I'm Back

Another month and it would have been a year since I last posted. I'm not sure why I decided to start posting again, but I thought I'd give it another try. I've decided it's best to just try to write something even if it's just for me. I've never been much of a creative writer; I've always been the one who obsesses about spelling and punctuation, and that attitude can pretty much hamper the creative flow. I also consider myself a very boring person. It's very difficult for me to talk about myself. I always took to heart those articles about conversation with other people and how you should ask questions about the person and his or her life. Get them to talk about themselves, and you're pretty much off the hook.

One reason I'm doing this, I guess, is because I've been thinking about keeping a journal. This seems like a better way of doing it, and I won't have to hide it from the kids. One of my nieces is a prowler, and she loves to go through closets and drawers. I find it to be a very irritating habit. It would thrill her if she found something like a diary.

What have I been doing for the past year? Pretty much the same thing I was doing when I last wrote. I'm still working for the newspaper in Snyder, reading my books, and trying to find some relief for my aches and pains. The newspaper is fun, and I feel much more comfortable with the software we use. My bosses are a husband and wife team, and that can be sort of stressful. I admire all the women who have put up with their husbands for years without killing them. I have a difficult time listening to it without putting in my two cents. It wouldn't help anyway, and it just might make it worse for her. (Southern women in my age group were taught to shut up and not stick our noses where they don't belong. When we finally decide we can't take it any longer, we tend to explode! It's never pretty when that happens.)

I'm still not smoking after almost two years. I have to admit that I still want one at least once a day. Part of the problem is having a boss who smokes and refuses to follow the law about not smoking in a business. I still remember how scary it was after the surgery when my right lung was so congested that I couldn't breathe. I don't want to experience that ever again. I don't even remember the pain of the 8 inch incision the doctor made. All I can remember is the pain in my chest.

I don't work at the library anymore either. I stopped working there last fall when I had a difference of opinion with some of the ladies on the library board. Now I just use paperbackswap.com for all my books, and I haven't been in the library since.

I rented the land to my helper, Shane, at the first of the month. I sold him some of the cattle and the equipment. I paid off my loan, and I'm now debt free. It is a little depressing that I'm not involved in it anymore, but I haven't felt like taking an active role for a long time now. It will be for the best, and he certainly deserves his shot at it.

Guess that's all for now. Oh! I have been doing a little crocheting, but it's nothing too complicated. More on that later.

New Job

I started working at the weekly newspaper in Snyder September 1. I believe I'm really going to like it. It's nice to be able to go to work and do your job without people complaining all of the time. The hours are good, and I get all of Friday off. I probably won't make as much money as I did working for the town, but that's okay, too. The working environment ranks higher than pay for me any day.

I've been pretty tired in the evening, so my reading time has suffered. I've only finished one book this month. I'm reading The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch as part of the Ravelry Book Club, and I don't believe I've ever met a character that I disliked more than Charles. I'll keep reading, though, because I'm hoping he'll get some kind of payback at the end.

I've been picking up my great-nephew from Pre-K since school started in August. The high gas prices and budget cuts required the school system to eliminate the noon bus. I understand perfectly, but some parents really had to scramble to get their kids a ride to their day care. Everyone in the our family works, so I'm the one whose boss is nice enough to let me off for 30 minutes each day to pick Hunter up and deliver him to his sitter. Can't you imagine how strange I look with all those 20 something mothers waiting to pick up her child? There are a few grandparents, though, who have been called into service, so that makes me feel a little better.

These are pictures I took at the lake last weekend. The birds are turkey vultures. I was afraid to get any closer because I'd spook them.

The trees and the rocks kept getting in the way. I didn't want to climb out too far on the rocks because the rattlesnakes are still out. Besides, I had some lake ranger that kept watching me. I don't think there are any laws against taking pictures of a dam and a lake, but who knows since 9/11.

My Name's Hidden Meaning

I found this on April's blog. I don't completely agree with it, but I bet my family and friends would argue the point.

What Linda Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Sandy asked a question about cleaning up after the goats and calf. Goat poop hasn't been a problem, but the calf manure is another thing. She requires a lot more work. It makes a great fertilizer, though.

I also don't know why castrating the goats keeps them from stinking. Someone told me it worked, and it does. We have a billy goat that's running loose with the cattle on the farm. You can smell him from 30 feet away. They say a mountain lion won't eat a billy because they stink. I believe it must be true because the cattle can't even stand him.

Newest Family Members

Yes. These are living in my backyard. The goats are my contribution to the green movement. They're suppose to replace the fossil fuel burning lawn mower. (They've been neutered, so they don't stink. In case, you're interested.)

The little heifer calf's mother died, so I'm going to bottle feed her until about February. She's about a month old now.

Some people call orphan calves "bums", but I prefer the term "bottle babies".

These guys aren't mine, but they live next door.

Summer and Teaching

I found the perfect quote in the book I'm reading that describes what summer meant to me as a teacher. "Summer was the advantage to teaching: your life was always a cycle, you always had closure, rest, and a new beginning to look forward to. Always starting over, you never had time to grow old." Taken from Southern Exposure by Linda Lightsey Rice.

Another Southern Fiction Novel

Donna Tartt tells the story of how a family tragedy can have a far reaching effect on the remaining family members. The main character is Harriet, a young girl whose brother was found murdered in her backyard when she is only a baby. To make matters worse, the killer was never found. Harriet's mother never fully recovers from the loss and spends most of her time in a drug-induced sleep. Harriet's father separates from the mother and has little influence in Harriet's life. Most of Harriet's upbringing is the responsibility of the family's maid, her grandmother, and her great-aunts.

As Harriet becomes older she becomes more and more obsessed with her brother's murder. A chance remark by the maid convinces Harriet that she knows who the killer is, and she intends to make him pay.

Even though the novel is over six hundred pages long, I never got bored with it. It kept me reading right up to the end.

Four of Five Stars

Today Show Book Club List

I love lists, and I especially love lists of books. This is my most recent addition of books I must read sometime in the future. I believe the numbers represent the order in which the appeared on the Today Show. (I copied this from a public libray site.)

So many books; so little time.

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden (#33)

More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl (#32)

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (#31)

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini (#27)

The Breathtaker by Alice Blanchard (#19)

Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos (#28)

Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt (#24)

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros (#9)

'The Clothes They Stood Up In' and 'The Lady in the Van' by Alan Bennett (#5)

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer (#22)

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson (#7)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (#13)

The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat (#23)

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst (#12)

Drinking Coffe Elsewhere by ZZ Packer (#11)

The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter (#1)

Fluke, or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore (#25)

A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel (#3)

Graceland by Chris Abani (#29)

The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard (#16)

Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick (#30)

The Known World by Edward P. Jones (#17)

Nine Horses: Poems by Billy Collins (#10)

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (#8)

Paradise Alley by Kevin Baker (#6)

The Photograph by Penelope Lively (#21)

Raising Fences: A Black Man's Love Story by Michael Datcher (#4)

Shadow Baby by Alison McGhee (#14)

The Sleeping Father by Matthew Sharpe (#20)

The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (#15)

The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald (#18)

A Window Across the River by Brian Morton (#26)

You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett (#2)

I've read The Time-Traveler's Wife, and I have a copy of Fluke that I haven't read yet. I'll search the library for the some others that sound interesting.

I have a new job at the newspaper office in Snyder. It's just a weekly paper, so as long as I spell people's names correctly I think it will be a piece of cake. It will certainly be less stressful than the other job.