some dead wood, some black wood, and an early Christmas

Today involved some weeding, after which I went after the artemisia bush close to the house. When I was done ripping out the dead wood, there was little left of the bush, but its fire hazard had been eliminated. By the way, can someone figure out why a bush in the ground is smaller than a bush in the van? Anyway, I managed to fit everything inside the van and took it all to the dump. Back home, I then proceeded to paint my carpentry project in black, took a shower, enjoyed a root beer float that Sue had offered to make for me, went to the nearby car wash for a much needed cleanup of the van, drove to Barnes & Noble where I took advantage of today being New Mexico's no-sales-tax day by acquiring a 9" Nook HD, and finally bought dinner's refried beans to-go at Eloi's. It's her birthday present to me, even though it's too early for my birthday, which is also Cardinal Richelieu's, but Sue is OK with that, and I also insisted that it's the only present she'll give me on Christmas Day. It's too early now for the refried beans so I guess I'll begin familiarizing myself with the Nook.