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Instant Gratification Failure!
Sep. 26th, 2010 09:03 pmGAHHH!!! Kindle has been ordered. Thanks to a variety of gift cards, I only spent about $20 on it. But now, I'm all crazed because I want it to get here now!!! Waiting for shipping is just frustrating.
Ah, the Magic of Hollywood...
Sep. 2nd, 2010 09:19 pmthrough which a family can take a road trip from Utah to New York and make two stops in Sacramento.
Locals & semi-locals only:
Jul. 4th, 2010 01:19 pmDoes anyone want a mirror? 42" x 36", no frame, just the glass.
It's free to anyone who has a use for it. It'll be moving out to the back yard in a few days from now where it will get coated in cobwebs, then will be disposed of on our community clean-up day in early August if it is not claimed beforehand.
Let me know soon, and we'll delay the move to the yard. :)
It's free to anyone who has a use for it. It'll be moving out to the back yard in a few days from now where it will get coated in cobwebs, then will be disposed of on our community clean-up day in early August if it is not claimed beforehand.
Let me know soon, and we'll delay the move to the yard. :)
Long Weekend of Home and Garden Care
May. 29th, 2010 05:38 pmBy the end of today, I'll have my garden mostly set up and planted (minus a few seedlings I still need to find.) Yesterday, I transplanted the grass from under where the garden bed would be to the back corner of the yard where I could never get the seed to germinate. Hopefully it will dig in and survive there now. (I have reason to believe it will since the only three tufts of grass that were there previously were only there because I'd tossed them there after digging them up from somewhere else in the yard.) It will be nice to have lawn covering the entire yard finally. (FYI: Richard/Jenny... if you'd caught me 6 hours earlier, I'd probably have taken the sod and saved myself the work. :))
Also this week, our new laundry closet doors arrived. Dave yanked off the old ones yesterday, and I've pulled down the old track. We should be able to get the new ones up without too much hassle, and we'll finally be able to actually close the laundry closet all the way. It's going to look sooooo much better.
Today, was the trip to Home Depot for soil and such to fill the garden bed. Then, a side trip to finally see Alice in Wonderland in a theatre before we couldn't anymore (Pretty). And dumping the contents of the garden bed into the garden bed in shifts. (Open bag of stuff --> Dump bag of stuff --> Spread stuff in bed --> Go inside, have a drink, cool off and rest for a while --> Repeat.) I'm very excited! We'll have real vegetables and herbs growing in our backyard!
We need to have a party... have people over, barbecue, enjoy the yard, use the downstairs bathroom... all those cool things that weren't possible this time last year! Ah, but when? There's so much going on this summer, I'm just not sure we're going to find the time. But, I'll try.
Also this week, our new laundry closet doors arrived. Dave yanked off the old ones yesterday, and I've pulled down the old track. We should be able to get the new ones up without too much hassle, and we'll finally be able to actually close the laundry closet all the way. It's going to look sooooo much better.
Today, was the trip to Home Depot for soil and such to fill the garden bed. Then, a side trip to finally see Alice in Wonderland in a theatre before we couldn't anymore (Pretty). And dumping the contents of the garden bed into the garden bed in shifts. (Open bag of stuff --> Dump bag of stuff --> Spread stuff in bed --> Go inside, have a drink, cool off and rest for a while --> Repeat.) I'm very excited! We'll have real vegetables and herbs growing in our backyard!
We need to have a party... have people over, barbecue, enjoy the yard, use the downstairs bathroom... all those cool things that weren't possible this time last year! Ah, but when? There's so much going on this summer, I'm just not sure we're going to find the time. But, I'll try.
I've had issues trying to find a way to play with Cooper. The basic interactive human-dog games just don't seem to interest him. He doesn't chase balls. He doesn't tug. He prefers to play with his toys alone.
Finally, I found a toy that he and I can play with together. It's a mouse on a string attached to a fishing pole. Yep. A cat toy. He will chase that thing all around the house. Unfortunately, so will all the cats too, which makes it difficult to play with just Cooper, but hey, it's a start.
Finally, I found a toy that he and I can play with together. It's a mouse on a string attached to a fishing pole. Yep. A cat toy. He will chase that thing all around the house. Unfortunately, so will all the cats too, which makes it difficult to play with just Cooper, but hey, it's a start.
Well, Crud
May. 15th, 2010 01:51 pmMy new goal for the back yard has been to restore power so that a) electrical power tools can be plugged in outside instead of through the door and into the dining room, and b) I can explore new lighting and water design options.
