I have one of those headaches that nags you all day. Sleep is all that will fix it.
So, no chatty blog today. Tomorrow should be interesting and perhaps pain free.
Good night.
Pain in the Head
Phones. Can’t Live without Them. Wish I Could
Ok. I’m just about wiped out from my “day off.”I could use more wine but I hit my limit. I do want to sleep tonight, after all.
I spent hours and hours today just trying to make my iPhone Air go away. It had good and bad points, but mostly was long. I spent the first 45 minutes or so chatting with Al, a Vietnam vet with 7 remaining fingers and an attitude that made Lee seem a dream customer. But I got him so settled down that by the time it was his turn, he pleasantly agreed tech support could help him out. I learned a lot about his preferred firearms, his friends with issues, and his precious great grandchildren. It certainly passed the time.
Then I discovered I had to wait an hour to deal with some theft prevention thing. So I went to the lovely Thai restaurant across I35 from the phone store. If you’re ever in Temple, try MeeMee’s Authentic Thai Cuisine. It IS authentic! It has an interesting menu, too.
I only had another hour or so after lunch to figure out every password I’ve ever had and make the proper incantations to the gods and goddesses of cellular networks. I finally have the phone I should have ordered three months ago coming my way.
Really all I want is the macro lens. No more blurry photos…speaking of which, all the sparrows came back today and I got blurry photos of them!
I had so much fun after I got home watching the sparrows bopping around, joined by two rabbits who didn’t care that I was there. That’s exactly what I needed after the stressful phone store ordeal. Nature to the rescue!
Too bad I need a decent phone camera to record all that nature? The joke is on me. I can’t live without them.
Everything’s Good but the Birds
Poor timing. The backyard bird count is still going on but I’m not seeing many of the usual birds. I’m afraid I know why. The first Barn Swallow showed up today. I’m afraid that means all the winter sparrows skedaddled with yesterday’s blustery front. There are still White-crowned and White-throated, but there’s a distinct lack of Fox, Vesper, Grasshopper, Chipping, Savannah, Harris’s, Swamp, or others. I’ll wait and see how tomorrow goes.
And yes, I realize their departure for the Great White North heralds the arrival of buntings and such. Still. Sniff.
Otherwise it was a fun day in which I indulged in watching educational television, enjoyed looking at my pretty Valentine flowers, and crafted my heart out. I finished another red Danish hat, to replace the one I made that’s going to Canada for a friend, as soon as the Post Office opens again, which I made slightly larger than the pattern called for in DK yarn. Too long sentence, too bad.
I was working on it in the car and realized why the yarn color is called Firecracker Heather. There are tiny bits of blue, green, and yellow fiber in the yarn, like firecrackers! That gave me a chuckle.
I’m done with that yarn, but I have other red, if needed.
Lee surprised me by asking to take me out to dinner and surprised me more by taking me to the bookstore on the way! I’d planned to go to a candidate forum, but spousal requests take precedence. I really had a nice time, though I was tired for no reason I can think of.
I look forward to the books I got, even the self-help book. It seems like I could use some reminding that I can’t control anyone but me.
The deer book is about…deer! I already know how they were primary food sources for humans for thousands of years, but I Look forward to learning details about our two species’ relationships.
As you can see from the cover, the other one’s about the cheerful topic of diseases. I’ll have to let Anita read it next, since she reads about diseases in her work.
On the topic of books, it’s time to finish my current one. Then I can share all about it.
Rainy Day? It’s Okay!
It rained a bit today, not too much, but enough to please wildflowers. I didn’t hear as many birds as usual, but there’s always tomorrow.
The time passed pleasantly enough, because neighbor Vicki invited me to have lunch at the restaurant that replaced my old favorite, the Dutchtowne Deli. Neither of us do a lot of socializing without an agenda, so this was daring for us. And we had a good time eating huge Dutch babies with strawberry/rhubarb filling. It was just about the most delicious food I ever ate.
Then we went to the bakery and got more baked goods (for later). I think my friends and family keep that place in business. My son had already been by.
Next we went to the ZX Made in Texas shop and browsed. There I was delighted to find a can that once held Granger pipe tobacco. It reminded me so much of my dad, who always smoked a pipe with that tobacco. I got it and put it next to Dad’s bronze baseball glove and his baby picture.
After all that the rain was starting in earnest, so we headed home, checked out Vicki’s new horse, Malone, got my mail, and still didn’t get drenched. Not bad.
