Love this.
Today is raining, so we’ll stay in, get stuff done, light a candle (first one of the fall), do some baking and have a cozy day. I like the rain, and because it’s raining I can’t working in the garden. Oh darn. 
I live with my daughter and grand kids. My job security has been precarious lately and I’ve been depressed. On Thursday my daughter was retrenched from HER job. Fnark.
So the only thing was to do a roadtrip. We’ve got a swish villa in a town called Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It’s bloody nice.
We head back to reality tomorrow, but in the meantime, it’s been a wonderful escape.
I am on vacation until a week from Tuesday. I have all of my annual medical checks set for Monday. Wednesday I will put an 8 lb pork butt on the smoker and while it is cooking I will pack for the trip. Thurday through Sunday, I will be waist deep in the White River near Eureka Springs, AK with my trusty fly rod in hand…
I live with my daughter and grand kids. My job security has been precarious lately and I’ve been depressed. On Thursday my daughter was retrenched from HER job. Fnark.
So the only thing was to do a roadtrip. We’ve got a swish villa in a town called Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It’s bloody nice.
We head back to reality tomorrow, but in the meantime, it’s been a wonderful escape.
Have fun in the Natural State! Wave toward the south, I’ll wave back!
Cool in the house this AM, fire in the wood stove. Cats are on the hearth rug doing their ablutions. So sweet!
Your picture and user name give off vibes of a dark, cynic who would rather eat small children than smile at their antics, so this juxtaposition gives me some happy. Also, my sister and my nephew and his fiancee are visiting this afternoon. I haven’t seen them in several months, so I’m happy about that.
I came home to a pleasant surprise. The new Miss Roomie had been busy cleaning the house. Makes me happy. At the end of the month, I will have the joy of explaining to her and her boyfriend (Mr. Roomie) that I am going to cut some amount off the rent. Yes they will argue, but it wasn’t their mess and I didn’t hire a maid(not on purpose anyway). If she is going to work in the home for all of us, so that we have to less, I will compensate her somehow, and with a glad heart.
Dixie the dog just had surgery and was very bummed out, hiding in her box. I had to go to town, and the weather is cool, so I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride. She immediately perked up and bounded out of her box and trotted right out to the truck with me and hopped in. Made me feel so good to see her get back to her happy, little self.
I also recently came into a real cool Dachshund sticker to put in my Jeep. Looks just like my girls, and is very pretty! Gives me warm fuzzys when I see it.
Three of the best words in the language: Library Book Sale.
How often do you get books, CDS and DVDS for so little AND get to support a great cause?
AND on Wednesday the film for seniors series is showing the original The Wizard of Oz.
The garlic’s in the ground
The garlic’s in the ground
Heigh-ho, I’m merry-o,
The garlic’s in the ground.
– context: 1) Garlic’s one of my (relatively) major crops. (I grow and sell a small amount each of a whole lot of different things.) 2) Garlic’s planted in the fall, grows roots through the winter whenever the ground’s above freezing, comes up aboveground in early spring. Target planting date in my area is mid-October, though you can get away with somewhat later. It’s day length dependent and will bulb up starting at summer solstice no matter what size/number the leaves are, so if it hasn’t had time to make good growth by then there won’t be a crop to speak of. 3) The new climate around here includes long periods of soggy wet weather. I have significant clay in my soil, so attempting to work it or even to plant into it when it’s overly wet is likely to cause it to turn into clay pots which the plants can’t get their roots out of. 4) In the fall of 2017, things were so wet that I wasn’t able to plant until well over a month behind schedule, and then in soil not properly prepared and still overly wet. Result was a small crop with mostly undersized bulbs in 2018. The fall of 2018 was even worse: my fields were straight out mud from midAugust until midJune of 2019. I wasn’t able to field plant garlic at all. I have strains that are not replaceable; I planted garlic in late November 2018 in pots in an unheated greenhouse. This produced enough to save the strains, but I had to keep all the halfway decent sized bulbs (there were no really large ones) for seedstock, had only smalls to sell and not many of those, and didn’t have anywhere near as much seedstock as usual. I had to buy some, which is expensive and despite precautions risks bringing in disease, and means that I don’t know how well the strains will do here; and still was able to plant only about a third as much field as usual.
