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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. 
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| This is great, it's Monday, just going on noon, and I'm in here writing my journal entry already. I also posted my weekly goal and just finished lunch. What a change from two weeks ago, a very welcome and much needed change. Normally, Monday would be my last day at work, and a twelve hour or more day. That's the time on site, but if you figure in that I would have been up around three getting ready for work, on site by five, and not home until six or later in the evening, you can see how tiring of a day it was. But, that was the summer schedule and now we have moved on to the fall schedule and I like this much better. I started this schedule last week, but Saturday ended up still being over twelve hours instead of six or seven as scheduled. Also, we were trying to get everything packed up for a camping trip last Monday, and then I took Rhonda to work and ran around town getting the last minute shopping done, fueling up, and finishing getting things ready to head out to the state park when Rhonda got off work. So, this is kind of my first Monday off, and at home. I spent some time with Rhonda before she left for work, then fixed myself a light lunch, and now I'm in here getting a few things done. Soon, I will be out on the patio enjoying an afternoon cup of coffee and some sunshine, while I work with Hannah. Hannah is my dog, a Labradinger (Labrador Springer mix) whom we rescued from the pound last December. She is a two year old female that was not quite what the breeder had hoped for in the mix, and unsellable as a hunting dog, so she ended up in the pound as a young puppy. She was adopted a few times, but she is a very high energy dog of medium size, and needs a lot of attention. Also, she had no training as a young puppy, so she really didn't know how to act in a home setting. Unfortunately that resulted in her being returned to the pound time and again. We didn't know this history when I first seen her, but she and I seemed to hit it off from the start, and I paid the fees and brought her home. I was informed that she had never been outside of a pen except for one time when she broke out of the pen she was in, and she had never been taught anything. It looked like I would have my hands full. I also learned her sad history of being returned anytime she got into any trouble. The pound has a short return time, and will refund the fees if the animal is returned withing the time frame. So, she would get adopted, misbehave, and returned right away in order to get the fee refunded. This resulted in her having a very serious complex. She learns very fast, and tries hard to please, she just did not have any training. So, when we brought her home, she did not know how to interact with us, she did not know how to play with toys or our other dog, and she would actually tremble and shake if she was scolded. Of course, being an animal, there was no way to relate to her the fact that getting scolded or yelled at did not mean she would lose her home, again. In fact, her past history had taught her that very harsh reality, get in trouble and get returned. This resulted in a difficult situation, but one I tried my best to deal with in a positive manner. I used praise and rewards to teach her as best as I could, and did my best to refrain from scolding and yelling at her. I needed to give her time to relearn how life was. But, there are always those times that scolding needs to be done. At first, she was certain her family was going to vanish and she would be back in the pound, but over time she has come to understand that this is not the case any longer. Now, she finally knows this is her home and iven if she misbehaves, gets yelled at or scolded, she will still be here with her family, and she will still be loved. This, however, has lead to a new situation. Since her greatest fear was being returned, there was never any reason for any type of discipline, other than scolding her. But, now that she knows scolding will not end the life she has come to love, there is no power in scolding her. Luckily, she is a very smart dog, and she is very eager to please me. Even so, she has started to go outside her yard, not listen when called, and a few other unwanted activities. Nothing real serious, but things that need to be addressed and corrected no before they become serious. Since I now have more time, and she is no longer terrorized by thoughts of being returned to the pound, the time has come to start working with her on a regular basis. It has become time for her and I to spend more time interaction together, and to train one another for the relationship we both need. I spent some time this morning organizing some training aids, and have started being less tolerant of her misbehaving. this afternoon, we will spend some time walking together on a leash without my arm getting pulled from it's socket, some basic commands she already knows, and just some behavior modifications. In time we will work on some fun tricks for her to do, and more enjoyable lessons, too. I still plan on using rewards and praise as much as possible, since I find these to be the greatest training aids available, but I will also have to start administering more discipline and scolding when it's required. She is a fast learner, and so very eager to please, so this should be an enjoyable time for both of us. I, on the other hand, tend to be a bit slower and more difficult to learn and train, so this will also give me the opportunity to try and understand her better, and to work on our intercommunication. As much as she needs to learn to be obedient and well behaved, I need to learn to understand her wants and needs, so that I can fulfill them in return. |
| Sunday comes to an end, and now my weekend. I know, Sunday signifies the end of the weekend and Monday is back to work day. For most, but not for me. I guess I'm just a little odd; the eccentric uncle I've been told. Just wish it was the rich, eccentric uncle. As I was saying, for most people, Saturday and Sunday are the weekend, and for most applications, Saturday is the end of the week, and Sunday is the beginning of the next week. It is the same for the company I work for, but as far as my work, Sunday is the end of my work week, and Monday is the beginning of my time off. In fact, Saturday is the busiest day for us, and Sunday often is a close second. So, I'm now up for some down time, and looking forward to it. The last few weeks have been fun times during our time off, but not restful in the sense of taking it easy. Sure, camping was fun, it was relaxing, but it was also a lot of work to prepare, set up, take down, and return home. It would be awesome to be able to take a week, or even better, two for camping. Maybe someday, but for now we squeeze it in when we have time off, usually in a tow or three day stretch. Relaxing and refreshing, and something we both really needed, but now it's time to just take a few days and vegitate. I'm looking forward to not having to do anything, and time to do what I want to do. |
| Made it through Saturday, and the end of the week. Of course, I still have to work tomorrow, but at least it's a short day. I set a goal on Monday before heading out the door, and it's gone pretty well. I had to run around town for a while to find a few things for our camping trip, and was a bit discouraged while looking for some lawn chairs. There wasn't much for selection, since most stores had removed most of the summer items already, but I did eventually find a couple of nice chairs. They were the last two in this style, a folding rocker. That's right, folding lawn chairs that rock. They are also extra wide, and very comfortable. We headed out camping right after Rhonda got out of work, set up and had a great night. It was late, however, by the time we had the tent set up, the mattress aired up, and the camp arranged. We got a fire going but didn't have time to cook the steaks, as I had planned for the night, a surprise for Rhonda. Instead, we heated up some baked beans and cooked hotdogs over the fire. It was a beautiful full moon, and it was even more beautiful watching it rise up out of the lake through the trees. We enjoyed the fire and the peace and quiet until quite late. Again, it started out a bit frustrating as we set out to cook our supper, but it ended up a very wonderful night. The frustration came from some other campers that were a couple of sites over from us. They continued to argue and fight for quite some time. But, when I accidentally hit the locator button on the key remote it started the van honking and flashing it's lights, and for a long time after I shut it down, it was quiet. Eventually they started up again, but now they were just talking and not fighting. They were still plenty loud, but that didn't bother us like the arguing and fighting had. Also, they turned in for bed quite early, and after that it was nice and quiet. Tuesday morning we woke around nine, and it was quite chilly out. We had stayed nice and snug in the tent, tucked into our sleeping bags. We have matching bags, and they zip together to form one double sized sleeping bag we can both fit into, so we snuggled up and stayed nice and cozy. Upon waking, we realized that a heavy fog and mist had moved in during the night, and everything was a bit damp. But, it had stopped misting and we were able to make a pot of coffee and enjoy the morning. Soon, however, the wind picked up some, and it added a deeper chill to the air. We had brought warm clothing along, and it was sure needed on Tuesday. We took our coffee and went back into the tent to sit on the couch and enjoy it while we listened to the radio. The "couch" is our bed as well, and a very nice set up we had stumbled on last year, but had not gotten a chance to use yet. It's an air bed, but it also has the ability to fold into an inflated couch. We sat snuggled listening to the radio, and the forecast was much the same, cloudy with afternoon showers likely, then colder into the night and Wednesday. Since it was likely to rain, we decided to have the steaks for dinner instead of later, and set about cooking them. They turned out great, and we enjoyed a nice dinner by the lake, looking out at the fog rolling in. After, we cleaned up our dishes and put things away, then discussed some hiking. Again, we