House for Rent in GA

So, we need a renter. Preferably a good one. Someone we can trust. Maybe I'll make a list like the kids in Mary Poppins.

Must be kind, must be witty, very smart and very pretty...

The renters are moving out at the end of December and I'm scared scared scared. We've got to have someone in there or I'm gonna have to move down there just so the house isn't vacant. : ( I don't want to be gone from Ben for that long. Not one bit.

So. Spread the word please.

So Excited!!!

I'm currently quite exhausted.  

Stella and I spent two very long days working at the Obama Campaign for Change here in Fort Wayne, Indiana and those days are so much longer when one of the attendees is 3 years old.  Even a wonderfully behaved 3 year old still takes a lot out of a person.  And Stella is most definitely one of those well behaved kiddos.  

I got a call requesting help from the campaign manager a month or so ago & said I'd have to arrange child care to come.  It didn't happen and didn't happen, so I asked them if it was okay if I brought her with me since we were in the final week.  I made calls (by the way, I hate making phone calls, so this was a huge thing for me) for the Get Out To Vote campaign and worked some data entry for the phone info and canvassing records.  I stayed twice as long as I planned that day and told a friend I'd go with her to canvass the next day.  

Only, I had to work the next day so we didn't make it out, but that's okay because it gave Stella a day off.  Monday got all snargelly (but Stella and I managed to have a wonderful day just the same), so I didn't get to go back until yesterday.  Ben had to work at 7am then go vote at 9:30 and we dropped him off at work and went straight to the campaign spot on the north side of town.  Rose, a fabulous lady who took her vacation time from work to volunteer for the campaign, was so glad to see us and so obviously exhausted from this push-week of insanity.  She told us to stay to do data entry rather than go out to canvass, since they had gotten volunteers from Chicago and even California to come work here.  

Stella and I entered data from calls and data from polls and ate cheese and veggies and managed to stay there entering data even through all the party prep and craziness.  There were a couple of cranky moments (she didn't get a nap or even a rest-time), but really we both behaved really well and helped out however we could.  

I love that Indiana counted as a vote for Senator Obama.  It's the first time the state's gone blue since 1964 & I'm so glad I was able to do something to help.  

It's weird though.  I never ever thought I'd volunteer for any political campaign - never.  Really. It's interesting what we'll do when something is important - even things we never thought we'd do.

When Stella and I got home around 8:30 (nope, we didn't stay for the party - we were already cranky) we basically went straight to bed.  I didn't know the results until I got up this morning and it is just going to be the best day ever now.  Yippee!!

Halloween

Stella informed me that she wants to be a tiger

then a rainbow tiger

then a fairy

and finally (for now)

a stripe-y rainbow tiger fairy

I love her imagination!  

We'll post pictures once we get the costume worked out.  

Should be fancy!

Garden update

Nothing in September - ah, I'm such a slacker!!

The bunnies did leave the carrots and they were yummy.  Stella was so excited when she pulled them up and said with a shocked face, "Carrots!"

We've gotten 40-50 tomatoes off the vines here and still have at least that many green that we might just have to fry up since it's getting colder and I'd rather eat them than have them be rotten in a frost.  I'm looking into dehydrators to use up some of these tomatoes since I don't really need 100 frozen tomatoes eating up my freezer space.  The beans were yummy and the broccoli never produced anything except "broccoli dudes" (that's what Stella called the little bugs that seemed to always be on the leaves) -- we planted the seeds too late in the year to get veggies from them.  

It was so much fun having a garden with Stella.  We'll be doing it again next year - maybe with even better results!

Garden notes & TMI about potty time

We went to a friend's house a couple of nights to see some of the Olympics on tv (since we don't have one for now) and since then Stella has been all about some diving and flipping aka gymnastics.  She keeps doing flips and "dives" all over the house.  It's quite cute.

In other news...

and this is BIG news...

The little chickadee I know has been sporting "big girl underpants" for a week or more now.  It is too cool to be without diapers.  It is great!

She was very nearly potty trained in January when we moved and it all got preempted.  Then we were getting close in May and we went on a trip that got her out of practice and when we did get back we moved - AGAIN.  So we've had to focus since early June and she slowly got interested again.  I gave up on the pull-ups "big-girl diapers" as a reward when I heard her say "I don't have to go potty, I'll just go in my diaper" - grr.  I thought, "it's warm enough outside, we'll just play outside today without a diaper on and she'll let me know when she's gotta go potty"  She was cranky and wanted some underpants so I told her if she kept her diaper dry all day she'd get to wear underpants.  That was it.  One day with some fancy 4T underpants by fruit of the loom as her reward and we are done with diapers.  

We were supposed to leave for a trip last weekend and couldn't make it work financially, but I think I'm really glad that it didn't happen.  It was supposed to be potty training time apparently.  Also, I was kinda hoping that the tomatoes we planted would be ripe by now - they are still green on the vine - so strange.  We've had very little rain lately and they aren't in the sunniest spot so I'm guessing that's what it is.  But I want me some 'maters dang-it!

We DO have some great zucchini growing and some beans that aren't as tasty as I'd like for them to be.  I have some spinach that the bunnies aren't eating and two carrots that I hope they leave alone (they ate all the rest).  Our squash died at the last minute and we have one broccoli plant that I think we planted too late.  The lettuce has been mostly consumed by the bunnies so I'm just looking at that one as my gift to them.  

There is a grape vine on the property that seems to put off a northern version of a red muscadine (whatever that may be) and they are getting ripe.  Stella and I check on it when we go out to play.  They are still a little sour, but I'm getting excited about it.  I love sun-warmed grapes from the vine.

I asked the landlord if it was okay if I planted a raspberry bush.  I think it would grow here just fine...we'll see if I get around to it.  : )   I'm already waiting for next year's asparagus crop.  Mmmm.

the saga continues

Apparently it was a fan w/vcable, k36

that's what the service detail statement from Apple says.  I think it is probably more than that, but we'll see if it makes the noise again. 

The computer was gone for a couple of weeks and - I don't want to admit this - I missed it.  I didn't write and I like the freedom of working wherever I want (whether ergonomic or no).  There's just something about checking email on the sofa instead of at the desk.  Also, I really missed having speakers on my computer.  The whole time the Olympics were on I got to see them with no sound...not so very cool.

Anyway, the computer is back.  We are really going to be friends this time.  It only took me a month and a half to warm up to it.  :)