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Continuing Chaos

margokp — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:35:16 +0000

We are starting Week #5 of the bathroom remodeling process. It should have only been a 2 week project, but things aren’t always what they seem. Coordinating efforts between the trades was a nightmare, even though it was all planned out and timelined. It should have worked out… in a perfect world. The painter was sick and that held up the electrician and plumber for a week, and he’s still not done yet. The master bath is still missing the toilet, sink and shower hardware and doors. The lighting is not installed, but should be tomorrow (hopefully), so the room is still not usable and to be honest, I’m rather pissed. That proverbial last straw happened last week when we discovered that the water main to the house was cracked and water was leaking.. fortunately it wasn’t leaking IN the house, but outside at the sidewalk. In any case, the front yard needed to be dug up and trees, bushes and plants removed so they could replace the pipes. In addition to a huge plumbing bill, now we’re looking at a major landscaping bill come spring. I’m depressed over the chaos that reigns in this house. I just want everything back in working order. I just want to be able to wake at a normal hour to wait for tradesmen to come in…. and for them to actually show up. I want my bathroom back. This certainly makes me think long and hard about renovating the kitchen. However the thought of eating out every day is enticing.

Catch a Falling Star

margokp — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:44:51 +0000

That was a song by Perry Como that I used to sing to when I was a kid, about 3 or 4 years old, and amazingly still remember the words, most of them anyway.

“Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away!
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day!

For love may come and tap you on the shoulder,
Some star-less night!
Just in case you feel you wanna hold her,
You’ll have a pocketful of starlight!”

Even though we didn’t catch any falling stars this morning, we did go out and watch them. We were up at 4am, drove out into the country away from the city lights to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. This annual shower brings meteors from the area around the constellation Perseus, hence the name. While we didn’t lie down in the middle of the road or field, we opened the sunroof and looked up. We may go out again tonight for a second look-see.

Dog Days?

margokp — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:53:13 +0000

Dog Days refer to the hottest, most sultry days of summer. It can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. This coming from Wikipedia. While we haven’t had the sultry hot days the description claims, but one of the coolest summers in a long time, these pups aren’t acting like it.

Yes, we can

margokp — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:21:30 +0000

Yesterday we elected the next President of the United States, Barack Obama. It was an amazing election, people came out in record numbers to cast their vote…. Young people, first time voters, blacks, whites, and from every socio-economic standing. Some standing in line for hours. Surely history was made! However the election ended and however you voted, you have to agree this is a monumental point in America’s history. You will always remember where you were, like the landing on the moon, or Kennedy’s assassination., and you will talk about it to your grandchildren, that yes, you were there and you were a part of it. Let’s just hope that our country will come together to support our President as he takes his oath and as he works to guide us into a better tomorrow. Yes, we can!

Color Ride

margokp — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:54:10 +0000

Today was one of the last really beautiful Sundays we’ll have this year and it was a great time to take a color ride and see what’s left of the colors. My friend’s significant other cooks at and manages a little Italian restaurant down in South Haven that we’ve been wanting to visit, so that’s where we headed. Fortunately, there’s also a new yarn store there (Needle in a Haystack) and a shop just for dogs (Decadent Dogs), so we took Ginger for a ride. Beth meet us at the yarn store down there and helped me decide on which color yarn to get for a new sweater project for myself that I’ll be starting in January at a Knit-a-long with my knitting group. Lovely Red Heather…. on a cabled hoodie… yup, just call me Little Red Riding Hoodie. From there to Vincenzi’s for Sgail’s speciality Chicken Florentine Pizza. So good! We also added a house salad and garlic bread to the mix. WE will go back again for a regular meal perhaps lasgana??? I have to go back in a week or so to pick up my yarn anyway. and then a quick trip to the doggie store to get some treats. One of the only stores that really allow dogs to wander and shop at will. Ginger picked out some doggie treats like, Poodle Puffs, French Bulldog Fries, Corgi Canolli’s and more. We now have a bag full of these all natural doggie gourmet treats. While there, Ginger picked out a new pillow for the newly redecorated bedroom… of course in pale blue with froo froo trim. And not to be outdone by our iPhone, she got her very own iBone… squeaks and all. We decided to take the slower route home down country roads and passed a sign for McIntosh apple orchard and winery. Didn’t even know there was one down this way…. so a quick u-turn and 4 mile drive down a 2 lane road brought us to the best tasting we’ve had in a long time. We brought home a case of apple wine, raspberry wine and cherry wine… and not just any cherries, but Hungarian cherries. (I’m drinking some right now and it’s so good), a couple of jugs of apple cider, a dozen apple cider doughnuts, a jar of black raspberry preserves and a jar of blueberry mustard. Yeah, we’re bad. Also took a few pictures, this was the best of the whole lot…. ya think these guys know Thanksgiving is around the corner??

ER

margokp — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:40:10 +0000

ER ..meaning Emergency room. No….. not the TV show, but the reality show known as my life. Last Friday evening as I sat knitting and watching a little television, I started to have major… seriously major pains in my abdomen. So much so, that I was crying and moaning and yelling in pain and that is so not like me. I can take quite a lot, but this was more than I could handle quietly. Bob kept on saying that it was my gallbladder and we should go to the hospital…. but NOoooooo , I wasn’t giving up that quickly. I wasn’t going to no mean ol’ hospital where sick people go. After an hour of pain … yeah okay I agreed that I was one of those sick people and away we went. I called one of my friends who is a nurse and she met us there… you can’t have enough people in your corner when you’re not feeling well and after all she IS a nurse. After an IV, blood work, and major pain meds later, it was determined that it wasn’t gallbladder, but gastritis, and I got sent home with more pain meds (which I didn’t take…. me strong woman, me no need drugs) some meds for the stomach, and instructions not to eat anything spicy or greasy, no caffeine or alcohol and a bunch of other things . Well here I am 5 days later and I’m feeling better, still not 100% , but much much better than before and I’m still staying away from greasy and spicy (which I never really ate anyways.)