Dachshund

Made it to church in good time, parking as the Debe's were getting out of their car. The sermon was on the nature of Christianity, with emphasis on the three aspects: faith, love and hope. The text was from Colossians 1. I thought it was very good. There were two psalms sung, fewer than usual but both with familiar tunes. The service ended with Communion. I talked to Debe girls for a bit, and then I had to say goodbye to as many friends as I could find. I didn't find as many as I could have wished, Jenna, for instance, having left; but I ran into Tava, for one, and Mr. Marble. Ben's in Wyoming, though.

Came home, had lunch, did some blogging, did some packing.

It was nice out when we larked after dinner. We ran into three women and a dachshund at the bottom of the hill on the road; Lark was wary but well-behaved until the little guy put his forepaws up against my leg. I did not, I regret to say, grab her by the scruff of her neck and shake her, which is what I need to do. It might not improve her attitude, but it would certainly convey my opinion of her behavior. Fortunately we met no one after that, although it was a pretty near thing at the pond. We turned off onto the dike before we ran into the familiar pit bull and her master.

Bad Net this evening. Philip's having trouble too.

Some sort of big mix

Got up more promptly than otherwise, but lost any time gained thus by following the dog over to Sid's and falling into conversation with her. She says we should be able to figure something out for this weekend, which is when I'm supposed to be house-sitting, and also when the church camping trip is. Actually I'm house-sitting Wednesday through Tuesday, but I'm asking for Saturday and Sunday off. Which, Sid says, can be arranged. Probably.

FOUR HOURS A DAY?!?! LIUGF;OIHDG[ODIFS VKJNS'E! 

Kill.

Went to the doctor's office with Grandma and Syd for Grandma's INR test. Six milligrams, come back Friday. Stopped at King Soopers; Lark was low on dog food.

Had a nice long talk on the phone with home after dinner. Lots of stock news, heard everyone's voices. Doug cracked up completely at Syd's remark about reincarnating as my dog. Had to lark as soon as I got off the phone, though; it was nice and cool after the evening's rain, but there were a lots of bugs chewing on me. There was a magnificent red buck watching us from the other side of the valley, once. We only met one person, and jogger and his dog. He grabbed the dog immediately he saw us, and held his collar until he figured he was out of range. I had to leash Lark, though, or his calculation would've been way off.

Started reading Legacy about as soon as I learned my comp time was limited. Grrrrr.

Pit bull

Made it to church on time, but with the sort of sleep-deprived hangover that makes me lightheaded while standing and makes my blood run oddly when I sit down again. Philip was horribly helpful in keeping me awake during the sermon, which was, I think, on the gift of salvation unassisted by the recipient. I didn't have a bulletin, which made things even worse.

We didn't stay very long after the sermon, but long enough to see some people. George, a man with very black hair and a somewhat craggy face, was behind us with his wife, whose name I didn't catch. I asked Philip, and he said Mrs. Kleinbeart. So helpful. Well, at least it gives me something to call her. And while he was talking to a computers colleague, Brad (closer middle-aged, for once), I dodged over to ask Mr. Marble when Mrs. Marble is coming home. He says she and Ian (language major, I think in the Air Force now but that could be a different son) are coming back on the nineteenth, but Abby, one of the girls, is coming on the fourteenth. Unfortunately I think this is all August, i.e., after I'm gone. Sigh. Oh, and one of the ladies was celebrating her ninetieth birthday. I have yet to learn their names (hear, yes--learn, no) but I really like 'em both. The old gentleman is on oxygen, and they're both shorter than me, but I talk to him a lot, and they're both really nice. He told me his ninetieth is next year, and I asked how much of that time they'd been together. They had their sixtieth anniversary in March. Wow. That could explain why they look so.....together, I think I mean. You see one, and think of the other automatically, because the two are a unit.

A.M. Fowler was here when we got home, but she didn't stay long after. Started The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, which has a major Regency vibe and which I picked off the new-novels shelf at the library. I think Mom might like it. Pride and Prejudice meets Jane Eyre meets Lord of the Rings, or perhaps a Patricia C. Wrede Regency. I'm not at all sure how much of his plot this guy had planned in advance, though.

Quiet afternoon. Read some, napped some.

