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Not so bad...
• Wednesday, April 26, 2006 • 9:08 PM
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I got a got a sweet belated birthday package in the mail from Keith's mom. It was a nice surprise; I kind of needed something to cheer me up. This week has been not so super at work. It gets very busy during registration time, and being sick hasn't helped. I was very happy to come home to discover a package waiting for me. It certainly made my day better. I'm still enjoying the contents, which included two boxes of green tea. I took those to work today, where I drank tea all day. I also received a cute red purse, a worthy replacement for my sadly ill fated yellow one. It was even wrapped in pretty red paper. I need to write a thank you note.
I think I must be over my cold, or whatever it was. I was feeling very achy and tired, but today I actually felt like getting some things done. I came home and cleaned the kitchen, made fried rice, and started doing laundry. After dinner, Keith and I went outside and worked some more, priming the porch. We're very close to being done. Keith got some natural herb wasp and hornet killer and took out the wasps for me. He said that the spray had a pleasant minty smell. So, no stinging insect ambushes. The birds were not very happy, they wanted to sit on their nest without behemoth painters bothering them. They are starting to get used to us some, though. One of them will sit on the nest now if we are on the opposite end of the porch, as opposed to flying away.
I was talking to our neighbor and apparently when we had those big hail storms, their roof was badly damaged. She said that they couldn't see any damage, but that their insurance adjuster said that the roof was ruined and that they need a new one. Now I'm concerned. Their roof is quite a bit newer than ours. I called our insurance today, and they are sending someone out to look at our roof. The insurance agent said that ours is most likely damaged as well. So, it sounds like we may be getting a new roof. I'm a little nervous, but luckily our deductible isn't too high. It would be a pretty good deal, I suppose, really. A new roof would cost much more than what our deductible is. It would also increase the value of our house.
Also: I just signed the landscaping contract! I'm looking at brick colors and plants next week! Yay! And I was thinking this week was going to be not so great. It's been much better than expected! It seems it has added up to be good after all.
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Forced Relaxation
• Sunday, April 23, 2006 • 11:09 PM
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I've been sick most of the weekend. I was not feeling so great on Friday, but I went in to work because I had a few things that needed to get done before the incredible workload of registration begins tomorrow. I felt a little better by evening, and we went to Neil's house for some fantastic grilled portabella mushrooms. For dessert we had Sparky's ice cream and some not quite ripe grilled pineapple with lots of Neil's citrus glaze over the top. The citrus glaze was excellent!
Yesterday, I foolishly worked very hard. I primed most of the front porch and cleaned out the garage. I bought a heavy duty wire shelving unit to store my flower pots on. I cleaned out all of the pots and put them on the shelves. I'm just about ready to finish the porch up with paint. Except I think we will need to get rid of the wasps and carpenter bees first. It's a little scary to be up on a ladder with bees zooming around you. Nonetheless, the bees seem fairly harmless as of yet, though they may get aggressive once I paint the part they are attempting to bore into. I saved that for last (fun!). I was painting along when I looked up to find a wasp nest less than a foot from my hand. That was scary. This is pathetic, but I feel a little sorry for the soon-to-be-dead wasps. Unfortunately, they have to go! We are going to get some wasp and bee spray tomorrow.
After all of the painting, I started to get a headache. I thought that it was probably just due to the primer fumes, but it got worse and I started feeling sick again. I guess I shouldn't have tried to do so much. But still, it is satisfying to have gotten so much done. I didn't do much today though. I was still sick and ended up sleeping most of the day. I took a lot of aspirin and allergy medicine. This evening I was feeling a little bit better, so we went out to get some miso soup and hot green tea. That made me feel much better. We tried to stop by Best Buy on they way home to look at iPod cases, but they were closed. However, Chuck E. Cheese is next door and was open. Keith noticed it was devoid of children, so we squashed our pride and went in. I played the Elvis pinball game and had a very lucky, very high scoring game. The machine spat out a giant ticket worth 150 single tickets! Crazy. If I had 150 more tickets, I could get a Batman night light. Ooooo.
