Lights....lights....lights?

My van is being persnickety. This weekend I stomped into the house and declared to mom that if my van had a neck, I'd be wringing it. The electrical system is something else!

I dug out all of the wires from behind the walls and tried to make sense of it. I spliced together 4 loose ends and got the back lights to work again. All I needed to do was to get the left blinker to blink. So far I've failed at that task, and am back at square one. None of the back end lights work.
Perhaps I should let a professional deal with it :-)

The auto electrical shop I went to the other day had a sign:

$32 an hour
$36 if you watch
$40 if you help

I need a sign like that for my carpentry business...

Mooooo

I'm running away from home soon. I already have cabin fever. Where to go? What to do? What bank to rob to finance it all? I just came in from working on my van. It's been a frustrating weekend!

My rearview mirror took a couple of hours to put up. It's a long story, and involves Gorilla Glue, a kit of super-duper mirror epoxy, 3 types of screws, one rivet and gun, a clamp, 3 broken drill bits, a dead battery and exponential amounts of swearing. In addition, one of my fingers sustained some damage when the drill I was holding sliped and started boring into my flesh with the bit going at high speed. I now have two parallel, ragged cuts. The final outcome? One mirror, mounted upside down to the steel van frame.

This is why when I came in, I liked this picture of the cow. Very soothing. I took its picture as it stood in the middle of the Appalachian Trail last year.

Poser

Sam posing with the granite

I told Eric he was on the web. He was so engrossed with his work, he hadn't noticed I had taken pictures of him. Sam though...what a ham!

Like the goggles/dust mask/ear muffs with built in radio? I personally like the carhartts...As most people who have read my site know. I need to get another pair myself. Mom made me throw out my 4 year old, well broken in pair. She wasn't going to drive me back home from Arizona unless I did. They were so comfy! And well ventilated. :-)

Pray for my butt

I got home from work today and read mom's blog to see what was new. She's currently asking for people to pray for my butt. Why? Well...

I have a metal object lodged inside my skin, to the left of my tail bone. I must have gotten it while sliding around under my van about a month ago.

My doc says he's always wanted to prescribe a butt x-ray, so he sent me to get one yesterday. My aunt Liz said they'll probably find my head up there. Today the doc called back to say the thing is a metal, needle-like object that's more than an inch long and is in such a tricky place, they need to operate to get it out. My surgery is next week. I hope they let me keep it when they dig it out. It'll make for a great conversation piece.

Stickers on van cap

These stickers from left to right read,

Who would Jesus bomb?
Don't believe anything until it has been officially denied
Stop repeat offenders - don't re-elect them
Drive carefully! 90% of all people are caused by accidents
Come the rapture, can I have your car?
The buck doesn't even slow down here
I'm marching to a different accordian
Vizualize using your turn signals
Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car
Homeschooling The world is the classroom
No, you can't have my rights. I'm still using them
Religions are just cults with more members
God is too big to fit into one religion
I love my country but fear my government
HELL it's not the heat, it's the humidity
Don't pray in my school and I won't think in your church
Militant Agnostic I don't know and you don't either
Oh no, not another learning experience!
Support organic farmers
Unmarked police car
Under republicans, man exploits man. Under democrats, it's the opposite
A leading cause of stress is reality!
Not all who wander are lost
Queen without a country
What would Scooby-do?

Van door stickers

Sam

This is Sam. He lives in the apartment over the garage at the house I'm painting. Normally he lives in New York City, but he's up here to work on granite for a few months. He has a couple of stones, and this one pictured is a 3 ton chunk of granite that he's going to break into about 80 pieces. He's going to polish some, leave some rough, and make it so the stone can fit back together as one. After he's done creating his masterpieces, he's going to tote it home to his loft/artist studio in NYC. Luckily it's an old warehouse and has strong, steel beam floors!

I took this picture while standing on a beam up near the ceiling. It was fascinating to watch Sam and Eric (My current employer) work on the granite chunks. Sam is young, strong and passionate, and approaches his stone with zeal tinged with a bit of confoundment. Eric has been carving granite for 30 years. He approaches it methodically, sure of every movement.

Eric

This is Eric. He wears his "Superdad" hat to work almost every day. He's a super granite sculptor too. Anything you wanted, he could probably make. His creations dot the landscape around here...from the tiered granite embankments for the local swimming area on Curtis Pond, to the benches out front of one of the local libraries.

My job

It always happens on a job. The customer will say, "Since you're here, could you....?" Sometimes the request is for something small, like an extra half hour job. Sometimes it becomes bigger than the original job. Last year, a 3 day stair mending job became a May through October full-on house makeover job.

I started working where I'm at now around the middle of August. The job was originally to paint the ceiling and posts of a small side porch. The job mushroomed into painting the rest of the trim around the entire house. Which morphed into painting their entire apartment above the garage. Then it moved inside their house to start painting the wainscotting and trim in the kitchen. Then the living room. Which then became the bathroom ceiling and window, the stairwell leading up, and today, it became the master bedroom windows. The only thing left to paint is the outside doors and the windows in the 2 other bedrooms. Hmmmm...I wonder if that's next?

I can't complain. I really love having a paying, steady job. All of my current money is being funneled into my van project. Every week I say, this weekend I'll get it on the road! Soon... very soon...

I tried bleeding the brakes after installing new calipers and pads. Nothing will come out. I think it's a clogged brake line. I have the new lines, but I can't get the old ones off. I think it's time to hand it over to a "real" mechanic. The other problem is my left tail light won't blink. All of the other lights work great. I discovered it has a cut wire. Time to remove the insulation around it and work on it from the inside. Bzzzt!

I took everything out of my van, then vaccuumed and beat my rug yesterday. It looks so clean now! I want to find/buy a foam mattress soon. As soon as I get my van street legal, I'm going camping!

Three proofs that Jesus was...

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS JEWISH
He went into his father's business
He lived at home until he was 33
He was sure his Mother was a virgin, and his Mother was sure he was God

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS IRISH
He never got married
He was always telling stories
He loved green pastures

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS PUERTO RICAN
His first name was Jesus
He was bilingual
He was always being harassed by the authorities

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS ITALIAN
He talked with his hands
He had wine with every meal
He worked in the building trades

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS BLACK
He called everybody "brother"
He liked Gospel
He couldn't get a fair trial

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A CALIFORNIAN
He never cut his hair
He walked around barefoot
He started a new religion

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A WOMAN
He had to feed a crowd, at a moments notice, when there was no food.
He kept trying to get the message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
Even dead, he had to get up because there was more work for him to do.

