A Leisurely Day Off

The first thing I did this morning was to sleep until 5:30, and when you’re used to having to get up at 2:45, believe me, it felt wonderful.  I got up even before the cat, which was surprising, since she's usually yowling outside my door by 4:30 -- even on days off.  This morning, I got up on my terms.  I enjoyed a couple of leisurely cups of coffee, watched an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s new show, and just enjoyed a morning where I didn't have to rush off anywhere. 

All the while, the back of my mind kept telling me I needed to get up and do something, but I reminded the back of my mind that I didn’t take today off to do stuff. 

Honestly I took it off because the plant doesn’t let us roll our PTO over, and if I didn’t use it, I’d lose it.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I still have vacation days to come this year, but they're already scheduled.  I had a couple left that I needed to schedule, and was running out of time to take them, so I just picked a random Friday and put one in.  Not that any of that matters to you, but that's what it is. 

After a while, I got dressed and ran into town to the post office, where I finally got the baby sweater mailed.  I asked the clerk if they had any of the Navy 250th Birthday stamps, but they didn't.  They had Army and Marine Corps, but I guess I'm going to have to order the Navy ones from the USPS website. Because it'll probably be December before I make it back to the post office.  Still, it's not surprising that the Navy ones sold out first, being that there is a Navy JROTC here, and the high school fight song is Anchors Aweigh.  

Once done with that, I went on to Walmart and did my weekly shopping, and I'm telling you, it was so nice to walk through a nearly deserted store -- well, for a Friday morning, I mean.  There were people there, but it wasn't its usual madhouse.  And for once, I managed to find everything on my list.  I even made a couple of impulse purchases.  

I got two extra toasting forks in the -- probably vain-- hope that Cody and Brennan will want to come up and toast marshmallow over the fire pit sometime.  

I already had one, so now there'll be enough for everyone.   Maybe in the Fall...

And I picked up two new sheets of stickers, because I need to write a letter to my Australian pen pal. 

I like to decorate the envelopes, and don't trust the international mail with wax seals.  I don't trust domestic mail with wax seals, either, so there is that. 

Anyway, there I was just a walking through Walmart when all of the sudden I started feeling a bit shaky.  That's when I realized I'd forgotten to eat before I left the house.  I quickly checked out, drove home, and fixed myself a pot pie.

A couple of episodes of JAG later, and I felt much better.  Good enough to get out and play with my new thatching rake some more.  That thing is a wonder, I'm telling you.  In less time than it takes to break a sweat in Mississippi in July, I had a whole wheelbarrow full of weeds and yard debris to put into the compost. 

If this keeps up, I'm going to need a bigger bin.  Compost bin, I mean. 

By that time, I was sweating, so I came inside to cool off.  Heat index is 103°, you know.  Now, I'm sitting here watching Major Dad, trying to psych myself up to mow.  

Later. 

After it cools off a bit. 

P.S.  It's not working...

Oh! I just heard thunder!  That’ll put the nix on mowing!  I just settled in for an evening of TV and knitting!  Hooray!

Forty Seven Years

Today was the longest, most miserable day I've dealt with in a long long time.  At one point, I looked up at the clock and exclaimed, "It's not even 9:00 yet!  Feels like I've been her for forty seven years today."  I think having the day off tomorrow ...well, it certainly didn't help the day go by any faster.  

Not to mention, we're going to be under a heat warning for the next several days at least.  Heh, my coworker asked me what my thermometer said, and I told her 92°.  She replied, "It's 93° outside, so we may as well be outside."  At least outside we'd have fresh air instead of the filthy pollution we have to breathe inside the plant. 

Then, when the second person in two days fell out, they finally decided to pass out water and the little Gatorade packets they keep for the people up in the front office -- you know, where they have air conditioning.  They used to pass out Gatorade all the time, but stopped because we had water and didn't need it.  Or so they said.  

I was going to come home and mow, but as of this writing, it's still too hot.  What I did instead was to put together my last Prime Day purchase which finally arrived.   Can you tell what it is?

It's a thatching rake!  I'd bought it to clear away the ground ivy, which is a highly invasive species and is absolutely taking over my yard.  I'd been pulling it up by hand, but that takes forever and is very hard on my back.  I thought this would make an easier job of it, and boy did it ever!

Here:  I took a before photo. 

And after literally 30 seconds of work, all of that ground ivy is cleared away. 

It was so easy to use, too.  Next I tried it on a spot where the ivy is very thick, and after about a minute, I got all of this up.  

Feet included for scale, because I had to cut way down on my banana consumption due to the insulin resistance.   This might possibly be the best investment I've made in a long time. 

