Doctor Jackal, strange love and How I Learned To Stop Carping (somewhat) And Like The Shoebox.
Because I thought that post title sounded cool. Heh.
But seriously, this is an update on life at the Shoebox. My biggest thing right now is gardening; who knows why because 1) I like it well enough, but am not really a huge fan of getting down and dirty, so to speak, and 2) I have a mixed track record when it comes to plant life. Sometimes it lives...sometimes it doesn't. XD I suppose this is probably because it's one of the few things I can do out here, and it keeps me from dwelling on my isolation and thus going mad(der). I've more or less come to the realization that this is where I'm gonna be indefinitely, so I may as well make it as hospitable as I can. This wasn't my first choice to live, but God help me, I'm actually starting to...tolerate it out here. (At least as long as the weather is nice. Spring has REALLY helped improve my mood.)
To that end, one of the things I require is trees. The bigger the better. And since I've been garnering a bit of work from Ayinsan, I've had Actual Real Moneys to go and buy some. :D (There will be pictures later.) Yesterday I finally got my wish and brought home a nice 2 1/2-foot blue spruce from Home De(s)pot. (As well as 2 more blueberry bushes. I'm getting 2 more next time I'm out that way. And, if I can't do it this year, next year I'm totally getting some STRAWBERRY plants. Heh heh heh.)
Then today, while I was out with Dad getting chicken feed over at Rural King, I spotted a foot-high mini dwarf spruce sitting in a cart of assorted miscellaneous. I asked the woman if it belonged to anybody; she said no, it was just part of stuff that various people had returned. Said spruce's price was 8 bucks. (I paid 27 for the blue spruce.) Needless to say, that dwarf spruce followed me home. :D
Blue spruces grow slowly but top out at like 60 feet, if memory serves me right. And they fill out nicely. Dwarf spruces only get about 6 feet tall at most (hence the name); we had one such at the house in my old hometown, and that one I remember got to be a very nice size. (Alas, it no longer exists: the jackasses who moved in there ripped out *everything* that was in the backyard, including the very nice large deck. WTF. Don't most people want large decks on their houses??) So, in time, we will have some very nice trees. (And if I have my way, there will be a bunch more serving as windblockers in the western/northwestern portion of the property.)
I also finally got the birds interested in the birdbath I put in the yard in front of my bedroom window. Now, if I can just get them to go for the feeder I put there too... Surprisingly, there are more birds out here than I figured there would be. We have all sorts of bird nests around and lots of baby birds - you can hear them - I just hope that when it comes time for the babies to start leaving the nest on their own that we, or the mama birds, can get to them before my Boo cat does. D:
We desperately need a lawnmower though. The one we have is in bad shape and doesn't really cut well, and it's not because the blade is dull. The weeds are mounting a full-scale attack all around and while I do love and encourage the growth/spread of the dandelions and clover (I found 31 4-leaf clovers all around here one night, including a 5-leafer!), I really hate wading through a bunch of those nasty sticker-plants with the painful little stickers on them. Also - ALLERGIES. Goldenrod is notorious for that shit. (So far, so good, though. *knocks on wood*)
(Ayinsan had a great idea: sell some of my collected 4-leafers as craft projects. I'm not the crafty type, alas, but if any of you out there do such things, drop me a line if you're interested.)
Not a fan of the heat and humidity that's been around lately, but that's par for the course this time of year. I think spring and fall are now my two most favorite seasons: nice enough weather without a lot of extremes in either direction. (Winter is still on my shit list.) I do very much like the ceiling fans we have in this place. Those help.
Heard from my mom today that apparently my SIL is having health problems of a uterine-related sort; she's getting her tubes tied (not sure what that has to do with anything) and something else that Mom said she didn't remember - though I suspect it could involve endometrial ablation. I WISH I could get an ablation and put an end once and for all to my monthly curse. I don't want to wait another friggin' 15 - 20 years or whatever for that bullshit to finally go away. (Having a female body just plain sucks, IMO. I've felt that way for decades.)
Need to work some more on the latest chapter of 30 Kisses. Spoiler alert: I've decided that in the future, Ban and Akabane will adopt a couple of youngsters to turn loose on the unsuspecting world. XD Needless to say, Ban will be pleased that his son is a chip off dear 'ol Dad's evil eyes, but not so thrilled that his daughter takes a spitting (scalpel) image right after her other daddy. >:) (Akabane of course is tickled by this and does his best to be a bad influence on *both* kids.)
