Connie's Little Life

And 10 more

2012-02-13T21:12:00.003-07:00

I think little gremlins are taking my flyers. Three here and two there, I guess I'm not in the front of the house enough to see who's taking them. Now we're at 85 total flyers and one potential buyer. Not a good ratio.

Mike's been pissy the whole night about the KU-KSU game. He's been grumbling all of the second half and, finally, when he said it was eight against five, meaning the refs were calling unfairly, I let him have it. I have little patience for whining about refs.

And speaking of whining, I'm doing a transcript where an employee, in one instance, complained that he was humiliated and antagonized, but when asked for details, he couldn't recall. Hmm, how humiliating could it have been?

Watching the Grammys

2012-02-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad I bought that CD so I had some clue who some of these performers are. I mean, seriously, have you heard of Skrillex? My favorite Adele has already won four Grammys, and I've just heard her sing Rolling in the Deep, so my night is made. Mike and I saw her on 60 Minutes right before the Grammys started, and she is really funny and ornery.

I had to print off more flyers this afternoon, so we're up to 75 printed off, and while I was reading in the living room late today, I saw two cars stop to get flyers back to back. One had to wait for the other to leave. I'm not sure what this means, other than a heck of a lot of people know a lot about my house.

I'm picking at wallpaper. This is not good.

I think I get it

2012-02-11T20:21:00.002-07:00

You only spend 15 minutes in my house, you're probably not interested. Yep, that's it. We spent 15 minutes with the agent, and she spent 15 minutes with her buyers, and we got absolutely no feedback from her. That said, it was good to get that first one out of the way, and perhaps I won't be so overly anxious the next time, if there is one.

I discovered today that I'm now able to get ESPNU again. Go figure. KU's game broadcast was delayed because of a game that went into overtime. I went online to ESPNU and the game came up. I'm not even going to question it but just be very grateful.

I received an email today from the local Susan G. Komen chapter letting people know that the national organization is doing a survey of as many people as possible to see where they are. Their exact words were, "We have commissioned a national survey to gain a better understanding of the recent events on our brand, and to gather insights into how and when we can best position our rebuilding efforts." It appears they've figured it out.

And on my other soapbox item of the week, I went to JCP today to support their standing up to the evangelical bullies. The sales clerk, after I made my purchases, showed me the receipt where I could do a survey, blah, blah, blah. When I asked her if there was a place to make a comment, she said there was, and when I told her I wanted to tell management that I was shopping there in support of Ellen, the clerk actually clapped and thanked me. Good deed for the day.

How did I miss that?

2012-02-10T20:35:00.002-07:00

And that and that and that. As I've been going through the house starting late this afternoon, I have found more and more dirt and dust. What started out as a little grime on the wallpaper outside my office has turned into an entire wall of grime. I finally ran out of good light, so I'll have to finish that in the a.m. When I was vacuuming the basement just a few moments ago, the louvered doors jumped out at me with gross dust. It's always something.

Terrible insomnia last night, tossed and turned until midnight and then read for a while. I got up at two and took Excedrin PM and turned off the alarm clock. The last time I looked at the clock, it was 3:45, so I must have fallen asleep shortly after that. Hateful.

The couple coming to look at the house have three boys and another one on the way. When I think about how I've staged the one bedroom, painted blue, as a kid's room with bunk beds and bright colors, I think I'm a genius. The truth is that's all the bedroom furniture I had left.

Mike and I are going to give the realtor a quick tour, and then we'll scoot over to Ronni and Joe's while the prospective buyers are looking through the house. It seems easier this way and less stressful on everyone.

Busy, busy day

2012-02-09T20:37:00.003-07:00

And I wasn't even here for most of it. First, the fence is done! I wasn't able to get a photo of it tonight, but will do tomorrow. We decided to do an angle instead of squared off, and it was a gamble, but I think it's interesting and different and fits. Now Mike and I have work to do, whenever it decides to warm up. Winter temperatures have finally arrived.

The contractor's guy returned our screen door. He had taken it to his garage, which is heated, and puttied a part around the handle. Tomorrow, I'll bring it in the house and paint it so we can get it back on before ...

Someone is coming to look at the house Saturday. I got a follow-up call from the partner of the realtor who called earlier this week. The couple is coming Saturday morning, so that gives me time to do a last-minute dust and vacuum, pick up and put away, wipe down counters. It's so ironic, because I had mentioned to Mike today that I was surprised we hadn't shown the house at all. It'll be nice finally to get some feedback, because I have no expectations that anything will come of it.

And about 20 hours of work came in, which is very good because, otherwise, the house is getting on my last nerve, as I mentioned before, and I have this almost overwhelming urge to do something. It's unfortunate that I'm such a messy do-er; otherwise, I could be in the middle of a project when someone came to look, and it wouldn't look like I was tearing the house down.

We missed the ice sculptures by three days - so disappointing. They had a brochure about it at the Welcome Center, like that was going to do anything but make me sad we missed it. And it was really cold, snowy and windy in Breckenridge, so we walked Skylar around and let him run, and we even took him in shops, where he was very welcome and appreciated. Other than that, it was great to get in the mountains, where there is snow. I've missed it.

I also picked up a brochure for the USA Pro Challenge to be held in August. You might remember I wrote about it last August, when it was held for the first time. Cyclists go for miles and miles, up and down passes in stages. We had the first stage last summer, time trials, and this coming year, we have the fifth stage, which is essentially the route we took today, Breckenridge to Colorado Springs. That's over three passes, 100+ miles in one day, spectacular scenery, of course.

Ho-Hum

2012-02-08T19:14:00.002-07:00

Excellent KU win against the #6 team in the country, Baylor, at Waco. We've beat them twice now soundly with stellar defense and some unbelievable coaching. Such a fun game to watch.

On my soapbox again today, it's starting to be a theme with me, as I found out that a conservative women's group was calling for JC Penney to fire their new spokesperson, Ellen DeGeneres, because she doesn't have "traditional values," evangelical code for "gay." Fortunately, JCP stood up to the bullying and refused to fire Ellen. On her show today, she said, "I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me those are traditional values. That's what I stand for." Hear, hear. I'm shopping at J.C. Penney on Friday and encourage anyone who can to do the same sometime very soon.

I'm so excited that I get to see the ice sculptures in Breckenridge tomorrow. Mike has business in Fairplay, about an hour's worth, so Skylar and I are going to tag along and make it a day. I've seen these ice sculptures just one time, but I've remembered them all these years. They're spectacular. I don't know if I'll be able to get any pictures - white on white is hard - but I'll try my best to share these with you.

Anticlimatic

2012-02-07T20:12:00.006-07:00

Even with almost 50 flyers gone in four days, there's not much activity to report yet, and I feel like I'm twiddling my thumbs a lot. This is not good in that when I've had this feeling in the past, something has gotten torn up, a carpet, wallpaper, cabinet doors. I did get an interesting call from a realtor, and it was because she asked me about commission this way, "Are you cooperating with realtors?" I feel like all those flyers are filtering their way to the hundreds of realtors in Colorado Springs, and something will come of that...or not.

Good news today: Claudia is officially blogging, fourth of the four siblings to join the movement. As I remarked on her first entry today, our dad would be jumping for joy, as he did love all of us keeping in touch.

The VP at SGK resigned today very ungracefully, but she's gone. It's going to be hard now to hang onto my grudge against the organization, because I've essentially gotten everything I wanted. Now it would just be mean.

I loved a quote I read today on a Rachel Maddow Facebook entry about the Obama campaign, "The Obama reelection campaign in 10 words: Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive."

Not sold yet

2012-02-05T20:20:00.002-07:00

In fact, we've only gotten one call, and it was someone who really wanted to sell me a lot in Woodland Park. I've had about 10 emails from the Craig's List ad, but AOL has correctly identified eight of them as spam. I don't know how AOL knows this stuff, and I wasn't trusting, but they are right on target. Of the two non-spam requests, one was kind of iffy, but I replied, and the other was from a broker asking if we'd pay a commission for bringing someone to the table. Our formulated response is, "Yes, to be negotiated and paid at closing." I haven't heard back. Of the 50 flyers I put in the box, 25 are gone, and I assume mostly from neighbors being nosy. Mike and I do it all the time. And I know their response will have been, "And they think they're going to sell it for this price?" No.

When I was having lunch with my long-lost friend Jinda yesterday, we were talking about cleaning out, which she's doing with her parents' house (they're gone), and I figured out how to get rid of another three boxes of stuff. Just when I think there's nothing left to go, I find I'm wrong.

