Amy’s Gripping Commentary

Work is settling, but end-of-month is always a bit harried. I’ll interrupt the insanity with a recipe I made last night which is adapted from one at The Simple Dollar which was adapted from something on NPR. I aimed between their recipes because, come on, you shouldn’t sub garlic powder for real garlic! I even tried their use of bread to thicken the stew but either the execution or the idea was poor. Too much oil (I even used less than they called for) + bread = soggy oily bread (and then oily soup), not a thick paste. Here’s my recommended revision:

Spiced Chickpea Spinach Stew

2 cans chickpeas (I drained/rinsed ‘em)
6 cloves garlic, minced or whatever size you like
Olive oil
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 pound spinach, washed and cleaned
splash(es) of acidic something (lemon juice etc)
Salt and pepper, honey to taste
Cornstarch for thickening

Bring the chickpeas to a boil in a soup pot of water and/or broth (enough to cover what you’re cooking; I used up some old vegetable broth and added water to make up the rest). Add in the spinach and boil for a few minutes, then simmer at medium heat.

Meanwhile, saute the garlic in oil, adding in the spices and cooking until fragrant and thick but not burnt. {stop to enjoy the smell!} Add spice mixture to the pot of chickpeas/spinach. Continue medium/high heat and add enough lemon juice and honey to suit your taste, as well as salt and pepper. Thicken with cornstarch (bringing back to a boil for a bit helps). Serve with good, crusty bread or over rice or noodles.

This has strong flavor (not hot) and I swear it tasted like a beef-broth based soup. Check out the source links for info on browning the bread and mashing it with the garlic into a paste which then goes in the soup, which sounds great but I just couldn’t get it to work well. Easy meal! You can get lots of flavor from the spices and save yourself a high salt content as a result.

Chickpeas are so versatile. They’re one of my go-to foods.

Holy moly I have a lot of work to do this week. How come everyone else went on vacation?

Nicole and I will have to do more study halls. It’s easier to focus on working from home when someone else suffers with ya.

Several years ago we discovered a reasonable way to manage work and stay caught up was to be ‘in the window.’ Our email has to fit on one screen in our mail program. The last time I was in the window was about three and a half years ago. I’m also at 172% of my allotted email space in the system. Go me!

Someone egged our house this weekend. It was about 90 degrees so it pretty much baked right to the porch. Fun neighborhood! I can’t help but think it has something to do with the punk kid next door. Usually his Rott jumps the fence and tears up our trash but unless the dog grew thumbs, someone else has it out for us. I was mad the other day that they let the dog (I assume it was theirs–high probability given the number of times I’ve seen him standing in our yard) leave a steaming pile in our front yard and they sat on the porch and did nothing about it. So I mowed over it and they had to smell it. Eggs may be payback?

Just got a ‘good job’ email from my manager to my boss. At least someone notices I’m trying to get a few things done. And today was nacho bar!

www.nataliedee.com

I need a work-only blog or maybe Corporate Facebook where I can rant about the crap I put up with at my job. It’s a tough week and the stress spills over to personal life, yet I can’t really discuss details about work nor do I really want to talk about why my life sucks because it just sounds like whining even if it feels real. Let’s just say sometimes I want to brain* people.

*My mom used to say that but I don’t think I ever have: To smash the skull of; Slang: to hit or bang (someone) on the head.

I struggle constantly with The List running through my head: all the crap I should do. I keep written lists sometimes and then got excited when Google came up with a notes-tracking application, except my stupid work computer has an old browser which I cannot upgrade and therefore I can’t use that application except at home (nor see much flash, nor load a lot of pages, nor get the computer going in less than six minutes–but that’s more a RAM problem I think).

So I signed up for Evernote, but so far haven’t really done much with it. I would rather have a quick link from my Gmail. Is there some other application that would be better? Actually I think once I (probably) get that iPhone I’ll solve my always-available-paperless-to-do-list problem quickly, perhaps then with Evernote.

