Looking forward to my massage with Wendy OTMH on Friday.
Mood: 
amused
amused4 comments | Comment
Pink Leader's Pontifications
Obey Pinkleader
20 August 2009 @ 03:07 pm
Squirrel update. I shouldn't have named them in my head. I started referring to them as Bubble and Squeak, since only one of them seemed to be vocal. When I called to check on Tuesday Bubble had passed on but Squeak was hanging in there. It seems that Squeak passed on this morning as well.
*pout*
Something from Leverage last night about not being able to control Life is ringing true about now.
In their cozy environment after drop off on Monday.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
Current Location: US, Maryland, Prince George's, Hyattsville, E West Hwy, 3491
17 August 2009 @ 12:04 pm
Squirrels. Cute and wiggly baby squirrels.
These little guys appeared in our path while walking Ladybug last night. They were actually in the middle of the sidewalk, one on our way out and another one on our way back. Alan picked them each up with his hankey and moved them to under a nearby hosta in hopes that momma might find and rescue them. Alas they were both still there this morning, only dirty from rolling around in the dirt.
So I was already running late, but I found a shoebox to line with papertowels to place them in, cleaned them up, tried to get them to take some water from a qtip, and placed them in the box on our front porch in hopes that I could find someone to take them to a wildlife rescue center. No luck so far with finding alternate means of transportation, and I'm considering taking a long lunch to make the run to Rockville myself before this afternoon. As soon as this work requirement is done, I'll check work email and see if there is anything pressing, and then get on the road.
Then I can also change out of my dog-walking shoes and into work shoes. Sheesh, what a Monday.
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
Current Location: US, Maryland, Prince George's, College Park, Union Dr
13 July 2009 @ 10:19 pm
Some random memories from our weekend in Florida
- dolphins swimming by the boat
- apparently the dolphins will stick around longer if you sing to them
- the stern of the boat sang the Lutheran Doxology since it was something we all knew, and it was a blessing
- on the way back into Boca Ciega Bay the second day, we had a whole pod of dolphins playing up by the bow
- Alan and I were lucky enough to be hanging out on the bow during that time, but I don't think they liked my versions of Magic Kingdom in the Sky or Sailor's Prayer
- 360 degrees of fireworks on July 4th
- We could see smaller shows from our anchorage on the bay from St. Pete's Beach, and many other areas.
- But the Treasure Island fireworks shot over the bay were amazing
- We even saw some fizz out in the water
- The reflection on the water was awesome
- Everyone else on boats on the water were hooting and hollering in thanks for the fabulous show
- Pressed Cuban sandwiches are made of win, especially when
Mom![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
blondemuse is wonderful and orders one without pickles just for me. yum. - My family is awesome
- Cold pizza for breakfast and an early morning swim isn't a bad way to start the day
- Has two very cute nieces
- Had a fun time at the helm on the boat on Sunday
- Enjoyed yummy brunch of Strawberry crepes with a big group of friends
- Extremely grateful to my lil' sis for her aloe after a day in the sun on the water
- Had a fun swim at dusk and scrubbing the water line on hull of the boat, and didn't completely embarrass myself getting back onto the boat.
- love the wind in my hair
Mood: 
sleepy
sleepy30 June 2009 @ 10:51 pm
Doe, a deer, that must be chased
Ra, no sign of sun is seen
Mi, I'm Jen, with Ladybug
Fa, a long long way we ran
So, let's chase another deer
La, and bark at all the deer
Ti, no thanks, we're busy chasing deer
or maybe a chipmunk
Took our walk after the rain moved through this evening around 8:45pm. No bunnies flashed their cottontails, but one deer proved irresistible to the 'Bug
Ra, no sign of sun is seen
Mi, I'm Jen, with Ladybug
Fa, a long long way we ran
So, let's chase another deer
La, and bark at all the deer
Ti, no thanks, we're busy chasing deer
or maybe a chipmunk
Took our walk after the rain moved through this evening around 8:45pm. No bunnies flashed their cottontails, but one deer proved irresistible to the 'Bug
08 June 2009 @ 11:57 am
Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! I love you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately I only got Alan a dinged fender:
Courtesy of the Death-wish Doe that Kirsten and I "met" on Saturday night.
Car continues to run fine, and was dropped off at an express claim and repair service this morning for evaluation and repairs. Kirsten and I are fine, and though we've been wondering if someone is trying to tell us a Crown Vic isn't the right car for us, one of Alan's co-workers pointed out that we may have damaged cars, but no personal injury claims were necessary. I confess I was quite proud of being able to plow through a deer at 60 MPH and still run just fine and get us safely home does make me very grateful to Serenity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately I only got Alan a dinged fender:
Courtesy of the Death-wish Doe that Kirsten and I "met" on Saturday night.
