Downtime Update

Hey kids--it's been a while.........[uncomfortable period of silence, eye contact avoided]....I'm having another truck repair day, hence the "at home, on the computer" state of things.............
the new career is going quite well--the time flies when I'm in session--a good indicator that I've found the right livelihood. Still, the forearms get fatigued, as do the thumbs. Hence the not blogging for a couple of weeks........
Mariana started a great campaign--it's in honor of people who would never abandon their pets while on holiday.http://proudtosay.blogspot.com/
It's a positive reinforcement idea--so much kinder and easier than sending me to rip people's spines out (that Mariana is so thoughtful--she knows I'm almost to 40 years of non-violence, and is aware that my knowledge of anatomy and fierce love of animals puts me in a unique position regarding the whole spine ripping thing, but no......) she has cool buttons you may copy and paste onto your own blog (as soon as I figure out how to do that, you'll see one here). Apparently, some people think it's perfectly ok to go on holiday, and leave the companion animals to starve. Just amazing, in that "I don't believe a human being would do something so fucked" kind of way. Not only would I never do that, but I will care for neighbor's pets while they're on holiday. My nextdoor folks had me feed their sweet dog "Cookie" for a few days, and I got a groovy chiminea for my effort.
Which brings me to my last topic and excuse for the lack of posts lately--I''m planning a meditation garden in the back, just outside my window. When Sandy moved, I scavenged all the stone out of her (former) back garden.....they make a lovely circle , which has been divided into quadrants, each to have it's own theme. Closest to the house will be the herbs and vegetables--I plan to stack a drywall, and build up with compost and soil. Next to that will be the "grasslands"--I plan to plant pretty grasses that will ripple and sway in the wind, along with fragrant lavender. Moving along, we come to what will be the cactus garden--imagine sand, agave plant, cacti--that's where the chiminea is, along with the old wagon wheel--all I will need is a steer skull to complete the southwestern cliche'........finally, we will come to the water garden--I have a horse trough that will make a great aquaculture container--imagine cattails, dwarf lotus, etc--I plan to surround it with ferns, crepe myrtle, and irises.
I spend most of my time after work in the back, planning. My before mentioned neighbors are a little creeped out--gardening in the dark just looks so unsavoury.........