Birthday All Over

Today is the last day of my birthday.

I’m not even sad. Well, I was sad when I opened my last card. It was full of bird feathers! My big sister is just the best sister ever! She plays my games and doesn’t complain about it! You just don’t get a sister like that every day! So thanks, Big Sister!!

I finished the bedroom yesterday.

In case you forgot, here is where we started all those months ago:

And here is where we are today:

It’s pretty much gotten a total overhaul.

I’m currently considering some art above the headboard.

And maybe I need to zhuzh up the horizonal surfaces. Which is usually pretty much against my religion as a minimalist. I’ll go shopping in the house and see what I can find to add some height and a little interest.

Not counting the office (because that room gives my the hives), this marks 2 rooms complete.

That seems like a lot of slow plodding, doesn’t it? I guess so much of the work so far has been utilitarian and not pretty, it seems like I haven’t really be settling into this place.

This is sneak peek at the fireplace project:

I took a poll, and then completely ignored the results and I’m doing my own thing here. Once I pick up supplies I’ll get it going and then reveal the transformation. It’s just an interim solution so I can stop looking at the pink tiles and broken grout.

The jury is still out between the linen closet (mostly the Hubs work) and the guest room (mostly my work) for my next big project. They are kind of tied together in terms of storage so it’s a complete crapshoot which one should be done first. On the upside, if I do the guest room and no one makes a reservation, it will become my rowing room. Sounds luxe, right? A room dedicated to a rowing machine?

Like this house has that kind of space!!!

The Hubs is taking next week off. It’s making me antsy. My inclination is to schedule all the things that I want done. His is to not do the things I want done!

It will be interesting to see what next week looks like!

I’m a Different Person

So it occurs to me I’ve been doing a lot of whining. Which is a stupid way to spend your

I think it’s boredom. So I decided to get back to work.

No, not that kind of work, don’t be dense!

Friday I started painting my bedroom. I had a big plan, was gonna take days and do it carefully.

I did 2 walls, one coat.

This is the first wall:

And here is the second:

(And yes, I am re-thinking my bathroom color!)

I even painted all the trim. And then I quit for the day.

See? I can do things carefully.

Saturday I turned my attention to the back yard. It did not rain all day, first time in ages. While the Hubs mowed I made some dirt. OK, fine, mostly he did it, but I ordered him around.

Play to your strengths, right?

The spinning composter rewarded us with this:

Gross, right?! But we added some potting soil, some garden soil, and some native soil and mixed it all up.

Looks good now!

I repotted the mint and used these pots to put new mint in.

I’m not certain the mint keeps away wasps, but it’s growing and that’s exciting around here! The Hubs thinks the huge unruly bamboo is too strong a lure for the wasps and the mint can’t compete. He’s probably right. Someday I have to find a sucker to come here and tame that monster.

Yesterday the Hubs hung the new kitchen light. We swapped out an ugly fluorescent-looking light:

And replaced it with this:

It weighs 30 pounds, so we are just waiting for it (and half the ceiling) to come crashing down!

Right now it looks a little out of place, but once things start happening in the kitchen it might work. If not, well, I’ll cross that bridge later.

All weekend the bedroom not being finished was bothering me. I got right to work this morning.

All the furniture got pushed into the middle of the room.

It all got got 2 coats, and I was kinda stoked that it actually matches the duvet cover. That was a total accident!

Tonight the Hubs is going to change out the outlets and I’ll put it all back where it belongs and tomorrow I might hang some pictures.

So much for taking my time! It’s a bit of a win to have this finished.

The Kraken just sent me this:

It’s Mako’s 4th birthday today!

I can’t help but notice the cookie matches the rug.

Caution: Disturbing Images

We went to the beach yesterday.

This is what town looked like:

This is what the beach looked like:

The choice seemed pretty obvious!

Lots of wildlife out there:

Some pelicans:

Of course when they flew right over my head, I was too busy watching this guy to catch them.

This is zoomed in:

But he just hung out. Moved a little, but mostly just sat there.

It was kinda odd, but he seemed to be into getting his picture taken. I was able to get closer:

And closer:

And closer:

I was about 3 feet from him and he just sat there.

Finally I got bored and we moved on. But when we went back, he was still just sitting there. Very strange.

The water was pretty calm, and it might have been an excellent day for swimming, but this:

There is a ton of algae and seaweed in the water right now. The Hubs braved it wrapping around his ankles:

SO gross!

