I hardly ever take these internet quizzes but this one was short and rather telling.
| This Is My Life, Rated | |
| Life: |  6.3 |
| Mind: |  4.9 |
| Body: |  7.3 |
| Spirit: | 6.5 |
| Friends/Family: | 5 |
| Love: |  9.1 |
| Finance: | 7.1 |
| Take the Rate My Life Quiz | |
My purple coneflower seeds have finally begun to germinate. Time to take them off the heated shelf and put them under the light. Nothing else in that flat has done a damned thing yet. Did some serious landscape dreaming today. Wouldn't it be great to have a tree whose falling leaves smell like cotton candy? Katsura.
I've got quite a wish list growing. Mostly grasses. They are so forgiving and easy and really quite graceful. I'm going to take a chunk of either the pampas grass or the japanese silver grass and transplant it near the goldfish pond at the side of the patio. I'd like to get some shenandoah switchgrass or muhly to go in front of it and maybe some little bluestem. The colour will go great with the coppery sedge and the vibrant red of the cardinal flower. This will replace some of the daylilies that have filled in the spot. They are coming up in leaps and bounds and I need to transplant some to the front yard. The woods edge has moved back a bit and I have an expanse of nothing. Tiger lilies would really brighten it up.
While I was out walking around this afternoon I noticed that the Shepherdia Argentea has already leafed out. I love that plant. I had a huge one at Sweet Apple and was able to transplant some of it to my parents house. Then after a few years I took a few back and planted them in the backyard. They are gorgeous. Silver Buffaloberry. Our neighbour on the other block has several, too. I really don't know why it's not more popular. Bees love it. Butterflies, too. Birds love the edible fruit which clusters up on the stem. You can even make jelly out of them.
The ambien has kicked in. I've got to brush my teeth yet and I'm afraid I might give myself a frontal labotomy while I'm at it.
What's the saying........I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy. clever.
Gaah. I had a pounding headache this morning that was even worse than the pounding headache I went to bed with and promised myself that I'd crawl back into bed as soon as the kidlet was off to school. I did. For about 2 minutes. Pip needed to go out. After tossing her out I noticed that the fishtank was a little deeper green than normal and got dressed to take care of that. I went outside, freezing, to get the gravel vacuum. I fed the chickens some corn while I was there and retrieved an egg from the coop.
Drained the tank and watered all the houseplants with the fertilizer/fish poo. Mopped up all the water that was pouring out of the plant saucers. Transferred one of the platys to a separate bowl as he didn't look too chipper. Cleaned the filter housing and filled the tank for the next hour. Back and forth. *sigh* Oh yeah, fish are so worth it. I'm just glad I don't have my big tank set up. Got all the fish squared away and discovered my filter lid was gone. I still can't find it.
Meanwhile, I glanced out the window and saw Blondie carrying something in her mouth. She spat it out and tried to gnaw on it. It was an egg. That egg sucking dog has been raiding the henhouse. I think Rocky has just started laying but this was from one of the other girls. Different shape, different colour.
My house is a wreck. It's cold. I still haven't had brekkie and the bread dough is ready to be transferred to the board. This is my break.
My pussywillow is blooming, daffodils are open, robins are pumping up worms in the backyard and a couple of doves are snacking on the chicken's corn. Spring really wants to happen.
Pip is at the window howling to get back in.
Break over.
Same crap different day.
Same crap different week.
Same crap different month.
Same crap different year.
Nothing changes. Whoever said one person could make a difference is a freaking idiot.
I seeded one of the flats this morning. Finally. Sweet Bell Peppers, Purple Coneflower, Tiny Tiger tomatoes, Pink Brandywine tomatoes. The flat of Principe Borghese tomato seedlings is doing well. I move them around from sunny sill to sunny sill. The lunaria, of which all twelve germinated, are getting really leggy. I need to get them under the lights today.
I still need to sow rudbeckia and veronica speedwell. Later.
Yesterday was a picture of domestic bliss. I took the kidlet to the open skate at skate-away. OMGosh, it was like walking into "there was an old lady who lived in a shoe"... A hundred screaming kids, skating at breakneck speed in reckless abandon, in a dark room with loud rap music and the heavy smell of feet... mixed with the unpleasant aroma of melted nacho cheese on corn tortillas. Wug. Everywhere I looked I saw kids wiping snot on the backs of their hands. The place was an upholstered toilet. Dd loved it. For a short while she hung out with "Badboy Nate" from down the road. Dh & I call him "The Pisser". He's not allowed to come to our house anymore.
