Yesterday Spouse & I took advantage of a mutual day off and incredibly beautiful weather to clean up our screened porch and do a little planting.
Every fall we store the cushions and pillows in large plastic bags in the garage. The screened porch furniture stays on the porch over the winter because its all water proof and we don't have room in the garage for all the furniture. So that means in the spring after the big pollen 'burst' we have to do a big cleaning of the screened porch to remove all the dust, dirty, pollen, and cobwebs.
So we started by wiping down all the furniture, wiping down the painted wooden supports of the porch, cleaning both sets of french doors leading to the porch, and then sweeping the porch floor. Once everything was clean we could bring the cushions and pillows back out and set up the lanterns and luminaries. Our beloved screened porch is now ready for the upcoming holiday weekend and visits from some good friends and family.
Next we planted 5 day lilies Spouse had ordered from one of the TV shopping channels, and then we planted 4 varrigated hostas that a friend from work gave me. Her's had gotten too large so she dug them up, split them, and gave me the excess. I love varigated hostas because of their striking dark green and white leaves and the fact that they will grow in nearly any condition, from full sun to shade.
The weather was about 82 degrees, sunny, light humidity, and a steady breeze. It was the perfect day to be busy outside.
After showering I decided to continue my productivity by moving all my long sleeved shirts from our primary closet to smaller one, and moved all my short sleeved shirts from the smaller one to the primary closet. I'm fairly certain I won't be wearing long sleeves anymore for a while, and should I need one they're still fairly easy to access.
It felt good to get this work done and its almost always nicer to do these things together.
What did YOU do this passed weekend?
Showing posts with label yard work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yard work. Show all posts
Monday, May 20, 2019
Monday, October 01, 2018
Weekend recap
The weather was so beautiful on Sat that after work Spouse and Steven & Thad and I went for a drive. We ended up in Ocean City, MD and had dinner.
Sunday's weather was more of the same mild temperatures, low humidity, and lots of sunshine. Spouse & I had coffee and talked on the back porch for about an hour, then decided to get busy. We donned our gardening gloves and trimmed some scrub trees that had grown out from our big holly and from the lace hydrangea that cover the back fence. Then we trimmed the 'crazy' roses and sprinkled a bunch of Preen on the beds which had just been weeded by a school kid I hired. The yard looks really good!
We both showered and dressed, then went out for a little lunch. Spouse's idea was to get food from Taco Bell and take it to the beach parking lot and eat it in the car, overlooking the beach. (He's a little weird about some things like this.) Then we went for a little drive near the beach, got air in 1 of the tires on Spouse's car, and then got his car washed. He never gets his car cleaned so I was happy to do it for him.
We relaxed with the dogs and watched a little TV, then met Steven & Thad for dinner. The weather was still so nice out that we opted for an outdoor table at dinner. I love to eat outdoors, as long as its not really hot or super humid or buggy.
Sunday's weather was more of the same mild temperatures, low humidity, and lots of sunshine. Spouse & I had coffee and talked on the back porch for about an hour, then decided to get busy. We donned our gardening gloves and trimmed some scrub trees that had grown out from our big holly and from the lace hydrangea that cover the back fence. Then we trimmed the 'crazy' roses and sprinkled a bunch of Preen on the beds which had just been weeded by a school kid I hired. The yard looks really good!
We both showered and dressed, then went out for a little lunch. Spouse's idea was to get food from Taco Bell and take it to the beach parking lot and eat it in the car, overlooking the beach. (He's a little weird about some things like this.) Then we went for a little drive near the beach, got air in 1 of the tires on Spouse's car, and then got his car washed. He never gets his car cleaned so I was happy to do it for him.
We relaxed with the dogs and watched a little TV, then met Steven & Thad for dinner. The weather was still so nice out that we opted for an outdoor table at dinner. I love to eat outdoors, as long as its not really hot or super humid or buggy.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Dirty Sunday
Yesterday Spouse & I did a little yard work. The weather was somewhat overcast so we didn't burn up. We dead-headed the hilarious (tall, pink) roses, pulled some weeds, and did a little trimming. It didn't take that long with the 2 of us working on it, and we didn't kill ourselves over it. It was kind of fun to play in the dirt.
Afterward I suggested we make use of a couple of large pots we already had, so we went to the nursery department at Lowes. (FYI - if you want to see a lot of gay male couples on a Sun afternoon, go to the nursery at Lowes.) Since we had 2 empty pots and there were 2 of us, we each picked out flowers to go in our own pots.