Car continues to run fine, and was dropped off at an express claim and repair service this morning for evaluation and repairs. Kirsten and I are fine, and though we've been wondering if someone is trying to tell us a Crown Vic isn't the right car for us, one of Alan's co-workers pointed out that we may have damaged cars, but no personal injury claims were necessary. I confess I was quite proud of being able to plow through a deer at 60 MPH and still run just fine and get us safely home does make me very grateful to Serenity.
Mood: grateful
grateful16 May 2009 @ 07:10 pm
When I got home from working Commencement this morning (ugh, I do not do 7am well) I go to hang out with the Ladybug in the the backyard for a bit. There were two wonderful surprises stealthily waiting for me.
First, was the first blooms of the year off our Gyrth irises. Hooray for happy yellow sunshine flowers!
I love the Gyrth iris blooming time. sigh. We have a pot of g-irises and sweet flag for Mel the Wiser, and I think for Gianetta too. Anybody else wanting some Gyrth pond irises, let me know for the next time Alan takes the axe to the overgrown pots.
But also lurking in the over-grown honeysuckle vines by the bog, was an Eastern Box Turtle that Ladybug sniffed out.
Of course she was more than a little bit skittish at the slow moving rock, so was quite the barky dog around him. Eventually I dragged her inside to give the turtle the time and space to escape to wherever s/he found more friendly. Luckily she amuses me greatly, and I like to share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urzjLPOdV
The rest of the day has been napping, embroidering outdoors, walking the pup on an extra long walk- just before the rain, and watching the Preakness.
First, was the first blooms of the year off our Gyrth irises. Hooray for happy yellow sunshine flowers!
I love the Gyrth iris blooming time. sigh. We have a pot of g-irises and sweet flag for Mel the Wiser, and I think for Gianetta too. Anybody else wanting some Gyrth pond irises, let me know for the next time Alan takes the axe to the overgrown pots.
But also lurking in the over-grown honeysuckle vines by the bog, was an Eastern Box Turtle that Ladybug sniffed out.
Of course she was more than a little bit skittish at the slow moving rock, so was quite the barky dog around him. Eventually I dragged her inside to give the turtle the time and space to escape to wherever s/he found more friendly. Luckily she amuses me greatly, and I like to share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urzjLPOdV
The rest of the day has been napping, embroidering outdoors, walking the pup on an extra long walk- just before the rain, and watching the Preakness.
Mood: content
content13 May 2009 @ 11:18 pm
So, I've been working on a little project that won't have tangible results, but hopefully will be helpful when closer to completion. This is something I've been frankly contemplating/niggling in the back of my brain, but many thanks go to elmsley_rose for the information and inspiration to tip the scales. Once it is fleshed out I'll share, I promise. Sadly it has been keeping me from my real embroidery, but should be fun for planning later projects. Well, that's enough of a tease for now. I should send details to theblueleader and attack_laurel (maybe after Jamestown Days this weekend) for more ideas/input.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .!.
I need to go inspect myself for ticks before calling it a night and crashing in bed. I found one Lone Star tick crawling on my pants this evening as I was noodling on the laptop, but since it was still crawling, I just dumped it in the toilet for drowning. Of course once you find one tick, you feel ghost ticks everywhere. sigh. But I was doing good work. Me and the Round-up were hunting down poison ivy leaves and spraying them with the sweet chemical death. Luckily it keeps to the edges of the yard, but I did have to look very closely amidst the Virginia Creeper for hidden poison ivy groupings. I found it all along the fence to our west, and then some smaller bits peeking out on the east side up on the side of the hill. I'm betting that it was the crawling among the hill to get close enough to spray that stuff that put me in proximity to the tick I found. Then again, it could have rode in on Ladybug, but she's been sticking mostly to the yard lately. Dealing out sweet swift death to poison ivy is important enough to brave the ticks though.
Yawn... time for bed...
Oh, and Happy Birthday to the Dad. I hope he has a fun weekend with friends to celebrate, if a bit late. Today was monopolized with the passing of a friend of theirs instead, and them inheriting an exchange student from Thailand for the rest of their stay.
elmsley_rose for the information and inspiration to tip the scales. Once it is fleshed out I'll share, I promise. Sadly it has been keeping me from my real embroidery, but should be fun for planning later projects. Well, that's enough of a tease for now. I should send details to theblueleader and attack_laurel (maybe after Jamestown Days this weekend) for more ideas/input.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .!.
