Wonderful Weather!

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs

Long but lovely day yesterday. Nearly 70 degrees, sunny and almost no wind. I walked with DD and Dakota twice -- about 3 miles the first time, and only 1/2 mile the second. I cleaned out flower gardens and saw how much is coming up -- hopefully when the weather cools down to the point we'll go into the 20's overnight next week, nothing much dies.

DH wants to have an orchard of sorts on the edge of our lawn. We already have two apple trees that are producing pretty well, but he wants peaches, too, and maybe more apples. Not a lot of fruit trees will grow here (I'd sure love oranges... *sigh*), but I'm going to research what does best.

However, in order to plant where he wants to... there needed to be a massacre. Out came the chain saw. Casualties of war thus far? One maple, one HUGE birch and a beech tree.





Now we just need to dig back about two feet into the woods and clear out all the blueberry bushes ... not an easy task. DH mentioned that he has a friend who "collects" large equipment, and he could borrow a backhoe or some-such thing but there is NO WAY I'm letting him loose with that kind of machinery. Our entire plot of land would be re-excavated. So, I told him we'd (mostly me and DD) would do it by hand. It took us about a month to clear out the space for DD's swingset that way, and I had my mom to help then, so as soon as the ground isn't frozen (almost there!), we'll get to work for a couple hours every day.

After hauling brush and stacking logs yesterday afternoon, I told DH that I'd changed my mind -- I didn't want to be a pioneer woman. I wanted to go live in a condo in the city and spend my days at the spa and my evenings at cocktail parties and Broadway shows.

I don't think he believed me.

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The only writing I did yesterday was in my brain, but I did think of what kind of pets I wanted my heroine in my "Kitchen Matches" sequel to have AND their names. And no, I'm not sharing because it will ruin the effect when you read it *G*.

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You Are Skepticism

You live by the philosophy "Question Everything." And you do question everything, including this quiz result. You think people believe in too much, and you think very little is true. You scoff at astrology and psychics. You're not a nihilist - you believe in some things. But you only believe in what's true and tested. You have lots of opinions and theories, but you never take them too seriously. You're always willing to change your mind.

What's Your Ism?

Not close at all! LOL...

Monday Morning Meme and More

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson

I wasn't entirely certain I'd do this today because I wanted to share a little goofiness from the weekend, but the first question lends itself to that, so I figure it was meant to be! LOL...



1. What did you do over the weekend? (Saturday and Sunday - be specific, please. Remember, this is a journal about your life, so, tell us about your life. *smile*)

If you give a man a chainsaw...he's going to want to use it. And after he uses it on the smaller trees, he's going to raise his sights a little.


Regardless of whether it's leaning toward his neighbors house or not. That's easy to fix. Simply attach a cable to the tree and hook it to your truck.


Have BIL get inside while DH cuts and I video (sorry, it's too big to upload here):


And then congratulate yourself when it doesn't hit either house!


That was actually one of FOUR quite large oak trees he took down over the weekend. DD and I spent the weekend lugging brush and stacking wood. We discovered yet another yellow jackets nest in a rotten tree DH took down. BIL was the only one stung, though, and that was simply a miracle considering the sheer number of bees flying about.

So, we have our firewood for winter 2009-2010. We are nothing if not forward thinking. *G*

2. Which are scarier to you: ghosts or aliens? Why? Do you believe in either/both? Why or why not?

Aliens by far... I saw "V" and the Alien movies. Enough said.

3. I can’t live without my _______________. Now, please tell us why you can’t live without it.

I can't live without my Internet connection.

Okay, I probably COULD survive without it... but only if the entire world was off the grid after some massive terrorist attack that took out all power to the earth. Otherwise, I'd drive myself loony wondering what was going on in the WWW.

4. What is the cheesiest movie you ever saw, and secretly enjoyed? Why did you enjoy it so much?

"Xanadu" -- my fave movie of ALL TIME from when I was younger. That was back when you could stay in the theater as long as you wanted if you paid once AND when they had double features. So, I'd go in the morning (first showing) and stay until dinner time... for days on end. I saw "Xanadu" and "Somewhere In Time" more times than I could count.

And just to torment you, here is the preview/trailer:



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Just in case you wondered... I still love my coffee pot.

:-)

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The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

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Give a Man a Chainsaw...

God in His wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.
~Ogden Nash, "The Fly"

A week or so ago, DH was out looking at our apple trees. We have two. One is covered with flowers, the other has, maybe three. He wondered, and contemplated, and considered and decided it was because we have too many other trees shading that area.