We transferred our flowers into our pots once we got home and were very pleased with the results. Here's Spouse's pot:
And here's my pot:
Again, this didn't take that long to complete and clean up after. It felt good to see the fruit of our labor.
Now if we can just remember to water these new pots so the flowers don't die!
Afterward I suggested we make use of a couple of large pots we already had, so we went to the nursery department at Lowes. (FYI - if you want to see a lot of gay male couples on a Sun afternoon, go to the nursery at Lowes.) Since we had 2 empty pots and there were 2 of us, we each picked out flowers to go in our own pots.
We transferred our flowers into our pots once we got home and were very pleased with the results. Here's Spouse's pot:
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| A nice combination of color, textures and heights |
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| A mixture of textures and heights but all in the same color, which compliments the trim on the house. |
Now if we can just remember to water these new pots so the flowers don't die!
Monday, May 14, 2018
Oooops
Yesterday Spouse & I decided to do some rug cleaning. The area rug in the living room had a couple little spots from a bad little dog (Walter), so we began by spot-treating those areas 1st then using our carpet cleaner machine on the full rug.
A few minutes into the spot-treating I noticed a very strong smell. Typically rug cleaning products have a nice, fresh scent but this smelled the opposite. I asked Spouse if he noticed the smell too and he immediately said yes.
Then he looked at the bottle he'd been spraying on the rug and said "Oh my god - this is insect killer!" When he'd pulled the bottles out from under the kitchen sink he didn't notice that 1 of them was insect spray.
We hoped that the carpet cleaning machine and solution would wash the insect spray smell out so we continued with our plan of cleaning the full rug with the machine. But a couple hours later as the rug was drying the smell was definitely still there. Since the rug wasn't expensive we decided to roll it up and put it in the garage until we could dispose of it. That chemical smell was too much.
Next we turned our attention to the planting beds. I pulled some weeds, fixed the landscaping fabric that had become loose due to high wind, and then we spread a couple bags of fresh mulch. Of course we didn't have enough - isn't that the way it always works? - but it still looks better than it did before.
After dinner Spouse & I were looking at area rugs for the living room on Amazon and found this one in the clearance section:
Its 8'x11' and priced at $149.99 but there was a box to click for a 'coupon' which took off an additional $22.50 so the final purchase came to $127.49 with free shipping since we are Prime members. Deals like this are why we weren't so upset about having to throw away the previous rug. It should arrive on Wed.
A few minutes into the spot-treating I noticed a very strong smell. Typically rug cleaning products have a nice, fresh scent but this smelled the opposite. I asked Spouse if he noticed the smell too and he immediately said yes.
Then he looked at the bottle he'd been spraying on the rug and said "Oh my god - this is insect killer!" When he'd pulled the bottles out from under the kitchen sink he didn't notice that 1 of them was insect spray.
We hoped that the carpet cleaning machine and solution would wash the insect spray smell out so we continued with our plan of cleaning the full rug with the machine. But a couple hours later as the rug was drying the smell was definitely still there. Since the rug wasn't expensive we decided to roll it up and put it in the garage until we could dispose of it. That chemical smell was too much.
Next we turned our attention to the planting beds. I pulled some weeds, fixed the landscaping fabric that had become loose due to high wind, and then we spread a couple bags of fresh mulch. Of course we didn't have enough - isn't that the way it always works? - but it still looks better than it did before.
After dinner Spouse & I were looking at area rugs for the living room on Amazon and found this one in the clearance section:
Monday, August 28, 2017
Let there be lights
About 2 weeks ago I hired a couple of teenagers to weed our flower beds. The weeds had gotten out of control and Spouse & I have neither the time nor the interest in removing them ourselves. Plus, I think its nice to give teenagers an opportunity to earn 'pocket money' like I did when I was a teen.
Yesterday Spouse & I took advantage of the absolutely incredibly beautiful weather to try and prevent some of the weeds from returning, and to make the beds look prettier. We cut some landscaping fabric to fit, spread a couple of bags of mulch, and then installed some solar powered landscape lights.
We're happy with the way it turned out. Having the teens get us started with the weeding meant we could finish up and not kill ourselves trying to complete the project.
