…and to top it off…

Monday was not kind to me.

I don’t know if I was just slow or the amount of work dumped on me was not humanly possible to complete in one day.

I never know for sure, but today seemed to be both things ganging up on me at once.

So I just slogged through what I could get done — (Thank You, God…) — stopped at the store after work for dinner fixings — (ham, scalloped potatoes, Mediterranean vegetables) — and the drug store for my prescription — (Oh look! Candy bars on sale…I’ll have one of those and those and those…no, I didn’t even try to resist…) — and headed home.

DH was tearing into more of the family room demolition and not quite ready to eat.

Sophie, however, was more than ready to eat, so I filled her food cube and away she went chasing that thing all over the living room.

Eventually DH called it quits and came in to the smell of ham and potatoes cooking away. It was pretty good if I say so myself.

Next in the evening’s routine is a walk with Sophie — usually uptown and around and back.

Remember when Soph was having issues walking past the drug store? Well, she is at it again. In fact, this weekend, I gave in and picked her up and carried her past the store and put her down at the corner.

This time we were going to walk past — no carrying allowed.

Sophie started balking in about the same place again, but I wasn’t having any of it. She was getting further behind me, but I kept walking. At some point I was pulling a bit — not hard at all, just enough for her to know I meant business.

Oh that was well and good UNTIL HER COLLAR SLIPPED OVER HER HEAD!

I don’t know who was surprised more – Soph or me.

Soph looked at me and then at her collar dangling on the end of the leash. You could see the little wheels begin turning in her head…

Soph started to scamper away.

SOPHIE!!!

I should tell you that a collar-less Sophie is not unlike a year-old child that is thrilled to run around nekkid without a diaper wadded between those widdle legs…

SOPHIE, TREAT!!

She circled back and looked.

Sophie, come!

Ah. Now that’s why we keep practicing the basic commands.

SHE CAME BACK!

I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck — hoping she wouldn’t bolt — picked her her up, and put that worthless collar back on her. After tightening it up, we took an abbreviated walk to “normalize” things.

Once home off came that collar and back on the old one.

So while this Monday was not kind to me, I am glad that Someone stepped in and said “she’s had enough for one day,” and let this story have a happy ending.

**********

NP: two fans and the air conditioner. Dratted “flame-on, flame-off”

Tomorrow is —

Take Your Dog To Work day!!

Sorry Soph. You can’t come. But you are on my wallpaper at work.

Wish you could have a play date with Guiness and Haggis, the IT guy’s cairns. They have a fenced in yard and a mum and dad who think they are the berries.

++++++++++++

Yes, I have since taken the plastic off the window…

It is a bit warmish out…

…so instead of a walkie, Sopher and I are playing a game.

It doesn’t have a name. I wouldn’t call it “fetch” exactly. It’s more of an “exchange.”

To play this game you need several destuffed stuffed animals with holes in them. Take two of the bigger formerly stuffed stuffed animals and shove in smaller stuffless animals.

You now have  two stuffed animals that are full of formerly stuffed animals.

Throw one of the now-stuffed (formerly unstuffed stuffed) animals for Sophie to catch. Whilst she is catching it, hold out the other newly stuffed animal out for her see — shaking it vigorously, but not so’s to make the small destuffed animals to come out.

Sophie then abandons the first animal — which she has had time to destuff — and is attracted to the second fully stuffed animal.

Throw it! She will chase it!

Then go get the first unstuffed stuffed then destuffed animal and restuff it.

Repeat.

Now isn’t that fun?

*************

NP: The local weathercast.

On the telly tonight: Lark Rise To Candle…was it “ford?”

Dinner tonight: BBQ, carrots, coleslaw.

Mood-o-meter: A bit excited. I may have found a new source for Cook family genealogy info from a relative in Massachusetts! Also a bit down: DH will be working late tonight.

Happy birthday, Grandma T!

Grandma T.  (1905-2002)

I can’t begin to number the times when researching my family history that I wished I could talk to you — but unfortunately I didn’t take that up until after you really couldn’t remember things very well. But you were the one that got the ball rolling with your little brown book full of handwritten history, newspaper clippings and pictures.

