Voices In My Head

Today I
1) swept out and straightened the garage
2) dumped the containers from the container garden
3) cleaned said containers
4) cleaned the deck
5) unhooked the hose, drained, and put in the now clean garage
6) started to clean the gutters until I realized that I was wasting my time (leaves are still falling)
7) showered
8) two loads of laundry (so far)
9) assembled my med kit for my trip
10) put together my toiletries that will be in my checked bag
11) put together the toiletries that will be in my carry on bag
12) started packing my backpack

Whew!  I'm just a wee bit tired now.  Still to do is more laundry and figuring out exactly what clothes to pack.  I'll probably practice pack tomorrow.  I pretty much always practice pack for these big trips because I overpack the first time and it gives me a chance to pare things down a bit.  I still end up overpacking and I doubt this trip will be any different.  I'm going to be gone for 21 days (18 abroad), the weather is going to range from upper 40s at night to anywhere from mid-sixties to mid-eighties during the day.  That means layers.  Plus while we don't do the formal nights on the ship we do have to 'dress' - meaning I can't wear jeans and a T-shirt.  The key will be selecting pieces that can be put together to make several outfits, both casual and dressy.  And keeping my bag under the weight limit!  Daunting but doable.  Thank goodness we get laundry service on the ship or I'd be screwed. 

Now I'm going to update the iPod and the Kindle one more time before I leave, do more laundry, get the other spare key to my neighbor, and have a late lunch / early dinner. 

Only 5 days!  Oh my goodness I am so ready for this. 
*happy dance*

Holy Crap!  How long has it been since I posted anything? 

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth.  I've been busy, mostly at work, and posting just really hasn't been on the radar. 

Work: Well, nothing much has changed here.  I'm still on the neverending project from hell although it is possible the end is in sight.  Or at least the end of this phase.  We have a proof of concept with the vendor this coming week, M-W, and then evaluation to see if we want to keep working with them or just say fuck it, find a new vendor or do it ourselves.  If we say no at the end of the week then I expect to get a break for a while until we decide what our next move is.  If we say yes to staying with this vendor I likely won't be free of this project until it is done or I quit, whichever comes first. 

Garden - veggies: The tomato plants are both doing well.  The squirrel is leaving the one on the deck alone this year, mostly because the one in the raised bed is so much easier to get to.  I've picked two tomatoes that were just turning red to bring them inside to ripen only to find little squirrel teeth marks in them.  I've already gotten two servings of beans from those plants with another two about ready to harvest.  There are green peppers that should be ready soon and basil for making pesto.  I lost the cucumbers though.  Not to bugs this time, just to my own stupidity.  I put them in the raised bed where they were doing great.  Seriously great - the things were taking over the entire bed and several feet of yard on all sides.  I was trying to maneuver them around so that the mowing guys could continue to do their thing back there when, well, I accidentally pulled up both plants.  I considered trying to replant them but decided against it.  So no cucumber this year.  I expect I'll add another bed and try again next year. 

Garden - flowers: The flower garden in the back corner is doing very well.  So far I've only lost about half a plant, one of the hot papaya cone flowers.  The whole plant isn't dead though so I'm hoping I can save it.  The colors are great and it looks lovely if a little wild, which is what I was going for.  It should be even better next year as things fill in.  Although I keep losing the cone flowers form some of the plants.  I think something is eating them as they are snapped right off the stem.  Birds?  The ducks or geese?  Who knows.  We don't have deer but we do have squirrel, chipmunks, opossum, raccoon, geese, several kinds of ducks, and stray cats. 

Reading:  My friend B- has been trying to get me to read George R.R. Martin's Son if Ice and Fire for years.  I picked up the first book several months ago then just let it sit in the TBR pile.  B- finally convinced me to "just read the prologue".  I did and then some.  In the last month I've read the first four books and I'm not working on book five that just came out.  These are some seriously amazing books.  I even loaned the first one to another friend, Z-, who was saying he needed something to read.  I also gave him an Ian Banks Culture novel and Mira Grant's Feed.  We'll see if he likes any of them as he tends to read more straight literature than genre.  But since genre is what I have to lend that is what he gets.  I'm about 25% of the way through A Dance With Dragons.  I don't know the exact page though - I got a Kindle so I'm reading this one electronically.  As much as I love the feel of real books I can get used to ebooks.  If nothing else there is the convenience of being able to buy and donwload right then and there when I find something I want to read.  Plus the ebook is usually cheaper.  The bad part is that some files don't contain page numbers (this SUCKS!), it isn't as easy to flip back and forth through the book, and I can't sell them later to HPB.  Still, even given the limitations I find myself looking at the e-version of books now.  In fact I went to Borders yesterday (had a coupon) and couldn't bring myself to buy much of anything as I kep thinking that it would be so much easier to have the book on my Kindle.  I think amazon must have implanted some sort of subliminal mind control in the device or something. 

