It's Raining, It's Pouring

But I'm not sure if the old man was snoring.

Since he was in the Keys with Kyle.

I'm sure you saw his FB posts.

He's really good at updating everybody

and keeping everyone abreast of what's happening

around here.

But.  While they were gone,

working in the brutal heat and cloudless

skies, we were having bit of a 

"tropical disturbance".

(I swear, those weathermen...)

I would have taken a picture, but

was afraid to take my phone outside!

We have more water now than

we EVER have had from a hurricane!

The chicken yard is ankle deep.

Luckily we haven't cleaned out the 

coops lately (dirt floor but it gets

taller and taller until you have to duck

to walk in there - we are almost to that point)

so they do have somewhere high and dry

to hang out.

I put 4 patio stones out there so I didn't

have to walk in the mud.

The ducks have claimed them as their islands.

The horse's have a sand lot right behind

the barn - that is also ankle deep on the horses!

I kept them in the barn last night to help

them dry out their feet, but they can't stay

in there forever...

They also have a couple of pastures, but those

are all super wet as well!

Sometimes we put them in the front yard.

But that's underwater!

The cow pasture seems a little higher

than the rest - Bill (the guy we bought the 

property from) dug a pond in the middle

of where the cows are now and just before

he moved, he brought in a bunch of fill dirt

and filled it back in (since he dug it under

the cover of night and didn't pull a permit).

It might be a bit higher, but it's still pretty wet.

Rod is off work today (thought it was going

to be a travel day after the weekend but they

headed home early yesterday afternoon) so

he was going to just open all the pasture gates

and let the horses and cows find the driest spot.

Standing is water isn't good for anybody's feet!

Luckily we are on a septic system,

since the city's water system is totally overloaded.

They are asking people not to do laundry,

dishes, shower, or flush unless absolutely necessary.

(But if the rain doesn't slow down, our septic

might be too full to accept anymore water too!)

This is easily the wettest I have seen our property

in all the years we have been here or even when

we were next door!  (2001)

But Brocks' place is even worse!

Luckily he has a hill at the front of his property

where the donkey and goats are hanging out.

Wouldn't be surprised to see his cows up there

today as well.

(They are usually in a pasture in the back, but

I'll bet that is totally underwater, based on the 

rest of his property...)

However, the house is a little higher than anything

(except the barn) and we are high and dry.

No worries about the house flooding.

They are forecasting more and more and more

rain for the rest of the week.  It's not that much

rain really, it's just that after the hurricane and the

tropical storm that followed, the ground is FULL.

However, the wind is also supposed to be

blowing pretty strong, which helps the ground

dry out.  (weird, I know...)

However, again, since the ground is saturated,

a good strong wind may blow over a bunch 

of trees since the ground can't hold the 

roots securely anymore.

Should make for a fun week.

But I'm counting down to my LAST DAY

so NOTHING can dampen my spirits!

(Even if I got TOTALLY drenched multiple

times yesterday while taking care of the animals...)

Sure wish we could send some of this

out to the fires!

Hopefully the winds blow it that way.

Happy Monday!!!!

Couldn't Wait....

It's end of month.

And end of fiscal year.

And being closed for 2 days for

Hurricane Irma

put us a little over $1M behind budget.

Management is FREAKING OUT!

I post the biggest insurance carrier we have.

Last week's payment was all messed up.

I got the $ on Thursday, but the files

came over corrupted.

Then on Friday we got new files.

Still corrupted.

Then on Monday we got correct files.

So the push was on.

Could I get it all posted before this

week's payment arrived?

(NO question... lol)

The money came on Wednesday.

A BIG amount.

(Not enough, but still pretty darn good.)

Now... files?

Management (various representatives)

"dropped by" repeatedly during the day

to check on the status.

PEOPLE!

I will tell you when it gets here!

I DID get a tiny file,

but the big 1.3M file was still a no-show

by the time I left Wed evening.

Thursday morning (this morning)

I was here bright and early and so was my file!!!

YEA!

But that's not good enough.

Here comes management.

 Management:  Did we get the file?

Me:  Yes.

Them:  What does it look like?

Me:  Pretty big.  186 pages with about

450 interest entries.  I'm looking at 4 - 5 days

to get it all posted.

Them:  So will you have it done by month end?

Me:  Pause.  You know month end is tomorrow, right?

Sigh.

This is what my days look like.

Anyhow.

An hour or so later, I got called into Managment's office.

We need to know if you can get it posted by end of month.

Me:  NO!

Them:  What if we hold off on the interest entries?

Me:  I could probably get it done then.

Them:  If you don't get it done by tomorrow, could

you come in on Saturday and finish it?

Me: Yes.  But I should probably tell you now...

This is my 2 week notice.

Crickets.

Looks of total shock / disbelief.

Not sure if my manic grin looks like

I'm kidding or if I'm just insane.

After convincing them I'm serious

and October 13th (yes, Friday the 13th)

really IS my very final day...

I headed back to my desk.

As I came around the corner to where all

my co-workers are waiting to see what happened,

I said... So.  I should probably tell you now.

I just quit.

It was SO worth it!

LOL

So... I'm here late this evening, working on

getting this monster posted.

Mostly because there was a wreck on the highway

and it's a traffic jam for about 2 miles.

