dalthauser

* Terrible night sleeping. I tossed and turned - nose stuffed up - too hot - too cold - etc. etc. Glad this happens rarely. Today I will be groggy for sure. Maybe I'll stop somewhere for a Monster just in case.

* I got my Greenfield college transcripts as well as my high school transcript in the mail. These schools I attended 30+ years ago. My grades were okay, but it wasn't until I got to California that I started taking school seriously. I am ready to visit the college next week though since I have all the things I need now.

* I received the book and workbook of Anatomy & Physiology for Dummies. Since I'm taking this online in the fall I want to be ready. I am going to love this class - I can already tell.

* Met up with Alexis yesterday for lunch at Freebirds in San Antonio. Good food and not too expensive. Alexis is looking much better - back to her fiesty self. Hope she continues to get better.

* Yesterday we also had some ice cream at Brindles in San Antonio. Wow - great stuff. I had passionfruit and Italian Berries Marcel has Coconut and Tangerine. We'll be back when we're in the neighborhood. We also picked up a couple of good foodie books at Half Price Books next door.

* Cucumbers are in full production mode. We especially like the Armenian Cucumbers, and we hope they will survive further into the summer. We'll have ripe figs in about a week - we ate one yesterday. The Sunflowers should be ready to harvest in a few weeks. By August I will be ready to put the garden to bed for a couple of months.

Thought I'd do a life update since it's a little warm outside for working.

* Welcome to a new LJ Friend mysticknyght. I rarely add new people, but I found his describing himself as a "bleeding heart liberal" irresistible. Hope he doesn't find my Hippy lifestyle too inane. :-)

* After some discussion Marcel and I decided that I will move down to North Padre Island January 2011. New Year - big lifestyle change. It also allows me to finish out my Flex spending account that I've already received (paying per paycheck until the end of the year) - and keeps me from being penalized since I will use all my vacation time next month (if I leave before the year is out I'll have to pay back some of it). We are going to rent the New Braunfels house - neither one of us wants to sell since we imagine ourselves retiring here someday in the, hopefully, not to distant future.

* I have a broody hen, so this morning I set up the old isolation unit next to the coop for her to stay in for awhile. Marcel suggested I give her some eggs to sit on, but she doesn't seem to be interested in them in the new location. Not sure how long she'll need to be there before the broodiness gets out of her system.

* I posted Marcel's Restaurant menu on the Marcel's Port Aransas Facebook page. Later this evening I may get in there and post the wine/beer menu. Still working on the website as well, but it's slow going since there is so little time.

* This week I started going back and Tagging all my past entries starting with the very first. It was fun to look back on the past three years. I love my life!

That's it - back to work! :
Take Care Everyone!

* Morning Walk 1 hour 6 minutes. I collected 66 cans this morning! (brought a plastic grocery bag with me). Listened to the Diane Rehm show on iPod - President Elect Obama's Economic Team. Very lively conversation and some great call-in and email questions/comments from listeners.

* I saw on CNN.com and workplace gossip that there were many injuries and a death during the shopping rush on Black Friday. Last year, the first time in my life, I participated in the day after Thanksgiving sales. I'll never to it again. The savings are not enough for the amount of negative energy and stress you have to take on.

* Well, it's supposed to rain tomorrow - that sucks since I have a vacation day. I'm going to stay home and clean house - organize - and maybe get the extra room organized to become a "project" room for Sierra (and I).

* Sunday first thing bright and early - weather permitting - I'm heading out to Lost Maples National Park to hike. Sierra might come with and draw - etc. while I play. That afternoon I am supposed to go to Schlitterbahn with my friend Roger; however, I talked to him on Thanksgiving - and he sounded pretty conjested. I'm not going to count on him for doing anything Sunday.

