Progress...

Wowee, what a day. I am BEAT! It was hot as blazes today, too, so I'm sure that contributed to our tiredness tonight. The good thing was that the heat made the mosquitos sluggish, so I didn't get bitten very much. 

Here's what we did: 

• Eric finished the siding on the back of the house, thus enabling us to schedule our home insurance inspection on Monday and start saving tons of money. 
• I started knocking the nails out of the trim. Got through all the painted trim easy as pie, as it had little trim nails that could easily be removed or, in a pinch, broken. Moved on to the stained OLD trim, and discovered that it has 3 inch casing nails that are, almost invariably, rusted (see right--huge, rusty, cantankerous...). They pound out pretty well from the backside, but, I discovered, they had been varnished over on the front, which means that every time I pounded a nail out from the back, the nail head took a splinter from the front. CRAP!!!! I only did 2 or 3 pieces of trim from an inconspicuous place in the house, so no huge deal. 
• I called my dad, who is awesome, and asked him if there was some way I could just saw off the backs of the nails, and he told me about a "nipper." We picked one up tonight at Lowes, so we'll see how that works tomorrow. We almost walked out with some "snippers", which are not the same thing as nippers, and bolt cutters, which are DEFINITELY not the same. I'm glad I: 1) called dad and asked him one more time to tell me what the tool was called, and 2) asked a guy who looked like he knew what he was doing. 
  
• Did not go grocery shopping. However, did pick up milk and cereal, so we're set for at least a little while. Will go tomorrow. 
• Did not paint. That happens tomorrow, as well. 
  
• Washed the floors--Check! Also, bought a rug! It's quite trendy and modern for our space, but I think it looks really good. And will look even better if we remove the old towels we're using to cover the couches (the dogs are smart--they prefer the couch to the floor). 
• Did not put anything away. It's still a wreck in here. 
• Stopped at a nursery on our way home from the dog park this morning, and indeed, the could help me in my quest for quick-spreading, hearty, pretty ground cover (and lavender, sage, and tall grass...). However, they had none of the ground cover, 1 lavender plant, no sage, and 1 tall grass. I figured I'd try somewhere else. However, I cannot for the life of me remember the ground cover plant she was talking about. It starts with an A. 
• Fireplace is still derelict. I need to get some CLR and get the ironwork cleaned up. That may inspire me to pick out tile. 

Speaking of tile... We did some theorizing at Lowes tonight and I think we've pretty much determined what we're going to do with our bathrooms. The guest bath is basically a blank slate right now, so we're going to have to go all out with that. We're doing subway tile, white, with some colored tile accents. Floor will be black and white, very retro. We also found some lovely semi-inexpensive brown marble that I think we're going to use in the master bath (which currently has slate tile--YUCK!!!). The good news is that we're going to do

 this ourselves, with some help from a pro to install the basins in the showers. Mom, I think we're going to have a working bathroom on the 2nd floor by the time you come to visit! Hooray!

We also stopped and picked up some fixin's for the guest bedroom, so we're ready for visitors!!!!! I do love the combination of brown and blue (right). If only the bedroom that's actually getting used right now was in such good shape... We're waiting to be inspired. 

In all other news, things are quiet. Pixie was a little wacked out tonight, and had a bout of "excited bladder syndrome." Yogi learned how to shake today and has turned his new trick into a means of forcing us to scratch his belly. Look at this picture (below). Yogi did that on his own. He's such a lover. 

Oh yeah, the backyard is still disgusting. We're doing a fence next week and that should improve things mightily. It was also way too hot to be out in the dirt. 

Gearing Up

Isn't it totally intimidating to be entering a weekend knowing that there are about 25 things you HAVE to get finished? That's the boat we're in this morning. Eric got up early to watch the Pats vs. Eagles pre-season game, and I'm just sitting here waiting for the game to finish so we can go to the dogpark and get started with our day. 

Here's what's on the agenda:

• Eric has to replace the siding on the back of the house around the windows. This is necessary for our new insurance policy, which is roughly half the cost of our old insurance policy. It's a stinky job, but will be worth it. 
  
• I am going to knock the nails out of the trim that is sitting in the guest bedroom. Our new bed is being delivered today, so I want to get things cleaned up in there. 
  
• I need to go grocery shopping. We have beer and mustard in the fridge. 
  
• We need to put another coat of paint on the living room walls, and get the furniture put back. 
  
• Wash the floors.
  
• Put away all of the crap that is sitting in the foyer, including 80% of Eric's power tools, 4 of my bags, books, movies, etc. etc. etc. We have a little built in bench that I love, but right now, it's serving as the catch all for all the stuff we're too lazy to find a home for. 
  
