I was stunned (and I know I'm not alone) to hear of Steve Irwin's (aka Crocodile Hunter) death the other day. My prayers go out to his family. My family has learned a lot from his show.
On to cinder blocks.
When we bought our house, we inherited all the 'sh**' that came with it: a pile of whole and broken cinderblocks, bricks and cement pieces under our front porch. Not to mention the FULL septic tank in the back, that no one knew where it was until it started to spurt up through the ground when I flushed the toilet. But, that's a different subject.
Last year, I had a vision of removing all the cement and bricks from under my front porch, which runs the width of the house, getting rid of the weeds, and laying down landscape fabric with a topping of decorative stone. I tried listing the cement on Freecycle, but I couldn't even give the stuff away.
Yesterday, on Cheapcycle (think Freecycle, but just a little pricier) I noticed a listing looking for cinder blocks, whole and broken. Of COURSE I emailed, trying not to get excited. After all, the person is from the city, why would they want to come to my little ol' town just for cement? Imagine my joy when I heard they DO want to come and get the cement.
So...I've just spent a not-so-enjoyable hour hacking my way through the jungle that replaced my front garden, then removing the blocks. I tell you, didn't take too long before I needed a break. Crawling under the porch and lifting cinderblocks from a squatting position is kinda tricky. I know my muscles will ache later, but it will be a good ache, and my vision of a cleaner looking under-the-porch area is one step closer! A big step, btw!
Wish I had taken pictures of the jungle...I'll have to suffice with a pic (coming soon) of the two piles of vegetation that will be destined for yard waste pickup.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Just Stuff
Stormy's back! The little devil was found in a neighbour's garage. Neither of us can figure out why she stayed in there (and Stormy's not saying!), since the garage door has been open quite a bit. The only thing I can think of is that the construction next door to us spooked her, and then when it quieted down, the neighbour was working with a jackhammer breaking up cement.
She is a little thinner, but doesn't look dehydrated, leading me to believe she wasn't in there the full 2 weeks. Uh...just the fact that she's alive leads me to believe that!
I'm working on Hallowe'en stuff, and am on a roll. I've been working on more Pet Rock people: these ones sport Hallowe'en costumes. I'm on my third, and have a few more ideas, so think I may create some for October's patterns, they are fast and easy to make up. They'll be available (as well as a Hallowe'en tote, my Striped Tote, and a Witch toilet tissue cover) at introductory prices September 5th.
The weather here is cooling down, and drizzly lately, but I love this kind of weather! Fall is my favourite time of year, although this year, it's not the same, now that they tore down most of the evergreens beside my house. Darned town. We offered to buy part of the land next door IF they were thinking of selling. Oh, yes, they were thinking of selling, but they ignored our letter voicing our concern over the loss of the trees, and sold the property to the Youth and Family Resource Network. I still think 4 duplexes on that lot will look crammed in, but that seems to be the way. Chop down trees, put up houses close together, stick a couple of twigs in the yard (preferably twigs that won't grow higher than 20 feet), and THEN complain about smog days in the summer.
Oooh, wanted to share this link: http://monstercrochet.blogspot.com
I LOVE Dem Bones, and hope she finishes writing up the pattern, I would LOVE to wear that to work!! Did I mention...I LOVE this time of year???
(adding little more here...just visited Monster Crochet)
Sometimes, these 'name' things are kinda fun! Sorry, printing is kinda off, it's their code.
part of the fidius.org network
She is a little thinner, but doesn't look dehydrated, leading me to believe she wasn't in there the full 2 weeks. Uh...just the fact that she's alive leads me to believe that!
I'm working on Hallowe'en stuff, and am on a roll. I've been working on more Pet Rock people: these ones sport Hallowe'en costumes. I'm on my third, and have a few more ideas, so think I may create some for October's patterns, they are fast and easy to make up. They'll be available (as well as a Hallowe'en tote, my Striped Tote, and a Witch toilet tissue cover) at introductory prices September 5th.
The weather here is cooling down, and drizzly lately, but I love this kind of weather! Fall is my favourite time of year, although this year, it's not the same, now that they tore down most of the evergreens beside my house. Darned town. We offered to buy part of the land next door IF they were thinking of selling. Oh, yes, they were thinking of selling, but they ignored our letter voicing our concern over the loss of the trees, and sold the property to the Youth and Family Resource Network. I still think 4 duplexes on that lot will look crammed in, but that seems to be the way. Chop down trees, put up houses close together, stick a couple of twigs in the yard (preferably twigs that won't grow higher than 20 feet), and THEN complain about smog days in the summer.
Oooh, wanted to share this link: http://monstercrochet.blogspot.com
I LOVE Dem Bones, and hope she finishes writing up the pattern, I would LOVE to wear that to work!! Did I mention...I LOVE this time of year???
