Here is the story about the check as promised.

As mentioned at Square Peg I recently read The Secret. The same basic idea stated over and over again only worded slightly different from one page to the next. I borrowed the video from the library as well. Basically an audio of the book.
I've been known to have some far out ideas but at least I'm solid enough and logically inclined to appreciate that you can't always get what you want. That's pretty much diametrically opposed to the Secret's message. If you want it enough and believe you already have it then the universe will give it to you. Riiiight. So...where's my check for $500.00? (I decided to start small as the book suggested. You know, a test run sort of thing.)

I meditated (as I was sitting outside getting my daily intake of vitamin D) and envisioned myself receiving a check in the mail in the amount of $500.00. I felt the check in my hand. Saw the watermark on the paper. Thought about what I would use the money for. I was certain I would receive the check. It was just a matter of "when", not "if". I told my daughter about the check that was coming. She told Skip. Skip scoffed. He wanted to know who was sending us a check for $500. I told him I didn't know but it would be within a week. Dd filled him in on THE SECRET. (She's probably wishing for a pony, snake or little brother right now. Dream on, kid.)

On Monday I announced the check would arrive on Wednesday. I kept up the banter. On Tuesday I announced the check would arrive the next day. Hahahahaha.
On Wednesday I took the mail out of the mailbox and flipped through the group of letters. One was addressed to me. It was a check for $1,300.00. Dd flipped out. The tiny print along the right margin of the check was the only giveaway. "This is not a real check". It was a travel voucher to use if we upgraded a three day cruise that was TOTALLY FREE for Skip and I.

Funny stuff. It would have been hilarious if it was for $500.00! So, did the Law of Attraction work? I got a real enough looking "check" in the mail on the day I envisioned it. Coincidence? Or was the universe just toying with me? ;o)

Gotta type quickly before the Ambien kicks in...

On Friday I planted two short rows of stringbeans.
On Saturday I planted a block of strawberry spinach, red wing lettuce, and mache. I also sowed tatsoi between the cabbage plants. And since I had them, I planted a packet of cottage garden flower seeds along the chives border. I'm not too optomistic that anything wonderful will come out of it because it only cost 30¢ but even if one flower blooms it'll be worth it. Just like my 10¢ packet of beet seeds. ;o)

It was raining when I awoke this morning, continued to rain throughout the day, and is still raining right now. It's hard to tell where the goldfish pond stops and the yard starts. The cats are very unhappy.

I was able to apply a coat of stain to the roof of the playhouse on Saturday after soccer. Team Lightning won again. Undefeated still. It was close this time though. 2 - 1. Not their greatest victory. Anyway, Skip primed the doors and window trim. I need to get some rock to form a slightly raised foundation. I'll probably do that on Wednesday after the Ukrops coffee Social. Skip suggested I get a load of flagstone to extend the path from the patio to the garage. It's about time! I need to start taking some pictures so I'll have some decent before and after photos.

Dd went to her best friend's birthday party at Laser Quest this afternoon. She hasn't stopped talking about it. Every moment since we left she has been following me around going on and on about the laser tag. I told her to save some for tomorrow, lol. Skip walked her into the party and told me that she was the only girl there. My little tomboy. We killed time at the mall waiting for the party to wind down. Ate a steakhouse burger at BK. Extremely revolting. There was absolutely nothing positive to say about it at all. I'm not even sure it was beef.

Ok, I'm going byebye now. I'm asleep at the keyboard. Later taters.

It's getting tougher throwing tile on the wall now that it's above my head. I should be able to knock out the straight run bits in a couple of days. But I won't. That's not my style. My style is to think about it to death, and then get a wild burst of energy that is extremely short lived. I've got too many projects in the works. I'm still working on the playhouse. I got the stain a couple of weeks ago and still haven't used it. Shame on me.

I did a lot of yard work yesterday. I enlarged the planting bed by the fishpond and planted a Dwarf Alberta Spruce, some pinks, and snow-in-summer. Then, of course, I had to devise some means to protect it all from the chickens until the plants have a chance to settle in. Dd's soccer goal worked rather nicely....until the cat managed to wrap the netting around her throat. It's always something.

I moved two cedars and a holly from one bed because they were growing too closely to the brick walkway. One went into the shade garden against the fence and the other at the end of the veg garden. The holly is temporarily potted up until I can find a proper place for it. I have one bed left in the veg garden to prepare. I need to rake the big plot and get it ready for beans. I need to do that today. I've also decided to split the bed in twain by laying a brick path. We have the bricks so I may as well use them. Dh has steadfastly refused to extend the brick path all the way to the garage. It really would be nice.

That's pretty much it for the physical stuff. I'll have to save the spiritual and mental upheaval for another day. I should mention "the check" but I haven't the time right now. Maybe later after I've burnt myself out.

Dh is a real estate appraiser for the county. One day last week he had to go measure some buildings on some guy's property because the guy was building without a permit. It was a horse farm. He drove down the lane and was met by one of the farm hands. Dh explained what he was there to do and the farmhand told him he better wait for the owner since "he wouldn't like it". Dh convinced him it was no big deal and while the guy was calling the owner he went off to measure the new buildings. Minutes later the owner pulled into the lot blocking dh's car so he couldn't leave. The guy ranted about how dh was trespassing on private property and had no right to be there. Dh was driving a county car with the county insignia on the door and he was wearing what he likes to refer to as a "patch with a shirt on it" that also signified that he was with the government. The guy said that if he wasn't allowed on county property then the county wasn't allowed on his. Hmmmm...red flag there.

The guy called dh's office to verify his identity and then called the police. He moved his vehicle and minutes later two police cruisers showed up and blocked dh in again. He could have gone before the police got there but he told the guy he'd wait and in the meantime he got all the information about the buildings that he needed. Dh was blocked in at this place for an hour and a half.

Just a note here: The county does not issue cell phones or radios to the appraisers. The only reason why dh has a cell phone is because I insisted he get one in case he ever gets into a sticky situation.

When dh got back to the office his supervisor said he wasn't sure he'd ever see dh alive again. Apparently the owner of the property cannot set foot on the government complex or the courthouse without a police escort. He is banned from council meetings and public hearings. He has made threats. Dh's supervision knew this. Dh did not. He could have walked right into the barrel of a shotgun.

One of these days he's going to get killed while measuring a crackhouse.

What a trooper! She had soccer practice Friday evening. Standing water on the field and mud everywhere. The coach's son kept tripping her and soon she was soaked from head to toe. She still managed to take the ball away from him at every chance. She took the ball in the face at one point. A hard kick, too. She cried because it hit her dead on but the coach checked her out and said she had "adidas" stamped on her forehead and that made her laugh. Everyone cheered when she resumed her position on the field. She bitches and complains about soccer but once she gets her gear on and hits the field she is intense.

She will also be attending a new school next year. Her teacher nominated her and she's been accepted into the center based gifted program in math and english and will be going to Winterpock. I'm so proud of her.

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!

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.