Easter weekend, my parents came up, and Mom helped us with the last bit of planting we had to do for a while. With her help, we planted all of our potatoes, all (a metric butt-ton) of our onions, and our 18 boxwoods. We also got the weed block cloth down around the rest of the fruit bushes and all the windbreak plants.
Some of the daffodils that we planted in our tree stump (you know, the rotting tree stump that got trimmed down by some well-meaning contractors AFTER we had planted daffodils in them) apparently got buried enough by sawdust that they took root, so they are up, but not blooming. The other daffodils we planted are blooming. And at random spots in our yard, we have other gorgeous flowers (that weren't there last year and that we didn't plant) blooming. For instance, what my mom thinks are irises in the back lawn, by the pipes sticking up from the old oil tank, and there are grape hyacinth growing in a bunch in the middle of the front yard.
Apparently, spring is FINALLY here, but amazingly rainy.
Last week, many of the trees and bushes that we had planted started budding. We now have a pear tree, a cherry tree, and some raspberry bushes budding and a bunch of strawberry plants really taking off.
This weekend, I mowed. I shouldn't have put it off so long, but it was the first opportunity I've had all spring. And wow, what an experience! We decided that, because we've planted so many things in what USED to be our yard, we'd expand and take back a little bit of the property that we let grow up last year. So I mowed that area for about 2 hours on Friday night. And Saturday, I mowed the rest of the yard. It used to take me 3 hours to mow all of our yard. I have no idea how long it took this Saturday because I was also (1) picking up glass and pottery shards and rusting metal bits that had gotten turned up when our heat pump line got installed and (2) using the lawn tractor to run over some of the smaller ruts left in our yard from the heat pump line installation. So, with all the things we've planted and all the ruts and piles of earth left behind from the heat pump installation, I didn't have a yard to mow so much as a gauntlet to run, an obstacle course to defeat. Lucky I like mowing the yard, no matter how long it takes. Call me crazy, but I find it therapeutic.
Anyway, I came home today to freshly baked bread. Last weekend, checking email, I had seen information about a book called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes. We ordered that and a book on root cellaring from Amazon, and today, M made bread. Delicious bread. It was "mediocre" for "artisan" bread, but FAR more delicious than store-bought bread, and it was just a first try. It was whole-wheat, and made with about 20 minutes of effort, to make the dough. And that dough will give us about 7 more "individual" loaves of bread. I highly recommend this book already. Seriously. Do it. No kneading dough; no rising, then letting it rest, then kneading, and repeating the process. After the dough is prepared (you can leave it in the fridge for several days), you cut off a chunk the size you need, let it rest for 20 minutes or so, and prep it to cook. Then walk away. Mmmmmm, bread and honey....
Now we just need to figure out the best way to make a "root cellar" here to store our onions and potatoes.
On the job front, M has had a few calls in the past couple of weeks, but no results yet. But people still are calling and interested. As for me, after some discussions with customers from my freelancing, I learned that I should be able to "make a go" of freelancing, getting as much work as I estimated that I need to make the same amount of money that I'm making on my contract with the government (far more money than I've made on any other job). So when my contract runs out May 19, no more putting up with the crap at that particular place. I learned today that I had actually made it in at number 5 of the 5 candidates selected by the first stage of the hiring process. Luckily, though, that was low enough that I couldn't be considered. Of the 5 candidates, 3 or 4 were veterans, so they were automatically bumped ahead of me. And 3 or 4 (including me) had Masters Degrees. So even though some of them had absolutely no experience doing what the job requires, they were already "more qualified" than me, and it would have been nearly impossible for the program manager to make justification to the higher-ups to choose me over the others. Sad for them, truly. But now I don't have to feel the least bit of a twinge of conscience about choosing to leave the group I was with because I don't want to put up with the ridiculous bureaucratic shit they have to deal with every day.
So, come May 19, I will be self-employed full-time as an editor and provider of other publishing resources. I should have enough work to pay me the money we need to pay our bills, but I could use enough money to get us health insurance. This means that if you know someone who needs a manuscript edited, a resume or cover letter proofread, a story critiqued, etc., send them my way. For a modest fee, I can probably do it. ;)
* Stringham high: So far (knock on wood), all our recently transplanted plants seem to be "taking" and thriving.
