Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend was wonderful – a perfect balance of relaxing, getting stuff done and finding surprises.  It was so wonderful I actually feel rejuvenated and ready to go to back to work!

Saturday morning I checked food shopping and gassing up the CRV off my to-do list by 6:45AM.  Next up was my weekly chat with my Dad, who was in rare form – so rare that I actually wondered if he was tipsy.  He was filled with things to talk about and was bouncing from topic to topic, all the while commenting on how much he had to talk about…and laughing about it.  I know he wasn’t tipsy, but his rare form kept me smiling while I worked out back for the next couple hours.

I finally finished the last path in the backyard…sort of.  Here’s the completed path…

and here’s the sort of…

I still have to break the scored corner off this block and put it in place.  Ummm…the block not the corner 

Once that’s done I’ll sweep play sand between the blocks in that area and be really done.  I’m going to check the tools at work for a chisel and try using that.  If that doesn’t work, or the office doesn’t have such a tool, I’m going to stop at Lowe’s and see if they can break it for me.

I had to stop my outdoor fun by 11AM and take a shower so I could sit and wait for the automatic garage door repair guy.  For a year or so, when I hit the button to open my door, it go up 5″ then stop.  This didn’t happen all the time, just when it felt like it.  In the past couple months, when it had this hissy fit and I hit the button to close the door, it would go down then immediately go back up…and stop…again.  Since it didn’t happen all the time and I could manually lift the door when it did occur, I kept putting off getting it fixed because no one I knew could recommend a service company.

Then Friday morning happened.

After the hissy fit, I pulled the release and was lifting the door manually when the header bolts that hold the center track against the house popped out and the track dislodged.  I was still able to lift the door, and it worked when I came home Friday night and left Saturday morning for food shopping, but I knew the time had come to get the door fixed.

I did on-line research and found a couple of small local companies.  When I searched the contractor’s license number for the first one, the license had expired, ditto for their bonding and insurance.  Fortunately the second one was in good standing so I called them and made an appointment.  Mike was here by 1:15PM and fixed the problems (the up/down was due to the two springs not having the same tension) and did a complete service on the door.    I did my usual and asked lots of questions, but he didn’t mind.  I even treated Mike to the info of how I found his company – he literally stopped in his tracks when I related my search information.  Not because I found him on-line but because I actually followed up and checked the licenses.  He said no one has ever told him that they actually check that stuff – to which I replied, “My Daddy didn’t raise no fool.”  Mike was also surprised at how easily I found the info.

I spent the rest of the day doing pretty much nothing.  I did make mac & cheese in the crock pot, trimmed about 1/8″ off the bottom of 10 vertical blinds in my dining room window that kept getting hooked on the window sill (yeah, window sill isn’t perfectly level), watched some TV and watched then deleted several programs on my DVR.

When the TV watching was over I had phone chats with friends Lois and Laurie, then went out back, slippers on my feet and blanket in my hand, and laid down on the swing.  I covered myself with the blanket, swung for a bit before practice-sleeping for an hour.  I went inside, fed the kitties then went straight to bed for the non-practice sleeping.

After an hour-long chat with my sister Sunday morning, I went out front to do my weekly maintenance.  Not only was this relaxing but it was full of surprises!!!

Remember Carlton, Jr?  That’s the pad I cut off backyard cactus Carlton, Sr in October, rooted then planted in the front yard in April.  By mid-May this guy thrilled me with 9 new pads.  Guess what?  He’s sprouted 7 more new pads!!!!!!  Carlton, Sr only adds pads once a year, why his son is adding some twice this year is beyond me – all I can say is he must be ecstatic with his new home!  Here are a couple of the new additions…

I also noticed that the white flowers on my buckwheat plant are starting to die.  This isn’t a bad thing – in fact this is part of the awesomeness of this plant!

Why?

Because they turn a stunning rust color when they die.  This plant will look so awesome when it’s covered with the rust flowers!

