I had not anticipated an update to my last post so soon. Sparky was evidently not fried in his attempt to interfere with the electrical grid. Instead, he has teamed up with the NOOT (Natural Orneriness of Things) to sabotage my lights and my blog. As soon as I hit "publish" on my post saying... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
It's after Thanksgiving now, which means it's officially acceptable for me to upgrade autumn things for winter things, but it also means that I'm in that post-holiday turkey-induced slump where I don't have much energy or motivation to trudge up to the attic and dig out the Christmas decorations, so I'm just going to write... 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 →
Along our usual walking route, Pippin and I pass a few houses that are being restored by the local historical society. It's been a long process that still isn't finished, and while I often grumble a bit over not having access to the sidewalk for the past three or four years, I really am glad... 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 →