* This morning's Walk podcast: Aspire Podcast: 12/10/06 - I like the host Gregory Penn even though he is a tiny bit eccentric. Quote I took away from this 'We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them" Kahlil Gibran

* My daughter called me last night to tell me she plans to come home in November. This is good news, but I remain cautiously optimistic since this is not the first time she's made these plans. I will once again need to rearrange my priorities personally and financially which I'm glad to do - any kind of change, however good, is stressful though - so I am already preparing myself :-)

* I've turned myself onto another musician which I hope will end this America kick I've been on for several months. She's Angelique Kidjo and I guess the genre she fits into is African Beat or African Reggae....I'm not sure, but I can't stop listening to it. I sometimes wonder if these music binges need to be addressed with therapy..... :-)

* I was so wishing that Hillary Clinton woudn't make her Convention speech about her - - another hope dashed :-( Halfway through her speech I found myself rolling my eyes and groaning. I officially dislike her now.

* Today I'm devoting myself to the house and maybe a quick trip to the grocery. I am not happy it's a soggy mess outside, because I have soooo much to do to get the fall/winter garden going!!

The thing about making bread by the seat of your pants is, when it come out super-awesome - you have no clue how to repeat it for next time.

It stayed super hot today until the sun went down, so I spent very little time outside. This always spoils my day.

I didn't go anywhere today - there were reasons I won't go into. It's all good in the neighborhood as my daughter would say.

Roo has figured out how to jump the fence. I'm not sure what to do about this; I really don't want to clip his wings because flight is a good defense. I also don't want him to roam the neighborhood and get hurt. Something tells me he wouldn't go very far away from the hens. I'll have to give it more thought.

* FedEx emailed - my Ipod is at my house waiting for me.....SQUEE!!!! Now I just want to go home, but if I do I'll lose my OT I worked this week.

* I finished painting my hallway - I'll post an entry with pics this weekend.

* I think Jesse Jackson is just suffering from Obama-Envy.

* I am signing up for my vehicle insurance with Progressive - it's 2X the coveraga at over $100 less than the current quote for renewal from my current company! I'm kind of annoyed with Allstate for ripping me off.

* The garden responded immediately to the rain we've had. I guess it's really been starved for water in spite of my watering. I need to get the drip system put back online - this will help.

* Is Demonoid legal? I don't want the feds to beat my door down - especially since my neighbor is leasing me his connection.

Out.....

Today was the day I went to donate platelets in San Antonio. I'd planned to finally visit the Green vegetarian restaurant there for lunch - then over to Whole Foods to pick up a few things on the way home. I did donate......

Please forgive the whining......

It all started when I was up the road a few miles and realized I forgot my digital camera. It goes everywhere with me, and it wasn't in my purse. Bad omen.

I got to the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center on time (after having to double back because I missed it). The screening took a long time, and I didn't get into the donation room until 9am.

Then the tech insisted on using my right arm to take the initial platlet test - now I have three really dark blue bruises where she jabbed me and jabbed me and moved the needle around looking for a vein. So, they find out I have PLENTY of platelets (they said like a man - - I think that was meant as a compliment).

They hooked me up to the machine and put on a DVD (Juno - loved it) and they finally started the procedure at 9:30am. It finally finished at 11:15 am, and I was a little annoyed since I wanted to be at lunch by 11am. I left the building finally at 11:30am and hit the road to find Green.

After the first three attempts to find it (backtracking to where I knew where I was each time and starting over0 I was beginning to think it was not meant to be. On the fifth (yes, I'm persistent) try I ran into a sign pointing the way to I-35 North (the way home) and I took it as a sign....... (by this time it was 12:55pm)

On the way back North I saw the sign for Eisenhauer road and thought "ok, this doesn't have to be a total loss - I'll stop at the big Goodwill "everything for a dollar" supercenter. I got off and turned down the wrong road in major traffic, backtracked and got to the right road 20 minutes later and pulled into the parking lot...... it's not there anymore! Jeez!!!! LoL I swear I just laughed.

Now I'm home - and I'm putting primer on hallway trim and installing chicken nest boxes (I'll post on this later).

