Cinnamon Autumn With a Pinch of Molasses Drama

Last weekend, in my mind, was the beginning of Autumn. Mostly because I was able to do this.

Well, maybe not gingerbread cookies, but it was the first opportunity to bake in the new kitchen. Notice how tiny the old kitchen looked... I can't believe that I ever survived nine years with so little counter space. And my head is extremely happy, too. I can't tell you how often I've bumped my noggin on those old cabinets above that penisula.

Now when we bake or cook, it resembles this:

Last weekend was action packed--and baking cookies was the perfect way to begin. Friday night I had decided what cookies to make (chocolate chip, peanut butter, and some sort of molasses cookie). I made sure that I had unsalted butter (the only ingredient I wasn't sure was in the freezer) and went to bed.

Saturday morning I retrieved said butter and pulled out the stand mixer [insert sounds of angels singing here] only to find that it needed to be thoroughly washed. It had been stored under the computer desk in the living room for three months and had accumulated several ickies inside the bowl. Sigh. I methodically washed the bowl, the stand, and any other little bit that connected to the mixer.

With the butter melting on the stove, I began pulling out all of the flours and sugars needed for Alton's recipe. And then went looking for the flour sifter... Not where it used to be, snuggled down with the measuring cups. Found it one drawer down from there. Sifted the flour and went to add baking soda. No measuring spoons with the measuring cups. Found them somewhere else. Are you beginning to see just how much bigger our kitchen is?

The first batch of cookie dough went into the fridge while I pondered which kind of molasses cookie I wanted to make. Time to get The Book. Which was not on the new bookshelf we purchased for the living room. Nor was it in the cookie cutter drawer (yes--we have a drawer for cookie cutters!). Nor was it nestled among the DVDs and computer games on the large oak shelf from Mr. GoGoGo's old law office.

I believe at this point I suffered a minor heart attack.

After several deep breaths I was able to locate a hand-written molasses cookie recipe. That called for shortening. Which we hardly ever buy. Sigh. I had just enough for the recipe and was able to store that in the fridge.

Then a quick shower, lunch of mac and fromage, and we were off to see Wicked at the Keller Auditorium. Wicked is the story of Oz happenings before Dorothy was blown in from Kansas, centering on two girls who become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. The women had incredible storylines, fantastic songs, snappy lines, and great costumes. I'd highly recommend seeing it if you have the chance. Critter enjoyed it, too, saying it was "almost better than Hairspray" which she attended with the Social Butterfly and myself.

After the show, we went to New Seasons Market and bought flavored brauts and garlic chicken for dinner. Once home, the baking began. If only I could find the parchment paper to line the cookie sheets.

I foraged up in the attic and found two rolls of it. Unfortunately, they were in two more boxes that were destined for the kitchen. Sigh. We thought we had unboxed everything when I brought the eight other boxes down in August.

And no sign of The Book, either.

At the end of the evening the whole house smelled of molasses. And a bit of peanut butter (which used up the last of the shortening!).

Sunday morning we baked the last of the cookies and headed off to the Scrap Maven's house for a day of scrap booking. I brought cookies and a borrowed laptop. CrafterKat had the remainder of our Disneyland photos to paste. Huggy Girl brought her daughter and many cute "nekked baby" photos. The day was spent in scrapbooking and cookie bliss. With a few dashes of garlic and rosemary brauts on the side.

And after a week I still have not found The Book...

A Klamath Anniversary

Editor's Note: Part 4 of Wrapping Up Summer.

I asked Critter if she had any homework last week. She shook her head. "Not even a Summer Vacation story you had to write?"

"Well, I had to make a Vacation Web..." For those who don't have kids in school, this is the introduction kids have to making an outline. Think of a spiderweb, with the subject in the middle and everything else spiraling off of it.

"What did you include?"

"I just put me in the big circle and then Horse Camp 1, Horse Camp 2, Horse Camp 3..."

"You didn't include Seattle? Kahneeta? Klamath Falls?" She shook her head again. I guess a weekend with extended family doesn't compare with horses. It would have been in my Web.

