Entries tagged with garden

Entry tags:

The influence of the physical

Last night I was on the edge of a panic attack thinking of how life is squishing the joy and stuffing out of me. I had to repeat to myself that the massive negativity I was feeling was due almost completely to my lack of air. Because, ya know, not being able to breathe properly does tend to bring a sense of doom to a person. (But "Oxygen is for looooosers!")

Sure enough, I woke up this morning able to breathe (thank you, Mother Nature, for the cool air), and life has already taken on a warmer tone. Not rosy, by any definition, but not blue, anyway.

Takeaway? Chest colds are evil.

Ooh, speaking of evil, you know what's the devil? Plant catalogs. I am being deluged with them, it being close to planting season, and, daaaaaaaaamn, I wants, precious! But, well, lack of money and space means I will not be adding any potted plants to my garden this year. I did go out and buy $10 worth of seeds, however, two packets of which are for flowers (Picotee Blue Morning Glory, and McKana's Giant Columbines). The others are all veggies, because I haven't given up on veggie gardening yet. Hope really does spring eternal... But now that I have neem oil, maybe I'll be more successful?

Other stuff... You know what? I don't want to get into it. Life is not rosy, though. It's not completely doom and gloom, but it's looking like life will be very difficult for another year at least, especially financially. And I have to decide how much further into debt we'll go... Do I finish off my teeth while paying for Geoff's shoulder surgery or do I put it off (and risk paying more for the delay)?

So yeah. Life is trying to squish the joy and stuffing out of me (us), but it's not as bad as I felt last night. Because I can breathe. Because there are options. Because there is still hope that things will improve in time.

Entry tags:

Anyone want to call the Canadian Embassy for me?

I hate making calls. Really, I'm almost phobic about it. Not quite, but it's amazing how long I have to psych myself up to make any call besides one to Geoff. Even calling family makes me nervous.

Ah well. I do need to find out whether Page is a Canadian citizen due to the date of his birth or not. So I guess I will call. At some point. Soon. Honest.

In other news, it was almost 80 degrees here yesterday. I sunbathed (for vitamin D purposes), and even as exposed as I was (sports bra and swim-skirt), I was getting uncomfortably warm by the time my 15 minutes were up.

However, later in the day, I persuaded Page to come outside with me, and I cleaned and weeded the garden while he regaled me with details about the new world he's creating. I had the thought that perhaps JRR Tolkien's mum (or, more likely, his nurse), went through something similar. It wasn't too bad, as my body was busy and my mind idle, but, wow. He can still talk.

While he was talking, I managed to weed most of the strawberries out of the ornamental garden out back. I still have a dozen or so to pull up, but I think I may have a chance of keeping up with them come spring. I also managed to pull up most of the alders that had taken root last year. My poor neglected garden really was neglected last year. I think I got out only a few times in the spring, and then... nothing. For the entire summer. And fall. (I lay the blame on the basement. It sucked everything out of me. Everything.)

But spring is definitely coming. Crocuses are blooming, daffodils and hyacinths are emerging, my honeysuckle is budding, and the creeping phlox is greening. And the grass, too. It even smells oddly fertile around here. It's a month early, but spring is definitely coming. Most people are pretty happy about this, and I figure I might as well join them. As long as we don't get a front-range spring with two foot snow drops that break all the trees and kill all the flowers, I'm okay with winter being done. I certainly don't want a deep freeze to come along at this point!

I have also been productive in the basement. Two wall panels are done(ish), and cabinets have been installed on them. I've also put up one unit of pegboard and organized the more necessary tools on it. It's a temporary storage solution, as many things will go on the as yet unfinished walls, but it's getting there. And it's all accessible!!! Oh, man, is it nice to be able to use the basement to construct things again. And, I am constructing things. I've almost finished the column to cover the support beam, which is the first step to creating the storage cabinet for the laundry area (which will double as an art storage place; it'll be double sided), which should improve life for us me significantly.

Painting... I haven't been so productive. I did put in a week of labor getting "Herald" framed up nicely (enough) so as to put it in the Art Association's Spring art show at the mall. That went up last Saturday. I still have yet to go down to the mall to photograph the show. Ah well.

