Archive for January, 2011

Jan 05 2011

Utilitarian

Published by under Country Life


Closed until further notice

Or until I get around to moving the fallen trees/debris from the last storm, whichever comes first. I know which way I’m betting.

This means the secret path between my house and Megan’s is out of commission for now, so I have to go the long way around, using the driveway. It adds a whole 30 seconds, or maybe even a minute, to the commute. The driveway is slowly drying out from the onslaught of the last storm, which dumped about five inches of rain on us in as many days. It was so wet and mushy near the front house that the Amerigas guy took one look, turned his giant truck around, and bailed.

That was last Thursday, and he’s scheduled to reappear this Thursday (aka tomorrow) to make a second attempt. I hope he makes it, because the propane is lower than 20% now. When I first moved here, they told me that I shouldn’t let it go below that point (though I’m not sure why). In the meantime, I’ve been cheaper than ever about heat and hot water.

Hopefully Amerigas is more reliable than AT&T. You may remember that my landline suddenly stopped working a couple of weeks ago, and I never did get it repaired. I’ve been surviving on cell phone only ever since, though with only one cell tower for a big county and large areas of no service – including certain areas in my house – I’ve had to accept the reality of missed calls, dropped calls, and bad reception.

2 responses so far

Jan 04 2011

Check Up

Published by under Cats


Clyde gets ready to look his best at the vet’s

You know, I’m really proud of the kittens. They were excellent hosts at Christmas, friendly and polite to the guests (Roscoe cuddled with Erica through most of “A Christmas Story” and charmed her into staying later than she intended). And today at the vet, they were relaxed and happy, charming Dr. Karen all over again as they explored the office:

I suspected that Roscoe was bigger than Clyde – and I was surprised by how heavy the carrier was with both of them in it. At nearly seven months old (on Saturday!), Clyde weighs 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and Roscoe is exactly a pound heavier. They’ve come a long way from the 3.3 pounds they weighed on their first trip to the vet’s back in August.


What are those for?

They had a rabies shot and an inoculation against feline leukemia, since they venture into the great outdoors. I’m proud to say that they didn’t make a peep or complain about the shots or the indignities of the exams. In two weeks, they’re going back for their final shots, and then they should be set for a while. It’s good to know that they’re healthy and happy.

Per Dr. Karen’s orders, they’re staying inside until tomorrow. As I write, they’re curled up together in their little bed by the heater, dreaming.

3 responses so far

Jan 03 2011

Sunny Walk

Published by under Country Life


What light through yonder tree breaks?

Don’t read this too loudly, but it’s sunny outside.

Shhh!

It was the “s” word yesterday, too, for the first time in a couple of weeks. Maybe longer. I went outside, blinking and confused at the unnatural light, feeling like a mole. Or a vampire. My eyes!!

I decided to take a walk along the logging road which runs behind my house. In the year I’ve lived here, I have yet to hear any logging or logging trucks, though I did run into the law once. Yesterday, however, was a law-free day. Come on and I’ll show you around.

I was amazed by the Technicolor green moss. It really is that color:

And the fallen bark and pine needles make a beautiful pattern:

A couture log, wearing ruffled finery:

All the rain we’ve had has resulted in winter green…

…but also erosion. The lack of rain in the summer leads to wildfires, which in turn leads to mudslides when it rains in the winter. But the erosion revealed the sculpture of the roots:

Near the end of the road, I came across this fairy-tale looking bower of lacy trees:

On the way back, I walked into the sun and admired the view:

As I reached the path to my house, I stopped, lifted my arms and face to the sunlight and just breathed, in salutation and joy.

4 responses so far

Jan 02 2011

How to Plant Tulips

Published by under Country Life

Planting flowers seemed like a good way to welcome the new year, so yesterday, Megan showed me how to plant the tulip bulbs which I found in my Christmas stocking.

I have to say it was a banner year for stockings, maybe the best ever. Mine included flying wish paper, the Fantod Pack by Edward Gorey (darkly hilarious tarot-type cards), and a package of Purple Passion tulip bulbs:

I’ve been keeping them in the refrigerator since Christmas, and it was time to plant!

The soil here is too acid to grow much, so almost everything has to be planted in containers. Megan lent me one, and we found a disused pot in my garden.

First, we put in a layer of pottery for drainage. It helps to live in the former home of a potter, with boxes of broken pottery close at hand:

Luckily, the disused pot had potting soil with pearlite in it, so we recycled that, putting it on top of the broken pottery, and adding extra potting soil as needed:

Next, we added sand – easy to do when you live near the ocean:

Then a layer of sawdust, from last winter’s chainsawing of storm-fallen trees:

Mix it all up with your hands, other than the pottery base. Or get your sister to do it while you take pictures:

Then place the bulbs, sprout side up, in the cushy bed you have made for them:

Cover them up with a light layer of potting soil, so they don’t have to struggle to push through it:

Place the pot in a sheltered area, so the bulbs don’t get soaked and rot before they can bloom. We placed the containers beneath the overhang at the side of the house. It started raining (surprise!) before we finished planting them, so we didn’t have to worry about watering them. They’ll self-water until they bloom, in February (next month!) or March (almost next month!). I can’t wait.

5 responses so far

Jan 01 2011

We Hereby Resolve…

Published by under Cats


Christmas Roscoe


Christmas Clyde

If the kittens’ new year resolution was to drive me crazy, they’re off to a great start.

Although they know they aren’t allowed on the counter, that rarely, if ever, stops them from venturing up there. Clyde in particular likes to jump from the counter to the top of the cupboard, perching on the chest holding my grandmother’s silver while he bats at the (paper) lampshade. Another favorite spot is the top of the refrigerator, where fun can be had by tossing the box full of plastic wrap, tin foil, and other items to the floor, where they can be played with in comfort.

Today, they started things off with a bang by smashing a champagne glass*. I cleaned up the pieces, though undoubtedly I’ll be finding more weeks from now, when I least expect it. One less dish to wash!

My Brita pitcher is too tall to fit under the kitchen faucet, so I fill another pitcher with water and then pour it into the Brita. This morning, there was too much to fit in the Brita pitcher all at once, so I left the remaining water in Pitcher A and went to the bathroom. The boys seized the opportunity to jump on the forbidden counter and knock Pitcher A over, soaking counter, shelves and dishes beneath, and the floor, for good measure.

At least they didn’t knock the Brita pitcher over.

Later, while I was cleaning out the litterbox, Roscoe clawed merrily at my head from the shelf above.

He and Clyde were summarily ejected and haven’t been seen since.

I’m beginning to understand Audrey’s attitude.

While washing the dishes in the kitten-free peace and quiet, I cut my finger on a piece of broken champagne glass, embedded in the sponge.

Update: I tried Lisa’s suggestion of tin foil on the counter, but as she suspected, they are too naughty to be deterred:

It was worth a try!

*I have a theory that last year was so lousy because I didn’t welcome the new year and it got huffy with me. So this year, I had champagne and watched a couple of old movies, taking time out to see the festivities in other countries and on the east coast. Somehow, the New York celebration always seems like the “real” one to me.

2 responses so far

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