What are you up to today? This week?

[heidiiiii]

It is really bad Anna. We are fortunate that we have the sump pump and shop vacs. Others are not. Two cities have had to declare a state of emergency so far (not mine).

We are having a little break in the rain right now but it will start up again soon. I am not looking forward to it!

[Anna]

So not fun Heidi and I am sorry for those who that are without the sump pump!!! Will keep sending those dry thoughts and positive energy your way, promise!

Hugs

[grazhina]

Wow, Heidii, a flooded basement is the pits. We've never had one, thank goodness. Water trickled down a wall a couple of times, but we were able to make repairs with no trouble. There's a deep puddle next to our basement right now, so we might wind up with a damp wall again. On the bright side, maybe the mole's tunnels that are in that area of the garden will get flooded out. :lol:

Holly, about ovens that can be lit with matches. Unfortunately there is no such thing anymore. I was told it had to do with Federal safety codes or some such thing.

Now the toilet in my bathroom is acting up. When I flush it it makes this enormous WHOOSH! and then the water keeps running. I have to turn the handle back into position. It's only about a year old, too.

I think everything is getting to me. This morning around 9:00 I felt lousy, so I sat down to watch TV for a little while. I fell asleep for a couple of hours in the chair.

I made brownies. One section with walnuts for me. DS will have a smile on his face when he sees them.

I forgot, I hardly ever wear shoes, so when I find some that are comfy I buy at least two pair. This way I have enough comfortable shoes to last for several years in case I don't find another good pair. Since I only buy Easy Spirits at their outlet store it works out to be a pretty good deal.

[heidiiiii]

This is the parking lot of our local Mcdonalds. I guess they wont be serving any Big Macs today. Our city alone received over 8 inches of rain with this storm. It has finally stopped.

[Lynette Smith]

Yesterday I worked in the yard, raking dead grass out of flowerbeds and pulling dandelions and thistles. I got my heart rate up to 137. That counts as exercise right? :lol: I also (finally) mailed a package to Dar (been having trouble getting to the post office). I folded laundry too.

Babysitting is keeping me busy. In theory, the twins and Robbie are supposed to sleep for a couple hours after I get there, so I can grab a nap, but so far it hasn't been the case. Either Robbie, one of the twins, or all three are awake and crying. :idea: There are some blissful quiet times, and I get on the computer. :o

[KathieB]

We had a visit from the Dry Basement salesman today and will be putting in a drain, sump pump, and wall covering. We don't have a BAD water problem, but the foundation in this 70-year-old house does leak when we have heavy rains.

[Muriel]

Hope things are drying out a bit Heidi! Crazy weather here, cold, very windy and wet (not flooding here though!) and plenty of snow in Northern Ireland and Scotland. People don't quite believe me when I say I've been easter egg hunting in the snow in N Ireland, but there's plenty of snow this week, and easter is just 4 days away! No snow here, just cold and windy.

Glued the doors into Bullwinkle Terrace, except for the front door, which I'm not quite sure what colours she wants it finished off with. Also glued the windows and window trim in, so guess I'll start touching up the paint work now! Boring :lol: Also got to find the last window to paint and glue in.

[Sherry]

Off to school again today, hope it goes better than yesterday! We are trying to get things ready for our trip to Kansas. We're taking the dwarf house they didn't have room to take home in December, the extra scroll saw, planer, and the boxes of DS1 that we've been storing for ten years! Laundry to do, junk like that, so I haven't had any time to mini much. Sure hope the weather holds out and that if the wind is blowing Friday, it's at least behind us, so we get better gas mileage! :lol:

[heidiiiii]

Water is steady flowing into the sump pump. It is not rising or receding. We have about a half an inch or maybe more on the entire floor.

I keep forgetting Easter is right here almost!

I have not gotten anything for it. I am usually more prepared then this.

We faired much better then others with the storm. Bridges have washed out, basements flooded up to tops of washers while people were at work..just a mess. I am glad that it is going to be GORGEOUS this weekend. Sunny and 80 deg F! Bring on the SUN!

[Anna]

Came in from planting the sping flowers in the flower pots outside, and now it is sort of pouring down or rather the rain is coming in side ways... I am happy though that I got the lil' plants in the soil though.

I will be back in the craft room in a little bit continuing the sorting and cleaning there for the move, have also decided upon a few things that will have to go and have put up a panorama (?) roombox on a Swedish miniature forum if someone wants it. I have had it for years and it is finished and have the tape wire installed and everything but it has mostly just been sitting there for ages collecting dust so now is the time to let someone else have a go with it.

Hugs

[Muriel]

Ooh, what's a panorama room box? Just a long box? or something else special about it?