In my mind, the best part of extended family gatherings are the stories that are told. Many stories we have heard time and again. Others are new and find their way into our daily vernacular. In July, over CrafterKat’s birthday weekend, the four of us (including Critter's friend) trekked down to Klamath Falls to celebrate the sixtieth wedding anniversary of her aunt and uncle. Their sons flew in from Arizona and Vermont; other relatives and friends drove in from Vancouver, Gold Beach, and Eugene.

Most family gatherings of this magnitude involve at least one game of Hearts around the dining room table. And food. Lots of food. And really good seafood from The Captain. Smoked salmon. Smoked tuna. Smoked cod…

And as you move between card games or the food or the outside croquet game, you hear stories. Lots of them.

Upon seeing cousin Desert Engineer for the first time, CrafterKat remarked: My goodness, you got old!
Desert Engineer’s brother walks up: You look…alive.

At the first game of Hearts played, I wrote down the names of each family member at the table on the score sheet: Chef Flip Flop, The Captain, Mr. GoGoGo…
Pig Dog: Write down ‘Pig Dog’ for me.
JewelGeek: What?
Pig Dog: Pig Dog. All men are pigs. All men are dogs. ‘Pig Dog.’
JewelGeek: Alriiiiight.

RenaissanceMan talking about his two boys: They’re always… “I’m bored (punch). I’m bored (punch). I’m bored (punch).”
Pig Dog: This is how I used to goad Desert Engineer. (gives a straight face and then grins). I used to be able to twitch just the bottom of my eyebrow which would send him into hysterics. I’m out of practice now.
RenaissanceMan: Jedi Racoon does this (raises both eyebrows up and down several times).

PigDog: The difference between New Yorkers and Vermontans is that New Yorkers have teeth.
CraftKat: You mean Vermontans have claws?
PigDog: No, I mean real teeth. Vermontans don’t have any. You’ll see them in the store or walking down the street, and their teeth will pop down, and they have to stop and put them back in…


Mama Doc: PigDog says Vermont is full of “Ag’in’ems.” That means they don’t know what’s happening with anything, but if you tell them about something you’re passionate about, they’re against it. Education? Too much money. Government? Corrupt.
PigDog: Dental care? Pass.
Mama Doc: That too!

Younger than DD (to DD): I may be old, but you’ll still be 10 years older than me!
The Captain: Yes, but there’s not a grey hair on her head. (pause) I make sure of that.
Younger Than DD : You?
DD: Oh yes, as soon as The Captain found out how expensive it was to have hair professionally colored…
The Captain: I decided that $8 box of color in the store didn’t look so bad anymore!
DD: And of course, I can’t reach it all, so he has to do it.
The Captain (nodding): Yup. Except, those gloves that they give you in the box are WAY too small…
Younger Than DD : I can’t believe you do DD’s hair…
Phoenix Photographer: Oh, yeah, Desert Engeineer was Chez Desert Engineer. He used to color my hair for years. (pause) He could wear those gloves, though.
Younger Than DD : Vancouver Railroader would never color my hair.
The Captain: So make an appointment at a hair salon, let him know how much it will cost, and let him decide.
Phoenix Photographer: Or we could go buy a box right now and Desert Engineer could do your hair.
Younger Than DD : I don’t know if I’m ready to part with the grey yet. My kids are still teenagers.

Chef Flip Flop: (sitting next to Mr. GoGoGo) Sigh.
Mr. GoGoGo: And what’s your story?
Chef Flip Flop: Oh, just taking a break from the Cousins.
Mr. GoGoGo: And what are they doing?
Chef Flip Flop: Talking. (pause) I don’t know what to say. They’re talking about the Mall and shopping. And I say, “Oh, uh, that sounds… fun…”
Mr. GoGoGo: You’re beginning to think you’re part of a different generation, aren’t you?
Chef Flip Flop: Yeah – certainly not with that younger crowd.
GoldenPoet: You’re not a city boy, either.
Chef Flip Flop: THAT’s for sure.

When we returned home even Critter's friend Annie May added her voice to our family storybook.

CrafterKat: PigDog was so funny with his Vermontisms.
JewelGeek: I loved it when he was talking about the dental care there.
CrafterKat: Yeah, counting teeth would have been like (pokes her tongue to one side of her mouth) ...One... (pokes her tongue to the other side)...Two... Wait, wait... (moves tongue back to the first spot)...One...
The girls spent the next five minutes counting their own teeth until conversation turned to our monthly cycles.
Critter: Can you imagine a guy having their period?
Annie May (in a small voice, imitating the poor opposite sex):...But what about my needs?

