Pretty baubles

Finally! After almost two years, the guest room chandelier is up!

Up, but not quite completed. This is the project that keeps on giving.

It was never really a priority, but the chandelier was getting dustier and dirtier languishing out in the shop. Jeff hesitated about replacing the existing ceiling fan, figuring that any male guests would prefer a breeze over a beautiful fixture. But since it's cool weather now, he agreed to give the chandelier a trial run. Who knew it would be such a pain to hang?

I bought this vintage, very heavy, very quality chandelier used. And I thought I got all the parts with it. But it turns out the mounting strap was missing. No problem, we have extra around. Except the threaded nipple for the chandelier is a big, heavy duty one, not the standard dimension for our mounting strap. So we decided to switch the nonstandard nipple out for a regular one we had on hand. But then we couldn't get the extra thick wiring through the new, narrower one. So Jeff had to remove some little plastic ends and try again. Success! Only then, we had to change the canopy cover because the nipple wasn't long enough for the original canopy. Okay, I have some extra canopies around, too. Just spray paint to match and go.

But wait; the extra heavy duty chain links are really difficult to open. No problem; we can use one of the 1/8" quick links from our miscellaneous fasteners box as a substitute. Another spray paint job and we're ready. Uh oh; the 1/8" link doesn't open wide enough to fit onto the heavy duty chandelier links! A trip to the orange big box store results in a 3/8" quick link that is big enough. But it needs a coat of spray paint, too. No problem; quick spray, fan assisted drying, and we're back in business. Not so fast! Now the canopy cover can't fit down over the chain links to give Jeff enough room to complete the wiring.

At this point, I'm ready to call it quits! It's been two weeks with a ladder and electrical and lighting parts scattered over the guest room. I'm starting to think the old ceiling fan was meant to be. But ever patient Jeff persists and manages to wire the fixture up with just a few inches of room to work. Surely we're home free! But after screwing in the bulbs, several of the lights flicker ominously. So Jeff takes the sockets apart and discovers that an important rivet is too loose to make a good connection. None of the big box stores carry the replacement candelabra socket size we need, so now we're waiting on special order ones to arrive.

In the meantime, Jeff let me leave a few bulbs in the sound sockets and I step in and flick on the switch every now and then for a little chandelier goodness. It's enough to see me through to the end of the project!

Weekend Work

I know it's been months since I mentioned the downstairs bathroom renovation (you remember, this post?). I haven't posted more about it because...nothing's happened! Well, I've been getting quotes, making measurements, gathering more materials, etc. But only in the last few days have we committed ourselves.

That commitment came in the form of destruction. Once you start tearing something out, you really have to keep moving forward! We wanted to do this in the most tidy and methodical way, so it's slow going. We're using a Dremel tool with small drywall bit to cut out the shower surround and tub. Thankfully, it's a two piece model, so it shouldn't cause too much damage to the existing walls to get it out. Our plumber is tied up with a few other jobs before ours, so that buys us some time. We decided to go all in and have the toilet moved over (which involves breaking up the concrete) and vanity re-plumbed also, not just the shower. So the work involved is a little more extensive (and expensive ;-), but it should be worth it!

Bit by bit! We went through five or six bits just to cut all the way around the tub and surround

The Right Tools

As particular as I am about using the right tools in home improvement, I'm learning the right tools for every job are worth it.

I usually neglect getting my hair cut until it's too long and heavy for a basic claw clip. Then I make a trip to my trusted (but underutilized) stylist and ask her to work her considerable skill on my messy mane. This time, I mentioned that I'm long overdue for a new hairbrush and blowdryer, so she offered her expert opinion. She was able to give me quite a few pointers on size, bristles, wattage, attachments, everything I needed to know. She even demonstrated the best techniques, too. Not that I can put them into practice as well as she can, but it's worth a shot.

Her styling left my hair looking great for three days! I usually can't even get out of the bathroom before my roots are going flat, curl is falling out, kinks are working their way in, etc. She barely used any product, my hair smelled great, never got greasy, and didn't needed a brush or comb in the morning. Even Jeff kept commenting on how nice my hair looked. I guess going with pro advice, quality products, and topnotch equipment applies to hair renovation as much as home renovation!

It may not look like much, but this is the end of day two and my hair is still curled under! I was certainly pleased.

Cat Chat

What is in that tummy? Jeff and I know Schrodinger has been killing a lot of rodents lately. Mostly mice, as we have seen him toying with them in the backyard (or "the killing fields", as Jeff calls them now ;-). I hate the method, but it's a necessity with a barn, shop, animal feed, and pet bedding around. Mice and rats are just part of country life. Dinger did get a baby chipmunk the other day, which we rescued twice, but eventually the cat prevailed.

I wondered what was becoming of all the carcasses, but we finally learned their fate today. We were doing some gardening and saw Dinger catch, kill, and consume a large field mouse from start to finish. It was horrible, but that is the present nature of animals. I was just amazed that he really ate the entire thing, with the exception of what appears to be the stomach. He has left those on our door mat two or three times already. It's either the best part he's gifting to us, or, being a cat, likely the worst part he doesn't want to eat!

