a slow period

slowly getting better.  there was a period of no pain this morning!  i was limpless for about an hour.  that was encouraging.  i am afraid life is more boring than usual lately, so there really is nothing to write.

just another day...

doc told me it will take 6 to 8 weeks for my knee and wrist/hands to heal.  he told me to use heat, massage and wear braces.  he prescribed a stronger anti imflammatory for me, since the ibuprofen is not working.

so... heat and massage are good.  :)

WOW!  it just started raining torrents!  it is awesome to see, hear and smell.  :)  love it!

doc wants me to quit working so strenuously in the garden...to limit my time spent on each activity.  impatience and obsessiveness are my strongest suits though!  well then, i guess i will clean up inside and perhaps do some sewing...or finish my book...

i do need to find something to wear to my baby sister's wedding in may.  the dress code is casual elegance.  so that should be easy...simple, dark, with embellishments added.

watched "The Informant" last night with Matt Damon.  True story.  good movie.  i found myself not able to guess the ending.  boyd knew the ending cuz he remembered reading it in the news.

interview on monday was good - sort of.  what i mean is that i did well - I was emotionally, mentally stable throughout.  i presented myself well.  the hr director looked bored.  there were other applicants waiting in the hallway when i left.  guess it was interview day and he felt done, even thoguh he wasn't.  he told me that there were many, many qualified candidates for this one position.  i won't hold my breath.

i've been thinking about training for a different vocation.  my current interest is in horticulture.  perhaps we could grow a salable crop here.  i will research the possiblites further.  mira costa offers an associates degree and/or certification.  wonder if i could still receive my unemployment benefits while training?  hmm...

another boring entry.  i will look into putting photos on this blog. 

Sunday the 18th of April

chicken is in the oven baking.  potatoes have been peeled and are sitting in a bowl of water, waiting to be cut up and either deep fried or baked.  brocolli is still in the fridge - hoping i don't forget him.  salad is made (leftover from last night).

hands, arms and leg are well enough to do some more gardening.  i transplanted pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumbers - from the seedling bed into small pots.  the garden bed is being prepared as i write.  loads of well aged horse manure from across the street is being dumped across the south eastern quadrant.

baby chicks are thriving.  none have died yet.  :)  seems that we usually lose 10% in the first month.

i'm about 3/4 through a book called "The Bridge of Sighs" by Richard Russo.  It was hard to begin, but I am now thoroughly enjoying it.  Thank you Laura for the recommendation.

i bought a new pair of pants and blouse for my interview tomorrow.  Same as what I wore before, just a size larger.  :(

i am now going to watch the movie "Auntie Mame".

Oh!  We really enjoyed an off beat movie called "Howl's Moving Castle".  :)

it looks and feels like tornado weather this evening.  kinda windy and the leaves are swirling upward.

Hurrying Hazzard

i decided my hands and wrists were healed enough to do some work this morning. i got cucumbers and lettuce transplanted and stairs in the island formed (almost). boyd got the go-ahead from the neighbor about using his tractor, so we had to hurry up and unload the trailer so we could load it with manure for composting.  We pulled all the items out of the trailer and I wanted to sweep it out because there were some metal and paint shavings in with the leaf litter.  I proceeded to climb into the back of the trailer without using a stepstool.  normally i can still do this - but it is because i use arm strength to pull me up.  with my hands and wrists still healing, their strength is not there - so the strength had to come from my right knee.  right leg up, muscle flexed and GIGANTIC POP!!  i went down.  embarassed i got myself up as quickly (and awkwardly) as possible, hobbled to the house and downed 4 ibuprofen.  i continued to walk and do work.  as i walked and the ibuprofen did its magic i felt okay for about 60 minutes.  but the pain soon returned and  grew until i had to stop and come inside for a closer look.  my right knee is swollen.  so - ice, elevation, ibuprofen and rest.  ugh.

and, of course, it is friday.  if i choose to go to the doc - i go to urgent care.  i'm always afraid i'll get sick there.

idiot

this wouldn't happen to a pre-50 jennifer.

