Time to Update

Mornin'!  Time to update (i.e. a day at home), but not much to say.  That said, I'll probably write a hugely long post . . . as I have in the past.  ;)


The weather remains unusually warm and mild.  And, that's good for me:  not having fired up the heat (outdoor wood furnace) yet.  No need for it.  Even the fires built in the Kalamazoo (stove in the middle room) each night when I get home are a thing of the recent past.  The down side to the warmth is the insane hatch of cluster flies everyone is fighting this fall.  They're the worst anyone has seen.  For me, it's a toss-up which room to have the long-armed vacuum and ladder in . . . too bad it can't be everywhere at once!  For the past few days, I've been focusing The Great Suck Up in the bedroom, but I'll move it all to the kitchen today.  It's just so gross to have a constant buzzing sound be the background noise in there.  BLECH!  I can't wait for the cold weather to eradicate them . . . and then wash the windows!

I haven't heard a thing back re that secretarial job.  And, since interviews were supposed to take place today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, I don't have high hopes.  The woman I was e-mailing about it seemed SO excited for me to apply . . . but, since I've heard nothing from the hiring committee, I'm guessing it was an internal, already-decided deal that she wasn't privy to . . . until after her conversations with me.  I think I'll shoot her off an e-mail, though, just inquiring.  Matter of fact, I'll do that right now.  Hang on.  Okay, done.

I also responded to an ad for seasonal fish-processing work . . . and didn't hear a thing back from THAT!  Wahhhhh, nobody wants me!  I'm sure many of you are saying, "Fish processing?!  You should be GLAD you didn't hear back!"  But, no, it's a good paying gig (or so I've heard - don't know for sure yet), and I'd love to learn how to do this stuff by hand.  A dying art, and all that rot.  Okay, follow-up e-mail sent there now, too.

And, still trying for a licensed kitchen, I contacted one of the local motels that supposedly has a new kitchen that isn't being used . . . but I haven't heard back from THEM, either!  Follow up e-mail now sent to them, too.

I responded to a well-known local business looking to redesign their website, as well.  No response.  BUT, the owner is not what I'd consider the most organized nor a timely responder, so that lack of communication doesn't surprise me.  

On the up side, I did sell an item on eBay last night for just over $50, so that's better than a kick in the head . . . but it's all, overall, still frustrating.  I am going to get another listing or two up on eBay today, though, and having items there to sell does provide a cheap thrill when you check them to see what the bids are up to.  Gotta get my excitement somewhere, huh?  ;)  'Course, then there are the items that don't garner a single bid . . . !

Oh, and one more "up", I finally got a full rack of cards into the office of my realtor friend (who let me display a good number of my large pieces there in his foyer) on Saturday.  I'd planned to have that all together in time for Memorial Day Weekend.  Ha!  'Course, maybe if I trick myself into believing that I meant Memorial Day Weekend of 2012 instead of 2011, I can say that I'm ahead of schedule!  You know that old saying, "I'm so far behind I thought I was 1st!"  Yup, that's me!

I had to come up with a payment box - that's the brown thing next to the card rack - so customers could slip their cash/checks in there w/o having to bother the realty office receptionist to pay.

Papa Pea generously sharpened my favorite chainsaw for me this past week, so I'll spend some quality time with the woodpile again today.  He did caution, though, that I can't let it get SO dull before bringing it to him next time.  My thinking had been that I'd use up the sharp teeth until I was practically using the thing as a handsaw . . . to save him from frequent sharpenings.  But, apparently, that only makes it worse and harder to properly sharpen.  Doh!  A learning lesson . . . but, unfortunately, one that HE had to do all the work for and only relay to me!


