Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Arggghhhhh!
I had a blog for here. I have, however, misplaced it. I think I must have accidentally deleted it.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Oops
Oh, for crying out loud!
So much for blogging every day. Of course, I already missed a day back in the beginning, so it really doesn't matter.
I don't mind and technically for me it is still Monday the 22nd because I just got home and haven't been to bed yet.
I was busy and wanted to leave for work early so I could take some pieces of miniature purple irises to a work friend. I did manage to get out of here early, dropped by the bank and headed to work. Just as I was leaving the bank I realized that I had forgotten to put the bags containing the rhizomes back in the car after vacuuming it yesterday. Oh well.
I'm looking forward to my days off. I'm hoping I can get more done outside and some stuff done in here, too. It's still too cold in the garage to even consider working out there. My hands cannot function anymore when they are as cold as they get when I'm out there.
Ok...tired of sitting. Going to lay down and check my games and get to sleep so I don't waste my day tomorrow (Tuesday) sleeping.
Lame blog. I don't care.
So much for blogging every day. Of course, I already missed a day back in the beginning, so it really doesn't matter.
I don't mind and technically for me it is still Monday the 22nd because I just got home and haven't been to bed yet.
I was busy and wanted to leave for work early so I could take some pieces of miniature purple irises to a work friend. I did manage to get out of here early, dropped by the bank and headed to work. Just as I was leaving the bank I realized that I had forgotten to put the bags containing the rhizomes back in the car after vacuuming it yesterday. Oh well.
I'm looking forward to my days off. I'm hoping I can get more done outside and some stuff done in here, too. It's still too cold in the garage to even consider working out there. My hands cannot function anymore when they are as cold as they get when I'm out there.
Ok...tired of sitting. Going to lay down and check my games and get to sleep so I don't waste my day tomorrow (Tuesday) sleeping.
Lame blog. I don't care.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
What I've been doing in the yard. (Thank you Spring 1)
This is what our sky looks like the last few days. Some of the deciduous trees are starting to bloom, but most of them are still pretty bare. It is technically still winter! My quince is starting to "pink up" though. I didn't take a picture of it because it is in the shade, but here are some trees against the sky.
It's been so nice and I've been super enjoying getting out and getting things done. I am in the process of widening my driveway up near the house and making a gravel walkway so that no one has to get muddy or wet coming into the house from either direction. It's a lot of work to do by hand, but it is also very good exercise. I will use a small bulldozer for the other side of the driveway, but this area needs to be done by hand.
These are my trusty tools.
I wanted to gravel in the area by this rhody because it will be
too small for the mower when I'm done.
The gravel around the rhody bush.
This area will be lined with those retaining bricks
they have now that stack easily. The lower part will be
part of the driveway and allow two cars to park side by side there.
There used to be flower bed here up against the porch to match
the cement circled flower bed on on the other side, but I decided to
eliminate it and will just use a couple of pots there instead.
The bigger picture so you can see how much ground I
have dug out and lowered and how it looked before. At the
back of the picture is the dirt pile from what I've excavated
and the front is the gravel going down when I'm done. Everything
grassy in this picture will be dug out and graveled.
This just shows the edge that will be behind the
retaining bricks.
It's been so nice and I've been super enjoying getting out and getting things done. I am in the process of widening my driveway up near the house and making a gravel walkway so that no one has to get muddy or wet coming into the house from either direction. It's a lot of work to do by hand, but it is also very good exercise. I will use a small bulldozer for the other side of the driveway, but this area needs to be done by hand.
These are my trusty tools.
I wanted to gravel in the area by this rhody because it will be
too small for the mower when I'm done.
The gravel around the rhody bush.
This area will be lined with those retaining bricks
they have now that stack easily. The lower part will be
part of the driveway and allow two cars to park side by side there.
There used to be flower bed here up against the porch to match
the cement circled flower bed on on the other side, but I decided to
eliminate it and will just use a couple of pots there instead.
The bigger picture so you can see how much ground I
have dug out and lowered and how it looked before. At the
back of the picture is the dirt pile from what I've excavated
and the front is the gravel going down when I'm done. Everything
grassy in this picture will be dug out and graveled.
This just shows the edge that will be behind the
retaining bricks.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
7 minutes.
I have seven minutes to write a blog. Oh, wait. Now I only have six. It's a beautiful day and I have a little bit of spring fever. I so hope the weather is like this when I have my 2 off, 1 on, 6 off week. It will be 8 days off with one work day stuck in there because my days off changed after I already asked for a vacation. I added one day to give myself the 6 days but didn't want to add two days to give myself 9 days. I'm trying to save up so I can take a trip to Saskatchewan later this summer.
It is just gorgeous out right now. Sunny and fairly warm.
I didn't get to work outside today, though, because I had to take Tony to the Greyhound station to catch his bus, and then mom and I went and had lunch.
I have two minutes left.
How about a random picture? How about three? Did I ever show you these?
The first two are my mom with a polar bear. He's fake, of course. Remember Grr and Ginger? Two of the little terrorists aka our kittens? Well, this polar bear lives in their new home with them. Their new owners had quite the home. I super enjoyed visiting with her when we took the kitties. I think mom and I were there over an hour.
This is a stump. It looks like a mushroom to me. The owner told me they just stuck that roof there to keep it off the ground. I told her they should leave it because it makes a cute little mushroom in their forest.
Well, that's all I have and I'm six minutes into my "get ready" time, so I better go!
It is just gorgeous out right now. Sunny and fairly warm.
I didn't get to work outside today, though, because I had to take Tony to the Greyhound station to catch his bus, and then mom and I went and had lunch.
I have two minutes left.
How about a random picture? How about three? Did I ever show you these?
The first two are my mom with a polar bear. He's fake, of course. Remember Grr and Ginger? Two of the little terrorists aka our kittens? Well, this polar bear lives in their new home with them. Their new owners had quite the home. I super enjoyed visiting with her when we took the kitties. I think mom and I were there over an hour.
This is a stump. It looks like a mushroom to me. The owner told me they just stuck that roof there to keep it off the ground. I told her they should leave it because it makes a cute little mushroom in their forest.
Well, that's all I have and I'm six minutes into my "get ready" time, so I better go!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tying bags.
Tony has a serious addiction to bags. I wish I had a picture to illustrate. When I first met him he worked at a retirement home in California. His "quarters" were in the laundry room of the home where he had a bed shoved up against the wall and not a heck of a lot else. He had plastic grocery bags hanging all over the walls on various nails and hooks and on whatever doorknobs or other hanging objects he could find. He had just about everything he owned in plastic grocery bags. What wasn't in the grocery bags was in plastic bins used for soap or kitty litter. I figured it was because he had no dresser or other place to keep his stuff. When he first moved up here to stay with us, he brought most of his bags, bins and backpacks. That is when I realized it had nothing to do with dressers or the lack of them.
All of a sudden my front porch was a collection of grocery bags hanging around from any hook or nail he saw and even hanging from the walking stick and the arms of the park bench. I had seen a picture of his house in the Phillipines and there were bags hanging all over the fence and porch wall. We had a little talk and I explained to him that this isn't the Phillipines and that I do not want bags hanging all over the place. I bought him a little garbage can that looked like a cute little animal so he could put his trash in that and told him the rest needed to go in the house. He tried, but he just doesn't get it.
One day I went out to clean and vacuum the front porch and he had filled the little garbage bin with all kinds of things, but not garbage. He had nail clippers, a mustache brush, a lighter, some glue, scissors, his phone cards, a bus schedule, a mirror, tweezers, and I can't remember what all else. He had three bags with garbage and newspapers and some other personal stuff out there. I explained to him that I bought the trash bin for his trash so that he didn't have to leave a grocery bag lying around to blow away. I won't try to figure out how many times we had that conversation, but I finally threw the little garbage thingy out because I was tired of him not getting it.
