I am overdue to empty a couple of potato bins and I finally have peppers trying to change color.  The tomatoes - oh buddy are they treating me well this year.  The asparagus that was put into the ground is green and lush, she's taken to the crappy soil.  I hope she can stand the winter.

Kiddo's recommended next step for swim is AG 2, which is great.  She's interested in doing the next session, I'm trying to weigh how that lands with jiu jitsu which remains a priority to me for her to continue.  This week was her last summer camp (camp splash week #2) and it's all downhill from here until back to school (and birthday!)

We've been going through clothes and purging things she has outgrown.  This also gives me a good assessment of what she has for school, which is different this year without the uniforms.  We don't get bus or teacher assignment information for another week and a half - and I can't even sign up for the cafeteria stuff w/o a student ID that I haven't yet been provided.  The wait until the last minute mentality breaks my very soul.  At least this year we don't have a supply list to fulfill.

It's been a pensive week.  My close friend's mother passed and we attended her funeral yesterday.  Much like my mother, she had her ailments but was relatively well. It wasn't 100% abrupt, but her illness was brief (a blessing).

After returning from that funeral I learned another friend's husband passed away last night.  She had just retired earlier this year.  They weren't old enough to be leaving one another yet.

My heart hurts for them all so much.  My own birthday came and went without too much gnashing of teeth, but I would be lying if I didn't reflect and simply say momento mori.

Last week's swim meet updates!  Avery's 100 free relay came in 6th out of 14 with 1:32.84, again no individual splits were available.  Her 100 medley relay also came in 6th out of 9 with 1:51.65.  She snagged 4th in the 25 fly out of 6 girls with 26.31 (the week prior was 26.74, so she bettered herself which is huge).  They also had her swim 25 breast, which she wasn't thrilled about but she again took 4th out of 6 and we got a seed time for next go round of 33.57.  She seemed pleased with the results and was happy to get ribbons for places she hasn't won previously.

Today is finals and our mini-season is over.  They have her in one relay and swimming 25 free.  With finals since they can only sign up 3 swimmers for each event she barely got edged out on seed time on butterfly.

This week we are free from another activity, which is good, I'm getting tired of running.  We're back to it next week.

Other news, it looks like our two foster babies are coming back after it having been announced that the adoption was finalized - I'm bummed for them but this also complicates things here.  Saying a prayer that we might have another foster step up even if just temporarily.

Tomatoes are starting to ripen and they're beautiful this year!  I also have several peppers growing well out back.  I've pulled onions - while they're not huge they're bigger than I've managed to harvest in the past.  I also have more beans coming in.  The beets are looking like my nothing-burger this year.  Two of the potato pots have died off and I should check them - but I don't anticipate much there; the other couple pots are still growing strong.  I also have some beautiful lettuce happening which I'm pleased with since last year I couldn't get it to start to save my life.

The CSA started up last Friday so I have kale, lettuce, beans, and cukes from them to use up.  I only did a quarter basket this year, I think it was the right move.  I'm bummed we didn't get scapes this year in the first week.  With the kale I made a batch of tuscan chicken - yum.  I never thought I'd find a way to make kale an enjoyable part of a meal, but all three of us give this dish good ratings.

Another one of those "everyone thinks I'm mean but I'm really soft" moments, actually, two of them.

First, it was a month on the 6th since I ordered my fridge and stove.  The stove isn't here yet.  I'm not in a rush, but you're holding a significant amount of money, so I'd like an idea of when it will come -- and your 4th of July sale has it $200 cheaper.  Well, I reached out via the chat feature on their website and immediately got them to say they'd update the price and reinvoice.  Could I have called and asked for that?  I should have, but I felt awkward about it.  They also initiated steps to check on status, so I wait to hear on delivery timeframe.

Second, kiddo's first communion was at the beginning of May, that's 2 months ago.  I still don't have photos back.  I also didn't spend time taking my own photos because we paid to get them from the professional photographer.  I reached out to her at the very end of May concerned that it could have been an email that landed in spam (I ordered digital copy), which wasn't straightforward as their business phone wasn't functioning (sigh) - but I found her on FB.  To my surprise she replied to me and gave me her cell number.  She said she'd call when my order is completely ready.  There isn't a group for the 1st communion class to reach out and say "hey, did anyone get their photos", so I'm sitting here awkward about it.  I'd think at this point I am within reason to say "hey, I need these post haste" but again, I'm soft.  I put something in my calendar for later this month to force me to confront if I don't hear anything by then.