took some coffee inside the tent and enjoyed it while we listened to the radio, and an updated forecast. It was now predicting rain all afternoon, night, and all day Wednesday. The rain would stop by Wednesday evening, but the temperature would fall near freezing by nightfall, and there were now frost warnings out. Shortly after, the rain started, so we cancelled the hiking and snuggled up in the tent for a short afternoon nap. The rain continued all afternoon, and the wind also picked up, making it difficult to do much of anything. It was hitting near gale force and the tent was taking a beating, so we dropped it down and moved it over by some trees and brush for more shelter. We both got pretty wet setting back up, but we had it out of the worst of the wind, and with a couple supporting guidelines attached, we had it sturdy and secure. But, the wind shifted later in the afternoon, and once again the tent was swaying under the pressure. We had also gotten another updated forecast, and the rain was now mixed with thunderstorms and powerful wind gusts. We discussed our options, and decided that we would not be able to do much of anything with the weather, including cooking supper. Since we only had one more night reserved, we decided to pack up and head home. We had just enough time to get most of the items stowed in the van before it got dark, and with the headlights illuminating our campsite we took the tent down and packed it up. A couple hours later we were home. We left most of the damp stuff in the van overnight, and took care of cleaning and drying everything Wednesday. Thursday it was back to work and back to the task I set for my goal, of logging into WDC daily, writing in my journal, and just spending more time in here. I did pretty good, but ended up missing yesterday. It was just one of them days, but I'm back in today, and still on track. |
| It's been a long time since I have been in here. I won't go into details as to why I haven't been active in logging in here, or keeping up with my journal, but time is the foundation of the problem. Now, work hours have been reduced, and I have a bit more time; it's time to get back to writing in here, and being more active in WDC in general. The biggest problem now is getting back into the swing of things, and trying to find out where the best place is to start. It's a task I look forward to. For now, however, it's getting on to my bedtime. Yes, it's only ten at night, but I have to be up at three in the morning, so not much time. I did, however, get this short entry in, and that's a start. |
| It's been just over a week since I made an entry, so I thought I should get something in here. Not much tonight, too tired, but enough to let anyone who's been following my journal know what's the deal here. See, I've been doing awesome at getting an entry in every day. Sure, some days it's after midnight before I get in here, but I still made the entry for the day. Also, I was doing my writing on a site called 750 Words, which tracks everything. I was at one hundred and ninety days of logging without missing, and had completed at least seven hundred and fifty words each day. Yep, I was doing great. But, things happen and sometimes we just have to deal with it. That's the case with me and my daily entries. Not that I can blame anyone other than myself, but it's still a big downer -- man! See, we have been working on a patio project on our days off, and I have been putting in some very long days at work. So, I get behind on some things, and it's been tough trying to get caught back up. But, I was managing, keeping myself afloat with all the things pressing in for time. Then, I got a bit sick. A sinus infection of some kind, that also spread to my throat. Then, it got into my chest, and for a while I thought I may end up going in to the hospital. But, it would improve a bit, then get worse then improve again. Until a little over a week ago when it hit real hard. It really wiped me out, and by the time I came up on my three days off, I was exhausted. But, being stubborn, I wanted to get some work done on the patio and did not take tie to rest like I should have. This really wiped me out, and I forgot to send the telephone/internet payment. I went to log in and I could not connect. At first ai didn't know why, then Rhonda asked if I had paid the bill. Nope. Like I said, my own fault. But, here's the deal. I live in a real small town. We do not have any choice in internet access except for the local phone company. They not only bill high for the service, but we are also limited on speed. My high speed internet is barely enough to stream Netflix. Anyway, on top of being expensive, limited speed, and loss of service at times, the service is tied to the phone service. In other words, I have to keep phone service to get internet service. This means I pay around ninety bucks a month for internet access and local calling Also, the phone company likes to collect their money as quickly as possible, so they don't give much of a grace period on our bill. It's due by the twentieth of the month, and if it's not received in two weeks, our service is turned off. Yes, you read that right, we get until the first Thursday of the following month to pay or service is disconnected for everything. That means we get right around two weeks to pay the current bill, or no service. And, that's just what happened. I forgot to send it, and they shut down my phone and as a result I also lost internet. Being sick, I just did not have the gumption to get going again after losing my count in 750 Words, and missing some entries here. It's frustrating to say the least. But, with no other options, I'm stuck with the service I have, and I have two weeks to pay up or it's going to interrupt everything and cost me even more. So, I may just wait before I start 750 Words over again. We supply double coverage through Labor Day weekend, then I should have ore time, and that may be the time to restart my count. |
| Doing this a little bit different tonight, but still getting my entry in for the day. I finished up the privacy panels, but now I have another idea I want to try for one of the entrances, so I guess I'll be working on it some more tomorrow. This one is just a small panel that will hook into place when wanted, and get stowed away when not in use. I still need to get the grass cut, and Rhonda is not even half way done painting the fence yet. We slept in this morning so no early start for us today. We did get up in time to enjoy the cool morning on the patio with coffee then went in for lunch and a Bible study, We did not get started on our projects until early afternoon, and I had to do some repair work in the garage on my work bench before I even started on the fence. But, we have it very close to finished, and then made a trip into town to pick up a few items we need, and to have a nice dinner. We stopped by Runnings first since they close earlier, and then over to Menards after. We got everything on our list, but I did forget to put a few items on the list, so I still need to pick up some of the stuff I need for my privacy panel idea. I have everything I need for the panel, but not the stuff I need to hang it. The idea is to use a piece of the privacy lattice I have left over. It's too small to fill the opening into the back yard, but only by about twelve inches. So, the idea I had is to frame it in with some one inch by four inch pine boards, letting about three inches stick out on each side, making the panel only about six inches to narrow to fit the opening. That will come out to about three inches on each side, or just a bit less. Then, to put the panel up, I want to instal a rod on each side on top, and put hooks on the regular fence, to hang the panel from. It will fill in the opening almost complete, and come down when it's not needed, or if we need to use the entrance. Also, it will leave ample room under it to allow the dogs to come and go as they like. The one in the front does not, but it does not fit right up to the house, so they can get around it. In time, I want to put a panel on the side of the house that it will match up to. This one is on hinges, and can be set into place for privacy or left open and latched out of the way. Rhonda already tried out the privacy panels today, even if it wasn't sunny enough to sunbath. That's a big part of why we put them up, so she can sunbath in comfort without every person in town driving by and gawking at her. She also would like to be able to eliminate some tan lines, but that is impossible around here. Being farm country, there is not any privacy anyplace it seems. Of course, we could go to the lake, but between the algae and the seagulls, that's not the nicest this time of year. So, she likes to sunbath out on the patio, but around here, everyone seems to think this requires a lot of drive by attention. I guess farmers and their wives don't sunbath outside. I know they sure like the tanning booths however. Anyway, it was kind of cloudy today, but hot and humid. Rhonda was painting the inside of the fence, so plenty of privacy except in the openings going to the front and back yard. We closed off the front, and she was not anywhere close to the opening in back, so off came the top. I was in the garage and happen to look out and seen this very beautiful brunette painting away in short-shorts and topless. I just had to stop and admire the view for a few minutes. After a couple of minutes I came back to my senses and ran inside the house and grabbed my cell phone and snapped a couple of very nice photographs of her painting away. Now, back to what makes this entry different tonight. We returned from shopping and set up the patio for a fire, and I'm sitting out with a fire popping and crackling, enjoying a beverage on the patio as I type. And now, this entry is long enough to meet the requirements of 750 Words, so I'm off to enjoy the evening... |
