Hello! This is Ken and I will be making use of some of the space here to discuss the projects being worked on for the house and otherwise. I modified the code for the blog to show who the author is for each post so you can discern if the post will be of interest to you.

Right now I’ve got 3 PCB layouts to finish and some firmware to write. These are not related to the house; it’s just that I wanted to setup the categories in the prospect of me being able to write posts. Kelly started jumping all over me asking what I was going to write about today. Unfortunately, these will most likely be very long and require a bit of time to get the ball rolling.

So, more to come; eventually.

When was the last time you were unstressed?

I’m curious because I honestly don’t remember. Do other people live like I do? I have moments – brief ones – every day if I’m lucky, every few days most of the time, where I’m almost relaxed. Where I can live in the now and not think about anything. The rest of the time I’m… well… I do what I can. I hate feeling like this. I know it’s exacerbated by traveling and by all the added stress we’ll have over the next few days. I know this happens every time we travel, for the few days before we leave at least.

I just wish I knew how to deal with it better. How to make it stop. How to figure out what’s wrong with me.

I know, but there’s just so much STUFF to do with it being spring and NOT winter!  I’ll do more, I promise, but for now…

Cholesterol drugs are doing their job with gusto!  3m on a statin and my total cholesterol is down from 215ish to 180ish, LDL 140ish to 90ish! (HDL was always good so 68 up to 71).

I was killed in the sock wars with a lovely pair of bluey-grey socks that fit perfectly and I love!

I have a post to make about Victor (weeks late) and I’ve some photos on the camera that I need to share, but that’ll have to wait for not-tonight.

Ken and my 5th anniversary is coming up and we’re completely lost about what to do/get each other.  We can’t afford to go away, though babysitting for an evening is doable thanks to friends.  It’s the “wood” anniversary and, seriously, what’s romantic about wood? (and affordable and not a photo frame?)  I’ve had ideas come and go but nothing that’s really spoken to me.  Well one, but it’s not really our thang.  Any ideas?

Our microwave, rest it’s soul, is dying. Thankfully the gubmint has chosen to give us some “free money” so we’re going to be replacing our old, faithful, box with a Shiney New Box. We’ve thought for a while about an over-the-range type and with the help of scissors, tape, cardboard and external dimensions we’ve figured that a) it’ll fit, 2) it won’t block the range surface. Our old one, currently stuffed into a corner of the kitchen counter, will begin life anew in the garage next to my soap work area (I’ll use it to melt oils/butters for soap). I expect the newly freed counter corner will be filled with weekly bouquets of fresh flowers piles of cash the stand mixer or toaster. We’re getting a new toaster, too, since our old one isn’t working well either.

I’ll be sad to see the old microwave go. Where else will we pile the junk that usually inhabits it’s top area?

To all those mother’s out there that I care about, to all those whom I know, to all those who love their little “challenges” and struggle to stay emotionally afloat every day…  I wish you the best, happiest, sweetest Mother’s Day today!

I had a lovely wake up this morning, snuggled with Ethan who wished me a Happy Mother’s Day many times, got to see Ethan and Victor share a kiss (closed mouth for Victor, his newest accomplishment!), had cinnamon buns and yummy coffee for breakfast, and a looong hottt shower.  As always on Mother’s Day, the weather is beautiful.  Sunny and almost warm.  We’re leaving soon to go to the Park wherein I can enjoy my children splashing in the cold river and commune with The Mother as I can nowhere else.  Ken has promised me cupcakes sometime today (he said “no” when I asked for them for breakfast ).

Later today I’ll finish the 2nd sock of my Sock Wars weapon and have it, along with a bar of soap (to clean off the blood for my victim – I’m a considerate assassin), in the mail for tomorrow morning’s pickup.  Once it’s gone I’ll start in on socks for me with the yarn I bought (my victim, unfortunately, is highly allergic to the yarn I bought so both colours will just *have* to be for me, darn!) while I await my next dossier (my victim will send me her work and target info).  I know it’s pretty likely I’ll be killed sometime this week, but I’ll have made it through the first round so I’m happy with that.

All in all, today is presenting itself as a pretty perfect day.  I wish the same to you!

Today’s the day!  I found out that it’s not starting until NOON (GMT) today so I’ve another 45mins to shower and get tonight’s crock-pot dinner started and then sit and fidget until 8am rolls around.

*stupidly excited*

Last night we stuck our paint brushes in buckets and transformed a section of our house (doesn’t that sound over-the-top?!). The foyer was our target and we paint paint painted it. It was our first time painting with this type of paint. Til now we’ve been using Home Despot’s homebrand Behr, and all our colours have been in the pastel pallet (if you look at the colour code it’ll have a tiny ‘u’ or ‘p’ in the corner for ‘ultrawhite’ and ‘pastel’). The difference was immediate in that the ultrawhite paint is thinner. The pastel we got away with only one coat and it goes on thickly enough that you don’t need more than that if you’re moderately generous. The ultrawhite needed a lot of touch-ups, which we’re not that fond of being as we’re so lazy.

