wildcelticrose.net

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After venting yesterday for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to squee with glee.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do. Given the challenges of the last week and a half, I need to squee this week.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

After all the delays, supply issues and other frustrations, the roof is finally DONE.

It is so nice to be home with no one crawling on my roof, stomping on my landscape, banging, hammering or running air compressors.

And it was completed before the first heavy rain of the season hit.

It’s going to be SO much cooler in the summer, both because of the lighter color and the fact that they properly vented it. They installed 13 vents, it was not properly vented before.

I also get a $1,500 (refundable) tax credit. THAT is going to be nice.

I’m still sad that I lost Lovey, but Mary Ann and Ginger are healthy and as feisty as ever.

I got some plexiglass to create a clear “roof” for the coop so that the pen will stay dry during the rainy season but still allow light to reach the girls. I am going to get two more sheets to lean vertically against the exposed side, which will add protection from horizontal rain, allow for air circulation and create a bit of a lean to greenhouse so that they have greens to nibble.

I just got a fabulous post card in the mail from levis.com which is where I have to order my tall size jeans from now that Old Navy is using cheap, crappy denim.

This makes me giggle.

I finally got around to making my first batch of cold process soap.

I’ve always wanted to try it, but dealing with the lye made me nervous, especially in that little apartment.

My friend Jada gave a class at Speakeasy which gave me a enough confidence to try my first batch.

I will do a separate blog post for the process, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

I did take several photos of the process which are available here:

I also went over to Knut and Alice’s to help Alice do the pickling and learn how she does hers (fridge process). I also need to finish that blog post but have some photos and notes here

The dining room set that I ordered weeks and weeks ago (before I knew I was going to empty out my money market account to pay for a new roof) arrived today.

I’m stressed about money again until my $8,000 tax credit arrives in a few weeks (already filed) because I don’t have any easily accessible (no penalties) money for emergencies but I felt better when I went on the website and discovered that now that it’s no longer on sale, it’s TWICE as much money as I paid for it.

Although my house is “Victorian” architecture; I don’t care for Victorian furnishings. My main furniture, Dining room set, entertainment center and coffee table are Mission style. Hey, it’s still from the correct era and my accent pieces are Shaker. I think it works.

Having grown up on the El Camino Real, I have fondness for Mission style.

Hey, it’s still from the correct era and my accent pieces are Shaker. I think it works.

I LOVE the leather seat cushions

BadKitty approves

The big heavy farm style butcher block table that Jaynee gave me is now in the basement (thanks to the nice delivery men) where it is going to be an awesome craft/sewing table.

The BadKitty amuses me

I broke down and got some antibiotics for my UTI, I’m hoping to be well enough by Saturday to do a hike in the North Cascades.

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After venting yesterday for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to squee with glee.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

tomorrow I am getting a new roof on the house (ideally while I’m at work so I don’t have to hear the banging) While I didn’t want to have to do it this soon (and I’m going to have to sue the seller to get a reasonable amount of the cost back) but it needs to be done before winter.

It’s also an energy star rated roof and I’ll get a $1,5000 tax credit (yes the refundable kind)

Speaking of tax credits, I bit the bullet last night and spent the evening putting together an amended tax return and all the supporting documentation. It was mailed off this morning. In 12 weeks, I should have my $8,000 home buyers tax credit.

I’ll feel a LOT better when I actually have some money back in my money market account that I can get to if I need it again. The whole emptying out that account to pay for the roof had me pretty freaked out.

After finishing up the taxes, I headed out to Jada’s cold process soap making class. It was helpful to watch the lye process and to see exactly what it looks like when it reaches the trace stage.. I can’t wait to make my own.

The garden continues to be awesome.

Tomatoes are getting ripe…

and I have CORN!!!

Sunday was the uber awesome Sunrise (the place and the event) adventure up at Mt Rainier National Park.

Tuesday was the Princess Party.

There just aren’t enough good excuses for women to wear tiaras anymore.

It was hilarious when I was in the party store buying the tiaras and princess plates and napkins. I asked, “Do you have any pink wine glasses”. They looked at me funny, probably wondering why I would need wine glasses for what was *obviously a little girl’s party.

“The princesses are in their 30′s, 40′s, 50′s and 60′s” I told them while giggling.

