A "Real" Snow Day

We have a snow day today - a real one complete with snow instead of ice or fog.  Thankfully a delay was called last night and the cancellation was called early this morning.  I wasn't able to go back to sleep though as Hubby was very awake. So I've enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, a short nap and taking pictures. 

Hubby, Squirrel and Dipstick have shoveled and plowed out the driveway and the back deck.  He did end up with the skidloader stuck in across the road for a time.   Front porch has been left alone and that is fine.  The birds are enjoying the feeders but are in dire need of suet cakes - I will be working on those soon.

Snow totals - 11 inches for our wee small town, 9.5 inches for our next bigger one and 10.5 for the closest "city".

Guess that is enough for now.  Time to get going on accomplishing stuff today.

Sorry the top picture is blue - I'm not sure why.  But it is the walk-in door to the garage on the south end of the shop covered by drifted snow.

 

Beautiful scenery this morning - everything coated in a layer of heavy wet snow.  We had a 2 hour delay then went to school.  However even after 2 hours the roads were still bad.  Many in our school district had not even been plowed yet and even the main roads were not clear.  The major east/west highway was clear and fairly dry but I have to say that was it.  Even though I've driven in this for several years for some reason this morning I was a stressed out mess.  Of course the fact that Squirrel was driving all the way to school did not help me - I am not ready for that yet.  He said basically "Mom I know that some day I will slide out.  Better to do it now when I'm younger than later.".  That didn't calm me much though.  However he made it safely to school and I simply have to learn to trust that he is God's child ultimately. 

It is snowing big heavy flakes again now and the birds have been busy at the feeders.  That tells me that the snow and the cold is going to last at least most of the day today.  It is predicted to last into tomorrow possibly.  We've not had much snow this winter - we get a couple inches then it melts off.  However thankfully we've had more moisture then we did last winter and the drought for this area is officially over.

B has been busy in the shop.  Yesterday he spent most of the day cleaning but today he called in extra help.  He was asked this morning to replace brakes on a trailer that belongs to some of the local Amish.  They call him frequently when their equipment breaks down and it is usually a rush job when they do.  I am thankful that his business has been good.  God has been good.  He always is good but often we allow the times of stress to overshadow that knowledge.

I don't have huge goals for today - 2 hour delays make it hard to accomplish much.  I will likely lay down for a short nap and need to do hand dishes in the kitchen.  I will probably throw something in the crock pot for supper - some sort of roast.  I've been really trying to expand my cooking repertoire this year and not do a lot of repeats.  However today as I know I have to wait for Dipstick after school I will want something either very easy or something that is mostly done.  Of course I could do tuna noodle casserole as Squirrel won't be home. 

Guess I'd better be away.

Back...Maybe

No school today - it is freezing drizzle out now on top of snow that we got overnight.  Sadly there is not much snow - just a couple of inches.  However I figured that now would be a good time to try to start blogging again.

Everything is expected to melt off this afternoon with warming temperatures.  However it was most enjoyable to watch the birds at the feeders this morning.  I've not actually counted how many birds there have been but I have several different varieties - 4 different woodpeckers, chickadees, at least one pair of cardinals, goldfinches, nuthatches, and 2 or 3 other birds that I've not yet identified.  So far I've not tried to take any pictures of them - for awhile I didn't have a memory card for my camera.  That problem has been solved - I have been doing some major cleaning - step by very slow step.  I know I'm still missing one - suspect it may have been left in Ontario last time I was up there over Christmas break.

Much has happened since I've last written.  It's hard to know where to start - and there's no way to include it all.  Mom was called home to be with Jesus December 31st, 2012.  All of us kids had spent time with her - I was the last one to arrive as the boys and I weren't able to leave here until Christmas Day.  We drove straight through even though we hadn't left until 3:30 pm.  Roads were mostly decent - except for some heavy snow in MI.  As a family we spent that last week taking turns sitting with Mom - reading, singing and visiting with each other.  Usually there were 2 of us "on" while the rest took turns resting and spending time with Stretch and Squirrel.  She was very peaceful at the end.  I will try to post some of the tributes in a separate post later.

B and Dipstick came up for the funeral and left that same day.  They were not excited about the 7 lanes of traffic going one direction...and totally feel like country living is the best.  Stretch, Squirrel and I got home late on the 5th and immediately jumped right back into daily life.  All are doing well overall but that was tough.