At breakfast this morning, I was telling Mike that I really want to climb a 14er on my 60th birthday, and we decided we'd try to do Culebra, which is very close to the New Mexico border. The problem with Culebra is that all of the land it sits on is privately owned, and the owners charge $100 a person to come on the land. It's only open on weekends during climbing season. It's a rip-off but, hey, they can do it. God bless America. So in mid-May, when they start taking reservations, I'll call because it so happens that my birthday falls on a Sunday this year. I believe it was meant to be. And all that said, I have five months to hit the gym hard, do some hikes with neighbor Joe for training purposes and generally get myself ready. I don't want it to be like last summer where I was so out of shape I couldn't summit. I was so mad at myself, and I'm making a pledge to myself it won't happen again.

Tomorrow, the last of the work from the tree fiasco, the fence, will be done.

I have to tell you that even though cleaning out was very cathartic and rewarding, I'm finding the tweaking process to be ever so much fun. I remembered that I had a box of VHS Disney tapes that someone had convinced me years ago would be worth money some day and then realized that "some day" wasn't going to happen in my lifetime or that of my sons. Taking them to ARC was a fantastic feeling. And I had an item that had been given to me many, many years ago that I knew I was never going to use but just didn't feel I could toss (not a gift from anyone who reads this blog) . I finally figured out I could give it to Mike's charity, where they have a shop for people who have nothing, and someone would love it for a lifetime. That feels amazing so I'm able to give it up.

I got the new 2012 Grammy Nominees CD today - can't wait to listen to it.

So little snow

2012-02-03T21:15:00.003-07:00

And so disappointing. Just a few miles north of us, they got in the range of six inches or more, which makes it even more disappointing. Maybe next time.

So the sign is in the yard, and it was exhilarating pushing the stakes in early this morning. I finished up the last of the touch-up painting and the picking up and putting away, and now we wait and maintain. This, of course, will drive me crazy, so unless I'm bombarded with work, there will be projects to be planned and explained if anyone wants to come and have a look-see.

I had my first microdermabrasion today, and it was very interesting. The nurse who did the procedure explained it as a very good vacuum with abrasive material on the end, and she was right. She very gently persuaded me to do a chemical peel next, which is covered by my Groupon, so I scheduled that for two weeks. What the heck, you only live once. And with an extremely generous bonus from my super bosses for persevering last weekend on that 2,500-page IRS project, I'm going to have my teeth whitened, which I've been wanting to do for several years now. My face will look weeks younger by the time it's over with.

Update on Mike's dad, he was sitting up in bed today and will probably be moved out of ICU tomorrow into a regular room. So nice to have good news.

I'm going to the gym tomorrow! It's been weeks since I went, since I was having my vasomotor rhinitis symptoms and was trying to get the house ready for sale. Now those are over with, it's time to ramp it up and get back to my routine of three days a week. I'm afraid my super muscles are weakening, and after seeing Michelle Obama doing push-ups on an Ellen snippet, I have to catch up.

Much chatter and trash talk going on with the KU-Missouri game tomorrow night. My favorite, among many, was: When Mizzou camps out for their greatest foe, it's a celebration. When KU camps out for Towson, it's a Tuesday. I think you have to be a big KU fan to get it but, trust me, it's funny.

And no surprise here, SKG backed down from their rescission of Planned Parenthood grants, saying they were so shocked that people misunderstood the move as political. As I wrote to the head of our local chapter, upon receiving a missile from her today, "Let's believe, for the sake of argument, that they mean what they say. I don't for a moment believe that, but we'll just suspend belief for a second. Now you've got an even bigger problem with me, and that's that how can I entrust my money with an organization that is so naive, so completely clueless that they would not have been able to foresee that people just might regard this decision and the previous decision as politically motivated. The old, "If it quacks like a duck and it walks like a duck" statement applies here. While I appreciate all you say regarding this particular chapter, the truth is you're tied to the big daddy of them all. Good luck. You're going to need it." I'm still so mad I can't see straight. I'll support Ronni if she heads up the sales at the Race, but I will not give them money. The Race in Colorado Springs isn't until September, so perhaps I'll have calmed down by then.

2012-02-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

And done.

2012-02-02T21:05:00.001-07:00

Ready to go in the front yard. The little one is going in Sharon's yard at the corner.

It's happening

2012-02-02T20:49:00.003-07:00

If we get nine inches of snow overnight, there might be a problem getting that sign in the yard. If not, we're planting that sucker in the morning. Unbelievable!

Bad news from Hastings, Mike's dad, who had been recovering from a fall a few weeks back, had to have surgery today for a broken hip. He made it through the surgery okay, but he is not yet out of the woods and has a long recovery ahead. It's not the death sentence it once was, but even with modern medicine, a fracture of any kind at age 88 is not good.

It's been interesting today watching the forecasters nudge the snowfall predictions up and up and up. First, it was 1 to 3 inches for us, as the storm was tracking too far north to hit us. Then around noon, they changed it to 4 to 6 inches, and by mid-afternoon, it was 4 to 9 inches. We have about an inch on the ground now. And just a few minutes ago, they backed way off of the 4 to 9. Who knows what we'll have when we get up in the morning.

Forward progress

2012-02-01T21:42:00.005-07:00

Scaffolding down, sprinkler line repaired, fence on Monday. Then Mike and I will have work to do relaying the patio, grading and landscape. When we had our addition built, there was a scaffolding erected for the stucco, and the boys, who were 10 and 8 at the time, loved that scaffolding with all their hearts. They couldn't wait to come home from school and scamper on that thing until dark. Ah, good times.

It's bizarre how much stuff I've done to get this house ready. It's sickening really. And then, tonight, when I was vacuuming in preparation for the carpet cleaners tomorrow, I found a cobweb hanging from the ceiling in the family room. How on earth did that get past me? I'm sure I'm going to be finding stuff like that for weeks to come.

While I was working on our flyer, Mike did some more touch-up paint. We're almost done with that, some window sills where Miss Hobbes did her thing and the radiator pipe in the upstairs hallway. When Mike and I were going over the flyer last night, we decided to put in as part of the description, number 12 of 13 in the list, "Price reflects kitchen 'as-is.'" We felt that at least gives people a head's up that we know about the kitchen, and no one will be shocked when they come in. It also lets them know I'm not knocking 50k off the price.

When I got up this morning, I discovered that Susan G. Komen Foundation had pulled funding for Planned Parenthood mammograms due to the "Congressional investigation." I've gotten madder and madder as the day has progressed. Come to find out, the new VP of SGK, Karen Handel, ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 on a platform of, wait for it, anti-abortion and anti-Planned Parenthood. The missiles coming out of SGK are corporate babble, trite phrases, "Can't we all just get along" type phrases. Their stock media message was, "We're protecting our donors' money." Well, following in the path of sister Jan, I protected my money by sending a donation to Planned Parenthood tonight, in honor of Ms. Handel, and Planned Parenthood will be sending her a message that I've donated in her honor. Like I told Jan, Mom and Dad would be so proud. It's just the kind of civil disobedience they were fond of.

I believe I've told most of you about this website I've thought about over the years, originally fueled by the idiocy of Brittany Spears and Michael Vicks. I thought to myself that if these two dopes had had a place to go to, like Moms.com, where they could pose questions, such as, "Do you think it's a good idea to go out partying without any underwear on and leave my two small sons at home?", maybe it would have gone differently. In Michael Vicks' case, the question might be, "What do you think about fighting dogs? Good idea? Bad idea?" Most of these dimwits are surrounded by "yes" people, just like the zealots of the world, thus they create a bubble where the real world is excluded. In the case of SGK, it is obvious they vetted this idea to no one outside the bubble because, really, who wouldn't have said, "Perhaps you should ask around" or, in my case, they could have written Moms.com, and I'd have let them know.

Pictures for my flyer

2012-01-31T20:30:00.002-07:00

I had copies made at Walgreens, the regular 4x6 prints, and I could only fit about three on a page. So after struggling with Paint and not being able to figure out their directions for resizing, I came to my blog, uploaded them here and printed them out. Voila - the exact size I need for my flyer. I am so proud of myself. Now if I can only figure out that double-sided copying, I'll be in business.

Outdoor painting is done and the scaffolding will come down tomorrow morning.

As difficult as it was, I turned down work so I could concentrate on THE HOUSE. I told Claudia that if I said yes, then it would be next week, then the week after and on and on. I had to draw a line in the sand, not for her, because she's very understanding, but for me. I'm not very good at saying no.

I really have a beautiful house. I'm not sure I appreciated it all these years. That doesn't mean I'm not ready to let it go, because I am. I'm just remarking that it's a really, really nice house where I got to raise my little family.