But also kind of cool to look at:

We dipped our feet it, but it was weird. The water seems to be cooling a little, so maybe this sea junk will move on.

In the meanwhile, we’ll just hope for the best.

It’s Raining and I’m Sad

Someone in my ‘hood took this last night. If I could see inside my soul, I am pretty sure this is what it would look like today:

Sad aside, how freaking cool is this?

It’s been raining for years here. This would not surprise me one bit:

Yesterday the AC got finished up. There were some challenges, but they got it all done.

All that remains is an inspector, a bit of landscaping, and figuring out how to collect the water. We had some ideas about that, we just have to work out the logistics of it all.

So here goes.

All the pipes have been contained, but that’s a funky look that really needs camouflaged:

From this angle, things get a little more dire:

Unfortunately, this is what you see when you walk through the gate. Nice first impression, huh?!

And in case you missed the tangle:

What the heck am I supposed to do to hide this? I don’t think ivy is going to cut it!

They did say I could plant stuff 18-24″ away from the unit. Now all I have to do is find something that will distract from this!

The other side is a bit less exciting:

Still needs to be hidden, the Medusa look is just not attractive.

And this:

Yesterday’s rain blew the rocks right out of there! I guess I’ll pile some more pavers as a stop gap to keep the rocks contained til I figure out how to address this. The Hubs is talking about more bends and whatnot, so we’ll see what he comes up with before I spend the effort figuring it out.

And the best part.

You know how I was concerned about the guest room unit? Well, I’m even more concerned today.

This is how it got finished:

Let’s be honest here. I’m not an all-perfect-all-the-time kinda gal. But this pretty much makes me want to scream. The cuts are off, there are gaps near the wall and the unit. It looks pretty shitty. Oh, and it’s shiny (my personal favorite), so I will have some issues painting it. Maybe it will pop off and I can spray it.

Whatever.

But that is not the worst part.

The Hubs went in to work today, so I thought it would be the perfect time to vacuum this place. Not a quick once over like I usually do, but a take the vacuum apart and do the baseboards kind of effort. I started in the office. Moved to the bathroom, and then into the guest room.

And notice the floor is wet. But not before I have already run the vacuum through it and into the hall.

This HOUSE!

I unleash a string of my favorite words before trying to see what it is and where it’s coming from.

Of course it’s NOT water.

It’s coming from the unit in the guest room.

Of course it is!

Great. I’m the only adult here, so I have to deal with this.

The short version is, Brian will be here in the AM to tear it all apart, clean it up, and re-do it. It’s fine to run the unit in the meantime (I am, but it’s got towels underneath it). The floors got washed and the vacuum got taken apart, but no baseboards got vacuumed!

Next I have to figure out how to put the vacuum back together.

I kinda hate everyone and everything today.

On the other hand, I got the cookbook I ordered last week!

I love a cookbook! This one had some gunk in the pages. Yeah, of course it did. But the recipes on those pages were for salmon, which I hate, so I washed it off and moved on.

I’m having a bad day.

But…

AC Update

Day 6 of 2-3 day install.

Yesterday when they left, we had AC! It was cold, cranking, and nearly silent!

Finally felt like we were making progress!

Here’s what was happening outside:

OK, let’s be honest, I still can’t see where this is going:

I’d be lying if I said I was optimistic about this:

I am feeling concerned. What is this gonna look like? How am I going to minimize the footprint?

But who cares? We have nice cool AC!

But do we?

The unit in the office started leaking water.

This morning the Hubs says he was uncomfortable and sweaty last night.

When we got up, the living room was warm. But not as warm as the office.

Please tell me this is NOT happening.

Only one of us can freak out at a time and it’s not my turn. I try to stay positive, they’re coming this AM (weather permitting), and they’ll fix it, I’m SURE of it!

At about 1 things finally started to cool down properly.

Yikes.

They were gone by 2, will be back in the AM to finish up.

But will we be sweating? That is the question.

Here is what we look like currently:

Oh my.

While it’s neater than yesterday, this is a LOT of white piping. I guess maybe I can plant some shrubs or some such. The Hubs suggested trump l’oeil bricks to blend with the house. I suppose that might work, but I’d have to hire someone to do it. And if I’m hiring out a job I want the extra mile.

I dunno. I’m thinking it’s gonna be some foundation plants. Or maybe I’ll feel differently when the old AC thingee is gone.

I guess we’ll know tomorrow.

Weather permitting.

And lest we forget:

More Rain

We were going to go to the beach this evening, but during dinner it started raining.

Guess what?

