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Gwen woke me up really early and I felt crappy today, so I sent her to daycare even though it's my day off. I had big plans to do something either fun or productive. Maybe both. Instead I seem to have mostly sat around feeling sorry for my country and my world. Ugh.
Even though Gwen has been wearing underpants exclusively during the day when with Josh and I since Memorial Day, and most of the time for quite a while before that, she has still been wearing cloth diapers at daycare. There was no potty in the daycare room back in May/June, and even when she moved to the room that did have potties, we didn't want to immediately send her in underpants because she was dealing with a big transition (and sure enough, she did regress in like every area for about a month after... Well, regressed on sleep, eating meals, and using the potty anyway).
We got confirmation with the director that if she was getting potty trained at home that we could send her in underpants, just to send lot of changes of clothes. Josh let her teachers know. Last Tuesday we sent her with like 10 changes of clothes, and a cloth diaper for nap time. When I picked her up, she was in the middle of getting cleaned up after a poop accident. She was wearing some other kid's onsie. Ugh. Her sheet indicated 1 pee and 2 poop accidents, plus a wet diaper at naptime. Unpacking her bag though, I found 1 wet pair of underpants and 1 wet diaper. I assumed they had thrown away her poopy underpants. Not pleased about that (tiny underpants are pricy and I'm used to washing poop), but I could imagine lots of parents would prefer that. I wondered about the onsie. Although Gwen only goes Monday/Tuesday, I dropped in on Wednesday to check if I'd missed an alternate bag of clothes. Nope.
Yesterday they reported 1 pee accident, wet diaper at nap, and 2 poop accidents again. And she was wearing cloth diaper when I picked her up. Again there was a missing pair of underpants when I got home, compared with the sheet. Her sheet also said she refused to sit on the potty and noted at a couple different times when she cried when they made her sit on the potty. These were all marked around the middle of the day, after the 1 pee accident, but before the 2 poop accidents.
When I dropped her off today, I asked that they not try to force her onto the potty. I said that she can normally be trusted when she says she doesn't need to go (which has certainly been my experience). After all, they take the kids potty and check their diapers hourly when they are awake, and Gwen normally only actually goes 3 times all day (excluding nap)! They said they'd done it because she had already had "so many" accidents. I double checked when I got home and according to the sheet, "so many" accidents that happened before that was one. One.
When I got home after pick up, her sheet said 2 pee accidents and 1 poop accident, and 1 poop during nap. But there was one diaper in the wet bag. Wet, not poopy. She was wearing a cloth diaper when I picked her up. No underpants in the wet bag. I called to ask if she had another bag of clothes that I somehow missed. Deanna went and checked. She told me that after the first accident, they put her in diapers the rest of the day. Um... that would be a reasonable enough potty training policy, but then way was there not a single pair of underpants in the wet bag? If she didn't have enough diapers to get through the day, and presumably was put in some other child's diapers, why didn't they tell me to bring more diapers? Why did they change her into her very last cloth diaper right before pickup time, after putting her in other kids' diapers all day, like they were hiding something.
So apparently forcing her onto the potty until she cried yesterday happened not only after the large number of one accident, but also when she was diapered for the rest of the day anyway.
And some other kid's onsie when she had plenty of changes of clothes last week? Pretty sure the main purpose of 2T onsies is to prevent kids from removing disposable diapers. So 2 fold reasons we don't own any: cloth diapered so she was never able to get her diapers off, plus when you potty train, generally autonomy undressing is considered desirable. I might be making too many assumptions here, but I'm guessing the onsie was to prevent her from removing the disposable diaper. Because obviously if a newly potty trained kid removes her pants and diaper, she doesn't need a little help getting to the bathroom. No, she needs a onsie over that diaper and for you to tell her parents that she never communicates her need to go potty to you.
I'm really pissed off. I mean, I already knew we didn't totally see eye-to-eye on this early potty training thing, but I feel that they've been lying to us and undermining our parenting. Josh called Deanna back and talked more, and says it was a misunderstanding. I guess that could be, he's the one who did the communication with them about it for the most part, so he's probably in a better position to judge. But it really seems to me like they've been dishonest about it.
