A Three Day Weekend

Ah, a lovely weekend. Three-day weekends are fantastic, so much more time to get more done.
I went for a bike ride every day, got all the bills paid, and spent a LOT of time in the studio, even though I should have been moving myself back downstairs.
I did try to paint the window molding in the bathroom. I got the first layer done, and should have closed the door behind me, but . . . I didn't. And of course, who had to go hopping up on the sill? The little lord of the house. I actually managed to get there in time to see the cat - hopping up on the window sill, sliding on the wet paint and yowling his indignation while looking at me in shock. Thank goodness he was so stunned I was able to grab him before he hopped back down with the wet footprints.
We then proceeded to have a very unpleasant "washing of the paws and tail." He made sure I understood how awful this was, and how unhappy he was. I did manage to get most of the paint off despite the indignant struggling and howling. He was then banished from the room so that I could fixed the sill. Later I found him sulking in his basket. Poor little guy. After this blog post, I'll put another layer of paint on and too bed. Tomorrow I can put the rolling blind back up. Then I have to decide if I keep the purple curtain or go with the white? or none at all.

With a three day weekend, one might expect that I would want to spend all of my time getting my house in order, especially when I'm so close! But I decided instead, it was high time to get my rear in the studio. So that's what I did.
I finally finished the edition of Pacific. (Only to discover that I am short two covers, and I've got one page missing from the last book, grrrr.) But I'm so close! I also made all of the clamshell boxes for the edition. I decided that these three books need to be together. I've got to write a colophon which explains it all. Then I think it will be complete.
I also worked on the Perennial edition. I decided to change the paper and the cover. The paper will be a printmaking paper rather than blotter paper and the covering will be blue calf, rather than alum-tawed pig. The content will be the same.
All of the above will eventually turn into this:

Sorry for the bad pics. They will be better once I've got a good edition. That will also hopefully be soon. I realize the value now in editioning books right away. Then they are finished and one doesn't need to worry about them.

Takin' Care of Business

Look at this great photo that Ann took while she was here! Isn't that adorable? She sent me a bunch of really great photos today. This one wins. :) Speaking of Jacques - he caught a mouse tonight. I was working in the studio and heard quite a commotion upstairs. Got up to investigate - and here comes Jacques with a mouse for me. Yippee. He was thrilled...
In other news. . .
It's Leah's birthday today - and I really wanted to get her a sledge hammer. Remember how much she loved knocking down the kitchen wall with me? But I couldn't find the right one, well I found one at a flea market - but then when I went back, it had been sold. I told her this over breakfast and she loved the idea - but thought it was good I didn't buy her one. She thought she'd be tempted to start knocking random walls down. Then she added that there is always next year . . . hee hee! That's true. Happy Birthday Leah!
After the very fun morning of breakfast, walk around Northern Liberties and Art Store, I had to get down to takin' care of business. My California car registration expires this month. Sadly, Sophia (my car) will no longer be a California girl. I went to pick up the new plates and tags today. I just can't bring myself to change them yet. I also finally got my PA licence changed to the right street address. Two things to cross off my list.
And the third thing to cross off was taking care of a new phone.
Last weekend, the phone decided it would cut out half the sounds. The important one at that - the one that lets me hear incoming callers. The sound when I shut the phone still works, as well as the alarms. But since I was missing important phone calls, I thought it best to upgrade.
And look how pretty it is!:
And lookit what it does!!! Isn't that cool???
You must understand, I was working with an ancient relic from 2004. When I showed my old phone to the sales people at Sprint they laughed. Keeping a phone for five years is pretty much unheard of. Although that seems a little wacky to me - why can't a phone last for five years. Does everything have to be disposable? This one is a super dooper upgrade for me, I can't believe all it can do. Internet, google maps, it's got a camera, built in gps, and a 512 MB card for extra information like music. It even has that old fashioned phone ring. :) So it's basically all of what I'd want from the iPhone, but for free. Yep - because I was upgrading on my plan - this phone was free! Wooohoooo! Now I just have to figure out how to work it. I managed to get to the camera - and I wanted to make the first picture be special - not something dumb. So I took a beautiful shot of one of my amaryllis blooms (I can't show you the pic. because I haven't figured out how to get the images off my phone . . . one thing at a time) Then I was done but couldn't figure out how to get out of the camera mode. So I promptly took pictures of my finger, the trashcan, and random carpets.