I've also started sketching with watercolors (well, watered-down acrylics; use what you have) in preparation for a painting I want to do. I overworked the first sketch, but it's not too bad. I'll share a photo of it eventually. I think that also happened on Saturday... Heh.

Otherwise, life has been spent drinking tea and running around in a daze. I sure would like this basement done so that I can take a guilt-free weekend off. But it's getting there. It is. Finally. Almost a year later... *grunts*

Anyway, I ought to go. Lunch to eat, instruments to deliver, husbands to ferry... Yep. Exciting stuff. ;-)

Entry tags:

Good things (with a cold)

- I accomplished the task I set for myself today (move and remove. Move a (small) cabinet so as to remove the half tiles underneath it). Unfortunately, I discovered that mastic supports life of the fungal variety. I vinegared the shit out of it, but it's discouraging to know that the battle of the mold is by no means won and will have more casualties than expected. (I knew that, but it still sucks to have it confirmed.) But still. I got those tiles up, and only shorted out the blow drier once. (It overheated, nothing dire.) I did not finish removing the mastic so as to prep the area for tiles, but that wasn't part of the task, so ner.

- Page and I finished Star Trek: Voyager, and a very satisfying ending it was.

- ( I more or less finished that painting. )

The colors aren't quite right in the photograph, nor does the lighting show off the texturing to best effect, but I think I like it anyway. Not sure I'll continue in that direction, but it was an interesting experiment.

- I was able to just chill for most of the day. I have set myself a task a day so that the depression doesn't eat me whole, but I mostly need to rest, I think. So achy and tired... So it's good that I'm able to do what my body requires. I'm lucky.

- I was able to help a friend in a professional capacity this morning. She said, "You've just given me a million dollars! No! Seriously! That's how excited I am about this!" And considering I was feeling pretty sluggish and brain fogged, that's pretty cool. I hadn't even had any tea yet... though I had consumed some magnesium and tylenol...

- Page is doing better, but not well enough yet to take him to his sax lesson tomorrow, which is all good where I'm concerned, given that his teacher is a 1/2 hour's drive away. I'm not up for that.

In other news, I'm trying to figure out a way to get a live furry pet into this house (after Purgatory has reached it's conclusion). We can't afford a dog, no matter how much Page and I want one. And we really, really do want one. But, well, realities being what they are, I've decided that we might get a rat (or two). Rats are the only rodent I have any interest in (besides rabbits, which I am even more allergic to than cats, if that can be believed) given their intelligence level. But, well, Purgatory MUST be finished before we introduce a slinker into the house. Not only will we need the room for its habitat (what a nice name for "cage"), but also because intelligent creatures tend to escape their confines, and I do not want to have to dig through the heap of our basement to find said creature's corpse.

I'd also like to get a betta for my desk, but I think a pothos for my bedroom is first on the expenditure list. One living addition at a time...

Speaking of living additions, I'm starting to think about what I'll be planting in spring. Lettuce for sure. Kale, probably (even if it's just to harvest what sprouts up on its own). Chard, probably. And maybe one of the beds will be devoted to the three sisters, even if I can't eat the corn or beans. It would be cool to try and grow a native species of maize in the traditional manner.

I'm also determined to finish the entryway to the garden this spring/summer. I want to have another garden party, and it would be nice to show that I haven't completely ignored my garden the last couple years (even though I pretty much have). Nice thing is I have a couple more pavers thanks to the basement quikcrete bucket leftovers. And I could probably use one or both of those buckets as lemonbalm and herb planters... Anyway, I need to get outside more often this year. My body has told me it's not negotiable. Even with mossies.

Anyway. That's the state of being here. Pretty good, all said, despite colds and looming flares and a demon in the basement. :-)

Hope all is well with you.

Entry tags:

Somewhat caught up...

On the friendslist, that is. Nowhere near caught up on things that need doing in the here and now... Ach well. If I didn't comment on your entries, I apologize, but I have read back a couple of weeks now. You all got very active here while I was gone and didn't let me know! ;-)

Life here is... life. I think I'm doing the post-stress burn-out thing. I never realize how stressed I am at the time of the stress (school), and I'm great for about three days after the stress ends, but then... boom. Or should I say "crash"? Anyway, I'm okay, but so tired because the subliminal pain is disrupting my sleep. I'm still not sure what to (realistically) do about it at this point. I did take a benadryl last night (I had been itchy all day), which resulted in me waking almost rested, which was nice.

