Week End

It's been an interesting week around here.  I finally got going on my nano story and while I am still behind on the daily word count, I think I will probably get there by the end of the month.  I was flying along when I was inside my characters head, but now she's interacting with other people and I find that to be one of the most difficult things to write.  I find it pretty difficult IRL at times, too.  Most conversations linger beyond the actual point, out of politeness I imagine.  It's not easy to write yammer because 90% of what's said is just filler.

I have been going to the store to pick up one item, maybe some bread.  I wander through and listen to what people are saying to each other.  It's rarely more than time-passing, not even an exchange of information.  I can't decide if they are trying to work up to a point or just trying to get on with their day, so they are being nice and chit-chatting for a bit to disengage themselves from the situation. 


At any rate, the top news story of the week is that as of Sunday, the heat is working again.  On Thursday, Jake passed his permit test on the first go and yesterday, he drove all the way to town, he did very well.  We had a really nice past couple of days hanging out.  Got the grocery shopping done, dropped off clothes and recycling, walked a few miles, had lunch at Chic-Fil-A, we walked all over the pasture gathering wild plants to make teas. 

Matt and I walked last night and gathered sumac from around the field at the walking trail. It's been fun to look around and see everything that's still growing.  I have issues with the fall and winter as things die off and it's all brown and gray and evergreen.  I just needed a new way to look at things.

Yesterday, Nettlevan hit 123,456 miles.  I took a picture.

It makes me sad to know she's getting to the point that we need to start thinking of the next vehicle.  I am hoping to get 200k at least from her.  I had a Mitsubishi that was at 311k before it was totaled (not by me) and the model Kia I have came out in Europe 2 years before it came out here and they are hitting 180k regularly on the boards, so I have hope.  It's been a great vehicle, everything that has gone wrong with it has been a direct result of user error.  Just oil changes, brakes and tires.  The headlights are a PITA about blowing, but that's hardly a deal breaker.  I would get this car again, no hesitations.  : )

Today, we are hauling out Poppy to clean her up and get her closed down for the season.  I bought a big tarp yesterday and new straps so we can keep her covered all winter. 

Changes!

Jake passed his permit test today, I am so excited!  And a little freaked, but mostly the excited bit.  To be honest, I did not think he would pass it the first time.  It was a new situation, he's never been tested for anything and the women in there talked the whole time-he has always needed it quiet to concentrate.  When he came out, he was teary-eyed and I thought, "oh well, next time" and went to offer comfort and he blinked and said, "They made me pay them $23.50 for my card!"  hahahaha!

To be horribly honest, I did not think he would pass because *I* had not quizzed him.  hahaha!  He did all the studying and prep on his own, so there was really no way he could have passed, since he had never been taught study skills.  : P

I was delighted and talked about it for the next hour, saying wow and being amazed and telling him it was a huge right of passage and so on.  Finally he turned and started rubbing my back and gently said, "Mom, you have to let this go." 

On the way home, I let him get a Whopper and fries and a Coke with the corn syrup and everything and then we checked the mail and he got a birthday card with $50 in it.  And the next disc of Supernatural.  He thinks his karma is on high today. 

I stopped at the thrift store and got 4 pairs of pants, 2 fit and 2 are too small.  That won't be an issue for long.  Woot!  I got 3 shirts, 2 fit and one is Chan's size.  I just liked the pattern and it was an L so I tossed it in.  Too bad it was a girls L.  She loves it at least.  : )  I needed more clothes, I sent another bag off yesterday of things that were too big!

Wild Medicinals Hike

On Saturday, we met up with a group at Little River Canyon to take a hike with Darryl Patton.

We met at the falls parking lot and walked to the overlook and back and he went over several plants and trees and how to use them.  The best thing I learned on that trek was how to ID winter huckleberry.  We munched on those while we hiked later in the afternoon.  : )

Reindeer Moss

He went over about 60 plants that grow literally in the yard and woods within 500 feet of the house.  Many, I knew already but was unsure how to prepare them, some were a total surprise.

