Digging in the Dirt in December

Earlier this week I was digging around in the pantry and found a bunch of tiny red potatoes from last years garden sprouting away.  I took a quick look at my gardening calendar and even tho it said January 03 was the optimum date for planting, after I looked at the weather forecast and didn't see any freezes predicted anytime soon, I headed outside. 

I started pulling out weeds, some form of grass with runners that reach straight to hell.  You pull and pull and it breaks and you find another section and pull, it never ends. I yanked out my jalapeno plants, talk about hot.  We couldn't even eat them, so out they go.

I trimmed my bell pepper plants, hoping they will make it through until warmer weather hits.  The second year on peppers is always amazing, so my fingers are crossed.  I weeded their area and mulched with leaves from the yard before moving on to the green beans. 

All of the green bean plants had died in the last freeze.  I pulled them out, chopping them up fine to throw under the rabbit cage to compost.  I weeded this area, too.  My plan was to put the potatoes here, but I watched the sun and the area was shady.  Maybe it's the time of year because I don't remember that row being in the shade before.  I collected more leaves off the lawn and mulched the bean row heavily until the sun decided to warm that soil again.

I pulled out the droopy, dead squash plants and chopped them to join the beans in the compost pile.  I returned to weed some more, pulling up dead basil, dead cantaloupe plants, a dead peanut plant that had given me one peanut and then I trimmed off the dead branches on the blueberry bushes.  The term bush is used loosely here.  The blueberry bushes look like someone took a skinny stick and stuck it in the dirt, but I am still hoping they will come around. 

I stepped back to see where I could plant the potatoes and chose the old squash site.  I dug an 8 inch deep 4 ft square, squishing the white slug worm things that love my garden. They actually do a wonderful job in the compost pile chewing up the refuse and creating beautiful rich dark dirt, but don't belong in with the vegetables.  The slugs don't know the difference between compost and plant, so for now they get squished when I see them.  If I had chickens, they would absolutely love me, but that isn't going to happen until we get our wooden fence.

As I was digging in the dirt, I was so happy to see how rich it looked and such a  perfect texture.  If it weren't for periodically touching the slug things, I would have been in heaven.  They really are disgusting.

I planted the potato pieces, eyes up, covered them with some dirt and called it a day.  The garden looks so much better now.  I need to get my carrots planted sometime this week and possibly garlic, too.  My broccoli is growing like gang busters.  I've harvested a few heads, nothing as big as the grocery store, but they are decent sized.  I'm not sure about the peas, they are looking weird, but I'll keep my eye on them.

How wonderful to garden in December, digging in the dirt, feeling the sun warm your back.  This is the life. 

Benefiting from Being Frugal

One of the easiest ways for us to save money is by eating at home.

I like cooking and baking.  I love trying new recipes.  I feel we are eating healthier than we would eating out and  I ADORE picking food from the garden and using it in our evening meals. 

One of the first things I think about in the day is what we will have for dinner.  I need to pull out the meat, if we're having meat, and I like to chop up things that might be used that evening.  This does two things, it convinces me that we are staying home for dinner and it is less work for me later when I might have a lower energy level.

Last night I made Tex Mex Pizza:

It is extremely easy, but good for you and tasty, too!

The crust is a whole wheat tortilla, the sauce is picante sauce, the chicken is chicken I took from a roasted chicken we had earlier in the week, the green peppers are from the garden, and there are mushrooms and cheddar cheese as additional toppings.  You could probably add onions and whatever else you wanted to throw on there as well.

We also ate freezer cucumbers from my garden and left over cole slaw from earlier in the week.

It makes me feel accomplished when I make a meal we like and actually enjoy.  If it is the only thing I accomplish in a day, that's OK.

The other night I made vegetarian lasagna for the first time.  I was a little frightened because JR is definitely a meat eater and even tho the recipe looked good, you just never know.  Broccoli, squash, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheeses, etc. layered between whole wheat lasagna noodles.  It WAS good and chocked full of vegetables.

Tonight I'm making San Antonio Skillet with turkey sausage, ranch beans, brown rice, diced tomatoes, and salsa. We're having a veggie side made with peas, green beans, corn, onions, different colored peppers, celery, and dill with a vinegar, oil, sugar dressing.  I had a little taste and it is great.

Staying home lets me cook the way I want to for my family.  It takes a lot of thought and planning to have a dinner on the table every night that tastes good and is good for us.

I don't have many material wants in life.  I have a desire for a simple lifestyle, don't enjoy shopping or have a desire to wear the latest fashions.   I don't have much jewelry to speak of and rarely get my hair trimmed or have my nails done.  I prefer walking outside to going to a gym and  I am all about buying used and keeping it simple.  We down-sized our home when the girls started leaving and I am perfectly content to be in a much smaller place.  I try to de-clutter on a regular basis and besides books, have kept most things under control.   We keep our AC high and our heat low, we open windows when there's an opportunity and JR does our own lawn care.  I clean our house and he washes our cars and we are more fit because of it.

This is not right for everyone.

We have a piece of property in the country with a camper and electricity and that's it.  We will wait until we have the money to build something more substantial and this might take some time, but that's OK.  What we have here is good.

I know I said in an earlier post that we had decided to move out to Giddings, but we have rethought our plans.  Everything I want to do in the country, I can do here.  I can have a big garden (we have a 1/2 acre) and small animals. (I never wanted anything bigger than a goat and goats aren't really my thing.)  I have a large field behind my house and a large creek at the end of our street.  There is a hawk that flies by every morning when I'm on my walk.  How cool is that?

I also have convenience, resources and modern technology and neighbors who know me.  JR travels quite often and thinking about being in the country where there are wild pigs and who knows what else by myself doesn't trip my trigger.  What if something happened to him or me?  We would have to travel an hour away everytime we wanted to see a Dr.

I don't want to get rid of the property in Giddings, I do love it.  I feel at total peace when we go there.  We walk and play and I read and lolly gag.  Some day to have a small cabin would be terrific, but we don't need that yet, we have plenty to do here at this house without having to worry about another dwelling.   

I can stay home because of this.

I babysit Tyson because I want to.  I wanted to have structure to my days and time limits.  I wanted to play with a baby and see him smile and laugh and grow to trust me.  I wanted to feel needed.  He does this for me.  I am looking for one more baby or young child to watch because Tyson and I are totally comfortable with each other now and another child will be even more fun.  I used to care for multiple children at once and really enjoyed it, but think a smaller number is better for me now.

Anyway, being frugal gives me the choices I have to do what feels right for me and for my family.  Eating healthy, enjoying the fresh sunshine, sharing love with a baby, it is all right.  It works for me.

My heart hurts

Not knowing is killing me. 

Is he OK? 

Dexter got out this morning and hasn't come home yet.  It's been approximately 9 hours.

Did someone see him and are keeping him somewhere safe until tomorrow when they can contact the vet on his tag???

I left the gate open last night.  We had gone for a walk and he wasn't on a leash.  He decided to cut around to the front of the house instead of going in the back gate.  I brought the dogs in the front, completely forgetting about the open back.  We were inside together all night.

He has a dog door to use as he pleases, but didn't realize the back gate was open until this morning, I think.

Did he go in the woods?  Did something hurt him?

Texas is in a drought.  Like the worst drought ever, but today it is thundering and pouring and pouring some more and my dog is out in this.  I have gone out on foot multiple times, thinking maybe I would see him.  I got in the car and drove and Tressa did, too, but nothing.

He has gone out before, but he always comes back shortly, this isn't like him at all.

Did he get hit by a car?

I called the animal emergency clinic and they hadn't seen him, but they have my number in case someone calls in or brings him there. I also called my vet and left a number where they could reach me if someone calls their number from his tag tomorrow.

