Chilly and rainy here today so I won't be wallowing in the warm sunshine. Thought I'd catch up on this blog and make a few garden notes.

First, a titmouse couple has set up house in the zebra striped birdhouse on the maple tree. The wrens aren't too happy about it as they wanted it for themselves. Toast has taken a keen interest in it. He was able to launch himself from the ground and set it swinging the other day. Miserable cat.

Did some tiling yesterday while dh and dd played board games. I had to cut a few tiles to go around the supply handles. It wasn't too bad. I broke the first tile by not paying attention to my pressure points. The others snapped away easily. I love my tile cutter. :o)

Never got the chance to get the tiller in the garden. It's been raining too much lately to get in any time soon. I think it's supposed to rain for the next three days. I should get a lot of tiling done. The playhouse isn't done yet. I got it put together over the weekend but I've only primed the trim so far. It'll need to be painted and the roof sealed before we set it in the garden. I need to make some more stepping stones too but will have to wait for the rain to stop. I plan on using some broken tiles for mosaics.

Square Peg is dead. Figures it would die right after I paid hosting for the next quarter. It was quite an expensive porkchop considering. It certainly frees me up for more constructive pursuits like laundry, dishes, dusting and other exciting ventures that would otherwise suffer had the site been a success. ;o)

Spring Break is over and the kidlet has gone back to school! Her first soccer game was on Saturday. Team Lightning won! 5 - 3. Dd got two of the goals. Her playing greatly improved after her first goal. I guess she had lost her confidence over the winter. Glad to see it back. It was an exciting game. Hopefully the team will be able to get a couple of practices in before the next game. Looks like today's may be rained out though. :o( They really need the practice. There are a few first year kids on the team and they don't know what to do on the field.

Well, I'm off to find some of those exciting ventures I posted about. Dishes or laundry? Maybe I should vacuum up some of these tumbling tumbleweeds?

Yesterday I planted spinach and beets. I transplanted some liriope into the shade garden and planted two basket-of-gold near the pond. Dd and I raked up some shredded leaves (courtesy of the chickens) and put it on one of the garden beds. I'll need to till that in today.

I better get cracking on it. It's supposed to get into the 80s today.

Today was absolutely beautiful. We spent the first half playing puttputt out at Rockwood. Skip took the day off from work so we could share some quality family time. We had lunch at Mickey D's. I hate that place but the snack wraps are surprisingly tasty and I fired down 1.5 crispy chipotle BBQs and a sweet iced tea. We ended up getting four. Dh kept telling the chick that we wanted three and she kept saying she got the order but kept calling back for four so.... I hope she's not counting on McD's as a career.

We went back to Rockwood, which was now crawling with people and kids, and played another round. I got a lot of sun. I took my vitamin D hit today in pill form as well so I should be good for a bit. My legs were beginning to ache. We went over to Big Lots afterwards to see what they had in the garden section. I got a nice trough planter for $7. I whipped up a bunch of soil mix for it when we got home: topsoil, sphaghum moss, and perlite. It's now planted with firecracker flower bulbs, radishes, and mesclun. I'm eager to see what comes up.

We sat outside, drank beer, ate pretzels and played cards until the sun went down. I gave all my plants a nice shot of miracle gro and took the sun lovers outside on the deck. We even wrestled the pine tree out on the deck. It barely fits thru the door now. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do with it by fall.

The garden update: I have peas. I planted them on March 6th and noticed the sprouts on the 22nd. That's pretty quick for peas this early. They're snow peas. I planted them thickly, too. I hope I get a bumper crop. We eat a lot of stirfries here.
The onions survived the winter, the horseradish is coming in thick, the chives are all over the place. The oregano is beautiful as always. Tomorrow will be a big day for the garden. Lots to do out there. Skip wants me to throw some tile on the wall, too. That may not happen tho. Not if the sun is shining. ;o)

I'm going to sack out early tonight. I have a big day ahead of me. I bought the little playhouse at Lowes today. It's a tiny little thing but it will keep the cats warm, safe, and dry and give dd something to do in the backyard. I'm rather giddy about it. I envision it nestled in my work-in-progress shade garden. Dwarfed by the leland cypress border behind and shielded by the bamboo on it's left. The maple's canopy will keep it cool. There will be a nice stepping stone path winding around the maple that'll lead to it's dutch door. A big cheery pot of impatiens will brighten up the dooryard. Right now it's painted a colour that matches the house perfectly. I am, however, thinking that a bright cheery yellow with white trim would look nice. Copper rain chains on the drip line would complete the picture.

Anyway, I've got to put it together tomorrow. I've also got to do laundry. Vacuum the house. Cut some tile. Plant spinach, beets, lettuce, and mache. Plant the bedding plants I got the other day. Clean out the chicken house and put the manure/straw in the garden. I got a big bale of compressed wood chips today at the Tractor Supply store to make their house nice and cozy. Time to open the window for them and take down their passive solar heat, too. ;o) I hope it doesn't rain.

