Writtenwyrdd

Molly, dreaming of flight...

Molly, dreaming of flight... (I fixed the photo size so you can her front paws dangling.)

Yes, I train my cats...

See, I've got this system:  I do whatever it takes to make them happy and they leave me alone.  Except I haven't yet figured out how to get a little "me" time when I'm on the toilet, sitting down to eat, trying to read a book, sleeping/napping, or on the computer.... 

Well, I solved that last one, at least*.

*New blankie for Molly's napping spot brought to you by the letter G(ullible). 

Here's another angle:

Schnozzle

Cute Overload strikes again.  This ought to be a postcard so I can send it to all of my friends and makethem smile:

Peekaboo!

I was changing the sheets, so I'd tossed the two down comforters on the floor.  And guess who decided it was the perfect nap cave?  Miss Molly likes naps, especially nests.

Too bad the best shot is every-so-slightly out of focus.

Meet Molly

We went to the Humane Society's fundraiser bazaar.  Not much going on so after buying raffle tickets I had to look at the cats up for adoption.  Guess what I brought home?  Formerly known as Cagney, Molly is a Maine Coon mix and is a sleek and small cat of about a year old.  She's absolutely fearless, isn't bothered by the dog at all (even when he's excitedly sniffing at her butt) and could care less that Mikey (the other cat) is staring daggers at her and growling. 

That's what I need, an independent and yet friendly cat.  Let's hope things work out.

I had to show you this before the clutter commences

Photos of my office, all set up.  Of course, the desk and one set of shelves isn't yet painted; but that'll have to wait until I am back to 100% function.  So, here's the sort of panoramic view of the office:

Also, I am feeling quite well, not in much pain.  Just talked to my regular doctor, who is also a friend, and she says it's because I did what I was supposed to do.  I also think it's because I got very lucky, the stars were aligned in my favor and the deities smiled, lol.  (Of course, that said, I have managed to overdo it a bit, having just gone to Wal*Mart and the grocery store.  A bit of cold sweat and need for a lie down, nothing major.)

And it's a gorgeous day.  Mom and I walked for about an hour this morning. Slowly, so as to keep my innards happy.  (I walked for an hour straight in the hospital and they didn't make me stop, so I figured it was okay now.)  And how could I miss out on a morning such as this?:

Memory lane

Found this old picture of me, taken in January 1976.  I was a freshman in high school that year, and I weighed a whopping 128-- what several years later the Army said I should weigh when I was fully grown and several inches taller.  Under that godawful jungle boogie shirt you can't see that my ribs and spine all stuck out.  At the time, I could lay a finger between my ribs, and my poor mother was worried I was anorexic (something that people were just becoming aware of at the time.)  Also, orange shag carpet and curtains???? It was my best friend's house, but still.

Anyhow, I keep this picture around to remind me that goals aren't always the same for everyone.  One person's ideal weight is not another's.  One person's preferences aren't another's.  We aren't the same and viva la differences.

Not sure if there is a point to this ramble, but that picture of me so terribly skinny just serves to remind me that I thought I was fat at the time.  What 14 year old girl doesn't go through that?

Shelving update

By this time, you are no doubt sick of me crowing about my projects.  However, digital camera + blog = me oversharing.  (Thanks for bearing with me.)

The new bedroom shelves are painted and filled.  Here's the TBR pile (notice room to grow):

And the other side of the entry and closet, where some of my favorite reads, almost all my CDs, my writing books, and all my esoterica books reside:

Then the mega huge shelves, which, you'll notice, are not yet organized.  (I'm alphabetizing.  Makes it so much easier to find things.)  These shelves are obviously oversized, but again, room to grow!

And this is the spot where I am building the second to last set of shelves, which will be just like the really big shelves, but are destined for holding boxes of stuff, office and art supplies, and about three dozen binders of miscellaneous stuff--most of which you see in those black boxes or on the shelves below. 

The last set of shelves goes here, to replace the admittedly nice but not quite 'it' shelves.  (I need more room for books and the desk (below) which is really just plywood, needs to have a return of a sort, because I am presently set up backwards from my preference.  I like all the sprawl to the right. 

And here's my current workspace.  NOT ideal. :)  Unfortunately I don't have time to get the desk area built before I'm off for surgery. 

(And have you seen a messier desk?  That's three months of filing sitting there.  I should be embarrassed.  But I'm not.)

One more!

