Outdoor Sort of Weekends...

This has been a beautiful autumn weekend. The weather has been warm with a cool wind and the sun has been shining. It's the kind of weather that makes you feel guilty for staying indoors.

Thus, I tried not to stay indoors. I spent much of the time with the girls outside. I took them for a long walk on Saturday over the park. We haven't been there since the spring- our last visit was after we'd had floods and it was a wet soggy mess. Soon after, the weather got too hot to walk for too long outside and so this was our first trip back for a while.

It was the perfect time for walking. I've found that the woods where we walk (aka, the park) is far less busy on Saturdays than Sundays. I think this is because most people use Saturdays for productivity and Sundays for relaxation.

Thus, we had the woods mostly to ourselves. We did our usual trek. It was a wonderful hike- the leaves were thick enough to crunch under our feet but the ground was dry enough that we didn't slip at all. Autumn was all around us as we walked.

I was a little apprehensive because Rory has become a little, uh, lazy since the spring. As I've mentioned, she has a penchant for sitting down when she's had enough. Still, since the weather has cooled, she hasn't sat down for a while so I was hopeful.

Well, we made it 3/4 of the way through our trek and then she dug her heels in and didn't want to walk anymore. Sookie was fine. After trying to coax her to keep moving, I eventually gave in and ended up carrying her for a little way. This seemed to appease her and shortly after, she began walking again, albeit a little more slowly.

By the time we were done, both dogs and I were all rather tired but happy. It was a windy day and there's nothing more refreshing than a long walk on a breezy autumn day.

As for today, I spent the majority of the day outside. It's coming time to winterize the garden and though many of my flowers are still in bloom, I decided to clean out my shed and clear off the patio. It's a little sad but it's also nice to know that I've accomplished something. I spent the rest of the afternoon weeding and trimming back the overgrown areas. In a couple of weeks, I'll start pulling up the flowers as they die back but for now, it's nice to see that the flowers aren't ready to give up yet.

I love weekends like this where I have no set agenda but have a flexible 'to do' list. I think since it is such a lovely day, I shall try to finish it off outside. The days are already getting shorter so I'll try to catch the sunshine while it's there.

Even though it's back to work tomorrow, I'm still forever grateful that we get two days a week away from the normal drudgery of the work day. I even like my job and I'm still happy to get away for a couple of days. This week, especially, is a big week for me as it's the year anniversary of when I left my old job that made me unhappy and started this one which has been significantly better. Obviously, no job is perfect but I'm pretty pleased with mine.

Still, before the work week starts all over, there's a few more hours of my autumnal weekend to enjoy. The breeze is still blowing and the sun is still shining...I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love Autumn!

Thanks, as always for reading and Happy Monday!

Defend and Destroy!

I despise squirrels. I know I’ve mentioned this before but, once again, my opinion has been justified.

I find them to be rude little creatures. If squirrels were humans, they’d be obnoxious teenagers who’ve had no parenting, treat the world as their playground and talk back to whoever gets in their way. They’re not threatening, per se but no one really wants to deal with them because they’re annoying.

Both Sookie and Rory hate squirrels too. Their hatred is manifested in their desire to capture a squirrel of their very own any time they see one. They whine beneath a tree when there’s a squirrel in it, they pull like crazy if we’re walking and they see a squirrel and they simply cannot understand why squirrels can run up trees and they can’t.

We call squirrels ‘dirty rotten cheaters’ because they sit there, taunting the dogs as we walk, chewing on some item that’s bigger than their heads whether it’s a tomato, a hickory nut, a slice of pizza or an apple and as soon as the dogs get close enough, they run up the nearest tree.

We consider that cheating. I do, however, marvel at how squirrels manage to climb trees without dropping their food items. It’s not fair that my dogs get so close and then the squirrel cheats by running out of reach.

Worse is when the squirrels talk back. They run up the tree and then sit there, making this weird chittering noise that sounds rather like they shouting at my dogs. This, in particular, drives Sookie a little nuts and she gets a little demented in her attempts to try to climb up the tree. Sookie, my sweet but not-as-bright-as-her-sister dog has not yet figured out that she cannot climb a tree. She tries. Oh, but she tries but she always ends up having to concede defeat. She’s a sweetie but there are times when she’s just a little, uh, dopey. Take for example when I try to put her harness on her for a walk. Rory long since figured out that if she steps into each leg hole, buckling the harness is harmless, easy and quick. Not Sookie. Sookie still acts like she thinks I’m going to hurt her when I approach with the harness. When I get her to stay still, I get her to lift a leg to coax her to put her foot in the leg hole. Then the leg stays lifted and I suddenly have a Three Legged Dachshund. She has stood like that for quite a while. I usually get her to put it down by manually lifting her other front leg. Of course, by this time, the first leg is no longer in the leg hole of the harness but it’s worth a shot. Of course, she ends up keeping this leg lifted for a while and we repeat the process until the harness is actually on. So, her constant attempts to climb trees are expected and, well, endearing.

I digress. Back to the squirrels.

Squirrels make our walks more interesting. There are huge amount in our neighbourhood and so when the weather is cool and breezy, they’re out in full force, gathering food and generally being obnoxious.

I can handle them on our walks. It takes a little wrangling to persuade two enthusiastic dachshunds that squirrels aren’t actually food and thus it’s not worth chasing them but it does keep our walks interesting.

I can’t handle them in the garden, however. There are a couple that live in my neighbour’s trees. They run around, jumping from fence to tree branch to bush to fence and so on. They torment Sookie and Rory by perching on the top of our chain link fence, doing that chittering thing a mere three feet above where Sookie stands on her back legs desperately trying to reach them. No matter how high she jumps she can’t quite bag herself a squirrel. The squirrel, meanwhile, clearly enjoys inflicting torment. I half expect them to pelt my dogs with acorns and berries. For all I know, they do.

The worst part is that they’re thieves and sneaks. Twice now, I’ve noticed that my lovely heirloom tomatoes are starting to ripen and I get excited. I decide that I’ll let them ripen a little more and then I’ll pick them. Lo and behold, twice now on my two largest tomatoes, I’ve gone out the next day to discover half-demolished tomatoes ridden with squirrel-sized toothmarks. The tomatoes are no good and I have to throw them away. They also eat my cherry tomatoes and I find them strewn on the ground, half-eaten. Honestly, I’d rather the bloody creatures just ate the whole tomato. At least then, it wouldn’t seem so obnoxious and wasteful.

The dogs are no help because the squirrels attack my tomatoes while they’re inside and I’m at work. Or they do it at night. I still blame Wife of Dog Whisperer who used to plant tomatoes strictly for the squirrels. They’ve got a taste now and since mine are gourmet tomatoes, heirlooms and lovely, they’re hell bent on eating them.

It’s time to declare war. I have some chicken wire that I’m going to attempt to use to secure the perimeter of my tomato patch. Rory and Sookie won’t like it because I’ve caught them having a bite out of the already squirrel- decimated tomatoes when they think I’m not looking. I suppose they smell of squirrel because they won’t eat tomatoes if I offer them normally.

I’ve been researching other ways of getting rid of squirrels. The internet recommends using dog hair around the plants. Since my girls are shedding rather a lot, I’ll use my Furminator on them tonight and try that method too. I’ve also given the dogs permission to seek and destroy but, alas, that’s not having any more effect than their usual attempts to seek and destroy. Apparently, they don’t need my permission.

I’m hoping to salvage the last of my heirlooms. I have a couple more and I’ve been waiting ages to pick them and enjoy them so you can see why the squirrels have inspired my ire. If I succeed in eating at least one of the delicious fruits that isn’t laden with bitemarks, I’ll be happy.

When it comes to my vegetables, it’s serious business. I will take no prisoners. Those squirrels have messed with my tomatoes for the last time.

Now, if only I could tell them that.

Happy Wednesday!

Doggy Days of Summer

It’s another hot one out there. I have two forlorn looking dogs who gleefully run outside when I first open the door and then they stop and turn and look at me accusingly as if to say, “mummy, why did you make it so hot!”

Then they come in and flop down on the linoleum because it’s cooler and they’re sulking.

They don’t move much when it’s hot, even when the air conditioning is on. I’m trying to figure out if this is normal behavior or they’re getting lazy in their old age. They’re now a year and a half old so they’re technically not puppies although there are times when they still behave like they are.

Mostly, their puppy behavior is when they’re outside. I love to watch them run across the yard. There’s nothing that makes me grin more than when one of my little dachshunds sees me and comes running towards me. Watching dachshunds run is just funny because they have short little legs and such long bodies. It’s an endearing thing especially when they look like their grinning.

They also have a bit of a bad habit of running across my vegetable garden. I’ve tried to protect the plants with tomato cages and stakes but those aren’t much of a deterrent when a rabbit, chipmunk or squirrel has been spotted. No, those little furry critters are like crack to a dachshund and nothing else matters, especially not my tomato plants.

This is why I have one less tomato plant and another that is hanging on for dear life, protected by a tomato cage but still looking rather wilty. I even planted my veggies with a fairly wide berth for the Dachshund Race Track but, alas, it is to no avail.

Speaking of the Dachshund Race Track…fellow dog owners, do your canines also have a set route at which they run around the garden? My two girls have a very specific path that they take from the back door all the way around the garden. They don’t deviate from this path, no matter how fast they run. This is why their paws have worn the path into the grass and my vegetable garden and around the tool shed. My parents’ dogs also have a path so I’m wondering if this is usual.

Anyway, back to my tomatoes. They often get banged about by my little pets. I’m hoping this won’t damage them. I’m all about tomatoes this year. My mother kindly gave me quite a few plants for my garden. The only thing is that she grows several kinds- large and cherry sized but she doesn’t label the pots so I never quite know what type of tomatoes I’ll get until they actually appear on the vines. It’s quite nice- a tomato grab bag if you will. However, last year, I ended up with almost all cherry tomatoes so just in case, I went to this nifty nursery by my house and got a few larger heirloom tomato plants. I adore heirloom tomatoes. They’re yummy. They’re summery. They also incredibly pricy if you buy them from a store or even a farmer’s market.

