Don't Go in the Water!

In a recent post, I talked about a horrible storm that passed through and the resulting flooding and damage. I also briefly mentioned that a bunch of sewer water was dumped into Lake Michigan and many of the beaches were closed due to a high level of bacteria found in the water. Well, it gets better.

Brew City Flood: Sewage Dumping Surpasses BP Oil Spill

MILWAUKEE - Just when you thought it was safe to back in the water comes word that more than 2 billion gallons of untreated sewage and storm water was dumped into Lake Michigan.

Many beachgoers at Bradford Beach said they wouldn't ever go back in the lake again.

In fact, the amount of sewage and storm water dumped in Lake Michigan last week is 10 times the amount of oil spilled by BP in the Gulf Coast.

The BP spill is estimated at 94 to 184 million gallons of oil.

The sewage and storm water runoff is estimated at 2.1 billion gallons.

Many beaches were closed for several days over concerns of E. coli contamination. Now, some beaches are reopening, and sure enough, we found people back at Bender Beach, jumping into the water.

Apparently, swimming with urine, feces, and who knows what else doesn't seem to bother some people.

Many were fully aware of the sewage dumping, and said it didn't bother them.

"The water's fantastic and I'm not worried about it whatsoever," said Colleen McCann.

McCann said if tests show the water is safe, she doesn't feel like she's in danger. She doesn't mind that other swimmers are staying away.

"Good, it makes it better for the rest of us to come swimming," McCann said.

The lake at Bradford Beach remains closed to the public, though people are allowed to sit on the beach.

Good for you lady. Enjoy!

--------------

Silly Sign Sunday - A Word of Caution

Really? Say it isn't so!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Have you ever wondered what would happen if 7 to 11 inches of rain were to fall in a few hours' time? No? Well, me either but that's what it did last evening. Here are some of the results.

Car, Driver Tumble into Giant Sinkhole Amid Rainstorm

Huge Sinkhole Forms Between Homes in Milwaukee

Shorewood Roads Become River Rapids

Freeway Closed

People were stuck on the freeway for about two hours due to flooding in several areas.

The Governor declared Milwaukee County to be in a state of emergency this morning in order to receive assistance to repair damage caused by the storm and flooding.

We haven't seen a storm this severe in many years and thankfully, there were no fatalities. There is a lot of damage to homes with some basements being completely washed away and foundations crumbling. Unfortunately, most of those people probably do not have flood insurance.

On top of all that, just recently, several beaches were either closed or had warnings posted due to recent rainfalls and "unhealthy levels of e-coli" being found in the water. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District apparently had to "start sewer overflows into area waterways". Uh, does anyone else have a problem with dumping waste into Lake Michigan? I can only imagine how much more of this waste is now floating around after last night.

And finally, a storm with a potential of another three inches of rain is due to arrive later tonight.

Sigh...

Today is Wish List Wednesday but there will be no post about a product. Why, nobody asks? Because, I just don't feel like it. I have been in a stinky mood for last several days and have no desire to come up with a product to display and discuss. My brain is just not in the mood. There have been some life stresses going on recently and I'm just not feeling it. Boy, what a bummer post this is. Blah.

Let's see. Happy thoughts. I have been doing the whole going back to college after many, many years thing and went through some old emails from the school the other day in an effort to clear out all the junk emails. I was pleasantly surprised to see my name on the Dean's List. Holy cow! My name has never been close to being on that kind of list. Ever! So, I was quite tickled pink about it. Woohoo! Yay, me!! It may be the last time though because my next class that starts in a few weeks (yuck) is going to be a very challenging one.

That's about all I have right now. Time to crawl back in my dark and dreary hole in the corner and pout.

   

Silly Sign Sunday - Party Time

Well, this sounds like an interesting place!

Quit Staring at Me!

Uh, a little creepy.

A Trip Into the Past

I wanted to test out my camera the other day and I figured a great place to go would be the Wind Point Lighthouse. I had been there a few years ago when my husband and I accidentally stumbled upon it. We have lived in the neighboring city for many, many years and had no clue this lighthouse even existed!

The following is posted on a sign next to the llighthouse:

To assist navigation around the point into Racine harbor, the Wind Point Lighthouse began functioning in 1880 with a kerosene lamp, focused and magnified by a third order Fresnel lens. Its light could be seen for 19 miles.

At 108 feet, it is one of the tallest and oldest lighthouses still serving navigation on the Great Lakes. Its fog horns, which last sounded in 1964, could be heard for 10 miles.

I think it's amazing how a kerosene lamp could be seen so far away. I bet they never imagined how much things would change over the decades. Our modern technologies would blow there minds!

Silly Sign Sunday - Weather Restrictions?

No Rain Allowed?

What Were You Thinking?

Yikes! 

Wish List Wednesday

Several weeks ago, I purchased my first big girl camera and I am now addicted. I have lost all sanity and have spent way too much but I cannot stop myself. I have a long list of items that I want to buy yet but I'm just waiting for funds to accumulate a little. I want to purchase one more lens (two currently on the way, hopefully today!!) and a bunch of miscellaneous accessories.

I purchased a camera bag when I bought the camera but I did this without realizing just how much stuff I was planning on purchasing. Well, I now know this bag will not even come close to accommodating everything. It was an inexpensive bag ($30) and I can still use it for when I only want to carry one or two lenses so it was not a complete waste of money.