And in keeping with this post's title, btw, have some of said awesome transporter. Because. XD
But seriously, this is an update on life at the Shoebox. My biggest thing right now is gardening; who knows why because 1) I like it well enough, but am not really a huge fan of getting down and dirty, so to speak, and 2) I have a mixed track record when it comes to plant life. Sometimes it lives...sometimes it doesn't. XD I suppose this is probably because it's one of the few things I can do out here, and it keeps me from dwelling on my isolation and thus going mad(der). I've more or less come to the realization that this is where I'm gonna be indefinitely, so I may as well make it as hospitable as I can. This wasn't my first choice to live, but God help me, I'm actually starting to...tolerate it out here. (At least as long as the weather is nice. Spring has REALLY helped improve my mood.)
To that end, one of the things I require is trees. The bigger the better. And since I've been garnering a bit of work from Ayinsan, I've had Actual Real Moneys to go and buy some. :D (There will be pictures later.) Yesterday I finally got my wish and brought home a nice 2 1/2-foot blue spruce from Home De(s)pot. (As well as 2 more blueberry bushes. I'm getting 2 more next time I'm out that way. And, if I can't do it this year, next year I'm totally getting some STRAWBERRY plants. Heh heh heh.)
Then today, while I was out with Dad getting chicken feed over at Rural King, I spotted a foot-high mini dwarf spruce sitting in a cart of assorted miscellaneous. I asked the woman if it belonged to anybody; she said no, it was just part of stuff that various people had returned. Said spruce's price was 8 bucks. (I paid 27 for the blue spruce.) Needless to say, that dwarf spruce followed me home. :D
Blue spruces grow slowly but top out at like 60 feet, if memory serves me right. And they fill out nicely. Dwarf spruces only get about 6 feet tall at most (hence the name); we had one such at the house in my old hometown, and that one I remember got to be a very nice size. (Alas, it no longer exists: the jackasses who moved in there ripped out *everything* that was in the backyard, including the very nice large deck. WTF. Don't most people want large decks on their houses??) So, in time, we will have some very nice trees. (And if I have my way, there will be a bunch more serving as windblockers in the western/northwestern portion of the property.)
I also finally got the birds interested in the birdbath I put in the yard in front of my bedroom window. Now, if I can just get them to go for the feeder I put there too... Surprisingly, there are more birds out here than I figured there would be. We have all sorts of bird nests around and lots of baby birds - you can hear them - I just hope that when it comes time for the babies to start leaving the nest on their own that we, or the mama birds, can get to them before my Boo cat does. D:
We desperately need a lawnmower though. The one we have is in bad shape and doesn't really cut well, and it's not because the blade is dull. The weeds are mounting a full-scale attack all around and while I do love and encourage the growth/spread of the dandelions and clover (I found 31 4-leaf clovers all around here one night, including a 5-leafer!), I really hate wading through a bunch of those nasty sticker-plants with the painful little stickers on them. Also - ALLERGIES. Goldenrod is notorious for that shit. (So far, so good, though. *knocks on wood*)
(Ayinsan had a great idea: sell some of my collected 4-leafers as craft projects. I'm not the crafty type, alas, but if any of you out there do such things, drop me a line if you're interested.)
Not a fan of the heat and humidity that's been around lately, but that's par for the course this time of year. I think spring and fall are now my two most favorite seasons: nice enough weather without a lot of extremes in either direction. (Winter is still on my shit list.) I do very much like the ceiling fans we have in this place. Those help.
Heard from my mom today that apparently my SIL is having health problems of a uterine-related sort; she's getting her tubes tied (not sure what that has to do with anything) and something else that Mom said she didn't remember - though I suspect it could involve endometrial ablation. I WISH I could get an ablation and put an end once and for all to my monthly curse. I don't want to wait another friggin' 15 - 20 years or whatever for that bullshit to finally go away. (Having a female body just plain sucks, IMO. I've felt that way for decades.)
Need to work some more on the latest chapter of 30 Kisses. Spoiler alert: I've decided that in the future, Ban and Akabane will adopt a couple of youngsters to turn loose on the unsuspecting world. XD Needless to say, Ban will be pleased that his son is a chip off dear 'ol Dad's evil eyes, but not so thrilled that his daughter takes a spitting (scalpel) image right after her other daddy. >:) (Akabane of course is tickled by this and does his best to be a bad influence on *both* kids.)
And in keeping with this post's title, btw, have some of said awesome transporter. Because. XD