We've got this cute little car, a 2005 Toyota Echo, new to us. We've only had it for the last couple of weeks, and it's a dear little thing. It doesn't particularly like doing anything over 120 kph on the TCH, shuddering until I slow 'er down to a sedate 100 kph. It doesn't really like hills, but Paul has asked me to keep it at or below "2" on the rpm scale... so I do try my best. It's not really a spacious car in terms of spending the day shopping. I had to lower the back seats to make room for groceries and Walmart shopping, but hey, it did okay considering it was only Sean and I out shopping.
So, in other words, it's a nice little car. Well, there I was, with Paul, coming out of Cycle City in Mount Pearl, all unsuspecting of what lay ahead. Paul walked out of the store to his motorcycle (the Buell Ulysses, but let's not get into Harley Davidson shutting down that line of bikes) and the car was parked just alongside it. The not-quite-setting sun shone down on our little Echo, and there, big as a fist, was a dent! A DENT in the passenger side door! And a scratch just below!!! Just beneath the side-view mirror!!! How the heck did that get there? Well, gee... obviously I took a mallet and whaled on it, then took a screwdriver and scratched it as well! NOT!!! Sometime during the day of shopping, parking in strange *shudder* parking lots, SOMEBODY banged their door into our little Echo, popping a fairly large dent into it and scratching it while they were at it!
Don't tell me they wouldn't notice something like that when it happened. THEY KNEW! They KNEW and didn't bother to have the bloody decency to leave a note with their particulars so we'd be able to contact them and get their insurance to cover the repair. Stupid STupid STUPID people!
*sniff* our poor little Echo. I'm going to take her in to see Uncle Scott and find out when he'll be able to fix her up good as new.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
So the plumber asks me "do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
Why oh why do people always do that? Okay, so it was fun while I was the one doing it, but when somebody else does it... the decision-making process you have to go through when you KNOW that while the bad news isn't really what you want to hear, hearing the good news isn't necessarily going to be all good news either. But just which do you want to hear first? If you ask for the good news first, then you have a good idea of what the bad news is going to be. Not necessarily a good thing. But, if you ask for the bad news first, then you have to wonder what could possibly be better than this bit of information! Argh!
Oh well. At least we know now what the stink is all about. Hopefully. There's always that little bit of uncertainty, no matter how positive the experts are. They always give you that little qualifier. The "I'm not completely 100% positive, but pretty darned sure, based on my years of experience, but don't entirely take my word for it that this is going to solve your problem." *sigh* What do you do? Believe them? Ask for another opinion? Geez... at $300.oo for just one lousy visit, I'm not in a hurry to call in another of these so-called "experts." And why do they charge extra for checking out the crawl space? I mean, c'mon! If Mutt's assistant "Bubba" (names changed to protect me from slander charges) weren't so darned lard, *ahem* I mean large, he'd have no trouble getting through the hole in the floor to the crawlspace. He'd have no trouble scooting around in the spaciousness that is our sub-basement if he weren't so ungainly. I mean, c'mon!!! If Paul, at 250+ lbs can get down there and meander around with impunity, and Sean, at 6'3" can ramble without bashing his brains out... what the heck is "Bubba's" problem?! Agh. Anyway. An additional fee was charged for going in the crawlspace.
Now I have to find out a) do we REALLY need to dig a hole for a sump pump in the crawlspace, or b) can it be outside the house in the backyard where we have room to dig a 2'x2'x2' hole and perhaps deal with the possibility of large friggin' rocks because the house is a Frankenjudy and was built on top of a ginormous pile of fill. Just remember the huge deal it was to put in the fence posts when we first moved here! Argh... again!
