A What’s That Winner and a Panic Attack
contests, Windy May 1st, 2009We have a winner! Blogless Donna was the first to guess that the What’s That Wednesday item was the stake of a landscape light. Donna’s been trying for some time to win a Junk Drawer magnet, so it’s my pleasure to send her one, along with a mystery prize: a box of bacon Band-aids!
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I’d love to show you what the lights look like in my lawn, instead of on the floor with my cat, Shadow. But I never did figure out how to install them.
I remember when I bought them at Home Depot. A guy standing next to me said "Oh, those are really easy to put in" and I believed him. It didn’t take me long to discover they would be a pain to install and my husband never wanted them bad enough to do it for me. So they sit unused in our garage.
Anybody who lives near me want them? Email me if you do and I’ll be glad to part with them free of charge. There are 10 in the box.
Now, about that panic attack. I wanted to post a picture of Windy because she’s being swallowed up by new leaves on her tree. When I went out on the roof to take a picture, I COULDN’T FIND HER!
I always know right where to look in her tree. I just saw her a couple days ago and she was easy to spot. But when I couldn’t see her today I panicked and ran around to three other vantage points to see if I could get a better angle.
Nothing!
I went back to my office and a colleague of mine asked if I was all right. My sullen face said it all.
"I can’t find Windy!"
"Let’s go look."
We went to a couple spots: the steps, the third floor window, and then finally out on the roof again. We decided to zoom in with the camera as much as possible and see if we could spot her in the picture.
Here she is, limp and lifeless, and for the first time ever, I have to use an arrow to show you where she is. It rained today and I think that’s why she looks so bad.
Yes, I know it makes me insane to worry about a bag. But if you’ve been following her as closely as I have, you’d know what a loss it will be when she’s gone. Windy, don’t scare me like that!
Stumble it!
May 1st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Windy does look kind of down.
Ok, not down, cause she’s still up. I really need a thesaurus.
Joe’s last blog post..Caption winner announced; Swine flu update
May 1st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
You are way too funny and way too involved with that bag, ma’am. Does your insurance cover psych evaluation? 😉
unfinishedrambler’s last blog post..Don’t know much about beadwork, black hair, Boston or bowling, but that, hmmmm…
May 1st, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Yep, knew that one because I have 30 of them on the patio waiting for installation. I have a Labor Day deadline.
Going Like Sixty’s last blog post..Danny Gans: Con Man or Talent? Either Way, He’s Dead
May 1st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I think Shadow is a beautiful cat. Just wanted to say that.
Chris Casey’s last blog post..Water heater Glo Bulb goes "POOF"!
May 1st, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Poor Windy.
If she went missing, things would be crazy. You would have to get a picture of her to put on the back of a milk carton so we could find her again.
Regan’s last blog post..Girl Scout Cookies
May 1st, 2009 at 3:56 pm
The first time I knew the What’s That, and I was too late with my answer! By the time I got around to reading the comments, a ton of people had already guessed it. The reason I knew the answer? We found some of those solar lights on sale at Big Lots and bought WAY too many of them…I think we still have three unopened boxes of them in the garage.
absepa’s last blog post..Flickr Fun Friday: It’s Inescapable
May 1st, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Oh I’d be just as shocked as you are if my “baby” ever flew the coop without telling me !
May 1st, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hang in there, Windy! Kathy’s sanity depends on you!
JD at I Do Things’s last blog post..I Have Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome so you don’t have to
May 1st, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Windy is getting older now. She may be starting to fade, I’m sorry to say. I hope she can hang on awhile longer.
Lin’s last blog post..Dead Duck
May 1st, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Kathy,
Wouldn’t it be a happy day if windy got free? Like when your kid goes away to college, she would be “branching” out on her own to make a new life for herself. Yes we would all miss windy but it would still be a happy day for her.
May 1st, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I saw a bag in a tree the other day and almost stopped to take a picture for you. Nevermind that I was driving on the freeway! It was like I was looking at a Windy wannabe.
May 1st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
She does look little depressed. Maybe she has just been in the tree for too long.
Anne’s last blog post..Foods I Like That You May Not
May 1st, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I thought about buying some of those lights. I will now give up that idea.
And Windy! She’s going to be around for a long time, I’m sure… but I understand your worry over her!
May 1st, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Windy may be under the influence there, she does look half in the bag.
Oh, how I crack myself up.