Yesterday Spouse & I took advantage of the absolutely incredibly beautiful weather to try and prevent some of the weeds from returning, and to make the beds look prettier. We cut some landscaping fabric to fit, spread a couple of bags of mulch, and then installed some solar powered landscape lights.
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| Here's one of the cleaned up beds in the daylight |
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| Here's the same bed (from a different angle) at night |
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| Here's another bed with more of the new lights |
Monday, June 12, 2017
Weekend recap
As usual, I worked on Sat and Spouse did some spot cleaning on a couple of our area rugs. Once home from work, we met up with Steven & Thad and Joe P for dinner, and then I went to the Blue Moon to perform in the Legends show. The owners decided to bring back some of my past Legends this year so I was Neil Diamond on Sat night. Neil has a new costume this year which I like a lot, and a new wig this year which looks horrible. We did the best we could with it, but...After the show we walk around to meet and greet the patrons, and I had a nice conversation with a nice couple. As I usually do, I asked them where they lived. They said "In Virginia" so I asked where about, and they responded with the name of the tiny, obscure town where I lived about 7 years! I mean, to illustrate how small this town is, when I asked where in the town they lived, they said "You know where the stop sign is? We're in that neighborhood on the left" and I knew exactly where they were talking about. Small world!!!
Then Sun Spouse & I met Steven for a late breakfast. Thad was at a yoga class. Afterward Spouse & I took the dogs for a walk around the block, deadheaded the Comical Roses and the orange roses, dusted all the roses to prevent bugs from eating the leaves, pulled some weeds, and just did a bit of yard clean up. We both hate it but its amazing what 2 people can accomplish in just under an hour.
Next we grabbed our sunscreen and met Steven & Thad a the beach! It was our 1st beach visit of the season. It was an usually hot day for mid-June (91 degrees) but it always feels cooler at the beach with the breezes coming off the water. We had a great afternoon there and it really felt like summer. After returning to our respective homes for showers, we met back up for dinner, then we stopped by the new house to see how the renovations were going, then settled in at home for a bit of TV watching.
It was a nice weekend.
Monday, May 30, 2016
Memorial Day
Happy Memorial Day! Make it your goal to hug a veteran today and thank them for their service to our country.
Today was a lazy day for me & Spouse. Both our offices were closed so we both had the day off, but it has rained on and off so we've just been relaxing and watching TV with the dogs on our laps.
I don't mind having a 'lazy day' like this once in a while, especially if I've also had an especially productive day recently. Yesterday the weather was awesome so Spouse & I pulled all of the screened porch furniture into the yard. I cleaned the furniture with a wet rag while he power washed the inside of the porch. Its always amazing to me how dirty the inside of the screened porch can get! While everything was drying we went around to the front yard and pulled a few weeds and planted the 2 yellow rose bushes I gave him for our 20th anniversary as well as planted a couple of colorful annuals we picked up Sat evening to brighten up one of the beds. Its been a good year for our roses! The long stem soft pink Queen Elizabeth roses, the medium pink knock-out roses, the magenta knock-out roses, and the orange knock-out roses are all blooming like crazy! In a year or 2 the new yellow roses should join the club.
Then we carried all the porch furniture back into the screened porch and arranged everything. I even cleaned the 3 lanterns and planted a small basil plant in a pot.
It was a nicely productive day, and it felt good to be out in the sun for a while considering all the rain we've had this month. After taking showers and having a snack, Spouse & I hung our new canvas.
Since it looks much more like Marvin then it does Walter, Spouse was concerned that Walter may begin acting out because we hung a giant picture that looks like his brother and not one that looks like him. I told Spouse that they may be smart, but their not THAT smart.
Later we went out to dinner with Steven & Thad and I decided to pull my hair back into a Samurai knot.
I think it looks kinda cool and hipster-like. I knew Thad would ridicule me for this "age inappropriate" hairstyle, which of course he did. But I like changin' it up now and then. Your thoughts on the Samurai knot??
I hope your Memorial Day weekend was good!
Today was a lazy day for me & Spouse. Both our offices were closed so we both had the day off, but it has rained on and off so we've just been relaxing and watching TV with the dogs on our laps.
