This morning we were driving to work. Greg pulled a rather high-speed, and in my opinion, dangerous maneuver where he zoomed up on a semi in order to cut around a car on the left and get in the fast lane – ahead of this other guy.
A session of bickering broke out after I criticized the action, and we went back and forth for a while before losing interest in the topic.
Rather, we ALMOST lost interest in the topic if it weren’t for this final comment:
“You know Christa, if you were more aware of your surroundings you wouldn’t make these kinds of statements because then you’d know the full situation.”
Funny how bickering can flare right up again after statements like that.
10.31.2007
10.19.2007
The Mile High Cosmos
I have this amazing garden out in our backyard. I was much more meticulous with it at the beginning of the year – cultivating it to have a wild, English Cottage sort of look. I planted delphiniums, larkspur, goblin daisies, irises, hollyhocks, snapdragons, marigolds…a couple of catnip plants for Cider (So she could roll around in one while the other was trying to recover from her affections – thank God catnip plants are like weeds) all of those sort of things.
Oh yes, I also had a few packets of Cosmos seeds…and so I threw them around by the fence not expecting very much. We have horrible clay soil, and so I really have a hard time growing much from seeds.
Now, in October it is very clear that I have underestimated Cosmos.
They started growing nicely in the spring, which just thrilled me – but then as expected, I had a number of seedlings die off from crowding and what I thought were soil conditions…so I thinned out the rest and remained hopeful that they’d do something. And for a number of weeks nothing happened. They shot up to about 4 inches tall and then just stayed there – not growing, not dying…just hanging out. So I assumed they’d be dying any day now because they hated the soil.
Well, maybe they were mutating…or perhaps they were adapting…or even just storing up energy much like a biker loads up on carbs right before the big race….but come August they TOOK OFF. Shot straight up in the air and kept going. And going, and going. Not many blooms, but they just kept growing. Cider soon began to love her ‘forest’ comprised of thick cosmos stems (about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter) and hardly any leaves (down by the ground) up top it was nothing BUT leaves in all their feathery green glory. Not that many blooms, just a lot of height – the day they went over Greg’s head was a big day (he’s 6’6”)…the day we couldn’t touch the top stems was even bigger. I figure that they’re around 12-15 feet high now.
And it just when they peaked like that that the blooms finally decided to show – in October. And their blooms are just as vivacious as their growth, it’s a sea of purple, maroon and white in the back corner of the yard. With those flowers came butterflies by the dozens – I think they were Monarchs. 2 Saturday’s ago I went outside and was amazed to see the whole backyard all a-flutter with butterflies all over the place. They’d come for the cosmos, of course, but were landing in the grass, on the trees, on the back fence, by the back door…it was an amazing sight. They must have been migrating somewhere, but I’ve never seen anything like it, and have no doubt there was magic in the backyard that day.
And the butterflies left – but my cosmos keep growing – I’ve put in some pictures for you to see just how amazing they are – I’m hoping for a repeat production next year.
Oh yes, I also had a few packets of Cosmos seeds…and so I threw them around by the fence not expecting very much. We have horrible clay soil, and so I really have a hard time growing much from seeds.
Now, in October it is very clear that I have underestimated Cosmos.
They started growing nicely in the spring, which just thrilled me – but then as expected, I had a number of seedlings die off from crowding and what I thought were soil conditions…so I thinned out the rest and remained hopeful that they’d do something. And for a number of weeks nothing happened. They shot up to about 4 inches tall and then just stayed there – not growing, not dying…just hanging out. So I assumed they’d be dying any day now because they hated the soil.
Well, maybe they were mutating…or perhaps they were adapting…or even just storing up energy much like a biker loads up on carbs right before the big race….but come August they TOOK OFF. Shot straight up in the air and kept going. And going, and going. Not many blooms, but they just kept growing. Cider soon began to love her ‘forest’ comprised of thick cosmos stems (about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter) and hardly any leaves (down by the ground) up top it was nothing BUT leaves in all their feathery green glory. Not that many blooms, just a lot of height – the day they went over Greg’s head was a big day (he’s 6’6”)…the day we couldn’t touch the top stems was even bigger. I figure that they’re around 12-15 feet high now.