The More the Merrier!

The More the Merrier
This is Stella. She is a starling and I found her floundering in the side meadow this afternoon. She couldn't get herself off the ground. Since there were cats and dogs and all kinds of madness happening, I scooped her up and she is now (miserably) residing in Jacques carrying case.
I did some research, Starlings have to hop around on the ground for a couple of days while their parents teach them how to fly! How do any of them learn? I couldn't just let her hop around in the evening with everyone on the prowl, so I will probably set her free in the morning and hope that she makes it.

This,That and the Other

Summary:
*parents visited for the week: this included, murals, Bryn Mawr, the American Swedish History Museum, Old Swede's church, Flea Markets, Laurel Hill Cemetery, visiting acquaintances, crafts, and the Masonic Temple - to say the least.
*fixing up the yard
*a new boarder
*the finished bathroom.

The New Bathroom
I might as well start with the saga. Here's what I could manage in terms of photographs:

The bathroom is mostly done. What remains is the the minutia. Cleaning up the tiles from where the stain got on the tiles, deciding on curtains (or not), blinds, and of course all of the hanging stuff: towels, robes, soap dishes, toilet paper holder. . . But it is now completely painted and usable. I'm thrilled.

The Visit:
My amaryllis bloomed just in time:

Ann took some great pictures of Jacques and the flowers. He's just so cute. I hope she sends me copies. The roses over the front arch way bloomed as well and are just gorgeous!
We had a great visit. As usual we packed everything in! somehow. On Friday I took them to the American Swedish History Museum, which is really quite interesting. Turns out the Swedes were here long before William Penn. Funny how that's not really mentioned, ever (she said sarcastically). Ann wrote a bibliography of Carl Larsson (Swedish Painter) and since the Museum had one, I thought it would be a good idea to visit.

Saturday we went to Flea markets. Although, I didn't really plan things well. We went to the Berlin Flea market in New Jersey and it was sort of ho - hum. It was flea market weekend though, and we should have just stayed in Philadelphia. We did hit Old Swede's Church and Clark Park - where I think we had the best luck. I ended up getting a henna "tattoo" on my hand. The henna-lady was already mostly closed, but I was desperate and she said she could free-hand something for me. I really like it. Sometime, I'll get something more elaborate. Sunday was a half studio day. Ann wanted to make a box. She bought a kit from the Paper Source and I said I would help her make the box. It turned out so cute! She chose an adorable parrot pattern on paper with a very light blue book cloth. Meanwhile, my dad got acquainted with the board shear - which he said was a great machine. :) yes. it. is.

In the afternoon we visited a friend of theirs, Marjorie DeHartog. She is the widow of the writer, Jan DeHartog. She's just moved to Pennsylvania from Texas. We spent a wonderful afternoon with her in Gwynedd, PA.

On Monday we crammed everything else in. Ann had done some research on her Aunt who had written for the Pennsylvania Ledger and lived in Philadelphia. So we went and saw her house, and photographed the Ledger building. We also wanted to tour Laurel Hill Cemetery, a beautiful cemetery which overlooks the Schuykill River. We took an adventure and drove up to Laurel Hill on Ridge St. This was great because I got to see at least 5 or 6 murals I'd never seen before! We did have to take the scenic route (because I didn't know quite how to get there) around Mt. Vernon cemetery, but in the end it all worked out. It's quite a beautiful place.

This morning we had breakfast and went off to the the Masonic Temple. Wow. What a place. It is quite a beautiful building. The tour was a bit too quick for me. I just wanted to stand and stare and things. Then we went off to PAFA (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art). They house a really wonderful collection of American painters.