Oh well. At least we know now what the stink is all about. Hopefully. There's always that little bit of uncertainty, no matter how positive the experts are. They always give you that little qualifier. The "I'm not completely 100% positive, but pretty darned sure, based on my years of experience, but don't entirely take my word for it that this is going to solve your problem." *sigh* What do you do? Believe them? Ask for another opinion? Geez... at $300.oo for just one lousy visit, I'm not in a hurry to call in another of these so-called "experts." And why do they charge extra for checking out the crawl space? I mean, c'mon! If Mutt's assistant "Bubba" (names changed to protect me from slander charges) weren't so darned lard, *ahem* I mean large, he'd have no trouble getting through the hole in the floor to the crawlspace. He'd have no trouble scooting around in the spaciousness that is our sub-basement if he weren't so ungainly. I mean, c'mon!!! If Paul, at 250+ lbs can get down there and meander around with impunity, and Sean, at 6'3" can ramble without bashing his brains out... what the heck is "Bubba's" problem?! Agh. Anyway. An additional fee was charged for going in the crawlspace.
Now I have to find out a) do we REALLY need to dig a hole for a sump pump in the crawlspace, or b) can it be outside the house in the backyard where we have room to dig a 2'x2'x2' hole and perhaps deal with the possibility of large friggin' rocks because the house is a Frankenjudy and was built on top of a ginormous pile of fill. Just remember the huge deal it was to put in the fence posts when we first moved here! Argh... again!
Monday, October 19, 2009
MORE rain?!!!??
Jeezuz... How much more rain is going to fall before our house floats away like Noah's Ark? It rained the other night again... starting sometime during the early morning hours. I lay in bed listening to the rain beating on the windows, thinking to myself, "should I get up and check the windows? Naaahhh... it's not raining that hard." Toss and turn toss and turn. "I should get up and check the windows. Naaaaahhhh... go back to sleep." Toss turn toss turn... "Damnit all... I'm going to get up and check the windows... maybe I should kick Paul and get him to check the windows?" Decided against that one... lucky Paul. Crawled out of bed and checked windows. In the dark. They were wet. Luckily I had some dry towels to put down on the window sills!
It took a while to get back to sleep after all that excitement. Yes, believe me, it's exciting to get up in the middle of the night to wander around the house and get dripped on/step in puddles/dart into the darkness outside to close the storm door while getting completely soaked. I finally slept for a couple of hours, but woke up around 6:30. Ungodly hour of the morning. I don't understand how people manage that every day of the week. *quizzical frown* Good thing I got up though. Some of the towels were already sopping wet and needing a change. While I was up and making coffee (lucky Paul), I decided to take a picture of the stream/waterfall. It was doing some sort of acrobatics at the bend just before the pool deck, leaping about 6 feet into the air before wending its way down and around to the bay. Eeep! *note to self: insert picture sometime soon. Preferably before it goes missing in the Pictures folder*
Here's the photographs from Pat of the Yorkies with their red and white dresses *ahem* sweaters on. They look adorably silly. lol... dog clothes...
These days I'm busy knitting baby shower gifts for Alia's friends, Anna and Teri. A pair of (omigosh they're so damn cuuuute!) kimonos, some kind of dumb looking toques (sizes range from Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear), and a pair of cuddly bunny things. I'll have to remember to take a picture of them and post them once I get downstairs and download them from the camera(s). Procrastination is becoming my new middle name. Why not? It's popular!
Must remember to take the Malibu-bu in this week to get the oil changed. Can't procrastinate that for too long.
The new Echo is a cute little car. Sounds a bit like a lawnmower sometimes, and Paul's always warning against pushing it too hard at start-up. I still think it says "I think I can, I think I can," as it chugs up the hills. Hope it does well in winter. Paul says it did a bit of a wheelie on Marine Drive the other day... the wind caught it and tossed it onto 2 wheels! Got lessons from him on how to re-ground the vehicle if it ever (hope the hell not!) happens to me... turn AWAY from the wind. Kite strings, anyone? No, no... that's for Niki, for when she goes outside in the heavy winds!
Ciao for now. This is a boring post so I might as well leave asap.
