SATURDAY — Night sounds, music, food

We ended last week’s blog with the wonderful news of a found kitty.   Now we are back on a Sunday night to mention the day that started after midnight, about 12:30 a.m.   We had been in bed for a couple of hours, and our youngest and oldest dog began barking in the house.  I awoke and heard a dog barking in our pasture, so I asked John to please check on it.  We kept our dogs in because we knew they would just go out and bark at the situation.  John went to the back window and determined it was the dog barking in our pasture at our horses.  We had been forewarned earlier the day before by a neighbor that a dog from another neighbor was barking at our horses.  Someone was yelling at the dog to come back; John thought the episode was over and went back to bed.  Tne minutes later it started again so he got up dressed, and went to investigate.  He found the dog chasing the horses and the horses running down to the other end of our property.  Our pasture is about 7 acres.  John went and cornered the dog and yelled at him to get out.  He seemed to go back through the fence to his “home”.  John stayed out in the moonlight to check the horses and to put some hay out for them to nibble on up closer to the barn and house, and to calm them down.  The dog came back and John shooed it off again.  He then stayed up till 3:30 at the computer in the back of the house where he could listen to be sure all was well.  Later he heard the dog barking at another neighbor’s house next to us, who has pigs and a cow.

We were all ready to call the police in the morning to have them talk to the neighbors with the dog, because another neighbor had already gone to complain about the dog coming to her property and chasing baby deer.  Nothing was done about the dog.  Before we called the police, we called the neighbor with the pigs and cow and asked if they had heard the ruckus in the middle of the night and if their pigs and cow were bothered.

Turns out we had a soap opera happening, and the dog chasing our horses was a minor part.  There was an altercation in the house which has the dog.  The young woman, owner of the dog, tried to break up a fight between two young males. She got pushed about and bruised up herself and shoved out of the house.  She climbed back in the window to get back to her daughter. The fisticuffs resulted in a large plate glass window a major casuality.  That caused the males to head back to whereever, leaving the young mother and daughter alone and scared in a house with a gaping hole in its front.  She then headed to the nearest neighbors (they with the piglets and cow) looking for a safe haven. They took her in, but already knew there had been a ruckus because they had been out feeding an orphaned piglet and calming down their pigs and cow from the barking dog.  The two guests stayed till 3:30 a.m. when an older brother came to escort them – someplace?  At our place – the dog did not return, the horses settled into a mid-night snack, and peace reigned supreme.

We do not know the end of the story, yet, and we may never.   Supposedly, the brother and sister were going to report it to the police, particularly because of the damage they hoped not to have to pay for.  Daylight may have calmed all and discussion changed plans.

The rest of our day was spent on household chores, playing with kitty, feeding the animals, and looking at the sunshine.  This evening I went in for playing music at the Taize’ service, and we were served homemade chicken and dumplings, biscuits, apples, and cake (two types, choc & carrot) for dessert.  YUMMY.  John stayed home and had leftovers for his dinner.  I must say there was also a Vegan dish at dinner and I made the mistake of taking a piece of “artificial meat” that I guess was made from soy protein.  It was God-awful tasting.  Never again for me.  Even if I were a vegetarian, I could never stomach something so bad, not only the taste, but the texture as well.  We’re big on being able to recognize our food.

I didn’t get home till after 8:00 p.m. and still had some proofing of some GIS material to do for a friend.  Now I’m able to go to bed, and I should sleep well tonight, hopefully without any interruptions by the kitty or the dogs.

Monday.  Started with a phone call from the bank.  It will not be helpful to refinance our house loan for a lesser interest rate – our current rate is quite low and our payoff year not far in the future.  Next phone call from CWU to explain why my ending paid date was Mar 5, 2010 instead of the end of the quarter as I thought, when I thought I retired on Mar 31st.  And to find out why when I’m still being asked to write letters of reference I no longer can have access to student and past class records.  I requested it so I could better write letters of recommendation for jobs and grad school for my former students.  Being no longer on the payroll it is against the FERPA law

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

to allow me to view the data I have had access to for the past 40 years.  Very interesting.  There are good concepts in the law (protecting students) and some crummy consequences, as noted.