I resigned myself to a grocery bag used on the front porch for garbage and we made an agreement that at least he would dispose of the bags in a timely manner whether they had achieved fullness or not. I also got him to agree to bring all other personal stuff into the house. He agreed, but never complied. I think he thought the front porch was his personal sitting room. I gave up.
The bag fetish continues, however. This last time when he left to go on the ships I had him pack most of his stuff up because he had taken up residence in the little "storage room". I planned on moving into the storage room myself while he was gone so that I could work on my bedroom. Besides, the bed in here is sooooooooo comfortable. I'm not sure I want to move back into my bedroom. But that is beside the subject.
He packed all his stuff in boxes for me before he left. I told him I would transfer it to plastic bins after he left. When I went to unpack and repack the stuff he had over 50 plastic grocery bags packed away with his stuff. These were not bags filled with stuff. These were EMPTY grocery bags from various stores that he had apparently collected over the months while he was waiting for a ship. In addition to that, everything he owned, except his backpacks, was wrapped in one or more of these bags. If, for instance, he had packed a pair of shoes he would wrap each shoe in a grocery bag and then place both wrapped shoes together in another grocery bag. All the bags were neatly tied shut, of course. Bag FETISH. Really!
I did not pack the empty grocery bags in the plastic bins when I repacked his stuff. I took them out to give to my niece. She works at a food bank and they can always use bags. However, in the meantime, Tony came back and I still had them sitting there in a box to go to my niece. He packed up a couple of boxes to go to the Phillipines. He is leaving this weekend and will be there for 90 days, so he is taking all that stuff that was packed here and leaving only his bag that he takes when he goes on the ships. Believe it or not he has used up more than half of those bags to pack his stuff and that was a LOT of bags. Never mind most of his stuff was already in bags. Never mind most of it is also still in its original wrapping from the store. Everything is in a bag. (or two bags, or three bags) I tease him about this daily. I told him he has a bag fetish, but he doesn't know what fetish means. I told him, "you are in love with plastic grocery bags!" He said, "Oh, they are so useful!" Haha. He's crazy!
Every morning, when he is here, I wake up to the sound of zippers, velcro, and those bags being opened and shut. He keeps everything in his backpack in those bags. Tony loves little compartments. So, for instance, if he checks his blood sugar, gets out his medicine, clips his nails, eats some of his crackers, and checks the bus schedule it is three different velcro pockets, a zipper pocket and four bags that have to be opened and shut again. To him it is as normal as you going into the bathroom and opening your medicine chest. I think it is because he lives on the ships, although they have little apartments with dressers and a bathroom for each person. I don't have any proof, but I bet he never uses the dressers or the medicine cabinet on the ships. I imagine he just keeps his bags and backpacks handy and lives out of them like he does here. I have tried and tried to get him to keep his medicine up out of reach in the medicine cabinet. It just doesn't get through to him. OBLIVIOUS. He is completely oblivious. I just make sure I know which one contains the medicines so if the kids are here I can put it up where it is out of reach.
Tony is a very simple person. He has no idea his simplicity drives me nuts. I get so irritated sometimes, but that same simplicity that drives me nuts completely disarms me when I want to be mad. It's not so much that it's kind of cute, it's more that he is really completely OBLIVIOUS to the obvious. Bags are a friend to him. They are an enemy to me. Do you realize how fast they can build up and take over? Yet, to him that "build up" is a welcome thing. I sincerely doubt he could ever get "too many" plastic grocery bags. And I sincerely believe that he could find a way to fill each and every one of them. Crazy!
The man loves to fill up pockets, pouches, backpacks and bags. If you don't believe me, look at this picture. See the pocketed vest under his coat? See the pocket on his pants leg? He loves bags and pockets!
He found this pocketed vest at a thrift store. I think it's a fishing vest. It has at least a dozen pockets. When he is looking for something in it, it seems more like a hundred pockets. He forgets which pocket he used for which item and digs through all of them until he finds the item. I could hate this vest because he never washes it (he would have to empty it, haha) and the only time he is not wearing it is when he is asleep. He has something in each and every one of these pockets and he wears this thing everywhere.
All of a sudden my front porch was a collection of grocery bags hanging around from any hook or nail he saw and even hanging from the walking stick and the arms of the park bench. I had seen a picture of his house in the Phillipines and there were bags hanging all over the fence and porch wall. We had a little talk and I explained to him that this isn't the Phillipines and that I do not want bags hanging all over the place. I bought him a little garbage can that looked like a cute little animal so he could put his trash in that and told him the rest needed to go in the house. He tried, but he just doesn't get it.
One day I went out to clean and vacuum the front porch and he had filled the little garbage bin with all kinds of things, but not garbage. He had nail clippers, a mustache brush, a lighter, some glue, scissors, his phone cards, a bus schedule, a mirror, tweezers, and I can't remember what all else. He had three bags with garbage and newspapers and some other personal stuff out there. I explained to him that I bought the trash bin for his trash so that he didn't have to leave a grocery bag lying around to blow away. I won't try to figure out how many times we had that conversation, but I finally threw the little garbage thingy out because I was tired of him not getting it.
I resigned myself to a grocery bag used on the front porch for garbage and we made an agreement that at least he would dispose of the bags in a timely manner whether they had achieved fullness or not. I also got him to agree to bring all other personal stuff into the house. He agreed, but never complied. I think he thought the front porch was his personal sitting room. I gave up.
The bag fetish continues, however. This last time when he left to go on the ships I had him pack most of his stuff up because he had taken up residence in the little "storage room". I planned on moving into the storage room myself while he was gone so that I could work on my bedroom. Besides, the bed in here is sooooooooo comfortable. I'm not sure I want to move back into my bedroom. But that is beside the subject.
He packed all his stuff in boxes for me before he left. I told him I would transfer it to plastic bins after he left. When I went to unpack and repack the stuff he had over 50 plastic grocery bags packed away with his stuff. These were not bags filled with stuff. These were EMPTY grocery bags from various stores that he had apparently collected over the months while he was waiting for a ship. In addition to that, everything he owned, except his backpacks, was wrapped in one or more of these bags. If, for instance, he had packed a pair of shoes he would wrap each shoe in a grocery bag and then place both wrapped shoes together in another grocery bag. All the bags were neatly tied shut, of course. Bag FETISH. Really!
I did not pack the empty grocery bags in the plastic bins when I repacked his stuff. I took them out to give to my niece. She works at a food bank and they can always use bags. However, in the meantime, Tony came back and I still had them sitting there in a box to go to my niece. He packed up a couple of boxes to go to the Phillipines. He is leaving this weekend and will be there for 90 days, so he is taking all that stuff that was packed here and leaving only his bag that he takes when he goes on the ships. Believe it or not he has used up more than half of those bags to pack his stuff and that was a LOT of bags. Never mind most of his stuff was already in bags. Never mind most of it is also still in its original wrapping from the store. Everything is in a bag. (or two bags, or three bags) I tease him about this daily. I told him he has a bag fetish, but he doesn't know what fetish means. I told him, "you are in love with plastic grocery bags!" He said, "Oh, they are so useful!" Haha. He's crazy!
Every morning, when he is here, I wake up to the sound of zippers, velcro, and those bags being opened and shut. He keeps everything in his backpack in those bags. Tony loves little compartments. So, for instance, if he checks his blood sugar, gets out his medicine, clips his nails, eats some of his crackers, and checks the bus schedule it is three different velcro pockets, a zipper pocket and four bags that have to be opened and shut again. To him it is as normal as you going into the bathroom and opening your medicine chest. I think it is because he lives on the ships, although they have little apartments with dressers and a bathroom for each person. I don't have any proof, but I bet he never uses the dressers or the medicine cabinet on the ships. I imagine he just keeps his bags and backpacks handy and lives out of them like he does here. I have tried and tried to get him to keep his medicine up out of reach in the medicine cabinet. It just doesn't get through to him. OBLIVIOUS. He is completely oblivious. I just make sure I know which one contains the medicines so if the kids are here I can put it up where it is out of reach.
