After having our patio lights destroyed by a particularly misguided squirrel on two different occasions, I was left with no option but to apply the scientific method to the problem. Step 1: Observation/Question - The squirrels (possibly one particular individual, "Sparky") are chewing the lightbulbs off my string of patio lights/how do I make the... Continue Reading →
Daily writing promptWas today typical?View all responses I know I need to write more regularly, and lately I've been drawing blanks on anything to say, which makes writing a bit more of a slog, so I'm trying something new and responding to the "Daily Writing Prompt" on the WordPress home screen. I think I encountered... Continue Reading →
Pippin is a very gentle dog, though you might not guess it to look at him. He actively smiles, and only people who have had a smiler of their own recognize this look as one of love and excitement as it is admittedly similar to a snarl. Sometimes we meet people who tell us that... Continue Reading →
Even though our trip to France is over and we don't have another on the books, I'm still practicing my French with Duolingo so that when we do go back I'm closer to being fluent (and also because I just like learning languages). This past week, a new phrase I learned was pire en pire... Continue Reading →
When we bought our house, one of the little things we were excited about was that the yard seemingly had the capability of growing strawberries, which are Kalen's favorite. In the middle of the concrete patio by the garage, the small garden bed was full of strawberry plants. We had rented various places up until... Continue Reading →
I've been in this battle with the oven for a while now. Well, I guess I'm not in a battle with the oven, but I'm battling over the oven, which I really liked until the nonstick coating inside decided it was so nonstick that it wasn't going to stick to the oven and started flaking... Continue Reading →
I've been writing a little less than usual because I've been doing a little less than usual. The weather has turned positively wintery (we even had the tiniest dusting of snow this week!) and most of my activities have been boring, routine maintenance things like making sure that the hoses got disconnected from the outside... Continue Reading →
Our house is prone to weird air currents. We are getting used to them, but the hows and whys are mysteries we may never solve. In summer, when it's hot outside, the upstairs also gets very warm. This is neither a surprise nor a mystery: heat rises, the second floor has no air conditioning, and... Continue Reading →
Okay, that's a pretty grandiose title for what I'm sure is a pretty middle-of-the-road post, but here we go anyway. I enjoy the plants I grow in my yard, but gardening has been a learning process to be sure. Adding basic irrigation to our landscaping with a DIY kit was a real game changer. It... Continue Reading →
We had to have our fence repaired. One of the major selling points for this house when we purchased it was the fenced yard for Pippin. The fence, like so much of the rest of the house, wasn't pristine, but Pippin has never tried to escape and even if he did, he would need a... Continue Reading →