I'm "reading" (audio) a really good book right now:  'One Thousand White Women' by Jim Fergus.  It's fiction but written in a non-fiction journal form.  Where would I be w/out my audio books?!  They're what keep me sane during all these stressful times.  Although, sometimes they lead to stress:  I've COMPLETELY lost one of the cassette tapes to a long-ago listened-to book, and the library's replacement value for it is $69.00.  In the meantime, I'm racking up late fees and am unable to check out any more items until I've either returned the missing tape or paid the replacement fee.  So, an even MORE in-depth (than what I've done so far) search for it is on the docket today.  Maybe I'll find my cellphone-to-charger cord at the same time!  (I had to buy a new one after that disappeared.)

My list for the day only has 9 things on it.  I could spend HOURS on a few of the tasks, but, hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll have spent SOME time on all of them.


So, what are YOU currently stressing about?  Tell me, so I can know we're all under unreasonable pressure right now.  ;)

Update:  just got this response (very nice of her to do so) re the secretarial job. 

We had 14 applicants and have narrowed it down to 4 and are starting interviews tonight.  If those 4 don't work, we narrow again and set up interviews.  I am sorry you didn't make the first 4, but things could change . . . will keep you posted and send out an email if and when we do fill the position tonight.

October!

Good morning, friends!  I've been missing blogging, but there just hasn't been the time in the mornings.  And, when I get home at night, I'm too pooped to pop.  Or write!

It's October already, and we're experiencing mild temps.  So, I haven't even fired up the Central Boiler yet.  A fire in the middle room's Kalamazoo at night takes the chill off enough for the house to be decently comfortable . . . as long as I wear a few layers.  ;)  One of the main reasons I'm putting off starting the furnace until the last possible moment is because I need new batteries for the electrical system.  They just don't hold a charge anymore.  And, with the 2 motors for the in-floor heat running 24/7, I know the generator will be running a LOT . . . which, in turn, eats up the propane . . . which costs money . . . and, well, you know!  But, aside from a dip down to 26 degrees this past week (when I DIDN'T cover the tomatoes - argh!), it's been, like I said, mild.  Nice!

Believe it or not, there are STILL a few mosquitoes out and about in the evening here.  Not enough to be more than a little irritating, but, man, what a year it was for the skeeters!

A while later . . . 

I can tell, this is going to be a post that takes all day to write!  Anxiety over What Needs To Be Done is preventing me from taking the big slot of time to sit down and write.

So far, I've gotten the kitchen almost all cleaned up.  Note, that's not CLEAN, just cleaned up!  Also waging full-out war on the cluster flies today.  It's so satisfying, vacuuming them up, but there NEVER seems to be an end to 'em!

I got to hang out with Baby Girl on Saturday.  The past three times I've nannied, we've built a fort in the living room.  All the dining room chairs get pulled in and arranged (my job) and then all the required blankets and dolls and toys and books and puzzles for the floor of it get pulled in by her.  Here she is on Saturday, hauling her "packin' bag" from her bedroom.  It took me a long while to understand what she was calling her little sleeping bag, but once I figured it out and asked her mom about it, the explanation made sense:  she uses it most when they're packing up to go somewhere!  Hence, "packing bag"!  ;)

 

While Baby Girl continues with the inside of the fort, it's up to Bopee to take the big, heavy blankets and create the fort's roof.  Here she is, getting ready to lay out her Dora blanket for our floor.  I really despise commercialism, but it's so darn hard when little ones fall in love with a character!  Do you say "no" to Dora sippy cups, Dora undies, Dora jammies?  I guess, in the Big Scheme, it's a little thing . . . and they WILL grow out of these stages.  If I were a parent, though, I know I'd struggle with it:  happiness of my child vs. that damned commercialism!

BTW, on Saturday I learned that nannying is a contact sport!  We were inside the fort, and Baby Girl was being squirrely and jumping around . . . when her hard little noggin connected with the tippy-top bridge of my nose.  She immediately knew something was wrong because Bopee suddenly said something that must have meant "Stop!" (I don't remember) while holding one traffic-conducting hand out in the air while the other grasped her face.  When I could open my eyes to the pain, the little peanut anxiously said, without prompting and 110% knowing the accident had really hurt me, "I'm sorry, Bopee!!!"