Tony is a very simple person. He has no idea his simplicity drives me nuts. I get so irritated sometimes, but that same simplicity that drives me nuts completely disarms me when I want to be mad. It's not so much that it's kind of cute, it's more that he is really completely OBLIVIOUS to the obvious. Bags are a friend to him. They are an enemy to me. Do you realize how fast they can build up and take over? Yet, to him that "build up" is a welcome thing. I sincerely doubt he could ever get "too many" plastic grocery bags. And I sincerely believe that he could find a way to fill each and every one of them. Crazy!
The man loves to fill up pockets, pouches, backpacks and bags. If you don't believe me, look at this picture. See the pocketed vest under his coat? See the pocket on his pants leg? He loves bags and pockets!
He found this pocketed vest at a thrift store. I think it's a fishing vest. It has at least a dozen pockets. When he is looking for something in it, it seems more like a hundred pockets. He forgets which pocket he used for which item and digs through all of them until he finds the item. I could hate this vest because he never washes it (he would have to empty it, haha) and the only time he is not wearing it is when he is asleep. He has something in each and every one of these pockets and he wears this thing everywhere.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Mahal Kita Kasi is my new favorite song!
Why did I decide to blog everyday again? I'm not feeling it today at all. haha.
I have a song I can share. I love, love, love this song. It's a nice little feel good song and I love to sing in Tagalog, so I am learning it. I don't know if I can get it for my karaoke or not, but I want to try.
Mahal Kita Kasi (Because I love you)
I have a song I can share. I love, love, love this song. It's a nice little feel good song and I love to sing in Tagalog, so I am learning it. I don't know if I can get it for my karaoke or not, but I want to try.
Mahal Kita Kasi (Because I love you)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sewing fun.
This dress has ties. How's that? I always wanted to make a "Daisy Kingdom" dress for someone and so I made this one for Rhyan. I love the Daisy Kingdom dresses, but most of them are totally impractical for everyday use. They are so adorable, though, and pretty easy to make. Rhyan did wear this one a couple of times and she loved it. I think she still has it.
Seeing it makes me want to go try another one. Hmmmm...I'll have to think about that.
I made this Daisy Kingdom outfit for Mikaila a few years ago when she was here for the summer. It has ties, too, at the bottom of the pants leg, but I think it's more fun making the dresses.
Seeing it makes me want to go try another one. Hmmmm...I'll have to think about that.
I made this Daisy Kingdom outfit for Mikaila a few years ago when she was here for the summer. It has ties, too, at the bottom of the pants leg, but I think it's more fun making the dresses.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Nothing to do with ties. At all.
Every time I look at this picture I laugh. They look like they are on a mission. They probably are on a mission to find the two older boys that were also at this party and make some mischief. You know how kids are! haha.
That's all I have today because I kept falling asleep.
That's all I have today because I kept falling asleep.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's Day
After work last night I went to the airport and picked up Tony. He wanted to go to Muckleshoot Casino to eat and play a little. I didn't get to bed until 7am this morning and got up at 10 and now I have to go to work and I'm tired and a little cranky. It was fun and the food was good and I can always enjoy spending money that isn't my own, but it was crazy crowded with lots of folks who were dressed to the nines for Valentine's Day. (translation=looked pretty trampy)
It's not that I think dressing up is wrong, but at least be aware of your body type and size. Skin tight, in my humble opinion, really doesn't look good on anyone, but it especially doesn't look good if you weigh over 150 pounds. I am always amazed at what appears to be an extreme mirror shortage. I can't imagine have a big booty and huge thighs and putting on a skin tight skirt that barely covers my butt and looking in the mirror and saying, "WOW...I look really hot!"
If I am offending anyone in saying that...hmmmm
I don't care! It's ridiculous what some people wear. Just because someone designs a fashion doesn't mean it is fit to be worn. And who decides to make some of these items in a size 5x?
The other thing that really got my attention was the fact that going out for Valentine's Day just to meet that "obligatory" expectation of the mass marketers in the world is really stupid, especially if you don't really get along and are trying to what? Better the relationship? Ha. Get real. I saw more people fighting last night than getting along. Of course, the majority of them had been drinking, but the point is...hmmmm
I guess I really don't have a point. It just made me really glad that I don't have anyone to have to provide me obligatory romance on a specific day just to please the marketing gods. I would rather have someone who loves me every day in little ways than all the hoopla I saw going on last night in the name of Valentine's Day.
Of course, I have neither, but that's ok with me.
It's just another day in the year. The only thing I really like about it is the little chalky valentine hearts. I will go buy some tomorrow when they are half price!
It's not that I think dressing up is wrong, but at least be aware of your body type and size. Skin tight, in my humble opinion, really doesn't look good on anyone, but it especially doesn't look good if you weigh over 150 pounds. I am always amazed at what appears to be an extreme mirror shortage. I can't imagine have a big booty and huge thighs and putting on a skin tight skirt that barely covers my butt and looking in the mirror and saying, "WOW...I look really hot!"
If I am offending anyone in saying that...hmmmm
I don't care! It's ridiculous what some people wear. Just because someone designs a fashion doesn't mean it is fit to be worn. And who decides to make some of these items in a size 5x?
The other thing that really got my attention was the fact that going out for Valentine's Day just to meet that "obligatory" expectation of the mass marketers in the world is really stupid, especially if you don't really get along and are trying to what? Better the relationship? Ha. Get real. I saw more people fighting last night than getting along. Of course, the majority of them had been drinking, but the point is...hmmmm
I guess I really don't have a point. It just made me really glad that I don't have anyone to have to provide me obligatory romance on a specific day just to please the marketing gods. I would rather have someone who loves me every day in little ways than all the hoopla I saw going on last night in the name of Valentine's Day.
Of course, I have neither, but that's ok with me.
It's just another day in the year. The only thing I really like about it is the little chalky valentine hearts. I will go buy some tomorrow when they are half price!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Fairy dress.
Cheryl and I got a late start today for breakfast and went to lunch instead, so I don't have time to compose anything too involved. The theme this month is ties which I don't have, but I do have these two pictures of the Fairy costume I made for Mikaila when she was little and it is made of (expensive) ribbons, among other things and you can tie ribbons into bows. So I guess that is close enough! haha.
As a side note:
Mikaila used to love to dress up. She loved silky fabrics and when I would take her to the fabric store she would pet all the silky fabrics and beg me to buy them for her. I did occasionally buy remnants for her. I hate sewing on silkies so I would make a cotton yoke and attach the silky to it and we were both happy. She only wore them around the house anyway and when she tired of them I just cut them apart and put the silky away and attached a new one. She loved to dress up, which is why I decided to make two of these lovely Fairy dresses, one for her and one for Rhyan. (I will try to find the pics of Rhyan in hers and post those on another day.) Mikaila loved this dress, but she told me in the most sincere voice a three year old could muster, "I can't wear this dress, Grandma, because it isn't real clothes."
She did like to go look at it everyday, though, and pet it. Kids are so weird! LOL.
