Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wednesday Bites - The Lawn Boy Edition
The last few times I've cut my grass, it seemed to need cutting again rather quickly. So I took a look at the mower and realized the wheels were still set high from last fall. D'oh! Problem solved. I am so smart. *eyeroll*
***************
I am very excited about my new (well, new to me) electric weed whacker. I couldn't get the old gas one started so my yard was looking unkempt around the edges. But no more!! My Sugar brought me his old electric one and I zipped through weeds, grass and ivy like a hot knife through butter!
************
Yard work is instant gratification - overgrown lawn? One pass with the mower and voila! All evenly cut and smooth. Empty pile of dirt? Add some mulch and flowers and bang! Instant color and texture.
************
I like doing yard work. It is rewarding to sit on the porch with a cold beer and admire the fruits of your labors. That being said, I did hire a my babysitter's son to clean out the ivy and limbs from behind my shed. However, once it's clean I will pretty it up. I'm thinking white gravel and maybe a couple of potted plants for color.
**********
My goal tomorrow is to rebuild the flower bed in my front yard. The dogs and I need to be out of the house while my carpets are being cleaned, so hopefully it will be nice weather. I'm using the old bricks from the backyard to re-do the flower bed border, and then cleaning out the old mulch and replanting flowers and laying out new mulch. Pictures, you ask? Why of course!!
********
Enjoy your Wednesday!
***************
I am very excited about my new (well, new to me) electric weed whacker. I couldn't get the old gas one started so my yard was looking unkempt around the edges. But no more!! My Sugar brought me his old electric one and I zipped through weeds, grass and ivy like a hot knife through butter!
************
Yard work is instant gratification - overgrown lawn? One pass with the mower and voila! All evenly cut and smooth. Empty pile of dirt? Add some mulch and flowers and bang! Instant color and texture.
************
I like doing yard work. It is rewarding to sit on the porch with a cold beer and admire the fruits of your labors. That being said, I did hire a my babysitter's son to clean out the ivy and limbs from behind my shed. However, once it's clean I will pretty it up. I'm thinking white gravel and maybe a couple of potted plants for color.
**********
My goal tomorrow is to rebuild the flower bed in my front yard. The dogs and I need to be out of the house while my carpets are being cleaned, so hopefully it will be nice weather. I'm using the old bricks from the backyard to re-do the flower bed border, and then cleaning out the old mulch and replanting flowers and laying out new mulch. Pictures, you ask? Why of course!!
********
Enjoy your Wednesday!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Half A World Away
I just talked to my brother, Travis. He is currently stationed in Iraq, on a Coast Guard ship patrolling the Gulf against belligerant Iraqi gunboats looking to blow up the oil derricks. At least that's what he can tell me. I suspect there may be more to it.
They are out for 21-day cruises, then they come back into dry land for 6 days. He is currently in Bahrain, enjoying his short stint of freedom.
I love talking to him, but as much as he entertains me with funny stories, we have been ignoring the big white elephant - how we both are handling what life has chucked at us.
I want to know how he's doing being so far from home for so long. How he's doing being on the front lines of a war. A WAR, people! I don't care how grown up he thinks he is being married with a child, he's my little brother. The one I cut out of a tree. The one that busted my head open by body slamming me into the couch. The one I locked out of the house when he wouldn't take out the trash, so he threw a rock at me and broke the front door and I got in trouble while he ran off into the woods to hide with a bag in which he'd packed a handful of Tootsie Rolls and clean underwear. The one that took Jessica and Kelli to the beach and taught them to boogie-board and the fun of an underwater camera. The one that taught Jessica how to drive a go-cart. The one that did donuts on the jetski until Kelli flew off, and she came up sputtering and demanding "Do it again, Uncle Travis!"
The one that put on his dress blues, white hat and gloves and carried Jessica's coffin to the limo, and never once stumbled through his tears.
He wants to know how I'm doing, facing the rest of my life without two of my children. He wants to make sure Sugar is treating me right. He wants to make sure I'm treating myself right. Am I ready to go back to work? He wants to know how Maddy is handling things, and would she like to come to California when he comes home (Um, I'm going to go with Hell Yeah on that one).
He told me today that he wears a patch on his Kevlar vest which has three roses and the girls' names on it. When he gets back, he's going to give it to me.
Today we finally talked about all this, and he started to cry. I had to go in an empty office so I could cry too. He cried because he's tired of being there, and he misses his family and he wants to come home. I cried because I miss him and I want him to come home, too. We cried because the girls are gone. We both sat on the floor, leaned our heads against the walls and cried into our phones, wishing we were half a foot away from each other instead of half a world away.
They are out for 21-day cruises, then they come back into dry land for 6 days. He is currently in Bahrain, enjoying his short stint of freedom.
