Word of the Day
Chantress: A woman who practices chanting
Our generator works. OK. I knew that fact but I thought this was a clever way to let you all know that we lost power in last night's storm. The power threatened to leave us, on and off (sorry for the pun), from 11:30PM until midnight, at which point it finally stayed off. The generator kicked in but it doesn't actually run the entire house. Out here in Rural America, we don't have city water. We need electricity to run the pump so we can have water. My generator is taking care that I have water. It also runs the refrigerator, the office, and the living room. It doesn't run my coffeemaker.
The unfortunate thing about losing power is that it really highlights one's dependency on electricity. My Mom called. They don't have water. They don't have a generator. My sister called. She doesn't have water. She doesn't have a generator. OK. Enough "I told you so's". This is the lake. People have lived without electricity in the past and they still do.
Anyway, I've been busy running around forgetting that I still don't have electricity in certain parts of the house. The kitchen, other then the refrigerator, doesn't have electricity. I walked into the kitchen this morning and headed for the coffeemaker. No electricity. No coffee. Pout. No instant coffee. I don't like instant coffee but it'll do in a pinch and a panic. Note to self, buy instant coffee to keep in the cupboard for emergencies. OK. Think. I couldn't pour a cup of yesterday's coffee to nuke in the microwave but the microwave doesn't work. I grabbed a saucepan and poured the old coffee in that to heat on top of the stove. I have a gas stove so it'll still work. I turned on the gas under the burner. Nothing. Oh yah, my stove has an electric starter. Hey! I don't think too clearly without my first cup of coffee in the morning. OK. I grabbed the matches. The only thing the electricity does on my stove is shoot a spark out to light the burner. My match did the trick. Coffee. Ah, the pioneering spirit lives. I've since moved my coffeemaker to the office...after my sister asked me why I hadn't just done that. I hadn't thought about doing that.
Next. I went into the office to turn on the computer. This should have worked but HTP unplugged the entire system. Surge protectors are all well and good and if they fail, the makers promise to replace your equipment. Unfortunately, they don't promise to replace your data. We unplug our systems during bad storms. We don't want to lose our data. I plugged in the plugs that I saw but I must have missed one somewhere because I couldn't get my computer up and running. Back to the laptop. I'm running that on an extension cord right now. It does have a battery but since I have some electricity, there's no point in wasting the battery.
So, I got a call this morning from my Mom, asking me if we had power or if was just them. I assured her that it wasn't just them. I got a call from my sister next. She already knew that we didn't have power. She wanted to know if #1 son could come over to help remove a huge tree that had fallen over their driveway. Her hubby found it when he tried to head off to work. I went down and woke up #1 son.
#1 son isn't the easiest person in the world to wake up in the morning. You have to realize that it was only 6:30 AM at this point. He doesn't start surfacing until noon. It really is amazing how he can actually answer me politely and you can hardly see his lips move. Certainly, nothing else was moving either. "I'm moving!" Yes, I imagine that involuntary muscles on his body were moving. His heart was pumping. His lungs were functioning. I did hear a voice but other then that, no movement. Get up! Now! "I'm up already!" Hah! I went back upstairs. After another couple of minutes, I yelled down again. "I'm getting dressed!" By this time HTP was wondering what was up. I explained the situation and he said that he'd go over and help with the tree. He calmly rose, got dressed, and headed for the door. We have an electric garage door opener. Sigh. Thankfully there is a way to manually open the garage door if the power is gone. Note to self, as soon as the power comes back on, reactivate the garage door opener. HTP had already packed up the saws and ropes and backed out the car when #1 son finally stumbled up the stairs, boots in hand. The last I saw, they were heading over to help with the tree removal project. I never thought about the fact that we may have a tree over our own driveway. There may even be trees over the main road between our place and my sister's place.
My Mom called and asked if HTP and #1 son could stop by and pick up some jugs to fill with water for them...and a pumper pot for coffee. I tried to call them but I think #1 son wasn't really awake enough to slip his cell phone into his pocket. At this point, I haven't heard from either #1 son or HTP. I did assure my sister that they were on their way. The last I heard from her was that her husband got their chainsaw running. Oh good! All we have is an electric chainsaw and a manual pruning bow saw.
So, other then a tendency to flip switches and turn stuff on that won't work until the electricity is fixed, we'll weather the results of last night's weather just fine. HTP and #1 son just got back. The tree is gone. I just sent #1 son back to take water and coffee to my folks and/or just pick them up and bring them back here for the day...or until the electricity comes back on.
Update. I have power! It'll take a bit longer for the power to return to my folk's side of the lake. HTP and #1 son have plans to bring them over here until power returns.
Murphyism of the Day
Last Law of Robotics
The only real errors are human errors.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Word of the Day
Cusstomer: A patron that isn't exactly a saint.
The weather has been great for my garden. Hot and humid. Just the right amount of rain and sun. Before I left for Rochester, I carefully staked and tied up my tomato plants. Five days later, I was shocked to see how much they'd grown. I actually picked my first three tomatoes. The plants had spread out and grown eight inches higher. I had to tie them again. On top of that, my zucchini are busy blossoming. I even picked enough of the male blossoms for breakfast. Fried squash blossoms. Yummy! My first picking of lettuce which I took this morning will provide enough salad greens for a couple of meals. The cucumbers had to be rebuked because they were climbing on the zucchini plants and the beans instead of the fence like they should be. I corrected them. Bad cukes, bad.
I noticed that my few remaining wild raspberry bushes, have an abundance of berries that look like they are just starting to turn pink. I may not have as many as I have had in years past but I still plan to make jam. The driveway excavators mowed down many of my wild raspberry bushes that line our driveway. Don't worry, they'll grow back. These are wild raspberry bushes. They love growing right next to gravel driveways. I'll make up for the dirth of raspberries this summer by picking more blackberries. Nothing seems to discourage wild blackberries. Not even the deer. I wish I could say the same for my new tame raspberry bushes. I'm going to have to do something to keep the deer away from them while we're not here during the winter and early spring after the snow melts. Deer seem to just love tame raspberries.
I've been trying my hand at adding new perennials to my flower borders. HTP and I spent a great deal of time this spring removing weeds from the flower beds. We do live in the wilds out here and green is the norm. My Grandmother's definition of a weed was anything green that's growing where it's not supposed to be growing. She was a master gardener. So, HTP and I removed anything that wandered in from the woods over the winter and quickly covered the beds with a thick layer of bark mulch to discourage future developments from that direction. Stupid chipmunks keep coming and burying acorns. Anyway, I also planted all kinds of additional perennials. My hope is that if I get enough green stuff planted, weeds will become discouraged. In the meantime, I go out on a daily basis with a full spray bottle of Round-up. I don't want blackberry bushes growing in my flowerbed.
Murphyism of the Day
Feinberg's Principle
Memory serves its own master.
Cusstomer: A patron that isn't exactly a saint.
The weather has been great for my garden. Hot and humid. Just the right amount of rain and sun. Before I left for Rochester, I carefully staked and tied up my tomato plants. Five days later, I was shocked to see how much they'd grown. I actually picked my first three tomatoes. The plants had spread out and grown eight inches higher. I had to tie them again. On top of that, my zucchini are busy blossoming. I even picked enough of the male blossoms for breakfast. Fried squash blossoms. Yummy! My first picking of lettuce which I took this morning will provide enough salad greens for a couple of meals. The cucumbers had to be rebuked because they were climbing on the zucchini plants and the beans instead of the fence like they should be. I corrected them. Bad cukes, bad.
I noticed that my few remaining wild raspberry bushes, have an abundance of berries that look like they are just starting to turn pink. I may not have as many as I have had in years past but I still plan to make jam. The driveway excavators mowed down many of my wild raspberry bushes that line our driveway. Don't worry, they'll grow back. These are wild raspberry bushes. They love growing right next to gravel driveways. I'll make up for the dirth of raspberries this summer by picking more blackberries. Nothing seems to discourage wild blackberries. Not even the deer. I wish I could say the same for my new tame raspberry bushes. I'm going to have to do something to keep the deer away from them while we're not here during the winter and early spring after the snow melts. Deer seem to just love tame raspberries.
I've been trying my hand at adding new perennials to my flower borders. HTP and I spent a great deal of time this spring removing weeds from the flower beds. We do live in the wilds out here and green is the norm. My Grandmother's definition of a weed was anything green that's growing where it's not supposed to be growing. She was a master gardener. So, HTP and I removed anything that wandered in from the woods over the winter and quickly covered the beds with a thick layer of bark mulch to discourage future developments from that direction. Stupid chipmunks keep coming and burying acorns. Anyway, I also planted all kinds of additional perennials. My hope is that if I get enough green stuff planted, weeds will become discouraged. In the meantime, I go out on a daily basis with a full spray bottle of Round-up. I don't want blackberry bushes growing in my flowerbed.
Murphyism of the Day
Feinberg's Principle
Memory serves its own master.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Word of the Day
Curryiculum: Indian cooking course.
I'm home! Woohoo! It's great to be back at The Lake. Dad was released from the hospital in Rochester this morning. He was told that he needs to return in about six weeks for a followup but he was happy that he was getting to come home. I loaded all our stuff into the car and picked him and Mom up at the hospital regulated pickup area.
As we drove along on our way back to The Lake, I noticed that my Dad was having a bit of trouble with his seat belt. Word to the wise. After surgery where you are cut from guggle to zatch, the shoulder harness of the seat belt is a thing of torture. I know it isn't the most safe option but, I told him to tuck the thing behind him. He was a lot more comfortable after that. He was still strapped in but we more or less disabled the shoulder harness.
We made a few stops along the way for Dad to walk around, as directed. We even went shopping and had a bite to eat. Dad stated that the food at Culver's was a great improvement on the hospital food. I noted that he didn't seem to have too much trouble finishing up his Chocolate Volcano frozen custard.
We got back to The Lake at around 2:30 PM. After getting Mom and Dad all settled, #1 son picked me up and I got myself all settled. I'm unpacked. I'll have to do laundry tomorrow, however, I've got a hair appointment tomorrow. HTP is going into the city with me to get his hair cut. He'll be done a lot sooner then me. I'm getting my hair dyed and cut. He'll just have to wait around and twiddle his thumbs.
My garden has grown. It's grown a lot in the five days that I've been gone. I actually have ripe tomatoes on a couple of my plants. I've got tiny green peppers on some of my plants. My zucchini are blossoming like mad. I have to go out and pick the lettuce. Needless to say, I'm in shock. I'm amazed. Last year the weather just wasn't right for gardening. This year has been perfect so far. We're getting just the right amount of rain and just the right amount of sun. I must say that it is rather warm. Hot and humid even. But no complaints from me. Whatever makes the garden happy.
Murphyism of the Day
The Pineapple Principle
The best parts of anything are always impossible to remove from the worst parts.
Curryiculum: Indian cooking course.
I'm home! Woohoo! It's great to be back at The Lake. Dad was released from the hospital in Rochester this morning. He was told that he needs to return in about six weeks for a followup but he was happy that he was getting to come home. I loaded all our stuff into the car and picked him and Mom up at the hospital regulated pickup area.
As we drove along on our way back to The Lake, I noticed that my Dad was having a bit of trouble with his seat belt. Word to the wise. After surgery where you are cut from guggle to zatch, the shoulder harness of the seat belt is a thing of torture. I know it isn't the most safe option but, I told him to tuck the thing behind him. He was a lot more comfortable after that. He was still strapped in but we more or less disabled the shoulder harness.
We made a few stops along the way for Dad to walk around, as directed. We even went shopping and had a bite to eat. Dad stated that the food at Culver's was a great improvement on the hospital food. I noted that he didn't seem to have too much trouble finishing up his Chocolate Volcano frozen custard.
We got back to The Lake at around 2:30 PM. After getting Mom and Dad all settled, #1 son picked me up and I got myself all settled. I'm unpacked. I'll have to do laundry tomorrow, however, I've got a hair appointment tomorrow. HTP is going into the city with me to get his hair cut. He'll be done a lot sooner then me. I'm getting my hair dyed and cut. He'll just have to wait around and twiddle his thumbs.
My garden has grown. It's grown a lot in the five days that I've been gone. I actually have ripe tomatoes on a couple of my plants. I've got tiny green peppers on some of my plants. My zucchini are blossoming like mad. I have to go out and pick the lettuce. Needless to say, I'm in shock. I'm amazed. Last year the weather just wasn't right for gardening. This year has been perfect so far. We're getting just the right amount of rain and just the right amount of sun. I must say that it is rather warm. Hot and humid even. But no complaints from me. Whatever makes the garden happy.
Murphyism of the Day
The Pineapple Principle
The best parts of anything are always impossible to remove from the worst parts.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Word of the Day
Cowculate: How to count cattle.
One more day here in Rochester. All's well here. My Dad is doing just fine. The Doctor came to visit on his morning rounds and gave Dad the option to either check out today or tomorrow. Mom and Dad decided on tomorrow. So, here you find me still in Rochester. I'll be driving Dad home to The Lake tomorrow.