After dinner Lark finally got her walk, poor thing. It wasn't as cool out as I expected, considering it had been raining when we got home from church, but it wasn't too hot. We nearly ran into the man with the pit bull from awhile back, but I talked Lark out of running ahead and I'm not sure either of them saw us. Otherwise it was pretty uneventful. There was a nice cool breeze as soon as we got out of the park, though. ¬.¬' 

Looks like Philip messed with the time controls again. I called him, but he was driving and didn't pick up, and I haven't heard back from him. All I can say is I'd better not be locked out by eight-thirty on a regular basis.

Mostly lab, possibly pit, and "mostly poodle, if not all"

Philip ended up being the one waking me up this morning, somewhat later than usual for a Sunday--eight-forty, maybe? I panicked, anyway, enough to get out of bed pretty promptly, and then forget what I do first--i.e., let the dog out. I remembered before actually, say pouring cereal, but it was a discomfiting feeling. There was one stoplight where Philip thought we were going to be late, and we just barely made it before the announcements. The sermon was on Romans 8:28-30, which kinda drives me nuts because of course they don't use KJV, and hearing the familiar words so changed drives me insane. Of course, it would probably still drive me nuts if the words were the same, because he would cadence them differently, but not as much.

After church we ran home to let the dog out for a few minutes, and then we went to the Boonzaijers' for lunch. There was rather a flock of children, Jenna's four and one more. Soren, the eldest, is perhaps ten; Decker (?), a friend, about the same. I think Charis told me she was five, Aunica (sp?) is two and a half, and Silas is just walking. He tends to run around under everyone's feet at church, which always rather startles me. I'm getting used to it; everyone else seems to take it for granted. It's such a small church, nobody really worries about losing track of their child. Have I mentioned I love this church? Anyway, besides the little ones, there were Jenna, Steve, Philip, me, and Ben. Ben seems to be an old friend of the family, especially of Jenna's, and he's very good with the kids. He's also a programmer friend of Philip's, so they talk to each other at church a lot. So the older kids all ate at the island, and the grownups and the toddlers ate at the kitchen table. The conversation was pretty interesting, mostly about the duty of Christians to the poor and whether it applies to those who are homeless through their own fault, etc. I didn't have much to contribute, but it was interesting to listen to. We eventually left, some time after dessert, fleeing a discussion of iPhone apps that degenerated into Jenna and Ben taking turns with Phil's phone playing a game on it. Ben threw her his phone so we could escape. 

It began to rain heavily shortly after we got home, and I read Passage until about five or so, when I took Lark out into cloudy humidity. We met two women up towards the far end of the first leg, accompanied by a muscular brindle sort-of-like-a-pit to whose breed they claimed ignorance, and a big black mostly-lab. Lark was pretty relieved to get away, because even after they were leashed the two dogs, both larger than she, continued to bark. Sheesh. So I jogged for a spurt, and then had to quash Lark for jumping at me while I ran, after which we walked. Actually she walked, trotted, loped, and galloped, but I walked. We went down to the head of the creek for splashes; it was pretty lively, after the afternoon's rain. Coming up out of the wash we encountered a familiar pair: a small poodle mix, sopping wet, and a shirtless man on the farther slope of middle age. I think the first thing he said, after greetings, was, "Oh. Military?" "Ah--no, I just like their clothes," I answered, in the most glib reply to that inquiry so far. After those two the rest of the walk was hot but uneventful.

Finished Passage, Philip went back to Golden, started another Mrs. Pollifax. Did I mention Jenna's given me another reason to drive now? She wants an au pair/housemaid, and while I don't think I'd live there coming over a few times a week, or whatever, would be cool. Also certain instincts were stirred by the kitchen floor. I just wanted to grab a mop and attack it. So add it to the list of "Things to Do that Someone Might Actually Pay Me For If I Move Out Here." So far we have:

Work at Rock Ledge Ranch (driver's license required)

Help Jenna out (ditto)

And anything more I think of.

Fifteen pushups, getting easier. Twenty situps--should probably up that.

Oog.....I am so hung over....Finished Horizon at about two a.m. last night. I think the series is over now, but that doesn't do me a lot of good when my female relations are firmly pulling me out of bed. Got out with Lark about nine. We went most of the way along the first leg and still got home an hour later. Urgh..... And I didn't think to get the other books in the series even though I know I always want to read the earlier books afterwards.....