I don't mind having a 'lazy day' like this once in a while, especially if I've also had an especially productive day recently. Yesterday the weather was awesome so Spouse & I pulled all of the screened porch furniture into the yard. I cleaned the furniture with a wet rag while he power washed the inside of the porch. Its always amazing to me how dirty the inside of the screened porch can get! While everything was drying we went around to the front yard and pulled a few weeds and planted the 2 yellow rose bushes I gave him for our 20th anniversary as well as planted a couple of colorful annuals we picked up Sat evening to brighten up one of the beds. Its been a good year for our roses! The long stem soft pink Queen Elizabeth roses, the medium pink knock-out roses, the magenta knock-out roses, and the orange knock-out roses are all blooming like crazy! In a year or 2 the new yellow roses should join the club.
Then we carried all the porch furniture back into the screened porch and arranged everything. I even cleaned the 3 lanterns and planted a small basil plant in a pot.
It was a nicely productive day, and it felt good to be out in the sun for a while considering all the rain we've had this month. After taking showers and having a snack, Spouse & I hung our new canvas.
Later we went out to dinner with Steven & Thad and I decided to pull my hair back into a Samurai knot.
I hope your Memorial Day weekend was good!
Monday, March 09, 2015
Weekend recap
Sat I worked, and then we met up with our friends Vic & Mike for dinner. We had a good meal and a fun time together. After dinner we went to their house to see how they've furnished and decorated it. The last time we saw it was just a few weeks after they'd moved in. Their primary home is in VA and this is their beach home which I sold them.
Sun we had breakfast with friends, and then took Marvin & Walter for a nice long walk. The weather was sunny and the temperature was in the 50s so the majority of the snow had melted. The boys absolutely loved the long walk! It has been too cold/windy/snowy to walk them in quite a while. Afterward we decided to take advantage of the nice weather by cutting back our rose bushes, which then lead to a major pruning of our crepe myrtle trees. We spent almost 3 hours outside doing yard work, but I didn't mind since it was so mild out. I had on jeans with a t-shirt and a light hoodie - that's it. We ended the day by meeting Steven & Thad at the diner and then watching our Sun night TV shows: Girls, Togetherness, and Looking.
It was a nice weekend!
Monday, September 01, 2014
Long weekend recap
Spouse & I had a nice holiday weekend - 3 days off together, which is unusual for us.
We did some yard work, we watched some TV, we had a few meals with friends, did some laundry, visited with some friends from a nearby town, and we went to the beach.
The weather was beautiful on Sat: about 75 degrees and very low humidity. I'm sure glad we did our yard work that day! Sun & Mon were very hot (90+ degrees) and very humid. All in all we had a low-key and enjoyable holiday weekend. How about you?
We did some yard work, we watched some TV, we had a few meals with friends, did some laundry, visited with some friends from a nearby town, and we went to the beach.
The weather was beautiful on Sat: about 75 degrees and very low humidity. I'm sure glad we did our yard work that day! Sun & Mon were very hot (90+ degrees) and very humid. All in all we had a low-key and enjoyable holiday weekend. How about you?
Monday, May 19, 2014
Sunday funday
We started our Sun by going to breakfast with Steven and Joe P at the Crystal restaurant. The food is good, the service is fast, and everyone goes there so you always run into people you know. Its probably my favorite thing about Sundays when I don't work.
On the way home we stopped at both Home Depot and Lowe's to check out their gardening centers. Neither Spouse nor I really want to spend much time tending to plantings, but we do like an attractive yard, so we try to buy a few new things every year that bloom multiple times in multiple seasons. Several years ago we bought several rose plants that bloom over and over again from late May to late October. They only require occasional dead-heading and watering in the heat of the summer.
So yesterday we picked up 4 variegated hostas, the kind with the dark green centers and white rims, along with a few more lavender plants (Spouse loves them for some reason) and went home to plant and water them. We notice some of the roses had bugs so we dusted the roses to get rid of the bugs. We also bagged some yard clippings in those heavy paper bags so the City will pick them up next week. Hopefully next week the guy will come to put down some fresh mulch in the beds for us.
As we were finishing up our yard work I got a text from my cousin Inez, saying she and her husband Steve were in town for a little while with another couple. They had spent the weekend in Cape May NJ and had just gotten off the ferry, so we washed up and walked into town to meet up with them. We strolled around window shopping, and eventually stopped for an ice cream cone. It was a short and unexpected but welcomed surprise!
Later that evening we met up with Vic & Mike for dinner before they headed back to VA. We used to live in the same neighborhood where they live now, and they also have a place here at the beach. We tried a new restaurant and really enjoyed our meals.