And so, we've adopted Counting Vermont Style and But what about my needs? into our family vernacular.

Postcards from Camp

Editors note: Part 3 of Wrapping Up Summer.

Last Spring CrafterKat researched several different overnight camps for Critter to attend. We had signed her up for a variety of day camps last year through the College of Arts and Crafts, the Zoo, and even a Harry Potter acting class. This year she told us she really wanted an overnight experience—it was easier to make friends if you were with them all day and all night. “So what kind of camp experience do you want to try?”

“Anything with horses,” she replied.

And so off she went to three different horse camps. Camp Westwind, located on Oregon’s coast, was a hit and rated a 4 out of 5 in one letter to Grandma. Camp Silver Creek—-which took place at Oregon’s 4H Center outside of Salem and not at all near Silver Creek Falls like we had originally thought—-was spent with horses. All day.

Admittedly I was a bit nervous dropping her off at this very secluded meadow with a dilapidated barn at one end. And the little cabins looked like they had seen more mosquitos than campers.



When we returned to pick up Critter, I handed her the camera so she could take photos of her last week. She snapped a memory of every horse but no campers. “We can go now.”

Critter rating: 3 out of 5

“But did you have fun?”

“Well, yeah, I guess. We went on lots of trail rides. And the last night we got to paint our horses.”

“Paint horses? Why?”

“Because it’s fun.”

Camp Collins was her last camp of the summer, more of a let’s-turn-you-into-a-young-leader-with-strong-moral-values camp than a strict horse camp. We drove past several farms in Clackamas County up to a tree-loving sanctuary where we were met by dozens of eager high school students, all determined to make this the most fabulous camp imaginable for metro city kids. They’d all ask Critter if she was enrolled in the Quester camp; Critter would shrug her shoulders and give an unenthusiastic “dunno” or “yeah” answer.

“You are going to have an Awesome Time,” each would answer with trademark enthusiasm.

After the, shall we say, rustic buildings appointed at Camp Not Silver Creek, we were amazed at the well-developed eating halls, first aid cottage, swimming pool, and camp housing.

Including Hobbit Houses.

Critter’s bunk was located in Treetop Village, part of three girl cabins that were built on stilts and surrounded by evergreens.

When we returned a week later (at our appointed pick up time for campers R through Z!--we said this place was incredible), she stood waiting for us wearing a t-shirt signed by every camper around her. If you squint you can see her standing there in the photo for the Treetop Village above.

With a bit of prompting, she led us away from the other campers and showed us her bunk and some of the sights of the campground. We made our way down a few dirt trails to a suspension bridge with a small fort on the far side. "On the first day we did a Challenge Course and we had to cross through the trees on these little boards on the other side of the bridge. It was so scary--I didn't do it. And there's a rock wall you can climb to reach the fort. I didn't do that either--I'm not stupid!"

We hugged her, gathered her luggage, and asked, “Did you have a good time?”

“I cried last night. I sooo have to come back here next year.”

At this point a blonde in similarly signatured t-shirt piped in, “Now remember, you have to come back next year to Week 8! Promise!” And hugged Critter hard.

Cricket Cricket

We interupt the Wrapping Up Summer series with this funny exchange from Critter...

"So, yeah, at school today my friend comes up and says Ashton is looking all over for me. 'He says he wants to give you a hug. Should I tell him I found you?'" Critter pauses, hand on one hip, giving a bored, yet incredulous stare. "Cricket cricket. Cricket cricket."

CrafterKat and I burst into laughter at the universal sound of awkard silence suddenly voiced.

She continued, "Well, duh!"

My Favorite Summer Photo

Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of Wrapping Up Summer. To read Part 1, click here.

Early July we took a short vacation, past a glorious Mt. Hood, to Kahneeta in Eastern Oregon. It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend--blue skies for miles and famous Indian fry bread to eat. If you ever want to tempt a gall bladder attack, just eat more than three-quarters of an Indian fry bread. And don't forget the huckleberry jam over the top. Sooooo gooood...

Most of Saturday was spent hanging out in the Warm Springs heated swimming pool--along with two thousand strangers. CrafterKat's scrapbooking friend brought her two kids that weekend so Critter had some playmates. I was even able to squeeze in a massage. Heaven.

