1) Never try to save money for a large purchase/project. The moment you get anywhere near your goal, something big and ugly will break in your house and you'll have to use your savings to pay for repair/replacement.
2) Repairing screens is easy - and a hellova lot cheaper than buying new ones.
3) Nothing is more cost-saving than a good "programmable" thermostat.
4) You can never have too much duct tape, superglue, rubberbands, or Lysol.
5) Enjoy your home - be happy. The office is ok, but home is sanctuary!
Love, Mom
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Bits and Pieces
Oh FFS - the things people toss out!
My mind instantly flew to Croila this morning. Not related to, but relevant, today is trash day in the subdivision. Someone had put out a stuffed animal - no doubt either their cats had peed on it or it was just too farking big for the kid's room...
4 feet tall if it was an inch.
Fluffy "boa" type scarf around it's neck.
Bright Shocking Pink Furry Plushie Monkey.
Again, there I am with no camera! BAH!!!
The new neighbors have a new dog. He's some sort of little white terrier-looking fella, VERY friendly and highly excitable. I like him. He sniffed me and wiggled and wagged and sniffed again but he didn't lick. I got to rub his tummy and make "girly" noises at him. Then the lady from the house opposite came out with her trash and we all talked about wasps on the fences, so I gave each of them one of my little black caps to put on their gate latches. Our "alleyway" will be just that bit more wasp-free. Woot.
So the taxes are done and in - my #4 pair of shoes is the most comfortable yet - but they make this wet-squishy-juicy noise when I walk. The hell with it - they're comfy. I think I will go back and see if they have more like them in other colors. If they do, I'll pick up 3 or 4 pairs so that I don't have to go shoes shopping for a while.
Today is the day Amanda said they are closing on their house - I hope it all goes well and that they have a smooth time and no nasty surprises. Good luck, Sweetie!
278 days
My mind instantly flew to Croila this morning. Not related to, but relevant, today is trash day in the subdivision. Someone had put out a stuffed animal - no doubt either their cats had peed on it or it was just too farking big for the kid's room...
4 feet tall if it was an inch.
Fluffy "boa" type scarf around it's neck.
Bright Shocking Pink Furry Plushie Monkey.
Again, there I am with no camera! BAH!!!
The new neighbors have a new dog. He's some sort of little white terrier-looking fella, VERY friendly and highly excitable. I like him. He sniffed me and wiggled and wagged and sniffed again but he didn't lick. I got to rub his tummy and make "girly" noises at him. Then the lady from the house opposite came out with her trash and we all talked about wasps on the fences, so I gave each of them one of my little black caps to put on their gate latches. Our "alleyway" will be just that bit more wasp-free. Woot.
So the taxes are done and in - my #4 pair of shoes is the most comfortable yet - but they make this wet-squishy-juicy noise when I walk. The hell with it - they're comfy. I think I will go back and see if they have more like them in other colors. If they do, I'll pick up 3 or 4 pairs so that I don't have to go shoes shopping for a while.
Today is the day Amanda said they are closing on their house - I hope it all goes well and that they have a smooth time and no nasty surprises. Good luck, Sweetie!
278 days
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pardon me, Roy...
Ok, this shoe-buying thing is nifty and all that, but there is a serious down-side. The serious down-side is this - my feets and legs are not accustomed to walking balanced on the balls of feets and toes only, and so last nite was nasty in foot & leg land. Throbbing muscles, sore knees, and kinked-up toes. Certainly it will get better eventually, but as of last nite I was wondering if perhaps just living with the tendonitis wouldn't have been preferable.
As for the title - it's part of the punch line of a joke:
Roy Rodgers had just gotten a brand-new pair of boots, and decided to break them in by going out for a ride on Trigger. They rode across the pasture, over the fence, and up into the hills.
Suddenly from out of nowhere, a ferocious mountain lion leaped out and tried to bite Roy's leg off. Instead of getting a mouth full of Roy, however, the lion got hold of his boot, which slid off as Trigger valiantly tried to save Roy.
