What are you up to today? This week?

[sparklepuppies]

On my way back out to the camper to wake up DH and then back to start breakfast. The furnace died yesterday. I's located in the halfbath we're having remodeled, and since the plumber hasn't showed back up for two days, what with all the frozen cracked plumbing he's repairing, I'm half-hoping he'll at least wait until the furnace guy has left, who's supposed to show up in a couple of hours (like that's going to happen!).

I'm there with you Holly, I can sympathize. Hopefully your repair won't be as costly as ours. And can be done in one day. At least it's a few degrees warmer today than yesterday.

[AuntDee]

We are waiting for a blizzard with about 12 inches of snow and -15 temps and wind chill of -30 degrees over the weekend. I am makng my grocry list so we will be be prepared to be snowed in. My weekend plans are: i have baskets of yarn and 4 unfinished knitting projects so those will be completed. The Willow has been staring me in the face all fall and is pleading to be completed. Lots of Christmas baking to do and the most important thing is a friend has commissioned me to make doll clothes for her granddaughte'rs Christmas present. So far I have made a coat and hat, bathrobe and pajamas and have a blouse and jeans ready to sew today. I think I'll make the slippers and purse this evening. I love to be snowed in if everyone is off the road.

[Starfire]

All my Christmas shopping was completed and shipping confirmed on the items I ordered over the internet this last Monday. Still have to do the cards and a short letter to old and dear friends. Bit by bit I am working on the decorations but with the construction going on I have been holding off because of all the dust and traffic in and out of the house. Again this year we have no outside decorations because of all the snow up here on the hill. I did mannage to put up the wreath on the porch.

The washing machine broke last Wed and the repair guy can't get here until Monday. Will have to wait for next week to do main laundry. Did wash out a few things by hand and they are drying now in the dryer.

The guys are laying the tile for the bathroom floor this am and they finished putting up the wall board on the wall where all the electrical and pipes were and got torn out with the rearranging I wanted. This house was built back in the 40's and all the bathrooms had the commodes as the first thing by the door. It has really bugged me for a number of reasons and when the renovation on the master was done a few years ago that was corrected. When they tore into the wall upstairs they found mold so a whole bunch of flooring and wall board had to come out and we discover the joists ran in the right direction that made it easy to re plumb the john over against the outside wall and relocate the sinks closer to the door. We are replacing the linolium with tiles and all in all think it will look so much better.

The family room has been a mess as DH has been reworking his electronics set up and adding stuff to the tv/computer/satallite/cable/movie setup for the past two weeks. Things are going very slowly because he seems to have caught what ever is going around and he gets wiped out very easily. There are wires/cables/and strange bits and pieces everywhere. I do not understand a bit of what he is doing and I can never figure out how to use any of it without either looking at all of his diagrams/instruction sheets or asking him to reset everything. I usually retreat to the bedroom to watch a program or movie on the setup there. A heck of a lot easier.!!!!! Why is it men need to do things up so complicated?

We tend to lead a pretty quiet life and with all the contractor folks running in and out the fur kids have been in Seventh Heaven! Cindy our boxer has been moping around since we lost our older boxer and sticking closer to me then DH for some reason. Also her usual hangout on the couch is currently occupied by some of DH's electronics stuff so she has be sort of been displaced. The guys pay a lot of attention to both her and Flynn the retriever as they run up and down the stairs and Cindy has really out done herself in the kidney bean dance. I don't think her tail has stopped wagging since they started. Flynn just figures they are here to play with him and drags every toy he can find to present to them to see if he can entice them to play.

[havanaholly]

Our plumber's primary business is repair work, so the halfbath makeover is, for him, a magnum opus. I just wish he hadn't felt that he had to give us a time limit; I suspect he doesn't watch the TV weather forecasts, or else assumes that people will take the precautions with their pipes, plants & pets the weather guy suggests...

The furnace folks are here, playing with the parts outdoors.

[woodland_miniatures]

Seems these remodels/accidents that need to be repaired are as contagious as the flu. I'm still waiting for the two holes in my walls to be repaired, that are the leftovers from my indoor pipe failure and leak earlier this week. Handyman said he'd get to it by the end of the week, but what with him having to run the snowblower and beat ice bergs down off the roof for much of his three hours here daily, I dunno....At least the walls and carpet now appear to be completely dry - I hope!

Other than that, it's sunny and well above freezing out there today, but we've got a winter storm warning for tonight through Sunday, with at least a foot of snow predicted. We'll see!

