Sunday Afternoon

Dudley and I made a journey to visit with Mom & Dad for a little while this afternoon. I needed to tend to my violet-children, who are doing great in their foster home, by the way.

Mom and Dad were just hanging out, enjoying the beautiful weather - today was fabulous!

Dudley is never quite sure what's going on when we go anywhere, and today was no exception, even though he's been to 7SR before. He was mostly interested in exploring the great outdoors and playing with Kookie just a little rather than doing inside-visiting.

During our meanderings, we admired Dad's jalapeno peppers, which seem to be no worse-for-the-wear given our heat and drought this summer. They're as tasty as they are beautiful, and I brought home a couple of handfuls to go with our grilled shrimp for dinner tonight. We'll probably stuff them with cheese, put them in a foil-pack and stick them on the grill - YUM! Served with a dollop of sour cream, there's nothing better!!!

Dad spotted a little snake in the middle of his dinner that we watched for a few minutes. Snakes eat slowly, and his mouth was so full of frog that I was able to get close with the camera and not worry about getting bitten. No doubt the frog was too far in to be spat out...

The visit was great - no place is more relaxing than Mom & Dad's back yard on a Sunday afternoon, for sure.

Jimmy Update

Jimmy is resting comfortably and seems to be in pretty good shape all things considered.

He's hanging on the couch, nested-up between Jack and me with Dudley wedged in behind. We've had the tightly-packed arrangement since Jack got home from work with different cats rotating through in some sort of batting order. We'll call it "catting order" - it applies to several situations with them...

I uploaded a couple of pictures of Jimmy's wound - if they're too CSI, leave a comment and let me know.

It has stopped bleeding and the doggie pain medication he's on seems to have made him a lot more comfortable. He only has to take that one once a day, which is a good thing. He also has an antibiotic that's twice a day, and it's about time to wrap one of those into a piece of ham and give him a medicated goodie.

Jack is off tomorrow, but I'm going to have to get out and about. I want to visit with Mom & Dad for a little while and need to tend the violets. We also need dog food, so a trip to TSC is in order. Tomorrow is Jack's only day off this week, so he won't have a convenient time to go. He'll have to haul the garbage anyway, and I'm certainly not going to complain about my reasons for having to leave the house!

We're currently watching the Auburn-Florida game, rooting for Auburn, since we're ALWAYS for whoever's playing the Gators - especially when they're winning!!!!!!!!!!

A Pain in the Butt

Regular blog readers will know that it hasn't been that long since Jimmy's last brush with disaster, the copperhead bite on the lip in mid-August (see 08/19/2007 posting, if you need a refresher).

Now it's a different kind of bite on the other end of the dog.

Last evening after dinner, we let Jimmy out to play. Our neighbors were home, Jimmy and Dixie were playing with Bud, the dog of some friends who were visiting them, when a new dog in the neighborhood showed up.

Apparently there was some controversy, Jimmy said, "Bite my ass", and the new dog obliged.

Jack and I didn't realize anything was wrong when Jimmy first came in after his romp, but the neighbor called to let us know about the fracas, and closer inspection revealed a wound on Jimmy's derriere and a smaller one where his 'tender bits' would be if he still had such things.

We knew he'd need a trip to the vet, but by the time this happened last night, it was late, and we knew treatment could wait until morning.

Poor Jimmy didn't sleep well -- he was restless and paced most of the night, and this morning he looked like he wanted to sit or lay down and rest, but his backside was too painful for him to comfortably do that. He acted pitiful and kept looking at the door, like he KNEW he needed to go to the doctor.

By 8:30 we were at SuperVet, answering the "What is it THIS time?" question that always gets asked when either Jack or I show up there with Jimmy.

Because it's a bite wound, the vet decided not to stitch it shut for fear of trapping bacteria and creating infection within the wound. They shaved and cleaned the bitten areas and sent us home with antibiotics and pain medications. If Jimmy is too preoccupied with licking the area, he'll have to wear one of those lampshade things, but for right now we're holding off on it...