Turning to run, Roy found the mountain lion again aiming for his leg and kicked out - losing his other boot in the process. The last sight Roy had of the beast, it was gnawing on one of the boots in frustration, watching him gallop away.
Angry at the loss of his new footwear, he grabbed his rifle and another pair of boots and hopped back on Trigger to take vengance on the animal. With a single shot, he brought down the fierce mountain lion. To prove he had rid the neighborhood of the menace, he draped the carcass across the back of Trigger and headed for home.
At the house, Dale Evans walked out onto the porch, and as he approached, she asked: "Pardon me, Roy - is that the cat who chewed your new shoes?"
Which is much funnier if you can SING the punch line...
Which you'd only get if you're a Glenn Miller fan....
279 days
As for the title - it's part of the punch line of a joke:
Roy Rodgers had just gotten a brand-new pair of boots, and decided to break them in by going out for a ride on Trigger. They rode across the pasture, over the fence, and up into the hills.
Suddenly from out of nowhere, a ferocious mountain lion leaped out and tried to bite Roy's leg off. Instead of getting a mouth full of Roy, however, the lion got hold of his boot, which slid off as Trigger valiantly tried to save Roy.
Turning to run, Roy found the mountain lion again aiming for his leg and kicked out - losing his other boot in the process. The last sight Roy had of the beast, it was gnawing on one of the boots in frustration, watching him gallop away.
Angry at the loss of his new footwear, he grabbed his rifle and another pair of boots and hopped back on Trigger to take vengance on the animal. With a single shot, he brought down the fierce mountain lion. To prove he had rid the neighborhood of the menace, he draped the carcass across the back of Trigger and headed for home.
At the house, Dale Evans walked out onto the porch, and as he approached, she asked: "Pardon me, Roy - is that the cat who chewed your new shoes?"
Which is much funnier if you can SING the punch line...
Which you'd only get if you're a Glenn Miller fan....
279 days
Monday, April 14, 2008
Taking the Easy Way Out
Day Tripper mentions it that way. One of Kal Traumaqueen's long-term net friends took it this last week. BBC has been advising Lea to take it - and apparently myself as well. I defy ANYONE to claim truthfully that they haven't at least once in their lives either contemplated the act - or wished they hadn't been born, which is kind of like the same thing but different.
Sure, I've thought about it. Even on a couple of occasions I've considered "how". Unfortunately, having read Kal's blog, and that of a couple of other medical folks, I've come to the conclusion that all my "hows" would have been less than satisfactory, in execution (NO pun intended) and in efficiency - not to mention side-effects.
In the end, however, the biggest reason I never did - and won't - is that my personal philosophy says that life makes no sense whatsoever unless it is a learning experience. We sign up for a course of instruction - "Life" - and are given lessons, "labs", opportunities, challenges and tests. I think dying/death - is one of these. Some folks go in their sleep, quietly without fanfare, pain or struggle. Others fight bitter battles with disease or injury before succumbing.
Taking the Easy Way Out essentially is the equivalent of dropping out of school. "This is too hard, I'm going to quit." Unfortunately, just like in THIS life, dropping out without learning all the lessons doubtless leaves you grotesquely unprepared for the NEXT part of existance. Dropping out of school limits your choices, has the potential to limit your income. Since nobody has actually risen up from the grave recently, we don't have a first-hand account by an uninterested observer (Jesus doesn't count, if he was the Son of God, then he's biased...), so we don't know what the "Next Thing" is like, or what sort of preparatory lessons one needs to succeed in the Next Thing.
Since I don't know what I'll need for "Next Thing", I figure I'd best take all the courses I'm given, and do the very best I can at those courses. Sure, I'll do better at some than at others, and I'm sure I'll utterly make a mess of a few - but then, I couldn't figure out why I needed to take Geometry in School.