• Find some ground cover for the front yard. I shouldn't be obsessing about this, but we've got some nice weather today and it's supposed to rain gently tonight. It would be a good thing if I could get the plants in the ground at some point today. 
  
• I'd like to get the fireplace prepped for its new tile, which I have yet to pick out. I think that will make the whole room look like we've gotten something done. 
• Clean up the back yard. It's looking a little trashy at this point, what with all of the brown grass (dogs' fault), debris, and unkempt-ness. I think we're just going to bite the bullet and get the rest of the fence installed sooner rather than later. We're now sharing a 50 year old chain link fence with our crazy neighbor, and I am positive that the only reason Yogi hasn't tried to escape is because we treat him like a king. He could totally leap that fence without even trying. Plus, Spike, neighbor's dog, is taking an unhealthy interest in my Pixie, and that is NOT happening. 
  

Story about our neighbor. She's harmless, okay? She's very elderly, and has lived in the house for, oh, 50 years, so she's not going anywhere. This house is HUGE--bigger than ours, and she lives there by herself with Spike. Her daughter lives down the road and she stops by every day, which is a relief. 

Anyway, our relationship up to this point has been cordial. She is constantly outside picking things up off her lawn, so we see her every time we come in and out. She's obsessed with keeping her lawn clean. Rather than raking, she bends over and picks up individual leaves and sticks, and she is especially vigilant with the little helicopter seeds. She has picked her lawn so clean that I do believe nothing will grow there. It's just patches of dirt. We found her up on her roof the other day, sweeping. 

None of this is a problem. We're happy to keep an eye out for her and to be good neighbors. She is preferable to the other old lady who lives across the street who wants to give me her phone number for some reason and yells at me every time I'm out front. BUT! Our neighbor has dementia, and she gets really confused and angry quite often. The other day we were out painting and putting up the railing and she was out, so we asked how she was. "I'm MAD," she said. We asked why, and she told us she was mad because our contractors had stolen her hose rack--the thing you wind the hose around that gets attached to the house. I said I didn't think that our contractors, who haven't been here regularly in the last 6 weeks, would steal a hose rack, and that they had definitely not been in her yard. She said I was lying, and that she was going to press charges, that she didn't have money to be buying a new hose rack, and that she'd lived there for 50 years and nothing like that had ever happened since we moved in... UGH! I understand entirely that this is the product of her being confused and all that, but I can't help but be a little ticked off. I'm okay with having a crazy neighbor (I've had many, including the paranoid schizophrenic man who lived behind me in Santa Fe, who insisted upon directing the traffic at the end of our driveway...) but my patience for it stops when it gets to this point. So we've been kind of avoiding her. I feel bad, but not bad enough. 

So that's our story. The good news is that, excepting the two old ladies, the rest of our neighbors appear to be 1) sane, 2) friendly, and 3) interested in making the neighborhood as good as it can be. Which is nice. 

Mystery Smell

So, dogs smell. Pixie is generally okay smelling as she gets a bath every time she comes home from the dog park. Yogi is a whole different story, as he has layers of hair that haven't seen the light of day since he was a youngster. But this smell is different. I can't put my finger on it, but there is a smell in my kitchen, and it's driving me crazy. It's localized by the back stairs, which have disgusting carpet on them. Eric can't smell it. Maybe it's me???

Got just a little bit of work done over the last couple days. Eric started work on Monday, and has been putting in long days, plus a commute, so he's not getting home till 6:30 or 7:00, and I've been giving the pups long walks after work because they're cooped up in the house all day. So we just haven't had time or the inclination to work. That said, I did get a little stir crazy tonight, and did a couple things.

• Vacuumed back stairs with "pet fresh" carpet powder. Now it just smells flowery.
  
• Vacuumed my office, moved the bookshelves, and put my desk and a chair in there. I'm washing a rug to put on the floor to cover up even more disgusting carpet. 
  
• Started the huge task of getting crap out of the guest bedroom. 
• Broke down some of the boxes that have been sitting in my office
  
• Swiffered. Dog hair. EVERYWHERE. 
  
• Waxed the woodwork around the big window and stairs, though only as high as I can reach. 
  
• Drank two Wild Grape Smirnoff Ices. 
  

Last night, our contractor, who shall remain unnamed, came over and replaced our kitchen window. Here's the back story:

Contractor convinced us to buy two new windows for the kitchen, which he was offering for what sounded like a good price. We were also sort of forced to replace the old windows because the contractor's doofus workers pretty much destroyed them in passing roughly 3 tons of plaster, lathe, and blown-in insulation through them to the back yard. Anyway, we were fine with this, as our old windows were OLD, single pane, and somewhat warped. However, when Eric came back for a visit in June, he discovered that indeed the new windows had been installed, but that they had been installed in the base of the old windows, which were about a foot longer. Ummm, yes. The new windows came up to his eyebrows. So he forced the contractor to move the windows up to a more reasonable height. In doing so, a doofus (and none of them will admit to it) cracked a pane of glass in the new window. Thinking he was doing something good, contractor removed that pane and nailed a piece of plywood over the hole. 