I’m going to have a more reliable schedule from now on. I was having their weird weekends that rotated between 2 and 4 days (and 4-day weekends are NOT good every other week, it’s too easy to get behind) but now that we have more team members, Steph is taking Fridays and I’m taking Mondays, meaning I’ll continue to work 4 ten hour shifts Tuesday through Friday and will have a regular three day weekend.

Cloverleaf Pizza & Black Butte Porter

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

Yes, I was supposed to do this yesterday, but I was too busy to sit down and do it.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday Wednesday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

Last Sunday, friends came over to celebrate the house/yard warming party part deux. A good time was had by all, tasty beverages were consumed and yummy food was grilled.

More photos are available by clicking here

The garden has far surpassed any hopes or expectations I had for its first season (and a very VERY late one at that, it was planted in mid-June) Here’s yesterday’s harvest.

This will be my Halloween Jack O’ Lantern

I cooked the fettuccine I made with the roller style pasta maker the other night, and it was awesome!

I finally had a morning where I didn’t have to wake up at 0′ Dark Ugly and had a leisurly morning.

I roasted some lovely coffee on the screened porch (used to smoke myself out of the apartment)

I have a page on my website dedicated to home coffee roasting, you can find it by clicking here

I enjoyed the coffee with my neighbor Francine, over fresh blackberry custard tarts that I baked this morning. (the recipe is almost perfected)

Tomorrow, I’m getting off my under trained, out of shape butt and doing my first triathlon of the season up at Lake Sammamish. I may come in last, but I don’t care; I’m getting back out there.

This is the same lake I swam at the Issaquah triathlon last year.

On Sunday, a friend and I are going hiking up at Sunrise at Mt Rainier to bag some lakes (yes, we’re leaving at 4:00 AM so that I can photograph the sunrise hitting the mountain at Sunrise)

Next Tuesday, some girlfriends are coming over for Girl’s Night; It’s going to be a BLAST (and a small surprise for each of the girls that show up)

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday Friday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

Last Sunday, I had the honor to once again be a Swim Angel for the Seattle Danskin Women’s Triathlon. This is a huge beginner triathlon and many women have never done an open water swim before. Many are cancer survivors, some in active treatment. One’s first open water triathlon swim can be quite intimidating.

I swam sweep on two waves and picked up swimmers that needed encouragement/help. The first one was having heart rate issues (too high, something I’m all too familiar with), but I got her to relax, kept her near the boats and she finished just fine.

The second woman was difficult to keep up with when she was doing a crawl stroke, but she’d get winded and briefly need the noodle to rest. It was a super choppy day out there, with some good sized waves at times, so I’d see her come up and gasp for air and hand her the end of the noodle. She also finished strong.

After my 2nd wave, there were no more waves starting, so I swam back out from the finish, helped some women in (often they don’t need the help or encouragement until the end of the swim course when they get tired) go back out and do it again. I lost count of how many times I did this.

One woman said that when she becomes a stronger swimmer and triathlete, that she’d like to come back and be a swim angel some day. I hope she does.

I missed Karen and Jenn, but did find Alisa and Robin doing just great.

As I headed back out for the last time, swimming into the sun, I could see the silhouettes of the kayaks, lifegards on surfboards and halos and swim noodles of the other angels coming in with the final swimmers. It was then that “Ride of the Valkyries” started running through my head. I laughed so hard. Then got unceremonially hit by a wave and sucked in a bunch of lake water. That will bring one back to reality quite quickly.

The last woman in the last wave (who was not the last finisher BTW, I checked) was the one I remember the most. She was not built like an athlete. She was someone who was out there changing her life and working very VERY hard. These are the women who (other then the survivors) are the most inspirational.

With all the kaykers, lifeguard and swim angels with her, she kicked her way to the finish, laughing, smiling and knowing that she was doing something extraordinary.

We angels were chanting “Jennifer… Jennifer… Jennifer…”

Soon, the lifeguards were beating out a cadence on their surfboards as were the kayakers on their boats.

The dumming and the chanting were contagious. Jennifer laughed, we all laughed. It was awesome.

The swim angels lining the exit ramp, noodles in the air joined the chant, as did all the spectators and race staff on the shore.