My next two surprises were of the bug variety.  First up…a white-ish cricket (or grasshopper)…

and a baby praying mantis!  This guy was only about 1-1/4″ long and buried inside a gazania plant.

After the yard work was done, I spent a couple of hours cleaning off my cameras while watching shows on my DVR and then programs on TV.  I caught up on some e-mails, did some work-work, washed dishes, cleaned the bathroom and played with the kitties.  By the time I was done with all of this, the sun was sleeping so I followed suit and headed off to bed.

It may not have been an exciting weekend by most standards, but it was a wonderful one by mine. 

And now for your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures that I found when I cleaned off my cameras.

January 7, 2011 sunrise…

September 24, 2010 full moon…

My felines…

Snow covered San Bernardino Mountains, January 7, 2011

Second Wave

The first wave hit my neighborhood but missed my street.

I was thrilled – everyone was safe and dry.

For a few months, there has been a rumored second wave.

If my street is any indication, the rumor is true.

Yesterday when I came home from work a “For Sale” sign had been planted in the front yard of yet another house.  There are only 14 houses on my street…5 of which now have these signs decorating their yards like trees.

Two of the houses are in foreclosure and have been empty for about a year.  Their moving to “For Sale” status is a good thing, so I smiled when the signs became part of their landscape.

One house was a foreclosure that was sold last December, and that buyer is now reselling it.

The house next door to me is a short sale.  The on-line status of the listing has changed from active to back-up offer, so I’m assuming that my neighbor has accepted an offer and is waiting for the bank to approve it.

The fifth house, the newbie in the for sale department, is so new that the listing isn’t even on-line yet.  I’m fairly confident that it’s a short sale as well, but I won’t know for sure until the listing is on-line.

There are other houses for sale in my neighborhood, but those don’t bother me nearly as much as the five on my street.  There’s no way to avoid the reality of the economy whenever I putter in the front yard or leave/return to my house.  Though new families will see their home-ownership dreams realized there’s still a sad heaviness for the five families whose dreams have been crushed.

Everything at my house is fine and dandy, but as the view from my front yard reminds me, that can change at a moment’s notice.

Carmageddon

I’m sure that even if you don’t live in Southern California, you’ve heard about Carmageddon, that panic surrounding the 50+ hour closure of part of the 405 Freeway, a major north/south freeway just west of Los Angeles.  How could you not hear about it?  Not only is it the lead story on the local news, but nationally it’s in the top 10 minutes and front and center in multiple on-line stories!

So just what is causing this Carmageddon?  The 405 Freeway is being widened, and as part of this project, a bridge that spans the freeway is being knocked down and replaced.  While the destruction happens, the freeway is shut down – from 10PM last night until 6AM Monday.

I bet your first thought is that it’s the weekend, so what’s the big deal?  I bet your second thought is “like they’ll have it reopened on time”.

As a Southern California resident, my first thought?

Thank goodness this is more than an hour west of me!!!

My second thought?

HAHAHAHAHAHA for all those locals who think they can outfox the closure, and     for all the tourists caught in the mess.

Back to  your thoughts…

Even though it’s the weekend, this freeway is HEAVILY traveled.  How heavily?  Umm…about 500,000 cars per weekend day!  Imagine all of that traffic trying to get anywhere on side streets!  Seriously!  Any wonder why Carmageddon survival kits have popped up everywhere?  There are the kits for your car (blanket, food, clothes, etc) and then there are the kits that direct you to businesses in the surrounding areas that are offering awesome deals…many of which include the numbers 4, 0 and 5!

As for your second thought?  Think about a fine in the amount of $6,000 for every 1o minutes each side of the freeway is not open after 6AM Monday!  That translates to $72,000 per hour…and no credit for early completion.

Back to my thoughts…

I get to watch all of the chaos from the comfort of my house, and even if I ventured out, I wouldn’t encounter any of the traffic.  Not one single tire of it!  The local TV stations will be airing constant traffic updates throughout the weekend, and since all have helicopters, I’m confident that an aerial view every half hour will be available.

