Home!

After being gone for 9 months becoming a Marine, Heath's finally home.  It's been a long time and I'm damn proud of all that he's accomplished.  Now, to make up for lost time :-)

Another Year Older

Had a rather laid back birthday dinner tonight with my in-laws.  We made some chicken kabobs on the grill, had a little cake, and then I came home to the dogs.  That's just the way I like it.  I've always loved being born on the 3rd of July, it about guarantees good food, fireworks, and festival or two and I can normally get away with a quick verse of "Happy Birthday to You" at whatever family function's being held and slip the lime light of an actual b-day party. 

This year, I couldn't care less about being another year older.  However, I am getting the best present ever in about eight days, Heath's finally coming home!  His MOS school's wrapping up & he should be on a plane next Wednesday, yay!  At this point, I can't even think straight, it's going to be so nice to have him back!  So, Huzzah for another trip around the sun & God, do you think you could just hurry this week up a little, please?

Early Morning Promise

I will never ignore Faust's whining at night again.  If he's waking me up he needs out.  I really didn't need the experience of cleaning diarrhea out of my carpet at 2am until I have kids (never would have been just peachy with me, too).  What did that dog eat?!

Peeping Tom

This little guy was hanging about my window for 10 - 15 minutes yesterday.

 Didn't even mind when I took the screen out to get a better shot.  He eventually flew off (after a few failed launches towards the glass)

Good Day

Well, the float switch arrived from Amazon (thank you Brown truck of happiness!) & it honestly took more time to get it out of the packaging than to get it installed.  So my basement is once again safe from becoming a swimming pool.

I also spent some quality time with the boys this afternoon.  Freedom & Gambler both appreciated the rub down.  Hell, Gambler even let me bring out the clippers without acting the fool.  Maybe I'll breakout the hose and suds this week & get out some of the deeper grime.  With highs in the 80's, they might actually appreciate it!

The Week In Review

I think it can be labeled a bad week when both sump pumps die. However, the week did improve from there. 

The major change-over we're doing at work is smoothing out so I'm not staying as late as I have been.  A lot of the planning and prepping I did before going to California seems to have paid off.  I can't get into much detail, but there's a lot of my time and ingenuity logged into this project, I'm relieved to see it implementing well.  In all, I'll be glad for the first week of June, just to see it completed! 

Spring projects / chores are starting to come together as well.  I managed to mow *most* of the lawn yesterday.  This was the first time it's been dry enough to brave where the pond was & other murky parts.  Some areas I'll have to attack with the weed-whacker simply because I'm not sure what's there.  Sounds kind of funny that I'm not sure what's in my own yard, huh?  Well, ya see, mowing is Heath's chore, he likes doing it & makes it look good and I'm rather ambivalent to beheading grass.  So with a wet fall / winter / spring, some of the soupier parts of the yard may have become more, um, wild, and while I know we have some unburied sections of dog fence & some rather fearsome rocks in the back corner of the yard, I couldn't say exactly where they are. So, I'll bring the weed whacker home tomorrow or Monday & go hunting for buried mower landmines.  Have I mentioned how much I want Heath home?

I did get one of "my" spring chores accomplished yesterday.  It took 3 hours, but all my front beds are weeded, tidy, and ready for mulch.  The beds on the back of the house still need attention, but my back and knees cried mutiny.  Also, there is no truth to the rumor that I used copious amounts of weed killer on the Canadian Thistles invading the south-side flower beds instead of dutifully hand-pulling each one (nasty, prickly bastards deserved every last drop! I regret nothing!).  Speaking of prickly things, my next project will have to be making trellises for the raspberries as they're threatening to take over the entire north flower bed.
 
Today was spent spiffing the house and I think I'll spend the majority of tomorrow baking.  A big batch of chocolate chip cookies always makes Monday seem more surmountable.

Warrantee Lapsed Last Month...

Last Sunday I noticed that the downstairs sump was kicking on rather frequently, bugger.  My F-I-L came over & had a look at the outside (main) sump.  After working on it for 30 minutes, he pronounced it dead and went off to the land of orange aprons to procure a replacement.  Upon his return, we found that the pipe leading from the old pump was of smaller girth than the one needed for the new pump, so it was back to the land of orange!  Upon his return all parts were assembled & the new pump lowered into the pit to alleviate the over-burdened pump in the basement.

