A New and Better Week...

...I hope.

To recap my Time Out of last week:

On Tuesday Alan and I had a major disagreement, mainly because of his disagreement with the landscape guys.  I won't go into the particulars as it's too boring, to say nothing of painful, to relive the experience of dealing with a bull-headed horses's ass.  All the yelling and shouting upset the dogs, of course, so for a couple of days I was taking them to the park by myself to give the three of us a quiet peaceful break, away from the turmoil and tension.

Wednesday as I was trying to navigate the car down the driveway between tractors, wheelbarrows, tools and assorted flotsam from the landscaping, I heard this horrible bang that scared the crap out of me.  I stopped the car and jumped out.  Matthew and Rusty came running, and we discovered that I had inadvertently run over one of their tools--a pick axe.  This is one of those aggravating moments where you shake your head in total disbelief, knowing that if you tried to do this, it would never happen again in a million years.

I hit the very edge of the pick axe head, which flung the handle up, and did this to my beautiful, pristine car:

Imagine how perfectly my tire had to roll over that axe head to have just the handle fly up and do this.  Here's a closer view of the damage.

I immediately took it to the Chevy dealership for an estimate.  Get this.  $550.00 for the repair, four days for a rental car while it's being repaired.  Hell's Flaming Bells.

Moving on.

By Thursday the guys had fixed, finished and resolved everything, apparently to Alan's satisfaction.  I was no longer involved at this point as he made it perfectly clear during the Tuesday altercation that since he was paying for the landscaping, I had no say in anything.  Uh huh.  And those of you who know me can just imagine how that went over.

I had a nice, farewell chat with the guys late on Thursday as they prepared to leave.  They did an amazing job, under what I deem very adverse conditions--and I'm not just talking about the weather.  I'm confident the landscaping will look wonderful as time goes by.  Though I will miss them being around every day, I'm glad it's over.  So, as they drive off into the sunset, I heave a sigh of relief and make plans for Friday and the first day in two and a half months that is free of chaos and confusion.

And then I get called for jury duty.

Friday morning, up at the crack of dawn, I have to speak to Alan--who I've basically not spoken to since Tuesday--because he will be in charge of both dogs for the day.  Flurry of activity ensues, quick dog walk, breakfast, etc., and I drive off with my mind in a froth of anxiety about the jury crap, and leaving the dogs with Alan for the day.  I have concerns on both fronts, believe me.

Naturally, I get picked for the first round of jury selection.  It takes all morning and into the afternoon while the two attorneys go through the process to narrow 18 of us down to just the 12 jurors needed for this felony case; a case we've been told will carry over into the next week.  Crap.

Then a miracle happens.  They reach the point where the two attorneys "challenge" each other, which means they each can get rid of 6 jurors of their choosing.  I'm chanting under my breath the whole time (pickmepickmepickme).  Interestingly enough, they both must have wanted a predominately male jury because they excused 6 women before they got to me...

...and YES...barely able to contain myself, biting my tongue so I wouldn't whoop with joy, I was one of the excused.

Once I left the jury box, danced walked out of the courtroom, made my way past the security checkpoints, and hit the fresh air, I couldn't contain myself another minute.  I whooped, then ran for the car in case there had been a mistake.

So, one good thing to come out of a truly wretched week: My civic duty jury crap is over for at least the next two years.

And there you have it.  My week in a nutshell.  And though it might not seem like a total crap week to any of you, trust me, from my perspective, there's no doubt. 

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The weather has been pretty bad as well, especially over the weekend, with lots of rain and wind.  This morning is nice and sunny however, if a bit cooler than normal.  We went to the garden center yesterday and I might plant at least one of the oak barrels this afternoon.  The other barrel I think will become my tomato barrel.  It's still a bit early to do this kind of planting, though once we get into May, I think Roseburg will have fewer and fewer cloudy, stormy days and get warmer and sunnier.

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As I was writing this, I looked up as some shadows went past my window.  There is a spectacular--though dead--oak tree just across the road that I love.  It's gnarly and Halloween scary, and seems to be a perfect landing platform for all kinds of birds.

Three turkey vultures swoop onto the twisted branches.  I grab my camera and snap this shot just as the third one touches down...

They don't stop for long.  I managed to take this shot just as the topmost bird lifts off.  Check out that wingspan.  These birds are so big, it's just amazing to see them soar around the Valley and over the ridge and above the house.

Then the middle bird takes flight...

And finally, the last bird, with a great flap, dives off his limb and soars down towards Roseburg in the distance.

Very cool.  And makes my usual blah Monday a bit special.  Hopefully that means a good omen for a better week than the last...