Something To Bark At

I've always been a person who has been fascinated by what makes people tick. 

Why do we do what we do.

I've done personality tests. 

So has SM.

The priest who married us had us do psych testing during our Pre Cana classes with him.  (He had majored in Psychology.) 

I remember it was a huge questionnaire that he asked us to do twice.  Once, answering for ourselves and then once again, answering for how we thought our intended spouse would respond.

The next time we met up with him, he had graphed the results of our testing onto one page.  He held it up and on the graph were two lines.

One was straight down the middle.

The other line zigged-zagged down the page like an EKG.





He smiled at both of us, looked pointedly at SM and said "You'll never be bored."

(That's one of my favorite stories.)

So while I might be a bit of a zig-zag in my life, SM has always been my anchor, pulling me back to normal. 

As the years have gone by though it almost seems that we've rubbed off on each other, SM zigging every now and then while I get to reel him back in to the calm waters around me.




I've also enjoyed reading up on western and eastern astrology. I've found that eastern astrology, you know...the Chinese placemat stuff...describes us a bit better.

I am a Taurus/Tiger. 
I'm a bull who likes her fenced-in yard. 
I'm a cat hiding in the tall grasses (or weeds) watching the world go by waiting to pounce. 

Just don't piss me off. 
You'll either get a horn up the backside or a severe mauling.

SM is a Scorpio/Dog. 

What you see is what you get with him.  He's wide open and lays it on the line. 

Feed him. 
Pet him.
Keep him entertained and he's a happy camper.

The dog in his personality hates dishonesty though. 
Hates it.

Nothing (and I do mean nothing) pisses off this dog more than dishonest practices. 

Do not lie to SM.
Do not go back on your word.

SM will never, EVER forget a wrong. 

He will work on that bone until you hide it. 
Or distract him with something else.

When a Scorpio Dog barks and is grumpy it will usually be when he or she is overtired. They rarely bite but if they are emotionally hurt or rejected they can be rather nasty in their responses. These Scorpio's do not like deception and often take it really badly if they did not spot the signs. They are not very forgiving and will rarely give anyone a second chance.

.

Direct TV has made SM's enemy list. 

Yes...SM has an enemy's list.

Who's on the list?  Lets see...

Sprint. 
Windstream.
Time Warner Cable.
Bank Of America.
Lowes Home Improvement...just to name a few.

And now Direct TV.

We have DTV mostly because (like most men) SM is into sports.  Cutting the "payTV" cord is easy to do.  We've done it before.  But we always go back because SM likes the sport channels that "payTV" offers. 

ESPN has got the men of America by the balls, my friends. 
If you like your sports then you will pay for it.

Anyway, DTV has made the list because SM says they promised to keep his rates at $65 a month for his two year contract.  He recently received a letter stating that our rates are going up by $34 to a new $99 a month fee.

SM has gone round and round with them to no avail. 
"Do you have it in writing?"  I asked, referring to the $65 quote.
"No.  It was a verbal quote."  SM tells me.
"Then you don't have a leg to stand on."  I told him logically.  "Pay the bill."

I tell SM it's no big deal. 

If we need a splurge item than it's OK to spend the money on DTV so he has his sports.  It's not like we go out to dinner or the movies or have expensive hobbies. 

I'm cool with it.

But SM will not be swayed. 
It's the principal of the thing. 
They told him one thing and now they are going back on it.


SM is now on a mission to dump DTV. 
He's investigating all sorts of options. 
I'm fine with whatever he decides to do.

You Go, Baby...

Just so long as you're not barking at me...@;)

The Flower Fairy

Plethora is one of my favorite words in the whole world. 

I use it every chance I get and teased SM a l o n g time ago that if we'd had a daughter, I'd name her Plethora.  (Of course, this was received with the expected eye roll.)

Anyhoo...I find that I have overplanted the zinnias.  I must have tossed about 20 packets of seeds in my flower beds.

I now have a plethora of zinnias.  :)

Nice problem to have.

But I hate seeing all those blooms just hanging out under the bright, blue sky wasting their multicolor joy on nothing but the birds and the bugs. 

These suckers were planted to be cut and stuck in a mason jars to decorate home and hearth (and work desks at my office.)

I have jars and jars of flowers.  Once cut, they last a surprisingly long time.  About a week before they start to droop and fade and need to be tossed.

So I am now giving jars of flowers to the neighbors.

Debbie, my good friend across the way, has summers off from her job as a teachers assistant. 

So I'm walking across the street to her house at 6:15 in the am the other morning, flowers in hand, looking for signs of life. 

Nope.  Nothing.  No lights on.

Slacker.

I come up to the side of her house where her kitchen window is and reach WAY UP and stick the jar of flowers on the windowsill over her sink.  Once she gets up, she'll see her special delivery sitting in her window.  Ta Da.

As I'm coming back down the drive I notice a lady walking her dog.  I've seen her plenty of times before but have never met her.  Her dog is one of those great big mop dogs.  The kind whose hair hangs in dreadlocks.

Anyhow, her dog is just itching to say Hello and sniff me so I stop and oblige... petting her and giving her some sweet talk.

As they walk away the lady turns around pointing at Deb's house and says laughing "Now I know who the Flower Fairy is!"

I smile and say "Yeah, that's me.  The Flower Fairy!"

Sweet Season

I was out in the garden yesterday morning harvesting.

The dew was heavy.
The sun was peaking in and out behind some morning clouds.

I was geared up in long clothes hoping to avoid the worst of the bug swarms.

SM was on the back porch swing waking up with a cuppa joe, radio softly playing some oldies.

I hummed along as I worked, wiping the sweat from my brow. 

It's not necessary to look at the weather forecast anymore.  We're in our typical summer pattern of 90's with pop-up afternoon storms. 