Dipstick is struggling with school again - not that he's unable to do the work, just that he does not want to.  It is frustrating - nothing seems to really motivate him.  He is involved in archery - and doing well at that.  State high school athletic rules say a student must pass 5 of 7 classes so he can still participate unless his dad and I pull him out.  But considering this is the first sport he's ever done we hate to do that. 

I guess I'd better be away. 

Picture at the top was taken on my phone camera one early Sunday morning when I had to drop Squirrel off for a Gospel Choir concert.  I thought the sun shining on the hoar frost was beautiful.

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 14

For today I'm thankful for my husband who is working so hard to make his business a success.  He is in the shop from 8-5 pretty much daily as well as on Saturdays.  He tends to often get the difficult jobs - doing engine swaps on fire trucks, working on a 1968 truck...I'm thankful for him.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 11 & 12

I missed a few days.  Just going to go back and do yesterday's and today's.  Trying to go back any further is just stressful.

So...for Day 11 - Veteran's Day.  I am thankful for all the veterans who sacrificed to allow me the many freedoms I have in this country. 

Day 12 - A nice warm home when the weather outside is frightful.  :)  We had snow this morning - mixed with rain and sleet.  It stuck for a short time.  The sun came out this afternoon but it didn't warm up much. 

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 8

Today I am thankful for....a warm wood furnace even though it currently has no fire going.  That is being worked on as we speak.  (or as I write).  I am thankful for a nice home and plenty of food.  And I am thankful for healthy strong boys that can do much of the heavy chores around here.

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On a different note - today ended up being another rather crazy busy day.  Did bus route this morning where I dealt with a couple behavior issues.  Got to take a short nap when I got home, balanced the checkbook, took care of my chickens, did a parts run and a little shopping, did bus route, had a meeting with someone I'm sort-of discipling, ordered food, picked up boys and finally got home about 7:30.  Makes for a long day but thankfully today I was not overly stressed about it.  This in spite of the "surprise" I found in the chicken coop today.  Unfortunately a possum decided that would be a nice warm dry place to hang out last night and today.  No chickens were harmed and I did have one egg so that was good.  (Picture may have to come tomorrow).

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 7

Today I am thankful that the election is over.  Even more so I'm thankful that God is still in control and I know he still has a plan.

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 5 & 6

Well I rather hope this still counts - even if I'm not posting daily I should still end up with 30 thankful things.  Of course that won't cover all in my life to be thankful for but hopefully it will put me in an attitude of thankfulness.

For Day 5 - I am thankful for daylight in the mornings when I take kids to school.  It makes bus route so much easier when it is light outside.  Even though I know where all my stops are it is difficult to see them in the pitch black - and even worse when it is raining.  So...much as I dislike daylight savings time I really really appreciate the daylight in the early morning hours.  Actually....I've always liked early morning daylight.  I remember way back when I was little - like 4th grade and we lived in Ethiopia we lived outside a little village on a mission compound.  The house was tiny - only had 2 bedrooms and no indoor choo.  I originally slept on a cot in the living room - the windows faced east.  I remember waking up early when the sun came up shining in - usually being the first or maybe the second one awake after Dad.  That first peek of daylight.  Makes me think of the Scripture that says "His mercies are new every morning". 

For Day 6 - I am thankful for the freedom we have in this country.  Today we have the freedom and the privilege to vote for the people of our choice to govern.  They are not perfect people by any stretch of the imagination and I won't agree with many of their decisions.  But in this country we have freedoms that many many people in the world do not enjoy.  And for that I am thankful. 

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Days 3 & 4

I didn't post yesterday - it turned into a crazy busy day.   So...for yesterday (Day 3) I'm thankful for a wonderful visit with my son Stretch.  He came home for the weekend - spent Friday evening with friends.  Saturday morning we went to breakfast and spent about 2 hours just talking together catching up.  It was so nice to have that time.  After that he indulged me and walked through a craft show with me. 
(Not a great picture but it shows two of my boys having fun together).
 

For today (Day 4) - I'm thankful for a store employee who opened the door of the local hardware store for my husband and Dipstick so they could purchase me a new kitchen faucet.  I am also thankful that they installed the faucet for me so I can have my kitchen back in working order.  Having the faucet fall apart in my hand after turning it on is not conducive to keeping a clean working kitchen. 