Unfortunately, all the extra labor proved too much for the basement pump, it began stutter-starting and then refused to shut off at all, bugger twice.  This time I had my dad come over to check the pump, and he found the diaphragm switch broken.  An exact replacement was $70, however, with a little searching in the great inter-tubes I found a suitable substitute for half the cost.  Huzzah!  The brown truck of happiness should deliver it on Monday.  I can't wait for Heath to be back so I don't have to rely on others for this sort of thing anymore!

House Toad

Our faithful house toads have returned!  I give you the first house toad of spring!

Lessons Learned

Here's a couple things I've learned while my better-half is off becoming a Marine.

1.) There's no longer "my chores" and "his chores" - that dead chicken isn't going to scoop itself simply because he's not here to do it.

2.) The "honey-do" list has gotten a lot more reasonable since I've had to do the projects.  Definitely reins in what I think can be accomplished in a weekend.

3.) Cooking for one is impossible. 2 or 20? no problem!  But alone, I'm either eating leftovers all week or it's ramen again.

4.) There's a force-field actively protecting his side of the bed.

5.) I'm the hermit.  You'd need a pry-bar the length of Texas to get me out of the house without necessity or obligation and I hate going unfamiliar places.

6.) My ability to puzzle things out & muddle through projects has improved dramatically.  Amazing what a little unavailability does for my tenacity.  It might take me longer and not look near so pretty, but I'll be damned if I'm giving up on getting things done.

7.) I need to spend more time at the range alone.

8.)  My tolerance for strangers around the house / property has plunged to -0-.  *If* I answer the door, I'm armed and my favorite phrase is, "I'm not interested, I think you should leave now."

9.) This time apart would be much less tolerable without the dogs.  Coming home to 3 critters that are excited to see me & can't wait for a belly rub makes me feel a little less alone.

10.) Finally, and this is the most important lesson, we love each other.  There's no question, no doubt at all.  This process hasn't been easy, but it's refocused our marriage and made us realize how much we need each other.  All together, we'll be apart 9 months (less 10 days leave and 3 weekends).  While I wouldn't trade the experience, I couldn't imagine going through the rest of my life like this - I'd be no good without him.

        

Disappointing Day

I found out earlier this afternoon that my husband got the green-light for a 96hr leave this w/e and subsequently found that travel's too expensive for me to be with him.  Looks like it's me and the dogs this weekend.

**Correction:  Where there's a will, there's a way

This Week's Lessons

1.) A dog trapped in the bathroom sounds remarkably similar to someone trying to break down your door.  One is much funnier to find at 3 AM than the other.

2.) When you buy something, write down who's to get it when you die, it'll save time and drama later.

3.) Wills, Beneficiary information, and other legal documents should be reviewed about every five years for the same reason as #2. 

4.) The horse community, in general, is the antithesis of the gun community.  No amount of wishing will change that.

5.) Sometimes, referring a customer to your competitor is the best solution.  You no longer have to deal with them and they do.

It's Electric!

The most satisfying sounds ever:  *POP* *Rwaarrr* *skritter*

aka: the neighbor's cat getting ~2300 volts off the fence around the flower beds.   Guess it won't be leaving any more presents amongst the bushes!

Gunny Dream

I had my first gunny non-nightmare last night.  I've had plenty of "trigger doesn't work," "can't reload to save my soul" and "bad guy won't die" nightmares that seem to come with the defensive shooter territory, but I've never had a "save the day" gunny dream.  Sure, I've thought through what I would do during an attack, anyone who has their ccw permit has (or should have).  Over 3 years ago, I made a serious introspection of whether my life was worth someone else's, came up with 'yes,' and haven't looked back. 

Still, that dream was oddly comforting as it wasn't a bit of conscious 'what if' woolgathering.  My subconscious-self acted in a realistic and characteristic manner.  Showing, in a way, that I was mentally honest when I decided to get my ccw.  I'll even protect myself in my sleep :-)

Strange how realistic dreams can be: I wasn't a 'hero,' just an ordinary shopper going about their life.  I felt fear & the adrenaline rush; heard screams and breaking glass.  When knocked to the floor in the general upheaval, I groped the pistol out of my purse looking for my 'wallet' and ended up shooting from a few feet away, kneeling and landed at least 2 solid chest shots.  Then I woke up... at 3 in the Blessed morning, ugh.  Even with it being a 'good' dream, it was like waking from a nightmare, which is how I imagine the aftermath of shooting someone would be - a nightmare. 