Thus, I’m trying to grow my own. I just hope they survive the onslaught of the pups.

I’m also growing peppers. I have several healthy plants that already have some fruit on them. The other day, I noticed that a couple of my plants were not looking so healthy and the bottom leaves were dying. I couldn’t figure out why since I make sure they have ample water.

Then yesterday, I went outside and discovered that Sookie was laying happily beside one of the suffering pepper plants and was chomping on the leaves. I’m not sure what about the leaves appeals to her but she seemed quite engrossed in her nibbling. So far, the plants look like they’ll survive but they have less leaves below than they did before.

My dogs are strange in their tastes. Rory has become super finicky with food. She only eats chicken and duck treats. She doesn’t like bacon whether it be the doggie kind or the human kind. She likes pork chop bones but not the pork. She likes peaches and blueberries but doesn’t want to eat dog food.

I know, I should really feed her human food but it’s a bad habit that I shouldn’t have started. I still make them eat their regular dog food but I’m one of the bad dog owners who feeds them table scraps. This is actually becoming much easier now that Rory’s palate has become so fussy.

Sookie, on the other hand, will try anything. She doesn’t like everything but she’ll give it a whirl. She’s not the fruitarian that her sister is and doesn’t care much for peaches or blueberries. She likes the chewbones that have granola on them and will happily munch for hours picking off each piece of granola while her sister prefers the chewbones that are rawhide with a filling in the middle.

Sorry to blog about my dogs again but, like children, they show you something new every day. Today, they showed me that they’re now taking it rather personally that it’s so hot outside and even though they don’t really want to go for a walk, they’ll sulk until I take them on one and then, as soon as we’re twenty feet from the house, they’ll sulk because they’re hot.

There’s really no winning. It’s just the same when it rains. I get accusatory looks for that too- they run outside, stop dead in their tracks as they realize it’s wet and then they trot back inside, giving me the glare of disapproval.

Still, for all their temperamental, vegetable bashing, pepper-leaf chewing behavior, when we’re laying in bed in the morning right before the alarm goes off and I have a dachshund under each arm, snuggled up against me or when Sookie spots me and comes running across the garden with glee to throw herself up against me for a cuddle. ..it’s worth every chewed pepper leaf.

Of course, I may reconsider that if they start on the heirloom tomatoes but that’s if we ever get that far and they haven’t knocked them all over.

Happy Wednesday!

Another Productive Weekend That Ends With Good Food...

There's nothing better than ending a nice busy weekend with a good meal. I'm currently cooking roast beef with a red wine reduction, parsnip puree and roast potatoes. After the productive and physically active day that I've had, I think I deserve to eat something good.

I spent the day out in the garden. Even though the day began wet and rainy, it cleared up nicely and even though it was wet, it made it easier to pull up the weeds. And I had a LOT of weeds. In the end, I pulled up as many as I could but decided a thick layer of mulch was the best way to cover up the remainders. The easy way out, I know but it looks much better. Also, carrying ten bags of mulch that easily weighed forty pounds each because they were wet was a nice physical workout.

Yesterday was busy too. Mother Monkeypants is coming down to stay next weekend. I'm quite excited by this. It's been a long time since I had a house-guest and it's doubly nice that it's my mum. She's an easy guest to have around and even when we don't actually do anything of significance, we still have a good time in each other's company.

The problem was that since I haven't had a houseguest in a while and I redid my family room, I've been using the guest room as a storage facility. As you can imagine, now that someone's actually going to sleep in there, I had to do something about it. My solution is to move it to my office for now. I've decided to actually have my own yard sale when our neighbourhood has its annual sale in August. I have a lot of junk. Much of it is stuff I've bought at garage sales over the past few years. Someone else's junk became my treasure and now, sadly, it's my junk which means...it can be someone else's treasure. I like circles like that...

I did get the room cleaned out. I also scrubbed the house so it's clean for Mother Monkeypants. Of course, since then I mulched the garden and somehow, those wood chips get everywhere so I have a feeling I'll be cleaning again before she comes down on Friday.

All in all, it's been a busy weekend but I've decided I like that way. It's fun to get stuff done because then, after I've spent the day being extremely produtive, I get to relax outside with a glass of sparkling water or a glass of wine or even a beer, depending on my mood. It's firefly season now and it's a beautiful thing to sit outside, watch the sun go down and then see the fireflies come out.

Tonight, I probably won't catch many fireflies. For one thing, "True Blood" is on HBO and another...it's kind of cloudy out there. There's a chance of storms tonight. I hope we have one just because it'll be good for my mulch but since we had one last night and I spent the entire storm, lying in bed with a dachshund trying to cram herself as physically close to me as possible because she was afraid, I won't be too disappointed if we don't have another one.

Even though the weekend is winding down, I find that I feel a sense of accomplishment because I did get some things done this weekend. The thing with being a homeowner, I've learned, is that there's ALWAYS something to do. I do have plans to start a new novel but, for now, I've decided that it's nice to get outside and enjoy the weather while it's still nice enough to be enjoyed. Soon enough, it'll get hot and humid again so I figure that will be my writing time.

Tomorrow marks another Monday but it's the day before a holiday weekend so even if Monday presents itself in true fashion, I can live with it. The bright light of a three-day weekend is enough to make even Monday bearable.

Although, as always, I hope it's a good Monday that doesn't need to be 'beared'.

Happy Monday and I hope you had great weekends too!

Perfectly Ending Weekends...

There's little more satisfying than sitting outside on a beautiful Sunday evening with a glass of sauvignon blanc and a feeling of accomplishment.

At long last, the weather has turned into the beautiful spring days expected of early June. The humidity is gone, the breeze is cool and the temperature is reading 78 degrees.

I can't argue with that. This is the weather I've been craving and now it's here, I took full advantage of it.

We did have a hot and humid day yesterday. I decided to forge ahead and lay down the vinyl tiles on the floor. It was hot work but with the help of some upbeat music such as Guns n' Roses, Bon Jovi and, of course, Green Day, coupled with some Frank Sinatra, it wasn't too bad. Of course, Sookie and Rory were of no help at all. For some reason, they decided their job was to lie and doze in the exact spot that I was intending to tile. Also, they decided it was their job to show me that they loved me by trying to climb in my lap. This was appreciated except my fingers were always a little gluey from the sticky tiles and dachshund hair is not fun to have to scrub off with the glue.

Still, I got the job done. The only minor mishap was that during a particularly enthusiastic moment with my Fat Max knife (it's real name!) in which I was cutting a tile to size, I accidentally sliced off the top of my finger. Fortunately, my nail was long and that prevented too much damage but as it stands, I now have a bit of a flat finger and rather a deep cut which went several layers deep. There was quite a lot of blood too. I'm not particularly squeamish but it was not the prettiest thing. Since I originally thought I'd actually sliced my finger off, I was, however, relieved it wasn't that dire.

By the time the room was done, so was Saturday, for the most part. I was pleased with my handiwork. Even though it's not perfect and completely flawless, I love the way the new tile looks and, even better, I did it myself.

Today, I bought some rugs for the room. I bought a 5' x 8' rug and two 2' x 3' rugs for $50. I have a great store nearby for stuff like that called Old Tyme Pottery. It's also fantastic for dinnerware. If ever I'm cooking something fancy and don't have the right plates, that's where I go.

So, with the addition of the rugs, at long last, I can say my Tuscan room is complete. The last touches will be two pieces of unfinished furniture that I want to get and stain myself in a rustic green colour. I need a chest of drawers to hide some of the 'contempory' stuff that I want to store in the room and not display such as my Playstation 2 and I'd like a free standing cupboard for all of my kitchen applicances that don't quite fit in my kitchen cupboards.

Still, even without the furniture, it's a pleasure to sit in that room now. Before I redid it, the room had 1970's dark panelled walls, orange-green shag carpet and rather frumpy flowered curtains that were lovingly made by the former owner of the house but just not my taste. Now, the panellng is a sunny yellow, the floor is mock-teracotta vinyl tiles and the curtains are simple white muslin tied backed with red raffia. I like the final effect. On each wall is a variation on a picture of Tuscany with poppies in the forefront. I love poppies. Poppies are one of those flowers that just make me smile when I see them.

Even though I woke up today stiff and sore from my tiling, I still had an odd need to be productive. Some weekends are like that- I just want to get things done. Thus, I spent the day doing the following:

1) Buying rugs
2) Exchanging the propane tank for my grill. I've become a huge fan of grilling lately. It's quick, easy and the result is pretty darn yummy.
3) Grocery shopping at Jungle Jim's/shopping for my dad's Father's Day present. I'm making him lunch as part of his gift but it isn't as complex as the five-course meal I made for Mother's Day so I got him a bottle of Santa Margherita Chianti to try. He loves the Pinot Grigio and he's a fan of Chianti so it seemed like a smart choice.
4) Mowing the lawn.
5) Weeding the front garden.
6) Making a yummy Fourme d'Ambert baguette sandwich for lunch. Fourme d'Ambert is my current favourite cheese- it's a blue, creamy cheese from France and it's heavenly. I've decided my next culinary challenge is to learn about cheeses. (side note: I need a good book about cheese- any recommendations?)
7) Planting my vegetable garden- I planted peppers, heirloom tomatoes, squash and cucumbers.
8) Cleaning my patio, finally putting my outdoor rug down and setting out the furniture.
9) Cleaning my house- mopping, vacuuming, dusting and bathroom scrubbing.
10) Walking the pups.
11) Sitting outside with a glass of wine and being happy that I've had a productive weekend.

Obviously, the last one is where I am now. I'm smelling both the scent of fresh-cut grass coupled with Pine Sol. It's a good smell. I find that some weekends are best for relaxing but others, like this one, are best spent getting things done. I have to say, I like being productive. It's a wonderful feeling.

