all is well

Home again.
Happy puppy.
Indian food.
Long walk.
Movie.
Check, check, check & check.

Classic JBG

miss this place

picture perfect

back in the BK

dusty

When the faculty start to grill me about the lack of intellectual rigor in my last qualifying exam, (due Wed!) I will show them this picture and tell them that this past weekend I traded in brains for brawn.


(and yes, those are pink work gloves. what of it?)

washerwoman

You:  Hold the phone.  Three?  You washed windows for three hours? On your day off?

Me: My view of the garages across the alley is now crystal clear.

----

But that's not ALL that I did today.

I also hung a large print of a squid on my dining room wall.

Met my friend Les & picked up these treasures

And made enchiladas & a strawberry-rhubarb not-so-crisp.

Back to work tomorrow, and oh is there so much to do.

mental health day

Rule #1: sit on the porch and drink a cup of coffee.

Rule #2: go for a walk.

Rule #3: visit some thrift stores.

Rule # 4: do not feel guilty about not being at school.

I forgot to do #1, enjoyed #2, am headed off for #3.

#4 is the hardest one of all...

a few things

It's not all demolition around here.

first flowers of the season from the garden...

unearthed a huge wasp next under the old siding,

and how am I supposed to get anything done with this cutie hanging outside my window?
I'm four-fifths of the way through my qualifying exams.  I haven't died yet, but it is entirely possible that I may, before this craziness is over.  

Meanwhile, I leave for China in 3 weeks and so far all I know how to say in Mandarin is "I don't speak Mandarin".  Useful, but not nearly as useful as being able to ask for directions.

bike to work day FAIL

I know that I ride to school quite regularly, and in the grander scheme of things that means more than a token ride in on Bike To Work Day, but the fact that it is said Biking Day makes it all the more annoying that ALL THREE of my bicycles are currently non-functional.  

My old red cruiser has been stuck in one gear for over a year, and is not built for commuting, even if it is only 4 miles each way.  That cute little bike is only meant for riding a few blocks to the corner store, or up the street to the park for a softball game.  Not for haggling with traffic on Grand Ave with 20 pounds of stuff on my back. 

My commuter bike, an ancient Trek with its glorious panniers and rugged frame is also currently stuck in one gear.  My twist-shifter twisted right off the other day, as I was going up a large hill, and is hence stuck in the going-up-large-hill gear, which translates to pedaling furiously and going nowhere on the flat and downhills.  Rideable, but annoying.  Also, the derailuer is funky and even the best mechanics can't fix it, so I'm waffling between dumping more cash into this beater or finding myself another commuter bike...

Which brings me to bike #3, my road bike.  Also an ancient Trek, but lightweight and zippy and I loooove it.  This is what I planned to ride today, but somehow somewhere something has gone awry with the back end, and the frame refuses to stay connected to the wheel.  Which is sort of crucial.  I was once involved in a very awkward slow motion bike crash in the middle of an intersection in front of 8 lanes of traffic when my frame came off my wheel while I was clipped in..... tiiiiimber.  Anyway, not wishing to re-enact that scene I messed around with it for a while, covering myself in grease before I threw in the towel and grabbed my car keys, already almost an hour late for work.

Grumblegrumblegrumble.

I'll be back on the bike soon, though. I promise!

My People Are Awesome Vol. IV

It's been a while, but it's never too late for another installment of My People Are Awesome.

This one can double as a belated Mother's Day and Congratulations post, as this one goes out to my mom, who just graduated with her Doctorate of Ministry last Friday.  Hooray!

My parents might be the cutest people ever to walk the earth.

This woman defines lifelong learning (3 degrees!), and is always on a quest for the next challenge, and a new way to incorporate all of her (many) talents into something creative and passionate and fulfilling.  She is such a wonderful role model!

My mom has worn a lot of different hats in her day, and they usually involve doing something to make the world a better place.  From working with pregnant teenagers, to snagging huge grants to assist homeless teens that fall by the wayside of traditional education system, to helping school districts to get on the technology bandwagon, to her new career, counseling individuals on their spiritual journey, this woman never stops!  She's also a good dancer, a great mediator, and is always in the back of my mind when I am trying (often in vain) to be firm and direct yet diplomatic in dealings with difficult people. She's a bridge-builder, in her personal and professional lives, and couldn't the world use a few more bridges?  

She also writes lovely poetry & prose over here.

I love you Mom!  

tile woes

I have a whole backlog of posts that I need to write.

About my mom, the grand weather we've been having, the fact that I now have the entire contents of a bathroom displayed in my backyard (toilet ala fresco!).

But before I can do that we have to settle on some new tile.

And it boggles the mind, people, how two people who went into this knowing exactly what they wanted can get so bogged down with the little details.

Somehow retro-repro Hex & Subway tiles (as in here),

has turned into a long week of waffling.

Glazed or unglazed?

1" or 2"?  1.5"?

All white or with a colored flower mosaic?

Square trim or rectangular?

And don't get me starting on shopping around for the best deals.

It is sucking my will to live.

First world problems, folks, I know.  

But we have to decide so we can repair all the work we did on Sunday:

Also, regarding that tub?

We have secured a sledgehammer and will soon be bludgeoning it to death so we can fit it down the stairs. 

Back to the important musings soon.

to all my up north friends

research

free association

While on our way back form yet another Craigstlist score, this time way down in south stl county, which is like a whole different world from the city:

A: If they had Craigslist in the olden days, we would've had to hitch a horse and wagon all the way down here.... probably would have had to rethink the economics of this whole transaction.
And it wouldn't be called Craigs List. It would be like, Isaiahs List.

-One wagon axle. Five pence.

-Two sacks of flour and a squaw. Will trade for a good mule.

bit by bit

Things are slowly coming together.

We are still living in chaos, but there are bright spots within the madness:

-Happy New Home flowers from the family

-Geraniums on the porch (i've never been a geranium fan, but suddenly they seemed cheery and optimistic)

- Scrubbed and painted basement walls and floors so that we can store things in clean environs (courtesy Adam. I contributed nothing to that)

-New closet setup so we are able to actually hang all of our clothes & get them up off the floor (it's amazing how a pile of clothes on hangers can start to make you feel crazy)

-2 rad craigslist finds today: a dresser and a sideboard.  pics to come. This is a major bonus of living in the Midwest over the coasts -- rad modern furniture can still be found for cheap!!! hooray! (Yes--I am excited about a sideboard. I also looked in the mirror today & realized that one of my (many) grey hairs was sticking straight up out of my head...the stage has been set for me to turn 30)

-Craigslist washer & dryer currently chugging away in the basement... what is it about the sound of laundry in the dryer that makes it feel like home?

-Also: the 2 best sidekicks around

freud, or something like that.

So, on that last post.

The one with the bike?

You all saw free spiritedness and reckless abandon.

I was thinking more along the lines of racing to doom.

Mania.

The wide eyed frantic look I realize I'm sporting sometimes when I happen to catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror at school.

But, whatever.  It's Friday.  I survived.