Went for coffee this morning. Had a nice tall cup of Southern Pecan. It was excellent as always. Conversation would have made it better but we can't have everything. Maybe next time. I did make a point of saying hello to everyone I passed though. They must have thought I was a loon. ;o)

I made two exquisite loaves of banana bread yesterday. Perfect in every way. Skip has been asking for some more cinnamon swirl bread so I better make some of that today. I'll need to make another crusty artisan bread for myself with rosemary and thyme. Sounds like work.

I'm going out for coffee this morning in the hopes of meeting a lurking Pegger. More than likely I'll end up sitting alone at Ukrops but that's ok. Their Southern Pecan coffee is worth it. I hope it isn't hazelnut day.

We're still tripping in Bizarro Land. I want Skip to snap out of his funk but I'm also feeling a bit possessive of my own state of sappiness. It's been a long while since I experienced a calmness like this for any extended period of time. Recently some doubts and selfesteem issues surfaced but I successfully wrestled them into submission. I can't help how other people manifest their anxiety. If they choose to lob rocks at me I need to learn to walk away. It shouldn't matter when they're high fiving each other and laughing at their "victory". At least I'm not getting pelted with stones. The whole sticks and stones thing. Basic stuff we learned in Kindergarten. Or should have. Along with "share" and "would you jump off a bridge if all your friends were doing it?" Peer pressure is some scary stuff and it doesn't appear to weaken with age.

I met a woman the other day while our dds were playing. She introduced herself and we made small talk. And right in the middle of my sentence she looked over my shoulder and started talking to someone else. Apparently she missed those days in Kindergarten when they taught politeness and "don't interrupt". I kind of shrugged and walked away. The worst part of the whole scene was that Skip saw the whole exchange. I guess he was expecting my mood to shatter but it didn't. I sat down with him and we talked about this and that for the next hour and the woman who couldn't even fake interest in what I was saying sat alone. Kindergarten. Who knew?

Skip (dh) is afflicted with a number of maladies that are undiagnosable. His stomach won't stop growling. He keeps throwing food in it but the growling continues. No pain, just growling. His forehead keeps breaking out. He thinks he's getting thinner though he's only lost 2 lbs. He can't sleep even on Ambien and has to get up 4 or 5 times a night. (though he had no trouble falling asleep on the couch in front of the tv at 8:11 last night.) He seems depressed and anxious.

I'm still happy. More or less. I've been sleeping well. My weight has anchored at 133. I wanted it to be 125 but I just can't seem to get there (without seriously altering my lifestyle). I'm not depressed for the first time in ages. It's like Skip and I have switched places. I think some of it has to do with the fact that his best friend changed jobs and is no longer working with him. We had a lunch date last week which I thought was wonderful.

There's only one thing that has been bothering me and not even at the level it should...historically. MD members. Particularly those people who berated me for my feelings of exclusion or unpopularity, for lack of the proper word. "Oh Susan, you don't realize how many people love you and appreciate you..." Riiiight. Where were they when I was pushed out? Where are they now? Afraid to hobnob because it doesn't look good? Square Peg is practically dead and I hate to think that anyone is having a laugh at its demise.

So, I got an email informing me of the hosting deadline. I've thought about it quite a bit. I'm still undecided it seems. I like Square Peg. I like messing around with it. But it causes me anxiety every time I log on and no one is there. So I alternate between a "why bother" attitude and a "you can't expect results overnight". But it's been 6 months. Only one local person posts at all. I've gotten lots of inquiries but no action. *sigh* I guess if I was really in bizarro land then the board would be wildly successful. ;o)

The cheaper sliding drawers are much lighter weight and are easily bent. Not much good if I have heavy cast iron cookware.

Got home right on time for the daily after school meltdown. Always a treat. So while she was crying and yelling and stomping around I decided to get dinner ready. Fried cabbage and onions. Steamed broccoli. Jasmine rice. Stir-fried chicken in a sweet & spicy sauce. It was on the table at 6:30 and I was out the door to the horticulture seminar at 6:45.

Got to the seminar right on time. Packed house. Very serious people all hoping to get THE SECRET. Except the couple next to me of course. The guy apparently knew everything there was to know and wanted his girlfriend to know he knew so he talked thru the entire seminar. He asked the speaker a question and then started talking to his girlfriend while the speaker was answering him. He was saying "see, I told you..." Idiot. I was leaning forward to hear the speaker with a finger jammed in my ear to drown them out and they didn't get the hint. Or more likely didn't give a shit.

The seminar was very informative and lasted two hours. Dd was still awake when I got home and I went thru the bedtime routine with her. I set about finishing my chores for the day. I turned the dryer back on since the clothes were still damp. Noticed that dh had taken all of his clothes out and put them away. I had to go retrieve them from his dresser because they were still too damp. He said they were "dry enough". gah. Men.

So, either it was a pretty good day or I'm getting numb to the stuff that usually sets me off.

Getting dd off to school was its usual nightmare. I had planned on going to the westend for a meetup but that didn't happen. The best laid plans yada yada yada.

I had my teeth cleaned yesterday by the Marquis deSade. I couldn't bite down at all. My tooth was killing me. This morning I lost a tiny chunk of tooth from somewhere. Maybe it was someone else's left over tooth that was glued on the icepick they use to "explore".

