Is there hope for Messies?

Confession time here. As those who know me have heard me say, I am an "all or nothing kind of person". I procrastinate cleaning the house until it's a cluttered, awful mess and then...then...I dig in and clean the hell out of it.

Daily maintenance is such a struggle for me, for whatever reason. I am an admitted perfectionist and feel like I have to do something absolutely right, or it's not worth even doing. But that overwhelms me and I can't face the actual starting. It's an ugly, vicious circle. And I've lived under a cloud for decades now, feeling like a real failure when it comes to getting my life in order.

I am mortified if people drop by unexpectedly because the house is in a shambles. What? You say my house looks so nice? Open the closets, dears. Stop by sometime when I'm not expecting anyone. If - and only if - I let you in the front door, you will see. I've tried making lists, I've tried setting aside one day to clean, spreading it out throughout the week...I've tried just about everything.

Ack! Is there hope? I sure hope so, and I believe there is. Last week I listened to an archived broadcast of Focus on the Family, entitled Coping as a Messie. When I wasn't laughing aloud at this lady's humor, I was sitting open-mouthed as she described this old girl to a T. When she said the majority of the messies she speaks to overwhelmingly use the phrase "I'm drowning", I knew I'd found someone who knew me.

You can listen to it at OnePlace.com, where archived broadcasts are available in both RealOne and Windows Media formats. Scroll down a bit to find that show.

Even if you're a cleanie, listen. It will help you understand why some of your friends, neighbors, roommates, family members and others are the way they are. Most of them aren't just lazy,and they don't do it just to irritate you. Honest.

Take me...It's not just that I am online now; shoot, I've always been this way, even before we had a computer. Sandra says messies are highly sentimental and surround themselves with personal momentos. Yep! They are practical and keep things because they, or someone else, really might need that thing someday. Yep!

I ordered Sandra Felton's book, The New Messies Manual (no tax or shipping!) and it arrived today. The first chapter just smacks of me. Can you imagine the relief I feel? I've also been lurking around her website, Messies.com and have a tiny glimmer of hope in me that things can change.

Talky Talk Talk

Friday Five concerns telephones this week, a subject with which I am all too familiar!

1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?

I used to, until I got a job at a catalog call center and spent anywhere from 8-11 hours a day doing customer service and doing supervisor calls. I liked the phone work, but it killed my desire to talk much on the phone in my spare time. I like to talk about something, not just talk. Small talk just kills me sometimes.

2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?

My hubby, when he called from work to say hi.

3. About how many telephones do you have at home?

Six, not counting two cellphones. Pretty much everywhere except the bathroom.

4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?

All the time! I've been on both sides of it, monitoring my employees' phone calls at the above-mentioned call center, and taking calls from customers. Some of the manners I heard were appalling! With the employees, I had a chance to tell them their strengths and weaknesses regarding the phones. With rude customers? Well, I had to bite my tongue and try not to let them get me riled up. Sometimes I didn't keep a cool head, but most of the time I did. Life-preserving measures? Making shooting gestures toward my temple and contorting my face ludicrous expressions. Many of us did this. It was code, like the universal choking sign!

5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?

It depends on what information it is I want to convey or glean. To be honest -- given the information I've supplied above it's not surprising -- I would usually rather write. I am far better at written communication than oral. Also, what is begun as a quick phone call sometimes ends up being a marathon. I also see great value in having the written word (even e-mail). Though tone can be difficult to read sometimes, at least it is there in front of you for posterity's sake and you are not just remembering bits and pieces of what was said.

Pissquiggles

Well, our beagle had himself another pee-fest this evening. He's been on a medication to help him better control his bladder, and up until today it seemed to be helping. But today he drank a bunch of water since we put a bowl in the office with us. I neglected to remember the fact that he'd consumed massive quantities of liquid, and failed to adjust the walk schedule. So...

I was treated to pisssquiggles all over the office carpet. I was just beside myself when I stood up from my office chair (currently a recliner) and surveyed the wet pattern on the carpet. You could see the back-and-forth swing in his gait by following the trail. It's very distinctive.

Ohhhhh, it's so simple when a female dog pees: one puddle is your general result, maybe a little trail leading up to or away from it. Not so with males, at least this male, darn it.

It led from beneath my desk to the office door, back into the office, and back to the door. You could see the swing in his gait by following the trail. I am trying to laugh, really I am! If it were someone else's dog and someone else was cleaning up the messes when they happened, I'd chuckle and move on to other things.

Can't move on, though. Have to rummage around for the enzymatic cleaner* to spray. Have to spritz, spritz, spritz. Saturate. Walk around on it and make sure that stuff really soaks in well. Yep.

I told Howie I want to get rid of the carpet in the office. It's a big, cheap bound remnant we bought at Rite Rug last year, and it's just more hassle than it's worth. I don't care if the hardwood floor is scratched and maybe even discolored at this point. I'd rather have that than have to deal with dog pee on carpet.

Not that this is a regular thing (anymore). But when it happens, it happens with a real bang. When it rains it pours.

*Nature's Miracle truly IS a miraculous product. The cat urine formula is especially excellent. It worked great on our mattress...But THAT is another story.

More on Audioblog

Man, now that I've heard a few bloggers' use of Audioblog(scroll down - they have links to examples), I think I may see possibilities. What a tool this could be. I love to read aloud, so perhaps that could be a part of it. Oh, my. I am a big talk radio buff, especially interviews, stories and such on NPR, and this gives anyone and everyone a chance to do this. The sound quality is MUCH better than anything I've done at home with my el-cheapo microphone, too. Hmmmmmm......I may have to try this for 3 months. I could do three audio posts a week for the $3/month. And you can subscribe in 3-month increments, which isn't so painful. Hmmmmmm.

The New Voice of Blogger

Blogger has a nifty new AudioBlog feature which lets you call a telephone number and record an entry for your blog, which is then posted as an MP3 file to your blog. You still have to publish it, though, like any other blog entry, so it's not instantaneous.

It's a fun novelty, but I'm not sure how much I'd use it, especially for $3/month. They sell it as being something you can do from anywhere (like from a cellphone while you're out on the road, for instance). Considering I am not out on the road, but at my computer, a lion's share of my day, I just don't think this is for me. Plus, I and can probably type my thoughts more coherently than speak them - And my typing never sounds nasally and gross!

But they did have a free trial (of course) allowing me to leave one AudioBlog entry, which I just did:
audblog audio post

C'mon, fellow bloggers. Do your part and transport, yea, catapult yourselves into Blogger MP3dom. ;)

Foolin' Around

I'm messing with my template. Just ignore me. I need to save the various versions as I do them, too. Note to self. ;)

Courtesy of some unknown smart-aleck

I was --->this<--- close to deleting an e-mail and/or going to Snopes.com to debunk it...Glad I kept reading. It's a hoot.

If you receive an email entitled "Bedtimes, " delete it IMMEDIATELY. Do not open it.

Apparently this one is pretty nasty. It will not only erase everything on your hard drive, but it will also delete anything on disks within 20 feet of your computer.

It demagnetizes the strips on ALL of your credit cards. It reprograms your ATM access code, screws up the tracking on your VCR, and uses subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you attempt to play.

It will program your phone auto dial to call only 1-800 numbers. This virus will mix antifreeze into your fish tank.

IT WILL CAUSE YOUR TOILET TO FLUSH WHILE YOU ARE SHOWERING.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, ARE YOU LISTENING??

It will leave dirty underwear on the coffee table when you are expecting company.

It will replace your shampoo with Nair and your Nair with Rogaine.

If the "Bedtimes" message opened in a Windows 95/98 environment, it will leave the toilet seat up and leave your hair dryer plugged in
dangerously close to a full bathtub.

It will not only remove the forbidden tags from your mattresses and pillows, it will also refill your skim milk with whole milk.


******* WARN AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN. *******

And if you don't send this to 5000 people in 20 seconds, it's just
too horrible to think about.

Send this warning to everyone. If you don't, you don't love Jesus.

If you are a blonde, this is a joke.

My gosh, I think our household is infected with this thing! (I added that part about Jesus just for you, Angie)

This Bud's for You

I notice the buds on the crab apple tree out back are now not only swelling, but showing the faintest blush of pink. O, rapture! I don't see anything sprouting yet from the earth, but seeing those apple buds makes me realize spring is not so far off. It's sunny today, too, and the high's are forecast to be in the mid 40's today and high 50's the next few days. O, sweet respite!