Anyway my ambitious self thinks I should do all this crap. And in the late afternoon when I want to leave work but have more work to do, I keep thinking how much stuff I’ll do when I get home. By the time I get home I’m just tired and cranky and downright lazy. I need to figure out what legal drug could get me zippy and productive in the evening but still allow me to sleep! Or something. I will say melatonin before bed has been helpful to regulate my sleep more. I get sleepy faster and it’s a whole lot easier to get out of bed in the morning–maybe that’s the miracle that will ultimately get more things off my List!

A sampling so I can feel accountable:

bond Arliss and Waldo
finish reorganizing and cleaning bunny room
clean pig cage
scrape brick
change Jetta headlight AGAIN
clean car
get grids, get and plant hostas from Dawn
paint front porch trim
repot mint plants
mulching
medicate Vegas (re-vet Vegas’ sneeze? and Harrison’s limp? pigs need vetting too)
more dog walking, cycling, and running
haircut
meal planning
more cooking/less eating out
pick up rain barrel at KIB
call cable company to yell about the latest price hike
iPhone purchase
TV shopping
path forward: Tivo vs DVR/other source
refill Casper’s meds
update Casper’s microchip
rehab front porch mess
canoeing
iTunes from old computer
finish video edit
desk cleanoff
laundry room reorg
de-fridge the basement
continue decluttering at home
ditch financial adviser/meet w/new one
mail passport renewal
respond to old email
send Father’s Day gift to Dad
organize recipes (still looking for advice on that)
go through clothes for Goodwill
dust/vacuum

I noticed a couple of these were still there from the list I made last year…

There’s an equally long list at work, one which stresses me even more.

Earthlink update! Remember how my email stopped working in December and they were able to hang up on me but not fix the problem? This week I got an overdue bill and they threatened collections! LOL. No worries, all resolved now. And I’m happy to report they never actually got a dime from me. I hope I wasted their server space and CSR time. Navigating their phone tree was enough to make me furious all over again.

EDIT: A couple more pics showed up from work. Donations can still be made for the American Diabetes Association through this event until July 13!

I rode with my friend/coworker Brian on the 50k route, but with the hundred-plus Lilly riders we were never far from another coworker. My odometer read 39.5 miles when we got done! That’s the longest I’ve ever ridden. What’s odd is last Tuesday I ran a couple miles at lunch (more like jogged and rested intermittently) and felt terrible and sore for days, but I don’t feel ANYTHING after all that cycling. I slept a lot that evening but I was short on sleep that week anyway. I guess I’m cut out for that kind of exercise. Cycling is way more fun than running, that’s for sure. Maybe I only like sports with expensive apparatus (like rowing).

There were helpful stops along the way with snacks and water and Powerade and bike mechanics. Other than a drink and a few peanuts, I didn’t feel like I needed much. I guess I did have one of those nasty gel pack things when we started so that probably helped.

Anyway, the forecast had been terrible and then it turned out to be a perfect day! I’m really glad I did it and thanks to Dad and Mymsie for their donations. Lots of $$ raised for the American Diabetes Association!

I took some video but I’m still learning my editing software. Meanwhile (video below) another person caught us at ~3:30 (I’m on left with the blinking light, and the still has caught us in the view I keep getting). The video gives a sense of the massive start and riding around the track.

Next event: NITE ride? We can finally use some of the glowstick pile…

I have AT&T cell service. I actually like it, or rather, I have no problems with it and it’s pretty cheap since I don’t have many minutes or services, I get a discount from work, and I have tons of rollover minutes. I didn’t like Verizon much but that was several years ago so I don’t really have recent data. David likes Sprint. All I know is I HATE my cable provider (Brighthouse) and I’m about ready to unplug the TVs.

Also I just sold my house and made my last car payment so I have a little more cash around.

