All The News That's Fit
FLASH! The semester is finally over. (BIG *sigh* of relief!) Things were really fine, but still, it kinda grates on my nerves to have had last Friday be my "last day," but still be grading this week. Ugh. Alas, I'm sure that come August - and every damn semester thereafter until I'm almost 60! - I'll look back with fondness on these "pre-child" semesters...and wonder how I had it so easy.
FLASH! Just discovered a new use for the sun: drying clothes! That's right, after a few hesitant stop-&-start moments over the last few summers, I finally took the plunge, bought a few dozen more clothespins, and made a vow to not turn on the dryer until September at least. Hey, the Hettlers left us three lines about 15 yards long...why not use 'em?? So, I waited for a sunny, breezy day (Monday) and did the laundry. You know what? I didn't realize until MY laundry was out there (skivvies, nursing bras & all!) that...hell, I can't SAY when the last time I saw laundry on a line was. ANY laundry! See, it IS harder work. Takes a lot longer to haul all that shit out there and hang it than it does to throw it in the dryer & walk away. But the clothes get just as dry, I haven't used 1) electricity, 2) natural gas, or 3) Bounce sheets, and I'm harnessing the power of a star in the process. So, not only can I feel environmentally superior, I'm also saving dough. You know...to spend on used EZO albums, or whatever.
FLASH! Preggo classes are going well; we had our first one last week, and there are two more to go. We're getting a lot of anxious questions answered...mostly about how much say we'll have in the delivery. As it turns out: quite a lot. The docs at Alliance don't do ANYTHING as a matter of habit. You want an epidural? You gotta ask. No episiotomies. Hungry and you're in first stage labor? Eat...you're gonna need the strength. Pitocin? Certainly not right away, and if they think it's necessary, they'll tell you why. We haven't toured the birthing suites yet, but that'll come, and we're already told that there's a "squat bar" and a "birthing ball" (otherwise known as an exercise ball when you're at the gym and not laboring on the damn thing). 10 weeks out and we're feeling good...well, you know, except Miss Tessmacher ain't sleeping so well these days. I know...it's good practice, right?
FLASH! The last major renovation on the house is about to commence. I wasn't going to get into the stairway & upstairs hall until later...if even at ALL this summer. But, with largeish chunks of lead-paint-coated wallpaper crumbling away every time we flip the light switch, I guess the time is better sooner rather than later. I already have some necessary components: the paint, the two light fixtures (one replacement, one additional), and a host of other little things. Next week I'll haul out the trusty ol' wallpaper steamer & set to work. Should be interesting working in the stairwell: I'll let y'all know how that goes. And, I can see that the plaster is cracked aplenty, but I can't see any MAJOR structural damage. It'll be nice to replace the stair treads finally, too; the boards that are down aren't treads, they're just stock 1x, which explains why they're all cracking. Duh, they weren't MEANT to have weight plodding up & down 'em all the live long day! So, I have my eye on some nice oak treads...that are (gulp!) something like $34 apiece. And I have...(counts)...14 stairs. Hmmm. Maybe the treads are long enough, I can get TWO steps out of ONE tread? Here's hoping. Photos to come soon.
And...that's it. I've been transferring out-of-print LPs to my iPod via the great USB turntable my mother spoiled me with for Christmas...so, while you're out & about, make sure you check out these great bands you forgot about: Starz, Autograph, EZO, Heaven, Helix, Axe, and Vandenberg. Yeah, my musical tastes pretty much shit the bed a LOOOONNNGG time ago. Thank GODDESS Tess puts up with me!
FLASH! Just discovered a new use for the sun: drying clothes! That's right, after a few hesitant stop-&-start moments over the last few summers, I finally took the plunge, bought a few dozen more clothespins, and made a vow to not turn on the dryer until September at least. Hey, the Hettlers left us three lines about 15 yards long...why not use 'em?? So, I waited for a sunny, breezy day (Monday) and did the laundry. You know what? I didn't realize until MY laundry was out there (skivvies, nursing bras & all!) that...hell, I can't SAY when the last time I saw laundry on a line was. ANY laundry! See, it IS harder work. Takes a lot longer to haul all that shit out there and hang it than it does to throw it in the dryer & walk away. But the clothes get just as dry, I haven't used 1) electricity, 2) natural gas, or 3) Bounce sheets, and I'm harnessing the power of a star in the process. So, not only can I feel environmentally superior, I'm also saving dough. You know...to spend on used EZO albums, or whatever.