After coming inside to cool off for a bit, the last thing I did was to fill the pedestal of my new bird bath with rocks and put fresh water into it.  Now I'm just waiting for the birds to find it. 

And to finish this up with a bit of good news, I found Major Dad on Tubi.  I used to love that show, so if you'll excuse me, I'm off to binge.

Laters.  

Into A Fight

There I was at work on Monday, just a working away when Group Leader Shark came up behind me, called my name, and said, "4:00 in the morning!"  

OK.  

A few minutes after that, she asked me if I could stay over that day.  OK, I didn't really want to, but I said I would.  So, I stayed until 3:00, clocked out, and drove all of the way into town to mail the baby sweater-- only to find that the post office wasn't even open.  Apparently, nobody had shown up for work that morning. 

"Your tax dollars at work," I grumbled as I headed home, baby sweater still in hand. 

Once I got back home, I began second guessing myself.  "Did I switch the clock from clock in to clock out before I scanned my badge?"  I couldn't remember...No big deal.  Even if I hadn't clocked out correctly, Uncle Supervisor will fix it, so I wasn't worried.  

Tuesday morning, I got to work not so bright but very very early and scanned my badge at the time clock.  Now, when you normally clock in, the screen will show your name along with the name of your department and the department number.  If you're already clocked in and scan your badge again, it'll just say "Clocked in".  

And that's what it said when I clocked in yesterday.  Just clocked in.  

"Oh," I said to myself, "I must not have clocked out yesterday after all."  I clocked out, then clocked back in...and it just said clocked in.  Hmmm...

I went to another time clock and repeated the whole process:  I clocked out, then clocked in again.  This time, it did right and the screen showed my department name and number just like it was supposed to.   Great.  Confident that I'd clocked in correctly, I went on to my stand and went about my day. 

Sometime later, I walked up to Uncle Supervisor's desk to talk to him about what I'd done.   He saw me coming and gestured me over.  

"Did you get into a fight with the time clock this morning?"  He asked.  

I laughed and replied, "Yes, I did."  I explained to him what had happened, then said, "I was literally just coming up here to talk to you about this!"  We both had a good chuckle and the day went on from there.  

Alas, at the morning meeting, Group Leader Shark told us we're all going to be staying over until 3:00 for the foreseeable future -- with some of us still coming in at 4:00, so expect blogging to be sporadic for the next week or so.

In other news, last time it rained -- which was last Friday -- I looked out my front window and saw a little bird bathing in the puddle in my driveway.  Now, I've been wanting a birdbath for a while now, but seeing that bird in the puddle and knowing I'm going to be filling said puddle in pretty soon, I realized I needed to get one sooner rather than later.  

I hopped onto the Lowe's app and found one I liked.  It's cement and a good size, only they didn't have it in stock at the local store.  Well, the one up in Batesville I mean.  There was an option to have it shipped, but that option cost $80, or more than the birdbath itself costs.   No, thank you. 

I didn't see any other cement options in stock, so naturally I did what any red blooded American would do.  I got onto Amazon and ordered one.  It's resin instead of cement, but it'll do until I can find a cement one.    

Or maybe I'll just keep it.  I imagine it'll be easier to clean than a cement one anyway. 

I was supposed to fill the pedestal with rocks, sand, or gravel to help weigh it down, but that's going to have to wait until the weekend.  It's just too hot right now, and with me going in at 4:00, I'm already in bed by the time it cools off enough to do anything.  

I'll get out early Friday or Saturday morning and pick a bunch of rocks out of all that red clay and fill it with those.  It also came with some little stakes to help hold it down, but they're not very big.  When I go to Walmart next, I'll get some regular tent stakes and use them instead. 

The Incarnation of Evil says, "Just don't get any ideas about a cat bath..."  

 

All Done!

At long last, I have finally sewn the buttons onto my great nephew's sweater.  

I know right?  It's about time.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate sewing on buttons?  Even more so than seaming.  But no matter.  It's finished now, washed and ready to be packed up and mailed.

Which I hope to do later today.  The packing up, I mean, not the mailing because the post office is closed.   It being Sunday, you know. 

I'd thought about driving up to Lowe's this morning and picking up some sand, because Justin The Good Landscaper told me to put sand in those ruts in the front yard, but I didn't.  I have a vacation day Friday, so I might go up there then.  

Then I thought I'd scrape up some of the red clay dirt from the back and use it instead, but it's still too mucky from the rain we got Friday.  So I cleaned up some more of the branches from the tree I had cut down a few weeks ago.  That was about all of the outside work I got done today. 

