Excuses, Excuses.

Sorry about the quiet space. Here's what's been keeping me too busy to blog:

1. Facebook. I can't help it—I love it. It's like having all of my best friends over for tea simultaneously without having to make any muffins or wash any dishes.

2. Missy. For those readers who follow Fenway Bartholomule at Brays Of Our Lives, you'll know that our goat has been struck down by some sort of life-threatening illness. I am happy to report that she seems to be rallying, and that she still has a sparkle in her eye and a hearty appetite. Hope is far from lost, but I am getting rather less sleep than usual. This will continue for as long as she needs IV flushes every four hours. The good news about this schedule is that there is nothing so meditative and serene as a moonlit visit to the livestock in the depths of the night; I should do it more often. Too bad it took illness to remind me how I love these moments.

3. Work. Real work, on the computer, paid. This weekend, I hammer the rest of it out.

4. Computer issues. Did I mention real work, on the computer? Yes, I think I did. Perfect timing for the new Macbook to go kablooey. It is at the factory getting hardware tested, for an undisclosed number of days or weeks. We are staggering along with the old Macbook, which was and has been terminally ill for some time. I think, though, that its two week vacation did it good: it now crashes at longer intervals.

5. Fenway Bartholomule. I haven't ridden in two weeks due to items 2, 4, 6, and 7. Nonetheless, he's been on my mind and in my yard, and I have taken every opportunity to rub his ears, bask in his presence, and relinquish to him my worries. I check on Missy, Fen checks on me. I love him for it.

6. Weather. Lovely today, wet last week. This morning was compellingly beautiful, to the point that I thought I might cry at the beauty of the dewy lawn and the misty moisty spiderwebs. Part of me, without denying that nature IS magnificent, admits that this might be the result of too little sleep.

8. Motherhood. With someone's sixth birthday coming up, we have cakes to bake, cupcakes to purchase (no homebaked goodies by school district policy!), favors to choose, guest lists to compose, skating rinks to book, gifts to wrap, etcetera, etcetera. Before you nominate me for the Mother of the Year award, I'll just mention that the guest list was composed five days before the planned skating party, that the money for the skating rink may just have been spent on banamine paste and Lactated Ringers solution today, and that the cake is going to be decorated with cheap Chinese plastic dogs instead of expensive German plastic dogs. In my defense, my children have an enviable collection of inanimate farmlife, and they do not need a half dozen more Schleich brand puppies to make life complete.

M