[havanaholly]

I'm totally enjoying sitting in a WARM house again! and the plumber's wife called earlier to OK his coming out tomorrow.

[Starfire]

The floor tile is down and looks gorgeous. I am drooling. Tomorrow the tile goes up on the wall back of the new pedistale sinks.

[KathieB]

A quick check-in from the Big Easy -- I feel for all of you going through remodeling and repair. We're waiting for a carpentery to come widen a doorway. We measured to be sure a stacking washer/dryer will fit where it's supposed to go but neglected to measure the doorway it needs to pass through. Twenty-seven inches of machinery will not go through a 23-inch doorway.

The rest of the moving is going relatively smoothly. So much is just getting used to being here as a resident again. One thing I noticed in various mall parking lots is how nice the vehicles are; few of them are older than five years, thanks to Katrina.

The Beacon Hill is awaiting attention in the closet. My worktable is holding this computer and will be freed up next Wednesday when somebody comes out to assemble the computer desk. I'm going to unpack the Dremel Treo in a bit to put up the curtain rods.

[woodland_miniatures]

I've actually got my outside door wide open, contrary to the management's insane rules about never, ever having the windows and doors open during the winter. It's just too NICE out there to not have some of that fresh air in here!

Kathy, so glad it's going well with your settling into home again, in spite of the too-small doorway for the washer/dryer. It's little surprises like that, that keep a person lively, I think. I would love to hear any other impressions of N'Orleans now compared to before Katrina that you might want to share. Anyone who hasn't been there just can't possibly understand, I think, and there are so many of us who had the city on our "wanna visit someday" list and still can't get our heads around what's different there now, and what may still be the same (or re-created).

So glad you're able to go home again, my friend!

[havanaholly]

...Twenty-seven inches of machinery will not go through a 23-inch doorway...

<snicker>*snort* BTDT!

...I would love to hear any other impressions of N'Orleans now compared to before Katrina that you might want to share...

We visited NO just before we moved from Jacksonville, in 1989, so when we go visit Kathie & Lloyd I'm expecting a lot of changes!

[KathieB]

A carpenter will be here at 8 am Monday to widen the doorway. An electrician will be here this afternoon to put in a 110 outlet for the washer. Strangely, the laundry area has a 220 outlet for the dryer, an exhaust outlet and hot & cold water taps & a drain for the washer but no outlet for the washer. It appears we have enough clothes with us that we won't have to hit the laundramat; haven't been to one of those since college!

Holly, other than a few more tall buildings in the Central Business District, you won't find much changed about the tourist areas of the city. It's when you get into the poorer residential areas that Katrina's influence is still felt. There are beaucoup activities, events, fairs, festivals and performances going on every weekend. I've noticed that there are new stores in some of the smaller shopping malls that were pretty derelict and nearly empty before the storm. One near us that held an Office Depot, a derelict roller rink, and a couple of empty buildings before the storm now shares the space with a Marshall's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and a large electronics store -- and the potholes in the parking lots have been fixed.

[When I first came to New Orleans in 2004, I swore I'd write the shortest book on record entitled New Orleans Streets that don't have potholes. It might have to be a couple pages longer now. There's road construction all over the place, mostly tied to drainage situations that need to be rectified.]

[havanaholly]

I think in the week we spent in NOLA we were downtown twice. I remember one really wonderful little hole-in-the-wall eatery a couple of blocks from our motel that is probably long gone, that had the best red beans & rice!

Yesterday while the men were here fixing the furnace (which is WORKING! tra-la!) the plumber's wife called to say he's coming back today, so I'm off to bake another batch of cookies before he unplugs my stove to recharge his laser-level (why do modern gas stoves have to have electronic ignition? I lived for over 50 years perfectly content to have a pilot light!).

[Sherry]

Kathy, when we moved to Austin to the old renovated farmhouse on the river, we discovered that the new modern sofas won't fit through 100 yr old doors! Poor sofa had to sit in the garage while we lived there! Finally gave it to the church thrift shop and bought a new one...not quite so deep!

[Wolfie]

We got another 8 to 9 inches of snow yesterday and last night, still not enough. There never seems to be enough snow. I mean I live in MOntana! Bring it on! In the meantime I have finished my Christmas tableau consiting of Santa, Mrs. Santa and three elves. Finally. Now on to more dolls! I haven't even got time to work on my Beacon Hill or my bungalow or anything else!

!