After missing the first two swim meets due to vacation, we were finally able to attend the home meet last night.  Girl's relays didn't kick a lot of butt but it was obvious her times were going to improve greatly over last year.  In her individual events, between last July and this event she went from 33.00s to 26.74 in her 25 butterfly and from 36.99 to 22.25 in her 25 free.  This, and the ribbons that come with these times, is the encouragement she needs to keep practicing and working on her starts on the blocks and coming into the wall hard.  I can't believe my kid swims butterfly and hates breaststroke.

Since my last post kiddo and I hit the open sea once again.  We headed to Orlando airport where we spent a couple of nights and celebrated a good friend's 10th anniversary and renewal of vows.  From there we headed to the coast, staying at a hotel we previously stayed at - but we got in late, so we didn't get to spend as much time in the lazy river as we would have liked.  The next morning it was onto Adventure of the seas with two my sisters to Nassau (our first visit to the new Royal Beach Club), Falmouth Jamaica, and Cococay.  Post-cruise kiddo and I went to the space center.  We could have easily doubled our time there to see everything.  It was a great trip!

Now that we're home I'm in catch up mode.  Laundry, mowing, and the like.  Last night we were awakened by the smoke detectors!  I heard them sound and indicate "fire" and sat straight up in bed.  But they didn't persist.  In my startled awake state I thought perhaps I dreamt it and went to the bathroom during which it sounded once again for a quick bleep and "fire".  At this point my heart is racing.  I'm shoeing the dog downstairs and opening girl-child's bedroom to rouse her and get her downstairs to make an exit should it prove necessary.  I searched the house over and found nothing so I allowed kiddo to return to bed.  I lingered awake for a while, I'm not going to lie, I was pretty freaked out.

In my research this "nuisance alarm" (that's putting it mildly) could be due to dust (that wouldn't shock me) or a sensor failing but who knows which one triggered the alarm.  Today I also vacuumed around each detector and pressed each and every 'test' button.

I'm glad I had today scheduled off as it allowed me to do some of that catchup.  We also had an ortho appointment; kiddo got her expander removed and lower braces put on.  I still have so much to get done.  I so don't want to have to go back to work tomorrow.  Time to play the lottery and dream big.

Yesterday I marveled at how quickly news and information can travel, including somewhat niche information.  Kiddo and I have greatly enjoyed music from Oliver Tree for the past few years.  We'd dance waiting for the bus, we'd rewatch the videos and be goofy in the living room, he brought me joy.  I was watching for tour dates and hoping he would come near so I could go -- even better if it was all ages that I could take kiddo to her first show.

Within hours of two helicopters colliding in South America resulting in his death I heard about it.  Isn't that a bit crazy?  At first it sounded like a joke/publicity prank.  Now it just sits oddly.  Music industry screwed in the past few weeks, going independent, and now suddenly gone.  It's odd, it's too much of a coincidence, and it's just straight up sad.  Rest in peace Oliver.  Thank you for the joy.

This past weekend I came to terms with my situation and went back to the appliance store.  When I left I was still deciding if I was getting another LG fridge or a Kitchenaid and had only intended to get the fridge, not the stove.  By the time I got there I realized I should say eff it, I ordered both.  Fortunately the fridge I wanted was available and it was delivered today.  The stove will come in the next few weeks.  I went with Kitchenaid.  I'm not gonna lie, I liked the little red 'ends' on the pulls.  I didn't go for the black ore - but believe me I wanted to - it's stainless but more of a matte stainless.  I like it.  I also didn't go after cool colored pulls.  I can always order those in the future if I am feeling speedy.

As always I now have more marks on my walls etc from getting the old out and the new in - and they weren't reckless, so I don't blame them.  I did throw things away as I removed food from the old fridge.  In order to get back online for a meeting I rushed to cram everything into the new one over lunch.  I figured it best to keep the doors shut so it would come up to temp quickly.  I'm definitely going to need to do some reorganizing (like I don't have enough areas in the house that are in desperate need of such attention).

Observations so far:  I hadn't noticed that it didn't have a closable spot for butter.  That's weird.  The main shelf above the drawers angles up on the sides a bit which kind of reduces usable area IMHO.  I went from a 24 ft^3 to a 30 ft^3 fridge and it's still full, explain that.  The filter doesn't invade the storage space as much as it did on the LG.

Summer is official as kiddo's last day of 2nd grade was last week, and the weather has been beautiful.  I've been keeping up with mowing the lawn so far.  Fortunately with a bit less rain it should slow down.  Less rain also made it painfully obvious that my rain barrel is definitely leaking out as it is bone dry at the moment.  I'll need to figure that out as it's nice to not use the tap for many reasons.

I ended up buying tomato and pepper plants from Home Depot and Lowes when they were doing slightly reduced prices over Memorial Day.  I feel like a sell out, but who knows when I'd get to one of the farms to get them purchased and I didn't want to miss out on sweet 100s.  Everything went into their pots and are acclimating well.

