Duct tape is good for everything...

I already knew this, because there have been plenty of times that I have patched up/poulticed a horse hoof with plastic wrap and duct tape.  Today, I used it to hem pants.

Sad, I know.  Part of the reason that this blog is called "Hapless" and not "Happening" is because of my sad lack of skills.  I can read, I can bake, and I can ride and to some extent doctor a horse, but I can't sew and gardening is a hit and miss proposition.

While my son was getting ready for the Veteran's Day Parade (he is in Civil Air Patrol), he pointed out that I still hadn't hemmed the uniform pants.  We checked a few other blue pants around (school pants, some random blue dress pants handed down from a cousin) - none of them were the right color.  We actually have a sewing machine, despite my lack of skills, but since my oldest daughter (who knows how to thread the darn thing) is at work today...I was stuck hand sewing.  I actually can hand stitch; I have made a few baby quilts and am working my way through a Hawaiian Quilt pillow during school breaks. It is just the machine that I just can't seem to get the hang of - and cutting out patterns.  Again, sad - I know.

My husband, who probably could have threaded the machine since his mother sews incredibly well and made sure all 8 of the kids had rudimentary skills, told me to just iron the hem and duct tape it.  So, I did, since we only had 5 minutes to spare to get out of the door.

It is pouring down rain up here, and I am sure it is at least drizzling down in town - I doubt the tape is going to hold.

On the animal front, Dodie still hasn't gone into labor, and one of my hens is sick.  She was in the coop, and I thought she might be getting broody, but she is making strange noises and her eyes are goopy.  I pulled her out and put her in a dog kennel by herself.  She must be the one who lays pink eggs, because I haven't gotten any pink eggs for several days.  I am going to see if I can find out what is wrong with her and see if the feed store has medicine.  It just doesn't seem worth it to go to a vet for a chicken who isn't a pet, and butchering her when she is sick doesn't sound too bright either.

It poured rain all night, and I dreamed about the fountain at the meeting of Kalanianaole Hwy and the Pali Hwy.  What a weird thing to dream about!  It made me miss home though - I woke up missing home, my kids being small (we used to go to the park there when my oldest two were toddlers), and my friends and family.  I am only a short flight away, and I couldn't even think about living like we do with Oahu land prices.

I was pretty pleased with my 18 year old.  Usually, she still uses me as her alarm clock, expecting me to wake her up on time for school, work, etc.  Today, though, I was out for the count.  She woke me up at 6:45 and asked how she was getting to work.  I thought, "Well, work is less than half a mile away, and you ran four years of cross country....why don't you run there?" but I said, "I am coming."  Mostly because it is pouring down rain and although we live rural, it isn't like a lot of rural places.  It is mostly like the Wild West out here...there are people back in the forest that are pretty dysfunctional and scary.  A few years ago, the whole community was sharing a stolen car back there.  They only place they would drive it was in the forest and out to the little general store out here (where my daughter works), but the fact that everyone thought it was okay just tells you something.