Fun

this is my favorite part of our construction project. well, at least in the top 5 along with the frame around the spigot for the hose, the pendant light, the pergola and the wide stairs leading to the yard in the back...

Hey Y'all

So as you can tell, not too much new is shakin' around here. And I'm thinking no news is good news.

We're desperately trying to wrap up those last dangling items on our home improvement project. I called the builder and warped the truth a bit to get our going-upstairs railing installed, and then politely nagged him to get the electrician to come and put in an outlet and rewire a light fixture/switch. On the landscaper issue...I took that one into my own hands and called the guy our neighbors use to mow their lawn to give us a price on dirt & grass seed since the builder was nowhere on that one. I also respectfully reminded said builder abotu 10 days ago that we were supposed to get a price for a fence on the side of the house and from the siding guy to do a couple of more little spots -- "...oh yeah, let me check on that...." Must be still checking. I might ask the landscaper if he can do the fence. The builder has actually done a beautiful job but our challenge all along has been getting on and then staying on his radar. In the grand scheme, we're a small job to him but it feels a huge project to us.

I've taken to wearing some reading glasses. You know, those sort of matronly ones you see at gift stores that are supposed to make visually challenged middle aged and beyond women look funky. I have my coke bottle glasses that scream late '80s, my polka dot funkies and two other very questionable ones. And the fact of the matter is, they help so much that I don't really care how ridiculous I look. Hey baby, my magnification is +1.25....what's yours?

At this point, we have no plans for the Fourth of July weekend. I'm kinda surprised its here already. I'm sure we'll be doing lots of splashing in Rose's ankle pool and that we'll find something or other to occupy our time quite nicely. Maybe a late afternoon beach visit? Love that.

A New Car!

In the immortal words of game show voice-overs everywhere, we have a new car! Well, we will on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

What did we get?

http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-sedan/

Gunmetal grey exterior, medium grey interior. The important details.

So, RIP my CRV. I'm getting Tim's and he's getting the new wheels. New cars for everyone!

PG Tips

Last summer I had the incredibly good fortune to cross the pond for a lovely visit with my ex-pat pal Jimmie. Among my wonderful experiences were the highly potent teas which are sipped in England. Way more flavor and way more kick than what is served State-side. My favorite turned out to be Harrod's English Breakfast #14, which I brought home for Tim. As any reader here knows, he's a bit of a tea fanatic. So although I hadn't actually tasted H's EB#14, I thought it would be a nice chance to sample a taste of British tea. And it is SO good! Good enough that I asked friends to bring home as much as they could possibly transport for $50. And they had so many packages that they could only carry $30 worth. In the meantime, during the sad, sad gap when the first stash was finished and the new stuff arrived, I discovered PG Tips in the international aisle of just about every grocery store around. All I can say is Get thee to a grocery and try it/them!! So flavorful, so potent, so smooth going down. Cheers!

Mrs Kravitz Lives On!

So, we used to joke about our former neighbor, Elaine, who lived across the street. She'd lived in the house for over 50 years and knew everything there was to know about the neighborhood, the town, who used to live where, what houses were going for etc. She knew her profile and referred to herself as Mrs. Kravitz. She was also very handy because she worked nights so would be around to watch out for weird things happening during the day. Like the time Tim forgot to close the front door when he went to work and there were Rocky & Adrienne staring at Elaine when she got home at 8am. She called the police who did a walk through to make sure we hadn't been burgled (which we hadn't) and then let me know about it when I got home.

Elaine has gone condo and now we have a regular old family living across the street: Mom, Dad, two late teenage boys and a 13 year old girl. Its very different - they come and go at all hours, they're doing a ton of work on the house, and they use the front door rather than the one inside the garage so we see them all the time. Something over there is always catching my eye (or Rose's!) so we can't help but check out what they are doing on a regular basis. Mrs. Kravitz has her rightful replacement(s).

Another Saturday Night...

...and I ain't got nobody...reminds me of a song from 5th grade music.

Tim went to the Red Sox and Rose was in bed by 6:30 so I had a whole night all to myself. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I read a book (The Thirteenth Tale - very interesting!!) and sipped the proverbial cup of tea and when I next looked up 3 hours had gone by. OK, that's a bit of a lie because I had to find my reading glasses at one point because everything was going wonky, but you get the idea.

It was a very lovely evening. And the Red Sox won.

A Sojourn to Target

Here's what Rose & I bought on our most recent trip to Target (OK, this past Saturday. Can I go a week without hallowing those halls?):

2 travel size sunscreens for adults (one for each car)
2 travel size sunscreens for little kids (one for each car)
2 travel size packs of wipes (yep, one for each car!)
Goldfish (pizza flavored - yum!)
Barnum's animal crackers (very popular until we spied the afore-mentioned fishies)
Target brand string cheese (rather icky - a fine melange of salt & plastic)
4 tubes of A&D ointment for diaper rash
1 magnet for Tim/the fridge (Fender helocaster)
2 little kids cups with built-in, foldable straws
1 gallon whole milk
1 gallon 2% milk
an 8 pack of paper towels

PLEASE NOTE: Not one fun thing for me. Duly mark my restraint.

Hello Again!

Imagine if anyone really read this...they'd be rolling over in shock that I've done the first entry in 4+ months...my last entry was a little whiny so I apologize. Sleep is much better in our house I'm happy to report, and may it only continue to improve! Long live the zzzzzzs. Friggin' teeth & the overnight hungries!!

So, what else have we been up to? That is a very good question and I really don't know the answer. We used to do all these interesting jaunts and hikes and overnights and daytrips and now we play with Rose instead which is great. But wow, so different! Tim is venturing to our nation's capital for a long weekend with his family. Should be fun. Hopefully the weather will be good so he can do a segue tour of the monuments. A highly recommended activity courtesy of my sistah, Libstah. The girls will be having a lovely weekend including a photo shoot at Target followed by a wonderful shopping spree and some family visits.

I am happy to return to the world of the blog and hope to be a bit more present in my little corner of the web.