Whew!

* Ahhh the tide came in finally - relief in sight.

* Still awake. I'll just stay up until bedtime to get back on schedule.

* I bought paint to paint the bedroom yesterday. The lighter color for the walls - the darker for the trim. Once I got it home I saw the resemblance to vanilla and chocolate ice cream. I decided to paint the hallway this instead. I want to go with red or orange tones in the front bedroom instead. If Sierra (or anyone else in my family) doesn't move here (and it's looking like that will be the case) I'm going to make that bedroom a southwestern theme. Today I cleaned the trim good and masked the floor.

* I felt so confident after fixing the toilet that I decided to install the faucet my mom bought when she was here last. It looked something like this:

I didn't finish it because I couldn't get the plastic attachments off that anchor the faucet to the sink - I tried everything I could think of. So, I put it all back together the old way - and now there's next to no pressure..... argh. I'll deal with it Wednesday.

* Went to Papa Murphy's Pizza to pick up a pie because I'm deliriously tired and pizza sounds good. No tomatoes due to the Salmonella thing, but I have plenty of those little buggers...... oops - I forgot to set the timer and it got a leetle too brown.

* It was so hot today the hens were sticking their heads in the cinderblocks inside their coop to keep cool.

* Here's a picture (not the best view of him) of Roo in all his new Rooster glory. Still isn't crowing though, and he's still a mama's boy - coo's if I pick him up and nestles his head in the crook of my arm.

I had my day off all planned. A list of about 38 tasks to complete between 6am and 11pm. I got a few of them done.

I woke up at 6am and watched the chickens wake up and walk down the ramp.

Headed for the garden to water (task one).

Cranked up the weed eater to tackle the fenceline - - - and this is kind of where I stayed off and on all day. I have brush and stuff all along my hog and barb wire fencing out back. I have to change whips about every 8 feet. As I went I also trimmed the bird poop bushes which required both pruning shears and a saw. Then there was the evil Mesquite which I didn't trim back last year, so it was huge this year. If the devil was a bush - this would be it. No matter how careful I am I come away bloodied. I did manage to trim the fenceline - and I made a good dent in the bird poop growth (though I need another go at it to get it all).

I was at this task on and off between trips to the house to ~~cool off and re-energize~~ watch choppy episodes of The Tudors on www.surfthechannel.com.

Now it's already 11pm and I didn't get the toilet fixed or the garden weeded or the "bodhi" tree trimmed or the last of the blackberries transplanted - but it was a good day, I am alive - healthy - and things could suck much worse.

* I went to my quarterly dental cleaning in San Antonio today (or so I thought). I got there and my hygienist said they didn't schedule me for enough time - so she can't do it. Argh!! I re-scheduled for the Tuesday after next. Not a happy camper, but it's not like I traveled to Austin and paid for parking.....

* I did make the trip kind of worth it by doing my quarterly Sun Harvest Farms shopping. I always come away with sticker shock, but I do get lots of stuff I can't get in New Braunfels: Ecover products (I use the dish soap and laundry detergent), Hemp Protein powder, nuts (raw almonds were on sale), grains (oats, red lentils), and bread baking stuff (vital wheat gluten, rice & rye flour - they had organic stone ground whole wheat flour for $1.99 a pound!!! This is another justification for buying a grain mill damnit).

* I got gasoline in San Antonio today - $3.59 a gallon which is 10 cents a gallon cheaper than New Braunfels. Why didn't anyone put the cents symbol on the keyboard?