What's new

I slept in until 11am this morning. Ahhhhhhhhhh. The previous two nights, mom and I have gone late-night grocery shopping.

When I did get up, I played around in my van. I cleared out most of the junk and tools, vaccumed the rug, and put another coat of paint on the exterior cap. I read a couple of books while I was out there. One of the books was from the 70's and had this to say:

"If you are going to panel the entire interior of your van in mirrors, you will need a glass cutter."

Lots of great info on wierd window shapes, quirky design ideas, and tips on how to install shag carpeting.

Haven't been updating lately because I've been working. I'll finish up this job within the week...

Innocent looking Liz and Heather ...

Family togetherness

No explanation...

Birthday

Today is my cousin Sam's 10th birthday. Wow, a whole decade old!

Mom and I had thrown her a birthday party in Arizona earlier this year, thinking we weren't going to see her for a while. Since we already gave her presents then, I'm going the cheap and easy way this time- make her a card and enclose 10 bucks.

I wonder what kind of cake I should make? Last time I made spice cake with cream cheese frosting. Maybe something chocolate this time....I'm going to the kitchen to figure it out.

It's Peter's dish night tonight. Perhaps I'll make a 10 course dinner. :-)

Bloggerific!

Heather in the bathroom mirror

Somebody sent me the first prank boyfriend application today. He describes himself thusly:

i'm very hairy and short, my interests are watching television, and scratching
myself, i hate animals and children, i want to be your man

Sounds delightful :-) Except for the hairy part...I've never felt a hairy chest. It appeals. Both mom and Liz really like them, in fact it was requirement #1 for Liz's man hunt. My mother has asked several men if she could feel their chests. All have said yes. She even felt Rob's while he was here to visit. :-)

Cooking

Pasta in alfredo sauce

I've forgotten to take my happy pills for the past couple of days. Now I know why I haven't felt much in my right mind. I must be crazy today...I cooked up a storm, on MY dish night! For lunch I roasted 3 colors of potatoes with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, chives, onions and garlic, and grilled two marinated steaks apiece. I sauteed some onions and garlic to smother the steaks with.

For supper I made fettuccine in alfredo sauce with a sprinkling of chopped basil. Was going to make dessert, but decided there were enough dishes. Neither mom nor I can cook without using almost every dish in the house. It's a special talent.

Mom wrote about me dousing myself with pepper spray today over on her blog. Yesterday I went to the dentist. The day before, I was sticking the lizard in the stovepipe of an outdoor stove when I realized too late that there was a wasp nest in it. A couple of days before that, I had accidentally dropped my van off of the jacks and came thisclose to the wheel falling into the dirt. An hour later Eric dropped the other side of my van, and bent his jack out of shape. That same day mom accidentally broke his tail light out with her ATV.

While getting 3 of my teeth sealed yesterday, the novacaine wore off just as the dentist was grinding down my back molar with his drill. I screamed. Quickly got another shot of drugs. When I left, they told me it would take at least 6 hours for the numbness to wear off. I was normal within 3. When I got back, I learned it always wears off quickly for mom, and it doesn't even effect my aunt Liz.

Good book

I picked up a fascinating book at the library today. It's called

Cooking for Mr. Latte
A food lover's courtship, with recipes

I started reading it at a stoplight. I was so engrossed that the person behind me had to beep to let me know it was a green light. People in Vermont never beep.

Relationships

I have not been in a relationship in 474 days. It's been an interesting time so far. I've been through a lot of phases.

At first I started looking up born again virginity.

Then involuntary celibacy...

Which led me to wonder what different cultures had to say about sex for unmarried women.

I pondered if arranged marriages made good sense.

I perused several dating sites.

I usually read the personals ads for amusement. I crafted a few of my own. How to describe my personality and wants in 30 words or less?

I decided that relationships were unhealthy for people my age. How can you develop your life, interests and goals, while trying to mesh with someone elses? Your entire life's course can be altered depending on what sort of mate you choose. I thought of the types of men I'm attracted to....

1) Italian guy with large family
Hmm, I could marry one of these, have a few dozen children, and live happily ever after in Italy on the family vineyard.

2) A carhartt and 3-day-old beard wearing trailworker
We'd spend our lives building trails and leading conservation corps, possibly starting our own conservation organization. Retire in Alaska.

3) Hunky construction worker
We'd build our dream house, or possibly rennovate a fixer-upper Victorian with great lines. Perhaps rennovate a bunch of other classic houses in good neighborhoods and rake in the rent/sales cash.

4) Outdoor nut
We'd meet while working at the REI flagship store. Our paychecks would be spent on gear purchased at steep employee discounts. Our free time would go to exploring every outdoor pursuit out there. We'd hike the triple crown, do a lot of adventuring in other counties. Pardon me while I drool over the nice chest this guy would have...

5) Cultured Yuppie
We'd see the world via a beautifully crafted mahogany sailboat. When on land, we'd have a sprawling but not ostentatious big house-little house-barn, spread on several hundred acres in the country. We'd throw dinner parties for our enviro-conscious, Mensa member, politically active, Volvo-driving friends.


Think of how drastically your life would be altered if you were to spend it with a different mate.


I have no idea what I want to grow up to be like. How do I know what type of man and future life I want, too? I guess that's why people date...to try on others and see if they fit.

Google

My boyfriend application page has finally reached top status over on Google.

My life

My horoscope says I'll soon realize the meaning of my life:

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Physicists have been on a roll for the last hundred years. Beginning with Einstein's theory of relativity in 1905, they've uncovered secrets of the cosmos that would have seemed like magic to nineteenth-century scientists. Yet they still haven't found their Holy Grail-the "Theory of Everything" that would tie together all their discoveries and, in the words of Stephen Hawkings, allow them to "read the mind of God." According to my understanding of the astrological omens, you Sagittarians have been on a similar ride in the past 12 months. You've gathered tantalizing clues to the greatest mysteries of your life, but have not tracked down your personal Theory of Everything. That could change in the coming weeks, though. You're closer to the Grail than you've ever been.

Back from a mini-vacation

Heather under a tree near Canada


I woke up on Monday and felt awful. Sam and Charlotte came home with school cooties and kindly gave some to me. Grossness. I was complaining about not wanting to go to work when mom decided we should run away together somewhere for a few days. I called the people I was to work for to let them know, then mom and I packed and hit the road.