Most of my time now is spent, visiting Dad, working on the puzzle in The Family Waiting Room, sitting in the hotel room with the laptop, and dragging my Mom out to get a bite to eat. I don't think I can stand the thought of eating another meal at the Visitor's Cafeteria. Besides, it's more expensive than the other restaurants that are located really close to the hospital.
And then I walked into a flooded bathroom. Sigh. Apparently, someone had managed to break the toilet in the room above ours (I wonder if it was the dance team or the baseball team?) and no-one thought about checking to see if any damage was being done to my room. Good thing I was here in the room or we'd have a real mess on our hands. Thankfully the maintanance crew (OK...it wasn't a whole crew, it was only one poor smuck) came right out and fixed the problem. But now I have to stay here until he's all done with whatever he thinks has to be done because I don't want people walking in and out of the room while I'm over at the hospital.
OK. So we've had Fire yesterday. Or at least the smoke alarms all went off when someone made a burnt offering of his morning toast. And then today we had The Flood when the hotel room above us had that overflow problem. I'm hoping that we check out tomorrow before we encounter Pestulance.
Dad is all settled in again for the night. Mom is again spending the night on the cot in his room. He's doing fine but they (Mom and Dad) thought it would be better if both of them were there to talk to the Doctor on his morning rounds before he's released tomorrow. From what I gather, the process starts at around 10 AM and I have no idea how long it'll take. I'll load up the car after breakfast and we'll check out of the hotel at that time. I can always come back and pick up the car after I know they're heading down to the front entrance of the hospital with Dad and all his belongings.
I'm looking forward to getting home tomorrow even if I do end up having to do the laundry when I get back. I haven't even seen our new driveway yet...except in the photo's that HTP sent in his e-mails.
Murphyism of the Day
Relativity for Children
Time moves slower in a fast-moving vehicle.
Cowculate: How to count cattle.
One more day here in Rochester. All's well here. My Dad is doing just fine. The Doctor came to visit on his morning rounds and gave Dad the option to either check out today or tomorrow. Mom and Dad decided on tomorrow. So, here you find me still in Rochester. I'll be driving Dad home to The Lake tomorrow.
Most of my time now is spent, visiting Dad, working on the puzzle in The Family Waiting Room, sitting in the hotel room with the laptop, and dragging my Mom out to get a bite to eat. I don't think I can stand the thought of eating another meal at the Visitor's Cafeteria. Besides, it's more expensive than the other restaurants that are located really close to the hospital.
And then I walked into a flooded bathroom. Sigh. Apparently, someone had managed to break the toilet in the room above ours (I wonder if it was the dance team or the baseball team?) and no-one thought about checking to see if any damage was being done to my room. Good thing I was here in the room or we'd have a real mess on our hands. Thankfully the maintanance crew (OK...it wasn't a whole crew, it was only one poor smuck) came right out and fixed the problem. But now I have to stay here until he's all done with whatever he thinks has to be done because I don't want people walking in and out of the room while I'm over at the hospital.
OK. So we've had Fire yesterday. Or at least the smoke alarms all went off when someone made a burnt offering of his morning toast. And then today we had The Flood when the hotel room above us had that overflow problem. I'm hoping that we check out tomorrow before we encounter Pestulance.
Dad is all settled in again for the night. Mom is again spending the night on the cot in his room. He's doing fine but they (Mom and Dad) thought it would be better if both of them were there to talk to the Doctor on his morning rounds before he's released tomorrow. From what I gather, the process starts at around 10 AM and I have no idea how long it'll take. I'll load up the car after breakfast and we'll check out of the hotel at that time. I can always come back and pick up the car after I know they're heading down to the front entrance of the hospital with Dad and all his belongings.
I'm looking forward to getting home tomorrow even if I do end up having to do the laundry when I get back. I haven't even seen our new driveway yet...except in the photo's that HTP sent in his e-mails.
Murphyism of the Day
Relativity for Children
Time moves slower in a fast-moving vehicle.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Word of the Day
Chadectomy: 1. The removal of any foreign object from a ballot. 2. Breaking up with any guy named Chad.
Day Three at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Things are progressing. My Dad has only one more tube to be removed. They're going to see how his lungs looks and if all's well, they'll remove the last one. He's not feeling too chipper today. Come on Dad, what did you expect? You'd be able to race up and down the halls and eat pizza and drink beer? I don't think so. It's going to take a bit longer then that to recover from having someone cut open your chest "from guggle to zatch". The other day, I remembered this quote. It seemed appropriate at the time. My family have adopted this quote ever since reading a "fairy tale" when I was much younger. Aha! Thank you Yahoo! I found it. James Thurber in The Thirteen Clocks.
It looks like the wedding of my Devil Dog Daughter is a definite go. She's been given a verbal OK for her leave and the airline ticket has been purchased. Wow! I guess I'd better get busy and buy a card. This is definitely turning out to be a summer to remember! I'm hoping for a formal re-run of the wedding (the wedding of my daughter's dreams) the summer after the groom gets back from "The Sandbox". Now, let's all pray that a verbal OK is as good as a written OK and that she'll have the appropriate paperwork in hand so she can leave the base.
Rochester Update! Oh my goodness! They've removed the last drainage tube from Dad's chest. A nurse came in and gave Mom and Dad...and me...the check-out lecture about medications, exercise, etc. From all outward signs, Dad will be released from the hospital tomorrow. Tomorrow! That was a lot faster then we were expecting. Needless to say. I'm still in a state of denial. They can't possibly be thinking about releasing him so soon. This in no way means that we all don't want him to come home but...Wow!
Mom is going to spend the night at the hospital tonight so that she won't miss being with Dad for his morning doctor visit. Doctors make their rounds really early at Mayo. It's always a good idea for two sets of ears (at least) to be present, especially for this last doctor visit before heading back to the wilds of The Lake.
Murphyism of the Day
O'Toole's Axiom
One child is not enough, but two children are far too many.
Old Grey's Axiom
Don't get me started on three children....
Chadectomy: 1. The removal of any foreign object from a ballot. 2. Breaking up with any guy named Chad.
Day Three at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Things are progressing. My Dad has only one more tube to be removed. They're going to see how his lungs looks and if all's well, they'll remove the last one. He's not feeling too chipper today. Come on Dad, what did you expect? You'd be able to race up and down the halls and eat pizza and drink beer? I don't think so. It's going to take a bit longer then that to recover from having someone cut open your chest "from guggle to zatch". The other day, I remembered this quote. It seemed appropriate at the time. My family have adopted this quote ever since reading a "fairy tale" when I was much younger. Aha! Thank you Yahoo! I found it. James Thurber in The Thirteen Clocks.
It looks like the wedding of my Devil Dog Daughter is a definite go. She's been given a verbal OK for her leave and the airline ticket has been purchased. Wow! I guess I'd better get busy and buy a card. This is definitely turning out to be a summer to remember! I'm hoping for a formal re-run of the wedding (the wedding of my daughter's dreams) the summer after the groom gets back from "The Sandbox". Now, let's all pray that a verbal OK is as good as a written OK and that she'll have the appropriate paperwork in hand so she can leave the base.
Rochester Update! Oh my goodness! They've removed the last drainage tube from Dad's chest. A nurse came in and gave Mom and Dad...and me...the check-out lecture about medications, exercise, etc. From all outward signs, Dad will be released from the hospital tomorrow. Tomorrow! That was a lot faster then we were expecting. Needless to say. I'm still in a state of denial. They can't possibly be thinking about releasing him so soon. This in no way means that we all don't want him to come home but...Wow!
Mom is going to spend the night at the hospital tonight so that she won't miss being with Dad for his morning doctor visit. Doctors make their rounds really early at Mayo. It's always a good idea for two sets of ears (at least) to be present, especially for this last doctor visit before heading back to the wilds of The Lake.
Murphyism of the Day
O'Toole's Axiom
One child is not enough, but two children are far too many.
Old Grey's Axiom
Don't get me started on three children....
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Word of the Day
Coughee: 1. Coughing while drinking coffee. 2. He/She who is coughed upon.
Day Two at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I'm going to follow the same format that I used yesterday in my blog. I'll start this blog and add to it and finish it as the day wears on. When you see the closing Murphyism, you'll know that I'm done...or I'm just too tired to finish. Just know that I'll try to finish up before toddling off to bed.
My Dad is coming along fine. They've already removed several bells and whistles and plan to remove more as the day goes on. He's been up and sitting by the bed. They allowed him breakfast and, more important, real coffee. His eyes lit up at the offer. "I can have that?" Woohoo! I can sympathize. I actually attacked the dormant coffee-maker in the Family Waiting Room. It didn't take too long for me to figure out how to work it. As Mom and I were puzzling over the coffee-maker, we watched Dad wave as he walked down the hall. It looks like they're going to keep him really busy today.
There is no reason for me to linger at the hospital anymore. I do plan to return to grab my Mom for meals and visit but in the meantime, I'll be here in the air-conditioned hotel room, watching TV, reading my book, working on my crotchet project, playing Pogo, and/or adding to my blog or reading and answering e-mails. If my Dad is up to it, I may bring the laptop over to the hospital so he can write his own e-mails offline. I can send them out when I get back to our room. As I said, there is no reason to "hover". Besides, although Dad has a private room, that room is pretty crowded, especially when that bevy of nurses come in.
Mom and I ate supper at the visitor's cafeteria for lunch and supper. The food isn't too bad. At least they have a salad bar. The food Dad has to choose from sounds good on paper but leaves something in the translation. He's going to have to beg for salt and pepper or stick to pudding, cookies and coffee. Yuck! I think they cook this way as an incentive tool. Incentive for the patients to get well and leave.
Murphyism of the Day
Ringwald's Law of Household Geometry
Any horizontal surface is soon piled up.
Coughee: 1. Coughing while drinking coffee. 2. He/She who is coughed upon.
Day Two at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I'm going to follow the same format that I used yesterday in my blog. I'll start this blog and add to it and finish it as the day wears on. When you see the closing Murphyism, you'll know that I'm done...or I'm just too tired to finish. Just know that I'll try to finish up before toddling off to bed.
My Dad is coming along fine. They've already removed several bells and whistles and plan to remove more as the day goes on. He's been up and sitting by the bed. They allowed him breakfast and, more important, real coffee. His eyes lit up at the offer. "I can have that?" Woohoo! I can sympathize. I actually attacked the dormant coffee-maker in the Family Waiting Room. It didn't take too long for me to figure out how to work it. As Mom and I were puzzling over the coffee-maker, we watched Dad wave as he walked down the hall. It looks like they're going to keep him really busy today.
There is no reason for me to linger at the hospital anymore. I do plan to return to grab my Mom for meals and visit but in the meantime, I'll be here in the air-conditioned hotel room, watching TV, reading my book, working on my crotchet project, playing Pogo, and/or adding to my blog or reading and answering e-mails. If my Dad is up to it, I may bring the laptop over to the hospital so he can write his own e-mails offline. I can send them out when I get back to our room. As I said, there is no reason to "hover". Besides, although Dad has a private room, that room is pretty crowded, especially when that bevy of nurses come in.
Mom and I ate supper at the visitor's cafeteria for lunch and supper. The food isn't too bad. At least they have a salad bar. The food Dad has to choose from sounds good on paper but leaves something in the translation. He's going to have to beg for salt and pepper or stick to pudding, cookies and coffee. Yuck! I think they cook this way as an incentive tool. Incentive for the patients to get well and leave.
Murphyism of the Day
Ringwald's Law of Household Geometry
Any horizontal surface is soon piled up.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Word of the Day
Cellfish: Someone who shops while talking on a cell phone.
A full day in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic. Enough said? My Dad is doing as well as can be expected after his operation. We're told that he'll be up and walking the halls tomorrow and that he may be released in 3-4 days. Despite this fact, I doubt he'll be up to any hi-jinks anytime soon. My Mother decided to spend the night at the hospital with my Dad. They brought her a cot. Me? I get a king-size bed to sleep in tonight as soon as I finish this blog. I already sent out a promised e-mail update to friends and relatives. I finished off a nutrigrain bar for my supper, washed down with a cup of coffee. If I had more energy, I'd eat the apple sitting here on the desk or the bagel and cream cheese in the fridge but I don't even have enough energy to find a spoon to eat the yoghurt sitting beside the bagel. So...it's off to bed. I'll see if I can get in a longer blog tomorrow.
Murphyism of the Day
Ryan's Application to Parkinson's Law
Possessions increase to fill the space available for their storage.
Cellfish: Someone who shops while talking on a cell phone.
A full day in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic. Enough said? My Dad is doing as well as can be expected after his operation. We're told that he'll be up and walking the halls tomorrow and that he may be released in 3-4 days. Despite this fact, I doubt he'll be up to any hi-jinks anytime soon. My Mother decided to spend the night at the hospital with my Dad. They brought her a cot. Me? I get a king-size bed to sleep in tonight as soon as I finish this blog. I already sent out a promised e-mail update to friends and relatives. I finished off a nutrigrain bar for my supper, washed down with a cup of coffee. If I had more energy, I'd eat the apple sitting here on the desk or the bagel and cream cheese in the fridge but I don't even have enough energy to find a spoon to eat the yoghurt sitting beside the bagel. So...it's off to bed. I'll see if I can get in a longer blog tomorrow.
