Our floor trusses were delivered yesterday and today our well was dug.  Gerald is almost done putting up the outside sheathing (OSB) on the garage.  He has steel sheet siding for the outside and Fibreglas insulation for the walls and ceiling.  The siding color is a nice soft creme, can't remember the roof color.  I picked it out but gosh, I don't remember.  Taupe maybe?  Dark green?  Guess it'll be a surprise!  He's been working on this garage with the help of able armed folks since he can't use his arm due to the torn rotator cuff, so its slow going.  But once that garage is insulated and the inside boards are on it can be heated and the wood foundations can be built inside there rather than out in the cold.  Good idea, huh?

Deciding to change my eating habits is difficult.  I have a martyr voice in my head that wants me to eat the driest, least savory cardboard at the cheapest possible price AND exercise and generally live the life of some acetic.  Then there's the voice of the tongue, even if I know in my heart of hearts that what it wants me to eat isn't really all that tasty because its a cheap version of what I really find tasty, but eating more somehow makes up for it.
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And then there's that eating more.  Eating as a sedative, it isn't even really eating for comfort because I'll eat past full to where all I want to do is crawl into bed, close my eyes and be alone.  It is eating to escape.  At least if I was a heroin addict my bladder wouldn't get squished by these new fangled low cut jeans and I could tuck in my wool shirts.
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I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" last night. I highly recommend it.  If for no other reason than Meryl Streep is again masterful, beyond good.  As is the chemistry between her and Stanley (?) Tucci.  He's a great actor too and those two oddly enough were also in the movie, "The Devil Wears Prada" which I also downloaded but haven't seen (again) yet.  Maybe its not so coincidental as an exhibit of my taste in movies?  At least ones I'm willing to spend $9.99 to own?  Could be worse.  Gerald has all 2900 "Police Academy" movies *rolls eyes*, yeah he's got a sophisticated sense of humor *belch* LOL

Yay me!  Last night I completed the last paragraph for the results.
I wanted to know if N2O production, a gas product of several N processes both biotically and abiotically mediated was different by upland hillslope position; summit, shoulder, backslope, footslope and toeslope and by landscape type; upland, lagg, alder and bog and by depth in the soil profile and by during the growing season versus after the growing season.
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So I made all of those comparisons in N2O production and soil physical and chemical properties that control and influence the production of N2O gas; pH, bulk density, SOC, soil total N, soil NH4+ and soil NO3-.
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The lab DEA treatments that I'm referring to are solutions added to soil samples and then incubated in the absence of oxygen to support denitrification.  The solutions are a control solution of only a very pure kind of water called "Type II" and then a mix of type II water with glucose (to simulate SOC) and then type II water and nitrate (NO3-, the stuff that gets turned into N2O gas) and then type II water + glucose+nitrate.
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1.  Soil chemistry A horizon upland hillslope positions

2. N2O production A horizon upland hillslope positions
a.  Comparison of N2O production by hillslope positions for each lab DEA treatment
b. Comparison of  N2O production by lab DEA treatment for each hillslope position
c. Comparison of N2O production by hillslope position for each sampling date; June and September 2008
3. Soil chemistry 10 cm below A horizon upland hillslope positions
4 N2O production 10 cm below A horizon upland hillslope positions
a.  Comparison of N2O production by hillslope positions for each lab DEA treatment
b. Comparison of  N2O production by lab DEA treatment for each hillslope position
c. Comparison of N2O production by soil depth for each hillslope position for each lab DEA treatment
5.  Soil chemistry A horizon upland, 0-25 cm lagg, 0-25 cm bog landscape types
6. N2O production A horizon upland, 0-25 cm lagg, 0-25 cm bog landscape tyoes
a.  Comparison of N2O production by landscape type for each lab DEA treatment
b. Comparison of  N2O production by lab DEA treatment for each landscape type
c. Comparison of N2O production by landscape type for each sampling date; June and September 2008 
7.  Soil chemistry 10 cm below A horizon upland, 25-50 cm lagg, 25-50 cm bog landscape types
6.  N2O production 10 cm below A horizon upland, 25-50 cm lagg, 25-50 cm bog  landscape types
a.  Comparison of N2O production by landscape type for each lab DEA treatment
b. Comparison of  N2O production by lab DEA treatment for each landscape type
c. Comparison of N2O by soil depth for each landscape type for each lab DEA treatment
8.  Soil chemistry 0-25 cm lagg, 0-25 cm alder, 0-25 cm bog landscape types
9.  N2O production by 0-25 cm lagg, 0-25 cm alder, 0-25 cm bog landscape types
a.  Comparison of N2O production by landscape type for each lab DEA treatment
b. Comparison of  N2O production by lab DEA treatment for each landscape type
c. Comparison of N2O production by hillslope position for each sampling date; June and September 2008 
10. Soil chemistry 25-50 cm lagg, 25-50 cm alder, 25-50 cm bog
11. N2O production by 25-50 cm lagg, 25-50 cm alder, 25-50 cm bog
a.  Comparison of N2O production by landscape type for each lab DEA treatment
b. Comparison of  N2O production by lab DEA treatment for each landscape type
c. Comparison of N2O production by depth for each landcape type for each lab DEA treatment
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Now I have to write the Discussion section where I explain why the results are what they are
There is another chapter where I sampled weekly N2O production out in the field for two years in each of those places and then the last sampling was after I amended the soil with a glucose+nitrate solution.

It's been said that the lessons we don't learn we're doomed to repeat.  But gosh darn it, self righteousness is such a bear!  And as weary as I am for feeling this way, I'm even more determined to be right.  I am so tired of being me I could just scream!

Can we talk? LOL
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I dunno, I guess I'm just getting so burnt out by this thesis.  Its never-ending and not like a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait kind of goes on and on either.  Gosh, sure its below zero but all of a sudden I sure could go for one of those... not like I'm not already carrying around several of them in the rolls and jowls and flappies...
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I'm back...
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*sigh* Shoot, I feel... stuck and puny and fat and lazy and anxious and...
Oh never mind

Horses aren't music critics, thank goodness.  I like to sing and lately I've got a Cat Stevens song going on in my head.  And of course I don't know the words, but I know a bit of the tune.  All I really need really.  The chickens don't mind either.
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Hey, speaking of chickens.  Wanna hear about how smart I am? :-)  We feed our chickie-chickies oyster shells, laying mash and cracked corn.  Give 'em fresh water three times a day.  All good.  But the shells are waaay too delicate.  And we're talking Road Island Reds, big brown eggs, this shouldn't be!
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But it is and I think I know why!
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Remember hearing about how doctors "discovered" rickets?  Children in England during the Industrial Revolution were living under pretty dark conditions, literally.  The coal smoke obliterated the sun and the kids were also inside working factory type jobs subsequently they weren't getting sufficient vitamin D.  And vitamin D is necessary for metabolizing calcium.  The symptom was children suffering bone loss in their legs, weakness and bowleggedness without the horse. 
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I think the same thing is happening with our chicken eggs.  We have them inside a shelter with one little window to keep them warm and toasty, which it does fairly well but there isn't enough light, not enough vitamin D and therefore, insufficient shell density.  I can't say as they're bowlegged, but mineral and vitamin deficiencies can make their toes bend oddly.  But then these are full grown hens (and one rooster).
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We'll look for a way to build an igloo like foyer for them to protect the warmth of their coop and then put up the dog kennel.  Don't want to make it too easy for the hawks and eagles to swoop in. Couple years ago a hawk was dive bombing my banties and nearly took the top of my head off!  Kinda got me excited.