Mom wrote about some of it on her blog.

I need to get back into the groove of blog writing. I've been slacking horribly! To get my writing juices flowing, here a random facts about Heather's World:


My feet are women's size 10 1/2 E

I received the LL Bean Christmas catalog today. I want one of the male models pictured. They look so outdoorsy and delectable.

I get an average of 3 boyfriend applications a week. Two in the past few days have been women offering their best friends.

I bought a bullwhip for 99 cents. My aim is getting pretty good...

I'm currently reading Lip Smackin' Vegetarian Backpackin'

Current chocolate addiction? Lindt milk chocolate with extra fine cocoa nibs.

Tomorrow I go to the dentist.

Lizard under hood

I bought a giant plastic lizard at a garage sale for my aunt Liz. She had a smaller version perched on her dashboard already. I brought it home and was poised to superglue it to her hood when mom talked me out of it.

Since then, Liz and I have been surrepticiously putting it in various odd spots around the driveway.

Lizard in paper box

Lizard in van wheelwell

Lizard under outhouse window box

Heather in van

Jesus VS Bush

Visit to our farm

Rob Cole posted pictures and stories over on his blog about his recent trip to our house.

Brakes

Just got back from the parts store. My expenses:

Quart of brake fluid - 3.77
Two Complete Calipers - 23.99 each
Two Brake hoses - 26.99 each
Gallon GoJo Fine Italian Pumice hand cleaner - 12.95
Two Tail light bulbs - 1.39
Two cans Fix-a-flat (One to replace what I owe eric, one to keep in my van) 5.98
Two sets Brake pads - 11.99

With tax, it came to $145.72 I'll get back $10 when I return my used calipers. It's from a thing called a core. It's like a bottle deposit for auto parts. You return the old parts so they can remanufacture them.

This is the first thing on my van I've actually HAD to fix. Everything else has been preventative maitenance. When I was driving my van around the block a couple of days ago to see how the exhaust system sounded, I got to a flat spot and applied the brakes. I hopped out to look at the skid marks to see if all 4 wheels had locked up properly. When I got back in, the right front brake wouldn't disengage no matter what I tried. I had to drive almost a mile back home with it stuck. My wheel smoked for quite a few minutes after I had parked it. I pried off the hubcap to let it breathe better and found burn/soot marks on the inside of the hubcap. Hmmm.

When I disasembled everything yesterday, my brake pad was firmly stuck to the rotor. I used a hammer to whack off the caliper. Sparks flew :-) Everything looks in fine shape now and rotates properly. I am going to pry off the cover and stick more grease in my bearings if they need it.

Charlotte has been pressuring me to get the van ready so I can take her camping. Liz has even started up a campain to run away with me and see how far the tank of gas will get us. She wants to go to Wanakena Forestry school with me. :-)

Where I've been

Pile of cucumbers


I've been working on my van a lot lately. Finished putting in the exhaust system, it sounds great! Slowly cleaning out the interior. You can read what I did today and see a good picture of me swearing at my brake calipers over on mom's blog.

As I was stomping on the lug wrench to get enough leverage to take my tire off, I was thinking about quality tools. I'm slowly building up my mechanical and carpentry tool cache. The slowness is due to lack of much money and the fact that I usually buy the best tools I possibly can. For instance; my miter saw. I could have saved $500 by buying a 10 inch stationary chop saw. Instead, I saved and saved, and bought a top of the line Dewalt 12" compound, sliding double miter saw. It cost me $600 and is worth every last penny. It's built to last and can handle almost every possible angle encountered on a job site. A smaller saw with lesser bevel angles would have worked at first, but also would be having me cursing its limitations by now.

Cheap tools are never worth it. They cause more problems in the long run that counter the initial cheap and easiness that attracted one to it in the first place. Quality tools feel and look good , do the job effectively and pleasurably, and they last. It's a wise lifetime investment to always go with the best. It pays off in droves over the lifetime of the tool.

This got me thinking of men. Why settle? Being in a relationship just because it's easy and convenient instead of being of high quality and built to last makes as much sense as buying a wrench from the Dollar Store, made in China. Both will break apart and leave you with frustration. You're left with less money, nothing to show for it, and a sourpuss attitude.

I'm waiting for quality.

I can amuse myself pretty well in the meantime. :-)

Heather and Rob at Summit

Rob Climbing up Mansfield

People on Mount Mansfield

Rob Cole

My fuel filter. Small, isn't it?

Aleka on my $12.75 couch and .50 cent pillow

Heather's Van on ramps

Whatnot

I've been a bad, bad girl. No updates in almost a week? What was I thinking?

Life has been busy lately. I've been working my tail off doing more painting for the people who had the apartment. Now I'm doing the trim on the entire outside of their house, as well as the finish trim inside. I'm grateful for the work - my credit cards are smoking from the recent activity. I'm getting into the whole van fix-it project.

My van sat for quite a few months this year without me starting it. When I tried in the summer, it wouldn't even cough up a turnover noise. The culprit? A malfunctioning fuel pump. I bought a new one for $13.88 and installed it along with new fuel lines and shiny new clamps. Now it starts better than Eric's (Uncle) 1982 truck.

Two days ago I dropped the entire exhaust system out. I called about 3 dozen places trying to find a replacement y-pipe. It's the pipe that goes from the engine block into the other exhaust pipes. Nobody had it ... not junkyards, auto parts stores, muffler shops, dealers, even the factory stopped making them years ago. The muffler places wanted several hundred dollars to build me a new one. The people I know who weld didn't want to touch it for fear of igniting a nearby gas line. Finally found a place that had it!!! - 2 hours away. That's another story and a half.

Now all I need to get it on the road is to reinstall the exhaust system, buy some new tires, register and insure it. It'll only cost $600 more. Oh joy. :-)

It's so exciting to be so close to having my very own car! Charlotte (Cousin) keeps saying I have a sweet van. She especially likes the wooden ceiling. My aunt Liz thinks the disco ball is a bit outrageous. And Eric is suffering from engine envy ... I have a bigger one than he does.

Posting

I try to post something at least every 1,000 hits. Lately I haven't been up to par ... too busy working and having fun!

On Friday I finished painting an entire apartment. It now has sand motif walls and mission biege trim, cabinets and doors. It looks 10 times better! It used to be an institutional blue.

Tomorrow I'm making everybody Sunday brunch. It's going to be richly decadant french toast topped with strawberries and fresh whipped cream. I'm in the middle of baking the bread for it right now.

