It rained in spurts yesterday, at times rather briskly. It may have rained through the night, I'm not sure. It was welcome, and by the looks of the clouds, there is more on the way. It's coming in short blocks, but at least it's coming. I slept in this morning. It must've been close to ten before I awoke. I'm still groggy from sleeping too late, but I must've needed it. I don't use an alarm clock, and am not sure where to even find one in this house. LOL. I think we have an emergency alarm packed away in a drawer somewhere. Today, I am bored with the morning routine of cranking out three or four pounds of noodles. But, I am still needing to use up some extra eggs. The zucchini is proliferating in the garden like bunnies, so that issue needs addressed as well. To kill two birds with one stone, at present there are four loaves of zucchini bread in the oven. We'll eat one loaf for b'fast in the morning, give a loaf to one of my kids, and freeze two for down the road. Come winter I'll appreciate having the bread already to eat, more than dozens of bags of grated squash. I sneaked off six egg whites as I was mixing the breads and shall use the hot oven later to bake up a big meringue shell. I've a quart of heavy cream and fresh strawberries in the fridge and they'll end up as a pavlova for tonight's dessert. DD has asked us over to supper and this way, she'll not have to worry about making the dessert. I hear my husband up in the woodshed now pounding. LOL. He never shares with me what he is up to when he disappears up there in the male hinterlands, but like a little boy when he gets done with it.......... he wants me to go outside and "find" the surprise. I love those child-like qualities about him, but wouldn't tell him that and bruise his macho man ego. LOL. Most women do are suckers for men with a dose of little boy still in them, aren't they? It only gets exasperating when you have to always be the adult. Yesterday, I found a thirteen pound beef brisket at the market at an incredibly thrifty price. It's already cut up and in the freezer. This is a common cut in the south for bar-b-que, but it's a really hard one to find in the north unless it's already been corned. What a shame, as it's taste is hard to beat when cooked properly. I also found a pleasant surprise in the woods yesterday. One old tree had a huge vine of grapes on it, and I know it's an escapee of our very old red grapes I grew by the chicken shed. Three summers ago, a well-meaning old gent and good friend of ours convinced my dh that vine needed rejuvenated, and proceeded to whack it literally to death. It never recovered. As usual these escapades are done when I am away for the day, LOL, because they knew I would object. The fruit trees, veggie gardens and vines and brambles are MY TERRITORY. We found another clump of these same grapes where my husband had thrown vines from a pruning many years ago in a windrow to compost and they rooted. The extension agent had told me this variety was so old, it was prolly not in cultivation anymore, and it makes the most beautiful red grape jelly on earth. Matures right around frost. So, to find those clones were thrilling to me as we kept the line alive. DH, feeling guilty about the prune job, has already built an arbour for me for the ones in the windrow. LOL. Problem is it's smack dab in the middle of what I want to use as pasture for milk goats down the road.

Boring agronomy. Get down on your knees and pull weeds.

When I was laid off last year, in order to receive any severance pay (in my case, a full year's salary due to time-in-service) ... I had to sign a document that stated if I were to file a lawsuit claiming any type of discrimination, I would forfeit my severance pay. I always figured I could claim coersion (after my severance ran out, of course) ... fortunately, I was hired back by my old department immediately and never collected a penny of severance so never had to put it through the test. I think large companies/organizations will always try to cover their OWN butts and protect themselves ... not us regular people. And yes, I think what the AMA has done sounds pretty shifty.

Too funny tj!!! Wonderful article deanna. I have been hit on the legs by Euphorbia myrsinites seeds popping. They are relatively large and pack a mild wallop.