* Some people who have been with my journal a long time might remember when I began my experiment with the Bach Remedies Mimulus and Wild Oat. I'd had good luck with the Rescue Remedy in the past - so I thought I'd give it a go. I think Mimulus might have had some effect on me - the Wild Oat, not so much that I noticed....though I could be wrong. I am done with both bottles, and decided I'd move on to something else - so while at Sun Harvest, picked up the Bach Remedy Larch. Larch is supposed to help instill a sense of self-esteem when you feel inferior, fear failure, or lack self-confidence. I know all of you are probably wondering why in the world I would choose that one..... :-)

* I'm converting my 300 cd collection to digital. Has anyone done this? How do you keep your files? I was planning on keeping them on my pc, but I'd just started and I'd accumulated over 10 gigabytes of files. My pc hard drive is 50gb and 30 of that is free - so no way all my music would fit. Right now I'm transferring the files to data cd's until I can figure out how to do it. My plan was to have a big jukebox on the hard-drive - but doesn't look like that's going to happen.

* Tonight the season finale of American Idol begins. Looking forward to the performances. It could be anyone's guess. www.votefortheworst.com is telling their following to vote for David Archuletta which kind of surprises me. I would have thought he would be the favorite. I've been a David Cook fan most of the season, but I always vote depending on the individual shows performances. I loved Archuletta the most when he sang Angel - gave me goosebumps. Tomorrow's results show is 2 hours, but I think it's 7-9 not 8-10 so I won't get to see it live. Anyway - in 2 separate posts I'm going to put up my favorite performances from each. They are both pretty talented.

I woke up in the middle of the night due to what I assume was an animal making eerie night calls.
I have no idea what it was, but it was frightening.

I went to the bathroom window and opened it to look out. I didn't turn the light on so it's pitch dak - it makes the noise again, and my whole body got the chilly goosebump feeling.... so creepy, yet strangely exhilarating - like how you feel watching a vampire movie in the dark.

I slammed the window shut and ran out to shut the chickens in their coop.
(Which, looking back on the situation was incredibly stupid - scary creature in the dark - let's leave the safety of the house and go outside in our nightgown....)

It's possible it was one of the sheep next door (sounded like it could possibly be that), but when I went outside I couldn't see any of them.

When I got back inside I just laughed at myself :-)

A giant crack of thunder woke me straight up last night. This sort of thing always happens when I go to bed late and need as many remaining hours of sleep as I can get. Anyway, lots of rumbling thunder and rain. As soon as it was light I checked on the chickens - they were huddled under the coop - they appear traumatized. Once I came with greens to eat they miraculously recovered. On my way back to the house I slipped in mud and landed on my bare hands and knees - nice.

I got a thing in the mail from the stimulus people saying I'm getting $600 and I'll have it by May 9th. It's 300 more than I thought I was getting. All of it going to finally pay off the credit card that I've been carrying a balance on for months. When I had the big tree removed I had to put some things on the card to compensate - I've been carrying a balance ever since. It's the first time I'd carried a balance in about 10 years.

I rushed to work this morning forgetting to eat breakfast. Thank you Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn! (I keep a box in my desk at all times - breakfast of champions).

* I watched the last few minutes of Larry King last night. It was about that dude who thinks he's the Messiah. His son was on talking to Larry. Someone called in and pointed out the bible said he'd meet his people in the sky - he wouldn't be mingling with humans on earth - so what gives... The son said you have to have an oil lamp on in your eye (or something like that) in order to understand..... jeez....

* I upgraded my Media Player to version 11 - wow, big difference. My new project (like I need one) is to rip all my CD's to mp3. I did my Goth Box set (4 cd's) last night. It became about 283 mb of files. Not sure what I'm doing, but I have the INTERNET, so I can look up anthing I don't understand :-)

* I was watering the garden this morning thinking about how I could find someone to teach me how to replace the siding on my house. I got a business idea - DIY University!! I know I'd travel and pay to attend a weeklong bootcamp teaching DIY skills. There could be various programs. Beginner (use of tools, measuring, etc. etc.), Basic Plumbing, Painting/Wallpaper, etc. etc. etc. If I had actual skills I'd consider investigating this further. It's a good idea though don't you think?