God, I'm bored just typing this out. You've probably already skipped on to the next post. I don't blame you.

Spring here is in full swing, and it's more or less lovely. A lot of rain and cloud-cover, though. My daffodils were glorious. Absolutely worth every penny and bead of sweat. And now my bleeding heart is putting on quite a show, which is also lovely. Next up are the irises, and it's looking like they're going to be kicking it up to fantabulous this year. It makes this garden mum proud, it does.

And it looks like every plant I planted survived. Well, non-bulb plants. I have no idea how many of the 300+ bulbs I planted last fall survived, though a good deal of them obviously did based on the spring show. But even my late-hard-frost-bitten clematis is alive and growing! I hope to get its trellis made before it needs it too desperately.

Page is also doing pretty well. Since he started the controller asthma meds, he's had a LOT more energy. It's been wonderful to see him running and playing and being happy! He's still got issues, but, by gum, there's progress. (Which is something I need to remember, especially as I focus on the stuff that still needs improvement.)

Geoff is... tired. He's been pushing himself lately, and probably will be pushing himself even more in the month to come as the biannual Conference of Doom approaches. Fortunately, he's not going to be on-site. In fact, it's almost guaranteed he won't be on-site, as the site is in China this year, and he doesn't have an entry visa. YAY! (Three weeks is too little time to get even an expedited visa, yes?) However, he's taking a full month off later this summer, so he should be feeling better by the time school starts up again.

Let's see... what else? Geoff and I spent Mother's Day staking the arbor into it's final resting place. I have a bit of repair work to do on the side of the arbor thanks to wind-damage (i.e. it being felled twice by a sharp breeze) but that will happen. Soonish. Maybe. I also made a garden bed out of pallet crate slats. I don't particularly recommend it unless you really have NO money to throw around. Those boards are... cheap. My goal is to have my back garden in good enough shape to have friends over to celebrate my birthday. That's only 3 weeks away, so it might not happen, but we'll see.

I suppose next week I really need to buckle down and start studying for a CLEP. Haven't decided which it's going to be, though - business law or microeconomics? And at some point I need to work on my resume. If I'm going to be applying to temp agencies in the fall, I suspect I need to start compiling and editing now. Because, yeah. :-P

And that's about it except for a to do list that's even more boring than what I've already written. Fun stuff. :-)

( Read more... )

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and for the Americans, may it be a lovely Memorial Day.

Entry tags:

Holy Mother of all things!

I think Spring has arrived! It's still early spring, as the cars and grass are still frosted over in the mornings, but, well, crocuses! Blooming, even! And signs of life from other plants! And surprises! Like, I gave my neighbor my orange poppy, because the color didn't go with the surrounding plants. I was away when she dug it out, and it seems she left bits of root, because I have three tiny little poppies sprouting up around where the original one was! Their color still won't go with the surrounding plants (and there's now a purple sedum there that'll crowd them horribly), but I figure I'll have prepared room to transplant them into as soon as they die back this summer.

Of course spring also means the onset of allergies. I've started Page on his inhaler and the controller medicine that he was given at his physical. I'm hoping his wheezing and cough is asthma, actually, as a friend recently had a bad case of pneumonia, and since we were all exposed to her germs pre-diagnosis... (After breakfast he coughed a deep-sounding cough and said it hurt, pointing to the middle of his left rib cage. *meeps*) Well, I'll know by tomorrow, I suspect. I was bad and sent him to school even with the wibbles.

Meanwhile, I've been single-parenting since Sunday, and it seems I will be doing so through Saturday. We both miss Geoff. And poor Geoff is going to be utterly wrecked when he comes home. I wish I could make doctor's appointments for illness in advance, because I'm pretty sure he'll be needing one by Monday.

And my school continues. Only a month left of classes, actually! This semester has been such a breeze so far! It's been far more restful than last semester was! Excel is fun, and Sage is... well, it is. At this point, it's routine. Easy as long as I pay close attention to all the details, especially dates and GL account numbers.