But this fall, garlic got planted exactly on schedule, in properly worked up and fertilized beds, which are raised beds that should protect the crop against possible excessively wet weather over the coming winter and spring.
The rain started up again about two hours after I finished. But the garlic’s in the ground!
A happy farmer is good for everyone, me thinks.
I was going to do a final mow on the front yard and harvest the weeds in the back today, but old Zeus, he tossin them thunderbolts and Apollo drivin that damn chariot back and forth over that bronze bridge and poor Ceres, she mourning her daughter’s return to Hades something fierce today. So I’m spending the day lazing abed
I planted a bunch and went out yesterday to discover the quail had gotten in the beds and managed to uncover almost all of them.
Damn Quail!
after months of grueling bodyaches and going to many doctors I finally got a diagnosis: psoriatic arthritis. It only manifested with pain so no psoriasis except my toenails are now messed up. I’m finally getting the correct treatment for this, so I’m feeling better than I did last year.
I’ll add to the dog stories. My Australian shepherd mix Reno eagerly lets visitors (especially some of the Merry Maids) to the apartment play with her, so I’ve started telling people I meet on the street that they can pet her if they like.
Today, one little boy was too scared to touch Reno, but did wave at her and look into her eyes. Towards the end of the walk, a woman sitting on a bench exclaimed “OOH! PUPPY! Can I pet him?” I replied, “Well, her, but go ahead.” She proceeded to stroke Reno’s fur for about twenty seconds, then thanked me for the opportunity.
Actually a few days ago, but I’ll add the account of the woman walking hand-in-hand with another female who saw Reno and asked me, “Is he friendly? I normally only pet poodles, but he’s so cute!” As she placed her free hand on Reno, I reflected on how dogs generally couldn’t care less about race, age, sexuality, or other characteristics that so needlessly divide humans. As long as you’re friendly, that’s all the canines ask.
I have the new John Sandford/Virgil Flowers book downloaded onto my Kindle. Don’t know when I’ll start reading–it makes me happy just to know it’s there when I’m ready.
OP, I get what you mean about the stress and negative energy. My news feed kills me.
Damn, yalls is makin me think I need to get a dog
Going back through, this reminds me of something you would have loved and probably laughed at, I did.
About 3 weeks ago, I saw a convertable drive by with a BIG german shepherd sitting dead center of the back seat, higher than the windshield. Probably not the safest thing but just so unexpected and funny
At the bank drive thru the other day in the lane to my left was a SUV, of some sort. I glanced over and 3 white, furry faces* were looking me. I said “hello”, and all 3 tongues came out and they smiled at me. Did my heart good to see that.
*bichons, I think
Yesterday I had to run to town for a quick errand. It’s about 25 miles away.
My closest friend here recently endured a very painful bout of cancer treatment and while she is substantially out of the woods re mortality concerns, she is suffering pain almost continuously and will for a few more months (long story). Understandably, she has been sad. I invited her come along with me to enjoy the ride and lunch after.
We’re having rainbow weather here just now, one of our more spectacular seasons. Periods of drizzly rain interspersed with sun breaks, gobsmacking cloud formations and rainbows, together with fall foliage colors so brilliant they’ll make your heart ache. The dogwoods, burning bushes, Japanese maples, liquid ambers all interspersed with our usual dazzling green fir forests and rolling grass acreage – then plant a rainbow or two right in the middle of it all for jaw-dropping effect.
My friend and I reveled in our drive, shared this eye-popping scenery that could launch a thriving postcard concern along with many good laughs. I ran my errand. We slipped along to lunch and each ordered something bad for us we’d been craving. Then we headed home and rubbernecked for more vistas.
We were literally chasing rainbows, and to hear my friend’s frequent laughter was better than any concert.
That’s a pretty good day. 
After a few weeks of business travel, I got home yesterday, and went to the Santa Fe Comic-Con. I got to meet, shake hands, and get an autograph from Angus_MacInnes!
The fellow with Angus at the booth says, “He was Gold Leader in Star Wars.” I replied, “Better than that, he’s ‘Rosey!’” I shared a Call of the Great White North with Mr MacInnes, and got an autogaphed picture for my Pop for Christmas.
Tripler
I told Mr MacInnes that I did, in fact, name my cat “Hoser.”