On the First Annoying Day of Christmas
O'Reilly said to us,
"The reason for the season is Jesus"
Here's a news flash for Bill O'Reilly, et. al.: Jesus is not the reason for the season! It's just an annoying pithy saying! The real reason for the season (both figuratively and literally) is the winter solstice!
Christmas is a derivative of "Christ Mass" which was first held by the Roman Catholic Church on December 25 oh so many decades ago. And it's not like they knew that This God-Child was actually *born* on December 25 (forgetting anything about Julian calendars, and all)! They merely took the pagan celebration of the winter solstice and held a mass to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
(And, no, I'm not actually accusing O'Reilly of saying that exact phrase in the song lyric above. This is satire.)
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The Twelve Annoying Days of Christmas
I am so damn fed up with folks (Bill O'Reilly and other oh-so-persecuted Christians) making such a damned big deal over "Happy Holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas". There is no damn war on Christmas! Nobody is trying to take Christ out of their Christmas, fer cryin' out loud!!! You can have all the damn Christ's in Christmas you want! Christ in a manger. Christ in swaddling clothes. Christ in your eggnog. Christ in your damn shower soaping up his private parts!! Call it Christchristchristchristmas for all I care!
Have all the Christ you want but you'd better be willing to give up your Christmas Tree. And the mistletoe. And your scented candles. And Santa Claus.
These damn Christians I'm talking about have made me so irritated that for the next twelve days--as in that insipid song--I'm going to voice my opinion once and for all on all these things that they are so very wrong about.
(And, yes, I know that the Twelve Days of Christmas actually start on Christmas Day and then proceed for 12 days and ending on Twelfth Night sometime in January...)
Have all the Christ you want but you'd better be willing to give up your Christmas Tree. And the mistletoe. And your scented candles. And Santa Claus.
These damn Christians I'm talking about have made me so irritated that for the next twelve days--as in that insipid song--I'm going to voice my opinion once and for all on all these things that they are so very wrong about.
(And, yes, I know that the Twelve Days of Christmas actually start on Christmas Day and then proceed for 12 days and ending on Twelfth Night sometime in January...)
Friday, December 09, 2005
Electricity (Part 2)
Ya know something, all of y'all who have had electricity for these past four months have it oh, so much easier than you realize. You really do.
We finally got electricity switched on here! YIPPEE!!!! It's like we're really living up here now!!!
I can't begin to adequately and fully and completely describe what it feels like to have utility-supplied electricity again. It's been since August 10, 2005 that we've been relying on that little (ok, it's not all that little) generator for all of our power needs. That's four damn months...
Anyway, I'm very, very, very, very happy. Like going back to work after months off because of illness.
We finally got electricity switched on here! YIPPEE!!!! It's like we're really living up here now!!!
I can't begin to adequately and fully and completely describe what it feels like to have utility-supplied electricity again. It's been since August 10, 2005 that we've been relying on that little (ok, it's not all that little) generator for all of our power needs. That's four damn months...
Anyway, I'm very, very, very, very happy. Like going back to work after months off because of illness.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Do Dogs Have a Soul?
I took this picture of our dog on the couch before she died. I know what I see in the picture. But anything else.... Well, that's up to you....
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Electricity....
God! I want electricity!!!! That is all....
(Should be, according to PG & E anyway, this week... But I've been wrong before...)
(Should be, according to PG & E anyway, this week... But I've been wrong before...)
Thursday, November 03, 2005
"I'll have the venison, please..."
Our three dogs have a habit of running off down the hill and onto the neighboring property. It's at least 120 acres of cattle range land so they don't often have much to worry about. Other than Trixie.
Trixie is the kitty. She's sorta beige-ish colored. Has a long, thick tail. Green eyes. And she weighs at least 140 pounds or more. She's a mountain lion. A cougar. "Kitty!"
But Trixie doesn't seem all that interested in us. Nor the tasty morsels of dogs we have.
Anyway, the dogs went running off down the hill again yesterday. We usually have to take a good half hour getting them to come back. (We're working on fixing that; it's a problem.) First to come back yesterday was C.B.. With two dark spots on either side of her neck where she'd discovered the joys of Eau du Bovine. (a.k.a., Cow Shit.)
And then comes Crash. Very happy. With something in his mouth. Proud, in fact. He had a present for us. (Or, for himself, I'm not exactly sure which.)
It was the intact skeleton of the entire back leg of a deer. Complete with Appetizer Ants. And the hoof. And a smidgeon of deer hide and hair.
UGH!
So, we threw it on the grill and cooked it up to kill anything growing in or on it. And now we have free dog chewy treats.