I need to go inspect myself for ticks before calling it a night and crashing in bed. I found one Lone Star tick crawling on my pants this evening as I was noodling on the laptop, but since it was still crawling, I just dumped it in the toilet for drowning. Of course once you find one tick, you feel ghost ticks everywhere. sigh. But I was doing good work. Me and the Round-up were hunting down poison ivy leaves and spraying them with the sweet chemical death. Luckily it keeps to the edges of the yard, but I did have to look very closely amidst the Virginia Creeper for hidden poison ivy groupings. I found it all along the fence to our west, and then some smaller bits peeking out on the east side up on the side of the hill. I'm betting that it was the crawling among the hill to get close enough to spray that stuff that put me in proximity to the tick I found. Then again, it could have rode in on Ladybug, but she's been sticking mostly to the yard lately. Dealing out sweet swift death to poison ivy is important enough to brave the ticks though.
Yawn... time for bed...
Oh, and Happy Birthday to the Dad. I hope he has a fun weekend with friends to celebrate, if a bit late. Today was monopolized with the passing of a friend of theirs instead, and them inheriting an exchange student from Thailand for the rest of their stay.
Mood: 
geeky
geeky14 April 2009 @ 08:56 pm
Mood: giddy
giddy14 April 2009 @ 05:24 pm
So, I went and checked on the bunny-pot after walking the pup this morning, and the baby bunnies were still alive, warm and wriggling and squeaking when I poked gently around. I thought I saw some signs that perhaps a momma bunny had found them and disturbed the ground, but nothing conclusive. I called the Second Chance Wildlife Center, told them my story and asked for advice. The conventional wisdom is that smell shouldn't matter, but if they aren't placed exactly where they were, the mom won't tend to them. Since that was not an option, as they'd all turn into Easter puppy snax, I bundled the flower pot into a plastic baggie and delivered them to the Wildlife Center.
It ended up being the same place where I delivered the older baby bunnies four years ago when Maxie discovered some in our backyard prior to one of Bob's parties. They are my wildlife rescue center of choice, though luckily I don't have to use them too often.
When I delivered them there, I filled out paperwork and signed a release form as the tech dug each one out, weighed them, checked them for injury, noted if they were warm, active and/or crying, and placed them in a new clean container. There ended up being six little bunnies (so seven total in that nest if you count the one that was a snack) each about the length of my palm and size of a large thumb. The tech said that they did appear to be old enough to have gotten sufficient antibodies from their mother's milk, so raising them the rest of the way shouldn't be too tough. Luckily she had just made up a batch of food for the other dozen baby bunnies that were recently brought in, so she could feed them directly. She also gave me the information I needed if I wanted to call and check on them, Thies-rabbits-4/14, which I think I might later. (If anybody else wants to call and check on my bunnies, make sure you give them a donation for the hassle.) Apparently the release rate for rescued rabbits is about 50%, which she said was pretty good considering they are the bottom of the food chain and can have several litters a year. I tossed in a small donation on my way out the door to go towards the care and feeding expenses they'll incur thanks to the stupidity of their momma and the power of Ladybug's nose and observation skills.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take still pictures of the cute wee creatures, but I did take some small video clips that I hope to cobble together for Genie's next Living Out Loud challenge. I'll try to get some screen captures from those videos so you too can awe in the cuteness of the baby bunnies.
Since I don't have any pics of the current baby bunnies, here is an old picture of a young bun spotted in our backyard a few summers ago. Look at his wee cotton-tail!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news, Ladybug was much better behaved on her walk this morning without visions of rabbits dashing in her head. Here is a link to some pictures of the pups all getting along this weekend:
It ended up being the same place where I delivered the older baby bunnies four years ago when Maxie discovered some in our backyard prior to one of Bob's parties. They are my wildlife rescue center of choice, though luckily I don't have to use them too often.
When I delivered them there, I filled out paperwork and signed a release form as the tech dug each one out, weighed them, checked them for injury, noted if they were warm, active and/or crying, and placed them in a new clean container. There ended up being six little bunnies (so seven total in that nest if you count the one that was a snack) each about the length of my palm and size of a large thumb. The tech said that they did appear to be old enough to have gotten sufficient antibodies from their mother's milk, so raising them the rest of the way shouldn't be too tough. Luckily she had just made up a batch of food for the other dozen baby bunnies that were recently brought in, so she could feed them directly. She also gave me the information I needed if I wanted to call and check on them, Thies-rabbits-4/14, which I think I might later. (If anybody else wants to call and check on my bunnies, make sure you give them a donation for the hassle.) Apparently the release rate for rescued rabbits is about 50%, which she said was pretty good considering they are the bottom of the food chain and can have several litters a year. I tossed in a small donation on my way out the door to go towards the care and feeding expenses they'll incur thanks to the stupidity of their momma and the power of Ladybug's nose and observation skills.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take still pictures of the cute wee creatures, but I did take some small video clips that I hope to cobble together for Genie's next Living Out Loud challenge. I'll try to get some screen captures from those videos so you too can awe in the cuteness of the baby bunnies.
