Monday Moanin'

I woke up Monday morning and, without much further ado, went to work. It was very warm and humid when I went home at lunch. I finally figured out how to turn the air conditioner on in the rental car (it's the button that has a snow flake on it).

I picked up a new assignment in today's staff meeting. For the last three years, I have done the yearly security review for our IT department (think about that for a moment...) (Look out Jeremy, I'm right behind you!) The last year, I actually researched stuff and came up with a document that said, "Here's what we do," "Here's what we should do," and here's the gap analysis (Jake helped on our web apps). The IT Director made me take it all out because "It might upset the owners."

But, about a month ago, one of the Spacely Sprocket websites got hacked, so this time she wants an independent firm to conduct a security audit (finally, some sanity). So, I called our CDW rep and have a conference call set up for Friday at 1:00 PM to get a quote (trust me, upper management is NOT gonna pay for this...) What bothers me is that I have NO idea of the questions to ask them...

After work, it was still hot out, but I am not fooled. There is a line of thunderstorms approaching that should hit here about 8:00 PM (according to the 5:00 o'clock news). So, I quickly changed clothes and headed out to get some work done.

Now, if you remember, last fall, the Township added slag to each driveway entrance to make up for the height difference to the newly paved road. Well, during the winter, the construction company on the corner of the street plowed out the snow from their parking lot and deposited it in the vacant lot next to me. Along with the snow was a healthy bunch of the slag (it's hard to judge the depth of your blade). When the snow melted, the slag was all in a neat pile.

Unfortunately (me being me) this weekend, they brought in a bush hog and cut the grass in that vacant lot, so the pile was somewhat flattened (timing IS everything). But, I got out the wheelbarrow and a transfer shovel and managed to dig up four wheelbarrows full. I put that all around the newly-moved mailbox, so I don't have to worry about falling off the pavement to get the mail (see photos). You might not be able to see, but the seeds I planted in the mailbox garden are starting to sprout.

It was starting to cloud up, so I went out and got three new lilac blossoms. I threw the old ones away, refilled the glass with fresh water and put them back in the bedroom.

I took the camera out back and also took photos of the St. Francis garden (ferns and lilies of the valley - my second favorite spring smell). Something's coming up in the raised bed garden (either spinach or leaf lettuce), so I snapped a shot of that. And then I took a photo of the wild garden (again, ferns and lilies of the valley). Finally, I took a picture of the Japanese maple, which is gorgeous this year. I remember when it was nothing more than a stick with some leaves...

Back inside, I got a call from my mechanic, Sam (Sam he am). He was so apologetic, I felt bad for him. It seems that the back-ordered exhaust gaskets didn't come in on Friday or even Saturday. They came in today... But... instead of the four gaskets needed, the box only had one in it! So, now its Thursday or Friday before they are due in. I better call the car rental place so they don't start thinking I stole their damn car.

Disgusted, I no longer felt like cooking. So, I made a can of Campbell's Bean with Bacon Soup and ate that with some crackers for supper. I watched a little TV, but went to bed before 10:00 PM.