Later that night, a large pack of coyotes were howling away down the hill. I suppose mourning the loss of their deer leg.
The joys of rural living with dogs!
("Steak, anybody??")
Trixie is the kitty. She's sorta beige-ish colored. Has a long, thick tail. Green eyes. And she weighs at least 140 pounds or more. She's a mountain lion. A cougar. "Kitty!"
But Trixie doesn't seem all that interested in us. Nor the tasty morsels of dogs we have.
Anyway, the dogs went running off down the hill again yesterday. We usually have to take a good half hour getting them to come back. (We're working on fixing that; it's a problem.) First to come back yesterday was C.B.. With two dark spots on either side of her neck where she'd discovered the joys of Eau du Bovine. (a.k.a., Cow Shit.)
And then comes Crash. Very happy. With something in his mouth. Proud, in fact. He had a present for us. (Or, for himself, I'm not exactly sure which.)
It was the intact skeleton of the entire back leg of a deer. Complete with Appetizer Ants. And the hoof. And a smidgeon of deer hide and hair.
UGH!
So, we threw it on the grill and cooked it up to kill anything growing in or on it. And now we have free dog chewy treats.
Later that night, a large pack of coyotes were howling away down the hill. I suppose mourning the loss of their deer leg.
The joys of rural living with dogs!
("Steak, anybody??")
Sunday, October 30, 2005
HOT WATER!!!
Yippeee!!!!!!
We have hot water!!!!
I've taken my first HOT shower on my property!!! God! It felt so damn good... I almost felt like a real, normal human being again....
Only thing we're waiting for now to be able to move in is the grading inspector to call me the hell back. Then, it's the Final Inspection and then move in time!
Oh, and PG & E still hasn't got us hooked up to electricity yet. Good thing I bought a generator on Ebay back in July--it's been pretty much the main thing that has kept living on this hill palpable.
We have hot water!!!!
I've taken my first HOT shower on my property!!! God! It felt so damn good... I almost felt like a real, normal human being again....
Only thing we're waiting for now to be able to move in is the grading inspector to call me the hell back. Then, it's the Final Inspection and then move in time!
Oh, and PG & E still hasn't got us hooked up to electricity yet. Good thing I bought a generator on Ebay back in July--it's been pretty much the main thing that has kept living on this hill palpable.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Almost Done!!!
YIPPEE!!!!
I have a phone line at the house now!!! Now I can surf all those sites that the Library won't let me onto... ;{)
The VERY last thing we're waiting for before we can move the hell into the house is a grading re-inspection (I put the house too damn close to the top of a slope (i.e., closer than 2 feet) so I had to, uh, re-slope the slope), the inspection for the gas line (i.e., propane) and the final inspection. If all goes well (I HOPE I HOPE I HOPEIHOPEIHOPEIHOPE) I'll be movin' into the damn house this weekend!!!!!!
Oh, and then I gotta start waiting for PG & E to come out and get the electricity hooked up. Shouldn't be too long. Probably by Christmas... :)
Well, that's it for now. I'll be posting pictures soon now that I can waste time on the 'net at home again...
I have a phone line at the house now!!! Now I can surf all those sites that the Library won't let me onto... ;{)
The VERY last thing we're waiting for before we can move the hell into the house is a grading re-inspection (I put the house too damn close to the top of a slope (i.e., closer than 2 feet) so I had to, uh, re-slope the slope), the inspection for the gas line (i.e., propane) and the final inspection. If all goes well (I HOPE I HOPE I HOPEIHOPEIHOPEIHOPE) I'll be movin' into the damn house this weekend!!!!!!
Oh, and then I gotta start waiting for PG & E to come out and get the electricity hooked up. Shouldn't be too long. Probably by Christmas... :)
Well, that's it for now. I'll be posting pictures soon now that I can waste time on the 'net at home again...
Thursday, September 29, 2005
28 Days Later (Not The Movie)
After Seven weeks of "camping" on my new property, I'm waxing poetic today.
A couple days ago, I was struck by how much more attached or in tune I have become to, generally, nature. More specifically, the cycles of the moon. When you're out camping under the stars (and rain clouds and thunderheads) for such an extended time, the cycles of the moon become plainly obvious. Even the movement of the planets among the stars is obvious.
I used to go to sleep very late at night and wake up around noon (or sometimes later). But, over the past seven weeks, I've been sacking it in shortly after sundown and getting up shortly after sunup. Do I feel better after spending so much time on a "natural" waking cycle? I don't know. I still get pretty darn irritated and annoyed with and at things.