I almost walked them first this morning.  I was lying in bed thinking about working out, listening to the rain.  I considered walking the dogs first, but it's always hard for me to come back inside and start working out, so I decided to work out first.  I already had water next to my bed, so I didn't need to go in the kitchen where Dexter typically sleeps.  I thought about closing the dog door because of the rain, but it wasn't raining too hard, so I decided not to.

If I had walked them first, maybe I would have caught him before he noticed the gate.  If I had shut the dog door, maybe I would have caught him before he went outside. No matter, I didn't.  I just worked out in the room, completely oblivious to the fact that my dog was running free outside.

You have no idea how much I love him.  It is ripping my insides out.

Maybe someone has him.  Maybe they will call tomorrow. 

I know things happen.  I know he might be perfectly fine.  I know everyone in the family is so happy it was me who left the gate open and not them.

Please make him be alright.  

Waste Not Want Not

I love not being wasteful. 

A while back I bought some bone in chicken breasts on sale and put them in the freezer.  Today I pulled them out and boiled them on the stove, making a broth.  I strained the broth and cleaned the chicken, saving the skin and fatty parts for the dogs.  I covered the dog bits with a little broth and will mix this with their food in the mornings to ensure Dexter actually eats the puppy food instead of the other food.  I typically use canned dog food for this, but this will save me about 2 cans or maybe even 3.

I chopped the chicken and used a little more than half to make a tortilla soup with black beans, corn, tomatoes, etc.  I used some of the broth to give the soup a consistency I liked, even tho it didn't call for it. 

I had 2 large breasts left over which I chunked and put in a freezer bag for my next meal which requires cooked chicken.

I now have a large bowl of broth cooling on the counter and it will make it's way into the frig and then I will skim the fat off in the morning.  I will then pour 2 C portions into canning jars and freeze for future meals. 

The only waste was the bones and I now have enough chicken for another meal, broth made w/ filtered water for many meals, a pot of tortilla soup which will feed us many many meals and a container of chicken skin and uglies for the dogs to eat 3 or so meals. 

I LOVE being frugal.  :) 

Ch Ch Ch Changes

I think we're going to actually do it.  I don't precisely know when, but I think we are going to make the move to Giddings.

We have talked about this for years, but when all 3 of your daughters are in the area and 1 is attending high school, the idea of a move seems fun, not a serious proposition.  But now, 1 daughter is planning a move to San Antonio, another has moved to College Station and the 3rd...well, I'm not sure where she is headed, but everyone is moving out.

We love it out there, even when it is dry and brown and ugly.  It is peaceful and ours.  We are at the end of a road, surrounded by trees on 3 sides and a deep pond on the 4th and the privacy is incredible.  Of course, I am living next door to a dog that won't let me cross my backyard without barking it's fool head off, but to walk along the trails and down to the creek without my neighbor blowing smoke in my direction or attempting to quiet his dog is pure bliss.

We have had a call into a well guy for the last few months to come drill a well, but the last time he was in the area, JR had to go overseas and the well guy hasn't been back our way yet.  He will have to drill approx. 600 feet to hit good water and it will cost a pretty penny.  When I sold the bookstore in Feb, we put the money aside for this and have been patiently waiting ever since.  We have been bringing 30 gallon jugs filled from our home here, which JR empties into the camper for washing up, ever since we bought the place.  It will be so nice once we have a direct supply of water.  It's one thing less we have to pay or worry about when we do move.  We could hook up to city water, but we plan to do a lot of planting of fruit and nut trees plus have a large garden and the thought of having to owe each month forever and ever is not very self sufficient sounding.

There is a lot to do here before we move.  We have a few house projects in the works and have a few more we have to complete before we put the house on the market.  We also need to find a house plan we want to build out in Giddings. This is no easy task.  I know what I want, but after looking at the plans for awhile I start questioning everything.  Then JR will take a look and throw his ideas out there and I'll get even more confused.

I have a strong desire to save money and not waste it on frivolous things.  I am not a big spender by nature, but even now, as I look on paperbackswap at books, I think, "I don't really need that.  I have hundreds of books to read here in the house already."   This is a foreign idea to me...too many books?  What a preposterous idea!  What has gotten into me?  :)

I don't know why, but it seems like it's really going to happen.  It might take a year or two getting everything set, but we are actively trying to move in this direction.  JR is going to complete the dock he started, we are going to get the well dug, and he is going to get started building a shed for the 4 wheeler, trailer and misc. huge space stealers, like the generator, the chipper, and things like that.

I have been trying to declutter, as always, but with a renewed vigor.  I'm only keeping my favorites, the most used and passing on the rest to family or friends or donating to a charity.  I'm cooking almost all meals instead of going out to eat, I'm deleting store emails and removing myself from tempting lists.  I'm still gardening and watching grocery store sales, but mostly, I'm not spending unless it has to do with improving this home or Giddings.  And that feels good.

It feels great to have a purpose, something to strive towards.  I am in no hurry, but I am excited, all the same.

Till next time,
Pam

       My dirty feet last weekend in Giddings.  The pond is shrinking and I got way too close to the edge. 

 

Short Rant

I have a dilemma and I'm not sure what to do.

I walk our dogs every morning after I work out.  Typically this is around 6:45am to 7:00am.  I have to walk at this time because it is dark up til that point and Tyson gets dropped off at 7:30am.  It is just enough time to walk the dogs in the field, hop in the shower and then answer the door. 

Our new neighbor's have a dog that is driving me crazy.  No matter if I go early or late, the neighbor is out with his dog in the field which leads Dexter to jumping and lunging which rips my arm out of the socket.  Not the new neighbor's problem, I understand this.

But today, I am walking the dogs and the new neighbor's dog comes barreling around the corner and jumps on Dexter and growls.  Dexter, who is still a puppy, is forced the the ground and is trying to get up, but the other dog is stronger and keeps him pinned there.  I yelled at him to stop, and he jumped off and then right back on, this time with Dexter on his back. 

It is one thing for my dog to misbehave and pull my arm out of it's socket.  It is quite another for their dog to be tackling my dog to show his dominance. 

I finally got Dexter to come with me up the little hill and said, "Neighbor, come get your dog!"  The whole time the dog is trying to play with Dexter, jumping all over him. Finally the neighbor, at a leisurely pace because he doesn't want to spill his coffee, comes up and gets his dog. I didn't say anything because frankly, I was pissed and I don't want to start a war with a new neighbor.

I do not have time for this crap in the morning!  I am trying to walk my dogs in peace, get some energy out of them before they have to spend a majority of the day cooped up in the house because of the high temps. It is becoming more and more a source of stress and irritation. 

Do I just stop walking them in the field, the perfect place because they can do their business without offending anyone, they can run around without touching anyone's property, it is pretty and JR mows me a path to the creek to walk on?  Do I continue to go and just keep Dexter on a short leash if I see them coming and ask him to get his dog?  Do I start walking them in the front on the street with a shorter leash, so not to bother anyone who happens to be doing morning exercise?  Where does he do his business?  The street?

I hate walking along, and then seeing them, knowing we are going to be assaulted by their dog.  It stresses me out.  It takes the joy out of walking them.  It sucks. It also sucks that if I stop walking my dogs in the morning he gets the whole field to himself for being an inconsiderate dog owner.

No, I think I will stay as I am, walking when I want and when or if the neighbor's dog continues to hassle Dexter, I will ask him to please keep his dog off of mine. 

I shouldn't have to ask this.  He should do it without me asking.  What the heck is wrong with people?

A move to the country is becoming more and more appealing.

Til next time,
Pam

Homebody

I love being at home, always have.  I like the fact that I have time to stay on top of  most things.  I love reusing, recycling, making things from scratch and let's face it, this takes time.  I like having my photos organized, my dogs walked, my flowers watered and my floor vacuumed.  I like doing it myself.  I like trying new recipes and so much goes into this, finding the recipe, buying the ingredients and learning how to make it.

