Time flies..... when you're having fun??!!

Wow, time has flown since my last post on the 5th. It's been a little crazy around here. Since I am currently in-between veterinary positions- as you may (or may not) recall- I am a veterinarian by profession- I am working as an enumerator for the 2010 US Census. We just started the second phase on Wednesday (July 7) where we re-check vacant and deleted houses to make sure we didn't miss counting ANYONE. It has been pretty frantic 'cuz of time constraints. I knew that would be the case, so all day Tuesday, the 6th, I mowed, did miscellaneous yard work and cleaned the house. Plus I planned ahead a few meals. Then Wednesday, the 'madness' started, and I've been putting in 11 - 16 hour days!!! Plus, to top off the first day of phase II, on Wednesday I got bit by a dog! Of course, being a vet, I immediately requested a look at the dog's rabies vaccination certificate!! It was current, thank God! However, I made the error of mentioning the bite (which did draw blood) to my supervisor and, the government being the government (and quick to cover its a**!), I was made to immediately head to the ER to have an exam, receive a tetanus booster and start on antibiotic. What a fun, fun day!!! I'm doing fine- the only residual pain is due to the tetanus booster. Your arm aches for DAYS after that shot (and , in my case, swells real big, too)!!! I'll call the dog's owner after 10 days to make sure it is alive and kicking, and if 'all is well', this latest saga will be behind me! :-) So..... if you see any injury statistics for the 2010 census workforce, you'll know I am one of those found under "dog bites/attacks"!

Oh, good news with my milkweed flowers. I saw a Monarch butterfly making the 'rounds' by them the other day. No eggs yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic!! I'll share pictures if I discover any eggs or caterpillars! (still don't have my camera back from my son the 'great traveler', but I'll borrow my daughter's if the need arises!)

Still reading books despite my long census hours- skimping on sleep a little as I often find myself reading well past midnight! The last novel I completed was Dan Brown's Deception Point. I loved it- a real page turner!! Course, I love all his novels including The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. I never understood the controversy surrounding them, and heck, I'm a practicing Catholic! Too me his books are just great fiction! However, if they do touch on some of the darker realities of the Catholic Church's history, that's OK. After all, the only way to conquer and destroy evil is by exposing it to the "Light"!!!!

Had a wonderful walk this evening, after my census work, with my dog and daughter. Then I've been enjoying reading my latest book, Take Two by Karen Kingsbury. It is Book 2 in her Above the Line series. Yes, I am a rather eclectic reader!!! I love her books....... I envy the very personal faith of her characters. I enjoy the fact that some of my favorite scripture verses are often cited throughout her books within the context of the story, and it helps me to keep them close to my heart and mind! Her stories are certainly captivating and very enjoyable if you like Christian fiction.

Well, time to call it a night as the clock has struck 12!!! Possibly my last census work day tomorrow..... only three cases left in my assignment. Wish me luck on finishing them up, so I can FINALLY catch up on house-keeping. Let me just say, the dust bunnies are currently winning the battle in my house!!! :-) I'll blog again soon. Peace!

Rain, again!

Gee, we just can't seem to get out of this particular weather pattern of rain and more rain. It is real muggy, too! Oh, a real down-pour has begun just as I am writing this entry. At least there are no severe weather warnings blaring on my weather radio at the moment!

Smells great in my house at the moment. Placed a wonderful loaf of Everyday Whole-Wheat Bread in the oven about ten minutes ago...... boy, does it smell great! Yeah, I know, should not be running the oven on a hot, muggy day, but when you need bread, you need bread. I wish I had a "summer kitchen"! (for my readers (imaginary?!) that are not familiar with that term, it is a separate, small building that sits near the main farm house. In days of old it was popular to have such "kitchens" in which during the hot summer months baking, canning, etc... could be accomplished without making the main living quarters intolerable. My folks have one on their farm, but my Dad has converted it into a fly rod production/fly-tying retreat! :-) Getting back to my Whole Wheat bread.... I found it in the magazine Eating Well. That is an EXCELLENT magazine, by the way. You can find the recipe on their website at eatingwell.com (I tried to attach a link here to the exact html SEVERAL TIMES, but for some reason, the link shows in my draft but not when I post. Grrrrr!!)

Finished reading Jodi Picoult's House Rules. What a great, yet at the same time, difficult book to read. I have a friend who has an adult autistic son. I've always admired her strength and commitment to his welfare. I often wondered it I could handle such a test of motherhood with such grace and determination. This book seems to capture the feelings such a mother must experience (overwhelming love as well as overwhelming physical and emotional strain); however, not being the parent of an autistic child, I can only guess that Picoult's book portrays that reality accurately. It also touches on how strongly and permanently siblings are affected by a developmentally, emotionally or physically disabled sibling. Picoult's book, Handle with Care, also touches on this issue. That is another thought-provoking and emotionally raw novel which I strongly recommend.