Excuse the poor picture quality. They didn't scan well on my old scanner and I haven't scanned them on the new one, yet. They are just snapshots, anyway. I obviously didn't try for an uncluttered background and such. It's my mom there on the phone. haha
As a side note:
Mikaila used to love to dress up. She loved silky fabrics and when I would take her to the fabric store she would pet all the silky fabrics and beg me to buy them for her. I did occasionally buy remnants for her. I hate sewing on silkies so I would make a cotton yoke and attach the silky to it and we were both happy. She only wore them around the house anyway and when she tired of them I just cut them apart and put the silky away and attached a new one. She loved to dress up, which is why I decided to make two of these lovely Fairy dresses, one for her and one for Rhyan. (I will try to find the pics of Rhyan in hers and post those on another day.) Mikaila loved this dress, but she told me in the most sincere voice a three year old could muster, "I can't wear this dress, Grandma, because it isn't real clothes."
She did like to go look at it everyday, though, and pet it. Kids are so weird! LOL.
Excuse the poor picture quality. They didn't scan well on my old scanner and I haven't scanned them on the new one, yet. They are just snapshots, anyway. I obviously didn't try for an uncluttered background and such. It's my mom there on the phone. haha
Friday, February 12, 2010
Cable ties.
Cable ties are a nice solution to a myriad of problems. I especially like the fact that they come in all sizes and can be used for all kinds of things. I personally think they are a great invention and I love them for the fact that they can corral all the wiring from my computer or stereo system in a neat little package that makes life easier when cleaning and moving things. It also keeps me from kicking the wires out from the plugs.
I really like them for securing things to my bird cages and in need they can even secure the door to the bird cage. While a bird could effectively chew through them, they do work for temporary door holders.
They can be used inside the engine compartment of a car to hold hoses and wires. I've seen them used to hang things from ceiling grids and curtain rods. They can be used in gardening to hold things to a fence or stake. Such a simple little invention with so many uses. I have seen that they even now have cable ties in a large version that are used as handcuffs. I'm not sure how effective they are in this capacity, but I have seen them used and they seemed to work pretty well.
Here is a pretty unusual use for them. They are being used as a necklace, although it doesn't look very comfortable to me. I think I will stick to the more traditional use for now.
I really like them for securing things to my bird cages and in need they can even secure the door to the bird cage. While a bird could effectively chew through them, they do work for temporary door holders.
They can be used inside the engine compartment of a car to hold hoses and wires. I've seen them used to hang things from ceiling grids and curtain rods. They can be used in gardening to hold things to a fence or stake. Such a simple little invention with so many uses. I have seen that they even now have cable ties in a large version that are used as handcuffs. I'm not sure how effective they are in this capacity, but I have seen them used and they seemed to work pretty well.
Here is a pretty unusual use for them. They are being used as a necklace, although it doesn't look very comfortable to me. I think I will stick to the more traditional use for now.
Ties
I forgot to post a blog yesterday. It was a busy day for me and then I went to David's in the evening. My plan was to write it when I got back home, but I forgot. It's ok, really. I'm not in this for prizes or recognition anyway. I just like the challenge of writing everyday. If I join the monthly challenge I have more incentive and the daily writing is good for me even when I don't really have anything to say. It's not important to me that it gets read, although I do sincerely appreciate my regular readers and occasional comments.
Yesterday I spent most of the day putting my kitchen back together and figuring out things that have been on the back burner. I finally remembered to phone Comcast and have them come out to look at my phone. The repairman came bright and early in the morning. After some trouble shooting he determined that the problem was with the wiring running to the jack in the living room. He just disconnected that wiring and now the phone is clear as a bell and no issues. I can rewire it later this summer or if I don't feel like it, Comcast will do it for 21 dollars. While I'm at it, I will also have one run into the garage so we can have one of our four handsets out there. It is nice to have a house phone again.
Once he left I started rearranging some things in the kitchen. I really have no place for bags of chips, cookies and seaweed or boxes of crackers and snacky things. While I personally do not use chips, crackers and cookies much, Jeren does. He packs a lunch daily which usually consists of a sandwich and bag of chips. When he gets home from work he likes to snack. I like seaweed and buy it in the value packages which are much like a chip bag. I just don't have enough cupboard space. I bought two pantries, but I'm using the one for the soap and stuff for the washer and the other one holds the bird stuff and miscellaneous household items like light bulbs, candles, extension cords and flashlights. So I'm rearranging things to be able to use the "soap" pantry for boxed and bagged snacky items.
One thing that has bothered me for a long time is the drawer on my dryer's pedestal. When I bought my washer and dryer I got coupons to get a free sliding shelf to use with the drawer in the pedestal. I sent away for them and when they came I tried to use them both, but the dryer one won't fit. I finally got around to figuring out why. It's simple. They used the wrong rails for the drawer slide so it doesn't fit up into the little recess like it should which makes the drawer ride too high. If I could use the shelf it would help me with that aforementioned rearranging of items so I want it fixed.
I called my local Maytag person (where I bought the set), figuring I could just exchange the wrong rails for the right ones. After all, I'm not the one who put them together. The one that is wrong was a store model that they gave me because the one pedestal came damaged, so they ran back to the store and brought me the already assembled one. They are who assembled it incorrectly in the first place. I didn't think it would be a big deal. I'm not just getting parts. I'm exchanging incorrect parts for correct parts.
My warranty is, of course, expired. This, however, is not a warranty issue. This is not a part that has broken and needs repair. This is a part that was INCORRECTLY installed at the shop. Because it was a shop model I am sure it didn't matter that it was the incorrect rail. After all, no one is going to use it and they didn't have a need to use the shelf.
I explained all that to them, but they didn't want to hear it. Never mind the recording on their phone says they want to keep their customers "for life". I haven't pointed that out to them, yet.
I might have to take myself down to the store and explain that to them with parts in hand. I don't think I am going to take no for an answer on this issue. I understand that it's been more than a year and I understand that it's not under warranty. I also know that the parts that are on it (the incorrect rails) can still be used. They are not damaged in any way and work fine to slide the drawer in and out. They simply do not fit the cut out that allows the drawer to drop low enough to hold the shelf. They are not the same width as the correct ones and the tab that needs to drop into the cutout is in the wrong place. The screw leaves no room for adjustment, so I cannot even adjust it to the right spot. I just want to EXCHANGE them for the correct part.
I am going to call Maytag today and try to see what they can do for me but it annoys me that a business that "wants to keep me coming back for life" really doesn't when it come to customer satisfaction.
I also finally sat down to figure out just what is going on with my old laptop's screen. I realized yesterday after hooking it up to an external monitor and "cloning" the display onto the laptop that there is a picture there. It actually came up and stayed on for almost five minutes when I messed with the settings. Unfortunately I didn't write down my steps so I'm not sure which step brought it to life and I've been unable to duplicate it, although I can clearly see the screen under the darkness. I've been doing some reading about possible issues and will probably try to take it apart later today and see if it is the inverter or the backlight or just some loose wiring. Since it displayed fine for that almost five minutes, I'm leaning toward it being loose wiring. There is a little area of the lid that is "coming apart". By that I mean there is a separation and the screw is stripped and I cannot tighten it. Maybe it has pinched a wire. I will check it out later today or maybe tomorrow. We will see how my day goes. I still have a lot of other things to do, including thinking of and writing another blog, since this is really "yesterday's blog." haha.
So yesterday was basically tying up a bunch of loose ends and moving myself closer to my goal of having "free time". That's about the only way I can relate this to ties.
Going to go get busy now.
Yesterday I spent most of the day putting my kitchen back together and figuring out things that have been on the back burner. I finally remembered to phone Comcast and have them come out to look at my phone. The repairman came bright and early in the morning. After some trouble shooting he determined that the problem was with the wiring running to the jack in the living room. He just disconnected that wiring and now the phone is clear as a bell and no issues. I can rewire it later this summer or if I don't feel like it, Comcast will do it for 21 dollars. While I'm at it, I will also have one run into the garage so we can have one of our four handsets out there. It is nice to have a house phone again.
