rain...grace, earth \& life

Wiblog entry for 21/07/2008

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:51:56 +0100

thanks for your comments miss lisa \& ian - i'm right here :) i go back to work on the 4th of august, which means my 'summer' is over - visitors are coming this week, then next week i visit family on the east coast, then viola! back to work. it's amazing - these weeks have flown by. the handyman/hire/workman situation is finally over... i'm waiting for the check to clear my bank account so i can do a happy dance and be completely finished with the entire thing. i've worked very hard on my house these past few weeks, and have a bit more to do...but i'm ready for when company comes. my father is in intensive care, which is why i'm headed out of town to visit soon. i'm pretty detached about his ongoing medical ups and downs, but i want to be a support to my mom. in other news, i'm so blessed by a new friendship. it's been a long time since i had a girlfriend with whom i can be completely myself...an everyday friend. i remember praying for one...and lo and behold, she showed up. i've been fairly mellow, happy about some things and very dissatisfied about others, acknowledging anger \& how that manifests itself in my life, too...still mulling things over in my mind's eye...will share soon. there's too much to catch up on, and there will be very limited time to blog while i have house guests \& travel out of town...so take care of you \& consider yourself hugged until i can return on a regular basis.
love, rain.

napping

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:20:36 +0100

a time of rest was observed this afternoon... thus leaving me with insufficient time to work on a report - or do anything else productive for that matter.

a list

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:32:17 +0100

just to make myself feel better, please humor me while i make a list of things accomplished for today (please note i was not at 'work' most of the day... just an hour in the morning)

1) worked on a report an hour this morning
2) went to hardware store, then called furniture stores, then finally went to furniture repair shop to get replacement part for wooden bed rail
3) took antique wash stand in for repair, too
4) painted bed frame (having primed it yesterday)
5) added 2nd coat of paint to bed frame to reduce streaky-ness
6) washed dishes
7) received passive-aggressive message from younger sibling... later received equally passive-aggressive with-limited-understanding response from older sibling ("reply all" feature on email is very effective)
8) talked with workman about a finish date... still don't know if that's a possibility to have work done before my guests arrive at the end of july.. which makes me sad.
9) finished gift for nephew (wooden frames \& wooden letters, stained same color... put in fabric where photo usually goes... and glued wooden letters on top of glass - looks fantastic!)
10) wrapped new-baby-gift for brand new nephew, wrapped birthday present for niece turning four
11) took painted bedframe pieces back to garage...touched up a few more spots (decided on "barn red" paint... very snazzy)
12) put wrapping paper away
13) moved bookshelf from garage to basement; proceeded to fill with 4 crates of books (me likes stacking books vertically on shelves - with a bit of horizontal mixed in for good measure... increases shelf book capacity dramatically!)
14) sent thank you email for dinner last night
15) made plans to go to movies with a girlfriend tomorrow
16) spoke to parent on phone several times to touch base, see how things are going, and provide encouragement
17) put a 'hold' on postal mail while i'm out of town (just *love* that this can be accomplished online now... thank goodness for the web)
18) called a company about transitioning over to digital television...got questions answered (will order equipment when i get back from trip)

i'm headed out of town either friday night or saturday morning... below are things i need to accomplish before leaving town:
~ laundry, pack
~ pack gifts, story hour materials, and nebulizer (breathing machine)
~ double check asthma/allergy meds - make sure i don't need to refill anything
~ buy 4 - 5 additional packages of nails (for handyman)
~ purchase bathroom vanity \& mirror/medicine cabinet, and caulk
~ check tire pressure
~ clean out car
~ get healthy car-related snacks
~ go to library: return books, get books on tape
~ find camera (take photos of recent home improvements and projects to show family)
~ go to bank - transfer funds, get cash...
~ finish 3 reports, submit time card for job, return testing materials, shred unnecessary confidential documents
~ buy locally brewed beer to take as housewarming gift
~ get crafts to do with children
~ pick up art easel for mom to give as gift (much easier for me to drive it than for her to bring it on a plane)

i'm certain i've forgotten something... and will edit as memory improves... hope you're doing well in whichever corner of the world you currently reside...
:)

Wiblog entry for 16/06/2008

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:19:47 +0100

the date went well - nothing extraordinary... good conversation. but i think that's it. however, it was nice to go out and practice being gracious... hopefully he left dinner thinking 'that was nice'. i think the day after i fully accept \& embrace singleness will be the day i meet someone very special.

in other news, family relations are very complicated. blood is thicker than water, but it can also be painful.

to rake or not to rake...

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:08:26 +0100

so it's really hot outside, and i have absolutely zero interest in
1) raking old leaves from last fall which are more similar to mulch now than original brown leaves or
2) finishing the bed frame so i can paint it
which frustrates me because it's currently 11:13 am, and i have just under 5 hours of productive work time before i need to shower and get ready for a friend's birthday party. what's a girl to do? i'd love to finish the bed... but that involves getting grimy and a trip to the hardware store. and raking old leaves is just gross.

a friend of mine has been called to serve in Afghanistan. i have mixed feelings. as i'm sure he and his family do too.

messages

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:51:38 +0100

got asked out on a first date via phone message. i believe that's a first in my book... we'll see how it goes.

totally utterly completely exhausted after a long week. welcome, welcome, welcome friday night!

showed up to the wrong building to evaluate a student. i realized my mistake 15 minutes before the parent's appointment... made a few phone calls... left a message... and got to the *correct* building about 15 minutes into the evaluation. things ended up being fine, but i felt a bit foolish - as i confirmed place/time, yet we still miscommunicated... i guess it can happen to the best of us! lol

just me?

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:44:39 +0100

is it just me or are there issues in the works of the wibsite? been having intermittent difficulty loading people's blogs and/or my administration page. eh well :)

am in the process of sanding an old bed frame. will soon prime it... then paint the old girl with deep barn red paint. fantastic.

Wiblog entry for 12/06/2008

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:41:56 +0100

tried saying hello yesterday, but computer wouldn't cooperate. no worries. now i can say hi \& share that my alarm is going off in the next room...which, let me assure you, is both loud and very annoying.

lol

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:31:58 +0100

#10 for "funny dinner grace"

and

#7 for "The job ain�t finished until the paperwork is done!"

* cobwebs * dead bugs * accomplishment *

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:29:44 +0100

I organized my garage today. not a small task. over 5 hours. but ....(drum roll please)... task is 100% complete. unpacked, organized, swept, organized, and unpacked some more...swept, swept, swept. cut down cardboard boxes (recycling comes tomorrow) Hooray - task complete.