Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Stink EYe

I got the stink eye, pink eye, just call me the Queen of Conjnctivitis. Who else has to keep pink eye drops in their nightstand?
'
So there I am standing at the front counter, looking at Codi's wierd foot petechiae issue, and all is normal. (Well, other than her feet.) I go back to my office, grab my big pile of files and my barrette and cup. I set down my stuff in the council chambers, and am shamelessly flirted with by a very early citizen. I take my styrofoam-decorated-with-lipstick coffee cup to the kitchen, and head to the restroom to fix my hair. Then back to the kitchen where I make a cup of coffee and make a new pot for our guests. I head to the hallway and Codi says - "What's wrong with your eye? You have pink eye!" ANd, of course, I do. Oh, I denied it, I said I must have scratched it, but the weeping has started and the itching, and golly gee whiz, here I am again.

Devil eye, red eye, pink eye, conjunctivitis...don't care what you call it, it is StInK EyE to ME!
UUUUUGH!

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Just a day like today

Newsflash, ion detecting smoke detectors are proving not to be as quick or effective as photoelectric ones, so look up your models on the net and see what kind you have. Although the jury is still out, I have read enough to think photoelectric sensors are the better idea.

My friend Melanie dropped in today to help get my butt in gear, and we got lots done! The rented guys redid all the flower beds, got rid of a huge pile of wood that was leaning up against my foundation on the side of the house (for six years or so) just waiting for termites, got rid of lots of weeds and assorted other debris, and generally made the outside, around the house, neat and clean and rather lovely. All that's left is to sweep off the porch. They also killed a small copperhead and a bunch of ants. And felt the need to call me outside to see the copperhead. I used my strong command of the Spanish language and said "Is it muerte?"

When a friend stopped by to see who was here (seeing Melanie's truck made the natives curious), he said - "hey, that looks almost as nice as it used to look when you used to sit out there." I had a friend who has moved, but he would stop by after work for a beer every now and then, and we would sit on the porch and watch the trains go by. We called it the WT porch, for "white trash", because it seemed like such a country bumpkin thing to do. I guess I paid more attention when I was using it more. That was enlightening, to sat the least, I didn't realize how much I had let it go until I saw it looking good. So, $135 for plants and mulch, $200 for labor, and the enlightenment, priceless!

Melanie was a godsend, while I finished the ceiling she kept telling me that at a height of 11 feet, "perfect" is measured from the ground, not the ladder. She made me promise that when I got off the ladder today it would be done, even if not "perfect", and talked me into hiring the guys again tomorrow to paint it. Great idea! Another $200, plus $92 for tinted primer (I'll forgo the paint, since it won't get any handling) and some new brushes and rollers, and the job will be done tomorrow.

She also cleaned and vacuumed every surface in the large room, and kept asking me enlightening questions, like... "these cute little plant-pot-sitters in fifteen pieces that look like they have already been glued back together at least once - you are keeping these why?" and "Do you have any idea what these keys are to? Do you even own that truck anymore?" And the best one - "You have been using a Treo phone for the last three years, you're keeping this old one why?" when I responded that I had plugged the old phone in when I bought the new one home, and had intended to transfer the numbers, she said - "You think in three years if you had needed a number you might have found it by now? And besides, there is no battery, so although you have faithfully had it plugged it in for three years, it won't ever charge or turn on." WOW! This woman is Good!

It really made me think about what I do, and why. A lot of times I save things becase they are "good", or "can be fixed" but they don't fit the needs I have now, or the time I have available for the fixing. Mel was talking about her Mom, who saves, washes, and reuses ziplock bags and tinfoil, which I agree with in principle (as does she), but neither of us do it. She says when her mom is at her house she washes the bags and sets them out to dry. And Melanie throws them away! Her mom says she didn't raise her to be so wasteful, and Melanie guiltily admitted that when she throws a ziplock away after it only had cookies in it, she thinks "There, I made it, I am successful, I don't have to wash this bag!" Which, aside from being hilarious, really strikes home for me. I don't have to reupholster that yard sale chair, I still may (although I have three to do right now - which feels overwhelming) but I can go buy a chair in a color and style I like, and life will not end.

I do believe in reducing, reusing and recycling, but I also need to start to believe in my power to take care of myself and my worth, I am "worth" a new chair if that is what I decide I want. And, I may just stop by the furniture store this week and take a look see! Self esteem is an amazing thing.

Other news? I have not lost a pound this week - losing weight takes focus, and I have been focusing on my house. However, I haven't gained, so that is a success in itself.

The Community Thanksgiving dinner (that and other eating out events have helped make this a bad weight week - a Reese cup here, a hotdog there) was a rousing success, I was touched by the service photos of some of our older community members, including a handsome twenty-something Mike Harral Sr., posing with his M-60. What a great man he is. True courage and bravery, a man of God, and a friend to all.

Here's a few prayers for some friends in need tonight, a heart in need of healing, a life in turmoil, and some people who need to blog about others in a negative way to accomplish their political goals. May God bless them, and touch them, and help them to see the joy of his love and the compassion and caring he has in their times of strife and discomfort as well as in their times of plenty. And may many more times of plenty be available for them.
That's it for today!
Before Sunday at bedtime I will:
Finish the skimcoating of the ceilings
Paint the ceilings
Touch up the red paint I just messed up with primer
Touch up the brown paint (see above)
Touch up the beige paint that the primer was supposedto fix (see any circles here?)
Cut windowsills and trim for six windows
Install, caulk and paint the windowsills
Put up four new blinds
Repaint the light cover for the bedroom
Put up the light cover in the bedroom
Install sun reflective coating on the french doors
Buy a new doorknob for the french doors
Install it
Replace the lights in the kitchen after painting
Replace the lightbulbs in the closets
Fix three plugins, (replace two that got painted red,and fix one whose box is broken in the wall)
Move all the crap I can out to the barn
Somehow come up with amazing furniture for the ugly naked rooms
Move the big TV to the workout room and replace it with the smaller TV
Clean the woodstove
Clean out the grout in the bathroom to regrout it
Finish the trim in the bathroom and paint it
Clean the drywall mud off the floor
Repaint the floorBuy some plants and mulch for the flowerbeds
Deweed the flower beds
Kill the weeds in the driveway
Mow and weedeat
Have a minor meltdown

Friday, November 02, 2007

Oh what a beautiful day

So much to do, so little impetus to get off my butt! Actually, I have impetus, just because of the so much to do. First, unload all of the stuff from Home Depot out of the car. Then, some ceiling work and a few small painting jobs and some trim work (really wished I had a nice long extension cord that had NOT been run over by a lawnmower!) and then another trip to Home Depot to get some mulch and nice plants, Pedro's friends are coming over tomorrow to do some lawn work for me. Finally, with a little luck, I'll get a nice fall cleanup of the flower beds and all the areas that need weedeating. There is nothing better than a little help, even at $10 an hour and with marginal english skills. Hey - maybe I can make a list in english, and then translate it into Spanish on the web! WHatta concept! Widh me luck!

JOY walks here... PEACE follows... COMFORT saves...

This is where life should be lived