Chris’s last blog post..A.D.D., O.D.D., W.T.F.?
May 1st, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Congratulations to Blogless Donna!
Poor Windy, does look a bit forlorn. What WILL you do when she finally does fly away?
About the garden lights. You should get what Mo and I have. Ours are solar lights and they work beautifully, without ever having to switch them on.
babs – beetle’s last blog post..My life in three minutes
May 1st, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Joe — Funny! Yes, she looks very sad and deflated. But I’m happy because she’s not lost to the wind.
unfinishedrambler — Yes, I have mental health care benefits. But how exactly do I explain my melancholy?
Going Like Sixty — All I can say is good luck, man. I thought I could just shove them in the ground and walk away. Couldn’t figure out the wiring, obviously. Stupid lights.
Chris Casey — Shadow thanks you. She accepts all compliments and FedEx’d treats if you can swing it.
Regan — That’s a cute idea. I’m imagining it now and who knows, maybe I’ll do a mock-up of one if that day ever comes.
absepa — I know, I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to run the contest without having everyone see the guesses coming in. So you never got any in the ground either? Makes me feel better.
Jaffer — I had a very maternal reaction. It was sad. And slightly embarrassing. Well, very embarrassing.
JD at I Do Things — Well, I guess if she leaves, I’ll have a built-in therapy group on this here blog. You guys will help me through it, won’t you?
Lin — I know. It’s a fact of life. I’m guessing when our weather dries up, she’ll catch some wind and bellow out a bit. I’ll be checking on her first thing Monday morning.
Melissa K — I know you’re right. But I’m so used to seeing her. Maybe today served as a trial run for the inevitable. I need to practice thinking of a life without her.
Momo Fali — If you ever do take a picture, please do it safely, and then send it to me. I have two other pictures people have sent me and may do a post on them down the road. I love that people think of Junk Drawer when they see stuck plastic.
Anne — I’m thinking she’s watered-down and stuck to some leaves. I guess she can have a bad day, too.
Kelly — Save yourself! Buy something fun and enjoyable, like flowers. Thanks for understanding about Windy. I’m obviously going to need some therapy when she’s really gone.
Chris — Cracked me up, too! Just when I thought we’ve seen all the bag jokes…
Babs Beetle — I don’t know what I’ll do, but if today’s any indication, it won’t be pretty. I might have to take a sick day. I’m glad you had luck with other lights. I might look for solar ones, the kind that you just measure out the spacing and shove in the ground. DONE!
May 1st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Windy’s cousin lives next door to me in my rent house tree. I keep thinking I will send you a picture of him and I really will try tomorrow. He’s been there for about 8 months now. I see him every time I get in the car or come home. Funny how I now notice bags stuck somewhere when I never used to. You have passed on your anxiety to the rest of us. Thanks a lot!
grannyann’s last blog post..Caption This Photo
May 1st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I use the solar garden lights…..they light up my whole………well nothing.
You and……AND and a colleague went looking for Windy???….sounds like a place I might like to work
May 1st, 2009 at 7:32 pm
My teenage grandson noticed for the first time all the escaped grocery bags along the road on the 32 mile trip to the big city. He counted a 100 before he finally gave up counting. A funny story about solar lights. I had bought a couple several years ago when Walmart first got them in. I put one in a little rock garden that we put in the front yard. My neighbor across the street later told me that when she first noticed it she thought it was a fire so watched it for hours before she figured out what it was. This one wasn’t so bright and had a yellowish glow.
Moonshadow’s last blog post..Presenting Big Boys Toy Show 2009
May 1st, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Oh thank god Windy is okay I was starting to panic for you. LoL
Have a great weekend!
The Mind of a Mom’s last blog post..Finally Friday
May 1st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Oh Kathy… poor dear Kathy… how should I break the news to you that Windy is only an inanimate object that doesn’t have real feelings. Remember Castaway with Tom Hanks? Remember Wilson? I’m sorry, but he wasn’t real either.
Now now then, it’s ok. Come here. Let it out…
Jeff’s last blog post..Unbelievable
May 1st, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I get the same feeling of anxious panic whenever I can’t locate my blankie for beddiebye…glad you found old windy!
peace,
mike
livelife365
Mike Foster’s last blog post..Let’s Nip This Swine In The Bud!
May 1st, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Could it be possible? am I the Donna who won the magent and band-aides. Oh please tell me so!!!
