My Interview With a Famous Dead Person

My interview wasn’t going well. Probably because I didn’t speak Ancient or Hellenistic Greek and English wasn’t around yet when he was alive, much less modern English. But you’d think I could get some responses from him anyway. Still I got nothing at all. He couldn’t tell me if his stories about Atlantis were a story for entertainment, a metaphor of warning, or something he believed to be true. He wouldn’t say a word about what it was like to study under Socrates. He wouldn’t even talk about the Academy where he trained future political leaders. But in retrospect, I guess he never responded because he’s dead.

Medicaster Graphomaniac

So, I've been trying for a couple of months to write the companion story to Mary's Painting, but I can't seem to get the set-up part of the story written to my satisfaction.  Each time I write it, it seems forced and doesn't fit the tone right.  So I throw it away and start over.  The story is a good idea, but only if I can get the beginning written, then I'm sure the rest will settle into place just fine.

Hopefully I will get past this horrible writing phase on this story soon.  What I should do is move on to another story temporarily, but this is the only one of my stories that keeps sticking in my mind, so for now, I remain a quack writer.

The Ghastly Photos

Here's a few pictures of Halloween House in progress:

The neighbors are also letting us use one side of their yard...

Mephistopheles Has Started Decorating

So, we've started the decorating for Halloween House this year.  It's both a sad and exciting time.  It's sad, because our neighbors no longer decorate (they were the original Halloween House).  It's exciting because now WE are Halloween House.  Shawn, the neighbor who used to decorate but has moved, left us most of the cemetery fencing, window coverings (that make it look like the house is boarded up and condemned), and partial coffins (that look like they're erupting from the ground), so we're touching them up/repainting/etc to put them out.  We've already hung the bride and groom from the eaves along with some bats, spiders, and a huge spider egg pouch.

Changing from grey marble to beige marble for the cemetery columns

We drove to Illinois for the wedding and returned safely.  But I can safely say that Bishop girls between the ages of 12 and 18 months don't travel well for long distances.  Before that seems to be fine, and so far, the data suggests that after 2 years they're good, too.  Not great, mind you, but not screaming because they're too stimulated to take a nap.

As expected, Donna did not do too well as a flower girl.  I was actually surprised that she walked halfway down the aisle during the rehearsal before she started crying in terror.  I had to go help her during the actual wedding.

Over the four day period, Megi didn't really get any of her naps.  She normally gets at least two hour long naps each day.  Instead, she over the four day period, got about three hours of nap total.  :-(

That's all for now, hopefully, we'll have some decorating pictures to post in the next blog update.  Thanks for reading.

C'est Fini

So, I've finished the playground set.  I cut a new piece of wood and fixed the broken picnic table bench section, I finished digging the hole, putting the monkey bars on, and re-filling the hole.  I still have some other things to do, such as pick up the cardboard boxes that it cam in for disposal/recycling, removing the rocks underneath it for safety purposes, and anchoring the swing side better.  But essentially, it is done and the kids are enjoying playing on it.

(No, Ginger was in the process of sitting down when this picture was snapped, not the other act it looks like she's about to do...)

The next big long-term project for outside is to start leveling out a place to put the pool for next summer, and for the trampoline to occupy until we build the gazebo.  The next big project for outside, however is to become Halloween House.  But that has to wait a couple of weeks as we're driving across country to Peoria, IL for Candice's sister's wedding.

The next big projects inside are painting the girls' rooms, and the kids' bathrooms and to set up the art studio in the basement for Candice's glasswork.  The latter requires me to cut holes into the back side of the house and put in ventilation and hoses  for the short-term fix, and to build her some workbenches and a tank cover box for the long-term fix.  This will have the added benefit of letting me re-organize the workbench side of the garage so I can park in it (I think) since the '53 Mercury is taking up my parking spot.  The hardest part of doing that will be placement of the radial arm saw so that it is still useable with long pieces of wood wherever I put it.

Wednesday, I have to go to Buckley AFB, so I plan to take that opportunity to try to fix some stuff with Gabe and Megi in my official Military/VA paperwork.  Gabe, since I officially adopted him fully several years back, has been showing up sporadically with various different last names, depending on which system is referencing it.  Hopefully, I can get that straightened out.  Megi is still not showing up on my VA Disability pay, which isn't really a big deal except that means she's not on there for Survivor Benefit Plan purposes.  And since I've been trying to call the Disabled Veterans for over six months without a single answer (and they don't have voicemail), this is my one opportunity to make sure that wheel is turning without taking a day off work just for that.

They should be getting my serum in for allergy shots in the upcoming week or so, which means I'll be getting shots on Mondays and Thursdays for a while to come, and carrying around an epi-pen.

That's all for this log entry.  Thanks for reading!

