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Sweet

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I don’t even remember what it was like B.T.  (before texting)

Some context/translation:

1. Our gardener confiscated the key to the sprinkler box. I couldn’t turn off the sprinklers yesterday afternoon.  The sprinklers soaked our Daisy girl scout troop and resulted in chaos.   I was very annoyed at the gardener.  Why did the gardener take the key?? Because he was very annoyed at Mr. LBB for messing with his (our) sprinkler irrigation schedule. To prevent annoying the gardener anymore, and mitigate the risk of him being fired, Mr. LBB hired an additional gardener today to secretly take care of the crabgrass situation. It all sounds so dysfunctional now that I wrote it down…but really it’s perfectly normal around here.

2. Fred is the fish Boo won at the Halloween carnival at school. He was expected to live one week. I did not want a fish (just like I didn’t want a lizard)*. He’s doubled in size over the last 4 months. I think Mr. LBB got sick of changing the water in the bowl every 2 days and as of today we have a new filtered fish tank….and bamboo for “extra oxygenation.”  Oh, and  an additional goldfish because I felt like he might be lonely. Boo named the new fish Smokey.  Smokey is a nutcase…..pick me! pick me! pick me! Poor Fred looks miserable.

3. If I wasn’t bringing dinner home, we would have resorted to eating ice cream and pretzel crisps for dinner…..or pizza rolls for the 3rd night in a row.  I thought it might be time to go grocery shopping.

4. “Sweet” = “I’m ecstatic”

 

P.S. Boo let “Fred” the gecko go a few weeks after she caught him last year.  I see him periodically by the sliding door where we let him go….at least I like to think it’s him. While contemplating the potential “escape” of Boo’s gecko night after night, at one point I suddenly had the sinking feeling that maybe my turtle Magnolia didn’t actually “escape” when I was 6 years old like my parents said she did. The only reason Fred the goldfish hasn’t “escaped” is because I read this article.

P.P.S. And then somehow I stumbled upon this article about a disabled goldfish outfitted with a sling to help her swim. I think I reached the end of the Internet… but at least it’s a heartwarming end:

About Ashley Hackshaw

Living a simple, creative life in #smalltownusa Bryson City, NC. Renovating a 1960s ranch house and an old train depot. Thank you for reading! Read more in my about section. 

Comments

  2. Ruby Lynn Schmer says

    Life has been crazy these last 3 months and I’ve only catched your stories here and there. I’ve missed you! 😉

    You’re so nutty and normal. Love you and the family.

    We left Oahu to join our family in Atlanta as our son-in-law (30) has been very ill due to Crohn’s complications. Our daughter and grandbabies (10, 2.5 and 10 months) are are much happy we’re here…hell even the son-in-law is! lol 😀 Now we get to be that crazy but supportive family again like in Southern Calif.

    Huggers and thanks for lifting up my day Ashley!

    Ruby Lynn

  4. June K says

    Loved your post. It was such a fun read. Thanks for sharing the little (although I don’t think the Daisy Girl Scout troop chaos was “little”) things in your life. I really needed something like this to read this morning. Thank you for sharing.

  5. Liz says

    Ok, so the disabled goldfish video made me laugh out loudI I know, sounds cruel, I mean even goldfish can be disabled, clearly. Don’t get me wrong, it also warmed my heart but I’m questioning its authenticity. Who came up with that? A- MAZE- ING I say!! And the hiring of a secret gardner, awesome. You gotta do whatcha gotta do!

  6. Caroline says

    OK, #1 is reminding me of how my Mom had a crappy cleaning lady coming every other week. She did a terrible job, but my Mom felt bad for her. So she hired a professional cleaning company to come every other week on the weeks the crappy cleaning lady did not come…… Crazy huh? She was paying the lady for basically nothing, just because she felt bad for her! Luckily the crappy lady eventually quit. But I always wondered what she thought when she would get there and the place would be basically clean. LIke, “Wow, I barely do anything but talk and bother the homeowner when I’m here. But it’s holding up well!”

  8. Sharon C says

    I often read your posts to my husband, but this one I had to let him read, since he installs sprinkler systems. He laughed. Really. Hard. And we had the same experience with the goldfish…Danny and TC lasted TWO YEARS. Get the filter.

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