Once he left I started rearranging some things in the kitchen. I really have no place for bags of chips, cookies and seaweed or boxes of crackers and snacky things. While I personally do not use chips, crackers and cookies much, Jeren does. He packs a lunch daily which usually consists of a sandwich and bag of chips. When he gets home from work he likes to snack. I like seaweed and buy it in the value packages which are much like a chip bag. I just don't have enough cupboard space. I bought two pantries, but I'm using the one for the soap and stuff for the washer and the other one holds the bird stuff and miscellaneous household items like light bulbs, candles, extension cords and flashlights. So I'm rearranging things to be able to use the "soap" pantry for boxed and bagged snacky items.
One thing that has bothered me for a long time is the drawer on my dryer's pedestal. When I bought my washer and dryer I got coupons to get a free sliding shelf to use with the drawer in the pedestal. I sent away for them and when they came I tried to use them both, but the dryer one won't fit. I finally got around to figuring out why. It's simple. They used the wrong rails for the drawer slide so it doesn't fit up into the little recess like it should which makes the drawer ride too high. If I could use the shelf it would help me with that aforementioned rearranging of items so I want it fixed.
I called my local Maytag person (where I bought the set), figuring I could just exchange the wrong rails for the right ones. After all, I'm not the one who put them together. The one that is wrong was a store model that they gave me because the one pedestal came damaged, so they ran back to the store and brought me the already assembled one. They are who assembled it incorrectly in the first place. I didn't think it would be a big deal. I'm not just getting parts. I'm exchanging incorrect parts for correct parts.
My warranty is, of course, expired. This, however, is not a warranty issue. This is not a part that has broken and needs repair. This is a part that was INCORRECTLY installed at the shop. Because it was a shop model I am sure it didn't matter that it was the incorrect rail. After all, no one is going to use it and they didn't have a need to use the shelf.
I explained all that to them, but they didn't want to hear it. Never mind the recording on their phone says they want to keep their customers "for life". I haven't pointed that out to them, yet.
I might have to take myself down to the store and explain that to them with parts in hand. I don't think I am going to take no for an answer on this issue. I understand that it's been more than a year and I understand that it's not under warranty. I also know that the parts that are on it (the incorrect rails) can still be used. They are not damaged in any way and work fine to slide the drawer in and out. They simply do not fit the cut out that allows the drawer to drop low enough to hold the shelf. They are not the same width as the correct ones and the tab that needs to drop into the cutout is in the wrong place. The screw leaves no room for adjustment, so I cannot even adjust it to the right spot. I just want to EXCHANGE them for the correct part.
I am going to call Maytag today and try to see what they can do for me but it annoys me that a business that "wants to keep me coming back for life" really doesn't when it come to customer satisfaction.
I also finally sat down to figure out just what is going on with my old laptop's screen. I realized yesterday after hooking it up to an external monitor and "cloning" the display onto the laptop that there is a picture there. It actually came up and stayed on for almost five minutes when I messed with the settings. Unfortunately I didn't write down my steps so I'm not sure which step brought it to life and I've been unable to duplicate it, although I can clearly see the screen under the darkness. I've been doing some reading about possible issues and will probably try to take it apart later today and see if it is the inverter or the backlight or just some loose wiring. Since it displayed fine for that almost five minutes, I'm leaning toward it being loose wiring. There is a little area of the lid that is "coming apart". By that I mean there is a separation and the screw is stripped and I cannot tighten it. Maybe it has pinched a wire. I will check it out later today or maybe tomorrow. We will see how my day goes. I still have a lot of other things to do, including thinking of and writing another blog, since this is really "yesterday's blog." haha.
So yesterday was basically tying up a bunch of loose ends and moving myself closer to my goal of having "free time". That's about the only way I can relate this to ties.
Going to go get busy now.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Ties that bind.
I got my new stove today! It was pretty exciting.
They parked the truck out on the road and pulled the stoves out right there. (mine and my mom's).
I watched as they very quickly sliced open the boxes, ripped off the corner protectors and tape and set about cleaning out and off all the packing materials. They quickly loosened the back, hooked up the pigtails and tightened them back up. They cleaned up as they went, throwing all the packing materials back into the truck. I saw one of them get the dolly and went and opened the back door. To my surprise he put the dolly back down and jumped out of the truck with a nylon strap that looked somewhat like a tow strap to me.
The other guy came around and they each took one end of the strap and quickly threw their shoulders into them. One had it on his right shoulder and one on his left. Next thing I knew they lifted up the stove that was coming to my house and put the middle of the strap under it and lifted up and started walking toward the house. There they were, tied together with the stove in the middle walking into the house and presto!
It was so slick and easy and hardly any maneuvering. They fit right through the door. It was easy as pie for them to walk up the stairs with the stove suspended between them. I didn't have to take the door off. There was no bulky dolly in the way while they installed the stove and it took very little time compared to working a dolly across my yard and driveway (which is gravel) and up the porch steps and up the step into the doorway to get through the door.
What will they think of next. When I went online to see if I could get a picture I found that there are two systems like this. One is the Shoulder Dolly, which is the one my delivery men used today. The other one is similar, but uses the forearms. It is called the Forearm Forklift. It's a cheesy commercial on the site, but it makes me want to buy one just to see if my son and I can really move our spinet piano with them.
They parked the truck out on the road and pulled the stoves out right there. (mine and my mom's).
I watched as they very quickly sliced open the boxes, ripped off the corner protectors and tape and set about cleaning out and off all the packing materials. They quickly loosened the back, hooked up the pigtails and tightened them back up. They cleaned up as they went, throwing all the packing materials back into the truck. I saw one of them get the dolly and went and opened the back door. To my surprise he put the dolly back down and jumped out of the truck with a nylon strap that looked somewhat like a tow strap to me.
The other guy came around and they each took one end of the strap and quickly threw their shoulders into them. One had it on his right shoulder and one on his left. Next thing I knew they lifted up the stove that was coming to my house and put the middle of the strap under it and lifted up and started walking toward the house. There they were, tied together with the stove in the middle walking into the house and presto!
It was so slick and easy and hardly any maneuvering. They fit right through the door. It was easy as pie for them to walk up the stairs with the stove suspended between them. I didn't have to take the door off. There was no bulky dolly in the way while they installed the stove and it took very little time compared to working a dolly across my yard and driveway (which is gravel) and up the porch steps and up the step into the doorway to get through the door.
What will they think of next. When I went online to see if I could get a picture I found that there are two systems like this. One is the Shoulder Dolly, which is the one my delivery men used today. The other one is similar, but uses the forearms. It is called the Forearm Forklift. It's a cheesy commercial on the site, but it makes me want to buy one just to see if my son and I can really move our spinet piano with them.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Why oh Why?
Why did I sign up for another month of posting every day. I like the challenge because it forces me to think up things to write about and helps me keep writing which I love. I hate the fact that I sometimes get busy with my day and forget to think about my blog and so I don't have any material ready to use. Today is one of those days, although it wasn't a particularly productive day. I was just busy doing nothing for most of the day.
I want to figure out a way to get Facebook to give me back the ability to quickly access all my Farmville or Cafe World updates in one section. I miss being able to just view and click on the ones I want to use without having to wade through all my updates. I miss being able to just get the updates separately so that I could read and comment quickly. When I get home at night I like to browse around and comment and play my games, but I like to get the updates and do all the "work" of facebook right away so if I get sleepy I have what I want. This is especially true because some of the updates expire. I wish they would give us more control over our pages and how we interact with the information on them. I miss the way Myspace worked with friends and such. I still have my Myspace, but most people don't use theirs anymore so it's just not the same.
This in no way goes along with the theme, ties, but at least I have the word in my blog, which was one of my goals for this month's theme.
Ok...going to go get ready for my Friday.
