Harvest, day 1

It's going to be a hot day today (around 90 degrees), so in anticipation of that, I'm trying to get all the outdoor chores done this morning, and postpone my writing until the hottest part of the day.

I was just out watering the plants. I grabbed a colander too, so I could start picking some of the ripened blackberries that are growing so abundantly around our backyard. Most of the ones I picked came off the vines from the neighbor's yard, which are hanging over our yard. I figured those were fair game, and I've never seen the neighbors pick any for themselves anyway. (They have a cherry tree too, which partially hangs over our yard and they never harvest the cherries. I was half tempted to, but they're pretty much past their prime now.)

I have a small amount of blackberries right now - maybe about a handful. If I wanted, I could've gone behind the backyard fence and picked more, but I think that would've required me to be completely covered up. The brambles are thick back there. I already pricked myself multiple times as it is.

There will be more to pick within a few days. Some weren't quite ripe yet, but are getting there. Others are still green and have a bit more ripening to do. But I'll go out and pick what I can, when I can. I've rinsed today's harvest and I'll put them in a gallon-sized freezer bag and add to it as I get more.

And now, I need to get Reece out for a walk. I'm tired of walking around the neighborhood, so I think we'll go out to Lake Meridian. It's not much of a park, but it's pretty, and we can walk around the park a few times and call it good.

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Even though I haven't gotten any writing done yet today, it's been a productive morning.

Reece and I were out at Lake Meridian for almost an hour. We went down to the lake and she actually went into the water on her own without any provocation from me. This is miraculous, because Reece is pretty much terrified of water. I think she's finally getting over it. We were over by a bunch of ducks and I think she wanted to get a closer look at them. She waded out almost chest deep.

I took a picture with my cellphone so Lance could see proof that she was actually in the water. He was amazed and pleased.

After we came back from the park, I crated her and went to Grocery Outlet. I only had to get milk, but they have such a random and odd grocery selection and I inevitably end up buying more than what was on my list. I scored today, big time. Especially with the cheeses. They had a British cheese - double gloucester, and several flavored jack cheeses (a mediterranean, garlic and a southwestern flavor...I grabbed the mediterranean). Sabra roasted red pepper hummus, Dannon La Creme yogurt (the commissary doesn't carry it anymore, which really pisses me off), 2 cans of pureed butternut squash (for making soup), 2 jars of whole mushrooms, a can of papaya chunks, thick sliced Oscar Mayer deli turkey, a bag of frozen blueberries and a gallon of milk.

I spent less than $19 on all of that. Amazing.

Anyway, in the middle of typing out this post, Reece got the "zoomies" (as we call them) and started racing around the house with her toys, so I tried to engage her in play. And she accidentally bit the middle finger of my right hand VERY VERY HARD and I now have a deep gash in it that won't stop bleeding. I put a thick coat of bandages around it, and now I can barely type. Writing is going to be fun this afternoon. But hey, she's over her zoomies now...got over them really quickly when she heard me screaming and saw the blood gushing out of my finger. She's now laying next to me on the couch. While I was administering first aid, she watched me with that typical sad, guilty look that puppies do so well. I scratched her belly and reassured her that I wasn't mad. She just gets very excited when she plays. I've been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty injuries because of that.

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Ok...despite the massive bandage on my finger, I am starting to get used to typing. I'm not entirely capable of accuracy, and I'm not as speedy as before, but it's getting better.

I just spent 2 hours doing writing gig work. It took me over 90 minutes to type out an article that used to take me an hour, but I'm not just blaming that on my injury. They also have new article requirements, meaning I have to beef up the articles now. So they'll take longer anyway.

I ended up writing two articles on Ohio State in 2 days. HAHA. Go me! I miss OSU. :( Sometimes I wonder if things would've turned out differently for me if I had chosen to continue there for grad school instead of going to Miami. Then I may actually have a degree to show for all the work I did. But hey, it's not like I can rewind my life and do that over. And I don't regret the friends I made at Miami, or the majority of the experiences that I had there.

Besides, at the time, Miami seemed like the best choice. I needed a change of scenery. And when OSU invited me to their prospective grad student orientation, they served a deli tray. When Miami invited me to theirs, they had a few of their grad students take me (and a couple other prospective students) to a posh cafe. Yes, the way to my heart is apparently through my stomach.

Ah well. I think all this writing about adult education is probably the largest contributing factor to my overwhelming desire to go back to graduate school right now. And the tuition assistance helps too.

Enough rambling. I probably need some time off the computer now.