And then all too quickly it was time to take them too the airport. It's always too quick.
Them's the breaks when ya live across the country I guess -

Gardening
So I came home - and went to the Sprint place to see if they could fix my cell phone - which has, ahem, become inabled. If anyone calls, I can't hear them. They can hear me - I can't hear them.
Bottom line - they couldn't help me. So now I need a new phone. I'm thinking of an iphone. . .but $$$ . . . I'll keep thinking. It might just be too much technology for me. But then again. . . .
So after the Sprint store I went for a bike ride and because I had a lot of pent-up energy I attacked the yard. I mowed the back meadow and the side meadow. I had bought a weed whacker which my dad put together for me - so I whacked the weeds. My "lawn" looks really nice and flat for a change.
However -
I discovered that I have a new boarder.
Can you see him in the little black hole in there?
Here's a close-up:
yeah -
I can't believe it. I have a raccoon in my attic. He even had the nerve as I was sitting in my freshly mowed back yard to walk right past me and slip under the shed. Jacques went tearing after him and hissed at him. I'm kind of surprised because he did absolutely nothing about the squirrels, but the raccoon - who is not only the same size but twice as mean - that's what Jacques decides to go after. Great. Maybe he thinks the raccoon is a funny-lookin' cat.
Bottom line - I need to call a roofer this week. Stuff needs to be taken care of.
There goes my tax return.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

I bought my house exactly one year ago today.
It was a rainy day, Tom took me through my house to be, I met Grace O'Donnell downtown and signed my life away. Of course it wasn't until the end of the month that I could go running through the place shouting, "mine mine mine!" But that's okay it became mine soon enough. I've spent the weekend looking around, thinking that this can't really be reality. This is really my house, and look how much I've done in a year. My second floor is so beautiful - and better yet - it's almost finished.
Speaking of which . . .
I spent the day working on the house, what a surprise. My dad and Ann are coming to visit on Tuesday so somethings need to be taken care of by then. In trying to budget my time for the weekend, I decided to patch and spackle the bedroom. Those are the holes Lee the Electrician left me when he put the extra circuit up to the third floor. Fantastic Jeff left some dry wall scraps and some joint compound so that I could patch things up. I had at it. It's really not that difficult. I'm hoping that nothing will fall out. I did screw the patch to the lath underneath, but you never know how gravity works.
Here it is all taped up and ready for spackle.
All patched up. This needs to dry over night, then I can put the third and hopefully final layer on, sand it, and paint. It's so humid today, I really hope it will dry by morning.
In the mean time, I need to tackle my bedroom mess:
Can you believe this? And you can't even see how much dust there is everywhere.
I also decided to work on the bathroom at the same time. I didn't think I'd have to see it like this again, but - it needs to be painted.
And I painted my purple ceiling!
It looks really beautiful. I've been dreading finishing this up because it will be so much work. But now that the ceiling really looks as beautiful as I was hoping, that gives me a bit of a boost. I bought two miniature orchids at Home Depot today. They are a sort of fuchsia color and I think they will look really lovely in the bathroom.
Oh yes, Home Depot. I don't know what I was worried about in the last post - I had plenty to buy. I also bought a weed whacker - but didn't have the presence of mind to see how it was powered! The one I got is powered with oil! Now I have to go back and exchange it for an electric one. I did replace the bulb on the porch and got molding for the door. A new mop, soil, and the green gardening tape are also now in my possession.
In other news, I'm playing the run-around game with PECO - our electricity company. For the second time someone came out today because they can't read my meter. Last week I received a letter that said if I didn't let PECO onto the property to see what was going on, they would shut off the power. So I called and talked to the most unhelpful person. She refused to listen to me about what the deal was - which is different than what is on her computer. To sum up; Lee combined the first and second floors into one meter back in October. I've been lazy and have not had PECO come out to verify this. Then we had a rainstorm the first weekend in April which knocked my power out. Mitchell came and jerry-rigged the power back on. Since then two guys have come from PECO to replace the meter - only to say the same thing - oh, we can't because there is a different issue. So did Mitchell not report the problem? Because the sweetie on the phone WOULD NOT BELIEVE ME when I told her that the meter wasn't the issue. Grrr.
But other than that . . . I love being a home owner - it's all mine - my responsibility - mine mine mine. My beautiful garden, my blue kitchen wall, my yellow bedroom, my orange hallway, my beautiful kitchen/living room, my giant studio, my green tiled bathroom floor and my purple ceiling.
:)

