Happiness is...another home improvement project

Remember how often I used to post pictures of all our many and endless home improvement projects? Ah, the good old days. Those project were inevitable when living in a one-owner house built in 1937. Then we moved over the summer to accommodate three generations living under one roof, and the home improvement projects have slowed to a trickle. Not because I adore the 1970's motif we've got going on here. I mean, who doesn't love heavy, dark wood with kitschy trim and popcorn ceilings. Mostly we haven't done much improving-of-home out of sheer exhaustion.

Today we're just pushing past that lethargy, exhaustion and I-don't-really-care attitude that has enveloped us like the Christmas Eve blizzard. Side note - did you see that 1,200 drivers were fined for not paying tolls on Oklahoma turnpikes during the blizzard? Baahhhaahaa. It was like Armageddon folks! You couldn't GET to the toll booth. Ah the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. The same folks who brought us a new saint:

Anyway, today we're pushing past all that and doing a short makeover in our bathroom vanity area. Short for us means at least a month. We're about one week in, so we'll see how long it takes. Wish us luck!

One thing at a time

I worked without stopping for anything but sleep pretty much all last week. So I took today off. Yay me. My list of things I would loooovvve to do is oh so long. Does anyone else have that problem? I could spend my days creating things, thinking, reading, and of course, napping. So today I am using unusual discipline and sticking to one thing. Nesting.

We've lived in the new house now for (checking calendar) about ten weeks. And although things are pretty much in place, there are still random boxes to unpack, artwork to hang and decorative items to arrange. And rearrange. And arrange again. It takes me a while to get things settled where I want to leave them for a good long time. Plus I'm trying to integrate our decorative stuff with the in-laws decorative stuff, attempting to avoid the "theirs and ours" school of decorating.

Mark is working from home a lot these days, and I need a home work space too, so I'm thinking of putting together a home office. We've never really had one - we usually just have a room that collects all the furniture that doesn't work for any other room. So part of my nesting day is to pull together a workable and pleasant space for officing.

I'm the master of multi-tasking, but I'm thinking it's not really working so well for me lately. I'm experimenting with being a little more focused, more single-minded. This day of nesting is part of that experiment. I'll let you know how it goes. And I will NOT read that web design magazine I bought yesterday, or try a few new tricks on Photoshop, or answer work emails, or go to Hulu to watch the episode I missed of Modern Family. Today is all about nesting.

28 years of wedded bliss.

I have not excuse for falling off the bloggy wagon so much here lately except that life has hit me upside the head with a two-by-four, effectively knocking any creative thought right out of the overloaded brain. Survival is the goal for each day. There has been no excessive TV watching, no leisurely thumbing through a decorating magazine, no reading of summer novels. Nope. Because none of those things would work up a sweat, forcing me to change clothes three times per day, or just let the sweat-soaked panties dry on my aching body, leaving me chilled and wishing I'd brought a change of clothes. I can handle a sweaty shirt, but it's the sopping undies that make one miserable in this 105 degree heat. And unlike when I lived in Arizona, the heat here in Oklahoma is definitely not a "dry heat".

In the midst of all this sweatiness (are you still reading, or have you moved on to a less graphic representation of life in Oklahoma in June of 2009) - so, aaaannnyway, in the midst of the sweaty moving of the aforementioned in-laws, of the sweaty house renovation, of the sweaty everything involving moving off of the couch, Mark and I celebrated our 28th anniversary. In style. In Ada.

Don't be so judgy. Ada is a lovely town. I had to work there on Saturday, which was our official anniversary. And since I work for a non-profit and we have pretty much been doing the community serving thing as a family for about twenty of those years, Mark thought nothing of coming along and spending our anniversary serving the good folks of Coalgate, just down the road, forty miles or so, from Ada.

The thing I love about hotels is that you can crank the AC up (down?) to a decadent 52 degrees and lie shivering happily under several layers of blankets without worrying about next month's electric bill. I know. That's not a very tree-hugging thing to say. I should be more concerned about the environment, global warming, blah blah blah. Don't be so judgy. Sheesh. It was 105 degrees outside where I had been working all day in the service of humanity. I can't be responsible for the state of the ozone every waking moment!

We stayed in Ada an extra 24 hours just to bask in the coolness that was the Ada Holiday Inn Express, away from the naggy to-do list that awaited us back home. After 28 years you take your celebrations wherever and whenever you can get them.