2012-01-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

2012-01-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

2012-01-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Harder than I thought

2012-01-30T21:45:00.002-07:00

I'm working on the flier that will go in the box attached to the For Sale sign, and I thought this would be easy. Trying to figure out what people are looking for and condensing the pluses onto the front and back of a 8 x 11 sheet of paper is kind of difficult. Maybe it'll be easier with photos on it. I was not planning for this.

More picking up and putting away of cleaning supplies and staging materials, plus work - oh, yeah, work.

The new gutter was installed today, and the painter will come tomorrow to paint the gutter and the newly repaired joists. The sprinkler guy comes Wednesday or Thursday after the scaffolding comes down. I thought we'd be able to schedule the fence install for Friday, but the weather is taking a turn and we might get snow! That would be worthy of not having a fence for the weekend.

If you have a bowling background, make sure you catch last weeks's Parks and Recreation. The last half of the show was set in a bowling alley and was just so funny. I'm still laughing at certain scenes.

Whittling down the lists

2012-01-29T21:38:00.002-07:00

First, there were lists of lists, then there was one long list. Now there's one short list with items crossed off daily. Even though this was a working weekend for me, Mike jumped in Saturday and today and painted and washed woodwork and also relaid some of the brick on for the patio. I managed to put the basement back together, with only one or two items left to do there.

At breakfast this morning, we were discussing these final five days, the idea being the sign goes in the yard on Friday. We still haven't decided on a final asking price, as we've been told by more than one person that in these times, one must leave lots of room for negotiation, lots. We know what our bottom line is, but we have to start way above that so people feel like they're getting a bargain. Really?

Mike also asked me if I was ready for the onslaught of realtors, and I am. I'll simply let the answering machine be my screener. Our neighbor's daughter is a realtor, and I know they're going to hit me hard with why we don't use her. The reason is simple, and it's that I don't want them in my business. I'm not sure how I can explain that to them in a nice way, but maybe I don't have to be nice. Who am I kidding?

Itty-bitty setbacks

2012-01-27T20:24:00.002-07:00

I was so sure that I was completely over this coughing thing, and so I didn't take the nighttime meds that the Urgent Care NP gave me. Big mistake. I fortunately had an appointment today with the allergist for my yearly checkup, and even though I had to fess up to my dosing mistakes, she assured me it happens to everyone, and I'm almost back to where I was before that happened. I'll continue to take those meds, and she recommended a sinus rinse to help with the drainage. I'll try that tomorrow.

Can't do the fence until the sprinkler is done and the gutter is replaced and painted. Can't do the patio until the sprinkler is done and the fence replaced. Can't do the sprinkler when it's 33 degrees and snowing. The house is going on the market even if the repairs aren't done. It's a work in progress.

Even though I have lots of IRS proofing and much Fish transcription to do over the weekend, I'm hoping to put in some good hours whittling down the list. February 1 is going to come and go, because I've scheduled pretty much the last item, carpet cleaning, for the 2nd, but fingers crossed the sign goes in the yard on the 3rd. I'll believe it when I see it.

Ohm...

2012-01-26T20:53:00.002-07:00

Such a nice calm day, no worker bees, no cough, just work and the grocery store and a walk with Skylar. It's been a long time coming.

Claudia got another "market research" call today. Can you say desperate?

Not only did I get to sleep in my very own bed last night, but I got to sleep lying down. It was pure bliss.

They love us

2012-01-25T21:00:00.002-07:00

Or they hate the transcripts they're getting. Either way, Claudia got another call from the DOI guy, following up on his call last week. I guess nothing has improved in that time, but according to him, he's just "doing market research." Let's go with that, Pete, and see how happy that makes the agents.

I got the fridge cleaned! It looks fantastic. Mike cleaned the stove - he's not as good a cleaner as me, but it looks decent. After that little job, I went around the house and just looked at stuff. It was thrilling.

Tree repair update: the shingles have been replaced and the joists repaired. They went up in the attic today and found no damage - excellent news. I have to call off the fence guys until next week so that our guy can get in and do sprinkler repairs first. It's all in the timing.

I'm going to make an attempt to sleep in my own bed tonight - fingers crossed!

2012-01-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

Scaffolding for roof/gutter/joist repair

Post-SOTU

2012-01-24T20:30:00.004-07:00

Mike and Alex both like to switch over to Faux News afterwards, and I can't tolerate it for even a second. So while Mike is listening to the other side, I'm blogging.

Jan and I had way more fun than is possible chatting and shopping until I dropped her off at the Hotel Monaco in Denver at 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I introduced her to one of my favorite stores, Home Goods, and she liked it so much, she had the clerk check to see if there was one in KC. Alas, no, but it's a good way to get her back to Colorado Springs. We also discovered that (a) yes, I do need a wide shoe, and they're extremely comfortable and (b) there are no cute wide shoes in any of the stores we visited. Fortunately for me, there is Zappo's and their offshoot, 6 p.m., so I will be buying all my shoes online from now on. It is such a relief to have solved that issue.

It was windy again today, so I was glad that the worker assigned to our roofing issues called in sick and couldn't come. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm and less breezy, a good day for working out of doors.

I'm still sleeping in a different room than Mike, and I'm still sleeping almost sitting up, but it seems that the coughing "fits" have been reduced to only one or two during the night instead of hourly. Maybe by the end of the week, I'll be able to sleep lying down...or not.

Nothing like sister love

2012-01-22T21:42:00.003-07:00

I picked up sister at the airport, we had our usual Starbucks stop outside the first Macy's and were ready at 11:00 when it opened. Two more Macy's later, with a few Talbot's and a Chico's thrown in for good measure, we were tired and ready for home. A new discovery at Park Meadows Mall: a Lego store - seriously. If they had had one of those when the boys were smaller, I would be broke. What a cool store! They now have the cutest girl Lego sets, and I may just have to buy one for myself because they are so adorable.

Although I didn't buy much - all right, nothing but a $3 Lego thing, I did make an important discovery which I think will eliminate some frustration I've been having. Because of the bunions on my feet (where else would they be?), I have been having so much trouble finding shoes that are comfortable. When we were trying on Minnetonka shoes at Macy's, the 8 1/2 was too tight across the bunion area and the nines felt good but were too big elsewhere. An aha moment, I need to buy wide shoes, not regular width shoes. We will experiment tomorrow during our shopping.

I had a better night last night in terms of coughing, with two three-hour blocks of sleep, but as Jan said, one hour of sleep plus a three-hour block plus a three-hour block does not seven hours of sleep make. She is brilliant. Tonight, I'm hoping for more than a three-hour block, but I will be happy with just about anything that's more than an hour.

The best laid plans

2012-01-20T20:26:00.005-07:00

Another really bad night, with a little excitement thrown in for good measure. I woke up at 1 a.m. coughing, and there were red and blue lights swirling around the room. It seems like there have been a lot of emergency vehicles in my neighborhood lately. Long story short, there were firefighters in the tree house (more of a platform with railings) at the house on the corner, and they were wheeling a person on a gurney into an ambulance. I don't know who that person was or whether or not they were in the tree house. I guess it's going to be one of those stories where the ending is never known.

I called my doctor's office this morning only to discover they're now closed on Fridays, so I took myself to an urgent care place. I have nothing, no pneumonia, no bronchitis, no sinus infection or ear infection, just drainage and lots of it going down my throat. That's why I'm coughing. Even after I begged for codeine, the nurse-practitioner wouldn't give me any, saying the coughing was for a purpose. She did give me a prescription for something that will dry up the drainage and gave me a lot of warnings, such as it'll really dry me up, only take half a pill, it'll make me drowsy. That last one got my attention. I need drowsy. I have no hope that it will work and that getting back to the proper dosage on my vasomotor rhinitis and some time are my only hope. Boo-hoo.

I did absolutely no work on the house today, but I did do some IRS proofing and cooked two dishes. That's something. The contractor came by and had me sign a contract for the work, which will start on Tuesday, with the fence people probably here on Friday. Yea!

Sister Jan is flying into Denver Sunday. Shopping!

Heading to bed - fingers crossed.

All trees upright and accounted for

2012-01-19T20:45:00.003-07:00

It was such a relief that when I got up this morning, the wind had died down, and no trees were lying across a neighbor's roof or garage. Always a good feeling. What a crazy night, with one gust of 66 mph amongst many strong ones and the transformer popping and lights flickering. Just for edification, these are called Chinook winds. They're warm winds that come swooping off the mountain with ferocity and dry out everything in their paths.

