Tag: compound

If only I had monthly visitors

Hell, no, I’m not talking about my menses. Like anyone would care about that.

Jim will arrive tomorrow for a part-fun/part-work five days. This has, of course, sent everyone at The Compound into a cleaning frenzy. It’s not that we normally live in squalor. It’s just that we want everything to be fresh and sparkly for the people we love.

But if they came more often, we’d have to maintain things better around here. Which is, I think, a GREAT argument for our out-of-town friends to get their butts here.

Anyway, things are clean. The yard looks good. The pantry is STOCKED BEYOND ALL REASON. Because planning a novel is hard work that requires plenty of snacks.

Walking in the rain with the one I love

Scene 1 from the Home Office window:

Tim and River walking up the driveway in a light drizzle so River can make the yard his own personal toilet.

Scene 2 from the Home Office window:

Tim and River jumping puddles as they scurry down the driveway when the drizzle quickly becomes a downpour.

Flashback scene:

Earlier today, as I was cleaning up three dogs’ own personal toilets, Guinness snagged a rat, who promptly squealed in terror. I shrieked and Margot hustled to get a piece of that, then Guinness lost her grip. I don’t know what happened to the rat, but both dogs seem fine.

Players:

Rat.

Guinness.

Margot.

A Quest

You may be thinking, “Enough about fleas!” But if a flea was good enough for a John Donne poem, and that poem was worthy of two days’ discussion in a sophomore English lit class…

I have discovered a bio-friendly and apparently effective way to fight fleas in the yard (which is the only way to keep the bastards out of the house). Here’s what I read online, courtesy of PETA:

Products containing beneficial nematodes (micro-organisms that eat flea larvae) can be sprayed on lawns and, unlike many toxic treatments, are perfectly safe for animals, birds, and humans, as well as “friendly” garden dwellers like earthworms and ladybugs. Brand names such as Bio Flea Halt!, Biosys, and Interrupt! can be found in pet stores and in the lawn and garden sections of hardware stores and supermarkets.

Sounds wonderful. Except that Petco, Petsmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and the Garden Center have no such products, and I can’t seem to find a place to order them online. Anyone familiar with these brands or know a chain that carries them?

Joys of Home Ownership, Part 2

Good thing it was a cool night last night and we have lots of fans. New central air unit: $1700 including tax and labor. But it will be installed today, and the guy who came to check things out is a responsible pet owner.

I figure the unit in Tim’s apartment is about three years behind this one in needing to be replaced. At least I know what I have to look forward to.