Time for an actual entry, I think
May. 14th, 2004 08:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmith...instead of a quiz.
It's been raining off and on for the entire week--the grass has sprouted a good two inches, the back yard is squishy and flooded in places, and the doggy septic tank filled itself with water for a change. It's still misting now, and for the icing on the cake, temps have dropped into the 40s. My hope is that the chill will knock out the skeeters, but I think you need a freeze to do that. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be dry and sunny, but given the flooding, I'll be lucky if I can cut the grass this weekend.
Played with the pups anyway. King made sure he splashed and rolled in every puddle he could find, then goaded Mickey into chasing him around the yard by taunting him with a skinned tennis ball. He appears to have lost a few pounds--his underside has more definition and his waist is more obvious. This is a good thing. He weighed in at 108 during his last vet visit, and the vet said that getting him under 100 wouldn't hurt him. I don't think he's lost that much, but he could be halfway there. The change is the amount of exercise he gets when he plays with Mickey, especially on weekends when I leave them in the backyard for hours at a time. They dash around at top speed, playing tag. Get into mock fights with lots of leaping about. I think King gets more exercise in 10 minutes with Mickey than he did during his hour-long walks with me.
What else happened? Closed on the home equity thingie yesterday. Much as I would love to add an addition to the house, I think I'll start with the existing structure. New windows and doors are in the plan. Don't want another winter of curtains flapping when the old crank windows are already closed as tightly as one can manage.
Bought stuff. A new rainjacket to replace the old run with the rip in the back, courtesy of King. Shoes from Eddie Bauer--love those deep discounts. Another Prada bag, heaven help me, thanks to a combo of three discounts. This one is black microfiber and pebbled leather and holds a lot. Looks nice. I'm a handbag person--what can I say?
Still need a pair of walking shoes to replace the trail shoes that wore out. I'll be buying those in an actual shoe store, though, since the feet ain't as sturdy as they used to be and a fitting is a must. Of all the body parts I thought would go south on me--back, knees, shoulders--I never thought I'd add feet to the list. Stupid things.
Latest reading. I'm giving Ian Rankin a rest and moved on to Dennis Lehane for a while. SHUTTER ISLAND. Thought about buying MYSTIC RIVER, but decided against. I didn't think I could handle the emotion right now. Thrillers are one thing, the sundering of friends and families something else.
After Lehane will come Koontz, either THE FACE, which I also bought yesterday, or ODD THOMAS, which should arrive any day now in the mails. Up to this point, I have only read one Koontz book, TICK TOCK, and confess that I didn't care for it. Not because it wasn't scary--it was. But there's a profound twist to the plot and the mood of the story about 2/3 of the way through, and I didn't feel that the two portions meshed well. I can think of one thing that would have made it right for me, but it ain't my book. Oh that it were--I could retire by now.
Wiscon is a week and a half. I need to get away. Three panels, a reading, and a mass signing, which should be fun. Just getting away from the day job should be fun. No news yet on the Other Job front. Fingers remain crossed that something breaks loose before midsummer.
It's been raining off and on for the entire week--the grass has sprouted a good two inches, the back yard is squishy and flooded in places, and the doggy septic tank filled itself with water for a change. It's still misting now, and for the icing on the cake, temps have dropped into the 40s. My hope is that the chill will knock out the skeeters, but I think you need a freeze to do that. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be dry and sunny, but given the flooding, I'll be lucky if I can cut the grass this weekend.
Played with the pups anyway. King made sure he splashed and rolled in every puddle he could find, then goaded Mickey into chasing him around the yard by taunting him with a skinned tennis ball. He appears to have lost a few pounds--his underside has more definition and his waist is more obvious. This is a good thing. He weighed in at 108 during his last vet visit, and the vet said that getting him under 100 wouldn't hurt him. I don't think he's lost that much, but he could be halfway there. The change is the amount of exercise he gets when he plays with Mickey, especially on weekends when I leave them in the backyard for hours at a time. They dash around at top speed, playing tag. Get into mock fights with lots of leaping about. I think King gets more exercise in 10 minutes with Mickey than he did during his hour-long walks with me.
What else happened? Closed on the home equity thingie yesterday. Much as I would love to add an addition to the house, I think I'll start with the existing structure. New windows and doors are in the plan. Don't want another winter of curtains flapping when the old crank windows are already closed as tightly as one can manage.
Bought stuff. A new rainjacket to replace the old run with the rip in the back, courtesy of King. Shoes from Eddie Bauer--love those deep discounts. Another Prada bag, heaven help me, thanks to a combo of three discounts. This one is black microfiber and pebbled leather and holds a lot. Looks nice. I'm a handbag person--what can I say?
Still need a pair of walking shoes to replace the trail shoes that wore out. I'll be buying those in an actual shoe store, though, since the feet ain't as sturdy as they used to be and a fitting is a must. Of all the body parts I thought would go south on me--back, knees, shoulders--I never thought I'd add feet to the list. Stupid things.