Personal: I think I mentioned here before that I hurt my foot when I was putting in the raised bed.  I finally went to the clinic at work (free!) and had them look at it.  The NP had me wrap it in an ace bandage and take NSAIDs then come back in a week.  I did and the swelling went down a bit but the knot was still there so she sent me for x-rays.  Luckily the films came back showing that nothing is broken.  The swelling has gone down more and the pain has eased up a lot so I canceled my follow-up appointment this past Thursday.  I've stopped wrapping it although I'm still taking ibuprofen at half the original dosage she had me on.  I've also been using Blue-Emu on it which has done wonders.  It may be a timing thing, coincidence, or the placebo effect but I swear that the foot has healed more since I started using the Blue-Emu.  I'm keeping an eye on it though and will go to a podiatrist if it gets worse again. 

That's it for now.  I'll try not to let it be another month before I post again!

Work is the usual - we aren't going to talk about that right now.

When not working (HA!) I've been working on the flower bed in the back corner of the yard.  This space used to have trees before I had them taken out.  I started a perrenial garden back there last year.  This year I've been adding to it. 
These pics were taken last weekend - I've made some additions and put down some mulch since then (as in today).  More pics later.

Hot Papaya Cone Flower


I also added Pow Wow Berry Cone Flower, Mount Hood Cone Flower and Coreopsis.  Disregard the weeds.  Please.

The other day I was fixing my lunch while getting ready for work when I saw movement out the corner of my eye.  Something was crawling across my driveway.  It took a minute for me to realize that it was a turtle!  I went outside and sure enough I had a turtle in my driveway.  Since it was going to be something like 95 degrees I put on my gardening gloves, picked him up and took him back over the the pond.  The pond has steep banks covered with rocks (to keep the muskrats from burrowing) so I couldn't get him all the way down to the water.  So I gently tossed him back into the pond.  He didn't float back up so I'm assuming he was OK.  I mean turtles can swim and it's not like I lobbed him into the water. 

Here's the pic I took of him:


More pics, mostly of the gardens and the raised bed veggie patch later.

My yard still looks like shit but I have buds and blooms all over the place in the gardens.  So Yay! 
Some of the seed I put down is coming up but I still have spots that are just bare.  Not sure why.  I think I'm going to have to take the de-thatcher/aerator tool and dig up those sections a little then reseed.  Bummer.  I was hoping the overseeding would do it.  I would be out there working on it today - and still might - but I really don't want to seed today as we are supposed to get storms tonight and tomorrow.  Anything I put down could just end up washing away and I certainly don't want that.

Today I've done laundry, run the sweeper, and mopped the floors.  That's enough for one day, isn't it?  I'm also planning on cooking later - I think that is quite enough for one Sunday, don't you?

Not much else going on.  Work is a bitch, as always.  I still haven't won the lottery.  And I'm obsessed with my poor yard.  So pretty much business as usual here in good old Indiana! 

Now...Pictures!

Seedlings!



The Daffodils are blooming!


And the Tulips are almost ready:


And how about one of the neighbor's dog?  This is Howdy.

I am doing shit today. 

I overseeded the front and side yards yesterday, a necessary step after last year's drought, so I went a bought a sprinkler today.  That purchase is currently running on the front lawn as I type, watering in the seed.  I'll move it to the side yard in about 15 minutes.  Then to the other side yard about 30 after that.  Then watering for today will be done. 

I also got my seed starting supplies so sometime today I plan to start my tomatoes, eggplant, basil, maybe the beans, and several types of flowers (cone flower, wallflower, and portulaca). 

And I have to work today.  Seriously!  No rest for the wicked, right?  I actually don't have much to do but we got an investment add from Marketing last week, at the last minute of course, and it has a really short time frame.  I've been doing these things for years so I told TPTB that I'd set everything up this weekend as I can get it done faster by myself than it will take me to train someone else.  Everyone agreed, some reluctantly (more on that in a minute) so I need to get it done today as I spent all day yesterday out in the yard raking, cleaning up leaves and debris in the gardens, seeding, etc.  Oh, and I hurt like a mother today but its a good hurt.

