Gopher Preserve

Welcome to my gopher preserve, otherwise known as my back yard. In between snow flurries, the first hints of spring are in the air, and I find myself looking longingly out the windows. It would be so nice to be able to spend some time outside without freezing.

I hate gardening, but I do wish I had a nicer garden. However, every time I suggest planting something, my husband vetoes the location because he plans to dig it up, take down a tree, or Round-up the area to get rid of what he considers to be weeds. It would seem that every member of his family hates Spirea with a personal vengeance. It used to cover the stone wall to the left of our back yard, but we've been removing it for years, and there's not much left. Frankly, I rather like it, and I wouldn't mind keeping it at the level we have now, but my vote does not count.

Anyway, our back yard is dominated by grass. For half of the year, the lawn needs to be mowed at least once per week, and moles and gophers don't like the lawnmower. That means that when I'm mowing all the time, there are only about half this many gopher mounds and mole hills. We've tried just about everything to try to get rid of them:

• chemical repellents (not particularly effective)
  
• traps (yea, right)
  
• ultrasonic repellents (good for moving the activity about 30 feet/10 meters for the first couple weeks)
• used cat litter down the holes (results in a new hole right next to it)
• gone bad fish (or the liquid from pickled herring) down the holes (results in a new hole a few feet away).

What we haven't tried is coupling the exhaust pipe from something with a two stroke motor (like an old moped or Saab) to a hose that goes down one hole while making sure all the others are closed. I've heard people swear by this method, but with all our vehicles, we do not have access to the right kind of motor. Do any of my local readers know where we could borrow one? Anyone have any other suggestions?

Confession

It was a rough weekend, made worse by the fact that I did something really stupid: I backed my car into a stump and did quite a bit of damage. I love my car and feel bad that I hurt it. Even worse, we really don't need an enormous repair bill right now.

So here's the story. I got to the place for the Bridal Show on Saturday to get my booth set up, and it wasn't all what I expected. It was at a beachfront hotel, but instead of a resort, it looked more like a run-down motel where only the reception area has been remodeled. But the Show wasn't in the main building; they directed me to a large metal shed-type building in back. Sure enough, this building that looked like a showroom for used cars was it. Only one other exhibitor had set up their space, and it didn't look like there were that many more--maybe 20 total. I was shown to my space, and it was tiny. Since no one else was there, I could pull my car right up to the back door to unload my stuff, so that's what I did. I like doing these shows, but this was really disappointing. I was stewing over having spent quite a bit of money and committed an entire weekend to this. Someone else arrived and parked so that I could not pull forward, so I decided to back out.

There were obstacles everywhere: dumpsters, trees, piles of old patio furniture and other assorted trash, but I had driven in, so it must be possible to back out. I zigged around a dumpster, narrowly avoiding a bush. I zagged around a pile of pallets. I was pissed and grumpy but pretty cocky that I was nearly through this obstacle course without having to pull forward and try again. Then I gut stuck in a pothole and stalled. My car has very little low end torque, so it stalls frequently when backing up through mud or over uneven ground. I restarted and gave it some more gas, but it stalled again. I restarted again and, irritated, gave it quite a bit more gas. I came out of the hole, then boom. I was thrown back against the seat, and I guess the car must have stalled again because I don't recall turning it off.

When I got out of the car, I was surprised to see the stump. I was surprised to think that I could have not noticed it. OK, not so surprised that I couldn't see it from inside the car, but surprised that I hadn't noticed that it was there before I got into the car. It was about 10 inches in diameter and had twigs sticking out of the base. I hit the stump directly in line with the exhaust pipe, and the whole left side of the bumper was pushed in. The paint was flaking off at the point of impact, and wrinkle marks could be seen in the dust on my car. Where the bumper wraps around the car on the left side, it is now sticking out. Now I was really pissed; pissed at myself. I parked my car (without hitting anything else) and set up my booth, but my dark mood remained for the rest of the day.

I worried about how my husband would react, and that made my mood even worse. By evening, my neck and shoulders hurt from the tension. I came to the conclusion that I'd have to e-mail my husband (who's on a business trip) and fess up, but I didn't want this news to reach him on his birthday, so I waited until Monday.

On Sunday, I came to the conclusion that my bad mood probably contributed to this "accident." I was so busy pissing and moaning to myself that I wasn't paying attention enough. I wasn't practicing "mindfullness." I also suspect that my wallowing in negative energy was an open invitation for the universe to throw something negative my way. Part of me thinks that's a bunch of whooey, but even that part admits that my negative mood certainly can't have helped the situation. So Sunday morning I made the decision to let go of the negative energy and hope for the best.

The bridal show went smoothly, and with all the booths occupied, the place looked a lot better. There weren't nearly as many visitors as I had hoped for, but I did make contact with about a dozen couples that seemed really interested, so hopefully they'll be in touch.

In the meanwhile, does anyone around here have any recommendations for where I should take my car to get fixed?

For the record, the stump was undamaged, and my back and neck feel better now.

A Psychadelic Ode to Spring

This week started off in the most bizarre way at 4:00 on Monday morning. I was dreaming that I was in the middle of a very large, very crowded pond of ducks. It was kind of scary. And then I sort of woke up. I oriented myself and glanced at the clock, but the ducks were still there. It sounded like there were hundreds of them all around me. I didn't realize that I'd spoken, but my husband replied, "Yes, it's ducks." I went back to sleep and began to wonder if I'd dremt the whole thing, but I figured it was too weird not to be true. My husband later confirmed that it was quite foggy out and a huge flock of ducks had landed in the field outside our bedroom windows. These ducks were quacking up a storm. Later in the day, a flock of geese flew over, but they were nowhere near as noisy.