 Thank goodness Chandler took such good notes, my brain started shutting down with all the information he was giving us.

 This is plantain, it will cure poison oak rash if you rub the leaves on the rash.

 It was a glorious day, the height of the fall color.

 Gathered at the Eberhart Point trail to start out .75 mile walk down to the canyon floor.

Crow Foot

 Just so you know, we really do have scorpions in Alabama!  

 Hiking back out after our lnch break by the water.  The trail is STEEEP and I don't truck on hills.  Ben and I were nearly the very last ones up.

After we left the group, around 2:30, we decided to take the boys to the Welch Caves.  They were not with us when we went with Chan this past spring and Jake in particular wanted to see them.

 

Ben is in the last cave, the one you have to belly-crawl to get in to.  I gave it a pass this time.  He chatted with me a minute and then got his nerve up to look down to the valley floor.  He looked back at me and said,"doin' the worm, doin' the worm" as he inched back from the ledge.  

 

Jake was first out of the small cavern, and he created quite the dust cloud!

 Chan somehow managed to barely get any dirt on her.

 

Ben was coated, as Jake had told him he'd get through the tight spot faster if he'd roll... You'd think after a dozen years of being lied to, he'd pause to question the wisdom of what Jake says, but...he rarely does.

 

The kids wanted to play on rocks, I wanted to, um...use a real potty, we all wanted something to drink.  So, we headed back to the state park store where all three were taken care of quite easily.

We always get a thrill seeing this particular stretch of water-it's Crystal Lake!
The kids are convinced it's fenced in to keep people from disturbing Jason. 

 It's not that I can't climb up tall rocks, it's that I can't climb DOWN.  Matt and the kids walk up slopes like they are crossing the road.  I don't.  So, I stay on the ground and take pictures!

 King Daddy! 

We headed on home after watching the sun set from the brow and we were all wiped out.  Matt and the kids slept the whole way home, we got in and they made dinner while I had a nice hot bath.  We ate and all went to bed by 10, it was a great day!

Research

After I sat down to start on NaNo for this year, I found myself not surprisingly looking over my list of sad facts.  It's actually a list of things I need to repair, replace or repaint in the house and yard and van.  I decided the best thing would be to not have so many things that need tinkering and the only way I could live this far from any sort of town and NOT need a working car with tires and brakes and oil and NOT have to bother fixing the heat pump or the dishwasher would be to not have anything electronic.  It would hardly be an issue if none of them worked, anywhere, at all.

So, I started my story.  Then I realized that while I like to think about being lucky enough to outlive nearly everyone else (I made her single to begin with because I could not kill off her family) I don't really know how I would get to that point.  Most post-apocalypse stories start...post apocalypse.  You don't know how.  But...I want some kind of how.  So, ensuring the government will have me on several lists, I started looking at viral warfare, I checked out books on survival from the library and I picked up a book on how different germs kill people and which ones are the fastest.

The Oatmeal kindly outlined a potential story for me here, but zombies would only take care of some of the aspects.  Mainly, I want nearly everyone dead, no repair bills and I want to drive a tractor with weapons.  I mean, my hero protagonist does.  Not me...at all.  Plus, she's going to loot the neighbors and take a pig and also shoot some local dogs for barking.  Again, not me.

After thumbing through my copy of 'The 10 Most Effective and Lethal Viruses and How To Survive and Outbreak (Including What Supplies to Always Have On Hand)' I wondered if the government REALLY cared what I used my library card to get.  Then I remembered seeing this at the park just after we left the library:

I don't usually read TOO much into random graffiti (Though don't date Bridget S., apparently she's a skank) this one seemed fairly straight-forward and informative. 


My final research for today's writing session was this, I thought maybe I could use pets as home defense in more unusual ways than the normal 'bark, bark, there's a stranger'.  I think that last one is a viable option, as we have been nearly euthanized accidentally.

Tuesday

Yesterday we went to town for the afternoon.  Library and then orthodontist, where I found out we were down to $1600 left on Chan's braces (woot!) and Jake needs his wisdom teeth pulled (crap!).  Every time he calls me back to talk, it's money.  We have about 5 months to get it done at least.