So here's the almost-final new set of shelves.  I'm building one nearly identical on the other side of that door.  I need to iron on the trim and do a bit more sanding and prep before paint, but I think these'll do.  And they are much nicer looking than the mega-huge set, aren't they?  (And, PS, I've lost another pound and a half.)

One project done!

These two mass-storage shelves are done, but now I must build the two sets of shelves in the bedroom.

Pictures!!!

Okay, forgive me, these photos are not all glamor shots with the room totally picked up, but this is the old kitchen:

And here is after, with paint, textured walls, shelves, new hardware, and new stuff surrounding the stove (which you can see in the before shot is sort of floating opposite the fridge, all alone.  What you cannot see is the brick wallboard, which has been removed (hence the need for texture to cover the paneling glue, which is probably the hardest thing in nature.)

Too bad that ugly back splash and counter can't go away this year, but hopefully next year!  We have to replace the window over the sink, replace the sink and faucet, and then we can get the tile redone.  I do have the tile and everything needed, so we're all set there when the time comes!

I like that pot rack, keeps the big things handy.  Discovered them when living in tiny spaces in SF.  Hard to find except online with the Container Store.  Relatively cheap, too!

My desperate attempt to put something over the range hood, so I made a shelf.  (The ceiling is too low for cabinetry there.)  Behind that pantry unit are these new shelves:

And despite the cat trying to look all cool and aloof and distract your attention with his cattitude and stuff, you can see the rippling wall here, which I have textured over quite successfully.  It's never going to be perfect unless I make a huge mess ripping down all the wainscoting and wallboard (it's like heavy cardboard) and replace them with sheetrock.  And I don't DO sheetrock!  So this was my brilliant idea.  I thought it up all by myself, but it turns out that others have done similar things before.  Joint compound, it's not just for joints.  And it's cheap.

Now, the BONUS CONTENT:  Before and afters of the living room.  You may remember this before shot:

Well, here's the same angle of the living room (or close) after a new floor and paint. That's it!

And another angle:


And this is the spare bedroom you can see opening off the living room a few shots up.  Before:

And after:

And from another angle:

My doggie from long ago and other missed furry buddies

This is Poco.  He was a sheltie-poodle cross and weighed a grand total of 7.5 pounds soaking wet no matter how much we fed him.  Smartest dog I've ever known.  He died at about 8 because the budding serial killer next door poisoned him with rat poison.  I was a private in the Army at the time and had been gone about a year and a half.  He used to drag my old, ratty, filthy, and formerly-pink slipper around to stick his nose in so he'd feel close to me. 

I've been missing him a lot lately, and my cat Cosmo who's been gone a year now.


Cosmo was working on 18.  He was a little shithead, really a mean cat who bit me all the time "because he loved me"  (or that's what he SAID)!  Morgan, the little girl, was litterbox challenged (on my bed!) whose behavior made the decision necessary.  Sigh.  It's been fifteen months.  She was 16. 

They all had good lives but I miss them.  At least I still have this big boy, Mikey, who tops 20 pounds, and Mom's dog Boomer.
 

80s photo

Robin S. Posted a photo from the 80s.  I thought it was hilarious (our clothing taste was so bad in the 80s, worse than the 70s in some ways, although the prints weren't nearly as hideous) so here's me and Then Hubs.  That blouse! Scarf-for-a-collar AND Leg-o-mutton sleeves!  Yoikes!

Post something of yourself should you have a notion.  Really.  I promise I won't laugh.  Much.

The Cuteness

There is no definition, but...you know the cuteness when you see it. 

There is no power like the cuteness.  And today, it said, "Where have you been?  I wanted my lap and you were not here!"

But mom sat in the chair and Boomer had his lap and all was once again well with the world.

Until I got up to go into the kitchen, and--Pavlovian response--he leaped right up again to demand food. 

Hell, he might have learned that from me, but I was only putting the camera away.

Where were you when?

Let's start another photo meme.   Post a grade school picture. 

Me in 4th grade:

And on the house front, I'm getting more broke by the second...  Cleared my sheds (mostly) into a storage unit today.  Supposed to get 3 inches of snow.  Just in freaking time. 

The results!

I have gotten the cabinets and trim painted, and that is all.  The walls and ceiling still need to be patched, recaulked and painted a matching extra bright white, but I am not going there now.  Amazing how much time to get three-four coats of paint on each side of the (porous, oak) cupboard doors.  Still debating if I want to add knobs or not. 

 

It's much brighter, isn't it? 

Semi-narcissistic photo challenge: A Meme, dammit!