“JENNIFER… JENNIFER… JENNIFER!!!”

I’m telling you, the first place finisher at the Boston Marathon does not get this kind of reception.

I think more than one of us cried tears of joy when she hit the swim finish accomplishing what months ago she probably never dreamed she could.

This race always makes me cry.

You can see me in this picture, I’m the one with the halo and the sparkly pink princess sunglasses

Here’s the first pink swim wave, which consists of cancer survivors taking to the water.

Here’s what swim angels look like on dry ground

How can you tell that you shop at Home Depot too much? (other than having the folks in the garden department ask, “See you tomorrow?” when you leave.

I got a $50 Home Depot gift card in the mail yesterday as a thank you… It was a great surprise.

I am so happy that my wonderful chickens, MaryAnn, Ginger and Lovey provide me with healthy, safe and fresh eggs

I don’t have to worry about the massive egg recall (380 MILLION eggs as of this morning) due to salmonella contamination.

Perhaps this will make more people consider backyard chickens, farmers markets or at least supporting small local farms instead of factory farms where this sort of thing happens due to crowded, unhealthy and inhumane treatment of these birds.

And let me tell you… with chickens and a compost pile, NOTHING goes to waste from the kitchen or garden.

Speaking of urban farming, my garden continues to grow like mad.

My first Juliet tomato is finally turning red.

My corn is getting tassels

And I have cucumbers…

I also have squash, green beans and apples that are almost ready to pick.

A few more updated garden photos are available by clicking here

I received my pasta extruder (a manual crank, no fancy electric for me) and I made my first batch of yummy home made pasta. It’s easy (the hard part is letting the dough sit for an hour) and WAY better than the dried crap you get at the store.

My blog post about said pasta making is available by clicking here

I went on an AWESOME hike up to Spray Park at Mount Rainier National Park on Friday.

More photos are available by clicking here

I went on an AWESOME hike up to Snow Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on Monday

More photos are available by clicking here

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, I typed this up last night and posted on my break, (which is now over).

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

Yesterday was my two month anniversary in the house. I was sitting out on the front stoop waiting for Dale to pick me up to go get pizza this afternoon enjoying the sunshine and watching kids play in the park across the street. No nasty cigarette smoke, no creepy guy in the basement, no open drug use, no scum bag biker guy yelling “M___er F___er!!!” every 7.2 minutes (as a matter of fact, I haven’t heard scummy talk like that since I escaped that place) just peace and tranquility. Life is good here in the hood.

For those that didn’t see it, I’ve posted a comparison of the house two months ago and yesterday; you can click here to see it

the succulent in the title stands for all the wonderful things blooming and ripening in my garden

Thom, Francine, Linda and I had a blast at Ethnic Fest last weekend where I bought a hat.

Then I bought a sun dress to go with the hat and Thom and Francine bought hats, and we put a hat on Linda

We are now known as “The Mad Hatters”

I had some awesome Cloverleaf Pizza tonight.

I had some (albeit painful) closure on a life long issue bald faced lie. It did lead to a hard meltdown, some cardiac arrhythmias and a nasty migraine, & a day wasted, but once the shock (and a host of other emotions) wore off, I think it will finally allow me to move forward. I’ve backslid a bit on my forgiveness of my mother, but I think it allowed me to forgive myself a bit more. As always, it’s a work in progress and time will heal.

For those who haven’t read it, “Strawberry Girl” is a postmodern fairy tale I wrote about the situation, not only as a catharsis, but in hopes that it will make some other parent think before they put their child through something like that.

It’s my FRIDAY and a long weekend (well kind of, I have to log into work for a few hours tomorrow afternoon)

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I need to go feed the chickens, take the trash out (seriously, is my life glamorous or what?) and charge my dead phone. How long has it been dead anyway?

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~L

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday (OK, I was lazy and just posted a link to the old neighbor rant yesterday), I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

The last major yard construction project (OK QUIT laughing) was completed this weekend, thanks to help from Dan, Dan, Jim and Steve. Thom and Francine came over as well and afterwards we had a lovely BBQ. The next BBQ, scheduled for Sunday August 22nd will not be a work party; it will just be a come eat, drink and have fun party.