Was about up to where I would normally be at eight-thirty, consciousness-wise, by about ten-thirty when Lee left. I haven't decided whether to go back to sleep, reread Horizon, start Memory, or just stay on the computer. Mom shoved me onto the comp in the interests of keeping me awake until she and Grandma left for an appointment. I ended up reading Horizon most of the time they were gone.

Peter called after they got home. It was kinda fun talking to him. He wants me to tell Philip they got Crysis, and complained a little bit about Philip buying a Macbook. "Do you know how much he could get with that, in desktop stuff?" First he relayed the news, though, and I didn't even have to understand Doug's indistinct comment to reply: he says he can't get rid of the other laptop because then he'd only have one computer, an intolerable state. Yeah, sure. Oh, and he offered several trades for Lark: I could have Owen, I could have Baron, but send them Lark. Right. Oh, and Doug's apprenticeship to Hank seems a little unlikely at the moment, thanks to more legal troubles about Josh. There's no way I would be able to understand it from talking to Peter about it, but sufficeth it that Josh was arrested, CPS got involved, and now CPS is threatening Josh's family with prison, on undisclosed charges. O-kay.

Isaac called at five-fifteen to ask if I wanted to come watch a movie tonight? No, sorry, I was going somewhere with Mom on her last evening--but would he like me to come over and play for awhile? He would. So we ran around and stuff until six. 

After dinner Mom and I went to Goodwill. I got books, she got clothes. I don't think I got any clothes, in the end....=_= But I got lots of books! Dorothy Gilman, and a random volume of Fruits Basket, the last in Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy that I have the middle volume of but haven't read the first and am terrified of the last, a random book that looked interesting, and--wait for it--Dave Barry Does Japan. I am positive it's a bad idea, but I couldn't resist.

I'm not sure what just happened, but the result is Mom telling me that I'm coming home August 10. Uh.....okay?

Golden retriever

Well, after I'd gone to sleep with a headache at about ten-thirty, in the middle of No Wind of Blame, and woke up to shower at about four a.m., Mom let me go back to bed with my cold after I made coffee. I got up about nine, in the end, and Diane came about nine-thirty. Fedex came at nine-forty-five; Mom signed for the package, since I'm not going to open the door to someone I don't know in my bathrobe. After dressing, I read No Wind of Blame until Mom kicked me outside to dig thistles before lunch. I got eight, and finished my book before lunch. The ending was rather unexpected, for while I figured out who the murderer was before Inspector Hemingway did, it took me a good two-thirds of the book to even suspect how the couples would come out. While the subordinate pairing was relatively typical, at least at first glance, the heroine was most unusual.

After lunch I went on to reread Arabella, discovering in the process that the first six pages are missing. Well, there are advantages to reading something multiple times; but I think if I ever do order Devil's Cub, I'll get another copy of Arabella while I'm at it. I could put up with the missing pages, but besides that the spine is in a sad condition, and in general the book is rather battered.

Our walk was more taxing than I anticipated. It began with a slight limp for Lark, which intensified as we approached the Heller dig. I asked to borrow the tweezers again, and the professora made me free of the medkit. Everybody was kinda busy, although I did have a little company initially. By the time I had extracted several spines, including a deeply embedded one that may even have justified the limp, everyone was gone. This was, to a certain extent, explained by the large group of well-dressed older people listening to the professora near the cars as we were heading out. Lark limped all the way around the loop. We met a few people: an older couple, including an enthusiastic lady who said that Lark was so sweet, was she rescued? well since she's so sweet, I thought she had been--obscure logic, but I appreciated the sentiment; an older gentleman with a polite golden retriever, who sedately exchanged courtesies with Lark, and followed his master when I told him to "go on;" and a girl with a bike, coming from the direction of the pond, and seen struggling up the road from Nevada when we were almost home. By that time Lark and I were both pretty tired, from the combination of the heat and her limp. You may well ask how the limp tired me, but as I took her up and carried her for several short periods, it really does follow.

