Or you can see a smaller (better) picture by going over to Fred’s site and downloading it off this page (the link’s toward the bottom).
1/24/07
An acidic and hostile place: since 1999
Or you can see a smaller (better) picture by going over to Fred’s site and downloading it off this page (the link’s toward the bottom).
here.
Newt is anxious to see the new floors!
* * * Sorry folks, but it’s going to be a short one today – I’m dropping Fantine and the bebbes off at the vet, then spending the day at the Smallville house doing many things that I need to get done (door painting, closet painting, switching out switches and plugs), and just have no time for something longer. On the up side, since the floor guy will be working on the floors next week, I’ll have the whole week off (and believe you me, I’m looking forward to it!), and there should be updates in a timely manner alllll next week. ‘Til then, y’all have a good weekend! Self-portrait #10:
hands picture, for one – I’ve used the Gorillapod Fred gave me for Christmas. This year, Fred I swore to each other that we were only buying each other one thing. He wanted a mug from me, and I wanted the Gorillapod from him. And I have to say – the Gorillapod is one of the best Christmas presents I got. The other best present is a tote bag from my sister. It looks like this: But the really cool thing is that it folds up, like so: and it fits very nicely in my purse. I carry one in my purse at all times, and I had her buy me another three, which I leave in my car and take into the store with me if I think I’ll need more than one bag. They’re very sturdy, and SO convenient. (And Debbie’s saying “All the stuff I gave you for Christmas and THAT’s your favorite??” What can I say? The simplest things are the best.)
Mister Boogers did not react well when we brought That Dog into the house a few weeks ago. The day before we brought Jake home, Tommy and Mister Boogers could smell the doggy on Fred’s hand and found it FASCINATING. I think the daffodils don’t realize winter’s not over yet. The answer to my “What is this bush?” question of a few months ago: We have winter honeysuckle, one bush on each side of the porch, and it’s blooming. And it smells AWESOME, kind of lemony. I think those bushes will be staying. We had the water oak on the side of the house trimmed back. Fred was afraid it’d look funny, but I think it turned out pretty well. The pond, still full. Don’t you think that pond needs a few ducks? The sunset, from the front porch of the Smallville house. I’ve got a new purse, this one bought at a Liz Claiborne factory store in Pigeon Forge. I like it a lot, but I haven’t forsaken my beloved Healthy Back bags. I just need a bit of a break for a while before I realize how PERFECT the Healthy Back Bag is for me. Who wants Monkey Butt? NO ONE. I swear, she’s enjoying this. This would be the picture that convinced me it might be time to go down a size (to medium) in these pants. (Though I still haven’t done it yet!) If nothing else, looking at Debbie’s pictures from the trip to Pigeon Forge points up (to me, at least) the fact that I’m far more willing to have my picture taken than I was in the past. Hatin’ you. Tomorrow: Stuff I Didn’t Buy. (All of today’s uploaded pictures can be seen here.)
finished the front room over the weekend. Fred spent most of Sunday working on the wood shed, and I spent all of Sunday painting and painting and… oh yeah! Painting. Because I love it so much, you see. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store and I got my ass (or, strictly speaking, my GUT) insulted. Hmph. We’d intended to make Monday a short working-on-the-house day, but I informed Fred that I very much wanted to have the two downstairs bathrooms painted and crown-moldinged before the guy came to do the floors (which he’ll be starting next Monday, woohoo!). Fred pulled the toilet and sink out of the small half bath off the computer room and started painting it. And it’s such a small room that he actually finished painting it, and could even have gone so far as to put up the crown molding except we didn’t want to stand around and wait for the paint to dry, so we left around mid-afternoon. Before we went to the grocery store on Saturday and I was practically told point-blank that I was FAT, we went to a supply store and looked at fencing. Basically, it ended up that we could get a Fred-installed field fence around the back yard for a quarter of what it would cost to have a professional install a chain-link fence, so I told Fred it was okay with me. And then I suggested that since we were saving so much money, we should hire a professional to replace the linoleum in the laundry room, the upstairs bathroom, and to tile the area around the bathtub/ showers in the two full bathrooms. And Fred agreed, and not only did he agree, he actually called and set up an appointment to have someone come out and give us a quote. Things are really coming together out there in Smallville, and I’m getting really excited about moving out there in a few months. On a side note, I should send the fence guy a thank you note for not bothering to show up and mark the yard for the fence we were hiring to have him put in. It gave us enough time to consider alternatives, and save a buttload of money. I just don’t get these service people who make appointments to give quotes or provide a service, then simply don’t bother to show up or ever call again. Because in the future, if someone in the area says “Hey Robyn, who do you recommend to put in a fence?”, I’ll be saying “I can tell you who I do NOT recommend, that’s for sure!” When Fred was removing the toilet and sink from the back bathroom, we decided to put the sink by the road so that if anyone driving by wanted to take it, they could. Less than half an hour later, someone knocked on the door and asked if it was okay that they take the sink. Not only did they take the sink, they took the toilet, and left their name and number for later this week when Fred removes the sink and toilet from the front bathroom. Recycling at its finest.
wind silence to announce that Fred And3rson is a great big liar. Well. Except that he isn’t. I don’t know what it is about Lowe’s that makes me so gassy. I suspect it’s a defense mechanism much like that of skunks. Next time we go to Lowe’s, I’ll announce to Fred that I’m feeling gassy and we’ll see how fast we get out of there. I should have tried that last night when we were in Lowe’s and he kept pointing out the god-awful ugliest curtains EVER to me. I wish I’d had my camera with me.
* * * Did I mention that I got a Keith and the Girl hoodie from Fred for my birthday? I did! And Patrice wasn’t kidding when she called it the most comfortable, warmest hoodie on the face of the earth. It’s AWESOME.
reading list for 2006, I only read 129 books in 2006. In 2005 I read 191, and in 2004 I read 195. I read 62 books less in 2006 than the year before. What the hell have I been spending all my time doing? Ah well – 129 books in a year isn’t a bad total. I’d like to bring it up for 2007, maybe closer to 200, but considering that it’s January 10th and I haven’t finished the only book I started this month, it’s not looking good! No wonder my bookcase is stuffed so full of books. Well, less reading combined with the fact that I won’t stop buying the damn things, anyway. Maybe once we move into the new house and life settles down, I’ll get back to reading the way I used to. Maybe not, though – there’ll be chickens to feed and gardens to hoe!