Of mice, men, and plans.

Well, it's that season, when things slow down a bit, not much is happening, and so I made plans.

And that sound you hear is the Universe laughing so hard it wet itself...

Thought I would take Mom camping.  Dad had some problems, and so we delayed the trip.  I was going to do some personal camping, (read: I go out into the camper, stay in the back yard, and eat foods Husband doesn't like, read books, and binge watch Downton Abbey.  And work on the garden.  Probably in that order.)

So, we had a phone call.  We knew Husband's Dad and Mom in law had been talking about coming out.  So, it was his Dad.  Husband asked how it was going.  Dad in law pipes up, Oh, we're in Nebraska.

!!?!??!!!   !

Oh!  Well, I might still 'camp'.  But it will be a LOT shorter than I planned.  I believe, with the way the two of them drive, it wouldn't surprise me if they showed up at our house at, or before, Friday.  So, one day will be dedicated to making the table usable for several people, rather than an open concept office desk for the two of us.  Picking up the multiples of magazines I had set aside to read, too.  (Might just take those out to the "camp", and read them... Sometime?  Put them with the month's worth of newspapers I want to look through?  Gah...)

They have set up with a friend to have a place to stay nearby, so I don't have to worry too much about the accommodations, but I don't want to move things continually to give them a place to sit themselves, or their stuff, nor do I really want it to look like we had a tornado go through a paper mill before they visit...

I have food put back, so we shall have something that they can eat when they show up.  I have a few other things I need to make sure are taken care of.  Husband has a new hearing aid he needs adjusted, before they show.  I think that we will have enough things to entertain and amuse for a bit, they love to go and visit friends...  (Ok, except for the sort of sad comment, we asked if they were going to visit some friends in a nearby state, they said, no, they had all died, so there was no sense stopping.  With age comes wisdom, but it still sucks, from time to time...)

So, when Dad gets all his stuff and doings worked out, Husband's hearing is up to snuff, the in-laws are settled and doing well, and I get through any more surprises, we'll go do the camping thing.

Why, oh, why am I hearing that dang laughing again???

My quarterly blog... Sigh. That needs to change...

I guess trying to write my blog hasn't been the smashing success I'd hoped for this year.  (Anonymous seems to think so, but I really think he/she is in it for the advertising...)  

I have planted a garden, except for carrots.  As much as the carrots are important, I want Dad to have a treat, it was just strange this season, and they never were planted.  I have been slowly trying to get my act together, cleaning out the disaster areas that are my raised beds.  What a mess.  Surprisingly, however, most were pretty easy to clean.  Husband and I put garden fabric several of them, and covered them with leaves.  While there were weeds...  The weeds were on the fabric, and the leaves that covered it. One pull, and Yoink! No weed!  So I then would turn the dirt, plant, and then wait for something to happen.  But I just wasn't able to get the carrot area cleared out, and, as it turned out, I made the soil not too good for carrots, so, there's always next time.  Pbbbt.

Tomatoes, not bad.  Acorn squash, some good, some not.  Beans, good, like always.  Crookneck, and Zucchini, meh, I think I could plant them in concrete, and water with an eyedropper filled with vinegar, and those things would grow...  :)

Then the watermelon.  I found out, after 2, count them, TWO plantings, that I had a rodent of some ilk, that was eating the plants.  I had a hole come open in the dirt when I was watering, that I could put both fists in, and led who knows where...  The damage led me to suspect someplace warm and sulfur smelling...  To that end, I have been watering that area until it floods up. Hee, hee...  The last surviving watermelon plant is struggling, but hasn't died yet.  I don't hold out much hope for it, but at least it seems to be holding on.

Corn was another feast for something... We haven't decided if it was rodents, or poults that the mother turkeys just hatched.  Either way, I had nothing left.  It ended up, I redug the bed, and planted the Crookneck, instead.  I am very disappointed, as I had three different kinds of corn I was trying.  I will try next year.  And put up bird screen...

Driving was interesting recently.  We had "retired" my little truck, and I was using my wee electric car pretty much exclusively.  I was taking family to an appointment when this... person...  hit the back of another truck, who was trying frantically to stop, (I saw her quite literally standing on the brakes, screaming, when I looked in my mirror), and that truck was pushed into me.

NO ONE WAS HURT!!  That was the good thing.  I nearly vomited while I was trying to work out what to do, but all were fine.  I called the police, which upset the... person... who hit the other truck who hit us.  Meanwhile, I had at least 3 people stop and give me witness statements that he didn't even slow down.  The policeman showed up, and we had to exchange info.  The... person... first thing, gets out and tells me this is the third time he's been in an accident like this, and he has neck problems, and and and...  (!!!!)

I had never been in an accident where I had to exchange info before, and had forgotten to get my driver's license out.  The... person... got on my case, and acted like I was the one in the wrong.  I was rather flustered, and just told him I had left my purse in the car.  It ended up, the back was so mangled, I had to have the policeman, who had long arms, reach my purse, as it was mushed into the back of the car, in the trunk area.

We all exchanged info, and then I drove home, with a very injured, but drivable car. Called our insurance, after a bit of talk, they said (thank you!) the... person... was 100% at fault.  So, we put the poor car on a trailer and schlepped it to a body shop.  The joys of instant communication, the neighbors called, as we were turning the corner on the main drag from our house, "Hey, why's your car on the trailer, what happened?"

We were told, after the inspection, it would be about a week. Sounds good, I can drive the truck for a week.

And then two weeks.  They found more damage.  Then another week.  More damage.  Then, finally, after 4 weeks, my car was returned.  The last week, damage?  No.  The insurance wouldn't pay for a light that was broken in transit.  Well, the body shop tossed a guy version of a hissy fit, and took photos of this light, which was basically broken worse than the light DAMAGED IN THE ACCIDENT, and so they finally relented.  Meh.

But, I basically had to remember shifting, and having to fill up regularly at a gas station, (car is electric), and having to re-budget for a month, since gas picked that time to go up... Yay.  But, knock frantically on wood, things came back looking nice and new, and have worked well since.

And I have still been working the Tuesday volunteer shift, getting the various yearly doctors appointments, went to the retirement of my county's sheriff, (and got a hug!), still knitting socks, and such, and donating blood.  So, some same ol', same ol', too.

I have about a week or so of "stuff" to do, then I might have some 'me' time.  With any luck, I will be working on the Garden Tardis.  (Weather is nice, I think I can paint, and work on the decorations to make sure it will handle being outdoors.)  I am also going to make a bricked area, I guess you'd call it a patio?  And area for chairs and a table, to sit and enjoy my garden.  I have bricks, garden stakes, string, pick axe, bucket, and wheelbarrow.  Now I need sand.  And time to work on it.

And, maybe camping.  Some time to veg out, and eat S'mores, hot dogs, and general food that I don't eat much at home...  Which is probably a good thing!