Little victories, little irritants

When I went to my O.D. earlier this month for my yearly allergy meds, he asked me what else was going on in my life. Well, of course he did. He's an O.D., not an M.D., so visiting him is more than just here-are-your-pills-here's-your-bill. And, because he's a disarming sort of guy, I chatted a little bit with him. Mentioned that as soon as I remembered to check to see what kind of batteries my scale takes, I'd be starting Weight Watcher's online.

Tippy-tappity-tap.

Crud, I thought. He typed that into his laptop. It's in my file. I guess I really have to do it now instead of just talk about it forever. Dammit.

Well, I did finally remember to get batteries for the blasted scale. I've been on program about 2 1/2 weeks, and as of last Wednesday lost 5.6 pounds. I've lost a little more since then, I think, because this morning? I put on the belt that I always wear with these pants and put the buckle through a notch one tighter than I've ever used before! And I didn't snap in half when I tried to sit down. Yaaaay!

In other news--the water-in-the-closet thing seems to have vanished. It slowed when the rain stopped, sped up when the rain came down pretty hard about a week ago, and then dried up altogether. The association manager is puzzled. As am I.

But now? There's a mouse in one of the walls. I think so, anyway. The cat has developed quite an interest in one corner of the living room. There are no holes in the wall (yet), but I'm pretty sure that soon I'll be finding out whether a declawed cat can catch a mouse. She's eager to try.

And hey! Tomorrow's November!

I don't think I'm going to try NaBloPoMo this year. I really didn't have much to say last year, I have even less to say this one, and Thanksgiving is bearing down on me like it's a train and I'm a silent-movie heroine tied to the tracks. Help!

Let's see if I can post more than 4 times in a month though, shall we?

Neighbor dodged a bullet too.

Well, it's not the neighbor's water heater. They've checked, their closet is completely dry. The last thing the manager can think of it that it might still be coming from mine, from some sort of release valve at the top. I've put a bucket under the valve to see if it catches any water. I'm thinking it won't, because right under that valve is pretty dry.

I wonder if there's a blockage farther down the line in the drainage pipe, and it's backing up from there?

Bullet: dodged. I hope.

Around 4 o'clock the association manager came and looked at my situation. He's pretty sure that the water's not coming from a busted main, given where the mains are located (he checked the plans for our building) and where it looks like the water's coming from. Thank goodness. They would have had to tear things apart in here to get at it.

He then checked the little meter-reader thingie attached to my pipes (don't you love when I get all technical?), and it wasn't reading like there was any water running. To test it, I went and turned on the kitchen tap. Nope, there's no water running unless it's been requested. So it's not coming from any of my plumbing.

Then he wondered if it was coming from my water heater, because it was feeling a little wet on the floor around its base. He asked me for a clean, dry, old towel--what he was about to do was going to pretty much destroy it. I found a tea towel that I don't care if I never see again, and gave it to him to dry the floor around the water heater. If water started showing up again in a few minutes, that's where the problem is. Boy, howdy, did that thing come back filthy.

A few minutes later: no water around the water heater. So he thinks that the problem is next door. He thinks my neighbor's water heater is leaking, and that the slope we've been built on has the water running into my unit, using the drain in my closet. Unfortunately, my neighbors weren't home to confirm this, but he's left them a note. I hope they come home soon.

I've asked him to keep me posted, so that I know when I can stop worrying the problem is on my end. He said he would. Though I suppose if I don't hear from him again, that'll be an answer too. Of sorts.

And now back to straightening up the downstairs. Though I have a bunch of junk in the living room that used to be in the closet. I'm not going to put it back in there until I know that I won't have to drag it out again. And besides, it's wet in there.

I could do with things being a little less interesting

My parents are coming tomorrow morning to drop of Pippin, my Very Hairy Little Sister (aka their dog). They're visiting my aunt in Virginia this weekend, and they're pretty sure Pip would have a miserable time. Not that she would have all that much of a better one with me. She's bound to be depressed, pining for my Dad all weekend. But at least here she won't have to deal with my aunt's youngest grandchild, who is a bit on the rowdy side. Pip doesn't like children as a rule, and she likes active ones even less, I think. All that quick movement bothers her.