I've modifed the following recipe in a number of ways, such as using evaporated milk instead of half and half, more sugar, vanilla and butter. The recipe is from the book Inter Courses. (Steve, the nice ex, bought it for me :-) )

French Toast Baked In Honey-Pecan Sauce

4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup half and half (or Evap Milk)
1/2 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Slices thick French bread
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup chopped pecans


Combine eggs, half and half, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Pour half the mix into a baking dish. Place the bread in the pan and top with the other half of egg mix. Refridgerate, covered, overnight.

Melt the butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish and stir in the brown sugar, honey, maple syrup and chopped pecans. Add soaked bread slices. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.


MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!


I love cooking for other people. :-)

How I feel today:

Evil Heather

This picture is from Friday evening, when I was returning home from a full day of volunteering over at Yestermorrow. I spent it fooling around with screen doors and insulating downstairs in the building where the interns stay. They wouldn't let me use power tools.

Doing a day at Yestermorrow was fun and very informative. There are a lot of nice people at Yestermorrow, but not much motivation to get things done. I practically screamed when I saw the utility room in the downstairs of the intern living quarters ... the sheetrock was unfinished and had become the victim of a steady drip of water down the pipes. There was a film of water on the concrete floor, and the sheetrock in the moistest corner was covered in mold. There were leaks around the foundation in other parts of the building, but no plans to fix them. And as far as I know, they don't plan to rip out the rotten sheetrock. Ewwwwww!!!

They wouldn't let me use power tools, even though they had seen the website and knew I built a house without accidentally sawing off any vital body parts. This is even after I signed the form that does away with my right to sue if I tried anything stupid that resulted in injury or death, such as flossing with a power drill.

They aren't very organized. They knew I had skills but were scrambling to find something for me to do, even though I had let them know I was volunteering a day ahead of time. They didn't have supplies on hand, so I ended up going to the lumber store for fiberglass insulation and polyurethane.

Now for the good stuff - I have enjoyed the free lecture series they've been hosting this summer. Very inspiring and lots of pretty pictures in the slide shows.

Heather In Warren

This is me earlier this evening near the Warren store. Tonight was the last in the free summer lecture series at Yestermorrow. Now what am I going to do with my Wednesday nights?

The Warren store is a pretty cool place. I bought myself an almond tart and read the paper out on their deck overlooking this river. Spent some time thinking about what to do next in life. So many possibilities! The ones I've been kicking around lately are going to Randolph Technical or Johnson State College, living in my van while working as a carpenter in Florida this winter, or starting another house project on our back 9 acres, in the form of a Scandavian inpired stave church type of dwelling. Lots of pointy things and dark wood shingles. Stained glass. An airy loft.

My better living through modern pharmaceuticals is going great, with one exception. If I don't take a second pill in the afternoon, I can't get to sleep. I feel too creative and alive to waste it by going to sleep. Guess who forgot to take her second pill today and is still awake as the clock inches closer to 2am on a worknight....?

Water cascading over rocks

Quote Unquote

Tell The Truth And Run
- Yugoslavian Proverb


I'm on my nightly kick to figure out what I want to do with my life. I gathered up some of my old notebooks to see what I had written in previous moments of angst and found a page of good quotes. The previous one seems apt tonight. What I think of people with bad attitudes:

Moral Indignation Is Just Jealousy With A Halo
- H.G. Wells


And of course,

Blessed Are The Cracked, For They Let In The Light

Gross Food

There are some foods that are so gross, greasy, wierd, etc, that you just can't resist them. Velveeta isn't one of them. That is just not a food product. On the other hand, you have corn dogs, spam, and fried mozerella sticks. Mmmmm.

Spam Facts

I'm a big fan of candy. When traveling across the country, my diet usually consists of beef jerky, cranberry juice, red licorice, and sour patch kids. Lots of links to good junk food sites at:

Junk Food Mecca

Free will VS expectations

The minute you tell me I must do something, I want to do anything but. If you told me I had to baste the perfect turkey and do the laundry, I'd run away screaming. It's a totally different story if I choose to do those things by my own free will.

I'd eventually like to be a good wife and homemaker because it sounds like a good idea. I'm not going to give up carpentry or any of my other interests to slavishly devote my life to caring for somebody else...but if the man is appreciative, praises my cooking etc, he can be sure of (almost) always coming home to a hot and scrumptious dinner and other delicious things.

I won't dress myself in nothing but saran wrap to greet him at the door if he demanded it, but if he dropped a subtle hint that that sort of thing turned him on, you can bet I'd run to the supermarket for some plastic products.

There's a difference between doing something because you want to, and doing it because it's expected of or you're told to.

Yestermorrow Build And Design School

Went to the usual Wednesday lecture at Yestermorrow school. What a neat topic! Tonight there was a fascinating guy from Martha's Vineyard giving a talk on scattered, affordable housing. At the very end he showed us some slides, including a great bunch of his company slicing a house in half to transport. Half of the house fell off the truck and went splat into the dirt. They managed to get it upright, fix it up, and now it looks normal and is being lived in.

There's a really cute intern who has the Wednesday job of getting people to buy tickets in the 50/50 raffle. Half of the money goes to their scholarship fund and the other half goes to the winning ticket. Tonight I got to pick a ticket from the bowl. I asked if I could root around for my number, but alas, Nick said no. The ticket I picked belonged to tonight's presenter. He donated his share back to Yestermorrow.

I hung around after the talk to get tips on becoming an intern. I'm gung-ho about getting the position!

Horoscope

My initials are HAM and I was born under the Chinese sign of the Boar. Look what my horoscope for this week is:

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): To the ancient Chinese, pigs were sacred because they could eat anything, and turn it into energy. The creatures were regarded as masters of transmutation. Nothing, not even garbage, was unusable to them. The Chinese aspired to be like pigs in the sense of being able to learn from and derive benefit from every experience, not just the tidy, tasteful ones. I mention this, Sagittarius, because it's an excellent time for you to imitate that paragon of holiness, the omnivorous pig.

Dating

Yesterday we splurged on our once monthly treat of eating at the Chinese buffet. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

My fortune cookie told me, "Now is the time to ask that special someone out on a date". I think they mixed my fortune with somebody else's. I've never asked anybody on a date. I think it's the man who should be doing the pursuing. It's the man's job to pursue the woman, make her feel pretty and feminine, bring her flowers, protect her from bad things, and whap anything that bothers her over the head with a big stick. As a girl, it's my job to fawn over how clever and cute he is and make him feel rugged and masculine. Pursuing him for a date goes against our ingrained biology.

