Foam pipe-wrap, coffee-table books, other fat books, various cardboard boxes, a mesh plant-tray, a TV tray, a basket, folded up thin phone book ... what do they all have in common?
Plugging up nooks and crannies to keep the kittens from getting under, between or behind places that are not good for them or for my possessions, such as the entertainment cabinet, behind the fridge, washer, dryer - you name it. If it has a nook or cranny they will defintely discover it.
HGTV would probably have a name for this: "Katzen decor"
It keeps me on my toes, watching when I open the fridge or low cabinets. Maximilian got lost in the pantry, I heard him meow from somewhere and there were his little white toes coming out under the door, letting me know where he was.
The two little beasts sure keep me occupied!
They are confined to the guest room right now, I don't like to be at the computer with them loose, Max managed to climb over the back of my chair (and my back) onto the desk and in very short order kicked my bills/paperwork, neatly stacked for sorting, right off the desk and part of it into the waste-basket, just to keep me usefully occupied, I'm sure.
Then he crossed over, behind the processor and the monitor, ended up on the other side, where my computer projects were stacked and dumped them on the floor - so I discourage his sort of surfing. He hasn't done the keyboard walk yet, but I see it coming.
It is so hot and dry that all my gardening needs to get done before 10:00 o'clock, after that I stay inside.
It is hot enough that the tomatoes are not setting fruit and the green ones are slow to ripen - need top drop the temp at least 7, weather people aren't saying.
There is a wildfire at the South-end of town, I can see the smoke. Joann, at the feed store, is getting smoke in her eyes; she is a bit closer, but not in danger.
CDF station's sign says "Fire Danger: high"
There is a bear visiting the blackberry patch on the south bank of the pond, saw scat yesterday and the tall grass on the side of my driveway is packed down, indicating something pretty big passed by.
Himalayan Blackberries - taste so good, are so invasive, are gifts from birds, 'coons and every other creature that likes them - the poop-factor at work.
My chickens are laying well also, four of them are tiny bantams, producing tiny eggs. I hard-boiled a batch and put them in a jar of saved pickle juice, nice morsels.
Now I'll let the kittens out, soon as this epic is posted.
A good Sunday to everyone - it's a full moon, enjoy!

I was run ragged today. Another deployment starting so had to work today (and tomorrow and for the next 10 days straight). Dontcha know I overslept? Me, the keeper of keys, and my eyes didn't open until 6:30 am. I made it in by 8 am and was greeted by the team I'll be working with and 14 tractor trailers. We managed to empty 4 trucks when my forklifts died. Seems my employees never charged them like I asked them to, so the trucks had to be unloaded by hand. There are 32-36 pallets of equipment on each truck, depending upon how high the pallets are stacked. That was a lot of walking, pulling and pushing. A friend stopped by for a while to drop off a lawn mower and weed eater and that was a welcome break. I'm gonna miss this man terribly. It's funny how life plops the most oddest creature in the middle of your path at a time when you don't really want to deal with it. Diversionary tactics. I call him my curmudgeon, he was crusty and cynical when we first met, and I always felt like the real person was hiding behind some high castle wall. I was right, little by little over the past 10 months, I've managed to scratch my way through the vines and moss and get a glimpse at what lies on the other side while still respecting his privacy. He has deemed our relationship to be a symbiotic relationship, and I couldn't agree more. It's an odd friendship, but it works. And in 4 days, he'll be 700 and some miles away. But he'll always remain close to my heart.

At noon, I had to run home and pick up DS so he could go on a "mini" hike in preparation for a hike along the Appalachian Trail next month. We had directions to get to the trail he was hiking, but they just didn't sound right to me, so I ran by work and asked some of the guys if going an alternate route would be better. That put us 15 minutes behind schedule. DS was worried I'd get lost...HA! Foolish child. But he convinced me to try to follow the directions he was given. Foolish Mom! The access gate the directions told us to take was closed for the weekend. That put us another 15 minutes behind, and we ended up driving the 50-some miles around the north perimeter of the installation to get to the meeting point. The group had just taken off about 5 minutes before we arrived, so we could see them. DS said he'd keep them in sight and he'd be fine. I was hesitant, but eventually a mother has to let go, right? I fretted the 50-some miles back to work but quickly put it out of my mind for a few hours while unloading trucks...by hand. By 5:30 pm, it was time to go retrieve him...another 50-some miles out to...OMG! I didn't know where to pick him up! And he didn't take his cell phone. Stupid Mom! I drove to the drop off point, not there. I reached for the map to see where the end point was...no map, I left it at work! So I drove 10 miles down the road and found a little dirt/sand road that went back into the woods in what seemed the right area of an end point. But, the sand looked soft and I was afraid to drive down it and get stuck. So I drove another 5 miles down the road to a point where I could turn around. It was as I pulled off the road that I noticed my gas gauge...I was almost on empty! How stupid could I get? I couldn't find my kid, I was almost out of gas, I was out in the middle of absolutely NO WHERE, I was hot and tired and fighting back tears of frustration. I reached for my cell to call the curmudgeon and admit that I was a damsel in distress and needed a knight in shining armor when it rang. It was DS. Thank goodness. He was back at the start point, so off I went, another 15 miles down the road, watching the gas gauge the whole time. When I got there, there was one adult left with the boys so I asked him which direction I should take to find a gas station, the only one I knew lay in a town another 30 miles away. This is how dense I really am...there was a gas station 7 miles down the road, which was only 10 miles from my house! Yep, I put over 150 miles on my car when I could have put 50 on had I stopped and really looked at a map. Good grief.