Lost in the Garden

I lost track of time gardening today. My purple poof balls are blooming! Aren't they beautiful? It's so exciting to be working in a beautiful garden. And what really cool is that all the bulbs and stuff I planted last fall really payed off! (except for the Irises, I don't know what happened there). I can't wait to budget in more bulbs. This time I will make sure the squirrel won't get them. The tulips are all done, sadly, but there are still things blooming, including the anemones - all red so far. I thought I had bought a variety pack, but I guess not, not that I'm complaining.
I went out at noon today to mow the meadow and get some basic gardening done. I had every intention of being out there for about two hours and getting back inside to finish the Upenn book and start on the bathroom. A while later I came in for some water - and was shocked at the time. I still had so much to do. I couldn't believe it was already 4! How did that happen? And mowing the lawn, well - mostly I just flattened it. The grass was too high. I really need a weed whacker. Then I can get some real damage done and move on. I did attack the giant weeds that almost took over last year. I cut them down and put some nasty Round Up on the ends. I hope it does the trick. I really need to be able to get the roots out so that I can grow other stuff there. I want to grow sunflowers and tomatoes mostly. I wanted to get some seeds started in some egg cartons, but that didn't happen either. I did however, bundle up three bundles of "twigs" from the garden. Let's hope the City will take them. There is so much junk in the garden. I just want to get it semi- under-control.

Now, apparently - Home Depot has noticed that I have not been doing my part on keeping them in the black, so they sent me this lovely coupon for $20 off my next purchase of $150 or more. Shouldn't be too hard. . . .

I need:
a weed whacker
new mop
more Round Up
Soil
light bulb for the porch
a rubber washer for the kitchen faucet
molding for the front door
shelves for the bathroom
shelves for the living room
shelves for the kitchen
other little stuff most likely
That should get me to $150 - don't you think?

I also had a lovely surprise in the mail today! Melanie sent me a replacement snow glove ring!

Sorry for the terrible picture - but it's basically a ring that's a snow globe. And it is soo cool. I bought one when I visited her for Easter in April and the first time I wore it here, my finger swelled and when I went to take it off, the top popped off and there is glitter all over the place. (sigh) Lovely Melanie understood my pain and replaced it for me!! Yippee!!
It was a good day.

A Studio Day

I will say it was a lovely day - although I'm not sure to many will agree with me. I was a dark, gray, rainy day. I slept in which was nice. Then I got myself together and got on my bicycle despite the rain, and despite another walk-a-thon on West River Drive - I rode all the way out to Falls Bridge. But I decided not to tackle any more crowds at the Museum and went home on surface streets. I arrived home, drenched. Jacques had insisted on going outside. He showed up quickly and wanted to get inside the house. Can't say I blame him. I took a long hot shower and put on my magenta pj's and had a very cozy day in the studio.
That's why I think it was a lovely day.
Perhaps the universe was encouraging my to get into the studio to finish the UPenn project. It was very hard last weekend with the beautiful weather. Not hard this weekend. The weather definitely encouraged me to give up the war with the dandelions. Maybe next year.
I worked quite a bit on the UPenn project: Its a full leather binding with stingray hide inset. Its been put to rest for the night. Tomorrow I've got to finish up the inside hinges and the paste downs. I really hope to get it finished soon. I want to cross it off my list.
In between things drying on the UPenn project, I worked on editioning something else that is long past due. Here is the third book in the series of my washed books. The Hybrid Book Fair is coming up the first weekend in June and I hope to have things finished by then.
I've got my list of things I need to order ready to go. If I could just order more time . . . now that would be something.

Dandy-lions

I waged war on my garden this evening. It is full of dandelions.
It was a beautiful evening. The heat broke last night, rain this morning, and then post-rain coolness. The sunset had clouds which cast a soft pink light on everything. It was the perfect temperature to be out in jeans, t-shirt, and flip flops.
Between Miss Mary and I, we must have pulled over 50 dandelion plants. Had to - they are about to turn into the fun blowy things and re-seed my entire garden. It's already unbelievable how many I have. I had to put a stop to them spreading. They are so pretty when they are yellow, and lots of fun to blow, but gosh are they a pain . . . literally:That would be a dime-sized blister I got this evening from my spade. sigh

In other news, I'm working on something really great at work. Elizabeth Brown Chew's cook book came into the lab. It is ca. 1860 and has been really fun to compare with Martha Washington's cook book. There are some great recipes and I can't wait to try them out. My dad and Ann are coming in a few weeks - maybe they are willing to sample some recipes. Check out the blog post at www.chewpapers.blogspot.com.