Nerves and a New Suit

I actually have a job interview on Monday afternoon.  In La Jolla at La Estancia Hotel.  The position is Restaurant Supervisor in their "Mustangs and Burros" Restaurant.  The human resources director thinks I am a great fit for this position per our phone interview and resume, etc. 

I am very nervous.

I am afraid of getting a job.  I am afraid of loving a job and then having it yanked from me.  I am afraid of not fitting in.  Not being good enough. 

I have to face this fear.  I probably will not get the job - but I need to interview anyway.  I've been in my cocoon long enough I think...and I do not want this fear to paralyze me.  That is like being in a self imposed jail cell. 

boyd says my job problems have stemmed from me taking jobs that i wanted to use as stepping stones.  they were not really what i wanted - they were step away from what i wanted.  he says i should only take a job that i really want, with a company that i can respect.

So - I will go look for a new suit.  I am certain my old one will not fit.  Dammit.  20 pounds in six months gained.  (insert big sigh here).

what colors are my colors now that my hair is gray and white?  guess i will research that when i research the hotel and restaurant via the internet.

another big sigh.

Baby Chicks are here!

we went to the feed store yesterday and picked out 24 baby chickens.  the dealio is - 8 free chicks if you buy a sack of feed.  it used to be you got 10 chicks per sack - but - well, you know.  6 rhode island reds, 6 bard rocks and 12 aracanas.

boyd made them a little cage and a heater lamp with a waterer and feeder.  they seem happy - and so far, none have died.  that's the thing with chickens - our experience has been that they don't all live.  yeah.  so - i told boyd that the chickens were his thing.  i will do the dogs, cat and llama - he does the chickens.  he's cool with that.  he loves the way they imprint on him and he trains them to do little things.  he likes it.  he says he is going to be more proactive in protecting them from the coyotes, hawks and rats this time around.

before we went, boyd looked on the internet to see how to sex a chick.  we want only 2 or 3 roosters.  when you choose blindly you end up with about 1/3 roosters.  so we tried to decipher who was what sex - at first by looking at their bums - but that was inconclusive to our untrained eyes.  so then we tried the leg hang method.  supposedly when you pick the chick up - the rooster pulls his legs up and the hen lets the legs dangle.  i also employed my hang your hand in the cage method.  the ones that attack your hand are roosters.  it will be interesting to see how well we did in our choosing.  i hope they are not all roosters.  most roosters turn into chicken dinner.  we will keep some roosters because they are great protectors of the flock.  it is awesome to watch him warn everyone of an approaching hawk or other danger.  he is a violent mate however - I don't care for that part.  the hens loose their feathers on their necks.  ick.  but, we do want to have more babies - so i guess i will have to deal with it.

smokey and the dogs are curious about the odor and noise from the caged area.  smokey is actually more than just curious.  age has not affected her appetite that much.

figurin' it out

the worse part of the allergic responses has finally gone.  i have still been outside in the grass, plants, etc...but walking, not messing around in the dirt.  i think the thing that caused the worsening was in the dirt.  perhaps a mold.  i did find a crop of mushrooms growing with the onions and garlic this morning. 

my hands and wrists are slowly healing.  taking gobs of anti-inflammatrory and wearing a brace on my right wrist to remind me to not move so much.

have not yet had the interviews.  they should happen this afternoon.

boyd's mouth is healing.  the surgery went well and he should be fully healed in another week.  i am glad he had it fixed.  without the extra bone he should be able to enunciate better.  that will make him happy.  and that makes me happy.

we got a letter yesterday about the zoning plan here.  all the work boyd did with the county and the city was for naught.  they will not give us (or anyone else in this area) what we want.  We are limited to building 2 houses here.  that was very discouraging.  another neighbor, however, called boyd this morning to discuss the situation.  they might have one more chance to speak their piece.  this whole ordeal has proven to us that the government is run by thugs who are not here to help us.  they have their own agenda and it is governed by money.  just because you "own" land does not mean you can do what you want to with it.  it seems un- american to me.