Now, we're all home and resting. Jimmy was still afraid to lay down when we got back, so I had to help him a little bit. He seems comfortable unless he has to move his left leg, and I'm keeping a close eye on him to make sure he leaves the wound alone.

Dudley is concerned and hanging close, being a very good boy.

Jimmy's going to be fine, thank goodness - again!

Blame it on the Moon

We're just finishing the full moon, which is currently at 98% and waning.

Last night was the famous "Harvest Moon" -- Mom and I sang a few bars as I handed over temporary custody of my flower children in the parking lot of the church with said moon hanging overhead...

I feel that the violets are in good hands.

I drove home last night having spent the last night in the apartment with Jack on Tuesday. My intent was to drive to the first stop on the train route and make my way to town via commuter rail, reading a magazine, listening to music on my mp3 player without a care in the world.

Wrong.

I left the house at 5:3o, thinking I had plenty of time to get to the train station by 6:45. I did have time. The plenty part was lacking. As I pulled into the parking lot, the train blew its horn and was off without me.

Storm looming in the distance, I realized that to drive in to work would require a stop for gas and a visit to the ladies' room. I found the new road to the interstate, a convenience store that was actually convenient, and myself headed to work during rush hour in a thunderstorm downpour.

Two and a half hours after leaving home - straight-up 8:00, I sat down at my desk, exhausted but somewhat amused at my morning's semi-ordeal.

I blame it (and another thing or two) on the moon.

I had a good day - a long day. I stayed a little bit late so that I can justify shutting the book earlier tomorrow.

Because of Jack's overtime earlier in the week, he's going to get to leave early tomorrow - YAY! He's pretty excited about having a few more hours on Friday afternoon. He'll also be off on Sunday.

Lord knows what we'll get into . Mattress shopping is a short-order must-do... Now that I'm sleeping at home again, I can't take sciatic pain every single night, though it DOES make it easier for me to decide to get up in the morning!

Dudley seems to enjoy being a country dog already. He was dirty and happy when I got home... Jack said that he and Jimmy had romped through the woods together for a little while. Dudley usually comes back in pretty short order -- Jimmy can run like a cheetah, and Dud's little legs just can't keep up over a large distance. He was glad to see me when I came rolling in...

Well, it's almost bedtime, and I have another long day to go before rest and relaxation can really start --

It'll be another early start/early departure Friday.

Goodnight all!

Waiting for the Boys

It's Monday night again, but this week I'm ALONE! It's just temporary - Jack and the boys are on the way...

Yes, it IS late for them to be on the road - it'll probably be 10:30 by the time they get here, but Jack had to stay late at work. They're getting ready for inventory, so he's having to stay until the work gets done at night, and tonight it was probably close to 8:00 when he got home. By the time he got his stuff packed, did business trips with both dogs (he always does them separately, since doing them at the same time is akin to flying a large out-of-control box kite), and got on his way, he was well-toward 9:00.

He's so excited about this visit that he wanted to go ahead and come tonight rather than waiting for morning... I can't say that I blame him. I know what it's like to want to be home. At least I know he'll be careful and drive safely - he always does - and we will have a little time to visit with one another before bedtime.

I have us a couple of really nice sushi rolls from the late-night place up near the university to have as a late-night snack!!

Jack is working today -- I've done a few little things around the house since he left earlier, but I haven't been too energetic about anything.

I met him in town last evening, and we did shopping together at the end of his work-day. We've sort of established that as a routine when he has to stay late on the weekends.

Once we got home, we became involved in movie that was on cable and ended up not fixing our dinner until quite late, which we've also established as a routine when he has to stay late on the weekends! Oh well, it works for us...

I did fix our dinner, since Jack was so worn out from work, and it WAS good when we got around to eating it. We'd grabbed a rotisserie chicken, one of our staples, and things that could be easily prepared, but it still took effort to pull it together. It's amazing that green beans and a batch of rice can make a store-bought chicken seem like a down-home meal.

