Tuesday's Putterings (inc. the big stuff of the last week)
Topics contained herein:
Gardening woes, hailstones, the completion of a Mission 101 task and the bleepin’ string of bad luck that seems to be tangled around almost everyone I know.
Weather / Phenology:
The last couple of days have been vaguely autumnal. Yesterday was dim and cool; today was sunny and mostly cool.
It’s been a busy week for the meteorologists in MN. Last Thursday featured a dramatic outbreak of severe storms which included torrential rain, street flooding, hail of all sizes, electrical outages and an F-3, multi-vortex tornado. Of course none of that came anywhere near my little plot of land, though my home town of Anoka experienced a hailstorm that spat out ice chunks bigger than golf balls. (Reports of actual sizes vary considerably.) Sister D-‘s house and yard took significant damage and I’ve heard that my niece’s car was totaled. I know that Mz K-‘s car windows, front and back, were pummeled. The rear window shattered into her back seat and the windshield took four major hits, though it somehow managed to stay intact. My own Sadie the Saturn (yes, the same car that survived an accident this summer) was parked right next to Mz K-‘s car. Sadie’s roof now matches her crumpled hood and her windshield has a bull’s-eye-like pattern of cracks that covers most of the driver’s side. But she always starts and she'll run on love and fumes.
The salamander the boys found last week is now living in a comfy rambler fashioned from an old base and a couple of sand retaining walls. He has made some lovely salamander-shaped rooms, connected by curvy hallways, all on his own. (We can check on him by lifting a corner of the base.) When I looked in on him yesterday he had gained a roommate … or dinner. A large cricket scuttled right up to him when I disturbed the roof.
Something is eating the pumpkins. Every last one of them. I assume it must be deer or rabbits-something with big teeth anyway. They went from promising future jack-o-lanterns to hollow shells within a day or two. I couldn’t find tracks but most of the pumpkins grew at the end of the vines which means they rest on the lawn rather than on soft garden soil.
So. The pumpkins killed the roma tomatoes and the as yet unidentified critters “killed” the pumpkins (the vines are thriving and completely untouched). The deer kept the green beans cropped so that they never managed to produce actual beans. Most of the cucumbers grew spherically due to the feast or famine nature of our rainfall. The cherry tomatoes and the herbs did well.
I’m a bad gardener.
I imagine I’m going to have to choose between growing foods for my family and supporting the local wildlife. I have a third option of course - I could learn how build light but sturdy chicken-wire boxes in a dozen sizes to set over the produce. And then I’d have to ensure that the plants did not actually cling to or grow through the wire so that I could lift them off to weed and harvest. It’s a good idea but it sounds like a hell of a lot of work that I don’t really want to learn how to do. Regular garden fencing won’t do for any number of reasons. (Deer will go over it, rabbits will go under it, it’s ugly and ungainly and it wouldn’t work with the way my beds are laid out.) I am discouraged.
Mood Summary:
Um. Well, I hate to be predictable and boring but “not great” is probably the best answer. I’m concerned because so much seems to be going badly. Not just for me either. None of my friends are really thriving and most of us seem to have been sailing on a rough sea for months. At least one of them is really scaring me - though I can’t quite get a grip on the nature of her real problem(s). The rest of them seem to be doing fine from moment to moment - even day to day - but the big picture stuff is … surreal. That strange, out of kilter sense of being on the wrong path is haunting me too.
It’s as if time doesn’t make any sense.
Each day is tiring and full of activity yet
each week is void of both meaning and progress yet
each month is so packed with significant events that I get lost yet
each season is fleeting and consuming and painfully beautiful yet
each year rushes me past any reasonable expectation of achieving ALL of my dreams
Five Gratitudes:
1) We found an excellent “bunny bottle” that finally meets our rabbit’s needs.
2) My kids provided practical, moral and emotional support today. (see below)
3) For better or for worse I have two cars which got me from home to Anoka and back.
4) My son’s curiosity and stoicism in the face of a needle extraction of an infected splinter.
5) The opportunity to spend a little time with R- when he got home from band.
