Just So's Ya Know ...

I haven't been around much to post or visit lately, and I won't be for another two weeks. I'm in the process of training to take a state licensing exam week after next. If I pass it, I have a new job in another division at my company. If not, I'm unemployed in a few weeks. So that's going to have to be my focus for a while.

Quite a few of my coworkers have failed to pass this thing in the three attempts allowed, so we're talking about a fairly intense process here. It isn't that the material is so difficult, it's just that there's so much of it, and it's so dull that your eyes glaze over after the first five minutes.

Here are a few things I would have written about, if I could have found the time:

I have a brand new bird feeder with super dooper seeds and berries in it that is supposed to attract pretty much every kind of bird. It's been out there for a week, and I haven't seen a single bird on it. It's where the hummingbird feeder was, and those guys found theirs within hours. I thought I'd at least have squirrels by now.

We sat down and sorted through all the online seed catalogs and chose our varieties for this year. We're going to grow corn, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, peas, lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon, and herbs. We've banished pumpkins, since they invaded the entire garden last time. And broccoli wasn't worth the space it took up, either. We're growing bush varieties where we can, and miniatures of the melons.

I couldn't get anybody to send me a paper seed catalog, which was very disappointing. I used to love flipping through those things. Gardening porn, is what they are, and I wanted it bad.

The kid has stopped calling every day from college, which is as it should be. But I miss him something awful. I am, however, moving my sewing machine and ironing board into his empty room. I feel only a little bit guilty about that.

My older son is gearing up to completely repaint and redecorate our old house. It needs it, and it is his now, but I can't help feeling a pang at the thought of it changing.

And so it goes. I'll be around when I can be, and you better believe I'd rather be doing this than studying. Wish me luck!