I took today off to clean. Not that the dog will care what things look like. Really, I should clean, though, and this is a good excuse. I'm off tomorrow through Monday to stay with the dog, just because she's a bit sensitive and probably won't like being alone. Yes. I am pet-owned, and not just by my own pets.

Turns out it's a good thing I'm taking the next few days off, because things at home just got more "interesting."

The night before last, I noticed a weird isolated wet spot on the carpet. My first thought was that the cat had done it, but no, there was no smell. And then I thought, well, maybe I put something really wet there? Couldn't remember doing that. I put a towel down to blot things, and went to bed.

It was still damp yesterday morning. I changed the towel, wondering what the heck it was. It was a little wet by the door as well, and my early-morning, not-much-coffee-in-me-yet logic thought maybe all the rain we've been having has caused the slab foundation to reach critical mass, and I was taking on water? I went to work, and didn't think about it again until last night, right before bedtime, when I finally figured out that the water wasn't coming from outside. It was wetter by the steps. Besides, this isn't like my old place, where the threshold was level with the pavement outside. There's a fairly decent step up into the house.

I checked the floor of the closet under the stairs, and it didn't feel wet. Worried and tired, I went to bed and lay there a bit wondering what was going on before eventually drifting off to sleep.

This morning I finally found my flashlight (I'd looked for it last night and couldn't find it. Today? It was in plain sight. I swear, someone plays swapsies with my stuff at night) and looked in the closet. Yep. There's a water stain down the middle of the floor, well away from where I felt it last night. I think the pipe broke in the foundation.

I looked around me at the state of the house. It's more of a mess than it was yesterday, because when I clean things get more messy before they get better. Then I did a mental list of all the things I need to do that use water. Dishes. Laundry. Cleaning the downstairs powder room. I desperately need a shower.

Then I wondered, who fixes this? According to the agreement with the owners' association, I'm responsible for everything from the studs inward. The association takes care of the other stuff. What if the problem is in the foundation? Is that my responsibility? Theirs? The water authority's? If it's mine, how much is this going to cost? I haven't received a pay raise in two years, and prices keep going up. It's chipped away at my savings "cushion" bit by bit, and there's not much left. Will homeowner's insurance cover this? Or is this part of that "act of God" thing? It's not a flood, but it does have to do with water.

I have been running around all morning trying to make the place presentable for the strangers I'm about to call in. I'm also doing all of the water-related stuff now, because I have no idea how long I'll be without it. I also don't know how they're going to get at this pipe without breaking up the foundation and/or knocking down a wall.

The first step is to call the fellow who administers the association and ask him whose responsibility this is. I am really, really hoping he says it's not mine.

And? The dog is coming. There's a crate coming with her, so I'm not worried about her getting underfoot. Hey, it'll make for an interesting weekend for her, right?

Off to take a shower. And to fill up a bunch of bottles with water. Wish me luck. More news as it happens

Another one in the eye

I've been having an eye problem since Thursday, and I told myself if it got no better by today I was calling my optometrist's office. It didn't, I did, and they'd like to see me pronto.

There's this weird shadow in my field of vision in my right eye. You know that after-image you get when someone takes a picture with flash? It's kind of like that. I don't notice it all the time, but it really shows up in bright light. It moves with my eye--I noticed that when I tried to focus on it and it shifted away.

The fellow I spoke to this morning (the optician/office manager, married to the optometrist) said it could be one of two things: a new eye floater, in which case there's not much they can do but at least it's not dangerous; or, my retina's detached itself a little bit. If it's that, they're going to want me to see a retinal specialist right away. Like, today. Like, call a cab, shove me in, and get me to the Eye Dude with the LASERs. Who will apply implements to the area and (hopefully) fix it.