Workin' in the Garden

What a beautiful day!
I'm not sure of the exact temperature today - all I can tell you is that I was wearing shorts and tank top and sweating, and loving every minute of it.
I should be working on that UPenn book but I will do that tonight. I decided that my garden needed my attention, and since I can work on the book when it's dark and not the garden, the garden got the daylight attention.
And there is SO much that needs attention.
I'm thrilled that I put the tulips in. More next year - and in a better place - but I'm really enjoying them now. They are gorgeous (see the previous post for another image). I have yellow with red streaks, red with yellow streaks, and pale lavender. Quite beautiful.
However, my main focus today was that front hedge. Ugh. It's quite disgusting. This seems to be a catch all for all kinds of debris. Yuck.
I spent five hours today, raking junk out from under the hedge. Five garbage bags later I decided that I'd had enough.
I am hoping that trash will now blow back out onto the sidewalk. At any rate, it will be much easier to see. And hopefully there will be a lot less of it so that it will be easier to manage.
Today's haul of interesting paraphernalia includes:

Two glass bottles
two perfume vials
one button
four cigarette lighters
two pencils
one pen
two hypodermic needles
one condom
one magnetic clothing security device
one baseball key chain bauble (?)
one change making box
one large long chain
one dime

After all this, I went back inside, had a bath, cooked diner, and now I've really got to get downstairs to work on this UPenn book. sigh. not fun.

Tomorrow's main priority includes: the dandelions. They are taking over the garden.

In Honor of Tara O'Brien (of Fairmount)

I was bound and determined to go for another bike ride this morning, only to be completely frustrated to see that some sort of marathon madness was taking place on West River Drive. This usually makes it impossible to ride. So I went around the museum and rode on Kelly Drive, with the other madness of some rowing regatta. As I got closer to Falls Bridge I could see that the other side of the River was totally empty - so I took my chances and came back on the other side. It was relatively quiet until about half way back - and then there were more and more runners.
As I passed a group I saw a sign on some one's back that said, "In memory of Tara O'Brien". At first I rode past - but then I decided I had to go back and find out more about this.
Tara O'Brien was killed in 1996 at the age of 24 by a drunk driver. She left two daughters behind and donated 7 organs. Turns out this 5K,10K run/walk was to benefit Organ Donor Awareness
If you have not discussed organ donation with your family - please make your wishes known to them. This is not a fun subject to talk about, but if your family knows what you want, it will be so much easier, if, God forbid, they find themselves in a position where it is necessary to make that choice.

Cleaning up the front hedge

After finishing three loads of laundry, putzing around the house, meeting the PECO man, (electricity), changing both of my flat tires - I finally managed to get out of the house for a bike ride at 10:30. It was such a beautiful day today. Everybody was out. Which was good, because I got almost to Falls Bridge and the front tire went flat again. Grrr. So I changed the tube and got half way through changing it when I realized I'd left my pump at home where I'd changed my tires. GRRRRR. So I flagged down some very nice cyclists who had pumps and actually pumped the tire for me - (seeing as I'm a helpless woman and all). One of them gave me all kinds of "advice" about getting new treads, and a new shank for the handle bars so that I would sit up taller. So I took his advice about getting new tires - and am going to ignore the other advice. All in all, it was very nice of him to stop and help me. The ride was great! But I'm going to pay for it tomorrow. I can already feel it.
When I got home the plan was to shower and go to my Amish farmer for milk, eggs, and whatever else might look interesting. I got a bit side tracked. I always need to wind down after a ride so I took some dry laundry down, hung up some new laundry, and started looking at the yard. Two hours later I had cleaned out a little bit of the garbage that has collected under my front hedge for goodness knows how many years. You wouldn't believe the stuff I found. Quite a treasure trove.
In addition to mounds of plastic wrappers of everything from candy bars to drug baggies, today's haul includes: (from left to right - a rusty clamp, a dial knob of some kind, plastic fork, two glass vials for incense, a watermelon bauble, four screws, a chicken bone, two bottle caps, a sardine can, votive candle, a ball point pen, a screw driver, and half of a CD/Walkman. And that was only in the first 10 feet of the hedge! Imagine what I'll find in the next 20 feet. Exciting!
I cleaned and weeded the bricks. Weeded some of the flower bed, and since I'm not quite sure what I want to put in that bed I thought I'd try transferring some of my violets. They are everywhere in my garden and it's a shame to have to mow them when I mow the lawn. So if these three survive the transplant - quite a few more will be joining them.
Three hours later, showered and lunched, I was ready to head out. As I was ready to leave, the drum corps I'd been hearing all morning, and for the past few weekend, marched right down Filbert. These kids are really good. It was fun to watch them.
Now I'm exhausted. I still need to go downstairs and print this UPenn thing. Ugh.