It was a very nice day with a little bit of productivity and a lot of fun.
On the way home we stopped at both Home Depot and Lowe's to check out their gardening centers. Neither Spouse nor I really want to spend much time tending to plantings, but we do like an attractive yard, so we try to buy a few new things every year that bloom multiple times in multiple seasons. Several years ago we bought several rose plants that bloom over and over again from late May to late October. They only require occasional dead-heading and watering in the heat of the summer.
So yesterday we picked up 4 variegated hostas, the kind with the dark green centers and white rims, along with a few more lavender plants (Spouse loves them for some reason) and went home to plant and water them. We notice some of the roses had bugs so we dusted the roses to get rid of the bugs. We also bagged some yard clippings in those heavy paper bags so the City will pick them up next week. Hopefully next week the guy will come to put down some fresh mulch in the beds for us.
Later that evening we met up with Vic & Mike for dinner before they headed back to VA. We used to live in the same neighborhood where they live now, and they also have a place here at the beach. We tried a new restaurant and really enjoyed our meals.
It was a very nice day with a little bit of productivity and a lot of fun.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Weekend highlights
I worked on Sat, then Spouse & I had dinner at a new restaurant called Old Bay. We both ordered burgers which we found to be lackluster. That night I performed in the Legends show as Neil Sedaka.
The crowd really got into the performance and we all had a good time!
Sun morning Spouse & I met up with Steven for breakfast (Thad was visiting his mom in PA) at Crystal. We planned to go to the beach immediately after breakfast but the weather was very cool and overcast. So instead we came home and I pulled weeds while Spouse treated the roses. Cool overcast days are perfect for doing yard work. That afternoon we did a little outlet store shopping and took Marvin for a nice long walk. That evening we had dinner with Steven & Thad and our new friends Rahsan & Dennis at Purple Parrot. We walked Marvin again but this time a different route, then went over to Chris & Jason's house to watch "True Blood" with them. We got home a little past 10 and I felt exhausted so we went to bed.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Weekend highlights
The weekend started as all 'good' weekends do with Fri Night Dinner with 'the usual suspects'. We ate at La Quetzalteca and it was good! I had the enchilada trio and Spouse had chicken mole. (Yes, he calculated the WW points and fit it in.)
Sat started as all 'good' Sat mornings do with Spouse going to his personal trainer appointment and me enjoying coffee with Roger Hazzard and Tonya Meme of "Sell This House". Once Spouse got home we had a light lunch on the screened porch and met up with a bunch of buddies at the beach. It was a spectacular day with lots of sunshine, 83 degrees, low humidity, and a steady breeze coming off the water. What a fantastic day! Except that I scorched my feet on the hot sand. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store, then showered and relaxed for a bit. That evening we met up with our friends Doug & Jim for dinner at Hobo's. It was a lovely evening so we ate on the front porch. Spouse doesn't drink, but the rest of us started with cocktails, followed by appetizers. Spouse had the roasted tomato and basil panzanella soup and I had the AWESOME eggplant artichoke dip which is so good it must contain something illegal. For dinner Spouse had the chicken Buddha bowl and I had an eggplant and goat cheese quesadilla. (Menu here.) Dee-lish! Afterward we went for a short walk on the boardwalk before heading home. I discovered my friend and karaoke DJ Trelynda was working at Dos Locos that night so after I dropped off Spouse, I hung out with Tre for an hour and sang a few tunes. It was great to see her! Then I stopped in at Mandance and shook my groove thing for an hour. I still managed to get home before 1am, which was a good thing since Spouse was waiting up for me!
Sun Spouse & I both slept in until 10:30 (gasp), then had a lovely breakfast on the screened porch while we discussed how to spend our day. Although I kind of wanted a 3rd day in a row at the beach, I acquiesced to sticking close to home and tackling a few projects around the house. We made a quick run to Lowes where we bought spray paint, a medium-size pot (on clearance), grass seed, potting soil, a rosemary bush, 2 pots of basil, a pot of parsley, and a pot of oregano. Back at the ranch I spray painted 2 side tables for the screened porch while Spouse potted all the herbs. He moved some decorate rocks while I spread and watered some grass seed around the porch foundation. We relaxed on the porch for a bit, then showered and dressed for a birthday cocktail party at Deb & Greer's. We saw some friends we knew and made some new ones which is always tops in my book. Neither of us was in the mood to make dinner so we decided to eat out. After checking out (and rejecting) a possible dinner spot, we ended up back at Hobo's. The porch was full so we ate inside which was a nice change of pace. The atmosphere was cozy and quiet inside and lent itself to more conversation. It was almost like being on a date! This time I had the chicken Buddha bowl (which Spouse had the night before) and he had scallops with red curry. Again an amazing meal and a wonderful time with Spouse. TV watching finished off the night and the weekend for us.
