Pollen!

Here is a lovely picture of the "woodland" in our back yard. Note that the basis of this is a grove of escarpment live oak trees. And that they are very, very greenon the ends. That is because they are abloom, and when they are blooming they create extremely copious amounts of pollen. Today it is breezy, and you can see what looks like smoke coming from the trees whenever there is a gust.

(In the foreground you can see the absence of grass that was caused by how thick the trees used to be--that's where we planted grass seed, though much of it washed away in the flood day before yesterday. But some remained, so maybe we will have grass this year!)

This is the time of year in Austin when it is really futile to wash a car. In ten minutes it will become greenish yellow again, so why bother? Already the gazing balls and gnomes are yellow, though they are too far off to really see.

I am very, very proud of how the woodland looks right now. The understory trees are budding out, the inland sea oats are fairly high already, the wandering jew is poked out and turning purple, and the false indigo is nodding all over the places it has naturalized. What you do not see are blackberry vines, Virginia creeper or briars, because I have murderized them all, other than two decorative creepers I have graciously allowed to go up the oaks until I pull them down before they bloom. You will, perhaps, spot a grape vine, but I assure you I murderized it, too. Unfortunately, it is trying to reproduce, so I will have to take RoundUp to it once there are leaves. I have been trying to get rid of that vine for ten years now. Persistent.

Also invisible in the photo, but definitely present, are tree worms (don't know what they really are called). These are the inchworm-like insects that hatch from oak galls, then hang on a delicate thread, as they wend their way to the ground (where I hope the 8 zillion blue jays will eat them). These always appear right around the time of my friend Austin's birthday bash, making sitting under the trees at the church and jamming less than pleasant. You always have to be checking for worms. If you sit very quietly at this time of year you can actually hear them landing. Ick. Sounds like rain. Yuck.


On a happier note, I am also sharing a picture of the Younger Boy, to prove he is also cute. Here he is wearing the hat his dad got him on Ebay from the Ukraine (wow, that person had great handwriting, judging from how well the package was addressed). Not sure what the fascination with Russia is, but he also got "learn Russian" DVDs. He's practicing--maybe eventually he can talk to Stephanie W.

But look how manly he has become at almost 14. And look at that skin! What a complexion! This picture was taken last week, before the oaks had budded out and after they lost all their leaves (yes, live oaks shed, in the spring).

I hope this will post, since an Internet glitch killed my first draft of this, and something Jeff was writing, too.

Good Attitude Bonus Day

I was going to put a lot of bird pix in here, since I have watched birds a lot today, but you can just imagine a female red breasted woodpecker and a Carolina wren in your own mind, OK? It WAS neat to see a woodpecker on my tree--I have not seen many around here.

What you do see is the Older Boy after his "bud" who is "a girl, Mom!" straightened it. Look how shiny it came out! Everyone says he looks "emo" in the picture. I think he looks like he stepped out of an anime comic. In any case, what a cutie.

I am enjoying my little "vacation" fairly well. I got two web sites all caught up and did my taxes today. My good attitude is paying off, I think, because I got a nice refund, even after paying self-employment tax on all my knitting teaching. It will get us through another unemployment week! Plus, lo and behold, I had misplaced an envelope containing a $600 check for escrow overpayment, and I found it during tax prep time. WOO! Another little cushion for the upcoming drought. Every little bit helps!

And speaking of that drought, not only do I have one interview next week, but I have two now! A local company that does software for nonprofits has me scheduled for next Monday! It's a place I would really like to work, and would be an easy commute to visit Lee for lunch (a bonus). So, that has made me extra hopeful. Glad I lit my "trabajo" candle for a while! So, I can see that by remaining calm and thinking positively, things have slowly begun to show improvement signs. Rockin'.

I am a bit worried about Younger Boy. He is having trouble sleeping. Otherwise, things are really good. It stopped raining and I am making bread. Last night, Younger Son and I made banana bread, too. It is such fun cooking together!

Old Blog News

Still working hard at adding posts from my old blog to this one. I also changed the title of this one back to "What, Suna's Not Knitting," which was the old title. The other one is now "Suna's Old Blog," and it will go away once I have all the posts transferred older. I need to warn you that on occasion, I will forget to post-date an old post and it will end up looking new. Let me know if you see any of those!

Good Attitude Weekend Report

So, I said I'd report on my reasonable weekend. And I am very proud of myself for keeping up with my intentions to only let myself wallow in self pity a short time. I ended up having some wonderful times this weekend, and feeling fairly calm and hopeful.

I have to thank Lee for a lot of it. It is just so easy to have a nice time with him. I can remember sitting in the car at one point and thinking, "I am having fun!" We just did normal things, too, like shopping for plants, planning yard improvements and stuff. But he is so easy to be with, easy to talk to, and supportive, that almost anything we do is a fine time.

