This week has been an off one for me. I switched to new pills a few months ago (the generic version of Seasonale) which has been going quite fabulously for me, except this week was my first period after being on them and it seems my body doesn't quite know what to do with itself. Massive cramps, severe headaches, intensely sore muscles and general ickyness...bah. The thing is, I am not sure that the headaches and muscle aches are even related. The weather here has been stormy and rainy which is causing more things to grow and bloom and make evil pollen. It could just be allergy sinuses adding into the mix. Who knows.
OP has decided that Neil and I are both OK. He ventured out of the guest room for quite awhile last night. He seemed to particularly enjoy being up on the dining room table...I imagine that is because it is mostly out of reach of dogs. Bonnie still doesn't quite know what to make of him, but she is much less afraid of him now - this morning she walked right up to him, hissed, swatted him once on the head and then walked away. Poor guy. What a welcoming committee, huh? He has hissed and swatted at the dogs, but he didn't use his claws...overall he is a wonderful cat and I can't wait until he gets even more comfortable around here. Eventually his newness will wear off and the dogs won't accost him every time they see him...but until then, he is eating well, uses his litter box and the scratching posts, and comes out for love and snuggling when we call him. That makes me happy!
The Slow Food dinner last night was really good...the lady from Slow Food Charlotte that was putting it on was annoying. And then there were other speakers - some guy who said he was a motivational speaker went on and on for about 15 minutes (I have no idea what he had to do with Slow Food or the dinner or any of it) and then some other lady got up and was asking for donations for her breast cancer awareness group (I won't even go into the ignorant comment the Slow Food lady made about men on this topic). And while I think that cancer is always a good cause, again, not what I signed up for when I decided to come to the Slow Food dinner. I get really annoyed when people use an event to push a bunch of unrelated causes or services on the attendees. Then again, I also have my own views on why the idea of Slow Food/buying local is good, but they are not really the accepted publicity reasons...so maybe I am just not getting the point/need for the additional folks. I will have to write another post about food sometime soon, though...
This weekend, to my knowledge, we have no plans. I can't remember the last time Neil and I had a WHOLE weekend together with nothing pre-set to do. It should be nice, but knowing us, we will probably be bored by tomorrow at lunch time and need to go out and find something to do. LOL At least we can do that without having to worry about being some other place later in the day.
OK time for me to get back to my project work...soon it will be time for our weekly team conference call. Joy.
Yesterday and then again today I found this mis-matched pair of birds hanging out in the backyard:
The smaller appears to be a male chipping sparrow and the larger, younger bird is a baby cowbird. As I was reading up on both birds I found (which was also confirmed by Amanda) that cowbirds are known to lay eggs in other birds' nests which those birds then raise as their own. I have a bunch of brown-headed cowbirds around here, so I would not be in the least bit surprised if that is exactly what happened here.
It is the most hilarious thing to watch this huge bird following the little one around with its beak wide open chirping for food.
Last night the need for love and snuggles finally won out. I got to spend some time hanging out with the sweet boy. He is a lover! Petting and holding and snuggling seem to be the best things in the world (next to canned food). He got brave and explored the room...I think he even attempted to come out of the room a few times last night, but was immediately accosted by two very curious dogs.
Bonnie goes in there and hangs out with him...not too close, but not as wary as before, either. I think once the dogs lose some intensity to their interest in him, he will come right out. He is still not too sure what to make of Neil. That will come too, though.
Tonight Neil is taking me to our favorite Italian restaurant. They are hosting a dinner by (for?) Slow Food of Charlotte. The dinner will be made with local foods (meats, veggies, and I think even cheeses). I forget exactly what the menu is, but it doesn't really matter since everything their chefs make is good!
Monday night we will be back there for a wine tasting/pairing dinner. I am not into wine much, but the menu looked divine and a couple good friends whom I never get to see will be there too (along with some of Neil's other friends). Twice in less than a week...I must have done something that the universe likes!
Right now I am off to take Neil into the office so we will just have one car later tonight when we head to dinner. Then it is back here and back to work on my project stuff. (Work project stuff, not house project stuff...unfortunately.) Maybe OP will venture out of his room this afternoon while the dogs are napping.
before that, Opalina! Hahaha! The original person who rescued him had thought he was a girl and named him Opalina. After a visit to the vet, the name was changed to Opie. Being that he is much too cool a cat for such a silly name, we have again changed it...this time to OP (Other Puddytat). Of course, being initials, their meaning could change more with time. :)
He is a doll - a bit freaked out from the car ride over and being in a new place, but he isn't overly scared. When he came out of his carrier, he let Sadie sniff at him without a second glance. He met Bonnie briefly. They sniffed and on a second encounter, she hissed a little, but nothing more than that. Moo was barking her head off at the lady which I think is what eventually sent him under the bed.
According to the adoption lady, he is a major snuggler, so I imagine he will come out sooner rather than later for some lovin's. When he does, we will try to get some photos.