Until I started designing quilts...
280 days
Sure, I've thought about it. Even on a couple of occasions I've considered "how". Unfortunately, having read Kal's blog, and that of a couple of other medical folks, I've come to the conclusion that all my "hows" would have been less than satisfactory, in execution (NO pun intended) and in efficiency - not to mention side-effects.
In the end, however, the biggest reason I never did - and won't - is that my personal philosophy says that life makes no sense whatsoever unless it is a learning experience. We sign up for a course of instruction - "Life" - and are given lessons, "labs", opportunities, challenges and tests. I think dying/death - is one of these. Some folks go in their sleep, quietly without fanfare, pain or struggle. Others fight bitter battles with disease or injury before succumbing.
Taking the Easy Way Out essentially is the equivalent of dropping out of school. "This is too hard, I'm going to quit." Unfortunately, just like in THIS life, dropping out without learning all the lessons doubtless leaves you grotesquely unprepared for the NEXT part of existance. Dropping out of school limits your choices, has the potential to limit your income. Since nobody has actually risen up from the grave recently, we don't have a first-hand account by an uninterested observer (Jesus doesn't count, if he was the Son of God, then he's biased...), so we don't know what the "Next Thing" is like, or what sort of preparatory lessons one needs to succeed in the Next Thing.
Since I don't know what I'll need for "Next Thing", I figure I'd best take all the courses I'm given, and do the very best I can at those courses. Sure, I'll do better at some than at others, and I'm sure I'll utterly make a mess of a few - but then, I couldn't figure out why I needed to take Geometry in School.
Until I started designing quilts...
280 days
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Getting in Touch with my Inner Imelda Marcos
So I went to the Dr. on Thursday - I'm ok, just a 3-month checkup to make sure I'm not snarfing down all the chocolate in Illinois and destroying my blood sugar levels. While I was there I asked about my ankle/heel/foot thingy, and Dr. Nick agreed it sure does sound like Achilles Tendonitis.
Then he look at my shoes.
Ruh roh, Reorge...
Apparently running amok in my bare feets at home, and wearing my cute and previously oh-so-comfortable ballet flats is somewhat taxing to one's Achilles tendon. Boo. Hiss. Phooey.
So! The solution, says Dr. Nick - is to go buy shoes!!! Buy shoes with heels - they don't need to be HIGH, just a bit of a heel to take some of the pressure off the tendon.
Whatta guy - a Dr. who gives you a prescription to go SHOES SHOPPING!!!!
*smile*
Now, he did say to get a pair of tennies for at home - but that's just not likely to happen, as my feet don't like shoes at all at all at all at all, so when we are home and it's just me and the cats and the toes - the toes get to run amok naked. bleh.
In other news - someone's going to be rather upset when their dog gets home tonight.
Eau de Pepe LePew is in the air. I heard a dog making some rather upset noises, and now the delicate aroma of "skunk" is floating on the breeze.
281 days
Then he look at my shoes.
Ruh roh, Reorge...
Apparently running amok in my bare feets at home, and wearing my cute and previously oh-so-comfortable ballet flats is somewhat taxing to one's Achilles tendon. Boo. Hiss. Phooey.
So! The solution, says Dr. Nick - is to go buy shoes!!! Buy shoes with heels - they don't need to be HIGH, just a bit of a heel to take some of the pressure off the tendon.
Whatta guy - a Dr. who gives you a prescription to go SHOES SHOPPING!!!!
*smile*
Now, he did say to get a pair of tennies for at home - but that's just not likely to happen, as my feet don't like shoes at all at all at all at all, so when we are home and it's just me and the cats and the toes - the toes get to run amok naked. bleh.
In other news - someone's going to be rather upset when their dog gets home tonight.
Eau de Pepe LePew is in the air. I heard a dog making some rather upset noises, and now the delicate aroma of "skunk" is floating on the breeze.
281 days
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