Who knows what we'll have tonight. I plan to meet Jack for a late lunch this afternoon, and we'll strategize... Since we both have to be up & at'em first thing in the morning, I'm going to be lobbying for "easy" again!

I've updated a few pictures - hope you all enjoy them.

The Derelict Blogger

I must admit I've been "asleep at the wheel" as far as the blog is concerned this week. I offer no real reason or excuse for not posting besides having other things on the agenda.

On Wednesday night, Dudley and I were invited for dinner with a friend from work and her family out on the west side of the city, which made for a wonderful evening. She grilled delicious steaks and made mashed potatoes that were almost as yummy as Jack's - well-seasoned and substantial, mashed with a hand-masher instead of an electric mixer so they still had texture but no lumps, topped with melted butter and paprika... YUM.

We had a great visit, and Dudley was a huge hit. As I've posted before, he's sometimes not wild about little children and was a bit shy in the beginning, but so was my friend's little boy. Before long they were crawling around on the floor together, and Dudley's anteater-like tongue was fully engaged in discovering what a five year-old boy's face tastes like to the delight of said five year-old. He kept giggling and saying, "Mommy, this dog LIKES me - he's licking me."

It was the cutest thing, and I could've kicked myself for forgetting to take my camera to the city with me this week.

Jack and I have been invited to eat with them againg this week during Jack's last visit in the city, and we're looking forward to some social behavior with people our age!

And speaking of that "last visit" thing --

I'm pretty much over the disappointment of losing out on the apartment arrangement. It's been great and has made work a lot more convenient, but it's time to get back to making the REST of life, like spending time with my husband, more convenient.

For the most part, I'm packed - houseplants and a couple of stuffed animals have yet to be evacuated, but I'm hoping that Jack can help me with those on his return trip from the city Wednesday. If not that, Mom and Dad will be in town on Thursday, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind toting a few things home for me. It's likely that at least some of my African violets may have to go into foster care in Mom's kitchen, since we don't have enough light or a large enough cat-free zone for them to survive, and I've taken SUCH good care of them - one is even coming back into bloom! The shamrocks, which look beautiful right now, should be able to handle the conditions here - they're not nearly so fickle (she says now...)

It's time for me to get ready and go meet Jack after his day at work for some grocery shopping and knocking about.

Ciao!

What Can You Say About Monday?

It's back to the city on Monday night... The place doesn't seem so home-y in the knowledge that after tonight, I'll only have seven more to stay here.

The doors of empty closets just sound differently when you close them.

I AM glad that I went ahead and carried a carload of stuff home with me last week as what remains is a very manageable amount that will be no problem to deal with. I'm living out of a suitcase for the next two weeks, and the future beyond that is still up in the air. Jack and I have pretty much decided that we're accelerating our relocation plans to "split" the difference in our commutes and find a much more affordable house than what is available in desirable locations here in the city.

We've looked at enough on-line real estate listings to know that what we want is either on an acre for $160K in the suburbs or wedged into a quarter-acre lot for $325K here in the city. All things considered, it's a no-brainer!!

Jack is coming for one last visit next week, which is appropriate - his first visit was Halloween night, just after I started staying here last fall, and it's fitting that he spend some time here during my last.

I'll be seeing a lot more of him, I'm sure, since I will probably end up commuting some in the short term, and that won't be entirely bad.

On Wednesday I'm looking at a house that's for rent at a reasonable rate, but it's way on the west side of town - not a bad commute to and from work, but for everything else it's in the middle of nowhere. When Jack comes to visit, it would take an extra thirty minutes for him to get there from home, and though it's a good "deal", it's sounding less and less like a good "option" at this point. The people are dog-friendly, so Dudley would be cool there, but to be geographically FARTHER away from home doesn't make much sense to me.

The Poker Run Party

Yesterday was the annual poker run at Marina del Bradshaw followed by the annual post-poker run covered-dish dinner and hootenanny.

The event raised $1100, which will be used to purchase a cardiac defibrillator for the dock, and the guy with the winning hand won $500.

