Autumn Approaches

I love summer. I love the warmth that goes bone deep. I love how the sunshine makes every living plant go into Mach 3 overdrive. I love having to wear sunglasses just to go out to the mailbox. I love seeing the temperature climb to 80, 85, and even into the 90s.

I hate that summer lasts only 3 months.

I fear summer is waning here in the sunny Pacific Northwest. After a month of unseasonably hot weather, there has been a subtle shift in the air. Whereas for the past month it's been so hot that some of my windows have remained permanently open, even when I went to bed, the nights have been getting colder. For the first time in over a month since the hot weater hit, I went around the house closing all the windows tonight. The past few days have been coolish and overcast. This evening I had to put on a sweater because my T-shirt isn't warm enough. I just checked the thermometer on the wall in the hallway and it's 66 degrees. Autumn is nearly here.

But ever the optimist, I shall not begin mourning the passing of summer until I have to turn on my furnace for the first time since June.

Slicing and Dicing

I've been such a foodie lately, baking and mixing and stirring, slicing and dicing and stir-frying, sprinkling spices and seasonings with abandon--a little on the food, a little under the arms.  There's nothing nicer than smelling like oregano.

With all this hot weather, the squash in my veggie garden is taking off, with leaves as big as elephant ears, and squash growing so fast you can almost hear it lengthening.  I have yellow crookneck, patty pan, hubbard, and I forget what the other squash is.  Soon I'll be making squash bread and freezing it or giving away as much as I can.  I'll never forget the time my then-new neighbor decided to have a veggie garden--his first--and he ignored my advice about NOT planting zucchini.  Everyone knows zucchini is the kudzu of the Northwest.  I came home from work one day, and all the mailboxes out on the road were filled with zucchini.  A whole line of mailboxes, bulging with obscene green zukes the size of zeppelins.  It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen.  This neighbor was crafty.  He sneaked the zukes into the mailboxes after dark.

I never grow zukes, but I have enough other squash plants to keep me in squash for months. It's amazing how many things you can make with such a versatile vegetable!

Just Checking In!

My poor blog! I've neglected it terribly, but I've been meeting myself coming and going! Just lots and lots of things going on around here. Landscaping the yard, working on the addition to my laundry room and dining room, and remodel of the kitchen soon to follow, dealing with construction debris and dust.  Plus, I've been really busy with my editorial business.  And dealing with incompetent doctors and insurance paperwork. 

So I thought I'd just do a quick fly-by to check in and let the world know I'm still here, still alive, and still busy. Right now, I have Elton John blaring on the stereo and I'm so energized--probably because it feels like we're going to have some thunder and lightning!  Oh goodie!  How I love the thunder and the retina-searing flashes of light.  Of course, with that comes lots of negative ions in the air, which probably accounts for the burst of energy. And with that, I'm going to twirl away from my desk and boogy my way through evening chores on the ol' farm.  Go, Sir Elton!

Copyright-free image of Elton John: 8Notes.com (There are some wonderful charicatures of Elton on the Internet, but they are copyright protected, so being the good little editor that I am, I'm using this free one. Thank you, 8Notes.com)

Just Positive News!

Nothing new to report except positive news. I just had my second follow-up doctor visit with the surgeon who removed my cancerous tumor last December, and she continues to report that I am cancer free and healthy.  I just found out that I have a retirement plan I'd forgotten all about, and I became eligible to start receiving benefits on January 1 of this year!  After being abandoned by my carpenter, in the middle of a huge renovation project, I am happy to report that a girlfriend who's a carpenter and engineer is going to help me finish.  Two women, wielding hammers and carpenter's levels.  We can do it!  So . . . positive news, all!