My favorite egg's dad, the landscaper, came and refreshed my mulch and broke apart some of the plants out front.  I love how sharp everything looks with fresh mulch.  He also sprayed the property for ticks, which seems very necessary this year.

Now it's time to shift into getting things in order for summer activities and vacation.  Both things I look forward to, but I'm still behind on.  I at least got a new swim top ordered this morning, I'd hate to get too close to the date and not have everything I need.

The list of things that get discussed or queued up at the doctor for your routine well-visits after you turn ahem "49 plus" do nothing to help you feel younger.  Just sayin.

We survived first communion!  Now on to the summer mayhem planning.  I'm lucky I didn't book flights yet for June, but I suspect the closure of Spirit means higher prices on the other airlines and we won't see drops.  That said I sucked it up and booked for the first trip.  My wallet hurts a bit, but there is a load off of my shoulders.  To save a few I bought gift cards from Ticketsatwork, that gave me $60 off - and I am taking the 7pm back out to save another $100.  In the meantime, we'll book an excursion to see the Kennedy Space Center, so that'll be fun.

The other side of the garage still isn't done.  But I am.  Yesterday we had kiddo's practice for her first communion.  Then we made a shopping trip and by the time we got home we were readying to head back out for her school's auction/fundraiser.  I left mostly empty handed (I did snag a peanut butter pie from the bake sale).  Her class project was beautiful, a framed picture with a verse in the middle and each of their little hands set to pray in the slots around the perimeter.  I was not paying $500 for it however.  It was a bit rainy and cold yesterday, so it was good we had indoor activities to attend.

The rain is all the more reason I was surprised to find my rain barrel empty today.  It seems to be leaking at the hose - and this is after it was reseated with tape last week.

Today the weather is decent again.  After church I started cooking.  I had several peppers here from a flashfood box that needed used and I had bought two bags of onions on sale during the shopping trip. So first there was a large batch of onions and peppers which resulted in several bags set to freeze; they will make for expedited breakfasts and dinner options.  Some of the peppers were hollowed and stuffed, that was cooked up for tomorrow's dinner.  I also made a ham, cabbage, and bean soup that we ate for a late lunch and a batch of choc chip muffins for breakfast.  I made blueberry muffins of the same brand on Friday night at and they were so good, I couldn't resist but try the other mix..  The house still smells yummy 6 hours later.

I should have mowed on Friday night but made up for my procrastination today.  I also took a pass with the weed eater.  Then I planted a bit more, in part giving a second pass where things didn't seem to take.  This includes cukes, lettuce, half of the carrot bin, one of the bean bins.  I did have a single pepper plant that wintered over, but didn't make it through one of the frosts (despite being covered), so I put some pepper seeds in - a few green, a few sweet banana, and a few red.  Some of the tomato seeds I had planted were a couple of inches tall and that is about all the more they wanted to grow - so I put them into bigger pots.  They're prb too small to be on their own, but we'll see.  The potato plants look nice as do the onions and one bin of beans.  I also want to note that it looks like my two lavender plants survived the winter!

I learned that the local hardware store where I tend to buy my tomato plants and pepper plants isn't getting plants this year, they actually plan on closing at the end of the year.  This is pretty disappointing.

I bought myself a meyer lemon tree from Lowes during the aforementioned shopping trip.  I saw these last year and hinted to kiddo that I'd love one of those or a key lime for Mother's day. Well it didn't happen and by then it was too late, they were sold out.  She also bought a small plant from the clearance rack, a succulent, and she named him Mr. Fluffy.

Next weekend will be chaos w/ first communion and people coming in to help us celebrate.  I'll need to find some cleaning time this week.

Standards.  Mine are too high - for most everything, really, and this causes me a lot of frustration.  I want to let some of it go, not sweat the small stuff as they say, but it is a struggle.  I think part of it is because I feel like I am being held to a higher standard than others -- so why should I let things go that I would normally get dinged on?  The fact is there is simply too much right now and I can't juggle all the things.  What to do?

On other fronts where I am way behind:  I can report that I managed to get one Alaska excursion booked, so that's progress.  Of course, the laundry list of things I need to do for summer planning this is but a drop in the bucket.

Since the weather got a bit cold and rainy again Avery had a neighbor friend come in to play.  That was the motivation I needed to clean the floors and clear the table and counters.  I also found a spray that worked on the mildew I have been fighting at the bottom of my shower on the grout right where the tile meets the plastic shower floor.  That's huge!

