Bits & Pieces

I finished reading a book today.  For fun.  First time in months.  I've been so busy doing so many other things that a pile of books to be read has grown on my bookshelves.  It was driving me crazy, and it's a long weekend, so I thought I'd try one out.  What an unbelievable joy it was!  Oh, how I've missed reading for fun....

Smudge tried to kill a little gopher today.  I watched it.  I didn't freak out or try to save it, I just waited for her to kill it so I could throw it away before she dismembered it all over the back yard.
Of course, she got bored with it and left it after awhile, so it scampered off.  Oh well.

While watching that happening, I saw a lone Golden walking on the other side of the block.  I hollered and whistled and got no response.  I looked around all the empty lots and saw not a single human nearby, so I walked up to it and brought the dog home for the night.  We'll try to find it's owner tomorrow.  For now, I'm calling him Bob.  He's a real gentleman, sits nicely and is well trained on the leash.  The girls are beside themselves.
After calling the animal shelter, the owner contacted us and took Ben home.  His real name is Ben.  I was so close!

So much for raining all weekend.  It spit this morning, got some graupel early afternoon, but other than that it was a pretty nice day.  I could've gone home after all.  grrrr

I am now down to days to countdown for work.  I'll post the whole account of why I'm leaving after I leave.  For now, I just need to survive the last few weeks...

Oh, what fun in the sun!

The sun visited our neighborhood this weekend.  Well, today at least.
This meant yard work, which I don't really mind.  The first step always means dog poo, which I don't care for--but if the grass is going to be cut, poo needs not be underfoot...
Going out to clean up the back yard today, I discovered the cat had brought home a juvenile gopher.  Usually not a big deal.  But today she just HAD to be an asshole and torture the poor creature.  Of all of my many dislikes in the world, seeing a creature in fear is the worst.  I will do anything I can to alleviate fear in an innocent animal, be it rodent or rabbit.  In previous years we've (unwisely) taken in a young pigeon--Lucky-- and a young rabbit--Boonda/Roar.  I wanted to pick up that poor little gopher today and carry it away from my mean cat.  And I know better, especially after the previous animals, which we eventually set free.  So I tried to let the cat do her thing and be a predator.
Unfortunately, after watching her leave the critter to lay in the shade 2 or 3 times, I'd had enough.  I tried to pick up the gopher with the pooper scooper, but it jumped off.  The cat ran after.  Brought it back, then went back to the shade.  So I expedited the process and killed the thing.  Which brought me to tears, because I have a bleeding heart.
Moral of the story is:  next time I'm plugging my ears and turning up the music so I don't hear the repeated "eep" of the frightened thing.  Ugh.

Moving on.....

After alllllll that drama, I cut the grass.  I moved the hose, carefully trimmed around the strawberry patch and trees, and didn't bother with the middle of the back yard.  As you can see in the pictures below, the yard has been attacked by dog pee.  The yard lost.
After being in the sun for an hour, I had a little nap.  And woke up to a kiss from the Mister.
He'd taken a break from helping his husband move in to the new house to come home and help me do a couple things.  Outside we went, so he could take a look at the sprinkler heads before he turned the sprinkler system back on.  The dogs joined us.  Lily ran around like an idiot and Amber stuck to my side so Lily couldn't chew on her.
*side note:  When the hell do dogs stop chewing on everything!?  Lily loves to chew on Smudge and Amber.  It's just not right.  I want it to be a stage she'll grow out of, but what if it's not!?

Once the sprinkler heads were confirmed ok, Mister went into the crawl space and turned them on.  Then went to the control panel and started checking their sprays one zone at a time.  After hearing the front and side sprinklers come on and off, I knew the back was next.
The hissing of air being pushed out of the lines came first.  Lily, of course, went right up to a head and started checking it out.  *sniff sniff
That didn't last long because soon water was spraying out.  Right into her face.  She backed up pretty quick.  Then went in to "attack" the spray.  She took no prisoners.
Amber joined in the fun when the Mister came back to adjust the spray directions.  Eventually they were both soaked and having lots of fun running around the yard like idiots together.  Lily was too preoccupied with the water to chew on Amber, thankfully.

If we can get the dead spots in the yard taken care of, I'm hoping to make the space an area of peace.  An oasis.  A place to go in the summer and relax after a long day.  The back faces east, so we get a beautiful sunset view of the Bridgers.  I treasure the view every single day because I know eventually houses will be built and block my view.  Maybe we'll build a second floor and add a balcony so I can get the sight back...?

That's our pet hawk.  He just doesn't know he's our pet.

