Off to the Windy....

Wow, it has been a while. Time flies when you're working 50-60 hours a week......

Anyway, I am a much happier person now that the heat has quit and Fall is finally here!!!! The trees aren't real pretty due to the heat and dry (we are officially in a severe draught), but the cool air is Divine. I haven't turned the heat on yet....but I may have to here in the next few days. It is supposed to get down to freezing tonight....brrrrrr. I am grateful for that too...as it will finally put a screeching halt to the allergens out there.

I am on my way Sat morn to the Windy City to attend this year's PackExpo. Work is sending me so I get paid for this....way cool. I will be staying right downtown Chicago. In a big swanky hotel...I don't even have clothes nice enough to walk into the lobby! They will probably park my little Chevy way back in a corner somewhere so it won't embarrass the Benz's and Beemers. But I am sooooo looking forward to a break from the Plant.

I worked almost 60 hours this week....in 4 days. I have tomorrow off to get ready to go. We had the line down for a semi-annual maintenance break of 2.5 round the clock days of ripping and tearing equipment apart and reassembling. We filleted the packer and disemboweled the filler. I had about 8 mechanics, 2 electricians, and 4 or 5 technicians working around the clock. We did an incredible amount of work and then started everything back up yesterday. We came up pretty well.....except for the labelers....we didn't even work on the labelers and they cost us about 5 hours all together. But she is running like the cold wind outside tonight. Good .... I'm exhausted.

We have had it all this week in weather. Hot on the weekend, then we had Tornado warnings Tuesday, windy and rain yesterday and now the temp is taking a nosedive. Wheeeeeee.

Well, I better head to bed or I won't get up tomorrow. The road beckons. Later........

The Heat is On.....

And on, and on, and on......it is too hot for humans. Everyone is miserable this summer. I just paid the biggest electric bill I have ever paid since I have owned this house. Oh well..... I honestly think we are getting paybacks because last summer was so cool and nice. My grass is dead, the plants that were soooo pretty in front have succumbed, and the weeds have taken over. But I am not getting out there in this heat and pulling weeds nor am I paying for the water to keep the plants...I can replant cheaper than I can water. I sound like Scrooge.

I had a TA-DA day the other day! I got the drawings done for my multi-canvas painting that has been swimming around in my head for months! Now I just have to get brave enough to get the drawings transferred to the canvases. It will be 3 canvases, each 30" x 40". They are to go on my big "Hershey bar wall" in the family room. That wall is exactly the color of melted milk chocolate...yummmm. Anyway...I haven't put up any art work in the house since the remodel and I have had a new easel, the canvases, new water soluble oil paints, and new brushes for months. I finally got the bug. This is the first large canvas project and the first multi canvas project. I hope I don't screw it up.

I have to go to work for a couple hours this morning to catch up on some stuff while it is quiet in there. Then I have to go back to Sam's and pick up the peanut butter I forgot yesterday...jeez.
Then I come home to do laundry, clean house, etc. And tomorrow I may spend the day putting something on those canvases. I had Friday off and I have Monday off. Made myself a long weekend.

We'll see.....

It was a grand vacation.....

Well, A&T are officially Mr and Mrs now! It was a beautiful ceremony. The bride was stunning. The groom the picture of cool, calm, collected. The music was wonderful (cello). It was perfect. The reception under the tent was delightful. The food was great. All had a grand time. It was a long day, but a goodie. I can't wait to see all the pictures from the photographer.

The next couple days got us all back to normal. All the cleanup and breakdown. They came to get the tent the next day and all the tables, chairs, and buffet stuff had to be broke down and cleaned after the festivities ended on the night before. We had watched them put the tent up a couple days before the wedding and it was quite the process. It came down much easier than we thought it would considering the big jackhammer type thing they used to sink the stakes (that acutally were giant nails). They just whacked the stakes a few times with a sledge and up they came. We just happened to look out the window just as the youngest of the crew missed the stake with the sledge and took a glancing blow on his ankle. OUCH. He was fine...just a little gimpy.

The day after the day after didn't start out so good. Mo was running a very high fever and it got worse. We eventually found out on Tuesday (Monday being the holiday and the doctor wasn't in...we did talk to her tho) that she had a real bad kidney infection and as soon as she got a couple doses of the antibiotic down...she felt much, much better. But she essentially spent 2 1/2 days in bed shaking, sweating, and feeling like she had been hit by a truck. She is up and around now and feels pretty good, but is still fighting the infection and is wiped out most of the time. I hope it all goes totally away very soon.