* Stringham low: Still no job for M.
* Stringham super-high: 21 days in my contract, then I can take a few days' vacation and work from home!
Showing posts with label unemployed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployed. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Beware the Ides of March! (Just Kidding)
Quick update for the week. Nothing major has happened, but some upcoming happenings:
M's still unemployed, but he's got 2 or 3 jobs lined up to look into and apply for. Woo!
Four more mouse casualties, but I wasn't thrilled about them. M cut into a nest of at least one adult and three pups with the tiller the other day when he was tilling up a new area for the garden. So four more potential house invaders down, but this time, they were out where they belonged...
We're (I, and M's going to be a captive) starting a new "diet" tomorrow. It's based on the book The Fertility Diet, and we're going to see how it goes. It's designed for eating the correct (basically, natural) foods and in the correct proportions and for getting all necessary nutrients from the right sources. It's not meant to be a weight-loss plan, though of course weight loss is suggested for those of us who are above our suggested weights. M thinks I'll be hungry all the time on it, but it suggests a starting point for you to adjust based on your size and activity level. We'll try the recommended plan this week and tweak as necessary. It looks to me like everything will be good and tasty, and the point of the foods from this diet are to be naturally healthy and filling.
Also starting tomorrow is the installation of our geothermal heat pump. (We are incredibly excited!)
So here's to new beginnings.
* Stringham high: We have seeds in hand and our garden planned!
* Stringham low: It's almost spring. We don't have any real lows, except some short-term money grumbles.
* Stringham super-high: Woo, heat pump!
M's still unemployed, but he's got 2 or 3 jobs lined up to look into and apply for. Woo!
Four more mouse casualties, but I wasn't thrilled about them. M cut into a nest of at least one adult and three pups with the tiller the other day when he was tilling up a new area for the garden. So four more potential house invaders down, but this time, they were out where they belonged...
We're (I, and M's going to be a captive) starting a new "diet" tomorrow. It's based on the book The Fertility Diet, and we're going to see how it goes. It's designed for eating the correct (basically, natural) foods and in the correct proportions and for getting all necessary nutrients from the right sources. It's not meant to be a weight-loss plan, though of course weight loss is suggested for those of us who are above our suggested weights. M thinks I'll be hungry all the time on it, but it suggests a starting point for you to adjust based on your size and activity level. We'll try the recommended plan this week and tweak as necessary. It looks to me like everything will be good and tasty, and the point of the foods from this diet are to be naturally healthy and filling.
Also starting tomorrow is the installation of our geothermal heat pump. (We are incredibly excited!)
So here's to new beginnings.
* Stringham high: We have seeds in hand and our garden planned!
* Stringham low: It's almost spring. We don't have any real lows, except some short-term money grumbles.
* Stringham super-high: Woo, heat pump!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Singing (Emo Songs) in the Rain
M has been officially unemployed for a week now. Last Saturday, he got in a full day of overtime, so that helped the final paycheck not suck so much.
So far, he seems to be handling unemployment pretty well. He's doing a good job at doing things at home so I can focus a little more on my freelancing projects, and he's been looking into a job position in Indianapolis. No interviews yet, but we think there will be one very soon. (Keep your fingers crossed for us.)
On Friday, work took a drastic downward turn. It was strange when I first started but evened out. But in the past few weeks, we've had some change pains because of a new program manager and a move to a new area of the building. I was riding it out, but it has turned into a not-so-pleasant experience for me. Our little team moved into a new area of the building with the larger team, and it turns out that a lot of things that I was able to mostly ignore before aren't so easy for me to ignore in our new location. On Friday, I was ready to walk out of the place and give it the finger all the way out the door. But I didn't. I stayed and sucked it up. I get paid well to be a contractor there, after all, but I wonder if it's worth it, the way we are now being treated (more like 5-year-old children than 20- to 40-something-year-old professionals). I had happily forgotten about most of the issues over the weekend, but the subject came up in a phone call this evening, and now my stomach is churning. Something's got to give, but Lord only knows what. Apparently, I'm the only person of the contractors who is willing to speak up and put my neck out by doing so. But I can't sit quietly by and take the crap. Well, I can, I suppose, if I channel my mother's personality, but I have too much of my father in me. I'll bring it up, but I'm waiting for the right time, the right place. We'll see what Monday brings.
