It's Saturday morning and I was up at 6...the world is off it's axis I'm sure.

Actually, Wolf went to work so I heard him up and about around 5:30 and that's probably why I woke up. I do however have someone coming to look at my goats for a possible sale so I had to get up earlier than noon anyway. She's coming from Massachusetts and was aiming to get here around 9:30. Granted I could've slept a bit longer but what the heck, I'm up. I figured I could do laundry and clean up a bit before they got here.

The interview on Friday went well but I don't expect to hear from them for a couple of weeks. She said she had about 17 more people to interview. She has two open positions though so at least the odds have increased in that respect. I'm hoping my vast experience working with the elderly will give me an edge. The majority of their patients are older because .. let's face it...we break down as we age, eyes included. It sounded like a great job and there was only one night a week that you had to work late; however, two days you get out early. Fair tradeoff to me. They give you on the job training, courses and certifications. They also give you a uniform allowance. It's a busy job and that would suit me well. Even though I've done it, I prefer not to be chained to a desk.

VB..yep they do surgery..lasik among others. The assistants are doing the majority of the testing and prepping for them. And I want you gnomes to know I was exhausted on Friday...guess that's what happens when you only get a couple of hours of sleep! Thank the good Lord for coffee. At least the interview and visit with Mom were good...I did crash when I got home though. Never did make it to trivia, started a crossword puzzle in bed and that's about it...puzzle's not done either.

omg! it's snowing!!!

crooked kitty
xxxx

I had to post this picture of my dog and my neighbor's horse. This filly is just about a year old and she's the sweetest thing. My dog thought she was wonderful. I'm sorry I missed the kiss!

Today I'm off to another interview with a temp agency in Rhode Island and Friday another one at an eye care center. If the Eye Care Center is anything like their ad, it would be a great place to work. I'm looking forward to Friday's interview....and it's scheduled quite early in the morning so I'll still get a chance to see my mother that day.

The interview yesterday seemed to go quite well. They liked the fact I had a BA in English. The job was for a liason between client and lab. The primary functions are to take the clients' orders, submit them to the lab techs who test and plug in the results, and then go over the reports making sure all needs are met and that they're legible and professional looking. Communication is a key point..communicating well, essential. They have a few more to interview and should have some sort of decision next week sometime.

I saw an old friend last night. We exchanged our Christmas presents from 2004 finally. The funny thing is we saw each other so much more when we lived further away from each other. She lives pretty close to me now but for some reason we never seem to be able to connect. She owns her own consulting business and works her tail off constantly. One of the cons to owning your own business...work never goes away and it's far too easy to let the work take over your life. She readily admits that but feels powerless to change it. That's part of her personality though. She's a perfectionist.

Well, time to get my son up for school, get him off and then get ready for today's interview. It's a beautiful sunny day ... yet another day I get to thank God for....I'm healthy, happy and rich with friends and family. And thank you all for your support and well wishes.

off again
kitt xxx

I saw my first Dandelion of the season yesterday!!! Whoo hoo!!!
You know what that means....spring is here!

I love dandelions. I know if you're a lawn fanatic you hate them but I think they're darling. I love the look of a green hill covered in bobbing yellow heads. I love the bright splash of yellow in the most daunting places...peeking up through cracks in the pavement, staunchly gripping the sides of rocks, bravely emerging from sandy lots, happily popping out in droves in fields or just persistantly returning to lawns. Despite being maligned they still provide flowers from which one can make wine and leaves which can provide nourishment. Dandelions make no apologies and just continue to thrive regardless of where they happen to be or who does or doesn't like them. They just are.

Maybe we need to take a lesson from the little flower. Maybe that's why I love them so.

dande-kitten
xxx

Well, today is the first day of spring and despite the fact that I was watching snow flurries this morning I'm thrilled. I can't wait for the warmer weather.
We started an annual ritual of spring around here on Saturday...yes, I got out of bed and accomplished something even thought it was Saturday. That alone is a sure sign spring is around the corner. The Wolf and I went outside and started demolition and reconstruction. Spring always harkens the arrival of work here. We can now dig into the ground and work outside without freezing to death in an hour.
I tore down some fencing and some old feeders, Wolf tore down a wall and started rebuilding efforts on one of the barns. When I got tired of destroying things I went over to help him a bit until the sun shifted and the wind picked up. Then I gradually started my shivering until at one point I said...I gotta go in. The shaking board I was holding at the time was probably a clue.
I warmed up with some hot tea and then when went to visit some of my friends for dinner and cards. A good evening was had by all...some more than others. I enjoyed the atmosphere but I was beat. Something about the feeders falling into me and hours outside in the cool air got to me...
I begged off by 11:30 and slept like a rock only to wake up stiff and sore. I forgot I had those muscles...lol. May as well get them awake though..I'll be using them more now that the weather is changing. My Sunday consisted of going to church, picking up cat food at WalMart, doing laundry, sitting around watching Gone With the Wind and keeping one eye closed because I managed to scratch it at some point.
The good thing is that the eye seems somewhat better although still leaky and not as open as the other one and the muscles are back to normal. So I'm off again to pick up gym clothes for my son and then to my client's house. I'm hoping to hear back from the company I interviewed with by tomorrow. Keep those fingers crossed and those prayers flying. I like the fact it's close to home and the boss seemed very good.

half eyed kitt (least I'm not cross eyed yet)
xxx

Well it's Friday again...St. Pat's day no less..I've a tinge of Irish in me if I'm to believe the stories I've heard...I just can't prove that yet.

I fully assumed I would have another RI Friday and visit mom but as it turns out I just got a call for an interview so I'll have to let her know we have to reschedule for now.