I got home yesterday after 10 days away. Nice to be home, but I really didn't want to leave. I have to go back to the grind Monday morning. No more sleeping in till 6 or 7am. Must be up at 3:45am. yuk I did mountains of laundry today. Still have some things to put away.

I got the leak under my kitchen sink fixed today too. I called the contractor this morning and Jeff came and spent a couple hours under the sink. But I think we got it fixed for good this time. I had a leak in one of the pvc connections and because it was so damp under there, I also had ants. I got rid of the ants before I left on vacation and now the leak is fixed, so I should not see the ants return. Cross your fingers.

I need to go put the car back in the garage. I had to have the XM radio reset because I changed packages and am now not going to receive all the channels....only the music ones. So they had to reset my receiver in the car. The guy I talked to was incredibly hard to understand and didn't understand what I needed to do either. We finally got it all straight .... I hope. I will see here in a minute. I had to put the car outside to receive the signal. It doesn't work in the garage.

Well, I better get to it. And I need to get myself in the bed. I don't wanna. Later......

Still waiting for rain.....

We had some last week, but are supposed to get thunder boomies and such tonite. I love thunder boomies. But then I love blizzards too...so go figure.

Anyway, it is very windy...hot (mid 80's)...and the clouds are a piling!! I am soooooo glad it is Friday. This was a long week. And parts of it were not very much fun. The better parts were I got new carpet installed in the hallway and the guest bedroom. Love it. I discovered the home remedy of the eucalyptus oil on my pillow WORKS!!!!! I am not doing the choking, coughing, really ugly stuff in the morning any more. And my room smells delicious!!! The oil doesn't stain and I drift off to sleep in a cloud of wonderful scent. Love it, too.

The bad part was one of my favorite people on my team got seriously injured at work on Wednesday. He is doing real well, thank the Lord, and is already back to work doing light duty things. He went to see a plastic surgeon today to see if they will be able to reduce the scarring. His left thumb is a mess. I won't go into details....just suffice it to say it was very messy and very bad. But he is expected to recover fully with full use and no nerve or tendon damage. Very, very lucky.

I need to spend a bit this weekend painting baseboards so I can put the guest room back together. The mattress and box spring are in the front foyer leaning up against the wall. Not exactly the best decoration for just inside the front door. But I didn't want to put the room back together only to move everything again to paint. The walls are done...just the woodwork needs finished. I am never going to be done painting........

I need to get the garage sale stuff figured out too. Next weekend...and all &%#*&#@ breaks loose. In some ways I really don't like the Trenton Garage Sale....but man, can you get rid of "stuff" in a hurry!!!! I plan on pricing the stuff so it does NOT come back in the house. It will go to the curb before it comes back in here.

Soooooo.....to all the Mommies out there....Happy Mother's Day!!! You deserve it. It is the hardest job in the world. And the best...so I am told. Later.......

Waiting for rain.....

It is supposed to be raining. It is dry as a bone out there. Where is the rain??? Of course it will start pouring the minute I decide to step out of the house.

I have no idea why I am up so early. I suppose I should get started on the list for today, but thought I would goof off for a few minutes first. I have a lot to do today. Nothing earth shaking, just a big list of errands and such.

I need to find a GNC to get some pure eucalyptus oil. A friend at work told me to put a few dots of oil on my pillow around my head to help with the nasty congestion I have with my allergies right now. I am willing to try anything at this point. She did it with her daughter and it worked. We'll see.

I need to go make up my mind about carpet for the hallway and the extra bedroom. I said I would wait until construction was over....well it is over....long over.... and I MUST get rid of the filthy, icky, tromped down to nubbins hallway carpet. Ick.

I need to finish working in the garage. The Trenton Yard Sale weekend is coming soon and I need to get the garage in shape to use. I need to get rid of the mountain of stuff I have separated in the work room and the pile in the garage.

I need to clean house. But then, I always need to clean house.

I need to go get on that blasted treadmill before I do any of the above. I need to fix the sound issue (no sound) on the TV in my room so I can watch something while I walk.

So I guess I NEED to get off this contraption and go do something....I am up this early for a reason and I better go get my day started.

Later.......

Here Comes Peter Cottontail......

Happy Easter!!

I am sitting here thinking about Easter's past....I remember when a certain red head decided to test the theory of centripetal force with her Easter basket full of candy.....under the ceiling fan. I remember hunting eggs in the snow. I remember hours of dye, food coloring, boiling eggs, and hands that looked like an abstract painting for days afterword. Good Memories......