PHEW for me.

If any So. Cal. residents get caught up in the traffic nightmare, well, they DESERVE it!  Carmageddon has been talked about incessantly for months on-air, on-line and in-print, so there’s absolutely no way any local could be oblivious.  As for the tourists, well, YIKES I feel badly for them!

The bad news?

The bridge span that’s being demolished is the south side – we get to go through this again next year for the north side!

The really bad news?

Though the new bridge will be 10 feet wider and more earthquake sturdy, the main focus of this project is to add one carpool lane to Northbound 405 traffic.

Yep, that’s it…just one lane…in one direction only…carpool to boot…  A project that started January 12, 2011 and that is scheduled to be completed in 2013.  An expansion that will not benefit 85% of traffic, and that by the time its complete will be considered obsolete due to traffic volume increases…

I predict this is the first of dozens of Carmageddons.  Hopefully each one is less painful than the previous.

Staycation Day 10

This final Staycation day was a productive one, a lazy one and a work-work one.

I was outside by 7AM, had the remaining plants in the ground within an hour then spent the next 3+ hours working on that last section of backyard pathway.  I worked until I ran out of supplies, which, between you and me, timed out perfectly with the end of  my end of my attention span.  The path area was fully in the sun by this time so things were getting a bit toasty.

Here are the drought-tolerant plants, in order from the block wall towards the arbor.  This is a Gold Spot Euonymus…

Rosemary (with a neat stake I found at Joann’s)…

red fountain grass (which will stand fully upright once it gets over the adjustment period)…

Lantana (flowers should be red and orange-ish)…

New Zealand Flax (another plant that will be upright once adjusted to it’s new home)…

Golden Goblin Gaillardia (also known as blanket flower)…  If I plant those dead heads they’ll sprout new plants…at least they did in New England.

and lastly for the raised bed area, a fairy duster.  This guy’s kinda hard to see but it’s there…

In a couple of weeks, once the plants have adjusted to their new digs, I’ll take a picture of the raised bed so you can see how they all line up.

Across the yard, in the corner opposite where the swing is, I put in a white oleander.  I have a pink one behind the swing and love it, so I decided a white one would be a nice complement.

Now the path.  I was able to get it half done!

The blocks in both paths are the same color even though they don’t look like it in this picture (the patio area on the left did use different color blocks).  The white stuff on the new path is play sand that I used to sweep between all the blocks to fill the gaps.  Where these paths meet, I need to break off about an inch of the square block in the old path as it is in the way of the new path.  Then I need to fill the triangles of space with broken bricks/blocks.

As for the far end of the path…

I need to move the row of bricks you see beyond the path so they line up with the row of bricks between the path and the patio.  Once that’s done all I have to do is continue in pattern until I get to the block wall.  Any gap between the wall and the path will be filled with pea gravel, as will the area between the path and the raised garden bed.

I did some calculating and determined that I need 8 more of the smaller square blocks (12″ size) and 53 bricks.  I don’t need any of the larger blocks (16″ size) and I don’t think I need any more bags of sand, but I’ll do one more double-check on that before I pick up the blocks/bricks.  I hope to be able to find the broken brick/block pieces at the same time so I don’t have to break any.

I’ll gather the needed supplies in the next day or two so I can finish the path this weekend…or maybe putter on it a little bit at night once all the weeding and dead-heading is done in both the front and back yards.

After packing up all my supplies I took a shower, ate lunch, lazed for a couple of hours, work-worked for several hours then lazed for another hour before heading to bed and closing the book on this Staycation.

*sigh*

Staycation Day 9

It happened…the transition to “work me” has begun.

More importantly, the project-umph has deserted me.

I wend outside just after 9AM to put the plants I’d bought in the ground.  I planted the white oleander then spent time dead-heading the butterfly bush.  My reward?  For the first time I saw a butterfly enjoying the bush!!  It wasn’t beautiful like a Monarch or Swallowtail, but it WAS a butterfly…and I stood and watched it for a couple of minutes.