Kathryn (my friend) came out Monday and I showed her the plans I had drawn up, then we walked through the new area (enlarged laundry and dining rooms, and soon-to-be-remodeled kitchen.  We made lists of materials we'll need, inventoried tools (between the two of us, we should have all the tools necessary), and discussed something I'd overlooked:  the need to install a huge 16' suppport beam in the kitchen.  It's looking like we can get started in the next few weeks!  I'm looking forward to hanging sheetrock, though doing the ceiling won't be fun.  Right now, the laundry and dining rooms are down to bare studs.

So you see, things are looking up!  And I do believe that summer may finally show its face.  It's been the coldest, wettest fall, winter, and spring I can remember!

Think Positive!

Update on septic problems:  my water conservation efforts have been successful in combatting the septic issue.  (For more info on this problem, see earlier posts, below)  So for now, I'm a hampy capper!

Due to back and foot problems, I've been unable to stay on my feet for very long, and as a result my house is currently a pig sty.  I hate enforced inactivity, and tried to bull my way through the pain with aspirin, but Mother Nature said, "Take a break, kiddo," so I did.  Now I'm getting better and I'm rarin' to go!  It helps that a positive attitude goes a long way toward fixing things. 

I was reminded again today that a positive attitude is half the battle.  It colors your whole world with positive energy instead of gloom and doom. I live by the tenets of an old saying:  fake it till you make it.  Even if I'm not always full of sunshine and light, I pretend I am.  The funny thing is, pretending usually becomes reality.  So my handy helpful household hint for today is THINK POSITIVE!  Today, despite a truckload of setbacks, I am pretending to be as happy as a clam.  As a result, there's sunshine in my soul today.

Strange, Weird, and Just Plain Fun

Okay, call me a skeptic.  I'd heard that during a full moon you can make a broom stand upright on its bristles without support.  I was skeptical, so I tried it myself. And was amazed when it worked!  So amazed, in fact, that I tried it with another broom.  This is so freakin' weird!  That's my Boxer, Asterisk, checking out one of the brooms.  She thinks it's weird, too!

I stood the brooms upright yesterday, and today they are still standing upright. Bizarre.  Would love to know the reason this works during a full moon.  As a test, I'm going to try this again when it isn't a full moon!

How Interesting

I received a visit today from the county health department, inquiring about my septic issues.  Whoa!  I didn't know that when you have septic problems, the septic company that you worked with reports it to the county.  And if the county deems it sufficient enough for a visit, they do just that, to make sure things are on the up and up, and to ask if you have plans to address the problem.

As it turns out, the county guy was super nice, and offered some helpful advice.  Basically, it boils down to this:  if the problem is inside my house, I can deal with it (or not) however I want, but if the problem is outside the house, it becomes a concern for the health department.  That makes sense to me.

My problem is a drainfield that is too small, so when the the drainfield gets saturated, water from my washing machine backs up into the bathtub. So the symptoms are occuring inside the house, but it's a problem I'll eventually have to deal with.

For the time being, I am limited to infrequent use of my washing machine, and I'm being ultra careful about how much water goes down my drains.  When I change the dogs' water bucket daily, the old water gets thrown out the back door.  I'm handwashing delicates in a rubber tub and tossing the old water outside.  I turn off the shower between lathering up and rinsing off.  (Brrrrrr!!!)  Kleenex gets tossed into the burnable trash, not the toilet.  No more washing dishes under running water.  I'm conserving water like mad.  So far, so good.  Let's hope I can put off making any decisions for a while longer!

Septic Woes

Oh dear.  I need a new drain field for my septic system. 
I've had problems for years with sluggish drains, and last year the sinks started gurgling every time I did a load of laundry.  And for the past several months, whenever I did laundry, the wash water would back up into the bathtub.  Recently, I made the horrifying discovery that in addition to flooding the bathtub, wash water has somehow been getting under the bathroom linoleum and saturating the subfloor.  So in addition to replacing my drain field, I'll also have to tear up the bathroom floor and replace it. 

