« January 2006 | Main | March 2006 »
February 28, 2006
big head dream
last night i dreamed that i had a disproportionately large head as a child. i was horrified, but relieved that i had grown into my head over the years.
in other news, i went to the dentist yesterday and i was so not in the mood to have my gag reflex and jaw-holding-open stamina tested, and once again my dentist begged me to get braces.
the waterproofing investigation is interesting. i cannot emphasize enough what a tremendous resource my neighborhood e-mail list is. within minutes of my posting, i'd gotten two horror stories about the waterproofing company that i've gotten a quote from already, and a lot of interesting stories about how others in my situation took care of their gutter drainage issues and that in turn solved their basement water problems, without hiring a waterproofing company. which is something i'd made an attempt at last year, an attempt that didn't work well– but maybe this year i'll have another, more serious go at it.
i was suddenly allergic to something last week. runny nose, weepy eyes at random intervals. it's better now. whatever it is, it's in my house. i put a pleated allergen filter in my heating system last night, and started drooling over refurbished dyson vacuum cleaners.
so, for those keeping track, i am contemplating spending vast oodles of cash on many things, and have made decisions about none. these things include, but probably aren't limited to: a car, a dry basement, a vacuum cleaner, wacky retro dinette chairs, and oh who knows, maybe a little kitchen renovation work.
as for the car, i'm currently torn between the practical (a diesel jetta wagon) and the fun (a new beetle convertible).
i'm leaning toward the convertible.
Posted by lisa at 09:22 AM
February 22, 2006
fun with fonts
Posted by lisa at 12:54 PM
February 21, 2006
finally
today i set up an appointment with a waterproofing and drainage company to have my problem areas inspected, this friday.
i called the people who sell the wacky dinette chairs i want and had all my questions answered. they are sending me swatches. and if i don't like the chairs-- i can send them back for a full refund. plus, they are canadian, so i got to hear the lady say, "aboot" a few times.
i ate a healthy lunch and did some walking. an hour or so later, i felt filled with a strange sense of well-being. now i feel a strange sense of hunger. oops.
i compressed my morning schedule and got to work early so i can leave early and take advantage of the longer days.
Posted by lisa at 02:34 PM
February 17, 2006
booyah
i so totally wailed on the design of a new intranet home page at work today.
i so totally did not call the chair place to find out about shipping and stuff. because i was so totally enthralled with my work.
totally.
Posted by lisa at 07:05 PM
February 16, 2006
...and as long as we're talking about furniture...
this is what i'm currently considering for my back screen porch.
i'm waiting til target puts out their patio furniture, because i want to see it and sit on it in person before buying, and i'll be clearing all the miscellaneous chairs and crap off the porch. the idea being that it could be a nice little place to hang, especially given that i'll have a pool this summer.
target is also making a line of reproduction vintage metal patio furniture, but it sounds as if the quality is cheap, and the items are marked "web only", so i doubt i'd get a chance to sit before buying.
Posted by lisa at 10:48 AM
a nice place to sit
i've decided that my kitchen table is just fine, but the chairs are not. the chairs should be replaced.
i like the 50's formica dinette look that i've currently got, but i want chairs with more style and i also don't think red is the ideal color for the chairs. my kitchen is predominantly green (the floor) and pale yellow (walls), and i think too much red will have it looking like christmas all year 'round in there.
these chairs are expensive if you buy them new, and finding just what one wants on ebay is dicey, and sometimes just as expensive.
of the new ones i've found, here are my favorites: diamond cut back, paper clip legs. i'd get two yellow and two turquoise. i'm concerned, though, that the cut-out back would be uncomfortable.
an alternative would be the diamond back chair. not quite as hit-you-over-the-head stylish, but potentially much more comfortable.
amazon offers a much less expensive version of the racing stripe back chair, but i'd have to get four all in yellow-- they don't offer aqua.
anyway. if you were coming to have dinner, or brunch, or a polynesian luau at my place-- which one would you want to sit on?
Posted by lisa at 09:05 AM
February 14, 2006
the schedule
tonight was marketing. ostensibly, the purpose was to get food at the grocery store for specific recipes, but it turned into a two and a half hour, highly productive evening.
i can tell you this: if you need any pots or pans, go to TJ Maxx. now. working from a tip from one of my operatives in the field, i went there seeking a high-end dutch oven. sadly, these choice items had been snatched up. i walked out with a couple of beautiful and inexpensive bamboo cutting boards and a cast iron panini press, a practical alternative to owning a panini press appliance.
if you need drink pitchers, say for a summer luau, go to Bed, Bath and Beyond.
i also got a cookbook using a gift card and scouted Target for patio furniture-- but it's a little too early in the season yet.
finally, i did do my grocery shopping.
the laundry is done, the kitchen and bathroom are clean. i've done the chores for the week. this means that for the rest of the week, i can do other things without guilt.
tomorrow is Cooking and Movie Night (at home, of course). i'm even going to make myself popcorn. i love the idea of wednesday evening being devoted to recreation. it divides the week neatly, and ensures that one doesn't feel as if one is in a long tunnel of despair and chores.
then there's Plone Night and then Van Night.
saturday must be devoted to practical outdoor pursuits, weather permitting: Yard Work Day.
some people have the notion that sunday is a day of rest. but i'm not sure that i could rest for a whole day.
i'd say there's even odds that i fall into a rhythm and do this every week, or that i give it up almost immediately.