The Finishing Stages

I got a lot of progress done today.  I only have 3 of the 43 phases left to complete - so I'm 93% done! One of the phases (the picnic table) I still need to do is because I have to do it again - after cutting a piece of wood the right size to start over since it split when I slipped and stepped on it.  The next stage requires me to dig a hole 14 inches deep and four feet by about one foot rectangular so the monkey bars can be level over the sand box.  Then the final step will be to anchor the whole thing.

Partly Done With a Chance of Showers

Got a couple of more phases done today.  Two of them I even did twice, since I put a critical beam in backwards on each thanks to not clear pictures in the directions.  Both phases were the larges phases yet in the process.  I've completed 20/43 phases so far for a 46.5% completion rate.  Hopefully, since many of the next few phases are not as involved, I can get to 2/3 of the way or better tomorrow.  Assuming it doesn't rain, of course.

Creeping Impetus

Only two more phases completed today, which brings us to 15/43 or 35%.  I had hoped to be at 45% after finishing up today, and won't get any done tomorrow.  On a related side note, there's nothing like having three large screws completely strip out and not be able to be turned either way with a screwdriver.  I had to finish tightening them with vice grips.

Second Entry Today - 24 September's Playground Progress Update

I've completed 13 out of the 43 building stages of the playground set as of today, or about 30%.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow, maybe I can get to 45%...

Dominating is the key to domination...

So I started putting together the playground Sunday.  I spent about two hours working on it (judging by how much of my audio book I listened to) and am about 1/8 of the way done.  I'll spend a little time most days this week after work getting a little more done each day and hopefully be done by the end of this coming weekend.

We tried to bake cookies this weekend and have discovered that our oven is dying.  So, we're saving for a $1200 double oven-stove top.  I need to make sure that the widths are compatable and that I don't need to also save to re-do the cabinets along with a new oven/stove...

Next up on the project agenda after the playground is finished is painting Gabe's bathroom, followed my painting the girl's rooms one at a time so we can reclaim our closet.

That's all for today's blog.  Thanks for reading.

Top Web searches to resulting in people stumbling on my blog

Top Web searches to resulting in people stumbling on my blog:

anamorphosis birthday
anamorphosis brake
on my ipod people write with squiggly lines
paper template squiggly lines
pencil anamorphosis on paper
squiggly story paper

Apparently, I need to use more words like “anamorphosis” and “squiggly” in my blog…

Potpourri of Progress

So Zach (Brother-in-law) came by a couple of weeks ago and we lifted the 53 Mercury onto the frame and out of the driveway.  Later that same day, Candice and I put together the trampoline.  A misreading of the assembly instructions made connecting the springs about a hundred times harder, which I still managed to accomplish (at great stress to my muscles which were sore for almost an entire week).

We also have a swing set/playground set we will start installing within the next week or two.  That’s going to cause us to move the trampoline, because it’s where part of the playground set is supposed to go.  But since the ground isn’t as level anywhere else except where we plan to level the ground for the pool, we’ll need to move it over the area we intend to level, and then figure out how to level it.

I don’t quite have the funds to but the bricks for the retaining wall up front, so my tentative plan to start leveling is to start moving the dirt around to where it needs to be leveled and buy the bricks a little at a time.  Then when we get closer, finish buying the bricks and get them firmly placed where they need to go.  The trampoline will then be in the what is now the “circle of doom” until we build the gazebo.  At that time, we’ll figure out where to best place the trampoline and what needs to happen to place it there.

I recently found out that Amazon has made getting a book published and marketed vastly easier than it ever has been before.  With Kindle Direct Publishing you can publish it and have it for sale immediately for the Kindle (which can be read on more than just the Kindle – Android devices, iPad and iPhone devices, some Blackberries, PCs and Mac Computers).  They also have a “paper” publishing sister site for getting the book published in a more traditional manner.  With the KDP, you can chose which royalty system to go with (35% or 70%) one has you have an exclusivity period with Amazon of 90 days. 

But the bottom line is, I’ve never wanted to go through the hassle to get anything published before because I hated the system, so I just wrote for myself.  Now, I’m seriously contemplating trying to get enough stories together to put out a novel of short stories and selling it on Amazon.

Donna started today wearing underpants primarily.  It took about three weeks before her diaper genie got filled enough for us to empty it, presumably because she hasn’t needed to change them as often, so we’re giving her the green light.  Hopefully in a month or so, we can talk with her daycare about lowering the cost based on previous discussions by $10 per week.  That’s $520 a year that will come in very handy when it comes to stuff like, say, building a retaining wall.

Megi is enjoying walking around if and only if we’re holding her hands.  Hopefully, this will spark an interest in turning loose and actually taking a step on her own.  She can do it, she is just to timid to risk it.  That’s funny to me, because she’s a little daredevil most other times.

Gabe is learning what it’s like to have a job.  He’s trying to save up for a 3DS, but doesn’t always do his chores to earn his allowance.  He’s learning (the hard way) that he has to earn stuff, not just get it.  A valuable lesson that is frustrating Candice and me right now, but he’s going to turn into a much better man than most other kids our family’s income level and above that just give stuff to their kids. 