And it just when they peaked like that that the blooms finally decided to show – in October. And their blooms are just as vivacious as their growth, it’s a sea of purple, maroon and white in the back corner of the yard. With those flowers came butterflies by the dozens – I think they were Monarchs. 2 Saturday’s ago I went outside and was amazed to see the whole backyard all a-flutter with butterflies all over the place. They’d come for the cosmos, of course, but were landing in the grass, on the trees, on the back fence, by the back door…it was an amazing sight. They must have been migrating somewhere, but I’ve never seen anything like it, and have no doubt there was magic in the backyard that day.
And the butterflies left – but my cosmos keep growing – I’ve put in some pictures for you to see just how amazing they are – I’m hoping for a repeat production next year.
10.15.2007
We're Up!
Ok, if you've not seen on the blog now - we're up and constantly feeding weather data of a most excellent nature. Our full page site is here: http://www.wunderground.com/swf/Rapid_Fire.swf?units=both&station=KCOFREDE2
10.11.2007
Not Fair.
How is it that I cannot keep a perfectly matched red tea kettle on the top of the kitchen stove because it ‘clutters up the place’…and yet Greg is perfectly willing to permanently place a clunky laptop, weather station, and webcam trained on our backyard on the far left-hand side of the kitchen counter to keep up with his happy little weather hobby?
How is that not cluttering up the place?
Not happening.
Not in my kitchen.
How is that not cluttering up the place?
Not happening.
Not in my kitchen.
The Weather Station
Today is the day that The Weather Station arrives.My brother really wanted to get Greg something special for his birthday (he’s hit the big 30 now, BTW), and asked me for my thoughts. I said that though we had a small, $20 weather station…that Greg would love, love LOVE a new, larger weather station with more capabilities….
My brother balked at this. It didn’t appeal to his idea of a manly gift. He wanted to buy Greg a knife, a gun, or some other instrument of death and protection…and that’s just not Greg. So he said he’d think about it while he was out and get Greg something later on. I said that was fine with me.
So he stayed with us…and began to notice just how big weather is in our house. Every morning while making coffee Greg would check the current temperature and announce the low of the night before. He’ll then turn on The Weather Channel and let us know what the high of the day will be so we can dress appropriately. In the evening, he walks by the weather station and see just how hot it got that day and what the temperature is currently…and before bed he watches the Weather Channel again to see how tomorrow is going to go.
And on and on and on…I’ve become used to it, and actually appreciate it because I do dress according to Greg’s weather observations…my brother has never experienced anything like it before, and a few days before he left sighed and admitted that it would be, by far, the best gift he could get Greg.
So he showed Greg a good website that sold a myriad of weather stations….and told him to pick one.
Greg almost died, and spent the next 3 hours solidly researching the most appropriate weather station for our house/location/needs. He chose the one that is pictured here…1 major post, that will communicate wirelessly with the main station inside the house, which will tell us all sorts of helpful information about what’s going on outside. This, in turn, will connect with a laptop which will be dedicated solely to weather-related activities…which will be connected to the internet and will feed information constantly to the Weather Underground site, who will give us our own website so people can check our weather (I’ll attach it to this blog once it’s up).
Oh, we’ll also have a webcam trained on our backyard so if one is really worried that it may not be raining like the website is telling them…well, they can check the webcam.
So there you have it. My brother purchased Greg what is clearly the Best Birthday Gift Ever. Greg’s leaving work early today so he can be there when the package arrives.
And I have a feeling I’m going to be mighty sick of the weather in about 3 weeks.
10.08.2007
Of Fall
My apologies for the delay in getting anything posted to the web lately. My whole family was in town for a while, and then we went on vacation, and then I had a large meeting at work last week…and things were just too busy and I find that much of my humor is sucked out of me during large meetings.
But here I am, back and breathing again . . . and in all that rush and jumble, I was able to see Fall spread over the high Colorado mountains like Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors. When we first began the camping trip the bulk of the color was on ridges above us a few hundred feet. Day by day that ribbon of gold and red crept down the slope, progressing with each cold night, and by the 3rd and 4th day we were surrounded in a place that one could only describe as magical.
We’ve been going to Silverjack since I was 2. It was the place that first convinced me that magic existed; and this year, in all the frustration I’ve had with what I do and where I’m at….it reminded me that not only does magic exist…but sometimes it can completely overwhelm you with beauty and wonder.