The back yard continues to improve. Lee has mowed and bagged twice, so the leaves are all off the ground. We got some grass seed, but...today is the predicted flash flooding that ALWAYS comes whenever I get grass seed put down in the back yard!! However, all this got done this weekend:

• Got some snapdragons and impatiens, plus more potted plants
• Weeded ALL traces of Virginia Creeper, remnant blackberry, thorn and honeysuckle vine in front and back. All that is left, vine-wise are grapevines, which have to grow a bit so I can find and Roundup them (won't pull up). I know the VC will be back, but it is at least wounded now.
• Put down newspapers in the part of the front bed where everything I ever planted died, other than weeds. Then covered it with lovely free oak leaf mulch from the formerly most shady part of the back yard, and planted snapdragons in it. Looks like an entirely new front yard.
• Built a back step (the kids did it for us) so that it is easier for Buddy the Dog to get in and out. He is already walking better. I found the concrete pieces at Lee's old house, so it was free! See how thrifty we unemployed can be.
• Built an inexpensive charcoal grill so we can have yummy grilled foods. Of course poor Lee had to grill in a downpour yesterday, but the chicken was divine. Jeff helped, and it was amusing to see the Men working together so well. Sigh, in some ways, it's not bad having them both here, when Jeff is in a good mood. Lee also got us one of those starter chimney things, so we do not have to use lighter fluid (yay). It is cool to see how those work (I have not had a charcoal grill in so long...but the gas one is totally DEAD.)
• Put up a chain of nice lights to light up the back patio. Just have to get the extension cord set up so we can turn them on. Lee did a good job with chains and such, and they match the hanging basket chain.
• Also got two more wrought iron decorations to put on the back of the house. It will look really nice.
• We went out to Granger and got some tools from Lee's. Managed to fit them all in the garage, too. Soon we can build stuff.

Since the kids were with their dad this weekend, Lee and I went to dinner at Mesa Rosa (right across from our neighborhood). It was like our second real "date" ever. Sigh, I do things strangely. But it was nice. He was so sweet to me all night. We had one big and one small margarita, so were quite happy when we got home. We watched Saturday Night Live and laughed and laughed. Then we just had fun kidding with each other and playing around. We decided that perhaps the best way to watch SNL is slightly tipsy. Anyway, it was so nice to have plain ole fun in our own house, not having to be quiet or worry about anyone else being offended (Jeff was out, too).

Speaking of which, it looks like by mid May he will be totally out, and that he is going to take a "vacation" for much of the time between now and then. And he will put his stuff in storage. I am glad we just had to have "a talk" and not get cantankerous about it. He knows he needs to move on and look for real work and relationship opportunities. And Lee and I would sure like to be a more "normal" family unit. Sigh, if that divorce would just finalize, perhaps that dream will become more of a reality.

Good Attitude Pays Off

As I will post later, I have been having a good time and enjoying things pretty well. And I am so glad I have, since I got a call from the recruiter lady and she said that the "perfect candidate" from last week fell through and now the manager wants to meet with me! Next week! Which gives me some real vacation time this week and takes a lot of pressure off.

No, not going to stop looking for things, nor hoping that ALE comes through. But I am glad I didn't let myself get upset more than a little while. Things come through. It just takes a while.

Last Day at ALE

My last day at the job went really well. I am impressed at how well I managed to keep up good spirits and professionalism right until the end. One coworker even sent me a note about how well I did under the difficult circumstances. That was nice.

We continued in "business partner review" meetings and worked really hard on that, then ran off to revise all our materials in practically no time. I pitched in and helped out right until 3:55, when I said, "I quit." Ha ha, my hours were already actually expired--I just could not quit until I was done. I am really glad I got to finish at a "stopping point," rather than right in the middle of a project. That felt good.

After I turned in my badge, all the coworkers started slowly showing up at my now-bland cube. They just stood there shuffling around and chatting. It was really sweet. So I hugged them all and reminded them they'd see me on Monday at my "lunch." That sounds like it will be good. Lee invited all sorts of people!

After work I was just fine and enjoyed the rest of the day with the family. Older Boy's friends came over and it was very fun observing their teenager-i-ness. They seem like really good kids. Every time we snuck down to see what they were doing, they were fine. Playing cards, chatting, lying on the couch. Good kids.

Lovely Craft Quote

I put a quote of the day gadget on my Google home page (which has a cute Japanese fox on it, going about its day, too). Today there was this lovely quote:

Anyone who can handle a needle convincingly can make us see a thread which
is not there.
- EH Gombrich

I think all quilters, knitters, crocheters and such should take this to heart! We are artists and poets!

Deja vu, all over again

Gee, I remember writing this last December. "You are a great candidate, but we picked someone else who was just PERFECT." So, one down, and the job I had been hoping for most is history.

Apparently I impressed them with my background and how I "sold myself" (remember, the lady didn't ask many questions so I TOLD her how I would fit their job), so the recruiter claimed they are shopping my resume to other departments at this place. Yeah, ALE said that, too. I am so wonderful and such a good candidate, but just not quite good enough. My feeling is that someone who had worked at that company before and knew all their proprietary software systems (which, of course, I don't know, having never worked there) suddenly applied--because the recruiter seemed genuinely surprised at the development. I think they thought they had a sale in me.

Oh well, I looked all day and applied to a couple more things. The recruiting company said they'd work extra hard to find me something, too. I will endeavor to take her word for it.

