Summertime...

...and the livin's easy...

You would think...

...that with a long weekend, I would have enough time to get stuff done.

You'd be wrong.

We got a lot done around the house, but not nearly as much as we would have liked. Indy has something going on with his eye, so I carted him to the vet of Friday. Jeff's taking him back today, since whatever is wrong is still there. Kaylee had a fever that started in the middle of Saturday night and was a pretty bad one, so that took a lot of time away from stuff we could have done.

But we did get the backyard beds mulched, and the front grass ripped up and covered with landscape fabric. We didn't move any plants yet, but that was mostly from exhaustion!

We attended our neice Eve's first birthday party on Sunday, which was fun, but full of many loud small children. A bit trying, though Eve has learned to walk since the last time we saw her two weeks ago.

I hit a couple of thrift stores to bulk up the summer wardrobe and was pretty successful. Got a few really good things that I intended to get photos of and post, but just ran out of time. I'll try to get to them this week.

So ... yeah. Really busy. I had four and a half days off from work and it feels like I only had one.

You should read this stuff

In no particular order:

• The Captain's Verses by Pablo Neruda
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
• To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
• You Just Don't Understand by Deborah Tannen
  
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
  
• Hogfather by Terry Pratchet
• At the Sign of the Naked Waiter by Amy Herrick
  
• In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan
• Don't Bet On the Prince by Jack Zipes
• This Way for the Gas, Ladies & Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski
• Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Schermer
  
• Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
• Leonardo's Mountain of Clams & the Diet of Worms by Stephen Jay Gould
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
• Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
• Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
• Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Brightness Reef by David Brin
  

(Note: the links are for more info only. Buy them at your local bookshop. Or, better yet, get them from the library.)

Busy!

We have made a lot of progress on the yard this weekend.

Jeff has been very busy out front, ripping out the grass to expand his "creepy garden" - a collection of strange plants, including a lot of succulents.

Click on the photo for descriptions and arrows and stuff.

The bark yard has also progessed. We put a bamboo blind up on the pergola to provide just a little more shade. If you look very very closely, you can see a wind chime and a "chimeless" wind chime - both gifts from some two very nice people.

And the pups are quite happy with the changes, too.

We expanded our grass planting bed to include two palms that are hardy in Ohio, a Chinese fan palm and a sago palm (I think that's it). I like them, and Jeff's way happy.

And to get out of more work, Jeff absconded for a workers' comp conference in Maumee. To keep busy, I went shopping, making a stop at the dollar store. I found some cute potholders with matching dishtowels.

I'm quite pleased. :)

Blow, blow, blow your coat

It's spring, and that means shedding!

The two short haired dogs shed, but nothing like Cordy. Today, she got one of her biannual professional groomings. Now, she's all pretty again.

She dislikes having her picture taken. Hence the closed eyes. Actually, for such a pretty girl, she's not very photogenic. It took me five tries to get one photo where she didn't look stoned and/or stupid. She's just like her mommy! Aww! ;)

Hot dog

Kaylee's glad we built the pergola. It's become her favorite collapse-in-the-sun spot.

My baby

My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors
by Moxy Fruvous

Well you should see my story-reading baby, you should hear things that she says
She says "Hon, drop dead, I'd rather go to bed with Gabriel Garcia Marquez"
Cuddle up with William S. Burroughs, leave on the light for bell hooks
I been flirtin' with Pierre Burton 'cause he's so smart in his books

I like to go out dancing
My baby loves a bunch of authors
My heart's so broke and bleedin'
Baby's just sittin' there doin' some readin'

So I started watching some TV, played my new CD player too
She said "Turn it off or I'll call the cops, and I'll throw the book at you"
All this arguing made me get dizzy, called my doctor to come have a look
I said "Doctor, hurry!" He said: "Don't worry, I'll be over when I finish my book"

I like to go out dancing
My baby loves a bunch of authors
We've been livin' in hovels
Spendin' all our money on brand new novels

So I got myself on the streetcar and it drove right into someone
The driver said: "I was looking straight ahead!" but he was reading the Toronto Sun
So my honey and me go to a counsellor to help figure out what we need
She said: "We'll get your love growin', but before we get goin' here's some books I'd like you to read"

I like to go out dancing
My baby loves a bunch of authors
Lately we've had some friction
'Cause my baby's hooked on short works of fiction

So we split and went to a party, some friends my girl said she knew
But what a sight 'cause it's authors night and the place looks like a who's who

Now I'm poundin' the Ouzo - with Mario Puzo
Who's a funny fella? - W.P. Kinsella
Who brought the cat? - would Margaret Atwood?
Who needs a shave? - he's Robertson Davies!
Ondartje started a food fight, salmon mousse all over the scene
Spilled some dressing on Doris Lessing these writer types are a scream!

I like to go out dancing
My baby loves a bunch of authors
We'll be together for ages
Eatin' and sleepin' and turnin' pages

Why

So, why'd I get my hair cut off?

When I was ... well ... not married ... I'd get my hair cut off when I broke up with someone. It was a way to become someone new. The person I saw in the mirror with short hair wasn't the person with long hair who'd gotten her heart broken. It was kind of comforting.

Now? Actually, I'm not so sure. I think it's a remnant of that feeling. That need to be someone new. Someone who those things just don't happen to.

I think it's just been a bit much lately. I mean, I'm not depressed or anything. I'm just ... worn, really. I need a few days. To recoup.