I am not blogless dgarner-mylife.blogspot.com I just forgot to put my blog address on my comment in my excitement that I was pretty sure what is was
Oh Please let it be me, otherwise I am pretty much lookin like a fool here and I really want the magnet
Happy Weekend
Thanks Donna
AKA Scrappy Doo@ Adventures in Ellis County and the Dollar Store
donna’s last blog post..Some People deserve to be Beat!!!!!
May 1st, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Windy updates crack me up. That will be a sad day when she flies the coop. I have told your Windy blog stories to a few of my non blog reading friends and they actually ask for updates Hehe
May 2nd, 2009 at 8:27 am
I’ve been buying a $4 solar landscaping light each time I go to Walmart.
Installation? Pull tab to activate light. Push into ground.
Stephanie Barr’s last blog post..Search Engine Optimization – KEYWORDS
May 2nd, 2009 at 9:01 am
hi Kathy,
You didn’t mention the Bacon Bandaids before. I would have stayed up indefinately with your blog in front of me on the computer screen hitting the refresh button every thirty seconds so I could be the first to guess and post…
Anyway, I clicked through on that link and that website is hilarious. I like the “stupid products” section. I think I must do some online shopping today.
~ Steve, the trade show guru
steve, trade show guru’s last blog post..Tadpoles Behaving Badly and a Performance Review
May 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 am
” The farthest thing from my mind
Was the day that I’d wake up to find
My Windy
Windy left me alone
Windy, Windy left me alone
Hurts so bad
Windy, Windy left me alone
Hurts so bad ”
Daisy the Curly Cat’s last blog post..Photo Hunters: Walking
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Dang! I shoulda had it! It kept eating my comment and I just missed it. Drat. Well, I already have a magnet anyway…
Barb Gretter – WillThink4Wine’s last blog post..goslings day 11
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:25 am
This is starting to remind me of the O. Henry story, The Last Leaf. Any idea how I can paint a plastic bag up in the tree?
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
I’m glad you found windy. If you had to report windy missing to the police, I wonder what they would say or do…that would be kind of fun.
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Book Shopping and Free Coffee
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Theme music suggestion:
“Who is the pol-ly-mer in the tree top, eve-ry know’s it’s Windy”
Don’t give up little windbag, we all rooting for you.
Brent Diggs’s last blog post..Doctor Toboggans vs The Memphis Zombies – a Multimedia Retrospective
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I’m surprised the damned thing is still in the trees after this long.
Libertine’s last blog post..Conservatives Looking for Government to Solve Their Problems
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Now that’s too funny that you could be so worried and a little worrisome that you could share that worry with a coworker so easily. LOL
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I know how she feels. The rain makes me droopy, too.
wEndy
May 2nd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
grannyann — Sorry ’bout that. I marvel at how many people come up to me and say they’ve seen “a Windy” somewhere and think of me. Yes, do take a picture and I’ll get a post up about all the Windy wannabees.
Alan — I’m wondering how well the solar ones work. I’d like to see them in action before buying. Although now that I think about it, I mowed the lawn today and it occurred to me what a pain they will be to mow around. My colleague is almost as close to Windy as I am. She is one of only a few I can confide in about my anxiety without getting laughed out of the room.
Moonshadow — I notice many of them, too. A couple even tumble through our back yard and my husband and I say “There goes a Windy!” Hilarious about your neighbor! Sounds like something I’d do: sit there for an hour instead of just going over to find out if it was a fire.
The Mind of a Mom — I’m expecting she’ll look a little healthier by Monday. The sun came out today. Maybe she’s feeling more perky now.
Jeff — I know, Jeff. It’s sad and mental, but I’ve come to terms with it.
Mike Foster — Hey, we all need our blankies, in whatever form they come in. Are you making fun of me?
donna — Well, I’m very confused now. I can’t find another Donna who answered correctly. So I’m going to say your comment never made it in. The Donna who got it correctly was the 6th commenter. Never fear! There will be plenty of other chances to win prizes. Maybe sooner than you think.
Jessica — I love to hear that, I really do. It makes me not feel as insane as Jeff makes me out to be.
Stephanie Barr — That’s my kind of landscaping! Although I did just realize how much of a pain it will be to mow around the lights, so I think I’m officially canning the idea.