The rest of the wet day was pleasant, especially since Kathleen came back for a while bearing Valentines gifts. It’s always good to have someone to talk to!
And you know it’s a rainy day because I watched two movies, which means I wasn’t outside all day! Both Song Sung Blue and How to Train Your Dragon were good. I really enjoyed the Neil Diamond songs and sweet characters in the first one.
One of my online friends passed away today after a miserable struggle with cancer. I keep thinking about her husband and kids. They were so good to her. Hug a loved one!
Encouraging News Tidbits
I was too tired last evening to write anything, then I didn’t get much sleep last night (Lee lost his phone and used his watch to find it, soon after I fell asleep—that got me wide awake for a few hours). I guess I should have blogged then, huh?
Things have been pretty stable, at least for me and Lee, the past few days, which doesn’t lead to exciting essays. No complaints, though! It gives my mind space to send good thoughts out to others. Bonus!
There have been more signs of spring showing up, like this beautiful early Pipevine Swallowtail that I got some blurry photos of. Hmm, maybe the Presidents’ Day holiday will prompt me to trade my phone in for one with a good camera.
I’ve been seeing sulphurs and a couple of whites, too. I just hope we don’t get another freeze and set things back again. It can happen this time of year.
Most of my weekend will be spent counting birds, as it’s Great Backyard Bird Count time again. I got 60 species today, mostly because all the sparrows are still here.
Yesterday I would have had over 70 species if I’d believed Merlin. My last capture had parrots, flycatchers that aren’t here this time of year, and some European something. I smartly checked the recording and realized it hadn’t gotten the location from the GPS and was identifying birds of the world. I discarded all those fancy non-Texan birds.
I’m encouraged, nonetheless. I’ll get some real birds, even though it’s going to rain tomorrow (also good news).
Dream Home Thoughts
Write about your dream home.
I’m surprised the prompt writers don’t have me down as having responded to this one. But I’ll give it a try, with a bonus.
So my dream home is probably right where I live now. At least I have all I really ever wanted here, though I could dream of being somewhere with less cow poop and more forest. But I cannot complain about this house I helped design and picked all the materials for, inside and out. I have an office, a den, a yarn closet, a big bedroom, a kitchen with red tile, and a screened porch. Outside I have my very pleasant swimming pool for hot summers, a birding hut, a hut for actual birds, and a pasture full of beautiful horses. Plus we have plenty of dogs and space to house family members.
I’m very privileged. And oh yes, there aren’t other houses crammed all around me. I mostly see fields, trees, and a couple of neighbors.
I admit my house in Austin on the hill surrounded by greenbelts was sort of a secondary dream house and I really miss it. But you can’t have two at my pay grade.
As for the bonus, I wanted to talk about the avian dream house where the fowl here live. I think they don’t realize how lucky they are to have a hen house, a turkey hut, and a big run where someone tosses fresh greenery to them daily.
But I do know that Darryl Junior, my favorite pecker, thinks his water dish is a dream come true. That giant white behemoth can’t stop himself from poking it, stomping on it, and trying to break it.
Today I finally got the hose unhooked from it and replaced it properly so the automatic waterer feature would work again. That’s no thanks to Darryl and his “helpful” urges.
At least the horses didn’t bust out again like they did yesterday. Someone undid the chain holding the gate shut! I’m pleased that they’re so obedient that when I call them and look like I might have a food dish, they gallop right back into their pen. See, this ranch is a dream come true.
Pushing off Retirement
I had to write a very boring post yesterday because I was busy thinking about things I couldn’t talk about. But today I can say that I’ve decided to keep working at least through the end of the year.
I know a lot of people really look forward to retirement so they can relax in their golden years. I was sort of hoping to spend a lot of time with my horse activities when my contract was up, but I no longer have a horse community. I wanted to travel, but Lee won’t fly, and my hopes of traveling with Anita have fizzled out due to sickly dog and working 6 days a week.
So I’ll keep busy doing interesting work with nice people (and TV traveling while working). I’d been recruited heavily for a job that was interesting but in an industry I’m not fond of. When the chance to gradually move to a new role where I already work came up, I happily agreed. It will be slightly different, so a good change.
I’m relieved to have some personal good news to balance other stuff out. Having some disposable income for a while longer will allow me to donate more to good causes at this crucial time. That’s what really pleases me—I can help out.