| It got a lot later on me than I anticipated, but here I am getting my daily journal entry done. It's nine thirty South Dakota time and I'm just getting in here. For that matter, I just got in the house a short while ago. We went out around eleven and started working on stuff, and I just got back in around nine. I did get the last two panels up for the privacy fence, but I still have to brace one up to the garage, and then I'll have to cut and trim them both. Rhonda worked on painting the privacy fence and got about one third of the fence done that's on the retaining wall. Of course, that's one third of one side. Now, with the last two panels up, I can maybe get in there and help her paint some, but it's a slow process to paint the small openings in the privacy lattice. Of course, she would have gotten a little further if I had not had her stop numerous times to give me a hand. We did not get anything done with the pond yet, but hopefully we can get that dug out and in place tomorrow. We have the fountain and pump, everything we need get the fountain up and running once the pond is in place. The hole is already dug from the last pond we had, but it's in the wrong place and it's the wrong shape. Even so, it will give us a good start on digging out an area to sink the pond into the ground. It should save a lot of digging. I may have to run into town and get some sand or pea gravel to finish back filling around the pond once we get it in place, but there are a few other things we need to get too, so it may all work out great. I may work on digging it in while Rhonda continues her painting. As well as being late getting inside the house, and late getting in here to write, we are also late with dinner. It's likely the problem that's causing my real bad headache. It's cooking while I type, and soon we will have a gourmet meal of pasta with a cheese sauce and hot ham sandwiches. I think we even have some red wine to wash it all down. After we eat, we are going to have a fire and relax out on the patio for a while. I have a lot of wood scraps from working on the fence earlier today, and it's a nice way to get them used up. The dried pine smells nice when it burns, and it cracks and pops a lot. It should make a nice fire for the evening. Then it's off to bed, get up at a relatively early hour tomorrow, and try and get this all finished up. We still have to mow and we want to set the tent up, too. There wasn't time today, and it would be best to mow first anyway. Also, the forecast had a higher chance of rain than tomorrow did. Of course, I haven't had a computer even turned on yet today, so I have no idea what the new forecast is saying. I will open up my weather site when I get done in here, and take a look to see how the weather is suppose to go. I'm hoping it's not anything different than before, and if it did change, that it's for a less of a chance of rain tomorrow that before. But, one never knows how the weather is going to go. At least, not around here. It changes consistently, and constantly, and I've also noticed that each weather site has a different forecast. For example, one of the sites I use is Accuweather, and another is the National Weather Service. My netbook has yet another weather application, and it's based on a third site's forecasting. I can check all three, and they will all be quite different from each other. I would think that they would be close, not the exact same, but close if they were at all accurate. I mean, if one site has an accurate method of forecasting the weather, and the other sits want to compete, they would also find good sources to base their forecast on. Therefore, they should all be close to each other in temperature, rainfall, cloudy or clear, as well as wind direction, speed, and what the humidity is going to be. Again, they would not be the same, but they should all be close to what the weather is actually going to do, and therefore, they should all be pretty close to the same forecast. But they are not. They differ a lot, and in many things. One will say sunshine, the next will say partly cloudy, and the third will forecast rain. They may all have the wind our of the same general direction, but they all have different speeds and if it will be gusting or not. Everything differs a lot, except for the time the sun rises and sets. And, unfortunately, they all take turns on who's going to have the closest forecast. If this wasn't the case, I would just stick with the one that tends to be closest most of the time. But it's like they take turns on who gets to have the closest forecast, so there is no one site better than the rest. Also, when the forecast changes, the one that was the closes may now be the worst. It just does not make any sense, and it's down right frustrating at times. I look to see what the weather will do so we can plan for the day, and then three hours later, it all changes anyway. Crazy, isn't it. So, we compare forecasts and try and get an average out of the three, and then hope like hell that it's at least close. Finally, we look outside and go from there. |
| Time for me to get to bed, but first I have to finish this journal entry. I have three days off coming up, and I want to get a good night sleep so i can get started on the right foot. I picked up the pond liner we looked at a year ago and want to get the thing installed, get the pump and fountain in, and finish up the privacy fence before I have to go back to work. I also have a bunch of stuff to do for work, reports, flow sheets, and schedules. It's going to be a busy three days off, and there's a pretty good chance of rain in the forecast the last I looked. Rhonda wants to get the privacy fence painted, but if it's rainy that will have to get put off until another day. Most of it is up, but I do have a couple panels that need to go up along side the garage. These are going to be kind of tricky since the garage is leaning pretty good, and nothing is going to be square at all. But, we will figure out something to make it work, and then when that's done, we have the pond to put in. Of course, it may not go in that order. We also have to get the lawn mowed again, and half of it did not get finished last week, so it's going to be slow going. Also, Rhonda and I are both still sick, but feeling better. Yesterday was better today, but I think that's because of so little sleep last night. I got about four hours of sleep before going in this morning and working eleven hours straight through. I was scheduled for twelve but it was slow enough I was able to leave a bit early. Since I was done early, I picked up the pond liner, a canvas tarp to go over the air mattress, and a few groceries. Then it was home for me, let the dogs out, and start getting things ready for dinner. We needed to get the tarp to put over the air mattress so that it does not get punctured if or when the dogs jump up on it. We were not sure what to use, and then I seen heavy cotton tarps for painting at work one day, and thought they would work good. They are strong, light, and soft. We can put the canvass over the mattress, then put the sheets and blankets over that. It should be comfortable, and durable. Hannah has such fast growing and sharp claws, and she loves to jump up on the bed with us. I have a feeling she would shred the material the mattress is made out of in no time, but with a canvas tarp over it, she won't do any damage. Well, at least not to the bed; I'm always full of her scratch marks. She just loves to snuggle and touch, but her claws leave scratches with the slightest pressure. Of course, it's not her fault, and one day we will find a way to keep them trimmed and rounded. Until then, I cannot deprive her of the one thing she has longed for all the time she was locked in the pound, the ability to snuggle up and cuddle her family. It's just a good thing she is a smaller sized dog, about medium build, and not a Saint Bernard or something. So now, where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about our projects for the three days off this week. We want to finish up the privacy fence, and maybe get it painted if the weather permits, we want to put the pond liner in and get that all back filled, and we want to set up the tent. It has not been used in a couple of years, so we want to set it up and check it out good before we go out camping. In fact, we want to set it up and check out all our camping equipment and supplies. We may very likely "camp out" right in the back yard just to see how Hannah does in the tent overnight. Again, it's up to the weather and there is rain in the forecast. Luckily, they are usually wrong, and it changes daily. We also have to mow grass and I have quite a bit of work to do for work, from home. So, this is going to be a busy three days off, but it should be fun, as well. Rhonda and I enjoy doing these kind of projects together, and its so rewarding to enjoy them after putting in the work. So, for now, it's time for us to retire to bed, get a good night sleep and a full night sleep, then well see what the weather brings. |
| The end of the weekend, and we know what that means. No, it does not mean we return to work tomorrow. Well, for most people it means return to work tomorrow, but not for everyone. For us it means one more day of work tomorrow, then three days off. Sunday is also a shorter day for us, and a chance to get rested up a bit after Saturday. Of course, it also means that we have to get up super early again on Monday, but that's just the way it is. See, we return to work on Friday, and for now it's a short day. Rhonda and I go in together and work together from eleven to five, then come home together. Saturday I have to be there by ten minutes to five, and work until five that night, possibly longer if needed. Rhonda comes in at ten minutes to ten and works until nine thirty at night. So Saturday is one of the longest days for us while double coverage is on. Sunday is a repeat, but I don't have to be there until ten to eight, and Rhonda comes in at ten to eleven and works until eight thirty. Then, Monday I have to be there by ten to five in the morning again, work until five in the afternoon, or a bit later if needed. Usually Mondays are a bit slower, and I can get out an hour early, but only if it's slow enough. Rhonda works from ten to eleven until five in the afternoon. Then, it's three days off. Again, this is our summer schedule during double coverage, and it will change some this fall. But for now we put in a long weekend and then get three days off during the week. Up until now, we haven't really done anything with our time off other than yard work and building projects like the patio and privacy fence. We hope to finish that up during our three days off this week, including getting the pond in, but if we don't get it all done, it will have to wait until we get another chance. I say that because we love to camp out and go fishing, but have not had the opportunity to do much of this in the last