FLASH! Preggo classes are going well; we had our first one last week, and there are two more to go. We're getting a lot of anxious questions answered...mostly about how much say we'll have in the delivery. As it turns out: quite a lot. The docs at Alliance don't do ANYTHING as a matter of habit. You want an epidural? You gotta ask. No episiotomies. Hungry and you're in first stage labor? Eat...you're gonna need the strength. Pitocin? Certainly not right away, and if they think it's necessary, they'll tell you why. We haven't toured the birthing suites yet, but that'll come, and we're already told that there's a "squat bar" and a "birthing ball" (otherwise known as an exercise ball when you're at the gym and not laboring on the damn thing). 10 weeks out and we're feeling good...well, you know, except Miss Tessmacher ain't sleeping so well these days. I know...it's good practice, right?
FLASH! The last major renovation on the house is about to commence. I wasn't going to get into the stairway & upstairs hall until later...if even at ALL this summer. But, with largeish chunks of lead-paint-coated wallpaper crumbling away every time we flip the light switch, I guess the time is better sooner rather than later. I already have some necessary components: the paint, the two light fixtures (one replacement, one additional), and a host of other little things. Next week I'll haul out the trusty ol' wallpaper steamer & set to work. Should be interesting working in the stairwell: I'll let y'all know how that goes. And, I can see that the plaster is cracked aplenty, but I can't see any MAJOR structural damage. It'll be nice to replace the stair treads finally, too; the boards that are down aren't treads, they're just stock 1x, which explains why they're all cracking. Duh, they weren't MEANT to have weight plodding up & down 'em all the live long day! So, I have my eye on some nice oak treads...that are (gulp!) something like $34 apiece. And I have...(counts)...14 stairs. Hmmm. Maybe the treads are long enough, I can get TWO steps out of ONE tread? Here's hoping. Photos to come soon.
And...that's it. I've been transferring out-of-print LPs to my iPod via the great USB turntable my mother spoiled me with for Christmas...so, while you're out & about, make sure you check out these great bands you forgot about: Starz, Autograph, EZO, Heaven, Helix, Axe, and Vandenberg. Yeah, my musical tastes pretty much shit the bed a LOOOONNNGG time ago. Thank GODDESS Tess puts up with me!
posted by Animal at 7:41 PM
6 Comments:
First it's a clothesline, then you guys will be 'off the grid'.
Tess is a saint. Tee hee....
Glad to hear the birthing classes are going well. I recognize all of the info in your post. We use 'em all here. :)
re: drying clothes on the line....the first thing we did when we moved into our house almost 3 years ago was install a clothesline and we love it! even though here up north you get 6 months at best of outside line time. and since you're planning to use cloth diapers, you'll be REALLY glad you have the option. sure, it takes a while for them to dry, but the sun is naturally anti-microbial and bleaches out poop stains better than ANY human-made product.
When I was a child I was forced to hang out the laundry every weekend of the spring and summer in the hot Kansas sun and was convinced no other child on the face of the planet had to undergo such torment and whined and complained bitterly and would show my parents my sunburned nose and feign lightheadedness and whine, and they were completely unmoved, as was the case when I went through the similar charades to try to guilt them out of exploiting my labor for gardening. Now I bemoan the fact that I live in a condo community where closelines are forbidden, and garden on every spare square foot of dirt I can get my hands on.
So you should teach little Roz to hang up her clothes...but unlike my heartless parents, do give her sunscreen.
I so miss the clothes line. At our old house we had 4 lines right outside the back door and I dried darn near everything out there (I draw the line at my underwear hanging in the breeze for all to see). This house I've been toying with the idea, but you know the set up of our yard....where do we put it? Right out front for all to see? I can go behind the garage, but I'll have to call Ms. Dig since every utility is buried back there...hmmmm maybe that can go on Mike's honey-do list while he's not working. I'm sure he'll thank you for giving me the idea.
I have a clothes line on my screened in back porch, but nothing in the yard itself. I guess if I needed something sun-bleached I could use Jamie's massive soccer goal as an impromptu clothes line, but then, I worry about birds pooping on the clean clothes. Also, there's a lot of dust down here. I worry that my clothes will be dirtier when I take them down off the line than they were when I put them up. We do use the backporch line for jeans, though.
Clothes line - Way to go! I have thought about it here but this summer with all the smoke it's not an option :(
USB turntable - That invention has actually increased vinyl sales according to NPR :)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9598796
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