I used to hate dresses with a passion. How was I supposed to hang upside down from trees while wearing one? Nowadays I find myself increasingly liking them. Last year I wore a purple flowery one for backpacking, this year it's a black cocktail-esque dress. I love the way full skirts swirl up and around my legs when I'm out contra dancing.

I find myself increasingly loving and celebrating the differences between men and women. Don't get me wrong, I love the effects the women's liberation movement has had on the world. I hate sexist pigs. But I do recognize that women and men are innately different and should recognize and celebrate that fact. We should get paid equally for equal work, but we should also realize that we're better at different things in life. No woman is ever going to beat a man's weight lifting or running record. No man is ever going to be able to nurture a child as effectively as a woman.

And I will never ask a man out on a date. I want someone who thinks I'm the most delicious, talented woman to ever walk the earth and will do anything to have me. Why make it easy by asking him out?

Pffft. Sometimes I wonder about the seriousness of fortune cookies. Could they not be the deep, metaphysical morsels of truth I make them out to be?

More about the Dog

Puppy was dumped upon Liz and Eric by my grandmother 7 months ago, and was never reclaimed. They like the dog, but it's a little too much for them. They already have a dog, a cat, and two rambunctious children to take care of. They were also taking care of my grandmother's poodle for several months, but she took that one back.

Personally, I'd never own a dog of that type. I prefer mutts with husky, German shepherd and wolf/lab in them. Something with more brains and personality.

Mom posted more about the dog yesterday over on her blog.

Free Dog

This is Puppy, Liz and Eric's dog. They would like to give it to someone who can offer it a nice place to romp freely. Contact us at Royalepain@aol.com if you or someone you know would like it.


Stats:
Purebred Golden Retriever
4 years old
Female, spayed
All shots current
Likes other dogs, cats and kids

Bad Kid

I came in for lunch and discovered mom had been busy over on her blog. This is part of the reason I don't want to have a kid until a long, long time from now. It'll probably act just like me. God Forbid!

Random Thoughts

I'm killing time until Samantha wakes up, so I can continue cleaning my room.

My aunt Liz (her mother) had a few requirements for her dream guy. She wouldn't waiver on one of them - that the man had to have a hairy chest. On the first date with her now husband, she told him what she wanted. He lifted up his shirt in the middle of the fancy restaurant and said, "How's this?" She felt him up and said "Ooooh, that'll do nicely"

Cleaning

Today I took a day off from work to clean my room. I'm consolidating my junk and making way for all of the things from my house to come in. To free up space, I brought in my sawzall and crowbar to demolish the built-in desk in the corner. Ahhhh, that made me feel better.

Liz and family should be here tomorrow or within the next 2 days.

Dialog and debate

See mom's blog for a comparison of dialog and debate.

Commentary

When I came in for breakfast and mail this morning, I had 29 new emails. Only a handful weren't comments from my blog. I should have enabled comments sooner! This is fun, like my very own soap opera. :-)

Want something else to bicker about? Let me elaborate on why I have lists for mate qualities...

I want the best male specimen I can get my paws on. Why? Well, when I eventually mate and have a kid, I want that kid to be endowed with the best genetic material it can have. I want the kid to be cute, wicked smart and talented. A lot of that relies on nurture, but having kick-ass genes in addition to wonderful parenting skills will sure give the kid a boost.

So if you look at it from that angle, I'm looking out for what's best for hummanity and the perpetuation of our species. The lists show what a true philanthropist I am.

I don't plan on having a kid for another 10 years or so. In the meantime, I intend to find a man who possesses those qualities to grow and build a life together. My current life is filled with all sorts of wonderful experiences already. Now I want somebody to share those with, work on our goals and dreams, go "Look at that!" when we see something interesting, laugh together, dream together, and get each others sarcasm and subtle humor.

Wasabi

I was looking for a sample of my wall paint color, when I found a fascinating page about wasabi. Stalking the elusive wasabi

Answering People's Comments

If you're a Christian, you should be loving, not condemning thy neighbor.

See my previous entry, sarcasm is for smart people. Subtlety is as well. Some people just don't get things unless they're walloped over the head with a clue-by-four.

If I had wanted a sex toy or any of the other things I mentioned, I would have obtained them already. The internet and Canada are wonderful things. I was being facetious.

My lists of soul mate wants and not wants was very reasonable. Are you telling me there are people who look for qualities such as

1) Looks like a rhinoceros (on a good day)
2) Can't be peeled off the couch
3) Hates kids and animals
4) sour puss, half empty attitude
5) doesn't bathe, picks nose in public
6) At least a foot shorter than I am
7) Hates learning anything, won't crack a book unless forced to at gunpoint
8) Communicates by grunting
9) Thinks romance is for sissies
10) Won't lift a finger to help


Interestingly enough, I got a great book on the side of the road today. It's called "If you like Pina Coladas ... The humor and weirdness of personal ads"

My favorite of the moment is:

SWM, 24, Wile E. Coyote type supergenius: eclectic, creative, and complete with existential angst. You: light hearted road runner type, minus the cruelty, with a smiling appreciation for all my ridiculous schemes. My heart is a giant magnet and for once you actually ate the birdseed full of ball bearings. Bzzt! Clank!

What I've been up to

I've been wicked busy the past week! I've been out having too much fun to be disiplined, sit down, and write.

Tonight Yestermorrow had a documentary film on the Rural Build project. Fascinating stuff. Pretty pictures. Scroll below to find a pic I took of their treehouse. One of the current interns is living in it at the moment. Otherwise I would have taken some inside pics...

Went to Maine, gawked at LL Bean, ate some scallops. Mmmmmmm. Saw Acadia, savored the pungent ocean air, poked around a lighthouse.

The hoard (Aunt Liz and family) will be decending shortly. They left Arizona on the 3rd and expect to be here in 4-6 days. I've been working like crazy to get everything nice and shiny and ready to go. I shudder to think how many ATV loads of my stuff has to come back and find a new home in my room. I think it's time to do some major rearranging in my 12x14 room to fit my velvet couch in there.

Made a couple of lists about my ideal soulmate. Top ten for "Must have" and "Must not".

