I think every home must have a story that the inhabitants, if asked, would say was the most memorable thing about the house. In our case, it might be the raccoons.
Two…maybe three summers ago, I hired two handymen to do some outside work on the house. I needed to have the dormer over the front door repainted, and I wanted to have a gutter repaired.
Well, Dear Husband came home and found them at work, and I had to admit that I had hired some help. A few days later, it rained, and it became apparent that we now had a leak in the roof….perhaps in the location of where one of the men had been standing, and the gutter could still be improved.
DH went out to the front of the house, and ripped out the soffit, announcing that we would leave it open to determine where the leak was.
A year later, a lady raccoon found the open soffit, and discovered that she could make a nest between the brick wall and the drywall in my mother’s sitting room. That spring we could hear her babies calling for their dinner. When she scritched her fleas, her feet would thump against the walls. We could hear her run across the roof. Later that summer, we took up viewing posts in the dining room, and watched the acrobatics as she left the wall, and curled up onto the roof. She used the valleys of the roof as her personal highways, and taught her children to follow her.
I assume that she hibernated in the wall that winter. We talked about the need to lure her out and close the soffit. I probably talked about that a LOT as she chewed her way through the rigid insulation, and began pulling out yards of fiberglass insulation. Each morning I would look out the front door and find wads of it festooning the newly emerging perennials in the sidewalk garden.
Then, we realized we had TWO female raccoons….two PREGNANT raccoons.
DEAR HUSBAND….we NEED to CLOSE the SOFFIT! DH would nod his head in agreement.
So….the raccoons found their way into the attic. One night, I was sitting in the “green room.” That’s the area off the kitchen where we have shelves of plants, and it’s where we eat informal dinners. Over my head there was an incredible fight, with high pitched screaming and thuds. The raccoons were establishing pecking order, and territory. Evidently one took the corner over our closet, and one found a nook at the edge of the great room, and they must have divvied up the green room as a straightaway to the exit. Their choices were astonishing! They instinctively chose places where we couldn’t get to them.
A month or two later, we could hear the babies trying to scramble up the slope of the cathedral ceiling over the great room. Those little suckers were cute little balls of fur….but I wanted them OUT of my house!
Dear Husband heard about it regularly, as the raccoons pulled more and more insulation out of the house. It was a warm summer, and the attic is hot, despite the fan and the vents. Every now and then I’d catch the raccoons snoozing near the opening of the soffit……a foot hanging over the side, and gentle snoring competing with the bees.
So…last month, DH finally cut a temporary patch for the soffit. We were agreed that the babies were old enough now to survive outside. We felt it was necessary to give them adequate time to find another home before winter set in.
I know you wonder why I didn’t just call an exterminator. I did. Actually, I called a “trapper.” I didn’t want to kill these animals. Their habitat has been eaten up inexorably. Houses have marched across the fields and into the groves that were their home, and we had one of the few places left that seemed a refuge. I didn’t expect them to become our dependents. At any rate, the “trapper” wanted $50 to visit and scope out the situation. Then, he wanted $35 a piece for each raccoon he caught. AND…..he would have to kill them once he caught them. We figured there were nine of them. The money wasn’t the issue. Killing the babies was.
My soft-heartedness came to an end when we started hearing stories about how dangerous they were to both pets and human health. It was time for them to go.
It’s quiet above me tonight. The soffit will have to be opened so that insulation can be blown into the attic, and we’ll have to paint, and clean. I’m glad they are outside where they belong, but I miss them.
It was the right thing to do, if only to give Dear Husband a little peace.

