Peak oil blues

Been reading another one of those books about the coming crunch when oil supply curve parts way with oil demand curve. Kind of makes the ol 9-5 ratrace seem less relevant.

In other news, too bad the wood cutting project fizzled. I am on the hunt for a utility trailer our escape can pull. I'm thinking a 5' x 8' or so. Once I get one, I could help haul wood. Right now my chain saw is in Wisconsin, where we've been clearing brush and dead trees.

This next weekend, we help Bri move to Viola, Wisconsin, to start her new job and start tending our house.

Her's a photo from the tomato transplant party this past Saturday at Green Earth farm.

New cheesehead

Hey, here is some family news for you. Bri is moving to our house in Wisconsin, and has taken a job at an organic vegetable farm as thier chef. Check them out at this link.
http://www.harmonyvalleyfarm.com/

She will be working there, but we also feel a lot better with out house being lived in. Also, maybe we'll do a joint gardening project. We've met most of the neighbors, who are very nice. She'll be moving in on April 4.

was a yooper, now a cheesehead.

garden dreams

Ok who all of y'all does a garden? We've had suburban yards with too much shade for many years, so I'm itching to get rolling at the Wisconsin place. I'm open to recommendations on successful varieties, and if you have a rototiller, comments on good makes and models to consider.

visit with McKenna cousins

Saw cousins Therese McKenna Berens and daughter Alison downtown this weekend. In town for a volleyball tournament. Aly will be attending Eastern Illinois on a volleyball scholarship in the fall.

For whom the mud thaws

Just added a post to my viridviews blog. I'm looking for comments and opinions on it.

Other news: Looks like Bri will move to the house and farm we bought in Wisconsin. She came down for a job interview with a nearby vegetable farm and a nice visit with us. We explored one of the towns nearby, walked the property, mulling over what needs to be done and what we might grow.

come the fall

Economy slowdown hit my company, quite a few layoffs and org chart shuffling. My department is ok, but several people I knew are gone. Two guys I know in the Tyler Texas office disapppeared in the blink of an eye. I tried to call one with a question yesterday and he didn't show up in the on line company directory. Turns out the axe fell last Friday when I was out of the office. I heard they had Texas Rangers escort the layoffs to the door. Real classy way to treat guys who've been in the business for decades.

Hope you all are keeping your head down, planting a garden, tucking away some extra money in the mattress. Things haven't bottomed out yet.

Squatters in my house waking me up!

I wake up at midnight to this really strong smell. I have this vague recollection from a novel I read upteen years ago about someone smelling a strong pungent smell before dying. Yikes! Isn’t it crazy what pops into your head randomly? I know it’s midnight because I groped along the night stand to find my cell phone and held it two inches from my eyeball. Stinkin’ nearsightedness. Anyway, I still hear the moose calls emitted from Chuck next to me so I figure I’m not dying, just over-whelmed with this smell that’s a cross between the first air blown out by the furnace in the fall, and mangoes. I can see light from the hall and I want water. I get up and do my 45-year-old lady shuffle in the middle of the night towards the kitchen. Isaiah is in there spreading peanut butter on a slice of my home-made wheat bread. “What is that smell?” I croak out. (At this point I’d been asleep for two and half hours. Hey, I need my beauty sleep- besides, I’m a morning person.) He just says, “I don’t know; g’night momma.” and heads to his room. I pour filtered water from the pitcher, trying not to spill with my half-asleep motor skills and shuffle back towards the smell coming from the “kids’ bathroom”. Obviously Bath-n-Body has some new scent that is not going to be my new favorite, and Chris has used the entire line of products in one fell swoop.

Family Weddings

Okay, so here I am still thinking that I'm like, young and my kids are getting married. SHEESH! Before you know it, I'll be a gramma. Stop laughing! I don't know why they are in such a hurry.
(I know, the pot calling the kettle...) If they think college is stressful, wait til they find out what it's like to pay ALL the bills. We've been weaning them off over the past year. They had to pick up their cell phone bill, their car insurance, etc. Every time we call a family meeting they are scared we are going to tell them that they have another bill to take care of. Ha, ha.... So, anyway-
Isaac repeats the vows on May 30, Ashley on Aug. 8th, Isaiah on Aug. 15th and Phil on Halloween. Chrissy is in three or four weddings this year and swears she'll be in the remake of 27 Dresses. She's not complaining; she wants to do more traveling and stuff before she settles down.
Well, gotta go for now. I'll post more later. I'm just really busy with preparing for weddings!
PS~ that bacon loaf thing looked really gross!

Cool magnet demonstration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glCNP6qH_Dc

This is an interesting demo of magnetic levitation. I'm having a hard time visualizing exactly what the circuit is doing, but I think I get the idea.