Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated....

I'm around ... just not much lately. The better weather has meant a lot more work around here (although the last couple of days it's done nothing but rain ... torrential downpours). At any rate, a garden has been planted (about an acre), the lawn takes about 4 hours to mow, the pigs have been moved to a new area, the new chicken coop is taking shape, a new batch of chicks has hatched, one female goat was moved in with the male for a week and then moved back out, we have a new cat (courtesy of my sister who assumed that I would want a new one with a farm, even though I already have two), the flashing on my son's roof repaired by wolf and the scraping of the ceiling paint and the priming was done by me ...now to do the painting, and the list continues...

But, enough of that. I hope all my friends are doing well and if you know me well enough you also know alternative means of reaching me. I can't promise to be on much with all the work that needs to be done but I'm sure NN will survive my absence. As for themes, TBjones has a list of ideas and plenty of folks have additional great ones. Kpooh was thinking swimsuits and that's always a great seasonal theme. I'm sure TB would be happy to help y'all out on that....it's really just coordinating who's going to post the theme in the forums.

Well tomorrow we'll miss trivia yet again...my cousins are coming in from Arizona so we'll be getting together with them. It's rare we get to visit and the last time I was out there I didn't get to see them because I went to a different cousins' home. You can only get so far in 3 weeks time. I'm sorry I missed them but at least we'll get to visit now.

I've another cousin getting married in the summer and I'm looking forward to seeing her and my cousin I saw in California. She's going to try to make it out this way for the wedding. Gee VB, maybe you can hitch a ride with her!

Well, off to accomplish another task! Talk to y'all later xx

busy but happy
kitt xxx

It's raining and cold...as it has been for the past 10 or so days. The states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency due to flood waters. The Southern part of Maine is on alert. The rivers are swollen past their capacities and we still have more rain to come.

We are up on high ground so we aren't too affected by the continuing rain however the ground is still soggy and you better be wearing some boots if your going out to feed the animals. It may not flood where I am but we could sink in the mud soon if it keeps up. Even my goats, who normally shrink from the rain, just go out in it now. I guess they decided getting wet was better than not eating.

We're expecting a break on Wednesday but the forecast after that calls for rain yet again until possibly Saturday. I generally find the sound of rain quite soothing but it does get old after a while. I've a feeling that after this deluge we'll no longer be short on our water reserves so I suppose that's one thing for which we can be grateful.

waterlogged
kitt xxx

I've been cranky lately. I think it's a combination of the gray weather and being so lost and busy at work. Yes, I'm getting a lot done and I'm learning but at times I get so frustrated at myself. It takes me so long to do things and we're very busy with orders. In the meantime I look around and see everyone I work with getting swamped with work and I feel helpless because I can't do anything about it yet. Then, when I do finish my transfer or whatever it is I'm working on, invariably it has to sit on someone else's desk to get checked before I can officially finish it. Which makes me feel worse because they're busy with other things and they have to take the time to check my work. (the good thing is I usually have very few mistakes so I must be soaking in the info)

I've said before that I'm generally a person of action. If I see a problem I fix it. If I want something done I'll get it done one way or the other. Somehow I will find a solution. So, it's hard for me to sit back and allow myself to learn at a slow pace. It's difficult for me to be patient.

This will all come. I know this rationally. My personality however tends to fight it. I will learn all this new information, I just need to be patient while my teachers finish what "needs" to be done immediately and I am taught in piecemeal. In the meantime, I must realize that what I'm doing is valuable in that it frees them up from the more mundane tasks that have to be done but that take them away from the money making side of the operation. And we all know the bottom line in any business is making money. And I am learning...it just takes me about 5 hours to transfer information to create a quote but, the quote is right

patience cranky bitch...and stop taking it home! That's my message to myself today.

