Mother Nature pulls an April Fool's prank...

I rose this morning to see the landscape covered with snow and more of the stuff falling. No joke.

Part of me acknowledges how badly the mountains need moisture. Up to the great snowfall of earlier last month, our part of the state was at about 30% of its normal snow pack, and the governor had actually banned burning on public lands at elevations above 8,000 feet. So anything that falls and sticks at elevation is good news.

On the other hand, I looked out on our verandah and there are some pretty confused birds sitting there, newly arrived from elsewhere. I threw out the last of our bird seed onto the floor of the verandah (no cats to worry about this year, guys) and wished them the best.

Gotta go to the store.

Cheers...

Postal counter improv...

A customer presents an envelope for postage. I weigh it.

"That'll be 63 cents, sir," I say.

I'm handed a dollar bill, make change, and reach into the stamp drawer.

"It'll go out today, right?" asks the customer, as I affix the stamp.

"Absolutely," I say, tossing the envelope into the outgoing mail hopper.

The customer starts to turn away. A beat passes.

"April Fool's!" I sing.

The customer looks back at me in alarm. I've got my angel face on. He smiles.

"April Fool's indeed," he says, and leaves.

* * *I don't believe I did that. I hate April Fool's!

Cheers...

Battery replaced...

The iPod battery showed up in today's mail. Given a price of $2.25, there's no real reason for me to complain about the $7.49 shipping and handling charge (of which 87 cents went to the post office and 39 cents or so went for the padded envelope). I just hope it lasts for a while.

The battery came with a couple of plastic tools to help take the back off the iPod, and at first, I was a little confused, because there were no instructions apparent on how to use them. Silly me. The instructions were folded up on a piece of paper that fit neatly under the battery, written with younger eyeballs in mind, in a language that is characteristic of Asian translations into English (i.e., the pictures were more informative). I managed to get the back off on the third try and after that, the replacement process was a piece of double-dutch chocolate cream pie.

The really fanstastic news is that the unit booted after being put together, and it is now charging. The old battery will go to the Great Recycling Bin™, as its behavior sort of stabilized at retaining a charge for about 3-4 hours, and then showing puny in the morning, allowing the iPod to get far enough into the boot process to display a dead battery icon.

Before going in to the bricks-and-mortar store this morning, I "opened" an eBay store that, for the moment, will have no real specialty. I will use it to sell the books I have little use for anymore and a lot of the miscellaneous antiques and knickknacs Galina and I have been accumulating around the house.

About half an hour ago, I put some pork, potatoes, and carrots into the slow cooker and placed the heat on "high," as the kids are coming over for dinner. I've also got some butterscotch pudding on the shelf, some milk to make it with, and some whipped cream to top it with.

It's turning out to be a pretty good Saturday.

Cheers...