Sweetpea Manor Musings

As you can imagine, I've been bummed this week. Work was frustrating and exhausting. The first half of the week was miserably hot. Last night and this morning I've been working on the odious task of inputing my new bank account number to those sites that will need it (my bank was bought out by another one last year and they've just given us new account numbers. Joy.) Most of those went well except the last one of my Mom's. She'll have to call on Monday to get that straightened out. :::sigh:::

But all things must pass. Right now I see fluffy clouds and it is apparently only 68 outside. There are a couple of plants that need planting so I am headed outside for hopefully, a major 'tube adjustment.

Brindle has decided that the laundry room is his and he's happy enough in there. Momma coon has been back pretty near every night though Thursday night she was grumpy and growled at the other denizens of the night until they left. Her attitude was fine last night.

And Nature abhors a void apparently. I've caught two strays at the screen door. One a grey tabby that has looked in twice; the other is a little black cat that has come in through a whole in the screen, peered about then hustled back out. I know that Brindle has had fisticuffs with both of them, though last time the black cat came in and left, Brindle came down from the berm to walk after him--his tail was high and he just sauntered. I wonder if they are becoming friends?

So many things remind us of Scooter. Poor boy was so befuddled at the end. When the vet praised him for being a good kitty during the IV start, she must have forgotten this cat needed to be mummy wrapped for any procedure and then would still struggle so much I feared for a stroke when ever he had anything done to him. That's why we choose not to treat his Chronic Kidney failure. We felt that would have been his choice if we could have asked him.

Even when one expects someone to pass soon, it's still hard. We did get him cremated and I'll bring him home on Monday after work. :::sigh:::

Well, the dappled light and cool breezes call to me. There are a dozen flowers, tomatoes and herb plants that want to planted at long last.

For those that are interested, two of the baby coons from last summer still come by. Also, Momma coon is back for at least a month now. She slowly walks into the courtyard and proceeds to slowly chow down and drink. She must be preggers again. She probably about 8 years old now. There's also a couple of fat skunks out there that are probably baking a batch of young 'uns.

I also took the weed whacker to the front yard to cut back the grain weeds. There was a patch of spongy ground where there were a lot of gopher holes (the front yard is honeycombed with gopher holes--at least one hole every square yard) and WHOA! A snake slowly slithered away into a bushy area. It appears to be a King snake and was maybe 14-18 inches long. The good news it eats rodents. Yay! I'll just have to be careful when I finish the rest on Tuesday. I've included a photo:

( Read more... )

Alas, it was overcast tonight so I couldn't see the ISS. :(

Yay! I was never called for jury duty this week and now I'm free! Actually, this is the third time in a row I was not told to report. At least that's over for now.

Yesterday and today I weed whacked the front yard so it is now minimally presentable. It rained pretty good tonight and we're to get more of the same over the next two days so that will stimulate the weeds to shoot up again. Oh well; I'll deal with that when things dry out again.

In a more anxious front, last night and tonight I've caught a few glimpses of a little white dog outside. I think he's drawn to the free food that out for the varmits. Brindle is freaked that he's about--I think he's very anti-canine since he survived that attack by a coyote. Mom saw the little dog run by the window and we discussed possibly taking him in but we just can't with the kitties. Plus, when the dog sees me, he runs away; it's not like he's begging to come in. I just feel like I should do something for the guy as he was soaking wet and dirty. I imagine he was abandoned. People are jerks.

I acquired all the episodes of Merlin tonight but I feel too tired to watch any! Plus, I will be working the next three nights. Not fair.

Supernatural was very good. Niiiiiice twist! I do doubt that the brothers will ever be the same again though.

I wasn't quick enough to snap a photo of this skunk laying EXACTLY the way the momma coon was lying last week or whenever it was, but I took a couple of pics as it balanced up there trying to groom itself. As you can see, the rock really is pointed with steep sides. I think everybody just enjoys the challenge.

Pic Spam of two!


( Read more... )

As for True Blood, maybe a little better than the first one. The trouble is I don't see the chemistry between Bill and Sookie. And her brother Jason is the type of person I despise. I still like Tara but honestly, she is TOO smart to be smitten by that idiot Jason.

Fringe? I had it on for about 40 minutes and just turned it off. There are too many cinematic techniques that remind me of Lost and now I have a knee jerk reaction of intolerance to those tricks. It may be a good show but I just don't care. And I spent an hour getting the Tivos sorted out as to who is gonna record what as most of the shows premiere while we are on vacation so I'm actually a little relieved that there is one show less to watch. Typical. I'll be in Canada and won't see the lovely and talented Michael Shanks having fun with David Hewlett until I get back the following week! Woe is me! I bet I'll be able to catch Criminal Minds up there (uh, if the hotels I book have a tv; I know some didn't but I don't know know if I book those or not.)