couple years. We also enjoy riding bicycle, and have made some awesome trips around this area, but again, we have not ridden much since two summers ago. So, before the weather turns too cold, we want to get out and do some fishing, camping, and riding. The riding will have to go slow, as we get used to riding again, and the fishing we can do as time allows. But camping is the one item I really want to get out and enjoy again. So, while we work on things during our three days off, I also want to set up our camping gear and go through it all. We have a new dog now, and she has never gone out camping, and this will also give us a chance to see how she does with it. So, again, we want to work on the privacy fence and get that finished up, if weather permits, work on the pond if time allows, and set up our camping stuff and camp out in the yard one night to see how every thing is, and to see how Hannah does. Then, we can get anything we need to replace or repair our gear, and in two weeks, it's off to a campground and a nice get-a-way from everything. In fact, it may be how we spend the rest of our summer, trying to get a couple days in camping. There is no way to know how it will work out, but I would enjoy making the most out of the rest of the summer and early fall, camping as much as is possible before it turns too cold. For now, we are just trying to get things going and we will likely camp at a close to home campground for the first time. Well, after our camp at home try out this week. Again, it's up to the weather, and there is rain forecast for the entire three days we are off. That changes daily, so for now, it's looking like about a twenty to thirty percent chance of rain, but until the day arrives, it can change a lot. No matter what the weather does, though, we are going to get some of the work done I mentioned, and we will enjoy our three days off together. If nothing else, we will step outside and dance on the patio in the rain... |
| Saturday comes to a close and what a day it has been. I suppose the day itself isn't so much the issue, as how it passed for me. I was up about three fifteen this morning, and moving slow. I had taken some cold medication last night before bed, and it really knocked me out. The label indicates two tablets every six hours, and I only had five hours before the alarm went off, but I figured it would have been pretty well out of my system by then. But, it was still working well after five hours, and I had this cloud around me I could not break out of. I did get ready and off on time, and even got to drive the van and go to work in style instead of in my old GMC Jimmy. But, I could have just as well been in a goat cart for as much as I was aware of anything. I was still very drowsy from the medication, but I managed to drive fine, just so out of it. I watched close for deer, and kept it cool, so being tired would not create a risk of falling asleep. But that wasn't the case, either. I didn't have any problems staying awake, I was just completely out of it. I must have only driven about fifty mile per hour for as long as it took me to drive in. I got clocked in and opened with no problems, and luckily it was just dead at work, because I was still stuck in that cloud and struggling to get through my morning routine. It started to get busy around six thirty, and I was just starting to come out of the fog then. I know it was the medication, and it took eight hours to wear off, not six. Oh well, you live and learn, right? So, tonight I will make sure I have at least eight hours before taking any medications for the night. Only if I don't get this done soon, I'm going to run short on time, but if I take it now, I doubt I will be writing anything that makes any sense at all in just a few minutes. It's kind of crazy how wiped out some of the over the counter cold medications can make a person. Anyway, my day. It started to get busy around six thirty, an hour sooner than normal, and it stayed pretty busy all morning. It would die out a bit, but only for a little while, then it would pick back up again. It seemed like everyone was out to make an early start, and then it just kind of crapped out for the rest of the day. I can't say it got slow, it did at times, but then a group of guests would come through and we would be hopping for a little while before it would taper down to almost no one at all. Rhonda said if it did not pick up by three, I should leave early, since I'm not feeling well. Of course, it was pretty dead by then, and only a few guests here and there. But, just about three o'clock another rush hit and we were pretty busy for at least a half hour. Then it slowed, but picked up again around four. This group was smaller orders and went pretty fast, but it just continued to bounce up and down until about five. Then it slowed back down and I was able to get off work by quarter after five. Kind of funny since it was only going on two when we discussed me leaving if it did not get any busier by three. Almost as if someone heard and planned to hit us with the heavy traffic at three and hold it till five, my regular time to clock out. The heat made it even worse, although I don't know how hot it actually got. The humidity was forecast to only hit into the forty percent range, but it was plenty muggy at work this afternoon. Being sick made it worse, and for some odd reason, I could not stay out of the hot sun. I would have one guest pull up under the overhang, and another would pull up to exit. Since I was taking the first persons information down, Rhonda would go out to check the one leaving. By the time I finished, another would pull up to the exit side, but behind the first, so out in the sun, on the hot blacktop. This seemed to be the norm for me, sometimes two or three would pile up out there and traffic would hang until I finally finished the last guest, then the line would move again. Normally I wouldn't mind it, but today the heat out there was making me feel even sicker, and twice I felt like I was going to actually get nauseous from the heat and sun. Of course, it would slow down some again and I would get a rest out of the sunshine and feel a little better, only to have to repeat the whole scene a little while later. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. I had more trouble trying to stay awake on the drive home than the drive in. Once I got home, I made a sandwich for my dinner, then took a nap and slept until about nine thirty this evening. That's why it's so late getting this entry in, and why I'm running behind on my bedtime. |
| Kind of a slow day today for a change, and it was nice. Usually Fridays start out slow, but by noon we are both pretty busy, today, however, it never did get real busy, and was as whole, pretty mellow all day. That was good, since neither Rhonda or I are feeling very good. I'm getting better, but today was kind of a set back for my cold, or allergies or what ever it is I'm inflicted with. My throat is feeling better, but still a little sore, but my sinuses are stuffed up worse again, and my chest is more congested. I think it's mostly do to spending the day at the zoo yesterday, all the stuff that normally would bother my allergies is not making me suffer even worse as a result of the infection in my sinuses and stuff. It was a fair trade off to enjoy the day with children and grandchildren, but today would have been pretty miserable if it had been one of them busy and crazy Fridays we've had so many of. Rhonda had a slight sore throat, but it was better. Now, after yesterday, her's is getting worse, too. She could barely talk today, and was feeling pretty rough. But, having a slow day helped, and neither of us got run down and burned out today. I'm hopeful that we will both feel better by tomorrow. Even so, I didn't take any chances, and stopped after work and loaded up with some cold and flu medications that should help us sleep well, and relieve a lot of the symptoms tomorrow if we need to take something. And, I even made sure to get non-drowsy medications for work. On top of the medications, it's juices and plenty of fluids to keep things working right and speed up the recovery time, as well as some natural remedies, like Echinacea tea. I also seen a product that is suppose to relieve leg cramps and knotting. It's a natural type remedy, and I thought it may just help with my legs cramping at night, and maybe, just maybe, it would help alleviate the knots in my right leg. They have been a source of pain and suffering for a couple weeks now, and nothing seems to get them to go away. Rhonda rubs them down good, massages the knots out as best she can, but they just do not go away completely, and by the end of the day, or the next morning, they are back. It's quite painful to even have her massage them, and the pain is a steady ache with throbbing pulses at times that make it even worse. They have been messing me up with sleep and everything else for a couple of weeks now. I wasn't even sure how it would go at the zoo. I knew I would be putting a lot of time in on my feet, and I was prepared for the worst, but after about a half an hour, the pain let up and my leg did pretty good for the rest of the day. After we got home it started to ache a little, but so far it has not reached the level it was at. So, one thing is now known, when the pain comes and the knots form, I have to walk and they will fade out some. I know it's going to be difficult to do sometimes, but if it helps, I'll walk every day. The leg is still feeling better, but it's starting to hurt again, so I picked up a bottle of these tablets and thought that maybe they just might help out, and I think once the knots and cramping are gone completely, I won't have any more trouble with them. At least, that's what I'm hoping for, and it sounds good. Now it's time to get this journal entry wrapped up, finish my tea, and hit the bed; slip between the sheets and sleep, as someone once said. I have to be up at three in the morning and pull a twelve hour shift, so rest is much needed. Rhonda and I both have a long day ahead, so hopefully we get a good night sleep, and feel better by tomorrow. I'm also hoping that it will be a bit more mellow than a normal Saturday, and if today was any indication, it just may be. I could handle a nice calm and relaxing weekend, and I know Rhonda could, too. So, seven hundred and fifty words plus for this entry, and I'm doing good, now it's seven hundred and fifty or more z's for me and my lady. |