Also at pick up today it was snack time and I watched Gwen lick a crushed goldfish off the floor for like 30 seconds before one of the teachers noticed me and said something to her about it. There were 2 teachers and only 6 kids, 5 of whom were sitting at the table eating appropriately. I'm not easily grossed out, clearly since I stood and watched, but that really rubs me the wrong way anyway. Like, most parents would not be cool with that, so why aren't they, like, doing something?
We got confirmation with the director that if she was getting potty trained at home that we could send her in underpants, just to send lot of changes of clothes. Josh let her teachers know. Last Tuesday we sent her with like 10 changes of clothes, and a cloth diaper for nap time. When I picked her up, she was in the middle of getting cleaned up after a poop accident. She was wearing some other kid's onsie. Ugh. Her sheet indicated 1 pee and 2 poop accidents, plus a wet diaper at naptime. Unpacking her bag though, I found 1 wet pair of underpants and 1 wet diaper. I assumed they had thrown away her poopy underpants. Not pleased about that (tiny underpants are pricy and I'm used to washing poop), but I could imagine lots of parents would prefer that. I wondered about the onsie. Although Gwen only goes Monday/Tuesday, I dropped in on Wednesday to check if I'd missed an alternate bag of clothes. Nope.
Yesterday they reported 1 pee accident, wet diaper at nap, and 2 poop accidents again. And she was wearing cloth diaper when I picked her up. Again there was a missing pair of underpants when I got home, compared with the sheet. Her sheet also said she refused to sit on the potty and noted at a couple different times when she cried when they made her sit on the potty. These were all marked around the middle of the day, after the 1 pee accident, but before the 2 poop accidents.
When I dropped her off today, I asked that they not try to force her onto the potty. I said that she can normally be trusted when she says she doesn't need to go (which has certainly been my experience). After all, they take the kids potty and check their diapers hourly when they are awake, and Gwen normally only actually goes 3 times all day (excluding nap)! They said they'd done it because she had already had "so many" accidents. I double checked when I got home and according to the sheet, "so many" accidents that happened before that was one. One.
When I got home after pick up, her sheet said 2 pee accidents and 1 poop accident, and 1 poop during nap. But there was one diaper in the wet bag. Wet, not poopy. She was wearing a cloth diaper when I picked her up. No underpants in the wet bag. I called to ask if she had another bag of clothes that I somehow missed. Deanna went and checked. She told me that after the first accident, they put her in diapers the rest of the day. Um... that would be a reasonable enough potty training policy, but then way was there not a single pair of underpants in the wet bag? If she didn't have enough diapers to get through the day, and presumably was put in some other child's diapers, why didn't they tell me to bring more diapers? Why did they change her into her very last cloth diaper right before pickup time, after putting her in other kids' diapers all day, like they were hiding something.
So apparently forcing her onto the potty until she cried yesterday happened not only after the large number of one accident, but also when she was diapered for the rest of the day anyway.
And some other kid's onsie when she had plenty of changes of clothes last week? Pretty sure the main purpose of 2T onsies is to prevent kids from removing disposable diapers. So 2 fold reasons we don't own any: cloth diapered so she was never able to get her diapers off, plus when you potty train, generally autonomy undressing is considered desirable. I might be making too many assumptions here, but I'm guessing the onsie was to prevent her from removing the disposable diaper. Because obviously if a newly potty trained kid removes her pants and diaper, she doesn't need a little help getting to the bathroom. No, she needs a onsie over that diaper and for you to tell her parents that she never communicates her need to go potty to you.
I'm really pissed off. I mean, I already knew we didn't totally see eye-to-eye on this early potty training thing, but I feel that they've been lying to us and undermining our parenting. Josh called Deanna back and talked more, and says it was a misunderstanding. I guess that could be, he's the one who did the communication with them about it for the most part, so he's probably in a better position to judge. But it really seems to me like they've been dishonest about it.
Also at pick up today it was snack time and I watched Gwen lick a crushed goldfish off the floor for like 30 seconds before one of the teachers noticed me and said something to her about it. There were 2 teachers and only 6 kids, 5 of whom were sitting at the table eating appropriately. I'm not easily grossed out, clearly since I stood and watched, but that really rubs me the wrong way anyway. Like, most parents would not be cool with that, so why aren't they, like, doing something?
