It's not easy being...

GREEN

You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Hat Tip to Karen, my BF's SIL!

Bathroom Remodeling Tip #42

Always doublecheck to be sure your tub walls are square BEFORE applying adhesive to the shower panels.

a two-front battle

Well, as A. went to put up the baseboards in the bathroom so we could reinstall the toilet.... he discovered that the wall behind the toilet ALSO has water damage and needed replacing.

We stood in despair in the bathroom for several long minutes. So close to Ultimate Fruition... and so easily wrenched from our grasp.

Ah well, fortunately we have more greenboard, tape and mud. So today, our holiday, A. carefully cut out the damaged section and replaced it with fresh. He'll texture it in a while, install moulding (forget the self-stick baseboard from McLendon's Hardware, it's useless) and then I'll paint. No more "Contentment" in the bathroom---the color was too yellowey for the tile and flooring. We're going for "Sandstone." And the toilet MUST go back today. Especially since tomorrow is piano lessons and that bathroom needs to be functional!!

Yesterday we had a bit of excitement. D and S came running back to tell me "there's a bird in the house!!" Sure enough... it had flown down the chimney (where S had seen it emerge) and then sought refuge behind the piano. We turned off all the lights and opened the doors wide. It was a pretty little thing, olive and yellow with a white circle around its eye. A identified it as a warbler, but wasn't sure what kind.

Photo by Sherry Hagen, from birdweb.org

Eventually after a few frantic flappings around the living room area, it reoriented itself and headed out the front door and away. Escaping the giants. A. grabbed his Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds and identified it as a McGillivray's Warbler. He'd never seen one before, so he added it to his life list. How courteous of the bird to come to him, rather than his going to search for it!

Guinea pig arriving from Chewelah later on tonight....a surprise gift for D., whose birthday is coming up.

A funny thing happened on the way to karate...

Yesterday on the way to karate, my son sighed to himself, then asked, "Mom, has anyone ever thought of a giant centipede?"



"Um...not sure, why do you ask?"



"I mean for a monster movie."



"Ohhhh.... yeah, I think that's been done already, hon."

Another sigh, and a long pause.



".......What about giant people?"

"Gulliver's Travels. Already been done."



(Frustrated exhale) "I want to make a scary movie that nobody's thought of before!"

That's my boy.


In other news, we're pressing on to getting that front bathroom finished. Today the linoleum guys came bright and early to put down new floor. It being a holiday weekend and lovely outside, they came early so they could start weekending sooner! Anyway, new floor is down... I have to scrub the walls with TSP, sand in some places where the paint looks peely and gross, and put a nice coat of Kilz (primer) before putting up my chosen paint color of "Contentment." (Also known as eggshell.)



I know, I know, I vowed to use color last summer when I was redoing the livingroom/entry/halls....but this is the leftover ceiling paint from the kitchen. :) I'm being thrifty. When it's all said and done it'll be beige/tan/navy blue. We're going with the Washington State Tsunami Poster theme... ah nuts, I can't move it down here, where it's relevant!! Okay, so you've already seen it at the top of this post, and now you know why it's attached to this post. (pfft on blogger!) Anyway, when A. was working at The Press, they ran a batch of this very image for The State and he took one of the overruns and framed it. (He wasn't the only one... it was a rather popular print run with the employees!) Anyway, it'll be perfect for the kids' bathroom! :) We'll accent with some other beachy things and call it good. And Lord willing, the bathroom will be completely useable by this time next week.

If slow and steady wins the race...

...why am I so out of breath?

I speak metaphorically, of course. I do not run. It ranks right up there with visits to the dentist or removing hair from drains.

But it seems like the closer to the end of the school year I get, the more time demands there are. I feel like just hanging a sign around my neck that says "No, NO, NOOOOO, I am not available!" But that's not me. I'm too interested in pleasing people (the fear of man brings a snare) so I go ahead and try to accommodate yet one more event.

It's insane. And by extension, I am insane.