It took a while to get back to sleep after all that excitement. Yes, believe me, it's exciting to get up in the middle of the night to wander around the house and get dripped on/step in puddles/dart into the darkness outside to close the storm door while getting completely soaked. I finally slept for a couple of hours, but woke up around 6:30. Ungodly hour of the morning. I don't understand how people manage that every day of the week. *quizzical frown* Good thing I got up though. Some of the towels were already sopping wet and needing a change. While I was up and making coffee (lucky Paul), I decided to take a picture of the stream/waterfall. It was doing some sort of acrobatics at the bend just before the pool deck, leaping about 6 feet into the air before wending its way down and around to the bay. Eeep! *note to self: insert picture sometime soon. Preferably before it goes missing in the Pictures folder*
Here's the photographs from Pat of the Yorkies with their red and white dresses *ahem* sweaters on. They look adorably silly. lol... dog clothes...
These days I'm busy knitting baby shower gifts for Alia's friends, Anna and Teri. A pair of (omigosh they're so damn cuuuute!) kimonos, some kind of dumb looking toques (sizes range from Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear), and a pair of cuddly bunny things. I'll have to remember to take a picture of them and post them once I get downstairs and download them from the camera(s). Procrastination is becoming my new middle name. Why not? It's popular!
Must remember to take the Malibu-bu in this week to get the oil changed. Can't procrastinate that for too long.
The new Echo is a cute little car. Sounds a bit like a lawnmower sometimes, and Paul's always warning against pushing it too hard at start-up. I still think it says "I think I can, I think I can," as it chugs up the hills. Hope it does well in winter. Paul says it did a bit of a wheelie on Marine Drive the other day... the wind caught it and tossed it onto 2 wheels! Got lessons from him on how to re-ground the vehicle if it ever (hope the hell not!) happens to me... turn AWAY from the wind. Kite strings, anyone? No, no... that's for Niki, for when she goes outside in the heavy winds!
Ciao for now. This is a boring post so I might as well leave asap.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October storms
Damn! October is turning out to be a real pain, weather-wise. It's gotten chilly, rainy, dark and gloomy. One day of sunshine does not a happy Christine make. Yesterday was absolutely horrible. It was Paul's last day of holidays and it absolutely POURED all freakin' day! He picked Gerri up with the Echo (echo echo echo) so that she didn't have to swim over and we had coffee in the living room with the fireplace blazing. Lovely heat.
Around 10ish Sean showed up to report that there was water all over Kyle's floor, leaking from his ceiling. Uh-oh... Scamper down the stairs with towels and buckets and discover that the window is leaking from several places as well. Scamper back upstairs to find that the water on Kyle's ceiling is likely due to the water gushing in from the living room door immediately above his room. More towels, more buckets. Water is also dripping from the window casing of the living room windows. Uh-oh... This does NOT look good... scamper further upstairs to check on the master bedroom... sure enough, water's springing from the windows AND the door as well. AAAAAaagh! More towels and buckets! Miranda's room too! Oh no!!! At least the skylights are holding.
Out of towels yet? The dryer still isn't repaired and I'm currently sitting amongst several large bath sheets strung over doors, railings, racks...
The sun is shining today. It's as if nothing ever happened. *sigh* I guess we'll be replacing the windows next year.
Around 10ish Sean showed up to report that there was water all over Kyle's floor, leaking from his ceiling. Uh-oh... Scamper down the stairs with towels and buckets and discover that the window is leaking from several places as well. Scamper back upstairs to find that the water on Kyle's ceiling is likely due to the water gushing in from the living room door immediately above his room. More towels, more buckets. Water is also dripping from the window casing of the living room windows. Uh-oh... This does NOT look good... scamper further upstairs to check on the master bedroom... sure enough, water's springing from the windows AND the door as well. AAAAAaagh! More towels and buckets! Miranda's room too! Oh no!!! At least the skylights are holding.