Saturday night we signed up for the traditional Salmon Bake. So much good food and lots of dancing. Everyone in the family participates, especially the youngsters.




















And then we were invited to participate and join the family dancers.

But this was my favorite dancer. And my favorite photo of the whole summer.

Sleepless In Seattle

Editor's Note: Part 1 of Wrapping Up Summer--May 2006

Critter's first day of school is September 6 and I wonder if her English teacher is going to assign the obligatory Here's What I Did On My Summer Vacation essay. If so, Critter should have lots to talk about.

Her summer (well, technically CrafterKat and my summer) began with a trip to Seattle in May. We took a leisurely Amtrak train up on Friday and took the time to finalize our kitchen cabinet selection (we had a train booth with a table!). I was a bit nostalgic through Tacoma; I've not seen the Sound in so long and finally had my first glimpse of the new glass museum which Chuhuly helped build.

In Seattle we enjoyed a fabulous time at Pike's Street, eating freshly baked pumpkin cookies and drinking hand-squeezed lemonade, poking through eccentric crafter boothes, and goggling over the fresh flowers and homemade olive oils. We even found the filming locations for a few scenes from Sleepless in Seattle.

Here I am with the Pike Street Market mascot. Notice the bearded man in the orange coveralls in the background. He's about to toss a fish...

We then spent a good chunk of Saturday at the Seattle Aquarium. There are parts of the exhibit where you feel like you are a part of the ocean.

CrafterKat took some excellent photos of the octopus as it floated through his play area.

We were able to be a part of the undersea menagerie. I want to be a jellyfish when I grow up.

Critter practiced her grouper fish face. It works with an amazing array of sea life.

We returned home from Seattle with a box of pumpkin cookies, a case of olive oil, and great memories.

Busy is not the same as having you here

How do teens know just exactly what to say and do to drive a dagger into a parent’s heart? We took Critter to her last summer camp today. Still tired from her previous one, she dragged her feet to breakfast, was surly before her shower, and finally flat out disobeyed right before we got in the car to leave.

Furious, I got out of the driver’s seat and informed JewelGeek she could take Critter to lunch and camp. Fortunately, a mere 20 minutes later, I had cooled off. During that time, I realized just how quiet the house was without her, how much I missed having her around, and how much I overreacted.

With a quick call on my cell, I discovered that they were only a few blocks away having lunch. So they swung back to pick me up, and we tried again.

This time, Critter talked almost the whole way out there – about her previous camp, her phone call to her Grammy, and a lot of comments about the scenery and farm life. When we got to the camp, she was quiet again, and hung back. That's the closest she EVER gets to letting us know she needs us and wants us around.

Undeterred, we did what all the other parents were doing – stood in line and dealt with the paperwork. The counselors tried to engage Critter in small talk, but she looked at us askance and rolled her eyes, giving one word replies.

Once through the lines, we were free to pick up her gear and head to her cabin. She is in “Junco” – next to Chipmunk and Osprey. The cabins have nice bridges out to them, as they are on stilts over a slight cliff. Bridges connect balconies to each cabin at the back, also perched on the precipice. The cabins are expansive – housing probably 10 girls. Each cabin also has a sink and flush toilet, ample electric lighting, windows with screens, and “cubbies” at each bunk big enough to hold the suitcase and a small library.

Critter quickly sized up the other girls already in the cabin, selected an upper bunk above a heavy-set teen, and stood around looking nervous. We asked her if she wanted us to go, and she whispered, “No.”

So we wandered outside back to the counselor, who was making the name badges each camper would wear. There wasn’t much else to do – except admire the well-appointed camp, and head back to the car. We asked Critter if we could have a hug, and she said “No,” and walked quickly away from us, looking coquettishly over her shoulder. We chased her a ways, listening to her laugh and squeal, then gave up and headed back to the car. I think she watched us go, but I was brave and didn’t turn around.

In the giggling woods, the camp was full of parents and kids – of varying ages – each exploring their part of the camp-world. We even saw little “Hobbit Houses,” made slightly smaller than the other cabins, with grass growing on the roofs, and solar panels and round doors. We think younger campers were housed there.

