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.

Singin' the Blues

Just a little sneak peak, but we're loving the new wall color in the study. We are still in the middle of reworking everything in there (fireplace mantel, partners desk, drapes, etc.), but we had company coming so I quickly painted the ceiling, trim, and walls last week just to look presentable. Finally, no more half-done, sloppy bright aqua paint in our front room. It's a sophisticated yet very livable warm blue that sets off the trim nicely and should go great with the quartersawn oak mantel eventually.




The color is hard to capture, but these photos are close. It's Benjamin Moore Philipsburg Blue on the walls and Linen White on the ceiling and trim.

Itty bitty kitty

He's suppose to be a barn car (shop cat, really, I suppose, but same thing). But at the moment, he's a bit afraid of the chickens, so he's in the study with me ;-)

Our good friend's wonderful cat had kittens, and they were originally all spoken for. But this little guy went home with a boy who turned out to be allergic. We've been talking about an outside cat for a while, so we offered to take him. I just got him this afternoon so he doesn't have a name yet, but it will likely be Schrodinger. For all you readers a little fuzzy on your physics and quantum theory, here is a brief (though macabre) explanation of the appellation!

Jeffism

"Dirty mirrors reflect poorly on us". -Jeff Evans

(This after I spent a rainy day cleaning house and polishing mirrors!)

Small and suite

It's time to get the ball rolling on the downstairs bathroom renovation! After scrubbing it down, disinfecting everything, and giving walls, ceilings, and floor (yes, even the linoleum) a coat of paint back when we moved in, nothing much has happened for the little full bath. The fiberglass tub is badly stained, the galvanized plumbing runs rusty water at times, the toilet occasionally misfires, the ancient wall-mounted sink is tiny and low, and the torn linoleum is curling and peeling. (Is it any wonder we added on the new bathroom upstairs?!) But this little first floor bath has a good layout, great storage, a cute little window, and convenient access as the downstairs bedroom en suite, as well as serving the kitchen and mudroom.

Here's the plan so far:

This will be my first tile laying experience. I've grouted before, and patched a tile here and there, but I plan to take this from start to finish. To that end, I chose a small mesh-mounted glass mosaic for the shower surround. I originally wanted marble, but have you hefted a 12 inch marble tile lately? It's really, really heavy! And it's apparently hard to cut. I had visions of hard, fragile marble tile dropping off the messy mastic walls onto my foot; or worse, damaging the new tub! We already have subway tile upstairs, and I wanted something a little different for this bath, so glass mosaic it is.

The tile, lighting, faucets, and vanity are already purchased. The tub, toilet, and flooring are picked out. All I have to do is get the plumber in to run new water lines. Oh, and of course, wait for our upcoming guests to arrive and depart before I begin tearing the bathroom to pieces!

The gift that keeps on giving!

As I type, Jeff is still pounding away on that infuriating fireplace! Little did I know when I asked for the wall and firebox to be opened that someone had WAY over-engineered the closure of the thing. Was there a simple piece of plywood or drywall over the hole? No. Was there a single stack of bricks closing up the opening? No. Were there thin mortar lines of hastily laid patching? No.

In fact, this firebox was basically a solid block of bricks and concrete mortar, built up layer by layer and cemented together into an integral mass. What was someone thinking? To make matters messier, the bricks are coated in soot; so, by default, is Jeff at this point.

I guess we should have suspected something like this. The last feature we tried to uncover, the heart pine floors in the dining room and kitchen, were buried under layers of linoleum and plywood nailed in columns and rows EVERY FOUR INCHES across the entire floor (remember this post?). Perhaps it speaks to the well-built construction of the house in general, but I could do with a little less brick-and-mortar and little more hole-in-the-wall!

Almost there:

Success!

There is still plenty to be done! We'll have to tidy up the plaster, patch some brick, cut back the baseboards to exactly the right width, lug the very heavy mantel in, position and attach it, reinstall the mirror, etc., etc., etc. But we'll enjoy our hole for the moment and try not to think about that yet.

Oh, and I think we may build a firepit outside with the extra brick, so add that to the list, too!