I read a while ago that in the olden days people had servants or the woman didn't work outside the home and that's how these things got taken care of.  With dual income households nowadays people resort to services to clean their house, clean their pool, mow their lawn, organize their houses, etc., which costs money, which requires a second income which requires you to be gone from your home.  This is fine for some people, but it isn't my style.

I am constantly trying to eat healthier, eat more fruits and veggies, back off refined foods, have things that are good for us prepared and waiting for our hungry bodies to grab them.  I try growing our fruits and vegetables and fail more often than succeed, but the process warms my heart.  The planting, the digging, the observance of the first green shoots breaking through the ground and if I actually can eat off the plant, what joy that brings me!

I do not use chemicals in my garden, none.  I make compost from kitchen scraps and have 3 rabbits who provide me with a little extra oomph.  I collect leaves and grass clippings and sprinkle coffee grounds on my acid lovers and bananas under my roses.  I collect the hair from my brush along with the eggshells from  my breakfast and give them to my tomatoes.  I love doing this.

I am an avid reader on all things considering self sufficiency.  I like books on apocalyptic events and how people survive.  If there is a gadget that is non-electric, I want to have it.  I collect hurricane lamps anytime I see one marked down at a store and I have oodles and oodles of books on returning back to basics.  I don't want the way things are to end, but I love learning how to survive if they do.

We have 22 acres out in the country and have plans that include an off grid lifestyle.  We have electricity and plan to keep electricity, but as we build and mold the property into a second home, we are looking into solar, wind, water and other resources to sustain a comfortable life out there if something were to happen.  It excites me.  It makes me feel good.  Even here, when I save the water from my shower and water my thirsty flowers.  When I take a bucket of rain water out to my peppers it makes me feel...independent, like I have some control over how things go.

Let's face it, it's a crazy world we live in and if I enjoy learning how to take care of me and my family the old fashion way, all the power.  You just never know.

Til next time,
Pam

Settling In

It has been awhile, but I'm finally getting a routine established.  Kimbre is off at college, enjoying life, enjoying her classes, enjoying being off on her own, I'm sure.  She never had many rules while she lived at home because she didn't need them.  She consistently made the right decisions and that has carried forward with her.  I miss her, although we do see her fairly frequently.

Tressa is trucking along in school, working hard towards attaining her goal and doing wonderful.  She is working as a waitress at BJ's, supporting herself, and plans to move to San Antonio to attend college there in January.  Her lease is up in October, I think, and she is planning on staying here for the 2 months before her move with her cat, Maeby.

I don't really know too much about what is happening with Morgan right now except that she is working at a Greek restaurant in Kemah and living with Tressa.

I have been watching Tyson, who will be 4 mos on the 20th, since August and he is so darn cute!  He is a really good baby, they all are, but I think he is exceptional.  :)  He does have his moments, but don't we all?!?  I bought out half of League City, plus borrowed a few things from my sister and we have plenty to do for fun.  We take a walk before it hits 100 degrees everyday, but have mostly been inside from the heat and now the mosquitoes.  I have no idea where these mosquitoes have come from since it hasn't rained in ions! 

I had still been very consistent with my working out, getting up around 5:30am, working out, walking the dogs in the field, feeding the rabbits, showering and then waiting for Tyson to arrive and then back out for a walk in the front before it got too hot, but I caught a bug and then got a tetanus/whooping cough shot at the Drs when I went for my physical Mon and have felt like crud, so have been skipping the work out.  I might be milking it a little bit, but I feel it is more important for my body to use it's energy in recovering from the sickness than to build muscle.  I'll be back on track soon.

Also, we have new neighbors down the street and he has chosen the exact same time as I have been to walk his huge dog.  This wouldn't be a problem because his dog is very well behaved, but mine is 10 mos. old and is not.  Dexter acts like he's a sled dog and yanks and pulls me across the field towards them and let's just say the good feelings I had from walking him before have flown right out the window. 

One of the few times I did let Dexter off the leash to go play, the other dog pinned him on his back on the ground and wouldn't let him up while he growled at him.  I don't know if you know anything about Dexter, but even though he is a big dog, he has the best temperament of any dog I have ever owned.  He is ALWAYS happy.  I was a little offended the new guy didn't make his dog back off and I definitely don't want Dexter becoming mean.

I have been trying to go earlier, which is difficult because it is dark until 6:40am, but he's out there and then I tried going later, but he's still out there, so I started having JR walk them after he returned from the gym, but I miss walking them in the morning.  I like it.

Once Tyson gets picked up, I wait for the temps to drop to the low 90's, and then take the dogs out again, along with a Ziploc bag with small pieces of steak from the freezer, and try to train Dexter not to pull.  I have been using the word, "back" which I gleaned from my sister, Tonya.  I always hated the word "heel" and "come" and "back" sounds so commanding when you say it.  He is doing better, but needs more practice.

Other than babysitting the little guy, trying to train the dog, and missing my kid, I have been planting and watering the veggie garden, but these 100 degree days are tough going.  I'm not sure if I'm going to have much of a garden this fall if this keeps up.  My squash are doing terrific, but everything else looks a little sick.  I had planted spinach and lettuce which are not coming up, broccoli which started coming up, but is trying to go back under the ground, peas which look peaked, green beans look OK, but not enough are sprouting yet, cucumbers which are wilting and it's too hot for my peppers to set fruit. Time will tell.  We have been watering with our rain collection, but before long, that's going to be gone.  Rain would be nice!

All in all, things are falling into place.  It's taken me ten times as long as normal to post this, but hey, I'm not bored.  lol

Til next time, Pam

          

Busy Days Before Summer

May has always been the craziest time of year with school letting out, graduations, summer swim, sometimes baseball, award ceremonies, banquets and end of year parties.  I have never cared for May. 

This year our baby is graduating high school and at the end of June will be leaving for a summer session at A&M College Station and life as we know it will be gone.  No children at home, just us.

I can't ever remember not having a child to care for.  No matter what I am doing in my day, there is always the knowledge of what she is doing in the back of my mind.  I glance at the clock and know she will be home in 2 hours, I make the supper, leaving out the mushrooms because she doesn't like them, I throw in the dark load first because I know she needs her swimsuit for the meet.  Life is going to be so WEIRD! 

I want her to grow up.  I want her to remember to eat breakfast and wash her own clothes and to forge forward blazing her own path in this crazy world.  I want her to get a great college education and become a responsible adult and to be happy.   She's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing. 

So why does this make me so sad?

Pam

 

Wisdom

I am not in a very happy mood.

On Wednesday I had 4 wisdom teeth removed.  I prepared for this by buying a lot of soft foods, watering all the gardens and flowers, picking any veggies that were ready, picking up my prescriptions, cleaning the house, stocking up on pet food, doing the laundry, sending out cards that would need to be sent, changing the sheets and basically getting everything caught up in every which way I could think of, so I wouldn't have to worry about it or concern anyone else.

Wednesday morning came and I got up and made Kimbre's lunch, made her pancakes and sausage for breakfast, fed all the animals and cleaned out the litter boxes, walked the dogs, pulled weeds for the rabbits, hopped in the shower and had JR drive me to Dr. Lovoi's office.  I was extremely nervous and had to stop myself from crying more than once.

Once there, they handed JR a post care sheet he was supposed to read, but while waiting I read it, twice.  They called me into the room and there were syringes and tubes and all sorts of scary looking equipment lying around.  The assistant hooked me up to some machines and attached some circles to my chest, put oxygen on me and then the Dr came in and started the IV.  He told me to take a few deep breaths and the next thing I knew, I was waking up.  My head felt like a big fuzz ball and I was feeling no pain.