This particular camp has been in business for decades. The site is well cared for, and certainly modernized. The counselors looked energetic, enthusiastic, and genuinely happy to be there. I’m sure Critter is in good hands.

Still – I wish we hadn’t quarreled in the car at first. I wish I had told her that it was okay, I understood, and I loved her anyway. I wish she had given us a hug – if not to allow us to express how much we loved her, at least to give us something to “hold on to” for the next six days. And as Renaissance Man has told me more than once, all of that probably passed Critter's consciousness for about 30 seconds, and then left, to be filled with whatever teenagers obsess about these days.

We'll stay busy throughout the week, trying to put our house (and even our lives) back together after the remodel. But busy doesn't mean I won't miss her. I miss her already. Being busy is not the same as having her here.

Bag! Bag! No Bag!

We've had things in storage for about four months during our kitchen remodel, crammed in every spot we could think of that was not the living room, kitchen, or dining room. And in order for our temporary kitchen to exist in our living room, items from those places were displaced, too. The attic has boxes of dishes, silverware, vases and mixing bowls. Critter's room provided space for large furniture items. Our bedroom has had a stream of candles, computer paraphenalia, and stereo equipment.

So now, with the remodel completed, it is time to put things back in their original homes. If we can find them.

Now, many would claim that the fundamental things to put back into a kitchen/dining area which has had a new floor, new cabinets and stunning paint job applied would be silverware, an oven, even a refrigerator. But it means nothing if you can't find this:

For without this important plastic baggie filled with nickel-plated goodness, life might never be the same. Consider how bereft our home would be if we were unable to...

...contemplate the importance of sitting perpendicular to the bathroom so that our odds of winning were boosted,

...sigh heavily as The Little Man turned off the ceiling fan with one mighty leap,

...giggle with LaLa until tears came to our eyes after another Dad-ism passed Mr. GoGoGo's lips,

...stand up a bottle of Critter's mustard,

...groan as Mr. GoGoGo passed the skunk line,

...artistically arrange chocolate chip cookies for a scrapbooking party

Yea, verily, the world could come to an end. But fortunately, we knew, months ago that this baggie was important. And so we adjered strapping tape to it--the good kind with those little fibers in it--and secured said bag to the item which makes our house a home.

I don't think I need to tell you that the strapping tape didn't stick.

And so, for a painstaking hour, we retraced our steps, searching through every possible place the Baggie (which had now reached epic proportions and needed to be capitalized) might have been stored. It was a bit of a Seusical episode.

Where is the Baggie, of Ziplock fame?
Would it come if called by name?
Behind green chair covered in clothes?
Shouldn’t Critter have hung up those?

Perhaps by stereo, hidden by speakers?
Checking there unearthed kid sneakers.
Blue chair exposed books and lipstick,
And one monkey Tinkerbell outfit.

Desk drawers next exposed nothing more:
Just stamps, papers, and CDs galore.
Back to the kitchen and an orange bin
Held cupboard parts and one blue pen.

To the garage, searched mightly we did
Found suitcases, cardboard and paint can lids.
Craft room, too, was bare of said Baggie
Should we call on the Police Academy?

At last we retraced our steps to where the important item was stored and found it wedged on the floor almost hidden underneath Critter's Hope Chest. And with the Baggie found we were able to use the pieces inside.

Which yielded our dining room table. And now we can call our house a home again.

The roses were brought to us by our contractor on our last day of work. "Three roses for three roses," he told us. We are going to miss him.

Side note: Not long after the dining room picture was snapped, The Little Man turned off the ceiling fan in one mighty leap from the table top, wrapping the cord around the fan blades. Sigh.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Last week, our contractor's son put the hardware on our cabinets. They look fabulous!

And the lights went up. Notice how the graceful "S" curve mimics the organic wheat theme on the handles...

And our beautiful pendant lights have a woven design around the edge (which you can't see when the lights are on...)

Over the weekend, we began painting the living room a lovely "creamy beige," which actually looks more peachy to me.

SouthernBelle is eager for all the mayhem to be over, too. She made herself at home in the dustpan for a lengthy catnap.

And finally, on Sunday, I had a decent cup of coffee from my own coffeepot. Of course, there was no where to sit down, yet... [to be continued]

Red Wave

[Mr. GoGoGo is an AWESOME brush painter.]