Anyway, the past seven weeks have been, at the very least, interesting. But I am so VERY ready to be done with this extended camping trip. Today, the plumbing connections are being made so we'll have indoor plumbing soon--maybe by tonight! (You don't really want to know the details but having those connections made will vastly improve the quality of life for us.)
On the other hand, as I think I said 28 days ago, this experience could be sucking a lot harder if it weren't for the running water. Oh, and the trailer's refrigerator and freezer finally got to working well. (Well, it works well enough.)
And, finally, we're able to move ahead with the telephone connection. We were supposed to have trenched the 650 feet (from where the pole is going to be to the house) to a depth of 18 to 24 inches. However, the bedrock is--in some places--only four inches below the surface. UGH! But, we and Verizon got that worked out. Sometime in the next 30 days, I should have phone service!!!
The house is in one peice. The roof is on. My new washer and dryer are installed. Soon--very soon--I hope to be able to move in...
A couple days ago, I was struck by how much more attached or in tune I have become to, generally, nature. More specifically, the cycles of the moon. When you're out camping under the stars (and rain clouds and thunderheads) for such an extended time, the cycles of the moon become plainly obvious. Even the movement of the planets among the stars is obvious.
I used to go to sleep very late at night and wake up around noon (or sometimes later). But, over the past seven weeks, I've been sacking it in shortly after sundown and getting up shortly after sunup. Do I feel better after spending so much time on a "natural" waking cycle? I don't know. I still get pretty darn irritated and annoyed with and at things.
Anyway, the past seven weeks have been, at the very least, interesting. But I am so VERY ready to be done with this extended camping trip. Today, the plumbing connections are being made so we'll have indoor plumbing soon--maybe by tonight! (You don't really want to know the details but having those connections made will vastly improve the quality of life for us.)
On the other hand, as I think I said 28 days ago, this experience could be sucking a lot harder if it weren't for the running water. Oh, and the trailer's refrigerator and freezer finally got to working well. (Well, it works well enough.)
And, finally, we're able to move ahead with the telephone connection. We were supposed to have trenched the 650 feet (from where the pole is going to be to the house) to a depth of 18 to 24 inches. However, the bedrock is--in some places--only four inches below the surface. UGH! But, we and Verizon got that worked out. Sometime in the next 30 days, I should have phone service!!!
The house is in one peice. The roof is on. My new washer and dryer are installed. Soon--very soon--I hope to be able to move in...
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Three weeks.... And Counting...
It's been three weeks now that I moved out of my old house. And it's been three weeks of "camping" in the dirt of the new property.
Three weeks of dirt. Three weeks of heat. Three weeks of doing nothing. Three weeks of water that tastes like pipe dope. Three weeks of "showering" with a hose. Three weeks without plumbing. Three weeks without decent phone service. Three weeks without a damn home...
The house was delivered a week ago and is still in two peices. Electricity is going to take a good three to four additional weeks to get hooked up. It's really starting to get on my damn nerves.
On the other hand, there are some benefits. I have however been reading. A lot. In the past week, I've read When the Wind Blows, Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Pop Goes the Weasel, and The Andromeda Strain and half of The Terminal Man. (I think there might be a couple more but I can't be sure.)
I've also been staring at the stars for a very long time. I've seen more meteors and satellites in these past three weeks than I'd seen my entire life previous.
I've apparently been losing weight. (Yes, that's a good thing.) I've seen all sorts of birds, lizards, insects, and assorted wildlife. Heard the nightly chirp-ing of at least one bat (eating said insects.)
All in all, it sucks but it could suck a lot harder. The one saving grace is that we have running water. Without that, the whole experience would REALLY be pissing me off...
Three weeks of dirt. Three weeks of heat. Three weeks of doing nothing. Three weeks of water that tastes like pipe dope. Three weeks of "showering" with a hose. Three weeks without plumbing. Three weeks without decent phone service. Three weeks without a damn home...
The house was delivered a week ago and is still in two peices. Electricity is going to take a good three to four additional weeks to get hooked up. It's really starting to get on my damn nerves.
On the other hand, there are some benefits. I have however been reading. A lot. In the past week, I've read When the Wind Blows, Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Pop Goes the Weasel, and The Andromeda Strain and half of The Terminal Man. (I think there might be a couple more but I can't be sure.)
I've also been staring at the stars for a very long time. I've seen more meteors and satellites in these past three weeks than I'd seen my entire life previous.
I've apparently been losing weight. (Yes, that's a good thing.) I've seen all sorts of birds, lizards, insects, and assorted wildlife. Heard the nightly chirp-ing of at least one bat (eating said insects.)
All in all, it sucks but it could suck a lot harder. The one saving grace is that we have running water. Without that, the whole experience would REALLY be pissing me off...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)