The thing that is stressing me out about school the most is the extracurricular stuff, actually. Like, I feel guilty about dropping out of PTK, but, well, also glad, because there's drama going on in there that I really don't want to deal with. And there's an art fair that I'm participating in on Saturday, but I'm woefully unprepared for. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow... *meeps*

But I should go and get moving. A friend is coming over to help me cook today, so I need to at least make sure the kitchen is presentable and the bathroom is clean. Oh, and do the shopping... :-)

Happy Spring, ya'll. Happy, happy Spring!

Entry tags:

President's Day

Geoff was a bit silly and booked a business trip today, so he's off in the wilderlands (OK, Boston-Lite (or dark, depending on your view of Worcester)) while I'm sitting here trying to get motivated to do the stuff I need to do. But computer programs are booooooooooooooorrrinnnnngggggggggg.

And I'm sleepy.

But. Needs must.

( Just a regular 'To do' list )

Life has been relatively calm of late (well, except for my intense bursts of anger, which I've mostly held in check to maintain the outer calm). Page's health hasn't been top notch, but then, that's not surprising given how many bananas he's been eating lately. And he whines about me not buying anymore raisins... *rolls eyes at him* I'm trying to provide him with lots of foods he does like, but, being the negative nellie that he is, he's focusing on what he can't have.

On the plus side, for the most part, I'm feeling more energetic on this diet. I'm not yet convinced it's worth it, and I have "cheated" with a few cups of tea with honey in the past few days (probably why I'm so tired today), but it's interesting having the energy and the will to cook properly. And, oh my god, what a lot of food we eat! I've been filling half our large kitchen table with each week's shopping, which consists mostly of vegetable matter. I am very grateful we are able to eat this way.

ION, A lot of my friends around here have been wondering if they, or family members, have mono in the past few weeks/months. That makes me think that Geoff and I really did have it in November. No wonder that was such a tough Fall! At least we've both basically pulled out of it. Geoff hasn't really regained much energy, though, so his meds are now being adjusted. I hope that goes well and solves the energy and motivation issue.

Even though we now seem to be in the snowy season, I am starting to feel like Spring is coming. I think it's the lengthening days. Anyway, it's making me more flighty than usual, as well as making me anxious to go seed shopping! I might not get to buy any decorative plants this year (except for those mosquito-shoo geraniums), but my veggie garden needs planting! Of course, that means I have to decide what I'm going to be planting this year, especially as I have to give kale a break so the aphids don't take over again. :-( Turnips, I think. And cucumbers. And celery? And squashes of all sorts, of course. And that's on top of the garlic I planted in October.

But, it seems I've run out of quiet time. Page has decided it is story time and is dictating at me. *sigh* I love him, and his imagination is enviable, but I wish he were an introvert and would just write the stories down.

Ah well.

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Gemini - Everything you do today feels about one notch harder than it should be -- but don't give up! You need to keep pushing and try to get your people to back you up when the going gets tough.

Already it's proving true... *sigh*

Considering everything that's been going on, this week hasn't been all that bad, though. Long and wearing, but not bad.

( Bullet points )

But now I should go try to do a bit of catch-up reading before class. Either that, or I'll go do a task or two in the garden to try an loosen myself up.

Hmm...

Entry tags:

Getting the hang of Tuesdays?

Yesterday was the meppy day, to borrow a favorite word from Page, as it was "Strengthening Immunity Concentrations: Kickass" day. Both Page and I are fighting off something of a bronchial nature, with him bearing the brunt of it because he refuses to go to the lengths I go to. I don't know why an almost nine-year-old would have quibbles with ingesting raw garlic and ginger, or taking sedate soaks in a brew of salts, ginger and apple cider vinegar. On the plus side, it was only a minor case of pulling teeth to get him to take proper puffs from his inhaler every four hours.

Today, on the other hand, has been okay. Surprisingly, considering Page woke up at 5 and had to be herded into my bed (with another two puffs) in order to get more sleep.

( Blather )

Ciao!

Entry tags:

Erm, that was close.

So, that paper that was due today did get finished, despite my best efforts at dithering away the time. I think I messed up a little bit on the works cited page, as I left off the original citation that my source was quoting from, but overall, I'm as pleased as I can be about the paper itself. I even managed to write a semi-coherent introduction as well as a conclusion that was more than the obligatory two sentence sum-up. (I hate conclusions. I really do.)