Such a big day
Aug. 13th, 2016 04:44 amJosh is out of town for work. I got up and nursed Gwen and got her ready for daycare. Jogged with her 25 minutes (which is about 2 miles for me) per my C25K program, dropping her at daycare at the end. Went to the grocery store for milk and eggs. Walked home. My parents were already there and had already removed one of the sliding glass doors onto the deck. We set to work disassembling the south stairs of the deck. And unfortunately discovered that the beam closest to the house was badly rotted. The other two beams seemed fine, as did the joists. We would have expected the beam closest to the house to be in the best shape, but for some reason it wasn't pressure treated. Maybe they thought they didn't need to pressure treat so close to the house. Or maybe the other two beams were replaced at some earlier time or something. We ended up ordering 100 board-feet of pressure treated 2x10 to not only replace the rotted beam, but also handle the 2 ft addition we wanted to do on the south side, and the 14 ft addition on the north side, allowing us to tie them in/cantilever them in a good "new work" sort of way rather than a funky "old work" sort of way. Amazingly, Parr Lumber was able and willing and able to deliver the 5 20-ft boards to us day-of (they were coming anyway to get their pallet back from delivering all the other material).
While moving the 14-ft 4x8 we no longer needed back to the front of the house so we could send it back to Parr to return, I dropped my end on my knee. It seemed to go down really hard, and my parents were surprised I was even able to walk, but amazingly, it didn't do too much damage. They insisted that I baby it and I put ice on it right away and for a couple hours, and it hardly even bruised up, at least not yet, almost 12 hours later. Not sure what happened, but somehow my knee must not have been the first/primary thing it hit.
We got the rotted beam removed in pieces around the time the wood was delivered. We did some more designing and math, to figure out the exact measurements we would need. We needed to cut up some wider pieces of pressure treated to make supports to hold the beam on the top of the posts, which required the table saw. The new-to-us garage sale table saw hadn't been used yet (by us), so we had to figure out how to get the fence and new blade on.
We ran some loops of strapping around our first 2x10 and the deck above. As we lifted the board, we tightened the loops. This meant, essentially, that we always had somewhere right there to set it down.
By this point it was time to get Gwen and I spent the next 90 minutes getting her from daycare, feeding her, doing bath, and stuff.
During this time, my parents jacked up the deck here and there, and used pipe clamps to get the beam into place between the tops of the posts and the joists. When I left to get Gwen, they were arguing about whether they should do the top first or the bottom first, but the fit was so tight that they weren't able to do either--it went straight in, pulled into position by the pipe clamps.
Then we made up leftovers and ate dinner.
What a big day! We got a lot done, but I must say it is pretty frustrating to work so hard all day and find ourselves actually with more left to do on the project than we thought we had when we got started this morning. But hey, it's not a surprise. I mean, we didn't know what setbacks we would run into, but I've done enough of these home projects that I wasn't naive enough to think we wouldn't encounter something.
While moving the 14-ft 4x8 we no longer needed back to the front of the house so we could send it back to Parr to return, I dropped my end on my knee. It seemed to go down really hard, and my parents were surprised I was even able to walk, but amazingly, it didn't do too much damage. They insisted that I baby it and I put ice on it right away and for a couple hours, and it hardly even bruised up, at least not yet, almost 12 hours later. Not sure what happened, but somehow my knee must not have been the first/primary thing it hit.
We got the rotted beam removed in pieces around the time the wood was delivered. We did some more designing and math, to figure out the exact measurements we would need. We needed to cut up some wider pieces of pressure treated to make supports to hold the beam on the top of the posts, which required the table saw. The new-to-us garage sale table saw hadn't been used yet (by us), so we had to figure out how to get the fence and new blade on.
We ran some loops of strapping around our first 2x10 and the deck above. As we lifted the board, we tightened the loops. This meant, essentially, that we always had somewhere right there to set it down.
By this point it was time to get Gwen and I spent the next 90 minutes getting her from daycare, feeding her, doing bath, and stuff.
During this time, my parents jacked up the deck here and there, and used pipe clamps to get the beam into place between the tops of the posts and the joists. When I left to get Gwen, they were arguing about whether they should do the top first or the bottom first, but the fit was so tight that they weren't able to do either--it went straight in, pulled into position by the pipe clamps.