I am remarkably calm at the moment. I think that's because I already suspected that these were the possible causes and outcomes. I am not the first person on the planet to get a detached retina, they already know how to fix 'em. It seems like a fairly common procedure.

It doesn't hurt at all, it's just a bit distracting. And? I keep taking off my glasses, wiping them, putting them back on, and saying, "Nope. That still didn't help."

I also have been using eye drops to moisturize things, and I don't know whether I'm imagining it or not, but it seems to be helping a little. But only a little. And so we go to the optometrist. Wish me luck.

Hey! Maybe I'll get an eye patch. I can be all, "Arrrrr, matey!" on the bus.

Edited to add:

Well, it's not a detached retina, just a great big honkin' floater. Apparently floaters like this are once-in-a-lifetime -- for each eye. So, look out, left eye, you're up next. The optometrist said that these kinds of floaters can cause retinal detachment, but that my eyes look fine -- no tears in the retina, no bleeding in the eye. The thing should break up eventually, and gravity should pull it out of my field of vision somewhere between 6 weeks and 3 months from now. In the mean time, I'm supposed to be on the look-out for it getting bigger, or if I start seeing flashes. I should call her then.

So no eye patch, but I am wandering around all squinty and semi-focused. She had to dilate my eyes to get a good look at what's going on back there, and for a while I needed to keep my sunglasses on indoors back at work. Because yes, even though I can't see, I thought I should go back to work. I'm hoping my typing skills are better than I imagine, and there aren't too many errors in this last bit of the post. Just going to have to take that one on faith, at least until I can see to proofread.

A rambling chatty bit of fluff

I just found this in my drafts.  Apparently I found it once before in my drafts, commented on its still being there, added some more, saved it, and forgot about it again.  I really need to check that drafts tab more often.

This part is from the beginning of August:

My Mom came down from the mountains on Friday.  We went out to dinner at a local, semi  fancy-schmancy restaurant.  She stayed overnight on my capacious pillow-back sofa (once you take all the cushions off the back of it, this sofa's as large as a twin bed, and it's über comfortable), then the next morning we boxed up the cat and headed north to the wilds of Pennsylvania.  Sophie begged to be let out the whole way there.

It was a good vacation.  There was a slight bobble Sunday into Monday (I think.  I lost track of time there for a while) where the generator did something weird and it looked like we were going to have to last the week on 100 gallons of water in the holding tank.  That got sorted out, though.  I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't get to try the dry shampoo we found in Rite-Aid that we thought we were going to need.  But?  I'd rather use soap and water.

Anyway.

Kitty and I got brought back about a week later by Dad, Mom, and the dog.  You should have seen the dog when I put the cat in the carrier Sunday morning.  She (Pip, not Sophie) was outside on the porch with Dad.  It took Mom and me both to get Sophie into the carrier--she's a pretty good fighter, even without front claws.  We got her in, I shut the door, and turned around to see Pip staring at me through the screen door, astounded.  The look on her face quite clearly said, "But I thought you liked that cat!"  It was as if I'd suddenly sprouted horns or something.

I had taken Monday the 8th of August as vacation as well, because the original plan had called for Mom to drive me back Sunday afternoon, stay Sunday night, and go home Monday morning.  Did I mention Mom retired back in July?  No, I see that I didn't.  Yes, well, Mom retired back in July so now she has the time to do all the stuff she wants.  I'm trying very hard not to be envious.

---

And that's about where I saved this post, lo these many weeks ago.  I have no idea where I was going with that last paragraph.  I don't remember doing anything especially meaningful with the extra day that I had on Monday.  As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I spent it lounging around on the couch, reading and embroidering.

Couple of things I did want to mention:

Last year I crossed "grow a tomato" off of my life list.  Well, I decided I didn't do a very good job last year and I wanted to try again.  I bought a seedling from some Ag Department grad-student run produce stand that pops up on campus in May.  They had a bunch of different varieties available.  I chose one called "Muscovich," because it was described as cold-weather hardy, and not minding a lot of rain.  I don't know how it was where you were last spring, but over here it was extraordinarily wet in May.  I was this close to having moss growing on my upper lip.  I figured a plant that liked wet cold weather just might work in my patch.