I'm back home and ready to tackle the long list of things to do to get this house on the market. Anyone want to buy a much loved and renovated cottage in Bethany? Today you can take it as-is for a steal of a price. I'll leave you the to-do list under the magnet on the fridge.

I'm putting my house up on Craig's List

Maintaining my sanity is top priority right now. I know. I need to get my priorities straight. But seriously, it's a little crazy around here. I made a list last night of all the things I feel MUST be done before we put our house up for sale. But at the moment we are tempted to just say forget it and pound that sign in the yard anyway. One house for sale - as is. Take it or leave it. Never mind all that wisdom on HGTV about staging your home, curb appeal, blah blah blah. We'll knock $5,000 off the price if you'll just take the d___ thing.

The good news is that stuff is getting done around here that has been on the list for a very long time. Who knew replacing that crumbling, broken window in the garage would be so easy? The entry way with its ugly, dull flooring? All shiny and new. And don't even get me started on the kitchen. I want to eat my kitchen it's so beautiful. And that lean-to shed thing the previous (and only) owner built onto the garage? Mark knocked it down yesterday. My man and his hammer and crow bar took down that ugly piece of shoddy construction. Friend and handy man Berry came for a second Sunday in a row to lend his expertise and back and knees to the cause. I whipped out some baseboards like nobodies business on my handy power miter saw. Angela and friend Aaron cut down limbs and painted stuff that can only be reached by standing on the roof. Tessa has become a trim-and-door-painting savant.

Speaking of Tessa, the advertising major. I told her she could have half the profit if she sold a few things on Craig's List. She posted an enticing ad to sell our microwave (the new house has one built in) and three hours later she was deleting the post. A lovely family from Newcastle had given it a new home and she had her cash commission in hand. She said it was the easiest money she ever made! I'm taking an inventory of the house though, in case she decides to put all of the contents up on Craig's List. Maybe when we move, but right now we need something to sit on.

Other than that, we're just nursing our aching bodies, soothing our frazzled minds, and trying to figure out how all this is going to happen. I need a Gantt chart just to sort out the in-laws closing dates, move-in dates, packing, truck loading, reconstructing of a bathroom in the new house to make it handicapped accessible for my mother-in-law.

Oh, and tonight after my day job I have to finish teaching my Technical Communications class at a local university. Tomorrow I fly to Atlanta for a presentation at a national conference, back on Wednesday, in the office on Thursday, then off to Portland for a long-awaited family vacation. Then we'll finish up the vacation by heading to Newton to help the in-laws get packed up and ready to move. My head is spinning.

It's all good stuff and we're oh so grateful. Tired. But grateful.

If I were a mop, where would I be?

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." Hal Borland

Have you been reading and hearing about "surviving" the current economy until you could choke on it? Me too. But I've also been trying to not live in the false security of thinking it won't touch my family. Besides, a little belt tightening never hurt anyone.

Mary Hunt is an old hand, err, how about an experienced hand, at living frugally. I started reading her stuff when I was a much younger woman. Today she was talking about making your own cleaning supplies, not because they are better for the environment, but because they are cheap! Here's one for window cleaner:

Window Cleaner: 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 quarts warm water. Add cornstarch to water and mix well. Scrub mixture on window using a soft cloth. Use a clean dry cloth to dry and shine the glass. Your windows will sparkle for days.

The problem with these kinds of things is that they take time and energy, two things I'm seriously short of. But wouldn't it be so much better than continuing to buy all those plastic bottles and containers? (she says to herself in a pathetically unconvincing voice).

Even Real Simple, one of my favorite magazines, got into the act last month with their natural cleaning ideas. I mean, seriously, who knew what you could do with ketchup!

The really funny thing, in a sad sort of way, is that here I am talking about cleaning and my house is a complete disaster right now. Whenever we're working on renovating one room, the rest of the house gets ignored. The use of ANY kind of cleaning supply, green or otherwise, would be a big improvement! (Sigh)

Just finish something already!

One of the dangers of having a busy, active mind is getting too many fun little projects going at the same time. I could think up projects all day long. It's the finishing of said projects that takes some discipline.

I temporarily misplaced my iphone over the weekend, and I could hear it vibrating somewhere in the vicinity of my closet, so I started to clean out my closet while trying to find the offending phone. I got most of it cleaned up, except for the "give away" pile and the "can't decide" pile, which are now stranded on the floor outside the closet waiting for me to come back to that project. But it's going to be oh so orderly when I'm done.