Yesterday, he took care of most of that problem. Being the equal opportunity kind of guy he is, he took down a beech tree, an oak tree, and a maple tree. The good news is they're all hardwood, so we can burn them next winter. The bad news is he dropped one--the beech--on my apricot trees. I lost one completely and the other is, um, a little shorter than it used to be.

It could have been worse. He nearly dropped it on the very apple tree he was trying to save. He risked life and limb to give it a shove as it fell, and neatly dropped it between the two apple trees.

Oh, and my rhubarb is a little worse for wear.

I'm telling you, the man is a menace with a chainsaw.

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Earlier in the day, I was outside working on the back flower garden, moving things around and weeding. Dakota was on her remote trainer and running hither and yon. On one of her "yon" trips, she did a loop through the woods. She probably wasn't there two minutes. When she trotted to me, she had numerous ticks on her head! ACK!! Most were deer ticks, nasty, tiny little buggers. Apparently they are REALLY bad this year. She's already had one embedded in her tummy. And they're so freakin' small, it's hard to find them. Of course, she's on tick stuff, so they die eventually (within 24 hours), but it doesn't repel them. One of the ticks on her head was RED. I don't think I've ever seen a red tick.

In any case, I picked them off and squished them. But later, when DH took down the trees, my job was to drag all the branches into the woods. You know, the woods where Dakota picked up all those nasty creatures. I was sure I was covered in them. I could all but feel them crawling on me. The moment I was done, I hurried in and took a shower and scrubbed about four layers of skin off my body, as well as giving my hair a very thorough shampooing.

Ick. Ick. Ick.

Did I say ick?

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Your Independence Level: Medium

In some aspects of your life, you can be very self reliant. Making your own informed choices feels great. But you aren't as independent as you could be. When things get stressful, you sometimes run away from the hard decisions you need to make.

How Independent Are You?

I don't think that's very true... Hmm...

Showing You The Door

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. ~Nancie J. Carmody

So, yesterday morning, DH said he needed to replace the wood beside and beneath our front door because it was rotting. He used a screwdriver to pull away the rotting part to see how much wood he needed to get. Some came off. Then more.



And more... and next thing you know he said these words: I need to break up the steps (they are concrete) because I have to replace what's behind them.

Ooooooo....kay...... but do you need me to move my bushes so they won't get squashed? Nope, they'll be fine.

In the meantime, he also made the discovery that we had both ants and wasps making their happy homes in the area so I took off to the local Agway for poison. As I was pulling out of the driveway, I saw him whacking at the steps with the maul. By the time I got home only a few minutes later, the steps were history. So was most of the stuff around the door. This wasn't looking good.



A little bit later, our BIL (who has construction experience) showed up, took a look and said these words: You need to completely replace the door.

Ooooooo....kay...... but do you need me to move my bushes so they won't get squashed? Nope, they'll be fine.

Off the boys went to Big Jims, and back they came a little while later, door, extra wood, weather stripping stuff and whatever else they needed, in hand (or, more specifically, in back of truck). And they got to work.

I asked, one last time: Do you need me to move my bushes so they won't get squashed? Nope, they'll be fine.

The old door won't come out? No problem -- use the maul.



I kind of liked the sunlight this gaping hole let in.



Got the weather stuff in. Time to put in the door. Uh oh. Door doesn't fit.

Ooooo......kay........

Sawz-all ran out of juice, and BIL didn't bring the charger. So, use the skill saw to cut off 3/4" from the top of the frame.



Blade isn't deep enough. What to do? Hmmm..... (((think, think, think)))....

DH has a GREAT idea!!!!



Yes. Yes, that is indeed a chain saw you see in his hand. Even better, the dust and the smoke it created set off the smoke detectors. Dog in crate = freaked out. Cat in basement = freaked out. Me = freaked out.

Done? Nope... door still doesn't fit. Chain saw is NOT a precision instrument. Try again. And again. And again.

After about twenty minutes of sawing and non-stop beeping from the smoke detectors, he is done. Me? I ran around fanning various detectors to get them to SHUT UP.

By now, the sun is setting and it's getting COLD. And I still have a gaping hole in my house, sawdust on absolutley everything including the sofa, no one has eaten since breakfast...BUT... the door fits.



And, thankfully... the bushes (thus far) are safe. Of course, the new steps haven't been built yet. Something I need to remind myself on a regular basis so I don't fall out the door.

How was YOUR Friday?

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You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone must delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

I AM hard to see with the naked eye!! How did they know?