Garden Fever...

The weather has been terrific here, for the most part. (Sorry East Coasters...)  This is the time of year I get more than a little itchy to go plant and grow things.

I wander through the veggie and flower catalogs, aka "veggie p-rn" at our house.  I am dreaming about my garden, considering what to grow, (which is always in the category of, "Why not?", leading to "Where am I going to PUT this?" later in the season...) 

I have thoughts about making things (the barn quilt block I have been thinking about for some time, and the Tardis garden shed), and things I would like to add to the garden, (a Doctor Who scarecrow, and drip irrigation), and so I have lots of day dreaming that occurs this time of year.

I will have some real things to do, I have to paint the raised bed boxes, to preserve them a bit longer, and check what seeds I have, and need.  Just off the top of my head, I am out of a particular watermelon that I grow for Mom, I can't save seed on that one.  So, will have to buy that.  A seed swap is coming up soon, I will get more goodies to grow. (see above "Why not?" statement...)

Bless him, I told Husband that I was going to try square foot gardening, and that I should probably figure out what I had for space.  He responds, "You have 10 4x8 tanks, so 320 sq. feet to work with."
He did this in his head, while I was still working out, for sure, that one tank was 32 sq. feet...

I said I day dream.  I never said I did math quickly...

Taxes... Old and New school. And frost.

Husband and I recently were watching a commercial on tax preparation software.  I commented that he'd used it before, didn't like it.  He grumbled, yeah, but I am going to have to now.  At least some kind... 

Hmm?

I guess our government is embracing technology with both arms, giving it a deep kiss, and sending it flowers.  They are now making it nearly mandatory to send in your forms via some method of computer.  It is supposedly secure.  (Wiki leaks, anyone?)  But, I guess I should be rational about this, the various stores and such have secure websites, and so on, so I guess it's not total hokum.  And, let's face it, mail can be stolen.  So, Mrs. Pessimist grumbles and will be buying a tax disk, this year, in stead of going on the hunt for form 327x for diesel exhaust manifolds, or some other bit of arcane paper work Husband needs. 

However... 

I watched the same commercial again, this morning.  Big letters in the ad,"100% accuracy!"  I happened to look at the bottom of the screen, and saw, just before it flashed to some other blather...

"Accuracy may vary."

Uh.  Cake = Eating Cake.  I thought that didn't work.  (Unless you have 2 cakes, I suppose.)  I really should see how they can claim both. 

I mean, that sounds like saying "Fats won't make you gain weight!"  "Unless you eat them." 

And, it froze last night.  I am writing this when I would normally be at my spinning yarn group.  I may pull out my wheel and oil her today, poor Glorianna hasn't had a good oiling in several sessions.  It is supposed to warm up this afternoon, so I will make a trip to the store and get 'supplies' (Read: Husband won't go into milk withdrawal...), and head back.  It's supposed to get stupid crazy tomorrow, then Wednesday could be the break off point, and supposedly we go back to 'warm' (i.e., above freezing) temperature after that.  But, I am not going to hold my breath either way, just make sure the animals have what they need, try and stay warm, and see if I can figure out some exercise to do while I can't walk the hill. (WAAH! WANT!)  I have some exercise videos, and I can do crunches, I guess. 

But Rudee somehow isn't into feeling the belly burn...  Belly RUBS, but not the burn.

***

What is the wisest decision you made this year (2010), and how did it play out?  (Susannah Conway)

Ok, I am going to say that I am talking about the T. Petty concert too much, and self censor, that was a wise decision, but I will say that it might not have been the only one... 

I was ready to quit a group I volunteer with.  I enjoy what they do, (re enactment), I enjoy my job (mostly, I am what amounts to the gift shop), but I had had it up to here (hand way above head!) with the folks I was dealing with, and had continually been told that it couldn't be changed.  I adored them as friends, but they had one way to do things.  My way rarely came into the equation. 

So I threatened to quit. 

This was to the new people that had taken over.  I really expected them to say fine, see ya.  I was so used to being told that "that is the way it is, we aren't going to change/do something different/try new things" that I was sort of twitchy, and ready to just take my 'walking papers' and go.

The new folks looked at me, and said, simply "Why?"

I let them have it with both barrels.  I told them about not being able to fire folk as I couldn't get others to replace them, I had to pay for items out of pocket, and on and on and on, and on!  I don't think I stopped talking for 20 minutes.  I finally wound down, and realized they were taking notes.

"So, if we got you some new people, and we paid for things, would you be willing to stay on for another year?"

I was so stunned I didn't even answer at first.  They agreed I had a problem?  They wanted to do some changes? 

GAH??!?!??

If I hadn't been twitchy before, I was most definitely twitchy now.  Uh.  You will take care of additional folks?

Yes, we will send as many as you need...

You will take care of the money?

Yes, we should have been to begin with.

Well, color me dumbfounded...

I went ahead and stayed on last year, and there were some bumps.  But, all in all, it was pretty good.  I still might take a sabbatical of sorts in the future, and see what it's like just to be a 'guest', but I will find someone that can do the job, and is capable.

And all because I threatened to quit. 

(And what did I learn from this?  Speak up, someone might listen.  New folks might just do things differently than the last folks did.  And try and not go "GAH??!??!" as a response to a question, it tends to make people look at you funny.)