So, I pulled out the dead outlet, which I know at some point suffered a terrible death by way of a metal object being poked into it. I know this because there's still a piece of that metal object sticking out of it. I was hoping that the dead outlet was the problem. However, my voltage detector couldn't find a lick of current even coming into the box. Which means something beyond my reach is preventing power from reaching those wires, and a new outlet isn't going to do me much good.
So now, I don't know what I should do. Either a) I find someone to fix the electrical problem surrounding the outlet, or b) I rig the porch light with a socket adapter to allow things to be plugged in up there.
GAH!
So, I pulled out the dead outlet, which I know at some point suffered a terrible death by way of a metal object being poked into it. I know this because there's still a piece of that metal object sticking out of it. I was hoping that the dead outlet was the problem. However, my voltage detector couldn't find a lick of current even coming into the box. Which means something beyond my reach is preventing power from reaching those wires, and a new outlet isn't going to do me much good.
So now, I don't know what I should do. Either a) I find someone to fix the electrical problem surrounding the outlet, or b) I rig the porch light with a socket adapter to allow things to be plugged in up there.
GAH!
There's Nature in my Yard!
May. 3rd, 2010 04:02 pmI'm really trying to make an effort with the back yard this year to make it a place where people would want to hang out. I fell in love with a bistro patio set last week, and am amazed at how much a difference having a place to sit out there makes. I'm also looking into some shade options for the patio, so there's some protection from the evil glowing thing in the sky.
What's got me going today is the flowers. Yesterday, Dave and I picked up some flowers to put in the flower box on the patio. We need some color out there. So, today, I got them planted. It's just a little thing, and a little bit of color, and I'm pretty sure that only one of the two types I got is going to survive with the amount of sun that corner of the yard gets (or doesn't), but what was really cool was that almost the moment I had those little bits of floral stuck into the dirt, a little bee came by and swooped in to check them out. Now, I'm really quite afraid of bees, so I backed away a safe distance. But at the same time, it was nice to see that little bit of nature at work in my backyard.
In other news, my little dwarf orange tree is almost waist high now. I think it's grown about a foot and a half since I put it in last fall. It had a few blossoms this year, but those are gone now and it's still to early to tell if there will actually be any fruit (even if there is, it probably won't be edible yet.)
The next task on my list is the raised garden bed. That'll be going in before the end of the month. Need to decide what to plant in it still.
There's still a little bit of clean up and organization needed out there. Need to clear out the "Trash" Shed so I can actually put our Green Waste container in there, and I need to clean all the dead leaves out of the "paved" cubby hole behind the shed so the trash and recycle bins can go there. And need to call the HOA and see about getting the shed and rear fence repaired so they don't fall down completely.
Lots to do. But it's all starting to come together.
What's got me going today is the flowers. Yesterday, Dave and I picked up some flowers to put in the flower box on the patio. We need some color out there. So, today, I got them planted. It's just a little thing, and a little bit of color, and I'm pretty sure that only one of the two types I got is going to survive with the amount of sun that corner of the yard gets (or doesn't), but what was really cool was that almost the moment I had those little bits of floral stuck into the dirt, a little bee came by and swooped in to check them out. Now, I'm really quite afraid of bees, so I backed away a safe distance. But at the same time, it was nice to see that little bit of nature at work in my backyard.
In other news, my little dwarf orange tree is almost waist high now. I think it's grown about a foot and a half since I put it in last fall. It had a few blossoms this year, but those are gone now and it's still to early to tell if there will actually be any fruit (even if there is, it probably won't be edible yet.)
The next task on my list is the raised garden bed. That'll be going in before the end of the month. Need to decide what to plant in it still.
There's still a little bit of clean up and organization needed out there. Need to clear out the "Trash" Shed so I can actually put our Green Waste container in there, and I need to clean all the dead leaves out of the "paved" cubby hole behind the shed so the trash and recycle bins can go there. And need to call the HOA and see about getting the shed and rear fence repaired so they don't fall down completely.
Lots to do. But it's all starting to come together.
Some weekends it's just safer to stay in.
Mar. 20th, 2010 04:04 pmSo, last night, we decided it would be fun to take Cooper to Rusch Park for his evening walk. As we got there, however, there was a mini SUV moving slowly in the parking lot ahead of us, then all of a sudden, a man appears out of nowhere and points a gun in the SUV's driver's side window. By the time I was able to see that the man with the gun was wearing a vest that said "POLICE," backup had arrived and a police car passed us on the right and stopped next to the SUV. We backed out of the parking lot slowly, and changed our plans.
Today, coming back from the dog park, I see all sorts of news vans and police cars on the street that runs behind (and leads into) our housing complex. Seems there was an incident involving gunfire and two officers were shot while attempting to question someone who had been causing a disturbance.