Crush du Jour: James Clarke
Sat started as all 'good' Sat mornings do with Spouse going to his personal trainer appointment and me enjoying coffee with Roger Hazzard and Tonya Meme of "Sell This House". Once Spouse got home we had a light lunch on the screened porch and met up with a bunch of buddies at the beach. It was a spectacular day with lots of sunshine, 83 degrees, low humidity, and a steady breeze coming off the water. What a fantastic day! Except that I scorched my feet on the hot sand. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store, then showered and relaxed for a bit. That evening we met up with our friends Doug & Jim for dinner at Hobo's. It was a lovely evening so we ate on the front porch. Spouse doesn't drink, but the rest of us started with cocktails, followed by appetizers. Spouse had the roasted tomato and basil panzanella soup and I had the AWESOME eggplant artichoke dip which is so good it must contain something illegal. For dinner Spouse had the chicken Buddha bowl and I had an eggplant and goat cheese quesadilla. (Menu here.) Dee-lish! Afterward we went for a short walk on the boardwalk before heading home. I discovered my friend and karaoke DJ Trelynda was working at Dos Locos that night so after I dropped off Spouse, I hung out with Tre for an hour and sang a few tunes. It was great to see her! Then I stopped in at Mandance and shook my groove thing for an hour. I still managed to get home before 1am, which was a good thing since Spouse was waiting up for me!
Sun Spouse & I both slept in until 10:30 (gasp), then had a lovely breakfast on the screened porch while we discussed how to spend our day. Although I kind of wanted a 3rd day in a row at the beach, I acquiesced to sticking close to home and tackling a few projects around the house. We made a quick run to Lowes where we bought spray paint, a medium-size pot (on clearance), grass seed, potting soil, a rosemary bush, 2 pots of basil, a pot of parsley, and a pot of oregano. Back at the ranch I spray painted 2 side tables for the screened porch while Spouse potted all the herbs. He moved some decorate rocks while I spread and watered some grass seed around the porch foundation. We relaxed on the porch for a bit, then showered and dressed for a birthday cocktail party at Deb & Greer's. We saw some friends we knew and made some new ones which is always tops in my book. Neither of us was in the mood to make dinner so we decided to eat out. After checking out (and rejecting) a possible dinner spot, we ended up back at Hobo's. The porch was full so we ate inside which was a nice change of pace. The atmosphere was cozy and quiet inside and lent itself to more conversation. It was almost like being on a date! This time I had the chicken Buddha bowl (which Spouse had the night before) and he had scallops with red curry. Again an amazing meal and a wonderful time with Spouse. TV watching finished off the night and the weekend for us.
Crush du Jour: James Clarke
Monday, March 08, 2010
Weekend highlights
Fri evening we heard back about the offer we put that condo last weekend. All 4 offers were rejected by the bank! The unit is a foreclosure and needs some work so we bid low. Apparently so did the others and the bank was not satisfied with any of the offers. The listing agent told our agent (and the others) that we should resubmit with our "best and final". Spouse & I discussed it at length, and then on Sat we raised our offer. Hopefully we'll hear something by the end of this week. We would really like to fix up this condo for a rental.
Sat morning Spouse went for his work out, and then we had lunch and did some looking around at Home Depot. We wanted to cost-out the products we'll need if we get the condo so we could have a closer idea of the final cost. I also bought a thatch rake, and when we got home I went to work on a dirt pile that was left in our yard when the new driveway was poured. It was sunny and almost 50 degrees so it was pleasant to be outside doing yard work. Then I rolled some large chunks of granite around to make a 'fence' along the street. Later that night we met up with Steven & Thad, The Bobs, and a few other friends for dinner at Saketumi. We've really come to like it there. The food is good quality and delicious, the service is great, and the interior is sophisticated and beautiful. I had Panang Chicken Curry (same as last time) and 3 Cosmos (hiccup). I didn't order the 3rd one - someone it just magically appeared on the table in front of me! Far be it from me to let a Cosmo go to waste, so I enjoyed it and gave Spouse the car keys.