I love talking to him, but as much as he entertains me with funny stories, we have been ignoring the big white elephant - how we both are handling what life has chucked at us.
I want to know how he's doing being so far from home for so long. How he's doing being on the front lines of a war. A WAR, people! I don't care how grown up he thinks he is being married with a child, he's my little brother. The one I cut out of a tree. The one that busted my head open by body slamming me into the couch. The one I locked out of the house when he wouldn't take out the trash, so he threw a rock at me and broke the front door and I got in trouble while he ran off into the woods to hide with a bag in which he'd packed a handful of Tootsie Rolls and clean underwear. The one that took Jessica and Kelli to the beach and taught them to boogie-board and the fun of an underwater camera. The one that taught Jessica how to drive a go-cart. The one that did donuts on the jetski until Kelli flew off, and she came up sputtering and demanding "Do it again, Uncle Travis!"
The one that put on his dress blues, white hat and gloves and carried Jessica's coffin to the limo, and never once stumbled through his tears.
He wants to know how I'm doing, facing the rest of my life without two of my children. He wants to make sure Sugar is treating me right. He wants to make sure I'm treating myself right. Am I ready to go back to work? He wants to know how Maddy is handling things, and would she like to come to California when he comes home (Um, I'm going to go with Hell Yeah on that one).
He told me today that he wears a patch on his Kevlar vest which has three roses and the girls' names on it. When he gets back, he's going to give it to me.
Today we finally talked about all this, and he started to cry. I had to go in an empty office so I could cry too. He cried because he's tired of being there, and he misses his family and he wants to come home. I cried because I miss him and I want him to come home, too. We cried because the girls are gone. We both sat on the floor, leaned our heads against the walls and cried into our phones, wishing we were half a foot away from each other instead of half a world away.
Monday, April 28, 2008
My Student of the Month Is Cuter Than Yours
Maddy was awarded Student of the Month for her elementary school. I'm very proud of her. She didn't win cash, but got some nice swag.
Way to go, MadMad!! Dinner at Cracker Barrel to celebrate!
Mending Fences
The fence is up. It is beautiful. My yard looks so much cleaner now. Not just because the sections on this fence are actually straight, the posts don't lean, and you can't see through the holes where pickets were missing. It looks clean because we cleared out piles of ivy that were growing through the old fence. I really think it was holding up the fence in some places. We also cleared out piles of old bricks in the corner (which again, were helping to hold up the fence), and I cleared out the small jungle between the shed and the fence. There is still a small jungle behind the shed but you can't see that from the pictures so be kind and don't point it out. I'm working on it. (And by working on it I mean trying to hire someone because DAMN that ivy is in the ground for life.) I wish I could just set it on fire, but our town has some goofy ordinance about uncontrolled burning. Spoilsports.
We tore down the old fence on Friday afternoon. It only took about an hour and half. Of the ten posts, we found two that were properly set in concrete. The first post we pulled out was only buried 4 inches into the ground. I'm not a professional, but I think you need a bit more stability than that. Of course, that kind of master craftsmanship explains a lot about the state of the fence. Just sayin'.
I bought my fencing from Home Depot. A nice feature they offer is the ability to place your order online, and they will pull it and get it ready for you to pick up. This is especially handy when you're dealing with 6x8 fence panels. They don't fit in the cart so well.
They also offer tool and truck rental, but they do not take reservations, so it's first come first serve. My plan was to get there right when they opened to make sure I got what I needed.
On Friday, I ran by to get an extension cord and a garden hose. While I was there, I stopped by the online order desk just to verify that my order wasn't lost in cyberspace. I also verified that they opened at 6am. The clerk said "yes, 6am."
Saturday morning, Sugar and I arose at the buttcrack of dawn and headed out to HD. As we approached the store, I could see 4 or 5 people standing by the doors. I started to freak out (because that's what I do best) and started spewing a stream of consciousness along the lines of "oh no, I knew I should have gotten here earlier how the hell am I going to get 10 fence panels and posts and concrete to my house with this short-bed truck, and and what if they rented the auger already and oh holy hell that guy has on a Home Depot jacket and I'm wearing my Lowe's jacket they won't rent to me becauseI like the wrong NASCAR team and I want this fence done today because I can't bring my dogs home without a fence".... and on and on like that. I'm suprised Sugar didn't shut my hand in the door just to give me something to freak out about.
Ahem. Anyway, we pull into the parking and I leap out of the truck before he gets it stopped, because the the 4 or 5 people standing outside the store? Are now being let inside!! OMG!! I half walk/half run toward the door, and the door shuts and I see the employee re-locking it! Nooooo!!!! As I hurtle toward the doors, the kind yet confused Home Depot employee opens the door again and says "Can I help you?" I said I was there to pick up my order and he says "We don't open until 7."
