Ouch!!!

After my last pathetic post, decided today was a day for change - for getting something done - making some kind of progress! Things I thought about doing included knitting (so, ok, I did some of that), baking a pie (nope - not gonna happen today), making cookies (also not happening today). I felt in the mood to kill something and vent frustration. Even though the thermometer read 90 degrees, figured it is supposed to rain today, how bad can it be? (Pretty darned bad!)

I slipped on my rubber sandals and headed for the garage. Have meant to pull weeds forever, and decided today was it. (Nope - today WASN'T it!) Got to the yard and immediately started hacking down trash trees along the fence, behind the lilac bushes, the lillies, and all the good stuff that's out there dying because I refuse to pay so much for water. Pulled down mulberry trees and honeysuckle and some kind of vine with thousands - no, billions - of tiny little thorns! Once I had established a nice pile of this utter chaos, went about hacking it up with my clippers - mainly because I'm exceedingly cheap and the refuse bags they force me to use cost 50 cents apiece.

With only one "break" and, so far, only one blister, the fence is much cleaner and you can actually tell which plants are supposed to be there. Next - I will paint them with Roundup and hopefully kill the freaking pests!

I Need a Job!!

Ok - today's Day 4 of official unemployment, unofficial "vacation."

I've managed to make some "important" calls, had a friend actually drop by - then force me into the front yard to pick up downed branches and limbs from the storm! Yesterday it finally cooled off a bit, so it was designated "errand day." Started out visiting the local yarn shop to buy 5" No. 2 needles - and they didn't have any for the second time . . . had everything else, but not these. Arrgh! (Came home and ordered them from an internet source.) Then dropped off some printouts about Denis Leary for my hairdresser who seems to have developed a "thing" for him and his firefighter causes. On to the hardware store to buy piano wire so I can finally block the Pacific Northwest shawl I finished March 8th. Then hit the grocery store.

Now, I've been working the last 9.5 months and have forgotten the laws of weekday daytime shopping. NEVER GO TO THE GROCERY STORE DURING A 15 HOUR SALE. Every grandpa, grandma, nursing home resident, and mother with 12 children under the age of 5 is there, stocking up. After the storm, I was terrified of buying much in case they decided to turn off the electricity again. Just enough for a few days. Which means - I ended up trying to shop IN THE MORNING AT THE 15 HOUR SALE. Omigod! How awful is that???

So, today, I had to go through some more of my aunt's stuff - travel books, brochures, postcards, and pictures. Some of our trip in 1969, some of another trip she made in 1983. And ran across this picture . . . .

(Sorry about the glare off the original snapshot, but couldn't resist!) Can you believe this? I not only remember this place in France, but remember USING IT, and then regaling my friends and family with stores about it! You put your feet on the sides (where indicated), do your business and FLUSH THE FLOOR! See??? It actually exists!

So all the quilt tops, travel books, and old knitting projects have been sent to the basement (where they will be rediscovered upon my death). I still have to hang a few pictures and take the rest down for storage, but . . . .

I NEED TO GO BACK TO WORK! I NEED A REST!

Another Lost Day . . .

Anybody besides me have this problem? Weekday wake-up time is 6:15 a.m. and for some reason, all during the week, bedtime goes from 11 p.m. to as late as 12:30 a.m. I drag all day long, then magically wake up WIDE AWAKE the moment my feet hit the pavement in the garage! It's like I'm on super-caffine all evening. The whole week is spent looking forward to the weekend - getting errands done, enjoying my free time.

Then on Saturday, you wake up at 7:30 a.m. Ok, this is great. Lots of stuff will FINALLY get done! Like grocery shopping, vacuuming, yard work, and recreational shoe and clothing shopping. But around 10:30 a.m. you're still on the couch, not even dressed and the exhaustion overcomes you. Since you're still in jammies, going back to bed seems like a great idea. 11 a.m. finds you back asleep where you don't wake up until around 3 p.m. UGH!

And so, like every other Saturday, I will VOW next week will be different!

Ouch!

Every muscle hurts! Ferguson experienced a really strong thunderstorm Monday night that took out my power for 33 hours . . . so what do you do with all that time with no electricity?

If you have a yard like mine, you're out cleaning up the destruction - limbs, twigs, and sticks!! I filled 5 of those 30-gallon paper sacks with that kind of stuff, still have one limb I need to use the saw on, and today's trash day. Well - the back yard had 3 bags full, plus the regular trash can in the garage. Today's trash day and with no electricity, I couldn't get the bags out of the electric garage door. Now, with power finally restored, I need to drag this stuff out, and am still in my pj's! Any doubts that I'm blond?

Monster Update #3 and Katrina

Bet you thought I'd forgotten about my monster chore list. Now that we've been able to "stand down" from the full "Julie Alert" and are back with a green light and also since I'm not working, it has been reborn. So, this week, the carpet got cleaned. Yippee! Another major chore completed, at least for a while. It's funny - the carpet went from the nice, light tan to an elephant grey!! It is beautiful! Next - washing woodwork and curtains. Ugh! Once these are done, it will be cooler and time to spend some time outside weeding and trimming.

Also, dug up my tub of potato plants last weekend. It is hard to believe, but all that was in there was DIRT! Not even a nub the size of a pea! That's it - I may be done gardening! Just not enough sun in my yard. This year, combined with the drought, I got absolutely nothing. Sigh. All that hard work!

Also - please keep thinking good thoughts for Hurricane Katrina victims. My friends Julie, Bill, his son, and their friends, Julie's co-workers at PWC, and everybody else affected - the damage is unbelievable, now made more difficult by the actions of some of the victims. I am just pleased that the people I know who live there or have property are safe and dry in other areas - but I know that it will be a long way to normal from here. New Orleans is a great town full of history and fun, and we can only hope that its best aspects are salvageable. I know it is constantly in my thoughts as I watch the news.

Physics 101

"A body in motion tends to remain in motion."

Ok - I've spent the weekend in the back yard raking leaves. How dangerous could that be??? While I was at it, I decided to hack off this darned vining thing on the fence that was threatening to take over the azaleas. I started separating out the bad stuff, cutting whatever held it in place, then yanking it free from everything else. Now, those of you who've been to my back yard know I have what seems like miles of "decorative brick edging" just about everywhere.

So, here we go! Hack, hack, yank, oops! It gave quicker than I thought it would. Amazingly spry on my feet, I spun around, stepped directly on the "decorative brick edging" mentioned above, took a couple faltering steps (all the while thinking to myself "no problem - I got this under control"), then gave up and let gravity take over. Yes . . . . I landed flat on my front! I know it seems impossible, but I missed landing on "decorative brick edging" branches with thorns, the rake, and the clippers. Although I found it incredibly interesting that a woman of my size, falling at that speed, would actually bounce! The wind was knocked from me, and while I lay there taking inventory, it struck me how hysterical it must have looked to anybody who might have seen.

So, I did what anyone in that position would . . . laughed at myself.