Hellllo Trebuchet

I don't know about you, but I was sick of seeing Times New Roman every time I went to my blog. I think this is a lot cleaner and shows boldface stuff better. Wheee. Hmmmm, I need a life!

P.S. I changed the background so it has a muted sort of sponged green and black pattern, and I am working on a new logo. Someone has a shareware version of the Upper West Side font I used when rendering my original GW logo and buttons at Cooltext.com. I downloaded and installed it and can now Upper West Side anything I darned well please!

Out of Curiosity

Why do spammers think that I'm going to bother reading an e-mail with a subject line like przeszpiegi angrim nestaje SWART, let alone from an unknown and obviously junk/forged e-mail address? Why do people send this stuff? I know, I know...But, man, I just got back from being out all afternoon, and when I screened my e-mail headers with Mailwasher , it marked dozens of these goofy e-mails for deletion. I love that program.

Friday Five

What more can I say? It's time to consult with my inner child and answer this week's Friday Five questions...

1. What was the last song you heard?
The theme song to "That 70's Show"

2. What were the last two movies you saw?
I watched "Pleasantville" on TV Saturday night, and prior to that I think the last movie I saw was "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". I just told Howie that my answer is pretty pitiful; here I love movies, but I haven't seen anything new since December? Gosh. I don't usually watch TV when he's at work. and when he gets home we watch some of our favorite late-night shows.

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
I bought a 12x12" post-bound memory album, a package of 12x12" pages/sheet protectors and a combo pack of paper/stickers...All from Hobby Lobby. And right after I bought those, I dashed back to Michael's and returned all the scrapbook stuff I'd just bought before going to Hobby Lobby! Michael's is so expensive unless you use one of the weekly 40% off an item coupons or catch them when they have something on sale. Yikes!

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
I really must (1) de-poop the back yard, weather permitting, (2) dust and vacuum, (3) launder all the dogs' bedding, and (4) get my butt out of bed and go to church Sunday morning.

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
Howie, Mom, Lisa, Amy, and Angie

And We Liked It That Way!

First, let me preface this by saying I do not know who originally wrote this. It's one of those e-mail goodies passed around the net. But I could have written something like it, because I sure could identify with most of it!

When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious stories about how hard things were when they were growing up;

What with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year 'round blizzards, carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to keep their family from starving to death!

I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of junk like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've go it!

But....Now that I've reached the ripe old age thirty-nine, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves (In BOOKS!!!)! And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

And there were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the record store and shoplift it yourself!.... Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and screw it all up! You want to hear about hardship? Guys couldn't just download porn! They had to bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11 Store! Those were your options!

We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! We didn't have fancy Caller ID boxes either. When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was, it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agency, your drug dealer, you didn't know! You just had to pick it up and take your chances, Mister!

And we didn't have any fancy Sony Play station video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 260 with games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics stunk! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens. It was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept getting harder and faster until you died! Just like life!

When you went to the movie theater there was no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were messed up! And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV guide to find out what was on!

And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning....D'ya hear what the heck I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little brats! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy.You're spoiled!

You guys wouldn't have lasted last five minutes back in 1984!

That was my life in a nutshell...The Atari games, the library...That could be me talking.

B-days, Birfdays, Birthdays

However you say it,
Happy birthday to Naomi and to my aunt Bonnie...
March 4th was a blessed day, indeed. :)

Monday Mission Time Again

Promoguy's Monday Mission 3.09 Questions:

1. Are there any television commercials on these days that are among your favorites? What is your favorite television commercial from your childhood?

As I've mentioned before, I love the Chevy Tahoe commercial which features fabulously rich filmwork and James Garner's voiceover of the poem "Nobody Knows It But Me". It just doesn't get any better than that. My hubby and I also giggle at those Glad commercials with the perky little brunette and the various celebrities. Her voice is so darned cute! My favorite childhood commercial...Hmmmmmm. I always liked the Charmin commercials with Mr. Whipple, and got a kick out of the Chuckwagon dog food ads, too. Oh! And O-S-C-A-R M-A-Y-E-R B-O-L-O-G-N-A . Boy, how many of us kids learned how to spell bologna from listening to those ads?

2. Sometimes we see ourselves as different than we actually are. For example, I like to think I am a pretty outgoing person, but in reality, I would be perfectly happy if I were left alone. How about you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Would others agree with you?

That sounds a lot like me, actually. I think I am an extrovert, but also play very well by myself. I am an only child, and I think that makes a difference; I learned early on how to entertain myself. I honestly don't get lonely being by myself, though I also love to get out with people and laugh. Getting me out with people is difficult, because I am very content being at home, but once I am out, I have a great time.

3. What kind of a worker are you? Do you like a job where you have a daily routine that you can count on every day? Or do you prefer to be in an environment where there is constant change and you never know what to expect from one day to the next?

These are such good questions! I'll tell you what I don't like in a job: endless paperwork and backlogs. I like jobs which afford new things every day, but within a structure that gives guidance. Take my job at Bear Creek, for instance; it was structured in that we had procedures to follow, but it was always different because we dealt with customers all day long. What I liked about that job was being a knowledge source (I was the "plant lady" for the call center) and being able to help people with questions. What I detested about the job was the close monitoring of call times and other statistical minutae, not only as one being monitored, but as a team leader having to give employees "feedback". Ugh.

4. I've found that when I go out for a business lunch or any type of meeting where you have to speak, a salad makes the best meal choice. It isn't sloppy and makes it easy to pause for conversation. I would think the same would be true for first dates. When you've gone out on first dates, what sort of decisions would go into your choice of dinner? Price? Ease of conversation? The "messiness" factor?

The messiness factor is a big one! Spaghetti is an accident waiting to happen. Conversation is a biggie, too. And you want to have garlic if your date does. ;)

5. "It's grouper" "Two Dollars!" "By choice, man!" The Donger need food!" are just a few of the movie quote that I can recite off the top of my head. These (and oh so many others) come up in the most unusual and inappropriate situations. Usually no one but me "gets it." Doesn't matter, I still have a good laugh. What are some of your all-time favorite movie quotes?

"My name is Inigo Mantoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." ... "He's only mostly dead." How well do you know The Princess Bride? Check out these quizzes! You can read the whole script online, for that matter.

6. What if it happened. All of creation is gone. Wiped out. And then come to find out that that there is no reincarnation, no chance to live life over again, no second chance. Turned out, there really was a God and Heaven and Hell. How would that make you feel? Do you want to go to Heaven?

Sure do! I think we should all live our lives as if this were the only chance - otherwise, what's the point?

7. Should everyone be allowed into Heaven? Or should there be criteria? If you were making up the guest list for Heaven, how would you choose who gets in?

My guest list and God's guest list differ somewhat, I suspect. For one, my list might change depending on my whim or what I think I see someone say/do. But my observances, nomatter how shrewd, do not penetrate to the heart. Only God sees the deepest hearts of men! It's Him we must all make an accounting to, not me.

Tossed Atomz...Plus A Question

I got rid of the Atomz search since it was not picking up on my pages correctly and it was more of a hassle than I wanted. Please join me in welcoming my favorite search engine to my page. After a little tweaking so the search box is (1) a bit smaller and (2) searches Gardenwife.com by default, it is working pretty well. Give 'er a whirl, why don'tcha? I need to figure out if there's a way to bring up search requests (that's once I figure out how to log back in at Google!).

Does anyone know how to do something similar to MoveableType's expanded entries, only with a Blogger template? I would really like to just have a teaser for each blog entry, with a way for the entry to be expanded and collapsed again. These pages are so long! E-Mail me help?

Okay, my blood sugar is down to the nether regions of middle earth now. I'm off to ingest a spoonful of peanut butter and put something in the oven for our dinner. Crawling off now for a bit....

Friday Five: A Novel One

I love the Friday Five questions this week!

1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?

That's a tough one, because I just plain love to read. My favorite type would probably be novels, followed closely by nonfiction and magazines. It all depends on my mood and my activity. Literature such as magazines and catalogs lend themselves nicely to the watercloset library for their short articles. I must admit, however, that my novels find their way into the bathroom, too, if the plot's particularly compelling. I catch a few pages sporadically throughout the day, then take the book wherever I plant myself to settle down for a good read.