I had wanted to tackle the left side of my garage this past weekend but didn't get moving fast enough.  I was lucky to get all of the mowing done before the rain began.  I also had to get all of the plants out back covered; I hope they get through the couple of cold nights (yes, the heat is back on and I'm not too happy about it).

It's been a good weekend.  I dropped off after must attend meetings on Friday and made my grocery run before the kid got home.  There is something about wrapping up early on Friday that makes the weekend seem so much longer - which results in it being more productive.  I even got my second mow achieved.

After getting my breather in on Friday I was ready to rock on Saturday.  The girl slept in until neighbors knocked to play.  We headed outside and I took to the garage, well - one half of it.  Everything came out.  She was agreeable to get a couple of things gone, I crunched some heavy duty boxes that I concede I will never need, I put the cursed snow blower towards the back again, and I put up the two shelving units I bought for out there.  Even with some of the Christmas stuff put back in there (instead of back in the basement) there is still lots more room.

I need another productive weekend to hit the left hand side in the same manner and a third to get the back to tidy all of those shelves.  From there I need to carry my efforts into the basement.  I ordered more of the same shelves for the Christmas and Halloween stuff.  I'd like to get rid of some of the decorations I never use, but that will definitely make the basement efforts all the slower.

Today was rest.  We went to church and came home with another hyacinth plant that they were giving away.  Made a light breakfast and then we headed outside to the outlets for a quick walk around.  My goal was to measure Avery's finger.  When we came home we headed outside to enjoy the nice weather.  First the hyacinth went in the ground.  The plant was quite sturdy and plump, so we split them into three spots.  Then Avery headed across the street and I settled in under the deck to relax with a drink.  Eventually more neighbors came out and the kids were having a blast.  One neighbor also brought me a Sarris chocolate based beer, a third style that I hadn't tried yet - and from another brewery. Like I said, it was a good day.

Girl has testing all week, so it'll be a fight to get her into bed earlier each night.  I also learned an aunt that has been ailing passed, so I will be trying to plan to get there for her services later this week.

The plumber was right.  The drips stopped by late morning.  He did still come through and I got to spend some cash to get the hot water expansion tank replaced along with the seal for the valve on the hot water tank.  I managed to get rid of a lot of stuff that was gathered and put out for whoever wanted it, but of course I had to deal with people saying they were coming that never showed repeatedly.

School transport has been a crap show for the past few weeks.  I think we'll see some of that normalizing now that we have an official van driver (as of yesterday).  Kid isn't happy because "she's mean" (translation:  she doesn't want them eating in the van and told Avery to not sit by the door).

My first mow took place last weekend whilst I had taken time off for Easter, but it's ready to be mowed again -- the main drawback to spring if you ask me.  I took my chances a few weeks ago and put some potatoes and onion sets into dirt - same with carrot, beet, cucumber, bean, and basil seeds.  The potatoes, onions, and one pot of beans are already doing their thing well enough that I had to cover things up a few nights ago when it dropped into the 20s over night.  Here we are back up to 70 today.

Work has been a bit crazy.  I ended up working 20 hours when I had 16 planned out of office at the beginning of this week.  Now... I sleep.

Drip drip drip.  Poptarts.  I ran to the basement to restock the Poptarts.  But quickly got distracted.  Drip drip drip.

Took a closer look at where water comes into the house and it is dripping at a connection before the shutoff valve.  Now, we had some mighty heavy storms last night - matter of fact some school districts are closed or on delay - so yes, I palpated to see if the water was coming through the wall and it doesn't seem to be.

I guess this is one way for God to nudge me into dealing with the mess/chaos that is my basement, right?  I cleared out that corner (mostly Christmas decorations) to make sure a plumber could get to it.  My work was disrupted though because kiddo's school didn't cancel or delay, and if the district isn't providing transportation, I'm the transportation - so we headed to drop her off.  One road was closed due to water and crossing Chartiers creek was a little spooky as it is quite high.

Plumber thinks it's just from all of the rain, and he may be right as it does seem to have paused.  Either way, he's popping in later this afternoon.  May as well have him also take a look at the overflow valve on the hot water tank that has been dripping for months while he's here.

This is the first time I've had even a drop of water in my basement.  I'm not here for it.  After the years of water I fought with in Johnstown, I need to know we're good.

I made a run into Johnstown for part of the day earlier this week.  A legend is retiring, and I couldn't miss her gathering.  Fortunately, the weather was good - but yes, there was still some snow in the parking lot.  I'm getting to the age where people I've worked closely with for a very long time are retiring one after another.  It give me hope for me, but it makes me might sad too.

I made sure to snag some meadows and sushi before I headed west again.