Right now Sadie is hanging out in the hallway just outside the guest room door waiting for him to emerge from under the bed. Moo was relegated to her crate for a bit so she could calm down. I will let her out in a bit at which time I am sure she will be thoroughly investigating around the bed.
Neil bought four of these for my yard - they arrived yesterday. I put two of them out in the yard this morning. I guess we'll see if they work. They emit a sound and vibrate at intervals which supposedly annoys yard pests (specifically moles, gophers, etc.) and sends them packing to quieter living areas...presumably outside your yard. It is reported that these also work for snakes.
I am unclear as to whether they work on snakes because they too do not like the noise and vibrations or if it is because it scares away their food source. In any case, anything is worth trying. I have also removed the old cat house that was right outside the back door...there was about 2" of crawl space under it that made a good hidey area for critters. And as soon as I can find some, I will toss some mothballs under the grill to keep any from hiding under there (I will also put some in the garage).
I put the first two repellers out on either side of the patio along the house. I figure that will cover enough area to help keep the dog potty areas free of too much trouble. The other two I think I will put out along the top of the hill between my house and Tommy's to try to deter them from coming up into the yards there. I don't really care if they are out in the farthest back part of my yard...I rarely go out there and if I do, I will just take extra precautions.
I still think it was a fluke that I saw the snake the other night, but better safe than sorry since the closest 24 hour emergency vet is nearly an hour from here.
To-Do (Either can do now, or can reasonably expect to be able to do in next few months)
- finish painting the master bath (can and should do now)
- paint the kitchen (have the paint, should do soon)
- paint a third coat in the dining room (also have paint and should do soon - before the kitchen)
- buy two whirly-gig sprinklers
- scoop up red rock on left side of garage and replace with pine needles
- install hose holders (I have them, just need to get them up)
- get electrical breaker fixed - this is a must-do even though I don't have the money for it right now.
- finish pressure washing the front walkway
- plant flowers around the mailbox area (probably in the fall)
- clean out/organize the garage (fall or winter...way too hot out there to do it now)
Want-To-Do (Someday it will happen...but probably not until next year)
- Build two raised garden bed/boxes (and fill them, of course)
- Build/buy a planter box/bench (one of the cedar ones with a box at each end and the bench in between
- Get two more vitex (chaste berry trees) - one out by the bird feeders and the other will go out front by the mailbox. The abelia will get transplanted late winter/early spring to the side of the house where the other two are.
- Transplant the euonymus - not sure where it is going to go yet - maybe in between gas and electric meters on the side of the house
- Buy and plant a purple leafed tree at the master bedroom end of the house (maybe purple leaf plum...) - bed out that side of the house with pine needles
- Plant a lavender hedge along the edge of the front planting bed
- find a flowering vine that will handle some sun and quite a bit of shade (clematis aren't making it there)
She just tried stealing my bread straight off my plate while I was sitting here eating! Bold move, even for her!
Today was quite productive - I finally pried up the paving stone that had settled too low in the BBQ pad and added sand under it. It isn't perfect, but it is much better than before. Then I donned gloves and carefully removed the old cat-house that was right outside the back door. I wasn't sure what I would find under it and after the snake the other night, I figured better safe than sorry. Luckily, there were no snakes - just lots of scary spiders and a wasp nest attached to the siding of my house. I squished all the spiders I could see (they were not happy-making garden spiders...they were scary black-widowish type spiders) and then sprayed under the siding edges. I also scraped the wasp nest off the house.
Once the outside stuff was done, I came in and finally put the guest room back together. I had moved furniture in case the plumber needed to get into the wall through the bedroom (thank goodness he didn't). Then I cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed and scrubbed down the kitchen.
Now, I need to figure out how to screw through the vinyl exterior siding and still keep it sealed so I can hang the hose hangers outside. I think maybe I can use some putty or epoxy of some kind to do that. I also need to move some red rock this week. I had made a patch of it at the left side of the garage to match the right side...but now that the left side is a planting bed and is mulched with pine needles, the rock looks out of place. It isn't much - my plan is to just scoop it up and fill in the thin spots in the other beds that are red-rocked.
And an electrician - still need to get that breaker fixed. But I unfortunately, that is still a ways off.
Stuff to get:
- light bulbs (for outside lights)
- mothballs (for garage and under the BBQ)
- salmon oil (for dogs)
- HVAC filters (for the HVAC air intakes....duh!)
Now I am going to enjoy a beer and watch a movie.
I am back after a sweltering four days in Tempe, AZ. Highs over 110 and the lowest low being only 98. I guess as far as corporate meetings go, it was actually productive...at least more so than any past meeting I can recall.
I got to see some pretty incredible lightening storms from the airplane on the way home as we dodged thunderheads all the way back. It was a surprisingly smooth ride considering the turbulent weather.
I am bummed - I found out this week that they did not get approval to post for the job here in Charlotte...figures. That is just the way my luck goes.