2. What is your favorite novel?

Oh, my. There are several I've really loved. Here's a few of them:

I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb

Colony, by Anne Rivers Siddons

Insomnia, and all the Dark Tower books (especially Wizard and Glass) by Stephen King

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, by Fannie Flagg

Jubal Sackett, by Louis L'Amour

3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)

I shared one I really liked last week, as a matter of fact: Nobody Knows It But Me. What's ironic is that it was written specifically for a commercial. It's still a wonderful, evocative poem.

I also really love Robert Frost's "Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening" and "Birches". They, too, take me into the woods, nomatter where I am.

4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?

There's too much out there! I want to read all of Stephen King's novels and all of Anne Rivers Siddons', too. And the classics. I have plenty of time to read (especially if you count the watercloset library and time spent waiting in line at various places).

5. What are you currently reading?

I'm reading Ursula Hegi's novel, Stones From The River. It takes place in a small town in Germany, spanning the time between WWI and WWII and a little beyond. The protagonist, Trudi, is a zwerg (dwarf) whose observations about human nature are at once both bitter and hopeful. It's a coming of age story with a different twist since she is physically handicapped as well as in the heart of what is to become Nazi Germany. It's mostly voiced in third-person omnicient, but Trudi's voice is the strongest.

I find myself drawing many parallels between our attitudes about war today and those of the Germans in Trudi's town back then. First raised by the Church to think mere doubt equal to sin (let alone actually voicing questions), then cowed by the SS and SA's brutal might, even those with consciences are fearful of speaking up when they see the horrible trend their country is taking. And those who aren't overtly fearful fool themselves into believing it will all just go away, given time. We all know what ended up happening there, and elsewhere, with Hitler's "bloodless takeover".

We don't have such political oppression here in the US, and I certainly am not comparing the US to Nazi Germany. But I can see the same wide range of attitudes in people; there are those who are in denial, those who speak out, those who support the war, etc. It's just really interesting reading, not at all lighthearted, but still very thought-provoking and engrossing.

Nicholai Pupsnitski

Well, the Nicholai part is right, anyway. My dad got mom a puppy for a belated valentine's day gift. She's been saying for a long time that she wanted a husky or malamute, so when one of our vet's customers had a litter of newly-weaned Siberian Husky pups, dad made his move. They went and picked out this little guy today. He has incredibly blue eyes and the softest, fluffy puppy fur - just a cutie. Mom just called to let me hear him; he's not happy about being in a crate. Poor little guy's only 7 weeks old and hasn't even been outside prior to today! Mom and I will be doing lots of Googling about puppy care, we will.

Stream of Conscious Rambling

I just got up, so I won't say this is a stream of conscious thinking because I am just now getting my first cup of coffee ingested. I'm just getting over a cold and feel the rumblings of something going on in my chest again - bleah. It's too early for allergies - nothing's budding out other than more snowflakes. My husband does have a cold now, thanks to me or some other germ-spewing individual. I tried to keep the germ-spewing to a minimum, but sometimes stuff just happens.

I've been happy to spend some time with Angie this last week. She came by Sunday for a few hours and again yesterday. She found a job - weeee! Nice daytime hours for her, too. I mentioned that I'd read some of her blog entries from 2001 and couldn't believe the change in her. She's blossomed as she's shed her bitterness and trusted God. It's just the coolest thing! I have a lot of letting go to do, shedding off of old preconceptions, and seeing the changes in her encourages me: It can be done. What a cool thing.

We got an unexpected and welcome surprise yesterday. Howie was praying about our finances Monday night. He'd decided to start tithing again, despite that money being needed for some car repairs and our dogs' licenses this coming month. We believe in supporting the local church where we're being fed, and we've seen miraculous things happen in our own finances when we're faithful to support the church. Anyway...He told God he didn't want to charge anything, that he wanted to trust Him to supply the money for those things. The next day he got to work and found an e-mail from his boss announcing a $350 bonus was being given to the non-management employees! I love it when things like that happen. :)

Raging Hormones

Okay, first of all, this oft-used phrase begs the question, are hormones ever not raging? Reading this article from Reuters, I was struck by two things: (1) The idiocy of the school system which thinks that teaching kids this will stem the tide of teen pregnancies in Great Britian and (B) every time hormones are mentioned in the context of teens, they're "raging". The latter just tickles me. Of course they're raging - isn't that what hormones do? You never hear anyone say a person has pacifistic hormones, laid-back hormones, sanguine hormones...No, they're always raging. And for good reason -- rrrrow! So, gimme a break, people; these "stopping points" are a joke.

Friday Five

It's that most wonderful time of the week, once again - Friday Five time.

1. What is your most prized material possession?

My first reaction was that it's my computer because of how it opens the world up to me here in this little Ohio burb and keeps me in contact with friends both old and new. Then I second-guessed myself and thought that sounded shallow. But as I again re-think the question, I think I need to go back to the computer. Sure, it's not worth that much in and of itself, but it's the idea of what it represents: communication, entertainment, news, photographs, writing, art, music, and so much more. But I'm not completely about electronics - My photographs are really important to me, even if I have never organized them all in albums like I'd planned (been too busy on the computer).

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?

Oh, that's easy. I have a little stuffed bear which someone gave me when I was a baby. He's small, only about 5" tall, and the ribbon around his neck is faded and limp. He's a real trooper, that fella.

3. Are you a packrat?

God help me, yes. I have periodic bouts of throwing/giving things away, mostly spurred on by my husband, but I am a hoarder. We might NEED this is my battle cry. My husband likes to tell people of how his sole contribution to our household as newlyweds was a few pieces of clothing and the contents of his footlocker. The clothes were probably in the footlocker, too, actually; eleven years of marriage has dimmed this memory. I've noticed a decline in the number of times he mentions it a year, too. He's the one who keeps us from having to wend our way through the house amidst a maze of stuff, though!

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?

What do I prefer, or what is reality? Oh, I like a happy medium. I don't mind some clutter - this place is never going to be free of clutter, believe me. I prefer my house be clean. The problem is, I procrastinate because I don't like cleaning. Oh, once I get started, I do, but it's the getting started that gets me. See #1. My cycle is to let it get so bad it drives Howie and me both crazy, then finally jump on in and clean the hell out of the house. Then I walk, amazed, from room to room and intone that I will keep it this way from now on, by gosh. Yeah.

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?

The rooms are somewhat themed, but they contain knick-knacks, too. Our bedroom is "the moon room", with deep golden walls, a wallpaper border of coppery-gold moons and suns on a crackled blue background, and the ceiling is dark blue. The pictures in that room do have to do with the moon and stars, yes. It's a really restful, cozy space.

The office, by far the room we spend the most time in, is sunny and cheerful, even on grey days. It is our garden room, with a Marjorie Bastin birdhouse wallpaper border, walls painted in a parchement-like effect with three shades of yellow, and nature-oriented pictures. There's a silk sunflower scarf stretched out on one wall, two frramed antique fruit crate labels on another...Just a cheerful, out-doorsy feeling room with light wood.

The living room is the eclectic one. It's a long room, featuring a fireplace at one end. The fireplace wall we painted a deep forest green, but the other walls we painted a rich deep golden-brown. It's all tied together by a wallpaper border featuring clusters of grapes. In front of our couch we have a kitchen table that's enjoying a second life as a coffee table; it's amazing what sawing half the legs off a table can do. It opens up with a hidden leaf and is big enough to host a night of games or a big Chinese take-out dinner (providing everyone sits on the floor, of course).

Our kitchen is the Great Unknown. The cabinets are metal, vintage 1954 Geneva metal cabinets. They're one of the things I liked most about the kitchen because of their quirkiness. Now, four years later, they are still unpainted and look terrible. That and the bathroom are two rooms we have just not been able to bring ourselves to tackle. I wanted the cabinets to be perfect when painted, and that phantom has kept me at bay. I believe our happy solution is going to be taking them out and having wooden cabinets installed by the same guy who's doing our basement renovation. That way, we can also re-arrange and make better use of the limited space. I suspect the kitchen will be another out-doorsy rooms, maybe with a mural of lattice and vines on the wall housing the window overlooking our back yard. It's all up here (tapping my head as I say that).

That's the 2-cent tour, folks. Pictures coming later!