I said, "I know you are, pumpkin.  It was an accident.  How's your head?  Does it hurt?"


She brought her hand up to her brow and nodded.  I asked, "Does it need a kiss?"  She said yes, and I kissed it.  Then I said, "My nose needs a kiss, too."  She leaned over, and I felt the gentlest of kisses from her little lips.  :)  Kisses heal most all wounds.  That said, I have a new bump on my long-ago broken nose, and each time I forget to NOT rub my face when I'm tired or exasperated . . . I'm QUICKLY reminded of the tender cartilage there!

* * *

Okay, it's 8:22 PM now, and I didn't get back to finishing this post.  So, I'll throw it out there, as is.  Oh, and did I say the mosquitoes were only slightly annoying still?  Ha!  They drove me in from the woodpile tonight once the sun went down!

Why I Hate Summer . . .

"Why I Hate Summer . . . and other complaints."

by Chicken Mama

There are two primary reasons why I'm a cold weather person.
1.  I get overheated easily (thank you, premature menopause).
2.  I hate bugs.  I mean, mosquitoes.  Black flies.  No-see-ums.  Those kind of bugs.


Two days ago, the bugs came out in force.  Now, I'm not talking the "it's too buggy out" when you're trying to sit on the deck that it was over Memorial Day Weekend.  Oh, no, no, no, no, no.  I'm already thinking back to those days with fondness!


I'm talking the kind of buggy where they're so thick that the bugs fly into your mouth and up your nose in the 20 seconds it takes to open the back hatch of the car, wait for Maisy to jump in, and hoist Tucker in.  The kind of buggy when you have to wear your bug jacket & head net just to get from the house to the car in the morning or, vice versa, at night.  The kind of buggy when the mosquitoes, attracted by your carbon-dioxide-filled morning breath, start their assault at 4:45 in the morning (yesterday) or, better yet, 3:45 in the morning (this morning).


The kind of buggy that it doesn't MATTER that you slept under this last night:

STILL, they found a way in and began the assault.  I battled it for an hour, from 3:45 (yes, the sky of northeastern MN is beginning to lighten at that time of day!) to 4:45 when I finally gave up and got up.


When I was little and growing up in the then-sticks (ha!), Mama & Papa Pea had a huge, reinforced mosquito net canopy over their bed.  I had bunk beds (solid ends) and always retreated to the bottom bunk during bug season when a sheet of mosquito netting got thumb-tacked over the opening.


I've always . . . until just last night . . . figured that the reason we had so many bugs in that house was because the house was old, consisted of addition upon addition, and certainly wasn't tight.  I know now, though:  a modern, so-air-tight-it-needed-an-air-exchanger  house doesn't stop 'em, either!


Last night, I closed up the house instead of leaving it (somewhat) open as I usually do in mild or warm weather.  Tucker didn't get to lay in the front door all night with his nose sticking through the flap cut into the screen door for him and Maisy and the cats.  Nope, the front door was solidly shut.  I even took to calling the dogs in via the door leading out to the deck instead of one of the doors they'd been waiting at:  that way, they'd have had to run the length of the house by the time they hit the door and, in theory, have fewer hitchhiking bugs due to their motion vs. stationary sitting.  Nope, I did NOT want a repeat of the previous night's interrupted sleep.


To top it off, I even pulled out that sleep screen (pictured earlier) that Papa Pea had loaned me last year.


And what did all this planning & preparation get me?  Yup, even fewer hours of sleep.


The bugs are just UN-GAWD-LY this year.  Dunno why!  Each spring that we have a long, cool one (such as this year) or late frosts, we expect that mosquito populations will be down.  I wonder if there really is any rhyme or reason to it, though?  Certainly hasn't seemed to have helped THIS year!


Point of interest:  when blackflies get into the house, they are not a problem.  Blackflies either congregate on the windows or around a lamp turned on.  They thwack against the ceiling above that lamp and then, in the morning, are dead.  Nice!