Of course, first I rented a snake and tried to snake out the pipes.  That didn't work, so I hired a plumber.  $300 later, he said it wasn't a plumbing problem.  Next came the septic people, who pumped out my septic tank.  (Another $300.)  They inspected the tank and said that wasn't the problem, either.  The next day, the septic people came out with their camera that can be inserterted down your pipes.  (More money!)  That's when they discovered the problem with my drain field.  And that's when I discovered it will cost $7,000 - $10,000 for a new drain field.  Possibly even more. 

Let me just say one word:  "Ugh."

Like, double ugh. 

Craft Room Update

A year ago I put up a post about the transformation of a spare bedroom to a craft room for my rubber stamping hobby.  The craft room is finished, and I forgot that I promised I'd post a picture of the completed craft room.  So here it is!  (See below)  I stitched together 3 photos in Photoshop to get this full picture, so it is a little distorted, but it gives you a good overall shot.

I took this picture several months ago, before the closet doors were put up (storage area to the left of the picture) and before the sink was installed.  You can see the hole for the sink between the studs to the left of the craft table. 

The table is 8' long and 28" deep.  I have plenty of room to spread out when I'm making cards and other craft hobbies.  I love this room.  It overlooks the back yard and pasture, and I get morning light through the window.  It's a very peaceful room, and I've been making lots and lots of cards.

Water! Water! My Kingdom for Water!

It's January.  It's winter.  My water is frozen yet again.  Frozen because the water tank for my well is exposed to the elements, thanks to a renovation project that should have been finished last summer.
Previously, that water tank was housed in an insulated shed.  The shed had to be torn down and the tank moved due to the renovation.  I told the carpenter that the new shed had to be built before winter, to avoid my having to deal without water every time it froze outside.  Alas, the shed never got built, so I am at the mercy of the weather.

But not for long.  I am going to build the shed myself, once I figure out what shed design the carpenter had in mind.  He had built a concrete platform, and moved the tank onto it, then bolted down two studs for starters, but that's all. I'll be buying lumber on Sunday to get started, and pray it doesn't freeze or rain!

Free! Free! Thank God in Heaven I'm [Cancer] Free!

I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer the end of October 2011.  On December 6, 2011 I had a hysterectomy.  The doctor said my tumor was small, and she was so sure they got it all that they didn't take out my lymph glands in the groin area.  On December 9, 2011, the pathology results came in:  the cancer hadn't spread, they got it all, and I wouldn't need chemo or radiation.  I was officially cancer free.  When I got the news, I burst into tears.
I breezed through the surgery like a pro, and recovered so quickly that they sent me home the next morning--just 24 hours after surgery.  My doctor, the anesthetist, and the nurses all expressed astonishment at my quick recovery.  My doc said my positive attitude had a lot to do with it.  (I was cracking jokes even as they wheeled me into surgery.) 

I only experienced mild discomfort during the two weeks that followed, and didn't even use up all my pain pills.  It's now 3 weeks post-surgery, and I feel just fine.  Better than fine, in fact.  While I wouldn't recommend cancer for anyone, I feel I'm a better person for having lived through the shock and fear of discovering I had cancer.  It made me take stock of my life, made me realize that I too often focused on Things That Don't Matter.  It also taught me that I had far more friends than I ever realized.  Friends who came out of the woodwork in droves and surrounded me with love, support, and prayers. 

I am deeply, deeply blessed.  And I am ever so grateful that I am cancer free.

Spider Bite Update

Exactly 10 weeks ago I woke up in the morning and discovered 10 spider bites on one leg, and another bite on the other leg.  The bites never hurt, and it didn't wake me up when that sneaky spider bit me, but man, do they ever itch!  Worse yet, after 10 weeks they are only now beginning to heal.  In the meantime, I look like I have leprosy!  Check it out.  I got those bites on September 7 and they look as bad now as they did that first day. 

