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.
