What do guns and roses have to do with anything, you ask? Well first, let’s substitute Strawberries for Roses. The strawberries I planted out back are doing quite well. I will not be a happy camper if the bushy tailed rodents trample and eat them. Because of that, I came up with a plan to chase the squirrels out of my garden without having to leave the comfort of my home. I purchased this:

Surprisingly, it has a rather far range. My plan was to shoot at the squirrels, thus scaring them away from my strawberries. Yesterday I had the opportunity to carry out my plan. I spied one of the evil squirrels getting too close to my strawberries. Carefully, I took aim and fired. The result wasn’t quite what I expected. The squirrel calmly looked down at the foam dart, looked towards the window and carried on as if nothing had happened.

I think we need a bigger gun…

I also went into “get things done” mode in a major way. Tasks that have been neglected for months are suddenly getting done. This week the schedule includes getting my chimney cap replaced, the chimney cleaned, a plumber in to replace a leaking outdoor faucet, estimates on how much it would cost to upgrade out central air system (that hasn’t been used in probably 25 years) and an electrician to fix a few issues. Now if I could only get that money tree out back to produce a bit more money…

Then there was the mildew that is close to impossible to prevent or get rid of in the bathroom. Again, the window was wide open as I scrubbed things down with bleach. Not a pleasant odor, let me tell ya. Worse – the bleach didn’t get rid of all of it. Clearly the only way to get rid of it will be to knock down the walls and ceiling.

In the Catholic Church, there are 2 types of deacon: Transitional Deacons & Permanent. Stephen & his friends will be transitional deacons meaning it is the next to last step, the last would be being ordained a priest. It’s transitional because it’s temporary, as they move on towards their final goal of Holy Orders.

A permanent deacon can be a married man. As such, that’s as far as he’d go since he will not be ordained a priest.

Deacons can perform baptisms and weddings. Their role is to basically assist the priests. They are active in various ministries, for instance, they may go to a wake and lead a prayer service.

Since Steve will be ordained a deacon before Theresa’s wedding, he can (& will) officiate at that wedding.

I heard there will be a bit of celebrating at the seminary and there certainly should be. These men have been working and studying many years now, working towards this goal and the ultimate goal of priesthood. They have a lot to celebrate.

I cannot remember what I wrote about. No doubt it was extemely witty and interesting. Unfortunately, I am unable to reproduce it. Sorry. Blame it on whatever cause the post to dissolve I to the void.

Now back to your show.

I’ve also been cleaning because I hear that’s what one does when expecting company. That was when I was attacked. I needed to move a snack table so I foolishly thought I’d fold it up and move it to another room. It seems the snack table didn’t approve of the move. To show it’s disapproval, it tried to bite off the tip of my index finger.

Luckily I excel in the art of closing up wounds with steri-strips. Yep, a darn expert.

Apparently all the extra padding that is now there didn’t really help. You’d think it would but alas, it did not. Maybe I should try standing at the next meeting. Or carrying my own chair. Or… skipping the meeting.

Today I ignored all the work that had to be done, the groceries needing to be bought and clothes begging to be washed. Instead I went visiting. I’m not quite sure how so much time passed since my last visit to my aunt, uncle & cousins but indeed it had. I had not seen the little one since before she was even walking and now she is nearly three.

My youngest cousin didn’t take to me at first what with me being a stranger to her. I think she was a bit annoyed by the laughing conversation taking place between this total stranger, her grandmother and great grandmother. It took a while but finally she came around and even allowed me to help her off the table and assist her in choosing a book to read with her grandma.

I had close to an hour’s drive there and back so I did a lot of thinking. I thought about how I like making people laugh. Being a wiseass is pretty much second nature to me. Ask anyone. But I wasn’t always like this. I was not the class clown. Quite the opposite – I barely spoke.

In thinking about this, I think my cousin played a large part in the fact that I’ve turned to humor so much. Everyone has always liked her. She is fun to be around. She’s been like that for as long as I can remember. Growing up, this cousin was more like a older sister to me than cousin. I looked up to her. I believe I also imitated her, although in my own fashion. It was so gradual that I never even had a clue I was striving to be like her.

So anyone who likes my sense of humor has my cousin to thank. And anyone who doesn’t like it has my cousin to blame.

All my little crops have been planted: bush beans, snap peas, cucumber, tomato, basil, parsley, zucchini & peppers. I still have 2 raised beds that are empty. I’m thinking of throwing some herbs in there. I foresee another trip to the nursery.

The strawberries I planted last year took off. They are covered with flowers and teeny, tiny baby strawberries. Tomorrow or Tuesday I’ll have to cover that with netting to keep the birds off it.

The blueberry bushes, sadly, have no berries. I was disheartened because they were covered with flowers. I thought there would be tons of berries. It seems they don’t necessarily produce fruit until the third year. I’m disappointed but I’ll get over it & look forward to next year.

I’m glad I decided to plant stuff after all. I do like my little garden.