* I've skipped my usual breakfast of either oatmeal or eggs in favor of a hi/pro fruit smoothie - and I've cut out the usual dinner to a big green salad with a veggie chicken pattie crumbled in it. Been doing this for 2 days now. I already feel less bloated.

I missed the last 8 minutes of American Idol last night. Tape ran out. Lucky for me I have THE INTERNET!! - so I jumped online to see who got kicked off. Like I thought - Jason Castro.

I'm too thick - I've got to pay attention to what I'm eating and put in place some type of formal exercise. I sit on my butt for 9 hours a day chained to a telephone headset - so I just keep gaining a tiny bit at a time. I'd say I've gained #30 since I started working here. I'm not comfortable and I feel bloated.

My cucumbers showed their first blossoms, and a couple of the vines are throwing out "feelers". Whoo hoo! Can't wait to see those babies climb. The pole beans - not doing as well. I harvested another pint of berries this morning. Man, this putting in Blackberry bushes idea is really paying off. I'm going to do grapes this coming winter. No clue about how to do it but I have THE INTERNET!!! :-)

I think I may go see Ironman after work tonight. If I do it on the weekend it will throw off all my planned projects.

* My Pecan Trees grew leaves on them overnight. One day bare - the next time I noticed - full of leaves. Maybe I'm just not observant. Blackberries do ripen in hours - this I know because today I harvested them about four times. I ended up with about a half gallon of berries today.

* I helped out my friend Wanda today. We picked up a used sleeper sofa and brought it to her house. $35 - it was a deal. Luckily it wasn't huge, so we were able to handle it. Her husband was at adult day care - it was his birthday. I thought it a little strange, but it's an upbeat place - so I guess she figured he'd enjoy being there. She stopped at the grocery store and got him a cake on the way. He's 84 years old.

* My neighbor was good enough to give me one of the many monitors he has on his lanai since mine was so bad it made me dizzy to be in front of it too long. This will do until the time comes to buy a new computer. I did splurge on a speaker system (if you want to call $24 a splurge). I love internet radio - and it comes though great with my connection. With the speakers and sub woofer - it really sounds nice. I justified the speakers since I avoided having to pay for a new monitor. :-)

* Jason Castro pretty much blew it tonight on American Idol. The only way he'll make it through is if Howard Stern decides to tell all his listeners to vote for him. Too bad - he's got talent. Just a bad night for him.

* I made a profile on an online dating site! I can't believe I actually went through with it. I'll probably delete it tomorrow. It's at www.plentyoffish.com which is a free site. I was honest in the profile and didn't jazz anyting up, so I'm sure I will get zero notice. It's all good though. It was a big step for me to do that (and with a pic!) Whoa!

So, yeah.

Well, I didn't go to the wine tasting. I got home and was going to change and go, and my neighbor came to help me get the internet set up. Just as well - I got a lot done and it was a good day.

I'd forgotten how great internet access at home is. I could almost do without television now. :-)

* My cousin canceled - again. She mentioned Tuesday - we'll see :-)

* I ate several ripe delicious blackberries from my vines this weekend. I took pictures, but I forgot to bring my camera to work so I can upload.

* My chickens now want to roost (previously they were happy to sleep in the bedding of the coop). Last night it was a disaster - I designed the roosts all wrong. Tomorrow I'm off - and I will re-design into something they can use.

* I don't have any more vacation days until October. I don't know how I'm going to make it that long.

* I have a new friend Wanda who lives a couple properties down. She's my mom's age, but it's cool to hang out with her.

* I think I'm getting Carpal Tunnel in my wrist (or Arthritis). Need to get the company doc to see if I can get a brace. Or I might to to my local doc for advice. Want to nip it in the bud.

* I got gasoline yesterday - $3.48 per gallon (well - 3 cents less since I used a Walmart giftcard). I'm counting my blessings I work 8 miles from my house - mostly highway. I feel a little guilty that I drive a V6 even though I actually use my truck (the dents and scratches in the bed prove it...hehehe). My sacrifice will be to eliminate Austin/San Antonio shopping trips that I used to take for fun.