I want to figure out a way to get Facebook to give me back the ability to quickly access all my Farmville or Cafe World updates in one section. I miss being able to just view and click on the ones I want to use without having to wade through all my updates. I miss being able to just get the updates separately so that I could read and comment quickly. When I get home at night I like to browse around and comment and play my games, but I like to get the updates and do all the "work" of facebook right away so if I get sleepy I have what I want. This is especially true because some of the updates expire. I wish they would give us more control over our pages and how we interact with the information on them. I miss the way Myspace worked with friends and such. I still have my Myspace, but most people don't use theirs anymore so it's just not the same.
This in no way goes along with the theme, ties, but at least I have the word in my blog, which was one of my goals for this month's theme.
Ok...going to go get ready for my Friday.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Beautiful day.
It's a beautiful day here. Warm and sunny and nice and could easily give you spring fever. This in no way ties to the theme and it's pretty much all I have. I went to Kmart and put a RED microwave on layaway, along with pots and pans to go with my new stove. I looked at dishes and some other stuff. I bought a little lamp and a clock for my bedroom.
You have to love the fact that your electrical wiring now tells time. The new clocks set themselves just by you plugging them into the wall. Things are so smart these days! Now maybe I can get up a little earlier because I can see the time. This room is like a sleep chamber. Seriously. So dark and quiet.
Ok...need to go to work. I will look for some themed stuff tomorrow. I just didn't have time today. Wanted to shovel gravel and sweep the porch and Kmart takes a lot of time, you know.
You have to love the fact that your electrical wiring now tells time. The new clocks set themselves just by you plugging them into the wall. Things are so smart these days! Now maybe I can get up a little earlier because I can see the time. This room is like a sleep chamber. Seriously. So dark and quiet.
Ok...need to go to work. I will look for some themed stuff tomorrow. I just didn't have time today. Wanted to shovel gravel and sweep the porch and Kmart takes a lot of time, you know.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
10 Reasons I Procrastinate.
This has nothing to do with ties unless you count the fact that my procrastination today is what ties it to the theme because I resurrected it from my other blog. I wrote it a long time ago, but it still fits today, although I'm working on the procrastination issue. Today I was busy getting some other stuff done and really didn't have time to write a full blog, so really that is the only thing I procrastinated today and it was because I was busy. It has been a great help to me to finally get some new tools and items to help me along in my goals. The rake in this picture didn't break, but I did lend it to my neighbor and never got it back, so I bought a new rake plus a shovel. The gravel is coming along nicely. I try to do a little each time I can get outside. Today it was too wet, but I got a lot done in the house.
Yes, I love procrastination. sooooooooooo....
Yes, I love procrastination. sooooooooooo....
Here goes!
1. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?
2. I don't know where the (hammer, nail, screwdriver, level, tape, saw, etc) is.
3. Doing "job B" requires finishing "job A". See number 2.
4. There is so much to do, I don't know where to start, so I sit down to think about it.
5. I own a computer. Wonderful, yet the best time waster there is.
6. I can't decide between two courses of action, so I take the third course and do nothing.
7. Heading to do the planned project, I get distracted and start doing something else and then forget what I was going to do.
8. It's too nice a day to stay inside and complete (insert any project here)
9. Finishing job A means I will have to start job B.
10. Because I'm really good at it and I can!
Saturday, February 06, 2010
How to tie a tie.
Years ago I bought a cute little St. Patrick's Day tie to wear to work so I would be wearing something green. After all, I do have Irish in me and it's a fun little holiday. I realized when I got up in the morning to get dressed that I had no idea how to tie a tie. I really didn't want to wake up my step-dad just to ask him so I went online and put it in the search engine. "How to tie a tie". I was amazed at how many sites there were to teach me this handy little skill. Try it yourself. Dozens of sites, some with video, some with step-by-step pictures and some that give you all kinds of information about ties, like this one.
I got curious about the history of ties and so I put that in the search engine and found out there are several different opinions out there about exactly WHEN ties came into being. I guess it depends on what you define as a tie. In this article they go back 2000 years. There are some pretty interesting facts on that particular site if you click on all the little links they provide for you.
There are some who say they only go back a little over a hundred years, but I think think they are being literal and only considering the modern necktie in their data. Even Wikipedia had a pretty good article about the history of ties although theirs also only covers the traditional idea of a necktie and not neck wear in general. Their article is pretty interesting, though and covers a variety of issues concerning ties, such as safety, and gives a little insight into the use of alternate forms of ties, such as clip-on styles.
I, myself, have always wanted to make bowties. I don't necessarily want to make the kind you tie yourself (instructions for tying a bowtie are also found on the web) but rather I would like to make the clip-on style bowties. I don't know why. It just sounds like it would be fun to me. I think I will put that on my agenda for my 101 things. I need to replace a couple of those goals anyway because they became obsolete before I could complete them.
So there you have it. Theme based writing. Go look up some history.
I got curious about the history of ties and so I put that in the search engine and found out there are several different opinions out there about exactly WHEN ties came into being. I guess it depends on what you define as a tie. In this article they go back 2000 years. There are some pretty interesting facts on that particular site if you click on all the little links they provide for you.
There are some who say they only go back a little over a hundred years, but I think think they are being literal and only considering the modern necktie in their data. Even Wikipedia had a pretty good article about the history of ties although theirs also only covers the traditional idea of a necktie and not neck wear in general. Their article is pretty interesting, though and covers a variety of issues concerning ties, such as safety, and gives a little insight into the use of alternate forms of ties, such as clip-on styles.
I, myself, have always wanted to make bowties. I don't necessarily want to make the kind you tie yourself (instructions for tying a bowtie are also found on the web) but rather I would like to make the clip-on style bowties. I don't know why. It just sounds like it would be fun to me. I think I will put that on my agenda for my 101 things. I need to replace a couple of those goals anyway because they became obsolete before I could complete them.
So there you have it. Theme based writing. Go look up some history.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Shoe ties, don't bother me.
Remember that old song? Well, it actually said, "Shoo flies, don't bother me..." but you do remember it, don't you? I have changed it to shoe ties because my shoe ties drive me bonkers. Why is it that shoe laces have become so long? Why can't they just be the right length like they used to be? I find it to be very annoying because I like to use the laces that come with the shoes, since they usually match the shoes.
I do realize that part of the problem is that I really like skate shoes. They are very comfortable on my feet and easy to wear. I have realized that the other part of the problem is the young people (like my kids) who lace their shoes in such a way that they don't tie them at all. They are laced up and the ends are somewhere inside I think. I don't know because I haven't examined them all that closely, but the object is to have a shoe that slips on your foot even if it is supposed to tie. That would never work for me because I need the support of my shoe being firmly tied to my foot. They should enclose alternate length matching shoe laces with each pair of shoes. Maybe I should lobby the industry with this idea.
As you can see by this picture even if I tie them with extremely long bows, the end still hangs over the edge of my shoes.
This means that as I go about my day I will eventually step on this little dangling end and untie my shoe with my other foot. The only way I can prevent this is to double-tie my shoes, which is also annoying. I'm not a toddler. I hate double-tying because it is annoying when I have to untie them to put them on the next day.
I just want my laces to be exactly the right size to tie them in a bow with the ends dangling peacefully above the floor. Is that too much to ask?
I do realize that part of the problem is that I really like skate shoes. They are very comfortable on my feet and easy to wear. I have realized that the other part of the problem is the young people (like my kids) who lace their shoes in such a way that they don't tie them at all. They are laced up and the ends are somewhere inside I think. I don't know because I haven't examined them all that closely, but the object is to have a shoe that slips on your foot even if it is supposed to tie. That would never work for me because I need the support of my shoe being firmly tied to my foot. They should enclose alternate length matching shoe laces with each pair of shoes. Maybe I should lobby the industry with this idea.