Speaking of ruts, yesterday got the weedeater out and cleared away the grass around some of the deeper ruts in the back yard so I can see them better, because one day last week I turned an ankle stepping in one of them.   You know, the ones he didn't fill in because I didn't specifically tell him to. 

 I still say I shouldn't have had to.  He made the ruts, he should have fixed them without me having to tell him to.   Any landscaper with integrity would have done so.  But then, a landscaper with integrity would have done what I paid him to do, not what he felt like doing. 

I'm going to stop whining about it now, but I was just so heartsick that he screwed me over this way.  Now, I think he was even lying about having his truck in the shop.  I think he intended to ghost me, until I started nagging him to get finished.  It would seem I don't have any better luck in choosing who to employ than in choosing who to marry.  

I was so looking forward to getting my raised bed garden set up and going, but now I've had to wait so long to even get started.  I'll just be glad when it's all over and done with, and I can move on.  

That's about all I have for today.  I was going to talk about other stuff, too, but this has been one of those whelming flood weeks, and I just don't have it in me.   

Maybe tomorrow. 

The Culprit

I think I may have found what was causing the cat to vomit.  These things:

`

I'd bought them a while back to get the ibotta rebate, and had recently started mixing a few in with her breakfast each morning.  It was about that time, she started vomiting.  

At first, it was just once in a while, but that day I came home and she'd puked about 8 times, it got my attention.  I was trying to think what was causing it, and the treats were the only thing that was different.  I stopped putting them into her food, and she hasn't tossed her breakfast since.  Keep your fingers crossed...

Apropos of nothing, I bought patriotic plates on clearance. 

No reason other than not wanting to wash.  And they're patriotic. 

In other news, the other landscaper came out yesterday after I'd posted, looked over my yard, and said he could fix it.  He said it might be a minute, because he's backed up right now, but he'll get it done.  

I said, "We're past the rainy season now, so that's OK.  Just don't forget about me!"  

He's been doing landscaping since he was 13 and his dad started their business, so I know he knows what he's doing.  I name dropped a mutual friend -- yes, you Edna-- and told him she'd said he was the best.  He likes to talk, but he said these young people mow a few lawns and watch HGTV, then think this stuff is easy, but most of them end up going out of business because doing it right is a lot harder than they expected. 

He also said the dirt the other guy had brought was garbage dirt, which I already knew.  He's going to get me some good dirt and fix me right up.  Best part of all, he's only going to charge me $1000 -- or less if he can swing it.  He said he felt so bad about the other guy taking advantage of me, he's going to make sure he gets my cost below a grand. 

Heh, when I told him how much the other guy charged me, well, let's just say he uttered some words I don't want to post on the blog, as they will ruin my PG rating.   

OK, really he didn't say anything that bad, but saying that isn't as dramatic.  Still, I don't want to give people the wrong idea about the man because he was very nice.  

We chatted a bit more, and I said, "I wish I'd found your number first!"  Then he went on his way, and I finally calmed down enough to get something to eat.

He was telling me I should leave a bad review of the other guy to keep him from ripping off someone else, but I replied,  "It's just not in my nature to be a Karen."  I'd rather just wait until the second landscaper -- Justin-- finishes up and post an absolutely glowing review of the job he does  -- saying things like, "This is what good landscaping is supposed to look like!" and stuff like that. 

Truth is, there were so many red flags in that conversation I had with the first landscaper, it actually makes me fear for his wife. The main ones being how he tried to turn everything around and make it all my fault, even though he didn't even come close to doing what I paid him to do, and how he tried to intimidate me and accuse me of trashing his small business -- his small Christian based business for no reason, because in his mind, he'd done exactly what I'd asked, which is a typical narcissistic response.    

But it's a tremendous relief and a weight off my shoulders knowing I don't have to deal with him any more.  The only downside is that now I have to wait on the other landscaper to finish what he needs to do before I can move forward with getting my herb garden started.  

Well, maybe I can get the fence painted while I'm waiting. 

And finally, there are big changes happening out at work, but I'm going to save that for another post, because this one is long enough already.  Plus, I didn't sleep well at all last night and have had a massive headache all day.

I'm going to get off of here and knit and watch some mindless TV.  

Laters...

Prime Day Deals

Guess what I found at Walmart!  You'll never guess, so I'll tell you.  PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER!  In July!  Usually it doesn't show up until September or October.  I got so excited, I went into work this morning and asked some of my coworkers if they drink pumpkin spice coffee.  "Nawww," said one, and another made a face and shook her head no.  A third one said she doesn't drink it, either.  

"Oh, OK, then.  I'll just go over here and be excited by myself," I replied...

