Sofa Update

An update from the sofa front. My dad and his wife got a call telling them that their new furniture was done and on its way week after next. Next week being spring break for me, they invited me to come when I can to take possession of the sofa and loveseat. Yay! That means that next weekend I'll be moving the old crap, I mean, furniture out to the curb and picking up the new stuff. I'll post before and after photos. Then you'll know why I'm so excited.

Procrastinating, still

Let's see. . . what else can I do to keep me from finishing my taxes? Oh yeah! I'll post on the blog! It's not like they're that hard, or that my finances are that complicated. I just. don't. want. to. do. them. I must though, so that I can go on to do the rest of the paperwork for Z's school loans. Yikes. I think that deadline is 3/30, hence my angst. So far today I've downloaded the pictures I took facepainting at the fair yesterday, spent a good hour looking for a usable disk (unsuccessfully), visiting a neighbor for an hour (the neighbor that I thought would have a disk but did not), worked the WashPo Sunday crossword (in ink, thank you very much), and now younger son wants to go to Target to do his part to stimulate the economy. And get lunch while we're out, of course. Crap! Then it'll be time to start dinner. I haven't even done the dishes from yesterday's dinner. To be fair, I must admit to a slight handicap in the dishes department. Aside from the fact that nobody else jumped in to do them, that is. I sliced my thumb in a horrible way last night. I was supposed to be slicing zucchini. There's a reason the mandoline has a little puck-shaped item that one is supposed to use to hold on to the vegetable one is slicing. If one doesn't use it, one's thumb comes perilously close to the blade. Or in my case, finds the blade, and finds it very sharp. I managed to staunch the bleeding and bandage it, but now I don't want to get it wet. That would mean having to change the bandage and I don't even want to look at it.
Well, it's off to Target. Here are a couple of faces from facepainting yesterday. Aren't they cute??

Bathroom Consult

OMG, as the kids would say. I had kind of a whirlwind visit with James, a contractor with a very good reputation in my neighborhood, to talk about redoing my upstairs bathroom. Makes me realize that, while I THOUGHT I was prepared, I didn't have all the answers to his questions. As in, do you know what you want? I think I should back up a step and talk with a bathroom designer first. I know, I know. . . it's just a 5x8 space, but as you know, and as I am just beginning to grasp, there are lots of decisions. And I forgot to bring his attention to the radiator while he was there! Yikes! What we've got is an old cast iron one, and what I want is something like this from Runtal.

But this one from Runtal (the Fain) says it can be added to my household system, directly replacing the old radiator, while apparently most of the other ones cannot.

So, I'm a little overwhelmed. But it's step in the right direction.

Book Wish

I was poking around on Amazon this morning. I saw a small item about this book in a recent Martha Stewart magazine and I think I have to have it. I've always been drawn to botanical prints, but have never really begun my collection. It's much less expensive on Amazon than the magazine described. All the more reason I want it!

More on Window Seats

I posted not long ago about window seats, and the fact that I thought my radiators would prevent me from building one. Then I saw this website. Isn't this beautiful? There are several styles, and even ones with bookcases built above. I think I'd cover all four on the first floor. The one in the foyer next to the front door could have shelfs built in above, with baskets (one for each of the three of us). The cover on the radiator in the dining room could double as a sideboard. I REALLY like this idea.

The Meaning of Life

I'm a daily subscriber to The Writer's Almanac. I'm a neophyte when it comes to poetry, but I know what I like. This made me laugh.

The Meaning of Life
by Nancy Fitzgerald

There is a moment just before
a dog vomits when its stomach
heaves dry, pumping what's deep
inside the belly to the mouth.
If you are fast you can grab
her by the collar and shove her
out the door, avoid the slimy bile,
hunks of half chewed food
from landing on the floor.
You must be quick, decisive,
controlled, and if you miss
the cue and the dog erupts
en route, you must forgive
her quickly and give yourself
to scrubbing up the mess.

Most of what I have learned
in life leads back to this.

"The Meaning of Life" by Nancy Fitzgerald from Poems I Never Wrote. © Poetry Harbor, 2001. Reprinted with permission.

Wake Up Call

Felt funny driving to work in the dark this morning. I woke up at 3:30, but I guess my body thinks it was 4:30, so I'm not too tired. Read the paper and had my coffee, all before 5:30. Just walked Molly this morning, so it was a far more exercising walk than it is with Mosby. I think he had a bad night. He was wakeful (VERY unlike him) and panting now and again. The vet told me a while back that the panting is a sign that he's in pain. I'll be taking him back to the vet this week, I'm afraid. Perhaps not the final visit, but I can see that happening in the not-too-distant future. The thought that chased away any more sleep this morning was what I'd do if I took him in and had to make the decision. And then what to do with him. I'd like to bury him in the garden, but he's so big! Maybe cremate him and bury his ashes. In the light of day it might sound silly, but I just can't bear the idea of his body being dealt with like so much trash. :-(

Sofa and Loveseat

My dad and his wife have ordered new sofas for their livingroom. I spoke up quickly, offering to take their old ones off their hands. I am so past ready to get rid of the crap that's in my livingroom now. The current stuff was purchased second-hand when we moved in. We hated it then, but told each other that it would only be for a year or two while we renovated. Twenty-five years later. . . the sofa will go to the curb. Well, it all will! Sofa, the one coordinating blue chair that has survived, the coffee table. . . the only part we'll save is the black slate that tops the end tables and the coffee table. I think I'll be able to arrange the livingroom with the new furniture in a way that will give Russ more guitar room. I can't wait!

Here are the sofas in their current home. It's a beautiful house. I'm going to slipcover the sofa and love seat with something that I can wash, at least for as long as the dogs are around. Russ says he'd ultimately like to have a leather sofa. If we ever get that far we'll move these sofas downstairs to replace the sectional down there. It's in better shape than the LR furniture, but that's not saying much.