The colour was also darker than we’d anticipated, but all said and done and dried it looks really nice. Very “clean” looking since it makes the white of the trim and the doors really pop and the two compliment each other well. It’s grey, but light and with blue hints in it – I’m interested to see how it looks in natural light (cloudy day today, so you get fake light).

Before

After

Before

After

I caved.  I’ll admit it.  Several times, in fact.  I’d hoped to plant a grande vegetable garden this year.  Had it all planned out.  Got the seeds and such.  And then realized how much site work we’d need to do to level out that spot and caved.  There were more pressing areas in need of our time.  So the garden was out, save for a few tomatoes I could grow in containers.

This weekend I caved again… or uncaved.  I bribed Ken into hauling a few buckets of dirt into a pile in that same general area, leveled them off, lined them with stones, and planted summer squash.  It’s not a big patch but they don’t need deep soil so that should be fine.  I’ve used up only half the spot, even, so I’m deciding what else to put in there that won’t mind shallow roots.  Chives, perhaps.

Small steps.

Yet again I’ve missed a month in writing to you, and my tendency toward self-guilt (thanks to my own Mom) have had me thinking about your letter and it’s missed’ness a lot.  However, life goes on.  Your father thinks I should cut back to quarterly letters – making me think of quarterly reports – and perhaps I will after your birthday. (3 months!  You’ll be 4 years old, then!!  I can’t even believe it.)

This past two months have been a lot easier, and you continue to become more agreeable, easier to live with, sweeter, smarter, more imaginative and more rational.  Just this morning, after breakfast, you asked to play upstairs.  You looked at me, completely seriously, and told me you “need to take care of my babies”.  Completely matter-of-fact.  You had babies and they were upstairs and needed to be cared for.  Not in the overly dramatic way that imaginative children who’re playing pretend say things.  No.  This was fact and you had a job to do.  I laughed and upstairs to play you went.

You’ve started to understand the concept of time more.  Clocks, to be specific.  We’ve used your absolute, undying love of Max & Ruby to teach you what “6 o’clock” is and what it looks like on the kitchen clock.  You understand that you need to hurry up and eat so that you can watch it and it’s helped us to get you to eat marginally better.

On the topic of eating, however, things are still woefully sparse.  In almost all situations and at all times you’d rather be doing anything but eat.  I don’t even ask what you want most times anymore since you just say “no” to everything.  Much of the time it’s a combination of you not being hungry and you being contrary since you’ll say ‘no’ to something and then ask for that very thing 30 seconds later.

One of the more amusing developments lately is your abiding love for the new love-seat we’ve bought.  It is where you spend 9/10ths of your time when you’re watching tele, and at least half of your play time when you’re in the living room.  Tonight, as a form of punishment for something you’d done, I banned you from sitting there.  This greatly upset you, and proved your devotion to the love-seat.  Goofball!

If there’s one thing I’d most like to say it’s that these days you’re the blush on my rose.  Life being so busy and Victor entering his trouble-some phase, you are a light of laughter, cute, sweet and loving for me.  Even now, you try to take care of me when you notice Mommy’s struggling.  You worry when I show I’m upset.  You’re quiet when I explain I’ve got a headache.  You behave when I ask on days that I really need it.

Who you are is such a joy to love, and I hope you always remember that.

Love, Mommy.

Ken, in the office while I was elsewhere doing morning stuff, laughed loudly and yelled “Hon! You have to do this!!” I went to see what he was talking about and found an article about Sock Wars. Starting at 12am GMT (5am for me) next friday, I’ll be knitting. Am I really getting up that early to knit? Heck yes! A poster in the Sock Wars forum, when the question posed was “how fast do you knit a pair of socks”, stated “8hrs”. I can’t even come *close* to that, but I’m aiming to make it out of the first round (aka kill before I’m killed). I’ve ordered two yarns which should get here early next week: Rapids and Mulberry. In my excitement (and frequent distractions from little hellions), I didn’t think to shop around and could have gotten my first choice, Breeze, elsewhere (as well as the Mulberry or perhaps another colour though I do like that red) for $0.25 cheaper per skein. Ahh well. I’ll know next time, should I like this yarn. It’s pricey, but the colours are delicious! I’ll have enough to make one pair for my target and another for me if I like the pattern (or any other pattern I have). Wish me luck and don’t expect to see much of me next weekend!

…there was a little girl with the longest, straightest hair and the bluest eyes in allllll the land. When the little girl became a young woman her eyes turned green and her hair, once cut, began to curl and wave at passersby wherever she went. As she grew older, adjusting to her new appearance and enjoying it thoroughly, she enticed a young man to marry her and sire her children. Happy endings, however, belong in fairy tales and seedy massage parlours, as the now old crone’s hair reverted to it’s former life as straightest in the land. She only hoped, fervently, that she would always be strolling slowly towards the sun.