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.