After about an hour of skating some kid slammed into dd and broke her skate. I couldn't fix it. She cried. We went to the pro shop to see if they could fix it. The kid in there said it couldn't be fixed and she wouldn't be able to use the skates in the rink even if it could. I was like, dude, she's been skating for over an hour already... I promised the kidlet I'd get her a new pair.
After skating we went to Goodwill. Mainly to see if they had a pair of skates that would fit dd. They usually do but they had just gotten done with a remodel and all the sporting goods stuff was gone. We got some books instead. I picked up some more restaurantware as well. I can't help myself.
It was almost more excitement than I can stand.
My principe borghese tomato seeds have finally germinated. I don't have the light table cleaned up yet. I guess I'll be doing that tomorrow come hell or high water. I prepared two flats today. I'll be seeding them tomorrow as well. I need to transplant the Lunaria seedlings already. Those things are off like a bullet. They must like my soil mix.
Dh and I pruned the pyracantha by the house. It looks like hell. I hope it fills out this spring. We also cut the dried Japanese Silver grass and the Pampas grass. It's starting to send up new green shoots.
Found lots of daffodils getting ready to open up.
Paul. OMG. I knew him back in the 80s when gravity hadn't taken it's toll on me yet. I was working as a cocktail waitress at The Tobacco Exchange and going to college for computer programming. He was a regular happy hour customer. He had smoldering good looks and was well versed in the classics. And I was an idiot. I was engaged to a cheating alcoholic who treated me like shit. Tom, the fiance, hated him and thought I was cheating on him with Paul. I didn't. I thought about it though. Often. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm. I still have his photo. He's wearing a tux and a hint of a smile. I can still smell his cologne.
I got a card from him in the mail today. He said he "googled" me. I can't tell you how many times I've googled him over the years but never found him. We used to correspond after I graduated and moved up north. He said he found my old letters and decided to find me. I think the last time I saw him was at my old house, Sweet Apple. He dropped by one night with a bottle of wine and we listened to A Christmas Carol performed by Patrick Stewart. It was surreal. He had gotten married and was living in Georgia but was passing thru town on his yearly pilgrimage to the bay. He always seemed so troubled, in desparate need for someone to listen. He was an aspiring writer and I often looked to see if he had ever published. When I think of him, I think of Poe. That dark. That mysterious. That brilliant.
Wow.
Life goes on...
We got hit by a winter storm last night. Really. I saw it. That may be snow on the roof of the garage. I can't quite tell. I'm surprised they didn't call school off. They usually do when there is a "threat" of snow. The photo above was from our last snowstorm. Think of it as Norm's snowman on drugs. Note the large vacant staring eyes, the bedhead, the skinny arms and general lack of hygiene. He was Jonesing for sure. Within three days he was reduced to a slushy shadow of his former self. Alas, he was a product of his environment and couldn't be helped.
How quickly you look for and expect the negative. Not like me? No, it's not. But you believe the worst, don't you.
The Lunaria seeds I planted a week ago have broken ground, their little green elbows poking up thru the soil. I'm surprised. I didn't put them in the freezer. I can't remember if I harvested the seeds last fall or the year before. Lunaria seeds don't keep well, viability drops off quickly. I sowed them in a recycled mini cupcake tray from Ukrops. 12 cells. Not all have germinated yet and I don't expect all of them to make it but I have high hopes. Lunaria, or Money Plant, is a pretty little biennial with purple flowers. It grows best in shade.
None of the Principe Borghese tomatoes have germinated yet but I sowed them later than the Lunaria.
Not much happening. The weather has gone chilly again. I spent hours out in the sun yesterday trying to boost my D levels. Pulled some dead weeds out of the garden. Helped dh clean up the deck. Rocky gave me an egg. I imagine she was the one who laid the egg on Wednesday as well. She was well rewarded with her favourite snack, cheese crackers.