After spending hours and hours of online research, I have found my dream bag. Way more expensive than I planned on spending, and I'm still debating whether or not I want to spend that much, but I absolutely love it. I find camera bags pretty boring and not very stylish (I'm a stylish kind of gal) and I always wanted to find something that was geared towards females. I also want something that doesn't scream, "I'm a camera bag, steal me!" I found it!!

Her name is Lola. Isn't she beautiful? She also comes in red. You can find her at Epiphanie along with a few other designs. I have been staring at her for days and I think I might go for it. I don't think I have the strength not to and Christmas is too far away to wait!

You Are Evil

Dear Evil Mosquito,

Last night, my husband and I went out to enjoy some Fireworks. As soon as we sat down, you attacked us with a vengeance. Our swatting hands did not stop you and your friends from wreaking havoc on our skin. And I see you invited your friend, the 2 inch long beetle to attack the back of my head and fall on my shoulder. Thanks for that one. My husband and all the surrounding people really appreciated my screaming when that happened.

Well, that was certainly the last straw and we had enough. We decided to walk around the parking lot because we figured a moving target would be harder to hit. Eventually, that seemed to work and by the time the fireworks started you, thankfully, had decided to leave us alone.

I am curious though. How in the hell did I get 32 bumps (yes, I actually counted) on the side of my leg from my hip to my knee when I had jeans on? Boy, you guys are good.

Not so Sincerely,


Your Up All Night Itching Enemy
---------

Getting My Drunk On (Tried to Anyway)

Let me preface this post by saying that I am a rare alcoholic comsumptionist (Do you like that word? I just made it up.). By rare, I mean that I consume alcohol about once every two years and there are several reasons for this. First and foremost, I don't enjoy feeling like I'm not 100 percent in control. In addition, I have found it more entertaining to watch people who are drunk verses being drunk myself. Alcohol can make you do embarrassing things and I don't need any help in that category. Finally, I consumed more alcohol and experienced too many spinning rooms before I was of legal age to last a lifetime (sorry, mom).

I was never good at being a drinker. When I was younger, the parties I went to only had beer as an option. I hated the taste of beer but I would drink it because everyone else was. It would take me about two hours to drink one glass and the one thing that is more gross than beer, is WARM beer (gag).

I once heard someone order a gin and sour at a bar so I decided to get one. I didn't care for it much but I would order it every time I went out because I really didn't know what any of the other drinks were.

The one time I experimented with trying another drink, I ordered a Bloody Mary because I thought the name sounded cool. Unfortunately, I don't like tomato juice so you can imagine my reaction when I took my first sip. Yuck!

So, you see, I wasn't a very good drinker.

Over the years, I have found a few drinks that I do enjoy on occasion. Now, when I want to drink alcohol, I usually go for something fruity or indulge in some sort of ice cream drink. You can't go wrong with ice cream. My all time favorite? Grasshoppers! Yummy, yummy!

So, the other day, I was in the mood for a Grasshopper. I knew that I had the alcohol needed because I made one five years some time ago. (You can store alcohol for awhile can't you?)

I also knew that I had the ice cream ( I always have it).

Unfortunately, when I removed the lid, this is what I found.

Uh, oh. Well, that doesn't look too promising, does it? I was always a center scooper and my mother scolded me regarding this all the time when I was younger. I would scoop the ice cream from the middle of the container and not the sides. I don't know why, it just seemed easier. Apparently, I still have that habit. Unfortunately, what I was looking at now was definitely not going to be enough for a Grasshopper.

On to Plan B.

I remembered that I bought myself some Apple Martini mix, um, two years awhile ago. I found it and blew the dust off and decided to make a Martini instead.

Unfortunately, after reading it, it looked like there was no alcohol in it. I guess you have to buy that separately. (I told you I wasn't a drinker.) What this appeared to be was just apple juice. Not what I wanted to drink at all.

After searching around for another option, the only other alcohol I found was my husband's beer. Uh, no thanks.

Oh, well. Ended up having a Crystal Light. Weeee! Bottoms up!

Silly Sign Sunday - Too Late!

What exactly is there to steal?

Random Thoughts

Random Thought #1

Excuse me, Miss? At lunch today, while parked in my usual spot at the lake, I watched you park your car, get out, stand by it, and start reading a book. Just standing there right next to the driver's side door and reading. Why would you not just sit in your car and read? Why would you not walk about twenty feet to sit on a bench to read? I don't know but that just seemed weird to me. But I consider myself weird so maybe it's just me.

Random Thought #2

Why, Mr. Young People, do you have to wear your pants half off your rear end and show me a good majority of your underwear?

I really could do without seeing that. Is this considered sexy or something? Really? I can't wait until you get older and look back at what you thought was cool and trendy. I know I laugh all the time at my old pictures. I used to think that teasing my hair until it stood a good eight inches off my head looked cool. Not so much now. I use those pictures now for comic relief at parties.

I guess it could be worse.

Pardon me while I wash my eyes with peroxide.

Random Thought #3
Why in the world would anyone buy this car?

Nissan Cube

This has got to be the ugliest car I have ever seen. I can understand the cheaper price and good gas mileage but seriously, the design leaves something to be desired. (Oh, don't get all bent out of shape Cube owners, just my opinion.)

Sorry, a little crabby today.