Dances with Rabbits / Flat Tire of Destiny
So I'm one week into my two week house-sitting gig over here in the country on the opposite side of Portland from what I'm used to. The first week wasn't bad. Since I didn't have anywhere to be, I was at the house almost the entire time. I let the dogs I'm watching roam the property and watched a bunch of movies and cable television. It's been so long since I've had cable TV and there's still nothing worth watching. The nights are spooky as it's pitch black out there and there's typically a bump in the night or something.
It really does feel isolated and lonely out here. I'm surprised just how quiet and calm things are when all you can do is just sit around. Among other random activities, I learned how to use a sewing machine. Problem was, I couldn't figure out why the ancient machine I was using wouldn't catch the bobbin thread. Very frustrating. I've also been working on new paper collage posters as well as cleaning up my laptop and doing a semi-annual backup.
I've discovered some rabbits living on the property under the expansive wooden deck. I've confirmed the existence of two of them. There was a bush they liked to lounge under during the warm days but once the dogs discovered I was interested in them, they would chase the poor creatures around the yard. The rabbits were consistently too fast for the aging dogs and would always beat them back under the deck. I don't know if the people I'm sitting for have ever seen the rabbits before, but I have told them about it. Jaci, whom I've been chatting with through text message, believes the pair to be male and female because if they were of the same sex, they'd be fighting. So we've thusly named them "Buster and Babs". They're kinda funny to watch when the dogs attempt to chase them. I managed to get a good photograph of one of the bunnies. Check out the cuteness:
Last night I went home to drop some stuff off. Does anyone else suffer from the phenomena of bringing more on a trip than you'll actually use? I'm fairly light when it comes to picking as it is, but there's always a few items that I bring thinking I'll use only to end up shunning them. I made the drive back home and, right as I was pulling into the driveway, my tire rubbed a stone on the edge of the driveway. My dad and brother had gotten used to having the driveway all to themselves for the week and left me little to no room to park my car. I tried to squeeze in but apparently I got too close to the stone. As it rubbed the rock, it punctured the thin outer lining of the tire and there began a sound of gas swiftly escaping. Wonderful. Sure enough, I put a 2-inch gash in the tire that was un-patchable. The tire was done. And for it being 5:30 PM on a Saturday with me needing to be back at the house before too long to take care of the dogs, I didn't have many options.
Thankfully, I was able to pull the popped tire off my car real quick and dash off to an independent used tire shop in downtown Hillsboro. They were still open and against all hope they happened to have a replacement tire for $30. I was out of there in no time. So from arriving home and popping the tire to having the replacement tire on the car and ready to go, only forty-five minutes had gone by. I still had time to have dinner and watch an episode of the X-Files with my mom before making it to game night with Matt, Cassandra and Ian. What a Saturday night! The tire held up for the journey back and so here I am once again beginning the second week of house-sitting.
It really does feel isolated and lonely out here. I'm surprised just how quiet and calm things are when all you can do is just sit around. Among other random activities, I learned how to use a sewing machine. Problem was, I couldn't figure out why the ancient machine I was using wouldn't catch the bobbin thread. Very frustrating. I've also been working on new paper collage posters as well as cleaning up my laptop and doing a semi-annual backup.
I've discovered some rabbits living on the property under the expansive wooden deck. I've confirmed the existence of two of them. There was a bush they liked to lounge under during the warm days but once the dogs discovered I was interested in them, they would chase the poor creatures around the yard. The rabbits were consistently too fast for the aging dogs and would always beat them back under the deck. I don't know if the people I'm sitting for have ever seen the rabbits before, but I have told them about it. Jaci, whom I've been chatting with through text message, believes the pair to be male and female because if they were of the same sex, they'd be fighting. So we've thusly named them "Buster and Babs". They're kinda funny to watch when the dogs attempt to chase them. I managed to get a good photograph of one of the bunnies. Check out the cuteness:
Last night I went home to drop some stuff off. Does anyone else suffer from the phenomena of bringing more on a trip than you'll actually use? I'm fairly light when it comes to picking as it is, but there's always a few items that I bring thinking I'll use only to end up shunning them. I made the drive back home and, right as I was pulling into the driveway, my tire rubbed a stone on the edge of the driveway. My dad and brother had gotten used to having the driveway all to themselves for the week and left me little to no room to park my car. I tried to squeeze in but apparently I got too close to the stone. As it rubbed the rock, it punctured the thin outer lining of the tire and there began a sound of gas swiftly escaping. Wonderful. Sure enough, I put a 2-inch gash in the tire that was un-patchable. The tire was done. And for it being 5:30 PM on a Saturday with me needing to be back at the house before too long to take care of the dogs, I didn't have many options.
Thankfully, I was able to pull the popped tire off my car real quick and dash off to an independent used tire shop in downtown Hillsboro. They were still open and against all hope they happened to have a replacement tire for $30. I was out of there in no time. So from arriving home and popping the tire to having the replacement tire on the car and ready to go, only forty-five minutes had gone by. I still had time to have dinner and watch an episode of the X-Files with my mom before making it to game night with Matt, Cassandra and Ian. What a Saturday night! The tire held up for the journey back and so here I am once again beginning the second week of house-sitting.