Ketchup

I'm calling this post "ketchup" rather than "catch up" because much like the condiment, it will be really tomatoey, with a little bit of vinegar and spice.

1. Although I wish it had been under different circumstances, it was very nice to have my brother and his wife, my sister and her boyfriend all down for a visit. We shared a lot of tears and laughter, reminding us that funerals are not only for honoring those that passed, but also to be with the people you love.

2. I had my interview yesterday, and considering the events over the past few days I did better than I expected, although I wish I had felt a little clearer and more put-together. I did fine until a little heat was applied and then just wasn't able to pull it through like I normally could have. In my emotionally hungover state, I fumbled, but I think I was able to complete pretty decent punt return, even if it wasn't a touchdown.

I know that football analogy made absolutely no sense, but just go with it....

3. Yesterday I got the entire farm mowed. The new lawnmower helps a great deal. I had no idea that going to a deck only a few inches wider would make mowing go so much more quickly!

I know that right now, reader, it is difficult for you to share my enthusiasm.

4. I've been off work for two months now, and the majority of that time has been spent gardening, landscaping, and trimming trees, so my hands now look like I've been employed my entire life as a field hand. I decided because of the funeral and job interview to get a manicure--something I seldom do--and I went with the shellac polish. I rarely paint my fingernails because it just doesn't last, especially with the work I do on my little farm, but I have to say I'm pretty much sold on this shellac thing. It's been five days now and they still look freshly-painted. I feel like a girl again.

I feel pretty, oh so pretty....

5. I lost one of my little Americana chickens. It disappeared Saturday and yesterday I found it--dead-- out in the pasture. I had assumed it had been killed by something earlier, but apparently was surviving out on its own for a few days and I just couldn't find it. Poor little thing.

However, to have raised 22 chickens and only lost one so far isn't too bad, from what I've heard.

6. Evie has a vet appointment tomorrow to get spayed. She sure is growing up fast! We missed our puppy kindergarden class last week and will this week because of her surgery, so we will have to see if we can get in the class next week, or we might have to wait until the next full class. This past week has been great for her, though--lots of socialization! She still barks at everyone out of fear, but she calms down much sooner. My sister bribed her with french fries, which worked like a charm.

I, on the other hand, can be bribed with Starbucks. Or Mexican food.

7. I found out, while my sister-in-law (a very knowledgable horticulturist) was here that the "clematis" that had great nostalgic worth to me (it's been here, in the back, since we moved here when I was just out of high school) and I very much wanted to save is, instead, a destructive trumpet vine that I'm going to have quite a hard time eradicating. Thank goodness I hadn't already transplanted anywhere near the house!

8. Outside my window, right now, my barn cat is holding a mouse hostage in my side yard. My chickens are pecking out the bugs in my landscaping underneath my window. Sophie and Evie are wrestling in the living room. Milton and Harley are curled up together on my bed, taking their collective cat nap. I can see the horses finishing their breakfast, and Charlie, like usual, is doing his best impersonation of a big, fat, furry, living rug.

Some things never change,