Posted by lisa at 11:10 PM
February 13, 2006
oi, the week
last week was kinda stressful; there's Stuff going on at work that makes me feel insecure, a woman i knew from Roswell passed away, and although i'm not as worried as i was about Mo, i don't like for my kitty to be sick.
i was also feeling super frustrated and stuck on the two big non-house, non-work projects: the wxdu web site, and the van. so i mapped out a schedule for the whole week that included evenings spent on each of those projects. and although i didn't used to be a schedule person, i guess i am now, to some degree, because i stuck with the schedule and i feel a tiny bit better about each project.
this weekend the fellas visited. by friday night i was exhausted, like order a pizza and watch tv and not so much as put a load of laundry in exhausted. since he's usually hungry when he arrives, i usually have a pot of soup or something going around the time he gets here, but not this weekend. my brain was incapable of coming up with something, and my body incapable of executing it.
so i took him out to q shack instead. that went over pretty well.
we took the puppy for a walk first, i figure after four hours in the car everyone needs to stretch their legs (in the freezing cold drizzle, yum). we encountered not one but two escaped dogs, one dauchshaund and one female dog of indeterminate breed who desperatedly wanted reese the puppy to play with her.
this weekend he brought me a coping saw, and although many women might not enjoy gifts of tools, i do. i am very pleased with the new gift. i also now have a switch plate over the lightswitch in my bathroom. the coping saw was so that a plate could be trimmed to fit.
on sunday, i took him to loco pops. imagine being introduced to q shack and loco pops, all in one weekend.
he likes museums, so i think next time we'll go to Natural Science and then char-grill. he hasn't been to char-grill yet.
Posted by lisa at 09:04 AM
February 11, 2006
moses update
today moses went to the vet to have the hyperthyroid diagnosis confirmed. they took blood for a lab test (as opposed to the in-house test that was done originally), took his heart rate and blood pressure.
his heart rate and blood pressure are still up, but he hasn't developed a heart murmer, which is good-- that can happen with hyperthyroid.
i told the vet that i don't want to use the radiation treatment. because there's no heart murmer, the condition hasn't reached a critical level yet and the vet was willing to try transdermal medication rather than pills. if the transdermal medication doesn't get the condition under control, we'll have to go to pills, but we have some time to try the approach i want.
i can pill moses, in fact he had to take a de-wormer recently (just in case that was the cause of the original vomiting) and i had no trouble at all getting him to take them. still, the transdermal meds-- which are rubbed on the cat's ear daily or twice daily-- are going to be easier and probably less traumatic for everyone. it's also something that probably anyone can do, so when i go up to virginia, i might find a friend who can administer his meds while i'm gone, and i won't have to bring him with me or put him in a kennel.
he seems to take vet visits in stride these days, i think because of the series of arthritis shots that he received late last year. which is good, because we'll have to have his blood tested periodically to see how well the meds are working.
one thing that i didn't expect was that, in order to get his blood pressure, they shaved a patch on the underside of his tail! i didn't even see it until i got home. poor moseman. as if being subjected to all of these vet visits isn't bad enough, now he's got a bald patch on his tail.
oh, and a visit from a dog, today and tomorrow. really, the indignities.
Posted by lisa at 12:18 PM
February 08, 2006
spanikopita burger
- minced bunch of scallions, sauteed in olive oil just until they start to break down.
- box of frozen spinach, thawed, water squeezed out thoroughly, and chopped very fine
- small container of crumbled feta cheese
- 1lb - ish of ground beef
put the feta in a large bowl and, if necessary, crumble further until the crumbs are very fine.
add the onions and the spinach and mix well.
add the ground beef and mix together well without over-mixing.
gently form into patties and cook for about five minutes on each side.
yum.
Posted by lisa at 10:08 PM
February 07, 2006
a lovely sight
looking at my online banking summary, which includes my checking account, my savings account, my equity line of credit, and my credit card, i see something very pleasing.
my assets exceed my debts. my new heating and cooling system will have been paid off within a year of its installation, and i've not racked up any credit card debt.
helps that i don't have a car payment, didn't go on any expensive trips last year, and didn't buy any new computers or vehicles.
of course, this will all be changing in the next few months, or should be changing, as i proceed with plans to fix the drainage issues around my house, possibly waterproof the basement, make changes to the kitchen and buy a new daily driver.
but for right now, i'll bask.
Posted by lisa at 04:25 PM
February 06, 2006
Elizabeth Dole makes me IRATE.
I don't know how I got on this mailing list, but on a regular basis I receive e-mails supposedly penned by Liddy Dole, NC Senator. D. says that her senate seat was what the Republican party gave her to keep her from continuing to run for President, and to keep it she has to toe the Republican party line. I don't know if this is true, but the woman sure as hell does toe the party line. Today's e-mail is probably the most egregious example; anyone with the slightest knowledge of the illegal wiretapping issue is catching on that these warrentless wiretaps are a) illegal, b) useless, and c) unnecessary, since FISA, which has been on the books for years, was specifically designed for this situation, and even allows the goverment to obtain warrants after the fact.