I commented about the ticks in my last post.  The flurry of them must be deeper in my brain than I realized as I had a dream about it last night -- and I don't often remember dreams anymore.  In the dream I noticed I had one on my leg, then another, and another.. and it became this frenzy of pulling them off of me -- but they weren't ticks, they were more like leaches, long and when I pulled them off there was blood.  For whatever reason my one neighbor was there watching me pull these off of me and I was frantically asking him to help get them off of me.

I also mentioned that I got some yard and garden work in.  I knew it was too early but I certainly wasn't expecting the 50 degree temp drop and immediate onslaught of 4 inches of heavy snow the next day.  The good news is we're to the time of year where it melts off pretty quickly.

Kiddo's swimming classes end in a week and I'm looking forward to another night or two that I don't need to run after work.

I've spotted several single robins out hoping around this past week.  I've also spotted a ton of worms ready to tend to my soil!  Then again, we've also plucked two ticks off of the dog already - sigh.

The weather was quite nice today so I got out and tended to a few of the pots.  It's probably too early to plant, but here I go.  I put potatoes into several pots, similarly one pot of beet seeds, another of carrot seeds, another with cuke seed, one with onion sets I picked up today, another with green onion seeds, two with peas, and a few seeds for basil in that pot..  I churned up the decorative hangers and tossed some various seeds in there too, we'll see if anything starts.  I also put some of the tomatoes from last year into little seed starter cubes -- those are inside on the basement floor for now.  I topped off the hot tub's water too - maybe I need to spend some quality time in there, that sounds nice right now.

Did I clean out the basement?  No, not the way I need to - but I did try to clear some stuff from the garage.  I listed a ton of it on a FB neighborly page on Saturday and -- nothin.

I only worked for a few hours on Friday.  I caught a small nap, vacuumed, caught up on laundry and dishes, scrubbed the kitchen sink, cleaned the 1/2 bath - but I still wasn't as productive as I should have been this weekend.

Yesterday we almost missed the bus.  Those that know me well know we are 99% of the time outside for 5+ minutes before its arrival and that tracks from Kindergarten to today.

There has been new drivers come and go, but the one that had them move the time back must be coming straight from another job - which makes me wonder how tired they might be, but that's a whole other thing.  Well, I guess they didn't convey this to the other driver that is supporting the route.  He rolled up 10 minutes earlier than the other one has been.  I opened the garage door and stepped outside to catch him while the girl put her shoes on.

I didn't realize how much that routine meant to her as she told me this disruption had her crying on the bus.  The good news is the weather has been nice.  We can go stand and "wait and see" this morning.

The floors have been done for two weeks.  Is everything away?  Nope.  I've been a bit of a slacker.  My office is functional, but I still have a few boxes shoved under the table.  There are still a few things sitting out in the kitchen that shouldn't be.  The left over carpet remnants are still in the entry hall.  My closet and Barney/Church's room are still in disarray.  Don't even get me started on the basement, which has become the catchall for everything "on its way out".

What I have managed to do is... to get my taxes gathered and done, get kiddo's catechism craft complete and delivered when we went for her first communion, ordered things I need for an Easter basket, spend some time outside while the kids played and by the fire pit, dropped off the clothes to donate, did a bit of research for the Alaska cruise, and some recouperation for my lower back.  While I don't see me pulling out all of the Easter decorations, I know where the girl's Easter basket is, so that will be coming up soon.

I managed to get through some work chaos, and not that things are slow but they've tamed down enough that I can breathe for a moment.  I'm definitely looking for a second wind to get things squared away here.

They've modified kiddo's morning bus time back by 25 minutes, which throws off my morning routine a bit, but it might let me shift the alarm back by 15 minutes or so, I'll take it.

Got a bit of a gut punch last night seeing that someone I knew very well in high school passed at the end of February.  He hadn't been well for an extended time after a motorcycle accident and we hadn't talked -- for reasons -- in a long time.  I mourn for his parents, not sure of what that relationship was like but not thinking great; I mourn for his kids, they too I don't think have been close for a while.

Saturday was all day in my bedroom.  After tending to the animals and getting myself coffee I got moving.  I've been trying to deep clean as I go and make purge decisions, so that slowed me down.  I wrapped about 7 and a half hours later with a very sore back and hips.  At that point I had most everything cleared to other bedrooms or the basement except the things hanging in my closet, as I needed kiddo's bed to toss them on Monday morning.

Sunday was truly a day of rest.  While the flooring activity is coming to a close my efforts are far from done right now so I knew I needed to take that time.  It didn't help that a sinusitis attack flared up and I didn't take the sinus calm fast enough, so now I've got a nice bronchial cough going.  I also scheduled Monday off since some of our customers were out and canceled the typical Monday meetings and the girl was off of school.  I used this time to put the big pieces in the living room back into position, which made a good dent clearing things out of my office.  My dining room is still the staging area for the ongoing work, so I can't finalize in there just yet.

