One Day at a Time (2 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• I am so cool, researching apps to load for our 7-year-old grandson
• Local news
• This article shared on Facebook by my poor, beautiful, talented, brilliant niece
• This NZ Herald article I shared on Facebook about Northland Santa (ha! ha!  I typed 'Satan first and had to correct it!)
• Pondering a third party run by a "mainstream" Republican to keep Trump from damaging the party if he is the nominee
• Science fun on the eve of war
• Interesting and not really surprising that there are few structural differences, but there is no discussion of neuroendocrinology and its impact on behavior

What I'm reading: The Prince of Bagram Prison, by Alex Carr

Film watched with DH: Nothing, again!

Things I got done:

1. Dishes (x1)
2. Weeded salad garden
3. Repotted 1 cherry tomato and 2 TBI
4. Watered potted plants (42L)
5. Made a list of things to do

How other people helped:

1. #2 found a temporary place for Loki
2. DH picked up fish & chips for dinner

There is no way to reflect the hours spent listening to people talk.

One Day at a Time (1 December 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Maurice Sendak, a kindred spirit
• Deep dive into the "wood wide web"
• News from a wannabe dynasty
• Symptoms but no tumor = miracle?
• Does Elf the Shelf normalize privacy restrictions?
• Any article about a longevity drug that references the children of Beren will be clicked
• Opinion piece includes this tidbit: Republicans think the US is in decline; Democrats think its best days are ahead, but I think there's an IF there, if only progressive reforms could take place.
• I always kept from being afraid by expecting the best of people.  This long-read is quite excellent.
• The Kirkus Books Best of 2015 lists are out.  I need to come back to this.
• University of Auckland research presents apple flour, a zero-waste product

What I'm reading: Blackout, by Connie Willis 

Film watched with DH: Wait, what, nothing?  That hasn't happened in a while.

Things I got done:

1. Transport #4 (x1)
2. Fertilized everything (105L from Nitrosol concentrate)
3. Made a grocery list
4. Watched GD
5. Got new cuttings started
6. Laundry (x2)
7. Dinner
8. Called kennel for #2
9. Called vet for #2

How other people helped:

1. Dishes (#2 x2)
2. Cleaned kitchen counters (#2)
3. Grocery store (DH)
4. Library (DH)
5. Bank (DH)

One Day at a Time (30 November 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Cruz (rightly) claims that having an American mother makes him an American citizen, regardless of where he was born.  Wait, where was he on this with President Obama?
• Unfortunately, food bags are not delivered to my area
• Surprise, there is a link between shootings and psychotropic drugs.  What this article fails to discuss is that drugs aren't enough and that some therapy addressing thoughts and feelings would have helped these kids.
• While this article says that society itself is sick.
• Whereas here in New Zealand, the males get dropped off at parks, in driveways, at dumps.  But there is no chick-smashing that I am aware of.
• Go white blood cell!
• My favorite is the story about Sid the cephalopod.
• Ready for news from way back in time, and of course exoplanet atmospheres
• Brookings Institute study reveals no surprises -- most IS supporters come from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq
• New findings on the fight to cure diabetes

What I'm reading: Blackout, by Connie Willis 

Film watched with DH:  Homeland

Weekly garden shot:

Things I got done:

1. Transport #4 (x2)
2. Hand-watering (28L)
3. Emailed Sir re scheduling #4's academic interview
4. Weeded and dead-headed in south greenhouse bed
5. Dishes (x1)
6. Paid bills
7. Cleaned kitchen counters
8. Called #3
9. Weeded behind wood pile

How other people helped:

1. Dinner (shared with DH & #2)
2. SIL put up the mail box 

One Day at a Time (29 November 2015)

Things that made me click:

• Home-made throat lozenges
• More than half a million homeless in the US, including 125,000+ children: where it's worst
• Right-wing domestic terrorism strikes again in the US
• Five police officers wounded in above attack, but white right-wing terrorist taken alive
• Establishment Republicans probably cheering as Trump drops 12 points in Reuters poll
• Childhood photos of dictators and mass murderers
• McClatchy-Marist poll shows Trump and Carson tied for a total of 40% between them, Rubio in third with 12% while Cruz at 8% hopes for one of the crazy candidates to exit the race, because where else is crazy going to turn?
• Young professionals try microdoses of LSD as alternative for Adderol -- "It's crazy awesome"
• Basic considerations for scientific research (Vox flashcards)
• Conflicting findings (King's College London versus University of Colorado/Boulder and University of Louisville) in studies looking for correlation between cannabis use and brain abnormalities

What I'm reading: Blackout, by Connie Willis 

Film watched with DH:  Jessica Jones x3

Things I got done:

1. Dishes (x2)
2. Cleaned kitchen counter
3. Swept kitchen floor
4. Moved cows between paddocks
5. Repaired downed electric fence near main gate
6. Removed dead grass from electric fence near future garden
7. Cut down 20% of growth under jacaranda; moved to compost area
8. Transport #4 (x1)
9. Replanted vines in compost bin, arbor over woodpile
10. Transplanted ornamental x1
11. Hand watering (14L)

How other people helped:

1. Transport #4 (DH x1)
2. Dishes (#2 x2)
3. Picked up takeaway for dinner (#2)

What Happened to November 2015?

From November to February is always a busy and disruptive time:  

• #3's birthday
• Exams
• Long school holiday
• Christmas
• New Year's
• Back to school

This year we add to that:

• #3's 21st birthday party, including a trip to Auckland
• Transporting #4 to and from work twice a day
• #2 and family moving in and here for at least 2 months

What Happened to 21-31 October?