Murphyism of the Day
Ryan's Application to Parkinson's Law
Possessions increase to fill the space available for their storage.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Word of the Day
Chubbify: To eat something really decadent, knowing that it will make you gain weight.
I'm just going to start this blog so check back tonight for Rochester Updates. When you see a Murphyism, you'll know that I'm signing off for the night. At least I'll try to finish up tonight after we're all settled into our hotel in Rochester.
HTP will be staying here at The Lake with #1 son. I can already see that they fully intend to throw dietary rules out the window while I'm gone. I, on the other hand, plan to try my darnedest to maintain a healthy diet. Please note that I also will attempt to avoid breaking my arm whilst patting myself on the back. I'm sure temptation will rear it's nasty head but at least I have good intentions. HTP and #1 son look like they're going to go out of their way to break the rules. Woohoo! The Diet Gestapo is leaving! Oh well...it's only a week. How much trouble can two male homo sapiens get into in one week? Don't answer that.
I hooked up my garden sprinkler and have it running right now for a half hour. Although it looks like we may get the occasional rain, I doubt it'll be enough to keep up with my vegetable garden's needs. The forecast is for hot and humid temperatures for at least a week, maybe longer. It is summer so I guess we shouldn't complain. I'm hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. I also told HTP that he would have to water the plants on the deck EVERY day. He wasn't pleased when he figured out how long he'd have to spend watering those plants. I think he's in the process of using his engineering mind to figure out how to rig up a seasonal drip system for the deck. Fine by me. Just so my plants get watered while I'm gone.
Rochester Update
We arrived safely in Rochester and checked in to our modern, air-conditioned, high-speed internet hotel. We had supper at The Rainbow Cafe. Hamburgers were the special of the day so that was the food of the night. A beverage was part of the special. I asked for iced tea. They ran out of it but they told me that I could have almost a full selection of soda pop. I didn't want soda pop. I asked them if they had hot tea. They did. Fine. I asked the waitress for hot tea (she brought me a tea bag and a tall glass of hot water) and a large glass of ice. I made my own iced tea. The waitress was impressed. Imagine that. People can actually make their own iced tea. From scratch.
My Dad has to report to admissions at 5:45 AM. I guess we'll be getting an early start tomorrow.
Murphyism of the Day
Kovac's Conundrum
When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
Chubbify: To eat something really decadent, knowing that it will make you gain weight.
I'm just going to start this blog so check back tonight for Rochester Updates. When you see a Murphyism, you'll know that I'm signing off for the night. At least I'll try to finish up tonight after we're all settled into our hotel in Rochester.
HTP will be staying here at The Lake with #1 son. I can already see that they fully intend to throw dietary rules out the window while I'm gone. I, on the other hand, plan to try my darnedest to maintain a healthy diet. Please note that I also will attempt to avoid breaking my arm whilst patting myself on the back. I'm sure temptation will rear it's nasty head but at least I have good intentions. HTP and #1 son look like they're going to go out of their way to break the rules. Woohoo! The Diet Gestapo is leaving! Oh well...it's only a week. How much trouble can two male homo sapiens get into in one week? Don't answer that.
I hooked up my garden sprinkler and have it running right now for a half hour. Although it looks like we may get the occasional rain, I doubt it'll be enough to keep up with my vegetable garden's needs. The forecast is for hot and humid temperatures for at least a week, maybe longer. It is summer so I guess we shouldn't complain. I'm hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. I also told HTP that he would have to water the plants on the deck EVERY day. He wasn't pleased when he figured out how long he'd have to spend watering those plants. I think he's in the process of using his engineering mind to figure out how to rig up a seasonal drip system for the deck. Fine by me. Just so my plants get watered while I'm gone.
Rochester Update
We arrived safely in Rochester and checked in to our modern, air-conditioned, high-speed internet hotel. We had supper at The Rainbow Cafe. Hamburgers were the special of the day so that was the food of the night. A beverage was part of the special. I asked for iced tea. They ran out of it but they told me that I could have almost a full selection of soda pop. I didn't want soda pop. I asked them if they had hot tea. They did. Fine. I asked the waitress for hot tea (she brought me a tea bag and a tall glass of hot water) and a large glass of ice. I made my own iced tea. The waitress was impressed. Imagine that. People can actually make their own iced tea. From scratch.
My Dad has to report to admissions at 5:45 AM. I guess we'll be getting an early start tomorrow.
Murphyism of the Day
Kovac's Conundrum
When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Word of the Day
Costaphobic: Fear of opening all the bills at the end of the month.
One whole day of laundry. Plus...the excavators are here again working on the road. #1 son had to use the Gator to go to work today. Otherwise, the road is pretty much hard to navigate.
I spent the morning in the garden, staking and tying up my tomato plants. I'm hoping that the one tomato plant that got snapped off in the storm will come back. I covered up the broken stem with dirt and staked it. Maybe it will come back by rooting. We'll see how it looks when I get back here.
While I was downstairs doing laundry, I found a present. My friends left me a thank you gift. Thank you Gal! That was really nice of you. The craft person's heart in me is going pitty-pat. I'm going to have to show HTP's mother the fly-swatter. It's really cute and I know that she'll love to see it so she can make one of her own. She's better at that sort of craft then me. Though my mind did do that quick analysis on how the project was accomplished. My craft forte leans in other directions. Which reminds me...I have to block the doilie that I made for my daughter. I got a new kitchen towel, a pin cushion and some caffeine-free herbal teas too. Now I have some tea to offer them the next time they come for a visit. I was really scrounging when they were here. I've got a jar of various teas that I've stolen from hotels while traveling but aside from those, I've got a very poor selection of caffeine-free teas. So you see? There is a reward to doing laundry. I wouldn't have seen the gift if I hadn't been down the basement changing the sheets in the guest room.
Murphyism of the Day
Bess' Universal Principles
1. The telephone will ring when you are outside the door, fumbling for your keys.
2. You will reach it just in time to hear the click of the caller hanging up.
Old Grey's Corollary
1. The telephone will ring when you are close enough to just barely hear the phone ring but too far away to reach it (ie. In the basement doing laundry or out in the garden or down on the dock).
2. You will reach it just in time to hear the last of the message left by your caller on the answering machine.
3. Some people are still afraid of answering machines.
4. The people who are afraid to leave messages on the answering machine, keep the people who missed their calls awake at night.
Costaphobic: Fear of opening all the bills at the end of the month.
One whole day of laundry. Plus...the excavators are here again working on the road. #1 son had to use the Gator to go to work today. Otherwise, the road is pretty much hard to navigate.
I spent the morning in the garden, staking and tying up my tomato plants. I'm hoping that the one tomato plant that got snapped off in the storm will come back. I covered up the broken stem with dirt and staked it. Maybe it will come back by rooting. We'll see how it looks when I get back here.
While I was downstairs doing laundry, I found a present. My friends left me a thank you gift. Thank you Gal! That was really nice of you. The craft person's heart in me is going pitty-pat. I'm going to have to show HTP's mother the fly-swatter. It's really cute and I know that she'll love to see it so she can make one of her own. She's better at that sort of craft then me. Though my mind did do that quick analysis on how the project was accomplished. My craft forte leans in other directions. Which reminds me...I have to block the doilie that I made for my daughter. I got a new kitchen towel, a pin cushion and some caffeine-free herbal teas too. Now I have some tea to offer them the next time they come for a visit. I was really scrounging when they were here. I've got a jar of various teas that I've stolen from hotels while traveling but aside from those, I've got a very poor selection of caffeine-free teas. So you see? There is a reward to doing laundry. I wouldn't have seen the gift if I hadn't been down the basement changing the sheets in the guest room.
Murphyism of the Day
Bess' Universal Principles
1. The telephone will ring when you are outside the door, fumbling for your keys.
2. You will reach it just in time to hear the click of the caller hanging up.
Old Grey's Corollary
1. The telephone will ring when you are close enough to just barely hear the phone ring but too far away to reach it (ie. In the basement doing laundry or out in the garden or down on the dock).
2. You will reach it just in time to hear the last of the message left by your caller on the answering machine.
3. Some people are still afraid of answering machines.
4. The people who are afraid to leave messages on the answering machine, keep the people who missed their calls awake at night.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Word of the Day
Coolth: Opposite of warmth.
I'm back at The Lake until Thursday. Actually, I was only gone one night. It seems longer then that. Geez! I was only gone one night! What the heck happened out here?! The excavators started work on our driveway. That's obvious! I mean it looks really messy and muddy. I'm not sure if anyone without a 4x4 could actually come and go on our driveway right now. Sigh. And then...I looked at my garden. There must have been a heck of a storm that blew through. Not too much rain, only 1/2" in my rain gauge. Out in my garden I saw that I probably lost a tomato plant. It doesn't look too good right now. I think I lost another tomato plant out on the deck in one of my containers. That's only the stuff from my side of the lake. When my folks and I got to their side of the lake, we needed to haul trees off the road. HTP came over and helped remove the biggest of them. Mission accomplished. It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that I've already discovered two creeping woodticks. I'm sure I'll find more before the night is through. On top of that, Mom wasn't happy because a deer munched on her grape vine and her tame raspberries despite the fact that she sprayed them with deer repellent. Good grief! We were only gone for one night! We're going to be gone longer next time. Heaven only knows what we'll find after 4-7 days away from home.
We head back to Rochester on Thursday. My Dad has to check in for his operation on Friday. He's having a tumor removed. Doctors always seem to want to remove these things if they find them...just in case. They tell us that he'll be hospitalized for 4-7 days there at Mayo afterwards. Maybe longer. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay for the whole time he's there or not. I'm going to try but...
My Devil Dog Daughter may be married on July 2nd. That means that HTP and I will have to go pick up HTP's parents in Minneapolis and head down to Omaha on July 1. It's pretty doubtful that my folks will be able to attend the wedding at this point. I'm not at all sure how my Dad will be feeling by July 1st when we'll have to head down for the wedding. On top of this, #1 son has a friend flying in from Arizona on July 2nd so he's not going to be able to come with us to Omaha. He's going to have to pick up his friend in Minneapolis and drive back here to The Lake. Actually, I'm not even sure if my DD daughter will be granted leave so it may be a moot point. We'll see. Stay tuned for further episodes of The Life and Times of The Old Grey Frog because it's starting to look like I'll be able to write a few homegrown Murphyisms after this summer.
Murphyism of the Day
Old Grey's Law of Weather Forecasting
If the weatherman is predicting sunny and dry weather, get out your umbrellas.
Coolth: Opposite of warmth.
I'm back at The Lake until Thursday. Actually, I was only gone one night. It seems longer then that. Geez! I was only gone one night! What the heck happened out here?! The excavators started work on our driveway. That's obvious! I mean it looks really messy and muddy. I'm not sure if anyone without a 4x4 could actually come and go on our driveway right now. Sigh. And then...I looked at my garden. There must have been a heck of a storm that blew through. Not too much rain, only 1/2" in my rain gauge. Out in my garden I saw that I probably lost a tomato plant. It doesn't look too good right now. I think I lost another tomato plant out on the deck in one of my containers. That's only the stuff from my side of the lake. When my folks and I got to their side of the lake, we needed to haul trees off the road. HTP came over and helped remove the biggest of them. Mission accomplished. It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that I've already discovered two creeping woodticks. I'm sure I'll find more before the night is through. On top of that, Mom wasn't happy because a deer munched on her grape vine and her tame raspberries despite the fact that she sprayed them with deer repellent. Good grief! We were only gone for one night! We're going to be gone longer next time. Heaven only knows what we'll find after 4-7 days away from home.
We head back to Rochester on Thursday. My Dad has to check in for his operation on Friday. He's having a tumor removed. Doctors always seem to want to remove these things if they find them...just in case. They tell us that he'll be hospitalized for 4-7 days there at Mayo afterwards. Maybe longer. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay for the whole time he's there or not. I'm going to try but...
My Devil Dog Daughter may be married on July 2nd. That means that HTP and I will have to go pick up HTP's parents in Minneapolis and head down to Omaha on July 1. It's pretty doubtful that my folks will be able to attend the wedding at this point. I'm not at all sure how my Dad will be feeling by July 1st when we'll have to head down for the wedding. On top of this, #1 son has a friend flying in from Arizona on July 2nd so he's not going to be able to come with us to Omaha. He's going to have to pick up his friend in Minneapolis and drive back here to The Lake. Actually, I'm not even sure if my DD daughter will be granted leave so it may be a moot point. We'll see. Stay tuned for further episodes of The Life and Times of The Old Grey Frog because it's starting to look like I'll be able to write a few homegrown Murphyisms after this summer.
Murphyism of the Day
Old Grey's Law of Weather Forecasting
If the weatherman is predicting sunny and dry weather, get out your umbrellas.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Word of the Day
Rainbe: Maybe rain.
It's been a full day. We drove to Rochester today. My Dad had an appointment at the Mayo Clinic. Word to the wise. Don't stay at the Fiksdal Hotel. There is no air-conditioning. I wonder if there is heat in the winter? Thankfully, we don't actually have to stay at this quaint old hotel more then one night. We can leave tomorrow. When we return on Thursday (the night before Dad's surgery), we'll stay at the SpringHill Marriot down the block. It's on the same block so we won't have to walk too far. I'll let you know if it's a better place to stay.
