Gas vs Electric
I've neglected a corner of the yard for a couple of months, and the grass has gotten too dense to use the electric mower on it. The battery would be drained after 4 or 5 passes. So, I hauled out the gas-powered push mower...and it was very obvious the thing weighs a lot more than the electric. It was much harder to push around, but at the same time, it felt a lot more stable, and it had NO trouble chopping the lawn back down to size. Unfortunately, mowing that area disturbed the pollen-bearing weeds that plague the area, so now my sinuses are complaining.
I haven't decided whether or not to do one more pass of lawn-mowing before the end of the month--the grass is just on the verge of needing it.
I'm Late!
I suddenly realized that I have done absolutely nothing towards decorating for Hallowe'en. Somehow, September slipped by without a pause. We've got stuff for decorating the birch tree and a little bit for the porch. It shouldn't take long to do. Decorating inside is slightly iffy. I have stuff for a display area, but we aren't really using the room right now, so it isn't worth doing.
Patience Fu
All our cats have learned to love tinned food. Josie used to seem indifferent to tinned food, snifffing a little and then hanging back while the others noshed on freshly opened tinned food. Now she is just as eager to stuff her head into the bowl as everyone else. Part of our new routine is to give the cats 1/2 a tin in the evening to accommodate AElf', and the chorus of meows over the prospect of gooshy food is deafening. But oddly enough, Josie and Kiera seem to know that the food is intended for AElf', and they hang back. Ignatius will head for the bowl, but if I gently disuade him and pet him, he will lay down and wait more or less patiently for AElf' to eat what she wants. I feel a little guilty favoring one cat in this manner, but in the end, everyone does get gooshy food.
What good kitties! Even better, there is no growling or fighting over the food.
Death Under the Sun
The current angle of the morning sun is a real problem during my commute to work. Although I appreciate the cooler temperatures, this is the one aspect of the season that I hate. I suppose I should try to get out of the house earlier. My body keeps trying to wake me up an hour before my alarm is due to go off, so it might be a workable solution. My real annoyance is that traffic slows down (appropriate when your sight distance gets compromised this badly), but there are still a core group of idiots who think that just because their speedometer goes to 120, that they should travel at that speed regardless of conditions.
My commute home is just as bad--actually WORSE when I leave later than usual. During the last week, I've repeatedly had to avoid being shoved out of my lane or run off the road by egregiously inattentive and sun-blinded drivers who were busy blathering into their cell-phones about how terrible the traffic is and how the sun is making it hard to see. The wimpy little stock horn on the truck needs to be replaced with a Nathan 5-chime.
War of the Spam
I'm waiting for one of the event sub-stewards and sub-sub-stewards to make an announcement to the Merry Rose every time they go on a potty break. Good grief. Is this the email equivalent of the "South of the Border" billboards on I-95? Yes, I am poking fun at it all, but it appears to be an effective strategy in spite of my personal annoyance with what I regard as email Spam™. I just shrug my shoulders and send all the messages that I am uninterested in to the trash can icon. No big deal. Am I going to the event? No. I would have tried to go in order to see my apprentice "play for his prize" (Gold Scarf) this evening, but I wasn't sure I could get the day off to get up there in time.
However, it is just as well. There is a cheaper(!), MUCH closer, day-trip (less than an hour away) event that involves my other hobby, plus I still have outdoor maintenance chores to do while the weather is cooperative. If I am lucky, I can get the attic fan's solar panel installed this weekend.
I haven't decided whether or not to do one more pass of lawn-mowing before the end of the month--the grass is just on the verge of needing it.
I'm Late!
I suddenly realized that I have done absolutely nothing towards decorating for Hallowe'en. Somehow, September slipped by without a pause. We've got stuff for decorating the birch tree and a little bit for the porch. It shouldn't take long to do. Decorating inside is slightly iffy. I have stuff for a display area, but we aren't really using the room right now, so it isn't worth doing.
Patience Fu
All our cats have learned to love tinned food. Josie used to seem indifferent to tinned food, snifffing a little and then hanging back while the others noshed on freshly opened tinned food. Now she is just as eager to stuff her head into the bowl as everyone else. Part of our new routine is to give the cats 1/2 a tin in the evening to accommodate AElf', and the chorus of meows over the prospect of gooshy food is deafening. But oddly enough, Josie and Kiera seem to know that the food is intended for AElf', and they hang back. Ignatius will head for the bowl, but if I gently disuade him and pet him, he will lay down and wait more or less patiently for AElf' to eat what she wants. I feel a little guilty favoring one cat in this manner, but in the end, everyone does get gooshy food.
What good kitties! Even better, there is no growling or fighting over the food.
Death Under the Sun
The current angle of the morning sun is a real problem during my commute to work. Although I appreciate the cooler temperatures, this is the one aspect of the season that I hate. I suppose I should try to get out of the house earlier. My body keeps trying to wake me up an hour before my alarm is due to go off, so it might be a workable solution. My real annoyance is that traffic slows down (appropriate when your sight distance gets compromised this badly), but there are still a core group of idiots who think that just because their speedometer goes to 120, that they should travel at that speed regardless of conditions.
My commute home is just as bad--actually WORSE when I leave later than usual. During the last week, I've repeatedly had to avoid being shoved out of my lane or run off the road by egregiously inattentive and sun-blinded drivers who were busy blathering into their cell-phones about how terrible the traffic is and how the sun is making it hard to see. The wimpy little stock horn on the truck needs to be replaced with a Nathan 5-chime.
War of the Spam
I'm waiting for one of the event sub-stewards and sub-sub-stewards to make an announcement to the Merry Rose every time they go on a potty break. Good grief. Is this the email equivalent of the "South of the Border" billboards on I-95? Yes, I am poking fun at it all, but it appears to be an effective strategy in spite of my personal annoyance with what I regard as email Spam™. I just shrug my shoulders and send all the messages that I am uninterested in to the trash can icon. No big deal. Am I going to the event? No. I would have tried to go in order to see my apprentice "play for his prize" (Gold Scarf) this evening, but I wasn't sure I could get the day off to get up there in time.
However, it is just as well. There is a cheaper(!), MUCH closer, day-trip (less than an hour away) event that involves my other hobby, plus I still have outdoor maintenance chores to do while the weather is cooperative. If I am lucky, I can get the attic fan's solar panel installed this weekend.