Sometimes life interferes and things drop by the wayside.  This time, it was the blog.  I still watched TV, I still read books, I still gardened (a lot) and cleaned the house (a little), and there were dinners made and dishes washed and laundry done and numerous trips made to transport #4 here and there.  But no active log of what was accomplished or not.

Some Things I Must-Should-Ought-Want to Do in the Next 10 Days (11-20 Oct 2015)

[4 weeks until #3's birthday, 5 weeks until #3's birthday party, and 10 weeks until Christmas -- RED ALERT!!!] 

Then of course, all I do for 10 days is garden, walk the dog, drive #4 around, and do the dishes.

1. Dishes [x12, #4 x1]
2. Laundry [x6]
3. Wipe down the kitchen counters [x7]
4. Clean the sinks [x8]
5. Sweep the kitchen floor [x6]
6. Clean the toilet [x5]
7. Plan and prepare dinner [shared x2, scrounge x5, takeaway x1]
8. Pick up and drop off #4 [x13]
9. Walk Thor 10 mins x4 daily [x36]
10. Take rubbish and recycling to the transfer center 
11. Birthday shopping (90 mins, 15th, 17th, 18th)
12. Christmas shopping 
13. Spray weedkiller [x1] (13th)
14. Scan/upload pictures for #3's birthday slide show
15. Pay bills due in the next 10 days (12th)
16. Make a grocery list (12th)
17. Make appointment for car's brake light (13th)
18. Make vet appointment for Thor's rash (13th)
19. Buy dresses and wig on TradeMe (13th)
20. 6-monthly tax info to accountant 
21. Buy ice plant in Kerikeri (14th)
22. Have #3's necklace repaired (14th)
23. #4, Kerikeri (14th)
24. Grocery shopping (14th)
25. Thor to vet (10:30am, 15th)
26. Take car in for brake light (8:30am, 16th)
27. Make followup appointment w/ Dr. Barnard
28. Make appointment for lawn care
29. Go to Farmers and try on spanks
30. Schedule homekill
31. Test glue gun
32. Buy retaining wall blocks, cinder blocks, mulch, compost, pots for support garden, seedling starter, vermiculite (14th, 15th)
33. Work on my plan for healthier living (NON-SMOKER, as of 9pm, 2 August 2015)
34. Email Mom
35. Call #3
36. Contact Vesbar management re deposit and other party stuff
37. Schedule therapeutic massage
38. Schedule fence repair
39. Code business bank accounts
40. Set possum traps
41. Order more leaves from Spotlight (how many more? glue gun?)
42. Weed, trim, and mulch back porch garden (20mins, 13th)
43. 27-pick-up in the office (13th)
44. 27-pick-up in the back porch garden (13th)
45. Knock down cobwebs in freezer room, office, back porch (13th)
46. Sweep and tidy the back porch (14th)
47. Dust the office (16th)
48. Vacuum office 
49. 15 minutes of filing
50. 27-pick-up in the dining room
51. 27-pick-up in the lounge
52. Knock down cobwebs in dining room and lounge
53. Dust dining room and lounge
54. Vacuum dining room and lounge
55. Weed, trim, and mulch front porch garden (70mins, 13th, 14th, 16th)
56. 27-pick-up in the front porch garden
57. Knock down cobwebs in entry, kitchen, front porch
58. Sweep the front porch
59. Clean windows, window sill, and door in entry
60. Vacuum entry
61. 27-pick-up in the kitchen (3)
62. Clean fridge, microwave, upright freezer, other appliances
63. Clean kitchen cabinet fronts
64. Straighten and wipe down one shelf or cabinet interior in the kitchen
65. Clean windows and window sill in the kitchen
66. Mop the kitchen floor
67. Sow, pot, and repot (11th-14th, 16th-19th)
68. Knock down cobwebs in the toilet, bathroom, hallway, bedroom
69. Vacuum hallway
70. Clean the tub (x2)
71. Clean the shower (x2)
72. Clean windows and window sills in bathroom and toilet
73. Mop bathroom and toilet room
74. Weed, trim, and mulch water tank garden beds (60 mins, 17th-18th)
75. 27-pick-up in the bedroom
76. Dust bedroom
77. Change sheets
78. Vacuum bedroom
79. 27-pick-up in the storage room/garage
80. 27-pick-up in the laundry room
81. Knock down cobwebs in laundry room, garage
82. Wipe down top of washer/dryer
83. Wipe down laundry counter
84. Clean inner washer lid
85. Clean washer lint filter
86. Sweep laundry room floor
87. Move meat from small chest freezer
88. Clean small chest freezer
89. 27-pick-up in the addition (12th)
90. Set up hose from upper pond
91. Deep clean freezer room
92. Repair blueberry bed border
93. Deep clean office
94. Rake kill-off
95. One box in the addition
96. Schedule skin consultation
97. Update calendars and to-do list

I must watch film with DH.  Here's what we watched:

• The Big Bang Theory (x1)
• The Blacklist (x2)
• Bones (x1)
• Castle (x1)
• The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (x4)
• Downton Abbey (x)
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (x1)
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (x7)
• Modern Family (x1)
• The Player (x)
• The Rachel Maddow Show (x)
• Real Time with Bill Maher (x2)

Here's what I'm reading:

• Passage (), by Connie Willis
• Telegraph Avenue (), by Michael Chabon
•