Ok, so there’s a new iPhone coming out and it’s really not that expensive since I can do an upgrade, plus the older models are pretty cheap now. I’ve been thinking my next phone would be an iPhone or Blackberry or equivalent, mostly because dang it I need to check the weather and maps and stuff when I’m out and about. I turned off the internet abilities on my current cell phone because the stupid button was too easy to press accidentally and I kept getting charged when I didn’t even get online. And of course it’s hard to surf on a more traditional cell phone (even David’s smartphone is a PITA since there’s no touchscreen and no trackball). What’s kind of dumb is that I bought my phone based on cnet.com reviews because it’s so good at mp3s and was overall highly rated on its features, but I haven’t played a single song on it nor do I do anything but make calls and take pictures!

I want to take pictures and send them to Facebook or my blog (right now I have to remove the battery and put the microSD card in an adapter and all that crap so anything will be better…but to be fair I never learned how I could Bluetooth it), check email and random stuff online, and I guess I should probably start texting. I can see how it would be convenient. I also know the next rate plan will be much more expensive, and I’m free to do whatever since I’m out of contract right now. But is there another product that is just as good? Should I wait until my phone really dies? I guess as long as I like it and I don’t feel like I got hosed I’ll be happy on an iPhone like anyone else.

My phone is a little over two years old and is starting to turn itself off randomly. I can deal with it, but with the iPhone release and some online deals, I’m thinking I might switch sooner. My friends with iPhones love them and the apps seem really cool, but alas I haven’t been keeping up with the hype so I don’t know what size phone to get (I don’t think I’ll be storing much data, but are there other considerations?), what the actual charges are going to be for a data plan (interestingly hard to get that info from AT&T’s site), how much apps are and what that means for using my satellite radio with it, what ‘unlocked’ really means and should I care, if I can use a cashback deal and how that works since I’m already a customer, can I buy it online in the first place, will I be able to dial one-handed in the car w/o looking at the phone (best part of having actual number buttons, right? but I think it does voice recognition now), can I use my Bluetooth headpiece with it, and what pitfalls to avoid in general. I know better than to wander into a store and just sign up without learning a few things online first.

So basically: is there a catch-up site where I can read a FAQ and learn what I need to know about all that is iPhone? Otherwise I’m calling Carlton.

I’ve signed up to participate in the Tour de Cure next Saturday, June 13. What’s that? Well, hundreds of cyclists ride their bikes around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on the streets of Indy to raise funds for diabetes care in Indiana. It’s a cool event (or looks to be anyway!) and this is my first time participating. I signed up for the 50k ride and, well, I’ve never gone that far before!

Fortunately this is a ride, not a race, and I think I can make it. But donations are needed! My team (Lilly) is trying to raise $100,000 and we’re a long way from that with less than a week to go. My own minimum sponsorship hasn’t been met yet either! I’m shy about asking for donations but appreciative of any help anyone is willing to give. The online donation process is very easy (link below), or you can send me a check if you prefer and I can make sure it gets applied (just let me know it’s coming so I record it in time). Lilly folks are eligible for gift matching by the company if you make a $25 minimum donation. Just let me know if you need info!

My Tour de Cure page (snoop, donate here, learn more!)

My ride… hopefully I’ll finally get a decent picture on it at this event!

Please help support the Tour de Cure!

My sweet Jojo is gone.

I stopped home from work at lunch on Friday, which is very unusual, but I needed to medicate the sniffly bun Vegas and get my bike for an after-work ride on a beautiful day. But Joey was hunched in the corner behind the litterbox, and that’s not good. He tried to eat when I gave him something tantalizing but gave up immediately. He also had some yellowish drool under his chin. So, off to the vet for a dropoff, where we learned through exam and xrays that he had a lot of pus in his right ear and the whole bulla on that side was opaque–meaning massive ear infection. We still didn’t have a reason for the excessive saliva but sent the infection out for culture and planned to start antibiotics as soon as possible and adjust them if culture results indicated another medicine.