We still haven’t made the appointments to have him checked out for ADD/ADHD yet, and we’ll find out soon how he’s doing in school.  I suspect we’ll need to make those appointments soon because unless he’s a vastly different person in school, he’s probably losing focus there and falling behind like he did last year.  I hate medicating for the sake of medicating, but it seems rather obvious that he’s got a real problem and I’d rather him not fall behind kids his age.

I recently went to the doctor because my allergies have gone from being bad twice a year for a month or two each to being year round, and they did a blood test and a referral to an allergist.  The blood results came back with juniper and mugwort, plus I’m very allergic to cats.  So, today I go become a human pincushion to refine exactly what my allergies are and to start getting regular shots to lessen my allergies.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to sleep on my other side.

That’s all I have for now, thanks for reading!

Prom Deadlines

So, again it’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog.  We’ll start with the obvious question:  Have I done any writing?  Nope.  Not a word.  But, I haven’t tossed any ideas aside either.  I have several floating around, including the companion story to the one I wrote a couple of months ago.

Candice has her business picking up.  He’s almost quadrupled her sales from last year.  Her business’ Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/CandiceBishopDesigns.  And the Etsy page is http://www.etsy.com/shop/CandiceBishopDesigns.  The Facebook page shows all the Etsy listings, plus will occasionally have posts from her on what her current projects are.  She's getting really good at her beads, and I think it's only a matter of time before she starts also doing glass sculpturing also and excelling at it, too...

We got a huge chunk of metal plunked in our driveway last night.  The HOA will, if they haven’t already, have a stroke if we don’t get it in out garage soon.  Here’s a picture: 

It’s the body of a 1953 Mercury that we plan/hope to fix up and turn into a hot rod before Gabe’s prom (it will also be Donna and Meg’s prom rides if they want and it survives Gabe taking it to the prom) around 2022.  Since I know the bare minimum about cars (I can change most fluids, tires, and spark plugs if need be), this will be a fun, learning experience for the whole family.

We have the frame inside the garage already.  We NEED to get the body on top of it and out of sight from the HOA before they have a coronary:

Gabe had his annual check-up.  He’s 7 years old and already 4’7”.  He wears adult size 5½ shoes.  And until he stops growing, I don’t see us buying pants for him anywhere except thrift stores.

Meg “graduated” to a front-facing car seat and no longer gets strapped into a carrier.  She really likes being able to see more as we go on trips, but sleeping looks WAY more awkward for her.

Ginger has adjusted well for the most part, though lately she’s started chewing up more stuff than she did before.  Her inside accidents are much less frequent now, and we’ve started bell training her so that hopefully they stop all together.  Now if we can just get Gabe to stop getting her all excited, because at her size, she scratches the boy pretty fierce when he jumps up on him.  She’s starting to get better about jumping up on Candice and me when she sees us after an absence period.  She’ll make a move to jump up then remember she isn’t supposed to and will sit and look longingly for us to love on her.

Gabe had for a week or two gotten excited about his chores again when he realized that instead of Wii time he could earn money to buy things.  Unfortunately for him, though, the first thing he wants to buy is a DS3, which takes a long time to save up for, even at $5 per week, so he’s losing interest in doing the work.  But he *really* wants the DS3, so there’s hope…

I changed my phone out and got a Razr Maxx.  It was like learning how to use a smart phone from scratch because everything worked differently from the Thunderbolt I had before.  Then, a week after I got it and was used to it, they upgraded my operating system to “Ice Cream Sandwich” which interfaced completely different again, so I had to learn it all over again.  But overall, I like it better than the Thunderbolt.  About the only thing I like better about the Thunderbolt is the ability to upload photos to any of my Facebook albums and to tag people in those photos before uploading them.  I probably just need to find an app or something to do it on this phone, but I haven’t bothered to look yet.

My allergies have been really bad this year, and I think I’m going to make an appointment to see the doctor and ask for a referral to an allergy specialist when my schedule dies down in a few weeks.

Playing Catch-Up

It’s been a while since I updated my blog and there has been a good bit that has happened.  We’ll start with the sad, and end on some good notes. 

Royce, my father-in-law lost his battle with cancer on the 16^th of July.  The cancer was so fast acting/spreading that this was a good thing, though.  He is no longer suffering, and if he had lived longer, suffering would have been the only thing he would have reasonably have been doing.  The funeral was nice (though MIL tried her best to make it all about her instead of all about him). 

Since he wore gaudy Hawaiian print and fish print shirts all the time, we had everyone show up in those instead of funeral clothes, so there wasn’t the usual feeling of dread associated with most funerals.  There was still sadness, but there was also a sense of lightness, too.  We held the reception afterwards at our house for relatives and a few friends.  So much better doing it there rather than at an unknown venue like the funeral home, because we could relax more.