7 weeks later... We are at the end of our short term home insurance policy, and cannot get covered through our new insurer unless we have actual glass in the window. I tell the contractor this 3 weeks ago, 2 weeks ago, last week, and then daily for the past 4 or 5 days. He finally shows up last night, tells me what a crappy day he had (boo hoo, cry me a river, jerkface...) and puts a pane of glass in the window. It took 10 minutes. BUT! It's the original glass, with the crack in it! He informed me that the new glass would be here in 7 to 10 business days, and that even though it costs $75, he'll take care of it...

Hell YES! he will take care of it. Uf, I am so over this guy. He's decent for stuff that doesn't matter, but I will never ask him to do something important again. 

This is weird--I'm looking across the room and the curtains, and they're hanging backwards (seams are on the inside). I did notice yesterday that Eric got some paint on one of the panels while he was painting the other day. Perhaps this is a bid to make me not notice the paint. Ha. I have eagle eyes. 

Speaking of paint, we've got the Melted Butter up

 on the walls of the living room, and I really like it alot. We'll do one more coat this weekend, and then be done with it. I have picked a color called something-Opal for the rest of the foyer and upstairs hallway. It's a nice extra-extra light yellow. We've got some major spackling to do before we even think about that. 

Ugh, maybe the smell IS the dogs. One of them just tooted, and PEE-YEW!

Tired and covered in paint

I  could use another day or two of weekend. This one was short. Got a lot done, though... I'm way too tired to be witty. Need sleepy...

Here's what I found when I got home from the conference:

Saturday morning, we got up early and went to the dogpark, which I think will be our normal routine. Mainly because it tires the pups out enough so that we can actually get stuff done during the rest of the day. Plus, they like it. They played nice, but Pix got slobbered on by pretty much every dog there. 

Later on Saturday, we went over to the west side of Indy, aka no-man's land (seriously, it's like it's a whole different city over there...) and bought a car. It's a Toyota Yaris, and I like it pretty well. I'd better--it's mine for the next 5 years!

Yesterday, I finished up priming the fence, thank goodness. And today I started painting it. Eric finished the insurance-required railing and I painted that, too. I also pulled about 300 staples out of our back door, filled said staple holes, sanded, and painted it. Good times. Stupid door--we could built a new one in about 10 minutes--seriously, just a bunch of 2x4s nailed precariously together. But we're trying to be a little green here--instead of building new, we're trying to renovate. 

Today, I also went to Lowes and picked up some materials to make screens, and I tried to get someone to help me pick out some ground cover for our front yard which, during bad rains, runs out onto the sidewalk. So I'm looking for something that is durable, will spread fast, has maximum ground-strength-building capacity, and looks pretty. Did Lowes have anyone who knew their head from their ass? Of course not. 

Then drove up and bought a bed for the guest room. And then stopped at my cousins Sue and Joe's place up on the northside, where they gave me some nice lighting that they don't like. I think it's pretty cool stuff, actually--very excited to put it up. 

Eric and his cousin Matt went and toured the new Colts stadium today, thanks to tickets from our neighbors who couldn't go. While they were glad to see the new stadium, they are die-hard Pats fans. They were under specific orders to not wear anything with Patriots on it, lest they get tossed off the bleachers or embarrass our neighbors, the season ticket holders. They acquiesced, but wore Pats t-shirts underneath their button downs. SIGH. Boys are so weird. 

Blahblahblahblahblah... gate

That's what I just heard over the PA system. I'm at the San Diego airport sitting in a wicked uncomfortable chair and waiting waiting WAITING for my plane to arrive. It's not late, I'm just early. And I really want a coffee or some sort of sweet pastry, but there are no restaurants close to me, and, as my bag weighs roughly 50 pounds because it's stuffed full of conference materials, I'm not lugging it to find a restaurant, regardless of how hungry I am. I shouldn't be--I ate breakfast this morning, including 3 pieces of bacon (there goes a week of not eating meat... but it was delicious). Maybe I'm just emotionally hungry because I'm missing my family. That must be it.

Anyway, I'm contenting myself with the free internet provided by the SD airport. Internet can, sometimes, replace a cinnamon roll.