Tulips Blooming

They're Blooming! They're Blooming!
After almost a week of really miserable rainy weather, the sun has been out for the last two days and the tulips are opening. Jacques woke me up at 6:30 this morning and since I couldn't get back to sleep I got up too. We went out and the tulips were still closed, but within an hour they've opened.
I took a look at everything on Thursday evening to discover that those blasted squirrels have been eating the blooms!!! I now understand people to feel very strongly about those critters. I'm about to join a support group. Those lousy things ate just the blossoms off of the back row in this patch. See the skinny stalks sticking up in the top left of the picture? Yeah, those used to have blooms on them. Well, someone told me that they don't like garlic, so I went upstairs and crushed two cloves, put that a squirt bottle with water and sprayed all of the blooms with that. I really hope it's done the trick, I may have repeat it again.

I have a ton of violets as well. They are so cute.
I'm off to do the first bike ride of the year - fixed my tires this morning lets hope it's a while before I get another flat.

Bathroom Diaries Day: Jeff's last day

Jeff's last day. Sad - he's fun. He came this morning to close up the hole for the plumbing, and put in the door latch. He was supposed to take the rest of his stuff with him, but he didn't. Sigh. Oh well, I don't really know what I'm going to do with a bag of "thin set" . Probably throw it out - or offer it to Mr. El. Maybe he can use it.
I decided today that I would break the tub in. :) Oh it's wonderful! Just what I wanted. Problem is - there's not enough hot water in my water heater to fill the whole thing doggonit! So I'm back to my old shenanigans of filling every pot with water and boiling it on the stove. Maybe I've got to go to the tankless water heating systems Brendan and Joe were talking about. My grandmother had a boiler on her bathroom wall. One lit the gas flame and one could fill an entire bath tub with boiling water - aaaaahhhhhh what a luxury. Also - one doesn't waste so much energy keeping a hot water heater full of hot water. . . . some day.
I can't say "Bathroom Diaries: Last Day" yet. I still have SO much to do. I've got to paint the walls and ceilings, fix the grout, clean the tile, spackle, put in the fixtures, (trays, towel racks, etc.) and then I've got to paint the hallway, AND THEN I've go to fix up my bedroom. Sheesh! The contractors are paid and gone - how come I've got so darn much work to do???

Bathroom Diaries Day: So close

On Tuesday Brendon came and installed a new toilet. He called right before my classes to talk about it and said that this one is much closer to the wall. Yes it is. This is one they picked up, and he approved of this toilet much more anyway. I had bought a Jacuzzi to which he said, "They make great tubs but their toilets, nah - this one flushes much better." Okay then. I think it's a good idea to go with what the plumbers recommend. He also put in the show fixtures, and I'm sure there is a whopper of a bill on it's way in the mail to me. And they even put the toilet I have to return in my car for me. What a great bunch of guys, eh?
You also get a good idea of my beautiful baseboards in this image. I think once everything is painted and the fixtures are in, it's going to look really great.
Tonight I grouted the last of the shower. Finally - it's done. I have to say - I think grouting is one of my least favorite things to do. Not only is it really messy and sticky but it dries your hands out like crazy. I'm not sure what I did, but I also ended up with deep holes in each of the fingers on my right hand and really hurt. I've got a band aid on the end of each finger tip. This has not been an easy blog to type.
Jeff's coming tomorrow morning to patch up the wall with the plumbing, and hopefully he will put in the lock on the door, but that's it, it will be his last day.