If I speak up, the worst thing that can happen is they let me out of my contract immediately. No worries (aside from Mike's monetary ones). I'll still get a good recommendation from my immediate boss and my team members. The best that can happen is that things change for the better (when pigs fly). If nothing changes, I work to the end of the contract and move on. As for applying for the job they've tried for months to get me into...I don't think I'm interested anymore. I'm most definitely looking seriously for another job now.
But anyway, what does all of that have to do with our house? Not very damn much, actually. But I had to vent (again, for about the 9th time, and it's not really helping me feel much better).
* Stringham high: Turns out that my visits to the dietitian aren't turned in to the insurance company, so I can keep going to my wonderful dietitian, even without our health insurance, which M was providing.
* Stringham low: See above.
* Stringham super-high: M and I have had a good weekend, spending pleasant time together and planning for the summer and dreaming about our geothermal heat pump being installed next week. And some of our seeds and supplies were delivered this week; we are going to start some seedlings indoors next week!
So far, he seems to be handling unemployment pretty well. He's doing a good job at doing things at home so I can focus a little more on my freelancing projects, and he's been looking into a job position in Indianapolis. No interviews yet, but we think there will be one very soon. (Keep your fingers crossed for us.)
On Friday, work took a drastic downward turn. It was strange when I first started but evened out. But in the past few weeks, we've had some change pains because of a new program manager and a move to a new area of the building. I was riding it out, but it has turned into a not-so-pleasant experience for me. Our little team moved into a new area of the building with the larger team, and it turns out that a lot of things that I was able to mostly ignore before aren't so easy for me to ignore in our new location. On Friday, I was ready to walk out of the place and give it the finger all the way out the door. But I didn't. I stayed and sucked it up. I get paid well to be a contractor there, after all, but I wonder if it's worth it, the way we are now being treated (more like 5-year-old children than 20- to 40-something-year-old professionals). I had happily forgotten about most of the issues over the weekend, but the subject came up in a phone call this evening, and now my stomach is churning. Something's got to give, but Lord only knows what. Apparently, I'm the only person of the contractors who is willing to speak up and put my neck out by doing so. But I can't sit quietly by and take the crap. Well, I can, I suppose, if I channel my mother's personality, but I have too much of my father in me. I'll bring it up, but I'm waiting for the right time, the right place. We'll see what Monday brings.
If I speak up, the worst thing that can happen is they let me out of my contract immediately. No worries (aside from Mike's monetary ones). I'll still get a good recommendation from my immediate boss and my team members. The best that can happen is that things change for the better (when pigs fly). If nothing changes, I work to the end of the contract and move on. As for applying for the job they've tried for months to get me into...I don't think I'm interested anymore. I'm most definitely looking seriously for another job now.
But anyway, what does all of that have to do with our house? Not very damn much, actually. But I had to vent (again, for about the 9th time, and it's not really helping me feel much better).
* Stringham high: Turns out that my visits to the dietitian aren't turned in to the insurance company, so I can keep going to my wonderful dietitian, even without our health insurance, which M was providing.
* Stringham low: See above.
* Stringham super-high: M and I have had a good weekend, spending pleasant time together and planning for the summer and dreaming about our geothermal heat pump being installed next week. And some of our seeds and supplies were delivered this week; we are going to start some seedlings indoors next week!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sowing Our Wild Oats
Actually, oats are one of the few things we DIDN'T order to plant...
We filed our taxes on Saturday and went through our list of seeds, trees, and plants last night to remove extraneous items and get our list to a more-manageable volume and price. Today, while I was home sick, I ordered all those items. The damage:
In total (after taxes, shipping, handling, etc.): $541.86
And those totals do not take into account the 30 or so seed packets that we already have, the seed starter supplies that we already have, or the "free" seeds and plants that we will get as "valued customers" from three of the four companies we ordered from...
