Sunday, September 30, 2012

It's a step...

Early this morning I15 had to be at the stadium for parking lot cleanup.  He did his thing there and I got busy on my list for the day.  Since we had the band contest yesterday afternoon I didn't get as much done as I would have liked.  So, we were bad and ditched church.  So I did manage to get quite a few things done today.
V and I went clothes shopping this morning.  Let me tell you, he's not as much fun to shop with as Justine, but we got the job done. I have one department store credit card and that is at Kohl's.  Periodically they send out discounts where you get 15, 20, or 30% off your entire purchase.  This time around I happened to get a 30!  That's always the best time to shop.  I needed a couple new pair of pants for work and, since V was desperately in need of new work pants, he came along.  He has been really hard on his pants with all the construction in the past few years.  I even splurged and got myself a new outfit (pants, shirt and loose sweater/jacket) to wear at a conference I'm going to later in October.  I've been asked to participate in a panel discussion group at the state Occupational Therapy conference this year.  The featured presenter is quite well known (she used to be the president of AOTA!) and as she presents, she wants individuals representing the different practice areas to be available to discuss how what she is presenting is relevant to their practice.  I've been asked to represent all the OTs in Mental Health. EEEK!!  I'm a bit anxious about this one.  I do hope I can speak intelligently.
Anyway... back to today.  While we were over in that part of town, I wanted to stop at one of the local farm stores to pick up some new bedding for the chicken coop since it's about time for the fall clean out. While we were there, we got something that I never thought we would ever own.   We have been having such trouble with chipmunks this year.   I think the mild winter and early spring helped boost their population tremendously.  I don't want to resort to poison and they always seem to be able to outsmart the traps.  We have been joking about getting a pellet gun and picking them off from the deck.  Amazingly enough, V was serious- so today we purchased gun.  Well, an air rifle, so it's not a REAL gun.  But this is a huge step for V who vowed that we would never have a firearm in the house.
It even came with a scope for precision targeting, LOL!  V is going to have to do some more target practice before he takes on the chipmunks, though.
K12 came down to watch for a while.  Interestingly enough, neither boy is interested in firing it.  But, we had the firearm safety lecture anyway.  Even though this is just an air rifle it is still a weapon.
I've been saying since we moved out here that we should get a gun.  Being able to pick off a sickly wild animal at a distance is a good thing. Or to get a deer license and snag one of the deer who hang out in the meadow. But, V never been on board.  Maybe this is the gateway weapon, LOL!
After target practice I had hoped to spend some time clearing out the garden (the chicken coop is slated for next weekend) but instead I tackled the mass of ripening tomatoes on the kitchen counter.  I made a bit more enchilada sauce and some spaghetti sauce.  I've got enough enchilada sauce for dinner later this week and 2 batches for the freezer.  I've got spaghetti sauce for tomorrow night and another night that also went into the freezer.
I harvested some English and Orange Thyme to dry and did a bunch of laundry in addition to a few other usual weekend chores.  I still have not managed to get the deer netting around the plum tree,  get the tomatoes pulled from the garden or the garlic planted. I simply ran out of time.

12 comments:

  1. I like shopping at Kohl's.. I wait until I get a 30% discount coupon and then I go and get what I need...
    Good luck with the ground squirrels.. They somehow got into my basement which has a crawl space and I was getting lots of babies running from the house to the bird feeders.. Hated to do it but I had to use poison.. I told them to stay out of the house.. They are gone now..
    Have a great Sunday evening.. ta ta for now from Springville, Iowa.....

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    1. I pretty much only go shopping there when I've got a 30% coupon! I don't shop that often so when I do I want to make it count, LOL!
      As for the chipmunks, I really don't want to resort to poison with our other animals around. The last thing I need is for the dog to get hold of a poisoned chipmunk.

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  2. You know, I have been contemplating a pellet gun for the same reasons. I don't know that I'd be able to pick off a chipmunk (although I scored pretty high in marksmanship during my BOW camp), but it might be worthwhile in the Great Ratz War. I am always amazed at how much you can pack into a day!

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    1. I bet if you practiced you could pick one off. My Dad took one out with the rifle a few weeks ago. Of course, he has been known to use a pellet gun in the house to shoot a mouse behind the bookcase (don't tell the authorities!!!) but THAT is some marksmanship!

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  3. I'm just curious but what kind of damage do chipmunks do? We have several that I've seen around our new place but other than the hole that they live in, I haven't seen any other sorts of damage.

    If I had to guess, I would assume that they are getting into buildings perhaps?

    If V becomes good at his aim, would he hire himself out to remove a woodpecker who insists that the masonite on my house is wood with bugs in it?

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    1. They have been digging up plants, tunneling down beside the foundation of the house so when we do get rain it runs where we don't want it to and they've been eating things in the garden all summer. I think we got a half dozen strawberries between the frost and the chipmunks. We are just overrun with them. When there were only a couple they were cute, now they're a menace.

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    2. Oh and as for the woodpecker- he would hopefully take care of outs first, LOL!

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  4. I've tried shopping at Kohl's and I know everyone fawns all over them, but mostly I just don't quite get it. I've never really cared for the style of their kids' clothes. My mother-in-law shops there quite a bit and it never ceases to amaze just how ugly the stuff she gets there looks.

    Sounds like it was a very productive day!

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    1. Oh, they do have some supremely ugly stuff there! I have never really gotten kids clothes there- just jeans for the boys. And I'm not buying that much stuff- I'm not going for fashion but function. I needed a couple of new pair of work pants and they do have a particular style of basic twill pants that are comfortable and fit me well... and when bought on sale PLUS the 30% off coupon are way cheaper than I could make them. Otherwise, my work clothes mostly consist of nice t-shirts- long sleeved in the winter. I don't really go for fashion at work. You really have to watch what you get but they do have some fabulous deals on their discount racks- that is my favorite place to look. Of course, there is A LOT of stuff that you can see WHY it is marked down to 70% off because it is hideous!

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  5. You deserve some new threads! My gateway weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun LOL, was the first weapon I ever fired and was in the Navy. We had to shoot 3 times regular, 3 times from the hip. After I recovered from my severe bruising of my hip to my knee LOL it was all over, now I'm fully prepared for zombies :)

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  6. I have been trying for years for a Kohl s card,oh well,I did get a 30% off at a thrift store after you bring in a bag of goodies,I could do this all month.I decided to shop 2nd hand ,especially for toys,The kids play 1 or 2 days and than nothing ,they are bored with them,So I am buying used (but new looking,some still in packing material,no more new to be never to be plated with again around here.

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  7. You're going to do fine at your conferance.
    I am not sure if we will ever hunt but having a gun makes me feel safer. I hope V gets used to the idea. I know you will get your kids safety classes if you ever go there.

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