Photos Finally!

Photobucket and our old, slow, glitchy computer have conspired to make life difficult, so it has taken me forever to get our Ireland photos uploaded. Better late than never! Here are some highlights:

Emerald Isle

I've been out of the blogosphere for a while, but we're back from Ireland and ready to post pictures! Well, almost, that is. "Almost" applying to the picture posts, I mean. We're definitely back, and not even too jet lagged. But between the unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, make-up class work, and bill paying, I haven't gotten the photos off the camera just yet.

I don't think I mentioned it in previous posts, but Jeff and I were in Ireland for almost two weeks. We toured the island from sea to shining sea; at least, east to west. We went from Dublin to Enfield (in County Meath), and from there toured down to Kildare and over to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. We saw the Hill of Tara, Loughcrew, Irish National Stud (complete with an $80 million dollar racehorse!) Trim Castle (where parts of Braveheart were filmed), and more sheep than I can count. I'll have more details and the promised pics in the next post, but I'm off to catch up on chores now!

Driving in Style

Meet Jeff's new love:



This is Cooper, the desire of Jeff's heart. You have to understand that Jeff really loves driving. I only see it as a means to an end, but driving is relaxing and enjoyable for Jeff.  He has never been one to lust after any material possession, but given his pleasure in driving, it's understandable that Jeff really likes convertibles.

So when his old commuter car started having major mechanical problems last year, we talked about replacing it with a convertible. It was a luxury, not a necessity, but since he took his old, bare bones 2000 Dodge Neon from cradle to grave (bought it new and put all 230,000+ miles on it), we felt it wasn't unreasonable.

We spent quite a lot of time this summer researching and test driving used convertibles, trying to find one that was reliable, gas efficient, and at the right price point. The Miata was too small, the Sebring too big, the BMW too expensive, the Honda hard to find, the Bug too "girly", the Mustang too much a gas-guzzler.  We drove hours each way to little used auto dealers to look and talk and haggle and ultimately walk away for one reason or another.

College started back, and Jeff had basically given up and decided to limp the old car through when he checked the local used auto websites again and saw this Mini Cooper! It was our "Goldilocks" moment. It's adorable, but still sporty and retro enough to be manly; has good gas mileage, but the 6 speed transmission and supercharger make it fun to drive; roomy enough for the nieces or other small guests to ride in the back seat on occasion; relatively spacious with the fold-down backseats and exterior luggage compartment; and packed with upgrades like electric seat warmers that will make those chilly days that much more comfortable when Jeff still wants the top down ;-).

Plus it's blue, which really brings out Jeff's eyes (okay, that last part factored not a bit, but it's still a bonus)!

Personal Question

Jeff and I (okay, mostly just me) were chatting up the friendly female owner of the local small business establishment we were patronizing. As she rang us up, she stated, more matter-of-fact than question, "So, no kids yet?". Jeff replied no, while I was struck with curiosity with how she knew that. In spite of talking for ten or more minutes, that had never come up. In fact, neither of us was even wearing our wedding bands at the moment. So I asked in amazement how she knew we didn't have kids. She laughed and said we were too relaxed and affectionate and that couples with kids always looked a bit more harried.

Then she sweetly asked how long we had been married, and I knew what was coming. Jeff told her it had been twelve years, and she exclaimed "Twelve years and no kids yet?!". I explained we hadn't been able to have children, though I hated to since it always leaves people feeling awkward. I suppose they just never know what to say to that.

But I guess I'm always a bit surprised at how surprised people are. After all, statistics show that 10-15% of couples suffer from infertility. That's a lot of men and women! Surely these strangers we meet must know at least ten or fifteen acquaintances, making it very likely someone in their circle of friends also can't have children. But maybe we look too young or too healthy or too carefree to be dealing with such a serious burden. And with the rise of DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) by choice, maybe they think we're some selfish yuppie couple who doesn't want children. Which hurts more than their knowing we're incapable of pregnancy and childbearing, so I usually tell them the truth (unless they are particularly obnoxious and I don't care to reward their digging with such a personal nugget).

But I guess the good news to come from all of this is that we look like a young, newly married, very much in love couple who isn't expected to be procreating yet. And that's not such a bad image at all. Let's just hope we can carry it off as well in our forties, and our fifties, and our sixties, ...!

Vain as a ...Pekin?

Is it really vanity if he thinks it's another duck?

Poor Donald was so lonely after the death of his sole duck companion that he took to lying beside the cars where he could see a vague reflection of himself. Jeff realized Donald probably thought he was seeing another duck and was seeking company. He hangs out with three of the hens (his little harem) in the morning, but then they move on to do "chicken" activities and he's left alone. So we put a spare mirror outside near the little duck pool to watch his reaction. I think he's found a new best friend (and it's not the lurking cat)!