Anywhere and Nobody

Some of the best things on TV are the commercials. Take the "Anywhere" and "Nobody" ads running for the Chevy Tahoe, for example. Filmed by Eric Saarinen, they're gorgeous - just a real treat to watch. My favorite, "Nobody" couples a voiceover with James Garner reading a cool little poem coupled with striking use of colors and landscapes. Together, they really set the ad apart.

They're not hard-sell, but all about possibilities and adventures...They make me want to travel for places unseen. They make me want to test drive a Tahoe and dream of hitting the open back roads. Alas, there's a wide berth between want and reality, though: They're too rich for our blood, nomatter how nice they are. *Sniffle*

But I digress...Digital Producer published an interesting article about the ads and the techniques used in them (you can view the "Nobody" ad at their site, too).

Interestingly, the poem Patrick O'Leary wrote for the Tahoe ad.

Nobody Knows It But Me

There's a place that I travel
When I want to roam
And nobody knows it but me.

The roads don't go there
And the signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me.

It's far far away
And way way afar
It's over the moon and the sea
And whenever you're going
that's wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me.

-- Patrick O'Leary

Patrick O'Leary's homepage is not patrickoleary.com; that tidy domain was nabbed by a programmer of the same name - the creator of Matchmaker.com, actually. No, poet and ad-man Patrick's is a little more normal (i.e. obscure, were it not for Google), so here's a link. I think he needs a good domain name - how about you?

Quote of the Moment

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast."

-- Paul Scott Mowrer, American journalist and poet laureate

Tidbit: In 1929, Mowrer won a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for his coverage of international affairs.

this site has been hacked

we have taken your password hostage. if you want it back unharmed, please put $1407.75 in quarters in a pilla case, and drop it behind seat number 6 in row number 22 in theater number 10 at the easton amc. we will then return your password safe and sound and changed to something else. have a good day.

Comments, Please

I am forever endebted to Pangie for getting comments working for me. Yippee! Now I not only host them myself, but I also get e-mail notifications when you kind readers leave a comment. No more do I have to worry if someone might have left a comment on an old entry, one which I might overlook. Whew - How lovely it is! I was pretty happy with YACCS, but really wanted e-mail notification. Now, there's only one hitch: Previous comments are gone from the site until I can figure out what to do with them. They're still on file at YACCS, but I'm not sure if it's worth bringing them over to the blog again.

The Farthest Extent Of My Soapbox

You know I don't have a political blog. I'm just not a very political person. I don't particularly like debating and frankly, I don't understand a lot of the complexities of politics. Anyway, I just read this article, Shame On You American-Hating Liberals, for the first time today. Woah. Coming from a normally liberal publication, this is really something. I'm glad my friend sent it my way -- It's good to hear someone outside the country assert that America isn't just a big ogre in the world.

Gems from Forwards

I've been catching up on my e-mail today and have some gems to pass along. I really ought to have a page of funny forwards I've received. I don't pass most along because I'm not a big forwarder, but I could always put them on a page for others to read at their leisure. Anyway...These struck me as funny and/or thought-provoking:

• The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
  
• OK, so what's the speed of dark?
  
• If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
  
• My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
  
• To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
  
• Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
  

And the one which really tickled me today...

Did you hear about the Hindu who refused Novocain during a root canal? He wanted to transcend dental medication.

Oh, punny, punny.

Pure Silliness for Valentine's

Okay have fun tweaking this fella. Just a dose of silliness for everyone this fine Valentine's Day.

I have chicken cut into medallions and marinating in an oriental marinade. Carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots are standing ready in their respective freezer bag and can (hey - car battery's dead and I can't get out to buy fresh veggies). I've made the kitchen a more hospitable place and we shall enjoy a nice stir-fry dinner together when my hubby comes pulling into the driveway late tonight. Hope it comes out as good as it sounds, because stir-fry sounds really good.

Big White Guy's Engrish Giggles

If you're an even somewhat regular reader of my blog, you'll perhaps recall my writing about Engrish and its effects on my spirits. Well, now Big White Guy made a page on his site chock full of pictures he's taken of funny signs around Hong Kong. I'm still laughing at some of them - Y'all have fun!

Domesticities

My life's not real complex this week. We got the new Dell, and I've been having fun getting everything tweaked and put into its place. I am so glad to be back on Windows XP. I love the interface and the ease of networking with it. Howie switched his computer back over to XP now since he now has my hand-me-down which will better handle it. Our network was up and going in minutes, aaaaah.

We had a couple of days warm enough that the snow melted and turned the back yard into a mud pit, then an afternoon and night of rain...Then freezing temps and a dusting of snow again. At least the mud's frozen for a few days, nice when you're talking twelve muddy dog feet to wipe at the conclusion of each walk!

My whacked-out back is feeling better, slowly, and I've been puttering around the house vacumming and de-junking. Having this comfy recliner pulled up to the desk gives me little incentive to keep cleaning, but clean I must!

Zany Antics

Whadda ya get when a crazy Pangiecat gets curious about the inner workings of an Epson Stylus inkjet cartridge? Tune in and see!

Caution: The infirm and humor-impaired are strongly cautioned.

Jiggle The Mail Slot, Dude

We're nightowls, my husband and I, because of his work schedule. We usually toddle off to bed around 2 or 3:00am. This sometimes causes problems if people come a knockin' at some ungodly hour like, say, 9:00am. If a meter reader or a courier for FedEx or UPS comes while we're sleeping, there's a chance we just might miss out.

Well, no more! I made a handy little laminated sign and thumbtacked it to the front door. (Gee, made me remember Martin Luther, LOL).

Why the extra care? Tomorrow, the UPS truck will come rumbling and grumbling to a halt in front of our house. The dogs will bark, even before the driver has a chance to read the little sign and rattle the mail slot. Either way, Buddy will probably pee.

Why? Well, dudes, because we're getting a Dell!

We bought a refurbished Dell Dimension 4550 from Dell's Outlet site last week, and tomorrow's the big day. They have hundreds of systems listed, everything from the budget-conscious Dimension 2300 series systems to the Optiplex units to servers.

Our refurbished system has a full one-year warranty including in-home service should we need it. In true geek form, I must list what it includes:

Pentium 4 2.0GHz Processor

60GB EIDI hard drive (7200rpm)

256mb DDR SDRAM 266MHz

Soundblaster Live 5.1 sound card

GeForce4 MX 420 with 64MB RAM and TV-Out

Integrated NIC

CDRW drive (40x/10x/40x)

CD drive (48x)

1.44MB Floppy Drive

Keyboard

Logitech PS2 Mouse

Windows XP Home

Microsoft Works Suite 2002 etc.

Tool-free case - this is SO cool

I'm not bouncing off the walls about it that much. I mean, it's not like we don't have computers already. Okay, maybe I'm a little excited, especially since the CDRW drive is miles faster than our old one. That will make backups much less of a chore to do. And the hard drive is 20GB larger than our desktop's. Howie's very excited, though, because he gets to inherit my 866MHz system when the new one gets here. I'm getting the new one since I do the major graphics stuff and need the juice.

Mindless fun

Well, it's not totally mindless, but it's fun. Bookworm is sort of a combination of Scrabble and Boggle, only the letter combinations continually change. It's easier to show you than to describe it, so just click on over to the game and try it for yourself. There are a bunch of fun games there, and some are available for PC, Mac and PDA downloads, too.

Friday Five

Another sporadic installment of Friday Five questions (sporadic meaning my posts for them are sporadic, that is).

1. As a child, who was your favorite superhero/heroine? Why?
I never read comics much, but of TV superhero genre, I liked Batman. He was campy and fun, with colorful adversaries. I also thought of Bill Bixby's character on The Courtship of Eddie's Father, as a hero of sorts. Here was a dad who really loved his son, was kind and considerate of his feelings, and did his best for him. I watched the show all the time and wished I could be Eddie.

2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got?
A decent father. Well, I got one as an adult with my step-dad, but it's not quite the same thing.

3. What's the furthest from home you've been?
It depends on what you call home. Furthest from my physical brick-and-mortar home would be Louisiana.

4. What's one thing you've always wanted to learn but haven't yet?
Consistency and self-discipline.

5. What are your plans for the weekend?
We're going to visit our best friends Saturday and Sunday night we're slated to watch movies with another friend.