Sure, some people might say we're crazy. And M says he definitely didn't till enough ground for this garden, but these are not all going to be planted at the same time. We have specifically planned so that we will have some replantings, so some sort of vegetable production from late spring through fall, and even possibly into early winter (weather winter, not calendar winter). And several of the varieties we bought are heirlooms, rather than hybrids, so we can harvest the seeds and use them next year and know that we will get the same plant next year as this year...so, we won't need to buy as many seeds next year. And we'll already have a good windbreak and a small orchard/fruit yard started, in addition to perennial and re-seeding annual flower beds to keep calling pollinators back to our garden and yard year after year.
* Stringham high: Tax refund not as high as we had hoped, but combined with money put back, definitely enough to pay for plants, the installation of the coils for our geothermal heat pump, and a nice sum on a credit card.
* Stringham low: M is still going to be unemployed after this Friday.
* Stringham super-high: M is less stressed about being unemployed than about continuing in his current job (as attested to by his fingernails)--how sad is that?
We filed our taxes on Saturday and went through our list of seeds, trees, and plants last night to remove extraneous items and get our list to a more-manageable volume and price. Today, while I was home sick, I ordered all those items. The damage:
- 15 fruit, flowering, or windblock trees
- 24 bushes for a hedge
- 18 bushes for a windblock for the driveway
- 143 fruit plants/bushes
- 2 packets of herb seeds
- 8 "decorative" plants
- 31 vegetable seed packets
- seed potatoes for white, red, and blue potatoes
- starter sets for red, white, and yellow onions and leeks
- 1/4 lb of sunflower seeds
- 1 lb of jerusalem artichoke starter
- all manner of food processing, storage, collection, and garden-maintenance supplies
In total (after taxes, shipping, handling, etc.): $541.86
And those totals do not take into account the 30 or so seed packets that we already have, the seed starter supplies that we already have, or the "free" seeds and plants that we will get as "valued customers" from three of the four companies we ordered from...
Sure, some people might say we're crazy. And M says he definitely didn't till enough ground for this garden, but these are not all going to be planted at the same time. We have specifically planned so that we will have some replantings, so some sort of vegetable production from late spring through fall, and even possibly into early winter (weather winter, not calendar winter). And several of the varieties we bought are heirlooms, rather than hybrids, so we can harvest the seeds and use them next year and know that we will get the same plant next year as this year...so, we won't need to buy as many seeds next year. And we'll already have a good windbreak and a small orchard/fruit yard started, in addition to perennial and re-seeding annual flower beds to keep calling pollinators back to our garden and yard year after year.
* Stringham high: Tax refund not as high as we had hoped, but combined with money put back, definitely enough to pay for plants, the installation of the coils for our geothermal heat pump, and a nice sum on a credit card.
* Stringham low: M is still going to be unemployed after this Friday.
* Stringham super-high: M is less stressed about being unemployed than about continuing in his current job (as attested to by his fingernails)--how sad is that?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
State's Unemployed Worker Total Increases by 1
M called me as I was leaving work yesterday to tell me that, yet again, he will be unemployed. At the end of next week (February 27), he will be (for the 3rd time since July) "let go" by his company. Once again, his boss is considering going directly to the president of the company to plead for M. After all, he's really the only one working on a couple of extremely important projects, and definitely the only one who knows what's going on in every top-secret and high-importance project they have.
Yes, of course, he's bummed, but we have a plan. So long as the state's unemployment funds hold out, with our current budget, we still should be able to pay all the bills. But we're still going to scale back in a couple of places. We have been preparing for this since last fall, buying dried beans and nuts and canned goods and rice, etc. So we may not be able to eat as healthily as I would like/need to lose weight, but surviving is far more important, and I'll just switch diet tactics.
Not that it's all about me. Oh, no. M is handling it far better than I expected, though part of it is that he hides more from me now, I'm sure. And, hey, this is the third time in 8 months, as I mentioned earlier. By now, this is getting to be old hat for him. :) At least this time, he has warning...
