Saturday, March 24, 2012

Facebook Page for Students

If you can't reach me by any of the other ways I've given you, try https://www.facebook.com/KathleenSmithLsusEnglishInstructor, which I set up today.  I also have a  twitter account that I don't use much, dotsmom1.  I have no idea how to use twitter, so I'll have to find some instructions. 

Home email: englishlsus@yahoo.com
Skype: dotsmom
Yahoo IM: englishlsus@yahoo.com
Twitter: dotsmom1
Facebook: see link above

For my English 226 students--post critiques as soon as Moodle comes back up.  If you need to send something to me before Monday, attach it to a message to my home email account. Go ahead and post to your blogs, but I won't be able to read them until the system comes back up.

I know the current power outage at LSUS has thrown many people into confusion, but it's not a crisis.  Just think through it, and, if you have questions and concerns, contact me.  Also, keep an eye on LSUS's Facebook page for updates.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

I Caved!

I saw the baby chicks at the Feed and Seed store the other day, but resisted the temptation to buy them.  Then I read up on caring for them.  On my second trip to the S&F, I bought four--two Buff Orpingtons (the golden ones) and two Barred Rocks (the black ones).



I'm waiting for the temps to warm up today to put them in the movable coop for a while.  I want them to become used to seeing the big chickens before I put them in the coop.  They need to grow, as well, since they are only about three weeks old.

Cute, huh? Like I needed more chickens.  That brings my total count to 10.



Sunday, March 11, 2012

New Garden Box...

It's not finished yet, but it will be as soon as I buy more dirt.

I had the hairbrained idea to create another garden box.  I went out, looking for pallets to make a vertical garden, but couldn't find any.  So, I went to the hardware store and bought 12 cinder blocks.

Here's what I made:


I'll post another pic as soon as I plant the "holes."  I plan to alternate flowers and herbs.  So far, I've planted two holes of marigolds and a cinnamon basil.

Inside the garden, I've planted corn and bean seeds, squash and cucumber plants, and I stuck in a couple of rununculus bulbs.  I want to make it friendly to the bees to encourage them to hang around.  They swarmed the Mayhaws when those bloomed, so I'm hoping they've stuck around.

This is so much better than whining about car repairs.  Now, if I could just get my iPad back up and running, the world will be a better place!

Friday, March 09, 2012

If It's Not One Thing...

I took my car, my dirty, seven-year-old Mazda to a local garage on Thursday to have it inspected--yes, March is the inspection month for me.  I had noticed some oil stains on my carport--I haven't ever had oil stains before--so I asked the guys at the garage to take a look.

I had a cracked oil filter housing.  I don't know how long it had been cracked.  My last oil change was 2 1/2 months ago; my next oil change was scheduled for March 19.  Good thing I had it checked.  I was down two quarts.

So the old guy at the garage said he'd call Mazda and get the part and fix it today, Friday.  Except he couldn't get the part today.  Mazda had to order the part--overnight it--but it wouldn't get to Mazda until 10am today.  The truck that comes to Coushatta from Shreveport leaves S'port at 7:30am.  The soonest they could have the part here would be Monday.

No good for me.  I could have cancelled class on Monday--I'm sure my students would have been thrilled.  But I wouldn't.  So I drove to the dealership today and sat there for1 1/2 hours and spent over two hundred dollars for a $17 part.  Because they couldn't just replace the part.  They had to do the 105,000 mile maintenance on my car (which actually has about 108,000 miles on it).

Again, this stiffens my resolve to NEVER take my car back to the dealership.  Even if they had just replaced the $17 part, they would have also charged me for an oil change and labor--to the tune of nearly $100.  I can have my oil changed for about $35 at other places.

I can't understand the shipping schedules.  Wouldn't it be better to expedite the shipping to have the part arrive before the truck leaves every morning?  It doesn't seem to be that difficult.  Planes fly all the time.  Trucks trundle up and down the highways. But maybe I'm missing something.

Coushatta isn't the end of the earth. But I'm amused, and a bit put off, when companies act as though we're a thousand miles away from civilization.  Gasoline is at least 20 cents higher here.  Don't those trucks have to come down the highways to deliver gasoline to other places along the road?  Do they increase the price of gas by every extra mile they have to drive?  I don't know.  It doesn't make sense.

What makes less sense to me is that my family members say they don't come to my house because it's "too far to drive."  I tell them, "I drive it to come see you."  "Yeah," they say, "but you have to come to Shreveport to work. You're coming this way, so you can come see us."

I think my friends think I live down some unpaved, muddy road.  I live, actually, two doors away from the town hall and the police station. I do have nearly an acre, but I'm not out in the woods.  A highway runs in front of my mailbox. It's a paved highway, too.





Saturday, March 03, 2012

If it's sunny, I'm outside...

Apologies to all students whose papers I haven't graded/read yet.  The sun is out, the temp is good, and my garden and the chickens are calling my name!

Today, I turned a tire into an herb garden; I need to figure out how to cut the rim to open it up more, though.  I planted cilantro, dill, and parsley I wintersowed, then bought some English thyme at the Ace Hardware store.  I planted eggplant, some Dragon carrot seeds, sowed more cabbage in some of the other beds after I pulled up greens that were going to seed.  I've made a spring soup of greens, squash, and carrots.  I just want to dig in the dirt.

 I took this pic before I planted the thyme.

I've collected four eggs today, but I had to eat one because it had a small dent in it.

This my newest garden box; mostly tomatoes.  If all of these produce, I'll be canning tomatoes all summer! I've also planted basil, yellow squash, acorn squash, and a few pumpkin seeds in here.


Mrs. Bennet says "Hi!"


The sun is still out, and I just want to be out in it.  Sigh.  I must read drafts and grade papers.