Fortunately with fluids and super pain meds he perked up and was eating well and still pooping, two key indicators of bunny emergency, but the day was already long and I wanted him to see the vet again in the morning, so he spent the night at the clinic. Dr. Z said he kept eating overnight and while pretty quiet in the cage, when she let him hop around her office he explored and did well. But then he developed a head tilt (not odd with ear infection, but he tilted the wrong way), had a fever, and stuck his left rear leg out at an odd angle.

I took him home on Saturday morning and he never did eat or stand up again. I gave him his meds from the compounding pharmacy and figured he should start to do better in 24 hours if the abx were right. But he just got weaker and could only drag himself around a bit. Mostly he sat very still.

I took this picture intending to ask for advice online as to the odd angles he displayed, and why he tilted the wrong way, but it turned out to be my last picture of him. He splayed more as the day went on, perhaps just to prop himself.

After I got back from more errands to get meds for dizziness and a potential tilt-causing nervous system parasite, I put his bonded pal Arliss in his pen for a few hours and he watched her. I believe having a bunny friend is important for quality of life, and at times of illness can be a boost to healing. Joey didn’t heal, but he did try to drag himself over to her right before he passed. I was with him, about to try to serve some liquified food, and just trying to help him get his legs under him was enough to send him away.

Arliss stomped her feet when I put her back in her cage.

They’d only been bonded about six months, although I had adopted him a long time ago to be her friend after her first pal died and she mourned such that she refused to eat. In the meantime Joey was bonded with sweet Annabelle, also no longer with us. I am happy that Arliss and Joey and Annabelle, who had all lost previous companions, were able to live with another bunny again, and now I’m working to find Arliss yet another friend. She’s still a bit of a black widow though!

Joey was very sweet, and just a month shy of his seventh birthday. We know pretty much his entire history, rather unusual in rescue. I checked the organization database and found out he was bunny #2 (we’re on #442 now!) and here is his original plea for adoption:

Joey and his 4 siblings were an unintended litter surrendered to a shelter. Their time ran out the minute their paws hit the door!

Joey is the littlest guy in the group, somewhat reserved and very friendly. Joey is a pretty nosey guy, he always wants to see what everybunny (and his foster mom) are up to.

Joey is an incredibly, incredibly sweet little guy that actively seeks out cuddle sessions. Joey is a rare bunny, he likes to be cradled like a baby by his foster mom while getting head rubs.

Can you provide Joey a forever home where he is wanted and will be cherished?
There are even baby pictures at the link.

I’m glad he lived a happy life even if it was a bit short and we’re sad around the bunny room right now. I’m hoping necropsy will teach me a little more that will help another bunny in the future. Meanwhile, I’m already fostering Waldo, another middle-aged bunny who lost a mate, and perhaps he and Arliss can be friends. He stomped his feet right back at her so it seems promising.

ETA: Necropsy didn’t really find anything else. Best guess is e.c. or (I think more likely) septic from the ear infection.

Bike to Work Day was a couple Fridays ago in Indy, and although I was actually on vacation, I biked-to-vacation by joining the masses who converged on the circle downtown. Then the rest of the schmucks actually had to ride to work! Ha. I rode home and drove to Tennessee for a Smokies trip.

I bought a nifty camera mount to use my little Flip video thing on my bike, but due to downright user error and low batteries, I have little to show for my experiments. I hope to post a real ride soon.

Here’s the Lilly contingent gathered on the circle.

The Star caught us getting organized in their gallery.

There was also a pic taken at Indy Cycle Specialist before we left but it doesn’t seem to be posted. Meanwhile, someone from the Indy Star interviewed a few of us and, as usual, I was quoted slightly out of context and with only the dorky movie reference included. It’s still better than the rabbits jumping around misquote, and probably better than being on TV last fall.

In the meantime, I’ve been to NJ for a conference (where I also sat in a ca.1745 church’s cemetary to read for awhile), IL to transfer rescued rabbits, the northern part of the state for the annual family holiday/race day cookout, and enjoyed my tax dollars at work at Ohio’s Air force museum and that hiking trip in the Smokies national park (which ended with an energy museum visit in Oak Ridge, but I accidentally called a sex line in Jamaica when I misread their phone number on a billboard!). Being off work is great!