A few months ago one of the houseboat owners had a heart attack and died because it took so long for the ambulance to arrive. A defibrillator might've saved him, so the dock folks decided to use this year's poker run money to buy one - a WONDERFUL idea considering how far away from town we are in this corner of the lake.

Since Jack was working and we weren't able to put the boat in to draw our own cards, someone else drew for us during the run. All we got was a pair of 4's, but it was still fun, and our twenty bucks went to a good cause.

I made a couple of pans of Mexican Layered dip that were a big hit - I think both pans were licked clean!! It WAS good, but there was lots of yummy stuff to eat - big pans of lasagna, barbecue, chicken alfredo, corn casserole, broccoli casserole, pot roast with carrots and potatoes... And that's just the stuff I sampled!!

Jack and I met back up here at the house around 7:30 and rejoined the party around the same time the music got started. The DJ was great, and coincidentally enough, his sweetie is an old friend of mine that used to work with me at the hospital. We had a blast talking to them, and the whole party was great. We've never been to one there that wasn't!

Now that the fun stuff is over, I need to get busy with some not-fun stuff like laundry, changing the sheets on the bed and trying to get Jimmy back into the house.

More later perhaps...

Good Things to Come

Jack is a'snooze on the couch after our routine Friday night dinner at the dock...
We've both had long weeks, and mine was particularly eventful.

I found out on Wednesday morning that my "apartment benefit" is being cut at the end of the month, so I've only got two weeks left in my cool townie digs. Jack will get to come for one more visit the last few days I'm there, which will be a good way to end things on Cool Street.

Since the apartment IS so convenient to work, the mall, the good grocery store, the neat sushi place, and so many things that both Jack and I enjoy, I did inquire with the apartment's contact person about the possibility of staying on and paying the full price myself. Boy, was I barking up the wrong tree - just my four nights each week would cost a thousand dollars a month! There's no way I can support that course of action - a thousand dollars a month is a nice mortgage payment, you know?

The apartment is nice, but it's not THAT nice...

I went ahead and packed almost everything in the apartment last night and brought everything I could fit in the car when I came home today. There are still a few things left in the apartment, but I should be able to clear out the rest it in one more trip. With Jack coming during those last few days, we'll be able to get the plants carted home or to other safe places.

Hopefully Mom and Sis will be able to help in providing foster homes for wayward violets, since there's no way they will ever survive in the darkness of home.

And speaking of those violets... Despite the disappointment of the apartment situation and the uncertainty of the near future, signs of hope have appeared just this week to let me know that better things are coming --

Monday's Odds & Ends

Dudley-Man and I are back in the city, safe & sound in the apartment --

After the short holiday work-week and super-extended weekend, I was NOT in the mood to go back to work this morning, and Jack struggled with the same thing.

Jack had to be at work at 7:00, and I left the house not long after he did so that I could arrive at the office a bit earlier than normal for a Monday morning. It's nice that my boss doesn't particularly care what time any of us come in, but I don't like having to stick around until late to put in a full day's work. The only benefit is that most everyone else comes in early and leaves earlier, which makes for a more quiet and productive environment for me after everyone else has headed home.

Some days I really miss the privacy of having my own office with a door that I can shut when I want to have a private phone conversation or just need some peace and quiet. The copy machine for the department is just outside my cube, so the area tends to be loud and there's lots of "company" throughout the day.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to make a run to the grocery store... There's very little to eat her at the apartment other than stomach-friendly provisions left over from week-before-last's bout with gastritis, but I do have plenty of caffeine-free diet Cokes, Crystal Light, and bottled water, and it's generally lack of beverages that drives me out. I can always eat ramen noodles and peanut butter & crackers, but I can't do without my diet Cokes!! Perhaps a run to the little bi-rite at the corner is in order...

When I got to the apartment this afternoon, I noticed that one of the African violets is getting ready to bloom again - EXCITING!!! I plan to take some pictures of the baby flower-buds to post here -- they're cute as can be. I also have two leaf cuttings that have sprouted into their very own baby violet plants that are just now "showing".

It's time to relax a bit - have a good evening everyone!