| Still Thursday, July 31 in South Dakota And Thursday comes crashing to an abrupt end -- all most, there are still eight minutes left by my clock. In here, 750 words, there is still another hour left, and in WdC, it ended fifty seven minutes ago. In a way, then, I'm early enough, on time, and late all at the same time. Kind of fitting for the day I put in. Not that it was a bad day, but it was a full day, a tiring day, and a fun, exciting, and sad day. Today was a little bit of everything all wrapped up in one way to short, day. I seen in Facebook, a cousin posted a comment about someone slipping an extra day in this week. Of course, she works all through the week, and has the weekends off, so in her time frame it's seeming like the week is passing much to slow. But, since I work the weekends and am off Tuesday through Thursday, it seems just the opposite, someone stole a day out of the week and I'm short one. Of course, I explained this a bit different in a comment to her post, I just stated that if they are going to add an extra day to the week, it should be an extra day off. No reference to weekday or weekend, just an extra day off, so it fits all schedules. Part of the reason this three days zipped by so fast is because I was sicker than I care to think about for two days out of three. It started on Sunday, but it was pretty mild, just a bit of an irritated throat. It was a bit worse on Monday, but still not bad. I had hopes that it would be a minor nuisance and nothing more. But, it seemed to slowly get more and more sore as the day progressed. Then, a guest decided to just take off and I had to shout for him to stop, three times. That was more than my throat could handle, and the sore became painful and I also began to cough up small amounts of blood. After that, it just got worse, and by Monday night, a fever had also joined the fun. Tuesday was a day of fever, coughing, and a lot of pain in my throat and sinuses. They plugged up tight, my face swelled, and I was very miserable. I tried to do some little things I had my heart set on, but even though it was fun work, and not anything hard, I had to take a nap and a couple of rest breaks while doing them. I did get them pretty well done, just need to put some paint on and drill a hole to mount them, but it took everything I had left to finish the last one and then it was time to call it a day. It was still early enough, but I was shot. Wednesday was a little better; my throat was still sore, but not bad unless I coughed. I was still coughing up a lot of nasty stuff, but my sinuses had less pressure and my fever was down most of the day. My leg was aching a lot worse than it has for a while, but I thought it was because of the sickness I had contacted. I don't know if it was something I caught from someone, or if it was related to dust and allergens I was exposed to, or a combination of the two. It hit fast and it hit pretty hard, but it seems to be passing a bout as fast. By today, I was feeling a lot better, had more energy, and was able to put in a full day without any naps or down time. It was a good thing, too. We had company visiting today, including a whole herd of grandchildren. It seemed like it lot, but it was in fact only six of the energy filled little bundles of joy. We also had two daughters and their husbands, and one brother and his gal. Part of the day was spent at the zoo, and that was a lot of energy consumed. The kids were pretty good, but one little guy insisted on keeping grandma and grandpa running a calling him back. Of course, grandma did most of the extra running and yelling to him, since I have been almost crippled with pain in my right leg, and since I am finally able to talk again. Yes, she is a wonderful lady and takes very good care of me. Yes, I do understand how wonderful and awesome it is to have such a loving partner, and it is why we can spend our morning together having coffee and getting ready for work, put in a long day together at work, and look forward to coming home and enjoying each other all evening, then climb into bed and share a very passionate, loving interlude before falling asleep holding her in my arms. She is not only a wonderful wife, she is my best friend. So, she did a lot of extra running today, but not in a bad way, it was fun, and I enjoyed seeing the sparkle in her beautiful eyes as she enjoyed the day with children and especially grandchildren. After the zoo, it was off to the lake, to a park to enjoy cooking out and visiting. Here my brother came through for everyone, he brought his grill so we didn't have to use the dirty things at the park, and he did the cooking. The rest was kind of potluck style, and it was fun, but more running and getting pictures, as well as checking out the playground and the memorial. Then, as the sun set to the west, we drove home, just the two of us. It was nice sharing a beautiful sunset with my lover, my best friend, and my wife -- just the two of us. But, behind us was a car load of family coming to the house for a quick stop before heading on further south for the night. Only an hour more for them from our house, but it was still a long drive ahead, so they didn't stay long. Then, they were off and we were alone, again. They have a reunion for the husbands side of the family this weekend, so they will be busy and having fun. Rhonda and I will be working, and putting in some long hours, so it works well. Even so, it's always sad to see them leave. It's a bit funny, because we are not use to the kids, and they exhaust us fast. It's always nice to have things back to normal, and as I said, we share a wonderful relationship, so we enjoy our time together. But, we also get to missing kids and grandkids a lot. We haven't been able to visit them for a while, a couple years, so it's the one or two times a year they make it out here that we see them. This also makes it kind of sad to see them go, but hopefully this year, after the double coverage ends on Labor Day, we can take a couple days off and make a visit to their domain. Now, it's off to bed, to rest up for a long weekend and likely a busy one. I'm not back to one hundred percent and Rhonda has a sore throat tonight. I hope she is not catching what I had, and we both think it's just from hollering out to kids so much to day. But, if she is catching something, the best thing is to get her to bed. I know, she could just go off to bed while I type and write, right? No, she can't. She has tried, but she doesn't sleep. If I'm gone, like to work or something and she is home alone, she snuggle up and the dogs join her for a nice nap. But, if I'm home, she can't sleep and keeps getting up, wanting to stay up with me. So, the only other option is if I take the netbook to bed and try to write while she sleeps next to me. Maybe one day I'll master that, but for now, I find I can't concentrate well lying there beside her, wanting to hold her close and drift off to sleep with her in my arms. Kind of silly for a couple as old as us, I know, but I wouldn't change it for anything. So, for now, an end to a long but wonderful day. |
| Wow, the month of July is almost gone, and so is summer. It sure did go by fast, but with no spring, and just jumping right into summer had a lot to do with it. It's been a few years since we really had a spring, which makes the winter seem so much longer and the summer so much shorter. Rhonda and I just discussed this earlier today, how winter set in by October, and didn't end until June. That's eight months of winter, which only leaves four months for spring, summer, and fall. Of course, we did not get a spring, winter hung in there right up to June, and then it was summer. It was the same last fall, too. We went from summer into winter, or so it seemed. We had snow early, and wintery weather through most of the fall, Hopefully we get an extension on summer this year, and then a mild and pleasant fall, followed by a mild winter, one that's short and vanishes with an early spring. For those who have been following my journal entries, you know I've been sick the last few days. Today is better, but still not feeling one hundred percent. I'm still stuffed up, and I'm sweating like I'm in a sauna. I'm still feeling pretty run down, but not as tired as I was yesterday. I went to bed right after my journal entry last night, and didn't get up until ten this morning. I did wake up a lot during the night, about every hour, or so it seemed. I was feeling very warm when I went to bed, but soon enough I woke up chilled and shivering. It's hard to believe I had a quilt on last night for half the night. But, once the chills ended, I started feeling very warm and seating profusely. I still am sweating out all the bad stuff in my system, and with the least little activity the water just runs down my face and body. I don't remember sweating this hard working out. I know I have, but not often. Right now I'm doing my journal entry while I wait for Rhonda to get ready to give me a hand with the fence we put up last week. I want to level off a couple of the supports, and then rip some trim for the rest so it is ready to paint. I still need to find something to put on tip to finish it off, but it curves so wood will not work. I'm thinking on it, and have a few ideas, but want to look around and see if something doesn't give me more ideas to work with. I'm also hoping that I feel up to enjoying a fire later this evening, too. I wanted to have one last night, and even started getting things set up for one, but I just ran out of steam too soon. I don't think I would have been able to enjoy it, anyway. But, since I'm feeling quite a bit better today, I'm thinking I might just be up to sitting out and relaxing in the cool night air. Tomorrow we have family in the area for a short visit, and will spend the day at the zoo and at the park. Again, I hope I'm feeling even better and can be around everyone. I don't want to get anyone sick with this, if it is contagious. It may not be, since it came on the way it did. I wasn't really around anyone who was sick, and it hit hard and fast. I have some allergies that may be the cause of my infection, and it's very likely they started all of this. I can't be around cats, without breaking into a rash and having problems with my asthma, and birds also cause me a lot of harm. I like cats and birds, and I've learned the hard way that being too close to either of them