Even though it's back to work tomorrow, I can live with that because even though the weekend is waning away, it's waning away as I continue to sit outside, with my laptop, a glass of wine and a dachshund on my lap. It's another one of those moments that's as close to perfect as life gets.

And you just can't beat that, even when a Monday is looming.

Happy Monday!

Sunny Days Were Here Again!

Once again, I write this as the weekend is waning and the workweek is looming closer. As always, I wish it was reversed but, unfortunately, I have no figured out a way to reverse time.

Nevertheless, as weekends go, this has been a nice one. We managed to have 2.5 days with both rain and sunshine. It was a welcome treat. I even managed to get my lawn mowed on Friday night as well as do a little weeding. It's a welcome treat to wind up a productive week with a productive evening outside that culminates in sitting back at the end of it all with a class of wine and sitting outside, smelling the freshly cut grass.

Wine seemed to be the order of the weekend. I spent Saturday with a friend in the little town where I used to live before I bought my house. They were having their annual wine tasting and arts festival. All of the wineries were local to Ohio so it was nice to sample some different blends. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and I think I honoured in the best way possible: drinking wine, sitting outside and spending it with good company.

Even though I ended up sunburned, it was worth every bit of pink flesh. Besides, being British, it's not like it's a shocker. Even if I did put on the 45 spf sunscreen, I still manage to burn. Tis the nature of being fair skinned.

Today, I took advantage of the sunshine this morning and the pups and I got an early start. We took a long walk around the neighbourhood at the very beginning of our day. I love doing that: The dew is still fresh on the grass and most people aren't out and about. It's peaceful. There were, however, a very large number of squirrels out and about foraging for thier breakfast. Sookie and Rory were delighted by this. Sometimes, I'm amazed by the squirrels' dexterity- one manage to run and climb up a tree while holding on to some type of metal can. It was quite interesting to watch.

After our walk, we spent the rest of the morning outside. While weeding is an uphill battle, I did manage to clear an area big enough to plant my zucchini and tomato plants. I also managed to get my herb garden cleared of weeds and plant a few more seeds.

Unfortunately, it was very hot. It's the type of heat and humidity that builds up before a huge thunderstorm. Eventually, it became too much to work outside and the pups and I retreated indoors where it was cooler.

The thunderstorm just arrived. We're having a torrential downpour at present and the thunder is booming away. Even though it means more rain, I don't mind this time. I'm a big fan of thunderstorms like this and it's somewhat soothing to hear it clatter away.

We're supposed to have more storms tonight. It seems like a good way to wind up a weekend. Even though I'd much prefer sitting outside with my glass of wine, there's nothing that says that can't be an indoor activity.

Besides, even though tomorrow means another workweek has begun, I really can't complain. It's a short week for me. I'm off to New York on Friday to spend the weekend with my friend Saz. It's been 20 years of friendship for us and I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

And next week is also a short work week too so, really, I can't complain that this weekend is going too fast when next week is a four-day weekend for me.

It's just that I enjoy weekends so much...but then, who doesn't?

Happy Monday!

I Need Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

I miss the sun.

It’s funny- I always complained that there was too much sun when I lived in L.A. and I missed non sunny weather too much. Now it seems, I’m unable to be content and now I’m complaining that I don’t like the rain.

The thing is, I do like rain. I like it a lot. It has a place. It’s necessary to make things grow. I’m just a little fed up of it. We haven’t had a real spring sunny day in a very long time. Last week, when the sun did actually shine it was on a very hot, muggy day that didn’t feel very springlike at all.

Today, we have a constant drizzle. It’s grey. It’s cold. It’s very un-Maylike. I’m a little sad about that. I like spring because it’s refreshing and pretty and green.

This spring, so far, has been grey, wet and green. It hasn’t been very refreshing.

I keep trying to see the bright side of all the rain. It’s not that it’s even good for the garden because the garden is so saturated, there’s nowhere for the rain to go. I’d say that it was nice to have an excuse to stay inside but I don’t want an excuse to stay inside.

Still, whining doesn’t help the fact that the sun isn’t supposed to shine much this week and, so far, the weather for the weekend is yet more rain.

It also doesn’t help the fact that I think everyone in this corner of the world feels the same way. Still, things could always be worse. Given the flooding down south and the tornadoes in Alabama, I think we’re pretty lucky.

It’s actually amazing how much the weather affects our moods though, isn’t it? In October, we welcome the first real ‘cold snap’ of the year and the dropping temperatures and welcome the autumn chill so we can start wearing warmer clothes, drinking hot beverages and enjoying the pumpkin-infused Fall. Then, by the beginning of January after the glow of the holidays is over and all that’s left is a stark new year, we’re longing for warmth and sunshine.

After a period of greyness like we’ve had, I’ve noticed that almost everyone feels the same way: sluggish, slightly crotchety and irritated that we’re being deprived of time outdoors. After all, here in the Midwest, we spent December through March inside because it was too cold and snowy/rainy to go outside. By April, we want to embrace the springtime.

It was ok in April. Though we got fed up of rain, the saying goes “April Showers Bring May Flowers.”

It’s just that May seems to have forgotten the flowers and is continuing with the showers.

I feel like a toddler that has been trapped inside too long. I want to run around, tilt my face up to the sunshine and smell the lilacs. Instead, my lilac bush appears to have given up and died because the roots got too wet. I’m sad about that. I had about two days of blossoming lilacs and they the bush started to go a rather alarming shade of dying green. I want to sit outside on my patio and feel the cool Spring evening start to move in on the warmth of the day.

Still, there is one bright side to all this rain: There’s always hope for a sunny tomorrow. When the sun does shine, we appreciate it more. This is why, in my neighbourhood, at the mere hint of sunshine, the cacophony of a hundred mowers rises into the air.

In the meantime, some people actually have decided that drizzle and light rain is a perfectly acceptable accompaniment to mowing and the sound of a lone mower often accompanies the greyness. The kids on my street have started playing outside when the rain is light, wearing raincoats and playing their normal games. I suppose there comes a time when you realize that the rain isn’t going to stop but it shouldn’t stop you.

Maybe that’s what I need to take from this. I need to get myself a pair of non-leaky wellington boots and a rain jacket and ignore the fact that the rain is coming down. After all, when it’s wet, the weeds come up a little easier and it’s easier to dig.

After all, that’s how the world has functioned through the centuries, right? By adapting and evolving. So, maybe I’ll adapt and evolve and pretend that I live in Seattle where it rains a lot.

In the meantime, I’ll just keep up that hope that, maybe, just maybe, it won’t be raining tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday!

Cold and Productive Weekends

This has been a very chilly weekend. I don't think it's been above 40 degrees all weekend. It snowed last night but it didn't stick around. It was just a little surprising to turn on the porch light and see it flurrying down outside. Still, even with the chill outside, the weather has been beautiful. Today has been sunny and very pretty. It was a little too cold for the pups and I to go over to the park but we made do with two walks around the neighbourhood instead- one this morning and one this evening. It's nice to get out and about. I also managed to do a little landscaping/gardening in spite of the cold weather. I bought a tree yesterday because I'd been looking for an ornamental cherry and I found one for $14.99. That seemed like a good deal to me. The only problem I have when buying large items like trees is that I drive a little Toyota Corolla and it doesn't really have much space for transporting items like that. Nevertheless, because I'm Captain Monkeypants and am exceedingly stubborn, I managed to get a seven food tree in my car. Doing things like this takes innovation but that, I think I have in spades. With the aid of a large plastic bag, nice bendy branches and some wiggling, I managed to get the tree in my car with little trouble. Driving home wasn't the most comfortable. It's hard to drive when there's a tree surrounding you but I did it quite well and the tree made it home in one piece. It is now standing in my newly landscaped garden flanked by two garden gnomes. I'm very into gnomes at the moment. I have no idea why. I think it's because my granny has always had gnomes and I have fond memories of them. I like seeing them in gardens so now I get to see them in mine. I also built my dogs a little sandpit this afternoon. It made sense. After all, I just got rid of a large propane tank that was left by the previous homeowner and underneath it was a nice little piece of uneven garden. I just so happened to have two fifty pound bags of sand. You may wonder why I have two fifty pound bags of sand just standing in my garage. Well, it's because I painted my family room, you see. I wanted to get some texture in the paint so I bought a bag of sand. Then, when I did a little research, I discovered I should have bought silica sand, not the kind you mix with concrete because silica sand is cleaner. So I bought a second bag of sand, this time it was silica sand. I used some for painting and then had about 48 pounds left. Thus, I poured the sand over the bare patch of ground. The pups are in heaven. As soon as I threw the empty bags away, Sookie was already digging. Rory joined in. I'm hoping that this means that they'll abstain from digging quite so many holes in the garden. They dig with great enthiasm, my girls. They literally are doing handstands or pawstands, I suppose they'd be, on two legs when they dig, they're so determined. So, all in all, it has been a very productive day. Yesterday was productive too but I got a bad case of the grumpies halfway through. After I brought the tree home, I went back out to do a little more shopping. It turned out to be a bad idea. It was the type of day where people just drove me a little crazy. Every aisle I went down, I'd stop and look and suddenly, some lady with a shopping cart would be heading down the same aisle and stand right in front of me. I hate that. Or, I'd be looking and two small children would be chasing one another down the aisle run into me. Or, I'd find a parking space and head towards it only to be cut off by another driver who decided they deserved it more. I don't like days like that. I get a bit crotchety. I think it was because I had gone out to look for Tuscan decor and planned on a nice leisurely browse but it didn't end up that way because every time I stopped to browse, someone else had to browse RIGHT THERE too. I don't mind sharing an aisle but I don't like it when even if I say, "excuse me," I'm ignored. Some days are just like that. On the plus side, I recognized I was grumpy quite quickly and I decided to come home and clean instead. I was much more successful in shopping today. I went back out and found the perfect paintings to complete my family room. They all have a Tuscan theme with poppy fields. I love poppys. They're such a burst of bright colour and they just make me feel nice and warm. One day, I shall go to Tuscany but, in the mean time, I'm going to pretend I'm there as I sit in my Tuscan family room, drinking wine, eating anti pasti and relaxing with a book. Of course, since the room isn't heated, it's a little cold to do that now but, well, good things come to those who wait. I just need to be a little more patient. As it's been established, I'm not great with that but I'm working on it. I just wish patience would come more quickly. Happy Monday!