working on it
kitt xxx

p.s. and by the way, I still love this job

Ah, Mother Nature, she's a cruel mistress isn't she? All those plans for the rooftop were for naught. I finished everything up and got ready to go out. Fed the chickens a bit of bread, grabbed a lounger and a towel and headed for the back of the barn. I laid out, removed the clothing and a huge black cloud raced in. No big deal I thought...it'll pass. About 10 minutes later with a chill breeze in the air and no sign of the cloud abating I redonned the shirt. I had a beer and a cigarette, still no change. I put on my shorts and shivered. I waited...a half hour...still cloudy.
Well, I thought, I still have to shop. So I put away the towel, the lounger, put the dog in the house, changed into jeans and a t-shirt and went off to the store. I stopped at the first store got my bug spray and some other sundries and headed off to the grocery store. And poof! Out she came...the sun in all her glory. Punk.
Of course, by the time I got home it was near to 5 pm and I had to put away the groceries so I never got to lay out. Sunday proved to be no better as I ended up running to Walmart for a couple of items, the laundramat to wash comforters, then coming home to mow the lawn...which is a good 3 hour affair. Needless to say...no sun worship this weekend.
Ah well, you know what they say...tomorrow is another day!

farmer tanned
kitt xxx

So I was ruminating a bit more...must be the gray weather, beats me.
Anyway, this time I started thinking about mixed messages. I was in the shower thinking about how guys are always complaining that women give mixed messages then I thought...hey wait a minute, so do guys! Most guys think they're fairly simple. Keep 'em happy in bed, well fed and stocked in beer with the remote in their hand. Well, ya know what... it really isn't that simple, is it?
I've often been told by men that they don't care what I look like, or if I have a few extra pounds on me. It doesn't matter if I don't wear make up...fix my hair just so...wear jeans and a t-shirt instead of a sexy dress...sleep in sweats instead of lingerie...etc.., They want me, they love me or whatever other platitude they're serving at the time. And they seem very sincere.
However, watch a flat stomached, hard bodied, sexy little thing who's never had kids walk by. You've never seen someone get whiplash from turning their head so fast. Hmmm, I think I remember you saying you only wanted me, I was the only one, you only have eyes for me or whatever else you said. Seems a mixed message to me.
When I tell someone that they are the only person I want, I mean it. I won't get whiplash eyeing the bodybuilder on the beach or whomever else you wish to use as an example. Then again, maybe it is me....I usually do mean what I say. I'm fairly a what you see is what you get type of person. I'm not saying I don't give mixed messages at times. I have a tendency to retreat within myself for various reasons and can often seem upset when I'm not really.
The point I'm ruminating about is that everyone gives mixed messages in different ways. Maybe we need to think about what we say and what we do before we commit to either one. And maybe we need to think about someone else before we just give in to our baser instincts. Little things certainly do mean a lot and can have a great impact on others.

Ok, that was my big thought for the day...now back to our regularly scheduled program

finished ruminating
kitt xxx

There are so many different types of friends aren't there? I have friends that I would trust with my life. I love them with all my heart and soul and they are very much a part of me. I have others just a step below that whom I can't imagine not being friends with but we have very different or separate lives. I have friends who've seen me through my worst and my best but I never see them anymore, yet.. I'll never forget them. I have friends that are distant yet always close in my heart. I have friends to whom I can turn to get laughter, others to listen to me cry, others I can turn to for both. I have friends who are more like acquaintances. I like them, they like me, we share a bit of ourselves, we care what happens to each other but I would never say we were close. Then I have friends who are merely folks who just pass by me but somehow touch me. We barely met yet we managed to reach out to each other briefly and touch each other's need at the time. I count them as friends even though we don't really know each other well.
To me, a friend is someone who touches you somehow. They make you laugh, they make you think if you need to do that, they help you through rough times, they say something you need to hear, they come into your life when you need them (even if only for a moment). Friends...I guess they're like angels in a way... Angels on earth who've been put in your path to show you the way or fulfill a need or just brush you with their wing so you know you're not alone. They don't necessarily stay there and sometimes they do. The long lasting ones are always the richest but that doesn't mean that the others don't have value as well. All lessons in life I guess.