The drive from The Lake to Rochester was uneventful. The sun was shining. After consulting the radar before we left The Lake, we decided that the weather would remain fine for however long we had to remain here in Rochester. Wrong. By the time we were done with blood test, consultations, and paperwork, we walked outside to storm clouds, thunder booms and rain. This time the rain is not my fault. I did not water the garden yesterday or this morning. I was thinking about it but I never got around to it.
We returned to our Fiksdal Hotel to find our room even warmer then before. We may survive the night with the box fan they sent up. Thankfully, the restaurant down the block gave us respite from the heat during supper. The Canadian Bar and Grill had good food. There are a nice selection of restaurants within walking distance. Good thing to keep in mind for the week we may have to stay starting on Thursday.
My next blog will be from The Lake but I'll have to try and blog from the SpringHill later this week.
Murphyism of the Day
Jone's Law of TV Programming
1. IF there are only two shows worth watching, they will be on at the same time.
2. The only new show worth watching will be cancelled.
3. The show you've been looking forward to all week will be preempted.
Rainbe: Maybe rain.
It's been a full day. We drove to Rochester today. My Dad had an appointment at the Mayo Clinic. Word to the wise. Don't stay at the Fiksdal Hotel. There is no air-conditioning. I wonder if there is heat in the winter? Thankfully, we don't actually have to stay at this quaint old hotel more then one night. We can leave tomorrow. When we return on Thursday (the night before Dad's surgery), we'll stay at the SpringHill Marriot down the block. It's on the same block so we won't have to walk too far. I'll let you know if it's a better place to stay.
The drive from The Lake to Rochester was uneventful. The sun was shining. After consulting the radar before we left The Lake, we decided that the weather would remain fine for however long we had to remain here in Rochester. Wrong. By the time we were done with blood test, consultations, and paperwork, we walked outside to storm clouds, thunder booms and rain. This time the rain is not my fault. I did not water the garden yesterday or this morning. I was thinking about it but I never got around to it.
We returned to our Fiksdal Hotel to find our room even warmer then before. We may survive the night with the box fan they sent up. Thankfully, the restaurant down the block gave us respite from the heat during supper. The Canadian Bar and Grill had good food. There are a nice selection of restaurants within walking distance. Good thing to keep in mind for the week we may have to stay starting on Thursday.
My next blog will be from The Lake but I'll have to try and blog from the SpringHill later this week.
Murphyism of the Day
Jone's Law of TV Programming
1. IF there are only two shows worth watching, they will be on at the same time.
2. The only new show worth watching will be cancelled.
3. The show you've been looking forward to all week will be preempted.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Word of the Day
Catstacle: The obstacle created by cats swarming around your legs when you walk.
Happy Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all you Father's out there! I hope you all have a great day!
My friends from Colorado left early this morning to go to visit parental units in northern Minnesota. It was wonderful to see them even if it was for such a short time. HTP got to show off his editing skills. He's been working on editing the videos we took of our Devil Dog Daughter's graduation from boot camp. He's still working on it but he got to show off what he's done so far.
Our boat motor refuses to work. Sigh. Maybe that black cat and owl were omens. Anyway, although we would have loved to give everyone a boat ride while they were here, we couldn't. We had to stay on terra firma. But that's OK. Terra firma here at The Lake is still a wonder to behold.
After my friends left, we all piled into the car and descended on The BlueHills Inn for Father's Day brunch. There were twelve of us. The food was wonderful...as usual. I ate too much...as usual. It was great to have so many of the family together. My brother and his whole family were there. I haven't seen them in ages. I got to see my brother and each of his kids last summer but I haven't seen my good friend, his wife for a couple of years. For those who aren't in the know, my brother's wife was my friend long before my brother starting dating and eventually married her. Anyway, my sister and her husband was there. My folks were there. HTP, #1 son, and my "sister's" daughter were there. She's not really my sister but we're such good friends that everyone thinks we're sisters. I was there...obviously. I took all kinds of pictures with the digital camera. I hope some turn out. I wish my other kids had been able to be there but such is life. When the kids fly out of the nest, it's not always easy to get together. Devil Dog Daughter is in Pensacola hoping for a long distance leave. My daughter the chef and her husband are living and working and working and working and working and sometimes sleeping but usually working, in Arizona. It's hard to get everyone all together at times. Maybe next summer.
Tomorrow I'll be going to Rochester with my folks so I'll be gone for a week. I'll try to blog but if you don't see a blog, don't be surprised. I'm going to have to make do with dial-up for a while. But... I'll try.
Murphyism of the Day
Law of Reruns
If you have watched a TV series only once, and you watch it again, it will be a rerun of the same episode.
Catstacle: The obstacle created by cats swarming around your legs when you walk.
Happy Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all you Father's out there! I hope you all have a great day!
My friends from Colorado left early this morning to go to visit parental units in northern Minnesota. It was wonderful to see them even if it was for such a short time. HTP got to show off his editing skills. He's been working on editing the videos we took of our Devil Dog Daughter's graduation from boot camp. He's still working on it but he got to show off what he's done so far.
Our boat motor refuses to work. Sigh. Maybe that black cat and owl were omens. Anyway, although we would have loved to give everyone a boat ride while they were here, we couldn't. We had to stay on terra firma. But that's OK. Terra firma here at The Lake is still a wonder to behold.
After my friends left, we all piled into the car and descended on The BlueHills Inn for Father's Day brunch. There were twelve of us. The food was wonderful...as usual. I ate too much...as usual. It was great to have so many of the family together. My brother and his whole family were there. I haven't seen them in ages. I got to see my brother and each of his kids last summer but I haven't seen my good friend, his wife for a couple of years. For those who aren't in the know, my brother's wife was my friend long before my brother starting dating and eventually married her. Anyway, my sister and her husband was there. My folks were there. HTP, #1 son, and my "sister's" daughter were there. She's not really my sister but we're such good friends that everyone thinks we're sisters. I was there...obviously. I took all kinds of pictures with the digital camera. I hope some turn out. I wish my other kids had been able to be there but such is life. When the kids fly out of the nest, it's not always easy to get together. Devil Dog Daughter is in Pensacola hoping for a long distance leave. My daughter the chef and her husband are living and working and working and working and working and sometimes sleeping but usually working, in Arizona. It's hard to get everyone all together at times. Maybe next summer.
Tomorrow I'll be going to Rochester with my folks so I'll be gone for a week. I'll try to blog but if you don't see a blog, don't be surprised. I'm going to have to make do with dial-up for a while. But... I'll try.
Murphyism of the Day
Law of Reruns
If you have watched a TV series only once, and you watch it again, it will be a rerun of the same episode.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Word of the Day
Catposting: A cat's contribution to composting when it does its duty in your garden.
I saw a black cat when I drove down our driveway yesterday on the way back from my sister's place. It crossed the driveway in front of me. I paused in my thoughts only briefly, wondering which neighbor may have a black cat. Then...later when I drove down the driveway again, returning from the post office in town, a huge owl flew across the driveway in front of me. Now, I ponder. What the heck? Are these omens? Is someone trying to warn me about something? Should I worry?
We had pork chops on the grill last night and an nice watercress salad with raspberry vinaigrette. It worked out perfectly. My friend's daughter arrived just in time for supper. I'm making rhubarb pie right now. We're expecting more guests to arrive tonight. I'm planning on making bratwurst for dinner. I already made my potato salad. I thought I'd blog before I get too busy. It looks like we're going to have another really beautiful day.
Devil Dog Daughter Update. It looks like my daughter might be getting married on July 2nd in Omaha. This all depends upon whether her out-of-bounds leave request is granted. Unfortunately, this is also the very day that #1 son's friend from Arizona is flying into Minnesota. This could be "interesting". Maybe the owl is trying to tell me something.
Murphyism of the Day
Turner's Definition
A satellite dish means getting a hundred and fifty channel of nothing to watch.
Catposting: A cat's contribution to composting when it does its duty in your garden.
I saw a black cat when I drove down our driveway yesterday on the way back from my sister's place. It crossed the driveway in front of me. I paused in my thoughts only briefly, wondering which neighbor may have a black cat. Then...later when I drove down the driveway again, returning from the post office in town, a huge owl flew across the driveway in front of me. Now, I ponder. What the heck? Are these omens? Is someone trying to warn me about something? Should I worry?
We had pork chops on the grill last night and an nice watercress salad with raspberry vinaigrette. It worked out perfectly. My friend's daughter arrived just in time for supper. I'm making rhubarb pie right now. We're expecting more guests to arrive tonight. I'm planning on making bratwurst for dinner. I already made my potato salad. I thought I'd blog before I get too busy. It looks like we're going to have another really beautiful day.
Devil Dog Daughter Update. It looks like my daughter might be getting married on July 2nd in Omaha. This all depends upon whether her out-of-bounds leave request is granted. Unfortunately, this is also the very day that #1 son's friend from Arizona is flying into Minnesota. This could be "interesting". Maybe the owl is trying to tell me something.
Murphyism of the Day
Turner's Definition
A satellite dish means getting a hundred and fifty channel of nothing to watch.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Word of the Day
Contra diction: Banana republic tribal linguistics.
Wow! Two beautiful days in a row! I went hiking out to the swamp with my sister this morning. We were in search of the elusive watercress that grows there. It tends to grow in the most dangerous areas that are hardest to get to without falling into chest high muck. We returned with four bags of the stuff (ziploc bags...we didn't denude the entire property of watercress). Now, all I have to do is wash the stuff and fix up a nice salad for tonight...and maybe tomorrow. I've got plenty for at least a few salads.
My sister gave me some venison. Woohoo! I'm going to save it for later in the summer. I could serve it tomorrow but I'm not sure if my friend and her husband would be willing to try it. I'm going to make bratwurst on the grill instead. I made potato salad to go with it. I want to make cole slaw too but I ran out of salad dressing. Back to the store I go.
#1 son is cleaning the downstairs. He's giving up his bed this weekend for the daughter of a friend. It's done it before. Too bad he has to work tonight though. I think he has to work tomorrow night and Sunday night too. Oh well, he'll be able to spend some time with her. Tomorrow night we'll take her and my other friends on a boat ride...if it stays nice.
Murphyism of the Day
Kitman's Law
Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen.
Contra diction: Banana republic tribal linguistics.
Wow! Two beautiful days in a row! I went hiking out to the swamp with my sister this morning. We were in search of the elusive watercress that grows there. It tends to grow in the most dangerous areas that are hardest to get to without falling into chest high muck. We returned with four bags of the stuff (ziploc bags...we didn't denude the entire property of watercress). Now, all I have to do is wash the stuff and fix up a nice salad for tonight...and maybe tomorrow. I've got plenty for at least a few salads.
My sister gave me some venison. Woohoo! I'm going to save it for later in the summer. I could serve it tomorrow but I'm not sure if my friend and her husband would be willing to try it. I'm going to make bratwurst on the grill instead. I made potato salad to go with it. I want to make cole slaw too but I ran out of salad dressing. Back to the store I go.
#1 son is cleaning the downstairs. He's giving up his bed this weekend for the daughter of a friend. It's done it before. Too bad he has to work tonight though. I think he has to work tomorrow night and Sunday night too. Oh well, he'll be able to spend some time with her. Tomorrow night we'll take her and my other friends on a boat ride...if it stays nice.
Murphyism of the Day
Kitman's Law
Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Word of the Day
Caterfere: Feline behavior, usually exhibited when the owner is attempting to do something important.
It's been a perfectly wonderful day today. The weather has been ideal. The weekenders won't be here until tomorrow so we've had the lake to ourselves. Peace, tranquility, sunshine, and perfect temperatures with low humidity. Can't beat that. So...I spent the day outside, soaking it all in. I planted some marigolds. I finished up with the rest of the bark mulch. I planted two more Italian pepper plants that I bought yesterday. I planted eight more tomato plants. Please note, I only asked my Mom for two more tomato plants, TWO. She brought me eight. I think she's trying to get rid of them without actually taking on the guilt of personally killing them.
The Tale of the Tomato Plants.
My Mother grew tomato plants from seed. Lots of tomato plants. I don't think she actually thought all of these tomato plants would make it but she has a very green thumb...two of them. She pampered these seedlings, giving them water and sunlight and love. She would take them outside on warm days to get them used to the great outdoors and bring them in at the slightest dip in temperature and then when it came to finding space in their car for the trip to Wisconsin, she somehow found the room to transport them across state lines. She did this with great care. I'm sure she brought them into the hotel room every night on the way here for fear they'd freeze in the car during the night.
