The day after the race, one of the local stations replayed an interview taped with a woman at Churchill Downs before the Derby.  When asked who she was betting on, she replied, “I got pooped on on by a bird, so I’m going with Mine That Bird.  It’s a sign.  Trust me, that horse is going to win.”

She’ll probably even have a little something left over after she pays the dry cleaning bill.

But the day is an excuse to eat some junk food, watch the races (we get to see the whole card here, not just the Derby), and hang out with friends.  So, happy Derby everyone!

This year we had tickets to the Bats baseball game that day. Since the stadium is right downtown in the midst of the festivities, they make the most of the event with a post-game concert and staying open till the fireworks end. This is a Very Big Deal, as it means you can avoid the infamous “Thunder Pots” and use the real restrooms at the ballpark.

That alone is worth the price of admission.

The rain from the title is today. A gray and gloomy day, perfect for getting caught up on my work.

Or surfing the Net and blogging.

I didn’t do a bracket for the women’s tournament.

Nevertheless, I have been rooting hard all along for the Lady Cardinals (is this “Lady” business a Southern thing?  I don’t remember hearing it much till I moved here).

We actually have several connections to the team.  In the interest of anonymity, I can’t tell you what they are, except that every single one of them is at least second hand.  We’ve never met anyone actually involved with the team.  Still, it makes it even more fun to watch the team play.

Knowing that The Team That Shall Not Be Named (and which should be playing in the WNBA instead of the NCAA) has already clobbered the Cards twice this season, I am not betting the ranch that U of L will come out on top tonight.

But you know, stranger things have happened!

At halftime, Maryland coach Brenda Freese said that her team (down 5 points at the time) was giving Louisville “too much respect.”  I’m thinking maybe coach Jeff Walz quoted her to his team in the locker room, since they came out and beat the Terps by 17.

Go, Cards!

Several inches of snow, followed by 1/2 inch or more of ice, followed by a few more inches of snow.  This is the reason I no longer live in upstate New York, but every few years we get hit with it.

I’ve really got nothing to complain about.  Our power must have blinked off Tuesday night, since I had to reset a couple of clocks.  But other than that, it’s stayed on.  Half a million people have lost theirs, including HS, who has moved home for the duration.

Our driveway is somewhat long and steep, so it had to be shoveled before we could think of going anywhere.  Mr. B was out of town, and HS hadn’t come home yet.  That left BD and me.  Our first task was to move a large tree limb that had come down.  It was maybe 20 feet long, frozen to the driveway, and also frozen to some smaller limbs that came down.  We pulled off the foreign tree parts and I sawed off a few limbs, and we were finally able to move it, about a foot at a time.  Once it was off the driveway, I gave BD a high five and announced “We don’t need no steenkin’ men!”

An hour later I called a neighbor to hire her son and a friend to finish the shoveling.

4:03 PM, EDT

The home heating season has official begun Chez Bluegrass.

Of course, the family might have preferred it if I’d turned it on when I got up this morning and realized it was only 63 degrees in the house.  However, we have a heat pump, and raising it more than a degree or so at a time causes the air vents to suck up dollar bills the emergency electric heat to kick in, so I waited for the sun to do a little natural warming first.  We’re now on our way to a balmy 68.

Most school districts are still closed since many of the buildings are without electricity. However, BD’s field hockey game for this evening is on, as the host (private) school is in session. I was supposed to work this morning, but since my office is still dark, I am home.

Mr. B spent all day Monday cleaning up the back yard, with a little help from BD and myself. We started the front yard yesterday, but it presents an even bigger challenge. We have a lot of hickory and walnut trees, and most of the nuts came down in the storm. Picking them up is a very tedious job. The bright side is that since so many came down at once, we won’t have to fear for our safety when we’re out in the yard this fall. I’ve thought about buying hard hats for the family some years when we’ve had a bumper crop of nuts.

We’re also getting to visit with some of our neighbors as we’re all outside working. Yesterday, I met the woman who lives kitty-corner from us. Considering that she’s lived here 20 years and we’ve been here 18, it was probably about time.

Our yard is completely littered with tree limbs, walnuts and hickories.  It will take days to clean it all up.  Then there’s the little matter of the 80′ walnut tree on the driveway.

Not to mention its root ball.

Still, we are able to get the cars out of the garage.  We still have power, telephone and even the Internet, whereas friends a mile or two either side of us do not, hence the title of this post.  They say it may be days before all the power is restored. We got off easy, and for that I am thankful.

Meanwhile, my prayers are with those who did not.