11-14-07

Eat, Pray, Love. I finished a little after 7 and did my usual morning stuff – writing and posting an entry, scooping litter boxes, sweeping the laundry room, making sure the food bowls were filled, cleaning the kitchen – before heading out to the garage. I think I mentioned last week that I was planning to start lifting weights again. After I did my 35 minutes on the elliptical, I did just that, doing three sets of two exercises that targeted my chest, two that targeted my back, and two that targeted my abs. I got back into the house a few minutes after 9:00, and after a little cooling down and web surfing, I changed into an old t-shirt and pants, and headed out to the shed that Fred finished building over the weekend. I told him several times during the building of the shed that if he wanted, I’d paint it for him, and he decided to take me up on that offer. In fact, he was even helpful enough to make sure everything I needed was waiting for me in the shed. I started painting around 9:30, and except for a short break around 11:00 for breakfast, I kept on painting until almost 2:00. In retrospect, I’m not sure that a day in which I was planning on spending hours painting a shed was the best day to start lifting weights but, y’know, whatEVER. My back is really sore today – not unable-to-move sore, but it’s definitely letting me know that the muscles back there did some work yesterday. I got the entire shed rough painted and even got a second coat of paint put on one end before I got to the bottom of the second can of paint and decided it was time to stop painting for the day. I got inside, took my shower, went and spent some time with the kittens, and just as I sat down to eat lunch, I heard thunder. A little while later, it started pouring. I’m hoping the shed was dry enough by the time it started raining, but I haven’t been out to look because I really just don’t even want to know.

* * * Lately, my Dyson hasn’t really been All That, and I’ve been wondering what the hell was going on. The last time I had an issue with it was last Spring when I was vacuuming with it and accidentally sucked up a couple of nails, which created a tear in the hose and impeded the Incredible Dyson Sucking Power. I ordered a replacement hose and Fred put it on, and all was pretty well. Lately, though, it just wasn’t picking stuff up the way it used to, and I worried that maybe the whole “Never loses suction!” promise was bullshit and perhaps the Dyson needed to be put out to pasture. And then it occurred to me that it had been a little while since I’d cleaned the filter (which you’re supposed to do every six months), and so I took the filter out of the Dyson and took it into the kitchen to clean it, and it was just horrifying. It was caked with (shocking!) cat hair and when I rinsed it under warm water, the crap that rinsed out looked like mud. It took quite a while of rinsing to get it completely clean, and then I let it sit a few days to dry. Yesterday I put the filter back in the Dyson and vacuumed the downstairs, and the difference was just amazing. That Dyson Suction was back and kicking ass. Amazing what a little maintenance will do, ain’t it? * * * CRRRRRRRRRRAZY eyes! SLEEEEEEEEPY eyes! ****************************** Buffy’s all “Hey, guys! Whatcha doin’? Can I play too?” and Tommy and Sugs are all “What do YOU want? Go away. You have COOTIES.” * * * Previously 2006: “I CUT THROUGH THE GODDAMN EXTENSION CORD AND THEN I MADE THE CHAIN COME OFF THE CHAINSAW!” 2005: Senator Stanley J. Boogerton. 2004: No entry. 2003: So I’m not reporting that. At all. Never happened! 2002: Riley’s response? “Nuh uh!” 2001: Dr. Phil looked at me judgmentally, and I began to babble. 2000: And I don’t even like cherry Poptarts! 1999: Fred has agreed to let me adopt the kitten! ]]>