Seven Dreams

I took a few days off from blogging. The reason for doing this is there is nothing going on in my little world. If my days since my last blog entry was compared to Gordon Jenkins’s album “Seven Dreams” It would go like this.

My first dream: Finding and purchasing Wally Lamb’s latest book, ‘The Hour I First Believed.” I know there are going to be a lot of people that are going to open this book and proclaim it a “work of art.” I just found it very difficult to get through it because it is fragmented, he doesn't create a bond between the reader and the main characters, and he manages to use 4 major American new stories/ crisis in his story line. The Civil War, Columbine, Kristina, the fire at Coconut Grove and several references to 911, it was too much. The dedication to his mother is the best part of the book though. It is definitely not on my reread with pleasure list.

My second dream is realizing that my little friend, Lulu is going to be a doggie dropout. Change is not good for her and when it happens she is flat out on the floor like a squished bug, with all four legs splayed out and she has this look of absolute terror on her face. She can jump in the car, she knows drop it, and she can look at me.

My third dream is learning to say no without feeling like a bigot. Archie Bunker I am not but when I hire someone to do the job I have the right to ask for someone who knows English. It is not in my budget to retain an interpreter so I can understand the people who show up for a job.

My fourth dream during this interlude is discovering and rocking out to Lauritz Melchior. Part of his charm, besides his voice, is he looks like a grandfather – kind and gentle.

My fifth dream is the excitement I feel knowing that my daughter and Robert is coming for visit. I am looking forward to seeing them and spending some time with them. It is going to be GREAT! Three more days but who is counting.

My Sixth Dream “The Nightmare” is I am not in tune to flirting. Perhaps it is because I am not use to it because it is not a common occurrence in my life. When it does happen I immediately look down to see if I dribbled food on my shirt. My daughter was good at pointing out flirting to me since then I am not aware of it unless it blatant like a big shit eating grin and a big old “howdy pretty lady.” Then I know it is not the spaghetti on my shirt and I am totally speechless. I had a flirtatious moment last night and I was so surprised that I just sat there looking at him. Christmas must be a lonely time in a person’s life and like closing time at a bar Christmas makes anyone beautiful and deserving of a big old shit eating grin. Keep in mind that New Years come early.

My last dream is the quiet moment between waking up and sleeping. The brief moment in time where all is cozy and warm and the world is a beautiful place, and all you want is stay there…..

My holiday present request every year for many years is to have this album or to have someone put it on CD. It is beyond description.

Watch What You Say In Jest

When I was working on the first garden I was pulling everything out of there except for the kitchen sink.  I found marbles, screws, nails, contact lenses, dog flops etc.  One of the men that was working on the roof made a comment on the items I found and I said, in jest, "I haven't found a body."

Scott found one tucked under a palo verde tree.  It was a small grave with some of the rocks missing.  I told him we will rerock the grave and place a marker stating simply "Unknown Puppy."  Spirits are sensitive to renovations.  There has been reports about quiet spirits that "come alive" during a renovation.  Normally these types of spirits don't stick around long but sometimes they don't leave.  Maybe our little spirit will be the four legged kind.

I met one of our neighbors, a gentleman with lots of kind words, generous offerings... the kind of conversation that is laced with innuendos and a threat.  I had to reassure him several times that I wasn't going to tear down my house and subdivide.  That I was going to move a small brush pile that was five feet on his property.  I also told him that the fire department doesn't randomly go on people's property looking for brush.

You can imagine my adrenaline rush when I looked in the rear view mirror this morning and saw a fire truck.  I thought "OMG they are after me."    I found a a landscape company that will take away my little brush pile plus finish up on the courtyard and I would be really upset me if I suddenly have to hire someone just to remove the brush pile.  If that happened then the courtyard would have to stay the way it is.  

Yes I was very nice to my neighbor.  You never know. 

This week all of the big jobs are DONE!!!!!!!   The rest of the month will be spent on handyman "stuff" and lots of refinishing work.   Tomorrow we will have heat in the house.  You could say "Life Is Warm."

La La La Life Is Wonderful

My days are spent at the house and the last few days have been spent digging out the unkempt gardens and replacing plants with rocks.  My type of garden - rocks.  You don't have to water it, don't have to weed it, and you don't have to worry about it.  Truth is I am going to put out a pot garden.

