Bath Time

It's an interesting phenomenon that whenever a small child is placed in the bathtub in this house, no matter what it is precisely the other children are doing, if they are in the house, they will magically appear in the bathroom either demanding to be included or attempting to take over the bathtime ritual. Even more interesting is those same children, when requested to individually cleanse themselves, will vociferously refuse to do so. For some strange reason, when there is a baby involved, bath time is automatically equated with fun and playtime.

Tonight, in attempting to bathe my son, who granted adores baths, loves to play in the water, and whose childish giggles are often infectious, I was quickly inundated by the presence of my youngest pair of daughters. The third stripped bare and demanded to join her brother. Even though she is less amicable to actually being cleaned while bathing. The second pushed me to the side and attempted to pet her brother on the head and just make a general nuisance of herself.

The bath itself should have lasted a few minutes for cleaning and a few minutes for playing. Perhaps 15 minutes total, including drying and dressing. However, hampered so by my other children, my son's bath stretched into 30 minutes or more. He certainly didn't seem to begrudge the extra playing time however!

The Fair

Well, we attended our local fair this evening. It's generally a lot of fun and one we try to get to every year. This year we were fortunate to have a family member who won wristbands for 4, but wouldn't use them and so gave them to us. It was a good thing too! I went early to retrieve the wristbands and we returned later in the evening, when it was cooler. I was a little concerned as the sky appeared to be clouding over a bit. However, as I had checked the weather expectations earlier I had confidence that we should be alright. We went through a small animal petting area and literally as soon as we were coming out, a bolt of lighting lit up the sky. The fair, of course, immediately shut down the rides, it's not safe to have a bunch of people in metal contraptions swinging around in the air after all. Everyone was encouraged by the fair officials to seek shelter in the large center building. We took refuge under an overhang just in time to watch a deluge soak everything in sight. We waited for perhaps an hour or so and when it appeared to be lightening we decided to check around the fair at the games and offerings. At first the rain picked up again, but then lightened out and then stopped. The rides were re-opened and we quickly took advantage of the situation, riding as many as we could, which granted still wasn't many. When the lightning started up once more, the fair officials opted to close all rides for the remainder of the evening. We found a canopy with tables near some food vendors and the children enjoyed funnel cakes, cotton candy, and a steak sandwich while we watched the torrents of rain start up once more. After awhile we were instructed to try and head out of the fairgrounds through the main building. So we left. It was a good thing I hadn't had to pay for the wristbands, since we honestly weren't able to realize their full value in rides. Still, I think everyone had a good time, even through the frustration at the fair and the weather. And that's what is the most important aspect of visiting the fair.

What do you think about?

While performing rather mundane chores? I find myself mentally writing blog posts while cleaning out rabbit pans, weeding the garden, or otherwise puttering around the yard. Sometimes even while driving. Sadly it is the rare occasion that any of those mentally created blogs actually end up being admitted to the void of cyberspace. It's a shame because I've actually composed some rather compelling blog entries in my mind. Perhaps someday, if and when they invent a device that can withstand the rigors of everyday active life and still function admirably, then perhaps I will actually be able to take the moment and stop to record the myriad thoughts that roll through my mind.

Procreation

I'm sure everyone knows someone who really ought to keep their particular genes out of the gene pool. So why does it seem that those are the ones who seem the most easily able to procreate? And yet those that would have made excellent parents are denied. It makes little sense. I happen to know of 2 such people, the kind that probably oughtn't reproduce that is. The children are fine as far as genetics, quite aesthetically pleasing really. It's the parent-figure that is lacking. Or perhaps it is more that they are lacking in overall parental instincts. Whatever it is, it is one of the truly baffling phenomenon in our known existence to my way of thinking! So while I understand that it is the most basic drive of all species, I really wonder if some humans shouldn't more carefully consider before they choose to join the ranks of the generations.

Back into the Swing

My current plan is to get back into the swing of things with my soap-making and crocheting. I will be re-setting my store so that I can stock it again. I'll be offering more customs for animal toys and I even have a pattern for a tea set! I'm going to offer more fibers too, like organic cotton, soft wool, and touch cotton while still recommending acrylic. I'll be doing it for my own sanity. When I'm crocheting and/or soaping, it relaxes me. I need something to help with stress relief with all the tasks I have to accomplish each day. You might think it's adding just more stress, but since I can crochet with something in the background, it really is relaxing. And I only soap at night anyway, for safety reasons. Plus they are activities that I genuinely enjoy. I love watching animals take shape by my own hand, or watching a newly set block of soap being cut into usable bars.

Frustration

There is nothing I dislike more than a subordinate at a place of employment thinking they have an upper hand over their superior. Sadly, this is exactly the case and I am at a loss as to how to rectify the situation. Short of removing myself to an alternate place of employment, which may happen regardless, so I am beginning to try and prepare. I no longer feel comfortable at my place of employment. I feel constantly harangued and threatened by a biased relationship between my subordinate and my superior. As a consequence I don't feel that I can talk with my immediate superior about the goings-on. To top it off I have never been a complainer, to my detriment in most cases I've found since others seem to have no such compunctions and often by the time things come back to me it is too late for me to do anything other than attempt to explain or clarify, which sadly often comes off as being merely making excuses. Then inevitably I'm put on my guard around everyone else. I learned long ago to trust in no one, and that lesson is being quickly hammered in.

I had thought I found the perfect job for me. I'm finding it's not the work but the people with whom I have the most trouble relating. I just don't get drama in the workplace. What precisely does it give a person to bring drama into the workplace? Are they bored? Regardless I will continue my search for a job that I can excel in and enjoy. I hate to say it, but I think I'd prefer to work with primarily men. Not always, but more often there is less associated drama in a primarily male workforce. Sad, eh?

A Garden Update

I'm really very pleased with this year's garden overall. Everything did eventually sprout, including 2 sets of watermelon plants. Today, since I had a day off, I decided to get some yard/garden work accomplished. I tied up the tomatoes (almost waited too long for some of them) and weeded most of the garden. I did lose the cantaloupe plants. Too long out of the ground coupled with too much rain when they first went in resulted in their early demise. I still have not yet planted the fruit trees, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, rosemary, or marigolds. They'll have to wait now.

On the animal side, the ducks are nearly big enough for processing. They now have all their feathers. Sounds like there are actually 2 drakes and 1 hen. The red chicks are half-size to adulthood and appear to be mostly hens, which is good. The nuggets are growing well and almost ready to be separated again. The goslings have had a rough time. They are quite large now and we've had some trouble finding the best way to keep them from harm. Therefore, we are down to 4 with one possibly crippled (it's a long story, his name though, is Speshal). The rabbits are going along at their usual pace. I bred around a dozen does recently. Not sure yet how many of them will take. The previous round of youngsters are almost ready for weaning from their parents. There are several Hollands, Jersey Woolies, Mini-lops, and Havana youngsters.