I've got to hurry here. I'm crashing. I got some books out of the library on how to be a better and nicer person. I'm running out of options already. How long should one try before giving up entirely?

I did some shopping at lowes. I picked out several plants I want and a nice heavy sliding basket drawer for the pots in the kitchen cabinet. They have the super heavy duty nice ones and the economy which aren't that bad but they are much lighter weig,

cra[ i gotta ocme back to this i'm fried. britney cocktails

...then you should find a better proxy.

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Today was pretty nice. I had a dental appt and then I met dh for lunch. I don't know how to explain it...I felt like I did when we first started seeing each other. I couldn't stop smiling.

I had a cup of my favourite coffee, Southern Pecan, too. My lucky day. I drove down to the goodwill to see if I could score any neat dishes. I really had to restrain myself. There were quite a few Homer Laughlin pieces that I really wanted but couldn't bring myself to pay $9.25 for a single plate. Quite a few Buffalo China cups, as well as some Shenango cups.

After that I went to Pleasant's Hardware and picked up an ultra cheap towel bar for the closet door. I've been looking for one all over the place. Of course it doesn't fit the closet door but I'll use it in the laundry. The bar is thin enough to accept a clothespin and I mainly wanted it to clip gloves and mittens and scarves so they could dry out and dd could get them herself.

When dh got home from work we took the dogs out for a walk around the block. I noticed that my hosta plants have broken ground already. The lilac is purpling up. The vinca is blooming. I guess it's about time I should head down to the Berry Farm to get some bedding plants. They opened last Friday. Now I just need for the soil to dry out a bit. I can't wait.

My hands are so dry they're like velcro. I hate that feeling. Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous! I planted peas. I also hoed up one of the raised beds, the one I use for the drying tomatoes. The chickens loved it. They gorged themselves on worms and then sunbathed in their dusting hole for awhile. They sounded so content talking to each other in their sing-songy way. The cats raced around chasing each other and rolled in the dirt. Each clump was an adventure. After it rains I'll go plant my spinach and mache. It felt so good having the sun beat down on my back, the sweat running down the side of my face.

I emailed dh at work and suggested he come home and share the afternoon sun with me. He had an appeal at 2:00 but surprised me by walking in the door before 3:00. I made a big bowl of popcorn and we sat outside, had a few beers and played a round of 3-13. Dd was in a good mood as well when she got home from school. She wanted to play some computer games and that occupied her for quite some time.

Dh and I took the plastic sheet off of the goldfish pond. It'll probably fill up with the fuzzy red maple blossoms now. I need to do some planting around the pond to make a leaf barrier. The liriope seems to do the trick quite well.

I love spring.

Loropetulum to be specific. I went in search of a witch hazel, that bright yellow shrub that wakes up in the dead of winter, and found this:



Also a witch hazel. I've never seen them in any other colour before. Of course, the fringes were already dried and falling off the bush but it was interesting none the less.

Another interesting shrub was the Symphoricarpos orbiculatus or coral berry. Beautiful berries but the plant looked leggy and sparse. I would rather have interesting foliage although the berry colour does pack a wallop.



Southern States didn't have a very good selection of evergreens yesterday. I was looking for a threadleaf cypress but they didn't have it. I'll have to check at Lowes and see if they have any plants out yet. At least they are guaranteed. I also need to pick up some more cement for my hypertufa project. I'm itching to get started on that. Gotta finish the tiling first though. That seems to be taking forever! Looks like it's going to rain so I'll put up a few more courses today. I've finally gotten to a point where I need to start cutting some tiles. That's always fun. Now, where did I put that tile cutter?

I'm on the verge of doing something but i'm not sure what.
I went to the podiatrist today. $40 right up front. He poked, bent, and twisted my foot this way and that. Said I had strained my whatchamacallit tendon. For $99 he'll make me some arch supports that slide in and out of shoes. My foot hurts pretty bad tonight. Probably from all his poking and prodding.
Man, the ambien caught up quick tonight. I feel like my head is on a long stalk like Alice in Wonderland after she took a sip of 'drink me' or ate the toadstool. What ev.

Dd starts soccer practice next week. Thank God. Twice a week. Mondays & Fridays with games on Saturday. She has the same coach as last year. He wanted her to try out for the travel teams but we don't have the funds or the time for that. She is acting all casual about it but I caught her kicking the soccer ball around a bit yesterday. Her brownie meeting was cancelled last week. We were informed about 30 seconds after dh drove off. The cookies are supposedly coming in soon.

On to other items...I don't know if I'm going to keep Square Peg going or not. Kira is the only local on there who posts. Katie came back under a different name but she hasn't posted at all. I'm finding it extremely difficult making irl friends around here. I joined another meetup but I'll have to drive out to the westend and I'm not really comfortable out there. 'course if I get used to it we'll really be in trouble.

Peepers are out. I heard them on our nightly walk. If I can strain my ears I can just make them out. Not really but they are there.

Damn, some weird shit is happening here. I'd love to be lucid and finish my thought but I believe it is history at this point.
Gotta go. Don't forget the crap flap!