But yeah, I got the regular creamer and a can of the cold foam creamer -- which I'm not a super huge fan of, but it's OK.  I'm all set for Fall!  

In other news, my Prime Day deals arrived today.  Well, most of them did.  I still have a couple of things that will arrive next week.  One of them is the new box of Frontline flea and tick stuff for the cat, but it looks just like the old box, so I got the old box out for the photo. 

Most of it is stuff I normally buy, but got at a discount.  Full disclosure, I don't usually buy the pre-mixed protein shakes, unless I can get them on sale.  They were marked down a good bit, so I picked up a case. The only new thing I wouldn't have bought anyway is the extra battery for my mini chainsaw.  I mean, I was thinking about getting one just to have a spare, but hadn't yet.  When I saw it was marked down for Prime Day, I tossed it into my cart as well.  I was going to do an unboxing video, but that didn't happen.  Why?  Because the landscaper finally came...and didn't really do anything.  

He ran over this a few times, but you can see from the photo, it's still higher the rest of the yard.  When it rains, water is going to run down and puddle next to the house. 

He still left giant ruts and uneven spots in my back yard -- which he says is my fault because I didn't tell him those were a problem.  Kind of like I didn't tell him the water would run down toward the house.  How could you not notice that?  I guess the same way he didn't notice all the ruts and lumps and uneven spots he left...which I thought he was supposed to fill in when he came.      

And then there is this.  He's got so much dirt piled up in my gate, I can't even close it.

He said that shouldn't matter because I said I was going to get that fence taken out, but I still don't want a giant hill in my yard.  And he didn't put any dirt in the low spot by that cleanout, where I had my sewer line replaced a few years ago, which I had specifically pointed that out to him and told him I wanted that filled in. 

And of course, these ruts in the front yard, which he says aren't ruts at all, but tire tracks.  

Call 'em what you want, they're deep enough my lawn mower falls into them.  Then there is the giant hole left by the dump truck, which he "didn't notice."  

 Now, he says I'm threatening to post a bad review and trash run his small business into the ground, and he doesn't want to work with me any more.   To that I say, if an honest review is such a threat to your small business, then maybe you need to reexamine your business practices.  He says he's got recordings of our conversations, and that the truth will come out.  I hope it does, because I know what I told him I wanted done. 

I have just one question, though, if -- as he says -- I only wanted dirt plopped into two small spots in my front yard, why did I go to the bother of pointing out my Bachelor's Button and my water meter?  Hmmm?  

It doesn't matter, because I'd already decided to be done with him anyway, whether he had finished the job or not.  I'm just tired.  Tired of waiting on him.  Tired of having this hanging over my head.  Tired of his excuses.    

I put in a call to another landscaper -- this one is older and more established, and "the best" according to local folks.  The problem will be that since I'll have to pay him to fix what the first guy screwed up, and the first guy used up my entire budget, I'm going to have to pull from my fence budget and put off getting the rest of my fence replaced until I can save up more money.   

Now, I'm sitting here waiting for him to show up and we can talk about what I want done.   Oh!  He just messaged me that he's on his way. 

Laters.  

JAG

JAG is back on Prime!!!  Hallelujah! I can finish watching it!  It even saved my spot, so I can pick up right where I left off. 

While we’re on the subject, I’m trying to finish The X-Files, but I’m struggling with it. It just isn’t the same without….um, a certain character. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but it isn’t as good.

Oh, and I dropped Britbox again, at least for a while. I am going to miss Father Brown and Sister Boniface, but can’t see paying $9 per month just for those two shows. 

Even so, I'm glad for a bit of good news, even if it's something small like that.  It's been a very frustrating week at work, and it's only Wednesday.  I mean, it's the same old same old.  Every single order I've gotten today has had something wrong with it.  Every single order I've gotten this week has had something wrong with it.  

The frustrating part is that we can't get the support from upper management we need to be successful at our jobs.  Junior, for example, is nothing but an overgrown teenager who is more concerned with playing pranks on his employees than he is in solving the problems we have to deal with.  It's almost like they want us to fail.  

I didn't come here to complain -- again -- about my job, but I've been thinking lately.  I used to be able to write clever and entertaining posts about my work days.  No matter how bad things seemed, I was always able to find humor in the situation, and could come up with something people would want to read.  Not so any more.  

Things have gotten so bad out there, there is no humor to be found anywhere.  It's become a downright depressing place, and no matter how hard I try, I just can't come up with anything worth writing about.  And I can remember when readers were actually encouraging me to write a book.  

Nobody says that any more.  Nobody thinks that any more.  