Mosquitoes, however?  They live to antagonize.  To torture.  To tease.  To incite visions of spraying your bedroom with a volley of rounds from an UZI, all in the spirit of getting rid of the damn things, once and for all!


And, even tho I haven't opened a door ONCE since everyone was in for the night last night, WHY am I still killing mosquitoes this morning?????  Whyyyyyy?!  Where are they coming from?  There's no window that's open and missing a screen.  And, the windows containing screens with holes are not open!  I'll bet I've killed 20 while sitting here writing this.


About the only thing I can think of to help the infestation is to have the dogs groomed.  They were (over)due, anyway, and giving them their summertime short cuts will reduce the cozy spots the mosquitoes can ride in on.

Beyond that, I had the following ordered by 6:00 this morning!  Just like the old days, huh, Mom & Dad?!

 

I ordered another Army-issue (as the canopy above is) headnet, too.  Mine's fine, but I'm starting to get paranoid!  WHAT would I do if I got a rip in it????

As for all-work-outside-the-house, this is my apparel de rigueur:

I'm fine with expecting bugs outside this time of year.  It's part of the deal.

June 2005

May 2008

But, to get no respite INside?!  ARGH!  (Thank GOODNESS it wasn't like this last week when those two sweet kiddies were here!!!)

Final point of interest:  blackflies pollinate our guarded-with-more-secrecy-than-a-favorite-fishing-spot blueberries!  But, mosquitoes:  what have YOU done for me lately?!

Memorial Day Week, Continued

Memorial Day Week Saga, Part III

Last Thursday, both the kids in my care had already-runny noses, so, between the three of us, there was constant nose blowing and wiping.  Despite how we were all feeling, it was a gorgeous day and so we got in two walks:  one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Una forgot how her sick self would feel when we were on the way home and she had to push the double stroller UP this hill!  ;)

The rocky knob in the distance is called Camp Five Mountain.  It's a 30-minute hike from Swamp River Ridge, and you can see both the Pigeon & Swamp Rivers from the top of it.  Just GORGEOUS!

Here's E with Tucker:  he's just the right size for little ones!

E was AMAZED at all the "pwetty yewow flowews" (dandelions)!

"Hewe, I picked these flowews for YOU, Una!"  (Awwwww!)

Our second walk of the day took us up to the trapper cabin, and E felt he should clean the porch.  :)

While I oversaw E's cleaning endeavors, C and the dogs patiently waited.

It wasn't until the end of the day and time for jammies that I had the occasion to see the top of C's onesie.  I think you can "read" why I had to snap this picture!  :)

Do you notice how bundled up she was?  Una doesn't really realize just how cool she keeps her house (especially in the shoulders months when the Central Boiler is turned off but it's not yet hot outside) until she has little ones in it!  It took a couple of days of nannying before the brain finally kicked in and I had cozy fires going each morning when they arrived!

While the daddy of the family continued the work on the second story of their cabin on Friday, the mama had her first whole day there and spent the majority of it cleaning, cleaning, cleaning the interior with solutions of bleach water and vinegar water.  The mattresses, comforters and even the new bed frames had to be thrown out.  Everything had to be pulled away from the (finished) walls and the tongue and groove liberally sprayed with mold-killing substances.


As I headed to their land that evening with the kiddies both tucked into their jammies and a good dinner in their bellies, I met them already on the road & driving towards Swamp River Ridge.  Even though the late light would have provided them with visibility for a couple more hours of work, they were plumb exhausted come 5:00.  Matter of fact, on a couple of mornings, the daddy headed out early to work from 5:00 - 8:00 AM before meeting up with the mama to either drop the kids off with me or make runs to the lumber yard, etc.  (Remember, too, that their land is off-grid AND they have a bit of a hike in to their building site.  EVERYTHING needs to be hauled in their long, single-person-width trail.)


What did I do that night after the vehicle / kiddo transfer?  Beats me, but I'm sure I went home to do chores and then collapse!

