We had a crazy weekend! First getting ready for the Weather Channel crew to come on Saturday- our house hasn’t been this clean in ages- then having them here on Saturday along with some good friends who came by to take a tour. I think the Weather Channel shoot went well; I’m not super-comfortable on camera but the producer and cameraman were very nice and it was relatively painless. Shareholders Dom and Jean were interviewed for the piece as well.
After everyone left I pretty nearly collapsed into a coma. I haven’t taken a three hour nap in a million years but it was heavenly. I did feel a little guilty about napping indoors when it was so lovely outside. My Lord, the sun coming back has changed my entire outlook!
Harry’s birthday party was Sunday and to get ready for it I had to make not one, but TWO trips to the heart of darkness. First, we went to the Verizon store to get his birthday present- a new phone was the only thing he asked for. Picking out a phone, politely ignoring the upselling suggestions of the on-commission salesman, then less politely ignoring them, and getting all the contacts, pictures and texts transferred from his old phone took about as long as it took me to go to college.
If that wasn’t bad enough, we followed up with a trip to the worst possible place to be on earth to be on a Sunday morning. Yes, I am talking about Walmart, people. Walmart on a Sunday morning is the seventh circle of hell. I find Walmart hellish every morning, truth be told, but Sunday morning feels like a I’m being punished for every bad thing I’ve ever done and will ever do, in this incarnation and every reincarnation my soul will go through, forever.
Weirdly though, the Walmart was not jam-packed with people pushing huge grocery carts full to the top with frozen processed foods containing negative nutrition values. I only saw one woman dragging a crying child by the arm the whole time I was there. There were even empty parking spaces within half-marathon distance of the doors. If this isn’t a sign that the economy is in trouble, I don’t know what is.
This week I will be heading back to the library to work on the book and getting ready for kidding and lambing. We shouldn’t see any babies for about seven days, but sometimes they do come early. I’ve already gone through the lambing kit to make sure we have everything we could need (and some things I hope not to need) and ordered supplies. Now we play the waiting game. “The waiting game sucks! Let’s play Hungry, Hungry Hippos.” Can you name the TV show that line is from?
Speaking of games, I invented a new giveaway on Friday while Erin and I were working in the lambcam pen (hereafter known as the nursery.) Erin and I were arguing over whether or not anyone was watching so I looked at the camera and said “Today’s secret word is MULCH HAY. The first person to email me with the secret word wins a skein of yarn.” By the time I got back inside, I had two emails from people who had heard the secret word. Way to go, Jane and Bonnie! So if you’re watching the lambcam, be sure to turn up the volume.
Back to lambing and kidding. If you live in the Hudson Valley area and would like to spend a day or a couple of hours on “baby watch” let me know. Basically it just involves sitting with the ladies and letting me know if anybody goes into labor. You can even bring your knitting! If you’re interested, shoot me an email at susie AT fiberfarm.com
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
lol, i didn’t know there was sound on the lamb cam as well….cool! Friends laugh at me but Walmart and Mini Vans both scare me!
I avoid Walmart at all costs too, but last year we needed an umbrella for the deck and that was the only place that wasn’t charging an arm and a leg for one. We saw so many cliches that Yan and I considered coming up with a “Wal-Mart Bingo” game for future visits. Examples include: Pick up Truck with Mis-Spelled Bumper Sticker and Tattooed Man Wearing Wife Beater.
Emily, you should totally make those! You could sell them on etsy. Please include the woman hitting her shoeless child, dirty-faced child.
WalMart is so very very depressing. My DH used to think I was a store snob, and I couldn’t convince him that many of the brand-name clothing items there were made cheaper to meet their specs, and didn’t fit as well as the same brands at Macy’s….until he bought himself some Hanes jockey shorts that were, um, short LOL
My family and I call Walmart, “Mordor” and I consider it a successful calendar year when I am not compelled to darken the door. I’m also considering calling it “Warmart,” after dodging kamakazi stroller pushers and runaway carts. And the smell.
Truthfully, I would rather use leaves from a tree than have to darken the doorway of a WalMart in order to purchase toilet paper.
:shudder:
The secret word sounds so fun! As does baby watch. Wish I could help!
I am working madly on the knitting, though, and will try to have it all done in time!
I need milk and other basics, but I wasn’t combat ready
to go Walmart on a Sunday morning. When my son was a toddler I saw a tv show that suggested when a child throws a temper tantrum in public walk around the corner and watch the little one,and the child will stop the tantrum immediately and everything will be fine. I tried that at Walmart,and I didn’t even get around the corner before there was an overhead page for an abandoned child.