We went to Mutt Strut at the end of April, a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Indianapolis that is a giant dog walk around the Indy 500 track. I think this is Casper’s last year… she’s old and tired and her feet get sore! It was a lovely day, if a bit hot, and the 8000 people and 6000 dogs seemed to have a good time.

Just got back from a weekend trip to a cabin in the Smokies. Now I’m heading out for a business trip and could really use a couple more days of vacation! Time to repack.

Unabashedly data-driven, I try to out-think surveys and big-picture what you’re asking me before you finish the question. But send me to a teambuilding exercise and I must summon all my inner strength, rationing my energy to last through the workshop and not poke my eyes out. I am blue, according to this course, and the people who create these courses and make me go to them are NOT.

I have been to other workshops in the past, most more painful than this one, and I attribute the lessened pain to the fact that while I’m an introvert, I’ve developed skills over the years to help me work pretty well with people. (Also, this event happened with a team I’ve been a part of for several years and we already get along pretty well, plus most of us are blue, so there weren’t any big surprises…but then it wasn’t as effective either and I think a lot of us were frustrated with missing a day of work.) The problem with personality-analyzing teambuilding classes, for me, is that it exposes how incompetent I am naturally (at least that’s how I tend to read my personality assessments) and makes me doubt all the confidence boosts I’ve had as I’ve seen my skills grow. Basically, team building takes me back a few steps. I was physically drained for hours after this event as well.

The good information from these exercises is learning what helps me work effectively, what things I can work on, and acknowledging what drives me nuts. But most of that I’ve already figured out (analyzing data, after all) and once you get a grasp of your general assessment (INTJ or blue, specifically Coordinating Observer, or CIR or whatever you want to call it in my case), you don’t really need to rehash it, and you especially don’t want to do it in a group with a lot of flip charts or *shudder* roleplaying.

A few highlights of my expensive assessment:
-I am motivated by avoiding frequent meetings, an internal desire “to do the right thing in the right way,” a job well done, and “systems” related tasks.
-I may benefit from relaxing mentally and not trying to out-think everyone, practicing initiating conversation (particularly small talk) with strangers, and an awareness of when I am acting defensively or cynically.
-Key strengths: open minded, objectivity, good memory for details (no shit!), pragmatic/rational thinker, responsible/methodical and work well with figures and procedures (also no shit!).
-Possible (more like confirmed) weaknesses: I don’t respond well to uncertainty, my modesty and reticence prevents timely interventions, I require extra time to complete tasks, I can appear too unemotional or uninvolved.
-Value to the team: I have a strong sense of duty and take my work seriously, I handle complexity well, and I carefully assess situations before acting.
-To communicate with me, accept that “reflecting time” is essential to enhance my performance, ask my opinions of other systems and projects, respect my values and principles, and give me plenty of time to think through answers to your questions.
-DO NOT be too loud and hearty, implement change for change’s sake, or comment on my appearance (this made me laugh but is pretty true!).
-I also found it funny that management should help me tolerate colleagues less gifted than myself.

Basically I need to know WHY WHY WHY and THINK ABOUT THE DATA FOREVER. And then if it’s complex enough and I’m interested enough, I’ll do an awesome job solving your problem. But it will take me forever to make a decision about it.

There’s also a section on Living on Purpose, and the first sentence is “Amy may be rather dubious about the whole principle of goal-setting.” Seriously. It says I process the data and adjust as I go and that’s very true. It also notes that I may take home the worries of the day. Wow, if I could control that better, I’d get a lot more done and feel a lot less guilty. And maybe I wouldn’t feel chained to my pager.