Whispers in the Thaw

We finally have a break from the cold today, and we have a vividly blue, cloudless sky. What a lift THAT is, especially the rayon de soleil warming my upturned face. (It felt so good, so beautiful, I find out how to say it in French). These warming climes mean the snow no longer crunches crisply underfoot. The snow is melting and our deceptively clean-looking yard will be revealed for what it is: full of neglected leaves, twigs, and dog piles. We have a lot of work to do out there.

But for now...Carpé diem!

When I took the dogs out for their afternoon walk, Emma alerted me to the sky as a flock of Canada geese swept by overhead. There was no raucous honking heralding their arrival. I could see individual feathers on their wings and hear the wind whispering through those feathers as they flew close by us in their tight V-formation.

Our Couch Potato...And Turbospud

Our Emma Ada Riblet is part greyhound, part dalmation, and part who-knows-what. Whatever her genetics, Her Legginess is a fine example of how fun a little spice can be thrown in the traditional recipe. She's just great fun. Something which always tickles me is seeing how tiny an area she takes up when curled up for sleep, compared to how tall she is once her great, long legs unfold and she is upright once again.

When we first got her, she was a skinny little thing at the dog pound. Riblet was the first name we gave her since she was so ribby. I'd always been partial to the name Emma, though, so that's what we ended up calling her. The Ada is her Geek Name. Howie took her dog pound number, 141, and assigned the ASCII value to each number: ADA. For the story of how we found each other and fell in love, see my journal at DG.

Just today I ran across a delightful artist, Kim Parkhurst, who does greyhounds and other critters! I found her artwork while browsing eBay, but then zipped over to her site Turbospud and promptly fell in love. Turbospud is such an accurate name for a greyhound; anyone who knows them knows they're turbo-charged when it comes to running, but they're also some of the world's most adept couch potatoes.

Oh, and the No Nude Hounds site linked to at Turbospud is great; I can just see Emma in some of these fancy duds. With her choice of two humans or two other dogs to snuggle up to, I doubt she'd ever need the jammies; those coats are pretty neat, though.

...those damn pine trees is covered in fleas

That's what Barbara Erickson says of the hundreds of mange and insect-infested dogs seized from her property and car. This same woman faced the same sort of charges in 1996. The county she lived in has a thick file detailing the abuses the 300+ dogs suffered while under her "care".

Erickson had her day in court, 539 misdemeanor charges of animal neglect and a felony charge of criminal mischief.

(That reminds me: where the heck did the term criminal mischief come from? Mischief sounds more like short-sheeting a bed, loosening the lids of salt shakers at the diner, or putting itch powder in someone's Rebocks, you know? Legal phraseology certainly has its mysteries.)

Those of you who know me know that we have three of the most spoiled dogs in the US. Cats, too. So, these kinds of cases always get me. Hundreds of dogs! Hundreds! Where were the neighbors? Were they, like so many of us, afraid to make waves and risk their next-door neighbor's dislike? Did they just refer to her as "that crazy old dog lady?" and roll their eyes? *sigh*

Snow Day!

Okay, so it is Sunday and there was no school, anyway. But the dogs had a snow day and I managed to sit there and get pictures of them while juggling their leashes and staying (mostly) untangled. I fiddled with Adobe Photoshop's automation thingie and came up with a basic photo gallery. Hope you can view frames with your browser, because I think you'll need them in order to see the gallery. Let me know if everything loads okay for you. :)

Stories of the Great White North

First, I laughed when I checked out The Weather Channel's local weather information for our area earlier today:

Current Golf Index? Yeah, I'd say it's lousy! I don't even golf, and I didn't need the Weather Channel to tell me this. But, barring any other outdoor activities which come up, I can at least find solace in the fact that Miami Beach's next tide is at 1:37pm. Of course, I'd have to fly hundreds of miles to enjoy said tide, but I'm sure one of the Weather Channel's annoying pop-up ads can fix me up with a great deal on airfare. Sheesh.

Chari's bemoaning the cold, too, down in Orlando. It's all relative. Temperatures in the forties sound lovely to me, but then again, I'm not used January high's falling in the seventies. But, hey, she can go see the next tide if she wants to.

Her blog entry reminded me of the time DH and I enjoyed the hottub at a favorite Bed and Breakfast* one cold February night. We were reluctant to get out of that wonderful, churning hot water because it was only in the teens. When we finally did get out, it was pretty late and we'd pretty much turned into prunes. Pasty white prunes. Howie stepped into his sandals and attempted to take a step. My poor, frozen chosen pretty much tottered there, a living parody of cartoon characters whose feet are glued to the floor.

I had no sandals, so I dashed for the door. As I ran, my feet alternately froze to the sidewalk and peeled free. It made a noise with each step, sort of like parting Velcro, but quieter. The door was locked, too. It seems the guests did not see us out there and locked the great room's door for the night. Fortunately, we were sharing a suite with friends, and the suite was right above the door. Some frantic cries of "Hey! Help! Open the door!" finally proved successful, and we creaked and crackled our iced-over bodies inside and up the stairs.

The next morning, I could feel every bump and fiber of the berber carpet with the soles of my feet. I'm surprised there wasn't a series of size 11 footprints marking the previous night's progress on the sidewalk, neatly imprinted with the skin cells I left behind in my haste.

Now THAT'S cold! Like I said, though, it's all relative. My friend from southern Louisiana asked me if dog poop freezes where we live. Heck YES, it freezes! Makes it easier to clean up later, too. ;)

*By the way, we're friends with the couple enjoying breakfast in the photo there. They live in our town and we go to the same church; I think they were there for their anniversary. Hi, guys!

Nudes with Hats and Guitars

Well, darn it, I've already been outbid on an auction for a painting by our very own blogstress Vikki. It's a cat, too!

I found something else interesting while browsing the Self Represented Artists category, however. The colors are vibrant and the style's very fluid. Plus, it sure makes for good conversation, and isn't that what art's all about? Check out this painting by Rick Mazzaglia.

The painting made me giggle. Noooo, not because of the abstract nudes. I giggled because it made me wonder what on earth the story behind it must be. Lacking that, I must extemporize. Here's my best crack at it.

Theory 1: There seems to be some sort of bonfire in the middle of the picture. Guitars have been thrown in. I can only assume these females are womens lib advocates who, not caring they were horizontally challenged, threw their bras in a firey moment of solidarity. How liberated they felt! Why not take it a step further? They got carried away, flinging everthing into the fire. Everything except their hats, of course. Why? The hats symbolize their style and carefree wit.

Completely independent of Theory 1, here is Theory 2:

The women, for whatever reason, decided this get-together was clothing optional. Everyone within view opted for none. Now, here's the mystery: There does not appear to be anyone playing the featured guitars.

There must be spirits playing them, then. As we've all seen in popular movies regarding ghosts, the appearance of such a supernatural entity triggers a great drop in temperature. It's only natural, then to assume the ladies became cold. Being intelligent, well-read women, they realized that a high percentage amount of body heat is lost through the head.

That, friends, is why they're wearing hats. They're no dummies, just naked.

If the artist wants to tell us what this painting's really about, I'm open! But in the meantime, it's fun to theorize. Feel free to give your take on it, too. In the absence of truth, we're open to speculation!

The eBay links in this entry will only work as long as eBay keeps the completed auctions available for viewing (90 days, I believe)

Googling Myself

Now, I realize that must sound weird to those who have never heard of Google, the one of the coolest search engines around. In Internet jargon, Googling is the practice of going to Google and searching for peoples' names, your own included. Okay, so it's the ultimate in narcissism, but sometimes it's fun to see who might be linking to you or writing about you.

Anyway, I wasn't searching just Google, but several search engines simultaneously; Dogpile is the search engine I used, and it's one of the sites which searches multiple search engines at one time. I know it searches at least Google, AskJeeves (which I generally avoid), and Inktomi (company-paid search results), among others.

Anyway, I searched for the word Gardenwife and was amused to find a page containing hits from another search -- one for GE Spectra stoves. Bear with me. It's one of those "six degrees of separation" kind of things, just kind of odd. Because my Gardenwife's journal at Dave's Garden has an entry about the GE Spectra stove we bought, my journal page came up as a hit on this Crawldad site's search results. It's easier to show you than to keep on describing it, so here's the link my Dogpile search dug up.

Man, I really am easily amused.