Then we made up leftovers and ate dinner.
What a big day! We got a lot done, but I must say it is pretty frustrating to work so hard all day and find ourselves actually with more left to do on the project than we thought we had when we got started this morning. But hey, it's not a surprise. I mean, we didn't know what setbacks we would run into, but I've done enough of these home projects that I wasn't naive enough to think we wouldn't encounter something.
(no subject)
May. 7th, 2016 12:26 pmI suppose my previous post will make more sense if I tell the joke first.
Seems there was a treasure ship on its way back to port. About
halfway there, it was approached by a pirate, skull and crossbones waving
in the breeze!
"Captain, captain, what do we do?" asked the first mate.
"First mate," said the captain, "go to my cabin, open my sea
chest, and bring me my red shirt." The first mate did so.
Wearing his bright red shirt, the captain exhorted his crew to
fight. So inspiring was he, in fact, that the pirate ship was repelled
without casualties.
A few days later, the ship was again approached, this time by two
pirate sloops!
"Captain, captain, what should we do?"
"First mate, bring me my red shirt!"
The crew, emboldened by their fearless captain, fought heroically, and
managed to defeat both boarding parties, though they took many
casualties. That night, the survivors had a great celebration. The
first mate asked the captain the secret of his bright red shirt.
"It's simple, first mate. If I am wounded, the blood does not
show, and the crew continues to fight without fear."
A week passed, and they were nearing their home port, when
suddenly the lookout cried that ten ships of the enemy's armada were
approaching!
"Captain, captain, we're in terrible trouble, what do we do?"
The first mate looked expectantly at the miracle worker.
Pale with fear, the captain commanded, "First mate.... bring me my
brown pants!"
Seems there was a treasure ship on its way back to port. About
halfway there, it was approached by a pirate, skull and crossbones waving
in the breeze!
"Captain, captain, what do we do?" asked the first mate.
"First mate," said the captain, "go to my cabin, open my sea
chest, and bring me my red shirt." The first mate did so.
Wearing his bright red shirt, the captain exhorted his crew to
fight. So inspiring was he, in fact, that the pirate ship was repelled
without casualties.
A few days later, the ship was again approached, this time by two
pirate sloops!
"Captain, captain, what should we do?"
"First mate, bring me my red shirt!"
The crew, emboldened by their fearless captain, fought heroically, and
managed to defeat both boarding parties, though they took many
casualties. That night, the survivors had a great celebration. The
first mate asked the captain the secret of his bright red shirt.
"It's simple, first mate. If I am wounded, the blood does not
show, and the crew continues to fight without fear."
A week passed, and they were nearing their home port, when
suddenly the lookout cried that ten ships of the enemy's armada were
approaching!
"Captain, captain, we're in terrible trouble, what do we do?"
The first mate looked expectantly at the miracle worker.
Pale with fear, the captain commanded, "First mate.... bring me my
brown pants!"
(no subject)
May. 7th, 2016 12:22 pmGwendolyn: [Toot]
Josh: Was that a fart?
Me: Maybe. Maybe the chair squeeking.
Gwendolyn: [Toot]
Josh: I think that was her.
Me: Gwen, do you need to go potty?
Gwen: [Climbs out of her chair and goes to the potty.]
Josh: [Helps her with trainers and sits her down.]
Me: Underwear still clean?
Josh: Yep! Oh, wait, maybe not...
Me and Josh together: [Look more closely]
Me and Josh together: Bring me my brown shoes!
I can't imagine anyone I would rather share parenting with.
Josh: Was that a fart?
Me: Maybe. Maybe the chair squeeking.
Gwendolyn: [Toot]
Josh: I think that was her.
Me: Gwen, do you need to go potty?
Gwen: [Climbs out of her chair and goes to the potty.]
Josh: [Helps her with trainers and sits her down.]
Me: Underwear still clean?
Josh: Yep! Oh, wait, maybe not...
Me and Josh together: [Look more closely]
Me and Josh together: Bring me my brown shoes!
I can't imagine anyone I would rather share parenting with.
