Weird Week, Updated

Well, it's been unusual around here for days.  We don't have a certain schedule, but we do have a routine that is not too far strayed from.  This has been the week to stray!

Monday was the ortho (where I was not charged for a new retainer, they had another idea first and they said 2 months left for Ben!!) and library where I went in ready to do battle over a book I knew had been returned.  As soon as she brought up my account, she said, "That book was found on the shelves and checked back in.  Let me just clear that late fee it accrued for you!"  Ack!  I have never had it so easy!

Then I discovered a drink called...yogurt aloe mango I think, at the Asian store and I swear, I could drink that for every meal for a month.  SO yummy.  I also got a whole flat of sushi and Chan and I ate it like we had not been fed in a week,  I thought she was going to chopstick me right in the eye!  It was $4.50 for a full tray as usual, but no pickled ginger any more.  I whined to no avail-though they did sell me a whole jar of it. So, I guess that was okay.  :)  I poked at the tea eggs...I could not do it.  I don't really like eggs, so eating one cooked weird was not topping my to-do list.  They boil them in a very strong tea and then crack the shells so the eggs are stained in a brown mosaic.

On Tuesday morning I got up and hauled in all the plants-27 degrees!  They were NOT happy going from a chilly yard to a house with the heater on.  By today they were wilty and sad.  I put them all back out in the sun and gave them a good drink.  It's still cold, but not dangerous-for-seedlings cold.

As I was doing yard stuff yesterday in the ICY wind that nearly cracked my bones and gave me a nasty ear ache, I saw a lump in the driveway.  It was a VERY dead stranger cat. I guess it was hit, but I don't know how, maybe the mail truck?  That's the only traffic we have had all week.  I thought it had been dragged off, but Matt buried it.  I am glad, though I feel bad for the owner, it was not a stray-no collar, but not scrawny. Maybe it was dumped and the dogs killed it.

Jessie came hobbling up-the cold hurts her hip-and I was going to let her in and I saw her face!!  She must have put it in a shredder.  She has no skin at all on her entire nose from her eyes to her nose tip and her ears and jowls are cut up.  I set her up on a raised bed (a blanket on the ground is no insulation for a pet) and gave her a heated blanket and turned on the heater.  She was too drippy to come in, the carpet's bad enough without adding more animal blood.  There's already blood stains from a puked up rabbit in 3 places. No matter how you scrub, it does not come out!  I need a carpet cleaner...  (UPDATE-it was pine tar, not blood, she's fine and the vet thinks I am a nut job.  I was just too chicken to look too closely, hahaha.  That's why they get paid the big bucks.)

Matt e-mailed in the afternoon about an interview on Thursday morning!  It's an in-company transfer but he needs out of the area he's in.  His new boss is great (his 3rd new one in 6 months, though), but there's some stuff going on that we'd both be happier if he were not so close to it.  Let's just say general bad management and drama and leave it there.  I know that's EVERY job, but the department (medical) that he's looking to move to seems more stable and it's run by a woman.  That can't hurt.  (UPDATE-the interview went very well, but the position pays less than the one he is currently in.  I did not think that was even possible.  They are going to see if they can rename the position and get more funding.  They like to promote in that department and they like to hire people looking to move up.  Keep your fingers crossed, there have been no pay increases or promotions in his current area-EVER.  Just more responsibility for him and lots of next-level-up shuffling.)

The boys helped me work in our little garden spot Wednesday.  Having turned it all by hand, I no longer think it's so little!   We recovered it with the tarps, I think the soil needs to warm more.  That's a total guess.  I am looking at my compost and at the dirt and I see lots of worms, which is good and also grubs which is bad-not to mention yucky.  Anything approaching the size of my thumb ought not to be hiding in the dirt.  I don't know what to do about those, I think they eat roots.

I went around to see what the winter damage was to the mower and it CRANKED.  Never, not in 10 years, has the mower cranked the next spring without serious stress and a couple hours of tinkering and swearing and cleaning gas lines.  I mowed the weedy bits and left the parts of the yard still in full flower to grow.

Coming in on Monday, we drove up the back side of the mountain, which is always pretty even if it does make the van groan.  Down in the valley-which is swampy galore, I am daily glad we live up here-we passed a new pasture that had a flock of little bitty horses and they all ran as we passed.  It was so cute, they have such stubby legs, it was like watching toys totter past.  I have visions of a yard full of miniature animals, but in reality, I doubt I ever will.  I want to be able to run around without much notice, animals are more tying than small children.  And I worry that mini animals hurt, I know some forms of dwarfism can be painful and throw out hips and other joints in humans, so breeding animals to be dwarfed...I just need more information.

Here are some pics from the drive home.

And that's it.  