The assistant said while under I asked for Vaseline, (for my lips because I was concerned with them cracking), and she said I didn't like the shots at all.  I guess I also asked where I was and he said,"You need more medication."  lol  I asked her if I swore because I have a bad mouth and she said no.

Everything went fine.  The two upper wisdom teeth pulled right out, but one lower wisdom tooth broke when he was pulling it, (it was cracked to begin with), so he had to do a flap surgery to get the rest of it out and since he didn't want the same thing to happen to the other tooth, he did this on the other side as well.  Don't ask, I have no idea what this means.  Maybe that it was like they were impacted because they broke off and he had to cut into the gum to get the rest of the tooth out.  This is what I'm guessing.

We waited until I was coherent and then JR drove me home.  I changed out the gauze a bunch of times because there was quite a bit of bleeding, but not excessive.  My mouth felt totally dry without an ounce of moisture in it and of course, I was totally numb from the shots, so I got the bright idea to rinse out my mouth.  Bad idea.  I shouldn't have done that.

As soon as the water hit the sockets where my teeth were, pain completely engulfed my mouth and I almost went to my knees.  I was letting the water dribble out of my mouth because the information papers said not to spit for fear of dislodging the blood clot and getting dry socket and the whole sink was full of blood.  This didn't help the weak knees feeling I was having.

I knew I was going to faint, so I started down to the floor, but could see cat litter particles and didn't want to touch it  Then I was thinking maybe I didn't want my head to be low to the ground, so I tried sitting up with my head forward, but that didn't feel right.  I asked JR for a wet washcloth because I felt like I was burning up, but it wasn't wet enough, so I asked him to get it wet again and he brought me an ice pack.  I started crawling for the bed, to get off the bathroom floor and JR helped me get into bed.

I asked him to call the office and ask if the pain was normal, which pill was the strongest for pain and how I was supposed to swallow pills if it hurt that much when the water hit my mouth.  JR called and yes, it was all normal and would go away with time, the Vicodin was the stronger of the 2 meds and it would hurt less as time went on to swallow the pills.  I put the ice packs on my cheeks and eventually fell asleep, happier knowing it was normal to be in pain and I wasn't dying of some complication.

I slept for almost 4 hours and woke up asking JR for the next pain pill, which was given in 4 hour increments.  The bad thing was I was supposed to keep ice on for 20 minutes, off for 20 minutes for the first 24 hours and while I was sleeping, I didn't do that, so the following morning I woke up looking like a chipmunk, even though I kept my head elevated and used ice for a good portion of the day.  I switched to taking turns with moist heat and ice packs for some of yesterday, which made the swelling feel better.

That first evening, 2 of our cats were tearing around the house chasing each other and ran right across JR and I in bed, scratching JR deep enough to make him bleed.  He got up yelling, of course, and started after the cats and I told him to just shut the door.  I was trying to sleep and I didn't want a hurt animal on my hands, so JR shut the bedroom door.  A few hours later, the cats are scratching at the door to come in and since we have the litter boxes in our bathroom, I got up and let them in.  Good thing I didn't just have 4 wisdom teeth pulled that morning.

I'm not sure if we're keeping the cats out of our room at night now, but if so, a litter box has to go out in the hall and the gate has to go on the outside of our door to keep them from scratching, otherwise I'll be waking up throughout the night when I hear them.  The fact that I am not feeling that great and have to deal with this nonsense is ridiculous.

JR was very helpful getting my ice packs for me and bringing me my pills when I asked for them on the first day. He also took care of all of the animals the following morning before work, went to La Madeline for tomato soup for me and bought himself some soup for dinner because I wouldn't be cooking and Kimbre was at a dinner party.

I could see it was wearing on him trying to take care of everything and go to work, so I got up this morning and fed the animals, cleaned out the cat boxes, walked the dogs and fed the rabbits and vacuumed before falling back to sleep for another 3 hours.  Lord help me if I ever get really sick.

I feel better today, stronger, but still have no appetite and am very tender in my mouth with some swelling.  I have been keeping up with the salt water rinses and antibiotics and trying to drink at least one Ensure per day to get the vitamins in me.  This morning I had some Greek yogurt, which was good, but I'm not sure I'm ready for anything heavier for awhile.

And this has been so much fun!  
 Pam
 

Family, Music and Trash

What a great weekend!  I'm supposed to be cleaning and doing the laundry, (book club tomorrow morning), but I'm using ADD as an excuse.  Besides, I just sprayed diluted bleach on the bathroom shower tiles and it needs to soak a bit.  I wouldn't want to get asphyxiated. 

JR has been building a new dock in Giddings for about...um...2 years?  The water is down, the water is up, the money is tight, the water went back down, so we're, meaning he is back at it again.  This dock is HUGE!  Here's a peek at the unfinished project.

He has added more posts and more cross beams and even put a few 12 ft boards on top since this photo was taken last week. You can see from the photo how low the pond is.  At it's highest, it is about a foot under the top of the new dock.  There was also an old dock setting right beside this one, that he hauled up to the top of the hill with his tractor and we'll be bringing to the dump unless JR wants to haul it back to League City for a guy I know who recycles metal.  Oh heck, here's a photo of the old dock:

JR was going to use the old dock as a base for the new dock, but a week before he started on the project, we were both on it, looking at the pond, and it collapsed.  I was like the wind and off of that thing so fast all you saw was a blur.  JR just stood there in a slight crouch like a ninja.  Needless to say, he changed his plans and started a new dock from scratch.

We have record low rainfall, meaning NO rainfall for a very long time and the pond keeps lowering, little by little, so we have been making extra trips to Giddings to work on the dock.  Last weekend he did a lot, plus changed the jack on the camper and some other stuff.

This weekend my sister, Tonya, was singing about an hour and a half away from Giddings at a winery.  So I suggested to JR we bring the trailer to Giddings, stop for more dock supplies, drop off the supplies in Giddings, then head to Austin, (Dripping Springs), to hear Tonya and possibly hook up with Morgan before returning that evening to Giddings where we have a camper.  This was taken right after a trip to the car wash where it got squeaky clean.

So we loaded up the FJ, hooked up the trailer, stopped at Home Depot in Brenham where JR bought more wood for his dock, probably the most expensive dock in Giddings, and I found Amaryllis bulbs for 1/2 off!  What a find!  They were even red ones that I have been looking for.  I was tickled.  We made a very quick pit stop in Giddings, then headed to Dripping Springs.  It's a real nice town.  Very pretty.  Population said 1,500, but from the way it was built up, I would think it needed a new population sign from the census bureau.

Tonya spotted us right off and came over for a quick hug and to say hi and then she went back to singing while we listened for a bit before I popped inside to taste some wine.

 

The woman on the left was hilarious and that was before I got a buzz on.  

JR and I went back outside and I took a zillion pictures of Tonya singing.  She is amazing and if you ever need a softer rock, country, folk type singer for a wedding, party, graduation, birthday, funeral, etc., her name is Tonya Tyner and she is for hire.  I was thinking what I could have a party to introduce her talent to my friends and acquaintances.  Thinking.  Thinking.

 

JR and listened to Tonya and played a game where you throw golf balls on strings at a stand with 3 different bars.  JR won.  At this point I had consumed almost a full bottle of wine on an almost empty stomach and I was feeling no pain.  We did run to a place after Tonya finished called The Barber Shop.  The woman's husband in the picture above told us about it.   It sold oodles and oodles of different kinds of beer.  I don't even remember what I drank.

.

We went to Tonya's apartment, met CJ, her boyfriend, and let out her dog, Kettle, then went to a restaurant called The Shady Grove. 