I think I'm going to end this and go take a nice, hot shower.  But before I go, I had been saying I was going to switch my shopping day to Wednesday, but I'm finding that just isn't working out.  Reason being, is that the shelves are fairly empty, and I can't get what I need.  

I'm probably going to go back to shopping on Fridays, despite the place being a madhouse.  At least the shelves are stocked then.  But I did pick up a skein of that pink Bitty Stripes yarn.  

I guess I really ought to finish the BSJ I've already go on the needles, then, huh?  

Random Thoughts Of A Tuesday Evening

1.  It was with some trepidation I opened the bedroom door this morning, but much to my relief, there was no cat gack on the floor...anywhere.  I fed the cat her breakfast, and by the time I left for work, she still hadn't thrown it up, so I was hopeful she is feeling better.  

2.  I thought briefly about cutting some branches up, but after tossing some corn for the crows and squirrels, I was drenched in sweat that fast.  So, I picked out some pebbles to fill my bee watering bowl. 

It will eventually go into my fairy garden, but for now, it's in the planter with my basil. 

3.  I poured my milk into my oatmeal, then stuck it into the microwave to cook.  When I got it out, the milk had curdled.  I got the jug out of the fridge, opened the cap, and whew!  Yep, it was sour.  Giving up on oatmeal, I poured myself some Cheerios with almond milk and ate that instead.  The very last bite, I promise you I didn't do this on purpose, it just happened.  It smiled at me.  

I smiled back, snapped a photo, then ate it. 

4.  For you local folks, here is the QR code to Matt Laubhan's new weather app. 

5.  By the way, the snakes have all had birthdays recently.  OK, I don't have any of their hatch dates except for Onyx's, which is July 24, 2004, so I've give them all an official unofficial birthday of July 1.  Even Onyx.  So, Slider, Sunset, and Onyx are all 21 years old, and Blaze is 20.  

6. I got home from work, and walked into the house with some trepidation, only to find...no cat gack!  Anywhere.  I'd shut her out of the bedrooms and bathroom, just in case, but turns out there was no need.  She's still not quite herself, but now that she's stopped vomiting, she should pick up soon.  

7.  I had a moment of panic Sunday morning when I checked on my tomato plant, and it was all slumped over.  It would seem I'd forgotten to water it over the holiday weekend.  I gave it a good watering, then tied it back up to the stakes.  Then, I cut some of the tomatoes that were starting to ripen, thinking that would take some of the stress off of the plant-- all except for that green one.  It had apparently fallen off on its own in the melee. 

The one on the far right ended up in a tomato sandwich this afternoon. 

8.  I wish more people understood this. 

People don't always need you badgering them about what's wrong.  They don't necessarily need to talk about it.  Sometimes, they just need you to be there.  

10.  I may be wrong for this, but I think it's absolutely hysterical to watch conspiracy theorists tie themselves in knots insisting that their theories are still true, even when they've been proven most decidedly to be false. 

11.  I'm heading over to Amazon to see if I can pick up any Prime Day deals.  Catch you later. 

Found ‘Em!

 I found the buttons!  

Guess where they were...in a place I'd already checked twice.  They'd fallen between the arm and seat of my recliner, and I'd checked there.  I just didn't shove my hand far enough down the first few times.  

Once I'd gotten them out, I went deep diving for my needle.  It was where...I'd checked a couple of times already.  In the jar I keep my stitch markers in. 

As with the buttons, I didn't dive deeply enough the first time.  Or second...

I was going to come home and sew those buttons on this afternoon -- triple digit heat indices keeping me inside -- but alas, when I got home, I saw that the cat had been sick.  All over the house.  In my recliner.  On my bed -- TWICE.  On the floor in every single room of the house.  

I don't know what's up with her.  If she ate something she shouldn't have, or picked up some sort of kitty stomach flu, or if she's simply got a stubborn hairball.  Hopefully, she'll perk up in a day or two.  If not, it's off to the vet we go. 

Needless to say, instead of sewing buttons, I spent my afternoon scrubbing up cat gack and washing bedding.  Now that that's done, I think I'll have some popcorn and watch an episode of Bonekickers.  Maybe something more blog worthy will happen tomorrow. 

Frustrated

I'm so frustrated right now, I don't even know what to do.  I was going to get my great-nephew's sweater finished up today, so I can get it packed up and mailed off this week...only I can't find the buttons I bought for it.  

The last time I remember seeing them, I was sitting in my recliner -- the same recliner I'm sitting in right this very moment -- picking out which colors I wanted to use.  I'd bought some that had various shades of brown and green, and I thought they'd go well with the camo yarn.  I set the bag down on the side table, or so I thought.  When I went to get it this morning, I couldn't find it.  

