Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

[tortoise]

DS15's suspension continues, until at least Thursday. Uggh!

• I finished background images for a 4-H poster. We didn't get enough lead time to schedule a proper meeting for it to be a youth-led project, so I'm just trying to salvage the situation the best I can. The kids get together next Sunday to finish the display. I'm annoyed that DS15 doesn't have his @*$# together, he could/should have done it.
• I learned how to cook pork chops. Dry-brining is amazing! Yum!
• I finished my Fear Free Shelters certificate! Woohoo! That was a 2022 resolution.
• Volunteered at the animal shelter today. I made friends with the "aggressive" dog. He's just afraid of people and puts on a bluff to get them to go away. I didn't see that. He was doing everything he could to get scritches through the fence. He can just about roll over while standing up. sweet, sweet dog My other project there is a bulldog with zero training, but I haven't found a treat she will take yet, so no progress there.
• I have been walking Buddy in town in the mornings. He is doing about the same. I've identified that his "psycho" behaviors are due to frustration. I tried giving him more outlets for doggie behaviors today and he was more calm. His sit-stay has a long way to go. His days off last week slowed his progress.
• I'm trying to do one module of my AKC FIT Dog instructor class per day. I will need to practice with a lot of dogs (at the shelter, of course) and gather equipment before I could teach a class. The recommended equipment is about $300 per dog in the class, and I'm just like NOPE. I need to build it before the weather gets too cold for me to use tools in the shop/barn. That's coming up quickly.

DS15 has been whitewashing the inside if my chicken coop. It's starting to look more decent. He doesn't put much on at a time, so he has been painting on many coats. The window is still broken, and the run still doesn't have a door... always something to fix...

 

[tortoise]

• I woke up with a bit of a sore throat (DS7 had sore throat and cough), got DS7 on the bus and went back to bed until 11:30 am.
• DH and I went to look at online auction items. Lots of good stuff!
• I worked on 4-H Club stuff. The club has been neglected and has lost most members. Communication failures, mostly.
• DS15 put a door on the chicken coop run. The "hinges" are twine, just so y'all don't have too high of expectations.
• I had an interview with the principal for DS15's threat assessment related to his suspension. I was warned to expect an "uncomfortable" conclusion. I assume that means expulsion hearing is to follow
• I fried fish for the first time. Not terrible! I smoked the oil, whoops. I don't have a thermometer (how?)
• Grocery shopping with DS7. I'm teaching him to read labels to find what is food and what is food-like. SunnyD versus orange juice, specifically. I bought wild rice per his request yesterday. He asked for a couple things that I told him we could make instead of buy. Vanilla pudding was one, and then pistachio pudding caught his eye. Then Jello, and he asked for homemade gummi bears. Proud of him, but dang, this sounds like more work!

Feel like I didn't get much done, and my house looks like it too. 4 loads of laundry stacked up in my living room.

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

Sorry to hear about the possible expulsion, that would be hard to manage through-would you then homeschool?

Awesome on the shopping experience with DS7, we always try and educate while we shop and explain why we get some stuff and not other items.

I too have loads of laundry waiting but we have been frantically preparing for fall/winter. Hope today is great for you!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Feel like I didn't get much done, and my house looks like it too. 4 loads of laundry stacked up in my living room.

You've got lots going on. Went through a lot of similar stuff with my son growing up so I feel your angst. Hang in there!

 

[baymule]

My big brother got expelled from high school. He went to Viet Nam. Came back a mess. He muddled through the rest of his life, a really good guy, it took some years to get his life back in order. He did lots of community service, volunteered for the fair, livestock show, Toys for Tots and various things. It helped him see beyond himself, helping others.

 

[tortoise]

Sorry to hear about the possible expulsion, that would be hard to manage through-would you then homeschool?

Awesome on the shopping experience with DS7, we always try and educate while we shop and explain why we get some stuff and not other items.

I too have loads of laundry waiting but we have been frantically preparing for fall/winter. Hope today is great for you!

Today is not the day I stopped at the "scratch & dent" grocery store because I rarely go that way on days it's open. Oh man, I got a great haul of produce, rice, beans, uncured processed meats. Acorn squash - $0.50 each (not per pound), plums $0.25 each, nectarines $0.33 each, those little pyramid-ish cherry tomatoes containers $0.25 each (I bought all they had). Dry pinto beans, navy beans, black beans. basmati rice. It takes some looking to find food in the mass of food-like substances (I'm looking at you, velveeta), but I got a good payoff today. $61 and now I have to find somewhere to put it all.

