Oh what a beautiful weekend. It isn't often we have a fall longer than 2-3 days. The leaves are gorgeous and haven't all dropped overnight like most years. Nice and warm and sunny.

The cats were allowed out to the back yard for a bit. Millie carefully made her way to the covered swing since the grass was wet and she doesn't like to get her feet wet. Sam did his usual walk around to make sure there were no intruders and everything was to his liking. Then he proceeded to eat my pansies.

Mom dropped by and I don't think she ever believed that he likes pansies so she saw it first hand today. We went out to eat and then I showed her some of the new shopping areas. Which brings me to a pet peeve - we're supposed to be 'green' and saving gas etc yet all the new shopping areas are basically strip centers with standalone stores that require (at least in bad/hot/cold weather or when buying heavy things) getting in the car and driving to the next one. Short trips are a complete waste of transportation energy but here we are - building to ensure we continue to use more gasoline.

Of course, some people know I tried the motorscooter route to counteract my big SUV that carries all the heavy gardening stuff I use year round. LOL. One smushed elbow - replaced with a big titanium bolt- and a broken arm and most likely a torn rotator cuff. Too bad they didn't discover the torn rotator cuff when they found the broken bone. Oh - of course, that was 2 separate motorscooter incidents in less than 6 months. Needless to say, it's for sell - which is too bad because I really enjoyed myself and was having a great time!

October 28 2009

I'm baaackk.

Oh my. How did I get so busy that I haven't posted in so long? SO much rain that I'm just now finishing up spring cleaning in the yard. Used the sprinkler system only for about 3 weeks this year. And of course, when it got hot so quick (well it seemed that way because of all the rain in June and July) I had to garden in the middle of the night (note: one way to get back at noisy neighbors is to go traipsing through the yard at night and tripping over things you can't see so well - another note: don't walk and carry sharp objects in the dark).

My nephew went to Australia and New Zealand over the summer to plant trees. He had a lot of fun but lost a lot of weight and it was really cold there at times - 1 place where they were supposed to stay had frozen pipes and no running water so they got to stay in a pub that week - the good news was that they could eat well there. Now he's in Hong Kong taking a semester at a university there. He'll be back in time for Christmas.

My niece got her doctorate and has moved to Washington DC to work as a chemist for a legal firm. She'll be going to law school next year (funny, I could have sworn she said she finally was tired of school). She has a huge flat - a whole 400 square feet that is twice the cost of my house that is 4 times larger. I just don't know where she puts all her clothes and shoes.

Her brother is still working mostly in town; loving what he does. I think that is so cool for someone that young.

The cats have been allowed to have supervised visits in the back yard so they will get some much needed exercise. They are so funny. Millie comes back in the house to use the litter box. She's much better at hunting than Sam but then Sam has never really been outside so while he acts like the big hunter, he doesn't know how to act when there is something there. Millie had to teach him to make noise (he squeeks like a girl) so maybe he'll figure it out. He likes to go back inside after about 10 minutes if it is too hot.

Spring has sprung in Texas! Last weekend it was high 70's low 80's and it was so nice. It felt good to work in the yard. Getting out and stretching and just loving how the sun feels right now after being so cooped up during winter - yes I am aware that anyone living north of the Red River will laugh their heads off at that statement. but what is ... is.

My early spring flowers are so pretty - except the ones in the front that always come up but never bloom. They must not like that spot because I moved some last year to the back and they actually had flowers.

The eye story:

One night last week, I woke up and had a brown haze over my right eye. I got up and it didn't get better, I panicked, went back to bed and worried myself sick. I finally went back to sleep though.

When I woke up, I showered, got dressed, gave the cats their morning treats and left for work. I opened the garage door, ran around to the drivers side and got in. Pulled out of the garage, shut the door and headed down the alley. Then I saw some white spots. I worried but went on down the alley and headed up the street. Then more white spots, not many, but kept shaking my head and rubbing my eyes. It seemed to die down and then back up again. I panicked this time and decided to turn around and go home and call the emergency room. Just as I was putting the car in reverse, I heard the radio say something about snow flurries in the area! I checked again and sure enough, it was snow flurries!

What a scare.

After more scare at work - well, people were talking cataracts - and one co-worker said she had cataract surgery at a very early age, and talking about cataract surgery - I went out at lunch (missed our lunch and learn though) and got some allergy eye drops and some dry eye drops. That has helped a lot. I'm sure keeping the house so warm and drying my hair in the mornings in the car (yep, all vents toward my head but blasting my right eye dry) doesn't help any. I will be soooo glad when spring comes.

I hate missing the lunch and learns. They get someone from the business to talk about the business since we are so far removed from it. It is really interesting and it helps to know what we do does make a difference. I'm in IT, just in case you can't tell. It actually makes me want to do something that is closer to the business that what I do today. But let's not talk about my role today as I'm tired of hating my new job. I like the people (ok, well, most of the people - especially the brits and the aussies) and don't want to cause them any trouble by leaving but if I have a heart attack, that will impact my family more. Especially, the cats.

Sam the male cat got out again today. I was unlocking the back door and he got his little paw and opened the back door, took me by surprise and escaped! He wears me out trying to catch him. And poor Millie, she saw the escape and was crying out so loud that I could hear her outside!

Another Smith retirement home story. I've been trying to go with my brother and sister-in-law a few times each month. Mostly for exercise but some to put names on twigs, limbs and anything else I can cut, break or burn - and that would be names from work. Anyway, we had so much brush all piled up that needed to be burned so there would be room for more stacks of brush. They tried the weekend before but it was too wet. My nephew went with us, that was really nice because I don't see much of him and he's such a nice young man (yes I am prejudiced about my neice and both nephews!)

We got 1 pile finally started, and it was so nice and warm! I was so bundled up (I hate cold weather) and had to start removing coats and sweaters etc. I stayed close the fire and watched for flying embers while they went and dragged more stuff to throw on the fire. When the smallest and the next smallest piles were finished (well, they were still smoking but pretty much out), my sister-in-laws parents had come out so we went to lunch leaving my brother and nephew to watch things. Of course, when we got back, the next pile was done - they must have used most of the gasoline. They knew my sister-in-law wasn't there to supervise and you know boys/men! We were only gone 1 hour which is about 1/4 the time it took to burn the previous pile. I still think we should have brought marshmellows and hot dogs!

The last time I went, it was below freezing. The ground was hard (it had been muddy for the prior few weekends) so we took the trailer down to the someday-it-will-be-a-pond-and-already-dug-some-out area (aka burn area). About .5 way through, I started sinking and had huge mud packs around my shoes. So when we went to take the trailer back for more - yep - you guessed it - it had thawed enough from the sun that we got stuck. So we just unhooked the trailer, and oops, the truck got stuck. I've not seen a truck swing from side to side like that before - good thing I moved too. So we tried and tried and tried some more. Eventually, we took some brush, and put it in front & in back of the tires (sounds pretty easy doesn't it), and let the truck move back to put brush where the tires had been. Made a little brush road! And it finally worked! So the trailer stayed put and we cleared brush elsewhere and just piled it up by the road.

I really enjoy spending the time with my brother and sister-in-law that weekend. My nephew didn't go with us that time. I'm surprised at how much I can actually do for a desk-jockey and how I can manage to breathe in the cold. Usually, when it gets below 70, I have trouble breathing because it is too cold and my asthma sets in if I'm not really careful.