I'm almost finished painting and hanging new cabinet doors. So my painting "booth" is set up in the dungeon (aka garage-ish room). Oh, and I decided to paint the kitchen chairs too. So there's paint cans on the kitchen table and a path of footprints between the painting booth and the kitchen, and cabinet doors and chairs in various states of undress. But it's going to be oh so fabulous when I'm done.

I'm working on a new website project, so there are books and computer cords and multiple laptops spread around the living room. But it's going to be oh so cool when I'm done.

The Wii Fit board gets a spot in the middle of the living room also, because another project is to actually use it. But I'm going to be oh so healthy when I'm - well, you get the point.

The list could go on for a while. The point is, the house is disheveled, and it's a direct reflection of my brain. This is the point in ProjectLand that I must discipline myself to not start any new projects, and to methodically finish those I have started. It will be good for the mind and good for the soul and good for the state of my house.

I'm not a banker, so I'm off to work. But then who wants to be a banker these days...

I had a good weekend, if anyone cares. It was a perfect mix of fun, family, rest and checking things off my many lists. And because, as we all know, I love bullet points, that's how I'm going to continue with this post. Trust me, I'm doing you a favor because it will be so much easier to read than a long, run-on sentence that never seems to end and jumps from point to point and, well, you get it. So here goes. If you are in the "don't care" category, then check back tomorrow and maybe I'll have something profound to say. But don't hold your breath.

• Our staff lunch on Friday was at Avanti Bar and Grill which is attached to the Courtyard By Marriott over by Lowe's on the north side of the Kilpatrick, between May and Penn. If you're not from around here, then your eyes just rolled back in your head from all the details. It's an excellent restaurant and you must try it, but it's kind of hidden, thus the details. It opened last week, the night of the tornadoes, so you know how new it is. It would make a nice date destination. I know, you're thinking "now you tell me". Where was I when you were standing in line for two hours for a Valentine's dinner.
• Valentine's Day was pretty much a day-long date, in a empty nester sort of way. Starbucks first thing, (never have I seen so many couples there. Usually it's one spouse staggering in to grab the coffees and run) then Mark went with me to that old ice skating rink in Bethany that they've turned into an antique/flea market kind of place. It was his suggestion because it was Valentine's Day, and he actually enjoyed it, although if you ask him he'll tell you we were there for two hours when in reality it was more like 45 minutes. We are apparently antiques because the whole experience was like a stroll through our childhood. If we had only kept everything we ever owned, we could be selling them right now for ridiculous prices. I made an exciting $10 purchase which I will share another time after I upload the photo.
• Still talking about Valentine's Day, but I could tell I was losing you, so I'm hoping another bullet point will refresh your brain. So after the antique mall thing we drove our to Okarche to Eischen's for their famous chicken. Mark wanted a menu, which if you've ever been to Eischen's is kind of funny since pretty much they just slap a huge basket of fried chicken and another huge basket of fried okra on your table, along with some white bread and bread and butter pickles. That's the menu. But man is it good fried chicken.
• I think that's all I'm going to share about Valentine's Day except that in the evening "Somewhere In Time" was on TV. It's a movie with Christopher Reeves, who was GORGEOUS, and, and, dang I can't remember her name. Oh yeah, Jane Seymour. We saw that movie in the theater back in college and thought it was the most romantic movie ever. I remember crying. But I was always crying back in college. Sleep deprivation will do that to you. Anyway, it was a fitting ending to our walk-down-memory-lane Valentine's Day.
• Sunday after church (I admit it, we watched church online) we had our Sunday lunch with Angela and Riley, which is a habit I adore. Tessa was also home because she had volunteered at the Addy Awards Saturday, and niece Alli joined us. Los Amigos in Bethany is what makes me feel like we live in a small town surrounded by the big city. It's always full of people we know, which makes me feel connected.
• Last thing, if you're still with me. We hung our new kitchen cabinet doors and they are amazing. Well, we're still short two doors because the guy who made them got confused. But all the others are hung.

So I'm sure I missed something, but right now you're saying thank the Lord this post is over. I'm here all week. No really, I'm in town all week so I'm hoping to have a peaceful and productive number of days. Did you have a good weekend?

Monday already

Ah Monday. My days are all messed up. I took Friday off, worked Saturday, had a busy Sunday and wow, here we are back at the beginning again. Was there a weekend and I missed it?