Planning Ahead For Springtime

So I think Spring has gone away again. Here in my area of the Midwest, this just means lots and lots of heavy rain and grey, gloomy days. Further north where my poor parents live, they’re getting predictions of snow. Not just a snow shower either but significant snowfall.

I actually feel bad for them. I think I’ve crossed that line from my love of winter to seeing the tempting light of spring at the end of the tunnel. Snow is lovely but it’s much lovelier in January and the months before.

Still, as I keep reminding my mother who tends to be a little like Eeyore at the mere mention of the S-N-O-W word, even with this latest onslaught of wintery precipitation it can’t stick around indefinitely. Unlike the snow falls we get in December and January which stick around and just make the world into a frozen blanket of whiteness, the snow that falls in February has an end date…that of the oncoming spring. While the cold temperatures can continue through April, they’ll be interspersed with warmer, balmy days that let the daffodils bloom, the tulips bud and the lilac to appear from nothing.

That doesn’t seem to help my mum though. I can almost hear her curling up in the fetal position whenever I talk to her and mention the snow. It’s just a fact of life, one I’ve come to accept over the years.

The thing I like about spring is the newness of everything. What lay dormant and grey in winter is suddenly budding with green. Even now with the reappearance of wintry weather, my garden shows the first sign of new life. My grass is greening up. The roses have the teeniest little buds of new leaves that have appeared on the brittle brown stalks of last year. The daffodil stalks have poked their heads out of the earth ready to respond to the sun the next time it appears.

For me, I like that spring gives me the chance to try new things. This year is going to be the time when I actually turn my outdated, senior-citizen decorated family room into a Tuscan villa room of relaxation. I was going to attempt this last autumn and went so far as to buy a paint sample in the colour I thought I wanted. Silly me, however, went to Lowes. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson there. I’d like to state, for the record, that despite the fact that Lowes states they can match any paint colour if they have a sample, they actually can’t.

I took in a pretty orange paint chip that I’d actually found at Home Depot. Since Home Depot isn’t as close to my house, I figured I’d see how Lowe’s did at matching it, just for a sample. Well, they did horrible. The colour was more of a peach than an orange colour. I dabbled quite a large spot on the wall. I subsequently hated it. I’ve decided not to go with orange but more of a yellow colour. I’ll be going to Home Depot for my paint.

I just have to wait a little longer. My family room isn’t heated. I have one of those portable oil heaters in there which helps but it’s not warm enough to stay out there for any length of time.

So, I’ll have to wait until it’s spring and it gets a little warmer.

I also want to embrace newness in the garden. This year, I plan to try to banish Mr. Bunny from my vegetable patch and prevent him and his squirrel buddies from devouring the seedlings of my vegetables before they become more than a seedling. I’m not quite sure how to do this but I’ll figure it out.

I have some landscaping I’d like to do and some planting.

I also want to steam clean my carpets which bear the reminders of the winter in the form of puppy prints and other debris from wet and frozen days.

I’d also like to slowly start to redo my bathroom but I recognize that this might be beyond my skill level. I’m also a little afraid because this is my only full bathroom with a shower and if I start to redo it, I won’t have a shower for a while. I’m fond of taking showers, The idea of standing outside with a hose does not appeal.

I’d also like to do the inevitable spring cleaning that comes when the sun begins to shine and the dust and cobwebs that have been slightly easy to ignore as they’ve arrived slowly over the winter suddenly become more prominent.

So, you see, I have lots of things I want to do this spring. It’s just too soon and I need to be more patient. Spring will come when its ready and it’s not quite time yet. I should let winter finish having her say and embrace the excuse of being able to stay inside and semi-hibernate. That’s one of my favourite parts of winter.

It’s just that when you start seeing the first fresh asparagus in the stores, the first blooming tulips and other signs of spring, you can’t help but want to jump the gun a little. It’s inevitable.

But, for now, I’ll just sit back, enjoy the heavy thump of the rain and let my mind start planning. It may not be time to actually do anything yet but it never hurts to plan.

Maybe it’s not so bad that winter is back for another spell. Given my list of projects, planning might take a while.

Ah well, I have to start somewhere.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Hearing Voices in my Head

Today went by rather quickly for a Monday. You won't hear me complaining about that. It wasn't a bad day at work, just a busy one. Sometimes they're the best type of Mondays because you don't have time to sit there wishing it was still the weekend.

Unfortunately, the evening has also gone by rather quickly too which, adversely, is a bit of a shame.

We're having an office barbecue at work. They're usually not quite as awkward as Awkward Bagel Days but since the barbecues still involved forced interaction and mingling, there's definitely some awkwardness there.

It's a pot luck barbecue which means everyone gets to bring something. I find it ironic that a few years ago, I used to be one of the potluckers who attempted to sign up to bring plates or cups and things and now I actually enjoy them because it means I get to cook or, at least, prepare something to bring.

This time around, I decided to make a trio of salads. Yes, I know, I've been watching FAR too much Top Chef. I could have settled with one or I could have gone for a duo. However, since I, unfortunately, have taken to hearing Tom Colicchio- the co-host of Top Chef and a very successful chef in his own right- in my head when I cook, I felt like I needed to take a risk. Tom's very big on taking risks.

I think this might be a good opportunity to mention that yes, I do find it odd that I hear Tom Colicchio's voice in my head. This does mean, indeed, that I really should not watch any more Top Chef reruns, even if my DVR insists on taping them. However, it seems to be a compulsion I can't keep from happening. Imaginary Tom tells me to watch my seasoning, lest it be too salty or, just as bad, underseasoned. I also hear him telling me when my food looks like slop on a plate so I try to make it look nice when I cook food now. I find myself checking to make sure my vegetables are chopped uniformly.

I know, I have a problem here. Still, it's making my food turn out rather well so maybe it's not quite so bad. Even if it is a little, you know, crazy.

Anyway, since Imaginary-Tom told me I should take risks and not 'play it safe,' I decided to make a salad trio. This consists of chicken pesto (with homemade pesto, of course. I scoff at you, silly jarred stuff), a caprese salad with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil (it's seasoned fine, I checked, Imaginary Tom). I'm also making Zucchini & Carrot a Scapece. Since I was afraid I'd scare my coworkers with a fancy name like that, it's been renamed "marinated zucchini and carrot salad." Unfortunately, it has to marinate for at least 8 hours before it's ready for tasting so, Mr. Imaginary Tom Colicchio in my head, I definitely think I took a risk there. Perhaps I'll wait and not take it and make my coworkers take a risk.

Of course, Tom would then tell me off for not tasting my food. A good chef always tastes his or her food.

So far, the salads are looking and tasting pretty good. The nice thing about them is that though they seem fancier than your average coleslaw and potato salad fare that normally accompanies a barbecue, they're actually pretty easy to make. The best thing is I only had to buy the mozzarella and tomatoes (since mine aren't ripe yet). I got all of the basil, the zucchinis, the mint and the garlic from my garden. I had all the other ingredients in my pantry. That made me feel like a well prepared chef.

And you know Tom Colicchio likes a well prepared chef.

Not that I'm a chef. I'm just a Monkeypants who's obsessed with cooking. I'm hoping that tomorrow though, my dishes go over well. If not, well, they tasted ok to me and, since I'm in charge of the Tom Colicchio in my head, they tasted just fine to him too.

I think I definitely need to stop watching Top Chef. I'm afraid Tom might just tell me to pack my knives and go.

Please feel free to offer psychiatric advice.

Happy Tuesday!

The Call of The Wild...

It was a beautiful day outside today. The humidity went away, the temperature dropped and the breeze picked up. It felt almost like spring, rather than summer, outside.

It was definitely a welcome change from the stifling heat. I don't think it's just me who's been feeling the heat; I noticed the puppies have been a little sluggish- more so when the air is thick and hot outside. Today, they had a lot more energy than they have which they spent chasing each other around the garden.

They're getting so big. I looked at a picture of Sookie which was taken by the people from whom I got her. It was a cute enough picture that I pretty much dropped everything and decided she would be my puppy. She's so tiny compared to how she is now. In a way, it makes me sad that she's growing up so fast but it's one of those things you don't even notice until you look back at a picture and realize how tiny she really was.

Lately, Sookie and Rory's favourite activity in the world is Bunny Hunting. We have two rabbits that like to sit in my vegetable patch. Since they've consumed everything they seem to find tasty- including, but not limited to swiss chard, corn, sunflowers and eggplants- fortunately they seem to be doing no more damage than sitting on my plants.

Rory and Sookie try to take care of my rabbit problem. Now, when I let them out of their crate, they go, excitedly, to the back door where they proceed to jump very high as they they think they can turn the handle themselves. The minute I open the door, they tear at full speed to the vegetable garden. You can practically see the skid marks.

Nine times out of ten, the blasted rabbits are there. They're fast, I'll give them that. What I don't understand is that the big bunnies seem able to shrink to the point that they can squeeze through a tiny hole in the fence. It drives the puppies a little crazy because they can't even fit their nose through the same hole. Believe me, they try. I've seen them lying down on the ground with their noses pushed through the holes in the fence, desperately trying to get to the rabbit.

The rabbit, being a bit of an evil bunny, has taken to sitting about four feet away from the bunnies and just casually eating the grass in Possibly-Joe's yard, just behind the fence at the bottom of our garden. It sits there, defiantly watching the puppies as it slowly chews. The puppies bark. Then they try to dig. No matter how furious they try to unearth the secret way to the bunny, they're not successful.

