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PARTY WAGON
Sep. 25th, 2007 03:24 pmI'm going to get my new Honda Fit this week. We looked at the Scion xD, and while it did make me think twice, I still like the Fit better.
So excited. It's adorable and fun, and it reminds me of my dear departed Red Rocket.
Now to get a big magnetic block "R" for the tailgate! :D
So excited. It's adorable and fun, and it reminds me of my dear departed Red Rocket.
Now to get a big magnetic block "R" for the tailgate! :D
Goodbye, Ms, L'Engle
Sep. 7th, 2007 03:02 pmMadeleine L'Engle dies at 88
I loved her books. My mother read the "Wrinkle in Time" books to me, and all of my unicorn Breyer horses were named "Gaudior." Go in peace, Madeleine.
I loved her books. My mother read the "Wrinkle in Time" books to me, and all of my unicorn Breyer horses were named "Gaudior." Go in peace, Madeleine.
Baby snake
Sep. 6th, 2007 12:41 pmThis is my new pet snake!
(WARNING: viewing this picture may make you explode from cute.)
It's a hatchling ringneck snake, and one of husband's coworkers found it caught in a spiderweb. We thought we'd take care of it at least until it gets a little bigger. They eat worms and bugs, so I won't have to cut up mouse parts.
I'm naming it Midgard. Always wanted to name a snake that.
(WARNING: viewing this picture may make you explode from cute.)
It's a hatchling ringneck snake, and one of husband's coworkers found it caught in a spiderweb. We thought we'd take care of it at least until it gets a little bigger. They eat worms and bugs, so I won't have to cut up mouse parts.
I'm naming it Midgard. Always wanted to name a snake that.
On to the fun stuff
Aug. 29th, 2007 03:55 pmI ordered our new bed. Woo hoo! No more full size bed! Full size is such a pain in the ass - you can never find good sheets for them at the Marshall's.
Bought the first of two HDTVs yesterday at Costco.
Husband is throwing up his hands at my waffling over countertops, so I'm going off to All State Granite and Marble this afternoon if I can get there in time. They have such pretty things!
The house is a disaster area and will probably look that way for the short-term. Disassembled furniture is lying all over the place, and we don't even have trash cans.
Bought the first of two HDTVs yesterday at Costco.
Husband is throwing up his hands at my waffling over countertops, so I'm going off to All State Granite and Marble this afternoon if I can get there in time. They have such pretty things!
The house is a disaster area and will probably look that way for the short-term. Disassembled furniture is lying all over the place, and we don't even have trash cans.
walking on broken glass
Aug. 27th, 2007 04:16 pmHuh. I had no idea that Hugh Laurie was in Annie Lennox's video for "Walking on Broken Glass." It makes sense - he probably walked right off the set of Blackadder. (John Malkovich I knew about.)
Sometimes I wonder where all the Hugh Laurie fangirls were when he was playing a dandified fop.
Sometimes I wonder where all the Hugh Laurie fangirls were when he was playing a dandified fop.
DISHWASHER
Aug. 25th, 2007 08:57 pmI HAS A DISHWASHER
NO SRSLY
I have not had a dishwasher in seven years.
My in-laws have one, and they tend to use it as a drying rack, even during large dinner parties. This is the kind of thing that justifies large-scale massacre.
But we have our own now, and I just ran a load, and it makes me SO HAPPY I MUST CAPSLOCK ABOUT IT.
NO SRSLY
I have not had a dishwasher in seven years.
My in-laws have one, and they tend to use it as a drying rack, even during large dinner parties. This is the kind of thing that justifies large-scale massacre.
But we have our own now, and I just ran a load, and it makes me SO HAPPY I MUST CAPSLOCK ABOUT IT.
House update
Aug. 22nd, 2007 12:28 pmAlmost ready to go.
Most of the painting is done. We still have a lot of trim to do, if we want to do it at all, but the walls are finished. The new hardwood floor is down in the guest room and the master bedroom, and that's about all the flooring we're going to do, at least right now. I'd love to put in wood floors downstairs, too, but it's expensive and time-consuming.
We shampooed the carpets last night - huge difference. I'm sure a professional cleaning would be even better, but even just a treatment with the rental unit made the carpets look much more sanitary. The water we poured out of the shampooer was absolutely disgusting. Amazing to think it had all come from the carpet.
Much of our stuff has already been moved over. Because the new house is not too far away, we have been loading up my car at night with boxes, and then we unload them into the basement after work. The amount of crap we have managed to accumulate is staggering, and that doesn't include the storage shelter.
Still to-do: disassemble furniture, pack up china, pack clothes.
Two more days until we move.