• Wish I could share with you all that I have found out since!
• I have the 104 year old dress you are wearing in the picture in my cedar chest.
• I loved your chocolate chip cookies and if I think real hard I can just about smell them.
• I don’t remember this, but I am told that your old cow, Old Red, licked me right across my cheek when I was itty-bitty.
• I was curious about your kitties on the farm, but Mom made sure I was scared of their claws.
• I really liked your white and yellow glider on the farm. In fact, I liked everything about the farm.
• Except the outhouse.
• I liked getting a good cold drink out of the well.
• I loved your apple orchard.
• Your little black faced sheep were soo cute! Especially the one R was bottle-feeding.
• The farm’s gray barn was huge!
• And if I remember correctly, you had a beautiful flower garden surrounded by a white picket fence.

**********

NP: Fringe

Sophie news: We took a walkie to see the Chief. Sorta creepy without H. Soph ignored the gray squirrels in the forest. She seems to be much more interested in the birdies. Naughty girl.

Waiting for: DH to get cleaned up from work…he’s just in at 9:30 this evening…so he can eat supper and the both of us can eat some rhubarb crisp. And more asparagus.

In the garden…

…we have:

• asparagus — and we have been eating our fill!
• rhubarb — DH cut some for cobbler…now if he’d eat the brownies faster…oh, wait! Take the brownies out of the pan, wash it up, fill with cobbler. Got it.
• tomatoes…bigger girls? better boys?
• zucchini — hoping it stays disease free this year.
• a row of pansies — for you, Grandma PoPo!
• Yes, it’s a real small operation…

And new this year in the perennial beds:

• Creeping Jenny. I think it will be just the thing for the north side of the house, amongst the grape hyacynth and painted ferns.
• Creeping Phlox. On the border on the west side, in front of the Fireworks goldenrod, next to the steps.
• Mulch. I give up trying to fight all the combatants in The Year Of The Violet. Covering ‘em up.
• Less of sedum kamtschaticum. It does its job way too well – covering the ground — but it is taking over the purple cone flowers and daisies, and just everything in its path. So I yanked about a sackful of it up. It didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, I think it laughed at me…

As for the yard…

• I can’t say when the yard has looked better! The grass is coming in thick and lush — all the better to keep the weeds out — you too, violets — so I imagine as long as we don’t cut it too short, it should stay nice for most of the season.
• DH edged the yard — looks great!
• He also shoveled in some soil and seeded a couple spots left over from the new porch building last year.

What about the house?

• Put the window air in. Wish we had one that fit proper.
• Took down the plastic from the windows. Yay! If the windows were clean, we could see outside…
• Nothing else much got done and it shows.

**********

NP: JoC’s Long Fall Back to Earth

What’s Sophie doing? Eating her treat from her obedience class instructor — because we practiced walking at the fairgrounds and after a bit, she was getting the hang of walking correctly by me. Practice make permanent, I hope.

Waiting for: DH to get home. Looks like another long day for him.

Tonight’s TV viewing: Wah! No Chuck.  But there’s 24 and Castle. Seems I blogged about this last Monday. How dull.

Supper and home entertainment

Broiled boneless pork chop.

Asparagus with butter.

Homemade mac & cheese.

Chocolate chip cookie.

Yum.

***********************

NP: 24

PP: Chuck season finale. Wow.

Up next: Castle.

Do you watch too much TV?: On Monday nights, yes.

Where’s Sophie?: Here in the living room, trying to get a treat out of her Kong.

How’s work?: My fire extinguisher is empty. Oh well.

Can’t wait for: the new Star Trek movie…okay, and the new Terminator. Yes, my geekiness is out of control.

Musings of a mind too tired to think straight, or…

…“Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Margo Channing (Bette Davis, All About Eve)

• I love my little R2D2-like single serve coffee/tea/hot water (really?) maker. Had to retire the nifty 12 cuppa unit that J bought me a long time back — the hard water did a number on it…wah! Right this very minute I am enjoying a Dunkin Donut medium roast w/creamer. It is very good.
  
• However, I still can taste a bit of the bergamot from the loose leaf “Earl Grey, hot!” tea I had yesterday…hmmm. Must clean the filter better…
• DH will be late coming home tonight. I have no food to feed him.
  