I had to sleep sitting up last night. When I tried to lie down, I just coughed and coughed and coughed. I finally moved into the guest room so that Mike could sleep, and after much trial and error over the course of a couple of hours, I figured out lying down wasn't going to do it. So, tonight, I'm forewarned, and I already have a plan of action in mind.

I got my office back in order from having the new printer installed and moving the filing cabinet up from the basement. I've put that in the closet - yes, there's room - and sorted and shredded and reorganized. I also got our bedroom back in order from when I did the two-step woodworking treatment two days ago. I had to let that dry, and now it looks fabulous. If I manage to get some sleep tonight, tomorrow will be another banner day on the path to house on the market.

Vindication

2012-01-18T20:55:00.003-07:00

It appears not all is happy in the DOI transcription world. Claudia got a call today from the procurement dude, who screwed us over when we couldn't bid last summer, to see if she was or could get on the GSA schedule (or something like that). While he wouldn't confirm that that is why he called, it can be the only reason he was so adamant she do this immediately. Even if the work doesn't come back to us, it feels mighty good to know that it has been confirmed we are special in the transcription/customer service arena.

I'm feeling much better today, although the cough is going to do me in. I have to suck cough drops all night long just to sleep a few hours, but this too shall pass.

I spent the afternoon creating PDF files and sending them to Claudia and Ken. It is so satisfying to do the work and then be able to send it on immediately. There's a lot to be said for instant gratification.

The wind is howling tonight. I don't know who's more nervous, Skylar or me. I guess if a tree falls, it falls, and we deal with it. Ohm......

Heading to bed at 7:15 p.m.

2012-01-17T19:14:00.002-07:00

I'm adopting the Mike Waters' sickness cure: sleep, sleep and more sleep. I now believe I've been battling two different issues. First was the vasomotor rhinitis medicine dosing problem, and then I think I developed a cold somewhere in there. We're two-plus weeks into the new year, and nothing has gone exactly right. A harbinger of things to come? Pollyanna will not put up with this.

My computer dude is coming tomorrow late morning to install and instruct. I can't wait to learn the new skill of PDFing. Surely that's not really a word, but you got it, right? As soon as I learn that, I'll actually have something to PDF, since I have more of that really cool IRS proofing to do.

2012-01-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Latest iteration

Fighting fire with fire

2012-01-15T20:30:00.003-07:00

I told you about the stain on the bathroom rug from the toilet bowl cleaner that dripped off the counter and left a bluish ring underneath the pile of the rug. Today, when I was cleaning the toilet and noticed the cleaner I had was clear, I decided to put that on the stain and see what happened. I know, craziness, and I haven't a clue how it generated in my head. Drum roll please, it worked! I kid you not. I should have taken a picture. It so easily could have gone the other way, a big old hole in the carpet where it ate through. Who rules? And the throw rug goes back to Kohl's.

My computer dude is coming tomorrow afternoon to install my new super-duper printer, sent to me courtesy of Claudia and Ken, and I've asked him to give me a tutorial on the basics, which translated means how to PDF. That's the main reason for the new printer to begin with, and I need to know how to do that at the very least.

After breakfast this morning at The Pantry in Green Mountain Falls, Mike and I drove by three new houses for sale. One was in Cascade, and we struck it off our list, because we just didn't like it. The other two are in Manitou Springs, high up on a bluff and architecturally interesting. The only problem is they're out of the price range I've set in my head, what I think we can afford and still be able to play and travel. So Mike has some calculating and ciphering to do to convince me otherwise. And, of course, there's the matter of the house I currently have. Finding these houses and driving by them, however, gives Mike a definite focus and gets him back on the road to getting this house ready.

We got our insurance check in the mail yesterday, so we'll get the worker-bees out here as soon as possible to do their little chores - new fence, roof/gutter repair - and then Mike and I will work on the patio and the landscaping.

Feeling pretty poorly today, but managed to get a long way in our bathroom and bedroom. So much woodwork!

Slow, slow, slow

2012-01-14T21:08:00.003-07:00

I've been suffering something since the first of the year, cold-like but not quite, so I decided I was having a vasomotor rhinitis setback. That's the non-allergy thing I was diagnosed with several years ago, the symptoms of which have been well controlled by two nasal sprays. This morning, after a restless night, I went to Walgreens.com to look at dosage and discovered I was getting half of what I needed. I am so slow. I've gone to the correct dosage, and who knows how long I've been doing it wrong, and I'm hoping for a quick recovery.

I managed to get the kitchen put back together and a run to ARC with donations, along with a reorganization of the new doorless cabinets but no painting.

While I was tossing coffee cups in the donate box, I came up with a new strategy: Do I want to unpack this at a new place? The answer is mostly, no, I don't care enough to unpack it or pack it to begin with.

2012-01-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

Before (different cabinet, same look)

2012-01-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

After

2012-01-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

The remains of some roots

2012-01-13T22:14:00.001-07:00

The remains of the stump before the finish. He came at it from the side, instead of top down.

Might as well pitch a tent

2012-01-13T21:56:00.005-07:00

I've loaded up the back of the VW with more stuff for ARC. I'm there so much I might as well move in. If either of my sisters needs help cleaning out junk, I'm your girl. I am ruthless and incorrigible and determined. Around 8:00 tonight, I decided it was time to take those two kitchen cabinet doors off, and I did. I think it looks fantastic. Then I had to have stuff to put in there after I took everything out, and by the time it got to 10:00, now, I've made a complete mess of the kitchen, but I have room to spare in the cabinets. So proud.

Mr. Stump finished his job today, and Leon the contractor dude did, also. Now it' s up to me.

I used my 30 percent Kohl's coupon and bought a new area rug to cover a very small stain on my bathroom floor caused by toilet bowl cleaner- better a $2o rug than $500 to retile or recarpet - and new towels to match. I"m going to give this a week to see if I can live with this "trickeration," hiding something like a small stain on a rug. I have a feeling neither I nor my pocketbook is going to like this ethical part of me.

The plan tomorrow, after going over pesky IRS corrections with brother-in-law/boss Ken, is finishing the kitchen and then painting. It seems as though every room as some little touch-up that needs to be done. I'm going to have to carry my little laptop from room to room while the KSU and KU games are on ESPNU at 11:30 and 2:00; otherwise, I'll get nothing done.

Steps forward, no steps back

2012-01-12T21:20:00.002-07:00

Mr. Stump (his real business name) came and began work on removing our stump. He got about 75 percent finished when the belt on his very cool machine snapped, so he will be back tomorrow to finish. My contractor got one of his guys here to work on my to-do list, and while he was doing that, I did little to-do jobs myself. So close now.

We are hoping to meet up with our LaJunta friends in Savannah, Georgia in early March. They're the ones who have been touring the U.S. of A in their motor home for the past eight or nine months. They are currently in Florida but will be making their way up the coast in late February. I have never been to Savannah, so I'm really looking forward to a fun trip.

Mike is heading up to the mountains tomorrow afternoon with our neighbor to go skiing on Saturday. I was asked to go along, but what will really make me happiest is getting this house on the market, so I declined. Mike was vacillating about going, but when I mentioned that if he stayed home, my mission would become his mission, he decided pretty quickly that skiing, even with very little snow, beat mopping hardwood floors all weekend.

I read in a magazine about taking cabinet doors off and putting the prettiest dishes in those and leaving open. I'm considering trying it on two cabinet doors - two less cream things in the kitchen. It could be fantastic, or it could be a disaster. What's a little disaster at this stage?

Well

2012-01-11T20:42:00.002-07:00

I had no idea how panicked I would feel when I woke up this morning to high, gusty winds and the trees on the back of our property swaying back and forth. This was not a good feeling. However, we made it through the day with all trees still upright, so I count that as a good day.

We had news yesterday that Mike's dad, Bob, had a fainting incident, a syncope, and fell hard in the apartment. His hip was not broken, and he didn't have to stay in the hospital, but he is in a wheelchair with a very deep hip bruise. According to Mike's mom, he's being impatient when he needs to get out of the wheelchair, because she needs to put in a call for help, and it doesn't come fast enough. Mike was very stern with her and told her Bob would just have to learn patience, because she is not to help lift him.

I've now had my facial and massage, one yesterday and one today, and both were wonderful. I can't remember the last time I had either of those, and if it weren't for the cost, I'd do it weekly. The hard work of getting to my goal weight was worth it. This spa apparently understands the state of the economy, because the receptionist told me they run specials all the time. I'll be paying attention to that. Now that the facial is out of the way, I'll get up the nerve to schedule my microdermabrasions one of these days.