Survived our trip to Europe...
Sep. 18th, 2015 06:42 pmAnd sadly it pretty much feels that way. Though looking back, the only part that was really bad (aside from the flights), was everyone getting sick and at least one person in the group being sick on 9 out of 10 days of the trip. Josh managed to get sick twice.
I am so exhausted after our 11 hour direct flight back from Frankfurt. Gwen slept a good bit of it, but I didn't. This could be bad for tonight, though fortunately Josh managed some sleep.
I am so exhausted after our 11 hour direct flight back from Frankfurt. Gwen slept a good bit of it, but I didn't. This could be bad for tonight, though fortunately Josh managed some sleep.
On Breastfeeding...
Sep. 18th, 2015 01:43 pmThe good thing about breastfeeding: I always have something to feed the baby.
The bad thing about breastfeeding: if there isn't any food for the baby to eat, there probably isn't any food for me to eat, and if there isn't any food for me to eat, I start to feel faint much faster than normal.
Fortunately, after passing through passport control 2 and a half hours before our flight, and walking all the way to the far end of the new (and only partially open) concourse C in Frankfort, and then all the way back to the other end, we got to concourse B, and there is a McCafe just beyond security, which we are fortunately allowed to go through. I have never been so happy to see the Golden Arches in my life.
I can see out the windows that the old concourse C is still being demolished, and this concourse is still under construction, so that's the cause of the emptiness. The few staff out there are getting around on bicycles. Makes me think of that Doctor Who episode.
The bad thing about breastfeeding: if there isn't any food for the baby to eat, there probably isn't any food for me to eat, and if there isn't any food for me to eat, I start to feel faint much faster than normal.
Fortunately, after passing through passport control 2 and a half hours before our flight, and walking all the way to the far end of the new (and only partially open) concourse C in Frankfort, and then all the way back to the other end, we got to concourse B, and there is a McCafe just beyond security, which we are fortunately allowed to go through. I have never been so happy to see the Golden Arches in my life.
I can see out the windows that the old concourse C is still being demolished, and this concourse is still under construction, so that's the cause of the emptiness. The few staff out there are getting around on bicycles. Makes me think of that Doctor Who episode.
3rd Day In London
Sep. 10th, 2015 03:51 pmJosh is sick. We're all hanging out in the flat this afternoon. Everyone is napping... Except Gwendolyn and I. I want to go out, but I think maybe Gwen is so unhappy because she needs a nap. Except she has been really resistant to being in the baby carrier today, and that's pretty much the only way that works for me to get her to fall asleep when nursing to sleep doesn't work, as it has already failed to do several times this afternoon. I have a feeling my next international vacation will be sometime after this girl goes away to college.
This weekend is off to a good start:
- I've now lost 50 lbs since Gwen was born (all the pregnancy weight and a most of the traveling consultant weight). Yay!
- It was "bag day" at the Assistance League Thrift Store (as much as you can fit in a paper grocery bag for $5, and they have good stuff too). Timely.
- I made Dutch Babies for breakfast, and for once they actually rose correctly. Helps probably that I'm back to eating all the dairy, though using correct ingredients is not always enough for them to come out well for me.
- My first time cooking with breast milk: I made a mini breast milk Dutch Baby for Gwen, which she seemed to like, and made me feel super cool. (She gets diarrhea if she has anything made with milk directly.)
- I was thinking about bragging on how well Gwen has been using the potty today (7 pees and a poop all in the potty today, dry 7 hours except the diaper during/after her first nap), but I was afraid that might jinx it. Well, apparently just thinking it was enough to jinx it... massive poo in the diaper just as I was writing the previous bullet point. But I'm gonna brag and be proud of her anyway.
- Tonight friends are coming over to play board games. Well, at least one friend anyway. Yay board games!
And now Gwen is down for nap #2, so it must be time for me to move onto something more productive. Like packing and planning for our upcoming trip to Atlanta, London, Paris, Luxemburg, and the Mosel/Rhine region of Germany. I'm very excited!
- Tonight friends are coming over to play board games. Well, at least one friend anyway. Yay board games!
And now Gwen is down for nap #2, so it must be time for me to move onto something more productive. Like packing and planning for our upcoming trip to Atlanta, London, Paris, Luxemburg, and the Mosel/Rhine region of Germany. I'm very excited!