For a little perspective, Senate Judiciary Committee head Arlen Specter, for whom I've had no love in the past, isn't going to just rubber-stamp this one. to that i say, thank goodness. but i'm still waiting for Liddy Dole to grow a pair.
I'll probably regret this, but I'm going to post her entire message here.
Dear Friend,This week, the Senate is convening hearings on the National Security Agency's terror surveillance program. These hearings will not only tell Americans more about this critical initiative, but will highlight the difference between Republicans and Democrats on issues of security. We will also learn how closely Senate Democrats follow the marching orders of liberal fringe groups like Moveon.org who irrationally oppose the program at the expense of our safety. I look forward to these hearings, and to finding out just where my Democrat colleagues stand on this important issue.
The terror surveillance program is one of our national security professionals' most important tools in the battle to keep this nation safe. By intercepting and monitoring telephone conversations between Al Qaeda and their terrorist operatives in the United States, we are preventing attacks on our homeland and keeping Americans out of harm's way. We can't wait until terrorist plans are in motion to try and thwart them. We need to know what terrorists want to do before they set out to do it--and the terror surveillance program allows us to do just that. Simply put, this program saves lives.
Yet some head-in-the-sand Democrats don't seem to see it that way, and even if they do, are so blinded by their dislike for the President that they cannot bring themselves to support the initiative lest it be construed as support for George Bush. So they resort to outlandish charges that the President is breaking the law, that the program is unconstitutional, that it threatens our civil liberties. Taking their cue from their party's fringe--a fringe, unfortunately, that is taking increased control of the Democrat party every day--some have even raised the notion of impeaching the President. To dignify these calls would be beneath any serious person, but to ignore them would be dangerous. If Moveon.org and Howard Dean get to call the shots when it comes to our national security, this country is in big trouble. In their ideal world, we would have the ridiculous and unthinkable policy of hanging up when Al Qaeda calls.
The charge that the President is somehow breaking the law with this program is demonstrably false. Previous Presidents have authorized similar programs, and the Supreme Court has declared them constitutional. What's more, it is widely held that during wartime, the President is granted increased powers in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief. When it comes to keeping Americans safe, the President has wide latitude to do what is necessary. That doesn't mean he's above the law, but it does mean that he's above the frivolous attacks of disaffected liberals.
I understand the special place we all afford to our constitutionally protected rights, and that because of our love of these rights some Democrats think they can score political points by portraying the terrorist surveillance program as a threat. They misquote our founders and feign indignation that the Administration would act so callously towards our freedoms. But the reality is that this program protects the very freedoms Democrats allege it curtails. To listen to some partisans, you'd think the NSA had nothing better to do than listen to Aunt Jenny calling her niece to wish her a happy birthday. Liberal demagoguery on this issue not only poisons what should be a healthy debate about our national security, but also needlessly injects partisanship where it does not belong.
This week's hearings are critical to determining whether this nation will confront terror with our best or with political posturing. The terror surveillance program keeps terror off our shores, and is saving American lives every day. We cannot let the radical left dictate our national security policy. I hope that at the hearings Democrats ignore the directives of their party's fringe and do what is right to keep America safe.
A co-worker and I were talking about this stuff today and getting completely depressed over the mess that Bush & Co. have made of things. So many people dead in Iraq, deficit, screwed up health care, screwed up environment.
We concocted a little fantasy scenario to cheer ourselves up: Edwards & Obama in '08.
Posted by lisa at 09:58 PM
February 03, 2006
slumlords suck, example #345,944
Durham house goes up in flames
Posted by lisa at 10:25 AM
February 02, 2006
i like the rain
the sound of rain just makes everything seem nice, so long as you are in a nice snug place.
i hope that punxsutawney phil is right, and that we're going to have another six weeks of what passes for "winter" around here.
i've been thinking about global warming a lot since i blogged that article about the NASA scientist. i want to research a post on vehicles that put the smallest amounts of greenhouse gasses into the environment (besides hybrids-- i know hybrids are the best of all commonly available vehicles for emissions).
i've been talking to a lot of people about their experiences in treating a cat with hyperthyroid. it's very common. as of today, i am coming around to the idea that irradiating my cat might not be such a good idea for his long term health. i've now spoken with two people who had thier cat die 1-2 years after the treatment, one from lymphoma, and one from undiagnosed causes that might have been cancer. most people choose medication.
tonight i went to the new thai restaurant on university (across from q shack) with d&s. tasty. decent service except that the waiter brought us back $10 less change than he should have, and s. was nice enough to deal with straightening it out.
this weekend, i'm off to Va. M. & Xta are going to watch over moseman, but i think he'll be just fine.
Posted by lisa at 10:37 PM
Which Serenity character are you?
Your results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)
| You are good at fixing things. You are usually cheerful. You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.  |
Posted by lisa at 09:40 PM