The day later turned out to be sunny, and it was followed by four more sunny days. (Around here, that's really unusual). This has been a very busy week for me, so I've hardly had a chance to enjoy the sunshine. I've had a lot to do to get ready for a bridal show this weekend and the annual art show at Easter. I also had to help my husband get ready for his week-long business trip to San Francisco. To make matters worse, I think my washing machine is dying. A few months ago it started having problems getting off balance when centrifuging heavy loads. This has been happening with increasing frequency, and now it's not just heavy loads. In fact, it's no longer just centrifuging that's the problem; it doesn't even pump out the water. I now spend a lot of time setting the machine at different points in the cycle and hoping that I can trick it into doing what needs to be done.

Photos on Flickr

To those of you who are my friends or family on Flickr, I've started to upload pictures from the Guilin area of China. If you're not on Flickr, send me an e-mail and I can invite you or send you a guest pass.

Hello out there

Just out of curiosity, who is reading this blog? Please comment or send me an e-mail.

Hong Kong: Days 15 & 16, Departure and Transit

We did a breakfast of fruit and yogurt while we packed this morning, and we were ready to go by 10 AM. Uncle L stopped by to say farewell “on his way” to his office (it’s really not on his way at all), then we headed out for a little last minute shopping. Unfortunately a lot of shops do not open before 11 AM. Mom soon had to head back to the hotel to meet Aunt R, so I took a quick round through East Tsim Sha Tsui where I previously had not been. We then met Aunt R, her husband, and my cousin at the Holiday Inn’s Austrian restaurant for lunch. This was my cousin’s turn to say goodbye. Lunch was excellent. I had Cajun style salmon with cream of mushroom soup and cheesecake.

Check out time for the hotel was 1 PM, the taxi picked us up at 1:30, and we got to the airport at 2. Mom checked in first since her flight was at 4:30. I wasn’t sure if they’d let me check in 11 hours before my flight, but they did. Unfortunately this is when I got a terrible surprise: when traveling between Europe and Asia, one is allowed only 20 kg of checked luggage in any number of bags. I’d been planning on 2 bags at 20 kg each as it is to North America. This hadn’t been an issue on the way over because I’d packed one bag inside the other so that I’d have plenty of space for my shopping bounty. The clerk wanted to charge me $400 for my extra bag, and knowing that I had baggage issues, she wanted to weigh my carry-ons too to make sure I wasn’t over 7 kg total (including my computer, purse, and coat) which I’m sure I was.

I was able to unload 3.4 kg to my mom as an extra carry-on before she left. She’ll bring this stuff (mostly presents for Lina) when she comes to Sweden in May. Luckily, time was on my side, so I visited the Unaccompanied Baggage desk and the post office and came up with a plan. I repacked both suitcases so that one fit inside the other again, and all the stuff I could live without for 8 weeks was on the side. I got the suitcase down to 24.1 kg (23 is max) and decided to give it a try. I went to a different check in line, and the overweight suitcase was accepted without comment. I then went to the post office and shipped a box surface rate for less than $40/300 SEK. First I put everything in the box that I really wanted to ship and kept a pile of stuff on the side that I was willing to throw out. As it turned out, I had ½ kg left before I hit the next price level, so I was able to include almost everything that I’d been willing to sacrifice at no extra cost. The guys at the post office were really nice, and at 5 PM I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and walk away with my computer bag, camera case, coat (pockets stuffed full), and big purse (stuffed full with warmer clothes).

I browsed the airport mall which featured several entertainment zones. One was a “4-D” movie theater and another was an arcade. There was also a place with motion simulator rides and sets where you could photograph yourself in a cockpit etc. There was also a place where you could rent a DVD and watch it on a TV in a private room and pose for pictures with various memorabilia and sets from local movies. I ate a potsticker sampler for dinner then headed off for immigration and security. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, the Hong Kong immigration and security people were friendly and had nothing against smiling or wishing people a pleasant trip. By 8 PM I was through and searching for a place to plug in my computer in the food court. The whole airport has free wireless internet, but all the tables near outlets were occupied. I waited for somebody to leave only to discover that not all the outlets work. Eventually I scored a prime spot right under the departures board, so I wouldn’t have to pack up my stuff to check on my flight. It turns out it was delayed 40 minutes, and I sorted pictures to pass the time. We started boarding at 1 AM.

The first half of the 12+ hour flight had really bad turbulence. It’s amazing that they were able to serve dinner, but I was not able to eat much. I couldn’t even look at it. Luckily I had no problem sleeping. I woke up to find it clear over Siberia with lights from scattered villages all over. I then watched The Secret Life of Bees which was great. It was a total chick film that required quite a few tissues, but I was really impressed with the acting. Still in the chick film mood, I decided to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s which I’d never seen. Frankly I did not find Holly Golightly a likable character, and I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I napped a little, read a little, and watched an episode of numbers. We arrived in London shortly after 6 AM. There were long lines at security and I still wasn’t feeling very well, but I found a bagel shop with tables and outlets to pass the time. There were no tables in the waiting areas that are not associated with restaurants, and there is no wireless internet. Instead there are terminals where they charge by the minute.

After 6 hours in London, it was time for my flight to Copenhagen which went smoothly. Then I took the train back to Sweden where my husband picked me up. It was a long, and I'm glad go be home.