Lunch, another library, a hike...well, stroll, at Rainbow Mountain and then a movie with Cathy.

We saw Fright Night, which was great.  Maybe just because I really like Anton Yelchin and David Tennant or maybe because I really loved the original back in...1985.  hehehe!  I know I did not see it until it came to cable, which we did not have, but my friends did.  So probably 13 when I saw it first?
Chris Sarandon made a cameo...is it a cameo when they are on screen for more than 30 seconds?  Anyway, he was in a scene.  He was the original Jerry Dandridge, the neighbor/vampire, in the...well, original movie.  He also played Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride, another favorite movie from my youth.  He's also the same age as my mother.  He'll be 70 next year! 
Anyway, enough of personal flashbacks, I am thinking ahead today. 

3 pounds left to get to 40 pounds lost!  At a new low today, which is surprising because I ate candy yesterday and the day before and did not walk.
I have the new Joe Hill book, Horns.

Joe Hill and Joss Whedon are both named for Joseph Hillman.

The guy from the heating and cooling place will be here around 11 today.  I feel like this is another one of those 'before and after' moments in the year.  There's before a trip or event-what HAS to be done, and after-what can wait.  There's before someone was sick and after, the things that had to wait.  And now there's before the repair bill and after.  After could be harsh or not-I am simply in limbo, which I can't control, which is making me slightly (very) nuts.
I don't dare plan anything new in case the bill is astronomical.
I can hardly wait until he's gone so I will KNOW, even if it is bad.  I can at least DO something then.  Even if it's freak out a while.

At least the immediate future is no mystery.  Make the bed, check on the kids, straighten the house, feed the pets, brush my hair, put on day clothes, think about Nano, read...wait for the guy to come show me the path to the remainder of the year.

all about meeeeee

This has been an interesting weekend already and its only Saturday morning.


Ben and I nearly froze yesterday, so I finally called Mr. Woods, the guy who fixed the AC in the spring and described what's going on.  He is backed up about a week and said we needed to call someone else to come out, but stayed on the phone with me and then Matt to talk us through a few troubleshooting things.  The inside unit is blowing, but the outside unit is not coming on, so the house has been being heated via the heat strips in the attic, which over time will add up to a phenomenal bill. 

We have to check the wiring between the thermostat and the outside unit because the signal is not getting through is what it boils down to.  I was really pleased with how well I was able to plug the new bulbs into the van earlier in the week when I put on the new tail light-that's about the extent of my electrical ability.  I redid the wiring in the camper a few years ago, but it has ONE wire system that goes to 2 outlets and an overheat light bulb.  And it's all exposed.

Last night, we went into town and I dropped the kids off at Gina's and went to help Matt set up his drums.  I hung out at a BAR for the next 5 hours.  eep!  Bobby and Gina showed up around 7:30 and Mark came in around 9:30, thank goodness I was not by myself.  Richard, who has played guitar to Matt's drums for nearly as long as we have been married, is an electrician and he has no fear of wiring.  He offered to come out today and look it over.  Thinks it will be a simple fix.  That's not what my brain was saying last night when I cried off all of my mascara, but then again, my brain is well known for its sabotage skills.

At the bar, I enjoyed myself mainly by people watching as chatting consisted of snippets between songs, yelling across the table or getting right in someone's ear.  I never knew people danced like that, or that such unattractive people dressed up and went out anyway.

Also, in the bathroom hall, I was a little confused about if I was an Inboard or an Outboard.  Once, when I was 9-10, we went to a really fancy seafood place and I went to the bathroom on my own and realized when I walked in the hallway and got to the door, it was the men's room.  Then I nearly fainted from embarrassment and worried everyone would know what I had nearly done.  I turned to go into the women's bathroom door at the opposite end of the short hallway and it was a kitchen entrance.  The women's bathroom was on the whole other side of the restaurant.  I was in a hall and everyone KNEW I was in a hall and I was too young to work there, so obviously they ALL knew I was in the men's room.  I remember having to lean against the wall, I was SO horrified to go out and face the people who had probably all stopped eating so they could stare at me. 

