Mulberries, munchies and monsters, oh my!

Had a fun-filled day today. It started very early, with me getting up at about 7 a.m. to clean out the truck and meet the rest of the FreeForAllFruit group for mulberry picking. Believe me, after getting home from work around 1 a.m., and to bed later than that, it was an accomplishment to get up after only a few hours of sleep! Five of us met up and headed over to the UNM campus, where we’d earmarked five trees to harvest. We had a couple of ladders, and a couple of us were even up in the trees themselves gathering berries. I haven’t climbed a tree in way too long! Our total haul after about two hours was a good 9 pints of berries, and there are plenty of unripe ones left to go back for. Back to the house, then, and we started sorting and cleaning the fruit. Some fresh to munch on, some to freeze, some to dry and the rest for jam. We had enough to make about 6 pints of jam, so after a quick store run for more sugar and a box of pectin, we did just that. By 12:30, the jam was cooling, the lids were sealing, and we called it a morning.

Next on my agenda were a nap and a shower. Got back up around 5, and Roslee and I went to get a bit of dinner before heading over to Craig’s to watch movies. There were 6 of us for movies, and we watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets (fun) and Tremors (wonderfully cheesy fun!). We had thought about watching the original Indiana Jones movie, but since National Treasure had come in, we went with that one. So now it’s about 1:30 a.m., and I’m back home. Bedtime as soon as I wind down, I think. But I wanted to blog about the berry-picking, at the very least.

Tomorrow, I’ll try to make some bread to go under my mulberry jam! I also need to get supplies for my projects for next weekend's craft fair and get started on those. Whee!

Midweek

Wow, Wednesday already. Half the week gone.
I haven't been idle, but it's getting hard to keep track of the days. I am trying to make sure that I get outside as much as possible. My calves are aching from all the walking I've been doing!!
Yesterday I actually used some of my precious gasoline fumes to go up to one of the local food banks and get some much needed supplies. The fresh produce was really welcome; a large quarter-head of cabbage, a couple of big onions, two red bell peppers, some apples and pears, and a couple of pounds of fingerling potatoes. Some canned veggies, a loaf of spelt bread (!), and some roasted tomatoes, too. Add that stuff to the rice and pasta I had, and my other carbs, and I'm good to go! Wish I could have gotten some butter, though.
Today's walk took me up to Walgreens, as they were running a free inkjet cartridge refill day. Got my color cartridge refilled. I've burned an MP3 disk for my little player with some of my favorite energy music on it. I call it my "walkabout disc". The only drawback is that the disc lasts longer than my last set of cheap batteries...
I got a form from the IN unemployment office on Monday. Wouldn't have been so bad, except the darn thing said it had to be in the next day!!! It took over a week for it to even get to me! So I called the office, and of course the gal whose name is on the form is out for the week. Called the generic number, and they said I could fax it in. Great...where am I going to find a place to fax this that won't charge me?? I thought about it, and decided to try my bank. So, Tuesday morning, I go to the bank, and a very helpful gal not only faxed my form for me, but she also gave me her name as a referral for their job website. They have openings for tellers, and personal bankers (they train, and it pays more). So there's another job possibility!
Still waiting to hear on my other possibilities. Till then, I'll try to enjoy the free time as much as possible. I haven't gone to any of the Fiesta activities, honestly, since most things cost money. Plus, most things are just too far for me to walk to.
I'm still making plans in my head for going to MileHiCon in late October, and of course for Yule. I know I'll be okay by then, and I do need something to look forward to.
Hope to have good news soon!

Rainy Sunday

Well, I didn't get out much today. I had thought about walking uptown, but the rain was a bit too much for me. So I stayed in and did some cleaning, played with the cats, and chatted online to some friends.
I think that if someone asked me how I was doing, I'd have to say that "I haven't hit bottom yet, but I can see it from here." Hope the bungee cord kicks in soon! I'm sure it will, just don't know when. My last dollar went towards getting a bag of cheap kibble so the kitties have something to eat. I still have food for myself, luckily. If the Asians can survive on rice, then so can I. I'm thinking of making a batch of pancakes tomorrow, since the mix only needs water. Yum.
Found a neat money-earner today, though, so I'm working on getting that started up. It's with a company called Marriage Makers, and they do weddings and other ceremonies for people. Non/Pan-denominational, they call themselves. With the clergy training I've gotten through Live Oak, this is right up my alley! The website is www.marriagemakers.net, if you want to look it up. This is something I can do in addition to a day job, and have a lot of fun doing.
I'm still waiting to hear back from Avon, but that's another thing I can do in addition to a day job.
Home Depot should have my drug test results sometime this week, and then they can get me into orientation by next weekend, I hope. And of course, I'm still waiting to hear back about the library job.
So, really, things are looking up. It's just the immediate cash flow (and serious lack thereof) that have me a bit stressed. I still have hopes for fixing that, but it's out of my hands at the moment. My biggest worry is losing my phone/internet service. Granted, I can always get wi-fi at a cafe, but having a local phone number is a good thing when one is looking for work. Plus, I've been using the email address that came with the DSL for my work search, so I can keep things sorted.
If I do get the gas money, I think I will take a couple of days soon and run up to see the folks. When Papa mentions installing gutters, and 'could use help' in the same sentence, I get nervous. Papa is in his late 70s, and recently diagnosed with diabetes. I don't like the thought of him being up a ladder, especially since his feet are a bit wobbly lately. Besides, if I go up, I can show them that I'm okay.
I picked up a couple of books last week, in the dime bin. The Mother Earth News Almanac, 1973 edition, and How To Stay Alive In The Woods by Bradford Angier, 1984 edition of a 1956-62 book. Angier is apparently Canadian, judging by his geography, but he includes information good for desert climates, too. Good reading, both of them, and excellent additions to my library.
If you're in need of a good laugh, or some serious cuteness, may I recommend www.icanhascheezburger.com ? Lots of lolcats, funny captioned pics of critters, and general 'awwww..." factor. It sure helps me smile when I need it!