We made it home alive, however, about three-thirty or so. I sat down to do some writing, and then Owen called. Mom talked to him for a bit, and then handed him over to me. He was in a somewhat petulant mood, trying to convince me of all I'm missing by staying here. I reacted unsatisfactorily, I'm afraid, which somewhat supported his claim that they'd be perfectly happy as long as Mom brought Lark home with her. I pointed out that while they wouldn't be able to give her as much exercise as she now requires, I would be in serious trouble physically if I weren't exercising her. It didn't seem to make much difference. All in all, I was rather obnoxiously cheery, which is always fun to pull when Owen's being difficult, but he got some small revenge when I said I had to go to the store with Mom. "Reeeeeeally." I hung up.

So then Mom and I went shopping. I stocked up a bit on Pocky, since I have to send a couple of boxes home to the boys, so that now they know what they're missing there. She seems to have some dinner plans, which is nice, although I'm not sure what she's planned after the salad nicoise. I read Arabella in the car, aloud on the way home.

Hm, Doug's asking me about getting a copy of Windows XP out of Philip again. Although it was Peter last time. I did tell Phil, but....I can't guarantee any results.....so good luck, guys.

Wheeeee, cake! Mom bought an angelfood cake, and she dolled it up for dessert tonight! The icing base was whipped cream, spread on the outside and between the layers. The she drizzled chocolate on the top and down the sides, and topped it with raspberries. It was beautiful, and absolutely delicious. Grandma suggested, afterwards, I take some next door. Ralph met me, and as close as he can get to Gollum without a conscious imitation, he went. It was hilarious. He says he'll take a picture and then put it in the fridge, so Sid knows he hasn't tampered with it. I was laughing all the way home, until Lark met me with a ball. Then I switched into Huntress Mode to play.

Having finished Arabella, I'm now reading Shards of Honor, delighted to have a copy of my own.

Rottweiler

I'm having to write this Sunday, as the Mac was down all Saturday afternoon. >.> (Doug's translation)

Philip got in about twelve-thirty and crashed on the couch, which was vacant while Mom slept in Grandma's room. I didn't even realize he was here until I let Lark out about six and saw the Vic.

We brought Grandma home in the morning, after rather more time than I expected spent packing up and doing paperwork for the nurse. I didn't see Rocker again, but I wouldn't have been able to give him much attention so oh well.  I spent a lot of time riding the elevator, as Grandma was on the third floor and I made a lot of trips between her room and the car, carrying clothes, potted flowers, and books. We made it out about nine-thirty, having spent about an hour waiting, on Mom's part, for the nurse to bring the papers. We got home just as Norma, one of Grandma's neighbors, showed up with a pan of lemon bars, part of the conspiracy to fatten Grandma up. I'm afraid they're going to succeed better with me. She stayed and chatted awhile; Lark was very well-behaved, refraining from jumping and licking.

While Grandma napped Mom and I went shopping for groceries. We went to King Soopers because Philip said they had the best chance of carrying Starbucks ice cream. They didn't, but there was a coupon for it on our receipt, so we'll have to try again.

After lunch, kindly supplied by Jinn (leading member of the aforementioned conspiracy), we watched the Preakness Stakes on Grandma's TV. It was much better quality than the Derby we watched a few years ago, and there was lots of footage of the beautiful horses. I was hoping for Mine That Bird, the winner of the Derby; unfortunately, he made his bid too late, and came in second to Rachel Alexandra, the first filly to win the Preakness since Nellie Morse, eighty-five years ago. Good for her, but no Triple Crown again this year. :/

It was late afternoon by the time Lark got her walk. We went down on the Heller Center trail, taking a side-trail off the main road. It turned out to lead past a very small pond, the probable home of the heron Mom and I saw when we first drove in. We passed a group of boys on that trail; the youngest was primarily interested in Lark, remarking the first time we passed, "That's the same dog as ours!" The second time we were on the same trail passing each other, and he got a much better look as he brought up the rear of his group: "I don't think that's a Bernese." "No," I said softly, "She's an Aussie." I feel better about that exchange than those toward the front of the cavalcade. The first boy apologized when Lark bumped his nose on his leg, which was nice of him, and I really wish I had been able to say something along the lines of "It's okay." And I really wish I had thought to tell the boy who shrieked and drew back when we came past not to be a wimp. He annoyed me, and I only thought of anything but ignoring him when they had been gone a full minute. Oh well. Such are the trials of human interaction. 