Of course, I am also suffering reverse jet-lag now and couldn't sleep last night. While I was up in the living room I saw this on my patio:
So, I have been too sad and somewhat embarrassed to say anything, but Bandit went missing last Thursday. Unfortunately, now I think I know what may have happened to him (and to Mr M and Clyde). *sigh* Bonnie has not gotten to go outside since the day Bandit didn't come home. At least, even though she is going a bit stir-crazy now, she will be the most likely of any of the cats to adjust to being an indoor only kitty.
My greater concern now, is figuring out what to do about the snakes coming up onto the patio. If I need to take one of the dogs out at night, that could pose a real problem. And worse, what if they are nesting nearby? I assume that seeing a juvenile like this means mom and dad are somewhere about the area as well. They say mothballs will keep them away, however, I am not sure if Sadie and/or Moo will get into them if I sprinkle some around. I will for sure sprinkle some in the garage though...
Overall, it has been a crappy week. No job. A third cat gone. Overheated, over-long days stuck in an office building. I am really, really, really glad to be back home. Now it is time to go pick up Moo from the kennel.
The time off last week was much needed and wonderful! The best part was that we really didn't do much of anything. The plumber came Wednesday and fixed the exterior faucet/pipe leak - can I tell you how awesome it is to finally have a hose on that side of the house again???
Thursday we sort of puttered around - I think it was Thursday that we got some pressure washing of the porch and front walkway done...and then the washer ran out of gas. I also got some Sevin dust sprinkled on my crape myrtles to deal with the bad Japanese beetle problem. Later we went into town and did a little shopping for random things (like a new hose for the new outside faucet!) and a headphone amp for Neil. Friday there was a BBQ at Neil's house - much fun was had, and WAY too much alcohol was consumed by moi. Seriously, maybe I was thinking I was 21 all over again or something? At any rate, that ended poorly in the wee hours of the morning.
Saturday, we really lounged around and did a lot of nothing. Neil was tired from entertaining and (I am sure) taking care of me and just generally being up so late. And I was hungover like I haven't been in a long, long time. I did see some fireworks when I took dogs out for their night-time potty breaks...Sadie is totally freaked out by them and wouldn't even go outside at one point (Bandit is also terrified by them, I discovered). Moo, however, didn't seem at all phased by them. Thunder makes her much more upset. She just sort of looked in the direction of the noise and then continued about her business. I think the thunder scares her because it doesn't seem to come from any one point...it is just sudden loudness all around.
Yesterday I was pretty productive. I got the overspray from the pressure washer rinsed off the front door and siding. I watered plants. I flicked more beetles off the vitex (I didn't use the Sevin dust on it because I wasn't sure if it would also kill the bees which are VERY happy with the flowers on that bush!) I scrubbed down my BBQ and sprayed bug spray in the propane tank cabinet where it was scary. I also dismantled the dog crate that was in my bedroom that never got used and then vacuumed the whole house. And I sprayed the inside of the wall and underneath the base of the wall board in the garage with bleach water where the leak had been.
Today, I have to get away from posting here and go do some actual work stuff...I have to prepare for my trip tomorrow morning (WAY too early a flight, but it saves me from being gone two nights). I have a couple con calls today and I also need to clean out my closets and dresser to get everything put away that had been piled on top of the old dog crate so I can find the things I need to pack. Heh. Oh, and laundry. That seems to be a given, though.
So the visit from the plumber went very well. The faucet bib did indeed freeze this past winter and split - however, the way the bibs work, the split was on the outside of the valve, so as long as I wasn't using the faucet, there was no leakage. (Thank goodness.)
The even bigger plus is that there was enough room for him to get into the wall behind the water heater and not have to cut up the guest room! YAY! There is little to no damage in the wall - he said to spray it down really well with bleach water and then let it dry a good long while before closing the drywall back up. I think before I do finally close it up, I am going to get some pipe wrap to put around the new bib in there just to make sure.
I am also going to be piling mulch of some kind up against the exterior of the master bathroom wall this winter to try to keep those pipes from doing a repeat of what happened this last year. There doesn't seem to be a leak, but the water there froze enough to completely stop water flow to the toilet until after the sun had come up later that morning.
The frozen pipe was a result of my forgetting to remove the garden hoses from the faucet and thus the siphon couldn't drain the pipe properly, leaving some water backed up in there. *sigh* Live and learn.
Overall, it wasn't nearly as expensive as I was expecting (which is always good), but I think I may have a second issue that arises when I do a bunch of laundry, run the dish washer, and take showers or give the dogs baths in a short period of time. We couldn't recreate the problem while the plumber was here, but he thinks it might have to do with the overflow spout on the water heater...that it is dripping for some reason. (possibly the hot water heater is slightly over-filling when it refills the used hot water). As soon as I can pin-point where that water is coming from (assuming I can) - there will be another call. But the good news is that he said it is likely not a leak in the pipes in the wall since that would only get worse, not better, and since we couldn't re-create it, it didn't seem to be an issue. *whew*
Now - to get an electrician out to fix the main breaker for the bonus room.