I shopped with DS15 and had him reading ingredients labels. If it has vitamins added or contains natural flavors, it's a NO from me. Those are the easiest ways to sort out food versus food-like substances, IMO. DS15 is simultaneously horrified and craving the "junk" food.

I trained dogs at the shelter. DS15 tagged along, washed dishes and mowed one of the dog yards. walked Buddy in town.... DS15 tagged along and contemplated the meaning of life (or maybe how embarrassing it is to be seen with his mother?) I walked for a couple hours this morning so I feel good today.

If he is expelled, we will homeschool and make good use of the state college system. The low-cost "community college" type campus is near enough and cheap enough to use. There's a tech school next door, so that's a possibility as well. Either way would buy me a few hours of uninterrupted time with good internet connection 3+ days/week. Cheaper than boarding school...

I'm noticing I am off pseudoephedrine (taken daily spring-fall to reduce dizziness and fainting) AND caffeine (to counter chronic fatigue). My immune system seems to be working well - that cold from DS7 gone after sleeping in and adding zinc and quercetin to my supplements. I gained the weight I lost recently during the first week of DS15's suspension. (hello, emotional eating!) so I have to work on that again. :/ But the lipedema pain has not returned yet. I was able to take the 3" of memory foam off my side of the bed without an increase in leg pain!

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

Sounds like a good day over all! The community college and tech schools sound like a great opportunity for everyone, hopefully it all works out for the best and doesn't add any more stress (which is easy for me to say, I know!)

 

[tortoise]

Sounds like a good day over all! The community college and tech schools sound like a great opportunity for everyone, hopefully it all works out for the best and doesn't add any more stress (which is easy for me to say, I know!)

I have to learn to continue to live my life around him. The thing I'm most concerned about is having enough freedom to continue starting up my dog training business. The problem is I don't have a training facility and we're heading into winter - no outdoor training classes until mid-April. And I can't leave DS15 home alone. DH is likely going to lose his 2 half-days off each week because one of his associates is leaving and it's about impossible to hire someone to fill that role. So those are the big question marks for me.

The threat assessment put him in the high risk category. Not particularly surprised by that. He is "administratively excused until further notice."

 

[tortoise]

DH is off work today. I have Zooms this afternoon so DH is keeping DS15 busy with splitting and stacking wood.

• I walked Buddy (and DS15) for an hour and a half this morning.
• DS15 measured glass for the chicken coop wrong, so I dropped him off at the hardware store to get it re-cut. DS15 glazed and painted the coop windows.
• The animal shelter with a barn cat adoption program has cats available so I'll pick one up on Wednesday. Spayed, vaccinated, and free - can't beat that! I plan to house new barn cat in the chicken coop indefinitely. I hope she is or can become tame enough to catch for vet care. My chickens can continue to be caged overnight in the barn and put out in the coop run during the day. At least until the new chicks get feathers and need to go out to the barn?
• I made an underbed storage container into a chick cage - they outgrew their smaller storage tubs. Lost one chick - the others piled on it at the waterer and drown it. Uff! They needed more space yesterday.
• The spider mite overpopulation in DS7's hamster bioactive habitat seems to be under control with neem oil spray on the glass and running wheel. Mealworms continue to drown themselves in her water bowl. I don't think mealworms will be sustainable. I saw one as a beetle, which made me happy. I have a plan to add a small fish tank inside the hamster cage, so IDK, maybe mealworms drowning themselves would just be fish food? Crickets are gone. I might get her some from the pet store. DS7 likes to watch the crickets - he was asking for pet crickets before he got a hamster.
• I "won" 2 antique spinning wheels at an auction. $66 for both. They appear to function. I will pick them up tomorrow. Made me think of @NH Homesteader I've never been good at spinning with a drop spindle, so I don't have high hopes. I used a spinning wheel once when I was about 9 years old and it didn't seem that hard then? I am excited to surprise DS7 with them. He will love it!

 

[tortoise]

DS7 appears to have pink eye. I was able to snag a doctor's appointment in town tomorrow morning (online scheduling). Texted school to excuse him. Texted bus to cancel morning pickup. Texted animal shelter manager to let her know I'm not coming in. (I love text messaging! and online scheduling.)