I've spent most of the night doing all those little fiddly bits that need to be sorted out before one leaves the homestead for a bit. I even tested the strength of the AA batteries I'm taking for the camera. Wouldn't want any duds.

Oh, I drove down to the Honda Center and bought my Australian Pink Floyd tickets and saved myself $30 in fees and got the seats I wanted. I should do that more often.

The fridge repairman ran a diagnostic (yeah, I know) on our fridge and says it needs a new computer board or something like that, and a new fan because GE says it's best to replace them at the same time. The good news is it is covered by the warranty--and it would have cost about $800 if I hadn't bought the extended warranty. Wow. I have to say I bought it because Bunny's 2 year old fridge had just went out on her prior to us buying the GE, so that turned out to be a lucky for us. He will order the parts, and in 3-5 working days, he'll get them and then make an appt to replace them. Just before a holiday. Isn't that always the way of it?

By the way, when asked he felt Kitchen Aid and Whirlpool had less repairs for refrigerators, and Bosch washers and dryers rarely needed his services. He seemed very frustrated by the poor quality of appliances in general.

Brindle got treated for ear mites, another blood test to check his liver and a steroid shot for his scabby skin. Steroids make him the most affectionate kitty ever. Less than two hours later, he jumped on my bed and did happy feet on my head. Luckily, he settled down before too long and *cuddled my hand to his chest* purring madly and that's how we fell to sleep. It's been since Wed and he is still sleeping on my bed, but needing less physical contact now. It's like he's on ecstasy.

Scooter had bad breath and on Friday tossed his head and something fell out of his mouth. Not a tooth but it's hard and among other unidentifiable structures, is textured with papillae like rows of ribbed nubs. I'm scared to look inside there. He's eating fine and the bad breath has left...but what the hell body part did he lose?!

The momma coon with three cubs is still coming by, and they are out there right now in fact. We still get the odd lone coon or a pair of them at times. I quit writing about them for awhile because this momma coon was not willing to share the yard and there were nasty sounding fights. Frightening sounds. I was quite worried and not sure what was gonna happened. All the drama is gone now though.

I hadn't seen Momma Coon since I posted that photo of her and I was apprehensive that she actually had been ill instead of tired. But tonight she showed up and hung around for hours. I first took notice because I heard a little murmur that coons use to communicate to each other. I snuck up to the door and was surprised to see her lying on top of the kibble pile eating like crazy. She stood up a while later and seemed to have much better energy. And since she stayed for hours and sucked up food like a Dyson Vaccum while occasionally cooing to no one I could see. My theory is that she brought her babies with her and had them stowed up the elm tree. It may be a few weeks before I see how many she's had.

Every couple of nights two of the siblings come by for a visit. The smaller, more skittish one I haven't seen in weeks. Probably not a good sign.

As for the skunks, they continue to strut proudly over the property, stomping at the possum and the coons. Tonight my eye was caught by two of the young ones. They were butt bumping each other and then one just dove at the other. They were instantly a tumbling furry ball of black and white strips with two big tails flopping about as they rolled back and forth. They rolled off the stoop but even that didn't immediately stop them. When they did break apart, they bounced after each other in a very "you're it!" type of play. Too, too cute. :)

Did some errands in the afternoon as it was too damn hot today (it was 96 when I was out at 5pm.) I'm going to MediaWest in a month and as I want to use the pool, I decided to finally buy a swimsuit (had been using a tank top and shorts but the chlorine always ruins them.) Boy, those suckers are expensive! I went to a store to try some on to figure out my size, then hit ebay. :::sigh::: We'll see how the bidding goes.

My other errands proved to be annoying and fruitless for the most part. Twice I ran into major streets that were closed off. Once I don't know why, but the other was because one of those big pickup trucks that are raised way high up took out a traffic light and rolled a couple a hundred feet before ending up over a fence and in someone's yard. Speeding maybe?

I also broke down and bought a locking gas cap. Prices will only go higher and as people feel more unable to afford gas, I think it's inevitable that siphoning will start to be an issue. It was $17 in case you're thinking about getting one, too.

Varmit wise, I saw the three raccoon siblings last week. Once I think their mom was there, too, on the porch and everyone was trying to eat as fast as they could. She was doing those scary growls and snorts and while two of the siblings were still eating, they were bowing their heads and showing their throats in submission. The smallest guy was too stressed to eat and hovered a few feet away.

Watched SPN Ghostfacers. So they have only a few eps left to film after the strike and this is what they spend their money on? Meh. ( Read more... )

Boston Legal: ( Read more... )

Torchwood: "Meat." Can I just say ewwww? And the over-acting still makes me roll my eyes. I think Torchwood has the style and depth of a graphic novel.

