Sunday, 17 February 2013

The Sun Is In My Eyes

So low, and straight in the window. Mustn't complain, it's cheerful.

It is Sunday, not that I observe a day of rest or anything, but I am going to waffle this morning rather than saying anything remotely profound. With any luck the gremlins will be over later, so it's not going to a be a work day as such, but I start my day here in my office every day as stuff happens overnight on eBay.

Today I got up to discover that somebody has bought ALL of my brontosaurus earrings. You can't explain stuff like that, and I don't ask why, I just say thank you and re-stock, but it does make me wonder - are they a club? I had a similar thing happen with tennis racket earrings last week, that one was easy to guess. Do you think this might be a student paleontologist buying gifts? We may never know.

This is one of the things I like best about what I do, I never know what is going to happen next. Keeps me on my toes, keeps life varied. As you know, I do get the occasional odd message. Had a lady this week telling me to send something by First Class mail. I explained that I was in Canada, can do. She replied that she sent First Class mail to Canada all the time. Which is great, but we can't do it the other way, there's no such thing. She was gracious about it, at least, but it was yet another reminder how perfectly intelligent, educated people assume things outside their own situation are going to be the same. There must be a name for this.

Of course the weather keeps us alert too, the forecasts are a waste of time, and the weather is being widely accused of having mood disorders. I assume this is a climate change symptom, but I don't recall the "change" supposed to be on a daily basis. On the other hand there is a long-standing saying around the Great Lakes that if you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes. So it may just be that. Certainly the blizzard in Owen Sound yesterday was "lake effect" because we drove out of it once we went uphill.

We have a funny thing here in dog dynamics. Pepper is our strictly outdoor dog/guard dog. He lives down at the barn. Every day Bowser goes to visit him, and they just hang out together. Obviously dogs don't talk, but they may as well be having a chat, the way they sit there. They are absolutely the best of friends. All of this is very nice. However, Pepper shares his food with Bowser. We would rather he ate it himself, not just because as an outdoor dog he needs the calories, but because Bowser is almost full grown, and really doesn't need the extra. He already weighs 140lbs, and we don't need this giant getting overweight in addition to his natural size. Pepper's attitude appears to be "Help yourself, they'll bring me more later". We tried not letting him go down there at all and they were BOTH miserable. So we tried feeding Pepper very early, and not letting Bowser visit him until the afternoon, but he'd saved him some........I don't want to reduce what we give Pepper. This is an ongoing thing.

Sally the Donkey has got very shaggy. Don't you love the way nature provides? We kept pigs into the winter once and they grew thick hairy coats too. Why don't I grow a fur coat in winter?

I started another blog, if anyone hasn't noticed yet. It's about gardening. The seeds are coming into the stores and it's making me impatient. I want to be out there planting. Can't do that for weeks and weeks. Friends in milder climates are talking about spring. I have two feet of snow and the only sign of spring here is udders enlarging on the sheep. We'll have lambs soon, but it's late this year. We normally have some by now. Fall was late, you see, and the girls don't go into oestrus until it cools off at night. So, bonking in October means lambs in March. We won't be selling them for Easter this year, that's for sure. Suits me, I get to keep them, grow them all summer and fill my freezer in the Fall. YES!

And there, dear reader, is Melanie's life right now, in hurry up and wait mode for just about everything. I have a midterm exam in one of my online courses this week (Genetics and Evolution) which I am going to fail, but I'll do it anyway. It doesn't matter that I fail. I won't fail any of the other courses. I'm in the 90s in all my other courses, it's just the math on this one causing me problems. I'm allowed 9 minutes per question, where I need about an hour, or possibly two, so I haven't got a hope. But I am still learning enough to make it worthwhile. And THAT is what it's all about, isn't it boys and girls. Just keep going. To prove I'm no coward I've signed up for 3 more genetics courses later in the year, hoping they are less math-heavy, but I'll plod on regardless anyway. It's always possible if I keep doing this for several years I may even get the hang of the math.

I had SEVERAL people, who shall remain nameless (but I'm married to one of them) tell me that while they understood how much I was enjoying these courses, as they don't count towards anything, it seemed like a bit of a waste of time. Obviously I disagree, how can learning be a waste of time? But I know what they meant. If I find it that easy, I should invest in real courses and get a degree.

But would I use it? I'm almost 51 years old. In 9 years time I qualify for free education, and everyone says "it's too late, you won't use it". Well, would I use it now? Seriously? Chances are, no, I wouldn't. Not even in academia. I'm far too set in my ways to adjust to the politics involved. So why pay? I do this for the love of learning. It's my leisure time. We are all allowed leisure time, aren't we? So there you are. STFU, I'm enjoying myself.

Oh, and Colleen? Martin LOVES that hat, he's out in it right now.


  1. Mornin' Mel! If you stop shaving your legs and pits just around Thanksgiving, and you, too, could develop a new coat of fluff to see you through the winter. ;) Just trying to be helpful. LOL

    We're busy packing our two teen boys for their two-to-three week stay at the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Johnstown, PA, which is about an hour's drive. We have two cars full of people from Altoona who will be 'invading' Johnstown for the day. My friend, Anna, plans to visit the Galleria Mall while we're over there. I'll be glad when they are all checked in and somewhat settled. It will be interesting to see if/how/when Brendan uses his sister's cell phone. Lots of last-minute things to check and double-check. Will blog about this at some point later. ~ Blessings!

    1. I don't grow hair on my legs, I'm a freak.

      Oh gosh you are busy busy busy. Yes, I look forward to hearing the story.

    2. Tom used my phone to send a text message for the first time this week (he's adamant he doesn't want one of his own) and messed it up. Which frustrated him and made him even more negative about them. But I made him persevere. He was trying to get his eldest brother to talk him through some maintenance on his Linux system. The irony of a person understanding Linux but being afraid of a cellphone is probably totally lost on those not used to the autism spectrum, but anyone who is just nods and smiles.

  2. There is no reason to ever stop learning... I love learning new things, I love knowledge, I love the challenge, I hate math..*L* I suck at it too.. you should have seen me going through an accelerated engineering program... I really struggled, but found a buddy who was brilliant at math, but was dyslexic... so I helped him write reports, he helped me get through the math. Teamwork.

    I'm looking forward to lamb... *waggles eyebrows* I think my tummy is rumbling just thinking about it.

    Dogs do talk to each other, just not the way we do... it's all about body language and scent. Just as well they do it and not us..I'm not keen on sniffing butts.

    I'm glad Martin is enjoying the hat. When I saw it I just had to get it for him.. I think I picked it up a couple of months ago.

  3. I find learning much more fun when I am not paying for it and the grade doesn't matter. I get more out of classes I don't feel pressure to get things out of. Once you stop trying to learn what is the point of life I wonder?
    I was all ready for spring. There are robins here. The snow from yesterday has melted. Then the forecast for 12 inches of snow for Thursday made me rethink trying to get the garden ready for seeds.