Trade Show Guru Steve — Next time I’ll be more specific! I love that site too. Love how they have a whole category for Zombies & Monsters. Doesn’t everyone need a Latex Zombie Corpse?
Daisy the Curly Cat — I had to look up that song (Beach Boys, right?) I would like to hear it, but couldn’t locate a rendition anywhere. Can you?
Barb Gretter — Sorry! You lost out on the bacon Bandaids, but rest assured, there will be plenty of chances in the future.
My Colleague — Thank you for not laughing at me when you saw how upset I was. You are aces. I love your O. Henry comparison: “And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it, and – look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn’t you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it’s Behrman’s masterpiece – he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell.”
Kelly — Kind of fun, or kind of “get her to the asylum.”
Brent Diggs — With all the songs suggested for Windy, I think someone needs to write an original composition. Anyone? Yeah, I have faith she’ll be fluttering nicely by Monday morning.
Libertine — I remember back when I first wrote about her and took guesses for how long people thought she would be there, I’m pretty sure I balked at the suggestions she’d be there only days or weeks. I knew it’d be months. Cripes, could be years!
Lauren — I’m lucky that my coworkers understand how long I’ve been following her and know how attached I am. If they think I’m insane, they don’t ever tell me.
Wendy — Same here. I perked up when the sun came out today. I’m guessing Windy did, too.
May 2nd, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Windy is clearly suffering from malnourishment.
-You should feed her the cat.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 am
After reading a few of your latest posts about “Windy”, I’m sure the guy at the bakery did exactly what you said…LOL! I told my husband about your Windy and he laughed hysterically. He especially love the picture of the cake.
Christina’s last blog post..Freebie Friday
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 am
Maybe Windy’s lonely. Could you go out and read her some poetry or something?
Shakespeare’s last blog post..The Scent of Lilacs
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Wow. So it was almost curtains for Windy. Speaking of curtains, I just took a shower curtain (possibly a distant cousin to Windy) out of the washing machine and it was in shreds. Not to make you nervous or anything… Hang in there, Windy. :o(
earthtoholly’s last blog post..Silent Sunday: Trees Draped With Wisteria Vines
May 4th, 2009 at 5:47 am
LOBO — Oh, no! Not my Shadow! I’m looking forward to seeing Windy in her former puffed-out state. I’m hoping since the rain stopped, she had a chance to recover.
Christina — I wonder if that guy’s still wondering about me. Glad your husband liked the story. More to come, for sure.
Shakespeare — No. It’s bad enough I’m taking pictures of her out on the roof. I’m “this close” to being committed.
earthtoholly — Kudos to you for washing your curtain. I just buy new ones. I will see today whether she’s worse for wear after the rain last week. I’m hoping she perked up a bit.
May 4th, 2009 at 8:13 am
OMG – I too own a box of bacon bandaids — I never thought I would admit to that, until now!
May 4th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
This is one of the weirdest yet most captivating stories I’ve been following on the internet. Why a bag? Who knows, but now every time I see a bag in a tree I think of Windy.
melissa’s last blog post..Parenting Tricks Cute Kid Contest
May 6th, 2009 at 5:12 am
Peg at Lehigh — Have you used them? I got a papercut once and when I put on a bacon bandaid, people thought it was a regular band-aid that was soaked through with blood! The meaty part has a dried blood color. Scared everyone who saw it.
melissa — You won’t be the only one. I think I need to start a Windy Watchers club or something.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:33 am
My guess is right on the previous article but sadly it was a bit late and I was number 27:-( Anyways I did not have a clue regarding Windy until I read your previous articles. Melissa is right on 2 things, it is weird and of course not every time we see a bag hanging on the tree, but Windy will definitely come to mind whenever we see one.
May 8th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I’m assuming that Windy is fine and up to her old blowing, puffy self….
You gave ME a panic attack when I read she might be gone. You already know I follow your words about her closely. I’m not ready to let go yet, and I’m glad she’s not either!
xoxox Thx for updating us on the insanity 🙂
Nicole’s last blog post..Cheesy Ravioli Casserole Recipe
May 21st, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Francis — You won’t be the only one. You can’t imagine how many times people come up to me and tell me about a bag they’ve seen and that they’ve thought of me. People even send me pictures sometimes!
Nicole — Windy is not doing very well these days. I can’t see her anymore from the window. And now that the leaves have come in her tree, it’s impossible to find her. I fear that we’ll be having a funeral in the fall.