Most of the painting is done. We still have a lot of trim to do, if we want to do it at all, but the walls are finished. The new hardwood floor is down in the guest room and the master bedroom, and that's about all the flooring we're going to do, at least right now. I'd love to put in wood floors downstairs, too, but it's expensive and time-consuming.
We shampooed the carpets last night - huge difference. I'm sure a professional cleaning would be even better, but even just a treatment with the rental unit made the carpets look much more sanitary. The water we poured out of the shampooer was absolutely disgusting. Amazing to think it had all come from the carpet.
Much of our stuff has already been moved over. Because the new house is not too far away, we have been loading up my car at night with boxes, and then we unload them into the basement after work. The amount of crap we have managed to accumulate is staggering, and that doesn't include the storage shelter.
Still to-do: disassemble furniture, pack up china, pack clothes.
Two more days until we move.
*coughhackwheeze*
Aug. 12th, 2007 08:54 pmThank you, oven cleaner, for clearing out my sinuses for me.
Less than two weeks to moving day.
The inlaws came up again yesterday to help with painting and with laying down our new floor. BIL brought along his dog, and she was very well-behaved - I had been worried that she would be upset about being leashed outside, but she didn't whine or make a pest out of herself. (Peanut is a big dog with a very waggily tail, and we didn't want her bumping freshly-painted walls, stepping in paint trays, or knocking over paint cans.) We have everything painted now except for the master bathroom and a shitload of trim. Painting trim is a pain in the ass, but I bought an itty bitty baby (itty bitty boat) roller that makes it easier.
Today was more of the same, but I did clean some crud out of the washer and finally cleaned the oven. It's amazing what oven cleaner removes. I didn't bother cleaning it before, because fuck it, it's not my oven, but it looks so much nicer now. I also hauled boxes - we are trying to get as many boxes moved as possible before the big day so that we can concentrate on moving furniture. That's going to be a real trick, because we have a very tight entryway, and most of our stuff will need to be disassembled before it can get down the stairs and out of the house.
We should be getting countertop samples this week, and then we'll get that ordered. It's a good thing that we are going to re-do the sink, the floor, and the counters in the kitchen, because all three are stained beyond repair from the paint. Especially the brick-red we used in the kitchen. Whoof.
Still two loads of laundry to fold tonight, and sandwiches to make for lunch for the week, and the oven door to rinse, and then maybe I will put some more boxes in the car if I haven't fallen on my face.
Less than two weeks to moving day.
The inlaws came up again yesterday to help with painting and with laying down our new floor. BIL brought along his dog, and she was very well-behaved - I had been worried that she would be upset about being leashed outside, but she didn't whine or make a pest out of herself. (Peanut is a big dog with a very waggily tail, and we didn't want her bumping freshly-painted walls, stepping in paint trays, or knocking over paint cans.) We have everything painted now except for the master bathroom and a shitload of trim. Painting trim is a pain in the ass, but I bought an itty bitty baby (itty bitty boat) roller that makes it easier.
Today was more of the same, but I did clean some crud out of the washer and finally cleaned the oven. It's amazing what oven cleaner removes. I didn't bother cleaning it before, because fuck it, it's not my oven, but it looks so much nicer now. I also hauled boxes - we are trying to get as many boxes moved as possible before the big day so that we can concentrate on moving furniture. That's going to be a real trick, because we have a very tight entryway, and most of our stuff will need to be disassembled before it can get down the stairs and out of the house.
We should be getting countertop samples this week, and then we'll get that ordered. It's a good thing that we are going to re-do the sink, the floor, and the counters in the kitchen, because all three are stained beyond repair from the paint. Especially the brick-red we used in the kitchen. Whoof.
Still two loads of laundry to fold tonight, and sandwiches to make for lunch for the week, and the oven door to rinse, and then maybe I will put some more boxes in the car if I haven't fallen on my face.
it's that time of year again
Aug. 11th, 2007 08:54 pmTHE GIANTS STINK.
Already!
The defense isn't hanging together at all, Feagles just shanked a punt, and even though Eli managed to score a touchdown, he threw a wounded duck into triple coverage. Terrible!
Oh good, personal foul, fifteen yards.
I think we are going to be cheering very fiercely for Rutgers this year.
Already!
The defense isn't hanging together at all, Feagles just shanked a punt, and even though Eli managed to score a touchdown, he threw a wounded duck into triple coverage. Terrible!
Oh good, personal foul, fifteen yards.
I think we are going to be cheering very fiercely for Rutgers this year.
Home improvement
Aug. 5th, 2007 10:04 pmTo borrow a word from British English, I am knackered.