can have a very disagreeable effect on my breathing, my skin, and my overall health. Even so, we had a cat come stay with us for a while, and since he had some major health issues, could not turn him aside. We fixed up a nice enclosed bed for him in the garage and set up the door so he could come and go as he wanted. He did great with that, and of course we let him in from time to time to eat and warm up when the weather was real cold. Last week, a lot of the work I was doing was done out in the garage, and that did have an unwelcome effect on me. Then, not thinking, I pulled the tarp down that we had put up to block out the wind, and a got a face full of nasty dust and again, it had an unwanted effect on me. At work last week, the seagulls returned to the store roof, in the hundreds. Unfortunately, the wind was out of the north, and blew down all the loose feathers and debris they have up there from nesting and such. It was almost like snow coming down, and it all was blowing right at us in the guardhouse. So, between the cat residue in the garage, the dust and molds that had settled on the tarp, and the bird feather snowstorm that hit last week, it's not a wonder that I ended up with sinus problems. I used to go through this every spring in Minnesota when I lived in an area full of cedar trees. The pollen from them seemed to cause the same problem, and I would get a serious sinus infection as a result. So, the good news is that it's likely I'm not contagious, and that it's passing as fast as it hit. It doesn't help me feel any better, but at least I don't have to be concerned about giving some bug to everyone I love. Of course, that's not for certain, but it does seem pretty likely. It would explain why I'm sick and Rhonda has not gotten it. She also got a blast of the nasty dust from the tarp, and the feather snowstorm, and she also had a bit of a sore throat for one day, but her's passed and mine did not. But then, she does not have the allergies like I do. |
| After ten and I should be in bed sleeping. But, I took a couple of naps in my chair this afternoon, and had a full night of sleep last night. Even so, I think I could fall right to sleep if I wasn't so uncomfortable. A couple hours ago I was shivering and wrapped up in my fleece blanket, teeth chattering. seventy four degrees in here, and I'm wearing flannel pajamas, a t-shirt, and fuzzy slipper socks under a blanket, and my teeth were still chattering. Now, I'm sitting in front of the fan trying to stay cool. I ditched the blanket, the slipper socks and the t-shirt, as well as the flannel pajama bottoms. Fevers are so miserable, but it ended, and that's why I'm so warm now. I just hope it stays gone so I can adjust once again to the temperature and be comfortable. As for the rest, my nose is still stuffed up, my face is swollen, and my throat is still kind of sore. Not as bad as it was yesterday, but still kind of sore. I'm coughing up some nasty stuff, but I think most of it is coming from my sinuses, and not from my throat. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a lot of relief from this. I know it will take a few more days to recover, but even if the fever is gone, and the sinuses are open enough to breath through. That would be super terrific. I have family coming out to visit on Thursday and I don't want to be sick and miserable. Our daughter and her man, as well as the grand children will spend most of the day here Thursday, before they head further south for a reunion on the husbands side. We have plans for going to the zoo and then hanging out at the park, cooking out, and just having fun. So, I have one more day to get over this infection or cold, or what ever it is. Then it's family time and I don't want to be miserable, and even more, I don't want to get everyone else sick. They will be camping out for the weekend, and the last thing they need is to catch this. Especially the kids; they get out here once a year and I would feel terrible if they got sick because of me. So, if I'm not feeling better, I may have to skip the zoo and park and stay clear of them all. Besides this part of it, I have to work on Friday, and I need to be feeling better by then. I work the four day weekend as usual, and Saturday and Monday are twelve hour days, Sunday is nine, and I just don't have anyone who can fill in if I'm sick. So, I have to get better by tomorrow, and then be about over this by Thursday so I can enjoy the family visit, and then work the weekend. It has already messed up plans for today and this three days off. I wanted to help Rhonda with the mowing, but don't dare cut grass with my allergies and problems from that when I'm this sick. I also wanted to work on the patio and put up some more of the privacy panels, but again, I was too sick. I did work on the decorative bird houses for Rhonda, and have them almost done. It took me all day to make three of them, but I did take a nice nap half way through, and I did take a couple of long breaks to rest and get clear of the dust. Yes, I did wear a dust mask when sawing and sanding, but it still irritated my sinuses more. Not a lot, but then, even a little more is way to much. But I did get them cut and put together, now I just need to get some dowel rod to mount them on, and they need painting. The other thing we wanted to do was to take out the camping gear and set it all up, to see what we need to fix, replace, and add to it. I had talked with Rhonda about setting up and then camping out one night right in the yard to see how it goes with my back and my leg. We would also have Hannah out there, and could see how she does in the tent. Hyko does great and loves to go camping, but Hannah has never been camping and it would be nice to see how she does before we go to a campground. We had thought about trying it out here, and then next week, during our time off, doing a one day and one night camp out at a local campground, again to see how everything goes, and how Hannah does with it. But, now it may be delayed a bit, as I suffer through this nasty sinus infection. I will remain hopeful that tomorrow will bring a lot of relief and maybe we can still set stuff up and try it out. Now, it's time for me to take my night time cold medications, get some sleep, and hope for a better day tomorrow. |
| Monday is done and over. I should already be in bed, but first I want to write my journal entry. Yesterday I mentioned I had a slight sore throat, and was hoping it would be gone by today. Well, that didn't happen, I woke up this morning with a pretty bad sore throat. It wasn't real bad, but it was sore and causing me to suffer some. Then today at work, some knucklehead mumbles something about returns and drives right into the yard without even coming to a complete stop. That's the way it goes some days, if the gate is put up for one person, the person behind will gun it and try to run right past. I had to yell about three or four times for the idiot to stop, and that was all it took to finish my sore throat off. It was enough the way it was, now I cannot talk at all, it hurts something awful, and the guy went and filed a complaint against me in the store. Not that it did him any good, but just the thought of it kind of irks me. I'm doing my job, as it's suppose to be done, and he knows it. He comes through quite often, but on Rhonda's shift, not when I'm there. He knows better, but seen someone different and thought he could get away with it. Of course, in our discussion after he stopped, he assumed I was new and tried telling me they always let him just drive right in. I didn't bother to tell him not only have I been there for over two years, I've been the supervisor for two years, as well. I didn't bother to explain to him any of that, it really didn't make any difference, and after I explained the policy and let him enter the yard, he picked up his items and then went in and talked to the general manager about me yelling at him, making him stop, and making him provide proof that he had access to the yard. I'm sure he also explained to the general manager that I had given him the riot act as well. I didn't hear anything about it, I seldom do. Once in a while, if the person is cussing me out and really making an ass out of self I hear about it, but only because the general manager also gives them a riot act about me doing my job, and they need to apologize to me. But, on occasions like this, I seldom hear anything unless it's through someone who overhears the whole conversation. I do know that when this person exited the yard, he had a whole different perspective on things and was very friendly and polite. That was all it took for me to know he had talked to the general manager, and had been told the same thing I had told him. It's just the way it goes sometimes. Normally I wouldn't even give it a second thought, but today I had to yell out for this guy to stop, and not just once, but four times. It was four times more than my pore throat could take. Now, it's raw and all messed up. I'm hoping it is better by tomorrow, if not, I may have to make a trip to see my doctor and get something for it. I'm still thinking it is a result of infected sinuses, but it's looking pretty white and infected tonight, so it could be strep. If it still looks infected and hurts this bad in the morning, I will call the clinic and have it tested, just to make sure. But, I'm hoping that it's feeling better and looking better after a good night sleep. I didn't get a lot last night, and that could have a lot to do with it, too. I did get to bed earlier than I usually do, and I'm happy about that. I was in bed by nine-thirty, and got up at three-thirty, so it would have been six hours again. But, I woke up a lot last night, so it was not a sound sleep. I still felt pretty good all day, more rested and more energy. I did accomplish my goal of getting more sleep over my weekend of working, and no I just need ot continue to do this. It will help to make me sleep better, and I'm sure that was part of the reason I woke so much last night, my body is used to about three hours of sleep and I got six. I'm sure this cold or what ever it is had a lot to do with it, too. Even so, I still got six hours of sleep each night, and I typically get about twelve over the entire four day weekend. In other words, I doubled my sleep, and it's a great start for me. Like I said, now it's a matter of repeating this next weekend. |