Although my blog roll is on the small size, I read a fair number of blogs. I try to visit some of the blogs that my friends have listed on their blogrolls, now and then. There’s certainly a lot of variety out there.
I have political opinions, but I don’t care to have a political blog. While I have a sense of humor, the things that tickle me are not easily shared in a blog. The bloggers who I really envy are those who are able to share their personal thoughts and problems. I’d like the depth of discussion that might result, but I’m uncomfortable with the idea of hanging my laundry out for all to see. And, it could be really upsetting to make my life public, and find out it’s trivial and uninteresting.
So, my blog has become more of a daily journal, a record of the repetative tasks that flow through my life. Even I find it dull some days.
I’d like to be able to spin a yarn like Scherezade, or write like one of a dozen authors. I’d like to have the diplomacy, empathy and wisdom of a person like Jimmy Carter, and the mature beauty of Sophia Loren. I’d like to understand economics, and philosopy, and be multilingual. I’d like to be as creative in problem solving as my husband, and as confident in crisis as my oldest sister. I’d like a large dose of determination from my youngest sister, I’d like to have gorgeous gardens that flow from one into another, and enhance the land, and I’d like to know, that when I pass away, I won’t be forgotten in a day.
Instead, my days are filled with weeding, bookkeeping, cleaning, meal preparation, and the running of errands. I’ve been waiting for a time when my obligations eased to allow me to fit other things into my life, but it seems that maybe I shouldn’t wait. Maybe the time I spend blogging should be put to use improving the quality of my life. Variety is the spice of life….and I need more spice.
A little allspice, anyone?

Do you remember your first kiss?
I have to admit, I can’t remember mine. I can guess who my accomplice might have been, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the kiss. Underwhelming, huh??
Can’t you just see me sending a note to each of the boys in my graduating class, asking if THEY were the lucky one? On second thought, that might be in bad taste. I wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings if they fondly remember the kiss. After all, I could have been a terrific kisser! Besides, I don’t need to tell half the class that my memory is already going.
Kissing is a GREAT activity! I was appalled when Henry Fonda asked Katherine Hepburn in “On Golden Pond” if she wanted to “suck face.” It’s not the sucking part, or technique that bothered me….it was the offhandedness of the remark. I’d make a comment disparaging old guys here, but Broad at Bat is teaching me to be careful about dropping generalizations about guys. Besides….I know that I should take the comment in the sense of humor, fondness and familiarity that it was intended.
So…to that anonymous guy who started me off on a lifetime of great kisses, thank you…..and so sorry I can’t recall the moment. ; )

It’s come to my attention that most of us are not spending enough time when we wash our hands.
Here’s a tip to help you. As you wash, sing “Happy Birthday” to yourself twice. If you’re going to be doing food preparation, sing it four times.
The Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety suggests that you wash your hands:
after using the washroom (includes changing diapers),
before and after eating or handling food,
after touching raw meat, poultry, or fish,
after handling garbage,
visiting sick people,
handling infected animals.
To prevent the spread of germs, avoid touching your eyes, mouth or nose.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control gives these guidelines for hand washing:
First wet your hands and apply liquid or clean bar soap. Place the bar soap on a rack and allow it to drain.
Next rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces.
Continue for 10 – 15 seconds or about the length of a little tune. It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs.
Rinse well and dry your hands.
Two other suggestions to consider, take off your rings, and be sure to clean them occasionally, and when preparing food, use a one-use, disposible towel or paper towel to dry your hands.
And, I’m sure that my dermatologist, if she read this, would say: USE HAND LOTION if you are washing your hands when you will not be preparing food.

and the way my family communicates.
Second hand, I have been told that my sister has been released from the hospital to go home to her cat and dog. Apparently, she is on some type of drug, in pill form, for pain management. She is not on steroids. I don’t know if she is still on morphine.
A friend is going to take her to the library so that she will have something to occupy her mind as she sits and waits for this problem to abate. I wonder if I need to make meals for her, of if the effort of reheating a meal will be too much?
I need to heat up the grapevine and see what her kids are doing to help. Wouldn’t you think, with something as serious as this, that someone NOT on drugs should be involved in making decisions about what Sis is doing?
I suspect that there may be blessings in growing older alone, but this is not one of them. When you are ill, you need someone you trust to help you make sensible choices. In our family, Sister #1 probably holds that position, and it’s a good thing she’s coming back from Australia soon!

My mother is addicted to butter!
We happen to be out of butter for the first time in fifteen years. We normally have a back up box of butter, and as soon as someone touches the back up box, Mother announces that it’s time to go shopping.
Well, somewhere along the line, we used all the butter, and now I’M in the dog house. It seems that it is MY responsibility to make sure that we always have butter! (snort!)
When we go grocery shopping we both have lists. I’m surprised that butter doesn’t head her list. I’m not sure why I’m the bad guy here, but I’m not going out to buy a pound of butter right now. It will have to wait until tomorrow, and I bet I will hear about this for the rest of my life!