Here's a picture I took of it last August.  [imagine there's a picture here] Bit of a monster, no?  It's gotten taller since.  When they dropped me off the Sunday of vacation, my parents took a walk 'round to the side of the house to take a gander at my wee garden.  Dad had to look up to see the top of the tomato. Dad is 6'6".  I think the plant is at least seven feet tall -- a far cry from the stunted little things I grew last year in pots.
I'd say I've gotten about 30 tomatoes from it so far, and the ones I ate instead of froze were pretty tasty.  

We had some pretty strong thunderstorms about a week later, it broke a off a couple of the branches of the vine.  There were a lot of little green tomatoes on those branches.  I turned them into a pretty tasty spice cake, using a recipe I found online.

And that's when I saved it the last time I tried working on this.  Well, they say three's the charm.  There's a picture I want to attach to this (that would be the tomato plant), and then I really, really need to hit publish.  Then I can talk about the rest of August (while I still remember it) and how I got bit by the Canning Bug.

I know. Canning. Squee.  But at least I'm trying to blog again.

Here's that tomato:

Damp grump

I have to get this out before I bite someone.  There's a woman in another team who's currently driving me a little nutty.  Let's call her Wanda, shall we?

Wanda's retiring later on this month, but she's acting like she's left already.  She just kind of wanders around and gossips (she's doing it right now outside of my colleague's cubicle, next door to me).  Her team is consistently backed-up with work.  There is a ton of stuff on her desk that needs doing, and I'm willing to bet it'll be there after she leaves.  I so very much want to ask her to get to work but a) I'm not her boss b) I'm not even on her team and c) I don't feel like starting a fight today.  Well, c) isn't strictly true.  But she's a big woman, and she'd probably clean my clock.  So instead I'm just going to sit here and silently resent her.  Grrr, Wanda.  Just...grrrr.

The rain might just be affecting my mood a little.  Have you been watching the news?  For those who haven't, it is currently raining pitchforks and hammer handles (that's even harder than "cats and dogs") on the northeast coast of the United States.  A bunch of counties in Pennsylvania (mine included) have declared flood emergencies.  The Susquehanna river is dangerously high and isn't expected to crest until tomorrow.  It's getting a bit scary out there.

How are you-all today?  Staying dry and/or above water?

What it's like inside my head

First thought upon finding $10 in a pocket of jeans after I put them on: It's gonna be a good day.
Second thought: Pretty sure that's not what "money laundering" means.
Third thought: I should tweet that.
Fourth thought: And this is why I haven't blogged since April: stupid Twitter. Try thinking in more than 140 character bites, for a change.
Fifth thought: Damn, I'm judgmental.  Why don't I just back off? Geez.
Sixth thought: And now I'm having an argument with myself. I need to get out more.
Seventh thought: Why? So I can argue with myself in public? Do I really want to be That Lady on the bus? The one people are afraid to sit next to?
Eighth thought: What makes me think I'm not that already? And besides, what's wrong with having a seat to myself?

[shrug]
Fair enough.

Fear and surprise

I am still here and I will write something soon.  But for now, watch this.  I rented Eddie Izzard's "Live from Madison Square Garden" a while back, and this bit was one of my favorites:

Auntie Em! Uncle Henry!

My co-worker just told me we're on tornado watch until ten PM.  Tornadoes?  In April?  In central Pennsylvania?  Is Mother Nature off her nut? 

In case of tornado, you're suppose to go somewhere low to the ground with no windows, aren't you?  I have no basement.  That leaves under the stairs with the water heater (and the spiders) or the downstairs powder room.  Luckily the cat likes to stick close by, so should the sky turn green, it looks like I'm gonna tuck her under my arm and head for the teeny tiny powder room just off of the kitchen.