I re-focused on my planting task and was able to put three more in the ground before I packed it in for the day.  Two of the plants went in easily, the third required some axe swinging in order to dig through the clay and remove some rather large rocks.  It was hot and very dry outside, the first day of my entire vacation where we had our normal weather.  Unfortunately instead of enjoying my time outdoors I was very aware of how parched I was…even though I’d downed nearly 60 ounces of water over the course of 2 hours.

Because my mind wasn’t enjoying the planting, it also wandered indoors to the work-work I’d brought home and had successfully ignored all week.  After taking a shower and enjoying a cold steak and macaroni salad lunch, I spent 5 hours in front of my computer working.  Is it done?  Ahhh…no…barely qualifies for 1/2 done. 

One more Staycation day left…hopefully it will be more productive than today was!

Staycation Day 8

In some ways, I accomplished very little on Day 8.  But in other ways, I did a lot!

What did I do?

I headed down to Old Town Temecula to take pictures. I parked the CRV on the shady side of the street then spent a couple of hours walking up and down the town and viewing it through my camera lens.  It always amazes me how many pictures I take – it never seems like enough until I look at the camera card.  This adventure?  155 pictures!!!

On the drive home I stopped at Joann’s to return extra Velcro from the bar stool cushion project and to pick up a pillow form for the front bedroom/office (I want to use some of the extra valance fabric to make a pillow for the red chair).  Next stop was a local nursery/garden center to see if I could find a bench for my front yard.

I didn’t 

After a quick early lunch I started sorting through all the photos I’d taken.  I looked at every single one, then labeled and saved those that were save-worthy.  How many were saved?  100!  YIKES my save rate is never that high!  Double yikes – that took me nearly 4 hours to do (hence the “I did a lot” statement)!!

And that folks, was the extent of my day.  Really!  I filled the rest of the day semi-watching a boring NASCAR race, watching programs on the DVR, playing with the kitties and working on Dad’s Christmas gift for a bit.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a very few select photos from Old Town Temecula…

Staycation Day 7

I had a crappy night’s sleep and woke up with a sore back, but once I was dressed and ready to get the day going it turned out to be an awesome day!

Just before I left to go to Home Depot and the food store, a pink/purple/yellow object caught my eye.  I immediately grabbed my Rebel and a step-ladder than stood outside snapping away.

Unfortunately it was taking the balloon driver so long to get going and rise above the block wall that I gave up and went on my merry way.  The balloons launch at the nearby airport (where I did my skydive) and sporadically launch from the fields around my house, but no matter where the launch site is, they launch all the time.  Like 3-5 times a week, and not just this guy, but other brightly colored guys and/or more than one at a time.  I’ll never know why after nearly 6 years they put a stupid grin on my face and cause me to grab my camera, but they do.

After doing my errands I tackled the projects in my front entry.  Not only did the front door need to be painted…

…but upon closer inspection, so did the door handle.

Amongst all of these supplies is a can of Rustoleum Hammered spray paint, color Rosemary.

That’s the paint that I decided would be semi-perfect, totally acceptable, for the door hardware.  The problem was that it came in a spray can.  Oh, there was something similar in a quart-sized can, for double the cost of the spray can, but really, painting such a small area once every 5+ years?  A quart??  The problem with the spray can is that spray-painting and I do NOT get along unless there is a huge area that won’t look crappy if dusted with the paint.

It took mere seconds for me to decide on the spray paint.  Why?  I could spray into a container then paint it on the door handle hardware!!! 

The plan worked perfectly!!!  Two coats of Hammered Rosemary on the hardware and two coats of the reddish color on the door that I used on the shutters last year and one more item was scratched off my to-do list!!!

What do you think of the new hardware??  Pretty awesome huh?