The trials of canine interaction were, in this case, a lack thereof, and came as we were heading back along the main trail. I heard voices when I had almost reached the turn where the trail goes uphill, and I turned around to see a gloriously enormous Rottweiler come bounding out of that side-trail. His master called him back, and the second time I saw him he was coming out with two people. They went along the under-construction actual road, and were well along it when the dog spotted Lark and began to sheer in our direction. I hoped he would come talk to us, but his master called him back without seeing what he was going toward, and I didn't get to meet him. As the two people with him were college-age boys carrying their shirts, my disappointment is mixed with a little relief.

The evening ended with me rereading Heyer, in particular Powder and Patch. It's one of her earlier novels, a Georgian, and while it's not quite up to her later standard I had forgotten just how entertaining it is. It also left me with the strong desire to read The Masqueraders, ever my favorite of her heroine-in-disguise stories. When Philip and Mom finally finished War of the Worlds on Phil's laptop via the TV, I got the monitor cable back and managed to check the manga.  There were several good updates. :3

Well, I finally got around to looking at the new pics here. Were you guys there for a couple of days? And how come one portrait-format pic is vertical and the other is horizontal?

And I just gave Lark her first bath. She was utterly miserable, and she'll probably never voluntarily enter the bathroom again. I didn't have the heart to shampoo her. Next time, of course.....(Buahahahahaha!!!) She really did look so funny, though! I think she's forgiven me, but I doubt she'll forget. And it's times like this I wish we'd put a non-slip mat in the tub.

Huge thunderstorm last night. The power went out when I was in the middle of mopping the kitchen floor, and since one can't mop in utter darkness....I had gotten the vacuuming done, though, which is the important thing with Baron theoretically confined to the kitchen. Dog hair accumulation has shot up. I'm even running over the mud room now, which Baron hates. He's usually in the kennel when I'm doing the floor, and he always snaps at the vaccuum.

Mom is being stricter than usual about people getting on the comp during school, and so far it's one person getting kicked off per day. Peter was yesterday, Doug's today, and with any luck it'll be Owen tomorrow, since he's getting on everyone's nerves. He's trying to get me kicked off at the moment, but Mom's letting me blog. So kind.

And the single most-listened-to group at the moment is Rammstein. Doug's playing Los just now, which is one of my favorites. For the most part I prefer the Yoko Kanno station on Pandora. Some good stuff comes up, besides the Kanno of course.

Spent yesterday biking all over town with the little brothers, sticking handyman flyers into people's doors. Today we've been painting in the front room, and there's a new shelf in the basement, about where Philip's desk used to be when he lived at home. My room is a mess, because Dad finally took the warped back off the wardrobe a couple of days ago, but the new back is also a little out of shape, so it's lying on my floor being flattened from being walked on, and in the meantime the wardrobe (Dad calls it an armoire, which is extremely annoying because a) he can't pronounce it and b) he only does it because "wardrobe" reminds him of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.) is pulled out from the wall, with no back, and the old back is also still in my room. Gack. And Amazon is out of commision, because I can't seem to get the monitor out of standby--it just stays blank. I should probably get the ultra-junk one from Doug's room and see whether it's the fault of the processor or the monitor. The colors will be weird and stuff, but at least I'll know.

In OP, Luffy is fighting Blueno, the member of CP9 who looks kinda like a cow, and Blueno is in the process of getting owned. They're on a roof right in front of Spandam's office: they'd be visible from the window if anyone looked. Blueno is a Devil Fruit user: if he touches something, he can turn it into a door. This includes the atmosphere, and enables him to travel silently and invisibly through the air. Cool, but it's a pain. You should see Luffy react to this. Sogeking has picked up the two giants, Oimo and Kaashii, who were tricked into being gatekeepers on Enies Lobby. The deal with the government was that the pair would work for the World Government for one hundred years, and at the end of that time their former pirate co-captains will be released from prison. Well, those captains aren't imprisoned at all; in fact, the crew met Dorry and Brogy on Little Garden, on the way to Arabasta. Sogeking informed Oimo of this, and now he and Kaashii are out to get revenge on the WG by helping Luffy's friends before going home.
Spandam is scum. He's been gloating, practicing his maniacal laugh, and beating up Franky and Robin--both of whom are thoroughly tied up, of course. Franky's in better shape than Robin, though, because even when he's tied up, he can still bite. LOL, in the sense of LOTS of laughs. On ep 272. Better hurry up if i'm gonna watch it before bed.