Sun morning we met Steven & Thad for brunch at the Long Neck Diner, then stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Spouse started making a mixed berry cobbler while I fired up
Big Ella and took her out for a little exercise. It was sunny and nearly 60 degrees, which practically screamed "convertible weather", so after putting Big Ella back in the garage, Spouse & I
went for a drive to the beach in the new car with the top down. Later that night we took the cobbler to Steven & Thad's Oscar party/potluck. Neither of us are big into watching awards shows, but its a LOT more fun to be in a room full of gay men and critique the stars' clothing, hair and make-up. Surprisingly, we stayed until midnight when the show finally ended. (I thought Spouse was going to suggest leaving earlier.) Even more surprising was that once at home in bed, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind just wouldn't stop and I was awake until sometime after 2am. When I got up this morning I felt like I had a hangover, even though I'd consumed no alcohol.
How come the weekends always pass by so quickly?
Crush du Jour: Charles Kelley
Sat morning Spouse went for his work out, and then we had lunch and did some looking around at Home Depot. We wanted to cost-out the products we'll need if we get the condo so we could have a closer idea of the final cost. I also bought a thatch rake, and when we got home I went to work on a dirt pile that was left in our yard when the new driveway was poured. It was sunny and almost 50 degrees so it was pleasant to be outside doing yard work. Then I rolled some large chunks of granite around to make a 'fence' along the street. Later that night we met up with Steven & Thad, The Bobs, and a few other friends for dinner at Saketumi. We've really come to like it there. The food is good quality and delicious, the service is great, and the interior is sophisticated and beautiful. I had Panang Chicken Curry (same as last time) and 3 Cosmos (hiccup). I didn't order the 3rd one - someone it just magically appeared on the table in front of me! Far be it from me to let a Cosmo go to waste, so I enjoyed it and gave Spouse the car keys.
Sun morning we met Steven & Thad for brunch at the Long Neck Diner, then stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Spouse started making a mixed berry cobbler while I fired up
Big Ella and took her out for a little exercise. It was sunny and nearly 60 degrees, which practically screamed "convertible weather", so after putting Big Ella back in the garage, Spouse & I
went for a drive to the beach in the new car with the top down. Later that night we took the cobbler to Steven & Thad's Oscar party/potluck. Neither of us are big into watching awards shows, but its a LOT more fun to be in a room full of gay men and critique the stars' clothing, hair and make-up. Surprisingly, we stayed until midnight when the show finally ended. (I thought Spouse was going to suggest leaving earlier.) Even more surprising was that once at home in bed, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind just wouldn't stop and I was awake until sometime after 2am. When I got up this morning I felt like I had a hangover, even though I'd consumed no alcohol.How come the weekends always pass by so quickly?
Crush du Jour: Charles Kelley
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Short subjects
Its been unusually cold again recently. Yesterday morning at 8:15 when I took Jordan for her walk it was only 24 degrees, and the wind chill factor made it feel like 13 degrees. Now, I know that doesn't sound all that cold to some of you, but for this area, that's cold. I really felt badly for the guys doing landscaping work at my neighbors.
Spouse & I watched Obama's speech last night, and I must say that I found it to be inspiring. There's a lot of improvement needed in the US, but I thought Obama did a great job of selecting the most critical items, explain why he selected them, and then pledged to work with Congress to fix the broken processes and make America emerge from this recession. "We will rebuild; we will recover." If you're interested (and you should be) in the most critical areas Obama will concentrate on, check this out. If you want to read a transcript of his speech in its entirety, click here. How refreshing to hear from a President who actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about (rather than just reading a script), and who doesn't smirk and contort his face while delivering a speech!
Spouse & I went to the gym last night. Since most of the machines are different than those I'm used to at the trainer's, I asked the guy behind the desk for a little help. He gave me a 10-minute orientation of how the machines work, how to adjust them, and what order to use them. It was exactly what I wanted. Then I did 12 minutes on the treadmill to warm up, followed by 40 minutes on the machines. Spouse spent the entire time on the stair climber. I don't know how he can do it that long.
Tonight I'm going to an introductory yoga class. I'm kind of excited about it, as I've heard several people talk about how much they enjoy yoga. I think it will be fun.
