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Egads. The repairs were done ages ago (January?) - but the bathroom is not finished. Need to paint the trim, and touch up paint where the walls meet trim, and also put in a new fan unit. But still the repairs are done...one less thing to worry about! Here is what the floor looks like:Egads. The repairs were done ages ago (January?) - but the bathroom is not finished. Need to paint the trim, and touch up paint where the walls meet trim, and also put in a new fan unit. But still the repairs are done...one less thing to worry about! Here is what the floor looks like:
what was that sound?
Feb. 7th, 2008 06:00 amI went to water aerobics last night, for a change of pace, wore myself out good and was asleep probably by 10 on the couch, and in bed by 11:30. Around midnight I awoke to what I thought was gunshot. It sounded like it was outside my house, and I swear I saw flashes of light with it, which freaked me out, my mostly asleep brain imagining the shooters must be very close if I could see something like that. Or maybe I've just watched the Wire too much? So I literally rolled off the bed, with my blankets, and nested up on the floor next to it...thinking that would be the safest thing (very very tired). These sounds went on for quite a while, and I never heard police sirens. I assumed if it was gunshot, some of my neighbors would call. It went on so long, I began to imagine what it must be like for people in countries where there are wars. Or zombie invasions. After it went on for a while, I just wasn't sure what was going on anymore, and as tired as I was I decided the only thing to do was to fall asleep on the floor. I woke up a few hours later to quiet, got back on bed and got a few more hours of sleep.
Now I'm just confused. There were some really bad wind gusts last night...apparently 46 mph in Seattle around midnight. Was I just hearing that? Tree branches maybe? Was there lightning that would explain the flashes of light? I had a dream at one point that what I thought was gunfire was tiles popping off my roof. Ug. I just can't imagine that there could have possibly been that much gunfire. There is nothing on the news websites this morning. What the heck was it?
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Update: I got confirmation from someone in the neighborhood: FIREWORKS! At midnight. In a storm. Happy Chinese New Year, everyone.
Now I'm just confused. There were some really bad wind gusts last night...apparently 46 mph in Seattle around midnight. Was I just hearing that? Tree branches maybe? Was there lightning that would explain the flashes of light? I had a dream at one point that what I thought was gunfire was tiles popping off my roof. Ug. I just can't imagine that there could have possibly been that much gunfire. There is nothing on the news websites this morning. What the heck was it?
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Update: I got confirmation from someone in the neighborhood: FIREWORKS! At midnight. In a storm. Happy Chinese New Year, everyone.
new growth
Nov. 4th, 2007 12:23 pm
When I first moved to Seattle, I raised an avocado from a seed and it got to be over a foot tall, but then it died when I was out of town and a friend of my dad's was staying at the place. I was bummed, and have been trying to get another one going again. Finally, one of the seeds has taken!Here are helpful hints on how to do this right. Last time I missed the step about pinching it back. I've also read you should do this around 6 inches, which I'm leaning towards for fullness.
Also along the lines of new growth, I feel like I have reached a new plateau in health. I'm doing a mile when swimming as a regular thing new. The ankle binding has worked great (I haven't fallen down once since starting it), and I've been running more regularly than ever. And I've started going to yoga classes every week again. I feel very energetic and am starting to get that exercise high you hear about. Its lovely. Plus, yesterday at the pool I had a good yoga moment, and had a sense of opening in my chest that I don't think I've physically had since I pulled my sternum ten years ago. The emotional correlation feels great, too.
shower - during and after
Aug. 8th, 2007 07:03 am
I've taken two showers in it now, but there is too much water coming out of the back of the faucet. I think I will need to have the plumber back, as the contractor clearly doesn't know how to fix this problem.
What is left to do:
Have Home Environmental Center install Elf Blue Marmoleum.
Have plumber fix faucet and replace toilet.
Have contractor put trim on floor, ceiling (where missing), and frame glass blocks on other side.
Replace motor in fan and paint ceiling.
Paint walls.
Timeline? Whenever I can fit it in. Hopefully before it is too cold to have windows open while painting.
house paranoia
Jun. 1st, 2007 09:11 pmBeing a homeowner can be worrisome. After I replaced the furnace, I crossed my fingers and knock on wood all the time hoping I won' t have to deal with any more big repairs for a long while.
But a girl gets worried sometimes. Today, while out doing a bit of weeding (my goal is 5 minutes minimum of yard work a day for the month of June), I noticed a crack in my lawn. Under the tree. Out by where the sewer line is supposed to be. And suddenly I am paranoid that this is a sign of some terrible, huge repair in the waiting. Google was no help, as crack and lawn just brings up stuff about faulty lawnmowers.
Anyone ever heard of such a thing? Any advice? Ack!
So, I finally called someone up to deal with the bees in the attic. The exterminators I spoke to all were willing to poison things, but remove nothing...and then I found Jerry the Bee Guy. He was very nice and super informative, and told me that from the sound of things, what I had were German wasps, and they were all gone for the winter. I opted to pay him the $100 to come out anyways and remove the hives (ends up there were two) from the attic. Even without imminent threat, I felt this was well worth it, as I got rid of something that had been bugging me (no pun intended, honest!), and a very good education in the process.
It turns out that German Wasps can get into just about any house that has a hole bigger than 1/4 inch in it. The queens come out of hibernation (not in the house...somewhere in the ground, I think) in the spring, and swarm around, until they find a nice warm dark place to set up camp. Then they lay eggs to get some workers to get things started, and then more and more until they have a full blown hive. your house. Spraying from the outside only works if you get the right hole.
The drones go out and nibble at wooden things like fences, then come back and form their lovely, papery hive with the power of regurgitation. There is a tube connecting the hive to the outside, like a little runway. Bombing or spraying the nest is fairly useless, as there is not necessarily any entrance from inside
There is no guarantee that I won't get them again next year, but if I seal up some holes that may help, and getting rid of the old nest seriously limits their easy resources for building the next one (old ones are never reused.
My favorite thing is how when they excavate, they leave little columns to support the layers. Check it out!
It turns out that German Wasps can get into just about any house that has a hole bigger than 1/4 inch in it. The queens come out of hibernation (not in the house...somewhere in the ground, I think) in the spring, and swarm around, until they find a nice warm dark place to set up camp. Then they lay eggs to get some workers to get things started, and then more and more until they have a full blown hive. your house. Spraying from the outside only works if you get the right hole.
The drones go out and nibble at wooden things like fences, then come back and form their lovely, papery hive with the power of regurgitation. There is a tube connecting the hive to the outside, like a little runway. Bombing or spraying the nest is fairly useless, as there is not necessarily any entrance from inside
There is no guarantee that I won't get them again next year, but if I seal up some holes that may help, and getting rid of the old nest seriously limits their easy resources for building the next one (old ones are never reused.
My favorite thing is how when they excavate, they leave little columns to support the layers. Check it out!