Since I don't have any pics of the current baby bunnies, here is an old picture of a young bun spotted in our backyard a few summers ago. Look at his wee cotton-tail!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news, Ladybug was much better behaved on her walk this morning without visions of rabbits dashing in her head. Here is a link to some pictures of the pups all getting along this weekend:
Mood: optimistic
optimistic13 April 2009 @ 06:14 pm
I am sad to say that Ladybug has her first confirmed kill.
In other news, I discovered what the dogs found so interesting back in the rose bushes on the side of the house.
This morning Ladybug had a super fun bunny chase where she got to chase down two adult rabbits across the yard. In hindsight it was likely the daddy (assuming they pair) dashing across the length of a yard to draw the pup's attention away from the nest, and then the mom doing the same with a shorter burst of speed. This also made Ladybug an impossible dog to walk this morning since she was seeing rabbits everywhere. sigh.
This evening, after the local wildlife rescue place's business hours, I poked around at the place where I saw one rabbit and thought it might have just been them looking for a place to nest. Nope. Ladybug easily dug up and later consumed one squeaking pitiful baby bunny. sigh. So I put her inside the house as I grabbed a latex glove and some paper towels and head out to "rescue" the remaining young. I grabbed an old plastic flowerpot, lined it with the paper towels, scooped out the remaining babies with my gloved hand (and man there were so many I lost count) and nestled them into the flower pot nest and covered it up with the fluffy belly-fur around and some grass from the nest. I then took the new nest around to just outside the fence and partially buried it at the base of an evergreen, with fallen leaves around up to the edge of the pot. This is in sight of the old nest, maybe 6-8 feet away and I hope that the mom finds them and continues to care for them.
Okay, there is a part of me that hopes for a happy ending, and there is another part of me that recognizes that freaking bunnies are everywhere and if they don't live it's not like they are an endangered species. But I also don't like to see animals suffer. People should sometimes suffer, but not animals. So, if they meet an end, I hope it is swift. I guess I'll check on the relocated nest in the morning and call a wildlife rescue place tomorrow.
Then again, I don't know how much honor there is in having her first kill be a defenseless baby bunny. It's not like it was a satisfying chase or anything.
In other news, I discovered what the dogs found so interesting back in the rose bushes on the side of the house.
This morning Ladybug had a super fun bunny chase where she got to chase down two adult rabbits across the yard. In hindsight it was likely the daddy (assuming they pair) dashing across the length of a yard to draw the pup's attention away from the nest, and then the mom doing the same with a shorter burst of speed. This also made Ladybug an impossible dog to walk this morning since she was seeing rabbits everywhere. sigh.
This evening, after the local wildlife rescue place's business hours, I poked around at the place where I saw one rabbit and thought it might have just been them looking for a place to nest. Nope. Ladybug easily dug up and later consumed one squeaking pitiful baby bunny. sigh. So I put her inside the house as I grabbed a latex glove and some paper towels and head out to "rescue" the remaining young. I grabbed an old plastic flowerpot, lined it with the paper towels, scooped out the remaining babies with my gloved hand (and man there were so many I lost count) and nestled them into the flower pot nest and covered it up with the fluffy belly-fur around and some grass from the nest. I then took the new nest around to just outside the fence and partially buried it at the base of an evergreen, with fallen leaves around up to the edge of the pot. This is in sight of the old nest, maybe 6-8 feet away and I hope that the mom finds them and continues to care for them.
Okay, there is a part of me that hopes for a happy ending, and there is another part of me that recognizes that freaking bunnies are everywhere and if they don't live it's not like they are an endangered species. But I also don't like to see animals suffer. People should sometimes suffer, but not animals. So, if they meet an end, I hope it is swift. I guess I'll check on the relocated nest in the morning and call a wildlife rescue place tomorrow.
Then again, I don't know how much honor there is in having her first kill be a defenseless baby bunny. It's not like it was a satisfying chase or anything.
Mood: 
distressed
distressed23 December 2008 @ 10:18 pm
Mood: pleased
pleased25 September 2008 @ 07:33 pm
Have not seen a return of the Blue Heron. Hopefully it was just a fluke and we won't really have to worry about them until Winter. Then I took a closer look at the fish when feeding them last night, and man are they huge. I need to lay the yardstick on the edge of the pond and try to catch them on film at feeding time some time. That puny heron wouldn't have stood a chance. :)
My tootsies are feeling better now. Blisters have gone away, although I did sink to wearing flip flops for the foamy cushiony goodness on Tuesday. My legs are feeling better, especially the outsides of my ankles/calves that I strained from walking funny on Monday to avoid walking on my blisters. That was stoopid. Heating pad and rest helped.