Bathroom Diaries Day: and on and on and on

Talked to Jeff and Eric this morning (Eric is the plumber) Jeff was understandably appalled that I didn't sand the base boards before staining them, "That must look like hell!" Yeah well, I fixed it. He doesn't understand the toilet business either.
Later when I talked to Eric, I had already called Lowes and had been assured by someone, that a)it was no big deal to get the part for me, and b) no worries that I didn't have the receipt - just bring in the credit card statement. Yeah, well . . .
I showed up at Lowes about 7:30, with the part/box/left over part for the shower as ordered. Not only did I not deal with the nice guy from the morning, but he was replaced by the most amazing south Philly broad you ever met in your life. The skinny smoker kind with the raspy voice and the fake finger nails, and the short too-dark-red-hair-dye-job that needs a touch up. And she was exuding that Philly charm I love so much. Oh boy. But since I've learned to deal with it, I fought back and came out unscathed. However it took about 45 minutes just for them to prove that I had actually bought the blasted shower contraption there and that she could give me the part I needed. This is because - I cannot find the receipt for these things anywhere. Good Grief. At least it ended well, but I tell you, I'm not going back to Lowes, it's just too much of a three ring circus there. I still needed more grout, grout de-hazer, light fixtures, and clothes pins. And rather than hang out at Lowes any longer I went over to Home Depot. Promptly helped by a nice south Philly man who over explained everything. Better that than the "Charm". I didn't get home until 10.
Up at the top is what I decided to put on the light fixture. I didn't like any of the little glass cover thingies that were available, so I was looking for bulbs for something else and saw these beauties. I think they are nice, a whoppin' $4/each.

Bathroom Diaries Day: Making Peace

Woke up in a better mood this morning. I knew I had too much I wanted to accomplish today, but I really wanted to accomplish all of it. So I tackled the big things.
I started off with grouting the tiles. Got the back wall grouted and wiped. Looks okay - from far away:Then I started on the side wall of the shower, and of course, I barely had enough grout to finish that wall. Sigh. It just can't go smoothly, can it? I still have to do the front wall now. As I was working on this wall, I kept getting cat hair in the grout. I couldn't figure out why - until I turned around. He just had to watch. Apparently this is fascinating stuff - grouting.

I was toying with the idea of going to Home Depot for more grout. I need a few other things as well, but I really just wanted to nest and work in my house. I didn't want to have to change and my was hair sticking up in all directions because of how I slept on it. I didn't want to have to clean up to go out. Bottom line: still need to go get grout for the last wall.
I kept working on the baseboards. I did something stupid yesterday; I started staining the baseboards without sanding the extra wood filler off. The result was big swiping pale spots that could not be excused away as "the nature of the wood". I pulled out the electric sander today and took care of that and re-stained the baseboards. Still have to wait for 8 hours before I can polyurethane them. I did start on the one baseboard and the threshold. They look beautiful.
I couldn't face any painting today. I think that really will be one of the last things that will happen in there.
Then I decided I had earned a little break. The weather was spectacularly beautiful today. Slight wind, and very warm in the sun. I took a book, cup of coffee, chair and self out to the back garden. I sat for two hours in the sun, even took a little nap and got a nice little sunburn for my trouble. It was so nice.
Invented something new for dinner as well. This is a little wacky, but it was so good, I'm writing it down so I know I have the recipe for the future. I defrosted a tenderloin from Trader Joe's when Rachael and Ben were here - but we didn't get to it. It really needed to be cooked so I took a look in the spice cabinet and went to town. I cooked two pieces, it will need to be slightly adjusted if you are cooking more - not spices so much as water etc.
Pork Tenderloin ala Tara
1 pork loin cut into serving sized pieces (2 - 3 inches)
olive oil
5 cloves garlic cut in half
5 whole all spice
3 whole cloves
3 whole cardamom pods
1 2inch piece cinnamon stick
2 t salt
3 1/4" slices of lime
Heat the olive oil in a sauce pot. Add the garlic, (this may not have been a good idea because it burned - maybe add it later?) and when oil is hot, brown pork on all sides. Once browned add all spices and enough water to reach a third of the way up the pork. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and allow to cook 30 minutes.
In the mean time I cooked little red potatoes and heated up my left over collard greens from last night. When pork is done, remove pork and set aside. Remove spices and discard. Make gravy with the cooking water. Super yummy. The lime is really great.
I did manage to finish one thing today - a potholder based on one I inherited from my grandmother. I crocheted it with cotton, but I don't think it was thick enough. We'll find out soon. What I love about these is that they can be thrown in the washing machine when they are dirty.
Did talk to Melanie
Didn't fix bike tires
Did call Lowes - the guy I talked to was completely unhelpful. Finally he said I can return the toilet. Will call plumbers tomorrow.
Didn't do tax stuff
Did figure out what I still owe Jeff. :(
Still wish I had more hours in the day.