But here I am, back and breathing again . . . and in all that rush and jumble, I was able to see Fall spread over the high Colorado mountains like Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors. When we first began the camping trip the bulk of the color was on ridges above us a few hundred feet. Day by day that ribbon of gold and red crept down the slope, progressing with each cold night, and by the 3rd and 4th day we were surrounded in a place that one could only describe as magical.
We’ve been going to Silverjack since I was 2. It was the place that first convinced me that magic existed; and this year, in all the frustration I’ve had with what I do and where I’m at….it reminded me that not only does magic exist…but sometimes it can completely overwhelm you with beauty and wonder.
9.17.2007
The Garage Sale
So, I’m sure at this point many of you are wondering how the garage sale went. Well, it went fairly well, for a while, then it went not-so-well at all. Here’s the sequence of events:
Friday Afternoon: I call my mom to verify that she and C (my sister) are coming up for the night to help me finish tagging everything that’s piled high in the living room. Mom says that they’ll come up that night, but she has other stuff to wrap up, so it will be a little later in the evening. I conclude that I will be finishing the tagging myself.
I then go out and hang up about 30 bright pink ‘garage sale’ signs I have made around town.
Friday Evening: I tag a bunch of items, bring up a few more things from the basement. Mom and C show up around 8:00 pm, when I’m ready to sit down and veg for a while. I order pizza, we all eat and watch TV. Mom falls asleep on the sofa, C starts drifting off to sleep in the chair – I send everyone to bed and clean up the kitchen.
Saturday Morning: Up at 5:30, shower and dress, wake C and mom up at 6 – we have coffee and begin to take everything outside. 6:45am first customer shows up.
Saturday Morning: 7:00 C leaves. She has paperwork to fill out back at my parents’ house and can’t stay. Fine with me, mom and I wave goodbye, refill our coffee and prepare to have a nice chatty morning on the driveway. Customers are scouting out the place and I’ve already made around $20.
Saturday Morning 7:30: Phone call from C, her car has overheated on the freeway and apparently exploded. Smoke billowing from engine compartment, oil covering everything. She is not happy. Mom calls a tow truck.
Saturday Morning 7:45: Call C to find out exit number so tow truck can come get her. Get head bitten off as she yells hysterically that she’s handling the situation. Promptly get call from Greg who is boarding a plane in California asking why the hell C is calling him for help with the car and can I please take care of this? Garage sale customers are coming and going, I’m up to around $30.
Saturday Morning 8:00: Mom leaves to go pick up C off the freeway and take her back to their house (1 ½ hours away) so she can fill out the paperwork, and then, much like MacArthur swearing to his troops he’ll return….my mother says much the same thing. I go and get a book.
Saturday Morning 8:15-10: Meet many lovely people all-too-willing to purchase my stuff. Having a pretty good haul, even met a nice lady who does housekeeping – may hire her to do my house. Get scattered phone calls from Mom and C….tow truck will be coming in a while, C at home safe and sound, paperwork filled out.
Saturday Morning 10:00: A Frederick Community Services truck pulls up to my front yard and a lady in uniform steps out holding one of my signs like a dead fish. She announces that she has pulled down all but one of my garage sale signs from around town, as it is apparently unlawful to hang signs on public property. . . BUT I can go back around and ask property owners if I can re-establish my signs on their lawns. I decline, she takes my signs and drive off.
Saturday Morning 10:15: Business slumps dramatically. The sun has warmed things up a bit, I continue to sit out with the stuff, fall asleep in my chair.
Saturday 12:00: Get a phone call from Greg, he’s wondering why he just saw my mother on the side of the freeway on his way home from the airport. I call mom – she’s waiting for the tow truck.
Saturday 12:30: Greg gets home, sees the stuff in the driveway, promptly reclaims 5 items and I am given a long speech about how big stereo speakers never depreciate in value. Mom calls, tow truck is there, she will meet us for lunch.
Saturday 1:00: Greg and I break down the garage sale and head off to a Chinese restaurant where mom meets us a half hour later. We celebrate the success of selling off junk and the fact that Greg is home. My total takings for the day is about $117….for 3 hours of work and a nap I guess I can’t complain.