Oh, and I finished it at 11:23 this morning. My class was at noon (and ten minutes away).

ION, it surprise!rained today, so no gardening till tomorrow, which is probably just as well. My other plants are coming in the mail tomorrow, so that'll be a nice break from all the house cleaning I'll be doing.

Aaaaaand... Yeah. Not much to say here. Oh, except that it seems I (think I) was wrong about who can apply at the health exchanges. I can apply, I just won't get a federal subsidy to reduce the costs because Geoff's workplace offers "affordable" insurance. Uh huh. Since the "affordable" insurance is based on a single person's premiums (in this case, $200/mo, or perhaps $400 if you count the employer's portion. I'm not sure if you can count the employer's portion, though), the fact that adding me would be $260 MORE a month (for high deductible insurance, mind)... that's considered "affordable."

*grumbles about shit bills*

Still. At least if I can sign up on the exchange, I won't be dinged price-wise for all my pre-existing conditions (or sex). That's pretty huge, right there. I'll just pay for my age.

Anyway, gotta go pick up the kid. Ciao!

Entry tags:

garden,
school

Should be writing...

but my brain left the room a few hours ago, and I think I need to go join it. (On the plus side, I'm on the third part of the third task of the rough draft of the paper, and I don't have class till noon. It's pushing it, but I think I can finish and edit it on time.)

But! Tomorrow, after class, I am going to go into my garden and plant! My hydrangea and sweet autumn clematis arrived today! And the majority of the rest of the plants should arrive tomorrow or Saturday!

Whee!

So between those, all the bulbs I still have to plant, and (non-paper-writing) homework catch-up, I have a busy, but relaxing, weekend ahead of me. :-)

Right. Bed now. V. tired.

Entry tags:

Darn, and other mixed blessings

So, over the past few weeks, I've been inadvertently weaning myself off my antidepressants by forgetting them at semi-regular intervals (like, taking the full dose every other day or so). A couple of days ago I decided to make it official, and when I took my dose, I reduced it by a third, with the intention of taking that dose every day for a week before tapering off again.

Unfortunately, I'm feeling the lack already.

On the one side, this is depressing in that my mental well-being is dependent on a drug, and, given the amount of time I've been on it (more than enough time to retrain my serotonin uptake regulator into doing its job properly), probably will be for the rest of my life. I hate that. I hate that so much.

On the other side, it's kind of awesome that there is a drug that helps me fight the negativity monsters in my head. I just wish this drug didn't give me dry mouth so severely...

So, anyway, I will be taking the full prescribed dose this morning. And next. And every day thereafter.

*sigh*

In brighter news, my back garden is almost done. I still have to plant all the bulbs (and a few other plants that my clumsy, impatient fingers bought online a couple days ago), make a rock wall border, and build a trellis for the clematis, but otherwise, it's done. And the rock wall and trellis aren't imperative.

So yay. Of course, I ache like the dickens today because of overdoing it yesterday (and the day before), but it's basically done. And once the bulbs are in (I might, if I feel better later on, put 20 minutes into planting some of the bulbs today so as to get that big job going), I will be happily anxious to see how it'll look in spring.

Meanwhile, I have yet to do any house cleaning this weekend, or any shopping, or any homework. Oops. Priorities have been skewed by the fall air, me thinks.

Actually, today is homework day. I am so far behind in my reading it's not even funny. Also, I need to start seriously thinking about my psych paper that's due on Friday. This would all be easier if I could wake up a bit (*points up to second paragraph*) and not need quite so much sleep. (Of course, it would also be easier if I didn't have a family to take care of, but that's moot.)

But Geoff is now home from Brazil, so that ~~might~~ should help. Hopefully. I will be *cough* letting him do the cooking today (and this week, should he not cook en masse), and hopefully the three of us can keep on top of everything else that needs doing while still giving me time to read. (I am such an incredibly slow reader. I'm starting to worry about being able to keep up in later school years because of it...)

Right. Time to get to work, since that's why I stayed home from church today.

Hope all of you are as well as you can be. Hugs and Light to those who need or want them.