The Q's came to help us paint the house, and we got two coats on the sitting room, the den, the guest room, and the desk room; two coats of primer and one of paint on the dining room; and one coat in the bedroom up to the top of the cathedral ceiling. The place is feeling more like ours now. It was just the four of us today, but yesterday my husband's cousin came by to help as well.
So far, we have a screaming yellow dining room that will look great with black and white toile curtains, a restful light grey guest room, a sunny yellow for the desk room, light sage green for the bedroom, and a grey-brown for the sitting room. Next on the attack list are the cave paintings (really) in the powder room. The previous owner was very into Native American designs and artifacts, and there are buffalo hunters over the toilet, handprints near the sink, and a perfectly awful wallpaper to complement. We already stripped the Kokopellis out of the kitchen.
The flooring arrives tomorrow, though how much help I'll be in that department is yet to be seen. It's taking all my good sense not to order the new TV. (Priorities, yo.)
The Q's came to help us paint the house, and we got two coats on the sitting room, the den, the guest room, and the desk room; two coats of primer and one of paint on the dining room; and one coat in the bedroom up to the top of the cathedral ceiling. The place is feeling more like ours now. It was just the four of us today, but yesterday my husband's cousin came by to help as well.
So far, we have a screaming yellow dining room that will look great with black and white toile curtains, a restful light grey guest room, a sunny yellow for the desk room, light sage green for the bedroom, and a grey-brown for the sitting room. Next on the attack list are the cave paintings (really) in the powder room. The previous owner was very into Native American designs and artifacts, and there are buffalo hunters over the toilet, handprints near the sink, and a perfectly awful wallpaper to complement. We already stripped the Kokopellis out of the kitchen.
The flooring arrives tomorrow, though how much help I'll be in that department is yet to be seen. It's taking all my good sense not to order the new TV. (Priorities, yo.)
The Potterdammerung
Jul. 23rd, 2007 11:31 amYes, I have survived it, mostly by staying in the wilds of Maine last week.
I bought my copy from Bookstacks in Bucksport, where you would be fairly lucky to see one other patron at any given time, let alone roving packs of trolls shouting spoilers through megaphones. (They do have a rather large cat, but Leo is more inclined to sleep in the window.) Andy charges cover price, more than a bigbox store with a discount scheme, but it was well worth it to avoid any madness (and to support the store and the kitty.) Against his wishes, he had to hold a midnight release party, and he said that he had sixty people in the store. Bookstacks isn't much larger than, say, a mobile home, so the place must have been bursting. I went at about 10 AM: sleep is more important.
It was breezy and somewhat chilly on Saturday, so I spent the day stretched out on a chaise, reading HP by the lake. My husband interrupted every couple hours to ask "NOW what happened?" By cocktail hour, it was all over. End of an era.
SPOILERS UNDER CUT, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.
( My thoughts on <strike>yaoi</strike> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows )
I bought my copy from Bookstacks in Bucksport, where you would be fairly lucky to see one other patron at any given time, let alone roving packs of trolls shouting spoilers through megaphones. (They do have a rather large cat, but Leo is more inclined to sleep in the window.) Andy charges cover price, more than a bigbox store with a discount scheme, but it was well worth it to avoid any madness (and to support the store and the kitty.) Against his wishes, he had to hold a midnight release party, and he said that he had sixty people in the store. Bookstacks isn't much larger than, say, a mobile home, so the place must have been bursting. I went at about 10 AM: sleep is more important.
It was breezy and somewhat chilly on Saturday, so I spent the day stretched out on a chaise, reading HP by the lake. My husband interrupted every couple hours to ask "NOW what happened?" By cocktail hour, it was all over. End of an era.
SPOILERS UNDER CUT, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.
( My thoughts on <strike>yaoi</strike> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows )
Back from Maine
Jul. 22nd, 2007 10:17 pmJust back from our weeklong yearly vacation to Maine.
The good news is that we had a nice time in the sunshine and we bought some art for the new house and I survived Potterdammerung completely unspoiled because Internet is but a legend in the part of Maine we visit.
The bad news is that it rained for five days out of nine and my little pansies were all dead when I got home because obviously it did not rain enough here to help them. Or not often enough, I understand that there were terrible storms and flooding mid-week.
Finished HP:TDH about 6 PM yesterday. My husband and my father went straight to the back of the book, and I had to issue a serious warning: "If you so much as insinuate anything, I will be very upset with you." Husband also had to talk incessantly about how fast I was reading, and how amazing it was that I can speed read, and eventually I had to tell him to stuff it. JKR is not the hardest author to read and she uses a big font; I'm having a much harder time with Evangeline Walton.
In less than ten days, if all goes well, we will close on the house. Ohshitohshitohshit. woo.
The good news is that we had a nice time in the sunshine and we bought some art for the new house and I survived Potterdammerung completely unspoiled because Internet is but a legend in the part of Maine we visit.