Accomplishments:
Since the last time I updated, a week ago, I've gone out socially THREE times. On one occasion, I apparently broke into my daughter's apartment accidentally. The details are unclear. The good news is that I don't often drink that much and that R-- and M-- thought it was kinda funny. It's probably best that summer is coming to an end. (For the record, I blame The Godfather.) Just for those of you that worry about me: I stayed close to stone-sober on the third occasion and managed to take pretty good care of someone who didn't :)
On Wednesday, I finished my part of Mz D--'s office. (That means I only have to go into town to work on her house once a week now.) I also took food to Gmom and The Godfather.
Yesterday I took a bit of an artist’s date and completed the shopping and errands for the week.
Today Ch- and I did a careful and complete job of the outdoor animal chores. I also mowed for about an hour while waiting for the “new” car to take a charge … again. (In fact I’m rather proud that I successfully charged the car entirely by myself.)
We drove into town and picked up M-. After chatting for a few moments with Cousin D- and Sister D-, I took my kids along while I switched from driving a car which I wasn’t convinced would hold a charge to a car that has significant hail damage and limited visibility :) (We did attempt to get some advice or help from the auto supply store before capitulating but that went nowhere.)
We shared a tasty lunch and then moved on to tackle the day’s big job - cleaning Gmom’s “vacant” apartment. There wasn’t too much stuff for us to haul out, just some scattered dishes and supplies and a fridge/freezer worth of condiments. While I cleaned the kitchen appliances and cupboards, M- scrubbed the bathroom and cleaned the bedroom and closets. Ch- helped with the oven racks, the balcony, the vacuuming and the nail-hole spackling. We finished in about four hours. I dropped off M- and took Gmom’s scraps to her. (Item #27, check.)
Ch- and I drove over to Mz K-‘s house to swap cars again (assuming the Mazda would start). When we arrived we found Mz K-, Mz D- and (the soon to be) Mr. D- waiting for us in the driveway. Vehicular crises of their own had brought them together. I ended up leaving the Mazda in town so that Mz K- can get to work tomorrow.
Ch- and I got home at about nine o’clock. We spent a little time cuddling the animals before I removed his splinter and sent him off to bed. I filled my husband in on the day’s events and now I’m finishing up this putterings.
Daily Dozen
My Mission 101 List
My Evil-Twin Mission 101 List
Start Date: July 27, 2006 10:00 pm ---- End Date: April 24, 2009 10:00 pm
Goal Level Behaviors
Routines
Cleaning: zones & weekly schedule
Gardening woes, hailstones, the completion of a Mission 101 task and the bleepin’ string of bad luck that seems to be tangled around almost everyone I know.
Weather / Phenology:
The last couple of days have been vaguely autumnal. Yesterday was dim and cool; today was sunny and mostly cool.
It’s been a busy week for the meteorologists in MN. Last Thursday featured a dramatic outbreak of severe storms which included torrential rain, street flooding, hail of all sizes, electrical outages and an F-3, multi-vortex tornado. Of course none of that came anywhere near my little plot of land, though my home town of Anoka experienced a hailstorm that spat out ice chunks bigger than golf balls. (Reports of actual sizes vary considerably.) Sister D-‘s house and yard took significant damage and I’ve heard that my niece’s car was totaled. I know that Mz K-‘s car windows, front and back, were pummeled. The rear window shattered into her back seat and the windshield took four major hits, though it somehow managed to stay intact. My own Sadie the Saturn (yes, the same car that survived an accident this summer) was parked right next to Mz K-‘s car. Sadie’s roof now matches her crumpled hood and her windshield has a bull’s-eye-like pattern of cracks that covers most of the driver’s side. But she always starts and she'll run on love and fumes.
The salamander the boys found last week is now living in a comfy rambler fashioned from an old base and a couple of sand retaining walls. He has made some lovely salamander-shaped rooms, connected by curvy hallways, all on his own. (We can check on him by lifting a corner of the base.) When I looked in on him yesterday he had gained a roommate … or dinner. A large cricket scuttled right up to him when I disturbed the roof.
Something is eating the pumpkins. Every last one of them. I assume it must be deer or rabbits-something with big teeth anyway. They went from promising future jack-o-lanterns to hollow shells within a day or two. I couldn’t find tracks but most of the pumpkins grew at the end of the vines which means they rest on the lawn rather than on soft garden soil.
So. The pumpkins killed the roma tomatoes and the as yet unidentified critters “killed” the pumpkins (the vines are thriving and completely untouched). The deer kept the green beans cropped so that they never managed to produce actual beans. Most of the cucumbers grew spherically due to the feast or famine nature of our rainfall. The cherry tomatoes and the herbs did well.