Not sure there's a point to this rambling, just felt the need to share.  Has anyone else had a similar dream?  Did your dream-self act like you feel you would in real life?  Have you ever been shaken about your abilities due to how you reacted in a dream?  Just curious really.  In the end, I greatly approve of Bill Watterson's take on dreams in Calvin & Hobbes - just a few little guys rattling around in your head splicing reels together in the dark.  Nighty-Night!

Funny of the Day

Watching my 100lb German Shepherd plow into the baby gate only to get rebounded.  Shake it off buddy and walk away, it ain't goin' nowhere!

Enrichment

As a hat-tip to Daddy Bear's '30 days of Heinlein', I'm doing something I'm rather chagrin to admit - I'm finally going to read some of Heinlein's books.  They've been on my 'need to read' list for years but haven't made it off the shelf and onto my nightstand.  So, I've snagged The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to start tonight; any other recommendations? 


*Edited:  3 hours later and 10 chapters in & I'm having flashbacks to college days of buying a new book and reading until dawn, uh-oh!

Pie!

Alright, for Thanksgiving, instead of pouring pumpkin out of a can to make a pie, I make one out of butternut squash.  It's just like pumpkin, but smoother and *bonus* I can get the butternut fresh from the garden.  
Recipe (1 pie):

1 lg butternut squash pie (1 1/2 cups)
1 c brown sugar (firmly packed)
3 lg eggs (slightly beaten)
3/4 c evaporated milk or half & half (recommend the latter)
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger

1/4 t cloves
1/4 t salt
2 T flour
1 T melted butter
1 t vanilla

Side notes on ingredients: You can play with the spices quite a bit, I use less cinnamon, more nutmeg and a little less ginger and cloves.  All spices are ground.  Also, more vanilla never hurt anyone :)

Prep:

Cooking squash: remove step, slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds.  Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with foil and brushed with oil.  Bake at 400 for 45 min - 1 hr (easily pierced with a fork)

Remove the tray from the oven, reduce heat to 350 and allow the squash to cool.  Put the cooked squash through a food mill.  Combine it with the remaining ingredients in the order listed using an electric mixer (or really resilient arms).

Baking:

Fill the uncooked pie crust & bake for at least 45 min, should be firm in the center when done.  Use foil or a pie shield to keep the crust from burning.  

Crust:

 Use whatever pie crust recipe you like, use pre-made if you want.  But if you're looking for a good, flaky crust, try using lard instead of butter or Crisco.  If you're going to eat something fattening, you may as well go full out.

Thanksgiving Lessons

1. I am not super woman
2. Next year, I will remember to butcher our turkeys before they reach 45lbs dressed out. Even halved, it's still a damn 22lb bird!
3. Starting cooking at 1pm is a bad idea.
4. There are always more dishes.
5. Even at 10pm, Thanksgiving dinner, with all the fixings, is delicious*

 * No one was waiting on dinner - I was making extra for leftovers.

On to better pastures

Last night we said good-bye to Shotgun, the old man of the barn.  Farewell my old friend, may you find greener pastures, ease and comfort wherever you are. 

The Great Pop-Up Camper Adventure

Alright, this story is from last fall, but it's a good 'un!

Ok, so after one camping trip, my theory of pop-up campers is that they're Murphy's Law magnets created by engineers who hate the great outdoors in general and campers in specific. 

Last fall my dearest husband and I set out on a cross country drive that, at final tally, took us through 12 states.  We thought it would be a savings to buy a pop-up camper instead of staying at hotels along the way (can't reuse hotels on other vacations).  So an older Scamper comes home with us and we proceed to spend copious amounts of time cleaning, repairing and organizing it.  It was cute and everything worked but we made some braces for the risers, ya know, just in case!

The trip starts out well, 2 nights in a hotel while attending the Ren Faire in Minnesota.  We agreed trying to find camping, etc near the Faire was more bother than we were interested in.  Fun was had by all and the camper still followed faithfully behind the truck.

Night 3 - drove until we got to the outskirts of the Bad Lands ... pitch black, cold and windy.  Motel 3 Camper 0

Night 4 - Got to Sheridan, WY ... freak snow storm!  Motel 4 Camper 0  (why are we towing this thing again?)

