Z's crawling has improved dramatically since her debut a few weeks ago. I especially love the way she flings toys out of her way. (Click here for video.)
More of her antics. (Click here.)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Weekend Update 5/25
We have been busy this weekend. Chris took Friday off... supposedly to give me the day off from the kids. But my day off turned into a mere 2.5 hours. At least during that time, I had a wonderful lunch date with my friend Lori. And right now, Chris has the kids at Nana's. I have the house to myself. It's been a good morning....
Anyway, we've been busy, trying not to take impulsive drives out to the country and focusing on getting the house ready to put on the market. The plan is to try to sell the house, rent for a few months while we look, and have a wad of cash in hand in the event we run across a foreclosure or some other great deal that we would miss out on if we didn't have a sold house and cash. We have set out our fleeces before the Lord: a certain amount we want to get for the house and a time frame. If it doesn't happen, then we will be content to wait for a while longer.
So we have been working on a few cosmetic things to try to make the place more appealing. we painted the front porch and shutters. The realtor suggested a copper color for the shutters, and I think that is sort of what I wanted originally, but none of the paint chips seemed right back then. When I went to Home Depot to pick up some more paint chips, I spotted what I thought would be perfect, and lo and behold, it was named 'copper' something-or-other. Of course, now that the shutters are painted and up on the house, it looks a whole lot brighter than I imagined it would, and I feel like we are trying to sucker some University of Tennessee fan into buying our place. Oh well.
Next we need to paint the kids' bedrooms. Not UT orange, though...
I also made a rhubarb dessert with a recipe I got out of the Prairie Home Companion program. Eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon and rhubarb. How can that go wrong?
Anyway, we've been busy, trying not to take impulsive drives out to the country and focusing on getting the house ready to put on the market. The plan is to try to sell the house, rent for a few months while we look, and have a wad of cash in hand in the event we run across a foreclosure or some other great deal that we would miss out on if we didn't have a sold house and cash. We have set out our fleeces before the Lord: a certain amount we want to get for the house and a time frame. If it doesn't happen, then we will be content to wait for a while longer.
So we have been working on a few cosmetic things to try to make the place more appealing. we painted the front porch and shutters. The realtor suggested a copper color for the shutters, and I think that is sort of what I wanted originally, but none of the paint chips seemed right back then. When I went to Home Depot to pick up some more paint chips, I spotted what I thought would be perfect, and lo and behold, it was named 'copper' something-or-other. Of course, now that the shutters are painted and up on the house, it looks a whole lot brighter than I imagined it would, and I feel like we are trying to sucker some University of Tennessee fan into buying our place. Oh well.
Next we need to paint the kids' bedrooms. Not UT orange, though...We're going to a cookout over at Mike and Jenny's today, so I made a big salad with greens from my garden. It has cranberries, almonds, and a homemade honey Dijon/red wine vinaigrette dressing. I really like the 'tennis ball' bib lettuce I'm growing.
I also made a rhubarb dessert with a recipe I got out of the Prairie Home Companion program. Eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon and rhubarb. How can that go wrong?Monday, May 18, 2009
Chopping Broccoli
I harvested some broccoli today. I had low expectations after the first little bit I gleaned from my dozen plants several weeks ago. Now I'm thinking it might be worth the effort after all.
There is a lot of lettuce. I should be eating salads two meals a day, but I've been distracted and haven't taken the time to harvest. (Property search, laundry, tending to the kids' every need... you know...)
I also staked half my tomatoes today, and discovered several little volunteer tomato plants that I am hoping are my cherry tomatoes that manage to reseed themselves every year.
I have a corner of the garden that is empty. There are several things I could or should plant there, but it is kind of nice to have an area the kids can dig in without me fearing for some plant's life.
I did take a picture of the garden, but am embarrassed to post it. Weed central. Chris promises to borrow our neighbor's little tiller (tiller head mounted on a weed eater shaft- coolest thing ever), then maybe I can get most of the weeds out and put down the rest of my half-decomposed leaf compost to act as a weed barrier. Then we'll take another picture to show.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Marshall County
Last week, Chris had to drive down to Lawrenceburg, TN for work. He said the country was beautiful down there. The next day when he got home from work, he got online and started searching the properties for sale down in Marshall County. He ran across one in the price range we were hoping for that had five acres an an old house (built in 1875) and several outbuildings. Google maps told us it was about an hour and twenty minute drive, a bit further than I would like, but my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to see it.