| The weekend is over and one more day of work, then three days off. Today went by pretty fast, and I felt a lot better with a full night of sleep, but tomorrow will be a rough day, twelve hours and short on sleep. I should already be in bed sleeping if I'm going to get up at three in the morning for work, but I'm still waiting for Rhonda to get home. Then, a short visit with her to see how her evening went at work, and it's off to bed for me. I've done pretty well so far this weekend, getting at least six hours of sleep in a night, and I'm going to give it a good try to get to bed earlier than I normally do on a Sunday night. It feels pretty good to be through the weekend and only one day left, and still not be so tired I can't think. The only problem is, I'm getting a sore throat. It started around noon, just a little bit of a sore spot in the back of the throat, but as the afternoon passed by, it got worse and worse. I thought it was from the dryness in the air, but even with sipping on liquids it has gotten worse. It feels more like it's raw than infected, but why? I suppose I contacted something from one of the guests passing through. It's amazing how rude and crude some people can be. But, I'm off of work and not going to go there. It's enough to put up with this crudeness at work, I don't need to dwell on it at home. Besides, it doesn't matter how I got this sore throat, what matters is, getting rid of it. I had a short pause in my writing to talk on the phone; Rhonda is on her way home now. It was a short pause while I talked to her, she calls to let me know she is done with work and on her way home. She also mentioned she is now getting a sore throat. I forgot my bottle of water at work, so she decided to finish it off for me, and shortly after, she started getting a sore throat, too. She also mentioned that she has been having a bit of an ear problem, and thinks that is why her throat is now sore. It could be, and that means I got this from her, or, she got her sore throat from sharing my water, catching this from me. The most likely conclusion is, we both got it from the same person at work. Only, now that I think about it, my guess that it was a guest passing through may not be right. One of the head cashiers that came out today seemed to be sniffling and coughing some. So, we may have contacted it from her, or from a guest, or from just about anyplace. Again, it really doesn't matter, as long as it's short lived and we can get rid of it soon. I'm drinking plenty of fluids tonight, and had some chicken soup for my dinner, so I have a good start. I also have a cup of echinacea tea which is suppose to help a person recover faster. It boosts the immune system, or so they claim. I've used it before, and it seems to help. I try and use natural remedies as much as possible, and have found a lot of the items recommended in the book, Green Pharmacy, work wonders. I'm not against modern medicine, and also work through my family doctor if needed, it's just so expensive, and if I can treat myself it's always more comfortable and cheaper to use natural cures. But, if it starts to look like strep or I can't get rid of it in a reasonable amount of time, it's off to the clinic for me. I also have a lot of pain in one leg, the upper part. It's been going on for a week or two, and I have no idea why. It's in the muscles, they knot up and get to aching, but Rhonda cannot get them to go away. She does get them to decrease in size, and have gotten rid of some of them, but they come right back. I'm sure it's something I'm doing, but I can't for the life of me figure it out. Enough about ailing and pains, it's time to get going and see Rhonda. She's home now, the dogs are excited, and she's being pretty loud herself, so it's getting kind of difficult to focus on writing anything. I made my seven hundred and fifty words, now it's time to shut this contraption down and spend a few minutes visiting before I go off to bed. |
| It's still Saturday, honest. At least here, in South Dakota, for another thirty minutes... It's after eleven and I'm just getting in here now. Part of the problem is it's Saturday, even though the counter here will log this as Sunday. It's the time difference between WdC and South Dakota that does that. Anyway, Saturdays and Mondays are my longest days at work, running right at twelve hours or a little more. I'm up at three, or shortly after by the time I drag my sorry butt out of bed, and I'm working by five. I work straight through until five, sometimes five- thirty or even six, then it's come home and collapse in a heap on the floor. Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but it feels like it most times. Actually I come home, fix something to eat and collapse in my chair. Of course, I tend to not get much sleep on Friday nights, and then the same holds true on Sunday nights. This week, I did better and got six hours of sleep in on Thursday night. Even so, I was beat on Friday and that lead me to getting myself to bed earlier last night. I must have gotten another six hours of sleep last night, too. This may not sound like a lot to some, but for me, that's usually the total of hours slept for the entire weekend, not two nights. Even so, I was very tired this afternoon, so when I got home, I skipped eating and just relaxed with a bottle of beer and spent a half hour with the dogs. Then I collapsed into bed instead of my chair and slept most of the evening. I didn't sleep hard, waking up about every hour to run to the bathroom, but I was right back to sleep after, and didn't get up until Rhonda called after work. That's why I'm so late getting in here to write tonight, I slept away the evening and got up with Rhonda after she got home from work. I'll have a little ice cream with her before going back to bed, and hopefully I will not be so exhausted tomorrow. Sunday's are better just because I don't have to be to work until eight, which means I get to sleep in to about six. However, I'm usually up just as late as I am tonight, so it's still only about six hours of sleep or less. Tonight it will be six hours, plus what ever I got snoozing this evening. I don't know why I'm so tired this weekend, but there has to be some reason, even if I don't know what. Now, if I can get to bed early again tomorrow night, since Monday will be another long day, and another early one, I will have managed to get a decent amount of sleep for the entire working weekend. That's a first for me, and may even have mu up early during my three days off. That would be nice, since I tend to sleep in all three mornings. Of course, I'm up late, too. Even so, it seems I sleep about nine or ten hours on my days off, in compensation I suppose for my five or less hours most nights when I'm working. Maybe, just maybe, this marks a turning point in that messed up sleeping pattern. I have been trying for months to get myself to bed earlier, especially on my working days. But, it seems every time I do make a little progress in the right direction, something goes haywire and I end up falling back further than I gained. I'm not going to say for sure that I have it working now, but it's looking like I've made a big move in the right direction this weekend, and that's a good start. Now, if I can just keep things going so I don't loose out on what I've gained. Two more days, one easy one at nine hours, and then a twelve hour monster, then three days off. Also, the person who was going to quit and take another job, has informed me that she did not get the position. We also were not successful at filling her position, so I talked to her and let her stay on, even though she has turned in a letter of resignation. Actually, two of them, one for the first of the month of July, then when the job didn't start for her until they checked into her references and information more, I let her post a second letter for the first of August. Now, I talked to her again, and it sounds like she will be with us for the rest of the summer, possibly longer. That means less stress and a continuation of our three days off together. Rhonda and I, that is. This should also help in keeping ahead on the sleep depravation problem I've been struggling with. It's all looking good for getting past my past problem of minimal sleep, and maybe, just maybe, starting a good habit of getting at least six hours of sleep a night, more most nights. Now, it's off to grab them six, plus my snoozing hours from earlier this evening... |
| Running short on time again tonight, but that's typical on the weekends. I work Friday through Monday, and put in some long hours for most of the four days, but Friday is my shorter day, and usually goes by pretty well. But today it was a long drawn out day and I'm beat. Also, it seems like we have to always stop and pick up a few things on Friday before we come home, and that puts us a little more behind on our schedule. It was the same today, and even though we made a quick stop, we got home a bit later than we wanted. On top of being a bit late getting home, I had work to do, and that also burns up quite a bit of the time I have after work. Today it was reports and schedules. I need to get an updated schedule printed and faxed to my boss, and I have to get it to him before Sunday. Since tomorrow is a twelve hour day, I thought it best to work on it today. Even though there were delays in getting home and work that needed attention, it wasn't a bad day at all. It was very humid and warm at work, and I think today was as busy as most Saturdays and I ran my self into the ground. Even so, it was a good day. I started out with a schedule ready to print copies off of and post, but then when I got to the guardhouse and talked to the guard who is quitting, I found out she did not get the job she wanted. Since we did not get anyone hired, her position is still open, and there was no reason not to keep her on, so I offered and she accepted. For now, problem salved as far as keeping a full crew. We have one month left of double coverage, then it won't be as difficult if we lose her. But, since she didn't get the job, and I let her keep her position, it's sounding like she may stick around for a while now. Of course, she said that right from the start, and then was resigning after three short weeks, so it would be kind of stupid to think it's going to be any different now. There is hope, and that is what I have, but at the same time, I'm looking at just getting through the rest of the summer, of