AVR Weekly News ~ 659th Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by 
Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. 
~ Recap the past week ~ 
~ Show what's upcoming ~ 
~ Share news ~ 
~ Display book hauls ~

• Sunday ~ Meme ~ AVR Weekly News ~ 658th Edition
• Monday ~ Audiobook Review ~ Leprechauns and Lemon Bars by Danielle Garrett

 

• Wednesday ~ Tour Spotlight ~ The Driftborn by Simon Bullock
• Sunday ~ Meme ~ AVR Weekly News ~ 660th Edition

Hello and Happy Sunday!

On the Home Front

Sunday ~  Started out the morning with Anna picking up a squirrel Kyle shot with the BB gun and getting bit bad enough that she had to go to the ER for treatment. Ok, so here's the thing about the squirrels around here. If you are a devoted animal lover, you will not like my story. And you will probably not like me anymore. *shrugs* 

I grew up on a farm. Animals die, are killed for food, or have to be shot because they are destructive. Like squirrels who chew fuel lines and wiring harnesses and anything made of wood or plastic. Like the fuel tank on my semi-new push mower! Which I now need to replace once I find the part. Temporarily fixed with duct tape that doesn't last because gas eats tape. Anyway, around here, I feed the birds, deer, the occasional turkey, and hopefully possums. My critters. We live in the woods. There are other animals like squirrels (& groundhogs, raccoons) that I generally tolerate until they become a problem. When the squirrels are making pigs of themselves at the bird feeders then I shoot them with a BB gun. Or if they hanging around the cars. 3 pumps and a tap to their ass (usually I miss or hit the shepherd's hook or feeder because 3 pumps is not decent velocity for accuracy - I can literally see the BB leave the barrel and I miss probably 90% of the time lol) generally makes them move along without much trauma. Obviously not enough trauma because they come back over and over and over. Eldest spawn says just shoot them with a gun and be done with them. But again, we live in the woods. With nut trees. There will always be squirrels. I would need to buy stock in ammo. Anyway, I just found out that Trip uses more than 3 pumps and so does Kyle, who rarely picks up the BB gun, but happened to be the only one up this morning, so shot a squirrel on my Bird Buddy. It was still alive and he Googled it and found that if you scare one enough, it can lay there for up to 3 hours before calming enough to run along. I'd never heard of that. But then again, I only use 3 pumps and they run away. 

So, Anna being Anna decided to go out and check on it. It was alive, so she tried to pick it up. It bit her on the finger and Kyle said it went for her face, but she dropped it. I don't know. I was still in bed while this drama unfolded with Kyle coming in to give me updates (his first update said, "Your daughter does not listen! I told her not to pick it up.") or me checking the Ring. After she and Chris went to the ER, Kyle cleaned up the blood from the porch from Anna's dripping finger. He woke Trip up and by this time (8:45-ish) I was up and doing my morning routine. I told Kyle to just go shoot it so he got the .22 out and took care of it. Then he tossed the corpse into the woods for scavengers. So, Anna got a tetanus shot, antibiotics, and a soak in betadine, told to wash twice a day with soap and water and watch for infection. Will this stop her from picking up wild animals? Probably not since she picked up a bat at work. Well, ok. Both times she had gloves on at least. But still! The squirrel bit through her glove. *huge sigh* Morning drama complete I made French Toast Bake for breakfast. The rest of the day was lazy. I did run to CVS to pick up prescriptions including Anna's new antibiotics. We were going to work on Anna's room, but that didn't happen. And it was her turn to clean their bathroom. Also didn't happen. Fed-Ex delivered a Chewy order and I thought the driver was going to ruin part of my rain trench trying to turn around. Or hit Chris's mom's fancy Tesla. Jeez!

Monday ~ Humid! After the usual morning routine (which rarely varies) I went out and raked a bit of gravel, just tidying up some. Then I took my 4 lb hammer and a piece of rebar to pound into the ground by the rain trench, so I could move my reflectors over. Wow. What a pain in my ass. Between rocks and tree roots I had a hard time even getting the rebar to go in far enough. I was soaked in sweat by the time I was done and super pissed. I refilled the feeders for the Tiny Patrons. When I was taking the blown glass one down, I reached around to grab it and got stung on my middle finger which seems appropriate. Sonofabitch! That hurt. I did not see what stung me, but it was probably an asshole wasp. Just sayin'. Took a shower and worked on the computer for awhile. Nancy came around 4:00 to do the dogs' nails. Leftovers for dinner.

Tuesday ~ Morning routine (garbage picked up but not recycling so I brought the garbage can down when I walked the dogs) followed by a trip to the vet for Rocky's 2nd lepto shot and a stop at CVS drive-thru to pick up a prescription. Rocky got 3 biscuits from the lady. He was happy. I puttered around then worked on tidying, cleaning, and re-arranging the island in the kitchen. Is it the way I want? I'm unsure. But it's probably close. And good enough for now. Some of the misc. shit that gathered there is now on the kitchen table, so I just moved problem stuff from one spot to another. lmao But at least I whittled it down. Anna's squirrel bite is looking like it's healing well. My bee sting itches and has swollen my finger. Picked Kyle up from work and drove through one of the worst thunderstorm ever. The rain came down so hard and fast I could barely see. The highway was moving slow and it was so loud I couldn't hear my audiobook and the earbuds were in both my ears! So much rain on the road I could feel myself starting to hydroplane several times. After about 10 miles I finally drove out of it. The storm was going east to west (I was going west to east and Kyle said it had poured super hard at work) so when we got back home I checked the rain gauge and it had 1.5" in it! For about a 15 minute storm. Wow. Trip confirmed it poured hard for a short time. The rain trench seems to have survived though, so yay! Pork chops for dinner.