Latest reading. I'm giving Ian Rankin a rest and moved on to Dennis Lehane for a while. SHUTTER ISLAND. Thought about buying MYSTIC RIVER, but decided against. I didn't think I could handle the emotion right now. Thrillers are one thing, the sundering of friends and families something else.
After Lehane will come Koontz, either THE FACE, which I also bought yesterday, or ODD THOMAS, which should arrive any day now in the mails. Up to this point, I have only read one Koontz book, TICK TOCK, and confess that I didn't care for it. Not because it wasn't scary--it was. But there's a profound twist to the plot and the mood of the story about 2/3 of the way through, and I didn't feel that the two portions meshed well. I can think of one thing that would have made it right for me, but it ain't my book. Oh that it were--I could retire by now.
Wiscon is a week and a half. I need to get away. Three panels, a reading, and a mass signing, which should be fun. Just getting away from the day job should be fun. No news yet on the Other Job front. Fingers remain crossed that something breaks loose before midsummer.
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-14 08:27 pm (UTC)Go for the bow window in the living room. We did, and not only does it look cooler then a regular window, but the two little side windows open, which really improved the cross-ventilation in the room.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-14 08:47 pm (UTC)Sing it, sister. I'll come in on the second verse.
>Go for the bow window in the living room. We did, and not only does it look cooler then >a regular window, but the two little side windows open, which really improved the >cross-ventilation in the room.
A bow window is the plan. With a shoebox ranch, you need to add as much visual interest as possible. That's one reason why I'd like to add the extra room in the near future.
Planning good---
Date: 2004-05-14 09:34 pm (UTC)We were going to order a single patio door with crank side vents--it was pushing $500 dollars, AND did not come with the internal blinds. But if we order a double patio/french door, both doors can open, the blinds are inside the glass-- less than $500. So, we're going double.
I enjoy the idea of windows. I see them in our future. But we had to have the two new A/C units--TX is miserable without A/C.
They cut a trench in our addition this week--got to take photos tomorrow.
We have the bow window in our new dining room. The punch out adds a lot...
Re: Planning good---
Date: 2004-05-15 05:56 am (UTC)These doors and windows of mine are edging up on 20 years old. I imagine that all the new possibilities that are out there will take me by surprise...
Re: Planning good---
Date: 2004-05-15 09:04 am (UTC)Pella and Andersen also have ones with the blinds in them--my father got Pella for our cottage--not cheap, unless you stumble into ones dropped off at a Habitat for Humanity Restore by a builder, but gorgeous--and they are built to last. My dad put sliding wood doors by Pella--the heavy, gorgeous glide ones--in 28 years ago. They have taken the brunt of Lake Michigan winters head-on, and summer sun, for that time. He just re-caulked around them last year (used 30 year caulk the first time, of course...)
If you never intend to sell, Pella and Anderson might be considered. We have to go for the other (I can find out today which one is on the floor at HD-- ) because we put in the two expensive A/C and a Casablanca fan--and redid the wood floors, etc. No more money for top of the line! %^) ) But the Stanley and Masonite doors look very solid--I've seen cheap ones, these are good.
They have some great stuff out there, but it's very seductive--you can design a $50,000 kitchen or a $30,000 bath in the blink of an eye, if someone else does the work. I'd advise checking out Taunton Press's Bath Ideas and Kitchen Ideas books from your local libs, if they have them, and just get a feel for things. Once you realize that a recycling station might be VERY useful and get rid of stupid bags lurking in closet/pantry/garage, or that the three major forms of lighting are much more important than a top of the line stove when you only cook twice a week--it helps confirm priorities.
Trust me, life is quite tilted when you enter a tile store and there is nothing under 5.95 a square foot, except in the sale section... (The $50.39 a square foot wall decorator really threw me. I'd definitely pay a friend to fire me some tiles first, before going that route...for "semi-custom" tiles?!) There are good ones to be found--I found Daltile, a good TX brand, for $1.98 a square foot, and there are discounters with overruns of expensive marbles, etc. but you have to know exactly what you need, plus overrun--tile sometimes is flawed, and you always want a 1/2 box left over, for if a tile cracks, or you take out a closet and want to tile that area, too... Start looking, don't buy unless it's unique and you WILL Use it somewhere (like a stained glass portal at a steal price) and enjoy!
Anderson was just running a buy six windows, get $100 off deal down here, so deals may be found--
Re: Planning good---
Date: 2004-05-15 09:08 am (UTC)I meant that as don't buy anything immediately--let yourself look and compare. It's like reading consumer reports before buying a stove--(And if you do plan to redo the kitchen, their kitchen issues are very useful--you can get great working and looking stuff without buying high end--the high end stuff actually scorches chocolate!!!)
no subject
Date: 2004-05-15 08:51 pm (UTC)