Assassination attempt on Iceberg, the mayor of Water-7. Strawhats framed. Actual perpetrators: CP9 and Nico Robin. Robin has told Sanji and Chopper that she's leaving, that she framed them. Nami tried this too. She even pretended to kill Usopp, stabbing her hand to add authenticity. The problem here is that Luffy tends to pick up a certain type of woman, one that makes extremely powerful enemies at the approximate age of eight, surviving through betrayal until she meets Luffy (Nami did this for ten years. Robin did it for twenty.), at which point she stays with him for awhile, enjoying herself more than she has since she was eight. Then something comes up and she leaves. The Strawhats follow her, and she informs them in no uncertain terms that she is through with them. Conference. Decision to go after her. Fight a bunch of grunts. Inform her that she's stuck with the Strawhats. She resigns herself to having some great nakama who are willing to risk their lives for her. Fight a bunch of really powerful people. Beat them. Recuperate, then party. It's fun! Vivi wasn't like this at all, but she is a princess, a basically nice girl, was stuck with them until Crocodile was dead because Croc was gunning for them too, and aware that she couldn't keep Luffy from fighting Crocodile anyway. Furthermore, Vivi didn't stick around after her problems were solved, being a princess and all.

Finally got the boxes of books from the hallway out of my room. They were going to go back in the hallway, but Dad didn't want the bookshelf there, I forget why, so they're all in his room now. Nice and organized. Old picture books and Search the Scriptures booklets on the bottom, history and philosophy/religion second, then adult fiction, then kid's fic, then old translations, guides /handbooks, and languages on the top shelf.

So to hook Amazon up to the Net I need a network card (fifteen bucks at Wal-Mart, cable included), either a wireless router or a really really long cable (seventy bucks or so--ack), and probably a new hard drive to make it worthwhile. Gotta ask Philip what the point of Linux is. Which reminds me--thanks to Dad's advice, I now have Wordpad, Calculator, and Paint. Paint isn't good for much, thanks to the sparse color selection, but it's something to mess around with. And Wordpad is to Notepad what Della is to Amazon. More or less. I'm on Della right now, since Battleaxe is better for contraband activities, being in the study. This blog is contraband too, but it's easier to save and close if Dad walks past than gaming is. Or watching video.

Went to Wal-Mart yesterday. Needed groceries, and had to take Dad to the chiropractor. Got some five-dollar headphones. More comfortable than earbuds. Note: Mom owes me ten bucks.

Got home from Colorado Springs on Saturday night. Spent a little over a week there with Grandma Jane and Philip. Actually Philip spent most of the time in Golden, taking Peter with him. He goes to school at Mines there. He, unlike me, was blogging through the visit, at Plains of Hesitation. It is beyond me why he called it that.

Anyway, been home about five days. Dad was home when we got here--actually he was the one who had Phil bring us home before two weeks were up--so I haven't been able to watch much One Piece. On Monday, when Phil was still here, they all went somewhere, so I got to watch eps 229-234. I'm in the middle of 234 right now. We're in Water 7, and Robin has just gone somewhere with a member of CP9. I'm pretty sure it's Blueno. Also the Galley-La foremen have broken the news that Merry can't sail anymore, and Usopp is trying to get the money back from the Franky Family, which has stolen it. It's not going so well for him.

Yesterday I spent most of the day in the basement filling five-gallon buckets with various non-perishables, filling in the gaps with carbon dioxide, and sealing them. It took a long time, and I have sore muscles from lifting bags of rice, but it's not a bad job. It's not difficult, at least.

