Things flipping right-side up and SURPRISE!

Three of the four issues that complicated my life are flipping right-side-up.

The patient who had surgery is doing well. In fact, the resolution of their chronic pain, or at least the promise of its resolution, seems to have made them happy and optimistic.

The issue that tangled us up on Monday is on the mend.

I got my truck back at 7:30 p.m. yesterday. It still had more than 3/4 of a tank of gas.

Those are the good parts.

The not so great part is that I called the plumber when he missed the 3:00 p.m. appointment. "Things came up. I will try to make it between 5:00 and 6:00."

I replied "OK. No problem."

Then he missed that window. I called him up. "Hey, what is going on? I am going to be away from the house for an hour and a half."

"I am in the hospital" was his reply. Then he gave me some details which I am not going to share.

The bucket is still under the sink. I am going to take a shower at the gym today. A HOT shower.

Air Layering

I still had a few scion of a hazelnut that I want more copies of. 

I also had a shortage of plants to graft them onto.

So I found a shoot that split into three stems that were of appropriate size and I grafted all three stems. Then I slid an empty milk jug over the stem and filled it with potting soil. I also ran baling twine through the handle and tied it to a branch in the mother tree.

  

Newspaper is stuffed in the hole that I cut in the bottom of the jug so I could slide it down the stems. (Pro-tip: position the jug over the mother stem BEFORE grafting)

So, I want you to picture in your head a craftsman hyper-focusing on his task. He is handling very sharp blades and is attempting a procedure more complicated that his normal job. 

The gallon jug holds quite a bit of potting soil and it has to be carefully tucked into every corner and care must be take that it doesn't leave the jug through the hole in the bottom.

Now I want you to visualize this refined gentleman reaching into his bag of potting soil to fill the milk jug and pulling out a 15" long snake.

Yep. A snake. A very dead, very stinky snake. I am not sure how he got there or even what species he was.