I figured it was a good time to buy a lottery ticket with the $5 I had in my wallet. All gassed up, lottery ticket in hand, DS safely stowed in the passenger seat, the heavens opened up and it began to rain. A nice, soft, steady rain. I realized then just how drained I was, and there was no way I was going to cook dinner. So we found an ATM, got some cash, and had fried chicken for dinner.

The curmudgeon refers to his new duty assignment as a "fresh start". I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I know I need to make a fresh start, but it's so hard. Can one really make a fresh start in the same place? Seems like an oxymoron. Same town, same job, same group of friends, nothing is really "fresh". Sure, I'd find a new house and move. There'd be new gardens to grow. But life in itself would be the same. So, over the past 2 months, I've submitted my resume for 2 different jobs. One is local, one would take us to Africa, both would be promotions. Getting feedback on resume submission is a long process with the govt, but tonight I got feedback on the job that is local. I've been rated as one of the top candidates and my resume has been sent to the hiring authority for consideration. This job is the supervisor position in an office where I was offered a job twice before but didn't accept, basically doing what I do now but as a staff member. This would be the end to the physical labor and long hours! I figured I didn't stand a chance for the supervisor position since they'd most likely just promote the guy they did end up hiring. So it was a pleasant surprise to see that they didn't do that. The job in Africa would be working as the assistant to the political advisor...definitely not something I'm strongly suited for, but I had to give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I just need to remember to start reading a map if I end up in Africa! Something tells me I won't be able to send an SOS to the curmudgeon.

And now it's time to close my eyes and dream...of fresh starts in life with the child I love dearly. And of winning the lottery....

It's quiet again here. On Friday the housekeeper took DH for a doctor's appt, and then by the art supply store and Radio Shack. He bought new earphones for his tv. Now once again silence reigns and I can read or surf the web without hearing the silly commentary of golf games or worse, the loud commercials. Usually he is drawing and doesn't really pay attention but likes the tv on...which I hate. Now we're both happy again.

I didn't put flowers on the grocery list this week and will miss them. They are reasonably priced and I love arranging them with my meager supply from my garden...my own plants are usually chosen for foliage. So today I gathered ferns and red Ti leaves and Coleus of burgundy and gold and vines of a golden Wisteria and had fun playing with all-foliage arrangements.

The brightest flowers in my garden now aren't good for cutting but are bright red: Erythrina and Hisbiscus coccineus and Manettia vine. Widely separated, they are all hummingbird favorites and it's like Ohare airspace on the patio just now. The hummers will sometimes have an aerial battle then retire to their respective corners...lol We hung thin nylon trellis netting outside the large kitchen window and I have the Manettia plus Cypress Vine and Cardinal Climbers (the last 2 just starting to bloom) making a green tracery with tiny red trumpet flowers...it's magical looking out at the hummers just inches away.

French toast sounds good...I'm in my "sleep all afternoon then stay up all night" mode. So breakfast now and something light early in the morn before I head out at dawn to water pots. Then I'll have "dinner" while DH has breakfast and bed at noon or so. Sounds crazy but doesn't bother me. Gradually or suddenly I'll stay up longer or sleep later and be back to a more "normal" schedule. I'm reading a lot and can't put a book down until I'm too sleepy to focus. I'm enjoying my summer. josh

Friday night the guys went out for baseball. My original intention was to use my time alone to move LF's freshly put togther bunk bed. It has been sitting in the middle of the floor, when really, it would have been better off on a wall. I was uninspired to do that, but very inspired to work in the yard. Since the temperatures rose so quickly this year, we were unable to finish pulling out the remaining grass and weeds in the sideyard, so that we could turn the soil and plant grass seed; working in a mosquito infested heat pit is no fun. And since "something" got 80% of my seedlings, I'd left the few plants that survived languishing on the deck. From 6:30-7:30pm I pulled more of the remaining weeds, moved the plants that are in containers, swept the deck, cleaned the table and put the seedlings into the ground. It was nice to look at and I couldn't wait until LF got up so that I could show him his little hideout (made from a tree whose branches hung too low and a chair with its small table).

When he got up, I raced him through his paces to get dressed, eat and brush his teeth, telling him, when you finish, you can see the surprise I made you. He liked it, not as much as I, though. Later, we did the normal routine of buy groceries, put gas in the car (aint it grand living 3.27 miles from work? once a week at the pump!) clean the house, go out for fun. LF and I bought his shirts for his school uniforms, his backpack and lunch box for school. Then we all went to lunch, followed up with The Simpson's movie. Hubby and I laughed non-stop. It was like a regular t.v. episode, so if you expect more than that, don't go. It's rating is around 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, and I agree. Ross Anthony opens his review by saying, "'Why pay for something you can see on TV for free?' Homer Simpson himself asks the obvious. As one of the dolts who shelled out the 'do'h!' for his film, my only defense to that question is, 'Because the Simpsons make me laugh.'" Amen brother amen! We ended the night with steaks on the grill with pesto fettucini watching flip this/that house and wishing we had our house. Still playing the waiting game.

Sunday, I moved the bed and rearranged his room, we went to the mall, ate at Dave and Buster's then they went to see Tranformers, which they loved, while I stayed put and people watched. Mostly relaxing weekend and looking forward to LF's last week at summer camp, vacation next week, starting school for both of us!, and maybe getting our house soon. If we finish the side yard so that we enjoy it finally, getting a house will be a sure thing.