Don't forget my challenge, gang.  Post a picture of yourself from your youth.  Or a while back.  Or grade school.  Or just when you looked damn hot.  It'll be fun.  And you guys can look at each other's pictures and think we all look like those young hotties still.  Maybe some of y'all do.  But we'll keep to the mystery.  If you prefer, send me a link or post one in the comments.  I can even add a page with pictures, something like, "bloggers then and now" or whatnot.

UPDATE (part deux):  First, I'm pulling my photos from this post because it's too long (and feels a bit too narcissistic to post 'em twice!).  go see them at the original post here.  But you can have these (2 yrs and several months) instead:

Paca has photos of himself here (LOTS of cute kid pictures) and Bernita has one of herself in days gone by, showing that the lovely lady in her headshot looks exactly freaking the same now as when she was a youngster--except with silvery hair.  And Jaye Wells has her kid picture here (and also at League of Reluctant Adults blog.)

And the rest of you (especially Charles) I dare ya:  A baby photo. High school graduation.  You with a bag photoshopped over your head.

Looking back...about 25 years

My how we all change.  I guarantee you wouldn't recognize me now! 

Anyhow, let's start a meme:  Post something of yourself from years gone by. 

Here I am telling a certain someone to quit taking photos of me.

Oh, and this other nostalgic moment, which I've changed a couple of times already because I keep finding better shots:

How I successfully avoided writing again today

I printed and hung my vacation photos, as well as a few others that I've been meaning to get to. 

Left is my favorite, taken at Laura plantation. Not to brag, but I think I take some damn fine photos.  It's the digital medium, though.  With film, I truly suck, and waste more money than I care to think about.  Stands to reason, doesn't it, that with a 1Gb memory stick that holds over a thousand photos, I'd get a couple dozen that are real eye-catchers?

My second favorite is this alligator with his cool, crocodillian smile... Or is that a smirk?

 

And, of course, Carlsbad Caverns.  Awesome site.  Only two shots came out fine enough to print, but they are quite satisfactory...

 

My third favorite is this swamp shot.  The colors have been manipulated to increase saturation, making up for the overcast that robbed some of the color density that was actually there in the greens.

Then there's this last shot, a second floor balcony in the French Quarter, looks really brilliant when enlarged to 8x10.

So, I spent a bit of money, framed pictures and baked chocolate chip cookies.  I did NOT, however, get the new shelves prepped for painting.  Now it is 9pm and I'm doing laundry and thinking about writing...when I don't really have any time to do it now.  I noticed a few of you guys out there were remarking on the same trend, so I know I am in good company...

Ta-dah!

Shelves, which are done but the drop cloth is still in the scene...

Autumn loveliness

I just had to share, even though I already posted one of these photos (probably this one) on the other blog.  This afternoon was so pretty, we went out driving to see the leaves again.  And it is getting colder.

New tricks, old tricks

This is a really bad photo, but here's a drawing I did during my freshman year of high school.  Gave it to my big brother a few years back when I moved to Maine.  The only reason he has any art on his wall is kid pictures and art I gave him, like the California Poppies painting I use as my icon.

Changing over the blog.
Wow, what a pain, shifting all the links over.  I do like the grey-on-grey of this blog better than the blogspot look.  And I like having my California poppies painting up there, too. 

The only thing that is bothersome is that it turns out I have to approve all comments.  Surely there is a way to have them post automatically; but I have yet to discover it.  Oh joy, and here I thought I could get on with the day's home-improvement project, which is sanding, caulking and prepping some built-in shelves I made for paint.  :(  Also, I can't figure out how to have more than one category for a post.  Now, I think it an egregious failing if I can't figure out how to get more than one category to sort by.  :(

News and non-news.
On the writing front, I haven't been.  Made the big ol' mistake of buying two new expansion packs for Sims2 and doubling my DDR2 RAM for the laptop.  Ooops!  Heh, I'll get sick of it once I figure out all the things you can do with the game.  Torturing Sims is hilarious fun, but I confess to being addicted to the cheats so they can just Get On With The Suffering!

Meantime, I keep dreaming up ideas, literally.  I have several dreams a week where I wake up thinking, this is a great story.  Or during the dream I am thinking, No it can't work that way; the story would work better if...

How weird is that?  Anyone else do that?

I tell you what, though:  Always keep a dark felt pen and a blank book by the bed.  The felt pen needs to be fat and dark so you can see without glasses by alarm clock amber glow when you write big fat scribbles while half awake!