Now the original bunny has brought a friend and the two of them have taken to sitting there, lazily watching the puppies as they furiously bark. It's as though they're just out for an evening jaunt and they're having one of those lazy conversations two friends do when they're just sitting together, sprawled out in the sun. Or, more likely, they're just making fun of the puppies in their secret bunny way.

Poor Rory and Sookie try so hard to get to the rabbit but it seems to be in vain. To make matters worse, we seem to have an angry squirrel that has taken residence in the sapling that's just way too tall for the puppies to reach but low enough that they can see it. It's taken to making peculiar squirrel noises at them which sounds like a cross between yelling, spitting and squealing.

Naturally, the puppies try to get the squirrel but, fortunately for me, they can't climb trees. I'm quite glad about that.

Sometimes I wonder if there's some kind of communication system between the neighbourhood wildlife as to whose gardens are the best to inhabit for a) safety, b) yummy snacks and c) entertainment value. I'd say we have the last two, at the very least. We don't see the same sort of creatures in the Dog Whisperer's garden.

Last week, as I was driving to work, I saw a racoon ambling along the road. It was a skinny, ragged thing and I seriously think it gave me a dirty look as I watched it. It slowly hunched its way across the road and down into a storm drain. I'm actually waiting for it to get the word that our garden is fun for creatures of most types, as long as they can outrun two little dachshund puppies. I have a feeling that the racoon might be in trouble there but I wouldn't be surprise if it tried.

For now, as long as the puppies can't dig their way out and the rabbits leave my zucchini, asparagus, cucumbers and tomatoes alone, I think I can live with the wildlife whether it's sadistical bunnies, shouting squirrels or crotchety old racoons.

You'd never believe I live in a city, would you?

Happy Wednesday!

A Hot, Sweaty Evening...

It's starting to get muggy again here. I woke up to a thunderstorm with heavy rain. This posed a problem because the puppies do not like to go out in the rain but, when they first wake up, they really need to go out, even when it's raining. When I opened the door so we could go out, the rain was pouring so hard, it was bounching out of the rapidly-filling puddles. The puppies looked at me like I was mental and had a very easily-decipherable, "You want us to go out? In that? Who are YOU kidding?" look on their faces.

They sat under the shelter with me for a while. I can't say I'd blame them. Since I wasn't willing to go out and get soaked, it did seem a little unfair that I wanted them to do so. In the end, I went inside and fetched my cute pink and white striped umbrella and escorted them outside so they didn't get too wet. Yes, I know...my puppies are spoiled.

As the day progressed, the rain tapered off, leaving behind a thick, sultry atmosphere. By the time I got home from work, the mosquitoes were buzzing and the air was humid and damp. It wasn't the type of evening you want to be outside but, stupid me, I decided that it would be a good night to garden/landscape.

As I said last night, I had chopped down the ugly pampas grass that was taking over my front lawn. As I chopped it back, I'd noticed that it had originally been planted in a rather nice flowerbed that had once been mulched with a pretty red wood. The soil beneath the pampas grass was fine and fertile. Thus I decided that I didn't want the pampas grass at all and I wanted to plant flowers that had colour instead of having a ten-foot tall bunch of grass that would cut you if you happened to slide your fingers along one of its' blades. Trust me, pampas grass is sharp. It's worse than getting a paper cut; my granny has some in her garden and I remember very well how my brother and I would dare each other to slide a blade between our finger and see who would bleed first.

And yes, I know, with that statement, I'm revealing the fact that I've been a little dark in my nature, even from my youth.

Anyhow, tonight, I decided to dig up the pampas grass and begin my landscaping efforts. I stopped at Lowes and bought some perennials and a couple of butterfly bushes which meant that I had no excuse for procrastination. I also bought some insect-killer. The nice lady who used to own my house had splurged and had these neato tube things inserted into the foundation. They're designed for Terminex to come out and spray their bug-killer into the spikes so that the house stays bug-free. However, I think Terminex charges way too much so I stopped and bought my own bug-killer. I spent a large part of the evening spraying my spray into the little spiky things. I hope it gets rid of the bugs. Unfortunatly, it doesn't get rid of people who bug you (ha ha, see what I did there?). Case in point, Larry the Potential Serial Killer was just drivin' by on his way to the Aldi supermarket when he happened to see me 'out and about' so, naturally, he had to stop and say hi. He also stopped to chat. He'd noticed I'd chopped the pampas grass last night and wanted to tell me he'd noticed. This would have been sweet if he wasn't quite so creepy. Also, even though I was clearly hot, sweaty and grumpy, he just wanted to tell me all about his butterfly bushes because he'd noticed the ones I purchased at Lowes, just waiting to be planted. He finally left. I continuted to spray bug spray in the spike things in my house's foundation.

By the time I was done spraying the spiky things, I was hot and sweaty. Nevertheless, I decided I still wanted to try to get rid of the pampas grass.

Silly me.

My pampas grass bed consisted of what turned out to be four individual clumps. Clump #1 came out with little argument. I grew cocky.

Then I tried to dig up clumb #2. My cockiness vanished. The blasted thing would NOT come up for anything. I used my fork, I used my trowel, I used my garden shears and still, the roots remained firmly embedded in the earth. After much sweat, growning, pulling and heaving, the bloody things came up, arguing all the way.

Clump #3 was worse. I dug, I stabbed, I unearthed and I pulled. The stupid grass wouldn't budge. In the humidty, I was sweaty. I actually had beads of sweat on my forehead before I was done. Given that I sweat only under extreme circumstances, this was unusual. I felt crotchety. I had a film of dirt on my skin that felt disgusting. Yet, even with all this, I felt like I had to finish. I had to win over the pampas grass.

Clump #3 was hard work. There's no doubt about it. I finally made progress. Pampas grass tends to grow with its' base forming a circle. I managed to dislodge a third of clump #3's circle. Then I got stuck. I dug. I pulled. I used every tool I had...nothing. I grew angry and frustrated. I wanted to rip the pampas grass up by its' roots and show it no mercy.

Naturally, this was the time for me to meet a new neighbour.

Yes. I met Mike. Mike lives next door to Larry. Mike had seen that I'd cut down my pampas grass yesterday but he didn't want to knock on my door to tell me how he felt about that. Tonight, as he walked by on his evening soujourn, Mike saw me outside. He proceeded to tell me how "people would pay a lot of money for the grass" I was ripping up. I realized he was hinting. I told him that the grass was all his. Truth be told, I was quite excited at his obvious desire to take my discarded pampas grass. This meant I didn't have to find anywhere to store the grass I'd dug up.

Unfortunately, Mike was a chatter. Even though I was covered in sweat, bright red from the heat and covered with dirt, he didn't seen phased. He just kept on chatting. He was delighted I would give him my grass and so, finally, he excused himself so that he could get his van to pick up the discarded pampas grass that I had intended to throw away.

I kept on digging. I made no progress. I got sweatier. I took a water break. Clump #3 was just evil. I kept attempting to get to the roots but no luck. I grew crankier and more irritable. Then Mike returned.

Mike did not care that I was sweaty, in a bad mood and clearly not very chatty. He just kept on talking. While I welcome the chance to meet new neighbours, there are some times when you just want to be a hermit so that you don't have to talk to anyone. This was one of those nights for me. For Mike, it was a free-for-all of chat.

The thing is, he seemed nice. Yet when he came, I was sweaty, hot and irritable. I wanted to get rid of the pampas grass but I also wanted to go inside to the puppies who were yipping with indignation that I'd dared leave them alone.

He finally took his grass, chatted some more and left. No matter how hard I tried, I never did manage to dig up clump #3. I got a little of it dug up but, alas, it looks like I couldn't competely lose it. Also, I broke my fork. This does not make me happy as the fork was a house-warming gift from my sister. I'm wondering if superglue will work though I suspect not.

Still, even with my lack of progress on clump #3, it's an improvement. However, I can honestly say that I'll be surprised if it's calmly accepted by the neighbours. As I was digging tonight, I recieved two "why are you doing that?!!! responses and two, "wow, you're brave" responses.

I honestly have to say, I don't really care about the neighbours. They're nice but I've started to realize, finally, that this is MY house. I can do what I like. That's the whole point of being a homeowner...right?

Of course, Mike (he of the pampas grass adoptee program) did introduce me to a new concept: That of the RENTERS.

Apparently, our neighbourhood is divided by the BUYERS and the RENTERS. The BUYERS are people like me, people who bought their house and owned it. The RENTERS are the lowlifes who just...rent their home.

To me, there's little distinction. To Mike, there was a lot. He's been around our 'hood longer than many people. Thus, he can tell the difference between a RENTER and a BUYER. Apparently, RENTERS don't care about the property and constantly need to mow their lawn. My non-Dog Whisperer neighbours are RENTERS. I did not know this. Mike took one look at their lawn and declared them so and who am I to argue?

I don't care, honestly. I do care that Mike scavenged my discarded pampas grass in order to plant it along his fence which, apparently, borders that of The Dog Whisperer. Mike gets tired of the constant yapping. He hates it. He's hoping that the pampas grass will privide some privacy. I wish him luck with that although, based on my Dog Whisperer experiences, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Mike, however, seemed rather annoyed with the Dog Whisperer and his yappy beasts because apparently, he can't go out into his yard without being barked at either. I'm hoping he gets REALLY annoyed and calls the police. As awful as it sounds, I think that would be good for the Dog Whisperer and Wife of Dog Whisperer. They've stopped hearing their dogs' desperate cries for attention and begun, instead, to stay indoors and get wrapped up in something else.

Nevetheless, I now know another neighbour. I do wish he'd have come by when I was decent and not hot and stinky. Still...he got his pampas grass and, in doing so, I managed to minimalize my refuse by donating my plants. I wish Mike luck with his endeavors.

In the meantime, I think, for now, I'm done yanking up pampas grass. At least until it grows back.

I'm really hoping it doesn't.

Happy Thursday!

Days of Unaccomplishment

Today was a muddle at work. It was one of those days where you go into work with a mental list of things you plan to accomplish and as soon as you settle in for the day, you realize that it's not going to be that kind of day.