WHA? Oh no no no, the lady at the contractor desk yesterday said 6am. He replied "That was our old hours."
WHA? Old hours? You. Are. Effing. Kidding. Me. I could have slept another hour.
By this time Sugar has caught up to me and has heard the 7am opening time. He takes me gently by the arm (before I harm myself or others) and turns me to go back to the truck. Another gentleman has heard this exchange as well and says "They always opened at 6am before." Ha! Validation!! However, validation doesn't open the doors, so we leave.
After that auspicious start, we only ran into a few more problems, which required buying more concrete and a chain saw (I told you that ivy was FIERCE!) and digging out a couple of buried surprises, such as a metal fence stake and concrete from previous fence posts. Someone apparently did the job correctly in the past. I also have a partial section left over, which I can use for future repairs.
All in all, it was a 12 hour job, start to finish. No one was seriously injured, we didn't run out of beer, and we also managed to haul off the vast majority of the old fencing.
So thanks to my Sugar, my neighbors Vinny and Lou, and my BFF Lynn for loaning her husband, Brian.
Next major project - the deck.
**Pics will be on Flickr later. I'll update.
We tore down the old fence on Friday afternoon. It only took about an hour and half. Of the ten posts, we found two that were properly set in concrete. The first post we pulled out was only buried 4 inches into the ground. I'm not a professional, but I think you need a bit more stability than that. Of course, that kind of master craftsmanship explains a lot about the state of the fence. Just sayin'.
I bought my fencing from Home Depot. A nice feature they offer is the ability to place your order online, and they will pull it and get it ready for you to pick up. This is especially handy when you're dealing with 6x8 fence panels. They don't fit in the cart so well.
They also offer tool and truck rental, but they do not take reservations, so it's first come first serve. My plan was to get there right when they opened to make sure I got what I needed.
On Friday, I ran by to get an extension cord and a garden hose. While I was there, I stopped by the online order desk just to verify that my order wasn't lost in cyberspace. I also verified that they opened at 6am. The clerk said "yes, 6am."
Saturday morning, Sugar and I arose at the buttcrack of dawn and headed out to HD. As we approached the store, I could see 4 or 5 people standing by the doors. I started to freak out (because that's what I do best) and started spewing a stream of consciousness along the lines of "oh no, I knew I should have gotten here earlier how the hell am I going to get 10 fence panels and posts and concrete to my house with this short-bed truck, and and what if they rented the auger already and oh holy hell that guy has on a Home Depot jacket and I'm wearing my Lowe's jacket they won't rent to me becauseI like the wrong NASCAR team and I want this fence done today because I can't bring my dogs home without a fence".... and on and on like that. I'm suprised Sugar didn't shut my hand in the door just to give me something to freak out about.
Ahem. Anyway, we pull into the parking and I leap out of the truck before he gets it stopped, because the the 4 or 5 people standing outside the store? Are now being let inside!! OMG!! I half walk/half run toward the door, and the door shuts and I see the employee re-locking it! Nooooo!!!! As I hurtle toward the doors, the kind yet confused Home Depot employee opens the door again and says "Can I help you?" I said I was there to pick up my order and he says "We don't open until 7."
WHA? Oh no no no, the lady at the contractor desk yesterday said 6am. He replied "That was our old hours."
WHA? Old hours? You. Are. Effing. Kidding. Me. I could have slept another hour.
By this time Sugar has caught up to me and has heard the 7am opening time. He takes me gently by the arm (before I harm myself or others) and turns me to go back to the truck. Another gentleman has heard this exchange as well and says "They always opened at 6am before." Ha! Validation!! However, validation doesn't open the doors, so we leave.
After that auspicious start, we only ran into a few more problems, which required buying more concrete and a chain saw (I told you that ivy was FIERCE!) and digging out a couple of buried surprises, such as a metal fence stake and concrete from previous fence posts. Someone apparently did the job correctly in the past. I also have a partial section left over, which I can use for future repairs.
All in all, it was a 12 hour job, start to finish. No one was seriously injured, we didn't run out of beer, and we also managed to haul off the vast majority of the old fencing.
So thanks to my Sugar, my neighbors Vinny and Lou, and my BFF Lynn for loaning her husband, Brian.
Next major project - the deck.
**Pics will be on Flickr later. I'll update.
Friday, April 25, 2008
In Case You Missed It...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I Had to Share
I'm having a bleah day and I read this just a minute ago. I had to share. It was very inspirational to me and calmed a few of my freak-outs I was having.
I'm going to write "Trust" on my bathroom mirror. Just as a reminder.
Enjoy.
I'm going to write "Trust" on my bathroom mirror. Just as a reminder.
Enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)