The weather was gorgeous on Friday, and it was warm out, but the bugs were TERRIFIC!  I didn't realize that until we were well into that day's walk.

It was hot enough that both Maisy & Tucker took every opportunity to get into the cool water along the sides of the road.

This picture is not the best because the mosquitoes & blackflies were SWARMING when I stopped the stroller to quickly take this shot, but they are Bird's-Foot Violets.  (I think.)

Right after I took the picture of the flowers, E asked me to take a picture of him.  He had a GREAT smile on his face, and it would have been a terrific shot . . . but just as the shutter snapped, a blackfly got him!  So, instead, you get reactionary action shots!  ;)

OWW!  Somethin' just bit me!

Poor little guy!  Una, DO something!

And, with that, I'll leave you for today.  Hold tight for the 4th installment.

Good Morning!

It's a shocker, I know, that I'm finally here.  What's MORE of a shocker is that I'm up with hot coffee and beginning to write at 6:39 AM!  Maybe I'm making up for yesterday when I didn't wake up until noon after 13 straight hours of sleep!  Last night, I got just over 5, thanks to Dosie (the cat) who was tearing up and down the board walkway that connects the two decks, right underneath the bedroom window this morning.  How can 6 pounds of cat sound like an elephant when they do that?!  Then, of course, just as I was plodding downstairs to show her that I'd left the front door open a crack, specifically to avoid being wakened by animals wanting to go out or come in, she came scampering UP the stairs!  Sigh.  Kids!

I was just reviewing the pictures I've taken in the past several days to remind myself what to post about, and there's a lot!  But, you won't get it all right now: tooooo much.  Last Tuesday was the day my dad, Papa Pea, came out and when I started making some real headway cleaning up the front yard and prepping for it the summer.  Within this past week, we had our first real day of spring . . . and then it was summer.  I kid you not.  One day of spring, yep:  that was all we got.  Cold, cold, cold and then HOT (by my warped standards, anyway).

Last Wednesday, I shut down the outside wood furnace and made all the appropriate adjustments necessary to transfer production of the house's hot water to the water heater (which just serves as a hot water storage tank in the wintertime when it's heated from the boiler).  The mosquitoes arrived but not in droves, thank goodness.  I haven't had to wear a headnet or bug dope yet.  No blackflies, either, but I hesitate to jinx things by even mentioning that!  I also refilled the batteries.  Papa Pea had taken a look at them when he was here (I had some concern about the sulfuric build-up on some of the terminals) and cautioned me that they off-gas and, therefore, lose more of their acid/water balance as they age.  So, I need to keep a closer eye on that.  We also discussed a new physical layout for the batteries when I get my new ones:  as I've mentioned before, the 24 large, deep-cycle batteries are place three deep and eight across, and the depth is too much to allow for any sort of personal physical comfort when maintaining them.

We northeastern Minnesotans put our hummingbird feeders out around the 15th of May, and I thought I saw a quick glimpse of one on Sunday, but I couldn't be sure.  At any rate, I got their sugar water made and out on Monday, and I saw the first . . . and then a couple . . . little guy(s)/gal(s) yesterday morning.

My days before, during, and after the upcoming holiday weekend are gonna be a whirlwind of activity:  my oldest girlfriend and her family are coming from their home in St. Paul to put the second story on their cabin, just 9 miles east of me (keep your fingers crossed for good weather!).  She's a physician's assistant, and her hubby is a physicist, so their schedules are tight.  Due to that, they'd planned this trip last fall and booked me to nanny for their two little ones - ages 2 1/2 and, let me count, 9 months - for five of those days.  I begged off from the Saturday & Sunday of the Memorial Day Week(end) so I could be in my gallery in town, hoping to grab the first of the season's tourists.  AND, my uncle and his wife from California might be visiting over those same days . . . so it's gonna be a BUSY time!