As you can see by this picture even if I tie them with extremely long bows, the end still hangs over the edge of my shoes.
This means that as I go about my day I will eventually step on this little dangling end and untie my shoe with my other foot. The only way I can prevent this is to double-tie my shoes, which is also annoying. I'm not a toddler. I hate double-tying because it is annoying when I have to untie them to put them on the next day.
I just want my laces to be exactly the right size to tie them in a bow with the ends dangling peacefully above the floor. Is that too much to ask?
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Oh yay!
This picture was borrowed from styleforum through the magic of copy and paste because it fits the theme.
A very productive day today. I was able to get a lot done. Well, not necessarily things that really show, but things that have to be done none-the-less. I straightened up my fabric storage today and dusted it and got down the cobwebs. It is on shelves in the room in which I am currently sleeping. I look at it every night when I am sitting here on my computer and it was really bothering me that it was "out of order". When David stayed in this little room he wanted a little more space so he rearranged some of my stacks. I like them to be by type, texture and sometimes color or pattern. For instance, all my corduroys are together and my denims. I have one stack of printed denim and one stack of solids, one stack of printed cords and one stack of solids and my stripes together, my stars together, my florals together. The cottons are mostly prints, but I do have a stack of solids. I keep my "novelty" fabrics (what they are called at the fabric store) together, my children's together, my cutouts together. You get the idea. I can quit obsessing now.
So anyway, today I started putting them all back in the right stacks, refolding them and dusting the edges. I have all my holiday fabrics back together and now all I have to do is lower the bottom shelf to its original position and restack the novelties, blouse/shirt fabrics and baby fabrics so that I can make room to bring the fleece in here. I want to clear the shelves in my sewing/craft room so that I can move all my photo and scrapbooking stuff into that room to make it a little more accessible. It's a lot of rearranging but the end result should make my life a lot more efficient. I love efficiency! Seriously.
I finally got my "pay advance" at work (I think some places call it a draw). I asked for it to help Jeren get his truck (he will pay me back) and so I could get a stove. I thought I could live without a stove, but I was sadly mistaken. I'm not sure why. I lived without one for three years at my other house and that was when I had four kids to feed, so not sure why it's been so hard this time. It has seriously been making me just a little insane. Mom and I went together and we each got one and they will be delivered next Wednesday. They were on sale for $399.00, which is a hundred dollars off the regular price. YAY!. Now I need to go put a nice set of pots and pans on layaway at Kmart. I think I will do that tomorrow.
I went over to Jodi's today and picked up the lamp and some books for David and Nikki. David is going to be so excited when he sees the books. (Thank you so much, Jodi!)
When I got home I still had time to do stuff outside and there was a little break in the weather, so I dug out the grass in front of the sidewalk (between sidewalk and driveway) and leveled it down about six inches so i could fill it with gravel. I used bricks to hold the gravel in place and so that I can dig the next section without getting mud and dirt into the completed section. It looks nice and now you can walk from the car to the house without going through the muddy grass. Our grass gets muddy in the winter because the water table is rising and my yard sits in water for most of the winter. (It's technically still winter, although I declared this SPRING #1 because we are owed a spring from last year when it went straight from winter to summer without passing go.)
That hour counts as my workout today no matter what the Wii says. I used an edger (as in the kind you step down on to use, not motorized), a flat shovel, a pick-axe, a shovel, the rake and the broom. I did twists while throwing the gravel into the dug-out area with the shovel.
The reason I place-marked this blog earlier was because I wanted to go to the casino with Mom and Dad. We went and ate at the Asian Garden Cafe. I got my usual which they call "bun". There is an accent over the "u" when they spell it. It is basically veggies (cucumber, bean sprouts, lettuce, carrots, and daikon) with vermicelli (rice noodles) and a meat of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp). It also has two small eggrolls cut up and is sprinkled with chopped peanuts. It is served with fish sauce. (Equal parts fish sauce,sugar and vinegar stirred together in water and with hot pepper flakes added) I also ask for extra basil which is served fresh. I love it!
I gambled a bit and won 292 dollars. That was nice. Usually I only play. I don't win much because I play very small amounts but tonight my ticket started going up so I increased my bet and it just kept creeping up. That was nice because it meant I played for free and if I put 250 in the bank I still have 42 to spend and if you count the sixty I spent, I'm still 190 ahead so it cut the price of my stove nearly in half. Haha.
I'm not sure how this ties into the theme, but at least I have the word ties in it. Twice!
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Bumper ties.
How about a mundane, this-is-what-I-did-today style blog?
The baby had an appointment today and I wanted to go to talk to his doctor about a few episodes we have seen lately that were a little scary. Emily, the baby's other grandma didn't have a chance to see any of these episodes, but David was present for all of them and I was present for one of them and they were a little scary. I've been taking care of babies since I was eleven years old and I have never seen anything like this. I've never had a baby in my care that has had a seizure or convulsion, and I'm not sure that what Daelin did was actually either of them, but it was a little freaky none-the-less.
David had called me yesterday to ask if I would pick up a crib for them if Emily bought it because there is no way it would fit in her car. I was glad to oblige, so last night when I got off from work he called and wanted to know if I wanted to come over for a bit and pick up the receipt. Emily was still there when I got there and we all started talking and we got into one of those kinds of conversations that kind of went on forever. It was all quite interesting, really, and I'm not going to go into that here, but before we knew it, it was around 3am in the morning. So I drug myself home and got into bed and went to sleep around 4. I heard Jeren get up and figured I would just get up early and be tired today, but then I decided to snuggle back down and didn't get up until 11. Argghhh!
Are you bored yet?
Whatever. I got up and did some stuff around the house but decided I would get the crib after the appointment instead of before. Tuesday, Jodi, an acquaintance from Craigslist had emailed me about a "Winnie the Pooh" lamp she found in her closet. She had recently given me four "Winnie the Pooh" lithographs for the baby and thought that they might like to have the lamp, too. I figured I would go get that and then head to the doctor's appointment and on the way I could stop and get some McDonald's coffee. It's cheaper at the 72nd street McDonald's than the one by my house and it was right on the way. Jodi wasn't home when I stopped by, so I left and headed to the pediatrician's office. We had to wait about two minutes before being called in to the room. Very nice!
Here is Daelin waiting in the car seat.
Ok, grandma, but you only get one eye open.
The doctor's appointment went really well. The nurse checked him out
and asked questions and it was barely two minutes between her leaving and the Doctor coming into the room.
We were in the "Farm Room". This was a bench in the room:
They're not quite done decorating it yet. They just repainted everything.
I like this place and I really like the pediatrician. He is very down-to-earth and family friendly. We all expressed our concerns about Daelin's little episodes and he patiently allowed all of us a turn to talk. Emily didn't have much to say because she hadn't actually seen what happened and it's hard to describe here, so I won't try, but he did give them the number to schedule an EEG to be check his brain activity and make sure things are firing correctly. If that turns out ok there are several non-threatening reasons to explain just what is happening and he gave options to start trying now that might avert future episodes.
Nikki dressing Daelin after the check-up.
"Hi Grandma. You can have both eyes open for this one."
We all felt better after the visit so we decided to go to Las Palomas, something we've been trying to do together for months, now. However, it's just not in the cards.
Today's reason:
Closed for remodeling. It's also getting a name change, so I'm hoping the food will still be the same. I love their spinach enchiladas. So yummy!
David and I headed off to get the crib and see about his check and Nikki and Emily and the baby headed off to get her prescription. We decided we would just all do fast food so they went to Frugal's and David and I tried the place that used to be A & W. He had a "Blessing Burger" and I had a mushroom burger. The food was pretty good and the fries were those coated kind, which I really like.
Are you bored yet?
