Fortunate(ly it's) Friday

It has been a week.  Or rather, it started off as a week. Then it got better. As most weeks do when Monday is over.

I'm feeling fortunate that our house did not burn down on Monday. I'm fortunate that the huge grassfire that engulfed almost 4,000 acres about 3 miles from our house didn't get to us. I'm feeling fortunate because no homes were lost at all. People and animals are safe. A few out-buildings (think: treehouse or old shed) were burned, along with two vehicles, but none of the houses.

I'm feeling fortunate that we didn't even have to evacuate, but 600 people nearby did.

I'm feeling fortunate that Scott did, in fact, pick up and leave work when I called him to tell him what was happening. I didn't have to deal with this alone, the way I did last spring when I was packing up valuables and trying to decide what vehicle to take in case the dogs and I had to leave.

My "go" bags.

I'm fortunate that the fire was contained within the day and this wasn't some multi-day devastating event. I could go to bed feeling at least okay.

I'm fortunate that, even though the phone lines ended up being down for a day or so, CenturyLink got to work and the internet and phones were restored very quickly. This meant that the local school didn't have to cancel more than one day.

I'm fortunate for, most of all, my dear friend who started prepping her guest room for us "just in case". I didn't even have to ask.

I'm fortunate for the teeny bit of snow/moisture we got the next day. Even though more warm and windy weather is on the way.

Living here is NOT for the faint of heart. That's more or less all I have to say about that. I read the Little House on the Prairie books dozens of times and they were always so afraid of fire and now I see why.

However, Ma has her "All's well that ends well" saying, so that has more or less become my personal motto in the last few years.

Me, taking a very unsafe-while-driving picture, but the road was blocked off ahead so it's not like I was doing much more than crawling. You can see the burned land as the fire moves to the north (the left). 

I'll send you the link to the information about the fire if you want...no need to triangulate my location to the whole world. 

Here's to the weekend and checking a few things off of my March goals list.

(Actual) Confessions

+When your husband is deployed, the day after a holiday is the best day of all. I felt relief on Tuesday, knowing that the last holiday for a long time was over.

+I killed a baby rattlesnake the other day by blowing it into pieces with a shotgun and I couldn't find it all. I buried what I could and resolved to keep the dogs out of that part of the field for a few days. Snakes can be venomous for days after they die.
Then I went back to the house (this really took a chunk out of my afternoon) and had a beer and some chocolate chip cookies. It was deserved.

+I don't like the phrase love you to the moon and back. What does that even mean? Do people actually say it out loud? Or do they just type it and buy it on wooden signs from Hobby Lobby?

+The dogs ate this remote two years ago. The Samsung TV, that was only about 6 months old at the time, hasn't been used since. I went to Best Buy and had someone explain how to use/work/hook-up a universal remote last week. Now the TV works again. It took two years.

+I've been waking up in the morning not being able to remember what day it is.

+We have this shower curtain rod that I cannot get to stay in place. The other one works, why doesn't this one? It's awful, a drain on my energy, and kind of sad that I can't get a shower curtain rod to work.

+We have tube lighting in our kitchen and bathrooms. It's kind of like a skylight. The one in the kitchen is glaringly bright during the day, so I covered it up.

+If there was a way to send dogs in care packages to soldiers, Scott would be enjoying Jett's company on this deployment. However, Jett is a delicate flower and he needs me around to dip his antibiotic pills in peanut butter, as he has a respiratory infection. He is the most loyal and loving dog that ever was, but man. He needs a personal petter or something. He never leaves me alone.

+I generally enjoy the nonsense that is The Today Show. The first half hour is usually the important stuff and then it's normally just people sitting around eating.
However, I had to mute it last Friday because who on earth wants to listen to Rachel Platten? I mean, ugh.

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Today is Scout's "gotcha day". We picked up this little furball three years ago today. He forced me to learn to be responsible for another living thing. I can't even look at his puppy pictures without wanting to order up another one.

Anything to confess today?

Linking up with Nadine!

Weekend Work

I think I did more work this weekend than I did all last week. Productivity breeds productivity breeds satisfaction I guess. 

I spent some time mowing the pastures. 

^^Sigh. I can't believe I typed that. 

I took a good chunk out of the front pasture.

And then I mowed down the back pasture. I completely forget about it because it's behind the trees, I never go back there, and I don't see it from the road. I really hope that's our pasture actually, because otherwise I just mowed down the neighbor's field.

I found another snake. Not a poisonous one though, and I spent a lot of time trying to figure this out. It is a Great Plains Rat Snake. I will take one of those any day of the week.

AND, to end on an exciting note (because my weekend was super exciting), I really love my Rodan and Fields sunblocks. I mentioned on Instagram that I keep them by the door or in my bag because I put them on every day. The Soothe Mineral Sunscreen doesn't clog pores, is very lightweight, and doesn't cause breakouts. It's the jackpot of all facial sunscreens if you're looking for a new one!

Before I went out to investigate the snake that I saw through the window, I put on my sunscreen. You never know how long those snake ordeals will take. 

Full disclosure: Scott googled the snake for me. But I tossed some rocks in the general direction to see if it would strike. It was a joint effort. 

How was your weekend?