As the younger kids were taking a nap, and Reanna had dance later that evening, Chris and Reanna jumped in the van and headed out. When Chris got back later that even and showed me some photos, I was even more interested.
We called our realtor to see if we could go see it over the weekend. We also found a few more properties to look at while we were out that way. One of them Chris was very interested in was a rustic-looking cabin built in 1996. I wasn't so enthused, but told Chris I would try to reserve judgment until we saw the place.
So Sunday morning, we packed the kids in the van and headed out. We have family and friends that live in Marshall County. At least we knew folks down there. What I didn't realize until I consulted a road map on the way there was that the county was rather 'tall', and the properties we were looking at were a good ways past where our friends and family live.
The first one we looked at was the cabin. It was tucked way back in a 'holler.' It was small. The property felt a little cramped, as the bulk of the acreage was wooded hillside that hovered behind the house, and animal pens were crammed around the house. There wasn't much good space for a garden, but at least Finley got to pet and feed a pony.
Next, we drove past a foreclosure. This house sat on top of a hill right next to the road. Nine acres of hillside sloped away from the house and road. The house was a disaster. Some people should not be allowed to attempt home renovations or additions.
Finally, we drove to the property I was really interested in...
As the younger kids were taking a nap, and Reanna had dance later that evening, Chris and Reanna jumped in the van and headed out. When Chris got back later that even and showed me some photos, I was even more interested.
We called our realtor to see if we could go see it over the weekend. We also found a few more properties to look at while we were out that way. One of them Chris was very interested in was a rustic-looking cabin built in 1996. I wasn't so enthused, but told Chris I would try to reserve judgment until we saw the place.So Sunday morning, we packed the kids in the van and headed out. We have family and friends that live in Marshall County. At least we knew folks down there. What I didn't realize until I consulted a road map on the way there was that the county was rather 'tall', and the properties we were looking at were a good ways past where our friends and family live.
The first one we looked at was the cabin. It was tucked way back in a 'holler.' It was small. The property felt a little cramped, as the bulk of the acreage was wooded hillside that hovered behind the house, and animal pens were crammed around the house. There wasn't much good space for a garden, but at least Finley got to pet and feed a pony.
Next, we drove past a foreclosure. This house sat on top of a hill right next to the road. Nine acres of hillside sloped away from the house and road. The house was a disaster. Some people should not be allowed to attempt home renovations or additions.
Finally, we drove to the property I was really interested in...
Like I said, some people should not attempt home renovations or additions... The door was butchered at some point in the name of safety. (Note the deadbolt in the upper part of this original door. Aack.) The original wooden beadboard walls were covered over with drywall. Nobody bothered to remove the trim first. The addition to the original house was a confusing maze of ugly bathrooms and vinyl floors. The worst part of it all was the roller coaster of a floor, a result of a lack of foundation.
Ultimately, the 5 acres was beautiful, but we would have to build a new house. The addition, obviously, wasn't worth saving, and it would cost too much money to put a foundation under the original part of the house. So unless no one else wants to pay that much for the property and the owners eventually come down off their price about 30 grand, we won't be living there. (sigh)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The Lizard
A few days ago, I noticed a critter scuttle under some pots in the storage room of our basement. One of the lizards that normally hung out outside had found its way into our house. I wasn't too concerned. I figured it might do some good eating unwelcome bugs. (This is in stark contrast to the one time I ever remember 'screaming like a girl'... for the story, you might need to ask my friend and former roommate, Christi, about that one. I still turn red with embarrassment thinking about it...)
This morning, I threw some random things in the wash: a pillow, a pair of Joe's underwear, a shower curtain, and a bath mat. (Can you tell where this is headed?) Of course, when spin cycle hit, there was terrible knocking as the washer tried to free itself from utility imprisonment. I opened up the lid to rearrange the load, and to my great (ahem) surprise, there was a lizard clinging desperately to the side of the drum.
I didn't know what to do, so I went upstairs and got Reanna. I watched as she went to poke it with her finger, and felt somewhat better about myself as she jump sky-high when the lizard suddenly ran to hide under Joe's underwear. We looked around and found an oatmeal canister, and I went about emptying the washer in hopes that we could coerce the lizard into the can. Unfortunately, the lizard decided the underside of the agitator looked like a better hiding place.