My garden is growing like crazy. I’ve been harvesting blueberries, strawberries, and even some raspberries. I’ve also got my first (Juliet Grape) tomatoes setting fruit.

My peas are going crazy too:

Now I’m “cooking with gas” as I got both my freestanding gas fireplace and my gas oven/range installed.

I still can’t believe that the house is plumbed for natural gas (water heater and furnace) and no one ever ran a gas line into the kitchen to cook with. Seriously, gas is the BEST, you NEVER see professional chefs cooking on an electric range (and you can cook when the power’s out)

As you can see from the above photo, the sofa and loveseat got delivered as well. Now this room is just the way I want it-a 100 year old house will always be a “work in progress” but it’s nice to have one room done.

Speaking of cooking, we had our legal department fun day last week and one of our activities was a trip to the Blue Ribbon Cooking school to whip up some gourmet regional dishes.

After that we went out to Auga Verde for some kayaking on the lake (Union)

A very cool thing about that place is that there is a Mexican restaurant on site and some of us sat on the deck and had margaritas afterwards.

I finally got a real wardrobe for the bedroom (there aren’t a lot of closets in 100 year old houses) and moved the fabric & PVC ones down to the basement to use for storage of backpacking/ski and off season clothing. The thing is nearly 7” tall and weighs closet to 200 pounds. It was a bitch to put together but I managed to wrangle it out of the truck once piece at a time, build it in the kitchen and move it into the bedroom without killing myself.

It’s a cute little room now. I’m glad I chose the small room for my bedroom; it’s cozy and is the coolest room in the house in the summer.

Speaking of build your own furniture…

Today, I (hopefully with Dale’s help) am finally building the LAST piece of furniture for the house for a good long time (I’m getting tired of building stuff)

This will go in the front entry way. I suspect that it’s very similar to what was in that space 100 years ago.

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, break’s over…

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

We finally have SUMMER here in the Pacific Northwest. It was 90 in some areas yesterday (87 at my house) and will be even hotter today. They have opened cooling centers as most homes don’t have air conditioning up here. My house stayed around 75 degrees yesterday which was darn pleasant. I didn’t even need to pull the fans out of the basement. I think this is going to be the most comfortable summer I’ve spent in a long LONG time. I <3 my house

At the hottest part of the day (5-6 PM up here in the summer) over half of my back yard is in cool, blessed shade. I’m able to sit outside in a lounge chair with my laptop (if it gets over 100 degrees, I’ll break out the kiddie pool and float a raft in it

Speaking of the yard, I have all but one of my major projects completed. It’s a lovely little urban farm/oasis. I can just do easy maintenance (watering, weedeating, mowing) and enjoy my summer.

The last yard project (which will arrive some time in the next two weeks) is my 8’ X 10’ pergola. It will be adjacent to (but not covering) the hot tub. There will be a BBQ pergola raising party when it arrives. I feed my helpers well, ask anyone.

I also got plenty of front yard projects done as well. I planted three fabulous Kwanzan Flowering Cherry trees out front in the strip between the sidewalk and street. They are going to be stunning when they bloom next spring.

I also put weed block over the front slope (a real pain to mow) planted lavender and mulched the area. It will be gorgeous with all the blooming lavender. I put in Province, English and Spanish lavenders. The plants should fill in the space nicely, the different flowers/foliage will add interest, it will smell heavenly and I won’t have to mow that slope.

My soon to be new mail carrier came by to introduce herself to me. She’s the super awesome one that my neighbors Steve and Jim & Tony have. Apparently, there is going to be a redrawing of boundaries and she’s getting a couple blocks of my street. She’s super nice and we have mutual friends. It will be great to have a real mail carrier who is nice, part of the neighborhood and wants to do her job. And I can bake cookies for her at the holidays.

Unfortunately, that’s not happening for another 2-3 weeks (we all know how fast the government works). I’m going to have to move the security camera in the front of my house to see who is parking/walking in front of my house. I saw the MailBeast in Safeway yesterday (parked illegally of course) buying something so she was on the route yesterday (seriously, how does that creature even still have a job?). I didn’t get any mail. I don’t want to kick up a fuss unless I know it’s HER not giving me my mail. It’s possible someone else was on my block and I just didn’t have any. If she’s still messing with my mail, I will be all over it.