So, here she is with all kinds of pampered tomato plants. She asks me how many tomato plants I could use. Innocently, I tell her I could find space for eight. I really do like homegrown tomatoes but that's quite a lot of tomato plants for me. I don't have all that much space in my garden. She brought me sixteen tomato plants. Now, anyone that knows me (and my Mother knows me), knows that I can't abandon plants. I may kill them by mistake but I do make every effort to keep them alive for as long as possible. So, I found spots for the extra eight tomato plants here and there in my flower beds. Flower beds aren't the best of locations for tomato plants especially since a glacier decided to dump a load of rock on my end of the lake but I did my best. Of the eight tomato plants that I carefully transplanted into my flower beds, two died. The rest don't look all that happy but they are alive. Sigh. Being an honest daughter, I fessed up and told my Mother that I'd killed two of the tomato plants. She said, "Do you want me to bring you a couple more tomato plants?" I figured, what the heck, I'd already prepped the soil, removed all the boulders, why not? She brought me eight more tomato plants. Sigh. I planted eight tomato plants. I hope they live. I'd hate to have to tell my Mother that I'd killed more tomato plants because who knows how many she'll send over the next time. I'm afraid to go to sleep at night for fear that I'll have some nightmare where the doorbell rings and when I go to answer the door there will be orphan tomato plants waiting for me on the steps...and I just catch the glimpse of a fleeing car. My Mother's car.
Murphyism of the Day
Minton's Law of Painting
Any paint, no matter the quality or composition, will adhere permanently to any surface, prepared or otherwise, if applied accidentally.
Caterfere: Feline behavior, usually exhibited when the owner is attempting to do something important.
It's been a perfectly wonderful day today. The weather has been ideal. The weekenders won't be here until tomorrow so we've had the lake to ourselves. Peace, tranquility, sunshine, and perfect temperatures with low humidity. Can't beat that. So...I spent the day outside, soaking it all in. I planted some marigolds. I finished up with the rest of the bark mulch. I planted two more Italian pepper plants that I bought yesterday. I planted eight more tomato plants. Please note, I only asked my Mom for two more tomato plants, TWO. She brought me eight. I think she's trying to get rid of them without actually taking on the guilt of personally killing them.
The Tale of the Tomato Plants.
My Mother grew tomato plants from seed. Lots of tomato plants. I don't think she actually thought all of these tomato plants would make it but she has a very green thumb...two of them. She pampered these seedlings, giving them water and sunlight and love. She would take them outside on warm days to get them used to the great outdoors and bring them in at the slightest dip in temperature and then when it came to finding space in their car for the trip to Wisconsin, she somehow found the room to transport them across state lines. She did this with great care. I'm sure she brought them into the hotel room every night on the way here for fear they'd freeze in the car during the night.
So, here she is with all kinds of pampered tomato plants. She asks me how many tomato plants I could use. Innocently, I tell her I could find space for eight. I really do like homegrown tomatoes but that's quite a lot of tomato plants for me. I don't have all that much space in my garden. She brought me sixteen tomato plants. Now, anyone that knows me (and my Mother knows me), knows that I can't abandon plants. I may kill them by mistake but I do make every effort to keep them alive for as long as possible. So, I found spots for the extra eight tomato plants here and there in my flower beds. Flower beds aren't the best of locations for tomato plants especially since a glacier decided to dump a load of rock on my end of the lake but I did my best. Of the eight tomato plants that I carefully transplanted into my flower beds, two died. The rest don't look all that happy but they are alive. Sigh. Being an honest daughter, I fessed up and told my Mother that I'd killed two of the tomato plants. She said, "Do you want me to bring you a couple more tomato plants?" I figured, what the heck, I'd already prepped the soil, removed all the boulders, why not? She brought me eight more tomato plants. Sigh. I planted eight tomato plants. I hope they live. I'd hate to have to tell my Mother that I'd killed more tomato plants because who knows how many she'll send over the next time. I'm afraid to go to sleep at night for fear that I'll have some nightmare where the doorbell rings and when I go to answer the door there will be orphan tomato plants waiting for me on the steps...and I just catch the glimpse of a fleeing car. My Mother's car.
Murphyism of the Day
Minton's Law of Painting
Any paint, no matter the quality or composition, will adhere permanently to any surface, prepared or otherwise, if applied accidentally.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Word of the Day
Castronaut: A person who escapes Cuba by sea.
Please note that I'm still alive. The fairy ring mushrooms were wonderful. No-one reported any Yellow Submarine type experiences. Not even an odd dream. Oh well...
HTP and I went out to look at the stones that will be used to line ditches on either side of our driveway. They're big pink rocks. Not exactly what I had in mind but they'll do. We also stopped and picked up three huge bags of bark mulch. I told you I needed more. After that, we drove into the city to pick up groceries, etc. We're expecting company this weekend and I need to make sure I have real food, not just diet food. They're only going to be here for one meal...maybe two but I'm going to be gone next week so HTP and #1 son need food while I'm away.
I got a call from my Devil Dog Daughter's fiancee this morning. He told me that our daughter arrived safe and sound in Pensacola. She was the only girl on the charter busload of Marines. Her first impressions of Pensacola were favorable.
Murphyism of the Day
Malone's Law of the Household
If you wait all day for the repairman, you'll wait all day. If you go out for five minutes, he'll arrive and leave while you're gone.
Castronaut: A person who escapes Cuba by sea.
Please note that I'm still alive. The fairy ring mushrooms were wonderful. No-one reported any Yellow Submarine type experiences. Not even an odd dream. Oh well...
HTP and I went out to look at the stones that will be used to line ditches on either side of our driveway. They're big pink rocks. Not exactly what I had in mind but they'll do. We also stopped and picked up three huge bags of bark mulch. I told you I needed more. After that, we drove into the city to pick up groceries, etc. We're expecting company this weekend and I need to make sure I have real food, not just diet food. They're only going to be here for one meal...maybe two but I'm going to be gone next week so HTP and #1 son need food while I'm away.
I got a call from my Devil Dog Daughter's fiancee this morning. He told me that our daughter arrived safe and sound in Pensacola. She was the only girl on the charter busload of Marines. Her first impressions of Pensacola were favorable.
Murphyism of the Day
Malone's Law of the Household
If you wait all day for the repairman, you'll wait all day. If you go out for five minutes, he'll arrive and leave while you're gone.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Word of the Day
Casperising: When some one leaves unexpectedly often; practically disappearing.
Laundry day and my dryer is working like new. Woohoo! Thank you HTP! It sure cuts down the time waiting for those loads to dry.
Devil Dog Daughter Update. My daughter graduated from MCT (Marine Combat Training) and is on her way to Pensacola for Aviation Ordnance School. After that I think she'll be sent to another school to study the type of aircraft that she'll be loading and arming that ordnance into. I think. I'm sure we'll know what's going on as soon as she knows and gets around to telling us.
I picked the rhubarb this morning. I chopped it all up and froze three batches of it. Then I made pies from two more batches of it. One of the pies is made with Maltitol instead of sugar. We'll see. There was a Best Pie Crust recipe on the net, so I actually made homemade pie crust. Sigh. I let the pie crust get too dark in the oven but I think it'll still taste OK. I hope it's as flaky as the recipe promised. Note to self. Buy more cinnamon. If I want to make more rhubarb pies, I'll need more cinnamon. I used the last of mine (only 1/2 tsp. left in the container) and I scrounged up some cinnamon sugar that I used in the other pie.
There are several fairy rings growing in my lawn. Fairy rings are rings of mushrooms. Apparently the mushrooms that grow, forming a fairy ring, are edible. I harvested some and plan to cook them up to go with supper tonight. If you don't find a blog tomorrow, I've ingested poisonous mushrooms. Of course, they may just give me a psychedelic experience. That might be fun.
Murphyism of the Day
Marquette's Third Law of Home Repair
A lost tool will be found immediately upon purchasing a new one.
Casperising: When some one leaves unexpectedly often; practically disappearing.
Laundry day and my dryer is working like new. Woohoo! Thank you HTP! It sure cuts down the time waiting for those loads to dry.
Devil Dog Daughter Update. My daughter graduated from MCT (Marine Combat Training) and is on her way to Pensacola for Aviation Ordnance School. After that I think she'll be sent to another school to study the type of aircraft that she'll be loading and arming that ordnance into. I think. I'm sure we'll know what's going on as soon as she knows and gets around to telling us.
I picked the rhubarb this morning. I chopped it all up and froze three batches of it. Then I made pies from two more batches of it. One of the pies is made with Maltitol instead of sugar. We'll see. There was a Best Pie Crust recipe on the net, so I actually made homemade pie crust. Sigh. I let the pie crust get too dark in the oven but I think it'll still taste OK. I hope it's as flaky as the recipe promised. Note to self. Buy more cinnamon. If I want to make more rhubarb pies, I'll need more cinnamon. I used the last of mine (only 1/2 tsp. left in the container) and I scrounged up some cinnamon sugar that I used in the other pie.
There are several fairy rings growing in my lawn. Fairy rings are rings of mushrooms. Apparently the mushrooms that grow, forming a fairy ring, are edible. I harvested some and plan to cook them up to go with supper tonight. If you don't find a blog tomorrow, I've ingested poisonous mushrooms. Of course, they may just give me a psychedelic experience. That might be fun.
Murphyism of the Day
Marquette's Third Law of Home Repair
A lost tool will be found immediately upon purchasing a new one.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Word of the Day
Carscicle: 1. Hard and dirty ice formed in wheel wells of your car while driving in snow. 2. Car that has fallen through the ice, having been parked in the middle of the lake during the winter months while it's owner is ice-fishing.
It's my not-so-old former college room-mate's birthday today! Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear Gal, Happy Birthday to You! She probably won't ever read this but what the heck! I actually sent her a card. Also, she and her hubby are coming for a visit this weekend so I'll have to back a cake.
HTP fixed my dryer vent so I can do laundry tomorrow. Darn it!
It's raining...again. Aside from that? I went into the city with my folks. We had lunch at Culver's. I had a wonderful salad and a serving of their Oreo-Oreo Chocolate Custard. The flavor of the day. MMMMM. It's a typical day in our neighborhood here in the great northern climes of Wisconsin.
In other news...I got back from the city just in time to hear the media convict Michael Jackson as the media has been doing since the start of all this before the jury came in with the verdict that actually counts. Moments later the verdict of Not Guilty on every one of ten counts was read. The media will feed off this for months to come as they've been feeding on the case since it was brought down. What went wrong? They were so sure he was guilty. I guess the jurors didn't agree with them.
Murphyism of the Day
Marquette's First Law of Home Repair
The tool you need is just out of reach.
Marquette's Second Law of Home Repair
The replacement part you buy will be the wrong size.
Carscicle: 1. Hard and dirty ice formed in wheel wells of your car while driving in snow. 2. Car that has fallen through the ice, having been parked in the middle of the lake during the winter months while it's owner is ice-fishing.
It's my not-so-old former college room-mate's birthday today! Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear Gal, Happy Birthday to You! She probably won't ever read this but what the heck! I actually sent her a card. Also, she and her hubby are coming for a visit this weekend so I'll have to back a cake.
HTP fixed my dryer vent so I can do laundry tomorrow. Darn it!
It's raining...again. Aside from that? I went into the city with my folks. We had lunch at Culver's. I had a wonderful salad and a serving of their Oreo-Oreo Chocolate Custard. The flavor of the day. MMMMM. It's a typical day in our neighborhood here in the great northern climes of Wisconsin.
In other news...I got back from the city just in time to hear the media convict Michael Jackson as the media has been doing since the start of all this before the jury came in with the verdict that actually counts. Moments later the verdict of Not Guilty on every one of ten counts was read. The media will feed off this for months to come as they've been feeding on the case since it was brought down. What went wrong? They were so sure he was guilty. I guess the jurors didn't agree with them.
Murphyism of the Day
Marquette's First Law of Home Repair
The tool you need is just out of reach.
Marquette's Second Law of Home Repair
The replacement part you buy will be the wrong size.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Word of the Day
Complimise: Compromise in such a way as to compliment.
The rest of the bark mulch has been spread. HTP and I tackled it this morning after breakfast. What happened to lunch? Oh well...we'll have an early dinner. #1 son left The Lake to spend the day in The Big City before breakfast so HTP and I were working all by ourselves on the project. HTP commented that he thought we got too much bark mulch as we started but it looks like we need to buy a bit more. Maybe another few cubic feet of the stuff. I've got a few bare spots still. We do have a lot of border areas. Maybe we should have put in more lawn.
I heard from my Devil Dog Daughter yesterday and again today. She's "fine" but she thinks that she may have two fractured hips now. Sigh. OK, she's alive and she sounded happy that she's completed her MCT (Marine Combat Training). She passed her last tests and will be heading to her MOS (Aviation Ordinance Trainee) in Pensacola, FL. on Tuesday. Training takes four weeks and I expect her hips will be given enough rest during that time so that they'll heal. I'm not sure if they go on to a secondary training if they do well during their four weeks of training or if she'll be assigned a permanent duty station at that point. Sounds like she and her fiancee want to get married before she finishes her training. Omaha? New Orleans? Who knows? I sure don't. All depends upon what the military will allow.
Murphyism of the Day
Ballance's Law of Relativity
How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.
Complimise: Compromise in such a way as to compliment.
The rest of the bark mulch has been spread. HTP and I tackled it this morning after breakfast. What happened to lunch? Oh well...we'll have an early dinner. #1 son left The Lake to spend the day in The Big City before breakfast so HTP and I were working all by ourselves on the project. HTP commented that he thought we got too much bark mulch as we started but it looks like we need to buy a bit more. Maybe another few cubic feet of the stuff. I've got a few bare spots still. We do have a lot of border areas. Maybe we should have put in more lawn.