At the end of the whole thing it turns out that while I’m only expressing 3% yellow (my opposite color, basically the inspiring sunshiney people-people), and I’m expressing 96% blue, I’m not even in the most severe blue part of the charts and I’m quite well balanced with 69% green expression (the ’supporters’) and even 37% expressed red (the ‘directors,’ like many people in supervision). So while red people scare me, this helps me deal with my boss better and I have some sense of how she thinks, and while yellow people make me bonkers, there aren’t any in my department so I guess I don’t need to worry about it right now!

Ok, thanks for letting me analyze that data. Since it’s processed and will be remembered forever I can move on to the next thing.

Those on Facebook may be familiar with recent escapades. Here’s a summary and a few extras!

Poor David Beckham, victim of endorsing a product that can vandalize.

I finally captured this bizarre vehicle while biking. I’ve seen him around but now I know where he lives! I think he collects abandoned carts from the neighborhood.

April 7: Evacuation
April 8: Unclog sewer pipe
April 10: Are four gin & tonics a lot?
April 11: Pissed about working on a Saturday during my vacation
April 12: Beat the pants off my family at Scrabble
April 13: Finished state taxes and had an embarrassing exam
April 15: Ate all the peanut M&Ms in cubicle next to mine
April 17: Rode bike to work and saw red-headed woodpecker, Christmas tree w/tinsel, middle-aged guy in fedora on BMX
April 17: Went out drinkin’ with friends and then bought cigarettes for the first time
April 18: Rode my bike to Race for the Cure
April 20: Busch Light can in my newspaper tube
April 21: Work woke me up at 1 a.m.
April 23: Casper won a photo contest
April 24: Work woke me up at 3 a.m.
April 24: Some asswipe broke into my Jeep
April 25: Rode my bike to Earth Day
April 25: Appraisal woes and bought a refrigerator
April 25: Someone stole my credit card number
April 26: Mutt Strut! Pics to come but this is my favorite:

April 28: Frustrated by canceling services and realizing property taxes are worse than I thought
April 28: Someone shit in our driveway
April 29: Sold my house! Still pissed about taxes
Next few days: Slammed at work and given an ‘opportunity’ (that means more work)
May 2: ToxDrop and electronics recycling
May 3: Insulated the attic

Don’t you want to be my friend now? My favorite FB comments had to do with the shit in the driveway.

A few weeks ago friends and supporters gathered at Race for the Cure here in Indy to support Linda’s breast cancer fight (I think she is just finishing her radiation therapy!) and provide resources to underserved people in our community affected by the disease.

As it goes with many things lately, I promptly put the pictures on Facebook and didn’t get around to it here. Maybe I could automate everything to feed here somehow.

Anyway, time to start the catch up. And thanks to Mymsie and Songbird who donated to our fundraising for Team Linda. Thirty eight friends and family joined Linda’s team!

This is toward the end of the 5K walk. I always find this view of downtown interesting.

The Ghostbusters walked too!

Lots and lots of people on New York Street

The course went past the zoo, where this elephant with pink ribbons on his ears was doing tricks for the crowds.

Team Linda beat the goal and raised over $2600!

Today on the phone.
David: I bought you a present!
Me: Ok…
D: I paid too much for it, which you’ll hate, but it’s really awesome and you’ll like it.

A few hours later…
D: Your present arrives in two days!
Me: Am I going to think it’s useful?
D: Yes!
Me: You said I’d be mad that you paid too much. That means it’s probably $100-$150 and you should have paid $75 or less.
D: Wow, you’re good.

Twenty questions ensues, not because I like to spoil surprises but because sometimes his surprises aren’t exactly what everyone wanted and I feel terrible about wasting money. Usually it’s something he wants and thinks you should have and he finds a way to tie it into something you did say you wanted. For example, after I bought him a big TV he bought me an HD TiVo that is 98% filled with his programs now, and then he bought me a huge hard drive to upgrade that TiVo to store more stuff, but it was commandeered for another project altogether. I also figured out tonight that our cable/TiVo bill is about 20% of the monthly mortgage so my financial heart was breaking before we discussed the surprise.