I've looked everywhere I could think of, and a few places I really didn't expect them to be, but I looked anyway.  I even  pulled the chair and side tables away from the wall and checked underneath.  No dice.  

Somewhat defeated, I got out my button box and picked out three that I thought I could use...and I couldn't find my needle.  Oh, I found my tapestry needles, but they wouldn't fit through the buttons' eyes.  I looked for the one I'd used to sew the buttons onto all of those Calorimetries I'd done a while back, but couldn't find it anywhere, either. 

Frustrated, I stuffed the button box and sweater into the drawer, and now I'm sitting here pouting and watching a documentary on the War of 1812.  Because, hey, even when I'm frustrated, I gotta be me. 

If even half of what they're saying in this documentary is true, it's a wonder we didn't lose this war.  But then, I haven't gotten to the part where they fight in New Orleans, and we all know how that ended.  Right?  

To end on a brighter note, my little water bowl I ordered arrived. 

I'm going to fill it with pebbles and put it into my fairy garden, oh, and water, of course, so the bees and butterflies can drink without drowning. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go finish this documentary, and try to think of where I could have put those buttons. 

Laters.

There Has Been

knitting!  Yes, my friends, there has been knitting on this Independence Day weekend.  First up, I need to show you the progress I'm making on these two hats.  

They're a couple of the sockhead hats I've been working on, off and on.  Yes, it's a bit slow going, but I pick these up when I need a bit of no-pressure, mindless knitting.  The one on the left is being made with some of the yarn I bought at the thing in Oxford in January.  I can't remember what it is right off the top of my head, and I've lost the ball band.   

The one on the right is Forbidden Fiber Co in the now-discontinued Toasted Marshmallow colorway. 

I'm also making progress on the second Baby Surprise Jacket, and I'm liking the way these colors are knitting up. 

I think next time I go to the store, I'm going to get the Bitty Stripes in the red and pink colors, just in case someone has a girl some day.  

Funny thing, when I knit the first one, I said I wasn't enjoying it, but as soon as I saw how it went together, I suddenly wanted to do more.  Well, people are always having babies.  Someone will need them sooner or later. 

But before all of that knitting took place, I got up early this morning and ran the tiller over the garden spot a couple of times. 

The whole time I was doing it, I kept waiting for a neighbor to come complain about the noise waking them up.  If they did, I was going to say, "Like you kept me up until midnight shooting off fireworks?"  But my clever comeback went unused as no one complained.  People around here are pretty much all early risers anyway.  

I made a couple of passes over the whole thing, but mostly worked on getting that dirt away from the fence.  I'm making progress, but it's hard work, so I decided not to do any more until after the landscaper comes and finishes his thing.  With that in mind, I put my tiller and all my garden tools away, then got the last of the pieces of my raised bed out and put the water seal stuff on them.  

The last outside chore I took care of was to start cutting up some of these branches.  

I was making good progress, too, until the chain came off of my mini-chainsaw.  I took it as a sign.  

I put away my chainsaw, took a shower -- because I forgot to yesterday, but I suppose I shouldn't have told you that -- and settled in to watch TV and knit.  And with that, I was able to mark off almost everything on my list. 

 Face it, it was highly unlikely I'd have gotten the fence painted anyway, and cutting up those branches is an ongoing project, so I'm calling it done.   

And finally, we in the Fine Martial household are absolutely heartbroken by the horrific flooding in Texas.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those whose loved ones are lost, or still missing. It is for them that we sing:

Oh Christ whose voice the waters heard 

And hushed their raging at thy word

Oh hear us when we cry to thee

For those in peril from the sea.

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day, everyone!  And just how did I celebrate my Independence Day?  By working independently! 

By myself, for myself, and of myself.  OK, I'll stop now. 

But I did get a few more things knocked off my to do list. 

I started with the weedeating, getting that done first thing this morning, though I'm not sure how happy my neighbors were with that!  Seriously, I don't think it bothered them too much, because it's pretty quiet.  Not like the old gas powered one that would wake the dead.  And I avoided the part right beside their bedroom window, so there is that. 

I got my weed killer out and sprayed along the fence lines, just to make sure nothing's growing up through the fence that I'll have to cut out later.  That's where that tree came from.  I didn't cut it when it was little, and it got out of hand.  There was also a lot of privet that had grown up through the fence from before I bought the house, which I spent a lot of time cutting down.  I do not want to go through that again! 

While I had that weed killer out, I also sprayed the front ditch...well the part next to the road, I mean.  The county had come around and sprayed the ditches a few days ago, but had apparently missed mine.  You can see where they stopped down there.   