I’m a bad gardener.
I imagine I’m going to have to choose between growing foods for my family and supporting the local wildlife. I have a third option of course - I could learn how build light but sturdy chicken-wire boxes in a dozen sizes to set over the produce. And then I’d have to ensure that the plants did not actually cling to or grow through the wire so that I could lift them off to weed and harvest. It’s a good idea but it sounds like a hell of a lot of work that I don’t really want to learn how to do. Regular garden fencing won’t do for any number of reasons. (Deer will go over it, rabbits will go under it, it’s ugly and ungainly and it wouldn’t work with the way my beds are laid out.) I am discouraged.
Mood Summary:
Um. Well, I hate to be predictable and boring but “not great” is probably the best answer. I’m concerned because so much seems to be going badly. Not just for me either. None of my friends are really thriving and most of us seem to have been sailing on a rough sea for months. At least one of them is really scaring me - though I can’t quite get a grip on the nature of her real problem(s). The rest of them seem to be doing fine from moment to moment - even day to day - but the big picture stuff is … surreal. That strange, out of kilter sense of being on the wrong path is haunting me too.
It’s as if time doesn’t make any sense.
Each day is tiring and full of activity yet
each week is void of both meaning and progress yet
each month is so packed with significant events that I get lost yet
each season is fleeting and consuming and painfully beautiful yet
each year rushes me past any reasonable expectation of achieving ALL of my dreams
Five Gratitudes:
1) We found an excellent “bunny bottle” that finally meets our rabbit’s needs.
2) My kids provided practical, moral and emotional support today. (see below)
3) For better or for worse I have two cars which got me from home to Anoka and back.
4) My son’s curiosity and stoicism in the face of a needle extraction of an infected splinter.
5) The opportunity to spend a little time with R- when he got home from band.
Accomplishments:
Since the last time I updated, a week ago, I've gone out socially THREE times. On one occasion, I apparently broke into my daughter's apartment accidentally. The details are unclear. The good news is that I don't often drink that much and that R-- and M-- thought it was kinda funny. It's probably best that summer is coming to an end. (For the record, I blame The Godfather.) Just for those of you that worry about me: I stayed close to stone-sober on the third occasion and managed to take pretty good care of someone who didn't :)
On Wednesday, I finished my part of Mz D--'s office. (That means I only have to go into town to work on her house once a week now.) I also took food to Gmom and The Godfather.
Yesterday I took a bit of an artist’s date and completed the shopping and errands for the week.
Today Ch- and I did a careful and complete job of the outdoor animal chores. I also mowed for about an hour while waiting for the “new” car to take a charge … again. (In fact I’m rather proud that I successfully charged the car entirely by myself.)
We drove into town and picked up M-. After chatting for a few moments with Cousin D- and Sister D-, I took my kids along while I switched from driving a car which I wasn’t convinced would hold a charge to a car that has significant hail damage and limited visibility :) (We did attempt to get some advice or help from the auto supply store before capitulating but that went nowhere.)
We shared a tasty lunch and then moved on to tackle the day’s big job - cleaning Gmom’s “vacant” apartment. There wasn’t too much stuff for us to haul out, just some scattered dishes and supplies and a fridge/freezer worth of condiments. While I cleaned the kitchen appliances and cupboards, M- scrubbed the bathroom and cleaned the bedroom and closets. Ch- helped with the oven racks, the balcony, the vacuuming and the nail-hole spackling. We finished in about four hours. I dropped off M- and took Gmom’s scraps to her. (Item #27, check.)
Ch- and I drove over to Mz K-‘s house to swap cars again (assuming the Mazda would start). When we arrived we found Mz K-, Mz D- and (the soon to be) Mr. D- waiting for us in the driveway. Vehicular crises of their own had brought them together. I ended up leaving the Mazda in town so that Mz K- can get to work tomorrow.
Ch- and I got home at about nine o’clock. We spent a little time cuddling the animals before I removed his splinter and sent him off to bed. I filled my husband in on the day’s events and now I’m finishing up this putterings.
Daily Dozen
My Mission 101 List
My Evil-Twin Mission 101 List
Start Date: July 27, 2006 10:00 pm ---- End Date: April 24, 2009 10:00 pm
Goal Level Behaviors
Routines
Cleaning: zones & weekly schedule