I'm really not sure if I want to leave the house again this weekend at this rate.
Today, coming back from the dog park, I see all sorts of news vans and police cars on the street that runs behind (and leads into) our housing complex. Seems there was an incident involving gunfire and two officers were shot while attempting to question someone who had been causing a disturbance.
I'm really not sure if I want to leave the house again this weekend at this rate.
The Results are In
Mar. 11th, 2010 08:35 amGot the results from Cooper's Breed DNA test today. It came back showing him 1/4 each Chihuaha, Miniature Pinscher, Shih Tzu and Golden Retriever.
Interesting.
Interesting.
It never fails
Mar. 7th, 2010 12:51 pmAs soon as we get a couple of nice lump sum injections of cash into our finances, enough to give us a good, safe buffer... first, the water heater dies, followed by a cat with a heart murmur needing lots of tests, followed promptly by the brakes, rotor & bearings on Dave's car requiring immediate attention, and the clutch on my car doing the same. Seriously world... this isn't funny.
Looks like Terri & Dave's "Yes, you can use the downstairs bathroom again!" party is going to be delayed until we can once again afford the plumber.
Looks like Terri & Dave's "Yes, you can use the downstairs bathroom again!" party is going to be delayed until we can once again afford the plumber.
Catsitting anyone?
Jan. 12th, 2010 05:28 pmLocal friends:
Dave and I are going to be out of town from Feb 13 through the 16th and need to find someone who can stop by the house twice a day (or two people to stop by once a day) to feed the cats and give Webber his pills (no cat wrestling required... he takes them hidden in a treat.)
Please let me know if you might be available to help us out.
Thanks!
Dave and I are going to be out of town from Feb 13 through the 16th and need to find someone who can stop by the house twice a day (or two people to stop by once a day) to feed the cats and give Webber his pills (no cat wrestling required... he takes them hidden in a treat.)
Please let me know if you might be available to help us out.
Thanks!
Support The Fight Against Breast Cancer
Oct. 14th, 2009 12:37 pmI'm walking this weekend in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer to raise awareness and funds toward research, also in support of my friend, co-worker, Making Strides teammate, and survivor, Sue.
Please help by making a contribution here:
Please help by making a contribution here:
Weekend Stuff
Aug. 30th, 2009 07:58 pmI love my job. I really do. But every now and then.. oy. Let's just say it's not been the best of weekends. Can I return it and get a different one?
However, in non work related news, Cooper had his first play-date with Ginny today, and it went quite well. After the initial barking and growling subsided, Coop decided it was ok to have Juli and Ginny in the house. We went out back so they could play in the grass for a while, but they mostly stayed in the shade. Ginny chased a ball a couple of times and Cooper watched her. He has no ball chasing instinct, so maybe he'll eventually figure it out if he sees Ginny do it enough. But, it was hot out and nobody really wanted to do anything, so we came back inside. That's when the fun began, and Cooper decided he really wanted to play chase games with Ginny. She was a little shy at first and didn't quite seem to know what to do with his overtures, but eventually she began responding, and they seemed to have a bit of fun chasing each other around the living room and dining room.
They get along quite well, and they're nicely compatible in size, so we can definitely do more of this sort of activity. It was a lot of fun watching them play. I'm looking forward to getting them together again.
However, in non work related news, Cooper had his first play-date with Ginny today, and it went quite well. After the initial barking and growling subsided, Coop decided it was ok to have Juli and Ginny in the house. We went out back so they could play in the grass for a while, but they mostly stayed in the shade. Ginny chased a ball a couple of times and Cooper watched her. He has no ball chasing instinct, so maybe he'll eventually figure it out if he sees Ginny do it enough. But, it was hot out and nobody really wanted to do anything, so we came back inside. That's when the fun began, and Cooper decided he really wanted to play chase games with Ginny. She was a little shy at first and didn't quite seem to know what to do with his overtures, but eventually she began responding, and they seemed to have a bit of fun chasing each other around the living room and dining room.
They get along quite well, and they're nicely compatible in size, so we can definitely do more of this sort of activity. It was a lot of fun watching them play. I'm looking forward to getting them together again.
Pet Drama!!!
Aug. 25th, 2009 03:09 pmWebber has stolen Cooper's bed. Cooper is distraught.
Mind you, this is the same bed that was originally Webber's, but he rarely used, so Boo claimed it, then was stolen from Boo on Friday.
They're just going to have to learn to share.
Mind you, this is the same bed that was originally Webber's, but he rarely used, so Boo claimed it, then was stolen from Boo on Friday.
They're just going to have to learn to share.
