Spring a Ding Ding!

I love this time of year! From the cold grasp of winter emerge the joyous gems of spring time! Please allow me to introduce my 2010 garden by way of any early spring photo album...

These little crocuses (crocii?) are always the first to spring up on the warm south side of the house. I swear they were planted back in 1938 when the house was built!

Then, on the east side of the house - these little irises (irii?) popped out this weekend! I planted these about 8 years ago and they are still one of my favorites.


These jonquils (Daffodils) are also on the south side of the house, and they just might bloom before we get another frost. Since last frost is May 15th- they got to hurry up and get the blooming over with!

Snow Drops are the first to bloom in the North Side garden - it faces south, but it doesn't quite get as warm as the gardens next to the house

Wait a minute, that's no flower! You are correct! That is Luna, the wildly (thankfully) unsuccessful squirrel hunter and princess of summer. She goes by Luna Toon, Luna Fish Casserole, Lunar Lander, and Lunified Field Theory. Well, she doesn't answer to much of anything unless it's followed by "Wanna biscuit?"

And then there is Phoebe - posing here after (again thankfully) failing at catching the large rabbit we have living in our yard. Doesn't she look all spotted and alert? Given that she's celebrating her 12th birthday this June, I'm pretty happy to see her hunting so deftly. And, she has many names too, like Phoebles weeble, Phoebula, and of course, the one we use since she is now mostly deaf : "Hey pain in the ass dog, come inside, it's too cold for me to stand outside in my slippers!"

And last, but not least, the site of future miracles and wonderment. My 20X20 veggie garden that is about to come out of it's dormant state. We will soon have copious amounts of volunteer regular and garlic chives, growing anywhere the billions of seeds fell, not to mention the oregano and mint that I couldn't kill if I wanted to. This year, "Fpot" the bunny (Say it out loud to get the full effect), once again, gnawed the clematis stems down the nubs, and took care of all the extraneous Heritage raspberry canes. Thanks a lot Fpot - now I only get one stupid crop of berries - poo on you! As I've said before, this will quite literally turn into a hot mess by August 15th, so full of green you'd think you were in a jungle in the amazon. But for now, it's just fine, waiting for the planting ceremonies to begin!

It's a zoo in here - what?

My husband, my stepdaughter and I went to Ikea on Saturday with the goal of getting some things for her room that would help her get organized for homework, make the space her own, etc.. We knew that the economy was recovering because Hiway 77 was backed up for cars to flow into the "Squallor of America" ramps... it looked better going into Ikea as we found a reasonably close parking spot. They all must have carpooled.

We walked into the doors of Ikea and it seemed like a normal amount of customer traffic... took the escalator up and WHAM... it was like a suburban, stroller pushing, multigeneration family convention! People everywhere, wandering around, loosing each other and their kids, trying to figure out how this doo-dad worked, or if that foldy couchy thing would fit in the spare room.

We ventured in, since you can't find your way out without going through the whole dang store now.... and persevered. At some point early on, somebody in my party (maybe it was me?) said "it's like a zoo in here!".

Really, a zoo? Where the animals are in cages to protect them from the visitors, in nice, orderly groupings, with beautiful habitats to keep everyone calm. Yes, every once in a while the visitors cram into the zoo, so it's busy, but there is a general traffic pattern so that things keep moving.

Ikea felt less like a zoo and more like a free for all after a natural disaster... I've decided to eliminate the metaphor (or is a simile) from my vocabulary - it's just not fair to professional zoo managers and their inhabitants. Next time I go to a chaotic, packed with people event of some kind, I will now say "it's like a Saturday afternoon in Ikea here"... much more accurate.

All the work and none of the benefits

It's a deal I can't refuse...quite literally. Aside from all the crazy stuff going on at home (My 18 year old step daughter has now moved in and is settling in quite nicely - new school tomorrow, so that will be when the real fun starts!), my boss told me the other day she's leaving the company. CRAP.

She's also recommended me for the job. Awesome - thanks for the vote of confidence, Boss!

Turns out, I don't get the "job" being defined as title, power or salary, but I do get the work. So in other words, I'm now doing 3-4 people's work. CRAP

The alternative is having no job. CRAP.

So, in a world of people who aren't able to find employment, I am sorry to even gripe a bit... but those of us who are over-employed are churning our way towards a fragile mental state. Very soon, we'll all be recouping in sanatoriums, and all those friends of mine who are under or unemployed -they can have my gig. I'll be happy to trade my putty colored cube walls for a padded walls for a bit.

Bitching session complete. Thank you for bearing with me.