Out of towels yet? The dryer still isn't repaired and I'm currently sitting amongst several large bath sheets strung over doors, railings, racks...
The sun is shining today. It's as if nothing ever happened. *sigh* I guess we'll be replacing the windows next year.
Friday, October 9, 2009
October is chilly!!!
I'm very glad that we have a fireplace in both the living room and dining room. It gives me such options for when I decide to sit down to read or knit. Knitting also has the added advantage of keeping me warm while I lay it on my lap. ... dog sweaters aren't always the biggest items though. Needed the dog, too.
Pat's visit is nearly done and tomorrow is Turkey Day. Sadly, the real turkey from next door, Smokey, died this morning under a pine tree in our yard. He was 16 years old and had been the neighbour's pet. How can I face turkey tomorrow morning? *sigh* ...
So... Pat's visit was busy! Paul had the week off and we spent the time motoring around with a new car! Okay, okay... back up a bit... we TEST-DROVE a Toyota Echo the other day. Drove the *bleep* out of it on the way to Cape Spear. It's a small thing, but brave. I swear I could hear it chanting "I think I can, I think I can" the whole way up the hill. Anyway, to make a long story short, we bought it and brought it home yesterday. It just fits in the small section of driveway between the gate and the road. Hmm... It's just a smidgen bigger than a Smart car.
Pat was canny this time and brought her hairstyling tools with her. It seems that the experience of trying to cut our hair with my sewing scissors was still stuck in her brain and she wanted to avoid the horror of it this time. lol... hair colour and new styles all around. Pictures? You want pictures? Sure! As soon as I get some taken of the girls 'n hair. :)
Knitting was a blast as well. I made that adorable (if I do say so myself) outfit for Niki and one for Shelby while Pat watched in awe. She persuaded me ( it was easy!) to make a pair of sweaters/dresses for her sister-in-law's pair of Yorkie-girls. Well, I started with the backs while waiting for the measurements to arrive from Grace. They took me a couple of days, but they're adorable. I REALLY hope they fit and can hardly wait to see the photos of the dogs wearing them. That goes for Shelby's dress as well. Hurry up, Dana! Put it on and take a picture once you get the parcel!
Gotta go find out if my little Malibu is ready for pick-up from the mechanic now. It's just past 2:00 and I have yet to plan dinner, take Sean to work, and fetch the Mook from school.
Cheerios! (yes, I know they're a cereal)
Pat's visit is nearly done and tomorrow is Turkey Day. Sadly, the real turkey from next door, Smokey, died this morning under a pine tree in our yard. He was 16 years old and had been the neighbour's pet. How can I face turkey tomorrow morning? *sigh* ...
Pat was canny this time and brought her hairstyling tools with her. It seems that the experience of trying to cut our hair with my sewing scissors was still stuck in her brain and she wanted to avoid the horror of it this time. lol... hair colour and new styles all around. Pictures? You want pictures? Sure! As soon as I get some taken of the girls 'n hair. :)
Knitting was a blast as well. I made that adorable (if I do say so myself) outfit for Niki and one for Shelby while Pat watched in awe. She persuaded me ( it was easy!) to make a pair of sweaters/dresses for her sister-in-law's pair of Yorkie-girls. Well, I started with the backs while waiting for the measurements to arrive from Grace. They took me a couple of days, but they're adorable. I REALLY hope they fit and can hardly wait to see the photos of the dogs wearing them. That goes for Shelby's dress as well. Hurry up, Dana! Put it on and take a picture once you get the parcel!Gotta go find out if my little Malibu is ready for pick-up from the mechanic now. It's just past 2:00 and I have yet to plan dinner, take Sean to work, and fetch the Mook from school.
Cheerios! (yes, I know they're a cereal)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
October already!?!!?