I now go to bed with a flyswatter, and I'm jumpy as all get-out.  I keep beating myself black and blue because I feel a little prickle and then I yell and slap at it, only to discover it wasn't a spider but a corner of the blanket touching my arm.  I hate closing my eyes in the shower for fear one will pop up out of the drain or land on me from the ceiling.

Have you ever been bitten by a spider, and if so, how long did it take for the bites to heal?  From what I understand, all spider bites are poisonous, but most are a very mild poison.  It's the brown recluse, the hobo, and the black widow spiders that are dangerous.  I leave them alone when they're outside, but if they come inside, it's all out war!

Update From the Boonies

Wow, has it really been a month since my last entry?  Sheesh.  No biggie, I reckon, as I'm probably the only one who actually reads my blog.  Sort of like talking to myself.  *g*

Lots if new developments in my life since my last post, the most important being my recent diagnosis of endometrial cancer.  I go in for a hysterectomy on December 6, and after that they'll be able to tell me what stage of cancer I have.  It's a scary thing to be facing the Big C and not know how bad it is, or if I'll have to have chemo or radiation afterwards.  I hate having to wait.  But all my friends have rallied around me for a group hug, and I am feeling especially blessed by all the support I've been receiving.  This is definitely a group disease.  It doesn't just affect me.  It affects my friends and family.  It's nice to know that I don't have to make this walk alone.  No matter what my future holds, I know my friends will be beside me, helping me walk that walk.

The Endless Remodel Job is still ongoing.  The carpenter only works a few hours a week now, much to my frustration.  The worst part is that I am constantly cold because of the heat escaping through flimsy plastic over doors and windows.  As I sit at the computer, a frigid draft makes my face and hands very cold.  Not fun.  He assures me the laundry room will be done by the end of this month, but I don't know how that can happen when he only works a few hours a week.  It's been 7 months since this project began, and we haven't even started on the kitchen, yet!  The picture below shows what the laundry room currently looks like.  Doesn't look like it will be done in 2 weeks, eh?  *g*

The doors have now been installed, and the electrical wiring is almost done, but as you can see, the job is nowhere near completion.And of course, it's not yet insulated, so that's why the rest of the house is so cold.

Spiders From Hell

Those who know me best know that I do not like spiders.  To appease all you do-gooder nature freaks, I will admit they have a place in the Great Scheme of Things.  They are wonderfully beneficial in the garden.  They are NOT wonderfully beneficial inside my house.  It is now fall, and what with the interminable ongoing remodeling (will it ever end?) and the advance of cooler weather, the spiders are making their way indoors.  Six weeks ago I woke up with 6 spider bites on one leg, and 1 spider bite on the other.  The picture above shows three of the bites a week after they first appeared.  What really freaked me out is that I apparently got bitten in my bed.  Meaning a spider was in bed with me.  Probably brought in with the sheets from the clothesline. 

Six weeks later, my legs are not a pretty sight, as evidenced by the photo on the right.  Despite the passage of time, the bites are still a violent red and they itch something fierce.  This is the first (and, I hope, only) time I have been bitten by a spider and it is not something I want to repeat. What's worse is  now I'm getting those gigantic scarey "drain spiders" that appear in my bathtub and sinks.  You can't kill them with Raid.  They just shake it off and laugh in your face.  Then they scuttle up to the ceiling where they hang out, waiting to slide down on their butt thread to scare you as you wash your face or brush your hair.

Whoosh!

That sound you just heard was me, whooshing by to give a quick update on the remodel before I shut down the computer and pick up crowbar.  The siding and insulation to the exterior walls of the kitchen and laundry rooms are now gone.  So are the windows.  We've had over a week of glorious weather, with more glorious weather predicted, so now seemed a good time to start the demolition.  As Murphy's Law and Mother Nature would have it, we had unexpected (and unpredicted!) rain last night.  Isn't that the way it always is!  No big.  We'll be grateful for the cooler weather and make sure the plastic over the windows keeps the rain out.  Onward and upward!