We headed back to the apartment and I pushed David up the stairs while he end-over-ended the crib up the stairs. (it was very heavy) Mainly I was making sure the weight of the crib didn't push him over backwards, but Nikki found it very amusing. haha.
We visited awhile and then Emily left to go home and David and Nikki set about building a crib while Daelin and I napped together on the couch. I didn't really need a nap, but when a nice little snuggly baby falls asleep on your chest, it's like a sleeping pill.
I was a little annoyed because I wanted to get pictures of them building the crib, but oh well. I have this one of David putting together the hamper.
And the finished product, minus the hamper and trundle drawer.
Are you bored yet?
Ok...well, that is about it anyway. I spent all day with David, Nikki and Daelin doing almost nothing and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. It was actually quite relaxing and enjoyable and they even let me tie the bumper pads on the crib because David couldn't master making a bow out of the ties. It wasn't easy, even for me.
The baby had an appointment today and I wanted to go to talk to his doctor about a few episodes we have seen lately that were a little scary. Emily, the baby's other grandma didn't have a chance to see any of these episodes, but David was present for all of them and I was present for one of them and they were a little scary. I've been taking care of babies since I was eleven years old and I have never seen anything like this. I've never had a baby in my care that has had a seizure or convulsion, and I'm not sure that what Daelin did was actually either of them, but it was a little freaky none-the-less.
David had called me yesterday to ask if I would pick up a crib for them if Emily bought it because there is no way it would fit in her car. I was glad to oblige, so last night when I got off from work he called and wanted to know if I wanted to come over for a bit and pick up the receipt. Emily was still there when I got there and we all started talking and we got into one of those kinds of conversations that kind of went on forever. It was all quite interesting, really, and I'm not going to go into that here, but before we knew it, it was around 3am in the morning. So I drug myself home and got into bed and went to sleep around 4. I heard Jeren get up and figured I would just get up early and be tired today, but then I decided to snuggle back down and didn't get up until 11. Argghhh!
Are you bored yet?
Whatever. I got up and did some stuff around the house but decided I would get the crib after the appointment instead of before. Tuesday, Jodi, an acquaintance from Craigslist had emailed me about a "Winnie the Pooh" lamp she found in her closet. She had recently given me four "Winnie the Pooh" lithographs for the baby and thought that they might like to have the lamp, too. I figured I would go get that and then head to the doctor's appointment and on the way I could stop and get some McDonald's coffee. It's cheaper at the 72nd street McDonald's than the one by my house and it was right on the way. Jodi wasn't home when I stopped by, so I left and headed to the pediatrician's office. We had to wait about two minutes before being called in to the room. Very nice!
Here is Daelin waiting in the car seat.
Ok, grandma, but you only get one eye open.
The doctor's appointment went really well. The nurse checked him out
and asked questions and it was barely two minutes between her leaving and the Doctor coming into the room.
We were in the "Farm Room". This was a bench in the room:
They're not quite done decorating it yet. They just repainted everything.
I like this place and I really like the pediatrician. He is very down-to-earth and family friendly. We all expressed our concerns about Daelin's little episodes and he patiently allowed all of us a turn to talk. Emily didn't have much to say because she hadn't actually seen what happened and it's hard to describe here, so I won't try, but he did give them the number to schedule an EEG to be check his brain activity and make sure things are firing correctly. If that turns out ok there are several non-threatening reasons to explain just what is happening and he gave options to start trying now that might avert future episodes.
Nikki dressing Daelin after the check-up.
"Hi Grandma. You can have both eyes open for this one."
We all felt better after the visit so we decided to go to Las Palomas, something we've been trying to do together for months, now. However, it's just not in the cards.
Today's reason:
Closed for remodeling. It's also getting a name change, so I'm hoping the food will still be the same. I love their spinach enchiladas. So yummy!
David and I headed off to get the crib and see about his check and Nikki and Emily and the baby headed off to get her prescription. We decided we would just all do fast food so they went to Frugal's and David and I tried the place that used to be A & W. He had a "Blessing Burger" and I had a mushroom burger. The food was pretty good and the fries were those coated kind, which I really like.
Are you bored yet?
We headed back to the apartment and I pushed David up the stairs while he end-over-ended the crib up the stairs. (it was very heavy) Mainly I was making sure the weight of the crib didn't push him over backwards, but Nikki found it very amusing. haha.
We visited awhile and then Emily left to go home and David and Nikki set about building a crib while Daelin and I napped together on the couch. I didn't really need a nap, but when a nice little snuggly baby falls asleep on your chest, it's like a sleeping pill.
I was a little annoyed because I wanted to get pictures of them building the crib, but oh well. I have this one of David putting together the hamper.
And the finished product, minus the hamper and trundle drawer.
Are you bored yet?
Ok...well, that is about it anyway. I spent all day with David, Nikki and Daelin doing almost nothing and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. It was actually quite relaxing and enjoyable and they even let me tie the bumper pads on the crib because David couldn't master making a bow out of the ties. It wasn't easy, even for me.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Wondering.
I'm wondering why I signed up for another WHOLE month of blogging. I do enjoy being able to write, even if it's mundane stuff. I don't really care about an audience, although I do enjoy the few fans I have and I enjoy reading what they write, too.
I don't have a fantastically interesting life as far as I'm concerned, but most of the people who know me seem to think I have an incredibly interesting life and tell me all the time I should write about it.
I liked this month's theme. There is a lot that could be done with it if I take the time to prepare things. I need to take some pictures and dig up some stuff. I would like to do that because I would like to do at least most of the blogs on the theme.
I am going through my house right now one room at a time and getting things in order so I can do a painting blitz soon. I'm sort of using my one hour a day program, although I've completely fallen out of taking care of myself again. Going to get back on that next week. This week I'm doing a lot of physically challenging chores and walking a lot so that will cover the minimum exercise requirement and I honestly can't get excited about adding anything else right now. The Wii Fit should have a place where you can note other things you do to exercise outside of their program, like when I ride my exercise bike.
I tried to find a picture that fit the theme for this month. This is the best I can do from what I already have on file.
What ties these three things together?
They are all old restaurant style syrup jars with red on the handles.
I don't have a fantastically interesting life as far as I'm concerned, but most of the people who know me seem to think I have an incredibly interesting life and tell me all the time I should write about it.
I liked this month's theme. There is a lot that could be done with it if I take the time to prepare things. I need to take some pictures and dig up some stuff. I would like to do that because I would like to do at least most of the blogs on the theme.
I am going through my house right now one room at a time and getting things in order so I can do a painting blitz soon. I'm sort of using my one hour a day program, although I've completely fallen out of taking care of myself again. Going to get back on that next week. This week I'm doing a lot of physically challenging chores and walking a lot so that will cover the minimum exercise requirement and I honestly can't get excited about adding anything else right now. The Wii Fit should have a place where you can note other things you do to exercise outside of their program, like when I ride my exercise bike.
I tried to find a picture that fit the theme for this month. This is the best I can do from what I already have on file.
What ties these three things together?
They are all old restaurant style syrup jars with red on the handles.
Monday, February 01, 2010
February
I can't believe it's February. January is dust in the wind and about that fast, too. I've decided to continue blogging daily for February. The theme this month is ties. I think I can do some interesting things with that. I have this little box I made out of a tie. I have shoelaces. There are loose ends that need to be tied up. I might be breaking ties with someone. There are apron strings that still need a little untying.
There are all kinds of ties around to use.
For now I need to go get ready for work and get out the door. My day was a little off-kilter.
Today I broke my ties with January and tomorrow I will need to rekindle the ties with my Wii.
There are all kinds of ties around to use.
For now I need to go get ready for work and get out the door. My day was a little off-kilter.
Today I broke my ties with January and tomorrow I will need to rekindle the ties with my Wii.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