Really eager to get home. This week has been good. I question the effectiveness of my being away from work for a week during what would be my third week of employment--the biggest value-add to my job now is being AT work, reading old materials, and finding out what the hell is going on. But, that said, it was a good conference and I enjoyed myself. I learned a lot, too. In Mass, things were, for me at least, a little simpler, given the fact that regardless what I was talking about, it was more likely than not that 1) people were going to look at me like I was crazy (with a select few exceptions...), 2) the Legislature wasn't going to fund it anyway, and 3) that the program I was proposing was going to be included in the Readiness Initiative, so why even consider it now? Because after all, the Readiness initiative was composed of hundreds of people with little to no tie to public higher education, and led by people with little to no experience or expertise in higher education, public policy, government, or, you know, THINKING.

Rant finished. But my girls from Mass know what I'm talking about. Indiana rocks.

I don't mind traveling, really. Sometimes I enjoy it (the physical getting from place to place, I mean--I always enjoy it once I get to my destination). I particularly enjoy travel when I can get a cheap upgrade to first class on a long flight (worth it!!!!), when I don't have huge layovers at airports like Kansas City or Cincinatti, and when I arrive home at a reasonable hour after a relatively short trip. Today is not one of those days. Not only do I have an HOUR to go before my flight leaves, I have an hour plus flight to Phoenix, where I have an hour and a half layover, and then I have a 3 hour flight to Indy. GAH! I'm not getting home till 10:00 tonight. That is me spending roughly 11 hours either in the airport or in the air. Somebody has got to invent a teleportation device. Why hasn't this been done??? Come on, market economy!!!! Do your job!

At least I have window seats. When I flew in, I sat next to a young woman with a little baby boy--2 months old. As you know, I have the fever, so that mommy-ache inside of me didn't mind my situation at all. But my brain screeched--sitting next to an infant on an airplane is, perhaps, one of the worst travel-based things ever. Because you're a captive audience to his or her poop, throw-up, lullabies, etc. etc. etc. But this little guy, who was named Parker, was delightful. I don't see any small children, so I may dodge a bullet.

There's a guy eating an Arby's Roast Beef sandwich... Torture!

Yours in misery,

Haley

Sunny So-Cal

I say that sarcastically. I hate it when people shorten the name of where they live. Like when I lived in South Broadripple, I never EVER called it So-Bro. LAME. 

But yes, I'm in southern California. San Diego to be precise. And staying at a lovely downtown Westin with beautiful white sheets and comforters, soft carpeting, and a fuzzy terrycloth robe for me to wear whilst putzing 'round my room. If I could wear it to the conference, I totally would. 

It's nigh 7:12 AM here, and I am crazy wide away. I fell into the sleep of the dead last night at about 9:30 (only because they kept us at a dinner/speech till 9:15) and woke up at 3:45 this morning, proving that my internal clock has officially set itself, as I wake at 6:45 in the morning in Indy. That said, I am going to be dragging ass tonight at about 8:00. 

I am also feeling somewhat guilty this morning. My lovely colleague Ken has organized a brisk city walk for conference attendees, and I mentioned to him that, indeed, I do enjoy walking and would definitely participate in his walks. He failed to tell me, though, that his walks start at 6:00 in the morning. Now, technically that's 9:00 in the morning for me. But that's not the point. The point is that my clock says 6:00 in the morning, meaning I'd have to wake up at 5:45 at the latest. Psychologically, I just can't handle that. So, this afternoon, post-conference schedule when the baseball enthusiasts are at the Padres game, I will do my own city walk, and perhaps run, too.

I miss Eric and the babies desperately, and every time I see a dog on television, my heart kind of aches for Pix and Yogi. Talked with Eric last night and he said that Pixie was being "an emotional adolescent." She gets weird sometimes when she gets spooked. And she gets spooked by funny things. Here's a good story--as you know, we installed the back steps. Up until the day we built the steps, the dogs were using a set of cinderblock stairs that ran perpendicular to the house. Now, the steps go up the side of the house. They cannot figure it out, and it's hilarious. Yogi is big enough to handle the 3 foot jump up from the ground. Sometimes he takes a flying leap from the old cement stairs to the new platform, which is like 5 feet--it's pretty incredible to watch. Pixie is not big enough. So she'll jump around and try to get up, and not even look to her right and see the stairs. We've tried to teach them, but they're just not internalizing. 

Okay, it's time for breakfast, schmoozing, and embracing my inner higher education wonkishness. 

Big Sweetie Had a Big Day

He was quite busy today. Not only did he finish the back stoop as promised, he also did this:

These are the pups' dog food containers. He showed me this, and I don't think I've ever loved him more than I did at that moment. Too cute.

Here's the stoop. It looks better than the house it's attached to right now...

I head to San Diego for a conference tomorrow through Friday night. Will miss my little family. :(