What’s with men and applesauce??
Is it unmanly to eat applesauce?
Is there some rite of passage where a male child stops eating applesauce to show the world he has become a man??
Last night we prepared an antipasto. There were sliced meats, cheese, a variety of peppers, pickles, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine, eggs, crusty bread and assorted dressings. In addition, I put a dish of applesauce, and one of canteloupe on the table.
Of course, there was too much food, so there was fruit left over. I was talking to Dear Husband about eating up the left overs and he agreed, until I mentioned applesauce.
I swear he has a male union card, and it’s written in the by-laws that any member caught eating applesauce will immediately be ridiculed and ousted from the union, to the accompaniment of loud jeers. They probably let the air out of your truck tires, too.

When you prepare dinner, how long on average does it take you?
I was listening to the radio, and this was being discussed. On average, it takes us close to 45 minutes to prepare dinner. We are now eating mostly fresh veggies and salad, in addition to meat. Salad preparation seems to take the most time, with veggies eating up the rest. And, now I’m getting more help in the kitchen preparing dinner than ever before, and it STILL takes us around 45 minutes.
I use a crockpot occasionally, and we also have a wok. But we eat a lot of soup in the cooler weather, and soup takes time to make.
There are a number of cookbooks out there that feature 30 minute meals. I rejoice when I find a 30 minute meal that is tasty. Unfortunately, a lot of them taste terrible. My palate has passed the point where I see a TV dinner and go “YUUUUUUUMMMM!”
I don’t mind giving up casseroles for healthier eating, but I’m surprised at the time it’s taking us in the kitchen. How long are you willing to spend on meal preparation?

Do you have one family member you call first when there’s a problem?
I have three sisters and a brother. Two of my sisters are older than I am, and so is my brother. The family falls into “girl, girl, boy, girl, girl” formation.
My oldest sister (the nurse) is the one I call when there is a family problem. Unfortunately, right now she is in Australia. She’s a jet setting Gramma. Her daughter, and her daughter’s family are living in Australia, and my sis has been visiting for a month so that her daughter and son-in-law could attend a conference. I can reach her by computer or by phone, but she’ll be home on Sunday, so I hate to ruin her visit.
My second sister was admitted to the hospital Monday night. She is in extreme pain, and the doctors don’t seem to be able to pin down exactly what’s causing the problem. It could be a pinched nerve, or something having to do with spinal nerves. At any rate, she couldn’t deal with the pain and they admitted her to the hospital. She had an MRI and a procedure on Tuesday that didn’t work, and today they have added steroids to the morphine drip that she’s been on since Monday.
I would try almost anything to avoid surgery, but she’s been in so much pain she wants the doctors to take the surgical approach. It sounds to me like they don’t know WHAT to cut…..so I hope they find some alternatives for her.
Normally, I’d be chatting with my oldest sister, trying to find out what she knows about the situation. As a nurse, she usually has a different take, and certainly more knowledge, and it can be reassuring to talk with her.
So, we are in “wait and see” mode, hoping for a miracle to make my sister comfortable.

A for real storm, not one of those man made things. We’ve been without rain for weeks. I’ve been schlepping water to all the container plants, and talking myself out of hooking up the hose. We really NEED the rain, but it’s going to come in hard and fast. What we need is a gentle rain.
The day started sunny and hot, and gradually the cloud cover has come in. It’s rather still right now….the calm before the storm. One of the sites I visit online is the NOAA radar for our area. Based on their information, I’d say the hardest early storms are going to hit north of us…..LOOK OUT WISCONSIN! But, we should see some of that rain, and a bit more, through out the night.
I was a bit under the weather this morning. I think it’s mostly due to allergies; I feel this way each Fall. I spent a quiet morning in the office, tidying up loose ends and getting ready to make a back-up of the company files for the CPA. I need a day to house clean, or maybe that should be “office” clean. I have some filing to do, and I want to pitch some things, and reorganize others.
What I’d really like to be doing is sitting in a comfy chair, wrapped up with a quilt, a mug of apricot tea at hand, and a good book. But, my eyes are scritchy, and I suspect I’d just fall asleep in the chair. Maybe if I blog for a bit, I can stave off snoozing.
I’d like to fall asleep later tonight to the sound of rain on the roof. I miss that sound.