Wednesday, March 29, 2006

I'm Back, Take 2

I wrote a pretty long post yesterday, titled "I'm Back", which started off with the sentence "Oh Blogger, I've missed you." Blogger promptly retaliated by eating the post, and I didn't have time to write another. So, we'll try this again, but I'm changing the opening sentence, since I realized it wasn't really Blogger I missed. Take two:

Oh Internet Friends, I've missed you.

The last two weeks have been a little nuts. First there was the siding work. Remember that guy I'm married to, the one who, when he does any kind of project around the house, has to remove/replace everything, down to the wall studs? Well, apparently hiring an outside contractor to do the job doesn't really change that.

See, the front porch posts weren't in perfect condition, so they had to be replaced before the contractors could cover them with aluminum. And you can't put a beat-up old screen door back up on a beautifully sided house. Ditto the mailbox, and the exterior lights. And that cracked electrical outlet plate, that really needed to be changed. And was all this decided at once? Oh no, of course not. And since The Decider doesn't drive, guess who got to make 37 trips to Home Depot?

So now the siding is complete, the exterior lights are replaced, and the screen door, mailbox, and electrical plate cover have all been purchased. I'm sure they'll be installed sometime this century. The house looks great, although the combination of the barn red color and lack of a screen door, storm windows, or shutters makes me feel a little like I'm walking up to a one-room schoolhouse whenever I come home. The contractors will be back Saturday to replace the windows and gutters, and install shutters on the front of the house. Then I just hand them a check, and it's all over.

Well, sort of. See, the windows get replaced from the inside of the house, which means the contractors will be pulling off the existing (Hubby's translation: old) window trim to install them. Normally they put the window trim back up when they're done, and that's what I'll be pushing for, but you remember what Hubby does with anything old, right? He replaces it. So, this may not actually be over for awhile yet.

In addition to the siding work, we've been dealing with one relative in the hospital with heart trouble, and the wakes/funeral for the fathers of two friends. All of which has prompted me to get my own heart in shape. I'm only 35; there's still time to turn this body around. So, in a rare fit of enthusiasm, yesterday I popped Heart into my CD player and hopped onto the elliptical machine (yeah, yeah, I know I'm living in a time warp, but you just can't beat Heart or Pat Benetar for a good workout. And there are a few of us left without MP3 players). Let me just say it's been a really long time since I've been on an elliptical machine. I made it through Crazy On You and most of Magic Man before collapsing in a heap on the floor. But I'm determined; after I finish this cup of coffee I'll be back at it, and hopefully by the end of the week I'll get all the way through Barracuda (or to the first few opening bars, anyway).

The events of the past few weeks sparked a couple of observations. For one, I forgot how comfortable sweat pants are. Hey, there's got to be some positive tradeoff for spending six minutes on the elliptical, and another forty-five with jelly-legs. Also, two days in a row of dressing up reminded me how much better I look with makeup, which I wear about as frequently as I exercise (although not at the same time). I won't comment on the funeral, because that would most definately be classified as tacky, but I just want to say that if you own property that backs up to a cemetary, and you have a small dog, it would be kinder to the mourners not to leave your dog outside to yap all through the service. Just something to keep in mind.

Ok, now I'm crossing my fingers in the hopes that Blogger isn't hungry this morning, because if this post gets eaten I'm not sure I'll have the energy to type it all again. I should be catching up on everybody's blogs in the next few days, though, so don't be surprised if you get comments on your old posts!

Posted by The Gradual Gardener :: 6:49 AM :: 12 Comments:

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