Warm up the tractor with charcoal? Yup!

The ice storm is ending after 5 days. The first picture shows our clump river birch tree today. The second picture shows it all bent over with ice last Friday. We've been reluctant to leave the house for fear of what we'd find upon our return!!






The last time our power went out Tom had to resort to a new method for warming up the diesel fuel in the tractor. Tom found an old butcher kettle that his dad used years ago (I won't go into those stories!!) and added some charcoal. It was working beautifully until...the power came back on!

We both agree that this has been the most significant weather event we've ever experienced. We are entirely sick of ice, power outages, generators, etc. Dan, on the other hand, measures weather events by the extent to which his XBox playing time and/or ESPN channel surfing is compromised.

Tom and I went to the power company Christmas party a week or so ago. The CEO spent time acknowledging the staff, board, and the linesmen. The real heroes, though, are the linesmen who drive around in all kinds of weather working double shifts to replace poles, hook up wires, etc.


Here is Tom walking on the ice to our porch.

Bursts of greenish-blue light...

Driving home from the family Christmas at Jeanne's we saw bursts of greenish-blue light in the distance. It was powerlines cross-crossing in the wind. Emergency vehicles were working on downed lines. We figured our power would be out when we got home but it wasn't!

Deer, squirrels, and birds can't find anything to eat because everything is covered in ice. We put out bird food and toss vegetable scraps for the critters. There's no relief in sight for a week as temperatures are supposed to remain below freezing.

Tom and Brian are off to see if they can start up another neighbor's generator as power is off at many homes.

Thank goodness for generators...

Central Illinois was hit with an ice storm last night. Tom's power company said that over 50% of their customers are without power and we are one of them. Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative is calling in other crews to help.




Here are some photos of the trees around our farm. Click on a photo for a close-up.








Tom got the generator going.



The last picture shows a tree on the right that was damaged 18 years ago.

Don't cry for me Argentina...

Armed with only a map, a rental car, my brusque Spanish, and a desire to see Argentina we set off during Thanksgiving week.

Moments after arriving in Mendoza, Argentina, we had lunch. Dan immediately ordered up a steak (see next) while Tom and I shared llama empanadas. They were good except for the corse black hair I found in mine. Tom said later he saw me both discover and discard of it...


You can see a guy with crutches behind Dan asking the server for some change. Even so, we saw few beggars during our stay. What we did notice were lots of people hawking little trinkets at the outside cafes...things like lighters, socks, prayer cards, etc. They would stop by each table and see if anyone was interested. If not, no problem. They'd just move to the next table. Remember to click on a picture to enlarge it.


I took this picture for my colleague and pal Sandy who likes to know the extent to which other countries accommodate wheelchair users on their city streets. This picture was taken in a park noted for its tile decorum. When Dan saw this picture later that evening he responded casually, "Only Mom would take a picture of a sidewalk."



So even though Dan had beef for lunch, we managed to find this guy who grilled us beef for dinner. I wasn't quick enough to take his picture with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth over the meat. Our table was adjacent his grilling spot and oh was it delightful. I must make a grand statement and say that Argentina smelled like one great big beef grill. Everywhere you went you smelled someone grilling up tasty meat! This is not something I can claim for some of the places I've dragged my family over the years...

Argentina is known for these 4 things: beef, wine, ice cream, and mate. Well, we drank plenty of mate in Paraguay last year so we focused on the other 3 this year. Er, well, Dan didn't partake in the wine. He did, however, do double duty on the beef and ice cream.





Plaza Independencia, Mendoza at night








Uspallata is 2 hours outside of Mendoza in the Andean foothills. It is a small community of 3-4000 people. We stayed here 3 nights getting to know small-town Argentina, enjoying the people, visiting the mountains, etc.















Euchre is omnipresent on all our trips. During siesta time, or at night after dinner, we'd while away the hours playing euchre. You can probably guess who had only 2 points.






I insisted on taking a picture of every wine bottle. In this picture, Dan has clearly grown tired of this practice. It's just that I needed references on what was good!






We stayed at a hotel noted for its "Peronist Tourism Era." Among its many charms was a bowling alley with duck pins. The ball return and pin reset persons were imported from Chatsworth, IL.






You can see Tom Terrific awaiting the results of the next bowler.








The highest mountain in the western hemisphere, Aconcagua, is in the distance. It is 22,000+ feet high. What a thrill to go there.







In case you are wondering what those Argentine highways will be like that Karen and Joel will cycle across...







And what those dark tunnels will be like to cycle through...








And then suddenly we met 2 men who were doing just that! Biking across Argentina! They were hearty and friendly. Tom and I felt like this is something that Karen and Joel can and will do (regardless if we think they are a bit loco).





Embarking on our own little adventures, we decided to go rock climbing, zip-lining, and rappelling, all for the low, low price of $30 US. No waivers or releases to be seen. All we had was this little slip of paper...until they took that, too.





Here is Dan rappelling 50 metres down to the bottom.








And here is Tom rock climbing up 40 metres.








Close up of Dan the rappeller.








Tom loved the cars in Argentina.








Here is our Peronist Hotel, a throw back to the 40s.








City plaza in Maipu, Mendoza.








Our last meal in Argentina at the pedestrian plaza. It was siesta time so many people had already left.