John made the best dinner.  It was stir fried chicken in a soy type sauce, onions, mushrooms, celery, and butternut squash on the side.

Here’s a play on numbers for you, for this year, 2011.                                           This year we will experience 4 unusual dates….1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11  NOW go figure this out–take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year and it WILL EQUAL 111.  Check it out.  It works.

Tuesday… lazy day at home, but I spent a lot on the phone trying to sort out things such as getting my Group Health to pay for the mouth wash to destroy bacteria in my mouth before they get into my blood stream.  Calling about seeing if I can find a visual enhancer (one is a closed circuit television; CCTV) in town for parents of a friend to try out.  The father has macular degeneration and hasn’t been able to read anything for over 2 years.  They cannot afford a machine to assist for $3000, so I’m looking for community or other resources to help them.  John found there are Lions Chapters that might assist with half the cost.

I also am considering serving (applying for) a position on the Board of Commissioners for the Hospital District here to complete an unused term.  Then it would be renewable in the next election.  I’m collecting information trying to figure if it is something I want to do and could do well.  If I apply, and I think I will, it would only last till Dec 2011, and by then I would know if I am interested in continuing, and if I have the support of the Board to continue.

John fixed some great stew for lunch today, but I don’t know what’s up for dinner.  Dinner was the same good stuff (leftovers) from last night.  Rest of the night I spent on creating a current resume’ for the hospital board application.

Wednesday.  Most of the day was spent on the application letter and resume for me, and calling more about the CCTV.  Also, we washed dishes and clothes, only to find out our dryer has lost its heating element.  So before we could go to bed John had to string rope for hanging clothes on the line.  A few blouses and pants I could put on hangars in various door jams and shower bars.  But now, we need to call a Sears repairman to come fix the dryer.  While here he might as well fix the oven/range door that is held shut with a bungee cord, and the dishwasher that is falling out of the frame.  Oh fun.  We have been putting this off, but going to the Laundromat to dry clothes is not our cup of tea.

Thursday.   Morning started with a phone call from a low vision specialist responding to questions I had given her yesterday.  Then I called Sears repair and found out perhaps one of our two circuit breakers on the dryer had flipped.  Indeed that was the case.  As the tumbling action worked we did not think of a second electron source for the blower-heater combo.  Amazing.  (or amazingly stupid – says John)

Then it was time for breakfast.  I spent the next bunch of time finalizing my application for the Hospital Board position, and got it sent off, just in time to eat lunch and go to town for a busy afternoon… that finally ended with my coming home at 6:00 p.m.  The fog was SO bad I had to drive 20 mph with my lights on low beam.  I wish I had the old yellow fog light that was on my old ’35 Ford.  I even tried my yellow flashing blinkers, but they did not help.  Tonight I have been answering emails, and now it is time to go to bed.  Where did the time go?

Friday was a really busy day.  Started early in the middle of the night with kitty Sunny pushing a phone off its perch.  It awoke us all, including 4 dogs, John and me.  Back to bed and then up at the regular time.  I had to rush around and wash my hair for a trip to town for my first therapeutic massage on my “bad” left shoulder, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Senior Center.   (It’s a free service donated by the woman who performs them.)  That was a great experience.  I was quite surprised to realize the person was my student in 1997!  After that I went to campus for a scholarship luncheon in Barge Hall, the oldest building on campus – built when Central was established as a “normal” school.  “Normal” was the term for teacher-training.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_school

And this usage seems to relate way back to the term’s use in ancient mathematics.

http://ref.subwiki.org/wiki/Normal_(mathematics)

And if that’s too boring for you, try this: (dress and a word may offend some):