Putting Out Fires

I sure don't envy those who have jobs like this Everdry Field Supervisor, Roy, keeping track of jobsites and putting out fires when problems arise. He was as nice as could be, and really listened to us as we went over our concerns. That's what we really wanted, after all. Without knocking the salespeople from the other location, he let us know that it's not the first time they've come in and promised things which are not normally how this branch does business. The Cleveland market is larger and has more flexibility with cost and service than this smaller Columbus operation. I won't go into all the details other than to say it puts the local office and crews in a tight spot when outside salespeople offer things their own sales staff will not normally offer.

We think the FS was being honest with us and his answers satisfied us. We learned that (a) we weren't the only people Kevin promised a visit from Merry Maids and (2) Kevin most certainly did get a commission from the sale. Contrary to his claim, he wasn't just "out in the area setting appointments". This came as no shock to us, of course. Man, just thinking about all his smarmy lies just ticks me off. Let's not go there.

In the end, the FS couldn't authorize having a cleaning company come out here, but he did offer to extend our service agreement for four years. That means we will not have to begin paying the annual $40 for the service agreement until the fifth year. That service agreement covers any cracks or moisture in the walls or floors, as well as covering the pump.

It's probably like insurance, something we may or may not ever need to use, but it's there and it transfers to the new owners should we sell our house. Cash-in-hand would have been more to our liking, but this is okay, too. We understand he is under constraints. Our job had stuff authorized they don't usually do, such as removing the planter box in front of the house (thanks, Kevin, for that, anyway...that he put in writing, at least).

So, in a nutshell, we feel Everdry's sales practices are DISPICABLE, but the actual workmen do a good job and the company does try to each an acceptable compromise when expectations are not reached. This is pretty much what we've read from others who have dealt with the company. To read more about our dealings with the company, use the search box to the right and look for Everdry.

In Fairness

The basement guys were skilled at their jobs. In that sense, the experience exceeded our expectations from salesman Kevin. They were able to install drainage tile beneath the floor clear back behind the toilet, water heater and furnace and into the next room. Outside, they were able to tunnel beneath the central A/C unit. These are all areas Kevin said they would probably just go around. Considering the area behind the toilet was one of the biggest problem areas, we were very happy to see that had been done so well, both inside and out. The guys were very skilled at what they did.

User Not Found

On a new read for me today, Cocokat in Slumberland, I read about a site devoted to discussion of online relationships and how we grieve when one of our virtual folk dies. The site is User Not Found. I can say that, being one whose fostered some pretty neat friendships with folks via e-mail through the years, I dread the day I hear one of these dear ones I know has died. Behind every blog, every family website, every e-mail address...there's a person. I can't help but make things personal, knowing that. I'd hope people would miss me if I disappeared, that I've made peoples' days better sometimes. There are many of you I've never "fleshmet", but if your voice was silenced, the web would have an empty spot.

Basement Afterthoughts

I have a few random thoughts I want to write before they slip away and the details are forgotten.

WHAT Does That Label Say?

If it were just the dust, that'd be one thing. But the tar thing kind of put me over the edge. Remember how I said they left buckets of that tar-stinking stuff in our basement by the furnace? Take a look at the the CAUTION statement on its label.

Combustible? Not a good product to leave sitting overnight a mere two feet from the open flame of a gas furnace, yet that's what happened. It's no wonder the whole house reeked like the stuff! We're fortunate and thankful nothing caused them to ignite. I still can't believe they did that, nor can anyone I've told about it. There's a lot better ways to keep stuff from freezing.

Backing Up Is Hard To Do

The one driver had a terrible time backing into our driveway. The foreman had to back the truck in one time that we know of. The last day they did work, someone ran the truck into our stone wall by the driveway and broke some of the sandstone off. They just tossed the large stones on top of my plants there and never told me they'd done it.

RIP, My Beauties

We were told the crew would carefully remove plants and put them back in place when finished. The only two plants they put back were the porcelain berry vine and clematis vine I specifically pointed out. I assumed they would set aside the top layer of soil, along with the plants, and put them back on last when refilling the trenches. Not so at all. All I have now is a jumble of dirt and rocks around our home's foundation. All my groundcovers are gone, my daylilies...everything except the big vines, and I doubt they'll make it.

The company does not guarantee homeowners' plants will survive, so I think they take that part of the job lightly. I say, just because something's not guaranteed by your company doesn't give you the right to be out-and-out careless. If I'd known they would be so doggoned careless, I would have moved the plants. But, again, we were assured that the plants would be fine, that they were dormant and it wouldn't hurt them the way the crew worked. Wrong. They should, at the least, say they strongly suggest homeowners move the plants before work is scheduled to begin. But I trusted the salesman's and company's word for it. My bad.

Not At All What We'd Pictured

Salesman Kevin also led us to believe the "pressure relief system" (not just a sump pump) would be a neatly capped unit in the floor. He made it sound like a sealed cap we would take off once a month in order to test the pump.

What we have instead is a loosely covered (not sealed by any stretch of the imagination) hole with piece of PVC pipe coming up out of it and through the wall about five feet or so up the wall. I've seen regular sump pumps before, and I understand why they had to do it this way; they have to bring the water out up above the outside drainage system's level so it will flow downhill by the force of gravity.

If the salesman hadn't misrepresented what it would look like, it wouldn't be a concern and we could have perhaps planned differently, maybe had them install it on the other side of the wall there. That's going to be in my MIL's closet, so the neatly sealed off cap was a big deal to us. It can't be helped now, though; we'll just have to build around it and leave an access door.

You'll Poke Yer Eye Out

A sidenote: The foreman was lucky he didn't blind himself while hammering apart our old concrete sink. He was hammering toward himself, and not wearing any eye protection. I offered him some goggles, but he said he was fine and thanked me. What's with people? I'm just glad none of those chips and chunks of concrete hit him in the eye. Ouch.

The Dust Might Pose A Problem

They finished up yesterday, so the job took three days instead of the projected two. The crew was courteous and cleaned up after themselves, and the foreman answered our questions thoroughly. When the were just ready to leave, after we signed off on the work, the foreman called the home office so we could talk to them and tell them our thoughts. We reiterated that Kevin the salesman told us they would have a cleaning service come in after the work was completed. They balked at that, saying they'd have to talk with Kevin. Of course, he didn't put that in writing, so it's our word against his.

All I know is, my new computer desk, which was clean Monday morning, had a layer of dust on it by Monday afternoon. And it only got worse. Ever since the work started, my sinuses have been terrible. They get that way when I'm around a lot of dust stirred up or around mildew and mold. We went out Tuesday night and I felt better, but shortly after we got home again, my sinuses started getting bad again. It's hard to quantify that sort of thing when speaking to someone, however.

I cleaned the kitchen surfaces because we prepare food in there, and my desk because of the computer equipment, but have not done anything in the living room. The field supervisor can see the dust in there and make his decision, I guess. What makes us mad is how the salesman offered the moon and stars to get us to sign, and because so much of it was not in writing, it's up to us to fight for it. Guess we'll know to always get stuff in writing in the future, not just trust people.

An addendum, after more thought: The dust isn't the biggest issue to us. It's the fact that we've been charged a truly horrendous amount of money by anyone's standard for this major work, and we want the company to honor what their salesman said they'd do. I hate it that salespeople can dangle carrots in front of customers and not be held responsible for what they promise. The field manager will be here at 11:00am tomorrow, and we're going to tell him such if he doesn't choose to honor what Kevin told us. We are also going to show him the picture of the caution statement on that mastic stuff. That was a major boo-boo as far as we're concerned.

Not Tar

I know it's not just tar they smeared on the wall. Tell me it wasn't just tar. It sure stank like tar last night, though. The air in our home was rank with a combination of tar(?), gasoline, improperly vented water heater exhaust, and basement dust crud. We slept with all rooms' windows cracked a little, and a fan drawing air out through the kitchen window. Whew!

We thought it was just the water heater exhaust, but Howie came up from the basement this morning after talking to the guys first thing, thrust a black-tipped index finger at me, and said "is this what you smelled last night? Smell this." At least he didn't ask me to pull that finger. But it was the same smell (again, better than the aforementioned alternative). Somewhat, anyway. Evidently two buckets of the stuff were left not too far from the furnace, so the warm air carried the aroma clear through the house. Yuck!

He tried to wash the tar off with soap and only ended up with it all over his hands. Rubbing alcohol? Nope. Nail polish remover? Yep! He came back in the bedroom, and his hands smelled worse than they did before. They were better once he washed the nail polish remover off with soap. Always back to the soap. Soap is good.