Hit and miss.
I'm hoping for a hit really soon. 
The garden is getting thirsty.

I haul in my bag of broccoli and carrots and what do I hear playing on the radio?

Sweet Season.

Yes, my friends...It is indeed a sweet season.

Look at that. 
Sweet indeed!

Sshhh. Don't Say it Out Loud!

I happen to be a big believer in "The Universe."

You know...
Don't say it out loud. 
The Universe is listening.

But I'm thinking it!

Sshhh. 
(whispering) 
I have squash. 

Lots of squash.

 

(Yes...Green and yellow beans too!  My first haul of the season@;)


And lookie here. 

Pumpkins too. 
Well, technically just one pumpkin for the moment. 
I am hopeful for more.

And guess what? 
The freakin plants are still alive.  I eyeballed all the bases where they connect with the soil.  Everything looks normal for now.
 

I can't say it!
I won't say it!

But I can think it!

Where are you?



Are you just taking your time waiting to show your ugly face? 
Or did the hard Winter kill your sorry ass?

Oh, please, please, please...

More Roofing And A Lake Break!

Roofing is a nasty business.  Anyone who does this for a living deserves every stinking dime, I tell ya.

SM and I had planned on kicking out the roof Friday but only managed to get 2 sheets down before I told SM to get down for two reasons.

One...I'd never seen SM sweat that heavily before.  Asphalt lifts the heat index like you would not believe.

And Two...As SM stepped on the already laid stuff he said he was leaving marks.  The rocks and gooey stuff were shifting under his weight.  The peel and stick asphalt is pretty thin stuff.

So we thought Sunday morning would be a good time to attack it.  We were delayed by the heavy dew though. 

I tossed SM some towels up there to help dry off the underlayment but he insisted on waiting until the roof was good and dry (ie: Hot) until he went back up for another attempt. 

We got one more strip laid before we called it quits...This time for a much better reason.  Ronnie and Connie are in town!  They tagged along with Connie's daughter Jeanie and husband Jim (Al and Tory too) and had rented a house on Lake Norman for the week. 

Talk about a pretty sweet gig.  Not a bad view at all and the company was tops!

Bloom Time

Finally.

The summer garden is finally starting to get cranked up.

The clover in our yard is attracting bees but so are the squash blossoms.

I picked our first batch of yellow summer squash. 

The tomatoes are setting.

And I even have broccoli. 
Yes, actual heads of broccoli!!!
I've NEVER had broccoli. 

EVER. 

This is a first!  SM just looked at them and said "Needs cheese..."  @;)

No apples this year (late frost) but I see a few raspberries.

I'm also hopeful for a handful of blueberries or two.  But the BEST news is that the zinnia's are starting to bloom. 

Bring on jars and jars of flowers everywhere.  At home and at work! 

The Yard In My Garden

I have a mental image of how I want my garden to look. 

Kinda like a picture in a magazine.




Defined pathways. 
Crisp edges.
Healthy vegetation.

No weeds of course. 

Pretty.
That's the image I have in my head at least.

The reality is (of course) quite different.  Working outside of the home absorbs most of my MoJo during the week so the garden doesn't get that much attention.  I pick what needs picking of course but leave the big maintenance stuff for the weekends. 

If I have time that is. 

This year I noticed that I have a yard growing in my garden. 

The yard in my garden is actually nicer than the yard in my yard.

Grass grows lush and thick in my garden.  Weeds abound, sprouting vigorously after each rain storm like manna from heaven.

As a weekend gardener for the most part, I acknowledge that the day will soon come where I'll need a weed-wacker to harvest my vegetable bounty.

I lamented this fact to SM the other day and Chuck (my Yard-Bitch) must've overheard.

Like elves at Christmas-time, someone went out to the garden and pulled a bunch of grass and weeds as a surprise for me.

TaDa! 

Thanks Boys!  Now I might be able to pick the green beans when they come in!

Peel And Stick

I got home yesterday to find SM stapling the drip edge to the roof. 

While he did that, I got busy and mowed the lawn until he was ready for my help. 

The underlayment is pretty interesting stuff.  Since we did the tongue and groove roof, we can't install what most would consider a traditional roof because roofing shingles are usually attached with nails.  The tongue and groove is thin so it would show all those nails.

Vince suggested a product that he uses in Florida called Elastoflex SA V.  (The asphalt shingles that we'll use are also Elastoflex SA P.)





Long story short, this stuff is basically peel and stick.  No nails or staples. 




Roll is out.
Cut it to size.
Roll it back up so you can haul it up onto the roof.  (Trust me, 30 foot lengths of asphalt on SM's shoulder to hoick up the ladder was something to see.)

Unroll it, overlapping the previous piece.
Unpeel the adhesive backing and press down to stick.

SM went through one pair of heavy duty gloves on the first pass.  The heat burned holes in the gloves. 

Then SM remembered he had a pair of welding gloves and used those to finish the job.  (Along with a pair of strap-on kneepads.)

All in all it's easy stuff to work with but it was a clear hot, day and by 5pm we both had those raging heat headaches.

Today finds both SM and I dog ass tired. 




We've got a tiny bit of underlayment to cut around the area where the bay window meets the new roof and another patch under the gutters.  SM says he'll do that but then that's it.

SM says he needs a break. 

I suppose if we were both 20 years younger we'd keep plowing ahead but there's only so much that our back's, knee's and feet can handle.  We're both pretty sore.

Vince assures us that the underlayment can be rained on all week and it will still end up protecting the roof.  He's says that's why they use it in Florida.  If a hurricane rips off the shingles, the underlayment is still there to protect the house.

So we're going to save the asphalt peel and stick for next weekend.