I'm really enjoying this holiday thing! can really get used to it. They have NCIS on at 2pm daily (and show that episode again the next day at 1pm, so you've got two in a row if you missed the previous day or part of it as is normally the case with me this week) They're just showing the around Ziva staying in Israel and what came before and after. Really enjoying them!

Just waiting for a bashed divider wall to dry. Cut out the kitchen flooring, so think I'll stick that down now. Then stick in the two french doors and paint the red wall for the master bedroom. Then think I can put the front walls on with hinges while I paint and then wait for the roof pieces to dry. She's coming to see it on Saturday, so hope to have it nearly done by then, and maybe bring it to her on the wednesday I've got off. Will post some more pictures later when I've put it back together again!

[Anna]

I know the feelings Muriel as we are having Easter holidays over here right now (school starts again on Tuesday) and as for the panorama box, not really sure it is the right word for it in English but it is wider at the front compared to the back, same height though. It sorts of look like a funnel (?) with straight edges LOL

Hugs

[Muriel]

Ok, no idea what it'd be called, so panorama might well be the right word! But know what you mean now :lol:

I'm also working with damp feet trying to stretch these shoes a little. Sitting is ok, just need to sit all day :idea:

And why won't they answer the phone at the registry office??!? it is just ringing and ringing and ringing! Hmm, 7 minutes of ringing. think I'll try again. Bet it'll just ring and ring again though. Says they're open on the answering machine message, then dial 3 to arrange an appointment, then it just rings. So frustrating! Phoned earlier and they said they're shut from 2-4 for training so call back later. Now I can't get anyone to answer. Pressed 2 instead and she there should be a message and they shut at 4. Well for goodness sake!!! the message said phone after 4!! (She heard the annoyance and frustration in my voice and said she would feed it back and that I should phone at 9 tomorrow morning :o ) Grrrrrrr!

[Anna]

Sooo, I have just emailed a prominent company asking for some advice in regards of a certain SF scene, just for input resources so to speak, :lol: hopefully they won't fall off their chairs hurting themselves while laughing... Oh well, we'll see what comes out of that LOL...

Hugs

[grazhina]

We went back to Home Depot to order the washing machine for delivery on April 21st, because we couldn't find another one anywhere else. Unfortunately in 2 days the delivery date got pushed back to April 28th. We asked about the fancier, more expensive machine, but that turned out to be almost as hard to get.

We went back to Sears, where the machine was available for April 13th, with no free delivery. If we still lived down in PA we could have gone to any of several dozen appliance stores and had it delivered much, much faster. People up in Maine are getting a bad deal from manufacturers of all sorts of things. They just aren't willing to send things up here when they have buyers in more centralized areas.

I also bought a Kenmore toaster. I've taped the receipt to the box and put the box in my hall closet. Toast made on level 4 was too light. Next time I'll try level 5.

On the bright side, my son clogged the toilet while we were out, but he managed to unclog it all by himself.

[Muriel]

Oooh, very intriguing Anna! Can't wait to see that project. Really looking forward to the creative ideas for this SF.

I've put some more pictures in the Bullwinkle Terrace album. Newer pictures are towards the end rather than beginning. Tried out some of my furniture in the house just to get an idea. Not really looking forward to doing the skirting boards tomorrow :lol:

[grazhina]

I'm not sleeping......again. I've been up for the past 3 hours. I should be ready to zonk out just in time to make sure my son is up and on his way to school. Stayed up for 5 hours last night before I crashed into la-la land yesterday around 8AM. It wouldn't be as bad if I had the energy to get some work done during the night, but I don't.

[Muriel]

Awww, not so good Grazhina! I hope you can get back into a proper sleep routine again soon and that it'll increase your energy levels.

I've glued the treads and spindles to the staircases. Next gotta glue on the handrails for that and then varnish it all. Am also theoretically doing the skirting board today, but not 100% sure how I want to do it around the staircase opening. Like continue it across, or stop for the opening and then continue after it. Also, the long length I had turns out to have rounded edges both sides rather than just one side, so would have to cut one edge off each piece, which is a bit time consuming really. So instead gotta go out to the shops and buy some of the right wood. But that's a half hour drive each way and didn't particularly want to go out today! But tomorrow being good friday I'm not sure about the opening times either, and as she's coming to see it on saturday definitely want it done before then. Guess I'm going out!

[grazhina]

Still up.

I decided as long as I was too tired to do much of anything else I'd score the basswood panels and stain them for the Franklin St. house. I managed to get the lines all straight and even, and gave them a coat of stain.