We skipped our annual vacation to South Carolina this year to spend time with him, and it was good that we did, because he died on what would have been our first night in South Carolina.  We didn’t get the extra time with him, but we do have plans to do some things in his memory, and we still have a trip in October for Candice and Donna to be in Candice’s sister’s wedding near Chicago, and we will resume the South Carolina vacations next summer.

The 15^th was our wedding anniversary, and on that day we went and rescued a puppy from the animal shelter (actually from an animal shelter outlet collocated at a PetSmart).  Her name was originally Frankie, but she looks more the color of a ginger root, and wasn’t very familiar with her name when we tried to call her by it, so we changed it to Ginger, which she now responds to.  She is a Great Dane/Terrier mix (not a tiny Yorkshire type, but more of a Plummer or Staffordshire type), and she is a great dog (most of the time).  She had already had some training, so she knows sit and stay.  She walks well on a leash (unless there is a rabbit nearby, then she HAS to check it out.  I don’t have a clue, nor think she does either, what she’d do with it if she caught one.  We’ve since taught her to sit while we wait to cross any street (without needing to say “sit”).

There were a few accidents on the carpet when we first brought her home despite her being housebroken already, but she’s only 4 months old, and the situation was new.  For the past week or so, there haven’t been any accidents (knock on wood).  At night, she sleeps in the kitchen for now.  When we know we can trust her (and the cats) better, we’ll think about letting her sleep elsewhere in the house if she wants.  We also have to “break” her of the basement.  We kept the not-housebroken Chihuahuas down there during cold months before we found them new homes and, well, she thinks since their smells are all around that it is ok to “go” down there.  We have a doggie door to the basement from the back yard, and she was going inside to do her business until we closed it off.  That’s another big part of allowing her out of the kitchen at night.  If we can train her to go through the basement to go outside if she needs to go, then we’re golden.

She’s been good for us in other ways too.  She’s helped comfort Candice after the loss of Royce.  She’s forced us to be more active, since we have to take her for walks at least twice a day to get her exercise, etc.

Donna and Megi were not too thrilled about her initially, though.  Donna got frightened at the shelter when all the dogs started barking at once, and she initially associated that terror with Ginger, but since has gotten used to Ginger (who incidentally doesn’t bark much, but when she does it’s a low pitched, deep bark you’d associate with a large dog) and talks about her a lot and plays with her too.  Megi was more like “WTF is this large thing trying to lick me all the time?”  Ginger has since learned to mostly leave her alone so she won’t scream, and Megi now will go up to her and pet her (hoping she doesn’t get in her face).

Gabe loves to play with her, but can get carried away and start rolling around and getting her riled up, in which case, she “play nips” at him.  We’re trying to discourage this behavior from both of them, because it can lead to an accidental nip that is too strong, or she might still be too playful when one of the girls are around who aren’t able to play with her as fiercely as Gabe can.

Ginger loves to play “fetch and keep away.”  Which is fun and gives us extra exercise, but we’d often rather it just be “fetch and bring back to us.”

We’re not sure how big she’ll get to be since she is part Dane, but the vet thinks she may have reached her full height since her adult teeth are in (though she’s still teething with them some), but she is only 4 months old, so who knows?  When we got her, you could see her ribs through the skin, but now that she’s fed and exercise regularly, most of that is becoming muscle definition.

As promised, I’m posting a picture of the plaque I made for Candice for our anniversary and to (hopefully) motivate her to do more of her artwork.  Here it is.  It came out much better than I hoped before I started it, but the spiral scroll saw blades make it tremendously easier to use the scroll saws.  I think I need to buy a bunch more, so if you’re looking for gift ideas, there’s one for you!

And speaking of the motivating Candice to do art stuff, I’m pretty sure the plaque had nothing to do with it, but she IS starting to do artwork again.  Hopefully we’ll have the parts in the next couple of months to set up her new torch and she can stop (or drastically cut down on) using her hot head torch.

We also bought a pool.  Not a “cement pond” type, but an above-ground 15 foot round pool.  We went to fill it up (and did) and found that our yard is not level enough to support it, so from now through around Memorial Day of next year, my primary outdoor project is leveling out a twenty foot square area to put it for next year and to run a power outlet over to that side of the yard where we plan to put the pool (and eventually a gazebo).

I’m sure I missed a crap-load of stuff that happened, but this was hopefully enough to quench your thirst for a while.  Thanks for reading!

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

So, things are both going along good and bad.  We’ll start with the bad so we can end on an upbeat note.  It seems my father-in-law only has a few weeks left to live and wont be getting chemo because he’s too weak.  We’ll probably know more later today, but for now, that’s all I know.