Still need to finish the little sample embroidery. I'm stuck on what to do for the vine given the materials I have on hand. Do I compromise and just use the Isabella in the Ceylon stitch for the vine? Do I dig out the gold from a kit we got from Tricia back in June '07? Do I try that gold in the ceylon, or dig up plaited braid instructions? Do I break down and order the sanctioned plaited braid instructions online? sigh...
I haven't been to an event since Pennsic and am lacking in motivation for Lochmere this weekend, though it will be fun and wonderful once there. Totally dayu-tripping it. BTW, is anyone booked to crash with us that I forgot about? We think the bedrooms are not booked for the weekend.
My tootsies are feeling better now. Blisters have gone away, although I did sink to wearing flip flops for the foamy cushiony goodness on Tuesday. My legs are feeling better, especially the outsides of my ankles/calves that I strained from walking funny on Monday to avoid walking on my blisters. That was stoopid. Heating pad and rest helped.
Still need to finish the little sample embroidery. I'm stuck on what to do for the vine given the materials I have on hand. Do I compromise and just use the Isabella in the Ceylon stitch for the vine? Do I dig out the gold from a kit we got from Tricia back in June '07? Do I try that gold in the ceylon, or dig up plaited braid instructions? Do I break down and order the sanctioned plaited braid instructions online? sigh...
I haven't been to an event since Pennsic and am lacking in motivation for Lochmere this weekend, though it will be fun and wonderful once there. Totally dayu-tripping it. BTW, is anyone booked to crash with us that I forgot about? We think the bedrooms are not booked for the weekend.
Mood: 
contemplative
contemplative22 September 2008 @ 05:59 pm
So, contrary to my statement to finish those unfinished projects before starting something new, I've buckled. After our last Plimoth session, and the acquisition of more GST colors, I was inspired to embroider a little sample to both show off the colors and sparkle. I took inspiration and tracings from Extreme Patterns' Arabella coif pattern, and designed a little 3x3" (which I reduced to a 2x2") pin cushion of folded pansies, a thistle bud, a "plain" worm and a bee (from a nightcap in the MFA). The worm is done, and I can't wait to try the bee with the black GST. Drew it out on Wednesday, played a bit with the embroidery this week and weekend and hope to finish it up soon. I think it's very cute. Will post in progress pictures when complete.
Sunday Alan and I decided to take a nice walk in the pleasant weather. We saw chipmunks, squirrels, a bunny, and more than a few deer. One deer crossed the path slowly and disappeared into the woods, but then we saw practically a herd of deer (5?) in the woods by a stream drinking and nibbling on grass. They were all very cute, and I told them to stay in the woods and off the roads, but a bit too tame. As we moved on down the path, I said to Alan in my best Marissa Tomei accent, "So, you're a dee-ah..."
Sadly the walk was longer than I had planned and I wasn't wearing the best shoes. Our little half hour walk ended up being over an hour over more hilly terrain, and I was able to discover exactly how out of shape I am. Now my hips/quads are very sore, so I've been stretching them periodically. And my feet have a few blisters on the balls of my feet. Thank goodness for my Dearfoam slippers so I can mosey about the house in relative comfort. Man, work shoes were murder today, and I was even wearing Naturlizer flats. sigh.
Sunday Alan and I decided to take a nice walk in the pleasant weather. We saw chipmunks, squirrels, a bunny, and more than a few deer. One deer crossed the path slowly and disappeared into the woods, but then we saw practically a herd of deer (5?) in the woods by a stream drinking and nibbling on grass. They were all very cute, and I told them to stay in the woods and off the roads, but a bit too tame. As we moved on down the path, I said to Alan in my best Marissa Tomei accent, "So, you're a dee-ah..."
Sadly the walk was longer than I had planned and I wasn't wearing the best shoes. Our little half hour walk ended up being over an hour over more hilly terrain, and I was able to discover exactly how out of shape I am. Now my hips/quads are very sore, so I've been stretching them periodically. And my feet have a few blisters on the balls of my feet. Thank goodness for my Dearfoam slippers so I can mosey about the house in relative comfort. Man, work shoes were murder today, and I was even wearing Naturlizer flats. sigh.