Yeah, I know, even I am getting a little tired of this. But I can’t stop for 10 more days!

I don’t really have much to report. but I did finish and wash my scrapghan:

Apparently, there was some wool in there because it felted a little in the dryer! Oh well. I’ll put washing instructions with it and send it off into the ether.

I’ve already started another one.

I have some garden news.

Some good:

This is the third plant to flower. I love how they are taking turns!

And some not good:

I’m not sure what happened here, but it’s been over a week, I don’t think he’s coming back. The one next to it is looking like it’s giving up the ghost in the middle part. I’ll have to check the tag and see if maybe it’s an annual. I really thought for a while there they were going to fill in and do their part in this garden.

Wrong again.

AC Update…

They showed up on Friday. They worked til about 1 and then said it was too hot and left. But not before they told us they’d be back Monday. And Tuesday. And Wednesday.

Anyone else remember them saying, “We’ll be done in 2, maybe 3 days.”

Because I do. Trust me, I would have remembered, “We’ll be done in 6, maybe 7 days.”

Thankfully, the old system is still hanging in there. Even better, the new system is bigger than we expected, so if we need to add more units we have the capacity. Oh, and the Hubs had a discussion with the owner regarding the water. Now we have to produce buckets in which to collect it.

Yesterday while we were doing yardwork, the neighbor called the Hubs over to ask what the heck is going on, and to point out it looks like shit.

Like we don’t know this!

I’m starting to feel like we’re being evaluated to make sure this house looks as nice as theirs. It’s all I can do not to remind them what it looked like before! No matter what we do, it’s gotta beat the abandoned and neglected look the previous occupants had going.

But maybe I’m wrong about that. I’m having trouble caring at the moment.

I nearly forgot! The Hubs harvested one of his carrots today! It was less than exciting, poor thing was about 4″ long. He ate most of it, I had a bite. Maybe they will get bigger and cook up better in a month or so.

Since

The Hubs let me beat him at Hand and Foot this afternoon!

Maybe I’m gonna miss it not being my birthday…

Birthday Plus 2

My birthday dinner was good. Except, it was storming so we could not sit on the deck and watch the boats while we ate. A little disappointing, but not the end of the world. We went to the beach after, in the rain, and saw some pretty spectacular lightening strikes. That was cool! The water was very calm and I was bummed it was raining because it would have been perfect for a swim.

Anyway…

It’s raining today. So this is appropriate!

If you’ve had or lived with a teen gal, you know glitter is forever, so go outside and throw it til you run out.

Run out? Perish the thought! Actually, we’ve discovered glitter IS forever. It’s been years and 6 moves and I am still finding glitter!

I know I’m supposed to be happy, and overall I am. But there’s been things this week that have kinda ticked me off.

Like yesterday after the recycling truck came, my barrel was still full. Granted, I had some cardboard stuffed into it, maybe it got stuck. But still. I dragged it back in, took out the cardboard and now I have to make a call to get a “special” pickup for it next week.

Oh, shut it. I already took it from the Hubs, “first world problems.”

Newsflash.

I live in the first world. Who’s problems would you like me to have?

And…

The AC install is STILL happening. Oh, not fast and furious, oh no. Suffice to say, they are still well within their 2-3 day window. In fact, when they left this morning at 9:30, technically they had just completed 8 hours.

I am not kidding.

I am trying to be cool about it. But when they announced this morning they could not continue because of the rain, it was all I could do not to start screaming.

(Yes, that IS something I have been known to do.)

Really? For the last 2 days you have bugged out around 1, and the sun was out. Now it’s raining and you CAN’T work?

WTFEver.

So they will be back in the morning.

I’m a little unhappy about the outside. I’m optimistic, but I am not sure how they are gonna pull this out of their collective ass.

Here’s what we have going on:

We might have to move the rain barrel because it is directly under that drain. On the other hand, maybe it will hide it!

The one coming out of the soffit should technically be coming out of an existing line. That was unexpected. And the other 2 are what they are. They will be covered, but this is not how I expected it to look at all. The Hubs is irritated because they don’t seem to be taking into account we want to collect the water that drains from the system instead of just letting it run into the ground near the foundation.

But again, it’s not done, so I am reserving real judgment.

On the other hand, this really annoyed me:

It was my understanding that line would be behind the wall.

*sigh*

I guess it’s an opportunity to get creative trying to minimize it. At least it’s the guest room and not the living room.