Well…I was so energized by that success that I tackled the privacy film on the entry window.  This pattern is different from the one I used in my master bath.  I thought it most appropriate to use Etched Leaves in the front entry since it looks out on the front garden.  Putting this up was a piece of cake — and it showed me the secret.  Spray LOTS of water/soap mixture on the window before applying the film!  Lots – like enough to take a bath in!  It words wonders – honest…all bubbles are gone!!

This is how awesome my front entry looks from the outside…

…and here’s a closeup of the entry window from outside…

…and from inside!

If you noticed in the “before” picture that viewed the entry from the outside, vertical blinds were hanging in the entry window.  I’ve opted to remove them and let the privacy film do its work.  I’m not sure if this is a permanent removal or just temporary, only time will tell.

I took a lunch break then removed and washed the three windows I hadn’t already done (check off #1) before surfing for that 2012 vacation that my sister and I are going to take in celebration of our 50th birthdays (I turn 50 eleven months before she does).  The  verdict??  It looks like a late August or September 2012 cruise to Alaska!!!!!   Hopefully we can more firm this up in the next week or two 

The balance of the day was spent working on one of my Dad’s Christmas presents.  I can’t go into any details on this ‘cuz he reads my blog posts 

There are big doings the morning of Staycation Day 8 — I’m so excited about them that I foresee a sleepless night in my immediate future!  Check back Sunday morning for all the details!!!

Staycation Day 6

I can sum up Day 6 in one word – LAZY!

My body was up before the sun, but even after a large mug full of coffee, my ambition was nowhere to be found.  I really think my brain just needed some down-time where it didn’t have to do any thinking.

I didn’t completely waste the day, but it was definitely the least productive (so far).

I spent hours working on the cross stitch ornaments while watching programs I had on my DVR.  The five ornaments are almost done – just 1-1/4 left to go then it’ll be time to figure out a creative way to finish them.  This might be the earliest I’ve finished these Christmas gifts ever!

By late afternoon my ambition was flirting with me so I made my Friday errand list — Home Depot for a few project supplies and food shopping for desperately needed food stuffs (I’m so low that lunch was tuna on Triscuits ‘cuz I didn’t have any bread!).

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the forecast is correct for Saturday through Monday and that the humidity will be gone so I can get outside and work on that last path.  I’ve mentally worked on it and figured out the solution to the problem I was having, now I just need the weather to co-operate so I can physically do it!  This near-desert climate where I live doesn’t have humidity like New England does, but when the thermometer says 105 and the “feels like” say 115, it’s ugly hot and humid.  The norm for a 105 temperature reading is a 102 “feels like” temperature because it’s so dry out here.  With the current weather we’re having, if you drove through my neighborhood you’d think no one lived here — there’s not a soul outside after 10AM — not even kids!

There’s just 4 days left to my Staycation.  How many more items will I check off my to-do list?  Check back tomorrow and you’ll know some of the answer!

Have a FABULOUS Friday everyone!

Staycation Day 5

What a day it was!  I finally completed a project that has been on my to-do list for more than 2 years and for which I’ve had the supplies just waiting to be used!

What was the project?

Valances for my front bedroom/office/studio!  One valance is of a normal kind, but the other isn’t.  The valance over the window is an awning valance!   What has taken so long is the lack of a pattern for the latter.  And not just a lack of a pattern, but also the lack of instructions on how to assemble the valance.  Every time I mentally tried the assembly process I ended up with a tangle of fabric and thread, so I fingered the fabric then walked away.

I was determined that this project would be completed this Staycation and since plans to visit friends were cancelled, Wednesday was the day!

I first made a paper pattern then cut the pieces out of spare fabric that I had.  I kept diligent notes as I went along and after a couple of hours, my test valance was hanging over the window.  Sort of.  The sleeve for the bottom bar was too high on the sides so the bar wouldn’t lay flat.  But that was the purpose of the test, so I was ready to go!

I laid out the real fabric and got to work.  Even though I’d already made the valance once and knew what I was doing, I worked at an incredibly slow speed, and was overly cautious.  I took the time to hang the valance to measure and remeasure the bottom bar placement so the test valance problem wouldn’t happen again.  Even with the extra care, I’m still a tiny bit off on the left side, but the valance is fine for now.  One day when I have nothing better to do I’ll fix that little problem.