To top it off, this morning I wake up to a Blue Heron in our backyard. dammit. It looked to be immature, smaller and speckled on the breast, but took a few tries to chase away. First I just opened the sliding glass door, then I had to actually yell at it, and finally I had to yell and clap from the bathroom window. Stupid bird. I thought of digging out the bird netting, but couldn't be late, so I just added some more water to the pond to give the fish room to maneuver and was vigilant as I was getting ready for work. I didn't see it about on nearby roofs or anywhere when I left. I'm hoping that if the heron did try for the pond that Bubba and the other big fish bitchslapped it into next spring.
Mood: sore
sore21 September 2008 @ 02:09 pm
08 September 2008 @ 10:18 pm
I saw another little mousie on Saturday night, put out the live trap with cheerios instead of peanut butter and caught the little poo-machine (and no ants) on Sunday morning. Had yet another long chat with the tiny rodent on the walk to release it far from home. Set out the trap again, but have not seen or captured another mouse. sigh. Cute little feet and twitchy whiskers with large ears that poo and pee indiscriminently.
We've had meetings with a variety of kitchen contractors (Thurs, Fri, and tonight) and explored cheaper options too (Lowe's and Costco). So far we are happiest with the cabinets we found at Lowe's, in the style and color we want, nice price and quality, can then afford better counter-tops. I've also been distracted by looking at new lights, for the kitchen, for our hallways, and for the front of the house. Shopping is fun, deciding is tough.
My eyes have been very irritated today. I've been hitting the eye-drops like a seasoned stoner. I blame the house cleaning we did this weekend. Vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, windows, floors, sinks, cleaning up my mail-avalanche. I think the stirred up dust and chemicals have been less than kind to my allergies. But the house looks so much better. I even accomplished a little sewing on the unfinished blue scoop neck doublet. Sleeves closer to done. Not sure what to do for the front closure.
Headed to Plimoth this weekend. Will be fun, and get to see some of gold work in person. A little too tired at the moment to get too excited, but I'm sure that will pass and proximity to embroidery and fun will stir excitement. Perhaps I can get more colors of the GST from Tricia... ohh...
We've had meetings with a variety of kitchen contractors (Thurs, Fri, and tonight) and explored cheaper options too (Lowe's and Costco). So far we are happiest with the cabinets we found at Lowe's, in the style and color we want, nice price and quality, can then afford better counter-tops. I've also been distracted by looking at new lights, for the kitchen, for our hallways, and for the front of the house. Shopping is fun, deciding is tough.
My eyes have been very irritated today. I've been hitting the eye-drops like a seasoned stoner. I blame the house cleaning we did this weekend. Vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, windows, floors, sinks, cleaning up my mail-avalanche. I think the stirred up dust and chemicals have been less than kind to my allergies. But the house looks so much better. I even accomplished a little sewing on the unfinished blue scoop neck doublet. Sleeves closer to done. Not sure what to do for the front closure.
Headed to Plimoth this weekend. Will be fun, and get to see some of gold work in person. A little too tired at the moment to get too excited, but I'm sure that will pass and proximity to embroidery and fun will stir excitement. Perhaps I can get more colors of the GST from Tricia... ohh...
Mood: 
productive
productive30 June 2008 @ 11:06 pm
Saturday, I was a slug. Slept in embarrassingly late, watched Blue Crush on TV, laid about, and only left the house to collect takeout dinner from the Old Hickory Grille. Alan, meanwhile, mowed the lawn, both front and back, washed the car, cleaned up my mouse storage tank, cleaned up the dishes, and other non-slug-like activities. Sunday was less slothful in that I finished the vacuuming of the den (including the mouse droppings off the mantle and ledge), hallway and laundry area, stairs, and went back over the dining room. I also did the laundry, other cleaning tasks, and did some travel research.
See, I'm back to having longings for Hawaii. I could blame the movie Blue Crush (I have a fondness for surfing movies despite that I have terrible personal balance) and also the news that my little brother-in-law is graduating from college in December. So I've been looking at plane tickets, lodging options (hotel in Waikiki or B&B in Kailua?), and coordinating with my folks on finding rooms in the same facility so we can share a rental car. But looking at the pictures of beaches and ocean views and gardens, and contemplating what to see, only makes the longing stronger. The best part is, of course, that I'm taking my Alan with me, hell or high water.
In other news, the second mouse has been found.
Now if we could only get the birds nested in the chimney to get their flight feathers and fly away. They are really noisy little bastards. Alan thought of starting a fire to drive them away, which of course might kill any that weren't ready to fly. We'll just need to be vigilant to get the chimney swept and proper cap installed to avoid nesting birds next spring.