Is it just me, or does this picture give anyone else dirty thoughts?
A few weeks ago I took Big Ella to a place that does vintage car restorations to get an estimate on a paint job. I was floored by what I was told. Keep in mind Big Ella is still wearing most of her original paint from 1959, although there are a few rust spots and other areas where the paint has worn off. The guy at the resto shop said "to do it right" he would remove the bumpers and all the chrome, sand the body down to the bare metal, cut out the rust and replace it with new sheet metal, prime and paint the car, then put the bumpers and all the chrome back on. He thought that would probably run somewhere between $15,000. - $20,000. I tried not to ask as surprised as I was when I said "Wow." I also decided not to tell him that was more than I paid for the car.
After relating this to a friend, he recommended Maaco.
I was skeptical, as I remembered hearing ads for $199. paint jobs. I figured the quality would be crap, but my friend said he had used Maaco to paint a vintage car he once owned, and it turned out very nice. I went online to look for Maaco locations and learn a bit more, and then I called them. Obviously the $199. paint job is a special; not their everyday price, and it does not include any bodywork, which is exactly what I expected. But the more I read and learned, accompanied by my friend's recommendation, the more I am considering doing it. The $15,000. paint job is simply out of the question. But even if I got the top-of-the-line paint job at Maaco, its only about $1,000. plus the body work. So I figure, I may be able to get it all done for $2,000. or so. At that price, even if the paint job only lasted a few years, I could just get it done again (several times) and still not spend as much as the resto guy quoted.
So I'm thinking about it. Have any of you ever used Maaco or know anybody who has? I'd love to hear about the experience.
Spouse & I watched Obama's speech last night, and I must say that I found it to be inspiring. There's a lot of improvement needed in the US, but I thought Obama did a great job of selecting the most critical items, explain why he selected them, and then pledged to work with Congress to fix the broken processes and make America emerge from this recession. "We will rebuild; we will recover." If you're interested (and you should be) in the most critical areas Obama will concentrate on, check this out. If you want to read a transcript of his speech in its entirety, click here. How refreshing to hear from a President who actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about (rather than just reading a script), and who doesn't smirk and contort his face while delivering a speech!
Spouse & I went to the gym last night. Since most of the machines are different than those I'm used to at the trainer's, I asked the guy behind the desk for a little help. He gave me a 10-minute orientation of how the machines work, how to adjust them, and what order to use them. It was exactly what I wanted. Then I did 12 minutes on the treadmill to warm up, followed by 40 minutes on the machines. Spouse spent the entire time on the stair climber. I don't know how he can do it that long.
Tonight I'm going to an introductory yoga class. I'm kind of excited about it, as I've heard several people talk about how much they enjoy yoga. I think it will be fun.
Is it just me, or does this picture give anyone else dirty thoughts?A few weeks ago I took Big Ella to a place that does vintage car restorations to get an estimate on a paint job. I was floored by what I was told. Keep in mind Big Ella is still wearing most of her original paint from 1959, although there are a few rust spots and other areas where the paint has worn off. The guy at the resto shop said "to do it right" he would remove the bumpers and all the chrome, sand the body down to the bare metal, cut out the rust and replace it with new sheet metal, prime and paint the car, then put the bumpers and all the chrome back on. He thought that would probably run somewhere between $15,000. - $20,000. I tried not to ask as surprised as I was when I said "Wow." I also decided not to tell him that was more than I paid for the car.
After relating this to a friend, he recommended Maaco.
I was skeptical, as I remembered hearing ads for $199. paint jobs. I figured the quality would be crap, but my friend said he had used Maaco to paint a vintage car he once owned, and it turned out very nice. I went online to look for Maaco locations and learn a bit more, and then I called them. Obviously the $199. paint job is a special; not their everyday price, and it does not include any bodywork, which is exactly what I expected. But the more I read and learned, accompanied by my friend's recommendation, the more I am considering doing it. The $15,000. paint job is simply out of the question. But even if I got the top-of-the-line paint job at Maaco, its only about $1,000. plus the body work. So I figure, I may be able to get it all done for $2,000. or so. At that price, even if the paint job only lasted a few years, I could just get it done again (several times) and still not spend as much as the resto guy quoted.So I'm thinking about it. Have any of you ever used Maaco or know anybody who has? I'd love to hear about the experience.
Crush du Jour: Andrew Stetson
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