Fall Flowers

The marigolds have been beautiful this summer, but I planted them in front of the dusty miller, thinking the dusty miller would be taller and should be in the back of the flower bed. Oops! The marigolds have overwhelmed them, but I still love the color combo of orange and gray. So I got to fake the pairing I was going for in my recent flower arrangement!

Fall Fun??

As you might have guessed from my last post about classes starting, I've been a bit too busy and overwhelmed to blog the past week or so. The time dedicated for class isn't so bad, but being away from home two full days really throws my schedule. Now, I'm packing two lunches instead of one, preparing dinners a day ahead of time twice a week, doing all the shopping and laundry in one day, working on projects for Jeff, and studying and doing homework to get the most out of my class. Oh, and still taking care of chickens, duck, and cat, planning the fall garden, putting in more landscape plantings, tailoring Jeff's new suits, finishing up random DIY projects, and gearing up for the bathroom remodel. I don't know how you moms with multiple bodies to clothe and feed do it! I only have one other human being to care for, and Jeff's quite self-sufficient at that!

I will shamefully admit we have been falling onto the comfy leather couch to eat dinner in front of an old Dharma and Greg episode frequently at the end of our craziest days. Yesterday was a perfect example; after an early morning rise, Jeff watered, fed, and tended to all the animals while I made a hot breakfast. Jeff cleaned the duck pond while I packed lunches and made dinner preparations. We stocked the truck with shovels and gloves for the free plants we were going to dig up that afternoon, thanks to Craigslist. We also needed our dance bag for Samba class, Jeff's work bag, my school bag, and changes of clothes and shoes for the afternoon digging, plus the lunches I'd packed. We barely fit in the truck cab ourselves!

After a full day of work, school, and church paperwork, we changed in Jeff's office, drove 15 minutes to our digging destination, and uprooted seven loropetulum bushes. We loaded and secured them, drove 35 minutes home, unloaded the bushes, showered, had a quick snack, and headed back to town for dance class. We finally got home, sore legs and all, around 8 pm to start dinner and our evening livestock routine, so a little vegging on the couch later while we ate sounded just fine! At least we didn't have to go round up the donkey who got out, like the evening before!

Back to School

Jeff starts back teaching today, and I'll be on campus with him two days a week! The university reinstated its "Listener's License" program, basically a course audit system. As the spouse of faculty, I could have taken university courses for half price, but that's still quite a lot of money for a three credit undergraduate class. So the audit idea works much better for me, since I'm interested in general enrichment, not GPAs and fulfilling requirements.

I've registered for Music Theory, and my first class is this afternoon. I'm really excited and am already looking at the course schedule to see what other classes I might want to take next semester if this works out.

Since I'll be on campus all day, I'll also be volunteering as Jeff's personal assistant a few hours and taking advantage of the university fitness center, which has all kinds of group classes, workout equipment, swimming lanes, and more. Summer has been wonderful, but here's to a new adventure this fall!

Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty

Soft kitty, warm kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr.

If you're a fan of Big Bang Theory, you'll recognize Sheldon's "sick" song. Well, we have a warm, sleepy kitty, but he's sick, himself! Oh, the irony of singing the comfort song about a cat to an unwell cat!



Poor Schrodinger has a high fever. He hasn't been himself the last day or two, and he was noticeably lethargic today. I was quite worried, probably because DaVinci's serious decline was prefaced by marked lethargy. Not that those two things are in any way related; but I was so worried when the kitten didn't want to play with any of his toys, barely got up to greet us in the mornings, and spent every moment sleeping.

He's only been ours for two and a half weeks, but he feels like such a fixture already! So Jeff recommended we take him to the vet, where they ran blood work and ruled out the worst case scenarios. In the end, it's probably just an infection, but the fever was high enough to warrant antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. I hate pumping that tiny body full of drugs, but I've never found a holistic veterinarian or pet naturopath. As Jeff said, their's is just a physiochemical existence, so now Schrodinger is just a little bit heavier on the "chemical" part!

I Spy...

...with my little eye:

three hens
one duck
two horses
one donkey

What a lovely morning view to enjoy out our kitchen window during breakfast yesterday! Of course, the fuzzy spot in the photo makes me think I need to wash all the exterior glass again, but maybe we can just pretend it's a "soft focus" feature ;-)

Googled

Look who Google is featuring today on their decal! It's the physicist Erwin Schrödinger, of all people!



What timing, since our little Schrödinger is very much alive and kicking. He's growing so much, and such a sweet, purring cuddle-bug is he. We'll still encourage him to earn his keep in the shop by controlling the mouse population by night, but he's become quite a fixture in my lap by day! Who knew cats could be so personable?

He loves to be cradled in one arm and stroked on the belly and chin. His little paws stretch up and alternately flex and stretch, kneading the air while staring into my eyes and purring. He's really, really hard to resist, and even Jeff has taken to carrying him around like a baby.