No, no, no - not the wacky weed.  Pretty pots with plants.  Since Scott will be living there I will wait until mom and I are ready to move out of the little house on wheels.  I am going to hire a landscaper and have them do the circular garden in the middle of the courtyard and Scott will be in charge of maintaining that.  The hummingbirds love what is in there now and I am going to replicate it.  The landscapers will also haul of all of the plant debris that has piled up. 

The air conditioner/heat installers showed up today and by the end of the week I will have that installed.  The only problem is they are going to take up half of my closet space.  I have two bedrooms with a small shared closet that is going to get smaller.  I have been sitting on Scott's bed staring at the closet and coming up with some  solutions. 

Lulu is feeling much better and hopefully tomorrow night I can start working with her.  I appreciate everyone's advice and I am going to give her dog food as a treat.  I figure if she eats in the morning and doesn't eat the rest of the day then she will be hungry enough to accept her dog food as a treat.

Yes Hannah I am getting excited!  I figure that Robert and you are going to be cheap labor and I am lining up some fun jobs you two can do! 

Overslept - Lulu Is Sick

We didn't make it to Ajo because we overslept. I am going to try Round Up. I am over my obsession to hang that root on my wall like a deer head.

Lulu did really well at her dog training class. I was given a "clicker" and I would click then reward her with a treat. She thought that was great fun. She would hear the clicker and food would appear. Click then treat Click then treat - this morning she woke up with a horrible case of diarrhea.   I am going to have to wait till she is over her tummy ache before working with her.  I am also finding something other than treats to reward her. 

Not much happening.  It is a cloudy overcast day with a slight chance of rain so I will probably stay home and do my refinishing job tomorrow.

The Mother Of All Roots

I have a lot of wood that needs to be treated and in order to do so  I needed to remove a vine that was growing up the side of the house.How hard is this job?  I am not a gardener, I have the proverbial brown thumb and that surely would qualify me to kill a vine.

First order of duty is to removed the vine and dig up the root.  Since I didn't have a shovel I did all of the digging by hand that was inside of a glove.  That root is as round  as a dinner plate and I haven't yet found the bottom of it.  Not only that it gave birth several times over.  I followed the vines from one flower bed to the flower bed adjacent to it.  It would grow a little, pop out a seed and branch out.  It repeated this throughout the flower bed.

I ended up chasing and pulling vines for about 30 minutes and finally I just started ripping out EVERYTHING.  I was a woman obsessed.  I did spare the asparagus fern so I have something green in there but everything else was ripped out.  Well, the exception being the mother of all roots that is still in the ground.

Folks I tugged and pulled and dug and tugged and pulled and dug and tugged and pulled and.... well I was on it like a dog on a bone.  I was sweating and cursing and grunting and groaning and that darn thing still wouldn't budge or even wiggle.  I am pretty sure it is dead but I am wanting it out of the ground so I can hang it on my wall like a deer head.  I have never encountered anything like that and I thoroughly convinced it is an alien being growing in my yard.  I have a hole in my garden bed that extends to edge of hell!!!!!!!!

Speaking of hell, I also have a slow drain in my shower that has been driving my mother and I crazy.  The way this rig is built I can't get to the pipes without doing some damage.  I also won't pour a bunch of dangerous chemicals down there either.  I mentioned something to mom about getting a plunger and she found a baby plunger.  I purchased it and went home like a kid with a new toy.  Yeah I was excited!

Did I mentioned that the drain has been slow moving for months and months?

Anyway I get home to my little house on wheels and went flying into the bathroom.  I ran a little water and started plunging.  The drain gave a little burp and the smell was so bad that I think I lost consciousness for about thirty seconds.  Lulu, who has become my little shadow, little eyes started watering and mom was in the kitchen thinking "what the hell is she doing in the bathroom?"  The drain is fixed.  I just won't wait so long to come up with a good idea.

Tomorrow Ajo!  Tomorrow night Lulu's life will change.  She is going to a dog training class and after 8 weeks she will sit, stop chewing, come when she is called, walk on a leash like a lady.... either that or I will be well trained.  Sunday I will attack the wood with a wire brunch and weather proof it.

Fun days ahead.  Woo Hoo