Morgan met us with her friend, Drew, and I don't know where my camera went, but I wish I had taken some photos.  Morgan looked really pretty in her new glasses and the outfit she had on.  

JR drove the hour and a half back to Giddings while I practically snored the whole way.  Once there, we went to sleep with me waking up every 15 minutes thinking I heard mice.  It was horrible.  I even woke JR up to check the floor by my bed to see if he saw anything.  I definitely need a fan on for noise the next time we sleep there.  I am not much of a country girl when it comes to thinking I hear rodents.  EW!  It could have been a leaf on the roof for all I know, but the thought...yikes.

We woke up and JR started in on his dock after our walk around the property and a quick breakfast of granola and Greek yogurt.  I was planning to wash my hair and read a bit, but while coming back from the dock, I looked over at our property line which touched our neighbor, Tim's, and saw his trash all over the ground on our side of the fence.

I got a few plastic grocery bags, a pair of gloves, and walked over to the trash and started picking it up.  Tim's burn barrels had disintegrated in huge areas on the can, so they were tipping over.  You would think he could use one of the 50 barrels he had stacked up further along the fence, but he continues to put his trash in the holey barrels.  Nice.  We had cans, glass jars, plastic bags, bread bags, dressing bottles, styrofoam plates, you name it, all on the ground and stuck in the cedars that were growing there.  I told JR we need to put up some chicken wire to stop his garbage from blowing over to our side and he agreed.  

The funny thing is I don't think Tim even notices his trash blowing around.  He has so much crap on his 5 acres that he is running out of room.  I was thinking of taking a photo, but thought that would be too mean.  :) Since the pond was so low, I took another empty bag and walked around the perimeter.  In front of Tim's place there were cat food cans, aluminum pop cans and broken bottles.  I don't think they realize how bad that makes everything look.

One day about a month ago, our property had cat food cans all along the edge of the pond.  They were empty and just sitting there, so we grumbled about people leaving trash and picked them all up.  Is that a way to catch something?  Once you catch whatever you were hunting, wouldn't you come back and pick up the trash?  If not, stay off our section.

One highlight of our trip:

 Look at all of those pigs!!!  I think there are 5 babies and 3 adults.  You can click on the picture to make it bigger.  It makes me shiver!  LOL

Then there was a deer:

There was also a raccoon, more pigs, coyote, deer, fox, and I think I saw a chicken.  I will never sleep in a tent there again.  LOL  We moved the field camera to a place we call the "cabin spot", so we'll see what we see next time.

Morgan drove up in the afternoon Sunday and JR took us for a boat ride in the pond and I walked her around to the cabin spot and my babbling brook spot that are my favorite.  we then grilled brats, ate, and all packed up for home.  

It was a GREAT weekend and I enjoyed myself thoroughly!  When I got home, Kimbre had a card for me and Tressa had stopped over with a BIG spinach artichoke pizza from BJ's.  YUM!  I love that pizza!  I immediately ate some and tried to figure out how I could manage to eat the whole thing before I get my wisdom teeth pulled on Wed. I don't think it's going to be a problem.  lol

Til next time!

Pam 

 

Being Solo

JR has been gone about a week and I'm ready for him to come home.  I miss having my friend here to talk to.  He's one of the few people I can say absolutely anything to about anything, say exactly what I am thinking without holding back. He understands what I really mean even if it comes out wrong. 

It's hard not having him here to share with.  We generally talk about the big and little things that have happened in the day with the girls, online, the neighbors, the animals, etc.  I can talk to others about this stuff, but it isn't the same.  We have a connection to these things, a common bond which makes what we say have more depth and meaning.

He loves the girls as much as I do.  When I tell him a story about one of them, it isn't just the story he is hearing.  He is also remembering the time she stared at the tire for 30 min or the time she walked like a duck down the dock or the time she memorized a whole book at the age of 2.

If I tell him something about our dog, he is also remembering the time our previous dog 20 years before did his job on the neighbor's lawn and the neighbor took a photo of it.  I remember it, too and it makes what we say more funny.

And he loves me.  I don't know anyone who loves me as much as he does.  When he left this past time, he called while I was out and left a message saying where the car was parked at the airport.  He called back shortly after and left another message saying he forgot to say the most important thing.  He loved me.  26 years and he called just to let me know.

I can manage the house and the family while he is gone.  I can go out with friends and visit and have a great time.  I can write blogs and emails to express myself and get things off my chest.  But it isn't the same.  I miss him.

Pam

Lies

I am sitting here thinking about what I have been told today about 2 people and I think I am being lied to.

I can't ask either of the people if the occurrences happened because they will just lie.

I was told we were being bad mouthed by someone to the whole team by a person who acted like she completely supported us when we returned Saturday.  If this is true, I was completely fooled by her performance.

I was also told there was definitely a vote taken from the girls by the coach if Kimbre should play Saturday.  Definitely.

Who do you trust?  I hate lies.

I want it to be over.

Is it summer yet?

Girls are Mean

Girls are mean.  I am going to tell a shortened version of what happened this weekend, if I can, and then hopefully I will have it completely out of my system.

We went to state on Friday for water polo and the girls played 2 games.  They won the first game and lost the second which put the 3rd game at 1:30pm on Saturday.  Saturday was prom.  Kimbre's one and only prom which she has made plans for and talked about almost all year and I am NOT exaggerating! 

As soon as we returned to the hotel after the game, she was on the phone calling to switch hair and make-up appts and was hitting a brick wall.  She was supposed to meet the limo at 4pm and they were taking group photos in Galveston at a beach house until 5:30 then back in the limo to Gaidos to eat.  None of this would be possible if she stayed at state to play at 1:30pm. 

She was so torn because she had made a commitment to all of these people for prom and had a commitment to her team to be there for them and she truly didn't know which way to turn.  I couldn't process all of it in the amount of time it was taking her to reach her decision, so basically watched all of this happen with JR. 

Kimbre decided to go home and miss Saturdays game.  She went into the room where all the girls were and told them she was leaving.  It wasn't easy for her to do this and she was sobbing with hiccups when she came out of the room.  I felt horrible for her.

We drove home and put in some frozen pizza and started talking about everyone's reaction to her statement and I mostly listened.  She couldn't understand why some of the girls were so angry and the more I thought about it, the more upset I was getting and the worse I felt about her decision.  I tried explaining where the girls were coming from by giving her a scenario using Julie, the goalie, as being the one who left her at state instead of it being Kimbre who left.  She said it wasn't the same, Julie was more necessary to the team. 

This made me mad and I went on a rampage telling her how vital she was to the team, how no one could keep up with her and what a great defense player she was.  I told her to not undermine herself because she WAS important to the team and that is why the team cared that she left.  That is why they were angry.

I went to bed, slept poorly and was up early, my stomach still in knots.  As soon as I saw JR was up, I went over and talked to him about how horrible I felt about her decision and he said, "There's still time."

I ran upstairs and woke Kimbre and said we would find her a new hair appt.  It wouldn't be with the lady she wanted, but I knew Fantastic Sam's did up dos and I called my sister, Brenda, to see if she would be back-up hair lady.  She said yes.  We would drive Kimbre to Galveston and take photos of our own when we got there and she could still ride the limo from the restaurant to the prom if we timed it right.  Her date would be single for group photos, the ride to the restaurant and the beginning of the dinner.

When Kimbre saw she could make some compromises without losing the whole night, she called her coach and asked to come back and he said ,"You are always welcome.  Let the girls know."

This is where the fun began.

She texted the girls that she wanted to be with them and ONE girl out of  nine responded to her.  Julie, the goalie, who is probably the sweetest person I have ever met.