Since my room and closet were completed on Monday I hung everything back in my closet and started bringing things back in from the other rooms.  My hips weren't in the mood to sit on the floor (despite the plush and inviting new carpet), so the bookshelf isn't back in order yet and the rest of the closet items aren't back in place.  I did get 3 more loads of laundry done including all of my bedding including the bed topper, so I was able to put it back together in an ideal state in time for bed.

Today they return to finish - all that remains are the stairs!  As they clear out I have quite the process remaining in front of me.  I've decided to get rid of numerous things, but that means getting things in order to donate them for the rescue's auction room and dropping off a few more bags of old clothes.

After the upstairs is in order the basement will be calling.  There is a lot that made its way there that won't be getting thrown or donated.

Also on our plate are the looming needs for different travel related items.  I have a sister remarrying and I need to plan accordingly to attend.  I need to get things in order for girl's first communion.  I have summer cruise related travel to get pulled together.  There is also a request of work travel next month that I haven't even had the mental bandwidth to process and determine if it's an option.  I also gotta get my act together, gather papers, and schedule to get my taxes out of the way.

It feels like this week, when the house was the most chaotic everyone came at us with other requests.  Girl has a craft she needs to get done before her first reconciliation and a poster coming home on Thursday from school as homework (I do appreciate the warning).  Fortunately, my favorite egg glued the table leg last night and it is flipped back over so we have table-space to work at.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30 (and in my own bed) instead of pressing forward with the things I need to do.  After a few days of killing my back and staying up way too late it was so good, my back is happier, my mind feels clearer, and I have the energy I need to get to the weekend.

Flooring update:  the LVP and all trim wrapped up earlier this week.  3 out of 4 bedrooms have new carpet in them.  The upstairs hall is ripped out, that should get finished today.  The living room was ripped out and new pad applied yesterday.  The carpet is cut and laying in place there, so I'm hoping that will be done today -- allowing me to get the downstairs back in order.  At the same time, my bedroom remains, so there is moving things back to the other bedrooms and clearing my space (which is no small task) on my list for this weekend.

We still managed to make both swim practices and jiu jitsu classes this week, but the wheels are coming off a bit on other things.  Fortunately, we prioritized making kiddo's valentine's box last weekend.  I'm also only down about an hour and a half at work so far this week, not that I can't take some vacation - heaven knows I need to start pacing through it before June is upon us.

The water boil advisory was lifted yesterday morning, thank goodness.  I was able to run the dishwasher last night and emptied it and manually cleaned the rest this morning to get them out of the way just in time for the dishwasher to be disconnected to get flooring under it.

Last night I also cleared all of the little things from kiddo's room, so that's where they started with carpet today -- because I didn't get the foster room completely emptied.  I did that room between meetings this morning so it is next in line.  The fosters are presently freaked out in my bathroom.

I'm feeling the stress of the home project, but I'm working to get through and shake it off.  The downstairs is so close.  Then I can put the pantry back in order, freeing up several boxes to help gather things from other upstairs rooms.  I'm also identifying things to get rid of.  Our favorite cat rescue works with a auction place for space that benefits them - so I know where those things will go.  My sister talked me out of feeling bad about a few things that I think will head in that direction.

I'm looking forward to returning to my insanely busy schedule without the additional needs to ready spaces piled on top.  The extra good news is that since I'm cleaning some things as I go the house is getting a deeper clean than it has in quite some time.  I mean, who pulls out their stove and fridge on the regular?  Ok ok, some of you do.  Don't judge me.

Girl has another two hour delay tomorrow morning - this time due to a water issue here in the area.  We've been under a boil advisory since late Friday night due to a large main break in Elrama. Right now I'm just hoping she doesn't go remote as work in the kitchen is to continue in the morning combined with the condensed nature of all of our things in the living room.

I got the boxes open for my office and boxed up under my kitchen sink (my homework as the dishwasher needs to come out to put flooring under it tomorrow.  I also vacuumed in the foster room and brought some of the items out of there (collapsed the large create, and disposed of a well past its life expectancy scratcher.  All of their smaller blankets are in the wash now.  I expect to move them into my bathroom while their room gets new carpet when that commences this week.

I lost a bit of my work time today so we could meet my favorite egg's parents to celebrate his birthday.  We convened at the Kodiax Barn and Grill in Charleroi and it was quite tasty.  We started meeting mid-way between the two of us and exploring some local places with our last summer gathering and it makes for a nice outing.