Sheesh.  This morning they were calling for thunderstorms with hail. Now it's tornadoes.  What's next, poisonous toads?

Checking in

Let's see, what's going on around here?  Well, according to someone pitching to Blackbird, it's National Licorice Day.  Google says it's the 50th anniversary of space flight.

It's also National Library Worker's Day, and of course my library is making a fuss.  There are two parties scheduled so that no matter when your work day starts or ends you can make it to one of them.  I was stopped on my way in from lunch by the receptionist and told I should "hurry up and get some cake."  My response surprised even me: "It's just cake."  Did I say that?  And it appears I meant it, because I'm still on my lunch break (the tail end of it), sitting at my desk not eating cake.

Also?  Sophie has worms.  You know how cats are always sticking their bums in your face?  She did that this morning, and I saw a worm.  Uh-oh.   How the heck did she get worms?  She doesn't have fleas (I don't think she does.  I never see any), she doesn't go outside, I've never fed her raw or undercooked meat, and I have no other pets that she could have gotten them from.  I wonder if a flea hitched a ride into the house on my shoes or socks or something.

So tomorrow afternoon we go to the vet.  Huzzah.

Bats

A long time ago my great-uncle Bill told me a joke.  I enjoyed it.  A lot.  I enjoyed it so much that I started telling it to people, and much like Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant," the joke got a little longer and more involved with each retelling.  Between the first draft of this post and the second one it grew some more.  It's almost a short story now.  It involves bats.  And men (or women) of the cloth.

Once upon a time there was a little town.  In this town there were three churches: a Lutheran church, a Catholic church, and a Methodist church.  The pastors and the priest associated with these churches were friends and used to meet weekly in a booth at the local diner to drink coffee and talk shop.  One summer morning they found that they were all having a similar problem: bats.

"Honestly," said Father Mike, "this is getting out of hand.  One of the boys in the choir had a bat get tangled in his hair, and now they all flatly refuse to go near the loft.  They sing from the back of the nave." 

"Tell me about it," Pastor Owens commiserated.  "I was locking up after the United Methodist Women's group last Wednesday and noticed something fluttering around the lectern.  I thought it was a bird until it smacked into a window and started to climb up it."

"Ugh."  Pastor Larssen shuddered.  "Ours get disturbed when the pipe organ plays.  One blast of that thing, and they dart among the rafters in a frenzy.  I need to do something.  I really don't want to call an exterminator, though."

"No, me neither," said the priest. "They are God's creatures, after all."

"He can have 'em," Pastor Owens muttered into her coffee mug.

"Why don't we try getting rid of them ourselves?" suggested Pastor Larssen.  "How hard can this be? We are intelligent, resourceful people.  I'm sure we can figure it out."

The other two agreed.  They would each make independent attempts at bat-removal, with an eye toward reporting back to each other about successes and failures.  After draining their mugs all three stood up, grimly wished each other luck, and marched off, determined not to be bested by winged rodents.

A week later they were back in the diner. 

"I really thought noise would work," Pastor Larssen groaned, head in his hands.  "They hated the playing of the organ so much, I thought if I made a whole lot of clamor they'd decide to move to a quieter neighborhood.  But it didn't matter what I did -- organ, cymbals, air horn, none of it worked.  Finally, in frustration, I went up there with a shotgun; not to hurt them, mind you.  I just thought the explosion would scare them off."

"And?"  Asked Father Mike.

"Now I need an exterminator and a roofer.  And my wife thinks I'm an idiot."

 

"I decided to try trapping them," said Father Mike.  "Humane traps.  My sister's husband knew where to get them and how to use them.  He helped me set them up.  We even managed to catch them all!  Then I borrowed his truck, put the bats in the back, and scouted around for likely place for them to live.  I drove for about an hour, I'd say, until I found a spot that looked just perfect!  It was a meadow full of wildflowers, with trees round the edges of it.  I figured they could live in the trees, eat the bugs from the meadow.  Right?  So I let them loose."  He stopped to take a swig of coffee.  "Those bats made it back to the church before I did."

