For Tuesday

I'll be gone tomorrow (Tuesday) but here's a little something to keep you occupied.  No fair reading ahead! Save it for Tuesday.

You will need pen and paper for this. Ready? Here goes:  There have been 43 U.S. Presidents. How many of them can you name?

I scored an embarrassing 50%. Even more embarrassing when I went back and read the list and began to hit myself in the head going, "Duh! Duh!"  I left out so many obvious ones it's humiliating. I just drew a blank.

 So give it a try and let me know how you do.I'll even give you a freebie. Millard Fillmore, President from 1850-53. I feel remiss in my education as I am quite certain a Millard Fillmore was never mentioned anywhere in a history lesson.  So, only 42 to go. You can check your answers here when you're ready.  Good luck.

Quick Trip to Portland

Tomorrow morning I fly out to Portland, Oregon for a very quick meeting with the editor of a vet magazine I'll be writing a humor column for. Once I get in on Tuesday, we'll tour the campus, meet everyone at the magazine, then sit down with the cartoonist for a brainstorming session. Dinner out, more meetings on Wednesday, then I fly out at 6:30 AM on Thursday.  Like I said, it's a quick trip.

I'm looking forward to it though. This column is the Pet Horoscopes piece I've mentioned earlier and it's a good bit of fun. I feel so "official" as a writer, being flown out to meet with everyone.  I'm more accustomed to the "our accountant ran off with our profits but we're combing the couch in the lounge for loose change to pay you with" kind of set up.

(Wow.   A quick aside--it is POURING here. Hail, thunder, black skies. I love a noisy storm. And we need it to get rid of the God-awful pollen that has coated our entire region in yellow. And just like that, it's almost done. While I typed the last two sentences the hail turned to a moderate rain. )

Usually I'm ambivalent about these type trips but rave about them afterward. The fact that I'm so looking forward to this one concerns me a bit--don't want to jinx it.

Here's an ambivalent part - I'm not so wild about getting up at 4 am tomorrow. My flight leaves at 6:30 AM, which means I'll leave the house at 5 (because I like to get to the airport early like they tell you to, that's why), which means I need to be up by 4 to shower and do last minute packing and goodbyes to the cats. I'm wearing business clothes on the plane which means heels which means a loooong flight day. My little tootsies just don't know what to do when confronted with anything over the height of your standard flip-flop. 

And of course I'm spending today doing all the "essential" things one does before a business trip - bank, gather important documents, paint the toenails, charge up the cell phone, laundry, laundry, laundry, pet the cats, go through the mail that's been sitting in the inbox for over a week now in case there's any ticking time bomb in there I forgot, e-mail everyone I know that I'll be gone for business for a whole day and a half, blog (of course), finish painting the final trim coat in the bathroom (I won't be able to enjoy my trip unless I know it's done) and myriad of other things. 

So I better get back to it. I'm not taking my laptop with me so probably no blog until Friday. I trust you'll all be able to move on with the shattered remnants of your life. ;)

Dena

Progress Report

Hmmm...sunny days are fatal for Honey-do lists. Not a lot accomplished from Friday's list. We did make it to the drycleaners and Blair cleaned off our bed. The 2nd coat of paint is drying on the bathroom ceiling as I type this and God willing we won't need another coat.  We bought hooks to hang the mirrors but haven't actually done so yet. Blair mowed the yard Friday and I did a tiny little bit of magazine writing work. But the rest of our days have been gloriously abandoned to pleasure.

We went out to the property yesterday and hiked around for a short bit then sat ourselves down on one of the large rocks in the center of the creek and listened as the mini-waterfall in front of us gurgled and watched with enjoyment as a series of about 8 monarch butterflies flitted down the stream toward us, over our heads and then were gone.

We startled a 3-foot long black snake from its slumber and he (I'm sure it was a he) slithered away from us over a carpet of leaves. We also heard rustling in a bush loud enough to be a deer but strain our eyes as we might, we couldn't make out a form. (Maybe the black snake was back and brought his older brother--who knows?)

The only discouraging part of the trip was that the "No Trespassing" and "Danger" signs Blair had posted around the wooden bridge were ripped apart and hurled to the side. Also the mini-fence Blair had erected to discourage  ATV'ers from riding across the bridge was dismantled. 

Even Blair was a little down at the lack of respect by these people.  We understand they've been using the land and maybe didn't know not to use it. But with  signs and orange warning fences posted, it's obvious someone now owns this property and doesn't want them on it. Instead of respecting that they ignore the signs, destroy property and do what they want anyway. 

Who are these people? Do people not have basic manners any more? I doubt these people would drive their ATV into someone's yard, rip up plants and throw around beer cans. But somehow they make the leap in their mind that since they're doing the same things where no one can see them, it's okay? It's disheartening that people won't chose to do the right thing of their own accord. Now we'll have to shell out money to build a fence blocking the bridge. It's an old wood log structure and isn't safe for anyone to drive an ATV over. But guess who these people will probably try to sue, dare they get hurt while trespassing?

People make me tired.  Ever have that feeling?

Honey Do List

It's a long weekend with a weather forecast for clear skies in the 80's with a light breeze.  What better way to spend the time than with a Honey-do list?

There's a lot that needs to get done. Number one is the bathroom. Miracle of miracles, this week we had both the missing 2nd sink installed and the shower door delivered. I'm calling the plumber today to schedule an appointment and--God willing--we'll have a functional bathroom by the end of the week.

But that doesn't mean we're off the hook. This weekend we need to:

• Paint the bathroom ceiling--at least two coats
• Touch up the trim in the red nook area (I got a little sloppy near the end)
• Hang the mirrors to ensure the lights we bought to go above the mirrors actually fit
• If the lights fit, call the electrician to move the boxes so we can install the lights
• I bought a mini-chandelier light for the center of the room. On the high store ceiling it looked like the same bronzy color of our fixtures but once I got it home, it looks more black than bronze. So we may need to return that light and buy another
• Purchase a clothes hamper. We've lived in the house 11 years--it's time.
• Buy a toilet paper hanger and towel racks

And that's just the bathroom list. We also need to weed our front garden and buy and plant flowers. Blair found a seminar at Lowes tomorrow on landscaping paths that we're going to go to, plus there's an open house at a log home we thought we'd hit.  I'd like to pull the screens out of the attic and put them in the windows so we can open the house up and the outside windows really need cleaned (pollen!). I leave for Portland on Tuesday so I've got a weekend of laundry to do as well as I must remember to get by the dry cleaners this weekend! It would also be helpful if we went grocery shopping at some point so we could eat.

Other to do's: Our bedroom is a disaster zone and I'm ready to reclaim it. All painting supplies need to be put away, which likely requires we reorganize the front hall closet or it's a lost cause from the start. Sweeping, dusting and getting the comforters to the dry cleaners will also be involved.

But--deep breath--that's for later. Right now it's 8 AM and while it's brisk out, it looks like a lovely morning and Blair and I are heading out for a long walk around town.  Even with all the to-do's, the weekend will be fun because we'll get to spend most of it together.