Then they started again on the other side of my drive way.  I don't know why.  They just did it.  Oh, well, I'd rather do it myself anyway.  When they spray, they tend to kill about half of my yard, not just the ditch. 

I finished up the outside work by picking up the last of the limbs and debris from the spring storms, most of which will be used to start fires in either the fire pit or wood stove.  Yeah, maybe it's not the best fire starter, but it is free and I've got plenty of it. 

Oh, and I almost forgot...I cleaned out the water trough and refilled it.  It had gotten pretty manky, but now it's nice and clean. 

Yes, that stick is in there on purpose, in case any bees or butterflies want to get a drink.  And for the birds, I put a couple of inches of water into an old dog bowl and put it out near the bird feeder.  

I'll do until I can get a proper birdbath.  

The last outside chore I did was to water everything, since we haven't gotten much rain these last few weeks.  Strange to say, I know, after the absolute drenching we got in the spring. We're still 8" above normal for this time of the year -- just not this month.  Anyway, while I was watering the stuff on the front porch, I noticed that it really needed to be swept. 

And that is exactly what I did.  

Such a small thing, but it makes such a difference.

I thought about dragging the ol' roto tiller out and going over the garden spot again, but decided it was already too hot, so I planned on waiting until later this evening, but I forgot about the Capitol Fourth concert -- which I'm watching even as I type this. 

I took a brief departure from my usual Independence Day movie lineup to watch The Sons Of Liberty on Prime.  It's pretty good, though throughout the whole thing, I kept getting the feeling I was watching a parody of U.S. History.  I don't think it was intended to be, but it sure felt like a comedy production.  I don't know why, because there really wasn't anything funny happening in the show, but I definitely kept expect a Groucho Marx type of joke in every scene. 

Well, since the landscaper is supposed to be coming out and finishing up next week, I finally opened up one of my raised beds and put water seal on the pieces.  

No, that's not all of them, but I'm not going to show you every single piece of wood that came with it.  It is fir wood, so it won't rot, but the water seal will supposedly keep them from turning gray and weathered.  

My two raised planters are also fir, and I didn't seal them.  They're are starting to weather up nicely, but as it happens, I don't like that look as much as I thought I would.  So my raised bed garden will get sealed to slow the weathering.  

Speaking of, while I was cutting some fresh basil for my newest batch of pesto, I found a little friend.

I left him and his leaf alone. 

And now I'm going to leave you alone and watch the rest of this concert on PBS.  But before I go, I would be remis if I didn't share what this holiday is all about: 

Good News And Bad News

Well, I've got good news and bad news.  The good news is I remembered what it was that I was going to tell you yesterday.  The bad news is, I forgot again before I could write it down.  I kept thinking it would come back to me, but it never did, so you don't get to hear what it was.  

It must not have been that important.  Not that anything I'm telling you is all that important, but still...

As the day went on, I began thinking of things I needed to get done this weekend, since we have a long weekend, and knowing how short my mind is, I got a piece of scrap paper and made myself a list. 

The good news is, the heat index never broke triple digits today, so I was able to get out after work andn get the biggest chore knocked off said list. 

The bad news is, I thought of two more things to add to the list while I was mowing. Those are going to have to wait until morning, though, because it was still hot out there, and I've already taken a shower. 

The good news is, I've done so well with my blood sugar lately, I decided to treat myself to some ice cream.  I haven't had ice cream in two years.  TWO years, folks.  That's a long time.  I had some after I'd finished the mowing, as I figured that was enough exercise to work off the sugar.  

The bad news is, they've taken JAG off of Prime, and Paramount + only has a few episodes of seasons 9 & 10.  I'm hoping Prime gets it back eventually so I can watch the last of it. 

The good news is, I found a new to me show on Prime called Bonekickers.  It's about a team of archeologists finding ancient stuff.  It's fiction, not like Time Team or anything.  Still, it's pretty good.  The bad news is, there were only 6 episodes made. 

That's about all I have for today, so I'll catch you later. 

One Day More!

One more day of work, then I'll be off for the long weekend!  I just wish the weekend would go by as slowly as the work week has, but I know it'll fly by.  I had the brilliant idea of going to Walmart today instead of tomorrow to avoid the pre-holiday crowds, but it would seem everyone else in town had the same idea.  It was as much of a madhouse as it is on Fridays.  Even so, I got my business tended to and got out of there.  

So, tomorrow I can come home and try to mow.  It'll be hot, but I'll take it in short bursts with lots of cooling breaks.  I want to get it done so I don't have that chore hanging over my head all weekend.  