double coverage, and then if something comes up and we lose her, we can handle it much better. So, it was a good start to the day, with the only down side being I didn't have a schedule made up with her staying on. But, the only change there was to the last one, is she needs to take off early one day, so I had Rhonda copy it over to a new sheet and make the correction, then ran off copies, posted one with the store and posted the other in the guardhouse. I also had copies printed off for the guards. There is one person who will not be in to work before the new schedule takes effect, and since there was no changes I didn't put a lot of concern into it. Just in case, however, I text him a message with the information. So, everything was covered, and work went well. It was busy, and kind of crazy, but not bad, and it was soon time for us to clock out and come home. One stop for some groceries along the way, then home. Once we got home, I helped Rhonda put stuff away and then I got started on my reports while she made us some dinner. Nothing fancy tonight, just tomato soup and bologna sandwiches. I also got a start on the schedule, and Rhonda assisted while she waited for the soup to heat up. There wasn't much to change on the schedule, as I mentioned, so it did not take long. Once I had that done, the soup was hot and we enjoyed our dinner in the living room in front of the television. After our show was finished, and we were done eating, Rhonda fed the dogs while I got in here and wrote my entry for the day. She's done now, the dogs are done now, and I'm almost done. Once I finish this, I'm going to have a small bowl of ice cream and take the dogs out one last time. Then it's off to bed, so I can get a good night sleep before the alarm goes off at three tomorrow morning. |
| The end of three days off, tomorrow it's back to work again. We still did not get anyone hired, and next week will be our last week of having our days off together until we do get another person hired. I do have one more person who has inquired about the position. I will fire off an email to him tomorrow, since he did not leave a phone number. We didn't get much done today, it was just one of them kind of days. We got up and got ready for the day but before we had the coffee done the power went out. There were thunder storms in the area most of the day, but none had hit us at that time. I'm not sure what knocked the power out, if it was a storm close by or wind, or just something messed up at the elevator across the street. Usually when the elevator messes up, the power flickers, goes out for a minute or less, then comes back on. The elevator does not come back on, they are usually down for a few days when this happens. I don't know what happens for sure, I'm thinking it's old equipment and faulty power that cause some of the problems. I'm also sure the place gets hit with lightning quite often, since it's all metal and taller than anything around. This morning, however, the storm had not even gotten here yet when the power flickered and went out. We were just discussing the weather, and had gotten ready to go online and check the weather for the day. But, when the power went down, it shut down the internet and there was nothing to check. We do have a battery backup system, but it does not supply the router internet box. We rerouted the power so it does, but we could not get any connection at the time. The power stayed out for for an hour or so before it finally came back on. About the same time, the internet came back online as well. It looked like the biggest part of the storm had missed us, and the entire system was now past us. We started getting things ready for the day. We wanted to get some painting done and I wanted to work on the last part of the privacy panels. We want to put up one section by the house, on the side of the garage where we stack our fire wood. We also want to put a panel up by the sandbox. But, it started to rain and we decided that it would be too wet to paint outside, as well as too wet to work on much of anything out there. It didn't rain long, and then it looked like the rest of the day would be pretty nice, so we again changed our plans and decided to work outside. But, it soon got very yellow outside, like a tornado was in the area. I could hear the growling howl of the wind, and told Rhonda we needed to get things ready just in case. We went out and put planters and patio furniture in secure places, then watched the sky for a bit. The clouds were spinning as they past over, but no tails or anything developed. There were a few raindrops, and the wind was still alternating directions, but the worst had passed over already. We went back in and soon it was as dark as dusk. Shortly after the rain hit, and it came down heavy. The power again went out, and we decided to take a nice half hour nap since we would not be doing much of anything else. The power came back on right before we crawled back into bed, and it started to look nicer out again. Our half hour nap turned into about forty five minutes, and it was looking nice when we got back up. We enjoyed a cup of instant coffee, then set about painting a chair Rhonda turned into a planter. I assisted, and by the time we got it done, it was looking very nice out. It stayed nice the rest of the afternoon, but by now half the day had passed and it was getting too late to start any projects. Instead we went for a nice drive, then came home and made dinner. Now, it's time to relax for a little while and watch something on Netflix. Then, it's off to bed and get rested up for another long weekend of work. |
| Just not enough hours in the day, at least, not on the days I have off. As for the days I work, there seems to be an extra half hour with every hour worked, but then, after work, that half hour is subtracted from each hour I have before going back to work. Something like that, anyway. My second day off this week, and I didn't get quite as much done as I had intended. We got up around nine and had coffee, then started mowing the grass. It went pretty well, but just as I finished up, the rider got a flat tire. It was low the other day when I mowed, but I had blown it up right away and it held fine the rest of the day. Today it was almost flat, but again I aired it up good and started out mowing. It held fine and I finished up the area that needed it most. The other half of the yard had been mowed last Friday, and it was kind of hard to tell where I had just mowed and what had not been cut yet. The old garden was taller, and I finished that up, then was going to mow around the big tree by the road. I had made a couple of laps around it when the tire went flat again. This time it went flat fast, and I had to limp it back to the garage area on the flat tire. I knew the tube was most likely shot, so I put a block under the front axle and pulled the tire off. The valve stem for the tube had cut almost all the way off, and it pulled off the rest of the way when I tried to pull the tube from the tire. Luckily, I had a spare tube in the garage, still in the bag from when I bought it. I took it down off the shelf and double checked the size. It was the right tube and I would have the tire fixed in no time. I stuffed the new tube into the tire, blew a little air into it, to get it to fill in just enough to hold it in place. Then, I worked the tire back onto the rim and held the valve stem in place while I blew a little more air into the tire. The valve stem wasn't out all the way, so I got a good grip on it and gave it a good tug. Guess what happened next? The valve stem pulled right off the tube. That's right, it pulled off, just like the old one did. What's up with that? I could see if it was an old tube, but this was never used. It sat out in the garage for a few years, maybe three or four, but it was still in the bag from when I bought it, up on a shelf, out of the sun and weather. The only thing I could think of is the glue they attached it with at the factory had deteriorated with age, and from the heat and cold. It doesn't make a lot of sense, since tubes are all made about the same, just different sizes. this tube could fit in a small yard trailer, or even a small utility trailer. In other words, it could be on something used year round, in all types of weather. It should not have deteriorated with age like that. But, that's the only thing that makes sense. The original tire setup for the rider was a tubeless tire, but I didn't have a valve stem for the rim. I did have a matched set of tubeless tires, so I went and got a valve stem and put in, then mounted the tubeless tire. It seemed to work fine, but I will check it tomorrow, just to make sure. I will have to change out the other front tire now, to match sizes, but that won't be a bad project. I have the tire and another valve stem, I just hope the tires are good and don't have any holes in them. If they do leak a little, I can put some stuff in them to seal them up, as long as the holes or leaks are small enough. After finishing that, I started on the privacy panels we wanted to put on the retaining wall around the patio. It took most of the day, and it was learn as we went, but it worked out pretty good. Nothing on the wall is level, and the blocks don't run even, so it was difficult to get posts in place and make them level. Most of them are pretty close, but a couple need some adjusting. Also, some of them we were able to block in and make tight, a couple are driven into the ground to hold them, but the rest are lose in the block. I will have to get some concrete and pour into these ones to secure the posts. It was quite a project, but we got it to work. There are still some things we need to do to finish, like the concrete, and cutting the caps to fit. Part of the wall is going to need something different to cap it, but we have some ideas on how to do that, too. We also need to put up the panels by the garage, which is going to be a bit difficult as well. It's an old garage and it leans a bit, so nothing will be square working on this, either. It's interesting work, and we are learning as we go. But, we have the panels up, a fire burning, and now I'm going to go out and sit and enjoy more of our handy work. Once we get the panels topped and the wall capped, I'm thinking of getting a picture of it. We will still have to put the pond in, but that is a project for another day. |
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