• So glad work is over for the week.
• I spent too much time being Counselor Troi (without the hair extensions) one day at work — an inordinate amount, actually…so guess my workload is not obvious to others.
• So the next day I tried the wild-eyed, wild-hair look (well, it was windy out)…and suddenly I became leprous. I need to try that more often.
  
• DH wants to try raised bed gardening. He has no time to plan. I would, but…
• Really need to get the kitchen floor replaced. Think ugly and hard to keep clean.
• Got the new Jars of Clay CD today via Amazon…listened to part of it on the way back to work after lunch. Jury is still out, but it seems likeable.
• Why do wild violets have to be so prolific and hard to kill?
• Southern Cousin had two interviews this week…not sure if either will pan out.
• Hard to believe, I know, but seems my workplace has become a tornado shelter. I would explain, but…
• While cutting some more asparagus, I jammed a bit of last year’s asparagus fibrous material underneath my fingernail.
• OUCH!
• I wonder about that little boy who joined me and Sophie on our walk at the park. Nice kid. I hope he stays that way.
• I wish I had the yet-to-be-family room cleared of all the cardboard boxes we throw in there with such wild abandon.
• And I will abandon that idea once the weather gets hot. Like tomorrow.
• What?! GM is going to get rid of its Pontiac line?!
• What!!?
• Tomorrow is Sophie’s last class. She’s such a good dog. Even when she’s rotten. Did I tell you she’s just about got “sit pretty” down?! Yep.
  
• Wish we could go to rally, but it’s at a bad time schedule-wise. Sigh.
• Need to go see Mom & Dad.
• Can I have a serving of simpler times, please?
• Sympathetic co-worked threw a dollar in the lotto ticket pool for me so when the group wins big this weekend, I won’t be left to do it all in the department.
• I tried to tell them me being in on it will dash any hope of winning.
  
• I’ll have to remind them of that on Monday. Or maybe not.
  

Pardon me…I’m just sleep-walking

Crazy time has arrived at our place. DH has been working way too many hours all week — last night it was…gee the nights all run together…I think it was after 9 PM before he came home. He had to be to work by 6 AM. I end up being on the same wake up/go to bed schedule as he is — and I am not shifting gears very well this time round.

And of course, Sophie is scratching her head over all the schedule disruption. This is a dog that likes order. If a door is open, she whines at it until it is shut. If a toy is not where it should be, she moves it.

Last night she moped in Daddee’s recliner. She misses him.

But anyway, DH does have the morning off for church, but his boss wants him to call in to see if there’s work for him to do in the afternoon.

I hope it rains.

Time’s like these make me to wonder again — why are we doing this?

Never mind. It’s a long story.

********************

Bright spot yesterday: Cut some asparagus for a very very late supper! And the rhubarb is coming up!

Puzzling issue yesterday: Seems some of my perennials didn’t make it through the winter… not some, really… lots. And I don’t think it’s too early to be wondering about them. Hmmm.

Not happy moment right now: Day of Discovery is no longer available on our local TV channel. At least not in its normal time slot…

Looking forward to: Eating out after church. Taking a nap this afternoon…who am I kidding? And…I might ring up Southern Cousin.

Double dog sigh

Stress and menopause do not mix.

I woke up at 3:15 this morning – about my usual throw-off-the-covers time – and my mind was right where I left it: pondering the nature of the universe, what will ever happen to the company I work for, how “lucky” my let-go friend is to sleep in this morning, how she’ll spend time with her grandbabies, why this stuff has to happen, how on earth will we get along without her, selfishly hoping someone else will pick up the icky parts of her job that I don’t want, how on earth I’ll have time to do what’s left for me…

Oh, and making an effort to shove survivor’s guilt to the background…see, it’s right over there in that corner, with a blanket over it.

And I am telling God all about it — making several “what’s the shape of yellow” gaffes — and finally get out of bed at 4 AM. Boy am I ever going to pay for this later on today.

Yesterday it felt like death by a thousand cuts. Not only my friend, but other long-timers were let go. People were as miserable as I have ever seen them.

Picking up the pieces was impossible. I could scarcely go into her cube without getting teary-eyed, but there was work to be done – somehow. Sheesh — looking at her handwriting, her notes, the emptiness of her desk, her “goneness” — it isn’t anything I want to go back to and face today.

Sigh

Another round of layoffs where I work has sent another friend packing.

I am so tired of it all.