Wednesday ~ Morning shit out of the way I woke Trip to see if he wanted to go to Food Lion with me. He did. So we got some groceries. Ribeyes are on sale this week and Kyle said to get some for grilling Saturday. I got lucky and there were several family packs of 3 available. Ribeyes acquired! 🎉 Recycling finally picked up (wasn't yet when I walked the dogs) so Trip brought the can down. After putting away the groceries we went out and fed the critters. Puttered around then made brownies from a box. I had an app't with the podiatrist at 4:15 about my toe. Turns out I somehow hyperextended it and broke a blood vessel. He said it happens. The bump under my toe was a blood pocket or something. He explained it all, but I'll just put it in my own words. Any mistakes are my own. lol It's a vessel that runs across some nerves or shit, so that explains the occasional tingling. It'll go away eventually on its own and I can massage it to help it along if that feels ok. If it gets worse, however, then some minor surgery may be needed to fix the problem. Right now it feels like its going away on its own, so it's wait-n-see. Since I was there I asked about these tiny spots (maybe 3 or 4?) on the bottom of my foot that Anna found. They have a really long name, but they're basically calluses and are genetic. If they bother me they can be soaked and picked off. They don't bother me, but Anna likes to pick things so I may let her do it. lol The final thing I asked about is how the tops of my feet hurt after a long day on my feet. He checked by bending my feet one way (is it tendons?) and that didn't hurt, so not tendons. Then he did it a different way and OW. Ok, that has something to do with the bones (again he took the time to really explain and show me - my podiatrist is the bomb and I just realized I've been going to him, on and off, for about 25 years 🤯) and not having correct support for my arches. From my understanding, what happens is, the bones in your foot are supposed to have a little separation between them, like you should have in an airplane seat and don't, but when your arch is not supported and your foot flattens out, then the bones are like tectonic plates bumping uglies all day long. Oops. I do not like wearing shoes in the house, so if I want the pain to stop I need to get the right inside shoes (I have Hokas for outside) and actually wear them. Yeah. That's probably not going to happen. What can I say? I like being barefoot. Of course, losing weight would surely help quite a lot. I need to get working on that. Soonish. Fend for yourself for dinner. I pulled a Jimmy Dean's sausage, egg, potato bowl out of the freezer that had a lot of ice crystals on it. Didn't taste too freezer burnt. I added more cheese. lmao Trip finished off the pork chops and stuff that Anna didn't eat yesterday. I don't know what anyone else ate. They are grown ass adults and there is plenty of food in this house.

Captain Kirk abandoned Anna's bench seat window because 

he had a mission to deliver fur to the clean towels. 

Thursday ~ Got up, tossed a load of towels in the washer, then did the usual morning shit. Swelling on finger going down, not as itchy. Would probably go away if I found some cream to put on it or took some antihistamine. Eh. Whatever. Not as humid out. Emptied the trash and Mr. Bin (my composter) who I had to put outside on the porch Tuesday because gnats were starting to brew. Outside where it's hot and humid and now they are all over it. Gross. Washed that out and the bird baths then watered the flowers and Anna's maters. Trip was finally up and made us Guardians tea and I took a shower. Dumped a dry load of towels on my bed so I could have a basket for my morning load of towels. Anna really needs to put her damn clothes away so I have my baskets back. Toe is now bothering me a bit probably because I'm thinking about it too much. lol Did another load of towels. Picked up Kyle at Anna's therapy. She went to Chris's after and then brought him back to spend the night. Cube steak done in the Instant Pot for dinner with mashed potatoes (a baked one for Kyle) and peas.

Friday ~ Humid. Morning stuff done, I walked the dogs. Came back coated in sweat and the dogs were panting. Fur suits are not an advantage in this weather. Trip and I moved the wine bottles from dad's entertainment center to the bench seat in the kitchen. Then put the rest of the board games where the wine bottles were. One small task I can mark off my long long list. Made grilled cheese sammies for our lunch. Puttered around then sat in my recliner and was a lump. Anna, Kyle, and Chris back from work. I had leftovers for dinner. Boys had a pizza. Anna went to spend the night at Chris's. Dogs went out around 10:30. I stayed up until nearly midnight watching Heroes. Season 2 is so fucking stupid. No wonder I never finished the show. But I'll power through. Kyle stripped his bed around 10:30 because he was looking for something. It made sense to him. Don't ask. Anyway, I tossed his stuff in the wash.