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House Guest
• Thursday, April 20, 2006 • 6:52 PM
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A small, brown bird has decided that the hanging flowers on my front porch are a great nest spot. I got the flowers last Friday, and by Sunday, the bird had completed the nest. Yesterday, there were two eggs. Today, there are three. We turned the porch light off out of pity last night so the little bugger could sleep. I wasn't planning to keep those flowers where they are, but I guess I won't be moving them now, oops.
And as if that wasn't enough wildlife for us, this evening there were three little bunnies running around our yard, playfully chasing each other. They were pretty cute.
There are two little eggs in there.
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Plastic Bliss
• Wednesday, April 19, 2006 • 8:31 AM
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The red plastic bread/fruit basket that I received for my birthday is made by Guzzini. It's a very well designed piece; it has a functional beauty. I was reading the little tag and noticed that they have a website. They have very tasty designs, even inspiring. It's a nicely done site, worth investigating.
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Rain
• 8:49 PM
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There is an amazing thunderstorm gearing up. Heavy drops are falling in slow succession, soaking into the ground, foreshadowing heavy torrents. The clouds are rolling over us, growing more powerful, uttering deep rumbles. The lightning is jagged.
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X-Ray Vision
• Monday, April 17, 2006 • 10:59 PM
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Saturday Keith was working with a radiographer/anthro phd student on a presentation for an anthropology conference. She visited us from Chicago. She seemed very nice, and we had a good time together despite all of the hard work going on. They spent the rest of the afternoon at the university, gathering data. Keith took some photos of radiographs for the slides. I thought the photos were very interesting. This is an x-ray of a Peruvian bundled mummy.
Speaking of skulls, I got the skull shoes for my birthday (thanks grandma!). I should post things I want more often... Anyway, I was asked for a Vans shoe size estimate and I guessed wrong. I have to exchange them, but when I get my properly sized pair I'll take a picture.
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A Pleasant Long Weekend
• Sunday, April 16, 2006 • 11:51 PM
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I had a fun day Friday. My mom and my grandma came to visit me; we went out to lunch and went thrift store shopping. I had a nice time and I think that they did, too. My mom brought me some nice surprises. Not a surprise, but equally nice, she also brought another bed set from Target. It is set from the same line of another that I bought with my Christmas money. I tried it out today and it is a success. It is a restful dark blue.
My family came over for Easter dinner today. I think that went pretty well. We had delicious pasta primavera courtesy of mom. I had it easy; I made bruschetta to go with the pasta, provided salad greens, and made "five cup salad". Five cup salad is not really salad, but instead involves canned fruit and marshmallows (ack!) but it is a family tradition and I ashamedly admit it is quite tasty. My mom also brought a terrific lemon cake for dessert.
This evening (after the departure of my family) I have been reading a very interesting vintage book about the art of ikebana, obtained via the thrift store. I've had the book for some time, I just hadn't managed actually sit down and read it until now. It is fascinating. Perhaps I have found my next project...
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Shock and Awe
• Friday, April 14, 2006 • 12:22 AM
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It's my birthday now! Keith did a countdown to midnight for me, and at midnight, I got to open my present. I'm amazed. I wanted this red basket for the kitchen that I saw at target, to put our fresh fruits and veggies in. It has a very distinctive shape. Keith wrapped the basket in paper, making it fairly obvious what was inside. However, what I didn't know, is that he had tucked an iPod nano inside of the basket. So, at midnight, I opened up my present to find an iPod. I was in total awe; I just stared at it for a few seconds. Keith said I looked hilarious. I'm so excited!! It hasn't even been my birthday for an hour, but I already know it's going to be great!
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Birthday Bats
• Thursday, April 13, 2006 • 11:37 PM
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This evening I was standing in the back yard at dusk, just having shut the door to the chicken house, when I noticed a bat. It made several passes, nimbly chasing after bugs. Then another one joined in. They seemed curious about me, one did a looping spiral directly above me, swooping a little lower as if to get a closer look (or a closer "sonar"?) I love bats, they are so interesting; I think they must be very intelligent. They sure are fast little guys at the very least. I haven't ever seen bats in our yard before, but I'm glad they are here. It's like a birthday bonus.