Now I must sleep. I’m in a food coma from celebratory pizza.
Little Bits
Something I read on social media reminded me of how much I dislike being told to smile. My response to the person writing about it was that I’m not a dog performing tricks on command. I guess that makes me a disobedient bitch. Ha ha.
I ordered Pampered Chef stuff, because my ground beef masher broke and I wanted another baking dish. It helped Kathleen and I got stuff I wanted that will last a long time. My off-brand masher thing only lasted two years. Not good.
I’m enjoying my new afghan’s colors. I’m happy to have numerous projects again.
There had been an old television in my office for a very long time. My son took it away! Space!
I’m still figuring out work stuff, but my great attitude is making it easier. Yes. I have a great attitude. See, I’ve matured.
I still don’t understand the appeal of crotch clutching in musical performances. I accept that the popular culture bus has driven off and left me.
Super Fail (plus birds)
Cooking is not my favorite activity but I’m usually fairly good at it. Today was probably my worst cooking failure ever. Well, maybe the time I burned hard-boiled eggs was worse.
Anyway, I wanted to make a roast, and Lee had bought me all the things to go with it. I put it in the oven with potatoes and onions to cook slowly in my covered ceramic baking dish. I added some beautiful carrots later.
When I went to see if the food was cooked, the carrots were charred and smoking. The potatoes in the baking dish were also burned.
It appeared I’d cooked it at the wrong temperature.
I took it all out of the oven and pried the carrots out of the oval glass dish they’d blackened. Then I thought I should soak the dish so it would be easier to clean. You can guess what happened.
Pow!
The second water hit it, the glass shattered. It was still too hot. Lucky for me, shards were contained in the sink and none went down the drain.
Well, the food was delicious, if over-cooked. It added the excitement that was missing from the Super Bowl. I’ll spare you any entertainment analysis. There’s enough of that!
Instead you can enjoy the miniature Danish protest hat I made today using fine yarn and small needles. I’m using it as an accessory on my backpack, since I think wool hat weather won’t be around much longer.
Bird News
Ah birds. Sometimes they poop on you or peck at your fingers when you’re trying to fix their water dish (Darryl Junior). But mostly they’re gently entertaining. That’s very true this time of year when they’re getting ready for migrating, nesting, and love.
The first sign of bird love season is the arrival of the Purple Martins. I’d been hoping the ones who were here last year would return, and sure enough, the first scouts arrived last week. After Merlin Bird ID heard them three days in a row, I looked up blog posts by my friend Donna, who always wrote about them for the Master Naturalist group. Yep, hers usually arrive a bit before Valentine’s Day. I’m so happy we have repeat visitors and that our woodpeckers have made nice homes for them.
Another sign is the male songbirds start singing their melodic mating calls. So far I’ve noticed the Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, and Mockingbirds are trilling away. Oh boy, I can do without the long, extended Mockingbird sonatas.
The Mockingbirds are also doing something unusual, and that’s gathering in groups and chasing each other around, complete with scolding and shouting calls. I wonder if they’re pairing off, dividing up territory, or what?
I’m used to seeing large groups of Cardinals, especially after fledging time, but not Mockingbirds. I’ll have to investigate!
Challenging day at work tomorrow, so I’m off to sleep. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Book Report: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
I got this book when I was looking for something different and not all bloody and violent. It said it was in the Barnes & Noble book club, so I figured it wouldn’t be awful. And it’s true! The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, by Canadian author Emma Knight, is far from awful. It’s just what I needed.
It’s Knight’s first novel, but she’s obviously an experienced writer. I loved the fact that the writing was so good that it allowed me to focus on the characters, very nice young people going to university in Scotland. (One odd gaffe was that she asked for a bathroom and was laughed at in Scotland, but I know they say “washroom” in Canada.)
The main character is a young woman named Pen, who has a lot of family mysteries to work through, which introduce you to the other interesting characters, young and old, mostly a bit posh.
There’s a lot of discovering one’s sexuality in the book, but as I recall from the olden days that’s what you do at that time. All the people screw up, mean well, and learn. It’s quite entertaining to witness it all developing and to mentally cheer everyone on.
I liked that this book takes part in the not-too-distant past, so current events don’t creep in. Escaping to a familiar time, with familiar problems, and featuring satisfying solutions was great for me. I could use another light but satisfying novel like this.
Warning: it takes a long time until the title makes sense, so just go with it.
The Hermits' Rest 