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Look at the stick! It is so pretty!

2007-10-14
6:22 p.m.

Wow, what a gorgeous day it's been here in Smalltown! The kind of day that, though you planned to work all afternoon, you just can't, because it's not good for you or your kids.

I took the boys to a local park, where Youngest Son was thrilled to go play for a couple hours, while Oldest Son pretended to be so much older than 11 and not in need of a park day. Finally he went and played hide and seek and ended up really enjoying himself.

Oldest Son has a laugh that he tries to keep hidden now that he's older. It's a giggle that we heard all the time when he was a baby and toddler. These days it only slips out when he's well and truly tickled or delighted by something, but only when his friends aren't around and he doesn't have to be cool. I heard that giggle today, and it never fails to make me smile and giggle myself. Woe is me, the growing up of that boy does make my heart ache.

Park note to Cinzel: The most hyper public defender we know? His two-year-old is, too.

After we came home, I strongly encouraged the kids to play outside some more by refusing to let them turn on any electronic device in the house. They could read or play outside. They both chose outside.

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Yesterday a bare-root hybrid poplar arrived that I had ordered online from the Fast-Growing-Trees website. Two red flowering dogwood trees arrived last week, but they were in pots and look like young trees. The bare-root one looks like a stick. Because it is a stick. Apparently there were five leaves on it when it was shipped, because we found them fluttering around in the box.

Both boys were gung-ho to help plant the tree. Now, the dirt here in Smalltown (at least where we are) is largely clay. Red clay. Hard, red clay.

Public Service Announcement: Your sons will drop those shovels like hot potatoes once they figure out this isn't going to get any easier.

After much effort from all three of us, though, we finally managed to get it deep enough. Only when I opened the moist packet around the roots, half the roots fell off in my hand. Oh, that can't be good.

C'est la vie, we planted that (damn) stick, and I hope it's the prettiest stick in all of Smalltown soon.

We have two more bare-root trees due to arrive soon, these both the Royal Empress trees listed on that website.

And guess why I'm ordering trees and planning on buying more trees to plant like a freaking forest ranger. Because we had a $380 power bill in August. Ouch!! The day I opened the power bill is the same day I started ordering trees.

Granted, I have a husband that likes it to be cool in the house, and the upstairs room we added on has a separate unit. Since he sleeps upstairs (in the added-on room with no windows) during the day, we run two air conditioners all day. Please don't measure our carbon footprint.

I may have to dry clothes on a line and cook on a Hibachi next summer, because that is just too much moula being forked over to the power company. Maybe I could make the kids pedal and power the computer and TV they love so much.

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I hope next weekend is as beautiful as this one was. Saturday will be the Smalltown Day festival that is held once a year.

We went last year, and being newcomers, we foolishly thought we couldn't possibly need too much cash. How big could this celebration be? The "central business district" is a whole two blocks long, and about half of those buildings are empty.

Turns out these farmers know how to put on a fine little festival. And bring a full wallet, because there's no ATM in Smalltown. (Only as of two months ago, there is one in the grocery store now. It is *Big News*!)

Last year Oldest Son participated in the "Catch a Pig" contest until he garnered enough catches to bring home a piglet. He was most excited! And then I crushed that excitement with a big fat hairy nay, because I have enough mouths to feed, thanks. (A pig? What would we do with a pig? Perhaps it could help root out all the chew bones in the backyard.) Oh, but he was furious at me, and still brings it up occasionally.

I'll have to remind him this week that we are still a livestock-free home, and all his Olympic-worthy pig catches will be for his amusement only.

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Tomorrow morning Cinzel and I start a three-week court term, with a two-day court reporter convention thrown into the middle of it for extra fun (and where I will be forced to attend every single session and not slack out of half of them, because I'm in need of a pile of CEUs).

You all know what this means, right? That means this is the section where I say I'm probably going to be too busy to write much more here, but then I show up every day or two anyway.

Over and out.


5 comments so far boom boom - 2007-10-14 21:03:00
can you send me some of that ground? i would appreciate it... i will email you the directions if you dont mind!
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cardiogirl - 2007-10-15 04:39:17
There is no way I would accept a piglet into this household. I cannot believe anyone, much less a farmer, would send a kid home with a live pig! Damn girl, you do live out in the sticks.
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loki-katt - 2007-10-15 06:22:01
My, but you've come a long way from the girl who used to collect plastic cacti! I can remember you swearing you just weren't the gardening type and look at you now!
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nannycarols - 2007-10-15 18:13:10
Boy just think of the damage that pig would do to your back yard. They dig worse than your dogs do:-)
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Stephanie - 2007-10-17 07:19:26
I'd better keep my daughter away from pig-catching contests. She'd find some way to sneak a piglet into the house!
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