[KathieB]

I finished gathering the tax info for the preparer and delivered it to his office today, April Fool's Day. :idea: :lol:

[KathieB]

Today we're moving a whole lot of stuff in the basement to make room for a team of workers with jackhammers who are going to cut a trench along one leaky wall to install a drain and a sump pump on Monday. They warned us that the concrete dust will be everywhere, so we're wrapping and taping with plastic as much as we can. The dollhouses and upholstered furniture are triple wrapped -- cloth, plastic, and another layer of cloth on top, as I'm afraid the static electricity in the plastic will attract dust.

I'm afraid the craft area will be out of bounds for several days while we get the basement cleaned up and sorted out again. I need to pull together enough supplies to be able to work on the ______ for the Spring Fling upstairs.

[Sherry]

We're home from our flying trip to Kansas and I'm pooped! At least I don't have to work tomorrow, so maybe I can get my house cleaned up and the laundry done. I'm keeping GS1, and we will plant flower seeds if the wind is not too bad. Just glad to be home, and Abby was sure glad to see us!

We thought about putting her in the kennel and decided it would be better to leave her here and let DS2 come by and check on her. I'm sure she's wondering where her dogs went off to, but we'll get them in the morning. Just gonna take it easy tonite!

[Lynette Smith]

I tried to sleep in today, but was unsuccessful. First I heard excited nieces and nephews looking for Easster baskets. Then my brother started playing his pipe organ, which is huge, and he is particularly fond of loud pieces first thing in the morning. Then 2 or 3 nieces and a nephew descended upon while in bed. Larissa wanted me to show her how to cast on so she could knit a hot pad. Jalaire was there just for fun, and Jaime was determined as usual to get me up. I tried to tell 'Rissa I'd show her in a couple hours after I'd had more sleep.

Then I realized. Resistance is useless. I will be assimilated.

So I made a toasted cheese sandwich for brunch and joined them for church.

Larissa is mostly through her hot pad, Heidi is doing much better at her experimental beginner project than last Christmas. She will be starting a hot pad too.

Jalaire did not sleep in the organ loft this year.

Katelynn is doing better with her sign language. She was going through a book and signing the words she knew, which is such a dramatic difference from where she was 18 months ago. She couldn't communicate at all, except by taking a person by the hand and taking them to something she wanted, and she resisted cuddling and turned from kisses. Now she climbs into laps and gives kisses back.

The turkey was still partly frozen, (SIL likes to do turkeys for all occasions), so dinner will be later than usual. I was planning on returning tonight, but now I'm up in the air. I called

Aileene to see if she was working (and me sitting Robbie and the twins). She is going to call back and see if someone else is available. I feel torn, cause I should sit (and may yet) but the kids thought I'd be here Monday for them to play with, and for my brother's birthday.

I guess I'll wait and see what Aileene says about about an alternate sitter for tomorrow.

[Sherry]

The washer is already going and I'm planning my day. I need to clean house, and we'll work in the yard, since GS1 is here. Still tired! I cleaned out the fish pond at DS1's new house Saturday, and paid for it yesterday, despite a nice long soak in the jacuzzi Saturday night. I'm getting too old for stuff like that, but the new plants were coming up and the old dead leaves were bugging me. I'd forgotten how much fun koi ponds are, I miss the one we had at our old house......I wonder how hard it would be to dig a hole in my back yard? lol!!

[Syphon79]

Didn't get to enjoy the Easter weekend since I spent last week dealing with management and the condo board in regards to my studio condo that I'm trying to get into settlement with the buyer. Wanted to get the contractor to do repairs on some renovations they did for me almost two years ago and while I tried to get permission from management/board to proceed, they've just been throwing monkey wrenches left and right at me. Friday was almost the day that broke my back when management told me that I made a violation about how "I didn't inform of the renovations in the first place."

When I told them I did submit the proper documents and that (1) after 45 days of submission, I never heard from them, the condo bylaws stated that if that ever happens, the unit owner can proceed as that is deemed an approval on their end and that (2) they actually gave those documents (plus the check I wrote out as a deposit) back to me two weeks ago. I even produced them to review. The response I got from management was "oh yes we did read these but we didn't quite understand what you wrote."

Goodness, if that's the case, then why didn't they immediately contact me for clarification or something upon receipt of the documents in the first place?

This isn't the first time these folks pulled stunts on me -- they've deactivated my keyfobs without written notice (which I called them out as a violation of state rules and their own bylaws). And each time, they go "oh I'm sorry -- we were thinking of something else."

<sigh> I just want to do the repairs as they're contingent to the buyer before we can into closing. Now I'm worrying if the buyer will walk if management continues to be uncooperative.

Other than this, just staying low at work and hoping to get projects done so I can finish my dollhouses (can hear the Rye griping at me to finish him)!

So apologies for being quiet in the last couple of weeks!