Well, what was this blog about...nothing really..just pondering things. I can do that once in while

ruminating
kitt xxx

Ok, Ok, I get the whole toilet design thing but it still doesn't make it easier to clean. I still want all that curvy stuff housed in a solid design so I can just wipe and go.....ugh...bad choice of words huh.

Sunday was a full day too...finish that dang laundry that never goes away, fix a leak around the stovepipe, refasten a gutter, clean up a mess outside, grocery shopping etc.., Needless to say after a full day at work I had to go through a list of items with my housemates...that would primarily be my son. Dearest, I say, after working full time all day and spending my weekend doing your laundry, shopping for your jeans, buying groceries for your hunger...etc..., I think just maybe you could empty the dishwasher that you saw me turn on this morning. Uhhhh, you turned the dishwasher on this morning? I didn't notice. Mom can do some serious eye rolling you know.

You gotta love 'em anyway. He's actually a great kid and super smart...he's just NOT a morning person and once that computer kicks on when he gets home...he's gone! Dishwasher? What dishwasher? I'm lucky I get him off of it to eat dinner.

working mom (redundancy)
kitt xxx

Ok, so off I go to the chicken show....takes me about an hour to get there, a little less but who's counting. I get to the fair grounds and not a soul is there. This can't be...they never have the show anywhere else....I left the guy's number at home...I'm driving around the grounds and Wolf is saying...ya know, there's NO cars here.

I'm perplexed but I've been somewhat confused all morning. I'm thinking we should go to his house now and see if his wife is home. I'm sure she can get in touch with him if she's there. So off I go to his house. I pull in the drive and yes sirree his wife is home. So is he. Because THE SHOW IS SUNDAY!!! Doh. So we have an enjoyable visit with him, collect 3 dozen eggs, play with the chickens, visit the chicks in the basement and watch a couple of videos. But we miss the show because I'm not going back there again tomorrow.

By now I've got a headache from not eating and I'm tired and I'm still wondering who came up with the design for the toilet. Remember, I was doing housework this morning and one of my least favorite tasks, cleaning the toilet. While I think I understand the reasons behind all those curves in the bottom of the toilet, you would think they could house them in a solid design. Would make it a heck of a lot easier to clean. I mean, who enjoys kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet with your head under it so you can make sure you get all those curves clean? Geez.

Where ever does my mind go when I'm tired? At any rate, a bite to eat and a nap later I'm doing somewhat better. lol

wacky
kitt xxx

Holy Crap...it's Saturday and I'm awake at 6am. Yes, awake and actually out of bed. Of course I heard Wolf mucking about the kitchen about 5:00 to go to work so that woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep. This job and early morning waking is totally screwing me up! lol

Oh well, I guess I could be industrious and clean the house and do some laundry. What a novel idea! Then, I would have everything done by the time I head off to the chicken show. Uh-uh...a chicken show. I'm actually going to meet a friend to get some eggs for some pure bred RI Red chickens. My hens are primarily crosses between production birds and pure birds so I want to get some more of the birds that are show worthy.

It promises to be a beautiful day here so it will be a nice ride over to southern RI. Enjoy your day folks...the weekend is here!

egg-cited kitt xxx

Yet again, we see another instance of pics stolen and reproduced elsewhere. My friends Mystigo Dragon and Pixie have been taken advantage of and from where I sit, there is very little I can do about it. The thing that gets me most about this instance though is that the perp actually had the audicity to tell Dragon that the pic was taken while Pixie was over his house for a romp. Unreal.
I like to think the best of everyone until proven otherwise but I can also be a very cynical bitch. It's very difficult for me to take someone at face value. And trust, well, you have to earn that and it's very easy to lose it. Lie to me once, or hide something from me once and the trust is gone. This asswipe has certainly added to my cynicism.
Despite all that I think life is wonderful. I just wish we didn't have to deal with such asswipes in the process.
Have a glorious day people. Enjoy the day with those you love, live your life well and embrace life.

wondering why
kitt xxx