General

I am running unusually late today. I didn’t even wake up until 7, and we didn’t leave the house until after 8:30. That’s about the latest I’ve “slept in” for a very long time! But I’ll admit, I think I’m in a much better mood because of it. Plus, all the flowers around the house are very happy, since I took the time to water them thoroughly (it’s supposed to be 90 today!) Of course, I managed to get myself soaked with the leaky hose in the process.

I got my order from Keepsake Quilting yesterday! Yippee! The only thing that prevented me from starting my quilt last night was the lack of fusible web…and by the time I got to Jo-Ann’s they were already closed. :P Who ever heard of a store that closes at 9? I mean, the mall is open until 9:30 – shouldn’t the stores around it be open at least that late, too? Actually, I think craft stores should be open around-the-clock. There have been so many times I’ve been trying to finish something at the last minute, very late at night, and run out of thread, fabric, batting, paint, or some other crucial part of the project. Yes, I know it’s a surprise that I’m always trying to finish stuff at the last minute. :) Anyway, after I enjoy my pool for a while tonight (80-degree water!!!) I’m going to delve into this new stash of beautiful fabrics and start creating something wonderful.

Fabric. Lots and lots of fabric. I just ordered many wonderful things from Keepsake Quilting. I went there during my honeymoon, actually, and have been hooked on the place ever since. The last thing I need is more crafts, but I found a lovely quilt that I think would be perfect in my kitchen, of all places – there’s a really big, blank wall behind the table, just begging for something to decorate it. I think I’d better find a path to my sewing machine before this order comes, because I’m going to have to start my new quilt the minute the materials arrive. :) I might also try to finish the mystery knitting project, so that it doesn’t get put on hold indefinitely, like everything else will…

I think someone’s trying to tell me that Saturday was a really bad choice for a pool party. We came home last night to a high-pitched whining sound emerging from the pool pump. Not a good sign. Denis is currently at home trying to resurrect it – if we can just get one more season out of it… Not that it will matter anyway, because it will probably snow on Saturday!

Plus, our airport died yesterday. No internet for me. :( I’m going to actually have to plug my laptop into a phone jack to dial into work tomorrow, rather than just hanging out wherever I feel like working at the moment. Ack. I’ve been spoiled rotten by wireless technology. But I have to work from home tomorrow – I’m having carpet cleaners come to rescue the new carpet. Let’s just say Molly had a little accident. Which we didn’t find soon enough. :P

I am a big wimp. I’ll admit it. I feel faint at the sight of blood, and the thought of any surgery – major or minor – makes me queasy. Which is why I have put off the whole wisdom teeth removal issue for as long as possible. Unfortunately, it’s becoming something that I have to do. I knew before I went in for my cleaning this morning that they were going to tell me that. Since my dentist doesn’t make money off of it (he refers people to one of two oral surgeons) I do believe him. I just don’t want to do it. Anyway, I can at least procrastinate just a bit longer – after all, who wants to be laid up for the better part of a week in the middle of the summer? – since my next downtime (no concerts or musicals) will be next January. Small reprieve, though, since I will get to spend the next six months absolutely dreading it.

So, last Friday, we checked out the long term weather forecast for next weekend. Hot and sunny. Perfect! We decided that my “let’s-get-together-and-celebrate-the-end-of-school-pool-party” should be next Saturday. Now they’re forecasting rain and not-so-hot for Saturday. Figures. Only I could have a pool party in the middle of a drought and have it rain. Just like my planned sledding birthday party (mid-December) when I was 10 where it was warm enough to wear shorts. Next summer, I’m going to plan a sledding party instead, then we ought to be able to go swimming. :)

Oh, it’s so gorgeous outside today! I want to go home right now and jump in my pool. Of course, the 70 degree water temperature might be a little on the chilly side for the long term, but I’ll take it! For once the weekend is going to stay warm (not hot) and sunny. No rain predicted until the middle of next week. And I don’t have any school work to do! If I weren’t still sitting in my cubicle at work, I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven.

Let’s see. The past two days, I’ve come home from work and spent the entire evening doing some combination of the following: reading, knitting, cross-stitching, playing horn, playing piano, and working on puzzles. I haven’t unpacked from our trip, I haven’t lifted a finger to clean anything…well, I did put groceries away, does that count? Fortunately (!), it’s been kind of cold and rainy, so I haven’t had to feel too bad about ignoring outdoor chores. Must find inspiration to clean somewhere… I guess it’s time to have a party – that’s the best sort of cleaning inspiration!

Despite having a four-day weekend, I find travelling to be the least relaxing way to spend vacation time. I have absolutely no desire for it to be Monday today… But it was a fun trip, regardless. I got to spend time with all three of my enchanting nieces, and didn’t even get the dreaded* question once! We saw “Into the Woods” on Broadway – that brought back some memories! Of course, their sets and costumes were much, much, much more detailed and wonderful than what we had in high school!

I did get my new horn, the one I wanted, although I briefly debated about getting a used horn that had a lovely sound – in the end, it wasn’t enough cheaper than the new horn to be worth the worn finish and little dings. Of course, my new horn will have all of that eventually, but they will be dings I cause, and the finish will be worn where I hold the horn. The store was amazing – it wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but you walked into a room with all sorts of mouthpieces and care kits, then through a door…and hanging on the wall were about 40 french horns – mostly used – with hundreds of brand new ones in the basement. OK, so there were also walls of trombones, trumpets and tubas, but they really weren’t all that interesting. :) I should’ve taken pictures!

I also got to visit the fantastic yarn shop that’s only a few blocks from the folks’ place. I spent way too much money there (especially since they only take cash!) but it was well worth it. Can’t say what I’m making, as the recipient reads this blog regularly, but it saved my sanity on the car trip home. Note to self: never bring a large cross-stitch as your only craft project on a long car trip – it’s too big to work on in the car, and then your hands are idle for hours.

*The “So, when are you two having kids?” type of question. I hate that question. :P

1. Change into old clothes
2. Remove leaf cover with heavy rotting leaves (should have done this before winter!)
3. Spend 3 hours vacuuming scummy pond water out of pool cover, while trying hard not to contemplate colonies of tadpoles, worms, spiders, and other creepy-crawly things which are being sucked up by shop-vac
4. Leave for a few hours and pray that the sun evaporates remaining water
5. Return to find slightly less wet cover that needs to be removed before predicted rain starts
6. Roll cover gradually, continuing to vaccuum remaining leaf bits, crawly things and water
7. Drag dripping wet scummy cover into yard
8. Attempt to hose off remaining scumminess
9. Drag cover to driveway to deal with later
10. Burn cover-removing clothes and resolve to call a professional next year

So, we got the pool cover off, the chemicals seem ok, but it’s still cloudy from all the dead algae floating around in it. Maybe by next weekend it will look nice, but it will probably still be ice cold. Ah, the joys of pool ownership. This summer better be nice enough to use the pool more than 3 times!

It’s done. I think I have to say that again, since I still don’t believe it. It’s done. Done. Finished. No more master’s project to work on. They didn’t even have any changes for me. The defense went smoothly, my demo worked (for the most part, anyway), and they only asked three questions. It’s done. I think I’m going to need a while to readjust to this, though – it hasn’t quite caught up to me that I have nothing to do. Well, not *nothing*, I mean, there’s a house that has disintegrated into a pathetic mess, gardens that have more weeds than flowers, a pool to open, and several friends to whom I owe lots of broken plans. It’s not enough, but thank you to everyone who has patiently waited for me to emerge from behind my computer and become a non-stressed person once again. La la la la la. I’m done. :)