Must Have:
1) Taller than me - preferably at least 6' +
2) Have a great smile and/or nice chest
3) Playful nature
4) A go-getter
5) Love variety
6) Like books and reading
7) Romantic and sensual
8) Great conversationalist
9) Practical talent ... I.E., mechanic, carpenter, great with people/leadership
10) Will do the dishes


Will not touch with a 10 foot pole:
1) Picky eater
2) Homophobe/sexist pig/republican (But I repeat myself...)
3) Chew with mouth open
4) Not like traveling/camping
5) Can't amuse himself, especially in bookstore
6) Rude to waiters/bad tipper
7) Hate dogs
8) More than occasional drinker/gets drunk on purpose (Buzzed is fine...sloshed is not)
9) Whiny
10) Smoker / does drugs

Installing and shimming new window in loft

Completed Window (Almost)

Heather putting on final coat of paint

Yestermorrow Treehouse

Extreme Ironing

Here's a way to spice up boring ironing jobs...Extreme Ironing!

The Ocean

It's funny, yesterday I kept thinking that I'd like to go to the coast of Maine to eat some lobster and visit L.L. Bean. This picture will have to do for now. It's one I took last year on a beach near Naples, Florida.

Heather's Window

My window came in! I got up at the crack of dawn this morning, stole Peter's truck, and went on a field trip to the lumber store. The guys there were trying to convince me that one of the panes had broken during shipment. Uh huh.

Right now it's still in the packaging, laying on the floor next to my couch. I think I'll build a mini balcony outside before installing it. I need a place to stand when I finally side that section anyhoo.

Work today was painting at the community center, the porch of another house, and going over to the town garage to measure it. The town wants the entire building painted, including the roof. Just the roof measures over 5,000 square feet. Eek! I'm online tonight to price some compressors, hoses and spray guns.

Giant cup of tea

I bought this cup and matching plate for 25 cents at the same garage sale where I got my $12.75 couch.  This cup is HUGE! My fingers don't even touch when I wrap both hands around it. It's more than a foot in circumfrence.  I'm not sure how many ounces it holds, but I have to use 3 teabags to get the same strenth as I would 1 bag in a normal cup.

Last night I had a hankering for coffee. I hadn't had any since February, so I didn't feel guilty when I brewed up some full bodied rainforest nut and filled my cup almost to the brim. I added some cream and sugar and I was all set to go. Mmmmmmm. Is the planet shaking, or is it just me?

Heather with her mug of tea

Ahhhh, tea. Perfect for chilly mornings such as this.

Goodies from the mail

A fan of my blog just sent me these in the mail. Very cool! I'm going to hang the sign up in the back window of my van. The Sheet Happens magnet already graces the back door, sandwiched in between "Have you hugged a flamingo today?" and an onion decal from Onion River Sports.

Now I'm going to do some research on burlesque...

Mayhem and destruction!

I came home from painting the community center and spent some quality time with my new couch. I wrote in my paper journal for the first time since June, did a bunch of reading, and listened to some swing music. I started to feel really antsy. I did the best thing I could think of in that situation ... I went upstairs with my 24 ounce hammer and busted out my old window frame. I took a picture of the dust plume that poofed up when the frame hit the ground.

My new window comes on Thursday.

In the meantime, it's nice and breezy upstairs. I'm thinking of building a small platform under the window, like a mini balcony. Maybe I'll start getting serenaded. :-)

There are a couple of pictures over on my mom's blog.

Joke

I've been doing a lot of painting over at the community center lately. I just ran across this joke and had to share it. :-)


Church Restoration Project
There was a tradesman, a painter named Jack, who was very interested in making a dollar where he could. So he often would thin down his paint to make it go a wee bit further. As it happened, he got away with this for some time.

Eventually the local church decided to do a big restoration project. Jack put in a painting bid and, because his price was so competitive, he got the job. And so he started, erecting the trestles and putting up the planks, and buying the paint and thinning it down with turpentine.

Jack was up on the scaffolding, painting away, the job nearly done, when suddenly there was a horrendous clap of thunder. The sky opened and the rain poured down, washing the thin paint from all over the church and knocking Jack off the scaffold to land on the lawn. Jack was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he fell on his knees and cried, "Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?" And from the thunder, a mighty Voice spoke,

"Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"

I've been going to the lumber store a lot lately. Everytime I do, one of the guys that works there wants to know how my house is going. It's been embarassing to admit my siding still isn't done...so today I finished the front of my house. Some other day I'll finish the rest. :-)

I still have to stain it to match the rest of the clapboards, both on front and the sections on the other 3 sides I haven't gotten around to. I think Yestermorrow should do a class on how to get the motivation to finish your siding. I usually play good  music to get that effect.

 
What I've been listening to lately:

Fade To Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute To Metallica
by Iron Horse

Retrospective
by The Indigo Girls

Live
New Favorite
by Alison Krauss and Union Station

Motorcade Of Generosity
Fashion Nugget
Comfort Eagle
by Cake

Graceland
by Paul Simon

 
I've been reading a lot at night. Recent books include:

Zen and the art of making a living
Laurence G Boldt

The evolution of useful things
Henry Petroski

Workshop Math
Robert Scharff

Treehouses
David Pearson

Cordwood Building
Rob Roy

Alternative Housebuilding
Mike McClintock

Building Contractor's Exam Preparation Guide
John Traister and Keeler Chapman

Hermits
Peter France

Becoming a Chef
Andrew Darnenburg and Karen PAge

Do It Yourself Housebuilding
George Nash

The Seven Storey Mountain
Thomas Merton

 
Read any good books lately?

Front of Heather's House

Heather Sawing Clapboards

Weird Words

A handy collection of weird words to work into your next conversation.

Yard Sales

Yesterday Mom, Angela, Sam and I drove to the Montpelier Farmer's Market and then to some yard sales.  We got to one sale just as they were toting everything from the sale to the free pile. It took up their entire front lawn. We toted away armloads of good books, cooking implements, 5 pairs of cross country skis, 3 pairs of boots, and one pair of downhill skis and boots that fit me perfectly.

At sales where we actually bought things, I got a feather bed to go in my van. I'm going to lay down a couple of my camping mattresses side by side, then foam we have laying around, then the feather bed. It's going to be a really comfy nest. I slept on the featherbed last night. It was soooooo comfy.

I also bought some lightweight nylon pants for 25 cents each to use as summer work pants. Carhartts are just too hot to wear when it's 80+ out.

I submitted my Yestermorrow internship application on Friday. I won't know if they want me until almost October. If they do, I'll be working there until January. It seems like a good thing to do in the dead of winter, especially considering I won't be able to live in my house then. Aunt Liz and family are moving into my house within the next two weeks. Her husband Eric is good with cars and has promised to help me with my van. Woohoo!