I've really kicked it into overdrive concerning my business, too, and my days "off" seem to be more productive than my in-office days.  While I'm not necessarily complaining, the problem with being in my office is that friends know that I'm in my office!  So, getting things done there seems to be a bit ineffectual.  I think I'm going to start trying to change that by keeping the door to my office closed.  If that doesn't work, I'll have to start putting the word out that I really can't be visited.  And/or just really limit those visits.  It's my own fault, I know:  when they say, "I really shouldn't be tying you up!" . . . I tend to respond, "I know, but I never see you!"  So, WHY am I complaining?  Yes, I am in charge of my own schedule:  I need to learn to put a cap on things.  ;)

But, following a COMPLETE waste of limited time in the office last week, I've made the first two of my three consecutive days here at home count.  I've put myself on an hourly schedule, and it's all about my 60-minute timer.  I'll do one hour at the computer on business work, then one hour on Swamp River Ridge work.  Rinse and repeat until the end of the day when I'm exhausted.  Usually around 9:00 or 10:00 PM.  BUT, I am getting things DONE, and that feels good!

My "around the homestead" accomplishments these past days have been based around the good weather:  laundry out on the line to dry, high-pressure washing of the second and larger slate walkway, planting a border of lily bulbs in an area susceptible to erosion, intense vacuuming (while the sun shines & charges my w-e-a-k and desperately-needing-to-be-replaced battery system), keeping an eye on the chicks (haven't lost one yet although I did have to perform an "emergency procedure" on a very pasty vent Sunday night), weeding, pruning trees, putting rock borders around perennials and trees, and more general clean-up of the front yard.  Even though there's no substantial green on the trees yet, I could already mow some of the grass . . . which I think I may start today.

I took a short walk in the woods the other day to see what I could find poking up through the duff:  wood anemones only, so far.  The unopened blossoms are particularly pink this year.

The ticks seem to be out in force already, though:  while at The Peanut's & Bunny's house for dinner last Friday night, I had to rather suddenly excuse myself to the bathroom as I sqeaked, "Excuse me, I have SOMETHINGCRAWLINGUPMYLEG!"  Their dad just said, "Mmm.  Tick."  I dropped trou in the bathroom and The Peanut came zoomin' in to say, "Can I see?!"  Yep, first tick of the season.  I showed her how to CRUSH their hard shells to make sure it was d-e-a-d!  Then, last night as I was sitting here in this chair in the library crocheting, I felt something drop onto my neck.  Yup, another one.  (How many of you are starting to itch and creep out, reading this?!)  I'd felt something in my hair earlier in the evening but couldn't find anything . . . I suspect it was the tick.  Yuck.  BUT, I'll take ticks ANY day of the week over (shudder) spiders.  (As I look overhead to make sure there isn't one ready to fall down on me.  Spider, not tick.)

I took the new header photo last Thursday as I headed into town, less than a mile down the road from home.  At first glance, I thought, "Oh, a baby!"  I was even a little hesitant to stop to take the picture, wondering where protective Mama was.  But, then I realized that it was just a small yearling:  freshly kicked out of the nest.  Cow moose (meese?) keep their calves through the whole first year until they calf again in the springtime:  then the 1-year old gets kicked to the curb to fend for him/herself!

So, with that, it's time for pictures.  Let's see what I can find of interest to post.

I took this picture a week ago last Monday to show how things were starting to green up.  Yes, that is snow in the right-hand side of the picture.  But, it's - finally - all gone now.

The soft needles of the Tamarack (aka American Larch) are starting to pop.

I took this yesterday to show that there are no green leaves on the trees yet.  This, across the driveway from the chicken house and poultry yard, is where I'd like to build a small barn - just out of view at the far left.  The structure that you see was going to be the home for the bee hives, but I've since found a better spot for them.  Instead, I will use this as a small, enclosed garden area . . . once it's repaired from the damage caused by a huge tree falling on it a couple of years ago.

