Fragments

Friday.  Such a lovely word.  I've had a peculiar week, slightly fraught, a bit convoluted and with one embarrassing incident that really wasn't my fault.  Honestly, it could have happened to anyone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Because I live on a mountain and have a septic system, I have to be careful what does down the drain. No grease, foreign objects, etc.  I was making dinner on Sunday for my sister and myself when I burned the ring finger on my right hand with a splash of grease I was trying to swoosh out of my frying pan with paper towels.  It hurt like a mother, though after copious amounts of cold water and some Aloe, I moved on.

Monday, after my sister left, I was home waiting for the dogs to get released from the vet's, and while showering, I had this sudden excruciating pain from the hot water. I hadn't been paying too much attention to the burn, what with getting the boys to the vet by 7:30, having breakfast with my sis then saying farewell to her, but wow, I was paying attention now!  My finger was swollen and bright red, burned from the bottom edge of my nail to the second knuckle with a most impressive blister. I won't go into the gory details of my first aid efforts. Needless to say--yet again--I've had to buy another extra-large box of Band-Aids.  And it still hurts...besides looking really gnarly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ozzy--of the extracted tooth and the new mushy diet--has become a baby food addict. Apparently the beguiling flavors of turkey, chicken or beef from tiny little jars has convinced him I've been holding out on him all these years.  Just that little vacuum pop when I twist the lid and the seal breaks will bring him running like a crazy lunatic.  He laps up the stuff like it's Beluga caviar and he's a Russian prince.  I will be so doomed next week when he can go back to regular food.

His meds are starting to get to me.  I had to make a chart.  Seriously. He gets four pills, twice a day, though one pill, broken in half, has to be given one hour before he eats, but the pain medication is twice a day and has to be given with food; the antibiotics are once a day and only in the mornings. The other day I stood in the kitchen, looked at the whole array, and lost the plot for a minute. Hence the chart, which is working great as it doesn't require any deep thought.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With all the rain and the unseasonably warm temps, the grass in my backyard has grown about a foot in the last few weeks.  With two wee dogs, tall grass doesn't work.  It's all about clearance for those manly bits.  So, against my better judgement, and the swamp-like condition of the lawn, I actually had to mow on Wednesday.  Mowing.  In February.

It wasn't easy, either.  I pretty much had to yank and pull, torque and rip to plow that machine through the wet soggy grass.  It might have been less violent if my mower was electric rather than a push mower.  I tried to tell myself I was getting some real exercise, though I don't usually swear and curse so much when I work out.  Still.  It looks okay and at least the boys don't disappear when they go out now.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grocery shopping yesterday.  I'm in the soup aisle, crouched down to see the stuff on the bottom shelf.  A woman pushes her cart toward me and says, "Hey, how's it going?"

I look up over my shoulder.  I don't know her, but I say, "Pretty good.  You?"

"How's Bob?  He get back from his trip?"

I stand up.  She's passing me now as she adds, "Are you guys still going to Florida?"

I frown, but as she goes by, I say, "Sorry, I don't know Bob.  You must have me confused--"

She turns and scowls at me like I'm some kind of stalker weirdo...and then I see the Bluetooth device peeking out from her ear.  Not too embarrassing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Last night, everything done, dinner and dogs and all, I get a nice glass of wine and sit down to read a book I've got on my tablet.  Huh.  The battery is low, lower than it was an hour earlier when I loaded the book.  I plug it into the charger and begin reading.  In less than five minutes I get a message that says my battery is nearly dead and I need to charge it.  WTF?  I get a different charger.  My tablet dies anyway.

I call the tech people.  They are so sorry (yeah, right) but the battery is dead.  As in permanently nuked.  And no, in case you're wondering, there aren't any repair options.  I ask if I can just buy a new battery. The guy tries not to laugh, but I can hear it in his voice when he says no.  So, bottom line?  I can buy a reconstituted/used replacement, or I can buy a new tablet.

Jury is still out on my decision.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My photography has taken a hit the last few weeks.  I've barely touched my camera, other than the few shots I took for the Tuesday post.  This interim period in the seasons--sort of like the doldrums when I was sailing in the South Pacific--is pretty boring and listless. Some buds, some blooms, a bit of growth (like my blasted lawn), but overall not much to photograph, or post to my Shot of the Week. At this rate, maybe I should change the title to Shot of the Month.

Yesterday I spent a little time going through my favorite shots from the past year, with the idea that I would enter the Photo NW exhibit again this May.  I knew I was cutting it close because last year the application had to be in by March 1st.  So, I find eight photos with possibilities--out of the many I took this year--and this morning after walking the boys, I went to the Arts Center to pick up the form and pay my entry fee.

--Sigh--

The Art Director has retired and a whole new crew is in place.  They've changed some things, added some things, and perhaps even improved some things.  Unfortunately for me however, in their zeal, they also altered the dates for submitting photos for the exhibit. Last Friday was the deadline.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So, it's been a week...of charts and broken tablets, yard work and deadlines.  I'm just really glad it's Friday.  I've got an ice cold Dos Equis in the fridge, a garlic/spinach pizza calling my name, and the weekend ahead.

That works for me...