SGA: "Midway." Loved Teal'c and Ronan together. Their rivalry was a bit overdone at first but it was for comedic effect and it was funny. There were plenty of potholes but I've pretty much given up on expecting a tight show here. Just entertain me for an hour if you can. And can they NOT give away a big reveal in the ad for next week's ep??!

I finally saw "An Inconvenient Truth." I tivoed and watched it the same night as I saw "Six Degrees." I'm sure I'll be dead of other causes before my heart will break at what will become of the Earth. I just wish the stupid, greedy, willfully ignorant people will suffer the consequences of their actions first.

Anderson Cooper 360 on Race, Gender and Politics. Very nice to hear someone exploring this aspect of the election. And after all the Hillary/woman bashing, I guess it's getting harder to ignore that it's happening so the more perceptive reporters are at least mentioning it. And the whole complex racial thing and courting groups as an entity was fascinating.

Politics in general. I see McCain and Clinton are finally calling Barak on the vague rhetoric. Personally I like to ask his supporters if they can describe his plans, or even him without using the words "change" or "hope" (I keep flashbacking on all the press in SG1 about Jonas Quinn and his "freshness.") Conversely, believe it or not, I find myself trying to educate those at work that Obama isn't a Muslin, and isn't a mole for Al-Qaeda. This is a fact they know as surely as they know Hillary is Bitch. Where does this shit come from?? Mind you, I do have issues with his church and their giving an award to Louis Farrakhan. Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright's views about whites and blacks I find very frustrating. Personally, I find my societal villains in the greed of the wealthy.

An interesting fact I heard tonight; Hillary wins in every group that make under $50,000 while Barak wins in every group over that amount.

Two things: one, go to Barak's and Hillary's websites. Find the issues page and compare their views on a topic or two that matters to you personally. Two: please watch the Democratic Debate this Thursday on CNN at 8 Eastern and 5 Pacific time.

Oh, I just saw on the news that Hillary wanted to debate Barak in Wisconsin but Barak's people say they've debated enough. Yeah, I can see that from their POV. I think he can only lose votes in a debate since she comes off as much more suitable for the job. I wonder why he agreed to Texas on Thursday?

And did any of you see that beautiful flyby of the shuttle/ISS on Saturday? And just 7 minutes before that, the defective spy satellite was visible, too. I actually had three people at work out there with me staring at the sky which was pretty good because it was cold and windy.

Oh, the three siblings were by tonight. There was a fourth a few nights ago and there was some growling and snorting and some half-assed displays of teeth before everyone settled down to eat. Strangely, I don't think it was their momma. They did know him, though. Huh.

Well, back to reading Lady Ra's "Wraith Killers." Ankh rec'ed it and it's a SGA/SG1 story. Slash, doncha know. :)
http://www.area52hkh.net/asl/ladyra/wkillers001.php

It's been raining moderate to hard most of tonight and is supposed to continue to be rainy til Monday. The three siblings are outside right now looking quite bedraggled and very hyper vigilant. Actually, they came by about 30 minutes ago and were desperately attacking the peanuts I'd put out in the rain. They looked so pathetic I tossed out a good portion of kibble, knowing it will make quite the gooey mess by morning; they started shoveling it in with both hands. They left for about ten minutes and are back, looking a tad less soaked. I wonder if they did some quick grooming to get back some insulation to their fur? It's in the mid-forties out there.

There is one skunk out there, too, and he looks like he's more weather proof than the coons. Maybe it's all that waxy long fur? Well, at least the siblings have each other to cuddle up to.

Well, at least I can give them some calories to ward off hypothermia.

Oh, would you believe that we actually had a couple of severe weather warnings for tornados? That's first for me.

Heroes was pretty good, but I think Journeyman pulled ahead tonight. Journeyman was very well written and very intense. I loved it!

In Heroes, I think they've done too good a job on making Silar an evil villain. The show's moving along and I'm enjoying it and then there he is. It brings my enjoyment to a stop. My hackles rise and I get too focused on wanting him gone.

I went shopping this afternoon and bought some catfood, stuff and Xmas lights. These new ones are led, apparently only using 5 watts of power. To quote the Ideal Bite n/l: "Burning 10 strands of lights with 100 lights per strand, eight hours per day for a month costs $175 for incandescent bulbs vs. about $1 for LED mini-bulbs." Now I just need to put them up over the porch.

The flamingos in the neighbor's yard are gone. That's too bad. I guess they were a practical joke after all.

And Brindle's doing well; he's going out in the late morning (he's not an early riser,) and coming in at night. He's has a bit to eat and then races to his latest sleeping spot (a chair in the breakfast nook.) The Santa Ana winds and low humidity have given him perpetual bad hair and considering he's a long hair with his winter fur we are talking really bad hair. *g*

Oh, and Momma Coon and her three babies are outside as I write this. :)