I got the large front deck completely cleaned up yesterday.  Outdoor rugs moved and vacuumed, spider webs cleared.  Then, moved as many houseplants as will tolerate the outside conditions out there.  Got the new cover on the table, too.  Now, aside from the furniture cushions which need to stay inside unless being used, it's user-friendly and ready to go!

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture of the kitties, curled up on the afternoon sun.  I love it when they cozy up together!

I hope you have a terrific Wednesday!

A Good Day

Whoo-ee, I'm tired!  But, the "good" tired!  The physical, "I'm sore" kinda tired.  The kind of tired where, when I get up from typing this post and eating this slice of cold, homemade pizza and drinking my whiskey-7, I'll be movin' like an old woman!

I had a good day today, a really nice day!  My daddy, Papa Pea, came out this morning for some putterin' around.  Checked on this (the bee hive) and that (the old Suburban which is my back-up plow truck but which also lost its transmission and has been outta commission) and a few other things.  We started our morning with the requisite pot of old-fashioned percolated coffee on the 100 year old stove (for 14 minutes, thank you very much:  no more and no less).  Then, a late lunch while sharing a Newcastle, finished the visit.  We had cold pizza (I made a pizza last night and then was so tired by the time it was out of the oven that I put it directly into the refrig!) and homemade cottage cheese and homemade spiced applesauce.  Kind of a mish-mosh, but it served its purpose.  And I shared my Easter fudge with him:  it's DELISH!   

And, truth be told, that wasn't the very end of his visit.  Following a spirited discussion while looking at plat maps and Google earth, I did have to get in the car and follow him out, part of the way, so we could take a gander at a small body of water that he was convinced was a new lake and which I was convinced was overflow from the beaver dam.  (I was right.  Ha!  But, fair's fair:  I know the area a L-O-T better than he does.)  Dad left then, to get home in time for the first of the year's bee meetings.  Yeah, I am in the association, but I'm not gonna drive 2 hours on my day off for a 1 hour meeting.  Sorry.

After he was gone, I sat down and did about 45 minutes of office work.  I've got a client's new website n-e-a-r-l-y ready to unveil (and this is the time of year when tourists begin looking for vacation rentals - which is her business), but I've had to subcontract out for a little bit of FTP work (which I don't know and don't WANT to know!).  I checked the status of what he'd done and got back to him with a lot of "okay, the changes on Page A look good but the links still direct to the old site rather than the new one", blah, blah, blah.

Then, since the weather was loverly today (a high of 60 with a breeze - MY kind o' weather!), I headed back outside for yard work.  Uncovered the last of the day lilies which are about 3" high.  Raked and raked.  WHERE does all that JUNK come from between last fall and now??  Dumped two wheelbarrow loads full of same in the chicken yard for the geese to sift through.  Pruned quite a few trees.  (Dad, that tree you were asking about off the front path?  Once I was pruning it, I realized it's a Red Maple.)  Cleaned up all the lupines and removed the old stalks.  Took off their wire barriers now that they're well established and ringed them with rock.  (Now, if Maisy just doesn't go digging there, thinking those are HER rocks for me to throw!)  More raking, then hooked up the hose to spray off the one (most used) of the two slate walkways.  Didn't have much luck since the nozzle was kaput, and I had to use my thumb to "regulate" (and I *do* use that term loosely) the output.  That task needs to be re-done once I buy a new nozzle.  Then, did some "extra" of the "regular" chores (those of you on homesteads know what I mean) and finally, whew, came inside just before 8:00 PM.

Now I think I'm gonna relax with some CSI on Netflix and crocheting.

How 'bout YOU?  What did you do today?  (Besides feel earthquakes and/or jets falling on your house, Erin?)  ;p

Oh, and P.S.?  The end is near:  first mosquito bite of the year today.  (Noooooooooooooooooo!)

I've MISSED You!

Good morning!  I wrote the text in brown yesterday but could never get around to posting it.  Finishing it this morning, I'm in red.