It was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday!!! 84 degrees!!!!!! Today it is supposed to rain. Oh well. It IS spring after all. My yard got mowed yesterday for the first time.

I also discovered...should I say "decided"...that I am going to have to have the other maple tree in the center of the back yard taken down. Pooh. I knew it was coming, but it is still sad. I really don't like cutting trees. I had the other one taken down last year. I still have the big, messy mulberry and the biggest maple back there for shade. But still.....

I also discovered that one of the patio doors out to the deck is rusting.....blast it. Now I have to replace doors.....and I just got done messing up that end of the house with the remodel. Pooh. But at least I found out it isn't gonna cost me an arm and a leg. The doors I want aren't really that expensive and I can change the way they swing open from what I have and that will help with the family room. The door swings into the furniture now...and the new one will swing up against the refrigerator cabinet. Better.

I need to replace the deck too. Just open wallet and let it fly!!!! I really would like to put the composite decking out there, but with a 12 x 36 foot deck.....I would need a pile of money I don't have.

The house needs pressure washed and stained this year too.....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I quit...I'm going to the grocery store....later......

I should be priming.....

I should be in the extra bedroom priming the walls to get rid of the navy bottom half of the room. I should actually be at work. I have a raging sore throat and one ear. Talking is out of the question today....too sore.

I have company coming again in another week and a half. A&T and T's folks are going to be here for a night and a day. Coming to get the mattress, dresser, and anything else I can give to A&T. With no truck anymore, I am not delivering anymore. But I like company...so this is cool.

I really want to have that bedroom painted when they get here. I got the wallpaper border stripped and patched and sanded so far...now it needs primer to hide the navy blue. I will probably paint one wall, if not all, the color of the kitchen. I am NOT buying more paint...I have almost 5 gal of the kitchen color and am gonna use it. If someone objects to the color being the same...they can just turn off the light so they won't see it....hee hee.

I still have a lot of painting to do in here. The hallway from kitchen to the front door still needs done. My room needs done. Woodwork still needs done. The front room should be done again, too, but I don't know what color. The doors need done (was too cold to paint them...metal doors) now that it has warmed up. For that matter...the garage could us a coat to clean it up. Oh lord, I don't even want to think about moving all that crap in the garage to paint....aaarrrggghh.

It is a very gloomy day today and that isn't helping matters much either. I would love to curl up in a ball and alternately read my book and watch movies. But if I am gonna play hookey....I should get something accomplished. Painting will not aggravate my sore throat. So I should paint.

Speaking of painting.....I bought all the needed supplies Saturday to start my multi-canvas painting for the big, blank wall in the family room. I have one, maybe two, of the three canvases figured out in my head....the third will come. I have not painted with oils for many, many years. The paints I bought are water soluble...no more chemicals!!!! I cannot stand the smell of turpentine. Even the low odor stuff was enough to make my head hurt. So we will see how these handle in comparison to regular oil paints. Play time!!! I haven't painted on bigger canvases before either...so this will be an experiment all round. The canvases are 30" x 40"...big! I am doing a landscape...mostly made up from photos taken of things I liked. A tree here, a fencepost there, and a barn thrown in for good measure. I will have to get out all the pictures I took in Amish country....the fields were gorgeous with the corn all shocked and the fall colors. That trip was in '94....and it has been in my head for all this time. Oh well...when the new easel gets here this week it will kill me until I can start. Patience.....

Must go try to eat breakfast. Tummy is complaining...throat is revolting. Later.....

A new addition to the garage....

Here she is....just exactly what I was looking for. The color, the options, the interior. And it was on the lot!! I am so tickled. It drives like a dream, has a wonderful sound system, and way more bells and whistles than I have ever had in a vehicle.

Now I need to go somewhere ...... anywhere....

The end of a decade....

My truck is gone. It has been deemed a "total loss" by the insurance company. I am in mourning. I babied that thing for 10 years....not a scratch for 10 years....and in the blink of an eye....gone. All because of a post buried in a snowbank. She will be missed. But all I can say is thank the dear Lord that no one was hurt....the truck is a thing...it can be replaced.

By an Equinox!!!!! Am car shopping...am getting used to the idea that I won't have to spend so much money to fill the tank...that gas mileage will be better....that the garage won't look so full with the vehicle in it...that I will again be able to enjoy the "new car smell".....I am not looking forward to the car payment, but it won't be too bad.

I must do my research...go drive an Equinox to see if it really IS what I want. Check out any deals. I must also go get all the crap out of the truck. I have tons of crap in that truck and it needs to come home before they haul it away.