You know how when you see identical twins you get all "oh, how cute" and stuff? But it's just weird when you see two 47 year old identical twins. I "volunteered" at my sister's school (she's the principal) on Friday, teaching Junior Achievement to 1st graders. They had a volunteer for every classroom so the school was full of extra people. My twin sister and I don't think we look alike, but the reaction of other people says otherwise. I forgot to put on my "I'm not Mrs. Zimmerman" badge so was accosted repeatedly by people who wanted me to sign something or discuss some random piece of paper I'd never seen or just say hi. By the way sis, your new office chairs will be in some time next week. I went with blue. Also, I'm sure it really irks her that people mistake me for her since I'm the more, um, expanded version. I've got a good number of pounds on her. She's one of those "oh, I'll just have some pita chips and humus for lunch" kind of people. I'm not.

After wrangling 1st graders all day I shot over to The State's University to wish Tessa a happy 20th. Mark went to see his parents, so I had Tessa all to myself. She's had the flu all week, but was still healthy enough for a free dinner out and to ask for a new dress. We went to three stores and there was nothing appealing out there. You would think with the bad economy everyone is talking about the stores would be overflowing with merchandise. Apparently Stillwater didn't get the memo, 'cause they got nothin'. But she got a free meal and a delicious pink cake and her momma all to herself. Well, she also got a Coach Swingpack, but that was given to her earlier. So no, I didn't just give her a cake and make her ask for a new dress. Sheesh.

Angela worked with me on Saturday, which really made having to work so much better. Somehow I managed to have the most amazing daughters. And believe me, it wasn't because of my stellar parenting skills. Sometimes I think some kids are just born exceptional. Once a priest in Romania told me they have a saying that every crow thinks her child is a dove. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I remember asking him if he was calling me an old crow. He was a very funny priest.

Last night we saw Brian Regan at the Civic Center. Mark laughed for 120 minutes without stopping. I thought he was going to bust something. I laughed too, but my laughing is sort of more nodding my head and thinking "now that's funny". I'm not so much a guffaw-er. But my face did hurt by the end of the evening. That's a good sign.

Oh, and one more thing. My kitchen cabinet doors were delivered on Friday. They are beautiful hand made doors, which is out of character for this old house. It will be sort of like putting pearls on a pig. I started the long painting process and now I'm hallucinating from the fumes. I think I'll let the air clear a bit before attempting to hang them. I don't want it to look like Peewee Herman's kitchen.

Hope you have a good one. Mondays lead to Fridays so it's almost the weekend.

A few things off the list. And you know I love lists.

Friends don't let friends do home repairs alone. Our home repair guru/savior, Berry, came over on Sunday and spent four hours going down my list of things that just haven't gotten done over the years of home renovation. That light fixture that has been sitting in the box since 2004 after the winter of bedroom wreckovation. Ah those are good memories. Attempting to sleep in our king sized bed while the arctic wind rattled the insulation in the exposed ceiling. Stuffing Angela up into the attic to do electrical work 'cause she was the only one small enough to fit. Don't worry, she was at least 18 years old. And she volunteered. Don't call DHS. That was the winter we ended up sleeping on a blow-up mattress in the living room for weeks because I had this thing about not liking to sleep under the stars while inside the house. I know. I'm high maintenance.

He also took care of a couple of thresholds, repaired an electrical outlet, fixed the off-center ceiling fan, glued in the new kitchen sink. Am I forgetting anything? You get used to having things undone for so long you almost forget they aren't done. I keep marveling at how much better that light fixture looks hanging from the ceiling than it did sitting in the box on the shelf.

He didn't do all this alone though. Mark helped. Although the one time I peeked into the bedroom to see how the fan project was going, Berry was on the ladder and Mark was laying on his back across the bed. But he was lending his moral support. Which would be different than his immoral support I guess. Odd phrase.

Tessa is home for a couple of days since it's a long weekend. Her comment? "This house is getting less embarrassing all the time". So there it is in a nutshell. Like we ever put things in a nutshell. Another odd phrase. To what nut are they referring? Peanut? Since it's Oklahoma, they must be referring to the pecan. But why would we put our thoughts in something even the squirrels throw out.

Anyway, I digress. I'm just tickled pink to have the list done. Now what does that mean? Is that a phrase only a person of Caucasian descent uses? I mean, not everyone can be tickled until they are pink. OK, I'm done now.