I’m taking the next two weeks off work for vacation.  They originally were going to be for a trip to South Carolina to visit with family and relax at the lake house.  Now it’ll just be staying here so Candice and the kids can spend time with her dad, so we can get things done around the house, and spend some time together where I’m not also gone for 8-10 hours a day.  And maybe I’ll get some writing done also during this time.  And maybe Candice will do some art-work also…

When our kids are behaving, they are absolutely adorable, every last one of them, but when they’re bad, they’re absolutely horrible.  The other night Donna screamed almost the entire night because she didn’t want to go to bed.  I’m not talking about until midnight or so, I’m talking from about eight at night until about four in the morning.

Gabe has been totally driving Candice nuts since school let out, but it isn’t all bad.  He’s been going to mathnasium for summer tutoring in math and is usually very excited to go, so hopefully it will start clicking with him soon like reading did a year and a half ago.  He’s learned to tie his shoes!  And we’ve finally come to a point where his inability to focus has overcome our desire to keep him off medications, so we’re having him evaluated for ADD/ADHD and can hopefully get him on something mild that will help him focus more.  Hopefully this will also help him in school.

We’ve mostly finished painting the guest bedroom, just need a few touch-ups here and there.  I also finished sanding the furniture to paint.  With Candice’s dad being in such poor health right now, I’m not sure if we plan to paint it right away or wait now.  When we paint it, it’ll be a key lime color similar to the curtains.

I’ve almost finished making my “anniversary plaque” for Candice that has a quotation loosely based on a Ray Bradbury quote.  It reads, “Don’t think Just Create” – I’ll post a picture up when it’s done in a future blog entry.

Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.

So, the room is re-floored and most of the painting is done.  I’m not sure if we’re going to finish re-painting it prior to my father-in-law moving in, which could be as early as tomorrow.  I might just be moving the furniture back up to the room and reassembling it tonight (after I fix the wide dresser).

Here’s some pictures:

 

Just starting the floor:

Another angle before flooring:

Almost done:

Done: 

Color Scheme:

Color Scheme with Curtains:

We’ve postponed shuffling the kids around for the time-being.  We will re-address soon, possibly moving Megi in with Donna, and later doing the shuffling around.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for reading.

Rush Job

So, Candice’s Dad is coming to live with us in a couple of days.  This presents a  neat little challenge:  we haven’t finished remodeling the guest bedroom yet.  So we’re under a time crunch.  I’m leaving work early today and taking tomorrow off so I can get the flooring laid and the curtain rod hung.  Here’s a picture of the color scheme (my camera doesn't really do them justice, but you can at least get the idea):

I’m hoping we don’t have to remove the baseboards to finish, but when I laid down the first row to test, it looks like it might be a challenge to do.  We might have to replace it at least on one wall (the orange one).  Worst case I suppose is we finish the baseboards (and painting of them) after he moves in.

I’m glad he’s moving in, because at the very least now Candice will be informed what’s happening with him, and I know he’ll be getting better care than he was before.  His wife has not been very forthcoming with information, or for that matter, with letting anyone speak to him.  So at least she’ll be able to talk with him and know what is going on.

Many drops make a bucket, many buckets make a pond, many ponds make a lake, and many lakes make an ocean.

So, we’ve been putting together our bucket lists.  One item that we’re doing soon is skydiving, because my wife and father-in-law (and his wife) have it on their list and we’re trying to do some things with him while he still can do some things.  I just finished mine today:  Anblick's Bucket List.  I tried to only put things on there that I had control over myself, not stuff that is dependent on other people accomplishing them (like “See the Cubs win a World Series” etc.)  Though a couple of them have a dependency on others (but are people I know and can hopefully influence), I still have a good deal of control over the items on the list.  Many of them won’t be accomplished for a while, if for no other reason than I need to save up money to do most of them.  A couple were just “fun” things to try, and a few involve me doing some things that are NOT in my introverted nature.  Should be fun.  You should try it…

Not much else to report in this blog.  Thanks for reading.

Jump And You Will Find Out How To Unfold Your Wings As You Fall...

So what’s been going on lately, you ask?

Well, we’ve got most of the guest bedroom painted, except for the edges and the trim.  Then we have the bathroom to paint.  We’re painting it blue and green a la Angry Birds, and we got Angry Birds Accessories for the bathroom too.  I’ve also started sanding down the furniture to paint it.

Candice’s dad has been diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer that has already spread so far that they’re recommending he skip treatment and just enjoy the rest of his life.  It sucks, but it looks like it’s going to get him a little more involved with his grandkids so they can develop some fond memories hopefully.  We’re going to get pictures made soon, too.

The kittens are doing well, but it seems like phantom might not be a she.  They won’t know for sure for a few more weeks.  Chimera might also be a he, but they think the facial structure is more female.  Who knew that you could sort of gauge a cat’s sex by their face?  Well, I still can’t, but apparently vets can…

I’m starting a companion story for the story about the painting where I tell the story from the viewpoint of the ship that is inside the painting.  Now if only I can get the time when I get in the writing groove.