But the main thing is, I will have a new, nice, dependable mail carrier.

My inside the house projects will be done by a week from tomorrow. My living room furniture (just a new sofa/loveseat) will be delivered next Wednesday and my freestanding gas stove for the living room and gas range/oven for the kitchen will be installed on Friday. The gas lines are in and ready to go. When winter hits (didn’t it just end 3 days ago?) I’ll be warm and cozy. For those that didn’t see the pictures or descriptions, they are available by clicking here

Yesterday Francine & I took a walk through the neighborhood to visit the Garrett’s urban farm and pick some lettuce (we also grazed on berries) It’s amazing what they have done with their back yard. It’s something to aspire to.

Today, Dale and I are going to go to Taquera El Guadalajara for Carne Asada (& margaritas for me)

Tomorrow, I have a massage scheduled at Jewell Day Spa after work. Then I can start my weekend relaxed and pain free.

Other than Jim’s retirement ceremony on Saturday afternoon in the park across the street (which I am video taping for his Dad) I don’t have anything tightly scheduled for this weekend or any looming projects.

It’s been six weeks (today) since I fractured the big toe and the bones should be all or mostly knit. This weekend, I’m putting a bike shoe on that foot and getting on my bike and riding.

did I mention that summer is finally here and it’s gorgeous out?

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, break’s over…

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

My new greenhouse arrived! OK… two boxes of greenhouse parts arrived and I’m hosting a greenhouse raising party tomorrow after 4:30 PM. This thing allegedly just snaps together, so most of the time should be spent enjoying tasty grilled things and adult beverages.

Some friends will also be coming over on Sunday, the 4th of July for a nice low key BBQ. Normally, I’d try to get out of town and away from the barrage of illegal explosives, but I’d rather watch my house this time around.

I’ve gotten so much done in the yard/garden. Once the greenhouse goes up and I mulch (cardboard to smother weeds and tagro on top) the berries, I can relax a bit more and actually enjoy the yard.

My garden is completely planted and I got everything in that I would have planted had I started on time. Since we’ve had record breaking cold this spring, I’m not behind those who did plant on time. Next year, I won’t need to buy plants, I can just do starts in the greenhouse.

*and yes, I mowed my lawn last night

Speaking of lawns, the new cordless electric mower rocks. It will do the front and back yards twice on one charge. Since there will be more garden and mulched beds as time goes one, there will be less and less grass to deal with.

The hard cover arrived for my hot tub. The flex cover that came with it worked, but it was a pain in the neck to get on and off. This one will insulate better in the winter and is super easy to get on and off. When it’s really cold and I’m on my own, I can just flip one side up.

My lovely hens are giving me 2-3 eggs a day. It’s so wonderful to have fresh eggs again (it’s been too long). If you’ve ever eaten fresh eggs, you’ll never want a runny, flat, tasteless store bought egg again.

I’ve got some new geeky toys, which also provide added security for the house. One is an infrared motion detected game camera which takes good enough pictures even at night to get arrest/prosecution (it worked for a friend of mine in Shelton) and the other is a web cam. I can monitor that camera from anywhere.

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, break’s over (I typed this up last night) so that I’m not behind before my long weekend.

YEAH BABY!!! A four day weekend!

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

Tomorrow, the mail beast is going to get her ass handed to her by the judge (if she’s stupid enough to show up) for the stunt she pulled with the bogus anti-harassment order. It will be fun to watch, and then Francine and I are going to check out a couple local nurseries for plants and trees.

I have 8 blueberry bushes, all loaded with berries ready to put in the ground, and seven fruit trees: Liberty Apple, Braeburn Apple, SummerRed Apple-Stella Cherry (the queen of the pollinators), Queen Ann Cherry (nearly identical to Rainier, but does better here), Lapin Cherry and an Italian prune plum. I know three apples and three cherries sounds like overkill, but pollination is an issue; they overlap seasons so everyone should get pollinated. I’ll be digging like a mad woman tonight (it was way too hot yesterday to transplant)

I forgot to take a picture of the blueberries, but here is my Stella Cherry and my SummerRed Apple.