The Methodist minister sat quietly sipping her drink, and only looked up when she felt both pairs of eyes on her.

"Well?" asked the priest.  "How did you do?"

"Oh, I got rid of mine," said Pastor Owens.

"What!?!  Well don't just sit there, Susan, tell us what you did!"

She sighed.

"I thought this over for most of last week, wondering what on earth I could do to make them leave my church and not return.  This past Sunday was the day we graduated our most recent Confirmation class...I told you, didn't I, that my dad is a minister too?"

The two men nodded.

"Thought so.  Methodist ministers get moved around a lot, but my Dad was Episcopalian.  He's been serving the same flock for almost forty years.  Seen a lot of kids grow up in his church.  Anyway, as I was looking at these teenagers and listening to the rest of the members welcome them into the congregation, I heard Dad's voice in my head.  It's something he says when he's on one of his rants, lamenting the lack young people at church. Suddenly I knew exactly what to do.

"Monday morning, I went up into the rafters with a bucket of water and the United Methodist hymnal.  It's just like Dad's said: first I baptized them, then I confirmed them, and I haven't seen one of them since."

Cue: rim shot.

Okay, really it was more about church than bats.  

Okay! Bats it is. Watch this space.

And in the meantime, give a little listen to this:

Jake Shimabukuro - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Solo)

I'm know this guy's made the round on blogs and YouTube before, and it may have even been this song, but I just bumped into it yesterday on Coverville's "Top 40 of 2010" podcasts and was struck (maybe not for the first time. Can't remember what I heard him play the first time, it might have been this) by how talented this man is.

What's next: you decide

Well hello there, readers! Miss me?  Do you still stop by in the vain hope that I might write something?  Sorry about that.  My well seems to have run a little bit dry lately.

But!  Now I have not just one but two, count 'em two ideas for posts, and I can't decide which one I want to write first.  And so I've decided to stage an informal poll.  Tell me in the comments section which you want to hear about first: bats or lightning. 

If it turns out I'm talking to myself (in other words, if no one answers me because they've all gone away to read the blogs of people who actually post on a regular basis, dammit), I'll probably just flip a coin.  Please don't make me go dig a coin out of my purse.

An exercise in restraint

I found coconut M&Ms at Target this week.  I bought a bag to bring with me when I go visit my parents at Easter.  Easter is four weeks away.  What's the likelihood that bag is gonna make it that long without getting opened?

Well, until I publish this, not very good.  As soon as I do, though, the chances of this bag making it into and Easter basket in upstate Pennsylvania will increase astronomically.  Here's why:

1. My Mom and sister both read my blog, and I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing both of them in 4 weeks.  So they know these are coming.
2. This is a holiday-specific flavor--like the mint ones that show up around Christmas--and they only make a limited amount of them.  I think they first made an appearance last Easter, and they went very fast.  I only heard a rumor of them but never found any.  Buying a second bag should the first on disappear down my gullet?  Probably not an option.
3. I'm going to pack them into the bag I'm taking with me just as soon as I get home.  So I might forget I have them until it's time to pack for the trip (scoffs internally at one's naivete).  

I love playing mind games with myself.  I must.  I do it all the time.

Public service announcement

We interrupt this blog for a public service announcement:



Why are they still using lead in paint?  Especially in things that go in the mouth, for pity's sake?  What surprised me is that it isn't all from China, either.

I  guess the cat is safer playing with my wool and alpaca yarn, which she seems to prefer anyway.

No noodle soup for me, thanks

When I leave for lunch I usually go down the center aisle and either into the break room or out the front door, depending upon whether I've brought my lunch or am eating out.  On my way I pass lots of people in their cubicles, in various stages of eating lunch. Yesterday as I was making my way to my yogurt and soup I was struck by a bizarre sense of despair right there in the middle of the aisle.  It only lasted a moment. It slowed me down for a second, but I didn't stop and evaluate.  It was over almost as soon as it started.  I think I would have forgotten about it if it hadn't happened again today in exactly the same spot. 