God bless America on this, our Presidential Inauguration Day. Few countries do it like we do. Thank you, Lord, for a nation that believes in a peaceful transition of power.

In which we buy stock in Home Depot

Wisdom teeth are extracted, bruising and swelling is minimal, Tessa lived to tell the story. Except there wasn't much to tell since she was asleep during the 30 minute procedure. I TOLD her it wouldn't be traumatic, but I'm just the mom. What do I know?

The amazing plumber dude came yesterday and did about 5 jobs that would have taken us days and a whole lot-o-frustration to complete. Sink works, faucet is beautiful, water is turned back on. Ah, life is good again, not to mention hygienic.

Mark and I installed a new cabinet top and a new sink and they look pretty durn good. We got a new power tool out of the deal. A cute little saber saw to add to our collection. I love power tools. They're just so - powerful. I feel so empowered when I use them.

When I went to look for a sink I couldn't find anything the right size at a reasonable price. It also couldn't have holes for the faucet because our faucet comes out of the wall and not the cabinet top. No such sink to be found. Oh, I could special order one for $700. Um, that wasn't gonna happen. As I was walking out of our home-away-from-home big box home repair store, I was deep in thought about where to look for a sink when I almost tripped over a rack with a few sale items on it. You're ahead of me already on this story aren't you? There was a sink the perfect size and shape with no faucet holes for a VERY discounted price. I snapped that sucker up and shouted glory hallelujah. Well, in my head I was shouting. I didn't want anyone to startle suddenly while reaching high on a shelf for another box of 3x6 inch tile and bring the whole thing crashing down on their head. I was grateful, but I couldn't live with that kind of responsibility.

So I asked Mark when I got home if one could call it a "God Thing" when a sink just jumps out and bites you on the butt as you're walking out of the store. I'm never one to say God gave me a parking spot, or helped my football team win. But surely he must care and be interested in all aspects of my life.

Interesting as I write this to realize I can actually say I feel like God might be interested in my life. There was a long period of time there where I really felt like He had just shrugged his shoulders and said "good luck with that" before turning His back.

I feel like I'm coming down with something, so I'm going to drink some more orange juice and go to bed. I have a very long rest of the week ahead. Stay tuned for the continuing saga in which Mr. and Mrs. DIY attempt to tile a backsplash, find cabinet doors to fit their non-standard cabinets, and return to our empty nest as the new college semester begins. Fascinating stuff.

File Under What Was I Thinking

After our heart-to-heart with the precious in-laws last week, we rushed home and started working on the house with renewed vigor so we can sell it. Mark removed 38 bags of leaves from our yard. His method is to mow over them so that they get sucked up into the mower bag. It beats all that back breaking raking. We had a used leaf blower/sucker thing for a short period of time, but it sucked. Or didn't, to be more precise, and so it went into the garbage. Anyway, it was a beautiful day on Saturday, as random days in Oklahoma's winter can be. I'm pretty sure it was in the 70's. Angela came over and helped him cut down a small tree and Riley brought over a load of dirt he had dug up somewhere and filled in some of the many holes their dog, Sadie, has dug in our yard. So now it looks less like someone was practicing their pyrotechnic skills by throwing homemade bombs of various sizes randomly into our yard.


Speaking of dogs, while we were out of town Angela called to say there was an extra dog in our backyard. I told her to count again and she kept coming up with three, which is odd because our yard is fully enclosed by fencing, some of it 6 feet tall. Usually dogs escape from yards. It's unusual to have a dog break into ones yard. So while I looked up the number for animal control, she went next door to see if by chance Mr. T had added another dog. Sure enough, he claimed the dog and came over and for some reason attempted to heft the dog back over the 6 foot fence, and in the process got a large cut under his eye. I don't think that dog got any doggie treats that day. Saturday when I went to feed the dogs, there were TWO extra dogs in our yard. I'm thinking, I know we love our dogs and treat them reasonably well, but really, who gave them the OK to go out and invite all the neighborhood dogs over to the party? And how are they getting in? But as I watched, the visitors scrambled back under the fence into Mr. T's yard by way of the Stalag 13-esque tunnel they had built while we slept. Apparently we are West Berlin to Mr. T's East Berlin.