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 2

Today I am thankful for the sunshine that we had.  It was uplifting after so many days of rain.  The clouds are cool looking sometimes but sunshine is better.

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 1

Going to try to do 30 days of thanksgiving.  Don't promise to have long posts though some may be.  Tonight as it's late and I'm beat it will be very short.

Today I'm thankful for safety on the roads.  I spent most of the day out and about - getting my bus serviced, bus route, taking Squirrel in to have his foot looked at, Grief Group tonight with Dipstick.  All added up to a LOT of driving - and plenty of traffic.  Thankfully I witnessed no accidents and were not involved in any.

Today is a cold, blustery, grey day - we've had rain, sleet and snow coming down.  The snow will not stick of course but the flakes were there in the air.  I've not accomplished a huge amount in getting the house reclaimed.  However I'm satisfying myself with baby steps at this point.  Goal for today is to get the kitchen cleaned before bed (waiting on the boys to unload the dishwasher after school).  It is improved from what it was first thing this morning but not great.  I started working on clearing off our second table for Thanksgiving.  When we bought a new table I wanted some way to expand so we could seat more than 6 around it.  Since we couldn't find one that was reasonable that we both liked we purchased 2 identical smaller tables that can be put together in a couple different ways to hold plenty of people.  I doubt we will do a sit-down meal but I know we will want both tables available since Thanksgiving is here this year.  Having said that...the thought of hosting can be anxiety causing for me - I'm trying really hard not to fret over it.  I won't have to cook everything - we will do the turkey.  Sides and desserts will mostly be brought.  The boys will likely make cookies as well.  I have not thought beyond that.  Really would like to get back to setting out a page and having people write down things they are thankful for.  Makes it really nice to go back and read later.

Just realized what time it is - guess I'd better stop and get ready for work.  Got to go tend the chickens and get cleaned up for route. 

Still Here...

Beautiful sunny breezy day today. B has the overhead doors on the shop opened - that is a good thing as I'm in the office again today. So thankful for windows and doors that let the light in. I am writing this while waiting on a business call.

I've not written anything of note in several months. A small part of that is the fact that I'm busy - back to school, sports events, bus driving...the list goes on. A much larger part is that I fell into a deep black hole of depression over the last 6-8 weeks. Even a bright sunny day like today could not lift my spirits much. It took all my energy to function at basic level - get bus route done, kids to where they needed to be and the most minimal housekeeping and cooking accomplished. I drank far too much coffee and ate too many sweets and packed on the pounds. I can't explain exactly all the things that triggered the increased depression - shorter days, a boy leaving his teen years and renewed grief were definitely part of it but probably not all. I finally realized something had to give the day I teared up on my morning route when I could not figure out which child was causing all the commotion in the back of the bus. When another, younger child said "she's crying" in wonder the tears spilled over. Thankfully I was able to get into the doctor the next day for an appointment. That was a week ago today. He diagnosed me with a sinus infection, depression and anxiety - doubled the depression meds I was already on, gave me something for anxiety and an antibiotic for the infection. By Monday I was beginning to see a difference in how I felt emotionally. I've noticed I don't normally "need" as much coffee as I was drinking before - I definitely eat less sweets (and crave less). I'm not napping as much as I was - still do occasionally but no longer long daily naps and I'm slowly beginning to reclaim my house. Additionally B has noticed - that is huge. The anxiety is definitely still there at times - I feel my face begin to tingle when it gets bad. But unless it's really really necessary I'm avoiding those meds and able to deal with it other ways.

Fall sports are over - that frees up Squirrel some. He is still training to run a half marathon in early November so is still running alot. He is also involved in Gospel Choir and will be helping with the fall play.

Dipstick is still enjoying attending Squirrel's school district though he is not enjoying school. We still do Grief Group twice a month and he is getting involved in archery.

Stretch is pretty much gone from the house. He is enjoying his 2nd year of college - this time with no broken bones. However he does have an extremely heavy course load this fall - he's found that rather stressful. He has a serious girlfriend and an on-campus job, both of which also keep him busy.

That's probably enough of an update for now.

