Warning: A Rambling, Poorly Written Update

I’ve been terrible at posting all month; my apologies to my four loyal readers. It’s been busy. (As I review this post, an awful lot of it is about A. Hmm ... what the hell does that mean? Do I want to know? Also, as I review this I see it is long and rambling. Sorry. But not sorry enough to do any thorough editing.)

The past few weeks have all been a whirlwind of new opportunities and adjustments in our house. Much of the craziness has surrounded the preparation for A.’s new job (and subsequent six weeks in between paychecks- argh!). It all came about very suddenly – A. had to negotiate to be able to give he former employer just two weeks notice. He got a new job with the Wyoming Game and Fish department surveying prairie dog populations ALL ACROSS THE STATE, all 97,914 square miles of it. Unfortunately, he is rarely anywhere near our home town. So, A. lives out of a backpack and calls me every evening to tell me where he’s living for the night and I have the house to myself most of the week. Needless to say, our days look A BIT DIFFERENT than they did just a few, short weeks ago. A. is enjoying the work and the experience will help inch him toward his larger goals after grad school, so this time of chaos is well worth it.

But, I really miss him. The dogs mope around. And there is a distinct, audible shriek of despair from the lawn and trees (including two new apple trees!) whenever I approach with any hint in my eyes that I intend to do yard work.

We haven’t heard about the other opportunity that I’d posted about and asked you all to send good karma. Keep sending those good vibes – we should hear any day now!! I really don’t want to jinx it, so I am still not going to spill the beans. No, it’s is not a new house. Oh, how I wish. Anyway.

Last weekend, 30 minutes into his trip home for the weekend, A. came down with the flu -- suddenly and violently. I got a bunch of incoherent, rambling phone calls from him along the way, which didn't set my nerves at ease, to say the least. I was playing cards with the ladies when I got three of his calls. I had thoughts of West Nile Virus and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever running through my mind.

Other than that, it was a FANTASTIC night of cards with the ladies! Lots of gossiping and catching up: there is one wedding coming up, two [and a half?] house searches going on, three hubbies/partners out in their respective "fields," one new sweet puppy, and one recent doggie surgery. Lots to talk about!

Thankfully, I was able to get Andy in to see the nurse practitioner (who is awesome, by the way) and he was on Tamiflu in a few hours. That stuff is amazing.

Since Saturday was so gorgeous, unlike the current temps in the 40s and 50s, I fired up the grill in honor of my friends in the East who were themselves BBQ’ing and grilled up a bunch of veggies: zucchini, tomatoes, jalapeños, green onions, and bell peppers. (Yes, I know there are real and important differences between grilling and BBQing and that most likely we were all grilling and not BBQing at all.) Then, once the veggies cooled, I chopped them up (roughly) and used them as a filling for burritos. SO YUMMY.

I’ve been doing a lot more cooking, but I don’t want to bore you (more than you already are). For the most part, I am destroying centuries of Indian cooking tradition by combining available ingredients with the few techniques in which I am not totally inept. I am trying to get ingredients and spices in WYOMING for Pete’s sake, so cut me a little slack. I am going to try and make my own naan tonight. Food involving yeast intimidates the hell out of me.

The dogs and I have been much more faithful about our walks, and I think Buster is loosing a little bit of weight. I think his back leg is still bothering him every now and then. I am going to investigate finding a new vet, someone a helluva lot more thorough.

Everything is so green right now. And -- finally -- our lilac bush is starting to bloom! Up here at 7,200 feet we are a bit behind the rest of the botanical world. I’ll try to get my act together and post some pictures. After all, around here, it only stays green like this for about three weeks.

Work is really busy right now. I pulled a 12 hour day yesterday. Those kinds of long days have been rare, indeed, unlike DC, so I won’t complain. But I will complain about this: the files I’ve inherited from previous “designers” (from three separate computers no less) are going to drive me to drink. Before noon.

However, truthfully, my awesome, supportive, funny, smart and caring co-workers more than make up for it. Really, I couldn’t be more fortunate when it comes to folks I work with or the work we do (low-income and food stamp nutrition classes.)

So, that is my life right now. I am cooking to keep myself occupied in the evenings while A. is gone. I am sitting down and doing more studying and writing, too. Thank goodness! But, this means my butt is continuing to grow.