I'm reminded of Atalanta's race, getting distracted by the golden apples Hippomene tossed--stopping to pick them up... and thereby losing the race.

So. NO MORE GOLDEN APPLES. And the answer to your question is NO.

aebleskivers 101

So this morning, armed with an aebleskiver recipe from allrecipes.com, my new $2.99 pan, and a knitting needle-- I got to work creating delightful Danish doughballs. (Had to alliterate, sorry).

Whoops, I didn't season the brand-new cast iron pan first. So everything got stuck in short order. The breakfast was certainly doughballs, but not delightful, and I would wager that no Dane would ever claim affinity for my sad production.

I left it all on the stovetop and bustled away to our Ladies' Brunch (we didn't call it "Mother's Day Brunch" because not everyone's a mother but we're all ladies--so there it is). A nice, relaxing devotional (on the book of Ruth), some good lemon bars, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and sandwiches with no crusts. When I came home, it hit me like a ton of feather pillows that I was absolutely exhausted. So my DH gave me the luxury of an uninterrupted nap.

Later on I decided to have another go at the aebleskivers. By now the cast iron pan had been seasoned a little bit, so I tried again with less batter in the holes, and waiting longer before attempting to turn. Success! No, they weren't perfect balls like Arne's makes in Solvang, but they at least came out of the pan better. Kinda ovoid-shaped but without the pointy end. I still messed a few of them up, but once you sprinkle with powdered sugar and raspberry jam, it's all good. D. didn't' care for them very much, so A. and S. polished them off. A. came in later and told me I needed to make these for a church social or fellowship at our house around New Year's. (Interestingly enough, that's when the Danes traditionally have them--Christmas and New Year's.)

I'm hoping to get another digital camera within the next few weeks. Audra's old one is getting rather finicky and more often than not, when I take a picture and later try to retrieve it, I get "disk error" or "file error" and no photo at all. :( My last digital camera, an Olympus D-520 zoom - I remember spending about $300 for it. 2.0 whopping MP! (whoa! ); 3x optical zoom + 4x digital zoom (crud); 1.5" viewfinder; Quicktime movie mode---ahh, this baby was state of the art. 5 years ago.

Right now I'm totally up for getting a "point and shoot" camera but I keep looking at these Pentax and Canon things. Lead me not into temptation. Just lead me to a Best Buy and I'll do the rest.

birthaversary fun

Nothing like getting up in the morning, checking your email, and having a wacky Hallmark e-card from a friend. Thanks, Rebecca! :) I watched it three times.

This week Grandma Karen has been here. We have been eating out almost every night. I have been doing my utmost to not overdo it, and it's paid off--the scale this morning is exactly where it was at this time last week, so I'm extremely pleased!

In one of our wanderings about, we stopped at Value Village, the so-called "department thrift store." S. needed a new pair of tennis shoes. The halfling is only 8 years old and she is wearing a woman's size 6 shoe!! Amazon girl. I stumbled across several treasures while there - an aebleskiver pan for only $2.99!! Not that I've ever made aebleskivers but I sure loved having them when we would visit Solvang. And Petersen's Yummy Burgers, which I think is now gone, but that's another story. ANYway, I'm going to try to make aebleskivers with raspberry jam for breakfast tomorrow.

And the brass ring of finds at Value Village yesterday for me? A coffee mug that has a picture of Chairman Mao on it!!! I laughed my head off-- who wants a coffee mug with Mao Tse-tung on it? Well........ I did! I'm going to take it to church Sunday and have my coffee in it during Sunday school and see what happens. And think what a great White Elephant Christmas present that will be! It's nice to be prepared for absolutely everything. Like I said, brass ring.

It's quiet on the western front. This means that the kids have forsaken math for greener pastures - or backyards. We're off to Red Lobster for dinner in a bit so I'd better crack that whip.

A Google meme: "(Your name) needs..."

This is clever. Naturally, I didn't think of it; I'm stealing it from Sarah again. The deal is this: Google search your first name with the word "needs" after it (no quote marks) and see what the top 10 results are.