Starting this while I'm sitting out in the shop office waiting on Bruce to come do invoices.  I've got quite a bit to do today but those invoices are pretty close to the top of the list.  So far today I've walked, eaten 2nd breakfast and entered soccer stats into the computer.  That is rather a fun job and definitely easy.  It will be easier if I can do it the same day as the game though.  Or I need to at least go over the sheet and check off the kids that played even though they didn't actually have any stats to enter. 

Today is an overcast grey day that is quite cool.  Actually the first three days of this work week are supposed to be only in the 60's.  Fall is definitely in the air.  On my walk this morning with my friend L we saw leaves on the ground that had already turned glorious shades of red as well as trees in the tree line that were already changing colors.  I would love to find a persimmon tree to see if I can "predict" the winter based on the fruit.  I've found that those old weather tidbits of lore are often rather accurate.  Accurate or not I enjoy looking at those and seeing what happens.

 

I'm thinking the seasons are definitely changing.  It's dark out at 8:30 pm and temperatures are below 68 degrees.     I'm not sure that I'm ready for winter to come early but I suspect that it won't matter whether I"m ready or not. 

Life has been crazy busy - I will catch up in another post.  For now...it's enough that I'm writing again.

Severe Storm...

Chairs that blew into the woods

Under another severe thunderstorm warning but so far it looks like just wind.  Unfortunately we need more rain and less wind.  Friday we had a severe storm move through - lots of swirling wind, heavy rain, power outages...Many people had property damage - roofs peeled up, siding off, trees down - some on vehicles, power lines down.  In all actuality we were very blessed.  We had an empty 55 gallon steel drum (the kind we used to pack in for Africa) blow from the northwest corner of the house the full length of the house and across the road into the woods.  We also had a couple of our porch chairs (plastic) in the woods, plenty of smaller branches down, grills and wooden bench blown over.  But again nothing compared to what others had.  Some people are expected to be out of power until as late as Wednesday. 

Overturned grille

As I've been typing this the wind has already died down - birds are back out and we didn't get any rain. 

Suz and I drove down Friday evening to pick up the boys from church camp - they went and 2 girls went.  We had a good time going to get them - the rearview mirror fell off the van when I went to adjust it to drive.  For a school bus driver not having a rearview mirror was interesting to say the least - and it certainly made for a lot of laughter.  It was neat to listen to the boys on the way back and get their "debriefing" in the van.  They both did have a lot of fun - weren't together the entire time so that was good.  Fridays storms hit them as well - they were all gathered in one building for awhile.  I think one of the highlights was getting to help clean up afterwards - Squirrel was put "in charge" of one group that was stacking wood.  Dipstick was working elsewhere.

Overturned pot and grill lid in flower bed

I spent the week mainly doing parts runs.  L and I walked a couple times and I did spend some extra time with Suz.  B and I enjoyed the quiet evenings though he worked late a couple nights.  One night we went to the local festival to hear a live band.  That was fun.  I managed to scan a few rolls of negatives into the computer and did make a top for a lap quilt.  Going to take that to Mom hopefully. I wasn't going for perfection - just completion.  I bought some ribbon to use as the binding but it's too dark a red.  So not sure what I will do now. 

Long week

Been a long week - this will be a rambling post.  We still need rain desperately - it is cloudy and cooler tonight.  But so far not a drop up here.  The grass is brown and crunchy - crops are shriveling in the field.  We had some rain over the weekend - seemed like the corn grew inches.  But we need more - the corn leaves are rolled up again.  My zuchinni does have a tiny baby on it - hoping it survives.

I said it's been a long week - Monday morning early Mom K called us to come help her get Dad back to bed.  (Early like 4 am).  We went and got home about an hour later.  90 minutes later she called again - this time to have help getting him up and into the ER.  Ended up with Dad K getting admitted - he was just released today.  He had an infection and broke his nose during the 2nd fall.  That short night took a couple days to recover from.  I will never regret going - to help anyone.  But between the lack of sleep and the memories it brought up...wow. 

Summer is flying by.  Guess the boys will be going to church camp next week.  Squirrel has done alot of work to make that happen - we have no counselors going from our church so it wasn't being advertised.  He checked into it and began making arrangements for those who wanted to go to go with another church.  But now that we are down to the last "minute" he's somewhat ambivalent.  There is no one going from our school and no one that he is close to from church. So it will be an opportunity for him to make new friends.  And he usually loves it.  Dipstick will be going also giving B and I some uninterrupted time together - after work hours at least. 