I spent 4 ½ hours yesterday (on the hottest day of the year, how smart was that?) filling up my raised beds with a mix of TagGro and TagGro potting soil. I’ll be able to plant my veggies this weekend and top dress my blueberries and raspberries. TagGro is the ultimate in recycling (and is super cheap too)

In front porch garden news (planted some goodies in Topsy Turvey containers before I even moved in because I couldn’t wait to garden) I have blooms on both my Roma Plum and Early Girl Tomoatos, two of my pepper plants and I have little green strawberries…

At some point over the weekend, maybe Friday, I’m going to get some showy flowering cherry trees for my “street trees” between the sidewalk and the street and a pink flowing dogwood and some lavender for my front yard.

Friday afternoon, I have a badly needed massage scheduled and then a Shop Girl event. Saturday is a freelance writer’s conference where I am on a panel.

I had a nice soak in the hot tub last night before bed. As I rested my sore aching (and slightly sunburned body) in the bubbling water, I felt a warm breeze on my face. I surveyed all that has been done in the yard thus far, and decided that heaven is a little slice of the Hilltop in Tacoma.

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work; I typed this up last night and am taking a quick break to post it.

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~

~

Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After a brief hiatus of escrow, moving, house renovations and unpacking, the Squees are back baby…

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday (seriously, I think all the bitching I did about the Post Office and my Mail Carrier will suffice for several weeks worth of WTF Wednesday posts), I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

I have been in the house two weeks and thus far, completed a LOT of projects: fake wall torn out, carpet removed & floors refinished, moved everything from the old crappy apartment, unpacked the things that are vital, rewired andvented the dryer, re plumbed the hot water spigot for the washer, got rid of all the ugly white rocks that used to line the front yard, hung 11 sets of mini blinds, planted roses in front of all basement windows, built lots of furniture (entertainment center, two book cases, a bakers rack, two sets of bathroom shelving), hung art work (mine), fenced yard, created two wild bird feeding/bathing areas, heavily pruned the ginormous Bay Laurel in the back yard & had the waste chipped & hauled off, created a hanging garden (early girl and plum tomatoes, hot peppers & strawberries) on the front porch (getting ready to start a garden in the back now that the tree parts are gone) Had 12 windows screened (just in time for an allegedly warm and sunny weekend where I might want to open the windows). My to do list is huge, but I’ve gotten a lot done and made the house mine.

Next on the list: Hot Tub (on it’s way, probably won’t arrive before Sunday’s party, but it might) raised bed gardens, chicken coop, greenhouse, fruit trees, street trees.

I love this old house!

For those who have not been following the saga… I took on the Post Office, my rude lazy mail carrier and her union and WON!!!

I had plenty of support (including elected officials) and was not going to lay down and take it.

You CAN fight the government and win if you are in the right (and very VERY stubborntenacious)

My crushed big toe that looked like THIS two weeks ago (sadly just before the big move of heavy stuff and furniture)…

Now looks like THIS

I’m sure this will come as a great disappointment to many, but that’s it for the injured toe pictures.

I’m hoping to be able to get a bike shoe (luckily I wear mountain bike shoes) on it Saturday (that or find my commuter sandals and put cleats on them) and (yes, wimp out) and do the 45 mile route for Flying Wheels on Saturday (I am signed up to be a medical support rider)

Hopefully all the relentless stair climbing, heavy lifting and yard work have kept me in shape and I’ll still be able to get the miles in for STP (Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic for the non-initiated). I’m feeling way behind the eight ball with a 204 mile ride coming up next month.

I’m not too worried about missing the Rock & Roll Seattle Half Marathon as I’ve been asked to be on a panel at a writer’s conference that day.

The Summer Issue of South Sound Magazine (scroll to the bottom and click on the “on the trail” link) is on the stands. My usual column (writing and photography) is featured.

I have a different article and set of photos in 425 Magazine (once again, scroll to the bottom and click on the link under “departments” with the picture of the tent) as well

Sunday is my house warming BBQ party. If you don’t yet have an invite, please let me know and I’ll email one to you.

I FOUND MY PANTS!!!

Seriously, I moved so many 18 gallon containers of stuff into the basement when the floors were being done that I couldn’t find the box that had my Levis in it. I was lost… (yeah, I had other pants, but it’s not the same)

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, I typed this up last night and took just enough time to get it posted.

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

~