I’ve also started back up with my scroll saws.  I’m making a plaque for Candice that reads “Don’t Think Just Create” which is a paraphrasing of a Ray Bradbury quotation (Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things.)  I’m going to stain the plaque backing light colors, the letters of the quote a darker color, and paint each individual letter of “Create” in rainbow colors.

We’ve also completed our Skylanders collection (except for getting the Wham-Shells).  We’ve got two of each (one for each path they can choose), and started actually playing it.

Gabe is excited about doing chores.  We got a magnetic/dry-erase chore board for the kids and he has his chores listed so he can get starts, which will earn him his choice of an allowance or playing mom and dad’s Wii for a while.  We got it because he is always forgetting stuff, and it looks like it is going to work much better than we hoped!  We just have to remember when the school year starts back up to add “homework” to the list of chores!  On that same note, we probably need to come up with some chores for Donna to start doing.  We did get her a chore board, too, after all.

And any of my readers who are also friends from Wordtrip, if you are a member of the Large Writing Group, you can read the story about the painting there…

As always, thanks for reading.

Put Pencil to Paper, Make Squiggly Lines, Repeat Until Finished

We’ll get to the exciting news soon enough, but first I must bore you with the more mundane parts of my life you’ve become accustomed to reading.

We haven’t made any more progress on “Operation Anti-Cardboard” despite having the intentions of doing some almost every day since we started.  Hopefully, we’ll get the second coat painted on the closet doors this week, so we can set them out of the way and get to work on the rest of the room in earnest.

Candice colored Gabe and Donna’s hair the other weekend at Donna’s request and Gabe’s “I have to do everything everyone else is doing.”  Donna’s hair is purple and pink, and is still colored.  Gabe chose cherry red, and it didn’t stick with his hair.

Gabe is done with school for the summer.  I feel bad for Candice, though I foresee Gabe getting a decent tan from being sent outside quite a bit. 

Ghost knocked the bird cage off its resting spot and it freed the birds.  The back door was open at the time and one of them made its way outside before Candice could get it closed.  We’ve since done a makeshift fix to the birdcage to keep it from being knocked off again.  Next year, we’ll probably get a much nicer birdcage for them that can’t be knocked over (and if it is won’t separate from the base).

This weekend was busy.  Friday after work, I took Candice’s car in to have the iSimple installed so we no longer have to find a “free” radio station to broadcast the iPod with in order to listen to it through the car radio.  The sound is much more amazing this way and we can control the iPod through the car stereo even.  The cross-country drives are going to be much better not having to find a new station every 10-50 miles!  And the bonus is, I got it on Amazon.com and paid for installation at Best Buy and saved $50 over just buying it at Best Buy and not having it installed!

While there, the people we were getting the kittens from called Candice to tell her that they were ready to be picked up, so I went and got them that evening.  Phantom (the blackish calico – apparently called a “brindle”) and Chimera (the golden one) came home and are now playing like they’ve always lived here.

Ghost went to get fixed Sunday.  Despite having just gotten out of surgery for being spayed, she was alert when we picked her up.  And once we got her home, she was basically acting as if nothing at all had happened.  In fact, she seems even more rambunctious now just two days removed from surgery than she did prior to going!

We also went and got a couple of new birds to keep the other one company.  We’ve kind of decided that for most pets, we’re going to do them in threes (one for each kid basically) except if we get any large breed dog.

Candice started P90X the other week, and after nearly being killed by the first day’s routine, she promptly stopped.  Now she’s going to give it another try.  She did the first day’s routine again last night and plans to do the second day’s routine today or tomorrow.  She really wants to lose weight and get more fit, so I hope she sticks to it or at least finds a routine she can stick to that will help her accomplish her goals.  There’s also likely to be a hiatus from exercising coming up, but we won’t know more until after a doctor’s appointment Friday.

Oh, and the exciting news:  Both Candice AND myself are again plunging back into our creative endeavors of choice.  Candice has started working at her art desk again, creating stuff with her hands, and just last night, I started writing a story again for the first time in about 5 years.

It’s about a haunted painting that can change appearances and interact with the world outside the painting, and whoever is the true owner can not be rid of it until they die.  The story doesn’t come out and say that in as many words, but the implications and clues are all there for the reader to piece it together.  I had lots of ideas to include, but as I was writing, I encountered the perfect ending for the story before getting to some of the stuff I planned to include.  Now I’m in the dilemma of figuring out if I should leave it be, extend the story to include the extra and have a less spectacular ending unless I stumble upon something better, or more likely, add the extra stuff in prior to my perfect ending.  As you can see, I am leaning towards the latter choice because I really like the ending but also think the story needs the extra terror added to it.

As I was writing, I needed a description for a painting and chose my favorite painting of all time which I first saw in the Louvre:  Aelbert Cuyp - Boats on the Estuary of the Hollands Diep River Near Dordrecht.   Here’s a picture of it:

It starts out with only two of the three people in the rowboat and then starts making subtle changes in the early stages of the story.