Anyone want to rent a shar pei?

Hair of the ... Jessica

Before:

After:

Still wet, but you get the idea. And I'm going to have him cut it even shorter the next time I go in. :)

Eye, eye, eye!

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone.

So, went back to the doctor's yesterday, and my cut is 95% healed and should be 100% healed by tonight. My eye is still inflamed, though, so my vision is still blurry in that eye, and it's still uncomfortable. Doc says that should be better within three days, though, as long as I use my steriod drops.

In other news, Giant Eagle's pharmacy is apparently staffed by incompetent jackasses. I won't be filling any prescriptions there anymore. My boss is also a jackass, but we won't go there, since, in theory, he knows about this blog.

Thanks again, everyone!

Evil, evil fencing

You wouldn't think that simple plastic fencing could cause so much trouble, but you'd be wrong.

As I said, Jeff and I planned on putting up the fencing around the garden on Saturday night. And we did. And there was An Incident.

Basically, as I bent down to straighten the fencing, it flopped forward and sliced open my cornea. Youch! We took a trip to the emergency room, where I got a nice prescription of vicodin, a little vial of antibiotic eye drops, and advice to see my doctor in 48 hours.

Still hurt a lot so I didn't go to work today, but Jeff came home to pick me up to take me to the eye doctor. Not only has the cut not gotten any better, but now my iris is all swollen (explains why my eye feels about three sizes too big). So, they dilated my eye (to help the iris) and gave me a "band-aid contact lens" to wear. I go back tomorrow to see if it's OK to start actual treatment.

Sigh. Stupid fencing.

Accomplishments

Click on the photos for bigger ones with desciptions and little hand-drawn arrows...

We still have to put up the fence around the garden, but we're waiting for the sun to get lower. And we planted all the damned cannas. We still haven't found the callas, but I know they're in the basement somewhere. I dug them up in the rain, so I distinctly remember it. Just have to find them.

We also still have some more plants and stuff to plant, but I'm still not sure what we're doing with them. Maybe put them in Jeff's creepy garden out front when he kills the remaining lawn. Since the front is a steep hill, that is a happier thing than it might sound!

Tired now. Time to feed the dogs.

The death of critical thinking

Lately, I have been barraged by a whole lot of shit that would benefit from a strong dose of critical thinking.

Many of the people who have been showering me with their "information" are not stupid by any means, just uninformed and of the opinion that "if it's in print, it must be true" or "if it's been around for a long time, it must be true" or best yet, "since I believe it, it must be true" (this is a good example of circular logic, which a strong dose of critical thinking would cure).

If you are emailed information on safety, health, politics, or anything else, please visit snopes.com before you pass it on. Here, you will find out that your cell phone number will not be released to telemarketers, Andy Rooney is not quite as much of a jackass as he is quoted as being, and gas stations are not charging credit card customers an extra $10 per transaction, among other things.

Just because something is in the news does not make it true. How can you tell what's true and what's not? By looking for bias and learning to recognize propaganda. Ask questions and think about the answer.

How can you evaluate the claims of a new natural remedy or health claim (or an old one)? Try the FDA for a start, followed by Quackwatch. Look for research on the product or system and learn how to evaluate the research. Ask questions and evaluate the answers. Remember, this is your health we're talking about. Do you want to risk that just because you didn't ask enough questions? Do you want to waste your money to be an example of the placebo effect?

Learn the scientific method and apply it to other research and situations. Try it on claims of psychic ability, hauntings of all sorts, astrology, and claims that vaccination will hurt you and your children.

Think. Be critical. Be a sceptic. Don't believe everything you hear. Please.

Thank you.


PS: And please don't assume I'm a Christian. My religion or lack thereof is none of your damned business.

Updates

Kaylee: She has some bleeding in her stomach and her intestines. We've got her on some medicine (more like "medicines" - she now is taking 5 pills several times a day!) and she should be feeling better soon. I managed to force a little food down her this morning, not that she liked it! She's lost 5 pounds in a week, but once she's feeling better, she will undoubtedly pack those right back on, the little piglet!

The garden: The weather finally cooperated and Jeff managed to get all the soil in the raised beds this past Sunday. He also built me a couple boxes for my chayote to grow up the pergola. However, we're still having frost warnings, so we haven't' really been able to plant. I did have to plant the chayote this morning since it was starting to die. With any luck, the weather forecast will be right and we can plant some of the other stuff this weekend.

The living room and dining room: We have now rearranged both the living room and the dining room. Both rooms look so much bigger now! And the living room has much more light now that the armoire isn't blocking parts of two windows. Jeff is going to build me two sets of shelves for under the windows on each side of the fireplace, and we bought baskets to put on them to hide all the random crap we seem to accumulate. We're waiting for it to warm up enough for us to paint (so we can open the windows).

Crochet: I have written up my first pattern of my very own - for a light poncho. A few people are testing it for me to make sure it's understandable, then I plan on posting it for the world to see. Gulp! I've also joined a "Secret Pal" project at Crochetville, and I'm having fun getting to know my secret pal and getting messages from my secret pal! I've got a box of stuff already to send to my pal - I just have to resist the urge to send it out all at once - this is supposed to last through July. I hate waiting, though! I like to give presents to people!

And my boss just had a baby, so I'm pretty swamped at work. So please pardon me if I'm a little busy lately - I'll try to keep the blog current!