(adding little more here...just visited Monster Crochet)
Sometimes, these 'name' things are kinda fun! Sorry, printing is kinda off, it's their code.
My pirate name is:
Captain Mary Flint
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.part of the fidius.org network
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Stormy times
We've lost our younger cat. Stormy is a tortoiseshell (black/orange mix), and app. 3 years old. SHE chose my daughter, not the other way around! And Stormy often slept in Delainey's bed, though occasionally she'd sleep in my other daughter's bed, guess she didn't want Allie feeling left out! And occasionally, Stormy would get out later at night and either come home in the middle of the night and wake us with her meowing...or she'd come waltzing in the next day when someone opened the door to go out.
Stormy liked watching the hamsters, and enjoyed perching on the desks to watch them in the respective cages. She also snuck into the guinea pig cages, which are left open.
To boot, she liked to play with the dogs. Which was a novelty for us, since our 15 year old cat wants nothing to do with animals. Please note, I did not say *other* animals. I don't think Smudge realizes she's a cat.
Stormy is sadly missed, it's going to be hard to find a cat with a similar personality.
Now, the really sad part: on Sunday, we visited the Humane Society in nearby Windsor, on the off-chance that someone had turned her in as a stray. I know there are always a lot of cats, since spaying and neutering both seem to be foreign terms to a lot of cat owners. So does responsibility. But I was still surprised. There were three rooms of cats/kittens that were not yet available for adoption: I am assuming these are the more recent strays that were being held (again, the word 'off-chance') in case their owners were looking for them. Those rooms were so loud! Almost every cat/kitten came to the front of their little cage and meowed loudly to get out. It just about broke my heart. That, and reading the labels on each cage: the majority of cages, under the term 'gender altered' had NO.
The fourth room of cats was considerably quieter. Most cats just laid there, like we were nothing special--not that we thought we were! But I'm thinking those were the cats that had been there long enough in those little cages that they were giving up hope of getting out. Unfortunately, none of them was Stormy.
I wanted so badly to rescue even two of them...but am still holding onto the hope that Stormy will be returned to us. At least there won't be little Stormy's running around in a few months. We adopted Stormy KNOWING we would be paying to have her spayed. Sure, it would have been wonderful letting my children see the miracle of birth (and some people use this as an excuse to have a litter of kittens), but I explained to my girls that the kittens might not find good homes. It was more responsible to prevent that.
As for the miracle of birth: if you REALLY want your children to witness that, breed mice or rats. Pet stores that sell supplies for reptiles and snakes would most likely take them off your hand. Sound cruel? It's life. And to me, a lot less cruel than someone abandoning a litter of kittens, or drowning them because that person didn't bother to spay their animal.
Stormy liked watching the hamsters, and enjoyed perching on the desks to watch them in the respective cages. She also snuck into the guinea pig cages, which are left open.
To boot, she liked to play with the dogs. Which was a novelty for us, since our 15 year old cat wants nothing to do with animals. Please note, I did not say *other* animals. I don't think Smudge realizes she's a cat.
Stormy is sadly missed, it's going to be hard to find a cat with a similar personality.
Now, the really sad part: on Sunday, we visited the Humane Society in nearby Windsor, on the off-chance that someone had turned her in as a stray. I know there are always a lot of cats, since spaying and neutering both seem to be foreign terms to a lot of cat owners. So does responsibility. But I was still surprised. There were three rooms of cats/kittens that were not yet available for adoption: I am assuming these are the more recent strays that were being held (again, the word 'off-chance') in case their owners were looking for them. Those rooms were so loud! Almost every cat/kitten came to the front of their little cage and meowed loudly to get out. It just about broke my heart. That, and reading the labels on each cage: the majority of cages, under the term 'gender altered' had NO.
The fourth room of cats was considerably quieter. Most cats just laid there, like we were nothing special--not that we thought we were! But I'm thinking those were the cats that had been there long enough in those little cages that they were giving up hope of getting out. Unfortunately, none of them was Stormy.
I wanted so badly to rescue even two of them...but am still holding onto the hope that Stormy will be returned to us. At least there won't be little Stormy's running around in a few months. We adopted Stormy KNOWING we would be paying to have her spayed. Sure, it would have been wonderful letting my children see the miracle of birth (and some people use this as an excuse to have a litter of kittens), but I explained to my girls that the kittens might not find good homes. It was more responsible to prevent that.
As for the miracle of birth: if you REALLY want your children to witness that, breed mice or rats. Pet stores that sell supplies for reptiles and snakes would most likely take them off your hand. Sound cruel? It's life. And to me, a lot less cruel than someone abandoning a litter of kittens, or drowning them because that person didn't bother to spay their animal.
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