Well, the oven is 'beeping', so I had better get my bread out ASAP! Take care, and I hope your week is off to a great start!!!!!

Independence Day!!

Celebrating another birthday today..... our country's! Went to Mass this morning and the closing hymn was "Let there be peace on Earth". A great sentiment; yet how unlikely given our human tendencies to not compromise (& to always see others' faults and totally refuse to acknowledge our own!) I seem to always find myself remembering events of my childhood when holidays come around... like the fact that there was a period during my childhood when we no longer went to firework displays because my parents felt they glorified war. The firework boycott was during the time of the Vietnam conflict, so in retrospect, I can understand their point. At the time; however, I just thought it was yet another weird thing about my family, and I missed my Mom making a huge paper bag full of buttered (none of that lite microwave stuff!)popcorn to munch on while we watched the display light up the sky. I also recall how in the year of our country's bicentennial we each had make a project for sophomore history class to celebrate our country's 200th birthday! I decided to make a needlework based on a photo of a hand pump and pump house on our farm. The strange thing is my teacher okayed the project despite the fact that the pump/pump house were only 100 years old. I always thought it was weird how I was able to do a project that celebrated my pump house's 100th B'Day instead of my country's 200th. Maybe "A" students, like 'jocks', can get away with just about anything?! It was a beautiful needle point, by the way...... just not relevant to the assignment! :-)

It's rainy again today- got 3/10ths overnight. Muggy with lots of mosquitoes now! Yesterday was sunny, breezy and pretty nice. We had a good day with extended family having a 'barn raising'- started constructing a 60' quonset to be able to store machinery in- particularly the combine with its head attached. I had a chance to bond more with my nieces and nephews which was nice. They all live states away, so don't get to see them much.

Well, I've got butter softening to make "super chip cookies" in celebration of my son's B'Day. (The recipe is one he made for 4-H and got considered for State) He'll be passing though on Wednesday on his way to a conference, so he can have some..... maybe I should wait to make them 'til Tuesday night??!! They are REAL yummy, ya know! :-) Had garden fresh beets with lunch today. I just love them. I eat them peeled and boiled with no added toppings. Awesome!! Well, have a great 4th with family, friends or just your best friend- YOU!!!! Peace! Let it begin with US!!!!!!

Happy July!

I feel bad that I have neglected my blog for virtually a week. Some things came up, and I just didn't have the energy to post. Sorry if anybody in the cyber world has been checking in on my musings! I'll try to get better at sticking with the program. :-) I won't be able to share any photos for a bit, though, 'cuz I let my son borrow my digital camera since his is getting repaired. He is having some traveling adventures both through his summer internship and personally that really necessitated his having a camera along. I miss it, though. The ease of a digital camera is so conducive for snapping shots at the spur of the moment. However, one finds oneself taking literally hundreds of photos!!!! I had trouble organizing my old 35mm film photos... in fact, there are still boxes of photos that have yet to find a home in a scrap book!! Now, with the ease of digital photo taking, the problem of documenting with actual words all my photos is nearly impossible. Oh well, I just seem to block out that reality and keep clicking away!!

I've been checking my milkweed plants- still blooming and smelling lovely- but no butterfly eggs yet. There have been some smaller butterflies around them as well as small bees and other insects, but I have not 'caught' a Monarch visiting them. Keep your fingers crossed for some Monarch caterpillar action!

Still doing some fun summer reading. Just finished The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander Smith that is this month's selection for our public library book club. I enjoyed it a lot. Not my typical genre, but it was a fast and fun read. I look forward to hearing other book club members' take on the book when we meet in July. Now I've stated Jodi Picoult's House Rules. It is one of those books that is hard to put down and an emotional read. I feel she is a great writer with her books being VERY thought-provoking. I usually need to have the kleenex box nearby as I read her stories, as I often find myself reading along as tears track down my face.

Another great day for drying clothes on the line- I have two load out there drying in the wind as I speak. Read in one of my magazines that you should wash bedding weekly to minimize dust mites and dust in particular. Somehow I had gotten out of the habit of washing bedding that often- lazy I guess! :-) - but I've turned over a new leaf and am now on top of the situation. It helps to have a new high efficiency front loading Whirlpool washer to make laundry fun!!!!! I'm also trying to vacuum more... with THREE cats all long-haired, I think "Elphie" is going to have a long coat.... vacuuming AT LEAST weekly is a must. I sure love my bagless Bissell Pet Hair Eraser. It freaks me out to see all the dust and hair I pick up, however. Yuck!!! Guess I need to brush my four-legged fur balls a little more too!!