Hours of IRS proofing out of the way and only a few hours left of that project with nothing on the horizon. Claudia and Ken have taken the time to plan out their lives for the next few years, and part of that is closing Perfect Solution in 17 months, when Claudia turns 65 and can go on Medicare for health insurance instead of paying the $2,000 a month she currently pays. So I am forewarned and forearmed that in 17 months, my job as I know it is gone, and I can either try to continue solo with some of their contracts or I can reinvent myself at age 61. I'm throwing down the gauntlet in my mind.

Listening to KU blow Texas Tech out of the water. I was watching the game, but it's not that interesting when your team is up 30+ points.

Rewards tomorrow

2012-01-09T21:34:00.002-07:00

My half-priced Groupon facial and massage, earned by losing weight and maintaining, is tomorrow. I can't wait. It's a good reward for hard work, and it didn't involve food.

The tree stump grinder dude will be here on Wednesday unless it's snowing, and then it will be Friday. And on that note, the tree cutter guy showed up today to give me his bill and a song and dance about hurting his back and losing his phone, but if I could wait a week, he could do the work. I told him I was way past that, and he was gracious about it.

2012-01-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

The cleared area with the flagstone moved away from the trunk. Those are going to make a nice pathway to somewhere.

2012-01-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bricks from the upheaval

2012-01-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Path of a root

Finally, a day without drama

2012-01-08T20:41:00.002-07:00

Except for the mishandling of the FedEx package of IRS work I sent to Claudia and Ken for Saturday delivery, which was ultimately resolved, it's just been a nice day of plodding through the list of things to do to ready the house. I made a lot of progress on little stuff, final clean-out of two closets, another trip to Goodwill with a king-size mattress pad and three blankets I'll never use. I already have blankets on beds and extra blankets, so I guess I was guilty of hoarding.

Mike finished clearing the area so the tree people can get to the stump, so that's a call I get to make tomorrow. It'll be thrilling to get the process started.

I'm overusing the word "amazing." Those of you around me need to bring it to my attention. Surely I know more than that one adjective.

Admit defeat

2012-01-07T20:20:00.004-07:00

My self-imposed deadline to get this house on the market is going to come and go, and it feels good to type that. It was making me crazy. I'm now moving it to February 1, and if it happens before then, yippee. If not, I gave it my best shot.

I spent an hour outside this morning pulling up bricks and finally had to quit because my feet were icicles. I didn't get it quite done, but then Mike came home from wherever and we moved fence panels, and he moved flagstone that we had placed around this tree for whatever reason. I'll try to finish brick removal tomorrow unless there's snow, and maybe even then. I'm bound and determined to get the worker bees here as soon as possible next week.

KU beat up on Oklahoma today, and K-State thumped Mizzou hard - oh, that feels mighty good. I guess the Cats did not appreciate the whupping they got from the Jayhawks and took it out on the Tigers.

Mike and I went to see The Descendants tonight - excellent movie. I cried. Parts of it were so poignant.

It's just a tree

2012-01-06T21:30:00.003-07:00

How one tree could cause so many problems just defies logic. To recap, we have fencing to replace, a stump with accompanying roots to get rid of, part of the patio to pull up and replace, a sprinkler line buried somewhere in the mess that has to be located and repaired or replaced, shingles, gutter and eave joists repaired, and landscaping regraded so our basement doesn't flood the next time we get a quarter inch of rain or an inch of snow. Home ownership in all its glory. Oh, I forgot to mention that the contractor wants to go up in the attic, because he's not comfortable with the insurance adjuster's estimation that all is well. Running away from home seems like such a good option.

However, Ms. Pollyanna says now that all the players are in place, we can move forward. I'm pulling the bricks up myself tomorrow, and Mike can help or not. I just need to do something progressive. Once those are up and another part of the fence moved, everybody else can do the rest of the work and voila. It felt good just writing that out. It's a plan! I have a plan!

2012-01-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

My little storage unit

Busy, busy, busy

2012-01-05T21:05:00.004-07:00

I fired the tree guy first thing this morning and was able to do it with a lovely voicemail message left on his machine. Whoever invented voicemail is one of my favorite people. I finished my office, except for painting the crack on the wall. I didn't realize until late afternoon that I didn't have any paint left, so that's on the list for tomorrow.

As you can see from the photo, Alex and I were able to fill our new 5x5x12 storage unit with boxes, and there's room left. That's good, because there's more to come, but not a lot.

Tomorrow is another busy day with meetings with the fence company and the tree lady, urgent IRS proofing and the Cotton Bowl!

2012-01-04T20:51:00.001-07:00

My reading angel, which was in a garden in the backyard, was smashed in the melee. Boo-hoo.

2012-01-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

A little better angle on how the roots affected the patio

2012-01-04T20:47:00.001-07:00

A new crack in my office wall that the adjuster pointed out. I hadn't seen it, but it's right in line with where the tree banged against the house

No harm, no foul

2012-01-04T20:36:00.003-07:00

The insurance adjuster came this afternoon, and as with everyone else who has seen the aftermath, he was stunned into silence. After that, it was pretty much how much can we give you to make you whole, and it went uphill from there. Smart move on his part. The tree guy didn't show again today, and he didn't call, so he's one and done. I have no sense of humor for lack of communication. He gets his $800, and I call my favorite tree people and have them finish the job.

KU ruled against K-State. Rock Chalk!

I woke up at 2:00 this morning with the moon shining in my face. I probably need to do something about that for tonight. I have a partial cold, I don't know how else to describe it, so I wasn't sleeping that well anyway.

I worked in my office all day, not doing work, but cleaning and polishing and packing personal belongings. In the staging process, there can't be family photographs or lots of Jayhawk memorabilia or anything that indicates someone real lives here. Left to do are the woodwork and mopping the hardwood floor. Alex is off work tomorrow, so he and I are going to take cartons and cartons and cartons to our new storage unit. And so the final stage begins.

2012-01-03T22:08:00.003-07:00

Two damaged joists and the crunched gutter

2012-01-03T22:08:00.002-07:00

View from the backyard

2012-01-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Fence moved by the roots

2012-01-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

The tree "growing" out of the top of my house is not supposed to be there.

2012-01-03T21:11:00.001-07:00

If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can see the angle of the tree resting against the house.

Baby steps

2012-01-03T20:54:00.002-07:00

I started the day feeling an overwhelming urge to run away, the old "I can be in Taos by lunchtime" kind of need and ended up here feeling much more positive. It has been one long day.

The window cleaners arrived at 7:30 a.m. and were preceded by a call saying they were coming at 7:30. I believe I've written here before that I adore timeliness. There were two of them, Quinton and Logan, and they got right to work and didn't stop much until 3:30. They did an amazing job which included not only washing windows but washing the screens and, as it turns out, a lot of the interior sills as well. Hallelujah! I paid off the boss and gave the two workers a very nice tip - one of my pledges for the new year. The windows are amazing. Since all the curtains had to come down for the cleaning, I'm now washing them, which was one of the steps to putting the house on the market.

The tree dude called to say his equipment was malfunctioning, so he wouldn't be here until tomorrow. Okey-dokey, he gets one pass.

My contractor showed up around 10:30 to assess the fence situation, and he had the same reaction to the scene as everyone does: utter amazement at the upheaval of that tree. We've made arrangements for the fence people to meet here Friday a.m.

We have been assigned yet again the stupidest insurance adjuster on the planet. Without having been to the scene, he questioned Mike as to the need to cut the tree down. Now I'll be the first to admit he needs to do some investigation and shouldn't just take people's words for truth, but don't you think he ought at least to see it before he puts his foot in his mouth? He's coming by sometime tomorrow, at which time Mike will be his tour guide. These people make me cry, which then infuriates me.

While the window cleaners were mucking around in the house and I couldn't work, I took down and packed up all the Christmas stuff and even got the tree out of the house. I was proud of myself, and even have two empty storage boxes from Christmas stuff I decided I could live without. I'm getting down to the decorations that have true meaning for me.

I've done a quick swing through the house, and I still think we could be on target for our January 15th date for putting a sign in the yard. It all now depends on how slowly the adjuster works and how quickly the repairs can be made. Grrr.

And I don't think I'm getting a cold. Maybe.

2012-01-02T20:27:00.001-07:00

Just two of the many sections of trunk

2012-01-02T20:25:00.001-07:00

Upheaval - the stump is under the fence to the right

2012-01-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Roots and dirt and pine cones

$1,200 and counting

2012-01-02T20:17:00.004-07:00

That's for the tree and stump removal, grading the area and repairing part of the patio where the roots pulled up brick. Not yet determined is the cost for the sprinkler redo, because a pipe runs near that tree and was most certainly damaged beyond repair, and fence repair. So all totaled, I think we're looking at $2,500 for the insurance company to repay.