Was told by the contractor this evening that he thinks he'll be done in 2 more days. Hard to get excited about it, because even when he's done, we still have to move everything back in to place, find "homes" for all of our stored kitchen items, and think about grocery shopping again.

And there's still the livingroom to paint.

And the old carpet looks horrible next to the fabulous new kitchen/diningroom floor.

And the carpet on the stairs looks even worse.

And who is going to pay for all of this??

On the plus side, JewelGeek and Mr. GoGoGo painted the kitchen on Sunday. Our Rum Spice wall is quite an accent. Not too much red. Just the right amount of drama. It was an excellent choice, if I do say so myself.

And it further points out the glaring ugliness of the dingy livingroom walls and nasty carpet... Isn't home ownership fun?

Raging Waterfountain

Critter came home from camp yesterday noon. CrafterKat and I had kept our fingers crossed; Critter did not want to leave home a week ago, even if it was a horse camp.

She emerged from the bus in a black hooded sweatshirt and searched for her bags. I gave her a sideways hug that she tolerates when in public. "Missed you," I told her softly to lessen the embarrasment factor.

"Wait... Wait." She ran over and hugged two or three girls and promised she send them e-mails. We packed the car trunk with her things and headed out to get some lunch.

"Did you learn any new camp songs?" I asked, turning around in the PCC parking lot. Critter proceeded to sing me a song about a frogs that are supposed to say la la la but don't, and then a catchy little number about shoveling ma-nuuuuuu-ure, complete with hand movements before we got out of the parking lot. A song about a horse named Random and a crab named Frampton who could climb trees brought us into Portland and in search of a luncheon spot.

"...and me and Kat--I mean 'Kat and I'--Kat is always correcting me and I told her 'you sound just like my Mom!'--and her name is just like CrafterKat's and spelled like hers, too, but we all called her Kat even though I called her 'Kat John' sometimes just to be different. She names all her stuff so like her computer is named Phoebe and she has a hamster and we got Indian names and hers is Serene Octopus and mine is Raging Waterfountain and can I go back to camp next year?"

Critter had a good time at camp.

Letters to Camp

Critter has been at her first summer camp this past week at the Oregon Coast. The YWCA has camps across the state; Critter has been participating in Camp Westwind's horse camp. Camps have changed quite a bit from when I went--you can now e-mail your child. As the Renaissance Man said, "Just call them Generation W--for Wired. Not to be confused with Weird."

Since so much has happened in a week, we'd thought we share our letters to her.

Jul 29, 2006

Hi! Wanted you to know that your horse poster and boots were big hits at yesterday's Western Round Up party at work. Lots of people looked at the poster, and one dad asked me what I was going to do with the boots after the party... My co-workers made a huge cartoon poster of a rodeo rider and bull, and cut out the faces of the rider and bull. That way people could stick their faces in the holes and we could take their picture! Had quite a few great shots there. All in all, it was a great party.

I'm making a little progress on organizing your closet. Have all drawers in the dresser emptied and a lot of "too small" items sorted out. I think I can get another small shell in the closet to store something on top of it, but I need to look around in the garage at my supplies. The Little Man & Doofie have been "helping" me - each time coming out of the closet with lots of dust bunnies all over their faces. So far, they are not particularly interested in the bins. Keep your fingers crossed!

We think of you a lot. Hope you are having a great time.

Love, CrafterKat and JewelGeek

Jul 30 2006

Hi again! Early bird up - as usual. The Little Man woke me up by scratching at our door. The food's in there! I'm thinking The Little Man is sounding more and more like Napoleon Dynamite as he approaches his teen years... "Gimme your tots...Gosh!"

Saw an ad last night for funnel cakes at IHOP. We're going to try them out for breakfast today. And over breakfast, we'll discuss kitchen paint color. We're still leaning towards green... but I PROMISE it will NOT be the same color as the house.

Talked to Mr. GoGoGo three times yesterday about all the "goings on" in the kitchen. Our contractor and his son did FINALLY get the sink, dishwasher, and dispoal all hooked up at about 8 pm last night. Quite an operation. Sink drain kept leaking. Took two hours to figure that one out. But that means... no more hand-washing dishes! Yay for everyone! And THANK YOU to you.