Anyway, I’m totally excited about the story, because it happened without the aid of a deep depression or alcohol, so there might still be a future for T. Allan Bishop as an author in post-retirement…

The Official Passing of the Graveyard

So yesterday the neighbors from Halloween House formally handed over the cemetery to us.  We got the cemetery fencing (minus the fancy gate), the window boardings, and the partial coffins that look like their bursting up from the ground.  I kind of have mixed feelings on that.  It’s a shame that Shawn won’t be there for Halloween this year (or any year in the future), but kind of nice that some of the materials will still be used in the cul-de-sac.  I think the new stuff will cover the front of our house and the neighbors on the opposite side of the former Halloween House.

In the process of moving the stuff from their basement to mine, I got the equivalent of climbing 85 flights of stairs (plus probably about the same descending, but we don’t really count those).

We started “Operation Anti-Cardboard” Saturday.  Candice painted the first coat on the closet doors and I did the first coat on the ceilings in the guest bedroom.  Not sure how long it’ll take for us to finish, but hopefully it won’t take nearly six months like it did to finish painting the ceilings in the living room and kitchen.  Having half the furniture cluttering up the loft might be an incentive to keep pushing through!

We also laid claim to two more kittens, which assuming Shadow doesn’t return, will bring the number to 3 – one for each kiddo.  The new kittens will hopefully help ghost not be quite so needy and annoying by giving her some companionship.  The new kittens will be named Chimera and Phantom.  One is calico (mostly black with some golden yellow highlights spread throughout) and the other a golden yellow.  We will pick them up this coming Sunday, so we have a week to get the litter boxes scooped and cleaned so that they will accept them.  Ghost also has another surprise this weekend as it’s time to get her fixed.

Donna has become an absolute beast lately, thinking she can do whatever she wants and ignoring what we tell her to do – or worse – back-talking.  That young lady is hopefully starting to learn that that does not work in this household, but I doubt it, since she seems to think she has impunity to our rules.

Moving Out Of The Cardboard Boxes

This weekend we held the birthday party for Megi and Donna's birthdays.  It was a nice success, especially since Candice and I were both battling different ailments the entire weekend.  Candice has had a chest cold and I have been battling a head cold.  Now I'm starting to get a little chest congestion, so I hope we aren't just trading illnesses.

We also started the process for finally getting the walls of the house to NOT look like cardboard boxes.  We got several colors to paint the guest bedroom (maple, orange, and yellow) which will become Gabe's new bedroom except when guests come over.  He doesn't know that he's moving into a new room yet, but it's part of a big master plan to get Megi her own room that isn't half of our walk-in closet.  First he'll move into the guest bedroom, then we'll paint his old room to be Megi's room.  Then we'll for a couple of days move Donna into it while we paint her room and move her back into it.  Then we'll get a futon or sofa that folds down into a bed for the loft so that Gabe has somewhere to sleep when guests come over (at least until we can afford to finish part of the basement).  Finally, we'll move Megi into her own room.  Gabe will have his own bathroom, and Megi and Donna will share one. 

Of course, before we start this project, we've got to finish painting the ceilings in the kitchen and living room that we started back before Christmas...

I finished the kitten coffins.  When Candice finishes painting their marker rock, we'll bury them in one of the flower gardens.

Still no sign of Shadow, so we can be almost 100% sure she's gone for good.  :-(

Subconscious aversions or gremlins

So it seems Candice has developed an ingrained sunbconsious aversion to certain items that she has such as her mouthguard and her fitbit.  With both she started out dedicated and religiously kept track of everything about them, and more recently keeps misplacing them for long periods of time.  It's become a sort of inside joke with us, and now we have key spots where we look which in the past have been where we've always found them, so her subconscious has seemed to take notice and found new places to "hide" them.  That, or we have gremlins.

I tend to side on the gremlin theory, because we have had so many costly things go wrong with the house and appliances.  Just last week the washing machine died and we had to buy a new one.  Last year the central air died.  Twice.  Once for A/C and once for Heating.  We had the master bathroom shower leak into the dining room.  What else could cause this stuff on a 6-7 year old house except gremlins? 

Shadow still hasn't returned, so I'm 99% sure she didn't make it.  :-(

This weekend's plans are to mow the front yard (yes, that dreaded time of year has finally started), finish the other kitten coffin, and get the vegitable garden ready for planting.  We are putting up two "fences" for beans and peas to grow up onto, and we'll be putting in four tomato cages.  We need to also dig up/till/add in non-clay soil to the levels for gardening.  I also should do something with the zone 8 sprinklers which will water the garden, so I guess I need to get on that in the gaining new knowledge department.

Anyway, that's all for this post.  Thanks for reading.

Anblick's Driving Academy

So, I forgot to mention in the last blog the slow painful death of our planned meals list.  We followed if faithfully for the first two weeks or so, then loosely followed it for the next two (we'd swap nights around, maybe substitute something from off the list on a night), and then we just kinda stopped following it alltogether.