The reluctance was on the part of my new boss's boss, whom I'm kind of working for - think dotted line on the org chart.  Anyway I had my one-on-one with him earlier in the week and one of the big things that came out of that was that he needs me to start saying "NO" on the investment maintenance and discretionary work as that shit is taking up too much of my time.  If I'm going to be an architect and make time for the training I need, etc, I can't be spending half my week doing small work effort stuff.  He is absolutely correct, which is why I've been training the two new guys we have so they can take over.  But that takes time, they aren't quite there yet, and sometimes we get things last minute that need immediate response.  At those times I'm your girl because I know what I'm doing and I can move fast.  Thus the agreement to let me do it albeit reluctantly. 

The other part of that conversation is that he definitely sees me as one of the architects although we don't agree on where my talents lie.  He thinks in the Technical Architect and Business Process Architect quadrants.  I think in the Application Architect and Business Process quadrants.  We do agree that I can flex well and play in all four quadrants when required to (the quadrants are Technical, Application, Business Process, and Data).  So we'll see what happens.  He's still coming up with his plan but I get the feeling that in the next couple of months I'll be reporting directly to him and no longer doing what I'm doing now. 

Lots up in the air but I am seriously enjoying work more these days than I have in years!

OK - need to go move the sprinkler and get to work. 

Temps in the mid 90s today.  When I came in to work this morning it was already in the 80s and way humid.  This is our 11th day over 90 this year - the average is 14 a year.  And the forecast is calling for 90 or higher all weekend.  So yeah, I think we are going to beat the average this year.  

No word from the window company on my new windows.  Its early yet though.  They should be here around the first week of August but I was kind of hoping to get a call saying they were here early so that the installation could happen when Mom & Dad are here next week.  If not I'll just have to work from home a day or two while they are being installed.  No biggie.  

I made it back to the gym twice so far this week.  I got my routine all out of whack in May/June what with being sick, pulling a muscle in my back, and the brother-in-law situation.  It's taken me weeks to get back into something like a routine and it still isn't really 'set' yet.  Tonight is yoga so long as I can get away from my desk by 5:00 pm.  If not I'll head down when I can and do weights and the eliptical.  I really want to go to yoga even though it kills me every time - lots and lots of Sun Salutation B.  This isn't the easy stretching, hold the pose for 5 minutes type of yoga.  This is ashtanga, move quickly with the breath, raise the heat in the body, dripping sweat and shaking by the end kind of yoga.  Kicks my butt every time but damn if I don't feel great when its over.  

In brother-in-law news, he is still in the LTAC but doing great.  His kidneys came back on line so he is done with dialysis and they removed the port.  He's eating although not as much as he probably should.  Sissy is going over for a slumber party with him tonight - going to stay the night in his room and bring pizza & breakfast - so maybe he'll eat better when it isn't hospital food.  He has a Passy-Muir valve on his trache now so he can talk, etc.  Hopefully he'll be done with the trache by the end of the week and they can let that close up.  I think once they can do that and remove the feeding tube, and once they finish the IV antibiotics and do new cultures, he should be close to going to a Physical Therapy rehab.  The LTAC is great but PT isn't their big thing and while they are doing PT he will need to go to a specialized rehab to learn to walk, etc.  So still a ways to go but everything is still moving along in the right direction.  

And lastly in garden news, my zucchini plant bit the dust.  Well, more like it got infested.  I checked it last night and the dirt was just teeming with all sorts of bugs and worms and spiders.  Ughh!  The plant itself was looking really sad and when I started trying to mess with it pieces started breaking off so it was diseased from all the insect activity.  It is now in the back corner of the yard where all the debris goes.  I'm letting the container dry out a bit before dumping the soil - I didn't want to try to carry it back to the back corner last night as all the bugs were very active.  Just thinking about it gives me the willies!  Hopefully the other plants will be OK but I'm not confident about that.  They seem fairly bug free but with the weird weather this summer (too hot then too wet then too hot then too dry, etc) they all look a wee bit sad and aren't producing like they did last year.  I'll have to do some research on zucchini pests and see if there's an organic way to control them before I try those again. 

OK.  Lunch then back to work.  Today is merit increase day so I find out at 3:30 if I got a raise, and if so how much.  Wish me luck!

