Some things about Indianola

Here are a few characteristics of Indianola:

-many large cedar, douglas fir and Big-Leaf Maple trees
-dark and depressing in winter
-a dock
-a big, flat beach
-a friendly small store
-a post office
-quite a few politically liberal people
-a few other politically conservative people
-many roofs that need moss to be removed
-a few creeks hidden in deep ravines
-english ivy trying to climb everything in sight
-free-roaming dogs

If I think of more, I will add to this list.

Power Nerd

My most recent obsession is energy conservation. I had some time on my hands over Christmas Break so I took a couple of steps to save a kilowatt or two.

First, I bought some Warm Window fabric to make an insulated shade for the window in my drafty dining room. Skill level required: moderate. Must know how to convert inches into fractions of a yard (to speak fabric-store-lady talk) and know how to use a sewing machine. I, fortunately have both of those skills. I'm nearly done, but still have the tedious tasks of sewing on 27 little plastic rings by hand and getting my spouse to help attach it to the wall.

Second, I learned about two cool things (which both arrived today): the Kill a Watt, and the Smart Strip. The Kill a Watt lets you plug in your toaster or TV or hand lotion warmer into it then you plug it into the wall and it gives you a readout of how much energy it uses. The power strip is a Surge protector that has some designated outlets that will shut off when it recognizes that the appliance plugged into it has been unused for a while. It should work for Computer peripherals, like the scanner, the printer and lamp. Skill level required: Low. Read Directions, plug in. Not so hard.

Snow Sculpture

Here in western Washington, we don't get much snow-- a dusting once or twice a year. But every once in a while, we get that rare combination of moisture and cold, so that the snow stays around for a while. The week of Christmas, we had just such an event: it was a winter wonderland! However, I learned that the fluffy white snow doesn't stay that way, even if it stays cold enough to stick around.

I'm sure that if you are a person who lives in Minnesota or New England, you know about this already, but the snow becomes gross and dirty after a day or two. However, there is one thing about dirty snow that I really enjoy, and that's roadside snow/sand sculpture. There is a particular lumpy pillar of dirty snow on a roadside near here that always tricks me into thinking there's a bunny or prairie dog sitting upright at the side of the road. (It's a bit of a by-product of near-sightedness that far-away things look like other things if you've got a good imagination). It gives me a little surprise when I come around the bend and see it there, and I'll be sad to see it go.