Sit here (and get paid) or sit out there.

NO duh.

And tomorrow I can just come in and not worry

about what I'm going to say and how I'm going

to say it.

Whew!

I feel 10 pounds lighter!

(Now if I just LOOKED it!  LOL)

Random Thoughts

My birds aren't happy being contained.

This is what I found the other day

when I got home from work.

She was trying to squeeze out the tiny hole

we have to reach our hands through

to open / close the gate.

She was stuck.

(But when I came over she freaked out

and backed into the coop again.)

Silly birds.

(They are good layers, but not particularly

PRETTY birds... their feathers have a pretty

green sheen in the sunshine, but their faces

leave a little to be desired...)

Rod and Kyle are leaving tomorrow to drive

down to Marathon in the Keys.

They are "team lead" on a group who have

been asked by the Area Seventy to help

down there.

The guys have been working both Saturday

and Sunday every weekend since the hurricane

hit and they are pretty pooped.

The Stake President said we were going to

take this weekend off and recharge our batteries

while participating in General Conference.

But the Area Seventy contacted him Tuesday

and said that, like the Saints in SLC who dropped

everything (including the lady's petticoats to make

clothes for those they were rescuing) to rescue the

folks who were stranded in the snow,

we are being asked to continue our efforts.

Its a 5 hour drive (but add Miami traffic and

it usually stretches to 7) so they are leaving 

on Friday, working Saturday and Sunday, 

and driving back on Monday.

Rod's new employer is AWESOME.

He is taking a "floating holiday" on Friday.

And with a letter from the Stake President

they will pay him for a "volunteer day" on Monday.

They say this will be the final weekend.

Unfortunately, we can't get to Puerto Rico.

Those are the people who REALLY need 

our help.

The Keys were damaged, but they are

pretty resourceful and are already back and

open for business.

It will be 6 months before many of the people

on Puerto Rico even have power again.

Our hearts and prayers go out to them.

And maybe a special line on your next tithing

form with a donation for assistance to those folks.

Counting Down

BIG NEWS!

After 17+ years,

it's time to call it DONE.

I am going to give my notice

at my "day job" on Friday.

I'm going to keep teaching.

I love it.

And I get paid really well.

And I love it.

But my day time job has gotten

to the point where I no longer love it.

We used to be a small-ish medical

practice where the Doctors and the

support staff knew each other

and cared about each other.

Now we are a large corporation

headquartered in New York.

We have dress codes.

They measure your heels on your shoes!

(No, really!  Well, not MINE... lol)

We have to drive 30 miles up the highway.

We get a "red box" on our electronic

time card if you clock in as the time

is clicking over from 7:30 to 7:31.

You get "counselled" if you have 

"too many" red boxes.

You also get a red box if you come in early.

Or stay late.

But the biggest issue is they took half my 

job away from me and gave it to someone else.

Which means I spend pretty close to 

half my week "looking busy". 

I've always gotten high marks on my 

annual reviews because I'm fast and accurate.

We have to report the total number of

transactions done each day.

My numbers are the highest of anyone and

when I'm on vacation or working on a special

project, it takes 3 other people to cover me.

(Sounds like I'm bragging, but I'm not... it's

just how it is...)

Anyhow - they said "You can afford to lose

some numbers."

I can't......  I just can't.

I wasn't raised to not do my best.

So......

Friday I am giving 2 weeks notice.

And I'm so excited I almost can't stop smiling.

Think of me Friday!

New Skills

Since I've aced the power stapler...

LOL

Kyle thought it was time I

learned how to drive the mower.

Someday I might even actually MOW!

(Don't tell anybody but I got

dizzy while doing doughnuts...)

It's fun to drive!

Chicken Pox

My chicken coop has the pox.

LOL

I took a sick day from work.

The chicken coop needed work!

If you look closely, there's a GIANT gap between

the board and the bottom of the chicken wire.

And that chicken right there is getting ready

to flew the coop!

The girls just hop on out whenever they feel like it

and I'm pretty sure they are laying eggs

SOMEWHERE out there!

(And there's too many sneaky places for me

to find them...)

Plus the dogs find them and eat them.

So I fixed it.

See my tools?

Yes, I used an air compressor

and a power staple gun.

It was FUN!

And now there are no giant gaps.

The girls are contained.

Whew!

Mission accomplished!

Waterton Alpine Stables

Wow.

This is all that is left of the iconic (in my mind)

Waterton Alpine Riding Stables.

So many memories!

Rozann and I driving down and renting horses

together and riding up into the mountains for

a 3 or 4 hour (half day) ride.

Complete with a MAP!

(scariest thing EVER!)

(but super fun)

"Skinny dipping" (not exactly) in the FREEZING

mountain lake and just after we got in a troop

of Boy Scouts showing up.

So we couldn't get OUT of the water!

Reid taking me over there on the back of

his motorcycle so I could "audition" for

a job there the following summer.

(They said I was hired, but in the meantime

I got a "real" job and couldn't take 2 months

off to work in a stable for minimum wage...)

(darn it!)

Thankfully they were able to move the

horses to a safe location and nobody

(man or beast) got hurt.

But it is devastating to lose all your

buildings.

They will rebuild.

And they will love their new facility even more.

But old friends are hard to say goodbye to.

Alpine Stables

we bid you Adieu.