I heard from my Devil Dog Daughter yesterday and again today. She's "fine" but she thinks that she may have two fractured hips now. Sigh. OK, she's alive and she sounded happy that she's completed her MCT (Marine Combat Training). She passed her last tests and will be heading to her MOS (Aviation Ordinance Trainee) in Pensacola, FL. on Tuesday. Training takes four weeks and I expect her hips will be given enough rest during that time so that they'll heal. I'm not sure if they go on to a secondary training if they do well during their four weeks of training or if she'll be assigned a permanent duty station at that point. Sounds like she and her fiancee want to get married before she finishes her training. Omaha? New Orleans? Who knows? I sure don't. All depends upon what the military will allow.
Murphyism of the Day
Ballance's Law of Relativity
How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Word of the Day
Compewter: A PC that's gone to pot, kaput.
We have 3 cubic yards of bark mulch waiting in the driveway to be spread. I suspect the only reason that it isn't raining right now is because I don't feel like spreading it. I received a late shipment of garden bulbs and roots that I needed to quickly get into the ground before the bulk mulch was spread. I did that this morning. I planted six Balloon Flower roots (they look like white radishes) and marked them with blue flags so we don't bury them under the mulch. I planted six Mediterranean Pink roots and marked them with blue flags so they don't get buried under the mulch. Both of these were supposed to be planted with their crowns flush with the ground. I don't know what would happen if I buried them. I planted twenty hardy perennial lilies that I hope are as hardy as advertised. These I didn't mark because I think they'll just push their way through the mulch when they sprout. I also planted 18 winter hardy gladiola that I also hope are as hardy as advertised. I didn't mark them either. Anyway, after all this desperate planting, I don't have any more energy. I hope HTP has a similar lack of energy since I'd rather tackle the bark mulch spreading tomorrow.
HTP has been spending the morning working on my dryer vent. He went into the city yesterday to buy supplies for the project. He's been to the hardware store in town twice today already. I hate to even ask how things are going. On the plus side, I don't think he'll feel like spreading bark mulch.
Murphyism of the Day
H. Fish's Laws of Animal Behavior
1. The probability of a cat eating dinner has absolutely nothing to do with the price of the food placed before it.
2. The probability that a household pet will raise a fuss to go in or out is directly proportional to the number and importance of your dinner guests.
Compewter: A PC that's gone to pot, kaput.
We have 3 cubic yards of bark mulch waiting in the driveway to be spread. I suspect the only reason that it isn't raining right now is because I don't feel like spreading it. I received a late shipment of garden bulbs and roots that I needed to quickly get into the ground before the bulk mulch was spread. I did that this morning. I planted six Balloon Flower roots (they look like white radishes) and marked them with blue flags so we don't bury them under the mulch. I planted six Mediterranean Pink roots and marked them with blue flags so they don't get buried under the mulch. Both of these were supposed to be planted with their crowns flush with the ground. I don't know what would happen if I buried them. I planted twenty hardy perennial lilies that I hope are as hardy as advertised. These I didn't mark because I think they'll just push their way through the mulch when they sprout. I also planted 18 winter hardy gladiola that I also hope are as hardy as advertised. I didn't mark them either. Anyway, after all this desperate planting, I don't have any more energy. I hope HTP has a similar lack of energy since I'd rather tackle the bark mulch spreading tomorrow.
HTP has been spending the morning working on my dryer vent. He went into the city yesterday to buy supplies for the project. He's been to the hardware store in town twice today already. I hate to even ask how things are going. On the plus side, I don't think he'll feel like spreading bark mulch.
Murphyism of the Day
H. Fish's Laws of Animal Behavior
1. The probability of a cat eating dinner has absolutely nothing to do with the price of the food placed before it.
2. The probability that a household pet will raise a fuss to go in or out is directly proportional to the number and importance of your dinner guests.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Word of the Day
Comnotized: When your computer hypnotizes you and you can't leave the computer.
It's Friday so it's already rained this morning. The sky is blue right now but it's supposed to rain again today...on and off. Over the years, I've noticed that most of our rain here in Wisconsin tends to fall on weekends. We get rain during the week too but we usually get rain on weekends. You can almost depend upon it. That's why I shook my head at my daughter's determination to have an outdoor ceremony for her wedding...on a weekend. I suppose I could provide umbrellas or even a tent but...Oh well...I don't need to worry about that for a while. Not this summer anyway. Maybe next year. I'm going to try and talk her into a winter Las Vegas wedding like we had for our other daughter. Actually, they plan to get married this summer in a civil ceremony so next summer or winter would be a re-marriage or a renewal of their vows.
Speaking of my Devil Dog Daughter, she should be hiking back to Camp Geiger today. Maybe we'll hear from her today. Chances are that she'll call her fiancee if she can actually get to use her cellphone but they've been pretty strict when it comes to cellphone usage while at MCT. If we do get a phone call it probably won't be until Saturday or Sunday.
Mattress Update? Our new mattress was very comfortable last night. I think we'll keep it. They still owe us a mattress frame (which we don't need but it's the principle of the thing).
Murphyism of the Day
Skoff's Law
A child will not spill on a dirty floor.
Comnotized: When your computer hypnotizes you and you can't leave the computer.
It's Friday so it's already rained this morning. The sky is blue right now but it's supposed to rain again today...on and off. Over the years, I've noticed that most of our rain here in Wisconsin tends to fall on weekends. We get rain during the week too but we usually get rain on weekends. You can almost depend upon it. That's why I shook my head at my daughter's determination to have an outdoor ceremony for her wedding...on a weekend. I suppose I could provide umbrellas or even a tent but...Oh well...I don't need to worry about that for a while. Not this summer anyway. Maybe next year. I'm going to try and talk her into a winter Las Vegas wedding like we had for our other daughter. Actually, they plan to get married this summer in a civil ceremony so next summer or winter would be a re-marriage or a renewal of their vows.
Speaking of my Devil Dog Daughter, she should be hiking back to Camp Geiger today. Maybe we'll hear from her today. Chances are that she'll call her fiancee if she can actually get to use her cellphone but they've been pretty strict when it comes to cellphone usage while at MCT. If we do get a phone call it probably won't be until Saturday or Sunday.
Mattress Update? Our new mattress was very comfortable last night. I think we'll keep it. They still owe us a mattress frame (which we don't need but it's the principle of the thing).
Murphyism of the Day
Skoff's Law
A child will not spill on a dirty floor.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Word of the Day
Carevoydant: Someone who cares about the future but tries not to think about it.
Bark mulch! We've been spreading bark mulch until I wore a hole in my work gloves. Today we finished spreading another 10 sq. yards of the stuff. We need to have someone deliver another 3-4 square yards yet and then I think (maybe) we'll be done with this "little" project. Groan! I'll be feeling this for a while. Moan! And you know what? I bet I haven't lost a pound. No fair! And don't give me that crap about muscles weighing more than fat because I've been using that one for years but it doesn't make me feel better. It does make me feel better to see how nice the yard looks.
Mattress Update! The mattress came, the mattress came! And it fit into the sleigh bed despite HTP's fears. Woohoo! We'll sleep well tonight. Out with the old hard mattress and in with the new soft (but supportive) mattress. HTP and I were going donate the old mattress but I let the delivery guys haul it off instead. One of them mentioned that he needed a mattress when I mentioned that we were going to donate it. Serendipity. Now HTP and I don't have to load that huge mattress into the SUV and haul it into the city to the thrift store. We do have to look for a couple of stepping stools. This new mattress is taller then our last one. A shopping I shall go, a shopping I shall go... See the mighty huntress on the trail of a pair of elusive stepping stools.
We've got dragonflies buzzing the house and the yard. I think this may be why the mosquitoes haven't been too bad yet despite all the rain we've been getting. It truly is amazing to see the variety and amount of dragonflies I'm seeing. Even more than there were last year. I think they like my rocked terraces. The chipmunks like them too.
So...Grey Frog, Grey Frog, how does your garden grow? It's doing very well. My plants didn't take too much of a beating the other morning when we got nickel-size hail. Almost all the vegetable seeds that I planted have sprouted. If all goes well, I'll have enough vegetables to do some home canning.
Murphyism of the Day
Clive's Law
If it's clean, it isn't laundry.
Carevoydant: Someone who cares about the future but tries not to think about it.
Bark mulch! We've been spreading bark mulch until I wore a hole in my work gloves. Today we finished spreading another 10 sq. yards of the stuff. We need to have someone deliver another 3-4 square yards yet and then I think (maybe) we'll be done with this "little" project. Groan! I'll be feeling this for a while. Moan! And you know what? I bet I haven't lost a pound. No fair! And don't give me that crap about muscles weighing more than fat because I've been using that one for years but it doesn't make me feel better. It does make me feel better to see how nice the yard looks.
Mattress Update! The mattress came, the mattress came! And it fit into the sleigh bed despite HTP's fears. Woohoo! We'll sleep well tonight. Out with the old hard mattress and in with the new soft (but supportive) mattress. HTP and I were going donate the old mattress but I let the delivery guys haul it off instead. One of them mentioned that he needed a mattress when I mentioned that we were going to donate it. Serendipity. Now HTP and I don't have to load that huge mattress into the SUV and haul it into the city to the thrift store. We do have to look for a couple of stepping stools. This new mattress is taller then our last one. A shopping I shall go, a shopping I shall go... See the mighty huntress on the trail of a pair of elusive stepping stools.
We've got dragonflies buzzing the house and the yard. I think this may be why the mosquitoes haven't been too bad yet despite all the rain we've been getting. It truly is amazing to see the variety and amount of dragonflies I'm seeing. Even more than there were last year. I think they like my rocked terraces. The chipmunks like them too.
So...Grey Frog, Grey Frog, how does your garden grow? It's doing very well. My plants didn't take too much of a beating the other morning when we got nickel-size hail. Almost all the vegetable seeds that I planted have sprouted. If all goes well, I'll have enough vegetables to do some home canning.
Murphyism of the Day
Clive's Law
If it's clean, it isn't laundry.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Word of the Day
Carbopause: 1. Having to wait for the carbonation to go down before you can continue to pour a soda. 2. The amount of time most people remain on a low/no carbohydrate diet.
We're Alive! I'm back on the "Cry Wolf" soapbox when it comes to these weather alerts. We had a ton of them yesterday. We even had a TORNADO WARNING for the county here at The Lake. One of the weathermen finally explained it. They err on the side of caution. No-one wants to be the guy that, oops, failed to warn someone about a possible tornado. That happened one summer a couple of years ago. There was a tornado, or a bunch of them, that took out part of the town of Siren. Siren's tornado sirens were out of order. The sirens in Siren weren't working. No-one knew that there were tornadoes? Well, yes, for the most part they did. They're locals. We're locals. You KNOW when the weather is bad...unless you're working in some windowless office somewhere, at which point, you're where you should be anyway in case of a tornado...unless your office is a windowless mobile home. Mobile homes have a homing device built into their skeletal structure that actually attracts tornadoes.
HTP was out in the weather yesterday. He joined half the population of Wheeler as they lined the streets, watching for tornadoes. He took pictures of the wall clouds to bring home. Sigh. No tornado. People out here aren't really afraid of tornadoes. Oh...we respect them. We keep a cautious eye out for them, but we know what to do and when to do it. No one wants to deal with the destruction but we live in an area where tornadoes happen. Some people live in areas where hurricanes happen. I'm not sure if I'd want to deal with that but it's better then living on the slope of a volcano. It's better then living in an earthquake zone or on a hill that you just know will wash into the sea. Tornadoes happen. Damage happens. You just learn to do what you can to minimize it. The thing to do is celebrate when it misses you and pitch in if it hurts your neighbors.
Murphyism of the Day
Walker's Law of the Household
There is always more laundry than clean laundry.
Carbopause: 1. Having to wait for the carbonation to go down before you can continue to pour a soda. 2. The amount of time most people remain on a low/no carbohydrate diet.
We're Alive! I'm back on the "Cry Wolf" soapbox when it comes to these weather alerts. We had a ton of them yesterday. We even had a TORNADO WARNING for the county here at The Lake. One of the weathermen finally explained it. They err on the side of caution. No-one wants to be the guy that, oops, failed to warn someone about a possible tornado. That happened one summer a couple of years ago. There was a tornado, or a bunch of them, that took out part of the town of Siren. Siren's tornado sirens were out of order. The sirens in Siren weren't working. No-one knew that there were tornadoes? Well, yes, for the most part they did. They're locals. We're locals. You KNOW when the weather is bad...unless you're working in some windowless office somewhere, at which point, you're where you should be anyway in case of a tornado...unless your office is a windowless mobile home. Mobile homes have a homing device built into their skeletal structure that actually attracts tornadoes.
HTP was out in the weather yesterday. He joined half the population of Wheeler as they lined the streets, watching for tornadoes. He took pictures of the wall clouds to bring home. Sigh. No tornado. People out here aren't really afraid of tornadoes. Oh...we respect them. We keep a cautious eye out for them, but we know what to do and when to do it. No one wants to deal with the destruction but we live in an area where tornadoes happen. Some people live in areas where hurricanes happen. I'm not sure if I'd want to deal with that but it's better then living on the slope of a volcano. It's better then living in an earthquake zone or on a hill that you just know will wash into the sea. Tornadoes happen. Damage happens. You just learn to do what you can to minimize it. The thing to do is celebrate when it misses you and pitch in if it hurts your neighbors.