Progress continues!  The dining room is done and mostly put back together. I've started setting back up in the computer room and can work there, but not as comfortably as I would like at this point.  The glass mat did not arrive yesterday as FedEx indicated and now they're saying it will arrive this afternoon.  This means I am not using my office chair, but instead an exercise ball so I don't damage the floor.  I'd be fine if the exercise ball was a bit bigger/taller.

Yesterday I had a massage appointment and put the dog in the crate (which was in the living room given the work going on).  During his time there he grabbed whatever he could reach.  This included ripping part of a box that contained herbs and spices (and drooling on some of the containers - yay) and snagging the $40 silicone mat that I bought for under his crate (which was not in place underneath at that time).  He ripped several chunks out of it - because of course he did.  It's still mostly usable for the purpose for which it was selected (to go under the create to prevent it from sliding around on the new floor in the dining room), but I'm so not happy with him.

Last night I cleared the kitchen as it is up next.  When I moved the kitchen table (admittedly I'm one person, so I can't lift the whole thing;  I was walking it a bit at a time on each side by lifting and pivoting) a leg completely came off.  My table top is wood but the legs are metal.  As the leg came off the screws just shredded the wood where they were attached.  I have it balanced back on that leg, but now I need to figure out if it can be repaired or if I am not shopping for a new dining room table.  I know it's old, I know "stuff happens", but I'm so over it.  I thought January was out to get me, but February is looking like she wants to be seen and heard.

The new flooring is well underway.  They started in my office with the goal to allow me to get back up and running quickly.  That was 100% finished yesterday, but I didn't move my computers back in last night as I had to get the dining room completely cleared.  I am very pleased with my selection thus far.  I love the color, it works well with the walls and even the vent covers match nicely -- I'm still holding my breath to see it en masse around my kitchen cabinets and countertops.

I have been doing a deeper clean on things (crevices and baseboards for example) as I move things out of the rooms.  The walls behind the dog crate were thoroughly scrubbed.  I have also tossed a few items like the bookshelf from my office which had a might strong gangsta lean going on once the books were removed.  I tossed a few things from the pantry, that felt good.

Today my glass mat is slated to arrive, so I will likely start moving back into the office tonight.  Girl's swimming is canceled for this evening, so that gives me a bit more time to take care of that.  It will be necessary too as I'll need the living room space to pull the couch forward making room for the kitchen table.

I'm dreading when he pulls the fridge and stove out.  I can't get under/behind them to clean and I anticipate finding an extra dog/cat conglomeration made of fur from under each.

I have too much stuff, I know this.  But one thing for sure, the downstairs work has me even more anxious about the upstairs work, where there are quite a few more larger pieces of furniture.

Just coming back to say we are warming back up.  Gas valve replaced.

Dear January, you were obscenely expensive.  Go away.

Well, I was forced to issue formal apologies to my Nest thermostat.  The furnace ran all day without another issue - until it didn't.  I noticed as I ate dinner it was started to get cool.  Looked at the thermostat and I was at 65 (recall it should be at 68 during the day).  Went back downstairs and there is the code that was absent earlier today - six short, one long... it doesn't escape me that this is the cruise ship emergency horn pattern as well.

The internet (which cannot be trusted based on some of my recent searches indicating that 2/3 of an inch is equal to 7/16, but I digress) says on my furnace this means a faulty ignition system, gas supply issues, pressure switch problems, or thermostat problems.  I'm pretty sure the gas is good.  The thermostat is saying it's supposed to be running.  I have had issues w/ the pressure switch before.

Regardless, the HVAC folks are on their way.  Wish me luck.

I thought I was going to have to call the HVAC company this morning.  I drop the temp down overnight as I like it to be a bit colder to sleep.  With the kiddo on remote learning all week I've taken advantage by turning off the first alarm on my phone and getting a bit more sleep - so when I wasn't woken as the temps started to climb and opened my eyes thinking "dang my hands are freezing" I was a bit confused.

Once I got a bit of morning clarity, probably inspired by getting out of bed into the cold, I looked at the temp on my alarm clock (a neat little built in feature) and saw 55.  55!  My low over night is supposed to be 63, no wonder I was so friggin cold.

Came down stairs and looked at the Nest thermostat as it started running.  No reason for it to not be warmer according to those settings.  Checked the furnace which was firing up and not indicating any errors on the little green blinking light.

I kicked on the fireplace to help expedite the temperature change and everything was up to normal temp (68) within a couple of hours... but I have no clue why on earth it didn't warm up in here this morning.

I SWEAR the Nest just chooses to disobey... the AI is testing the waters for an uprising.  To those thinking about articles you've read on the topic:  no, it is no longer connected to the network, so this isn't a remote change/override.