The bad news is that it rained for five days out of nine and my little pansies were all dead when I got home because obviously it did not rain enough here to help them. Or not often enough, I understand that there were terrible storms and flooding mid-week.
Finished HP:TDH about 6 PM yesterday. My husband and my father went straight to the back of the book, and I had to issue a serious warning: "If you so much as insinuate anything, I will be very upset with you." Husband also had to talk incessantly about how fast I was reading, and how amazing it was that I can speed read, and eventually I had to tell him to stuff it. JKR is not the hardest author to read and she uses a big font; I'm having a much harder time with Evangeline Walton.
In less than ten days, if all goes well, we will close on the house. Ohshitohshitohshit. woo.
So, we went to see the Transformers movie on 4th of July. And there was much rejoicing, for it was not a complete travesty, and Peter Cullen was in it.
I will definitely be needing a Bumblebee-as-'74-Camaro with the caption "BITCHIN' CAMARO."
( cut for spoilers )
I will definitely be needing a Bumblebee-as-'74-Camaro with the caption "BITCHIN' CAMARO."
( cut for spoilers )
Part the first:
All of you who are TransFans or at least saw the show need to watch this clip. It is hilarious.
We did lots of stuff yesterday.
Husband and I swatted the ball around on the tennis court, and I am not really improving. I have to find a teacher who's not out in Westfield.
We did manage to get to the EB Games to buy husband's new games with the discount card. He bought me Spyro: A New Beginning, and fuck but that game is hard. Or maybe I'm too old to manage to play a game on a teensy little screen.
On the spur of the moment, we went to see Transformers, and we had a lolarious time. The New Yorker described the movie's bombast as "an explosion in a trombone factory," and I would have to agree with that assessment. On the other hand, Peter Cullen was in it. (and why why WHY if they were going to go through the trouble to get Cullen, did they not haul Frank Welker's butt into the recording studio as well?)
We did manage to make it to the State Fair for a couple of hours, and it was silly fun, even if we didn't do much besides get food and go on one ride and go to see the Giant Horse (a lonely-looking grey dapple Percheron) and a freak show that was nothing compared to the Mutter Museum. Husband suggested that we eat under a nearby tent about 10 seconds before the heavens opened, so that was a bit of good luck.
Thoughts on the movie in another post. 'Tis geeky and will hearken to my brief flirtation with the TransFandom, before Trigun came along.
All of you who are TransFans or at least saw the show need to watch this clip. It is hilarious.
We did lots of stuff yesterday.
Husband and I swatted the ball around on the tennis court, and I am not really improving. I have to find a teacher who's not out in Westfield.
We did manage to get to the EB Games to buy husband's new games with the discount card. He bought me Spyro: A New Beginning, and fuck but that game is hard. Or maybe I'm too old to manage to play a game on a teensy little screen.
On the spur of the moment, we went to see Transformers, and we had a lolarious time. The New Yorker described the movie's bombast as "an explosion in a trombone factory," and I would have to agree with that assessment. On the other hand, Peter Cullen was in it. (and why why WHY if they were going to go through the trouble to get Cullen, did they not haul Frank Welker's butt into the recording studio as well?)
We did manage to make it to the State Fair for a couple of hours, and it was silly fun, even if we didn't do much besides get food and go on one ride and go to see the Giant Horse (a lonely-looking grey dapple Percheron) and a freak show that was nothing compared to the Mutter Museum. Husband suggested that we eat under a nearby tent about 10 seconds before the heavens opened, so that was a bit of good luck.
Thoughts on the movie in another post. 'Tis geeky and will hearken to my brief flirtation with the TransFandom, before Trigun came along.
I bought a Nintendo DS Lite recently, and a couple of games to play on it. Among them was FFIII, which is cute like many buttons.
Also, it is HARD!
I just got through the part where you fight Garuda, and it took me six or seven tries at level 31. It took making all my characters Dragoons and equipping them with two spears each to win the fight. Those damn Wind Spears were expensive, too!
On a side note, FFIII pathos is very hard to take seriously when all the characters look like dollies. People are dying and my reaction is "eeeee, cute!"
'Twould be fun to cosplay Refia, though, except for the part where she's 10 and I'm not.
Also, it is HARD!
I just got through the part where you fight Garuda, and it took me six or seven tries at level 31. It took making all my characters Dragoons and equipping them with two spears each to win the fight. Those damn Wind Spears were expensive, too!
On a side note, FFIII pathos is very hard to take seriously when all the characters look like dollies. People are dying and my reaction is "eeeee, cute!"
'Twould be fun to cosplay Refia, though, except for the part where she's 10 and I'm not.