We get there after JR drove like a race car driver through Houston traffic and met the bus at the natatorium.  She walked up to them and said, "Hi," and not one girl spoke to her.  She texted us that she would not be starting and that Coach Kapp took a vote and they were divided on whether or not they wanted her to play.  I looked at JR and said, "Let's go in, they are being mean to our baby."  Why would he say she was welcome if he wasn't going to let her play???

We sat watching another game until we saw our girls warming up and I watched as Kimbre acted cheerful.  I saw Tiffany, Julie and Elsa speaking with her, but no one else. 

The start of the game the captains have to speak with the referee and only Elizabeth went up.  Kimbre is a captain, too, and that really bothered me.  I could see her not starting, but to not go up as captain at the start of the game seemed hurtful and petty.  She CORRECTED her poor choice.  She didn't miss any games.  I looked at JR and started crying.  And cried some more.

She sat out the first quarter and I cried.  At one point, the coach was talking to all the players and Kimbre was standing at the side of the pool staring up at us in the stands and it tore my heart out.  As a matter of fact, David took a photo of this exact moment and when I look at that photo, it makes me so sad.  I did this.  I practically forced her to be there and there she was being ostracized by her team and coaches and it was killing me.  So I cried.

2nd period her coach put her in and left her in until the end of the game.  I didn't cry so much.

After the game, which they lost and were placed 7th, we skedaddled out of there, ran home, she showered, ran to Fantastic Sam's to get her hair done, ran to Dedde's to get her make-up done, ran back home to get dressed and take a few photos, drove to Galveston to meet the group at the restaurant, took a few more photos and then left her to go eat at The Spot and breathe a sigh of relief. 

Here they are in Galveston:

 

Kimbre told me later a girl who was NOT on the polo team came up to her at prom and told her one of the Mother's had texted her and asked her if she would choose getting her hair done over state and then said because that was what Kimbre did.  Gossiping bitch.  This woman is supposed to be soooooo christian with such high morals, but looks like she isn't perfect either.  What a shocker.

I hate people.

I am glad this is over and I was so comforted by the few that did support us when we returned Saturday morning.  There weren't many.

Kimbre said during the game, 2 of the girls were obnoxiously screaming at her.  Nice.  Amazing how sweet they look and how ugly they can be.  Amazing how they forget when they made a mistake in the past and how that made them feel. 

I wrote the coach today, the first time in four years over a conflict because I'm a firm believer in letting the girls handle whatever comes up in their lives. I told him I wasn't sure if this were true, but asked why he had the girls vote on letting Kimbre play on Saturday.  I said it might have been better to tell them she had made a poor choice, but had realized she was wrong.  They all needed to realize she had made a mistake, but had corrected it and they needed to pull together as a team.  Who hasn't made a poor choice every now and then? 

He responded saying he didn't do that.  He said he told them to be forgiving and understanding.  hmmm.  I don't think they were listening.  I don't know, but maybe our talk will help the next kid who gets in a similar situation. 

Exhausting weekend...I still feel drained.  JR left yesterday for Ethiopia, which doesn't help.  I always feel a little off the first day or two after he leaves.

Did I say I was going to write a shortened version?  lol  You know me better than that.

Pam 

Trail Hiking

Yesterday was book club at my house and we chose A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson as our read for May.  I haven't been able to stop researching through-hike trails ever since.  (Bill Bryson walked the Appalachian Trail.) 

The idea intrigues me.  Five to Seven months to walk a 2100 mile trail is amazing and something that is more than a little scary to me.  Actually, just about everything is scary to me.  But how fun and what a sense of accomplishment that would be.  WOW!!!  The only thing that would definitely turn me off  is if there is a lot of high cliff type areas where you could fall to your death.  Things like that don't appeal to me at all.

I dug around looking for other trails, (there are many), after familiarizing myself with the Appalachian Trail and found another called the Foothills Trail in SC.  It is a 77 mile hike and the photos I have seen are breath taking.  It would take approximately 5-7 days to walk it, but where the Appalachian Trail has a lot of stores and restaurants not terribly far from the trail, the Foothills Trail is more remote and you have to carry the whole hike's food and supplies with you.

JR is interested, but we are a little swamped at the moment with all of Kimbre's activities.

Isn't it funny how you don't have any desire to do something and then you see a movie or a book or a billboard and all of a sudden you have this burning desire to experience whatever it is you saw?  It almost consumes you.  My whole day has been shot.  I've eaten a ton of food because every journal I read about the different trails talks about food and how hungry you get and it is putting me in the mind set that I'm starving when in fact I'm not at all!

Back to laundry and maybe a nap...researching is tough work.  :)

Pam

     

Looky Here!

This morning, while on my way out to walk the dogs, I peeked in at the garden and look what I found!

Jalapeno Peppers!!!  The plants are maybe a foot tall and are loaded with little jalapeno peppers.  I am so excited!  Look at all the blooms...it won't be long before I'm candying and pickling these peppers and enjoying them mixed in cream cheese or eating them on my nachos.  YUM!  I hope I have enough to can a bunch and share with friends. How pretty.

It is overcast and I am PRAYING for rain.  It has been a long time and we need it.

I went to a friend's Mom's funeral this morning with Nancy R.  It was nice and I didn't embarrass myself, so that is always a good thing.  I didn't know her too well, just in passing, which helped keep myself from becoming a blubbering mess.  I felt bad for the family. 

I have been thinking about the 5K in Brenham Morgan and I just ran.  It truly was amazing how hard that 3.1 miles was.  I think it has to do with the fact I ran at my normal pace, but with much harder terrain.  I was talking to Nancy R about it this morning and told her I don't know how to regulate my running.  I just run and I was trying to make myself run slower up the hill, but I didn't know how to do it and it was near killing me.

I think I either run or walk, no in-between.  I don't walk fast well either.  My shins and calves start burning and I start running to relieve them or start walking slower.

I don't know how Morgan ran that race with no sleep.  Yes, no sleep.  She worked the night before, stayed up, drove from Austin to Brenham which is about 1 and a half hours and then ran this killer course.  I didn't sleep well the night before the race because I was worried about oversleeping, but I slept a lot more than none.  I told Morgan maybe she could sleep the night before next time, so we could run together.

Here we are:

I had a strange dream last night about a tsunami.  JR and I were standing in a field behind a mobile home with Coach Kapp's children and Kimbre, but Kimbre was young, about 6 or 7 years old.  We were all turned away from the mobile home and Coach Kapp's oldest daughter was laying on one of those lounge chairs that tri-fold  closed.  She said, "Here one comes!"  And I grabbed Kimbre and held her close, but the wave fizzled before it got to us.  We stood waiting and Coach Kapp's daughter pointed again and this wave was immense.  I was still holding Kimbre and just as it was getting to us, I woke up.   I felt so helpless.

I told Audrey the dream this morning at the funeral and she said it was because Kimbre is leaving for college and I am trying to protect her.  That thought makes me cry.  I sure am going to miss her...

Pam

Heading to State!!! WOOHOO!!!

Kimbre's varsity water polo team is heading to state on Friday this coming week.  I missed the first game where they creamed their opponent because I was an hour and a half away in Brenham running a 5Kwith Morgan, but I did get to see the following 2 games which determined whether they went to state and what position they went there in.

SO EXCITING!  I'm getting goose bumps thinking about it.  The spectators were going wild in the stands both games.  The first game against Creek, Creek was sure they were going to win.  So sure, in fact, I heard they had already ordered their state t-shirts.  They were horribly sore losers, with one girl practically dragging Kimbre to the ground when they shake hands after the game and they made signs rooting for our opponent in the next game, switching to opposite sides of the pool when we did at half time.  It made them look like spoiled brats.

The start of the last game against Lamar which determined our ranking was very embarrassing because one of our newer players physically attacked one of Lamar's more aggressive players by grabbing her cap and violently pushing her head down over and over.  I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right, but it was blatant violence and the girl came up swinging and clocked our player in the face.