Bought a new washing machine on Wednesday. It was delivered yesterday. Bosch. Made right here in the USA. New Bern, NC. It's supposed to take care of 27 regular bath towels in one load. I doubt it seriously but I'm hoping a dozen will work. The salesman said it used 10½ gallons of water for the cycle. An extra rinse would use 1½ gallons more. I think 27 regular bath towels would soak up every bit of 10 gallons. Whatever. Just as long as it doesn't leak like a sieve. We kept the old Kenmore. I want to take it apart and replace the seal and see if that was the problem. If so we can sell it for $100 maybe. Lowes was just going to landfill it. So much waste. I just need to wait for warmer weather. And to finish the bathroom. No more new projects until that one is done.
Dh is home from work again. He seems to be in better spirits. I hate it when he's not feeling well. He's so quiet and withdrawn.
I need to go out today. Dd needs a book on the Wright Brothers for a school project. I need to mail a package to Lefty. I promised it would go out earlier than this. I'm such a shit.
What a beautiful day! Looks like everyone was out either riding bikes or walking dogs this morning. I mixed up some seed starting medium and started a flat of Lunaria. Collected seed from last year so they may not germinate. Lunaria only grows from fresh seed so it's best to plant them asap. We'll see. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I repotted an ivy topiary and a lemon button fern, too. I have a very large planter outside so I decided to put bamboo in it, underplanted with lettuce. It sure felt good to get my hands in the soil.
Mom called. Mayumi, my SIL, managed to cut her little finger off. Ripped it off actually. It couldn't be reattached. Too much trauma. Freak accident. I can't imagine the pain she must have felt. I shudder to think about it.
She also said that Brother Rick is contemplating a move back home and SpongeBob is moving back in as well. Third time's the charm with him. Maybe he'll succeed in totally destroying the property this time. He only trashed it the previous two times. Dad busted ass getting that place liveable, drilled a well, and put in a septic system. They trashed it and bugged out. He busted his ass getting it fixed again. They moved back in, trashed it and bugged out again. This time Dad had to pull up all the carpet, tear up the subfloor and replace it, gut the bathroom and fix it, actually too much to describe here. Lots of cussing involved. Lots of work. Lots of time and money. I can't wait to see how long this lasts. Still recovering from colon cancer and he has to get the place liveable for them again.
Closer to home: Tuco was at Death's Door for a couple of days. It's still touch and go. He's an old dog and winter is doing him in. But he did eat a can of food yesterday and had a little bit to eat today. He's skin and bones. Poor little hound. I think he'll be fine once spring gets here.
If someone drops a shoe in the forest and there's no one around to hear it will they know when the other one drops?
I did some work on the shower this afternoon. It's coming along. I've decided to take the easier but more expensive premixed route. I need to go to Lowes tomorrow for another bucket of mortar. I could use a new float, too. Anyway, I got a couple of courses laid and then I scratched out the grout lines on the previously laid courses. It's really starting to look like something. I'm looking forward to getting back in there.
Did a load of laundry today and dh noticed that there was a little bit of water on the floor. I figured it came from when I added something to the load after it started but it turns out that the washer is leaking. Dh took the back off and as far as I can tell the gasket around the drum is shot. This is a front loader so taking it apart to replace it is going to be a real bitch. Dh just wants to go and buy a new washer. He's easily intimidated by machines. I think we can fix it. But who am I to throw away the chance at a brand new shiny washing machine? ;o) Maybe I'll look at a few at Lowes tomorrow.
Didn't get any seeds started today as I had hoped. I got a little sidetracked with something and didn't get around to mixing the seed starter. I need to inventory my seeds and see what's still viable. I need to clear off the growing table and bring it in the house, too. I'll probably need to change out some of the lights. Last year's plants got really leggy under the lights. I think they're beginning to lose their strength. I need to devise a way of bottom heating the seed trays as well. Last year the heat pad cooked a few. Maybe if I used cooling racks and slid the heating pad under them and set the trays on top of the racks? That would probably work pretty well. No direct contact and ambient heat. Even better if I tent the table I suspect.
Looks like I have a lot to do tomorrow. I need to polish off my beer and hit the sack. Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry. Pretty tasty. I think I'll go get a couple more 6packs before Kroger jacks the price out of my range.