Anblick's Driving Academy has started back up.  In it, I've been teaching Candice to drive a stick shift.  No one had been able to accomplish it in the past, so I took it up around September/October of last year.  She got to be pretty good for empty parking lot driving, but her confidence wasn't there to do much more than drive around the building.

Last night, we went out to try again for the first time since October.  She picked it up again pretty good, and I wouldn't let her stop until she had three smooth starts from a dead stop.  She did it.  But again, her biggest problem is her confidence.  She's not bad at it, but her doubts make her make mistakes.  When she relaxed, she's actually pretty good.  (But heaven forbid a car gets behind her.)  It will come though.  She's a pretty smart cookie.  She expects perfection out of most of what she does, and when she can't hit that off the bat, she gets discouraged and looses confidence.  I have a feeling that if I can get her to apply herself long enough to actually see the results, it might help her in some of the other things she starts but doesn't finish because she looses interest when she starts making mistakes at them.  Fingers are crossed.

That's all for this one.  Thanks for reading.

All Washed Up

So, our plans for the hearse are on a slower planning cycle to be out for next year's Halloween rather than this year's.  Pretty much exclusively because our plans to replace our washing machine have been accelerated.  And not by whim or choice (at least not our choice - the washing machine we have seemed to have made the choice for us).

Our current 15 year old model (for which parts are hard to find and expensive) had the motor go out on it.  This caused us to spend money on a new washer (it'll be delivered Thursday).  That of course will be made up for in the budget mostly by postponing this summer's budget on Halloween design. <insert frowny face here>

But that caused another fun experience for Candice and me.  The Laundromat.  I had not been in a laundromat since approximately 1991.  Not much has changed except that prices are WAY more expensive now.  Granted, the time to finish laundry is MUCH less when you can wash and dry all the loads simultaneously, but I'd still rather not have that "date night" experience again.  And this laundromat wasn't nearly as sketchy as some of the ones I'd been in 20+ years ago, but I'd still just as soon skip a repeat performance.

Lately we've been doing outside work in the yard.  I planted the Cherry Trees.  Candice has been weeding and planting stuff like crazy.  I've even sketched out the four garden areas so Candice can plan what to plant where.

On a sad note, Shadow, our one year-old long haired black cat has gone missing and has been missing for around 4 days.  And she got outside without her harness/tags on.  And there are loyts of Hawks and Coyotes in the area.  And we had a massive storm the other night that might have washed away all the smells to help her find her way back.  We're still hopeful and making trips to the back door to call for her every few hours.  Ghost is pestering us even more now that she's missing and Ghost's play pal is gone.

That's all for this edition.  Thanks for reading!

Tired and Sore (and Impulse Buying)

I worked swings (2nd shift) this past week to include Saturday, but Sunday we made a lot of good progress towards our outdoor projects.  I got the hanging flower brackets mounted to the deck railing so we can hang the tomato plants (we tried hanging them from below the deck but they were too big of a pain to water from above or below).  Finished digging up the scraggly bushes, but I still need to carry them over to the trash can side of the house and cut them down in size so we can put them in the garbage cans.  Candice started planting flower bulbs.  We started pulling up the "anti weed tarps" which are only good for keeping the plants you wand to grow from being planted - weeds seem to flourish through them.  We removed the ragged "rock border" to the front flower garden and moved some trapezoidal shaped bricks to take their place in an actual smooth line.

I also turned the sprinklers on.  Just in time for a cold snap today and tomorrow, but it looks like it shouldn't be too bad one day dips to 30 degrees for a couple of hours, but I can aleviate that easily without having to re-blow out the heads.  I also adjusted some of the heads to water the flower gardens out front too.

Today, I'm paying for it with all kinds of soreness all through my body.

The town of Erie has an annual program where they will reimburse residents up to $300 for the purchase of trees if bought through certain nurseries.  We should be getting a white oak tree which is going to cost about $350 to plant in the back yard and provide some shade on the back of the house.  It had looked like our planned purchase of cherry trees was going to have to wait until at least next year.  that is until we went to Home Depot last night to purchase blue lights for the outside lights for Autism Awareness Day.  Candice said "should we check to see if they have any cherry trees?"  I sighed because every tree I'd looked at in the previous week was expensive and I didn't think we could fit them in our budget.  BUT I was curious, so we went into their tree area and sure enough, they had lots of them for $24 apiece.  We bought two and had fun driving them home (Candice had to sit in the back and make sure the hatch didn't slam down and chop into the tree sections that hung out the back of our Santa Fe).  We still need to but several long posts for stability (especially given the winds in Erie), but should be planting them this weekend.

I finished one of the kitten coffins.  Still have to finish gluing and add hinges and the latch to the other one.  We'll probably bury the kittens that didn't make it later this month.