See, I'm back to having longings for Hawaii. I could blame the movie Blue Crush (I have a fondness for surfing movies despite that I have terrible personal balance) and also the news that my little brother-in-law is graduating from college in December. So I've been looking at plane tickets, lodging options (hotel in Waikiki or B&B in Kailua?), and coordinating with my folks on finding rooms in the same facility so we can share a rental car. But looking at the pictures of beaches and ocean views and gardens, and contemplating what to see, only makes the longing stronger. The best part is, of course, that I'm taking my Alan with me, hell or high water.
In other news, the second mouse has been found.
Now if we could only get the birds nested in the chimney to get their flight feathers and fly away. They are really noisy little bastards. Alan thought of starting a fire to drive them away, which of course might kill any that weren't ready to fly. We'll just need to be vigilant to get the chimney swept and proper cap installed to avoid nesting birds next spring.
Mood: 
cranky
cranky26 June 2008 @ 08:31 pm
No further mice related news, other than that the peanut butter used in the live trap attracted ants, so I had to clean that up and will think about reseting the trap with bird seed or something else later.
Have been in training for the past two days, fun and entertaining playing with Wimba, but cutting back on other things I need to accomplish. Also got to work with a lovely guy named Evgeny in Moscow on setting up a video conference for Monday.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, last night, we went with the Morgensterns to go see Julius Ceasar at the dreaded SHH venue. First, we get the understudy for Mark Anthony, which was kinda irritating since Andrew Long is a joy to watch, even if he did a decent job. They did leave us attempted bribes of chocolate kisses taped to the back of our seats, which still isn't going to convince us to sign back up next season. On the whole I enjoyed the production. I had the gooby urge to be in costume myself, but obviously didn't and likely won't for Anthony and Cleopatra next week. The costumes were heavily influence by HBO's ROME, which did at least give a good feel, though the plebes were lacking color. Really I was just there for the blood splatter.
And for some reason I had trouble sleeping last night, up at 4am trying to talk myself to going back to sleep. Hopefully tonight will be better.
Have been in training for the past two days, fun and entertaining playing with Wimba, but cutting back on other things I need to accomplish. Also got to work with a lovely guy named Evgeny in Moscow on setting up a video conference for Monday.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, last night, we went with the Morgensterns to go see Julius Ceasar at the dreaded SHH venue. First, we get the understudy for Mark Anthony, which was kinda irritating since Andrew Long is a joy to watch, even if he did a decent job. They did leave us attempted bribes of chocolate kisses taped to the back of our seats, which still isn't going to convince us to sign back up next season. On the whole I enjoyed the production. I had the gooby urge to be in costume myself, but obviously didn't and likely won't for Anthony and Cleopatra next week. The costumes were heavily influence by HBO's ROME, which did at least give a good feel, though the plebes were lacking color. Really I was just there for the blood splatter.
And for some reason I had trouble sleeping last night, up at 4am trying to talk myself to going back to sleep. Hopefully tonight will be better.
Mood: tired
tired24 June 2008 @ 11:04 pm
I spent two+ hours vacuuming the top and main floor of the house before giving up and having dinner. I also had to change the bag, and unclog the hose only to be unsuccessful with the unclogging and whine at Alan when he got home for him to fix it. (Actually I think I need to go back over the dining room floor as I'm sure it wasn't working properly then, come to think of it...) At least there is massive improvement to the top floor, which we had neglected to vacuum after the bathroom installation. I guess I'll have to clean the mantle and ledge in the den on Thursday night. Alan kindly vacuumed the basement since I was done-done with vacuuming for the night.
We haven't spotted the second mouse since capture of the first, and attempted capture of the second. I did swing by the Home Depot to pick up a live trap, and have it baited with some peanut butter just in case he comes back. I'd like to think that the captured mouse told him to run and make it to safety, and he's gone for good. So I was gonna wait and release our captive after seeing if we could get #2 as well, but she looked so sad and terrified hiding in the box I had given her for shelter. So, I took a break from cleaning and decided to scoop her into a tall tupperware container (snap a few pictures) and take her for a walk to the wild area and set her free there.
We had a nice long talk during the walk, if by talk you accept me talking to the mouse in a cutesy voice and her cleaning her face back at me, about how she needs to take this lesson and not invade the houses of people and stay away, and tell the others to stay away too. Because we don't want to have to trap and scare them, but we simply cannot abide little mousie feet, no matter how cute they are, on our kitchen counters, and little mousie poo in our house.
Then again, it could be that the mice are doing us a favor, because obviously we can't clean up after ourselves. I had to harass *someone* about his crumbs from making a sandwich, and even clean up some more from where he was eating said sandwich. If only they would make me clothes like in Cinderella, or dinner, like in Ratatoullie, then I'd be much more accepting of their presence. Oh, and they'd need to be potty-trained too. Since all three are highly unlikely, I think I'll stick with eviction, and perhaps chase down some peppermint oil.