I ended up getting little bits of everything done but no overall progress, if that makes any sense at all. By the time I left this evening, I felt like I hadn't done much but the day went so fast, I must have done something.

Of course, part of my day was spent watching 'practice' presentations from those who are going to be presenting at our conference next week. One of them was good, one of them was awful. I might be a little bias because the awful one was for the software that I've always presented in the past and feel like it's my jurisdiction. Our staff member who is going to present it is one of the few people in our company I really don't like mostly because he's horribly arrogant and condescending. Case in point: Last time I had to do a co-presentation for one of our awful staff in-services, he made a point of asking my co-presenter and me questions and then, as I started to answer, he'd completely ignore me and direct the question at my boss.

Anyway, his presentation today was definitely a little...bad. It was clear that he was winging it instead of actually having prepared and, as is his habit, if he noticed something he didn't like, he didn't accept it as part of the software the developers have spent so long building and I've spent so many hours documenting and testing. Instead, he demands that changes be made because he doesn't like it and it's not the same as the old version.

That's my biggest problem with him, I think. He's been working with the software for a very long time and he's used to the old version. We've built a new version and even though I think it's good to improve things, he's such a stick-in-the-mud, creature of habit that he doesn't stop and see if he likes the change. Instead, he says, "it's not the same. We need to fix it."

He does that a lot. I tried to watch his presentation through unjaded eyes but, alas, I failed. It also doesn't help that he thinks he's a good presenter and he's actually extremely boring and he mumbles. I ended up planning my dinner (salad, sausages on the grill, corn on the cob and mushrooms) and coming up with new ideas for my novel. It was actually quite a productive session.

We have more practice presentations to sit through tomorrow. I'd like to say it'll be a nice diversion but at the moment, I've actually got a project to work on that makes me happy and I would rather spend the time working on it. I get to learn all about ethical hacking and try to find ways to break our software. I think I already accidentally did last week when I was dabbling with some of the techniques I was reading about. Oops.

Still, the day did go fast and when I came home to the puppies, it didn't seem so long since I'd seen them since lunch whereas some days it seems like forever. I decided to spend the evening making up for my lack of accomplishment at work so I cut down the pampas grass that's been growing steadily taller and more unruly as the days pass. I ended up hacking it down completely. I'm not a fan of it and it makes my garden look messy. I'd like to dig it up and plant a tree and shrubs there.

It took a while but the grass is no more. I'm a wee bit worried about how the neighbours will take it- it seems to be the way they identify where I live: "You're the one with that tall grass plant in your yard." Now I have no tall grass plant. Also, the lady across the road was super good friends with the former owner of my house and she was the one who gave her the grass to plant in the first place. I'm not a huge fan of this neighbour anyway. At first, she seemed nice but I've realized she's not terribly impressed by me. After the first time I met her and she insisted on showing me around her immaculate garden and then insisting she saw what I'd done with mine last year, I think I disappointed her. At the time she came over, I'd only been living here a couple of months and though I'd started on the garden, it wasn't exactly my top priority. I didn't see her again after that until just after I got Sookie and Rory. She's the only person who has met them that didn't say, 'aw, how cute.'

In fact, I could see the disapproval in her eyes as she said, "they're going to tear up your yard." Last time I saw her, she said to me, 'if you need help with that tall grass in your front yard, let me know." If it had been anyone else, I would have been pleased at the offer. However, I know it was her way of saying, "your grass is tall and ugly and you need to fix it." I know this because she's what I call a 'jellyfish' who slams you when you're least expecting it. I noticed that when I first got to know her.

Thus, I managed to do something with the tall grass. I probably should just have trimmed it as she'd thought I would but, nope, I decided that this is my house and there's no point in keeping something the neighbour gave the former owner just because I'd feel bad. I won't mind if a little of it grows back but it was just out of control.

So, I did manage to accomplish something today which feels better. I'm hoping tomorrow at work will be a more productive day but I have a feeling that as the conference draws ever closer, things are going to get even more frantic and even those of us not attending will be expected to drop everything to assist.

But, in the end, it means next week should be super quiet at work since over half our staff will be gone. I intend to make the most of that time. I might even get to be productive.

Happy Wednesday and thanks for reading!

Deadly Nightshade Discoveries...

It felt weird starting the work week on a Tuesday. It wasn't bad but it felt odd. It was nice to have those sudden, unexpected realizations that it was, in fact, Tuesday and that there were less days to go until the weekend than there usually are when you start work for the week.

It was a quiet day in the office. Days after holidays usually are; everyone's tired and crabby because they want to be back at home, sitting in the sun, working in the garden...whatever they did to enjoy their Monday. I was quiet too but mostly because I was tired from my early morning starts over the weekend. Ironically, the puppies did NOT want to get up this morning and would rather have continued sleeping. It's too bad they don't feel like that on days when we actually can sleep in.

I spent the day in the office working quietly on my project. I did sneak in a bit of research though. I've been trying to figure out what a shrub in my garden is. I've searched everywhere to find it and I can't find anything that meets the description. It's a very pretty little plant- dark green leaves, purple stems and clusters of little purple flowers with yellow tongues.

Well, after several attempts to search out the name of this pretty plant, today I found it. It turns out it's deadly nightshade- a very toxic plant. I've heard of it, naturally but I didn't know what it looked like. It's supposed to be fatal to animals if they eat the berries. Since I have two curious little pups who like to eat things from nature, I wasn't about to take any chances. I now no longer have deadly nightshade in my garden. It was pretty but it's not worth the risk.

I find myself becoming more of a 'mother' with my dogs every day. Pulling up the nightshade was the canine equivalent of putting stickers on the poisonous chemicals used in the home and putting a lock on the door so kids can't get them. I also find myself treating them like children- they know the tone of my voice when I'm not happy with them and a simple "What'cha doin' " brings them scurrying back from wherever they've disappeared to in order to make mischief.

So, even though it took a while, I'm glad I discovered the name of that plant. I think I got it all. We spent the evening pulling it up and getting bitten by mosquitoes. I also had to chop down part of a sapling tree. The old lady who owned my home had two enormous trees at one point but she had one cut down because she didn't like it and the other was damaged in the storm. The one that was damaged continues to grow branches from the stump. At first, I didn't mind it because it was a nice backdrop for my flowerbeds around it. I've quickly realized that it's not such a good thing. The limbs are very flimsy and elastic and all it takes is some heavy rain to flatten the big branches to the ground and promptly flattening all my flowers beneath it. I've chopped off a lot of the problem branches so hopefully that will help.

I'm finding gardening and yard maintenance to be an ongoing battle. I planted vegetables which are doing ok but the weeds around them are doing much better. The more I weed, the more weeds grow. I keep pulling them and still they grow. I would rather like to find out if there's anything I can do to stop the weeds growing. I have weed killer but I'm a bit tentative about that because of the puppies. I've tried mulch. I'm reluctant to lay down landscaping fabric because I think it makes the ground beneath it too claylike and hard to work. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.

Still, the one nice thing about weeding is that it gets me out in the garden after work. It lets me get down on my knees in the dirt and be at one with nature. Also, it lets me be at one with the puppies because they really like to launch themselves at my face because it's closer to their level than usual. It's nice to spend time outside with them so I won't complain too much.

Of course, I will complain that I have to mow the grass again tomorrow if it doesn't rain. The Dog Whisperer has just mowed his and it makes mine look twice as long as it really is. This time he's abandoned his diagonal mowing technique and gone back to the normal straight rows. Of course he did mow shirtless but I didn't look. It's best that way.

Happy Wednesday!

Dear Crystal Meth Makers...Thanks for Making Things Difficult...

It's Sunday evening already. I'm blogging earlier than I normally would because, after 7 p.m., tonight belongs to Lost.

Yes, I'm that much of a television nerd that I planned my Sunday around this evenings TV. In my defense, it's a big night for Lost- the last episode ever. I think given how much entertainment and puzzles it's given me since it aired, it deserves a proper send-off.

I shall sit down tonight and watch it with the puppies who I am hoping will sleep through the actual episode which is 2.5 hours and doesn't start until 9 p.m. Before that is a 2 hour special that basically honours the show and recaps everything that's happened. Or something like that anyway.

I haven't spent the whole weekend planning for it though. I spent most of yesterday cleaning my house since Saz is coming to stay next weekend. I also did some grocery shopping and bought a new TV as well as a stand for it. No, Captain Monkeypants has not come into the money- she just promised herself that when she got her tax refund, she was going to move into the digital age and actually buy a LCD television.

I bought it from Amazon.com and it should arrive Wednesday. I'm quite excited although I'm sure hooking it up might be a wee bit daunting. We'll see.

So, yesterday was a busy day. Today has been too. I spent much of it outside, sweltering in the sunshine. I mowed the garden, pulled some weeds, planted the last of my vegetable plants that I grew from seed, baked sausage rolls and bathed the puppies.

The latter did not go quite as well as I'd have liked since the puppies hate baths. They're small enough that the kitchen sink works quite nicely. Today, Rory decided that when I was bathing Sookie and she couldn't see her sister that I clearly was inflicting some awful punishment upon her. She proceeded to whine and cry and act like she was terribly wounded. Then, when it was her turn to be bathed, Sookie decided to whimper and cry and act like she was terribly wounded. Then when they were both done...they ran out into the garden, rolled in the grass and chased each other without another whimper. Strange puppies....

I also went to Walmart today. I think I've mentioned that I'm not a big fan of Walmart. When they first opened, like so many other people, I was enamoured with its cheap prices and easy-to-find..stuff. Then as time passed by, Walmart became far less friendly and cheap and eventually became the Evil Walmart that Destroyed Small Town Businesses and Then Became More Expensive than Kroger and Target- at least in my mind. These days, while Walmart does have some good deals, most of the time you can find the same grocery items on sale at Meijer or Kroger for the same price or cheaper. As for the non-grocery items, I find more and more that Target is better value and it's a lot more convenient.

