Useless Information

Just so you know…

Today is National Disgusting Little Pumpkin-Shaped Candies Day.

Phun Photo Phriday

Phun Photo Phriday

Getting Old Isn’t For Sissies!

Two days after Mark broke his leg last April, I ended up flat on my back in severe pain. With lots of stretching and strengthening it started feeling better but never 100%.  Lately it’s been getting bad again and I’ve been walking around like I have a yardstick up my ass. Comparatively, I’d prefer the yardstick!

In addition to the back pain, my knee has been bothering me but I just chalked that up to the way I tuck my leg under my chair at work. Sometimes it throbs, sometimes not, but it is always tender to the touch.

So, I decided to go to the doctor.

Diagnosis for my back: muscle spasms in lumbar region with potential disc or nerve damage.

Diagnosis for my knee: bursitis, fluid and potential cartilage damage. (must be all those alleyway blow-jobs of my youth coming back to haunt me)

Treatment for both: physical therapy. I would have preferred pharmaceuticals and kneepads!

If the PT doesn’t fix me up, imaging is the next step. I don’t like that idea because it usually leads to surgery and I’ve had enough surgeries for one lifetime. The up side: I’ll be using the same PT clinic as Mark so he’ll have a workout partner. Of course we’ll probably fight over who gets the nice icepack.

Getting old sure isn’t for sissies!

Phun Photo Phriday

Ch-ch-ch-changes

When I returned to work after vacation in June I learned my boss, the founding director of our research center, was asked to step down.  As consolation they offered him the directorship of the burgeoning Global Health Center of which he’d been interim director for the past two years.

What would happen to me?

I don’t mean to sound uncaring, after all, I’ve been the big guy’s Executive Assistant for nearly a quarter of my life and we’ve built quite a bond, but the possibility of losing my job in this economic climate was more than a little disconcerting. I spoke with our Associate Director, our soon-to-be Interim Director and our Business Manager and was assured my job was in no danger. There is also great consolation in the fact I’m well respected by our faculty and a valuable asset to the Center.

Ultimately, my fate will lie in the hands of our future permanent Director.

“Turn and face the strain.”

Last week we transitioned but the university still hadn’t identified space for the big guy and his new Center so he’s still in his office, reached by passing through mine. Talk about fucking weird!

All these years my working days have been dictated by the big guy’s calendar, which is still in its box at my desk, yet it means absolutely nothing to me, officially. Nearly all the files in my office are strictly related to his professional life, as are the majority of files on my computer, but they too are meaningless. I’m supposed to put all this aside and move on, as if he’s died. But he hasn’t.

So, for the next month or two I have to deal with work in this terribly uncomfortable situation. I have to begin to dislodge myself from the structure of which I’ve become the foundation. It’s as though I’m living in a Fractured Fairy Tale where my stone house has been blown down, I have to build a straw house that will inevitably been blown down, only to build a wood house which may be blown down. It’s all upside out.

I only hope that ultimately, I’ll be able to reinforce that wood house with something more concrete.

Pickle-athon

I came home early Friday to join Mark and his cousins, Nancy and Nancy, for day 1 of the second annual Pickle-athon. Two Nancys and two nancy boys putting up 100 pounds of pickles in two days. Work has never been so much fun and the fruits (or vegetables) of our labor stay with us all year.

Working the Cukes

Every time we make potato or macaroni or tuna salad or simply slice a pickle as a side for sandwich or burger, these two days come streaming back. I relish this new, old tradition. And yes….the pun is intended.

Afterward, a wonderful lunch at La Superior set the scene for a nice siesta before a text from Brenda announced it was time to head to Washington Park to watch Violetta die of consumption. Pickles and opera…what a day!

Saturday we were up early to finish the pickles…

Saturday pickle prep

…and by 1:00 that afternoon, “The Nancys” had 94 quart jars of pickles and 4 pints of spears for those small gatherings.

The Nancys do Pickles

A quick burger at Helvetia with the girls and it was time for a few pictures before labeling the jars and saying our farewells. We’re already looking forward to next year’s pickle-athon and who knows…maybe we’ll fill the island…we only need about twenty more jars. I think that’s a worthy goal.

Little Pricks

My hands are full of little pricks…can I trade up for one big one?

It’s not what you think…I’ve been spreading barkdust without gloves. Stupid move. But the beds look wonderful and are producing beautifully.

See…

The bearded iris are going crazy…

We’ve had a great surprise this year. There are gorgeous alliums popping up all around the yard and they weren’t planted.  I know the birds had something to do with this as well as the unusually cold winter and warm spring. This perfect trinity has filled the yard with these beautiful blooms…

Their color is a much deeper purple than this and I hope to capture their true beauty tomorrow.

We leave on vacation in a week and I’m almost sorry I won’t be here to see the changes but, if the weather holds out, the garden will give us a spectacular welcome home.

The Bug

The gardening bug has bit hard this spring surely due to the mild weather that’s graced the Pacific Northwest. The usual persistent rain and gray skies give way to sun most every afternoon and the temperatures are pleasant if not downright warm. Although it was a little cooler this weekend than the past few, it was perfect for tilling, moving dirt and planting annuals in pots on the deck.

I’ve already prepped the vegetable garden so Mark can get out there without too much strain on the recovering leg and he’s already planted some lettuces and celery. Yesterday we bought some peppers, tomatoes and herbs that will go into the greenhouse until later this month and a few ornamentals for a long unplanted berm along the driveway.

This afternoon, I trimmed back some large branches from the neighbors fir tree that have been hanging over that unplanted berm and prepped the soil for some flower seeds that will help fill that space until later this summer when I can actually lay out a design for a fall planting.

Then it was off to the deck to start prepping pots with fresh soil for the annuals we’re sure to bring home from the wonderful Master Gardener’s sale next weekend. It’s this sale that usually inspires me to start work in the yard so I’m feeling good about being so far ahead for a change. It will also make the deck more inviting for our dear friends who will be housesitting while we’re in Europe. If the weather holds out…they’ll have a lovely little retreat where they can relax and watch the dogs on squirrel patrol.

While working on the deck I heard the fountain pump laboring and when I went to investigate, I found this colorful little critter caught in the intake filter.

I love how this next shot makes his color lines look three dimensional…then again …maybe they are. Dr. T?

I noticed he was still moving a bit so I turned him over to administer CPR and was surprised to find his underside was as brilliant as his back.

In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen anything like him. I’ve seen numerous metallic beetles on Dr. T’s blog so I decided it was time to post on this neglected site and see if I could coax the good doctor into identifiying him for me. I should have sent an email but I really wanted to share this gorgeous little guy with those few folks that still stop by…and I was hoping it might spur me on to posting a little more frequently. Hopefully, with all the gardening going on around here, that will be the case.

BTW – He recovered nicely and was released with the instruction not to return to the fountain.

Phun Photo Phriday

Now you know why I’ve been absent for so long.