Both girls should have been immediately removed from the game and the fact that they were left in was wrong on the coaches parts and on the referee's parts as well.  Our player got a penalty and had to sit out 30 seconds.  I'm sorry, but that was total BULLSHIT.  It made our team look bad.

After the game, the girl was reenacting the scene, showing how she was violently grabbing the girls cap and shoving her head down and 3 or 4 Mother's were laughing and encouraging her.  I went up to the girl and said, "It isn't funny.  It was a poor show of sportsmanship and it was embarrassing."  Her Mother started laughing hysterically in my face and I walked away.  I have half a mind to speak to the coach, but I don't want to embarrass Kimbre because what's done is done.  But it pisses me off!!!

Breathe, Pam, Breathe.

We're going to STATE!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!  OK, I feel a little better.
Pam

    

Lightening the Load

Yesterday and this morning were spent going through my summer clothes in my closet.  I hung all my discards and too looses and too tights on hangers and brought them over to Changes Resale.  They will try to sell the clothes at their store and I will get approx.1/2 the profit.  I brought a lot. 

I have $60 on the books from bringing clothes in last time.  $60 for things taking up space in my house that I didn't even want.  Clothes that didn't fit right. Clothes someone else might love.  Clothes in my way when I try to reach for what I really like.  How freeing!!! I didn't even buy one thing while I was there, so I consider the trip a smashing success.

Changes will also take small home decor, so I brought in a large framed picture I bought when my house was mauve.  I was going to list it on Craigslist, but I just wanted to be done with it.   

The consignment shop is next door to Mrs. Baird's Thrift Store, so I stopped in. The aroma of bread products engulfs you as soon as you take a step in the door. It can make a bread lover a little crazy in the head, grabbing more bread than you will be able to eat before it goes bad.  I ended up with a loaf of bread, multigrain sandwich thins, ww hot dog buns, ww hamburger buns and ww bagels for $7 and then if you spent $6 you got to pick a free bread off of a cart and I got another ww bagel because they freeze good with very little quality loss.

I need to get back to the kitchen.  JR had painted inside the cupboards and I need to go through everything he took out and see what I want to keep before shoving it all back in there.  Kitchen sorting is very difficult for me.  I love organization, but I also like back ups.

I have been in a simplify mood lately, wanting to get rid of all the extra stuff smothering me in this house.  I had 2 paper shredders and asked Tressa if she wanted one and she said yes.  It had been a few days and her shredder was sitting in the hall and JR told me he didn't think it would be a good idea to get rid of it because ours was broken.  I said, "Really?!?  I just used that!"  I went to the office and looked at it and sure enough, it wasn't working.

So now I am ruined for decluttering.  Get rid of the duplicates or hold on to them?  What if one breaks?  Simplify, simplify, but what about saving money by having a back up at your fingertips?  ARGH!

Till next time.
Pam

Food and gardening

What a wondrous breakfast we had this morning!  JR and I were discussing how he had seen some red berries out in the field on his walk the other day.  I had thought it was later than April, when we picked black berries last year, which led me to comment on the fact we still had some in our freezer.  The last time we had eaten them, I had made crepes and we used the berries as filling along with some cool whip and we both agreed they were fantastic.  So I made them again, and they were heavenly and we have one less bag of berries in our freezer now.

Today I will be juicing the last of the grapefruit from the Schaefer's tree.  I pulled them out of the garage frig to warm up.  I am going to try my centrifugal juicer instead of my hand juicer and see if it will give me more juice.  We had eaten a ton of the grapefruit and I had cut up a ton and froze them and we had one more bunch left that I plan to juice for my drinks.  If you have never tried grapefruit juice with blackberry vodka, you should.  It is so tasty!  But be careful, they are very easy to drink fast.

I was having a bit of a dilemma trying to figure out how I was going to bury my potato plants.  If you recall, I bought 2 bags of dirt at the garden center for $20 and it barely 1/2 way covered all of the plants.  As plants do, they are growing and it was time to bury them again, just leaving the tops sticking out.  I had read not to use too rich of soil because it can cause potato scab disease.  I'm not familiar with that, but I didn't want to be, so my dirt under the rabbit hutch was out.

In the past I have read how people use hay to bury their potato plants.  Sometimes they use garbage cans, sometimes they stack tires, sometimes they build potato boxes, but I didn't want to get into all that.  As hot as it gets here in the summer, I thought being buried under dirt would most likely be cooler than sitting in a can, but the price of that dirt.  Ay yi yi!  Since I have a big trash can overfilled with hay for the rabbits in the garage, I have chosen to go this route and I can only hope it will be cool enough for them.

Here is a photo:

If you click on the photo it gets huge.  You can see the onions behind the potato plants, the tomato plants to the right and peas to the left.  If you look real hard, you will see my squash in the back right corner, the cucumbers to the left of the squash and the jalapeno pepper plants, which are starting to bloom, in front of the squash. 


Here is a photo of the whole garden as of this morning:

 

I am hoping we will have some great eating out of here this year.  So far we have only had asparagus.  I doubt I will can or freeze any of that because it gets mushy.  Actually, I could probably freeze a bag full and use it in lasagna or soups where it doesn't matter.  Hmmm.  Maybe I'll freeze some today for that purpose.  I will need to blanch it for a bit, stick it in cold ice water, dry it and then put it in the coldest part of the freezer to freeze as fast as it can, then I will vacuum seal it for later.  Yes, it's a plan if I get off of here in time before Kimbre's polo game at Lake.

One other project I have been working on is the grapefruit trees.

 

The 2 black pots with plants were from the Schaefer's from their grapefruit tree.  Bill brought them over already sprouting, but they kind of died during the hard freeze we had even though I tried protecting them.  As you see they have come back to life with some nurturing.  The little pot in front is grapefruit from the Rissky's tree which I believe is Ruby Red grapefruit vs. the Schaefer's  pink grapefruit.  Both are fantastic.  I planted the seeds in the dirt and they wanted to live, so there they are.  The Black pot with nothing has two huge mango pits in there.  

I read a book called After Dinner Gardening by a guy named Langer and am following his instructions on how to grow mango trees, but while I was searching the internet, I came across another article and it said completely the opposite of what Langer said.  Where Langer said to soak the pit for 5 days in warm water, the internet article said to let it dry out for 2 days.  I have tried Langer's way once before and it didn't work, so if this time is a wash, I'll try the other method.  Nothing lost, only knowledge gained.  

JR is calling for me to walk the dogs before Kimbre's polo game, so off I go.  Can't keep the man waiting.  

Off I go,

Pam

And She Ran and Ran and Ran some More!

JR and I drove to Austin Saturday evening after Kimbre's water polo games.  We checked into the Holiday Inn Express which was very nice, but not as nice as the one in Odessa the week before.  This one didn't have granite countertops, but did have a kitchen and sitting area, which was set up very user friendly.  Gotta love reward programs! 

Within 5 minutes of getting to our room, we received a phone call from the front desk saying they had gotten complaints about the noise we were making.  JR said, "Are you serious?  We just checked in."  She said she was serious and he said, "OK."  and hung up.  I guess I was turning the pages too loudly in the Holiday Inn Express amenities binder I was flipping through or possibly JR farted too loud in the bathroom?  Not sure, but I'm sure the kids running up and down the hall yelling at one another were bothered by our obnoxious behavior.

We left a message with Morgan and Nancy saying we were in town and had the brilliant idea of going to Morgan's work at Applebees.  There was only one Applebees in the hotel phone book, so we drove about 20 minutes and went inside.  I asked the cross eyed hostess if Morgan was working and she made a very confused face, if you can look anymore confused than when you have crossed eyes, and she said, "Morgan?  Do we have a Morgan that works here?"  A guy walking past said, "MorGAN?" with an accent on the second syllable.  "No, I don't think we do."  So we left because those 2 were weird and to tell you the truth, the clientele looked scary. 