Dh was able to duck the film crew this year. They managed to get to his office though and took a shot of a quote he blew up and pinned to his wall. Mat 7:7 He only has part of the quote:
Seek, and ye shall find.
Dh's boss told them not to air that shot but they did anyway. Why? Because it's purpose could be misinterpreted. While it has a benign meaning to dh, when put into the news story's context it could be interpreted by the viewers as contrivance.
I guess that could happen with any quote. People see what they want to see. If they think conspiracy, they'll find conspiracy. If they feel a statement is vituperative then they will respond with vitriol. It brings to mind another great quotation:
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Hamlet, Act II Scene ii
or, this one:
Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me. You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.
Hamlet, Act II Scene ii
Man, Willie had it going on, didn't he?
Got an email from an MD member seeking help with her login procedure. Seems she got locked out and the contact email for MD admin was bouncing back to her. So she decided to email me. I'm drawing a total blank on that. Why? I'm no longer admin. I haven't even visited the board for nearly a month. I wonder how many other people haven't noticed that I'm no longer there? LOL, it's almost insulting. Anyway, she had CCed the message to Colleen so I'll assume she got the help she needed.
I've been working on getting a group together to go to Magnolia Grange next Tuesday. I haven't been getting very many responses one way or the other. I really don't understand that either. People contact me and say they are looking for a group and want to meet new friends but when it comes down to brass tacks very few want to actually meet up. I joined a meetup.com group a week or so ago. A group for homemakers in the area. Meetups were set up for Wednesdays at noon. The organizer of the group never posted an event. You have to pay a monthly fee to run meetups. I don't understand why someone would create a group and then fail to follow thru on it. It doesn't make sense. I guess it's like joining a board you have no intention of participating on. Why?
I took some hot water out for the birds this morning and was rewarded with a great show. A flock of Eastern Bluebirds stopped for a drink. They were absolutely gorgeous! I was only able to count 20 but there were many more flitting around that I couldn't keep up with. I took some meal worms out to them but they aren't used to me or the backyard so none of them stopped for a nosh. They were joined by a small flock of Cedar Waxwings...my ultimate favourite. What a sleek handsome bird. I'm always thrilled to see them as it happens so seldom. There were a couple of Blue Jays, a few goldfinches, a bazillion cardinals, some junkos, sparrows, and, believe it or not, some big fat Robins.
I made sure the feeder was full of black oil sunflower seeds but they really have plenty to eat around here with all the bird friendly plants I grow. Pyracantha, Calicarpa, Juniper, dogwoods, crabapple, holly, mahonia, Nandina, Burning Bush, Magnolias... I'll put some suet cakes out later. Weird, but I didn't see any Chickadees.
The rain barrel was frozen solid but the goldfish pond is totally free of ice. I have clear plastic over it with access points for the chickens, cats and dogs so they can drink. I'm surprised I haven't had the need for the heater. The plastic is held off the surface by pvc poles laid over top of the pond. Simple and effective. I saw Big Fish the other day and a group of the babies and they all seem fine.
Most of the cats are enjoying the warmth of the house again this morning. Another reason why I was blessed with the visit. Seeing those birds really lifted my spirits.
My dh and my dd and I have been together 24/7 for the past 5 days. Tomorrow he goes back to work and she goes back to school. I will be wallowing in the blissful silence. For the past couple of nights we have been joined by 7 cats and 2 dogs as well. It's been really cold outside and the poor dogs just can't handle it. Dh was able to call Blondie in but Tuco wasn't showing up. He had to go out to his house inside the garage to check on him. Seems he wrapped himself up in his blanket like a burrito and couldn't get loose. I still can't figure out how he managed that.
Anyway, I can't wait for the week to begin. I can exercise again without being made fun of. I can go out to the library, a book store, or even Michaels without being rushed. I can listen to Steely Dan or Vivaldi without comment. I'm quite excited about it.
The shit hit the fan with dd this evening. The denouement of a long weekend of brattiness. I don't want to be a bitchy mom. I want dd to have a happy childhood. She'll grow up way quicker than I did. That's just a product of the times I'm afraid. But I fear my leniency has come back to bite me square on the ass. It's time to follow through on some of my consequential threats. It's not going to be pretty. *sigh*
