Random babbling

Whew!  What a couple of days.  Yesterday I left home at 635 am (my usual) and didn't get home until after 8 pm.  Blah.  I had to serve at a soup supper.  It was fun but tiring.  Today, work was just brutal and I'm not looking forward to tomorrow since we had lots of discharges- leaving many empty beds which usually means a whole bunch of new referrals.

But, J16 finished her trial run dress last night and wore it to school today.  In order to meet school dress codes she had to wear something under it but you can get the idea:

 Her actual prom dress will be in black satin with the contrasting band at the top in an eye-popping red brocade.  It should be great. (and, can you tell by looking at her pink nose and cheeks that the pollen count is up ?)
And, thank goodness for southerly winds today:

Our dairy neighbor to the North/West is cleaning out his barns after the winter and spreading the deep bedding/manure on the pasture just to the North of us. While I don't normally mind the scent of cow manure, it's a bit intense. There is manure spread only 30 yards from the house.  I'm glad it's raining lightly now so it may settle into the grass a bit more.  I'm also glad he didn't spread it on the slope yet or it would be washing down into the creek.  But, I must say, I'm pleased that he is using sustainable methods.  He harvests multiple cuttings of hay off this field every summer so it's nice to see those nutrients going back to the soil to continue the cycle.  Much, much better than chemical fertilizer!  Some day I'm going to have to try to have a chat with him.

And it is finally beginning to feel like spring.  Oh, we have another month or so before the last frost but the temps have been warmer.  I'm planning to set my little cabbages, kale, broccoli and cauliflower plants out on the porch soon to begin hardening of before planting them out.  Also on my list for the next few days is transplanting all my little tomatoes.  The peppers are growing more slowly and I should be able to wait a bit more for them but the tomato and eggplant seedlings are getting desperate.

Tomorrow night, J16, V and I will be going to the opening reception at the Chait Galleries for the Next Generation Juried Art Show.  J16 is one of 65 young artists from the area featured.  If you're in the area, stop in sometime to see the show.  It runs at the gallery until May 6th. There should be some excellent art there.  J16 is one of 14 students from City High.  The art will all be judged by a panel of gallery owners and the top artist gets a $350 prize.  There are also several other $100 winners.  All of the art will then be  offered for sale with the students getting half of the proceeds.  It's a great way for young artists to get started and we're quite proud of her.

The chicks continue to grow.  Soon we will need to put the hardware cloth on the outside of the dog kennel so we can take them out of the cardboard box they're in.  They seem to think they need to try out their new wing feathers and I'm afraid one of them will make it out of the box and not be able to get back in.  Not only would they be without food and water but they would be an easy mark for Spaz who continues to be fascinated by them and seems to think they are tasty morsels meant just for him.

V got news this afternoon that his Aunt Yvonne has died.  She has been battling cancer for 10 years and we thought she was doing well but it evidently spread to her bones and moved quickly.  He isn't sure yet if he will be going out to PA for the funeral and to see his mom and sisters.  He would like to but he is feeling so stressed with deadlines for work.  And he has to have all the images for his book ready by the end of the month.  EEK!

Now, I've gotta go.  I've got 50 things on my list and only time for 20 tonight.