On our way back to the hotel, Morgan called and gave us the right directions to the Applebees she worked at out of the EIGHT there were in Austin.  Why was there only one listed in the phone book?

We drove to the right Applebees and had white queso, chips and jalapenos, my latest persistent craving I have been having and a beer.  I had ordered a Cherry Limeade, but after taking the first sip and realizing it was pure sugar and felt guilty, switched drinks with JR who I knew would like it more anyway. We had a nice little visit then returned to the hotel where I promptly fell asleep.

And woke up at 4 am, 4:30 am, 5:30 am and finally got out of bed at 6 am to make myself instant oatmeal and pecans I had packed.  I got dressed and went to the bathroom, then went to the bathroom and then drank a little water and went to the bathroom and then went downstairs to eat some yogurt while JR ate his breakfast and then went back to the room and went to the bathroom.  We stopped to pick up Morgan and JR dropped us near the start line and I went to the bathroom and then JR left to find a parking space and when he finally returned to us, I went to the bathroom.  I WAS VERY NERVOUS!  There were a LOT of people. Luckily it was cold and breezy, so I wasn't nauseous, well, OK, a little nauseous.

Here is a picture of us in the line to go to the bathroom before the run.

Here are what all the people looked like:

 

Amazing, huh?!?  Just under 23,000 registrants.

Morgan and I got in line.  Nancy and her girls, Jenna and Kiley, were running late and it wasn't until about the 5th mile that I actually saw Jenna.  I never did see Nancy or Kiley, but with all those people, it isn't surprising.

I didn't realize there were going to be so many hills on this course!  It wasn't going up them that was so hard, but going down.  They were steep!  I was afraid my feet were going to slip out from under me and I was going to fall on my face.  Morgan told me to lean back, which helped, but she would take off like a bat out of hell and I would practically crawl down and then catch back up with her when we went up the next hill.

I am a consistent 10 min mile runner.  Doesn't matter what I'm doing, my legs go one speed and the less I think about it, the better.  I did try to run as fast as I could at the end, but there were so many people, it was almost impossible to go as fast as you were capable of.

 I finished in 1 hour 2 min 21 seconds.  And I will take it.  Duh,  Winning!  lol

I saw JR on the side, trying to take photos of me and Morgan finishing, finished the race and then lost him.  I went to find water and then moseyed over to where I had last seen him and he wasn't there.  I went to the bathroom, AGAIN, not sure how that was possible, and then wandered all over the place looking for him and Morgan.  After about 20 min. I started feeling hopeless and had that, "I'm never ever ever going to find them and will have to sleep on the streets in a cardboard box feeling".  And then I saw them!  I was so relieved!  Truly, the number of people were amazing.  Finding them was pure luck.


We stood in lines getting our free bananas, coconut water, brown rice, chocolate milk, etc. and then headed back to get cleaned up at the hotel and have lunch with Morgan and Tonya. 


We decided to eat at Pluckers, a wing place.  The food was really good and the waitress was a complete doll.  My sister, Tonya, showed up shortly after we ordered and we had a really nice talk about her music and what had been going on with both of us.  We hadn't seen each other in a long time!

And here we are:

After dropping Morgan off at home, we headed towards Houston.  Surprisingly I stayed awake the 3 and a half hour ride.


Today I woke up and wasn't even sore.  I toyed with the idea of working out, but decided I would give myself a break.  I drove to the garden center to buy dirt to cover up my potatoes, which I did, and to Big Lots to get more canned cat food and bunch of other junk.

I need to find a cheaper source for plain ole dirt.  I spent $10 a bag for dirt and it took 2 bags.  This defeats the purpose of growing potatoes if it is going to cost me $20 everytime I need to bury them.  Um...no.

The rest of today I have sat on my rear, but I am going to research training to run the half marathon and figure out what to do with the chicken I took out this morning.

And off I go!

Pam   

Fish Tacos...YUM!

One thing I always do when JR leaves town is make fish tacos.  I get Tilapia from the store, pan cook the fish in butter, give it a squirt of Chipotle mayo and top with tomatoes and lettuce on a wheat tortilla.  Easy and tastes great and JR wouldn't eat it if his life depended on it.  OK, maybe if his LIFE depended on it, but I could hear the sounds of revulsion clearly in my head as he was doing so.  I ate this, some leftover butternut squash and a fistful of Skittles for dinner.  I'm thinking I want more sweets...

Today started slow with interval running, not feeling like interval running at all, after 3 days of not working out.  I put in Jillian Michael's Last Chance Workout after-wards and felt nauseous, but pushed myself to finish.  I did everything but the very last exercise in the last set.  I think it was the humidity because I haven't turned the air on yet and I'm not used to getting all hot without any reprieve.  Yuck.  I think it was the heat because the rest of the day I have felt perfectly fine except lazy.  Our high was 83 degrees today.

After walking the dogs, showering and throwing some laundry in the washer, I headed out the door with a large box of clothes and misc. junk to donate to the thrift store.  I also had a bag of kitten food Henri couldn't handle and 2 cats toys the cats didn't ever play with to give to Carol who works at the thrift store.  I think she has over 20 cats.  I have so much stuff to go through and I haven't barely gone through anything.

Once at the store, Carol told me the guy I had hired when I managed the store, Joe, was giving his 2 week notice.  He has been managing the store and doing a wonderful job, but he's going to college and has a girlfriend and his time is up.  He's been working there a little over 3 years. I'm surprised he lasted this long.  That store is a LOT of work and very stressful.  Joe is going to suggest they hire Carol to run the store and I think it's a good idea.  She has a wonderful giving personality and truly only wishes the best for everyone.  The store will probably lose money, but they will have a huge following because of her.

Treasures I found:  2 pair of Under Armour compression shorts for running which normally sell for $25 or so, for $1.00.  YAY!  A really pretty purplish dress for 50 CENTS.  I might wear this to Kimbre's water polo banquet. I had no idea it was 50 cents until I checked out and was VERY happy.  A Chico v-neck short sleeve shirt for $3.00.  A pair of Eddie Bauer jeans for $4.00 and a Joey Green book for $1.00.  Oh, almost forgot, a box of pencils for 50 cents.  Good day. 

I went to the grocery store where my find of the day was Iams cat food for $6, marked down from $12.  I got a few other things and headed home.

I was lazy for awhile and then headed out to start working on the front garden.  Once I started, I was really enjoying myself.  It was beautiful outside until my neighbor on the right started mowing his grass going 90 miles an hour on his riding lawn mower, blowing dust, pollen, and leaves in my face.  I was happy when the kid went to their backyard.  Harold, the 87 year old walker on our street, stopped to talk to me and almost coughed up a lung.   

I planted 3 blue Plumbago and weeded almost the whole bed, raising up the edging as I went along.  I need to weed some more and decide where to plant my white impatiens tomorrow, along with possibly planting one of the 4 Gardenias I have in the next area over before Kimbre's water polo games.

Pretty uneventful day unless you consider the snake that I touched WITH MY HAND!  I have a lot of leaves in my garden bed I have been using as mulch.  I was using my UN-gloved hand to push the leaves aside to get to the weeds and I literally pushed a snake with my hand!  I'm still getting a quiver down my back as I think about it.  It was probably...hmmm, 1/4" thick and 12" long and a reddish brown color.  A decent size, I'd say!  I watched it for a bit and it just sat there, so I went back to weeding. I thought I should take a picture of it and when I looked over were it was, it was gone.  Yikes.

And now I'm off to get ready for bed.  Night!
Pam