Today they celebrated my birthday at work because I'm taking Friday (my actual birthday) off. I couldn't believe how excited they were. Birthdays are a big deal around the office, but I guess I still just wasn't expecting it. They all pitched in and got me a $50 gift certificate to a nice sushi bistro! I've had exceptional sushi luck lately, haha! Of course I got sung to, as well. They brought many of my favorite foods, bagels, hummus and crackers, veggies, fruit, and homemade bread along with homemade jam! People even wrote very nice things on my birthday card. I'm still kind of in awe. I have the leftover bagels in my fridge, just to prove it really happened!
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Apple Blossoms
• Monday, April 10, 2006 • 11:16 PM
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Keith (and I helped some, too) started pruning our apple tree tonight. It's a cute little tree, but it has been neglected. But, I don't think we are completely to blame; the people who lived here previously must not have ever pruned it. It was a weird, overgrown shape. Odd branches paralleled the ground, but then suddenly made a 90 degree turn and grew straight up towards the sky. We got out the ol' gardening encyclopedia (thanks again, Hanny!) and went to work. At first I was sad about taking off branches, but then it started looking so much better! I'm very happy with the results so far. The tree has started flowering, so I made use of a few of the pruned branches and made an arrangement with them.
Here's my opportunistic flower arrangement.
This is a detail of the apple blossoms.
P.S. There are more Easter egg pictures on my Flickr account.
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Hardboiled (eggs)
• Sunday, April 09, 2006 • 11:41 PM
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I had a good weekend, I just wish that it wasn't over quite yet. It was a pleasant day outside today; I got a little yard work done. The last round of storms knocked down another large branch (right after I had gotten the last of the branches chopped up and taken away, arg). I got out my saw and got the thing chopped into manageable pieces. I swept up some more leaves, etc. The chickens were very happy, as my sweeping stirred up bugs for them eat.
Keith has been relaxing after his week of comps. His mom picked up our Saturday dinner tab in celebration. We went to Osaka's, our favorite local Japanese restaurant. I had a very nice sushi plate; we were both so full of yummy food. It was a very thoughtful treat.
Today, I dyed eggs! They came out pretty good. I used store bought dye, from Target. I got a Hello Kitty dye kit (haha) that actually worked very well. I added a little lemon juice to some of the colors and that seemed to work well. Using our eggs instead of store bought eggs as I had in the past also seemed to work a lot better. I was a little worried that the brown eggs wouldn't dye so well, but it worked great. I had a lot of fun!
Here's the dye, all ready to go (above). The eggs' natural colors were so pretty, I almost hated to dye them. But then, I'd have nearly two dozen plain, hardboiled eggs. And lots of colored water.
Here's the Easter... cat? Mao Mao wanted to know what was up with all the eggs.
Keith mixed the blue and orange dyes as we were beginning to clean up, and it produced a really nice lavender dye. How lucky. How mixing those two created lavender still doesn't make sense to either of us, but hey, I'm not arguing with results!
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Cat Circus
• Tuesday, April 04, 2006 • 10:18 PM
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Luca went outside again this evening, while we lounged in the backyard. She had a lot of fun, playing with Hannah again. She also discovered another potential playmate. There are tons of cats on the other side of our back fence. The guy behind us had at least one cat before he rescued a litter of 6 kittens late last summer. He has a greenhouse, where he kept the kittens when they were little. I could see them climbing around on the plant tables, peering out the big panes of glass. He claimed that he was going to take them to the shelter later, but I can see that he must have gotten attached to them. And I can see why. They are quite personable; I was secretly hoping that he would keep them. The yard stretching out behind us is like a cat circus. At any given moment there are cats running around, pouncing on things, running up trees, goofily chasing after bugs and leaves, rolling in the grass, chasing each other, or causing some other sort of mischief. The other neighbor cats seem to have joined in; the family next to the man with the greenhouse has two cats as well, who seem unable to resist a good time. I suspect that Mister hangs out over there, too. And now the cat circus may well soon claim Luca. One of the smaller cats ran up to the fence to visit with Luca. Luca wasn't quite sure about this, there was some growling, but she did act a little playful before it got dark and she had to be scooped up and carried back into the house.