Now what to do? I pressed in the button to start the drum spinning, hoping the lizard would come sliding out. No luck. Then I figured if I filled it up with some water, it wouldn't want to drown and would come out of its own volition. No luck. I didn't want a dead lizard stuck under the agitator, so I hit the spin cycle again to drain the water, and hoped it might get slung out with the water. Still no luck. At this point, I wasn't to anxious to see what might have happened to the poor thing, so thought I'd wait until Chris got home to dismantle the washer.
Of course, my curiosity wouldn't rest, so whenever I happened by, I would peek in to see what I could see. Finally, I caught the lizard sneaking back out. I couldn't believe the sucker wasn't dead. Unfortunately, it still preferred the agitator to my oatmeal canister. I consulted my toolbox and removed the agitator; and the lizard finally realized that the smart thing to do was to crawl into my 'trap'.
This morning, I threw some random things in the wash: a pillow, a pair of Joe's underwear, a shower curtain, and a bath mat. (Can you tell where this is headed?) Of course, when spin cycle hit, there was terrible knocking as the washer tried to free itself from utility imprisonment. I opened up the lid to rearrange the load, and to my great (ahem) surprise, there was a lizard clinging desperately to the side of the drum.
I didn't know what to do, so I went upstairs and got Reanna. I watched as she went to poke it with her finger, and felt somewhat better about myself as she jump sky-high when the lizard suddenly ran to hide under Joe's underwear. We looked around and found an oatmeal canister, and I went about emptying the washer in hopes that we could coerce the lizard into the can. Unfortunately, the lizard decided the underside of the agitator looked like a better hiding place.
Now what to do? I pressed in the button to start the drum spinning, hoping the lizard would come sliding out. No luck. Then I figured if I filled it up with some water, it wouldn't want to drown and would come out of its own volition. No luck. I didn't want a dead lizard stuck under the agitator, so I hit the spin cycle again to drain the water, and hoped it might get slung out with the water. Still no luck. At this point, I wasn't to anxious to see what might have happened to the poor thing, so thought I'd wait until Chris got home to dismantle the washer.
Of course, my curiosity wouldn't rest, so whenever I happened by, I would peek in to see what I could see. Finally, I caught the lizard sneaking back out. I couldn't believe the sucker wasn't dead. Unfortunately, it still preferred the agitator to my oatmeal canister. I consulted my toolbox and removed the agitator; and the lizard finally realized that the smart thing to do was to crawl into my 'trap'.
We released it on the far side of the garage. May it have a long and less traumatic life.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Rocky Tennessee
We've been looking at properties again.
Why is it that they always look better online?
I need to lower my expectations... even more.
It seems as if our current residence is one of the few places in Tennessee where there is actually topsoil and not a rock slab covered in an inch or less of dirt... or even worse (in my book) just gravel with a few particles of dirt mixed in.
Today, I dragged the kids out to look at a couple places, just like we did yesterday. Every time we get back home, this house looks more and more like a castle in a beautiful garden, albeit a small one. If only we had a few more acres surrounding this place...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Haircut
Joe needed a haircut.
I wanted it short for the summer.
Chris wanted me to give him a mohawk.
So I did.
Then I shaved it off.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Rains Have Let Up
So we've been outside.
As the veggie garden is too much of a mud pit, I spent some time on my long-neglected flower beds. I normally tie up the daffodil leaves into knots, but this year am trying something different: shocks. I picked one leaf and pulled the rest together and tied them upright. Looks nifty so far, and it is probably easier on the plants than the knots were.
And this was what Finley was doing while I wasn't paying attention: picking plums. I suppose I ought to thank her. I hadn't thinned the plums out yet.
As I was transplanting some ipomopsis that always reseeds itself too close to the edge of the flowerbed, I found an orchard webweaver spider. It has this fantastic bright orange spot on its belly. Although the camera has a great all purpose lens that lets me get up close, sometimes it's not close enough for those really small things I'd like to photograph.
As the veggie garden is too much of a mud pit, I spent some time on my long-neglected flower beds. I normally tie up the daffodil leaves into knots, but this year am trying something different: shocks. I picked one leaf and pulled the rest together and tied them upright. Looks nifty so far, and it is probably easier on the plants than the knots were.
I am doing a non-traditional flower bed up by the mailbox. I just planted tobacco and corn to accompany the daisies and sunflowers. I got this hairbrained idea that there might be a market for organic cigars and/or pipe tobacco, so we are experimenting with tobacco. I didn't want it to take up space in my veggie garden, so am trying it elsewhere. Anyway, if some random reader out there recognizes what a fantastic idea this is, and comes out with organic cigars before I do, then I just ask that you send me a check for at least 50 bucks.