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

Lunch at the Normal School was super fun and good; tacos with all the fixings, and a valentine theme, plus Rice Crispies bars and molasses cookies for dessert.  Then back to the Senior Center for my SAIL exercise class.  After that I went to school to participate in the telephone interviews for my replacement (just listened).  At 5:00 p.m. I left quickly and drove home to pick up John, my violin, and leave the chocolate milk I had bought, and we got back in the car with the Pork Loin that John had cooked for the music group potluck and jam session.   This time he cooked it with plums and apricots.  Double yum.  Other food included green salad with crabmeat, chili, Hawaiian pizza, chicken and rice, potato salad, and a veggie plate.  Cookies for dessert.   We had a blast there and didn’t get back until 9:20 p.m.  Now we have almost caught up on email for the day, and we are headed to bed.  Oh, I have sat for 15 minutes on and 15 off and 15 on again of ice on my shoulder, as was suggested to help generate movement of the fluids in my sour shoulder muscles.

Saturday, to town after calling John’s sister to wish her a happy birthday.   We drove through a well known speed trap on our way in, and I was slowed (I always do, to the 25 mph limit there).  We mentioned how good it was we weren’t breaking the law.  Went on down the hill toward town, past the University, and in the rear view mirror was a flashing light on a police car.  I pulled over, wondering what I had done wrong.   Turns out my license tabs (on John’s car) had expired Oct 2, 2010.  We do not know how we missed knowing that and renewing, but we did.   The policeman asked to see my driver’s license, but I had to get out of the car to get in the backseat where I had put my “purse” holding my wallet and Driver’s License.  He asked my birth date and then went back to his car, lights still flashing, and must have checked our license plate on-line to see the car ownership (which he had also asked).  He did not ask to see our registration or insurance.  We found out when we got home, the registration was NOT in the vehicle glove compartment.  I have a feeling I brought it in after the last trip to Yakima, when I took all the information and receipts out of the glove compartment to file for tax purposes.  I probably brought it in (tag registration) because it expired  Oct 2, 2010.  I likely assumed the other was still there for this year.  The insurance paperwork was there.  He eventually came back to the car and told me he would give me a warning, if that was all right, because the other option would have been a $210 fine.  I thanked him and told him I would really appreciate the warning.  He suggested we go home and get the registration as soon as possible, and if we got it on line, to print out the paid note from on the web, to carry with us, until the tabs arrive (in a couple of days).  I came home and figured out how to do it on line, paid for it, and requested mail delivery.  Meanwhile, I printed the transaction and that it was paid now till Oct 2, 2011.  We guess the paperwork reminding us must have come in before the deadline, and we laughed to realize the deadline coincided with my retirement celebration.  We have been driving John’s Subaru almost 4 months with expired plates (tags).

After the excitement of being pulled over by a policeman, we went for a small lunch at Jack in the Box, and then on down to the City Library meeting room (large conference room), where there was an Ecology/Environment fair.  Several of my former students were there with poster boards and displays describing work and volunteer interests. [Example: Comparative tasting of bottled and tap waters.  Can’t tell the difference?  That’s the point, so why not drink the tap water and not use plastic bottles.]  There were representatives of the local Audubon Society, conservation folks, local food growers and more.]  We saw several people from the community whom we know.  After that, a short trip for groceries, and on home, into the fog again.

Oh, the other excitement on the web was paying for and downloading a version of Finale Songwriter, for $50.  I only had one more day of usage on my 30-day evaluation copy for writing and transposing music.   I only need to do one more song for my friend with the clarinet for tomorrow night’s service, and then I can branch out or up to new things.  There are still plenty of songs we play in our Fiddlers & Friends group that need to be transposed for the B-flat clarinet.

I will end this now, and pass along to John to put on the blog.

As usual, we wish you a good and healthy week, and we’ll be back same time same place to report to you on the latest in our lives.

Nancy & John and all the critters