Happiness in a Can

I have always been fascinated watching hands at work. Hands doing things like kneading bread, gutting fish, or re-wiring an electrical panel. Playing a piano, performing massage, or filling out a tax return–whatever. Things I don’t do with my fat flippers. I find my keen observational skills allow me to live vicariously through others, so [...]

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You Win Some, You Lose Some

I have been puttering around the garden, energizer bunny style (but without the drum), pruning and moving plants. Some plants needed more light, some need less. Many have (had!) crowded, twisted branches. Some needed to be rescued from the chomping ivories of the deer, others from the slurping mouth parts tiny voracious bugs. I am [...]

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Adventures in Drywall

Actually, this is a fakeout. We didn’t have an adventure. We were merely spectators in the whole drywall thing. And vacuum-up-ers. This is because we hired great guys to do the drywalling for us. I will say that Chris did a lot of prep before Gary and Jason Barr of Mid Isle Drywall and their [...]

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BFR

Shortly after we arrived–in fact on the first day–we asked Nelson to cut off the English ivy at the base of one of our Douglas firs. The ivy had reached at least two thirds of the height of the tree and had the potential to completely overwhelm it. He used my secateurs and loppers, but we may [...]

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Ernie the Agoraphobic Toilet

Meet Ernie. He has issues. He is afraid of large, open spaces. His issues create advantages… And disadvantages. Enter Chris the resident porcelain psychologist. Toilet whisperer. Not a plumber, but handy with the tools. Just four inches to the right, but what a difference. As a postscript, we discovered that the plumber (professional, nice man) [...]

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Around the Garden: Early July

I discovered the macro setting on my camera, so I apologize in advance for any headaches I may cause. It’s just a phase. Please forgive. These double poppies have self-seeded in several beds. The foliage is a lovely dusty grey-green, but the heads are so big that they make the whole plant tips over onto [...]

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What is sexy?

I’ll tell you what’s sexy. A man in a toolbelt. Yes, ask anyone. Verrry sexy. Take a look: Side view Isn’t that a sexy man? In a sexy toolbelt. Doing things with electricity. For free. Back view Sometimes sexy toolbelt wearing men let bystanders hold things. It should, in theory, increase sex appeal by proximity. [...]

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Chaos

The last two weeks have been quite the whirlwind. I took my students to camp. Report cards were written (my personal vacation in hell). The school year ended. Charlotte graduated. We moved out. We moved in. Most of those things happened over three days. The moving out part was managed for the most part by [...]

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