Last but not least:

Yesterday there was discussion about how to get this line around the corner to the heat pump. I thought it would go next to the soffit and through the gutter bend. The boys were discussing cutting and rerouting the gutter near the bottom.

Momma ain’t happy.

However…

It’s Finally My Actual Birthday

Thank you to all my peeps who took time out of their day to remember me!

I know you’ll be just as shocked as I was, but the AC guys showed up this morning! They rolled in about 9:15, unloaded their truck, one left and one stayed.

He put all the units up on the walls and was out of here by 1:00.

Really?

I’ll say, I’m a little annoyed. I was hoping for more progress.

Maybe tomorrow.

So far here’s a sneak peek of what we have going on:

There are a total of 6 of them scattered throughout the place. We went with the ductless style because it’s supposed to be more efficient and each of these is separately controlled. The Hubs will be able to keep his overheated office cool without freezing me out. And we can keep the bedroom brisk without overcooling the whole place all night. Plus up to 30% of AC is lost in the attic ducts anyway. Will be extra special neat-o keen if my power bills go down a bit!

Here is the dining room one:

When this is all over, I’ll finally be able to hang the rest of the pics that are still leaning against walls all over the place!

Biggest bonus of all, if a tornado ever comes through here, we will actually know and not just assume it’s the AC!

I dragged out the scrapghan last night. Eye God Woodrow (bonus points if you know where that is from), it’s freaking heavy! It might suffocate a kid, so now I’m wondering if it’s appropriate to donate!

I’m hoping I have enough scraps to close up the gap and get it finished.

Tonight we’re going to the FloraBama Yacht Club for my birthday dinner. I’m thinking I should have skipped lunch. I’m gonna order one of everything that appeals to me and take 2 bites. Then I’m gonna eat leftovers for a month!

The Hubs made me lemonade cupcakes this year. How sweet is he?!

Now I kinda hope he goes to work tomorrow and takes them with him so I don’t eat them all!

Overall, I’m having a pretty great birthday month!

Grumbly

I was thinking of going to the beach tonight, but it’s grumbling out right now. It’s been sunny and kinda sticky out today, so I guess we’re getting some more rain to knock that back.

Today started off like this:

I was up early, making plans for what to do.

I painted some trim:

I went a little further than planned, so now the only trim left in the bedroom is behind the headboard. I’m tempted to skip it because no one will see it. We’ll see what happens when I get to that wall.

I cleaned my bathroom because I didn’t want it hanging over my head tomorrow. I watered my gardens. I sat down at my desk at 9:00 feeling like maybe I shoulda joined the Army I am so productive!

I sent a note to the AC people to see if we are still on track for tomorrow. I got a note right back saying they are all set and we should expect them between 8 and 9. Fingers crossed that stands.

I finished my blanket this afternoon:

Wait, did I show it to you in progress? Well, here it is again:

And finished:

It looks all wonky, but once I wash it, it’ll rectangle up. Tonight I’ll pull out the scrapghan and get to work on burning up some leftover yarn.

So in case you forgot…

I got a card and present today!!! Normally, I save everything til the actual day, but I got excited!

And rightly so:

I have a friend who knows I love oceans and Christmas and she made these for me!

A Bit of Updating

I have decided to give you a break from my birthday…

Psych!

It’s almost my birthday!!!!

OK, I’m done.

For now.

In other news… Really? Can there BE other news at a time like this?

Of course.

We went to the beach last night… actually went swimming!

Honestly, it was a little gross, there is so much seaweed right now, it was wrapping around my fingers! We walked some looking for a sandbar to go out to – and found one! When we looked back, we were up to our knees and about 40 feet out! I don’t know why I think that is cool, but it is!

The water is pretty warm, not quite bathwater, but close.

A couple days ago we sat and watched some ghost crabs excavating their holes. We managed to capture this guy:

They are so fast! They will come up to the top of their hole and toss sand out! Sometimes they stay a while and survey the area. This pic is pretty magnified and blurry, but that guy is probably about 6″ across.

Around the house we’ve been making a little progress.

The Hubs put together the 2nd chair:

We added 2 more rain barrels to the yard. Of course it’s been raining so much they are all filled to the brim and we don’t need the water!

I have an actual bloom on my oxeye:

Let’s just nevermind that I planted 6 and there are only 2 showing. But I got a flower!

My dead balloon flower is really making the best of its situation:

Eventually, I will dig a new garden in front of the dining room windows and transplant this out there. At which point, very publicly, it will probably die!

Let’s see, what else???

I guess that’s it for now.

Except…

You know, in case you forgot.