Hello "Deer"!

Just after my blog post earlier this morning, I decided to slide back out with the camera -- Jimmy was out "running wild", and considering the amount of traffic we've seen already this morning, I was providing some loose supervision and a diversion from the temptation of car-chasing.


I saw movement in the road and thought it was Jimmy, but no, it was a young deer, closely followed by her mother.


Just a couple of days ago, in the turkey column, I predicted seeing deer soon, and now here they are.


I watched them for several minutes and approached them carefully, but as soon as the mother made a movement toward the big field across the road from us, they were both gone in a flash. We'll certainly be seeing more of them as fall and winter progress, then CERTAINLY in the spring. Deer are the reason that we don't go to the trouble of planting some varieties of lilies -- deer find them tasty, especially when they're young.


What these two don't know is that many of our neighbors feel the same way about deer -

The 100th Post

When I signed on just now, I realized that this will be Post #100 here on the blog -- that's a milestone!


Thanks Mom for the comment on the video I posted yesterday -- I always love hearing that my little projects are successful, and I DO feel this latest effort is particularly nice.


After eating seafood buffet at the marina for dinner last night, Jack and I called it an early evening and were asleep well before 10 o'clock, which is nearly unheard of for us on a Friday night, but we were both exhausted and struggling to stay awake. Nothing on television could hold our interest, but Friday nights this time of year are notorious for "bad TV".


Because we had such an early bedtime last night, we were both awake WELL before the chickens this morning -- I think it was around 4:00 when I decided that I just couldn't stay in the "back-breaker" any longer and announced that I was getting up. Jack was right behind me, so even though it's only quarter-of-nine on a Saturday morning, we've been up for HOURS!


We'd planned on going fishing today, but with other 'high priority' projects, such as Jack smoking a big pork loin for home-made barbecue, have moved boat-fishing to the back burner. We have crickets and nightcrawlers that we don't want to go to waste, so there's a chance we'll do some bank-fishing later on in the day, after the pork is finished and the heat of the day begins to subside.


I've already been out on photographer-duty this morning, but all I could find of interest were a couple of weird little spiders that I'll include here... Perhaps I should save stuff like this for Halloween!!

2007 A Season in Bloom

Surprise, I'm Home and The Turkey Encounter

Yesterday I surprised Jack by showing up in the parking lot where he works JUST as he was unlocking his car...



I arranged to take off today and tomorrow to spend a long weekend with him. His schedule just happened to fall so that he is off Thursday through Sunday, and since it's been almost a YEAR since we've had this much time together - before I started working in the city - I took advantage of the opportunity. Despite our big survey last week, I haven't had that much on my "to do" list at work other than my routine tasks. I have a set of minutes to type Monday or Tuesday and a meeting coming up in a couple of weeks that I have to coordinate, but that's pretty much it.



I have to present my inservice on Friday -- that's something to look forward to... I really enjoy doing that.



After surprising Jack and heading toward the house, I was at the 2-minute ETA mark when I spotted turkeys in a field. I quickly pulled over, retrieved my camera (from the bottom of my big yellow travel bag in the trunk of the car) and became "she who photographs".



Unfortunately, "she who photographs" is also "she who frightens turkeys"...



After the initial picture, the one at the top of the page where the turkeys look pretty relaxed, they saw me and freaked out, running in turkey-panic to the top of the little hill.



Knowing that no good would come of me crossing the fence between the backyard and pasture of somebody's weekeend place, I returned to the car, satisfied with the few pictures I managed to take.



Now that autumn is on-coming, there will be plenty of opportunities for turkey, deer, fox and who knows what-all...

A Monday Night's Routine (On a Tuesday)

Dudley and I are back in the city after a long weekend at home --

I may have failed to mention that our big, 'every three year' visit by the accreditation folks happened last week, so all of us at work are in recovery mode after our survey and the holiday. We still don't know the official results but have some things on our list of stuff to start action-planning before we even get the final report. Nothing was a big surprise...