My sis has been sending out regular updates to family and friends.  J- is still in SICU but we are seeing regular improvement these days.  His white blood cell count is back down into the normal range.  His liver billirubin number is below 10!  YAY!  He is still having daily dialysis, which is why he's still in SICU.  Once they get him down to dialysis 3 times a week he can be moved back to PICU.  Their case manager is starting the process of finding him a bed in an acute care rehab center.  One is in Charlotte, very near home.  The other two are each two hours away, which would not be Sissy's preference but it all depends on where there is a bed.  Once he's out of ICU he'll be going to long-term acute care for a while to get his strength back, learn to walk with his temporary hip, etc. 

He's still on a ventilator but they moved from a mouth vent to a trache.  They also moved his feeding tube from his nose to his stomach.  Seems like a negative thing but both these are really positives as it gets the vent out of his mouth, lets his vocal cords heal, etc.  He still needs the help breathing, which considering how sick he is and what all he's been through is understandable.  The trache lets him get the help he needs while he needs it without further damage. 

Sissy is doing better as well.  She has gone back to work part time and I really think focusing on her patrons and the summer reading program are helping her get her equilibrium back.  Being the Library Lady isn't just her job, it is part of who she is, and the last few weeks have kind of thrown that for a loop.  Getting back to work has helped her find her center again, which can only help both her and J-.  Hard for her to be strong for him and be his cheerleader when she's pooped and all scattered. 

As for me I'm just back here in Indiana doing my thing.  We've been hot, humid, and having severe thunderstorms recently.  Yesterday and today are nice but the humidity comes back tomorrow along with temps in the 90s (F) this weekend.  I do believe I will be spending a lot of time inside.  My former neighbor got out of jail last night and is living with some other neighbors until he gets on his feet.  There will be a cookout Saturday and I suppose I'll put in an appearance.  I do feel kind of weird about it though so I doubt I'll stay long. 

The gardens, both flower and vegetable, are coming along nicely.  I'll take some pics here soon and post them.  And I have a list of companies to call to get estimates on windows so I'm being a good home owner, taking care of my house, etc. 

Seriously, I could use a nap!  More updates as I get them. 

Despite the head full of snot I made it the full day at work, both yesterday and today.  Got home at a decent time as I skipped the gym and found myself with several hours of sunshine left on an absolutely gorgeous day.  I ate some dinner (first time in days as sinus drainage = no appetite) and thought "I'll change out of my work duds and get my yard clothes on.  Go out and catch up with my neighbors, plant those black-eyed susan's that P- gave me, spread the mulch, and....and....and I need to sit down."

Ten minutes of coughing, wheezing, blowing my nose and just trying to freaking breathe later and I decided maybe I need to scale things back just a tad. 

The yard clothes will wait as will the plants and the mulch, etc.  My big accomplishments for this evening, besides actually eating dinner, are taking a bag of trash out to the toter and washing a load of laundry (towels).  That's it.  I'm going to sit on the couch with the finale of America's Next Top Model and a mug of tea.  Maybe read a bit if I can stay up past sundown. 

My To Do list has quite a few items on it:

• WalMart/Target/Meijer for household items and toiletries
• Lawn and Garden Center for mulch, potting soil, veggie plants/seeds
• Re-potting the house plants
• Planting the container garden
• Spreading mulch (both the 6 bags I already have plus more)
• Weeding the gardens
• Planting the black-eyed susan's
• Vacuuming the house

If I get even a quarter of that list done I'll be happy and consider it a productive weekend.  Heck, if I get just one thing on the list done I'll be happy.  As much as I'd like to get everything done I am admitting I'm sick and it just isn't going to happen. 

Maybe next weekend. 

I have been a very productive puppy this weekend.  The flower beds have been weeded, the car has been washed, and the house cleaned.  I also watched two movies from Netflix, finished The Manual Of Detection by Jedediah Berry, and started Acacia: The War With The Mein by David Anthony Durham.   What I haven't done so far is go to the grocery store but that can wait.  I have enough around here for breakfast and lunch tomorrow so there is no need to run off to Kroger right this instant.   

I currently have the towels in the washer and the dishwasher is almost done.  Now I just need to decide if I'm doing leftovers for dinner or if I'm going to treat myself and go out.  And if I do go out do I go for Tex-Mex or Sushi?  At the moment I can't decide but I'm pretty sure that has something to do with being pooped.  You know, I used to think weekends were restful.  Then I bought a house.