Thursday we stayed home, our hike never happened, though we cooked out on our own.  Matt had Friday off, we stayed home.  Saturday my father came to visit and we got the central unit up and limping.  The verdict on that is that it will have to be replaced, it's so bypassed and rigged and the freon leaks-no more repairs.  When it goes out again, it's gone.  The good news is that the repair cost less than I had budgeted, so we now have a little in the 'new unit' fund.

Sunday we were...at home!  Worked in the yard, on the camping stuff, got some lists made.  This whole time I have been working on a new project that I am saying NOTHING about.  It seems like when I blog about my ideas, the exposure to the light kills them.  I am actually making good headway.

 Next week is crammed from start to finish.  And even more so, Jake just came in and said he wants to go to college.  This is after YEARS of him saying he does not want to go to college.  I have not even looked at the first thing about it.  He graduates May 23rd.  Maybe.  Now that he wants to pursue college, he may have to add in a few more credits.  13th grade, here we come.

Weird Weekend

Matt worked Friday, we stayed home and I worked on my plants and messed around in the yard pulling up weeds and when the sun was good and warm, went in the camper and sprayed and wiped down the whole inside, skipping just enough spots so that when I lay in there later on, I can obsess.  I left that to dry out and we put Poppy away Saturday night after taking a few photos of the damaged lift system.

On Saturday Matt got up early and headed to a hike, I took Jake to play airsoft.  He had a great time until the last round when he was shot in the face and arms with a couple different high-powered guns.  Thank goodness he had on his safety glasses.  At that velocity, a pellet would have popped his eyeball or at least done some painful and serious damage.  His face is bad enough, 2 of the spots bled a while the third is just a fat blood blister.  UGH  :(  That will take a month to heal and in that month we have a funeral and he has a modeling gig.

Yes, that fish is his melee weapon

That TOOTH.  I am ready to scream.  It was straight as can be when his braces came off.
He's been going BACK to the ortho with it, got a retainer adjustment a month ago, tomorrow we go back in.
I KNOW he's going to say, "He needs a stronger retainer, $300 please!" and I will fucking pay it because that tooth drives me NUTS and I already have multi thousands in that smile, what's a few hundred more?
Plus, I have the SAME crooked tooth and I hate it, HATE it.  I'd pay $300 to fix that it a heartbeat.

Back home, before I put away Poppy I shot a few pics to send off,
one of the dads thinks he can help mend her!!!

It's that wood, under the canopy, that has gone soft.  If you ever get a pop-up, get a solid roof, no seams.  They leak-no matter how much caulk and tarps you cover it with, unless you can put it in a garage when it's not in use, your camper is going to get damaged.

waaaaa!  This still makes me teary eyed to see.  

The lilacs are out!  I love them!

 Sunday continued the unusual weekend streak.  Matt's alarm went off at 7:30 and we popped up, him faster than me.  But I made the bed, so it's not all slackerville over here.
He got ready and went out to meet a bunch of guys with metal detectors and ran all over all morning.  I got up and tended the boys-Ben is unwell, which is allergies, but that's too simple an explanation for him.  Jake lost his retainer.  It was on the dryer.  

I am telling you all, if I were not WITH my children 24-7, I would have them tested for drug use.  I TOTALLY get the parents in sitcoms and movies who discuss the possibility of their kid being on drugs.  I always thought, "YOU SHOULD KNOW!"  Well, with teens (and I am sorry for the generalization, teens are overall AWESOME) that whole lack of sleeping, general growth spurts, crappy attitude some days, mature attitude some days, the ability to lose something they were holding 9 seconds ago, the fact they will eat the VERY THING you point out as the ONLY THING they can't eat because it's for a special meal, their ability to scarf mass amount of junk food and weigh 128 pounds and the general daze and glaze they walk around in for a few hours after first waking up...makes you wonder.  Plus, Chandler will get on a roll and stay up until she's drunk from exhaustion and these rays of insight and clarity will strike her and she MUST SHARE and insist she's totally fine while wobbling around and sometimes falling asleep while talking.  Then deny it all the next day.
Between hormone surges and body hair sprouts and pimples and oily hair and the whole brain being rewired, it's amazing humans don't simply go into a cocoon for 3-5 years.

Drugged out of their gourds is what any sane person would at least wonder.

I have been yardening!  Okay, first I moved in several plants from the pasture and from the side of the road that are edible or useful.  Violets, plantain and sorrel.  Then I moved some spiderwort so that can spread more (now that I know we can eat it, it's not a PITA to have all over!) and hooked some jessamine to the walls to grow up out of the way.  Jessamine is very poisonous, but I love it.  Same with the daffodils, we have 500 at least and all of them are killers and they are not going anywhere.

Here is the porch garden, I will transplant most of these goodies when the temps stabilize.
Don't judge my totally unmowed yard.

Headed back to the pasture and dug more sorrel, which has been replanted near the porch.  I also pulled up a fist full of poison ivy, so I hope my purloined plantain perks up, only one of the 3 clumps I moved shows signs of living.  I need to get better at transplanting things, surely there's some less-shocking way, I can't understand how the plants even KNOW.  I keep their own dirt around them and put them right back in the same sun or shade within 10 minutes of digging.  And they are weeds!  You'd think they'd thrive in a new spot, it's what they live for.