It's almost just as well because my car has been funky lately. The check engine light is on and when I'm around 40 or so it tends to get a little bucky. I had Wolf check my transmission fluid yesterday because it almost seemed tied to shifts but the fluid is fine so my next best guess is a filter somewhere along the line. Unfortunately I don't have the money to have it fixed right now so I have to guess what's wrong and try to fix it myself. These newer cars with computers don't help facilitate working on your own car. Boy, do I miss my 78 Dodge with the slant 6. You could not kill that car. Too bad the body fell apart around the engine. Now that's when cars were built to last (at least the engine anyway).

Well, wish me luck at my interview, if you pray say one for me. It's nice and close to home so that will be a plus and the pay is decent. The manager certainly sounds like a great guy and that's half the battle. Better go find some good interview clothes...

enjoy St. Pat's everyone
today,
green kitt
xxx

I've been going full tilt all week so far..thus my relative absence from running my mouth in my blog among other places. In the process of the past three days I think I've sent out about 50 or more resumes. I also covered some clients, started some excercises for my back, went to a class and maintained the house as best as could be expected.

I missed a bit of time with my son due to the classes but he and wolf seemed to enjoy my absence. My son got to eat in front of his xbox one night and then they went to Taco Bell last night. Didn't even bring any home for me...punks. I told my son to make sure Wolf put the seat down on the toilet and shut lights off when he left a room...they both had a laugh at that one. Wolf was in charge of food...ugh..thankfully my son won't eat Spam anyway so we were safe on that front.

Today I'm relaxing. I did send out one resume this morning in response to a new ad on the job bank but other than that I'm going to just clean my house, read my bible and go get hay with my neighbor. We're back to the cold front so inside activities will be appreciated. I'd love to start a new quilt and I have a tote bag I want to finish for Wolf's mom. She's such a sweetheart. She's like an instant pick me up no matter when I talk to her.

hugs and kisses to y'all
chillin' kitt xxx

I have a ton of stuff to do today but I wanted to share a little with you.

We've been having odd weather everywhere but right now we're looking at prime sugaring weather so after church on Sunday I took Wolf to a sugar shack. He's never seen one or been, so I thought it might be interesting for him. For those of you not too sure what I'm talking about we call making maple syrup "sugaring". The weather has to be just right with the nights dipping down into the 20's and 30's and the days warming into the 50's or so.

The sugarers "tap", or drill into, the sugar maples and when the weather is cooperating the sap runs. They collect that sap and boil it down to the consistency of syrup, butter or candy. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. It's a very labor intensive process but it's fascinating and it's been going on for 100's of years.

The sugar shack I took him to is relatively small. Up in Canada and a bit north of me there are some operations that are huge. This one is just a family run place and although they're certainly bigger than some places they are by no means largly commercial.
the evaporator

Sugar shacks are buildings built specifically for this function. They contain the evaporator (where the sap is boiled down), the collection tanks, and generally the packaging tanks. You can almost identify them by sight because the shacks all have what reminds me of a turret...there's a raised area of the roof where the steam escapes. There's usually a chimney for the smoke from the fire as well. Traditionally the evaporator burns wood. So, as you look at one operating, you can see a large cloud of steam and a smaller stream of smoke coming from the roof. The best part is the smell...as the sap evaporates, the smell of the steam gets stronger, until all you can smell in the air is maple. What a delight!



Needless to say the tour was fun and we had to leave with some butter(cream) and sugar. I've always got a jug of maple syrup in the fridge so that wasn't a problem. I also got to prove that Mrs. Butterworth is NOT syrup. For those who haven't had the pleasure of real maple syrup you should try it. It's more expensive than the "syrups" on the market but it's well worth it and a little goes a long way. You can't get much more natural...nothing is added and only water is taken out, it's just maple.

delighting in the sweet taste of maple
kitt xxx

OK!!! It's saturday and wouldn't ya know it...I actually got things done! I only have my son's laundry left and my bedroom. The floors (minus the bedroom) have been washed, I actually made breakfast and washed the dishes, the chickens, Four and Spam, have been moved to the barn and I threw Wolf out to get feed and go to a fishing meeting.
So...I know that it's going to snow..maybe not here ... maybe in California..haha VB.

It must be the great weather! The sun's shining and it's warm yeehaw!!! It's just what we need to survive until spring really does get here. There is hope fellow New Englanders...winter is just about over. Heck it's almost nekkid weather! If it weren't for the cool breeze you could just about get away with it.

I'm off to finish that bedroom...it'll be weird not listening to chickens while I fall asleep .. or be woken up by them banging around in their cage in the morning. That's ok though the rooster loves crowing right outside my window

spring silly kitt xxx

btw..that feed fund is getting low so anytime anyone wants to order some soaps let me know shameless plug

I went out yesterday morning, dressed to the nines, and finally registered at one of the temp agencies around here. I should go off and register at the other one too but I didn't have time yesterday.

Anyway, I filled out all their paperwork, left them with two different resumes and headed off to my client's house. I'm pretty jazzed though because while I was there they decided to fax my stuff to their other office for a computer job. Whoo hoo.

I've been out of IT for almost 3 years now so I had pretty much given up any chance of getting hired for that field. If you're out for a year everything has changed. The funny thing is that this job is very similar to what I used to do. They use different programs but a lot of the other things are the same. Purchasing, Inventory etc.., doesn't change. The technology might change but the basics stay the same.

Regardless of whether I'm considered for this job or not I still feel like I've done something and gotten somewhere. That's always a good feeling. Now I just need to motivate my ass to go do some back strengthening excercises. It's kind of hard when the day's gray though and my back is hurting from the change in weather. Oh well...you deal.

off to do pilates or something

kitt
xxxx