I finally slunk to the table and did not go to the bathroom until we got home, 4 hours later.  I don't remember eating, though I don't remember a soul even glancing up either.  THIS all stemmed from when I was in 1st grade, my mother taught at a church school and my brother and I were playing chase and he ran into the boys room and called me-this was just before the school opened and the signs were not up yet.  I walked in and he said I was going to Hell for sure because I was unnatural and was in the BOYS BATHROOM which meant I was an easy girl and God hated me and would punish me.  So the whole Inboard Outboard thing seemed a bad trick, I don't like having to think about which bathroom to use, I NEED to get it right.  6 year old inner Esther can't handle much more bathroom drama.

I enjoyed myself at the bar, despite my going into it with my hair unbrushed because of heater drama and being really nervous about being around that many strangers.  I used to count cars in the parking lot and if there were more than 10, I would wait to grocery shop.  Too many people.  I have gotten over that, other than occasional relapses when I am really tired or stressed about something else, I can shop even in crowds, though I don't LIKE it.  But a bar, that's crowded and you go to see people and to been seen.  People go there to meet new people and to have fun with strangers.  As introverted as I am, I spent most of yesterday in a panic about going.  By the time the heating unit issue was revealed, I was a total mess of pathetic.  I gazed longingly at my copy of Joe Hill's book and the pile of blankets on the bed and thought I could just...stay home.  Go next time. 

But, I got up and put on my shoes and wiped the rest of the mascara off my cheeks and marveled at how light my eyes go when I have a squall.  Strangers eyes in my own head, a head I am well aware I barely have any control over.  Sometimes my brain seems to be connected to Hannibal Lecter, when he whispers things and makes people kill themselves or cry so hard they choke to death on their own tongues.  It will lash out, I imagine to amuse itself.  It's favorite trick is to run a slideshow mixed with the kids or my pets injured or worse while I am trying to talk to someone about something mundane.  I stop talking mid-sentence and have to start slamming mental cabinets and rolling down storage unit doors and slapping on padlocks.  It's totally normal to worry about harm coming to those you love.  It's not totally normal to talk about a loaf of bread and your brain pop up a field of grain, a threshing machine, a farmer in a straw hat, a child impaled on a scarecrow pole, a truck of wheat, a bakers oven, a row of fresh bread and our elderly cat's severed head. 

I am VERY visual, obviously, my brain works all the time in movie snippets and still frames.  I see photos I NEED to take, even if I can't always capture them the way I want.  I think my brain is bored with my headspace.  I read and think and do and move and take photos and plan and sleep and daydream and talk and read more and write and it's still just buzzing like an angry bee.  Not enough, not enough, not enough. Not right, not good, not enough.  Fail, fail, fail.

In other news, if the next 2 weeks go like the last 2 weeks, I will be able to announce the first 40 pounds are GONE by Jake's birthday!  I have not been giving it much attention because it's sliding off again.  40 pounds.  That's SO much weight.  I can re-apply for life insurance and get a better rate.  Insane.  LOL!  I am so pleased, but I am not done yet.  Even Evil Brain has muttered a little 'hmmm' of impressed and has kept out of it lately.  I honestly think it wants to see what it will be like with a different outlook, a different build.  It's something new.  LOL

Go Here

Go here and click around to pick months to print your own free awesome owl calendar for 2012. 

Go here and read the single most accurate description of the shitty kind of depression I have ever come across and realize when I am MIA, this is pretty well what's going on:

Go here and sign up to do NaNoWriMo during November.  And hurry cause that's happening fast.

Go here and subscribe to Songs to Wear Pants To and also check out his other channel, suturesound.  His song, Autumn is the one I sing in my head while I walk.

Go here to read about 10 real places that you could hole up in to survive the zombie apocalypse.  And their drawbacks.

Go here to see an awesome video from The Happy Scientist that mixes a scary story and some basic science for a really fun effect.