Check. One, Two.

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Frog

This is a test of the emergency broadcast system. It is only a test (cue annoying buzzing sound).

I’m sitting in my new office in the town that shall not be named. The better-half and I drove down and to the left yesterday afternoon and have been busting our humps since. Last night we slept on an Aerobed which was better than the floor. Tonight, a real bed. Let me commend the mattress delivery and internet service folks in this town. They each gave us time frames that they’d be here today. They were both here within the first 30 minutes of that 3 hour time frame instead of being 30 minutes later than the agreed upon time.

Today we’ve burned a hole in the credit card and while I’m a tightwad it has been freaking awesome to outfit an apartment nearly all at once instead of the “I’ll get this one month and then wait six more months and get something else” method. I know how that sounds because if my 25 year-old self could hear me now, she’d kick my ass (either that or buy me a beer and say, “Hallelujah, it’s not always going to be like this”). It’s nice to be in my 40s, have a good job and be able to buy a couch if I bloody well feel like it. I did and the fine folks at Grand Home Furnishings let us pull the huge moving truck into their parking lot to pick it up. The AWESOME chair will have to wait until I’m here in August. I wish I’d taken a picture, but you’ll have to trust me. It’s beautiful. The better-half said he could tell when we walked past it that I had little heart shapes in my eyes.

I’m sure there’s something I’m supposed to be putting together or putting away, so until next time: live long and prosper.

The couch (the coffee table/chest is from my MIL’s house):

Posted in House Proud, Thinking | 2 Comments

Overrun

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Frog

Garden overrun with squash and zucchini. Tomatoes and eggplant coming in. A handful of pickling cucumbers, lame-o beans finally have blooms and there are okra, cantaloupe and watermelons starting up. I couldn’t even get to the blackberries because it is 1000 degrees and my bucket was full.

I made several grandmothers spin in their various urns and graves by cleaning out the freezer of all of the squash and zucchini from last year. At least the compost pile is happy.

Update 7/11/10:
13 lbs of zucchini shredded and frozen
9 lbs of squash shredded and frozen
1 QT of refrigerator dill pickles
1 QT of refrigerator kohlrabi pickles
A little bit of quick, pickled beets
7 lbs of Berkshire pork belly put on the cure

Posted in Gardening | 5 Comments

Sleepover Club

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Frog

Administrivia: The Niece will be known as Nut1 and her sister, the artist formerly known as Lil’ Elvis, will be known as Nut2. Because, they are a couple of nuts.

Nut2 joined the sleepover club this weekend. She and her sister received t-shirts to commemorate the event. Going to sleep was the hardest part and I had to remember back to when Nut1 was first spending the night that part was the worst for her too. The better-half and I knew Nut2 was tired but she just wasn’t comfortable going to sleep. The four of us piled on the bed for awhile. We read a few stories and we snuggled, but there just wasn’t any sleeping. Nut1 tried pretend snoring, but that wasn’t convincing Nut2.

Finally, the grown-ups left the room and the two nuts got up once to ask me to turn on the radio (I picked disco). The second time we heard little feet I listened at the foot of the stairs but Nut1 took care of whatever issue had arisen. It was about 10pm when Nut1 came downstairs to hang out a little longer. I wasn’t sure she’d make it back downstairs, but I think that was a point of pride for her.

We spent about an hour star-gazing on the back steps. The sky was clear which made it perfect for identifying constellations. We also used the flashlight to see what animals were prowling about and we spotted a grey fox and a possum. At 11 we all agreed we had to go to bed.

Nut2 scared me out of my skin in the morning. I was about to get up and had just rolled over and there was her little face staring at me. I hadn’t heard her walk into the room. Her sister arrived shortly after and we did a pile on our bed for a few minutes until my bladder was tired of being sat on and I had to get up.

I think having Nut2 here with her sister until just after lunch was about as long as Nut2 can handle the sleepover at this point. That’s OK. I know we had to ease into Nut1 spending the night. Last night I realized Nut1 has been spending the night for about 5 years. Wow.

After they left, we quickly made the house ready for another wave of guests (in conjunction with the sleepover we also had a belated 40th birthday party for my sister so lots of folks were here this weekend) and in the time it took the better-half to go pick up his aunt and his mother, I realized how exhausted I was. I shouldn’t have sat in the recliner. It would have been better to stay in active mode.

The better-half accidentally forgot his mother’s medication so our second guests only stayed for a couple of hours. Although short, it was a pleasant visit. I sent the guests home with tubs of homemade ice cream as parting gifts. Not a bad trade. By leaving early they got way more more ice cream than if they’d stayed later.