Better go get the newspaper and check out the ad before JewelGeek gets up. Thinking of you. CrafterKat

Jul 30 2006

Good morning Sweetie!

Had a funny dream this morning that we parents got to attend a few classes with you at camp. I was able to go to a class on making funny faces. So you and I were trying to match our instructor in sticking out our tongues, scrunching our forehead and crossing our eyes. I think I need more practice because I wasn't very good. You made some very good Grouper faces, though. Sigh.

The countertop people installed the new covering for our base cabinets. It's beautiful! The last step was to put a bead of silicon between the seams to connect the countertop and the backsplash together. Anyways, it had to sit and cure and that meant we had to keep the kitties locked up for another 24 hours. We just didn't want to have a gorgeous new countertop covered with the Little Man's tail hair and Doofie's whiskers. So, in the bedroom they stayed.

Our contractor might actually be able to install the new sink today.YIPPEEEEEE! He asked us to figure out where we wanted to put the shelves in the tall unit because he'll permenantly install those, too. CrafterKat and I had fun putting in the oatmeal container, a box of fettucine, the flour cannister and the last box of pink Peeps.

We went to two different stores on Thursday looking for the bulbs that go in the little hockey puck sized lights that sit inside the cabinets. You'd think that Home Depot would have them. Sigh. None that were the right size/wattage/material. We finally went back to the lighting store where we ordered the lights. They had them, but no box. So I carried seven of the little bulbs (not much larger than the Christmas lights) home in a paper coffee cup.

Hugs and Yucks, JewelGeek

Aug 1, 2006

Good morning Sweetie!

Been a busy few days for us here. We've been starting to smooth out the wall in the dining room so we can paint, and filling in the little divit holes in the ceiling left from the asbestos removal. Very dusty and sneezy around here. Wait... I'm getting pushed by kitties...

Hey, GirlMom, I love the new countertop 'cause I can sleep in front of the window and... (sniff) did you just eat something? Is it good? Can I have a bite? Just a small bite? I'm sure it's good for kitties... No? Well, I'll just go take a nap then.
The Little Man

Hi! I'm pretty and I like to explore the garage when no one is looking and then make sure that everyone knows that the suitcase downstairs in the hallway belongs to me! I'm missing my green mouse. Have you seen it? See you soon. Bring food.
Doofie

Hey. The dumb male cat just woke me up. You got a scritch for me? No? I'm going back to bed then.
Fuzzy Slug

Well, I guess that's it for this morning... Take care, Sweetie. See you soon!
JewelGeek

Aug 1, 2006

Hiya! We've been keeping busy working on getting the diningroom ready for painting. Sanded down the last bit of wall that had texture, added mud, waited for it to dry, sanded it, added mud, waited for it to dry, sanded... JewelGeek went around filling in holes in the ceiling in the diningroom. We should be ready to texture it later this week. We need to do the same for the livingroom -- no sense texturing one part of the room, cleaning up, then doing it again for another part. And we need to texture the ceilings before we paint - or else we'd get texture material all over our paint job!

We did settle on a paint color. We had two greens that we liked - but when we took the poster board outside, they were too close to the color of the house! So we nixed those. The three yellows we tried didn't work. But the "out of the box" color we selected on whim is REALLY awesome. Called Rum Spice -- you'll have to see it to believe it.Very piratey.

Also making some progress on your new closet organizer. Emptied the dresser out yesterday and put it on Craigslist for someone to pick up. In an hour, it was gone! Now I'm pondering what kind of table to use for the keyboard that looks nice and is the right height. Kittens are fascinated by the closet, but don't seem too interested in the bins. They keep poking around in there and coming out with hundreds of dust bunnies on their faces. Pretty efficient sweepers! Now if we could only get them interested in going under your bed...

Thinking of you. See you soon. CrafterKat

Aug 2 2006

Hey Sweetie!

Heard lots of songs on the radio the past few days that made me think of you. The most recent, coming home from buying shelf liners for the cupboards, was "If I had a million dollars". I love the line:

If I had a million dollars
I'd buy you a monkey
Haven't you always wanted a mon-keee?!

I know you get these notes after dinner-ish, so I thought I send you a quick bedtime story by Ogden Nash.

The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little gray mouse, she called him Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward,
and she called him Custard.

See you in a short, short while! Hugs and Yucks, JewelGeek