In other news, I had two more landscapers look at my yard yesterday. I should have estimates from them within the next two weeks, and then I'll have to make a decision! That might prove to be difficult. I liked all of them. They each had interesting ideas. The first landscaper suggested using industrial strength vinegar to kill the vinca that has taken over my garden, as I'm not very keen on using pesticides that could drain into nearby streams. I thought that was interesting. Though, I'm not sure vinegar would be so great for fish either. But maybe better than RoundUp? The second landscaper had some interesting ideas for the garden area. I liked her emphasis on sculpting the soil to create a well drained and interesting flower bed. The third landscaper had some really cool sounding ideas for a new pathway. He suggested wrapping the pathway around so that it would also run alongside the driveway, giving us room to get out of the car with out tromping down the grass. He also suggested using large slabs of natural stone to create a path, rather than creating a solid walkway of pavers. It's going to be a tough decision. Although, I haven't seen the price tags on the last two yet, haha.
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Luca vs. Angry Squirrel
• Sunday, April 02, 2006 • 10:10 PM
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I went to the store this evening and got lots of good things. I am very pleased with the menus I created for the week. My menu planning is sporadic. More often than I'd like to admit, I make up menus as I shop at the store. This isn't good, because then I end up buying either too much or too little. This time, I think I got it right. I want this week to run especially smoothly because of Keith's comps. I am going to pack him lunches and snacks, as he will be working all day at school. I think I came up with some good ideas, but they are a surprise, so I'll have to blog about them later!
Today was another beautiful spring day, except for about one hour when a storm suddenly swept over, barraging us with hail. But, after it stopped hailing, it was beautiful and sunny again.
Luca had an exciting day today. It was so nice outside again today, I couldn't resist her begging to be let out. She ran around while I gave the chickens food and refilled their water. Luca was playing with the neighbor dog, Hannah, again. Then, she decided to hang out under our big silver maple tree. A large orange squirrel was not pleased by her choice of trees. He started making his angry squirrel noises, while inching closer and closer to Luca (who ignored him). He just couldn't stand it. He got so loud that the chickens started clucking at him, which made him even more furious. He was jumping around from branch to branch in agitation. Finally, he just went back to stalking Luca, intermittently climbing to the other side of the tree and peeking around the trunk as if to say "Are you still there?!" Eventually, Luca just came inside the house, looking a little confused.
 
The squirrel got even closer to Luca than he was in this photo. Maybe he is the Fat Squirrel (thinned down from winter), emboldened by his pumpkin eating? That would be ironic. Keith took the second photo, of Luca looking out the open window. She thought having the window open was great.
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Landscaping and... skulls?
• 12:09 AM
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Luca is sleeping, stretched across my wrists, so typing is a bit tricky right now. I got my first landscaping estimate today and it is within my budget. Yay! I was worried about the cost, but I am so relieved that it looks like it's going to work out. I'm so happy; our front yard doesn't look so hot as is. It will be a relief to get that all shaped up. I'm getting two more estimates next week. Yay for comparison shopping.
Today was a beautiful day. I opened up the windows to let in the mild spring air. A very nice breeze cooled the house. The cats thought it was amazing; they each claimed a window. I also opened the back door, sliding up the storm window panel on the screen door. With just the screen, the chickens thought it was their chance to invade the house. Sparky jumped at the screen, and bounced off much to her disappointment. Later, I unsuspectingly opened up the door, and they all ran into the house, making a break for the kitchen. I had to shoo them back out.
Also, I discovered these shoes today, and now I'm obsessed!
Skulls are my thing. (No wonder I studied physical anthropology...) I already have my pair of "pirate shoes" from last summer, but why stop now? And these are slip ons. I don't have any Vans slip ons. Maybe it will be my birthday present to myself. I'll have to think about it awhile; I feel a little guilty about buying them. I just bought three pairs of shoes not too long ago. Also, I'm operating in extra frugal mode right now, due to my other current obsession, landscaping. Haha, wow, skulls and landscaping - probably something you shouldn't mix.
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