[woodland_miniatures]

Our snowstorm arrived just about when the weather folk said it would, around 10 a.m. Snowing about medium out there, but it's supposed to get much heavier later - glad I don't need to go anywhere today or tomorrow. Kinda dark and gloomy out there, feels like twilight, so I've got more than the usual lamps lit today. What I really hate about winter is the darkness, SIGH. Oh, well, only another four or so months to go! B)

[AuntDee]

Our blizzard has arrived. About 8-9nches have fallen so far. It's hard to tell with all the drifting. The wind is nasty and the wind chill is minus 2 and we have visiblity of about a quarter mile. My plans for the day are to sew more doll clothes for a friends grand daughter's Christmas present, bake Christmas cookies, put up our Christmas tree and work on the Willow. Oh and I have a a pair of socks to finish knitting. No travel in Minnesota today or tonight. As long as we are going to have snow we might as well have an old fashioned blizzard.

[havanaholly]

I baked another batch of cookies this AM for the Christmas party we're going to tomorrow, and the plumber's wife called again to say he wasn't going to be able to come today and would it be OK for him tomorrow? So we got to explain that while we would like the work to be DONE, we have a life... Anyway, we should be home by the time he'll show up, anyway...

[Starfire]

We are in between storms and it has warmed up to 34 degrees which is enough to melt some of the snow. Icy bits are falling of off the roof onto my kitchen garden window and the glass ceiling of the solarium. The stuff is also dropping onto the skylights from the trees. After 12 years I should be use to the sound but it still makes me jump. We should drop down again this evening and there will be icy roads.

[havanaholly]

It suddenly warmed up from freezing this AM to nearly 70 this afternoon; we're supposed to get a ferocious thunderstorm front coming through just any time, and then another freezing cold front. Tomorrow's paddles were cancelled (but not the party part).

[Sherry]

Just cold, dry, and windy here. I woke up at 3:30 am again this morning-what a waste of a weekend morning! So I got up and got all the stuff out to go to Kansas. It's amazing how many boxes it takes to pack up everything in a dollhouse! But the gifts are wrapped, the beans are made and in the freezer, just have to bundle up the house and we're ready. After church, we'll run by Nick's house and pick up some of the moving boxes he has unpacked, and repack them to ride in back of the pick up. Then I'll spend the afternoon making Texas Trash for the neighbor's gifts, as well as some for us, and some without nuts for Nick's bunch. 3 more days of school and my holiday starts!

[havanaholly]

Be careful on the roads.

Our thunderstorm (minus the thunder, but made up for it with much-needed rain' we just don't need it all at once!) came through around 0200 (at least that's when it woke me up) and I've been watching the cold front move in & clear things out.

[Sherry]

Got quite a bit done yesterday. I woke up at 3:30 am for the second day in a row, so I wrapped Christmas gifts before I got ready for church. Did some laundry, made 2 batches of Texas Trash for the neighbors, finished up one more room on the TP, and helped DS2 get some more of the stuff they had stored in our garage moved to his new house. He took the Shopsmith and a table saw, so I expect to start seeing furniture soon!

[havanaholly]

By the time we got to the party site the temp had dropped into the 30s and the wind was 20+ knots, and the food was nearly gone! We each managed to scrape together a plate, but the wind blew away my fork, and when I loosened my grip on the plate to get another fork, the plate and all the food I hadn't yet eaten went flying. Everyone gathered up everything and we moved the party to a friend's house.

No sign of the plumber - again.

[KathieB]

I'm up early in anticipation of the arrival of the carpenter who will widen a doorway so the washer/dryer can be delivered and installed. On Wednesday someone will be here to assemble the computer desk, which means the table the computer is now sitting on can become my workstation and I can get to doing some minis. Oh, frabjous joy!

In between, I have a discount coupon for Penney's to use on the rest of the drapes/curtains for the condo and we still have some miscellaneous furniture to scout out so it won't seem as if we're camping out in an abandoned apartment.

[Muriel]

Had a busy morning out and now sitting on the sofa with plenty to do but not quite the required amount of enthusiasm to do it!

Gotta work every day until I'm off next Monday. Working the Sunday so that we can be closed on the 27th. Haven't worked 6 days in a row in a long time! Do then at least have the Monday and Tuesday off next week, but Wednesday to Friday will be manic before christmas.

If I do my sort out now, it will be much easier to keep the flat in a respectable shape until after Christmas, so really it is worth the effort today... just gotta get up... one.... two......... two-and-a-half............ two-and-three-quarters........... .......... ............ three, ok I'm up! Talk to you later!