Murphyism of the Day
Walker's Law of the Household
There is always more laundry than clean laundry.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Word of the Day
Coinflict: Disagreement over money.
We started off the morning with rain but it's cleared off. I went out and separated some of my dwarf daylilies. OK. I separated two bunches of my daylilies. Unfortunately, I have lots more to do but it's a start. I want to get them all thinned out before we spread the next batch of bark mulch. HTP wants to order 12 cu. yards of the stuff. We already spread 2 cu. yards and I thought I was going to drop. Now I have to spread 6 times that amount?
HTP went off to sign the contract with an excavator so we can get our driveway fixed. They told us they'd start work on Thursday. I keep you posted. I'm not holding my breath.
Mattress Update. I got a call from the mattress lady and was told that our new mattress would be delivered on Monday. They'd had to truck it down to Chippewa Falls to another trucking company with smaller trucks and he can't get out here until Monday. Stay tuned. Again, I'll keep you posted.
Our weather alarm went off. We're under a tornado watch until...whenever. We get a lot of watches and warnings out here at The Lake. It's a watch...not a warning. Warnings are worse then watches. Warnings send me to the computer to check the radar picture. A tornado warning might send me to the basement with a radio but I grew up out here. We've been known to sit out on the deck and watch until a cow flies by or at least a tree or bush or a lawn chair. Well...it looks like there's a tornado warning now but not for us. Time to check the radar....and reserve my seat on the observation deck.
Murphyism of the Day
Yeager's Law on Washing Machine Repairs
1. All breakdowns occur on the repairman's day off.
2. Cost of repair can be determined by multiplying the cost of your new coat by $1.75, or by multiplying the cost of a new washer by 75 cents.
Coinflict: Disagreement over money.
We started off the morning with rain but it's cleared off. I went out and separated some of my dwarf daylilies. OK. I separated two bunches of my daylilies. Unfortunately, I have lots more to do but it's a start. I want to get them all thinned out before we spread the next batch of bark mulch. HTP wants to order 12 cu. yards of the stuff. We already spread 2 cu. yards and I thought I was going to drop. Now I have to spread 6 times that amount?
HTP went off to sign the contract with an excavator so we can get our driveway fixed. They told us they'd start work on Thursday. I keep you posted. I'm not holding my breath.
Mattress Update. I got a call from the mattress lady and was told that our new mattress would be delivered on Monday. They'd had to truck it down to Chippewa Falls to another trucking company with smaller trucks and he can't get out here until Monday. Stay tuned. Again, I'll keep you posted.
Our weather alarm went off. We're under a tornado watch until...whenever. We get a lot of watches and warnings out here at The Lake. It's a watch...not a warning. Warnings are worse then watches. Warnings send me to the computer to check the radar picture. A tornado warning might send me to the basement with a radio but I grew up out here. We've been known to sit out on the deck and watch until a cow flies by or at least a tree or bush or a lawn chair. Well...it looks like there's a tornado warning now but not for us. Time to check the radar....and reserve my seat on the observation deck.
Murphyism of the Day
Yeager's Law on Washing Machine Repairs
1. All breakdowns occur on the repairman's day off.
2. Cost of repair can be determined by multiplying the cost of your new coat by $1.75, or by multiplying the cost of a new washer by 75 cents.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Word of the Day
Canoedler: An person who is unskilled in boating.
It's been a beautiful day today. I actually washed sheets and hung them outside on a clothesline. Hah-ha! Finally I have a place where I can hang out laundry and no-one (other than HTP) can complain. There are no CC&R's here and no-one(other than HTP) to tell me that I'm making the neighborhood look like "You know you're a redneck when....". I love the smell of sheets that have been dried in the sun. No fabric softener can give you that.
I took #1 son into the city to buy some work clothes. They had cargo pants at one of the local stores on sale. I mean really on sale. They were only $14.99 a pair. Wow! Why can't I find clothes that cheap? I bought him three pairs of cargo pants, some new boxers, and a couple of new t-shirts that were on sale. He noted that the other people he works with (men) were wearing cargo pants and t-shirts so he figured that was the way to go.
After we got back, #1 son and I hiked up to the top of the hill near our house and planted two spruce trees. I hope they take. I don't think the deer will bother them but they don't seem to like that first winter snow after planting. Oh well...I'll keep trying regardless. If I plant two trees a year, maybe I'll have a pine forest on the hill someday instead of weeds and thistles. And then again, maybe someday after I'm long long, my kid's kids will be able to harvest their own Christmas trees from the hill...but they better keep up the tradition of planting two trees a year or I'll come back and haunt them. What the heck, I'll probably come back and haunt them anyway. I'll be in good company.
Murphyism of the Day
Yeager's Law
Washing machines only break down during the wash cycle.
Canoedler: An person who is unskilled in boating.
It's been a beautiful day today. I actually washed sheets and hung them outside on a clothesline. Hah-ha! Finally I have a place where I can hang out laundry and no-one (other than HTP) can complain. There are no CC&R's here and no-one(other than HTP) to tell me that I'm making the neighborhood look like "You know you're a redneck when....". I love the smell of sheets that have been dried in the sun. No fabric softener can give you that.
I took #1 son into the city to buy some work clothes. They had cargo pants at one of the local stores on sale. I mean really on sale. They were only $14.99 a pair. Wow! Why can't I find clothes that cheap? I bought him three pairs of cargo pants, some new boxers, and a couple of new t-shirts that were on sale. He noted that the other people he works with (men) were wearing cargo pants and t-shirts so he figured that was the way to go.
After we got back, #1 son and I hiked up to the top of the hill near our house and planted two spruce trees. I hope they take. I don't think the deer will bother them but they don't seem to like that first winter snow after planting. Oh well...I'll keep trying regardless. If I plant two trees a year, maybe I'll have a pine forest on the hill someday instead of weeds and thistles. And then again, maybe someday after I'm long long, my kid's kids will be able to harvest their own Christmas trees from the hill...but they better keep up the tradition of planting two trees a year or I'll come back and haunt them. What the heck, I'll probably come back and haunt them anyway. I'll be in good company.
Murphyism of the Day
Yeager's Law
Washing machines only break down during the wash cycle.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Word of the Day
Canoedle: The art of unskilled boatmanship.
As soon as the breakfast coffee was drunk and the male members of our family showered, we headed off to drop the dogs off at my folk's place. Our purpose? A day in The Big City. #1 son wanted to see the newest Star Wars movie on the biggest screen with the best sound. None of these are available here in our little hamlet or even in the city. One has to travel 2 1/2 hours to get to a movie theatre with these specifications. There is a movie theatre in the city but it has 7 screens and the sound isn't the best and well...it's a small city. We're grateful to even have a movie theatre so close (1/2 hour drive). Needless to say, there is not movie theatre in our little town. We do have a video rental store, of sorts. Well....there's a rack of movie rentals at the gas station and another at the grocery store. The selection is limited so we tend to go to the biggest video/DVD rental store of them all. The internet.
After we dropped #1 son off at the movie theatre, HTP dropped me off at The Mall. I shopped until I dropped. I actually bought very little. I bought a book so I'd have something to do when my feet wore off and I had to sit. I bought a smoothie because I like smoothies and I don't make those at home. I bought some lotion (lemon scented) to use as a first defense against the mosquitoes. Hey! It works! Well...it's not perfect but the OFF spray tends to give me a headache. It works for those times that I want to go outside and sit on the deck after 5 PM and during the day. It doesn't work if you actually hunt out the mosquitoes in the woods while berry picking. I save the OFF for those times. No point in hunting chipmunks with tanks. Save the appropriate weapons for the appropriate times. Anyway, to go on, I also got a back brush because I didn't have one. It's not always easy finding one that'll work. I'm not sure this one will work either. The bristles seem a bit soft and the handle is a bit shorter then I'd like but it's better then anything else I've seen out there so I'll give it a try. So...by this time I'd walked around the entire Mall, detouring to oogle the various stores of interest, holding tight to my control so I wouldn't buy this and that because I knew that I really didn't NEED this and that. It was close to the time when I knew that HTP and #1 son were going to come back and pick me up. (HTP had gone off to do some genealogy work. He'd rather get a root canal then walk around any mall much less The Mall).
My cell phone rang and it was #1 son. His movie was over and he wanted to know where HTP was. I told him that HTP should be waiting out by the curb of the movie theatre. He was. I toddled over to a bench at the agreed rendevous point(my feet and hips were worn out by this point and I remembered that I haven't been taking my joint supplements because I ran out but The Mall is not the best place to buy that sort of thing) and sat down to read my book. After about 45 minutes, I got another buzz on my cell phone. They were delayed. Rain and sidetracking. I waited another 15 minutes. That's OK. I had my book.
I got another call. They wanted me to meet them at a Mall restaurant, Tucci Benucci for supper. I hobbled over to the restaurant. I was sitting what is referred to as The North Garden and I had to hobble my way over to the West Garden. I checked the map to make sure that it was indeed over at The West Garden because I've made the mistake before where I headed toward the East Garden and then had to walk miles and miles in order to get to where I had to go. My hips and feet were not going to allow me to walk miles and miles. Anyway, I reached the West Garden and the restaurant. HTP and #1 son were waiting for me. We had no problems getting in and the food was wonderful...as usual. Tucci Benucci is one of my favorite restaurants at The Mall. There are a few interesting new restaurants on the third floor but I didn't even suggest them. HTP isn't a Mall enthusiast and I didn't think I could hobble that far.
After supper we headed straight out to the car and returned to The Lake. We stopped to pick up the dogs on our way. It's wonderful that my folks agree to dog sit for us. Of course, I am more then willing to return the favor when they need someone to look after their little one. She's a real sweetie.
I finished up my evening, listening to the internet radio and nodding off to sleep. I didn't blog but what the heck. I'm blogging now and I'll set back the clock so you'd never know. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.
Murphyism of the Day
Fausner's Definition
Housework is what nobody notices unless it's not done.
Canoedle: The art of unskilled boatmanship.
As soon as the breakfast coffee was drunk and the male members of our family showered, we headed off to drop the dogs off at my folk's place. Our purpose? A day in The Big City. #1 son wanted to see the newest Star Wars movie on the biggest screen with the best sound. None of these are available here in our little hamlet or even in the city. One has to travel 2 1/2 hours to get to a movie theatre with these specifications. There is a movie theatre in the city but it has 7 screens and the sound isn't the best and well...it's a small city. We're grateful to even have a movie theatre so close (1/2 hour drive). Needless to say, there is not movie theatre in our little town. We do have a video rental store, of sorts. Well....there's a rack of movie rentals at the gas station and another at the grocery store. The selection is limited so we tend to go to the biggest video/DVD rental store of them all. The internet.
After we dropped #1 son off at the movie theatre, HTP dropped me off at The Mall. I shopped until I dropped. I actually bought very little. I bought a book so I'd have something to do when my feet wore off and I had to sit. I bought a smoothie because I like smoothies and I don't make those at home. I bought some lotion (lemon scented) to use as a first defense against the mosquitoes. Hey! It works! Well...it's not perfect but the OFF spray tends to give me a headache. It works for those times that I want to go outside and sit on the deck after 5 PM and during the day. It doesn't work if you actually hunt out the mosquitoes in the woods while berry picking. I save the OFF for those times. No point in hunting chipmunks with tanks. Save the appropriate weapons for the appropriate times. Anyway, to go on, I also got a back brush because I didn't have one. It's not always easy finding one that'll work. I'm not sure this one will work either. The bristles seem a bit soft and the handle is a bit shorter then I'd like but it's better then anything else I've seen out there so I'll give it a try. So...by this time I'd walked around the entire Mall, detouring to oogle the various stores of interest, holding tight to my control so I wouldn't buy this and that because I knew that I really didn't NEED this and that. It was close to the time when I knew that HTP and #1 son were going to come back and pick me up. (HTP had gone off to do some genealogy work. He'd rather get a root canal then walk around any mall much less The Mall).
My cell phone rang and it was #1 son. His movie was over and he wanted to know where HTP was. I told him that HTP should be waiting out by the curb of the movie theatre. He was. I toddled over to a bench at the agreed rendevous point(my feet and hips were worn out by this point and I remembered that I haven't been taking my joint supplements because I ran out but The Mall is not the best place to buy that sort of thing) and sat down to read my book. After about 45 minutes, I got another buzz on my cell phone. They were delayed. Rain and sidetracking. I waited another 15 minutes. That's OK. I had my book.
I got another call. They wanted me to meet them at a Mall restaurant, Tucci Benucci for supper. I hobbled over to the restaurant. I was sitting what is referred to as The North Garden and I had to hobble my way over to the West Garden. I checked the map to make sure that it was indeed over at The West Garden because I've made the mistake before where I headed toward the East Garden and then had to walk miles and miles in order to get to where I had to go. My hips and feet were not going to allow me to walk miles and miles. Anyway, I reached the West Garden and the restaurant. HTP and #1 son were waiting for me. We had no problems getting in and the food was wonderful...as usual. Tucci Benucci is one of my favorite restaurants at The Mall. There are a few interesting new restaurants on the third floor but I didn't even suggest them. HTP isn't a Mall enthusiast and I didn't think I could hobble that far.