After church camp comes the 4H fair followed by a trip to Ontario to see my folks.  After that it seems like school will be starting again already. 

If you look closely you can see a woodpecker

My dreams of having a yard that is attractive to birds and butterflies are coming true.  I have more birds this year then I've ever had - at least 3 different varieties of woodpeckers, goldfinches, blue jays, a cardinal pair, at least one bluebird, hummingbirds, doves, tufted titmouse (mice?)...there are probably others that I can't think of.  Unfortunately I am also having issues with raccoons.  They've been into my chickens - have had a couple as a midnight snack.  Now they are coming up and messing with my birdfeeders - that is a new issue with me.  Thankfully Dipstick is willing to set traps.  So far he's caught two coons and at least two cats - the cats are freed with the hope they've learned their lesson.  Last night the coon tripped the trap and moved it but was not caught in it.  Dipstick will need to weight it down tonight.

Goldfinch on feeder just outside window

While I've got both annuals and perennials growing I still have work to do.  My "flower ring" is slowly becoming more full - added some columbine to it this year.  My blanket flowers are back and blooming some, coneflowers are up, pinkish chrysthanamum is up and blooming, white shasta daisy is blooming.  I've added some other annuals - as well as have a 3 ft area that is currently covered in mulch and cardboard.  Oh yes...forgot the salvia.  There is still plenty of weeds to pull throughout this area.

Just a corner of one of the raised beds. Irises are in the back

The coneflowers are up in the flowerbeds as are the black-eyed susans.  Both are just beginning to come into bloom. Those are slow due to lack of rain.  Zinnias, snapdragons and moss roses are also blooming.  My brake drum flowerpots are filled with blooming annuals. 

It is very very dry this year - crops are stunted.  B said this evening that he was glad we did not get a full garden put in.  When I water I use 10-15 gallon milk jugs as we don't have a hose that works.  Therefore if it's not a new planting or in a pot it does not get watered often.

Zuchinni plant in the front, tomato ring in the back

I did do something different with my tomato plants - I'm excited to see how they turn out.  So far I'm really happy with it.  S was studying online and find something called a "tomato ring" or a "Japanese tomato ring".  Basically it's tomatoes grown off the ground in a ring that is filled with soil and compost.  I have 6 tomato plants in mine and while I don't have any fruit on them yet they are growing well.  Next year I will put cardboard around the bottom of the ring so that the soil stays in. 

Wow...not sure I'm going to love this new layout.  Seems like a lot of blank space.  But...here goes for another long overdue update.

School has been out almost a week now and already time seems to be flying by.  Last Friday Squirrel and I finished cleaning my bus and got it turned in.  Usually I wait til the absolute last minute to get it done.  Saturday B, Dipstick and I went to a large swap meet that only happens 3x a year and only during the spring/summer.  We left without too many purchases but I think we all enjoyed it.  Then B and I went on a date that evening - went to Sears to look at tools.  I usually enjoy any dates we go on - even looking at tools. We did the tools and then went to a bookstore to look.  As we were heading back to the car to go find supper and maybe a movie I realized we had a flat.  B didn't believe me until we got closer to the car but I was correct.  He told me later he was proud of me for spotting it.  Anyway...we drove the car over to the car repair place to have it fixed.  Instead we ended up with 2 new tires.  All I could do was laugh about it...some date night!  We had supper and then headed home as we were both pretty tired.  Sunday was a day I won't talk about - suffice it to say Dipstick got himself into some trouble.  Monday I walked in the morning with my friend L while Squirrel ran.  Once home I got to spend the day working on my Bible study lessons and starting to clean and organize my bedroom (something that gets thoroughly ignored the rest of the year!).  Tuesday I ended up being gone most of the day - Bible Study in the morning and grocery shopping after that.  I picked Squirrel up from where he was working and he made the choice to go home and help B split a tractor instead of going to get himself an ankle brace and a new pair of running shoes.  Today was another day of running with chai (tea) with S, a massage and a couple of hours of parts runs.  Walked again - think we are up to close to 3 miles. 

The pictures above are of the strangest dandelion I've ever seen.  The seed head was at least twice the size of a regular dandelion while the flower was about the same size but shaped more like a daisy.  