Saturday ~ HUMID. And hot. So gross. Got up late, around 9:15. After the morning shit I folded a load of towels (from Thurs lmao) then started cleaning my bathroom. Kyle put his bedstuff in the dryer. Anna came home from work and it was her turn to do the litterboxes, but I wasn't quite ready so she took a nap. Finally got the laundry room and litterboxes done. Did the dishes, scrubbed the sink, made Mystery Tea. Had a visit from a turkey. Some gnarly thunder around 4:15, but no storm. Anna went to eat at Panera then pick up her stuff at Chris's. Kyle grilled steaks around 5:30 (when a loud as fuck thunder clap was right overhead) and I made baked potatoes in the microwave. Anna came home with a bag containing Panera goodies. Finished this post. *brushes crumbs off shirt*

Eevee before the thunder. 

She retreated under the bed when it started.

Today ~ I'll help Anna with her clothes. We might strip the top bunk and wash stuff. The cats sleep up there and there's fur and litter tracked everywhere. I may also putter around the hall closet. I keep saying that and it's still not done. lol My sister-in-law, Amy, will be stopping by sometime in the afternoon for a visit. My niece was traveling in Europe and my brother and Amy were watching her cats. My niece actually lives in the apartment above my oldest brother's garage (in southern OH). Not sure why he wasn't taking care of them since he's retired now, but there must have been a reason. Anyway, my bro and Amy live in SC now (they sold their house next to the farm last June), so Katie will meet her mom halfway to pick them up. Which is here in NC, about an hour and a half away. So she's going to swing by to see all the work that's been done. Wayne is recovering from knee surgery so he's staying home with Albus (their dog).

Mystery Tea

Monday ~ Easy To Be Green ~ Green tea, Rooibos, blueberries, raspberry leaves, rose hips, hibiscus, cranberries, blue cornflowers, blueberry essence ~ no best by date

When steeped smells like Fruity Pebbles. We both really liked.

Tuesday ~ Mango Almond Oolong ~ Oolong tea, mango pieces, calendula, mango & almond essences ~ best by 3/2023

We both liked. Can smell the almond, but doesn't have much of a nutty taste. Thankfully. Either that's what Plum Deluxe was going for or it has faded over time.

Wednesday ~ Strawberries & Cream Rose Black Tea ~ Black tea, strawberry pieces, raspberry leaf, rose petals, strawberry & vanilla essences ~ best by date 4/2023

We've had this before and liked it. The rose is still pretty strong.

Thursday ~ Guardians played at 1:00 so we had team tea instead.

Friday ~ Fresh Breeze White Tea ~ White tea, coconut pieces green rooibos, mango pieces, orange peel, apricot pieces, apple pieces, calendula, blue cornflower, coconut & passionfruit essences ~ no best by date

This is a yummy tea liked by both of us.

Saturday ~ Sunny Day Black Tea ~ Black tea, green rooibos, orange peel, mango pieces, apricot pieces, bergamot oil, blue cornflowers, mango & passionfruit essences ~ no best by date

We both liked.

New Year's Resolutions/Goals
I thought I'd keep a weekly record of these so I can see if anything is getting done. 😆
More reading, less tv ~ I binged Heroes instead of books. Fails.
Go back to the beginning and revamp old blog posts ~ Nothing this week.
Exercise ~ No.
Tidy up outside ~ Nope. Too fucking humid and hot!

Touching Nature:  Humid! Temps rising each day. Rain here and there. Downpour on Tuesday. Several days we had thunder. I love thunder. Eevee hates thunder. Not much rain though. Sometimes no rain at all.

Book News:  Not much to report here. I started binging Heroes. Oops.

Don't Touch That Dial!: Murdoch Mysteries for a bit then switched to Heroes because I'm bored with MM. I never did finish that show and now it's been so long I only remember vague bits and bobs of it. So, it's basically like I've never watched it. I love Zachary Quinto and hate how evil he is as Sylar! Save the cheerleader, save the world. What a great tagline.

At the Flicks: Nope.

Cyberspace Playground: Wordle, Word Lots, Word Search, Solitaire, Pokemon, and the Finch app - if anyone wants to be friends just let me know.

Randomness:   Which reminds me, Artemis somehow got off her leash Thursday when Trip was walking her and took off after a deer. Kyle saw, grabbed his shoes, and went out running after her. Through the woods. He brought her back and said she lost the deer and was just wandering around sniffing things. lol She's an old girl now. Too old to be chasing deer. Plus, she has glaucoma. So, he snagged her and complained about going through too many cobwebs.  And I reminded Trip that he has to lock the carabiner in place so the leash doesn't come unhooked from her harness.

Carol's Nuggets of Wisdom: 

Some is better than none. But if none is all you can manage then that's ok, too.

That's it for me. AVR News Update signing off. May all your books enthrall you.

Got Book Mail!

For TWR Tour coming up.

The Last Rift Dragon

Chirp

Some discounted bundles, some freebies, and one on sale.

Switching Tracks 

The Long Haul 

Rebels and Saints

Wild Irish Heart 

Wild Irish Eyes 

Wild Irish Soul

The League 

The Charm Runner 

The Hauler and the Divorcée 

Wrong Girl

Ghosts, Lore & a House by the Shore