Goslings & Ducklings & Faeries, Oh My!

One can't spend the entire weekend working in the garden (pulling weeds while being swarmed by tiny green bugs is not happy fun time) so we escaped to the park this morning. This is not the most in-focus dragonfly photo I've taken, but I love the transparency of the wings. This was the only cooperative dragonfly today.

The snow melt is well underway. Most of the year this part of the creek is shallow and clear. Not right now. This is the Goose Family's version of white water rafting. I did not get a photo of the goslings jumping off the bank into the creek. Their tiny wings don't work well for gliding; it was more of a plummeting into the water.

A domestic goose has integrated into the flock of Canadian geese.

See how tiny the wings are in comparison to the body? Geese are so cute at this awkward, fuzzy stage.

These are not Mallards, but I don't know what kind of ducks they are.

I finally got around to replacing the faery house. The last one I made was crushed by the snow over the winter. I went with a woven house this year. I haven't done basket weaving since fourth grade. It's very soothing. Perhaps that's why it's so popular in mental institutions.

This is the beginning of the roof. Kitty enjoys basket weaving. Actually, what he enjoys is playing with the reeds as one is trying to work.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but that's a beaded swing.

The finished house.

I've neglected my novel since beginning my new job (which is going very well). So tomorrow, I am taking the day off from manual labor (six days a week is plenty!) and concentrating on the book . I may have to work at the library; sometimes it's easier to work away from home. I have 24 days before the deadline. One of the characters has decided to change species. Sigh.

Ovens, Weeds and an Unaccustomed Lack of Free Time

If our household had a principal export, it would be sticks. So many sticks fall into the yard that we have to rake before we mow the lawn. Our little push mower can't get through dandelions; a twig stops it in its tracks. Our secondary export would be weeds. Lots and lots of weeds. What we need here is a small herd of goats and a goatherd to keep them from eating the flowers and vegetables.

I really like my new job. I'm learning the quirks of my 30-something oven. Two of the three temperature knobs are unreadable. Some of the stone tiles are cracked. The bottom deck doesn't work, the middle deck usually runs cold and the top deck usually runs hot. But not always. Sometimes they reverse it. Dragonheart (that's the name I gave it) requires frequent monitoring and adjusting of its temperature. This will be easier once the new knobs arrive. Maybe the attention will make Dragonheart more cooperative ;) .

My writing energy has been going into my Nanowrimo novel. I finished round one of editing on the hard copy and got the changes into the computer. And made more changes as I was doing that. Tomorrow I start the process over again. I have a pact with a friend that whatever shape our novels are in, they will go to Create Space by the deadline of June 30th. We'll have a paperback copy of our works-in-progress (WIP in writer's lingo). And then we'll keep rewriting until we're actually done. I'm wishing I'd kept up with drawing; the cover design would be much easier if I could actually draw what I see in my mind.

Before I got this job, I got up in the morning, did my morning pages and then got on the computer. Now, I roll out of bed, get ready for work, and leave by 4am. When I get home, instead of doing my pages, I tend to fall asleep for a while. When I wake up, there's always something to do. Spending time on the computer just isn't that important right now. So don't worry if I'm not posting here or on Facebook. I'm just busy with other things.

It's Better This Way

Dear Gigi's Cupcakes and The Shoppe,

Thank you so very much for not hiring me. Everyday, as I drive past you on my way to my wonderful new job at National Jewish Health, I'll think kindly of you.

When I look at my station, which is quite large and all mine, I'll be grateful to you. When I'm creating the bakery menu, I'll be glad that you thought I was just too alpha to be your minion.

Dear Whole Foods,

Thank you for the four times you turned me down. You turned me down for being overqualified and you turned me down for being underqualified. For essentially the same position, at different stores. Thanks to your rejection, I have a better schedule, better benefits and a better salary than you offered. You turned my new boss down once too. We're both just fine without you. No hard feelings, I'll still visit when figs and rambutans are in season. But your bakery is dead to me. Because I do it better.

To fifteen interviews and countless applications,

Thanks for keeping me busy until the right one came along. The funny thing is, this new job, as baker at National Jewish Health? I didn't actually apply for it until after I interviewed. I applied for Food Service Worker II, (which involved something to do with salad bars and trays and cleaning?) but when I got there, the chef told me he wanted to talk to me about a job that hadn't been posted yet. Something that would be a better match for my skills. So I had a great interview, and then applied for the job. And today I got my offer letter. I start Monday. I can't wait.

Because of all of you who said 'no', I'm in a job where I can use everything I've learned, everything I am, and where I have so much to learn and so much room to grow.

So thank you all very, very much for your part in getting me to this place. I really mean it.