Confident I was now on the downhill side of the valance project with only the straight valance for the closet left, I charged forth.  I hung the completed valance and nearly cried in frustration!  When I decided on the height of the valance I forgot to take into account the scoops and that they were nearly 1-3/4″ higher than the bottom of the valance.  I stared at the valance…and the top of the sliding door frame that was playing peek-a-boo through the valance scoops.

It was after 7:30PM and I hadn’t had dinner yet.  I was tired, and borderline cranky, but I knew if I left this until Thursday morning it would be gnawing at me all night long.

I let my brain swirl around all available options before settling on one.  I made a 2″ high sleeve to sew along the top of the valance then removed the stitching that created the original sleeve.

Sound easy?

HAH!

The fabric is striped!!  Lots and lots and lots of stripes of varying colors and widths!

Surprisingly it didn’t take me anywhere near as long as I thought it would.

Now it’s picture time!  The fabric I bought for this room matches the aqua walls and this red chair…

…and here it is!  This is the awning valance…

and this is the closet valance.

I still have some fabric left so I might make a couple throw pillows for the chair as a finishing touch.  Hopefully that project won’t take another two years!!!

On a positive note, I checked on Lion and it appears he’s going to make it!!!

Yep, there are a lot of curled leaves, but if you look carefully you can see a lot of full ones too!  There weren’t any when I first planted this guy!  I still have to nurse him along, but he’s showing me that he wants to stay.

Staycation is half over…time for the second half!

Staycation Day 4

My CRV spent most of Day 4 in the shop.  Not a big deal since I didn’t need it, but a bit of a problem because I wasn’t sure when the call would come that it was ready and I was getting picked up to retrieve it.  And pay for it.  The good news in the vehicle department?  I was right and the lack of A/C was the belt so that repair was free.  Take that you know-it-all mechanic who said it was the compressor!!  Bad news?  Rear struts = expensive.

Have no fear, I did make semi-good use of my day and move some projects forward.

So, what did I do?

I spent a couple of hours painting branches in the laundry room!  I was very hesitant with the first few so by the time I finished the last ones and had the style mastered I had to go back to the first branches and upgrade them a bit.

Here are the branches when looking at the door to the garage…

…and here are the branches when looking at the door to the house.

What do you think?  I was quite pleased with myself and grinning stupidly when I stepped back and looked at my handiwork.  The branches were semi-realistic but not spooky and a-okay in my book!!

I took a lunch break, then it was off to the laundry room with a small can of green paint.  I loved how the leaves looked as I was adding them to the branches!

Two-and-a-half hours later, here’s the view looking at the door to the garage…

…and here’s the view looking at the door to the house.

What do you think?  It’s totally fine if you made an funky face, said “yuck” or just thought “ick” because to be honest, I don’t like it much.  I think I went overboard on the number of branches and leaves.  I’m hoping that when I add lighter highlights the branches and leaves won’t be so dark and I’ll like them better.

Another problem is that the branches/leaves were intended to get rid of that endless blue I had above the flowers and fence.  I was successful to that end, but now the blue stripe in the middle is screaming out at me.  I’m thinking I now need a grassy hill in the middle with a white fence on it, maybe more flowers in front of said fence so it looks like the other side of this fake property.

I need to let my brain work through this a little bit so Day 5 will not include any painting. 

My disappointment with the wall put me in a little bit of a funk so I just hung out until it was time to retrieve Putt-Putt.  On the way home from the auto shop I detoured to Target to pick up 2 containers of kitty litter that was on sale.  I cooked a DiGiorno pizza for dinner then cut the foam for the 6 dining room chair cushions.

Off to Day 5 where indoor projects will rule the day as the weather is supposed to be hot (again) and humid (for So. Cal. anyway).  What projects will get done?  Check back tomorrow to see!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!