In Colorado we went to the library a couple of times. Watched V for Vendetta a couple of times on DVD--liked it--got the latest Patricia C. Wrede Regency, which is Cecy and Kate again. The title is The Mislaid Magician, or Ten Years After. The two couples have children. And there was The Raven Ring, which is set in Wrede's own universe Lyra, which she visits only in fiction for adults. Which reminds me of a complaint about the Co Spngs libraries: they seem to have difficulty with the concept of putting the science fiction in the science fiction section. Drives me nuts whenever I think about it, which isn't often.

No chores assigned yet today. Mom and Owen went to town this morning. I didn't go, because getting up at eight isn't worth it when the libraries are all closed for the holiday. Bah. They did go to Barnes and Noble, since Dad wanted Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival (very good), but retail is too expensive. Tonight Grandma B and Darrel are coming over after dinner to see Owen's fireworks display. He's the only one who spends any money on them these days, and this time it was quite a lot. While Peter and I were gone he and Doug made a pile helping Darrel with hay. Peter is put out about the fireworks because he was hoping to get Owen to buy a computer game with the money.

The livestock is all doing well. The pigs don't seem to have gotten loose since I came home, and they're all big enough to slaughter. The only hitch is that we can't afford to pay the butcher right now, so they'll have to wait. Such a pain for Doug. My main complaint about it is that I can't sell my lambs until we have the truck and trailer for the hogs. That's another thing: I'm told Darrel has a new truck. Big, expensive, and Grandma can't even get into it for lack of thing to hold onto and step on. And as far as I remember, the old truck still even has air conditioning. Mystifying. B wants me to come over sometime soon and help get Bunny and Babe ready to sell. Babe is tall and brown, except I think she has some white on her face. I don't know her very well. Bunny I do know, because she shares a pen with Hoshi. She's not all that tall, but she's a lovely reddish brown with white patches. I think this is sorrel overo. Anyway, she's a beauty, and she's not too terrible about me petting Hoshi instead of her. Actually, most of the time I pet them both. A bit difficult, but manageable.

The boys have been monopolizing Battleaxe. Dad's home full-time, and all they want to do is play Tribes or Runescape, or watch Bleach. So I'm stuck on Della, praying that Dad stays on the couch. I also have Amazon up in my room: no Internet, the only word processor is Notepad, no speakers, ack. I have been using Notepad, but it's annoying. The font, the lack of margins, no bold or italics. The main plus is that I can do it in the middle of the night.

I'm gonna go read Philip's blog now. Gonna go through the archives. : )

Nearly at the end of the 2-ep flashback of Norland's visit to Jaya. I like Norland and Calgara. Vids look a lot better now we have a new monitor. I got it, in company with an aged computer, at a garage sale on Saturday for five bucks. The computer (christened Amazon, for the old woman on Skypiea) is in my room, but it won't be running until I procure a working keyboard. There is no Internet, so Amazon will mainly use Microsoft Word and the calculator. My brothers keep lifting the monitor cable, since that's one of the connections Mom is in the habit of taking.

Been reading Heyer's Royal Escape, which I got at the library on my birthday. It's one of the historicals, not romance. I don't think I'll finish it today, leaving it in company of only My Lord John. Bonnie Prince Charlie is the main character. La Grand Georgette is very much a Royalist. Anti-Cromwell, and all that.

I wish Norland hadn't had to tell his King about the City of Gold. Bloody kangaroo court, it was. They hired a false witness, didn't even have him swear that he was telling the truth. Bastard wasn't even one of Norland's crew. And Norland never saw Calgara again, the Shandians were driven from their homeland, general misery. At least I get to watch Enel get beaten soon. I hope he gets beaten on the moon, too. So far he seems to be doing just fine. Grrrrr. (Been looking at manga chapters 435 through 459. Chapter beginnings show Enel on the moon, just like Buggy after the battle and Coby and Helmeppo with Garp.) Just in passing, you probably shouldn't read this blog if you don't like spoilers. Come to think of it, I doubt anyone does read this blog. It's more or less something to do while they're loading.....
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Such a pity that lighting is immortal....I can't imagine what it must be like to have to wait a weeek for each episode....
And in Chapter 159, looks like a skeleton named Brook is going to join the crew--the Thriller Bark arc is such fun. Cerberus is kinda cute. Oh, yeah, landmark--Robin called Usopp and Chopper by their real names. She only started doing that with Luffy on Enies Lobby. Zoro will come last.