A very busy weekend

So I've decided to make the move to Charleston. I've got this crazy idea of actually living with the man I'm married to. Novel concept, I know. Can you believe it will have been 2 years this August when he moved to SC? Time flies.

In order to do that, there are certain, long neglected things that must be done in order to get it on the market. I'm fixing it up in the (probably) vain hope that if the house looks good, it will sell faster and for a higher price. In this market, it's hard to tell. I'll certainly keep you posted.

The upstairs hall bath is finally finished. Here's a pic of the nice tile floor I laid down a few weeks ago (see my marble threshold and everything!)


And here's a bit wider shot. I'm standing in the hall, so that's about as far back as I can go. It's a small bathroom. I now have a lovely upstairs guest bathroom. Better yet, none of the plumbing leaks even though I installed it.
I put the tile down and painted the walls in the downstairs bath too. Pics on that when I get the vanity and toilet installed again.

In other news, I discovered that a nice little birdie laid eggs in the fern on my porch. We'll see what hatches, I'm betting baby birds, not platypuses or anything. It's going to be interesting when the some guys come to paint the porch and put in some landscaping and stuff.

A long time away...

I've neglected my blog for some time now. Sorry about that, this year has had a rough start for me and my family.

As Mother's day approaches, I feel it's time to take the blog out of its hiatus and post anew. Mother's day used to be a good time of year, a chance to honor the woman who gave me life. To be perfectly frank, now it just brings up memories of what I have lost and sad for what I took for granted.

My much loved mom died December 12 after a long decline following a stroke in April 2006. My dad kept her at home for 2+ years after a trial of unsuccessful rehabilitation. She was bedridden and slipped away from us a fragment at a time until the only thing remaining was her gentleness. In all that time, my dad kept her from going into a nursing home and she never once had a serious bedsore. My dad is a lot of things (eccentric to say the least) but he took great care of my mom.

My mom was a tiny person but she had the most incredible spirit and courage. My brother and I are better people because of her presence in our lives. She worked way harder than she had to and denied herself many little pleasures so that we could have a better education and have things she didn't when she was a kid. She struggled with depression and had a problem with not throwing anything away. That being said, what I will remember most is how she encouraged me and my brother to do and be our very best. She was not perfect, but she loved us with her whole heart. She truly believed in us and loved us even when we were awful. She was my cheerleader, my secret keeper, and most of all, my best friend. I miss her and feel the loss of her presence in my life every day.

Six weeks after my mom died, my dad decided to go skydiving. He declined the strong recommendation of the course instructor and jumped solo the first time. Immediately upon exiting the airplane, he realized he had made a grave mistake. He landed in a horse pasture with his chute tangled in an overhead line. Luckily, he only suffered compression fractures in his back and nearly broke his right foot clean off (literally). I say luckily, because he really could have just as easily died. So after 2 months of being once again house bound and dependant on me and his neighbors to get his mail and groceries, he's just now able to drive. After getting surgery to get the pins out of his ankle, he's planning on taking a sailing class so he can charter a boat around the Gulf of Mexico for a few days. *sigh* At least his pilot's license has lapsed and he won't be in the air. The man is *go* all the time.

One week after his accident, my house was burgled while I was not home (thank God!). The jerks took my computers, one of which was fairly new and the other which was 10 years old. I got to thank them for taking the old one, because I wasn't sure what to do with it since I don't think they want those things in landfills. Sometime during the break in, they hurt one of my cats too. After 2 months of being in a splint, she's better and putting weight on her foot and I hope she will make a full recovery without (very expensive) surgery. And by the way, I now have a nice, loud alarm system, thankyouverymuch. And I've only set it off accidentally a few times, which is good if you know me.

So now that everything has settled down, I'm working on the house and trying to get it ready to go on the market. I'm hoping to move to Charleston to try something abjectly normal: I'm going to live with my husband again. Novel concept, eh? Besides, the drive to Charleston is getting old. I'll try to blog more frequently too.

Moving forward and living the best, happiest, fullest life is the best way I can think of to honor my mom. I think she would be proud. Thanks for everything you have given me, mom. You're the best.

Passing of a Noodle

This is a sad post, folks, though many of you will think I'm silly.

The day finally came that my little rat, Noodle, could go no further. She had cancer and we knew that the time to say goodbye would come soon. We had her put down last evening. She died peacefully with me holding her and skritching her little noggin to the end.

It's funny how a creature that is reviled by most folks could be so sweet and loving. Noodle was an exemplary rat who never bit and never knew a stranger. Her fondness for peanut butter (she pronounced it pinda budder) was legendary. She was my first rat, and will always hold a special place in my heart.Give a rat a chance, you won't be sorry. Visit the GARMCA website if you're interested.