And I'm getting a cold.

Not an auspicious start to the new year

2012-01-01T18:55:00.004-07:00

The people in the room above ours decided to begin partying around 1:00 this morning. We called the front desk three times from 1:15 to 1:45, ending with the police showing up at our door at 2:30 to confirm that there had been a noise problem, because the party had left by then. Since it is a new independent hotel in Manhattan, my only recourse is to report them on every trip site I can find. And the coffee this morning was bad.

Fortunately, with three drivers, we were all allowed a nap time with the other two keeping each other awake, and it was an easy drive home.

When we drove up in front of the house, our tree was laying (lying?) in chunks in the street and yard - smelled good. The side of the house is chaos, large portions of the fence down for access. The part missing from the tree on the back of our lot was part of a "V," so it doesn't look funny. But we've got a big mess to clean up, a big mess. Fortunately, the amount of eave and gutter damage is minimal. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

I sincerely mean it this time: tomorrow is another day.

Ironies of ironies

2011-12-31T21:25:00.002-07:00

One of our 65-foot fir trees is currently leaning against our house, having damaged our new roof, gutters and eaves. According to our neighbor to the west, the tree between our houses was uprooted by the winds this morning in Colorado Springs and, fortunately, leaned into our house rather than his. In addition to this tree, a 10- to 20-foot top section of another of our trees fell into our yard, again missing anything important, but it's sure going to look odd. All this information was being imparted to me via cell phone during the KSU basketball game. A tree service started working on it late afternoon, but had to stop due to darkness. What a mess.

After the game and a quick early dinner with Greg, we dropped him and Alex at the house for their party, and Mike and I went to see Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows, highly entertaining and the second movie I've seen in Manhattan in the last month. No way I'm making it to midnight. The week of too much food, too little exercise, too little sleep and too much age has finally caught up with me, and I'm really tired.

2011-12-30T18:36:00.001-07:00

The bottom little piece is what's left of one the size of the middle bar

2011-12-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

A Manhattan version of The President with Kristen and Greg

2011-12-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

Mike, Greg, Alex and Mike playing dingbats

2011-12-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

The girls after our mani/pedis

2011-12-30T18:29:00.001-07:00

Ken and Raef having a tender moment

2011-12-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

Halftime score - and it didn't get any better

2011-12-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Very, very cool halftime show

2011-12-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Part of a collection of Jayhawk memorabilia on display at the KU Union

A busy day - the norm in Lawrence

2011-12-28T21:42:00.002-07:00

After a lazy early morning, preceded by a short night's sleep for me, nine of us girls went for manicures and pedicures at a salon in Lawrence. It was Tessa's first, and she and Isabel had flowers painted on toes and fingers. Some had manicures, some had pedicures, and those of us greedy enough had both - me!

While Jan took Isabel and Tessa shopping, Claudia and I went in search of extra forks for Greg's house and a crockpot for Kristen, Amy and Cecilia shopped downtown for bargains, and the boys went in search of a dart game to no avail. They had a few beers along the way, so it was not a total lost cause.

Tonight, we had our annual dinner at the North Star, and it did not disappoint. The dressing was fantastic, but not as good as Jan's rendition, and the french fries and gravy were everyone's favorite. Afterwards at home, Tessa was the dispenser of chocolate covered cherries and fudge. Claudia mistakenly introduced me to a new game called W.E.L.D.E.R, a sort of Bejeweled/Scrabble combination and, fortunately, I can't get it on my computer. It is addictive to everyone who plays it.

Tomorrow is the annual shopping spree/Christmas present for Cecilia and Isabel from the aunties, and seven girls will go. Kristen has to head home to Minneapolis and Katelin is preparing for a trip with her new beau. And to top it off, tomorrow night is the KU-Howard BB game - can't wait!

Blogging from Kansas

2011-12-27T21:02:00.003-07:00

I'm writing this while various family members play a new card game called The President and others watch or coach. I can't figure it out at all, but the winner of the hand is called the President and the loser is the Asshole. Enough said. When they start playing Dingbats, I'm in.

It was an interesting start to the morning when the guy from Charlie Paterson Construction came to the house at 8:15 to work on our screen door. I can't win for losing. Either the guy doesn't show up at all or the guy shows up without notice to do the work. I prefer the latter, but why can't it be the exact way I want it? Does that seem like too much to ask?

We got to Lawrence about 10 minutes behind Mike and Amy; Claudia and Ken arrived yesterday. As usual, Jan had prepared the yummiest food, salad with homemade Roquefort dressing, ham and bean soup and turkey noodle soup, topped off with my chocolate covered cherries and fudge. I had thought I had made too much fudge again this year, but I don't think it's going to last the night. We've already had a beer run, and we've been here three hours.

Tomorrow is mani/pedi with the girls, along with two big bags of cosmetic "junk" from Claudia to go through and dinner at the North Star. I may be repeating myself, but my parents started going to the North Star before I was born, I went there as I was growing up, and now we all go there annually as a family. I love the tradition of it and knowing it's something we shared with our mom and dad. That's also where the Roquefort dressing came to be, as they have wonderful dressing, and family lore is that Mom would eat there and immediately go home and experiment until she came up with the recipe we currently have. Even if it's not true, it's a great story.

Greg has earned his keep

2011-12-26T20:56:00.004-07:00

Braving Best Buy crowds, negotiating technicalities with CenturyLink, keeping me entertained through it all, Greg has now saved me $40 a month from what I was paying for internet and land line. It will take two and a half months to recoup the cost of the new modem/router, but then I'm $40 ahead each month for the next five years - locked in rate with no contract. I'll keep him.

We also stopped off at the Current factory store and bought four giant roles of Christmas wrapping paper for $6.00, a 75% savings. I know sister Jan will be proud.

I forgot to mention that the boys each got the ingredients for roquefort dressing as a Christmas present. The blue cheese and roquefort alone were $13, so it's no sham gift. I told Greg that when Jan used to give Uncle Bill a container with roquefort dressing in it, he would find potato chips to dip in it. I'm kind of hoping Alex and Greg will find lettuce.

I've looked at the long-range forecast, and it appears that window cleaning on January 3rd will take place - highs in the 50s and brilliant sunshine.

Taking off for Kansas tomorrow with two cars and a bag of IRS proofing to complete. It sure makes the time go fast. Alex is working the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift tonight, so as soon as he gets here, we're gone. It'll be two days after Christmas, and I need to see the sibs.

Merry Christmas to all

2011-12-25T22:07:00.002-07:00

Such a lovely day after a really nice Christmas Eve and now going to bed early after watching KSU beat Long Beach State in the Diamond Head Classic - yep, Hawaii, tough gig.

In the course of Greg isolating and ridding my netbook of yet another bug (two of two, according to the blog he goes to), we were discussing my ISP and the possibility of ATT U-Verse being available, which it's not unfortunately. We did, however, find out that I'm paying twice as much with Comcast for one-third the speed that I could get with CenturyLink (formerly Qwest) so, tomorrow, we're shopping for a new modem and some splitters, and then we'll be able to download the new ISP digitally from CenturyLink. Once that's done, I'll call Comcast and sever that relationship. All told, Greg thinks it will take me two months to recoup the cost of the modem and the splitters, not counting the three-times speed. AND, drum roll please, I'll be able to access Southwest Airlines and YouTube. Whee-doggies, I love having that boy home.

I'd forgotten how absolutely adorable and funny The Christmas Story is. TBS was running it back to back to back.

And to all a good night.

Taking a breather

2011-12-24T13:31:00.002-07:00

The lull before the storm, so to speak. I'm still not accustomed to having time on Christmas Eve. This is only the second year that we haven't left on Christmas Day for Kansas, and without having to pack, clean up and get everything ready for a week absence, I have breathing room.

I will always admit to being a little slow on the uptake, and this year, it involved my neighbor Rob. Lila and the kiddos are elsewhere, I'm guessing Florida where her mom is, and he's been on his own this whole week. I called him this morning to see if he'd like to come for dinner tonight, and he accepted. He is Jewish, so tonight isn't a big deal for him. I do wish, however, that I would have thought about inviting him before I put the Canadian bacon in the green beans to cook in the crockpot. That is the only thing he won't be able to eat, though, and there will be more than enough of everything else. The more the merrier, I always say.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Yummy snow

2011-12-22T21:38:00.003-07:00

Five new inches of snow when I got up this morning for a total of probably seven in my yard. When I went out to scoop the walk, Skylar came out with me to frolic. There's nothing more enjoyable than watching him jump and run in the snow, something he learned from Chazz, who enjoyed snow more than any animal I've ever seen.