Drooling

I've been drooling over a couple of goodies from Bosch lately. My drill has been living on borrowed time, so I've been researching replacements. Bosch really likes dropping their tools multiple times and recording their results. A recent test I read talked about droping their jobsite radio off a one story building, with nary a skip of the CD player.

Yestermorrow Design Build School

The Yestermorrow Design Build School is so cool! We went there last night for a talk at 7:30, and didn't get home until well after 11. I took every single piece of promotional material they had. I've been online looking at their site today and have printed out an internship application. I am definately applying! I've found what I want to do with my life. :-)

I'm going to fill out the application and bring it and the other required materials over before the week is out. They should hire me. I have a background in construction, I'm a voracious learner, I'm enthusiastic and a hard worker, and if you look up Yestermorrow Building School on Google, my blog is third on the list. If you look up just Yestermorrow Building, I'm first on the list.

Well, off to regular work for the day.

Today

I played hooky from work and instead went to a 3 hour lecture on radical agriculture with Angela. Mom wrote about it over on her blog. When we got back, I picked 5 pints of raspberries...the first of the year from our patch! Tonight I'm going to a talk about handicapped accessible treehouses at the Yestermorrow building school.

I'm going to go out to read in my house and figure out what I want to do with my life next. I'll let you know when I figure it out. :-)

 

Domestic Goddess Part 2

I wrote this out in my house but couldn't get to bed. Came into the main house to transfer it onto the computer.
 
 
 
I can't sleep. It's 11:35 pm and I'm up in my loft, writing by the light of my headlamp. The radio is streaming rich jazz while outside is the sound of lush, heavy rain. I just devoured a 152 page book in a little over an hour. It's called "Plain and simple; a woman's journey to the Amish". I grabbed it on an impulse while on my way to the library checkout desk.
 
I've been laying here in the dark, drumming my fingers against the mattress and thinking about the book for the last half hour. In some ways I think of the author as yet another rich yuppie who's in search of a meaningful life after decades of a shallow existence...And in other ways, I can identify.

Everybody spends their life searching for meaning. I don't know what my purpose is, but I do know that I'd like to spend it having a positive impact on the people and environment around me. Lately I've been hung up on the idea of maturing into a domestic goddess. For me, that means delving more into the things derisively labeled "Home Ec".
 
I want to create fabulous masterpieces in the kitchen, loose myself in scrubbing the tile floor until it sparkles, wash, iron, decorate, etc. I want to create a warm, welcoming home environment. I want to heat the dinner plates beforehand, at least occasionally. I want to have a home where people kick off their shoes and feel utterly at ease. I want to spoil everybody into delighted pieces.
 
Some days I think it would be fun to have a whole flock of kids. Most days though, I'm pretty sure I only want one. Though if the right Italian guy with a loving, extended family came along...  When I have a kid (s?), I want to devote my time towards raising it. I don't want to have an outside job at the same time. I want to travel and do lots of interesting thing with it and the father. We'll do things like go to the zoo and makes faces at the walruses. That's a ways off yet, as I don't want a kid until I'm almost 30. There are still so many interesting things I want to do before then! And I also have to find a husband, first. Details, details!
 
One of my favorite quotes comes from the side of a Celestial Seasonings tea box; 
 
"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but rather outward in the same direction"

Heather's new couch

Yesterday I went yard saleing and found a magnificent masterpiece of art masquerading as a couch. Originally priced $50, I managed to get it for $12.75. It was the highlight of my day. The couch is from the 1950's and is a dark purple velvet. It comes in two pieces and when put together, is about 7 feet long. It's supremely comfy. One half is perfect for curling up in with a good book. I haven't decided where I'm putting it yet, or in what configuration.  Once I do, I'm sending a pic of it to the people who sold it to me. One of the reasons I got it cheaply was because I promised to give it a good home.
 
Purple and green is my favorite color combination of all time. The green on my walls is splendid with the new purple couch. I have a purple end table that will look smashing when paired with it. The green really looks pukish in these pictures when in reality it's quite nice. If you'd like to see what it looks like really, go to Wal-Mart and get the Dutch Boy colors brochure. My green is called Wasabi Taste. If for some reason you want the same color, the mixing instructions are on the back. Any paint store can use it them with any brand of paint. I bought $10/gallon Wal-Mart paint myself. My ceiling is called Golden Tan and is found in the regular paint chip section. It looks very preppy together.

What to do next?

 
This picture is of Steve, my ex-boyfriend from a few years ago. Right now he's working for the Maine Conservation Corps in his second year of being a crew leader. I'm so jealous! It sounds like he's having a blast. I applied for the same job a year before he did, but didn't get it. It worked out ok though, as I spent that year saving up money to go hiking from Florida to Virginia the next.
 
Now I'm figuring out what my next big project is going to be. I'm really drawn to the National Civilian Conservation Corps, the Peace Corps, and Habitat For Humanity.
 
I'm going to go think about it while I clean up my house and the surrounding area. Only 2 or 3 more weeks until my aunt, uncle, two kids, two dogs and one cat move into my place!

Domestic Goddess

Supper last night was stuffed mushrooms and a huge salad of fresh garden greens. Afterwards I went out to my house and didn't realize I had forgotten to blog until after 9pm.

Mom sent me some links in the middle of the night after reading that I wanted to be a domestic goddess. I've already read the cookbook she sent. It's pretty good. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786867973/103-2613298-6544638?v=glance

There's also a good book on how to be a good housekeeper. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068481465X/ref=ase_girlfriendboo-20/103-2613298-6544638?v=glance&s=books

Hmmm, blogspot isn't working today. I'll have to continue this later.

Blogger's Block

Everytime I sit down to write something these days, my mind goes blank. It's not for lack of content - so many interesting things have happened lately! Like when I pulled up to the community center to drop off tools and this car pulled in next to me.  The driver said, "Hi Heather!" I had no idea who he was... turns out he was from the Carolinas and was in the neighborhood to give me a van repair manual. He knew who I was because he recognized my face from the web. Cool! Good book, too.
 
Today I took Sam to her graduation from swim lessons. She has now passed the Red Cross level 4. There were a lot of wierd mothers there. They were all very shallow and had a mean edge to them. I hope I don't turn into a superficial windbag in my old age. Instead, I'd like to be a domestic goddess.  I'll write about that after supper.