Today, we’re taking it easy. Our weather has been wonderful the past few days but today it’s heating up to 100 and we have several more 100+ days in our future. If it would only rain, I think folks could stomach the high heat a little better knowing that we’d have a pay off of rain. As it is, we’re in drought mode around here. We can’t decide where the line is between letting the grass go dormant and making sure it doesn’t die completely. Too bad there’s not a little pop-up thing like you see in a Thanksgiving turkey to let us know when to water the yard.

Posted in Generic Thoughts, Thinking | Comments Off

Happy Independence Day

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Frog

Posted in Thinking, Watching | Comments Off

My Love of Covers

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Frog

This is a fabulous cover…

Posted in Listening | Comments Off

Hello New Fiscal Year

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Frog

Today is the first day of our new year. In celebration, I spent about a half-hour cleaning my desk. I brought in some swiffer pads and dusted everything and then tossed a bunch of crap. If I get really motivated, I may actually go through desk drawers. My office is by far one of the neatest ones because I hate clutter, but things had gotten a little out of hand.

Yesterday I went to a meeting on evaluation which may sound boring, but it was a great meeting and we’re going to pilot a new evaluation on one of my courses. Hooray.

Trying to get to the meeting was a nightmare. Something caused traffic to come to a stand-still on the interstate so I had to get off and travel on a side street. Then a douchebag with a Shaggy (as in Scooby snack) goatee decided he’d rather be in my lane–like in my lane on top of me. I had to swerve and when I flipped him the bird and called him an asshole, he never once acknowledged he nearly caused an accident. We traveled quite a while together and he NEVER got into the lane. Douchebag hipster.

At the end of the day, I tried to get on the same interstate and a truck had flipped over on it’s side in the merge lane. AWESOME. I ended up staying on the ramp and looping back to take the long way home.

Yesterday was also the last day for all the people my organization had to lay-off. For some people it seemed like they’d forgotten because they never acknowledged that yesterday was THE DAY and for others the afternoon was spent talking with colleagues who were leaving. A little sad on both accounts.

Then to top off the day that wasn’t so good, I passed a house fire less than a mile from my house.

Posted in Thinking | 2 Comments

Because I Know You Want To Know

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Frog

I had to report to the facility manager that there was shit on a toilet seat again today. This is an ongoing problem here. This time it was about the size of a 50 cent piece.

When I got in this morning, there was a memo on my chair alerting all building staff that a perv has been in the building exposing himself.

Welcome back to work.

Posted in General Spleen Venting | 2 Comments

It Was A Good Week

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Frog

There was some of this:
feet in the sand
and some of this:
our own clambake

Posted in Eating, Thinking | Comments Off

Napping

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Frog

I’m not at work this week which is really great because I can’t stand this end of year wandering about that we usually have to put up with because we can’t start anything new. I’m fighting off a nap because I believe naps should only occur in the afternoon.

Yesterday the better-half had a birthday and all is right in the world because he’s once again registering as a year older than me. We went out to dinner and I had an eggplant napoleon which is something that I’m going to have to re-create as soon as our eggplant finally produces. When it came time to pay the check, the better-half was pulling out his wallet when I had to remind him that I was treating. Yeah, it’s all the same money, but I can sign a credit card slip occasionally. And, on that subject, there was something wrong with the restaurant’s machine and so they had to run it through one of those old metal things…remember those? You hand write everything except the name of the restaurant and the imprint from the raised numbers on your card. It was like visiting 1986.

Posted in Eating, Thinking | 1 Comment

The Weekend? Busy.

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Frog

Saturday night we dinner with a friend at a restaurant that’s a favorite of hers and, unfortunately, it’s closing in a week. We all ended up with steak whether it was strip or flank. Delicious.

Sunday morning we got up early, ate breakfast at our favorite breakfast place and then hit the road. We visited a town in Southwest Virginia that has a big university in it (I know that’s not very vague, but I have to maintain a semblence of anonimity). We were there to find housing for me for the coming year as I take classes. I also picked up my student ID, found my classroom building and wandered around a bit.

The better-half is a graduate of the school with no name and was able to navigate us around pretty well even though a few things have changed since he went to school there.

Monday we actually visited several apartments and I’ve signed a lease in an older building/community and it’s one that prides itself on quiet and the opposite of party atmosphere. There are a couple of bus stops in the neighborhood and one at the end of my street. That’s going to be so handy getting to and from campus.

We also saw a condo in another community that was a complete shitstorm. The prior residents either are totally slovenly or were pissed at the landlord. The amount of destruction and filth was amazing. I told the realtor that she might want to check the fridge because there were living beings growing in various containers. The top nice touches were the unflushed toilets and the big bottle of vodka on the counter. That will be a lesson to that realtor–look at the condo before showing it.

We’ll need to go back in mid-July to pick up keys and move some items in. I have an inkling that the feeling of overwhelming tiredness we had on Monday evening when we got home is only the beginning. I’m sure that will wear off as the fun begins (classes start).

Posted in Generic Thoughts, House Proud | 2 Comments