Wow.  A day at home.  Ahhh, the simple bliss of it!  It seems like so much longer, but I guess it's only been 7 solid days working in a row which I haven't been home (except to throw some food at the chickens, take the most cursory of glances at the electrical system and sleep).  Oh, AND perform tick checks.  The ticks have been particularly horrible this spring.

I'm soooo tired that all I want to do is curl up with a good movie . . . although I know I'd just fall asleep.  And, there are SO many things that simply HAVE to be done around here!  I am running out of work clothes, so I MUST make that laundry soap today, and, and, and . . . .  My theory is, though, that if I get one part of the house clean, I should be able to KEEP it clean since I'm hardly here, right?  That's the idea, anyway.

After the hot, sticky start to the summer, we've dropped back into typical temperatures, which have been lovely . . . at least for me, working down by the lake.  Up here, at Swamp River Ridge, it's still been warm during the days, but the night temperatures have been dropping down into the 40s . . . LOVELY for sleeping!  The mosquitoes have even seemed to ease up a titch (knock on wood).  It's been a few days since I've had to sleep underneath that mini tent . . . although I should have pulled it over me this morning.  Instead, I pulled the covers over my head . . . which only really succeeded in making me feel as though I was suffocating.

The blueberry blossoms (above) show real promise of a good harvest this year.

Check out this camouflage, will you?

Without cheating by skipping ahead, do you see the bee on the center blossom?

Yeah, well, s/he's NOT the one so perfectly hidden by Mother Nature!  Isn't that AMAZING?!  Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE spiders, but this one was actually beautiful (and not black, so that helped)!  And, I was so wowed by the camouflage that I had to share it.

"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly . . . .

Ahhhhhh!

Ahhhhhh . . . the happiness that is a day OFF!

I've so desperately needed the little sleep that I've had the time for lately . . . and being short-changed due to the invading mosquitoes does NOT sit well with yours truly.  However, after complaining to my folks last night, Dad set off on a search for the mosquito netting bed canopies of yesteryear (that we all used 30+ years ago).

The upshot is that I was sent home with a screen "tent" that is made, technically, for fitting over a sleeping bag (to use when camping).  But, I could easily adapt it to the bed upstairs.  (I'll have to take & post a picture of the set-up later.)  Suffice it to say, Daddy is at the top of my Favorite Persons list 'cause, with interruptions from only 2 mosquitoes who snuck in around the edges, I was able to sleep in this morning until 9:00 when Tucker's bladder insisted that he be let out!  Whoo-hooo!  SO happy!!

I still can't figure out where the buggers are getting in, though, because I've never had this problem before.  The only thing I can figure out is that there's a hole in a screen somewhere that I'm missing . . . or the dogs bring so many in on themselves at night that they (the mosquitoes) find fresh blood / me by morning.

I'm finally set up with a wireless modem again on my laptop (thanks to Tom), and I'm so excited to be (hopefully) regularly blogging again!  I didn't realize quite how much I was blogging from a comfy, cozy spot in the house (vs. at my desk) until the ability to do so was gone.  But, I'm in the sunroom now, coffee at my left, a fly buzzing on the window behind me, and nothing but green, green, green and the azure strip of the river across the valley visible out the French door to my right.

*  *  *  *  *

I'm not even going to attempt a "should do" part of my list today.  That would be too hysterical, really!  I haven't had a day at home like this since . . . the 18th!  So, there will be two categories:  MUST do and need-to do.  Here goes:

MUST DO

• Dishes
• Ironing Work Clothes
• Make Laundry Detergent
• Load of Laundry (almost out of undies)
• Some Lawn Mowing

Need To Do

• Vacuum
• Water Plants
• Photographic Notecards (to restock in floral shop AND to get my stock together to sell in my new place-of-business)
• Plant Rosebush
• Put Away Easter (!) Decorations

I'm so happy to have a day at home that I'm really looking forward to all of the above!  And, okay, here is my Want To Do which I'll include:

• Bake
• Prep a Healthy Meal for Myself