* I called and complained about my dental bill. They took off the post-surgery "observation" charges, but said I had to pay the insurance part of the procedure since it wasn't covered (they said they called to verify my coverage - so I'd be fighting with the insurance company - and it's just not worth it since they will just say I should have put in a written request for approval.....which I guess is true).. In the future I will be getting stuff in writing prior to anything being done. Live and learn. On a happy note - they ran my flexible spending card and it paid it even though the procedure was last year. Just $$$ less I have available if I get sick etc. this year.

* I was driving home from Home Depot the other day with a load of stuff. I had a Rubbermaid trash bin there. It somehow managed to blow out the back - and I cringed as I looked in the rear view mirror to see motorists dodging it. It lodged in the under-carriage of a Ford truck as I pulled off the road. He followed. He de-wedged it and handed it back to me. His attitude was "no harm - no foul" and I went on my way. I couldn't help but think how bad that situation could have been - not to mention expensive. This made the whole dental $$$ think a little less painful.

* I went ahead and drilled holes into the bottom of the ~~hot~~ swamp tub on the patio. There is always accumulated water on the bottom, and it bothers me (mosquitoes and unsanitary). The wasps will need to find another source of mosquito larvae now I guess. I plan to make it a kitchen herb garden next year. Now that the giant hackberry tree is gone - there's sun in that corner.

* I'm giving up Thursday and Friday TV shows. Usually I tape 2 shows on Thurs and 1 on Friday while I'm at work and watch when I get home. I'm going to try and read / write / clean or watch previously taped "educational" programing instead. Once American Idol ends I'm going to drop Wednesday night TV shows as well. Wish me luck.... :-)

Sunday I worked in the garden most of the day. I "built" arbors for the cucumbers and pole beans. They turned out pretty good - and I figure the cost of materials was about $20 for each (4 posts, 2 concrete mesh panels). It doesn' t show up very good here, but the top is like a little roof. Once the plants grow up - I think it will look pretty cool.

Saturday morning my neighbor helped me finally fix the flat tires on my riding mower. I decided to take it for a spin and ended up mowing the entire back section of my property (took about an hour or so). What I didn't remember is to put on sunscreen....... I was officially sun sick until Tuesday. My back actually blistered - I am so mad at myself for being so careless.

Monday I ran errands and planted peanuts, sorghum, and sweet potatoes. All three are experiments. I also did a little tree trimming.

Tuesday I did some house cleaning and goofed off.

* Yesterday I missed the "monologue" of the Regis & Kelly show because bush wanted us all to witness his chastising congress. That petty little man annoys me ever so much - especially when he interferes with my AM routine.

* I've given away the last of my sweets. This year I made two new items that I will continue to make - Sahlah's Brown Sugar Cookies, and Coffee Fudge. I think I could market the fudge to Starbucks...... seriously.

* I'm going to be alone this Christmas Eve and Day - since I don't have home net access - no web either. It kind of sucks; but then again not. I wish I had family or a mate to share my life with - but it doesn't make me sad or lessen my life any. It would be icing on the cake - but the cake itself is damn good. :-)

* My job is morphing into what's looking more and more like a telemarketing position - and I hate it. It's beneath me, but I have to stay until I can find something else. I wish I could elaborate, but since my net access is at work, well.......

* My father renewed my subscription to Reader's Digest and Bottomline Health for Christmas.
This year he also added Consumer Reports! Yay Dad!!

* I forgot my PURSE today. I got to work and gathered my belongings. No purse. First time ever to do that (though I forget my work badge necklace at least once a month..... that I write up to a Freudian slip though).

* I brought a giant salad for lunch today that included organic spinach, lettuce, choy, and radishes - all from the garden. My spinach alone saves me $24.00 a month ($5.99 a tub at HEB). I wish tomatoes grew in winter.

Current Mood: happy

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dalthauser

June 2017

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