Not to mention, Walmart have recently taken to remodeling the inside of their stores. Have you been in one like this lately? There's absolutely no rhyme or reason to the organization. You're in the kitchen stuff one minute then in crafts and then back in Kitchen. Also, there is tons of empty space between the aisles and it looks like a ginormous warehouse. That might be the idea but, let me tell you, when you're in a hurry and you need to dash in for two items, a ginormous warehouse is not where you want to go. You want to go somewhere where you can a) find the items because they're logically organized and 2) will not cause an asthma attack because it's so damn huge, you have to sprint from one side of the store to the other if you're unlucky enough that the two items you want are far apart which, I find, is most of the time.

My second complaint is actually not just towards Walmart. Today, I needed to buy some Claritin-D for my allergies. Over time, I've gone from being a casual seasonal sneezer to someone who wakes up with red, itchy eyes, a stuffy nose and a need to sneeze every two minutes and they're not the nice, dainty little sneezes... they're the ones that make puppies want to hide.

Here's where I say: Thank you, Crystal Meth Makers for making us allergy-prone people's lives so much more complicated.

I hate Crystal Meth Makers as a group. I don't think I know any personally. I hate them not only because they tend to be the less-intelligent members of society or the ones who have no grasp of reality but, also, because they need allergy medicine to make their stupid drug.

This means that because they were going and buying all the pseudoephedrine-containing products to make their drug, the government had to find a way to stop them. Now, everyone, not just Crystal Meth Makers has to jump through hoops just to buy a box of Claritin or Sudaphed that actually works.

Oh, I know- you can still buy the basic Claritin and other allergy medicines from the shelf because they don't contain pseudoephedrine but the thing is...they really don't work that well. They might curtail the sniffles or the sneezes a little but they don't stop it. It's like putting a band-aid on a badly bleeding cut- sure, it stops the bleeding for a bit but eventually, it's going to be useless.

So now, we all get to show our ID's and have them scanned whenever we buy allergy medicine from behind-the-counter. If we exceed our limit, we can be arrested. You might think, oh, this is just a 'soft' law but, let me tell you, they do arrest people. Take little old Sally Harpold- a grandmother of triplets from Indiana who was locked away in Clinton, Indiana where she was caught buying two cold medicines within seven days. Sadly, she wasn't even buying them for herself- one was for her husband and one was for her daughter. She was charged with a class-C misdemeanor, which carries a sentence of up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine. Her record is potentially able to be expunged of the crime if Harpold pays the court costs, stays clean for 30 days, and presumably comes to terms with “her problem.”

This isn't a joke. It's a news story that I first heard on the radio and then researched because I didn't believe it.

This is one of the reasons I hate Crystal Meth Makers. Poor old Sally Harpold didn't know the law and now she's being treated like she's a Crystal Meth Maker even though all she did was run two errands for her family.

I know it's not the pharmacies' fault that they have to get our ID and report us if we exceed the limits of our pseudoephedrine allotment. It just seems to be that the law isn't always working the way it's supposed to an now it's not possible to have a super quick trip to a pharmacy- it involves digging out your ID, having it run through the computer and waiting to see if you're allowed to buy the medicine.

I suppose it's not that big of a deal, it's more of an inconvenience that the stupid members of our society are the reason we all have to comply to laws like this. I respect the law and all that but every now and again, you have to wonder if it's really doing anything. I mean, I'm not a crystal meth dealer but surely all it would take is asking some of your clients/friends/family to go and buy their allotment of pseudoephedrine for the month and then having them hand it all to you. It doesn't take a genius to figure out ways round a law like this which is probably why there's still a huge problem with crystal meth labs and the consequences that go along with them.

Ah, well...such is life. As I said, it's not Walmart's fault but I'll blame them anyway because I always leave there in a bad mood. Half the time I go in one now and then leave because I can't find what i'm looking for and its easier to go elsewhere.

Still, today, I did get most of what I needed. It turned out to be a nice productive Sunday after a nice productive Saturday. Those are sometimes the best kind of weekends even though they're not what some people call relaxing. For me, that's a different form of relaxation- at least it doesn't involve sitting at a desk, staring at a computer screen and dealing with office politics.

I hope you had a good weekend too. I'm off to start my Lost evening and find my puppies.

Happy Monday!

Overactive Imagination vs. The Kindness of Strangers

It's a soupy night out there. If you've never lived anywhere with humidity, you might not know what I'm talking about but, chances are, you have. It's the type of night where no matter what you do, you feel sticky; when you go outside, the bugs flock to you and though you don't see them, somehow you come in with a few mosquito bites, even when you sprayed repellent.

We're supposed to have storms tonight and I hope we do. The atmosphere is thick out there and we need a storm to break it up. Even if it means waking up to crashing thunder and sharp flashes of lightning, it'll be worth it if we can have a cooler day of it tomorrow.

I think the puppies sense the storm. They are, as they have been on previous stormy nights, quite restless. I took them for a walk tonight and though Sookie didn't lie down in protest as she quite often does, they walked quickly as though trying to get home as quickly as possible.

Of course, they didn't take into account that we'd meet Larry, my very friendly neighbour who lives on the second-to-last corner we turn on our nightly walk.

Larry is a sweet man. He calls my girls "fellas" even though I've told him they're girls. He loves to garden and knows I do too. Thus, when we pass by and he's outside as he so often is, he has to tell me his latest garden developments.

He's very nice. He really seems to love seeing the puppies. He's just...a little too friendly, if you know what I mean. When he talks to us, he invades my space and I find myself taking a step back to fight for some personal space. Tonight, he insisted on showing me his back garden and showing me his plantings. It's a nice garden and he's got a lot of good stuff growing.

It just took a long while to make our excuses to get out of there. Also, he uses human hair as a bedding nutrient.

Yes, you read that right. Larry uses human hair to fertilize his plants. Larry is probably ten years older than me and he lives alone. If I had an overactive imagination, I might be a little worried about Larry and his human hair fertilizer. I might think he had some serial killer tendencies.

Ok, fine, I do have an overactive imagination. You know I'm now a little curious and a little worried about Larry. I mean, hello, he uses human hair to feed his plants.

I know. It's not that weird. After all, it's a good fertilizer, I know this. I know you can go to the barber and ask them for clippings and they'll give them to you. But most people don't because...well...it's a little creepy. I mean, after all, decomposing bodies also make good fertilizer but you don't hear of people going to morgues and asking for unclaimed bodies to make their garden grow nicely, do you?

Fine, that's a disturbingly dark exaggeration. I still won't lie and say it doesn't make my skin crawl just a little that around every tree and newly planted shrub, Larry has a neatly lain circle of human hair.

Personally, I prefer mulch or, you know, plant food or, perhaps, compost which takes a little more work and smells a lot but somehow manages to be more appealing than human hair.

Needless to say, once I saw the hair-circles, I tried to excuse ourselves from Larry's company. He's nice but he's the sort of nice that won't stop talking and doesn't like to see you leave. He made comments about getting one of 'them cute l'il dog pens so the l'il fella's could have their play while you and me sit on the deck'. Translation: He wants to find a way to pen my puppies so we can sit on his back deck and look at his flowers.

Now, while I find Larry to be an exceedingly friendly and kind neighbour, I'm not sure I like the idea of him getting a little pen for my dogs. After all, we can see the Dog Whisperer's garden from Larry's so it's not like they really need to be penned. Also, well, frankly, Larry and his need to get up close and personal while he talks to me, combined with the fact that he uses human hair and appears to be very lonely does send up some red flags, I have to confess.

So, even though Sookie, Rory and I will continue to take our walks, even on muggy nights, I think we'll be a little more wary of Larry and not let him invite us back to his gated back garden to see his hostas. He's very nice and I know he means well but...we're just being cautious, that's all.

Of course, the puppies did happen to conveniently find a 'chicken' bone outside his house the other night. I pulled them away quickly. If I had an overactive imagination, I might debate about whether it truly belonged to a chicken or not.

Overactive Imagination? Please turn off now.

Happy Friday and have a good weekend!

Unwanted Help in the Garden...

Today began in a stormy manner, quite literally. As I drove to work, the rain was coming down heavily and as I settled at my desk for the day, the thunder began to crash outside. I worried a little about the puppies; they're not afraid of storms, per se but they don't like them and get a little restless. I figured they were safe in their crate and they had each other for comfort.

The day cleared up around mid-morning with only a slightly stifling humidity left as a result of the storm. I wouldn't be surprised if we have more storms tonight and tomorrow- that's the only thing that's going to break the humidity and the stickiness in the air.

Since I thought it would rain all day, I hadn't planned on working in the garden tonight. Last night, I worked like a fiend to get all my flowers planted.

Unfortunately, the puppies had other ideas about 'gardening'. While I weeded last night, I found them having surreptiously dug up one of my new perennials- a pretty yellow flower that made me happy to look at it. Fortunately, I was in time to rescue it and I replanted it, adding rocks around the base to deter digging.

I should have known that wasn't enough. While I was indoors, cleaning up a little, Rory was helping me with my gardening. By the time I went out, my yellow flower was no more. I'm sad about it. I really liked that flower. Last week, it was a dianthus that I lost due to Sookie's compulsion to dig.

I suppose I can't really be angry. I mean, they see me pulling up weeds, digging in the garden for hours. Perhaps they really thought they were helping. They can't tell the difference between a burdock and a coreopsis. I've tried to make Rory and Sookie a hole of their own in which to dig but, instead, they're returning to the site of the late yellow flower and making it's former home an even bigger hole. Perhaps I should plant another rose there, something spiky that will deter digging.

Of course, it doesn't help that the Dog Whisperer came out tonight. Lately, he's been driving me crazy by coming home from work, letting his yappy beasts out and then leaving them outside for two hours which, generally, is the two hours that I want to work in the garden after work. I don't know if he thinks it's my fault for leaving my puppies out but, as I've mentioned before, my puppies don't bark.