Heather and her Melons

 
Like my melons? Not the cantelopes...
 
Today I experiemented with a low cut shirt and a cleavage enhancing bra. I'm not normally breast-centric, but you have to understand that I've never had any material to work with before....until this year, when I gained weight and went up almost a cup size.
 
It is amazing how people treated me differently when they could see my cleavage!  Men were falling all over themselves to help me, cars would stop on a dime when I crossed the street, and I received better and faster service at a number of stores.
 
It was funny watching people stare at my cleavage, then realize what they were doing and try to pretend they hadn't been looking. There was a really sweet and nice MRI tech at the hospital who walked mom and I out to where she was getting her test. His eyes kept wandering to my chest. He would realize what he was doing and quickly look away, somewhat embarassed. 
 
On a side note, you know how supermarket check-out people ask "Is plastic OK?" I always wish they would instead ask, "Paper or plastic?" So I could say, "It doesn't matter, I'm bi-sacksual" Today was the first time in years they asked the proper question. I didn't tell them I was bisacksual though, because the check-out guy had been staring at my chest the entire time. It didn't seem like the right thing to say at the moment. :-)

It's amazing how two lumps of fat that intersect to create a line on my chest can so totally affect the way people treat me. It boggles my mind!

Bumper Stickers

My fledgling collection. Bumper stickers are an integral part of the vehicle restoration process!

Thought for the day

"'I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen... I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it.'"

--George W. Bush, to evangelist James Robinson, reported in The Guardian

They're talking about me on the National Enquirer board...

Searches

Apparently dozens of you people have been putting in the key words "Heather's butt" and other variations into multiple search engines after reading my post about it. Amusing. :-) Who knew my butt was so famous?

Last night at the library I picked up some Scientific American's, Psychology Today, Utne, and books on carpentry, the zen of making a living, and one on pilates. I want to get back into the great shape I was in last year. I also picked up some brochures on the local colleges and other interesting courses offered in the area. I'd really like to take some first aid courses this year. Time to dig up some grants and get certified as a Wilderness First Responder or a Wilderness EMT.

I'm starting to branch out more and become more sociable. It's nice having a driver's license...I can steal the car and go to interesting presentations whenever I want. Hmmmm....it's raining today, that sounds like a good idea...

Tonight

Was planning on going to a talk/slideshow/exhibit about the Costa Rican rainforest tonight. When I got to the library, the presenter was giving off terrible, boring, ego-maniac vibes, so I spent that hour browsing the books instead. (Besides, there were no cute guys in attendence. Priorities!)

Went grocery shopping afterwards for some salad and Jane's crazy mixed up pepper. I had no idea it was that expensive! I use the stuff with abandon. My favorite is steaming 3 cups of green beans, adding half a stick of butter, and seasoning it with lots of the aforementioned pepper and crazy mixed up salt. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Last night I buzzed mom on the intercom from my house to let her know I was back. Didn't hear anything, so I went to bed. Half an hour later I hear a big buuuuuuurrrrp over the intercom. It's the official Martin greeting. :-) I need to start answering the phone like that. Scare away some telemarketers.

Yestermorrow Building School

Last night Angela and I went to a free talk about alternative building methods such as cob and strawbale. There were lots of pretty slides and quite a crowd of cute 20-something guys.

The school is a pretty neat place. I could see myself taking some classes there. I picked up some promotional materials about the place and got a schedule of upcoming talks. Next Wednesday at 7:30 is a slideshow about stained glass. The next week, it's about handicapped accessible tree houses coast to coast. Very cool! And free. :-)

How people find me

Mom checks the site statistics every day. It's interesting the words that bring up our websites. My favorite search today?

Whipped and Sheared

It doesn't scare me that people find our websites through such strange searches. What does make me wonder is when people are searching for something like Heather's butt and end up staying on our site for hours, reading the many different pages.

Heather's World Relocation?

Painting my house is on hold. My aunt Liz has decided she wants to move into my house while she and her husband hunt for land in Vermont. They're moving here in a month or two, as soon as they sell their house in Arizona and pack everything up.

We're going to convert the bed in my former room into bunk beds so Sam's sister Charlotte can live in there with her. That leaves me with the option of building another dwelling to live in, or living in my van.

Speaking of my van...yesterday we had two women visit. They showed me where the bolt to loosen the tension on my drive belts was located. Woohoo! It shouldn't be too long before I'm ready to bring it in for inspection. I need to complete 15 more driving trips to qualify for cheaper insurance though...insurance needs to be instated before I can bring the vehicle anywhere.

It's going to be so nice to finally have my own car! I've been collecting a bumper sticker collection for it. The other day I slapped a new one on, "Forget love, I want to fall in chocolate" :-)

Heather's grease monkey hand

Bottle of Antifreeze

Old coolant hoses

What I did today

Heather under her van

I finally have health insurance again. Woohoo! I used the opportunity to get myself put on Celexa, an anti-depressent. I've only been on it a few days but already feel sooo much better. I have energy and verve again! Things seem accomplishable!

I painted my house ceilings, have been working my butt off in the garden, and stopped being afraid of my van. Tonight I removed the coolant overflow tank, drained the radiator, replaced three coolant hoses, and scrubbed the accumulated dirt and grime off of the easily accessible frame pieces.

I did pretty good - I only spilled two cups of coolant, hit my head once, and swore three times.

Spite Fence

Yesterday was spent working on a spite fence for two neighbors who are having property wars. It's turned out really nice. It made me think of the dichotomy of wood and relative richness of the people buying it.

The rich people always buy the really expensive, luxurious woods, like red cedar and mahogany. Then they usually want it painted over. Uusually in a boring, hideous white. The poorer people buy the cheaper woods like spruce, then want it to be finished with a stain that makes it look like the more expensive woods. This fence is made of yellow pine and has a finish that's supposed to make it look like redwood.

Why can't the rich people showcase the natural wood beauty? Why can't the less rich just paint it a rich color instead of trying to fool people with a stain? It drives me up a wall. It's a classic example of people never being happy with what they have and always wanting the other thing. Hey wait a second, I resemble that remark...

Top Ten Words

Webster's Dictionary came out with a top ten list of their favorite words. They put my personal favorite word at the very top of the list. Woohoo! Let's hear it for defenestration!

Top Ten List

I'm suprised that I didn't know two of the words. I guess it isn't often that I call someone a flibbertigibbet. Maybe I should start...as long as they're not bigger than me. Otherwise I'm sure to become kerfuffled!