Even though it's not, today has felt like Monday all day -- and I'm taking the day off on Friday, so this whole week, what there is of it, is going to feel strange.

Jack and I will have Friday through Sunday off together this week for the first time in almost a year, and we can't wait. Even though it's just three days, we're as excited as if we were planning a month's sabbatical in Tahiti!!

So far there's not that much on the list -- Jack wants to fish, and I'm with him on that! Whether or not we catch any fish, I'm sure I'll be able to get some great pictures!

The Fruits of Solomon

Happy Labor Day!!

I hope everyone has enjoyed the long weekend as much as I have. Even though Jack had to work, I was glad to have an extra day to rest, relax and finish recovering from being ill last week.

My laundry is finished and ready to be lugged back to the city in the morning, and since I plan to take Friday off, I'm ripping to go on getting three days knocked off the calendar. Our accreditation survey FINALLY happened last week, my boss is on vacation this week, so I don't know what exactly is on my agenda.


Today I noticed seasonal happenings in the yard that I'll share with blogreaders this evening --


Both the Solomon's Seal and the False Solomon's Seal have berries in progress. The Solomon's Seal, which are dark and resemble small blueberries, are farther along in maturity. Those grow near where our woodpile is in wintertime and have always been there. It's native to this area and grows prolifically in the woods around us.

In herbal lore, Solomon's Seal is said to cure everything that might ail one -- everything from classic "female trouble" and sluggish libido to migraine headaches, tumors, acne and piles. Interestingly enough, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill website states that old-timers claim that a paste of the ground roots is the definitive cure for poison ivy... We love our wildflowers too much to use them for "herbal purposes", but considering the severity of some poison ivy outbreaks Jack and I have had in the past, I can't say we won't be tempted...

The False Solomon's Seal has beautiful berries at the moment - in transition from golden to red. They look like clusters of tiny Christmas balls on the plants that naturally grow near our driveway...

False Solomon's Seal has a culinary claim to fame in that the young shoots in spring can be stripped of their leaves, steamed and eaten. They apparently taste like wild asparagus - YUM!! Again, we love our wildflowers too much to experiment with them in the kitchen, but if I'm ever lost in the Smokies with Boy Scouts to feed, I'll know...

More Butterfly-ing

Butterflies are CRAZY this time of year, and I managed to get more great shots this afternoon.

The yellow swallowtails were particularly active around the purple thistle, and while they didn't mind my approach from a distance, they didn't like for me to get too close - at times like that the zoom comes in especially handy.

The monarch in the bottom picture was 'hanging out' in the yard later on in the afternoon, perhaps looking for a place to spend the night.

Jack has to work today, and since I'm feeling much better after a HORRIBLE bout of gastritis earlier in the week, I'm busy with things around the house.

I've already gotten on top of some laundry and general cleaning stuff that I needed to do last weekend but didn't due to the aforementioned gastritis, which first arrived on Sunday then returned for a repeat performance on Tuesday. Later this afternoon I have to make a run for pet food. All of our critters eat the "good stuff", which requires a special trip to McTown when we're running low...

We've had spotty rain here - not much at any one time, but a few little showers HAVE fallen. Very little is in bloom now except for late-summer wildflowers that are naturally heat and drought resistant. The field across from us is beautiful with ironweed in bloom --

Jimmy the Hero has created a bit of a headache for me today --

When Jack left for work, Jimmy went out to run and do his thing for awhile but didn't do his routine "check in" after a couple of hours. I went out to call for him but nothing. He's frequently a sucker for a car-ride, so I drove up the road, around the circle and down toward the marina. I didn't go ALL the way to the marina, because Jimmy NEVER goes that far.

Yeah, right.

Just as I pulled back into the drive, I noticed that JB from the dock was right behind me...

Long story short - Jimmy spent two hours this morning making new friends, running up and down the boat slips, swimming in the "big water", and getting into God only knows what. He seemed surprised to see me and wasn't difficult to load into the car, thank goodness!

Now he's back and napping -- I think he's going to be on 'house arrest' for the rest of the day --