We haven't spotted the second mouse since capture of the first, and attempted capture of the second. I did swing by the Home Depot to pick up a live trap, and have it baited with some peanut butter just in case he comes back. I'd like to think that the captured mouse told him to run and make it to safety, and he's gone for good. So I was gonna wait and release our captive after seeing if we could get #2 as well, but she looked so sad and terrified hiding in the box I had given her for shelter. So, I took a break from cleaning and decided to scoop her into a tall tupperware container (snap a few pictures) and take her for a walk to the wild area and set her free there.
We had a nice long talk during the walk, if by talk you accept me talking to the mouse in a cutesy voice and her cleaning her face back at me, about how she needs to take this lesson and not invade the houses of people and stay away, and tell the others to stay away too. Because we don't want to have to trap and scare them, but we simply cannot abide little mousie feet, no matter how cute they are, on our kitchen counters, and little mousie poo in our house.
( picture... )
Then again, it could be that the mice are doing us a favor, because obviously we can't clean up after ourselves. I had to harass *someone* about his crumbs from making a sandwich, and even clean up some more from where he was eating said sandwich. If only they would make me clothes like in Cinderella, or dinner, like in Ratatoullie, then I'd be much more accepting of their presence. Oh, and they'd need to be potty-trained too. Since all three are highly unlikely, I think I'll stick with eviction, and perhaps chase down some peppermint oil.
Mood: tired
tired24 June 2008 @ 03:03 pm
of the mice that is.
One of them had the balls to be seen on the kitchen counter near my snack pile. Luckily that meant that a quick clean-up also afforded an easy cornering, and with the help of some upside down tupperware a mouse was caught. I went downstairs to grab a small aquarium, laid some paper towels in the bottom, and scooped the mouse off the counter and into the cage. I then put in a Gatorade cap full of water and some cherrios and a small box for the mouse to hide in and put it on the dining room table, because I was not going to find a safe place to dump the mouse after 11pm. I then tried, with bait, to catch the second mouse so I could evict them together, but that one was smarter/faster, etc. and I went to bed with only one mouse captured. This morning, I made sure that the mouse hadn't died in captivity last night and freshed the water bowl and added a dried cherry for snacks.
So cute! Especially eating a cherrio. Reminds me of Bera feeding Mudslide fruit loops back in our college days. Must find a nice place to evict the mousie too this evening, as the longer she stays, the more I am likely to want to adapt her to domesticity, and she'd no doubt be miserable. But then I think of Fievel and Remy and curse Disney for making me think that it is cruel to separate rodent families and attribute them complex human emotions that they may or may not have. Arrgghhh! Curse you Disney!
Then again, I guess I could swing by the Home Depot in the chance of finding a humane trap for the second mouse, and trapping it tonight and releasing them together a day later. hmmm... Except we have a play tomorrow night. Release on Thursday isn't so bad...
Regardless, I need to do some serious cleaning tonight, so no socializing at practice tonight for me. stoopid mice.
One of them had the balls to be seen on the kitchen counter near my snack pile. Luckily that meant that a quick clean-up also afforded an easy cornering, and with the help of some upside down tupperware a mouse was caught. I went downstairs to grab a small aquarium, laid some paper towels in the bottom, and scooped the mouse off the counter and into the cage. I then put in a Gatorade cap full of water and some cherrios and a small box for the mouse to hide in and put it on the dining room table, because I was not going to find a safe place to dump the mouse after 11pm. I then tried, with bait, to catch the second mouse so I could evict them together, but that one was smarter/faster, etc. and I went to bed with only one mouse captured. This morning, I made sure that the mouse hadn't died in captivity last night and freshed the water bowl and added a dried cherry for snacks.
So cute! Especially eating a cherrio. Reminds me of Bera feeding Mudslide fruit loops back in our college days. Must find a nice place to evict the mousie too this evening, as the longer she stays, the more I am likely to want to adapt her to domesticity, and she'd no doubt be miserable. But then I think of Fievel and Remy and curse Disney for making me think that it is cruel to separate rodent families and attribute them complex human emotions that they may or may not have. Arrgghhh! Curse you Disney!
Then again, I guess I could swing by the Home Depot in the chance of finding a humane trap for the second mouse, and trapping it tonight and releasing them together a day later. hmmm... Except we have a play tomorrow night. Release on Thursday isn't so bad...
Regardless, I need to do some serious cleaning tonight, so no socializing at practice tonight for me. stoopid mice.
Mood: aggravated
aggravated