After supper we headed straight out to the car and returned to The Lake. We stopped to pick up the dogs on our way. It's wonderful that my folks agree to dog sit for us. Of course, I am more then willing to return the favor when they need someone to look after their little one. She's a real sweetie.
I finished up my evening, listening to the internet radio and nodding off to sleep. I didn't blog but what the heck. I'm blogging now and I'll set back the clock so you'd never know. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.
Murphyism of the Day
Fausner's Definition
Housework is what nobody notices unless it's not done.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Word of the Day
Cankle: Where the ankle meets the calf.
The sun is losing it's battle with the clouds today. On the plus side, it isn't actually raining and there aren't too many weekenders.
I noted that there were a bunch of boats beating the waters yesterday. I tend to lose track of time out here at The Lake so when I saw all those boats, I was a bit confused. Oh....it was Friday. That's why the weekenders were back. Well, they had a nice day for it yesterday but it's really windy today and as I said, it's supposed to rain...maybe storm.
Stormy weather is something the weathermen tend to emphasize out here. Weather Alert! Run! Hide! Severe Thunderstorms! OK. It reminds me of the old story with the kid who cried wolf. Same goes for Breaking News but that's another story! Yes, we'll probably have a bit of rain. We may even see lightening and hear thunder. It's not the end of the world. The sky is not falling. Save it for a tornado warning and let me know if there is a tornado watch. The rest I can figure out for myself. Do people really need to be told not to stand outside, flying a kite ala Ben Franklin, when you can feel the weather turning?
Mattress Update. The mattress did not come yesterday. HTP still doesn't think it's going to fit into our sleigh bed. Heaven only knows if the mattress will come today. It's still early. If it comes, it comes. Stay tuned for further updates.
My Devil Dog Daughter is at MCT (Marine Combat Training). There is a training matrix of sorts so I've been able to figure out generally what she's doing each day. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the heck some of these acronyms mean. Though I can figure out that she's being trained in the use of various weapons, I have no idea what those weapons are. I can look them up on the internet but I'm afraid that will flag me as some sort of domestic terrorist and I'll be added to some homeland security watch list. Anyway, it was pretty clear that they had to establish a bivouac yesterday (I think that means that they're "camping") and that today they're learning all about hand grenades. Hands on.
Murphyism of the Day
Hamilton's Rule for Cleaning Glassware and Windows
The spot you are scrubbing is always on the other side.
Corollary:
If the spot is on the inside, you won't be able to reach it.
Cankle: Where the ankle meets the calf.
The sun is losing it's battle with the clouds today. On the plus side, it isn't actually raining and there aren't too many weekenders.
I noted that there were a bunch of boats beating the waters yesterday. I tend to lose track of time out here at The Lake so when I saw all those boats, I was a bit confused. Oh....it was Friday. That's why the weekenders were back. Well, they had a nice day for it yesterday but it's really windy today and as I said, it's supposed to rain...maybe storm.
Stormy weather is something the weathermen tend to emphasize out here. Weather Alert! Run! Hide! Severe Thunderstorms! OK. It reminds me of the old story with the kid who cried wolf. Same goes for Breaking News but that's another story! Yes, we'll probably have a bit of rain. We may even see lightening and hear thunder. It's not the end of the world. The sky is not falling. Save it for a tornado warning and let me know if there is a tornado watch. The rest I can figure out for myself. Do people really need to be told not to stand outside, flying a kite ala Ben Franklin, when you can feel the weather turning?
Mattress Update. The mattress did not come yesterday. HTP still doesn't think it's going to fit into our sleigh bed. Heaven only knows if the mattress will come today. It's still early. If it comes, it comes. Stay tuned for further updates.
My Devil Dog Daughter is at MCT (Marine Combat Training). There is a training matrix of sorts so I've been able to figure out generally what she's doing each day. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the heck some of these acronyms mean. Though I can figure out that she's being trained in the use of various weapons, I have no idea what those weapons are. I can look them up on the internet but I'm afraid that will flag me as some sort of domestic terrorist and I'll be added to some homeland security watch list. Anyway, it was pretty clear that they had to establish a bivouac yesterday (I think that means that they're "camping") and that today they're learning all about hand grenades. Hands on.
Murphyism of the Day
Hamilton's Rule for Cleaning Glassware and Windows
The spot you are scrubbing is always on the other side.
Corollary:
If the spot is on the inside, you won't be able to reach it.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Word of the Day
Coincicle: 1. A coincidence so dramatic, it's a miracle. 2. A coin that has been dropped in the street, parking lot, or sidewalk during the winter and is entombed in a thick layer of ice.
I made a triple batch of waffles this morning. We didn't eat them all. We each got one small 4" waffle and I froze the rest for future breakfasts. It has always made more sense to me to make large batches of things so you only have to mess up your kitchen once. Now we can still have waffles for breakfast but we don't have to make a mess.
After breakfast, HTP, #1 son and I trooped outside and tackled the bark mulch pile. We used the entire pile and only made a slight dent in the gardens that need mulching. If we'd been spreading the stuff on a yearly basis, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But....we haven't mulched the gardens since they were landscaped. That's over seven years. Groan. We need more bark mulch. Lots of bark mulch. I think we used two cubic yards of it so far. That means we need at least another 6 cubic yards. I don't think I'm capable of spreading more then 2 cubic yards per day. I'm not even sure at this point if I'll actually be able to move tomorrow. Maybe we'll do this in stages. In the meantime, I spread Preen ( a fertilizer and weed preventer combo) in the areas to keep the weed seeds from sprouting. I hope it works. I pray it works. I've already gone through 8 gallons of RoundUp (weed killer) and though I know I'll be needing more, I'd rather not have to make mass quantities of the stuff on a daily basis.
Mattress Update? It hasn't arrived yet but I'm blogging at 3 PM so, it still may get here today. Maybe. Stay tuned for my next update tomorrow. I have faith. My raspberries came and so did my books...most of them.
Murphyism of the Day
Fausner's Rule of the Household
A knife too dull to cut anything else can always cut your finger.
Coincicle: 1. A coincidence so dramatic, it's a miracle. 2. A coin that has been dropped in the street, parking lot, or sidewalk during the winter and is entombed in a thick layer of ice.
I made a triple batch of waffles this morning. We didn't eat them all. We each got one small 4" waffle and I froze the rest for future breakfasts. It has always made more sense to me to make large batches of things so you only have to mess up your kitchen once. Now we can still have waffles for breakfast but we don't have to make a mess.
After breakfast, HTP, #1 son and I trooped outside and tackled the bark mulch pile. We used the entire pile and only made a slight dent in the gardens that need mulching. If we'd been spreading the stuff on a yearly basis, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But....we haven't mulched the gardens since they were landscaped. That's over seven years. Groan. We need more bark mulch. Lots of bark mulch. I think we used two cubic yards of it so far. That means we need at least another 6 cubic yards. I don't think I'm capable of spreading more then 2 cubic yards per day. I'm not even sure at this point if I'll actually be able to move tomorrow. Maybe we'll do this in stages. In the meantime, I spread Preen ( a fertilizer and weed preventer combo) in the areas to keep the weed seeds from sprouting. I hope it works. I pray it works. I've already gone through 8 gallons of RoundUp (weed killer) and though I know I'll be needing more, I'd rather not have to make mass quantities of the stuff on a daily basis.
Mattress Update? It hasn't arrived yet but I'm blogging at 3 PM so, it still may get here today. Maybe. Stay tuned for my next update tomorrow. I have faith. My raspberries came and so did my books...most of them.
Murphyism of the Day
Fausner's Rule of the Household
A knife too dull to cut anything else can always cut your finger.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Word of the Day
Canimal: Usually found in a zoo. The animal that looks like a Camel, but isn't.
The heat is starting to finally arrive here in northern Wisconsin. I noted that the temperature on my deck reached 88°F this afternoon. HTP and I had to turn the air-conditioning on in the car on our way to the city. We needed groceries.
Our new mattress is supposed to be coming some time tomorrow. We think. They need to acquire a different delivery truck. How they thought they were going to toodle down our gravel driveway with a huge moving van, I have no idea. It's one thing to drive down here to our house in such a vehicle, it's another thing to figure out how to turn around and try tomaneuverr it back up the hill. Anyway, we explained this to the person on the phone this morning and, as I said, they're looking for another (smaller) truck. Will our mattress come tomorrow? Will it fit? Stay tuned for the continuing saga of The Mattress.
My raspberry plants came today. I planted them. Now I just have to hope that the deer don't get them over the winter. My Mom and Dad told me that they should be fairly safe this summer but all bets are off when the winter snows blow and the deer decide toforagee. I'll figure something out. I love raspberries and they're really expensive in the store.
Murphyism of the Day
Alice Hammond's Laws of the Kitchen
1. Souffles rise and cream whips only for the family and for guests you didn't really want to invite anyway.
2. The rotten egg will be the one you break into the cake batter.
3. Any cooking utensil placed in the dishwasher will be needed immediately thereafter for something else; any measuring utensil used for liquid ingredients will be needed immediately for dry ingredients.
4. Time spent consuming a meal is in inverse proportion to time spent preparing it.
5. Whatever it is,somebodyy will have had it for lunch.
Canimal: Usually found in a zoo. The animal that looks like a Camel, but isn't.
The heat is starting to finally arrive here in northern Wisconsin. I noted that the temperature on my deck reached 88°F this afternoon. HTP and I had to turn the air-conditioning on in the car on our way to the city. We needed groceries.
Our new mattress is supposed to be coming some time tomorrow. We think. They need to acquire a different delivery truck. How they thought they were going to toodle down our gravel driveway with a huge moving van, I have no idea. It's one thing to drive down here to our house in such a vehicle, it's another thing to figure out how to turn around and try tomaneuverr it back up the hill. Anyway, we explained this to the person on the phone this morning and, as I said, they're looking for another (smaller) truck. Will our mattress come tomorrow? Will it fit? Stay tuned for the continuing saga of The Mattress.
My raspberry plants came today. I planted them. Now I just have to hope that the deer don't get them over the winter. My Mom and Dad told me that they should be fairly safe this summer but all bets are off when the winter snows blow and the deer decide toforagee. I'll figure something out. I love raspberries and they're really expensive in the store.
Murphyism of the Day
Alice Hammond's Laws of the Kitchen
1. Souffles rise and cream whips only for the family and for guests you didn't really want to invite anyway.
2. The rotten egg will be the one you break into the cake batter.
3. Any cooking utensil placed in the dishwasher will be needed immediately thereafter for something else; any measuring utensil used for liquid ingredients will be needed immediately for dry ingredients.
4. Time spent consuming a meal is in inverse proportion to time spent preparing it.
5. Whatever it is,somebodyy will have had it for lunch.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Word of the Day
Calmmerce: Post-war free trade.
HTP and are supposed to get a new bed...could be today, could be tomorrow. I hope it fits. We failed to take into account the height of this new bed in relationship to our sleigh bed frame. As it is, I'm going to have to see if I can add some length to our quilt. I already bought new sheets to accomodate the deeper mattress but there just isn't a king-size quilt wide enough for these new beds. As it is, we may have to get step-ladders to get into bed each night. I exaggerate...a little. We had to get stools to get into our bed in Arizona. I guess I can do the same for here...if the mattress will fit into the sleigh bed frame.
I was going to take #1 son shopping today to get some new clothes but he tells me that he's got what he needs for work. I still need to do some grocery shopping but that can wait. I hate to leave the house...just in case Fed-Ex or UPS stops by.
Murphyism of the Day
Working Cook's Laws
1. If you're wondering if you took the meat out to thaw, you didn't.
2. If you're wondering if you left the coffee pot plugged in, you did.
3. If you're wondering if you need to stop and pick up bread and eggs on the way home, you do.
4. If you're wondering if you have enough money to take the family out to eat tonight, you don't.
Calmmerce: Post-war free trade.
HTP and are supposed to get a new bed...could be today, could be tomorrow. I hope it fits. We failed to take into account the height of this new bed in relationship to our sleigh bed frame. As it is, I'm going to have to see if I can add some length to our quilt. I already bought new sheets to accomodate the deeper mattress but there just isn't a king-size quilt wide enough for these new beds. As it is, we may have to get step-ladders to get into bed each night. I exaggerate...a little. We had to get stools to get into our bed in Arizona. I guess I can do the same for here...if the mattress will fit into the sleigh bed frame.
I was going to take #1 son shopping today to get some new clothes but he tells me that he's got what he needs for work. I still need to do some grocery shopping but that can wait. I hate to leave the house...just in case Fed-Ex or UPS stops by.
Murphyism of the Day
Working Cook's Laws
1. If you're wondering if you took the meat out to thaw, you didn't.
2. If you're wondering if you left the coffee pot plugged in, you did.
3. If you're wondering if you need to stop and pick up bread and eggs on the way home, you do.
4. If you're wondering if you have enough money to take the family out to eat tonight, you don't.