Adventures in Self Improvement

Anyone who knows me knows that I am always up for a good laugh. Especially when it involves laughing at myself. So who am I to deprive you all from sharing in my latest adventure in economy self improvement? After all, I know that all my good friends out there will give me encouragement and loving comments and will not make fun of me for doing something so profoundly stupid as what I have just done.

Right? Yeah, right. Do I know you guys or what? You might want to not be drinking anything as you read further because this is good.

So today I ran a bunch of errands. Boring stuff really, get the oil changed, mail some stuff to Seattle, car tags, blah, blah, blah. On my way home, I took a wild hair (no pun intended, but you see where this is going) and went to Sally's to buy a nail file and pumice stone. I perused the store and couldn't help noticing all the neato ways one could improve your looks on a budget. This is heady stuff for someone who dosen't wear makeup and can barely match socks in the morning. I started noticing all the nifty colors you could dye your hair and struck up a conversation with the nice lady with blue hair (and I mean blue as in punk not blue as in old) about going a few shades lighter than mine. She helped me pick out a nice shade a bit lighter than my own color as I was going for SUBTLE, and not OVERT color.

My first clue should have been that she had blue hair (wink wink, nudge nudge). But she seemed nice, used big words appropriately, and assured me that it was SO easy, and so I went for it.

Wanna see? Of course you do. Here it is:


I promise this picture does not really do justice to my new color. My hair is now a lighter shade of blondey red. Subtle it's not. More like I doused my hair in lemon juice and sat in the sun like when I was 10. I suppose it's not bad, but I'm sure glad I didn't wait the whole 30 minutes or you would have heard about a certain blue-haired lady being snatched baldheaded.

I think I'll go for a bit darker next time, or perhaps pony up the cash and have an actual professional do it. Boy is this going to be fun when my roots show up. Maybe next time I want to change the color of something, I'll dye some yarn or something.

Ruthless attack on Corian sink-film at 11

Police are searching this evening for a large rock that ruthlessly attacked a Corian sink this morning causing catastrophic damage. The angelfish on scene said that the rock was removed from the fish tank and taken to the kitchen by a shadowy figure who brings food every day but rarely takes the rocks for cleaning. Shortly after the rock was taken to the kitchen, the angelfish said a crash was heard followed by unrepeatable expletives and wailing.

The rock is described as white with a fine coat of algae. If seen, please do not approach it as it should be considered wet and slippery and handled only whilst paying close attention and using two hands. This photo gives a representation of the culprit and is not an exact likeness. This is a picture of the sink shot shortly after the attack. Look away now if you are squeamish, folks. This is a horrific injury and not for the faint of pocketbook.Damage to the sink is said to be life-threatening and very expensive. The homeowner, Ms. Butterfingers*, swears never to buy Corian products again as she thinks that something should not cost more than 5 times it's original purchhase price to repair. She is relieved, however, as the damage is not nearly as expensive as what the orange and blue box people led her to believe in her initial fact-finding mission. For that, she is most grateful. Ms. Butterfingers hopes that others will learn from her experience and not be tempted to purchase anything other than stainless steel for their kitchen sink, no matter how pretty other materials may be.


*names have been changed to protect the distracted who should have been eating chocolate or knitting instead of cleaning the fish tank.

Cloning Boogers

I swear I am not making this up. You can't make this stuff up.

"It's a miracle!" McKinney repeatedly shouted Tuesday when she saw the cloned Boogers for which she paid $50,000. "Yes, I know you! You know me, too!" McKinney said joyfully as she hugged her snuggly baby Boogers.

Imagine. $50,000 for cloned Boogers. Heck, I'll give her some of mine for the bargain price of $5 each! Anyone in? Let's all mail her our Boogers! We could bury her house in them! Anyone in?

Of course, there's always a catch. You can read the whole article here. Sweet little sleepy, cuddly Boogers. Awwww.....

Bathroom!

The house is coming along nicely. The flooring where the termites ate my nice wood is replaced.

The downstairs has been sanded. It was lots of fun watching the floor guy do the sanding. He's not hard to look at, but I didn't think it would be nice to post a pic of him. You'll have to use your imagination. Think muscles, lots of them.

Ahem. Back to the post.

And the best news of all! I found (after calling nearly every tile store in the southeast, one in New Jersey, and one in Virginia) the perfect tile for our bathroom. It's a basketweave pattern that is much in keeping with the age of the house. I've always wanted it for a house and now we've got it! There's no sink in there yet, but the husbeast says the toilet and tub are installed and the new bathtub faucet/shower came yesterday, so I'd say the place has potential to one day be a real, functioning bathroom! Feel free to drop by and ask to use it.

Here's a shot of it grouted. We opted for a light gray grout to make the pattern show up without being too dark.

My search for the right kind of tub shower/faucet attachment took me far and wide. I finally landed at a place called Moluf's in Charleston. They have the most amazing toilet. I'll have to get pictures and tell you all about it later.