Entry tags:

Done dids

Over the last few days I have:

( I'm seemingly better now. )

I'm tired. ;-)

Geoff is leaving for Brazil tomorrow afternoon, so that's unpleasant, but Page and I will deal. (And hey, it means that much less cooking will need to be done! That's a definite plus!)

I just hope I'll be able to use the beautiful, wonderful, early-Fall weather to finish my back garden, including transplanting all my plants into their spots. Without injuring myself again. After school, it's my highest priority. After all, Fall is here, which means winter is just around the corner.

Anyway, that's the state of me right now. I'd better serve up dinner now, though.

Entry tags:

Holy moly!

I... am rather glad not to be living in Colorado (especially the Boulder area) right now. Wow. They are getting pounded like nobody's business. By rain, of all things. And this rain storm's conditions might even be worse than the one that caused the Big Thompson flood (1976? '77?), because of the extreme heat drying out the ground (making it impermeable), along with the lack of trees due to fire. The landscape will probably be visibly different next time we're over there... Fortunately, there's a significant improvement in the alert system since the Big Thompson, so there should be far, far fewer deaths this time round.

But yeesh. Three dams have broken, Boulder is closed, Lyons and Jamestown are completely isolated (and very vulnerable), and the only way to get to Estes Park is by Trail Ridge Road...

I've heard from several of my friends in the affected areas already, kindly letting us know they're okay (though one has been evacuated, and I'm worried about her for her house because it's basically right on a stream), and I'll assume that the rest are okay until I hear otherwise, but my thoughts are definitely going out to all of them right now.

( And then there's me... ;-) )

Entry tags:

raspberry

Judging by my exhaustion and ache levels the last couple days, I either broke myself on Friday by screwing the final planter box together and putting the small, nearby pile of dirt back in (the least amount of work I've done on that project within a day so far), or I'm sick. Judging by Geoff's congestion, I'm guessing I'm sick, though with different symptoms. Perfect timing, too, as school starts on Tuesday.

Ah well. Better a bug than a flare. And hopefully the flu/cold brew, naps and lots of doing nothing will help enough so that I'll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Tuesday.

In the meantime, I've got the house to myself today, because I am definitely not feeling up to going out role-playing/socializing. The fact that the role-playing/socializing takes place at a cat-infested house did influence my decision... Even if one of the cats is still up a tree... (Hopefully it's come down by now, poor thing.) :-/

Both my textbooks have arrived, plus some. ( Brief review of Dr. Terry Wahl's 'Minding My Mitochondria' )

Anyhoo. I'm gong to go rest some more now that I've finished my cup of brew. Hopefully that will lead to more napping, which in turn might lead to less aching. (I'm eschewing the pain pills today, unfortunately, because I want my immune system in fighting form.)

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.

Entry tags:

To do

- Dig up and pot pieris
- plant sedum
- laundry
- clean up entryway
- figure out dinner (burgers?)
- pick up dr. note; ~~fill out school forms; request second prescription for keeping at school~~ (nevermind!)
- bills and paperwork
~~- get trash and recycling out~~
- finish up planter boxes
~~- write email to HOA pres.~~ (Hope it didn't sound too snarky as the back yard isn't directly his fault)
- chiropractor
- deadheading
- make choc. pudding
- trim and file all my nails
~~- paycheck~~ to do tomorrow! Yay!
- pick up Geoff

Entry tags:

Back. Basically.

Welp, the vacation is over, and we are gearing up for the beginning of school around these parts. ( Read more... )

I am sad not to still be on vacation, but it is satisfying to be getting things done. And, I suppose, that is the purpose of a vacation, to put the satisfaction back into the work. So success!

:-D

Entry tags:

(no subject)

- Well, I am typing this from a newly modified desk, including an adjustable keyboard tray. The old desk tray broke over the weekend, so I was motivated to put my old plans into action. Unfortunately, my old plans have since modified (i.e. grown) and so the old plan became the temporary plan. It's a decent temporary plan, however. Or will be when I find the right setting for this keyboard tray.

( Randomness, mostly )

- Night!

Entry tags:

Huh. Randomness.