My goals for the summer are to get my craft supplies organized and usable - and actually start using them again.  Of course not spending as much time on the computer will help with that.  Part of that goal involves being home Tuesdays and Thursdays while Monday, Wednesday and Fridays are the days I "run".  Not sure if I will be able to keep to that but that's the hope.  Along with that is the plan to visit Mom and Dad and hopefully spend a couple days with my sister and her family.  Not sure when that is going to work out.  Trying to fit it all in around times when Stretch is preaching, I have training meetings, 4H fair...the list goes on.  Would be nice if B and I could get in a weekend away as well possibly.

Brrr...it's cold out this morning. The wood furnace is going full force while the wind is blowing outside. We are under a "hard freeze warning" for tonight. While I've been sort-of hoping we get enough of a freeze to kill off the bugs we have already out I'm wondering how the fruit trees that are blooming will fare and trying to decide which flowers, if any I need to cover. I've mainly put perennials in as I'm not fond of spending loads and loads of money on things that don't come back so most will likely survive. However there are a couple of lilies that I think I will cover lightly...and my rhubarb possibly.

Yesterday morning was gorgeous - all shades of red and pink as the sun come up as a glowing red orb. It was all set against dark dark grey clouds. I really wished I had a camera on bus route.

Speaking of bus route - hard to believe that yesterday was our first day back from spring break. The week did indeed go by very fast. I never did get the vacuum sweeper working correctly. (Good thing we don't have carpet anywhere except upstairs!) That still needs to go out to the shop to be looked at. I did get my desk cleaned off to a workable spot. Still need to take a picture of that. I spent some time working on albums for Stretch and Squirrel. Wednesday I went for breakfast with B's mom after which we visited some garden nurseries. I did not find any affordable forsythia to plant in the yard. However I did find a new plant tower thingy with hooks and two rings that will hold hanging plants. I'm quite excited about that though I've not got it put together yet. I used to have a spring-loaded tension pole that held inside plants. The spring finally died and I've never been able to replace the pole. Since that time my plants have been on stands - they just don't do as well that way for me. And I'm hesitant to ask B to install ceiling hooks. Anyway...we got home and B took the afternoon off. We went north to an amish town - went into one shop that was excessively expensive for most things but I thoroughly enjoyed it. B wanted to look at windmills but he forgot while we were there. From there we drove to another town about an hour away - maybe a little more - to visit "The Olde Bag Factory". It used to make feed sacks. Turned out to be a major disappointment overall as it no longer makes feed sacks and the little stores in it were decidedly uninteresting as well as mostly closed. I was expecting crafty stuff and there was very little of that. (It was supposed to be a major "tourist" attraction when one comes to this state). AS a result of that trip, B and I will make a list of things he wants to do when he takes a day off - drag races, tractor shows, etc and I will do research to find dates and locations. That way we have options that are not totally spur of the moment and usually end up disappointing for at least one of us. We did have a nice time together though. Stretch came home that evening - that was the end of our "no kid" time.

Friday morning Squirrel got in about 8:30. He was a couple hours earlier than anticipated. However we and 2 others kids that went on his trip went and had breakfast in town and did some shopping before we came home. I enjoyed the breakfast as it gave me a chance to hear how the trip went in a relaxed setting. WE did some shopping before we came home. Squirrel had managed to not get sunburnt the entire trip - that was awesome. However that afternoon he mowed our yard - it was cool and windy and not overly sunny. He didn't even think to put sunscreen on - by that evening he was looking a little pink and was itchy. He ended up with a mild case of sun poisoning over the weekend - just on his face. We joke about that a bit but he will no longer mow the lawn or do other outside work without sunscreen on his face. (He is a true son of his mother in this area. I used to burn on my face even on shady days).

Saturday B and I drove back to Chicago to pick up Dipstick from the airport. That trip went smoother (more smoothly) then the trip to drop him off. We did not get majorly lost even though we didn't take the same route to the airport. I had my first experience on the skyway - and will never do that again. Even though I got my driver's lisence in that area I do not enjoy driving in that traffic. So thankful to live in the country.

One more thing - self-cleaning ovens really really smoke when one cleans them! Especially when it's not been done in a while. And trying to open the door in the middle of the clean cycle usually results in a repair call!