Chipmunks 3, Rat 0

Well, my little rat catcher is working, sorta.  So far I have fished out three chipmunks but the wily rat is still gamboling around on the patio scarfing down any sunflower seeds that fall off the ramp or out of the pail when I clean it out. (ahem and don't worry, I won't post pictures of dead rodents)  I plan to bait the spring traps with Warfarin-stuffed weenies tomorrow before I leave to visit a friend in Madison for the day.  Maybe that'll work.


I woke up at 4 o'clock this morning.  Let that sink in.  At 4 o'clock in the morning it's darker than a stack of black cats and it doesn't get light until around 6:30.  I got up to use the bathroom and looked at the clock without thinking so my brain went, click! it'll be morning soon, might as well wake up.  Dammit.  So I spent the hours between 4 and 7 making Chicken Burrito Bowls, starting with a batch of Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice.  That's some good stuff.  Each container is one serving, gets some mango salsa and fat-free Greek yogurt on top, and clocks in at a whopping zero points per serving.  It's really a lot of food for no points.


Today I met with T the Trainer at 10:30 and I had high hopes that I'd come home, have lunch, and sit down on the couch to knit which would turn into a nap.  It didn't.  Instead I changed to bigger needles, without ripping everything out and starting over, and got to the handles.  Then I met my friend KW at the Y at 6:15 for a half-hour walk in the pool.  I wasn't exhausted when I got home from that either and knitted the handle round and three more rounds.  Three to go before binding off, sewing up the bottom, and felting it.  Changing to the bigger needles made a world of difference.  A world.  Oh, and the yarn makes stripes, I just knit it as it comes.

There's a Packer game in town tonight so we nearly had the pool to ourselves and then the lifeguards turned on the water down the slide so we had a nice current to walk into.  Gave us a little more resistance.  It was nice to just stand there letting the water massage our backs too.

26 September--Barbara Malcolm, Horizon. 

             In the morning, we walked to the Swedish pancake house a block from the motel.  Sitting across from each other, surrounded by chattering families, vacationing couples, and hungry locals, I felt self-conscious as if everyone knew what we had done.  But I also couldn't keep from smiling.  Abel and I held hands until the waiter arrived to take our orders and pour coffee.  I couldn't help but feel we were in a spotlight.  People kept looking at us as if there was a flashing arrow pointed at us.  As if they knew we were unmarried and had spent the night tangled in each other’s arms.

Abel looked at me over the rim of his coffee mug.  "What are you thinking?  You keep blushing and then turning pale.  Are you feeling all right?"

I could feel the blush flood my cheeks again.  "I'm thinking about last night," I said.

"Me too," he said with a little growl.

"As I started to say before you interrupted, I keep feeling like everyone knows and disapproves."

He set his mug down with a click.  "Boy, you sure spend a lot of time thinking about what people say about what you do, don't you?"

Feeling like a reprimanded child, I shrugged and said, "I guess.”

A big grin spread across his face.  "Well, quit it.  Nobody has the right to tell you what to do, Gail.  You're a grownup, remember?"

A bit of my initial annoyance with him sparked back to life.  "Yes, Abel, I do remember that I'm a grownup.  This last year or so has been difficult with all my children and friends feeling like it's their duty to object to the changes I've made."  I took a sip of coffee and leaned back to allow the waiter to serve my breakfast.  "You have no idea how difficult it's been to dodge and deflect all the well-meaning opinions and advice."  I picked up my fork and waved it under his nose.  "You men have always been allowed to be yourselves.  Women have had to conform to archaic roles put in place by the men who've run our society for centuries."  I stabbed my fork into a sausage, nearly cracking the plate.

"Wow, Gail, that was some speech."  He leaned to whisper in my ear.  "I have a great idea how you can put that energy to a better use.  Check-out time's not until noon."  He straightened up and smiled an impish smile, waggling his eyebrows.  "What do you say?"

He looked so silly sitting there leering at me, I had to laugh.  "I'll consider your suggestion, sir, but I'd like to finish my breakfast first.  A girl needs to keep up her strength, you know."

We finished our breakfast, walked back to the motel, and, after arranging a late checkout at two p.m., satisfactorily dealt with those waggling eyebrows.

Abel drove more slowly on the way home.  I couldn’t decide if it was to prolong our time together or because he was just plain tired.

All week we've had beautiful weather.  It's supposed to rain all over the state tomorrow.  Yippee.  I hate highway driving in the rain and most of the highway to Madison is one lane each way.  How retro can you be, Highway Dept.?  I'll leave early and take my time.
--Barbara