Well, got some more house work to do, and some baking and bookkeeping as well. My youngest turns 21 today, so I'm in mourning a little too!! Where does the time go??? Seems like just yesterday he was 2 and calling me a "Bad Mommy!" when I told him some random pieces of iced birthday cake were all that were left of the 'Combine Cake' I was making for his birthday!!! He was not amused, but it made for some cute family videos!! Don't worry, we quickly showed him his real "Combine" cake- a real masterpiece if I say so myself- and he was all happy!!! Ah, the joys of motherhood- way too fleeting. Now he is on a plane to see his girlfriend and his best friend-NOT ME!!! However, that is as it should be, and I hope he have a great time..... but not toooooo great! ;-) That's all for today- Peace!

Family time!

A great day today, albeit a bit of driving. The whole family (hubby, daughter and I) got together to visit my son at the location of his summer internship (He is studying accounting and will be a college senior this fall.) It was great to be together if only for a short time! (My hubby and I are entering our fourth year as 'empty nesters', and I still find it hard. I'll talk more about that journey in a future post, though!!) Anyway, we had fun going out to eat, doing some shopping (went to Von Maur's and Whole Foods) and touring the beautiful grounds of the large company my son is interning for this summer. I've never been to a Von Maur's before.... quite the fancy (and 'pricey'!) store with a live pianist playing soothing tunes to shop by! Impressive! I just loved the Whole Food store! The fresh fruit and veggie department just blew me away!!! Also, loved the plentiful samples throughout the store especially the cherries, pineapple and various cheeses! Yum!!!! I don't ascribe to all their organic and local food rhetoric, but I still enjoy the store and some of their products. (This can be a topic for a future post, as well!)

Oh, I need to let you know that our new kitten has a name....... "Elphaba" or "Elphie" for short. Those of you who LOVE the musical "Wicked" will immediately recognize the name. For those of you who are not familiar with the AWESOME musical "Wicked", I recommend you get tickets and attend a show! You can also read the book, but personally, I think this is one case where the 'movie' (or in this case "musical') totally out-does the book!!!!!! Anywho, "Wicked" is the true story of the relationship between the 'wicked' witch and the 'good' witch in the Wizard of Oz before Dorothy and "Toto" arrived on the scene. "Elphaba" is the real name of the 'wicked' witch. As you can see we decided to not stay with the Lord of the Rings theme of feline names.... none of the girl character names seemed to fit our "Elphie".

Well, I have some work to do around the house, so I had better sign off for now. Have a great evening, and I'll 'see ya' on the blog tomorrow!! :-)

I be a spinning!

Got a chance to use one of my favorite kitchen gadgets today with fresh lettuce from the garden.... my salad spinner. It works great! There is nothing like fresh greens topped with some crumbled baby bella mushrooms and homemade peach vinaigrette! Yum!



I also had fun going to some garage sales today with my daughter who is working on furnishing her first apartment! I couldn't pass up a few bargains myself- one was a set of three cute pictures for a buck each. They made me smile.. how about you? Now I just have to find a good spot to arrange them in a group on a wall somewhere. I know... in my newly clean and rearranged bedroom!!

Short post today... off to bike with the hubby. Yeah, we may not be talkin' too much yet, but at least we're bikin' together. :-) Have a great night!

Long day!

Nothing like a little wine and cheese to get your zen on!! I decided I needed a little re-charging before I head upstairs to finish rearranging and cleaning our bedroom. Sometimes I just get the urge to rearrange furniture- can anyone out there relate?! Today I was hit with the urge to 'shake up' the master bedroom. I think the urge mostly came as a consequence of being 'pissed off' at my hubby of 24 long years (yes! I consider it mighty LONG today!), and I needed an outlet for my emotions. At least I'll get a clean room out of the whole blow-up!! The project has stretched into an all day event, since once you move furniture, you find yourself needing to vacuum, dust, pick up all the clothes that is thrown about and, in my case, strongly consider buying some new light blocking curtains to hang over the wood blinds! I took several breaks through out the day to wash numerous loads of laundry and hang them out on the line (a GREAT line-drying day, weather-wise) as I also got the 'bug' to wash all my downstairs linen curtains (a spring cleaning project that was WAY over due!). I also fit in a little shopping for food for both my family and my backyard birds. One of my hobbies is bird-watching and keeping my bird feeder station stocked with food (black oil sunflower seeds, niger thistle, and fresh sugar water solution for the little Ruby Throated hummers!) and fresh water. I needed the sunflower seed- was on sale at Bomgaars!, and thistle, and I also got a large, compact birdseed block for the woodpeckers- they found it almost immediately and started digging in. Needless to say, I LOVE MY BIRDS!!! I'll try to get some photos of my feeding stations and some birds soon.

I started out the morning on a good note (before the hubby melt-down) by biking 9 miles with my daughter at 7AM. Actually, she biked 18 miles.... did the first circle around town solo, and then I joined her on the second loop when she was going a 'tad' bit slower!! Felt good to get exercising crossed off my 'to do' list first thing in the morning!

Well, the cheese and wine are gone, light is quickly fading from the sky, and the dust bunnies upstairs are calling my name. Better get to it. Have a great night.