Three out of three successful batches of fudge this afternoon, so all the sweets preparation is done. Why is fudge so easy and toffee so impossible?

Greg and I have been brainstorming school ideas, and we've come up with some possibilities. Mike told him tonight to put his worries away as much as possible, something Mike can do about 50 percent of the time. It's easier said than done. I'm seeing occasional flashes of relaxation but not nearly as much as I'd like. I guess that's what beer is for.

I finally got to paint the woodwork in the upstairs bathroom while Greg was sleeping this morning. I'm also about halfway through the basin stain in our master shower, and I've used up an entire pumice stone. Fortunately, I bought another one at Lowe's when I went in to get the woodwork paint, so I'll keep scrubbing away.

There's nothing on the calendar for tomorrow, so I might try to hit the gym. I need to see the damage of the last week on the scale, and then perhaps I'll stop eating frosted cookies...or not. They are really, really good this year.

I made it to the shortest day of the year. It only gets better from here.

Poor, poor child

2011-12-21T07:25:00.002-07:00

Greg arrived in Colorado Springs around 8:30 last night. Before he even left Manhattan, he witnessed a collision and "played first responder." A truck going too fast slid through the intersection where Greg was stopped and was hit by a Toyota. When he got to the car, the driver, a woman, was bleeding from a large cut in her head, which was caused by the can she was holding being blown into her head when the airbag deployed. Fortunately, after he hit I-70, it was only dicey until Hays, and then it was clear sailing after that.

The agonizing, soul-crushing semester has turned even more gruesome, affecting graduation plans and causing his spirit and self-esteem to plummet. As Claudia and I had discussed over the weekend, and as Mike and I told him, from those of us with a few more years under our belts, if no one died, then it's fixable and this too shall pass. Fortunately, he's where he needs to be, with those who love him no matter what and with his mommy, who can nurture him to within an inch of his life.

I awoke at 2:00 this morning to blue and red lights flashing through our bedroom. I leapt out of bed, looked out our back windows, and saw a fire truck in the alley. There were firefighters in the backyard of a house that faces Wood, but that's all I could see - no flames, no smoke. After a bit, the lights went out and they left. Hmm.

After getting a few inches of snow yesterday, we have snow again in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Fortunately, by the time we drive on Tuesday, it should be smooth roads.

Whirling dervish

2011-12-19T21:34:00.002-07:00

That's me. I ran through my to-do list like nobody's business, and now I'm tired. I started the day struggling with maraschino cherries but persevered, and I finished the day wrapping presents while watching KU lose to Davidson (who?). In between, I ran errands, bought two presents, did the grocery shopping, finished the aforementioned cherries, made more sugar cookies, spiced walnuts, and dinner and made a to-do list for tomorrow. It's never-ending this time of year.

We have snow! It's not as much as what the southeastern quadrant is getting - snow in feet and blizzard conditions - but snow nevertheless. Unfortunately, the window washers aren't going to be able to work tomorrow, but it is what it is.

Good news from Greg - he doesn't have to return to work until the night of the 29th, which means he gets to spend time in Lawrence with doting aunts and uncles. That was something he didn't want to miss. He's driving to Colorado tomorrow, and even though he's a good driver and has lots of experience driving in snow, I've asked him to check in with me periodically, and I told him I'd pay for a motel if he needed to stop. Mike and I haven't exactly set a good example in that latter, as we are more known to push on, so I hope Greg has better sense that his parents.

As I was wrapping presents tonight, I remembered, as I do every year, when we would help Mom wrap presents. She would put the wrapping on, and then we would "get" to put on ribbons and bows. One year, a present to Jan and me went off, ring-ring-ring. It was an alarm clock, surprise! I just remember laughing and laughing, a really fun memory.

Just when you think it can't get worse

2011-12-18T20:21:00.003-07:00

In bed at 11:30 p.m. and up at 6 a.m. - that's in a of m, before it's light, long before I had any desire to be up. The paper hadn't even come yet. My circadian rhythm is so out of whack I just want to scream. And, of course, it's not even 8:30 and I'm fading fast but fighting it. I don't know why, but going to bed at 8:30 just seems silly.

Because of the Grinchiest IRS ever, I spent more time today working than planned, so no painting woodwork and no sparkling shower doors. They'll hold for another day. I did manage to get a finalized menu for Christmas Eve and a start on a grocery list, along with a to-do list, which isn't as bad as my mind had created.

And tomorrow is another day, with a possibility of a little bit of snow. That would cheer me up enormously.

Dark, darker...

2011-12-17T22:15:00.005-07:00

Another room just about finished - the hall bathroom. The floor is almost done, but I'll be working on getting paint specks off of little black tiles until the cows come home. I have woodwork to paint, and the shower doors just don't seem sparkly enough, all to be done tomorrow. If I don't sell this house the first time around, those shower doors are coming down as I do not want nor need, but it was part of Mike's efforts to rid the house of every shower curtain.

K-State was on ESPNU tonight, so I worked on a Christmas surprise while the game was on. Relief that that is done and ready to go. K-State knocked off #21 Alabama, so the Cats will be ranked next week.

A week ago, I bought a pumice stone meant to take stains off of porcelain, and I used it, sparingly at first, on the drip stain in the hall bathroom, and it worked! I couldn't believe it. As I've said before, it's all about the tools. Now I'm hoping it will take the stain off our shower basin, and I'm experimenting very carefully. It's not porcelain, but the itty-bitty area I tried seemed to work. I don't want to get myself in a situation where I have to replace it as that would open a whole different can of worms.

I've been trying to stay one step ahead of the SAD demon, and as long as I stay busy, it's good. The minute I slow down, egads, there it is. Wouldn't it be cool if I woke up December 22, the day after the shortest day of the year, and it was all gone?

Five days and counting

2011-12-16T21:36:00.002-07:00

December 21st is the shortest day of the year, and then we start getting more light. I feel like if I can make it there, the worst is over. Today was a perfect example of everything going right and still feeling as though I'm plowing through mud. Need more light.

Alex spent the morning with me in the upstairs hall bathroom. We're not finished, but we made a lot of headway. He painted the interior of the linen closet, so I wasn't able to put things back, and the floor still needs to be scrubbed, square by itty-bitty square to within an inch of its life. Of course, while I'm putting the linen closet back together, items will be tossed. I'm now trying to talk myself out of painting the whole room, because the rose walls seem too in your face. It wouldn't take very long.

Mike wins. I'll fill you in later.

More IRS proofing came while we were at an open house tonight. Gross, grinch-y stuff. I knew very few people at the open house, which is always a problem for me, but I did have a delicious concoction of champagne and pomegranate juice with a few pomegranate seeds dropped in. Who knew those two flavors would be so great together? But, of course, it's 9:30 and I'm done for the night. Champagne always makes me very sleepy.

One good part of IRS proofing is I can listen to music while doing so. I've found a wonderful AOL station, Winter Stolstice, and I can listen to it for hours. It's some Christmas music, but mostly classical winter-y songs without words. Lovely.

2011-12-15T21:39:00.001-07:00

The last Santa picture. Alex didn't believe anymore but put up a good front for Greg. Nice brother.

Vocabulary

2011-12-15T21:28:00.002-07:00

I typed the word "unright" today for the first time, and bracketed it since it didn't seem correct to me, but what do I, the lowly transcriptionist, know? However, the second time the lawyer used it, I looked it up and there it was. I have learned something new today, which as I've remarked before is always a good thing.

Tonight, as I was proofing IRS modules (zzzzzzzzz), the word "query" was being used over and over again, and it started to look really odd to me. I think that's from overuse. Anything seen 20 times on a page will start to look weird.

I have put off painting until Saturday - easier to slot in that day - so I baked sugar cookies instead of painting and went looking for new kitchen appliances. I found what I needed, the price is right, but I didn't order because I'm not sure Mike is convinced it's necessary, even though the vote is currently 5-1. Considering what we're going to be listing the house for, $1,500 seems pretty minor in the big picture, but he just sees $1,500. As I said before, I'm winning this one in the end.

This is not a quote a mom wants to see from her son on Facebook: "And thus ends the single most stressful and soul-crushingly difficult semester of my entire college career." Greg needs to come home and see his mommy.