Sigh. I sure hear a lot about what a great gal I am (and appreciate it when not depressed and weary). I just wish someone would compensate me for something I can do.

More Interview reporting, Kid Stuff

This happy picture of my work team (with one extra crazed member) reminds me of what I lose on Friday. A really nice bunch of folks. We were posing for a crowd scene and practiced being happy, neutral and angry. They are all pretty funny. Aren't we all snappy dressers?

So, yes, I did two interviews today. The one scheduled for yesterday had been postponed. I sorta could tell they didn't have their heart in that one. I get the feeling they had already picked the other candidate and were just talking to me because they were supposed to. However, I had a lot of qualifications, so even though the interviewing lady didn't ask a lot of questions, I gave a lot of answers and explained my relevant experiences, just for the heck of it. That was the afternoon interview.
The morning one was marginally better, though equally short. It was just a screening interview, so I hope that what I did there was good enough to warrant an in-person one. The good thing about that job is they will decide soon, so I will not be in misery about either of these for very long. I'll look for more stuff tomorrow, I guess.

And I keep hoping something will work out at Dell, but now I really wonder if they like me as much as they said they did. I can't do much of that kind of thought process, though, because I am trying to be Ms. Positivity.

It's a little hard, though. Once again, Jeff lost out on a position, the one touring with a blues guitarist. He did come in second, though, out of a LOT of people. But as I learned at Dell in December, second doesn't get you food on the table. He had gotten bursitis from practicing so hard (or developed a convenient excuse to not to it, if you are cynical, but that was not my theory). Jeff still has an offer to work for his friends, and to stay at some house south of Austin for a few months. I will learn more about that later this evening.

And the Older Son is quitting lacrosse. That gives me mixed feelings, like I wish I had my damned money back from that pit of expensiveness. I really didn't like a lot that went on there, especially some of the junk some parents did, and the kids weren't real nice to Older Son (with notable exceptions of niceness). He does need exercise, so now it will be up to ME to sign us up for the community center so we can all exercise, assuming I develop cash flow. I need more exercise too, other than gardening and that nocturnal stuff, nudge nudge, wink wink.

Tonight was the Younger Son's pre-UIL (contest) concert. He did GREAT, including a song where he played cymbals non-stop the whole time. It was nice to see him have parts you could really hear in every song. He is so tall now. Sigh. The Older Boy's concert is Thursday. Keeps us busy, but the music is nice. The band sounded great.

Trees

Here is a post about trees. Gotta love 'em if you are a tree-hugging pagan type.



I have been enjoying spring trees a lot. The first one you see here is the 2-centuray old oak in front of Lee's dad's church. Look at the size of that trunk. They have incredible oak trees down there, like where I came from--more water than here. I had really wanted to see the tree, so I am glad I had the chance. What a specimen. I didn't touch it, though. Odd for me.



The second picture is of the red bud in front of our house. It was a bit past its prime, but I'd lost where the camera was for a bit. I can't believe how much it has grown. I hope you can see that I have trimmed a lot and the yard is neat. I will take back yard pix when we are all done.



The third image is the Texas mountain laurel next to the redbud. It finally looks like a tree (only 8 years!) and finally has a big, beautiful set of blooms, with that weird grape-soda smell. I am so happy it has at last become the tree I'd wanted. And it smells GOOD.

And that's all I wanted to say about trees. I sure do love trees, and spring in Texas.

Little Entries Coming Up: Stray Dog

It was a busy weekend and a lot of interesting things happened, so I am going to post a bunch of short things today.

Here I am somewhere in southeast Texas bonding with Lee's dad's pet cows. More on them later.

First Story: Stray Dog

So, this weekend after church, Lee and I went to visit his dad. We were still in Austin, driving down 183 when we saw ahead of us some cars driving really strangely. One car had a guy with his arm hanging out, straddling the far left lane and the shoulder (there was a wall next to that). Then a taxi was straddling the far left and middle lanes, and behind them was a construction truck with a flashing light, also slowing and blocking traffic. They were all weaving. Then we saw the dog--a very large yellow dog was high-tailing it in next to the center wall. We felt so sorry for it--looked panicked. I was dreading the end of the scene, too, since it looked to me like that dog was going to get hit eventually. Then we realized the driver of the first car had his arm out because he was trying to catch the dog. While driving. Next to a concrete barrier. The taxi and truck were helping by keeping cars away. I watched in horror as the guy kept missing the dog. I was afraid he'd hit it, since he had to drive so close to it. But, amazingly he did catch the dog! Then he slowed down, stopped and somehow managed to shove the dog into his car! Lee and I were afraid the dog would be so scared it would bite the guy, but it didn't. The last we saw, the car guy and the taxi guy were pulled over and talking. Probably thanking each other and congratulating each other. They were SO brave to help that poor animal. It made me all weepy.

And we were thinking, would we be brave enough to risk our own lives to save a dog like that? I don't know if I could drive that well, nor if I could hold such a big dog. Wow, those were kind and brave people. They were very skillful at not causing traffic to back up or people to hit each other. Luckily, the road was not too crowded, too, so you could see something was odd up ahead in plenty of time to slow down. Whew.

What a start to a trip! Plenty of adrenaline!