Grow, baby plants, grow!

Aspen tree growth

...to little baby leaves!

hands on hips means serious business

What, what is that thing?

eep!

shakey shakey

...and she still goes back for more.

shakey shakey again

wet.

wetter.

wetter together.

just another day in paradise....

In the middle of the night

I don't know why, I don't understand how it happened, but sleeping next to my husband is a lovely, comforting thing.
I remember being a teenager, sleeping in my bed, sprawled out almost to the point of touching all four corners of the mattress.  Ah, those were the days....
Now, however, I've been sleeping next to someone for years.  And the feel and knowledge that he's there beside me helps me sleep easier.  It's very, very strange, since I think of myself as a somewhat independent person.
Why am I bringing this up?
Because in the middle of the night I woke up, I don't remember why, and when I opened my eyes, my husband was asleep, facing me.  I had to reach out and caress his face.  Such a simple thing, but even in the dead of night seeing his face brought out such feelings of tenderness and warmth that I had to touch him.

You should return to your regularly scheduled internet browsing now.  That was mushy.

Turning into home

Small changes here and there are turning the house into a home.  It's so exciting each time something is added.  Well, exciting to me.  Matt just ends up sweaty from all the heavy lifting and moving he has to do with the new additions.

Why didn't people check with me before they built houses in the way of the view I'd have?

And stop signs, too.

Oh, big birdie, how I love to watch you fly.

Last night, really windy, hawk going almost nowhere as he rode the gusts.

I love my mountains.

We have trees!  A couple of baby aspens given to us by a lovely co-worker.  Why aspens?  Story below.

I have plants!  Never could have them in the apartment.  Apartment = no sun.

Wicked cool painting by our friend Leslie K.  The four elements.

New, beautiful desk!  Have I mentioned how much I love slate?

Cat tested, cat hidden, cat approved.

We've got plants, which add some life to the place.  They were at work for the longest time, just because I sat by the window at work and they got some much needed exposure.  When I first took them in, one plant had ONE leaf (the one on the far left).  I called it "Pathetic", now I call it "Jungle plant" because the leaves are so flippin' huge.  I have a habit of naming things. No idea why.  In our fish tank are a couple of sharks.  They're named Back and Forth, because that's what they did--swim back and forth and back and forth.  Other fish are named Duck and Goose, Bill and Jill, etc.  I need to figure out names for the trees.  Yes, I'm that weird.

A co-worker who lives in the Bridgers was kind enough to dig up a couple of aspen trees from his yard--last year.  In October.  2 days before the first snow.  Matt refused to dig in the cold & wet, so they sat all winter, with bags around their roots, and waited for us.  As you can see in the first hawk picture, the larger tree has started to bud out.  Matt dug holes, I helped (which was a lot of fun for me, not so much for him) and we planted the trees this week.  I've wanted aspen trees in the yard of our home since we got married.  The day we got married was hot but breezy.  We had the wedding outside in front of a stand of aspens and the sound & sight of their leaves fluttering in the wind is one sensory memory I've cherished since.  This year, the year we celebrate our 10th year of marriage, is the year we got those aspens I wanted.
I'm content.

The early years

I'm home sick today, so I'm pondering the good ol' days....

