now have those babies, and I'm thinking we're gonna get downright obnoxious with the stories and pictures. 

Why?  

Cuz they're so darn cute, and when they like there old fogey humans, that's an added plus. 

Since today is Throwback Thursday, I went through my photo library and picked out some shots from January, 2008.  

That was the year of snow----so much snow that buildings caved in, including our vinyl storage shed.  It was also the year we had no deck roof, and when the snow kept falling and falling and falling, it would roar off the roof and eventually formed piles so high we could not see out many of our windows. 

Quite a year, indeed, so if you're a local, the photos bring back some of your own memories of a winter with the full meal deal----2007-2008.  

Finally, today is the day the Lord has made for all ZAGS fans who know the history:  St. Mary's Gaels and ZAGS --- always one of the more intense match-ups of the entire season.

So, I'm hoping the ZAGS greet, meet, treat them hospitably and then beat those Gaels!

It's the premier contest tonight:  6 p.m. PST on ESPN!  GO, ZAGS!

Happy Thursday. 

Throwback Thursday:  Winter 2008 . . . .