The things the present is not: sod, windows, rain barrel, sump pump, refrigerator or freezer (there’s another story there), compost bin, kitchen cabinet doors, basement bathroom sink, refrigerator, key fobs to set house alarm remotely, dog poop scoop service. I discovered it was utilitarian and for outdoors. I figured out it was a hose reel.

D: A bronze hose reel with brass connectors!
Me: Where does it go?
D: On the side of the house, so you can take the hose to water flowers in the front or back yard.
Me: Isn’t someone going to steal it? (Someone stole our aluminum downspouts off the garage.) You’re going to use it to water tomatoes in the back yard too?

Here’s what we had talked about last week: the tomatoes get planted next to a spigot in the backyard and I expressed a wish to not leave that hose lying in the yard where it kills the grass and makes it hard to mow, not to mention the dog poop usually in the area getting on the hose. I said I was going to bring my giant hose hook thing from my old house to this spot. Also note there is a key-locked gate between the backyard w/tomatoes and the side of the house where the fancy new hose reel goes.

D: No, I’ll just use the hose that’s back there.
Me: Could this hose reel go back there instead?
D: No, it’s a parallel feed, and we would need to get the perpendicular model for the backyard hose.

After as careful a letdown as I could manage–I mean he was excited to buy me a hose reel, and everyone knows I LOVE utilitarian gifts when they are the right gifts–I explained I’ve never used a hose at the side of the house. I fill the watering can directly from the spigot. And once I get a rain barrel, which I tried to buy this week, I will fill the watering can from that.

Me: But I really want a good watering can!

This is true. I spent half of last summer searching for a new watering can. My old sturdy plastic one is cracked and leaks through the duct tape holding it together. I never found a can I liked and most online cans were too expensive, so I didn’t buy one. I resorted to using five-gallon buckets to water flowers last fall.

Result: David tried to change the order to the perpendicular hose reel so he could enjoy the acquisition by the tomatoes. We tried to find me a watering can online, which he was going to buy for me instead, but I ended up buying it and he says he’ll get dinner or something. The watering can was $24.95 (pretty good considering many pretty ones were $75 but this one was almost perfect from a functional standpoint), but the stupid company charges $9.90 for “Handling and home delivery” which is B.S. 40% of the order for shipping!?! I almost didn’t buy it (and this might be why I didn’t buy it last year), but I found an online code for $6 off with a $25 order. Of course my order was five cents short to qualify. So I bought a 10 pack of biodegradable leaf bags on sale, and in the end the shipping was the same and I spent more than if I’d just bought the stupid can. But I have been looking for a more environmentally friendly way to store recyclables like odd plastics that have to go to a special facility and this seemed like a solution.

See how that worked? He still spent over $100 on a hose reel and I spent almost forty bucks on a watering can and a filler item. And I still don’t have a rain barrel, but I do have a homeless hose hook.

Now for the old freezer he brought home from his mom’s tonight that he wants to put in the basement, where we have no space and it will make the electric bill go up… This in response to my already agreeing to purchase a new Energy Star fridge but he has to remodel the pantry area first so it will fit. The new fridge is supposed to solve the small-freezer problem we currently have. If that old freezer goes in the basement, I fear it will never leave.

Yesterday I stopped my car at a four-way stop and it died. And it wouldn’t restart. Eventually a guy in a pickup failed at jumping it, so he and some other dudes pushed it into a McDonald’s parking lot where I salivated over McNugget smells and waited for my knight in a big red truck to save me.

Except while he was able to successfully get my car started, soon he was doing this to his own steed.

While I waited I read this helpful note in his door jamb. You know, in case we were going to put any patients in the bed on the way home.

So that evening was shot, but at least vehicle #3 worked and we used it to get a new battery for my first car and a pizza. And then fought over who got to drive it to work today.

This morning Harry ate his stick while sitting on my Coroplast baseboard protector. Now I know how all the toys and hay and twigs are getting back there.