On a similar note, I reached out to the landscaper and asked him if his truck was out of the shop yet.  He replied that he just got it back, and will be able to come finish my yard next week.  Well, he said he'd try to get one of his guys to come over the weekend, but I told him next week is fine.  No need to make someone work on the holiday.   He thanked me for my patience, and said he understood how frustrating it has been.  I'll just be glad when he's finally done and I can move forward with my projects. 

In other news, it was a relatively stress free day at work compared to the first two days of this week.  Most of my orders were ....fairly complete and mostly right, which for out there is a good day.  One of my coworkers had gone on vacation and brought back little souvenirs for all of us.  That was so sweet of her, because she didn't have to do that. 

Oh, and I overheard the following conversation between two brazers:

Brazer #1:  Where is {Stalker}?  I haven't seen him all day

Brazer #2:  He's on vacation for the rest of this week.

Brazer #1:  Thank God!

Brazer #2:  We all said that!

Hmmm, maybe that's why the day seemed so much better.

And finally, I decided if I'm going to get into extract making, I needed some extract bottles.  Alas, I think I bought pepper sauce bottles instead, though these are what came up when I searched for vanilla extract bottles. 

 Ah, well, no matter.  Once I get my beds all set up, maybe next year I can grow some peppers and make my own hot sauce.  Except that I don't like hot sauce, but maybe Cody'll want some.  In the mean time, I'll look for some recipes and we'll see what I can come up with. 

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, they say you should use brown or amber bottles for extract so the light doesn't degrade your product.  

Well, there was something else I wanted to tell you about, but right now I can't remember what it was, so I'll close this for today and go get myself something to eat. 

Laters. 

Hello July

This week hasn't started off in the best way, at work, I mean.  It seems like every order I've gotten these last two days has had something wrong with it.  I swan I've spent more time re-ordering parts and writing scrap tickets than I have doing my actual job -- which is brazing.  

But, only two more days this week, then we have a four day weekend!  Hopefully.  I don't think they'll make us come in Saturday, but it's not out of the question.  They've done it before.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

I had intended to run by Walmart after work and pick up some bags of top soil to start filling in the huge ruts that landscaper left in my front yard, but by the time I got off, I just wanted to come home.   I also wanted to run by Tractor Supply to see if they had a dethatching tool, but that didn't happen, either.  Maybe tomorrow.  

I briefly thought about getting the roto tiller out, but didn't.  It's too hot for that.  I did get out and cut some more of that tree up, and I got almost all of it on my side of the fence.  

I need to move those two last pieces of the trunk, and at least it'll all be on my property. I want to try to mow back there behind the fence this weekend, because the ground ivy is taking over.  I know it's not my land, but I still try to get back there and keep it fairly neat during the summer.  

I had a bit of a sad moment when I was watering my basil and discovered that one of the plants had died suddenly. 

I'm not sure what happened.  It was fine just a couple of days ago.  Bummer, but it's not like I don't have plenty more.  In fact, I was thinking about making some more pesto this weekend, and maybe, when I get another ripe tomato, I'll make something like an ensalada caprese.  

That's a Caprese salad.  I didn't even know what one was until I was stationed in Italy, so the Italian phrase is the one that automatically comes to mind when I think of it.   

Oh, and I found a wine and spirits store across from the post office, so when I go to mail my great - nephew's sweater, I'll try to stop in and pick up some vodka for my extracts.  I've got plenty of mint, and I'm thinking about trying it with my lemon balm.  I watched a YouTube video a while back where a lady was talking about making bunches of different stuff with lemon balm, and I think extract was one of them.  I'll have to go find it again to be sure, and I'll be sure to let you know.  

And finally, it was announced last night that local meteorologist Matt Laubhan has left the TV station to start his own weather media company.  Page.  Whatever it is, he's doing it.  

I'm wondering if nearly getting laid off a few months ago had something to do with that. 

Yeah, the Allen Media Group owns the WTVA station, and they were going to lay off all local meteorologists and broadcast a feed from The Weather Channel in Atlanta instead.  Local outcry was so great that they backed off, but still.  Maybe it shook him up, or maybe he just wants to do his own thing without being restricted to the ...what is it, four minutes they get during a news broadcast.  

It's still in development, but he has a web page up (linked above) and a new app:  Mississippi Live Weather, which I've already downloaded.  Independent meteorologists are becoming much more of a thing lately.  Think Ryan Hall, Max Velocity, and the like.  

Well, just add Matt to this list now, too.  If I'm not mistaken, Gabe Mahner is going to join him, so yay.  We can look forward to more great moments like this.

Whoever said weather was dull has never been around weather people. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's past my bedtime and I don't even have the coffee pot fixed for in the morning, so I've got to run. 

Good night.