Fast forward a little bit, we're coming into Cody, WY outside of Yellowstone.  *POP* there goes a camper tire (but we haven't even *used* it yet!).  Heath successfully changed the tire on the side of the road but we still stop in Cody to get another spare.  Ended up replacing both tires and keeping 1 old for a spare.  Cute town, really loved staying there... in their newest hotel (off season, great rates!) Motel 5 Camper 0

Night 6 - spent somewhere south of the Tetons in a hotel.  See snow, bitter cold and dark, utter.  Motel 6 Camper... you get the idea!

Spent some time in Utah and were driving to Arches National Park to, you know... camp!  Suddenly, *CLUNK* *Watch as the new camper tire (& rim!) sail off over the majestic mountain side*.  Had we been able to pack everything in the camper into the truck, the cursed thing would still be sitting on that hilltop.  2 hours of screwing around later, Heath managed to jack up the camper, clean out all the mud (moving to the side of the road turned wheel-less axle into a plow) and put the spare on with 2 lug nuts from the other tire.  Another 2 hours got us back to where we were 20 minutes before the tire made its break for freedom.  Thank God for GPS - we found a local tire shop that took pity on us and repacked the bearings and put on another new tire. 

We got to Moab, UT at o'dark thirty and got one of the last hotel rooms in town (big bike race weekend apparently) and had one of the best dinners I've ever had at The Sunset Grill.

The next day we headed out to Arches and actually set up camp!!!  Only to find that when the tire committed suicide it took the raising mechanism with it.  Crank = useless.  But wait!  We have the braces for the risers so this could still work.  Ever manually lift a pop-up camper?  Amazingly, we both still have ten fingers.  Had a beautiful, if cool, night for camping.  Cooked steaks, looked at the stars and slept in the camper. 

After bumming around Arches we decided we had enough fun and were ready to be home.  We stayed one night in Colorado and drove straight home from about Glenwood Springs on to Ohio (yep, 23 hrs - we were ready to be home). 

Once we got home we hefted the camper up again, emptied the contents and gave it away to some older gentleman who completely refurbished it and loves it.  From this point on, I'm either camping in a tent or in a full bodied camper.  Pop-up?  Never again.

Meatloaf

 I'm not sure what previous generations have done to make meatloaf instill fear and loathing in the general populous, but it's a damn shame.  If you want something filling, easy and delicious, meatloaf fits the bill.  It is something that has to be cooked by feel / taste so the first turn out might not be perfect but I've yet to have a bad turn out with these basics.

Basic ingredients:
ground beef
eggs
Italian bread crumbs
oatmeal
onion
salt, pepper, garlic, tarragon & marjoram.

Start with 2lbs ground beef (substitute 1/4 lb with ground sausage for a spicier turnout), 2 - 3 med eggs, 1 med onion, ~ 1 1/2 c bread crumbs, ~ 1 c oatmeal (uncooked) & then add spices to taste.  When combined, it should be tacky without being soupy and hold its shape.

Shape it however you want but I'd recommend keeping it relatively short / squat.  I have no idea why folks like to used bread pans for meatloaf, it just doesn't end well.  I use a standard oval corningware dish and bake it covered until the thermometer reads med-well for beef then uncover and let the top brown until it reads well done.  You can cook it at 350F or 375F seems to come out well either way.

If you've ended up with more than 4 tbsp of fat / grease try adding more oatmeal or bread crumbs next time.  If there's no grease, well geez just how much oatmeal did you add?!

For the top sauce you can use my husband's method - random bbq sauce & done - or my method:

Ingredients:  
Ketchup
Mustard (any kind will do, but I'm spoiled with Grandpa's Cheese Barn's Roasted Garlic)
Brown Sugar
Lemon Juice
Worcestershire

This is strictly to taste!  Just mix the above together until you've got something nice & tangy (yeah, I know, that's not helpful).  For 2 lbs of meat you'll need to start with over a cup of Ketchup to get the volume.  So ~1 c Ketchup, ~3 tbsp Mustard, < 1/4 c Brown Sugar, ~ 2 tsp Lemon Juice and go easy with the Worcestershire since there's no good way to 'undo'.  Don't cook it with the sauce on - put it on after it's done.

Normally, I'd include pictures but it's gone so it'll have to wait for next time :-D