However, I have to admit, my puppies are rather good rabble rousers. I've watched them and they seem to take great pleasure in running up and down the fence, making the Dog Whisperer's canines chase them, barking, naturally, the whole time. My puppies, however, are silent. They just like to wind up the neighbour's dogs. Then, at other times, Sookie will sit calmly in our garden, about five feet from the fence where the Dog Whisperer's beasts are barking like mad. She will just watch them, as if knowing that she's the cause of the frenzy but not moving a muscle.

Then, Rory will pounce on her and the two will tussle around the garden, doing this weird friendly-growling thing at one another with the occasional yip. This, of course, drives the Dog Whisperer's pets rather crazy.

So, while I think that the Dog Whisperer should definitely exert some discipline over his dogs and discourage them from barking, it's not like my pups are completely innocent. They're clever little things, knowing the effect they have but being smart enough to act like little angels.

Except, of course, when they dig up my flowers. It's sort of hard for them to look like little angels when they have dirt in their coats, and on their faces and their paws are filthy from digging.

Still, as I always say, they keep life interesting.

Playing Hooky....

So, I have a confession to make. I played hooky from work today. In my defence, I noticed yesterday that my left eye was red on one side. As the day progressed, my eye grew redder. Prone to eye infections, I assumed that the redness was exactly that: A visual clue that my eye was infected.

This morning I was awoken by the puppies at 5:35 a.m because they needed to go out. My eye was a little sore and gummy. I examined it in the mirror and saw that it was an alarming shade of red. It didn't, however, hurt and wasn't light sensitive as had been the case with previous eye infections. After I'd taken the puppies out, there was just enough time for me to go back to bed and get comfy before my alarm went off. By the time the alarm kicked on, I had talked myself into not going to work.

So I called in sick.

In my defense, my eye is still red. It looks pretty bad. Yet because it is only a little sore and not light-sensitive, I'm now wondering if I have an infection or I have a burst blood vessel. Either way, it doesn't matter. I didn't go to work today.

I've complained in the past that my company is stingy with Paid Time Off. They combine sick time with vacation time so what you earn...you earn. I get one day every month, to be used whether I'm sick or in desperate need of a trip to Napa.

While I'm psychologically in need of a trip to Napa, I know it's not likely in the near future. I don't have much time off work anyway.

Yet, even though only earning one day off a month in vacation/sick time means a slow accumulation, it also means when you don't go to work, no one can say, "You don't seem sick!"

After all, if I'm pulling my vacation time from the same bucket I'm pulling my sick time, what right does anyone have to question if I'm really sick or not?

Granted, if I hadn't had the sore and blurry eye, I would have gone to work. Yet, by mid-afternoon, it felt fine and it enabled me to not only watch a few Gilmore Girl episodes on DVD but it let me get outside into the garden. As a result, I ended up pulling up an awful lot of weeds. I got some things planted. I got some mulch put down.

Best of all, I got to spend the day with the puppies. This was quite a treat. While I know they're not humans, that they can't talk, that their thought process currently consists of: "treats!" "need to go to the bathroom!", "need to sleep" and "need to be cuddled," I can't help assigning them just a few more thoughts. It was nice to be able to spend time with them at home. It was nice to not have to rush home at lunch, feed them, take them outside and them crate them back up for the afternoon.

All in all, even though I did check my work email a lot, I didn't do any work. I felt no need, I felt no guilt. Way back when we were owned by a university and we had a separated supply of sick time and vacation time, I would have felt bad for saying, "I won't be in the office today."

Yet when the supply is combined and you no longer have the advantage of being allowed to get sick because, if so, you no longer get to take any time off for anything fun...then it stops making you feel so guilty. After all, a day off is a day off. My PTO is there to be used. Therefore, no matter how I use it, it's mine.

I won't say that my eye isn't uncomfortable and that I may have an eye infection, under most normal circumstances, I probably would have dealt with it and gone to work. Except, lately, work has been nothing but monotony. You can see why calling in 'sick' may not have been a challenge.

In the end, I think today ended up being a Mental Health Day as much as anything else. My eye is still red. It's still sore, as if bruised. It still doesn't like contacts. Yet if I'd have had the desire, I could have gone to work.

It's just, sometimes, when you wake up in the morning, you just know that if you were to go to work, you'd be absolutely useless. That's how I felt today. I mentally checked my calendar and knew I had nothing scheduled. I mentally checked my list of projects and realized that the one, lone project I am working on would not weep if I missed a day...and thus, I decided it would be ok if I missed a day.

I know I'm not the only one in need of a Mental Health Day. One of my friends/coworkers was out Monday, two were out Tuesday, my boss was out yesterday....there are just some weeks that feel as though they shouldn't be spent in the office but, rather, should be given over to real life- not just the way you earn your paycheck.

So there you have it: Captain Monkeypants skivved off work today. She had a red, sore eye but she could have sucked it up and gone in to do her duty. Instead, she surrendered to the little warm puppy bodies that pressed up against her on her bed this mornign and realized how nice it would be to not have to leave the puppies today.

In the end, I spent quality time with my puppies. I got to watch TV. I got to make soup. Overall, I got to rest my mental health without having to contaminate it with the politics of the office.

I know, in the long run, I should have gone to work today, to let my time off accumulate faster so that I could, if I so desired, take a real vacation. Yet...when you wake up in the grey light of dawn and realize that lying in bed, flanked by two adorable puppies is a far more appealing image than getting up, going to work and working on the same thing for eight more hours...the idea of playing hooky is ridicously tempting.

I recommend it to everyone...anytime.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Facebook: The New Wave in Passive-Agressiveness

Today was another quiet day in the office. At least it wasn't too gloomy which makes a big difference. When I came home this afternoon, the sun was actually shining and I got to work in the garden for a bit. I had some asparagus roots to plant and this required digging a trench. This may not seem too huge since it only had to be about 7 feet long and eight inches deep. It actually didn't take too long to dig it although since my garden is hideously infected with tree roots from trees that are no longer standing but will forever leave their legacy, it took a while to dig around the roots, snapping them when possible.

Of course, it didn't help that the puppies also wanted to help. They were all about the trench and wasted no time jumping down and having a dig. It was actually quite useful. Well, it was until they spotted the asparagus roots that were ready to plant and decided to try to run off with them. Then, after I'd done the planting they tried to dig them back up. I put a little fence around the area but I'll have to play close attention to make sure they don't try to sneak around the fence.

The nice thing about gardening is that it's a great way to clear your head. When the sun is shining and there's a nice breeze, it's a nice thing to kneel in the dirt and go to work. It's a good way to work of frustration and stress.

Not that I feel too much of either at the moment. I'm in a contented place. I know that, like with everything, that's subject to change at any moment but I'm quite thankful that things are going fairly quietly in life at the moment.

It doesn't seem that way for everyone though, especially for my Facebook friends. I've been on Facebook a while. If you go back in my blog, I've written about it before and how it's a good way to have a reunion with old friends and unite all aspects of your life. However, even though I love Facebook for this reason, it's also a fantastic way to be passive-aggressive.

If you don't know what I mean, you're either very lucky or you don't go on Facebook much. I have quite a few 'friends' on there now and I get the feed of all their status updates. I love this because you get to know what they're up to but don't have to actually call them to talk or email. It's a great, quick way to stay in touch without having to, you know, be in touch.

Except no everyone uses this to say things like, "Captain Monkeypants is having fun shopping at outlet malls," or "Captain Monkeypants just made lettuce wraps." No, a lot of my friends use the status as a form of venting.

I get that. I mean, when I'm upset with friends, I do occasionally have the urge to post a Facebook status update that quietly points the finger at the friend and say, 'hey, you- you hurt my feelings."

I don't though because I know that this is childish and, also, most of the time, whoever I'd be aiming the update towards wouldn't get it and I'd have wasted the typing. But I do understand the urge.

I think the trick is not to give in to it though. Otherwise, you post something like, "I am furious- one of the people I trusted most has hurt me beyond words. You liar!"

(Which, by the way, is taken from a post I read not too long ago.)

Now, while that update might be aimed at someone specific, chances are that while that person may know they did something wrong, no one else knows who did it. Thus, all the people who read that status process it as, "was that me? Did I do something?" without knowing. This is, of course, assuming that the intended recipient of the update is a Facebook friend in the first place. Also, it makes everyone who knows you and many of your friends try to guess who you're angry with and what they did wrong and gossip starts to form and spread.

Granted, it's not a big deal- much like high school when you'd fight with your friends in public, Facebook allows a way to show the world that you're pissed. It lets everyone talk about you being angry and trying to guess what's going on. If they don't find out, they make something up.

I'm not condemning. I'm just seeing it more and more. Some people use song lyrics, some people most cryptic, intriguing little teases that lets you know something is wrong but never, what exactly. Some people just keep it light and fluffy.

No matter what though, this type of status update does what it's intended to do- it gets your attention. It lets someone know you're angry with them but doesn't require you picking up the phone to scream at them or sending them an angry email. As I said, I've been tempted. It's just not worth it because it's just not fruitful. Back in my younger days, I know I would have done it. I was shy and not very confrontational. But, with age comes less patience for games. If someone upsets me, I try to tell them about it or solve the problem myself. I find this works. If I weigh the problem and discover it's not large enough to bother with, I move on.

Everyone's different. For some people, Facebook is a tool for therapy. It's an outlet, a way of showing the world how you feel. I can't say I always salute that because I think some things should just be kept between you and your offenders but that's just my opinion.

Facebook has many uses. It's a communication tool primarily, a point of contact also. It also seems to be a great place to go farming as so many of my friends status updates imply. I still haven't figured out the point of Farmville or whatever odd little virtual world you're trying to create on there but I do consider that a far healthier way to spend your time on Facebook than calling someone out anonomously in front of everyone you know to scold them or chide them without direct confrontation. Of course, I do find it odd that people are trying to plant nachos but, as I always say, to each his own.

Happy Wednesday!