We're getting our taxes done this weekend, and then we plan to order our seeds and plants so we can further cut our grocery bill (one of the very expenditures we have any control over) this spring, summer, and fall. And then we'll be setting up an appointment for our geothermal heat pump to be installed for the end of next month. (Click the title of this post for more information.) Yes, a big expenditure, but oh! how much money it will save us! (Our propane was filled yesterday for the 4th time since October...$300-600+ per fill. Sheesh.)
And a few years ago, we discovered the joy of the crockpot. We mentioned to M's mom that we liked using it, and she got us a FABULOUS crockpot cookbook. We have now nearly exhausted the recipes in it. So I ordered 4 more on Half.com (possibly the best book-lover's website out there). We have three of them. I'm excited!
Is it sad that I get so excited about a garden and crockpot recipes? I don't think so. It's better than getting all worked up about, say, the results of a football game that doesn't impact my life at all....
And I got a book today about eating properly to increase chances of fertility. It may be an utter crock, but from what I saw when skimming it today, it seems well-balanced, a load of practical information and tips, and far more credible than things like Atkins or South Beach. So what the hell, I'll give it a try. (And it's meant for men OR women, so M can maybe now get rid of his "baby belly" and transfer it to me....)
That's our life in a nutshell at the mo'. Stay tuned for more.
* Stringham high: Geothermal heat pump. Woo!
* Stringham low: Unemployment. Bummer.
* Stringham super-high: The freelance work for Steph just keeps pouring in. And she just keeps sending it out to others because she's got so much. Oh, and the contractor came and fixed our roof last Friday afternoon...Damage on Wednesday, complain on Thursday, fixed on Friday. Damn, I like it here!
Yes, of course, he's bummed, but we have a plan. So long as the state's unemployment funds hold out, with our current budget, we still should be able to pay all the bills. But we're still going to scale back in a couple of places. We have been preparing for this since last fall, buying dried beans and nuts and canned goods and rice, etc. So we may not be able to eat as healthily as I would like/need to lose weight, but surviving is far more important, and I'll just switch diet tactics.
Not that it's all about me. Oh, no. M is handling it far better than I expected, though part of it is that he hides more from me now, I'm sure. And, hey, this is the third time in 8 months, as I mentioned earlier. By now, this is getting to be old hat for him. :) At least this time, he has warning...
We're getting our taxes done this weekend, and then we plan to order our seeds and plants so we can further cut our grocery bill (one of the very expenditures we have any control over) this spring, summer, and fall. And then we'll be setting up an appointment for our geothermal heat pump to be installed for the end of next month. (Click the title of this post for more information.) Yes, a big expenditure, but oh! how much money it will save us! (Our propane was filled yesterday for the 4th time since October...$300-600+ per fill. Sheesh.)
And a few years ago, we discovered the joy of the crockpot. We mentioned to M's mom that we liked using it, and she got us a FABULOUS crockpot cookbook. We have now nearly exhausted the recipes in it. So I ordered 4 more on Half.com (possibly the best book-lover's website out there). We have three of them. I'm excited!
Is it sad that I get so excited about a garden and crockpot recipes? I don't think so. It's better than getting all worked up about, say, the results of a football game that doesn't impact my life at all....
And I got a book today about eating properly to increase chances of fertility. It may be an utter crock, but from what I saw when skimming it today, it seems well-balanced, a load of practical information and tips, and far more credible than things like Atkins or South Beach. So what the hell, I'll give it a try. (And it's meant for men OR women, so M can maybe now get rid of his "baby belly" and transfer it to me....)
That's our life in a nutshell at the mo'. Stay tuned for more.
* Stringham high: Geothermal heat pump. Woo!
* Stringham low: Unemployment. Bummer.
* Stringham super-high: The freelance work for Steph just keeps pouring in. And she just keeps sending it out to others because she's got so much. Oh, and the contractor came and fixed our roof last Friday afternoon...Damage on Wednesday, complain on Thursday, fixed on Friday. Damn, I like it here!
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