Sleep interrupted

2011-12-14T20:59:00.002-07:00

Hot, cold, hot, cold, then at 4:40, Libby and I were awoken by what sounded like glass breaking. When I sat up in bed, Libby was already on the alert, which made me realize I hadn't been dreaming. I checked out the Christmas tree first - still standing - so I don't know what it was. My guess is one of the trains made some loud noise. It was difficult to go back to sleep, but I managed.

I struggled at the gym today when I got to the stair stepper. I about gave it up at only nine minutes in, but kept talking myself through it and managed 20 agonizing minutes. I think part of the problem - okay, it's a nasty little machine, but the TV is tuned to FOX business news, which is all right, but doesn't keep my interest for very long. There's only so much bad stock market news a person can bear. I'm proud of myself, though, for sticking to it.

Surprise transcription showed up today - 75 minutes. We don't typically see a lot this time of year. One of the three was just a crazy man rambling on about stuff on a voicemail message. It disturbs me to think that people like him are roaming loose.

I got the painting done that I wanted to today, but less than I'd hoped for. The second coat of the kitchen woodwork is scheduled for tomorrow if I can fit it in between IRS proofing and transcription. Then I bought some itty-bitty paintbrushes for some fine trim work that I couldn't do today because I didn't have the proper tools.

Greg needs to come home and help me with fudge, cherries and frosted cookies!

To-Do List Done

2011-12-13T21:42:00.002-07:00

New back storm door, door knobs all working, caulk replenished in the bathroom, and curved trim on front screen door removed to be copied or repaired. It's going to be tricky, but they can do it. But best of all, they said they'd be here between 7:30 and 8:00 this morning, and they were. I cannot put a price on reliability.

Tomorrow is gym, IRS proofing (yawn) and painting. I need to focus, focus, focus.

2011-12-12T21:46:00.002-07:00

Monster High Clawdeen Wolf, Dawn of the Dance - Tessa's Christmas present. I can't wait for her to open it so I can play with it.

Wasn't meant to be

2011-12-12T21:42:00.002-07:00

The cute house in Cascade that we were enticed with, but not enough to do anything about, is under contract. When I think about it, the part I liked best about that house was the front, the expansive yard down to the house with the natural stone wall by the road and all the trees. There's another house out there just for us.

The contractor dudes are coming tomorrow to work on my to-do list, and I'll be so happy to get that finished. Alex is coming for a few hours as well, and he and I are going to focus on the upstairs hall bathroom. It'll be nice to have someone to work with.

Weird dream about my high school buddies I saw in Topeka recently. I guess they're on my mind.

Happy to be home

2011-12-11T21:22:00.002-07:00

We left Hastings at noon, after stopping at Runza for lunch, my first and last taste. It was so boring and bland, a total waste of calories. I'd have rather had a bag of Fritos (my latest food obsession), but I digress. We had clear roads all the way and were even able to pick up Skylar tonight instead of tomorrow. He is a happy camper.

Evelyn and Bob are so much healthier than they were the last time I saw them in July and therefore much more engaged. Evelyn will admit that she's not stable on her feet and will hang on to anyone for dear life when walking to and from the car on anything other than dry pavement. Bob is just as unstable, but just as Sue advised, he gets angry if someone tries to help him. He was argumentative about our stopping at the door to let me help Evelyn into a store or restaurant, but Mike won that one.

It's also very interesting how Bob and Evelyn hang onto old patterns and roles. She wanted to go to Wal-Mart this morning to get boxes of Russell Stover candy for the boys, something she has done every year since they've been allowed to have candy. This is important to her. Bob was giving her a really hard time about it, in fact, being kind of nasty, so she finally said she'd just give us the money and we could do it. About 10 minutes goes by, and Bob finally pipes up and asks when we're going to Wal-Mart. When she told him we weren't going, he got mad that we weren't going. I guess he has to be the curmudgon and she has to be everything else. If I don't get too engaged in it and step back to watch, it's really interesting. I wonder what same patterns and roles I'm clinging to.

I had a message on the answering machine from the wayward contractor, Mark - surprise, apologizing for having the flu for the past week and not being in contact. Surprise again, Mark, you're fired. They have these new-fangled things called telephones, and anyone can use them, a spouse, a son or daughter, to call me and report that you're sick. I know, it's an amazing invention.

Sister-in-law Sue told Mike we need to buy new appliances for the kitchen. The score is 4-1 in favor of purchase. No need to rub that in.

Rock Chalk!

2011-12-10T19:19:00.002-07:00

Great news, KU knocked off #2 Ohio State, led the entire game. Bad news, Tyshawn Taylor has a torn meniscus and will be out three weeks. Youth rules, because if it was me, I'd be out for the season. It was such a fun game, and Mike's dad was fully engaged in the game, which made it even more entertaining.

It was really a great day. We all piled in the car, first stop at the bank for Bob to withdraw some money and buy some gold coins. Unfortunately, the bank lobby was closed, so we couldn't get the online banking information we needed for me to monitor their account, and Bob was discombobulated by how to withdraw money through the drive-thru window.

Other errands were the post office and Allen's, which is a grocery store and Hallmark store, with some clothing and rifles and one of everything else thrown in. I had to walk down an aisle while Evelyn and Bob were arguing over whether to buy a spray bottle of Febreze and ended up pointing a finger gun to my head while a woman wearing Nebraska gear walked towards me after havng to maneuver around Evelyn and Bill arguing about the Febreze. She said, "I oftentimes just pretend they're not with me." A kindred spirit obviously.

We're now watching Love Actually, which is an absolutely adorable movie with my favorites, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson. I could get used to watching a movie a night.

Greetings from Hastings

2011-12-09T21:12:00.002-07:00

Hanging out at Sue's watching Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reece Witherspoon. So far, it's really funny, although we're only one Christmas into the story.

We had an easy drive today, only hitting rush hour traffic in Denver, fog on I-76 and snow in Hastings. The rest was just corn fields.

Mike's dad looks really good and very alert. Mike's mom has gained about 10 pounds, even though she looks like a wind would blow her away.

Tomorrow is shopping for me and Evelyn and bank visit with Mike and Bob, then lunch out. I'm hoping I can squeeze in the KU-Ohio State basketball game at 2:15, along with a jigsaw puzzle marathon.

Tree update

2011-12-08T21:52:00.001-07:00

It's still up!

Perhaps I spoke a bit too soon

2011-12-07T21:53:00.002-07:00

The tree was on the floor when we got up this morning. I thought perhaps a certain kitty or two had attacked the tree, but Mike thought it was just too unbalanced, since it really only has three full sides, and once I put the decorations and lights on those three sides, it became unstable. But that said, I got it upright and weighed down with every heavy thing I could think of and redecorated it, and I have great hopes the drama is over.

I wrapped my first Christmas presents tonight, as we are heading off to Hastings on Friday to spend a few days with Mike's mom and dad. We'll leave early Friday morning and come back late Sunday night. There's only so much visiting they can tolerate these days. I bought Mike's dad a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle, thinking that we could do it Saturday while we're there. It's always good to have something to do other than watch TV.

What a yummy day

2011-12-06T21:43:00.006-07:00

First thing this morning, I called Charlie Paterson Construction to get the rest of my work done, and by the end of the day, the estimator had come over and gone through the house with me, I'd gotten an estimate, the work will be done before Christmas, most likely next week, and I can take it to the bank. Mark still has no idea he's been fired, so that will be the next fun part. Taking bets on how long it takes him to call me.

I made a trip to Kohl's late afternoon to return yet another pair of jeans that just didn't fit right. I don't know how many times I've done this the past month. Why is it so hard? Well, for me, it was because I was buying the wrong size! I am now the proud owner of size 8 jeans. Oh, my gosh, I haven't been that size since at least my early 50s and, realistically, probably it was in my 40s. So that belly fat is going away, and I'm not done yet. With my seasonal depression, one of the side effects being weight gain, I'm trying hard just to maintain what I've accomplished so far, and then I'll hit it hard after the first of the year. Yea for me!

Always good news

2011-12-05T21:14:00.003-07:00

The tree was still standing this morning when we got up, which is always a relief when there have been struggles to get it upright and staying upright. Now if I can just get the ornaments on...

No news from Mark the contractor/handyman, so I guess he's fired. I wonder how he'll ever find out.

Interesting Fish case I'm working on now, as always. Unfortunately, I can't give you many details, but it does involve a man waking up with a "B" cup breast one morning. In Pollyanna mode, if we were going to lose a Federal agency, I'm glad it wasn't Fish. They have the most amusing cases ever.

2011-12-04T21:40:00.001-07:00

Mr. Ornery

2011-12-04T21:39:00.002-07:00

We chose the tree on the right.

2011-12-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

The cutting of the tree

2011-12-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Sky and me after the hunt