Where the heck is the time going? It's already October 3rd and I'm so not ready for winterizing myself. Oh well. At least I've been winterizing my puppy-girl. :)
Ravelry has been a great place to "shop" for ideas to clothe Niki. Thanks Dana!!! Alia suggested a Halloween costume for the little bumpkin, so I went "shopping" for ideas and patterns. I found a sweet King of the Beasts costume (that'd be a LION) that came complete with an adorable mane. The yarn is a super-chunky that's knit on size 13's, so it works up really fast! All was going well until I finished the body and stitched it together. Oops... wrong size. Big-time wrong size! What to do now? It's all done!!! Argh! I did what I do best and improvised using my sewing machine. I stitched that sucker up and down the sides and then *gulp* CUT it.
Again, all was going well until I was finished with the sleeves. Wrong location. Well golly-gee... what to do now? It's all flippin- done! If it were a computer document, I'd have hit the "delete" button by this point. Frogging wouldn't work. I'd cut it. Well, since it only took me a day to stitch the first version, surely it'd be as fast to do the 2nd. So, off I went with another ball of yarn.
Second version, ahoy!! It was beautiful! I decided to modify it hugely. Extra stitching details and additional decreases to re-shape the body here and there. The piece de resistance was the crocheted ruffle on the butt-end. Absolutely darling!! I finished the rib knit (wow!!) collar and added a bit of ruffle around it to hide the (oops) missed-stitches, and it now looks like a turned-down ruffled collar. Very very adorable!
While all this was going on, we had an absolutely wonderful French girl staying with us. French, with a lovely posh British accent. Emma arrived from Iceland via cargo ship in Argentia and got to our place on Sunday, Sept 27 and left us just this afternoon (Oct 3rd). She was my knitting buddy through the week. She'd just learned to knit in June and the pair of us had a great time playing with our projects. She practiced cables, I made doggie sweaters.
Pat A. showed up on Friday am! Hooray!!! She'll be here until the 11th. I'm going to knit a pair of sweaters for her to give to a pair of doggie-pals of Shelby (Xmas presents) and another for Shelby :) as well. Fun fun!
Ravelry has been a great place to "shop" for ideas to clothe Niki. Thanks Dana!!! Alia suggested a Halloween costume for the little bumpkin, so I went "shopping" for ideas and patterns. I found a sweet King of the Beasts costume (that'd be a LION) that came complete with an adorable mane. The yarn is a super-chunky that's knit on size 13's, so it works up really fast! All was going well until I finished the body and stitched it together. Oops... wrong size. Big-time wrong size! What to do now? It's all done!!! Argh! I did what I do best and improvised using my sewing machine. I stitched that sucker up and down the sides and then *gulp* CUT it.
Again, all was going well until I was finished with the sleeves. Wrong location. Well golly-gee... what to do now? It's all flippin- done! If it were a computer document, I'd have hit the "delete" button by this point. Frogging wouldn't work. I'd cut it. Well, since it only took me a day to stitch the first version, surely it'd be as fast to do the 2nd. So, off I went with another ball of yarn.
Second version, ahoy!! It was beautiful! I decided to modify it hugely. Extra stitching details and additional decreases to re-shape the body here and there. The piece de resistance was the crocheted ruffle on the butt-end. Absolutely darling!! I finished the rib knit (wow!!) collar and added a bit of ruffle around it to hide the (oops) missed-stitches, and it now looks like a turned-down ruffled collar. Very very adorable!
While all this was going on, we had an absolutely wonderful French girl staying with us. French, with a lovely posh British accent. Emma arrived from Iceland via cargo ship in Argentia and got to our place on Sunday, Sept 27 and left us just this afternoon (Oct 3rd). She was my knitting buddy through the week. She'd just learned to knit in June and the pair of us had a great time playing with our projects. She practiced cables, I made doggie sweaters.Pat A. showed up on Friday am! Hooray!!! She'll be here until the 11th. I'm going to knit a pair of sweaters for her to give to a pair of doggie-pals of Shelby (Xmas presents) and another for Shelby :) as well. Fun fun!
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