Words of Wisdom From the Not so Wise

For today words of wisdom from the not so wise. Yes, I am the champion of doing it wrong. It has the advantage of curbing the desire to do it again. That's what happened to me on last Wednesday. So my words of wisdom are - Don't hold your cat when your son's large dog comes bounding up his mouth gaping open, your cat will think he's dinner and the once amicable sweet feline will turn into a hysterical unreasonable whirling Tasmanian devil that will bite you very hard in his attempt to escape the perceived danger. If you are in this situation do not and I repeat the warning Do Not make your finger available for such a bite ( a deep self-sealing puncture wound will result). Particuliarly don't leave a joint exposed, the one you broke last summer. Doctors frown upon fingers and hands that double in size within a few hours. Their active imaginations go into high gear and they prescribe antibiotics that are just short of IV strength. When I asked why the fuss, he said the infection was next to a bone and hence he feared it would enter it.

If I must be subjected to such a drug I wanted it to be at least a cure all so I asked if it would get rid me of my sinus infection that I've had for four weeks. "Yes", was his reply even though he said it was a major over kill. Great!, and I mean that sarcastically. Candida, yeast infections, and other problems flooded my mind as these types of cures are often curses too. Today, I suffered the first of them. My stomach felt like it had the flu only there was no rumbly in my tumbly. I had to stop and take a brief break. Don't tell Kirk. He's been on my case about getting something to make me better for my sinus infection and thought this was a good excuse to get me to go to the doctor. Listening to my deep barking cough with lots of flem will do that to him. But this was a bit more of a dramatic result than he at first perceived when I showed him my swollen red hand. An only you look passed over his face when I came home from the medical clinic. Last summer it was a hobo spider bite that ended up not going away and they had to put me on a high powered antibiotic and now this. This is how traditons start. Oh how I hope this isn't going to be one.

***************************************************************************************

In between sick children and the bountiful rain which it is doing again right now, I've tried to plant. The rototilling isn't done but I thought it best to get started since Memorial Day weekend is the time most people get their gardens in. Is it wrong to plant tomatoes first? That's what I'm doing. They were taking over the basement and it was hard to tell what ones needed watered, until the plant wilted, but then some wilted a bit because I over watered them, so confusing. So without wall of waters or anything I plopped the babies in the ground while they looked good. Given time I might kill them. Then I realized I couldn't plant anything else because they were dangling there without tomato cages and they needed revamped AGAIN. They're home-made you see.

Okay, you don't but I'll explain. They are just torn up metal cattle panels I snip with bolt cutters and tie together with baling twine. Wow, that sounds easy but really handling a set of large bolt cutters means lots of bruises and I don't have much strength with my arms way out to the side so my whole body gets in on the act, stomach - and when that's sore - legs.

What's a cow panel. Note the picture above. Yes, it is partially buried in snow but I had to search through the photo archives for this photo. Remember my Ultra Sensitive Baloney (USB) port is on the fritz? Hence, a winter scene but it wasn't dear sweet Pedro here that is contributing panels but Tinker Bell. Her insufferable heat cycle where she jumped the fence and went visiting the neighbor's heifers left two bent and broken panels. Don't ask, I don't understand it either why she went to visit the girls. Anyway, these scrap pieces of metal panel are then renovated into things for the garden. Trellises for peas etc. and of course tomato cages. The first year I made the cages with four sides. Last year with three, along with shortening them. This year, I snipped off the bottom cross bars to allow them to poke into the ground adding another layer of stability. The wind can be such a pain for as the tomatoes thicken it presses against the more solid barrier and knocks them over. Last summer the pullets we placed in the garden to eat the infestation of grasshoppers decided that they made a nice roosting place under the stars. Ugh! They mashed the top of the tomatoes and left the cages tilting decidedly to one side. That's why I keep changing the design, an engineer I'm not. So getting it right the first time isn't going to happen and I'm scrounging materials so that has its handicaps as well. Hopefully the third time is a charm.

I'm also going to finish the bibs I cut out for our youngest grand daughter. Ones she can't just reach up and rip off like she does in the middle of every meal. Velcro may be handy but not sufficient in this instance. So back to an old school of thought. I bought six $1.69 hand towels - cheepos, then cut a circle three inches from one end. Oh yeah, I shortened the towel three inches also so it wasn't dress length. Then I'm going to sew ribbing around the hole. The bib pulls over her head like a T-shirt and isn't nearly so easy to remove. Sorry, no archival pictures to show. I'm counting on the bibs working as well as they did when our kids were little. A women has to cut her work level where she can and a stain master I am not though I spend plenty of time scrubbing at spots in the children's clothes.

Our daughter has been busy moving out into an apartment and now she has come down with the horrible flu. She is moved in enough to sleep there and with the kids at their dads for a couple days, the house is all to ourselves. I've forgotten what that is like. We will miss the little drum beats from our youngest pounding on her bedroom door and the delighted faces of the grand daughters to see us as they climb into our bed in the morning. Then again, they often don't wait until morning for we are called upon to chase away bad dreams in the middle of the night, or for reasons unknown we end up playing musical beds as we hop from twin bed to twin bed and carry children back to their beds from ours when they slap us in the face which a fling of their arms one too many times.

The peace and quiet will be a nice change. The most exciting thought is that my house might finally get cleaned and the windows with their multiple hand prints washed, along with half of the garden put in. Okay, that might be wishful thinking but a girl has to dream doesn't she? As for me right now I think dinner and a movie sounds nice, one viewed from the comfort of our own home while eating a home cooked meal. And I am emphasizing the word cooked for I 'm not referring to the last two months staple - a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. How can little kids eat so many and not hate them?