Over the fence chat for December, 2004

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What the heck; might as well try another chat thread. Maybe we can catch up with what we've all got going on.

Well, I could pull one of my previous threads from just about anywhere and plop it in here - life just doesn't seem to change that much for me. Working too many hours - almost 70 between Wed night and Mon night; and now looking at a 60 hour week to follow it - lots of staff out with flu type symptoms. Pop got a flu shot this year, but I'd still like to wrap him up in cotton wool and keep him home and safe. Like I don't bring "bugs" galore in from work anyway. Eyeball roll.

Hmmm, besides working too many hours, what am I doing? Laundry, housework, taking care of Pop. Feeding the birds. A little phone and internet shopping for the holiday season. Missing Jes. Talking to Jes on the phone. E-mailing Jes. Dang but it hurts that umbilical cord to stretch 1,000 miles!

Found 6 new seed catalogs on the kitchen table when I got home from work Monday night (yeah, a day shift. Like to have killed me dead.) then another one came in the mail on Tuesday. I sorta got offended there for a moment. You know how they kind of send out different versions of the catalog to different people? Well, I got one that had an old bald guy with white whiskers and a old lady with white hair on the cover. I asked Hubs "Just what are these folks trying to say, anyway?!" He took me in the other room and stood me in front of the mirror - pointed at his head, then mine and said "What DO you think they're trying to tell you?!" Hrummph. Unlike EM, I'm not blond; haven't been blond since I was about 4 years old - what I've am is GREY! I keep telling myself that it is some kind of special bulbs they use at the salon that makes my hair look so grey but now it's starting to show up in other places - like every mirror I look in! I keep telling myself I look distinguished... Hubs doesn't have to worry about grey....

Anyway, back to the seed catalogs. I think I'm getting old. I haven't even looked through all of them yet. In fact, I've only been all the way through one of them - the Totally Tomatoes one. Maybe it's just that they came so early this year - ya think? I've not had time to even clean up the rest of the weeds out of the garden yet. (My story is that I'm leaving all that stuff there for the birds to eat, and to shelter in - sound good to y'all?) I did drag out a pad of graph paper and have been lakadasically drawing out my beds but the enthusiasm just isn't there as it has been in years past. Then again, I can still see green outside - since that last snow melted, anyway.

Took Jes's cat Janie in to get spayed the other day. Vet called today to see how she was getting along; told me to bring her in to have the stitches out on Friday. Only thing is, she's only got one stitch left - she's already pulled the other 3 out herself. I think I could probably get that last one out myself. 'Course, then I'd probably have to go in for a blood transfusion...

We've had an influx of squirrels at the bird feeders this year - 5 of them, all small greys. We hadn't had squirrels in the yard for a long time as Sherman, our old German Shepard, always chased them off. Well, apparently the squirrel grapevine finally got the news that old Sherm passed on a few years back, so they have come back. I got an old ear corn dryer like they used to use to keep the seed corn over winter and hung it out in one of the trees we have bird feeders in. It holds 10 ears and it is a lot of fun to watch their acrobatics as they climb down, or hang by their hind feet to reach the corn. They don't care much for the guineas, who will stand on the ground under the corn dryer and yell at them. The squirrels will then pull off kernals of corn and throw it at the guineas - whether it's to shut them up or just being nice and feeding them, I haven't decided yet.

Unc finally gave in and bought a new (used) chopper/bush hog to replace the old ones that we've been using forever. Says he's going to take the torch to the old ones. I've just got to make sure that Hubs isn't around when he does it or we might end up with a big pile of metal and no farm equipment, as most of it is pretty old! Neighbor Mike put in dibs on the old rotary hoe - he saw a metal cat sculpture in one of the seed catalogs for $80 and decided it was time to pull out his welder and get back into the yard art business. Unc and Neighbor Mike got some sort of deal going on that has to do with Mike's feed grinder; don't know if it's coming to live at our house or what. Never do know what I'm going to find when I go out to the machine shed...

Well, I reckon I'd better close this, and go finish up my work so that I can get out of here on time for a change. You folks all take care, stay warm!

-- Anonymous, December 02, 2004

Answers

Not much new with me. Now that my father has passed away and my mother has started ending her mourning and is dating again , I am seriously considering to begin the process of turning Singletree Knoll into my vacation home and bulk bed worm farm and relocate to Texas to be nearer the woman who is lighting my fire now. on the the closer timeframe, if my congressman comes through for me , I plan to be in D.C. on the 20th of next month to enjoy one of the inaugural balls.

-- Anonymous, December 02, 2004

Jay in a tux at a ball. Just doesn't sound like you, Jay. Jay at the flea market, Jay with the worm beds, Jay building gardens...yeah, those I can picture. You seem to have a hidden side. Hope you enjoy yourself at the ball.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

Polly, Not a hidden side just another facet. My father bought me my first Tux when I was 11 and he took me to see the Chicago Opera presentation of I Lombardi. I have had an evening tuxedo in my closet ever since. But I do still prefer overalls :>)

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2004

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