Oh well....not very chatty just now. More later.......

We Tested the Kitchen Thoroughly....

And it all worked just fine. M&M and A&T and R all came to visit me last weekend. We had a very good time. I had people sleeping everywhere! A&T in the fairly empty dining room, R on the brand new hidabed (although it could have been more comfortable, I think), M&M in the extra bedroom and me in mine. Everyone had a mattress...no one sleeping on air beds or on the floor anymore.

We got up Sunday morning and proceeded to cook a very big breakfast. All the goodies...tested the oven with biscuits and oven fried potatoes (those didn't come out too well...sorry guys). We discovered that when the timer goes off...it turns off the oven too!!! oops. Biscuits were fine...taters were not. Oh well. We know better for next time. I need new pans....had to throw out one of my frypans earlier and that kinda held up the works...with both bacon and sausage to cook. But, we made it work and had a minimum of 3 of us in the working side of the kitchen and all was just peachy. Plenty of counter space to work, excellent light over the stove thanks to the cool range hood, no one working in their shadow like before....it was superb. The only fly in the ointment was that I discovered how sharp my new knives really are and slit the end of my little finger cutting up taters. Oh well...

The kitchen performed nicely and handled the enormous mess we made with distinction. I am so tickled. It was worth every penny.

Well, must go offer color advice to a friend struggling with her kitchen. Later.....

Coming Together Very Nicely!

Coming along nicely. It is really beginning to feel like a new home. It is finally mine. Jeez...only took me 12 years.

I am not a big fan of green, but LOVE my new diningroom! I actually have a diningroom I can use! Now I just have to get a table and chairs. Amish, of course. I am thinking when the weather warms up M&M and I will meet in Apple Creek and order our furniture. Make a weekend of it. Do a little sightseeing. It is so beautiful up there.

The TV is cool. 46" Samsung LCD HDTV. Great picture. Along with it I splurged and got a Bose 321 entertainment system...so I have awesome sound now too. Plays DVD's, CD's, radio, and the TV is playing thru it too. Love the boomies on the action stuff. It really opens up the room having the TV on the fireplace. I actually have a couch coming! I have never owned a couch. Never really had room for one. Now I have 2 coming! One for the family room and one for the front room that I am reclaiming. I can't wait. I will have real furniture, colors on the walls I like, NO PINK FLOOR, and a stunning kitchen. I don't want to ever leave the house....hee hee

Well, I better go get the process started for today....Moving the smaller half of my giant computer desk to the diningroom to make room for the couch in the front room. Moved my drawing table and all the crap that goes with it to the back work room yesterday. I got it all in there...miracle. Now I gotta move more stuff out of the front room so it feels more like a livingroom than an office. The bigger of the 2 couches goes in there..hideabed actually. Lots of sorting, packing, tossing, shredding and such to do today.

Later........

Brrrrrr....and other things.....

Blast...it is cold in here! The furnace ignitor is out and Grainger doesn't open until 07:30! I should have gone and got a couple of them yesterday. I suspected that was the cause of the furnace kicking out on Sunday once. But you all know about hindsight. I have the old one out already and just have to call Grainger and go get them when they open. Hopefully the closest branch will have them in stock.

Well, the brick corbels are gone and I have power to the fireplace and under both windows on either side. I cleaned up last nite after they left and put the family room back together. I have one small spot on a wall to sand, prime, and paint. Lots of brick/mortar dust...but not as bad as I expected. The outlets under the windows are not symmetrical either, but it was the only way they could be with the framing and such. They had a hard time finding a cavity to run the wire in. I have one short piece of wiremold to paint that runs from the ceiling down the side of the fireplace...no other way to get power to the fireplace face for the television. But paint will hide it nicely. And as unfinished as the fireplace is...a trim of some kind down the sides and at the ceiling would hide it too. Will have to look into that some.

Damn...only 3:45...I am getting colder than I should be. More blankets. Or I guess I could go back to bed....

I took the giant tv back and ordered my first choice...46" LCD flat screen. It will fit perfect, not too big, big enough I can see it just fine. I ordered it from Amazon of all things. Best price and free shipping. I even got the choice of scheduling a delivery time and date. Now I can be home when it gets here. They will unpack it and plug it in to see that there is no transit damage! How about that! The bracket should be here in a day or two also. Then it is all hands on deck to get this thing hung on the fireplace. And another mess to clean up. Jeez.

Well, I suppose I should go do something. Keep me warm and busy until I have to blast outta here to get the furnace part. Later......