For most of the first decade of my life, I lived in an old converted grocery store.  Yes, it sounds weird, but it was my first home.
After my Mom and biological father divorced, she moved us in with her partner (I hate to say boyfriend, because it sounds a little juvenile).  He was 30 years older than her and, as I grew up, it was just what it was.  I guess I learned from my early years that age doesn't matter when you love someone.  He was the first father figure I knew, since the biological father was barely on the radar, and he'll always have a place in my heart as my first dad.  Never mind that he was old enough to be my grandfather (which my paternal grandparents had HUGE issues with....), he had a hand in raising me and encouraged me in so many ways, from my arts to archery.
Anyway, back to the "house"...
The apartment portion of the building was a mixed bag of crazy, creative, and scary--to a young me.  There were lots of dead heads.  Back in those days, he was big into hunting, and so was my Mom.  On almost every wall hung a glassy-eyed mount--from moose to elk to red yak (no idea the specific breed?) to badger to bison.  Deer, antelope, beaver, fowl of all sizes and shapes, I think there was some rodents & snakes, too.  And they all stared at me...their dead eyes followed my every move through the place.  It was creepy as hell for an imaginative 6-8 year old who pictured them glowering at me when I went to sleep on the couch--and then imagined them leaping out of the wall at me.  Thankfully, at least one dead animal didn't stare at me: the elephant foot stool.  I have no idea how the hell he got it, but there was a stool made from an elephant's foot--and topped with a cushion of a piece of zebra hide.  Weeeeeird.
Along with all the mounts on the walls were tons of pictures--most of which showed a particular dead animal being crouched over by smiling friends & family.  Ah, Montana....
The kitchen was an open area--and lined atop the cupboards with lots of bottles of foreign beers.  The washer, dryer, and fridge/pantry were just off the kitchen.
In the living room area was a fireplace and some furniture.  But the absolute best part, my favorite part, was the fish pond.  Yes, a fish pond.  In the back corner of the living area was an open pond built into the floor.  Koi and other species of fish swam there.  You could reach right down and stick your hand in the water.  To make things even cooler--as you left/entered the apartment, you could walk over a piece of plexiglass that allowed you to look right down into another part of the pond.  The first time anyone came over, they were always afraid they'd break through.  It was funny to see the reactions.  So the dead animals were creepy, but the pond was so cool.  I fished out a koi once, when I was about 5.  I told Mom's guy that I was going fishing--he thought down by the creek (fenced at the banks) that ran at the bottom of the hill next to the building.  I meant in the fish pond.  Apparently it was hilarious...and a little expensive.  Koi aren't cheap.
That was just the downstairs.
Upstairs was my room, which I shared with my sister.  This room had one wall papered with the images of a sunlit forest in autumn.  It was golden-hued and most of the trees were narrow.  There was lots of places for monsters to peek out at me as I lay in bed.  Oh, how I hated that wall.  I slept on a trundle bed--the kind where one bed fits beneath the other, so if you need an extra place to sleep, you can just pull it out from under the other.  It was kind of neat, but also a great spot for the cats to hide.
Next to our room was my brother's room.  In his room was a hole in the wall that led to the rafters above the apartment.  It was another scary place to me, especially since bats could occasionally be found there.  Luckily it was usually covered up with a painting of some sort.
None of the rooms had doors, except for the toilet & shower.  This was a free-for-all kind of place.  Not a lot of privacy, but who needs that anyway?
Just outside the bedrooms was a balcony that overlooked the first floor.  There was railing all along the length of the second floor, so when the adults had friends over, we'd sneak to the railing and watch them when it was late.
Also on the second floor was the party bar.  Pre-Mom, the guy & his wife liked to have friends over.  So much so, they built an actual bar--stocked with glasses hanging above, a sink & fridge below, and lots of bottles behind.  It was such a cool place to play as a kid.  Strange, yes, but how many kids get to play bartender at an actual bar when they're 7?  The adults made it look so cool, and kids love to mimic adults.  We never opened any bottles, or even touched them, I think.
Just above the center of the second floor was the skylight--the only window in the apartment.  I think that might be an influence as to why I've always been comfortable living in basements.

All in all, I loved and hated living there.  But mostly loved it.  The only reason I hated it was because of all those eerie eyes following my steps...
Did I mention my out-of-control imagination?

In any case, I have so many happy memories of being there.  I remember a birthday when I got 3 cakes--I think I turned 7 or 8.  I remember listening to the sound of Mom's laughter from upstairs when she had friends over.  I remember my brother teaching me how to make scrambled cheese eggs so I could give Mom breakfast in bed for Mother's Day.  I remember watching the cat give birth--amazing to a kid. And I remember sneaking out to the rail on Christmas Eve to watch "Santa" putting presents by the fireplace.
Sad memories, as well, of goodbyes--when my brother left for Washington the first time.  I cried because my heart broke.  I loved him so much and my world was going to be emptier without him.
I cried when we had to say goodbye to TC, the big, sweet Malamute mix.  She was sick, arthritic, and old, and they had to take her away with a tarp tied between two poles (the way I remember it) because she was so big.  That was my very first goodbye to an animal I loved. I can still remember burying my face in her fur as I sobbed before they came to take her.

There's more memories....the smell of Old Spice in the bathroom....pranking Mom with a huge frozen moth on her pillow (she was terrified of moths), which my sister thought would be funny....sitting on the spiral staircase while I watched the grownups talk....watching the Weather Channel every day after school, then calling Mom 7 times the day when a tornado watch went into effect--and going outside to see the funnel lower into the center of town.  F.R.E.A.K.Y....my sister putting gum in my hair "just to see what happens" (what happened was she got in big trouble and I got a new haircut)...and the time I used the itty bitty scissors the biological dude got me for Christmas to cut my own bangs, followed by me pretending I didn't know what Mom was talking about when she asked if I'd cut my own hair the next morning.

Ahh, nostalgia...