I wrote a hard sql query today - it's been a loooong time since I had to do that.  Just feeling successful and proud of myself and I wanted to share it with someone!

I am also happy to note that I wasn't as sore as I expected to be (refer to my previous post).  I shoveled a couple more inches the next day and a dusting on the third day.  Is my lower back a bit unhappy?  Yes, but my arms are good and my shoulders didn't freak out!

I need to ready things for the floor work that is quickly approaching, so I've started pulling things from under the beds to carry down two flights of stairs.  This means I need to figure out where to put things in the basement as to not turn them into hazards while this work is going on.  I'll chalk the stairs and carrying heavy crap up to my necessary and long overdue exercise.

School has been FID all week and the local district is doing the same tomorrow, so I suspect it's coming for us again.  We didn't see the "no swimming" email yesterday that came out late, so we did venture out.  The roads are pretty clear -- at least in the middle.  Our normally narrow roads here in the plan are super narrow due to the piles of snow.  But at least the world has continued turning.

I probably won't be able to lift my arms to type tomorrow.  We got the biggest show storm since I moved here today -- shocking no one as I'm pretty sure most everyone from Arkansas to New York is prb saying the same thing.

My shoveling this morning was about 5 inches.  Midday was another 4.  This evening was another 5-6.  In advance I did buy some gas for the blower.  Ever the optimist, aren't I?  Needless to say it wouldn't start.  Not even after my favorite egg and one of our fantastic neighbors worked at it for an hour.  Regardless, my driveway (and the area around the fire hydrant in my front yard) are clear.

The temps at least came up a bit (as they do when it snows), thank goodness.  School is a no for tomorrow, we'll see what Tuesday brings.

Proving once again that my neighbors are the best, a little snow party formed.  The kids had a blast playing in the snow.  The dads and some of the kids were sledding down the street.  A fire was going in a pit on the neighbor's driveway.  We got to hang out and chat for a bit.  Bring your plastic cup!

Yesterday I woke up before the alarm and flipped on the TV in bed.  I was half awake and half asleep when I heard a noise like a spring snapping back together (bwang).  My eyes opened and the TV was black.  I looked around and the nightlight and alarm clock were still lit.  Rats.

That TV was just over 5 years old and now it's a brick.  Damnit Samsung.  This is the second time I've had something similar happen to my bedroom TV back in 2011 - that one was about 3 years old and was covered by a warranty.  That time it was a capacitor and it came on over time after groaning type noises.

I was able to make a decision pretty quickly yesterday.  The new Roku TV is up and worked perfectly last night.

That's one... what other two things are going to give me trouble soon?

I had another place come and draw up built ins for either side of the fireplace.  They sent the quote - which is a bit pricey, but I just don't like it and I think it's because it's stark white -- and it almost has to be.

Since I have an open kitchen to living room I could also see going the same color as the kitchen cabinets, but that won't work with all of the white trim that is already in place - unless I half ass them and don't take them the whole way up the wall and leave the white trim at the ceiling in place.  They also convinced me that my original design isn't the most ideal for reasons and I get their argument.

It wasn't meant to be right now anyhow, as it can't happen before the new carpets go in.  At that point I wouldn't want them to pull the carpet back up to add the built ins, but I also think the action of putting something like that in on top of carpet is kind of gross and weird.  Is it just me?

Save your money girl, you have other things to buy and need to rebuild the slush fund.  I think I'm going to get a real glass chair mat for my computer room, which isn't cheap, but it will protect my new floors.  I also need to get the right solution for under the dog crate to protect the new floors in there and keeping the crate from moving around.

Finally, I really should call someone about the hot water tank or watch enough you tube videos to try and figure it out the slow leak of water from the overflow valve myself.

I did it.  I pulled the trigger and paid the deposits to have my flooring materials ordered.  It hurt, it gave me anxiety, but the hard part is over -- now I just need to get rebuilding on the slush funds.  I'm currently slated for the work to start in early February.  In the mean time I need to focus on clearing crap out of here.

In the mean time, I am enjoying my new coffee pot.  I have another kitchen machine coming that I don't really need -- but I won it from work for our "maintain don't gain" challenges over the holidays.  I need to look around a bit and get some ideas for a Nutrabullet.  I'd like to turn this into a good thing.  I was recently contemplating how I could tolerate getting some matcha into my diet.  Unfortunately, I'm not a green tea fan, so I'll need to bury it in with something else.  I hate feeling renewed hope or desire to lose weight in January.  I can't help but see it as a sham "resolution".

Most of the Christmas decor is down and away.  Tree is in the box at least, but I need to carry that heavy thing down the stairs still.  I also still need to pull the wreaths off of the window, but we are getting a brief wave of warm weather, so this weekend may be perfect for this.