They made a lot of headway today, and weren't nearly so noisy with power tools. They've got the front, left side, and back of our house all done outside and have a trench dug on the right side. They'll put more stinky tar on, and plastic, then put drainage tile and gravel back in the hole before putting the soil back on top. The resulting grade is quite impressive; I know it will settle, but it's still a lot better than it's ever been.

Having been up since 8:30am (early for me, c'mon!), I'm struggling to keep my mind occupied. I'm also avoiding comfortable seating like the plague, because I'll be out like a light the moment I nestle down into a chair or the couch. So, I'm installing software and getting my system backed up - that'll keep me awake. Yeah, right!

Not a Sump Pump

We were told that what they put in is a special system, not just a sump pump. Heh...This sure looks like a sump pump to me, unless they just cleverly disguise their equipment in sump pump boxes to reduce the chance of the competition seeing their top-secret designs!

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.2

Could there BE questions more suited to Howie and me?

1. Have you ever bought something you were so excited about and found out later that it didn't work? Were you able to return it? How did it go?
I was terribly excited to order a Butter Butler for Howie last year. We'd seen it on TV and thought it was such a neat invention, so I was happy to find a great price on it at gadgetuniverse.com. We got it, and the thing was so hard to crank it hurt my hand. And once the sliver of butter started, it didn't want to stop! I contacted the company by e-mail and they not only refunded my full purchase price, but didn't require me to send the original item back to us. It's still sitting in our kitchen cabinet, all clean and back in its original box. I could regift it, but I just don't hate anyone that much.

2. I have a Palm (Pilot) for my date book and such, but have been thinking of jumping to the PocketPC world at some point. Do you have a PDA (personal digital assistant)? What kind, and how did you decide? What do you like about it? If you don't own one, do you want one or do you do better without such gadgets?
Howie bought a Dell Axim X5 and is very pleased with it. It takes both CompactFlashII and Secure Digital cards, has a 300mHz processor, 32MB SDRAM and 32MB ROM. The display on this thing is awesome - really bright and crisp. There's an optional 802.11b wireless CF card available for it, should we decide to switch the house over to a wireless network. It's also very small and light, just schweeeeet. I'm hoping he might write something up about his new toy, and I can link to it. We read a lot of reviews and realized it was the best bet for the money, especially with the $50 rebate when you get it directly from Dell.

3. What illness do you wind up catching more than any other?
Usually your common cold, though I'm constantly beset with sinus problems. I haven't had an actual sinus infection in a year or two, but I have a lot of blockage from past ones. Colds are something I actually catch, though. Who doesn't?

4. Do you like going to see the Doctor (any type)?
We've become friends through the years, and she came to our wedding. I like my family doctor a lot, but I'm not particularly fond of having to go see her.

5. How about the Dentist? Do you like going? Do you go in every 6 months for a check-up?
When I was in third grade, I fell on a piece of playground equipment and chipped one of my front teeth. I was rushed to the dentist's office, where I proceeded to beome very afraid. The dentist slapped me. Yep, slapped me. It was years before I set foot in a dentist's office again. I was in college when a tooth finally got so bad I couldn't stand it any more. So, my first dental work was a root canal. After that it was all downhill! I don't mind going at all now, and rarely have anything wrong. Now that we have insurance, I go for my regular checkups, yes!

6. Are you a "Dog Person" or a "Cat Person?" Do you think a person's choice tells you something about their personality?
I'm both, but lean more toward dogs because of their range of expression and goofy personalities. I suppose the cliche answer is that a cat person is more secure and doesn't need a dog's constant attention and affections. Who knows...Our cats are both pretty dog-like, too.

7. I've mentioned before how me and a buddy of mine have just let our friendship lapse. There was no disagreement, but we've hit that point where we have nothing in common anymore. My life has progressed and he is still living in 1992. Have you ever had a friendship that just seems to have run its course? Where there is just nothing there anymore? What finally happened?
Yes, that's happened to me. There's a person who was a good friend to me when I was in high school. I practically lived with his family for a few summers. He was in his 30's, but very young and hippie like. He had a lot of odd ideas which, at the time, were endearing and refreshing coming from someone as "old" as him. The thing is, I grew up and moved on, but I he never did. He's over fifty and still lives at home. We just drifted apart. It happens, sometimes.

Today's Comment Question: Wanna get together after work and run around? Any ideas on what to do?
Dinner at Tumbleweed, and then let's check out the new Wal-Mart Super Center in town! They open January 22 - you free any time soon after that?

Jackhammer

I will try to get Monday Mission done today, for it is chock full of fun questions, but right now I am about ready to retreat to bed with a pillow over my head. The Everdry crew is here and they are jackhammering right beneath the office where I sit. This is the sound, as actually recorded by yours truly. Just magnify that sound by about 50-fold and you'll get an idea.

This jackhammer has a vacuum running with it, but the crew leader advised us to put damp cloths over the heater vents, for the other dust from the chipper. but as the cloths dried, they began flapping. Now there's a stinky dust in the house, dang it. I've turned the furnace off, despite it only being about 30 degrees out (with a windchill more like 18). I hate to think about what we're inhaling here...cement dust and mold spores. Yuck!!! Please pray.

The Everdry salesman, Kevin, told us they'd put in the EZ-Breathe system about a week before the basement work was begun, so it would be pulling the mold and such out as they worked. Well, somewhere there was miscommunication, because the EZ-Breathe guy isn't coming out until this afternoon. That isn't helping with this foul-smelling dust.

While we were still negotiating, I half-jokingly said "if you'll have Merry Maids come in to clean afterwards, I'll sign". Kevin said they'd be willing to do that. I don' think we have that particular sales-dance promise in writing (I'll have to check on that), but I am going to push for it, or at least a discount so we can have a maid service come in and clean. This is foul.

On the plus side, they're going to break apart and remove the big old cement sink from the basement. They also anticipate it being a 2-day job. At least we won't have jackhammers going for three or four days. That's a plus, right??

Puppetmaster

I just got back inside from taking the dogs out. It's cold today, 22(f) but with a strong wind making it feel more like a biting 7(f). Usually, when it's this cold, the last thing I want to do is let them play out there. But they'd been good and done their business in short order, my strategy of making them wait a little longer paying off, so I thought I'd let them play.

Unlike Sarah, Buddy and Emma are both runners, so they're on retractable leashes whenever they're outside. You've seen these leashes - the kind with the plastic handle and long, thin rope leash. Those leashes are kind on our backs, especially when walking a dog as big as Emma; even when she gets out to the end of the leash, there's a little elasticity to the rope.

Today, though, there was mayhem. Buddy and Emma tumbled and growled, sprinted and dodged, leaped and crashed. The whole time they're doing this, their leashes were winding around their limbs and bodies; I aided in the detangling process by constantly untwisting the leashes at my end. It occurred to me that I've become a puppetmaster to dogs.

Emma had a running frenzy, going "crazy dog" as we call it. Usually, she careens back and forth within the confines of the leash's length, her body low to the ground and her long legs splaying out beneath her. It reminds me of the sprints we used to do between orange safety cones in gradeschool, running erasers back and forth. (Do they do this in every gradeschool?)

Today, though, instead of tearing back and forth, she went went clear around me, three times. Buddy followed two of the turns. It happened so quickly I wasn't able to follow around with the leashes, and soon I was roped tight as a maypole and laughing my head off, all alone in the middle of my yard.

The dogs are the true puppetmasters after all, or should I say puppymasters.

Friday Five

Well, it's Friday once again, that beloved culmination of the week, and excuse to answer someone else's questions in our blogs.

1. Where are you right now?
Mmmm, if memory serves, I'm in my office at my computer. In Ohio, US, the World.

2. What time is it?
Does anybody really know what time it is? It's 2:50pm, Friday.

3. What are you wearing?
My comfy, oversized tan cotton shirt and a completely mismatched pair of blue cords with an elastic waist. Grungy day here.

4. Any people or animals around you? Describe them.
Nearly my entire domestic universe is present with me. Howie is sitting in his chair, surfing the web and watching TechTV. The dogs are all in the office with us, of course. Emma's on the floor, happily working away on her Kong toy (it has dog biscuits stuffed inside it). Buddy's already retrieved the goodies from his Kong, so he's alternating between climbing up behind Howie to look out the window and eyeing Emma's Kong. Sarah, ever the good dog, is nestled between Howie and the arm of the wingback chair. Hattie cat comes and goes, hopping over the homemade gate we have propped up against the office doorway. Elliott isn't a spry young jumper any more, so he's out in the livingroom, nestled by the heat vent. I think that's everyone!