Anyway, while they were out putting the yard in shape, I was busy in the kitchen because it's the last hold out in the list of rooms that needed to be remodeled. We had decided on a minimalist plan for this remodel. No knocking down or building walls or tearing out cabinets to be replaced with shiny new ones. Our plan was just to sand and paint the cabinets, replace the cabinet doors, replace the sink, faucet and counter top and tile the back splash. At least for a start. Here's the before pic:



But of course, nothing is EASY in this old house. Did I mention that there are no water shut off valves in the house and if you want to work on any plumbing you have to go lie on your belly in the front yard and turn off the water at the meter, which is in a hole in the ground? Did I mention it is now about 20 degrees with a windchill of -30? Did I mention that our mad skills do not include plumbing apparently, because this is now what our faucet looks like? The paper plates are redirecting the water dripping from the not-so-well-installed fixtures.




It's really no big deal to dash out in the nose-hair-freezing day to turn the water on so we can flush the toilets. Hopefully the plumber can come tomorrow and get us all set up. I'm just trying to remember why it sounded like a good idea to start this at the END of a week of vacation.


Oh, and Tessa is scheduled to have her wisdom teeth extracted today. And let me tell you, she is taking it well. She has written out her will and made her final requests and bequests and is prepared to meet her maker. Fortunately she will be asleep during the procedure, and even more fortunately, I'll be in the waiting room. But it was a good excuse for taking the day off of work. I need to prepare the ice cream and mashed potatoes, and prepare to nurse her back to life as she knew it.

Had to share

Yes, I have plenty to do besides post things on the internet, but I'm so excited I wanted to share. We finally finished our bathroom. It took FOREVER!!! But boy do we have some skills! Anyway, I don't have a before picture, but just imagine all these lovely amenities.

And here's the new bathroom, complete with neutral tile and new everything.

Grouting Extravaganza

Well, got the shower grouted (again), then decided to use the little bit of grout I had left in the bucket to grout the mosaic table I started more than a year ago. The president of the foundation where I work died of a heart attack and during the day off for the funeral I dug out an old table from the shed in our backyard and created this table in his memory. Every time I look at it I remember his kindness and goodness. It's meant for the garden, but a) all attempts at a garden are immediately destroyed by the dogs and b) I never got around to grouting it.

So brilliant idea to use the little left over grout. Except I had to mix up three more batches in order to finish the project. It took me twice as much time and three times the grout to finish the table compared to finishing the shower. But I'm glad I did. It's in my sun room right now. Lovin' it.

M.A.W.W.

I'm happy to say my studly man has resisted the urging of the Morning Animals (sports radio) to declare himself a member of MAWW - Men Against Working Weekends. Their motto: If in doubt, hire it out. Living in a serious fixer-upper, the list of things to do is never ending but the money runs out really fast. Just the up-keep is a killer. The renovation never stops either. For various reasons, a pile of lumber has languished in our backyard, waiting to become a section of fence. Two weeks ago Mark pulls on his jorts (jean shorts) and rents a one-man auger and attempts to dig post holes. The clay soil was not having it. The darn thing rattles his teeth and bones and won't go deeper than two inches. Oklahoma soil is stuuub-eeern. Another trip to Home Depot. The guy's like oh, that won't work this time of year. The ground is like cement. Duh! So he offers a hydraulic auger. Mark's all, I'll try again tomorrow.

Next day - Home Depot. But the bigger, stronger auger won't dig either. Back to Home Depot. Are you seeing a pattern here? The guy says the clutch was in the wrong position. Try it this way. And it worked! Finally! Post holes dug, cement and posts added. Back to Home Depot before the four hour rental period expires. Yeah! One more step to hiding the weed choked yard behind us and getting a little privacy.

This Saturday he finished that stretch of fence. It's beautiful. All straight and solid and brown. Now the lady kitty-cornered can't feed the dogs her table scraps any more. Seriously, how many times can you politely tell somebody to stop! WE don't even feed the dog table scraps. SHE doesn't have to clean up the puppy barf or try to watch Dancing With The Stars in a table-scrap induced gaseous cloud of canine flatulence. Seriously.

Where was I. Oh yeah. That piece of fence is done!

A moment to celebrate.

Now check it off and move on. A little helping hand to Angela, who has been re-tiling our shower, and we'll have another major project marked off. We're on a roll. He's a member of MAWW all right. Manly Animal Waging War (against the tide of disintegrating house). Or Making A Woman Weak ('cause Acts of Service is my luuuv language).

Wow, that was mildly nauseating.