I never understood the purpose of toys before having a baby.
Why buy a baby toys? I wondered. Everyone knows the baby would rather play with the packaging than the toy. But there-in lies the clue as to the purpose of toys. Your baby will not be bored without toys. Your baby will have plenty to play with by virtue of being a baby. Toys serve a more subtle purpose than that.
You eject toys all around your house like chaff. Your baby would be perfectly happy to spend all her time chewing on furniture legs, devouring grocery bags, exploring the contents of your cabinets, practicing her budding engineering skills by disassembling your glasses, and sampling house plants. The toys are simply decoys. And that is why it's important to keep them distributed throughout all the rooms in your house that your baby visits, and not tucked away neat and tidy in a toy chest somewhere.
Why buy a baby toys? I wondered. Everyone knows the baby would rather play with the packaging than the toy. But there-in lies the clue as to the purpose of toys. Your baby will not be bored without toys. Your baby will have plenty to play with by virtue of being a baby. Toys serve a more subtle purpose than that.
You eject toys all around your house like chaff. Your baby would be perfectly happy to spend all her time chewing on furniture legs, devouring grocery bags, exploring the contents of your cabinets, practicing her budding engineering skills by disassembling your glasses, and sampling house plants. The toys are simply decoys. And that is why it's important to keep them distributed throughout all the rooms in your house that your baby visits, and not tucked away neat and tidy in a toy chest somewhere.
We are preparing for our world to be turned upside-down November 12th, 2014.
Master Bedroom
Jun. 23rd, 2013 11:03 pmThis whole home ownership thing can be pretty stressful. Even without much in the way of bad surprises (so far). We've been staying in the guest bedroom for the past few weeks, not counting this past week that I spent at the beach. It's finally something like done. Well, done enough to move back in. The baseboards need to be either painted or replaced (even if we'd done a good job with our edges--and we didn't--the previous painters did a really bad job of them), but that isn't on the agenda right now. And there is a little bit of trim needed too. But the big stuff is really coming along.
What we've been up to:
( Read more... )
What we've been up to:
( Read more... )
I wish Meg had a whiteboard on her door
Jun. 7th, 2013 09:55 pm"Are brains good for anything except staying alive?"
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
Unemployment and Gardening
Apr. 25th, 2013 06:20 pmUnemployment is exhausting.
Monday, my dad came over for lunch, we visited and I made a big lunch. Then he helped me figure out what was wrong with the lights along our front walk. Somewhere in there, I also got us mostly unpacked from Peru, and did a bunch of laundry.
Tuesday, I got up early and went out to my parents Farm to help them move their 3 dozen chickens to fresh digs. Normally my parents do that on their own, but my dad had surgery 2 weeks ago and isn't to lift more than 10 lbs, or do much else. In the evening I went back out to the farm for a dinner gathering my parents were having. In the afternoon, I spent several hours clearing weeds out of my garden because...
On Wednesday my mom came over to help me in my front yard/garden. We cleared a bunch more weeds, planted some mature rhubarb plants she brought me from the farm, transplanted a bunch of pansies from the path into the flower beds, and got a large section of rather shady raised flower bed (where the weeds had killed all the flowers so far as I could tell) almost ready to receive lettuce. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it kept u very busy until it was time to shower and get ready to go to our lecture series down town.
Today, I got a call in the morning from my mom saying she wanted to come out and work with me in my garden today. (It's like gifts from people who want you to start playing FarmVille, only rather more useful...) we did more weeding out front, got the raised bed the previous owners left ready to go, planted some stuff, and determined that even though I only purchased $14 of plant starts from my brother, I didn't have room for them all. I pointed out the pile of dirt where the previous owners had clearly had another raised bed, and my mom was all, "let's build another raised bed around that dirt." So we did. We built it out of the gate that used to go between the house and the tool shed (previous owners took down the tool shed, but left the gate). On a previous day, my mom had come by and disassembled the gate, because she's awesome like that. And she insisted that I keep the screws, because she is a little crazy like that. Well, we were happy to have the wood from the gate and the screws from the gate today. We were able to build the whole thing out of gate pieces. We also planted the lettuce, and my mom pointed out that I had volunteer spinach plants in one of the planters from my balcony garden 2 years ago. Fortunately, I have plenty of space in the shady part of my garden. After my mom left, I went to Home Depot and purchased various things, like composted manure to finish filling the new raised bed (the existing dirt more than half filled it), plant food (my mom says the manure is more useful for next year than this year), slug poison, mulch (we've been mulching with last year's maple leaves, but they are basically used up), parts to repair the broken hose, and a hydrangea, since I've got plenty of space for things that tolerate shade.