Back when I'd just graduated college and was trying to simultaneously keep body and soul together, pay rent, appease the student loan people (who wanted their money right! now! dammit!), and find full-time work, this stuff was a huge staple in my pantry.  And by that I mean it was practically the only thing in my pantry.  I lived on it.  It's easy to make, doesn't require much in the way of kitchen clean-up afterward, and (most importantly) it's dirt cheap.  I think I used to get them 4 for a dollar at the local grocery store. Some weeks they were all I could afford.

This almost two-year state of lack of money/constant fear of illness/job-hunting/keeping the loan folks off my back felt like a deep dark hole I was never going to get out of.  Some days it was all I could do not to throw back my head and howl with frustration, despair, and rage.

It's exactly how I felt when I walked past Hui's cubicle yesterday, and again today.  I figured it out though.  Guess what she was eating for lunch?

Yup. Ramen noodle cup-a-soup. Come to think of it, I've never bought one pack of those things in the almost 20 years it's been since I could afford other food. 

Talk about smell being a powerful memory aid.  Ugh.  I think that until the weather gets warmer and it's too hot for soup, I'm going down the side-aisle to get out of the work room.  Don't want to burst into tears in the middle of the room just because of ramen noodles.

Very glad to be here

I had my annual review meeting on Wednesday, and I just got the written results about an hour ago.

The phrases "great skill," "strong contributions," and "I am very pleased" figure strongly in the letter from my department head (my supervisor retired in December, so our head is doing these all by herself. I do not envy her). There's a lot of "very" in there, and "excellent" shows up at least half a dozen times. I'm over here blushing.

Yay!

To celebrate (even though I was gonna do it anyway, before she gave me my letter) I'm going to the $1 cinema tomorrow to finally see the latest Harry Potter movie. After that I'm buying myself a book at Barnes & Noble--The Langauge of Bees, by Laurie R. King. I was going to wait until the one after it was available in paperback and get them both at once, but I just decided I want it now.

I am constantly surprised by how easy it is to please my current boss(es). Points out to me (again) that the place I used to work, where they treated me alternately as an idiot or a very bright 8-year-old, was right smack in the middle of Crazytown.

Happy 1st day of spring!

Someone I follow on twitter is a meteorologist. I don't know if he works for Accu-Weather or is part of a university meteorology department, but today he wished us all a happy first day of meteorological spring. It seems that we don't have to wait the 20th or 21st for spring to start, it just did. Huzzah!

I'm starting to scheme about my garden. A woman at work is selling Easter candy and flower seeds/bulbs as a fundraiser for her daughter's elementary school, and I bought some. Flowers, I mean. I bought one of those seed mat things, where you cut it out to the shape you want and just lay it out in your garden, water it, and stuff grows. You know what I mean? I got the one for the butterfly garden. Going to plant it under the living room window, give Sophie something to look at all summer.

I also bought ranunculus bulbs. Really pretty. They look to me like a cabbage rose. Here, I went Googling and found some pictures. Here's what I mean. They're perennial, and they take sun and partial shade. And apparently they taste nasty, so the chipmunks (or whatever's been munching on my garden) will leave them alone. Sounds like a keeper to me, provided they'll grow for me.

I'm also thinking of planting pennyroyal in the bed, to keep beetles and ants away. I have no idea if it'll work.

I just went and looked up pennyroyal. Maybe I won't be planting that. It's a touch too poisonous. Don't want to accidentally kill a neighbor's dog.

Anyway, spring fever has set in over here. Looking forward to the day I can turn off the heat. How is everyone else?

365 project so far

Well, I'm still taking pictures every day. Some of them are good, some just so-so. I'm developing my eye, though. I also find that I'm looking at things more closely, trying to decide what would make a good photograph.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

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