5. What are your plans for the weekend?
The Everdry people are coming early Monday morning to start work on the basement, so I need to clear the stuff away from the northeast side of our house. It's the hidden side of the house and tends to accumulate things like empty seedling flats, buckets, pots, and assorted junk. Other than that, we'll probably stick around the house and go to church Sunday.

Ta-Da...The New Desk!

This is what I jokingly refer to as my cockpit. I love how everything is within easy reach without taking up one bit of extra desktop space. Kudos to whoever did the design work on this at O'Sullivan Furniture. It's just plain brilliant, and I love it.



Here's a before shot, showing our old desk. This picture was taken when we first moved the office into the front room...Back before it had a chance to get too cluttered, and before the keyboard tray broke...Before we added peripherals which took up yet more desk space...Sorry I couldn't find a more recent picture with that chronic "lived in" look!

I'll post more pictures once the whole room is done. Right now it's still full of boxes of stuff I vacated from the old desk and its drawers! We're scavenging the drawers from the left side of the old desk and installing them on the right side of the new one. I can't wait.

Motivation, Where Aaaare You?

I need to go buy chicken today. One store is having a meat blow-out (doesn't that sound appetizing?), including boneless/skinless chicken breast for $1.58/lb. Another store has stepped up to the plate and is selling them for $1.28/lb. I must stock up! I just feel slow on the draw today, like most days. But if I don't get going, they'll be sold out and I'll be paying $2.00+ for them tomorrow. *yawn*

I got my replacement Epson Printer via UPS today. I e-mailed tech support because of problems I've had with our Epson Stylus Photo 820 ever since getting it last year, and got a reply saying I needed to call a number and arrange for a whole unit replacement. Cool. I called, and recounted all the diagnostic steps I'd taken to troubleshoot and remedy the problems with the print heads on this printer, and the rep agreed to do a replacement.

He asked me where and when I bought it, and I told him Staples, January 25, 2002. I honestly thought that was the purchase date, and I didn't have any documentation on hand to look at. It's the date which stuck out in my mind. Well, I got the printer today and looked up an old post I'd done on another website, and found I'd actually gotten it December 31, 2001. Sheesh....So I contacted Epson five days past my 1-year guarantee. I hope they don't hassle me about this exchange, considering how close I was!

They sent me the silver model, and I notice it has a removeable power cord. My original printer is the standard putty color and the power cord is attached. I must say, the silver model blends nicely with the grey pebble finish on the desk...I need to put it through its paces and see if it remedies the problem I've had. And I need to find that doggoned receipt or see if Staples can pull it up somehow, like Target can, by credit card number. Oh, if I have my archives, I will have a scan of the receipt; I made one to send in with the printer's rebate form. Aha! Cross your fingers, everyone.

The dogs have finally accepted this office is, well, just an office again. They're curled up on various pieces of furniture, sleeping soundly. It's a good time to take a shower, but the sun coming through the window feels so nice, and my coffee tastes so good, and this chair feels so comfy...Well, I'd better get at it.

P.S. I found my receipt from Staples and wrote a note on the copy I made of it for Epson. I hope Epson will be decent about this, considering how close it was to my year's warranty when I wrote. I'm also sending a print screen with a post I made in September 2002 at a photo forum concerning my problems with the printer. I want them to see I've had a legitimate problem with the printer, and for a long time. Keep your fingers crossed that they'll be kind, especially since they've already sent me a refurbished printer as a replacement!

Sniffers

You'd think we'd just moved the family to a new country the way these dogs are investigating every square inch of the office today. Buddy, especially, has his nose plastered to every surface and is making a slow inventory of all the new smells. Beer spill...Check. Styrofoam bead...Check. Strange odor...Mental note, research later.

I know/hope there's nothing on the floor to hurt him or the other two dogs, but it's still disconcerting to see him shoving his nose into every crevice in the room. C'mon guys, same stuff, different places. Only the desk is new, and you're not smelling it at all! Weirdos.

Everdry called this morning at 8:45am. I heard the guy's voice coming over the answering machine, my mind still in a sleepy fog, and answered the phone. I was cognicent enough to hold a conversation with him and learn that the crews are running a couple of days behind and he wanted to know if Monday would be okay for them to start instead of tomorrow. AND HOW. I want to get the office and rest of the house clean before there's more dust to deal with. Monday's finer than frog hair, I reckon!

Assembly Might Just Be Worth that Twenty Five Extra Bucks

Howie and I spent about ten hours disassembling the old desk, assembling the new desk and hutch, and rearranging the office to accommodate the different furniture. We are so sore from sitting on the floor all those hours and moving furniture after that. Man, this stuff takes so long to assemble! But I sure do love the results. We figured out we can scavenge some of the drawers and drawer hardware from the old desk and put them on the new one. The old desk kinda disintegrated when we took it apart to get it out of the room...Heh.

The office is too torn up for any pictures just yet, but once it's cleaned up I'll post some. This desk is SO cool, every bit as neat as I'd hoped it would be. Rush on over to OfficeMax.com and check them out, y'all. The only peripherals on my desk now are my monitor, printer and scanner, and all the cords are neatly absent from view. Now my clutter...Well, that's another issue.

Bright and Early

It figures that because I stayed up until almost 5:00am, the OfficeMax delivery guys would come knocking at the door bright and early (early for me, anyway, at 9:45am). I am so glad I typed "knock loudly - my husband works nights and we may be asleep when you come" on the delivery instructions, for we were sound asleep when they began pounding with the doorknocker. I stumbled out of bed and pulled on yesterday's jeans and t-shirt. There was no doubt we were home, what with all three dogs barking in excitement and my calling "just a minute! be right there!"

I swear, this pre-fab furniture is denser than gold bricks. I can't even begin to lift two out of the three boxes those two men heaved into the livingroom. I'll have to carry the desk and cabinet into the office piece-by-piece for assembly. I still have to disassemble our old desk, a heavy old thing which is held Frankensteined together with L-brackets and glue at this point. I'd like to donate it to someone who could use it, but I doubt it will survive another disassembly; due to its large size, it's had to be taken apart each time we've moved.

And about this basement work we're having done...Don't know what brought that to mind, other than the fact that it's January 7 and they've supposedly got us scheduled for January 9. Like I said before, we're "on call" with Everdry, so our work could have been done with as little as a day's notice up to this point. Of course, no one called. We were told the company would be out to put in the Ez-Breathe system December 9, but I reminded the guy we'd be out of town still. He promised a December 16 installation date, but that came and went without so much as a call. When we called a few days ago, the guy told us they normally install the EZ-Breathe at the same time they do the waterproofing work. It would be so nice, so refreshing, to get a straight answer when dealing with companies.

This "on call" status can mean we're made to wait past our scheduled start date, however. I sure hope not, for we have to wait about three months after the sealing work is done before we can frame in and finish the basement rooms. However, if all goes as scheduled, I'll be complaining about early-morning work crews, jackhammers and dust within mere days. How fun!

Search Twiddles

Added a site search using Atomz. All in all, it's pretty neat and customizeable. I did it as much for myself as for any readers; sometimes my blog is the only record I have of both major and minor events, and it's handy to be able to find them when my memory poops out on me. My only beef with Atomz is, I'm not sure if there's a way to make it link to the blog entries' individual ID's instead of just the archived pages containing the entries. Hmmmmmm....

Mamma Mia

Isn't she pretty? That's my mamma, posing with some monsterously huge fake roses at Big Lots last Friday. While the menfolk were hunched before the TV watching OSU and Miami warring for college football supremacy, mom and I were out shopping. And shopping. And shopping.

From the Mouths of TV Babes

Woah...Good quote on a rerun just now.

"Sometimes you have to forgive someone just because you want them in your life."
-- character Maya Gallo on NBC's Just Shoot Me

Who says sitcoms can't drop an occasional pearl of wisdom? Of course, most of what JSM's Finch says isn't all that profound, but it's usually pretty funny. Oh, my, and did anyone catch Conan O'Brian on The Andy Richter Show Sunday night? That show cracks me up, and Conan's over-the-top performance was just what I needed last night. What a goober he is. :)