Conclusion: All in all, it was something of a success. I feel really good about it anyways, and I’m still getting craigslist users asking me if I still have this or that item for sale. Regardless of the rather sad sign situation…I have a cleaner basement and a less-cluttered home. I can live with that. C’s car is in the shop having been safely towed….looks like she blew a timing belt and aside from an elevation in blood pressure, she’s fine too. Next weekend I’m sitting back and drinking some beer.
Friday Afternoon: I call my mom to verify that she and C (my sister) are coming up for the night to help me finish tagging everything that’s piled high in the living room. Mom says that they’ll come up that night, but she has other stuff to wrap up, so it will be a little later in the evening. I conclude that I will be finishing the tagging myself.
I then go out and hang up about 30 bright pink ‘garage sale’ signs I have made around town.
Friday Evening: I tag a bunch of items, bring up a few more things from the basement. Mom and C show up around 8:00 pm, when I’m ready to sit down and veg for a while. I order pizza, we all eat and watch TV. Mom falls asleep on the sofa, C starts drifting off to sleep in the chair – I send everyone to bed and clean up the kitchen.
Saturday Morning: Up at 5:30, shower and dress, wake C and mom up at 6 – we have coffee and begin to take everything outside. 6:45am first customer shows up.
Saturday Morning: 7:00 C leaves. She has paperwork to fill out back at my parents’ house and can’t stay. Fine with me, mom and I wave goodbye, refill our coffee and prepare to have a nice chatty morning on the driveway. Customers are scouting out the place and I’ve already made around $20.
Saturday Morning 7:30: Phone call from C, her car has overheated on the freeway and apparently exploded. Smoke billowing from engine compartment, oil covering everything. She is not happy. Mom calls a tow truck.
Saturday Morning 7:45: Call C to find out exit number so tow truck can come get her. Get head bitten off as she yells hysterically that she’s handling the situation. Promptly get call from Greg who is boarding a plane in California asking why the hell C is calling him for help with the car and can I please take care of this? Garage sale customers are coming and going, I’m up to around $30.
Saturday Morning 8:00: Mom leaves to go pick up C off the freeway and take her back to their house (1 ½ hours away) so she can fill out the paperwork, and then, much like MacArthur swearing to his troops he’ll return….my mother says much the same thing. I go and get a book.
Saturday Morning 8:15-10: Meet many lovely people all-too-willing to purchase my stuff. Having a pretty good haul, even met a nice lady who does housekeeping – may hire her to do my house. Get scattered phone calls from Mom and C….tow truck will be coming in a while, C at home safe and sound, paperwork filled out.
Saturday Morning 10:00: A Frederick Community Services truck pulls up to my front yard and a lady in uniform steps out holding one of my signs like a dead fish. She announces that she has pulled down all but one of my garage sale signs from around town, as it is apparently unlawful to hang signs on public property. . . BUT I can go back around and ask property owners if I can re-establish my signs on their lawns. I decline, she takes my signs and drive off.
Saturday Morning 10:15: Business slumps dramatically. The sun has warmed things up a bit, I continue to sit out with the stuff, fall asleep in my chair.
Saturday 12:00: Get a phone call from Greg, he’s wondering why he just saw my mother on the side of the freeway on his way home from the airport. I call mom – she’s waiting for the tow truck.
Saturday 12:30: Greg gets home, sees the stuff in the driveway, promptly reclaims 5 items and I am given a long speech about how big stereo speakers never depreciate in value. Mom calls, tow truck is there, she will meet us for lunch.
Saturday 1:00: Greg and I break down the garage sale and head off to a Chinese restaurant where mom meets us a half hour later. We celebrate the success of selling off junk and the fact that Greg is home. My total takings for the day is about $117….for 3 hours of work and a nap I guess I can’t complain.
Conclusion: All in all, it was something of a success. I feel really good about it anyways, and I’m still getting craigslist users asking me if I still have this or that item for sale. Regardless of the rather sad sign situation…I have a cleaner basement and a less-cluttered home. I can live with that. C’s car is in the shop having been safely towed….looks like she blew a timing belt and aside from an elevation in blood pressure, she’s fine too. Next weekend I’m sitting back and drinking some beer.
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