And this was what Finley was doing while I wasn't paying attention: picking plums. I suppose I ought to thank her. I hadn't thinned the plums out yet.As I was transplanting some ipomopsis that always reseeds itself too close to the edge of the flowerbed, I found an orchard webweaver spider. It has this fantastic bright orange spot on its belly. Although the camera has a great all purpose lens that lets me get up close, sometimes it's not close enough for those really small things I'd like to photograph.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Finley Art
I love the fact that Finley prefers a blank sheet of paper to a coloring book. We have a stack of coloring books containing half-hearted scribbles that rarely get touched. On the other hand, we fly through copy paper like there is no tomorrow.
I must admit that sometimes I get frustrated because it seems like she is in a drawing contest, trying to color as many pictures as she can in a set amount of time. I also get a bit frustrated because, most of the time, she paints, well, nothing... Most of her 'works of art' have been blobs of color splotched on the paper in no particular fashion. If I ask her to draw, say, a tree, she usually refuses. I've never been a big fan of abstract art, but as I seem to have a budding abstract artist in the house, perhaps I need to become one.
Every once in a while, I look and see one that has a certain aesthetic appeal. She painted this one today. It is one of my favorites.
And when she does decide to paint in a more realistic style, well, this one I'm fond of because she painted us. And it has a sun.
I must admit that sometimes I get frustrated because it seems like she is in a drawing contest, trying to color as many pictures as she can in a set amount of time. I also get a bit frustrated because, most of the time, she paints, well, nothing... Most of her 'works of art' have been blobs of color splotched on the paper in no particular fashion. If I ask her to draw, say, a tree, she usually refuses. I've never been a big fan of abstract art, but as I seem to have a budding abstract artist in the house, perhaps I need to become one.
Every once in a while, I look and see one that has a certain aesthetic appeal. She painted this one today. It is one of my favorites.
And when she does decide to paint in a more realistic style, well, this one I'm fond of because she painted us. And it has a sun.
Monday, May 4, 2009
As Requested
I was crocheting some hats for newborns a few weeks back. Finley wanted me to make her one, and I let her pick out the colors. As I didn't have a pattern for her size, it turned out a bit funky. I think she likes it that way...
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Soggy Sunday
It's been raining and/or misting for three days now. I am sitting inside while the weeds stretch their roots deeper and their leaves higher.
Last night, Molly was kind enough to watch the kids for us while we went to see Prairie Home Companion. I tried to thank her via the greetings read during intermission, but apparently I wasn't sincere or witty enough.
We finally banished Zivah to the basement at night. I was tired of waking three to four times a night to her fussing. If it weren't for the monitor, we probably wouldn't hear her at all, but with the volume set low, she doesn't disturb me quite as much with her screeching cries. I think she's finally getting the clue, as I only heard a peep out of her at 4 this morning, and she quickly fell back asleep and didn't wake again until after 6:30. Yay.
We've been trying to unload some stuff, so I've been posting on Craigslist, but haven't have any takers yet.
So today, I decided to give it a go and try out my new batch of starter in a loaf of homemade sourdough bread:
Last night, Molly was kind enough to watch the kids for us while we went to see Prairie Home Companion. I tried to thank her via the greetings read during intermission, but apparently I wasn't sincere or witty enough.
We finally banished Zivah to the basement at night. I was tired of waking three to four times a night to her fussing. If it weren't for the monitor, we probably wouldn't hear her at all, but with the volume set low, she doesn't disturb me quite as much with her screeching cries. I think she's finally getting the clue, as I only heard a peep out of her at 4 this morning, and she quickly fell back asleep and didn't wake again until after 6:30. Yay.
We've been trying to unload some stuff, so I've been posting on Craigslist, but haven't have any takers yet.
So today, I decided to give it a go and try out my new batch of starter in a loaf of homemade sourdough bread:
I think we have a winner. I fed and put the leftover starter in the fridge. I am hoping I'll be able to maintain it in there, as I am not sure how often I'll be baking at this point...
Lee, this isn't quite the recipe you sent me, but it is similar. I think I misplaced yours in the very tall stack of paper on my filing cabinet, so instead of sifting through that mess, I found another one online that sounded like yours. Oh, and I haven't forgotten the bread baking crock thing... but I promise I'll try it soon!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
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