Josh finally got home a little while ago, so I am sitting here slacking while he makes dinner. I am utterly exhausted. And I haven't even started on any of the projects I was going to work on during my two weeks off. Though I have done a decent bit of shopping. I have towel rods coming tomorrow, paint for the front door, another pull out shelf to install in the pantry.
Tomorrow I go up to Tacoma to see my middle nephew perform in "The Tempest." And then back to Portland on the first train of the morning to attend a friends birthday hike and game night.
Whew.
On Sunday, maybe I will sleep. Or perhaps dig some blackberries.
And now, pictures...
Here's the new raised bed. Josh wants us to rotate it to run parallel to the other raised bed. Which would be nice... but we'll see how he feels about helping me move the 10 or so cubic feet of soil already in it after dinner. I don't want to wait real long to get my plants in the ground.
Lettuces in the afternoon shade.
Once I get this area cleared, I'm going to try planting quinoa in this area that gets a bit less afternoon shade. (I'll plant it amid the irises, rose, and whatever those things in the middle are.)
My poor rhubarb in it's almost full sun corner of the flower garden is hiding under an Amazon box trying not to die of the recent transplant.
And now, do I own any hand lotion? Never use the stuff, but I think gardening will require me to start!
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
It's raining, so I skipped my hike in Forest Park. However, I do really need to be doing some serious hiking this month. We booked out trip to Peru for April, and we are going to be hiking in Inca Trail. I'm super excited, but also afraid it is going to kick my butt. I think the hike will be only a little longer and not a lot more elevation than we did on Hawaii to Kalalau Valley in December, except it will be at over 10,000 ft above sea level, instead of basically at sea level. That's kind I huge. Plus, I could hardly walk after Kalalau after the 3 days and 24 miles to and from Kalalau.
Instead, I've been continuing to work on house stuff. I hardly feel like I've had the time/energy for that lately, so if feels good to be making progress. We cleared a bunch of stuff out of the garage last night and this morning (garbage, unpacking boxes, just organizing shit), and it's looking like we are getting a little bit close to being able to set up something like a work bench out there, and start unpacking and organizing tools. This will be good for taking on some bigger projects.
In the process, I finally found the timer thing that runs the lights along the walk up to the front door. It didn't seem to so anything, so I went to Home Depot for some specialty lights. I got the LED ones, which cost twice as much and give off half as much light as the halogen ones, but they are supposed to last 10x as long. Now I just need to figure out how to work the timer and wait for it to get dark so I can see if they are bright enough. And then install all the rest if I am satisfied. I kind of wanted to get those solar garden lights, but that's pretty silly given that these ones are already wired up.
I've also started repairing the "harp-back" chairs my mother gave me yesterday. After many years of telling her I didn't want them (we've owned way too many chairs for our apartments for ages), I'm pretty excited about them now that we seem to be short on seating in our big new house! They need quite a lot of work, but I love that they are super petite.
Oh, and I'll share some photos. Our garage that is starting to become not completely full o stuff:
Our family room with fresh green paint and the 4 harp-backed chairs:
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Do the people who write the tax forms have any idea what a pain in the butt questions like this are to answer for a person like me?
And, if I hire someone to do my taxes, can I give them access to my Expedia and Alaska Airlines accounts and have them figure it out, or is this BS still my responsibility?
And, if I hire someone to do my taxes, can I give them access to my Expedia and Alaska Airlines accounts and have them figure it out, or is this BS still my responsibility?
One thing I miss
Jan. 8th, 2013 09:39 pmThere is one thing I really miss about coming to San Francisco regularly, and that is keeping a set of really nice pajamas here at my hotel.
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