Grow into delicious delicious salad!  

Yesterday Jake got to play with Austin at the airsoft thing and while he was one of the kids who shot him in the FACE, it was still good for them to be able to hang out.  Austin was team captain once and he picked Jake first and I got a little teary...I was just SO glad that the recent drama has not totally ruined things for them, though they will likely never be as close.

Got in last night and Evan was on chat for the first time in a long while.  They chatted half the night and Evan is coming out for a few days!  I am nearly giddy over that one, Jake has missed him SO much and again, it was my fault they don't get to see each other like they used to.

And that's the weekend!  We have the whole afternoon ahead and no plans, I think we might try to make something new, I was looking a sorrelade recipes...

April Rocks!

Okay, so BARELY into the month, but so far it's been behaving VERY kindly and I am appreciating every moment of it!

We started the month off on an overnight camping trip that whet everyone's appetite for more ASAP.

Late night gaming!

AMAZING moths!!

Swimming with da fishes.  And otters!

Hanging out

With friends!!

We took one extra kid with us and came home with a different extra kid, spent Thursday in a lazy fashion before heading to dance.

Friday, Chan and Brit got to spend the day taking art classes and checking out the new art institute over in Decatur.  Since it was a long drive, Matt and I opted to kill time in town until she was done.  We bought herbs and veggies and picked up a couple magnolia trees and had lunch at Bob Gibson's BBQ.  So yummy.

On the way to pick up Chan, we popped in at a music store and they had not only the tiny gig bag for her uke, which we snatched up, but also a Fisher mandolin on sale with ALL the stuff-book, tuner, strings, gig bag, strap and picks for less than I had just priced JUST the mandolin. To make it an even better deal, he assembled the bridge and tuned it and tightened the...I call it an arm rest, but it's a metal thing that keeps you from resting ON the wood of the instrument.  Maybe arm rest is close enough.

I was SO excited! We met her at the art thing and Matt ran around and burst after 12 seconds and ran to the car to show her.  I had told her I was getting her a gig bag, so she was not amazed.  Then she showed us her painting and while I was oooing, Matt hauled out the new mandolin.  She looked at it and then looked back at me and said, "I don't feel you have admired this enough." about her bird painting.  So I had to oooo some more!

Now you, too can ooo.  Brit's on the left, Chan's on the right.

She decided at that point to stay with Brit-we could have been back home by 10 and saved a few hundred bucks to boot!  We took the girls to get some pictures, but the place I wanted to go was full of prom girls, so we went to the art museum instead and then dropped them and the mandolin off.

Matt's photo, I was driving.

Today I got up and did nothing for a while, we got an advance copy of the new Hobbit movie last night and had been up late.  That was a LONG movie and then it just stopped.  BAM.

We watched Odd Thomas today, which was good.  Though I love Anton Yelchin, I have since House of D, so I may be biased.  We also saw 47 Ronin, which I really liked!  I don't know why so many people were griping about it.

When it finally warmed up, I put plants in pots and trees in holes and I planted my new jessamine vine.  I thought I killed the old one trying to move it, but 2 vines lived that we discovered, so I should have an impressive showing in another couple years.  I want it to cover the front fence from end to end.  It won't take long, that stuff is CRAZY.

Yarden, phase 2.

Look at that light, amazing!!

Something is a little off in this one.  Not quite as sparkly as I recall...

That's better!

I thought the hyacinths had come and gone, it's late.  But looking over the small patch, not only are they not gone, they have spread!  I planted 5 bulbs when we first moved in here. 

These did not like the cold or the van ride or the wait to get planted, they are kind of droopy now.
I hope I did not mow through part of my gardening budget only to learn I jumped the gun!

I wandered around and picked a few things to go in our nachos last night.
I have had a hankering for nachos, certain nachos with certain things in them.
We have had nachos three times in the past couple of weeks trying to get what I want, last night was SO close.  Black beans, Spanish rice, tofu, turkey bacon, yard, queso and salty chips.

Finally, this rare event.
All three of my kids and only my 3 kids!
They quickly dispersed and regrouped, but it happened for a moment.
Okay, I had to call Jake over, but there they are!

Off now to smell my amazing hair (Suave is making this stuff called...Natural...well, it's macadamia nut oil and white orchid.  It smells SO GOOD).  Anyway, to smell my hair, drink some Angry Orchard hard apple cider and read more of Switch Bitch.  It's a series of naughty adult stories (nothing explicit, more of 'then it happened' if sex ever actually comes up) by Roald Dahl.  You know, Fantastic Mr. Fox and James and the Giant Peach, The Phantom Tollbooth.  Cracked me up when I found it in the adult section and even more so when I saw they had all been published in Playboy first.