- Well, I'm glad I took Page into the doctor, as, apparently, the skin all around his left eye is infected. It does look absolutely terrible, with red, swollen lumpiness taking over, and I gave him a tylenol tonight because the pain started spiking. I can't remember her diagnosis, but, yeah. Oral and topical antibiotics have been started, as well as lots and lots of mandatory cuddling (his insistence, not mine. I only use the corporate cuddling tactic in extreme anger situations).

Plus side: it isn't contagious.

- I am on the second to last week of computer class. Thank god. It is kind of nice to learn ~~all~~ some of the things that Word 2010 can do, but, lord I don't like my teacher's rubric. Still trying to decide whether to take the Excel class with her next semester or save it for the Spring when I can choose a different teacher... I think I'm starting to lean towards a computer-filled Spring semester. Maybe take Human Growth and Development this fall...

- It's hot out. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwt. And it's supposed to get hotter as the week wears on. I suspect that tomorrow will find me actually dailing a phone to call friends with pools. (That is if Facebook messaging fails.) At least it dips into the 70's at night, which lets the (rising) humidity sink onto the ground a bit.

- The backyard might be completed soonish. The last pile of dirt was spread out today and the capstones were put in place, so it looks like they only have to have a few guys with rakes come over and finish up the smoothing out before they spray grass seed everywhere. Except, of course, for where they're still trying to figure out the drainage problem related to this house.

Did I mention how the other night I dreamt that the construction of a throughway was endangering the entire neighborhood, with houses of incremental closeness being torn down by earthmovers, and the neighbors in complete denial? *rolls eyes at drama queen subconscious*

- My bowl of rocks is very pretty... (Geoff isn't here to mention how tempted he always is to reach in and grab one of the "cookies". They are nice and round-like. :-)

- I have the foundation plants of my backyard design picked and planned out. Basically. I still have to choose a variety of rhodo, but otherwise I'm set. The fence will be lined with evergreen shrubs (the rhodo, pieris, and one each of China Girl/Boy hollies), and a golden elderberry will stand in front of the rhodo and pieris. I have yet to figure out the placement of the detail plants (hostas, ferns and the like), but I will. Oh, and a Sweet Autumn Clematis will be encouraged to climb all over the shed.

Oh, I am looking forward to having a shed!

- Bully for England, passing the gay marriage law. I wish conservatives here could see it the way Cameron does. Ah well. In time. Related to that, Page and I watched ST:NG, season 5's "The Outcast," which was a blatant allegory about the place of gays in American society. I am glad that in twenty years it isn't quite so bad in most American urban areas anymore, but it is discouraging that we have to keep having the same conversation over and over again. And that Riker's voice of reason gets overruled again and again and again...

Aaaaand, that's about it. I am feeling better, both mentally and physically, than I was yesterday around this time, even if it doesn't show through my words.

Entry tags:

Tha annoying and the not-so-annoying

Annoying first so as to get it out of the way:

( Read more... )

So, it's not too bad around here. Honest. I'm just wordier when I bitch and moan. ;-)

Entry tags:

garden,
gratitude

Okay, Good Things.

Right. To balance out the crud, here's some good things I have been grateful for this very morning:

- My Clematis survived! I bought it in mid-May, brought it home and found it was infected with leaf wilt, a nasty fungal infection. The treatment for leaf wilt is to chop the infected vines off at the ground, as the roots aren't affected. So, that's what I did (rather than return it). I chopped off the lone vine and planted the young roots where I want the clematis to be. I figured that I wouldn't see hide nor hair of it till next spring, if it survived at all. Well, it now has four leaves with buds for more! Yay! And best of all, they look like healthy leaves, just like the advisers said they would!

- Three of my hardy glads have survived and sprouted! I had given them up for dead, seeing as I planted them in early May and haven't seen any signs of life. But, well, here they come! Hopefully more than those three survived, but I guess I'll have to be patient in finding out.

- My mum is arriving tonight! And on Sunday, she, my sister and I are off on a week-long road trip to PEI!

- Tea. Plain, unflavored black tea with honey.

- Alone time. Geoff's been taking a bit of time off work lately (he never changed his June time off form from three weeks to one), which is nice and all, but, well, it also means little to no alone time for me. Today he's off to do a favor for Former!Neighborlady, leaving me blissfully alone for a few hours. Yay!