Since mine are pretty funny, I'm sharing: ( I DID eliminate one of them as not being family-friendly)

1. E__ NEEDS ANOTHER MIRACLE!!
2. Auntie E__ needs a drink.
3. E__ needs to wear shirts
4. E__ needs to go to bed!
5. The Looney Bin: E__ needs
6. Camp E__ Needs Volunteers
7. E__ Needs a New Hobby
8. E__ needs some friends to love her
9. American Sports Mag needs pictures of E__
10. (The funniest one of all IMO) E__ needs an exorcism.
    

I wanna talk about "meme" ---(7 random things about me)

Eep! I got tagged by Sarah-girl. The rules state that I am supposed to name seven people at the end of this meme to replicate the process, creating a ponzi scheme of memes, going viral.... but I, as always, take exception to The Rules and will not force you to participate. But I always like to know factoids about people so please leave a comment if you DO participate in this meme.

7 Random Things about Me:

1. Banana should never be a flavor in anything. Ever. Dittos to watermelon. I do, however, enjoy REAL bananas, as long as they are still slightly green. Age spots--out they go. (This may be a problem for me personally as I grow older...must ponder this more.)
   
2. I hate driving in the rain. This makes life in the Pacific Northwest a bit of a challenge at times.
3. I wrecked my fiance's car THE DAY before he was going to drive it to Washington State from South Carolina. (Hence the reason behind #2) He was able to get a much better one and drive it instead.
4. Hair must be attached to your head. If it is loose and floating around, or matted in shower drains, I will physically gag. I also get the willies when guys have a carpet of chest and/or back hair.
5. The worst restaurant ever was in Gardiner, Montana, where some creatively disgruntled cook took and wrapped his/her hair around a french fry 39 times, fried it in oil, and served it with a pile of other fries to our table of hungry youth group kids returning from a missions trip. I ended up leaving the table and wandering around the gift shop for the remainder of the meal. (This is a reflection of #4 but worthy of its own point).
6. There is nothing more appropriate to finish a warm summer's day than a bowl of strawberries and cream.
7. My grandmother named me. My first name for her beloved country, my middle name after herself. Oh no, she wasn't vain.

If you're reading this--I'd love to see some randomizing from you! BUT I refuse to manipulate or coerce you. ;)

Elementary wand safety and Bank Encounters

After I finished up teaching piano last Wednesday, I headed over to the local bank where I had to wait in a line to make a deposit. My attention caught on the young man in front of me. As he stood there, it looked as if he had no left buttock! I was trying not to stare (who wants to be caught looking at a man's rear end?!), but really....his pants were all caved in and hanging on one side. I found myself thinking of Mad-Eye Moody chastising Harry Potter: "DON'T put your wand in your back pocket, boy! Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!" Moody continues his rant quietly: "Elementary wand safety...nobody bothers with it anymore."

To distract myself from this distracting distraction I listened to the conversation taking place behind me. One of the bank workers was chatting up the man who entered after me. "Hey, Rex, how's it going? Still live on ________ Avenue" and so forth. As I eavesdropped, two things became clear to me: 1) There aren't that many people named Rex, and 2) I know one who lives on ____ Avenue. I venture a peek over my shoulder to find that it is indeed the Rex I know--the one who's Crystal's and Richard's dad. :) We exchanged small talk for a bit until it was my turn to see the teller. So Rex asked me if I knew about the upcoming joy anticipated by the Nuclear Microsoft Family--and the crazy thing is, I honestly thought I did. For some reason I wasn't surprised, and said, oh yeah, I knew about it. But Crystal hadn't said anything yet on her blog!!

So, like the Chinese emperor who had a nightingale, I guess a little bird told me.

Meanwhile I completely missed seeing the man in front of me walk up to the teller so I could more closely observe his supposed missing buttock.

Anyway, a new baby is more interesting. Many congratulations to Crystal, Aaron, Joel and Micah! (And the extended family too!)