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Gang aft agley

Feb16

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men
Gang aft agley,
An’lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

Plan for day: 20-10-20s, of housework-rest-writing

So far today:
20 kitchen, 10 play, 20 writing, lunch, drugstore for battery for thermometer, REALLY upset cat for a couple minutes, migraine+sinus headache=nap.
Then hanging out with spouse and cats for twenty minutes, which at least was totally worth it. 🙂

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/669710.html. You can comment here or there.

Theo Status Report

Feb14

We took Theo to the vet last night and he was given subcutaneous fluid, which perked him up a bit right away.

He has a small heart murmur, dehydration, anemia, and a fever. Tests show that he doesn’t have FLV, thank gods. It’s probably-a-virus, and now we have steroids and an antibiotic to deal with whatever-it-is (obviously the antibiotic is for if it’s not a virus).

T’s been feeding Theo a tablespoon of wet food every three hours, which seems to be all he’ll eat, but it means he’s both eating and getting fluid. I bought him some tasty-super-natural (not supernatural) kitty food from the hippy pet food store, and he thinks that’s awesome. In tablespoon increments.

Theocracy’s still a baby – not yet two – so I have faith (heh) that he’ll bounce back. It’s just pins-and-needles in the meantime.

In related news, our vets are pretty awesome. And immensely patient.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/668698.html. You can comment here or there.

So, um, Winter.

Feb13

Yesterday, we (mostly Spousal Unit) got to deal with a new facet of home ownership: frozen pipe!

Well, technically, broken pipe due to freezing.

It turns out that one pipe in the utility room (going to the heating system) was originally, or at least as of the last iteration, run just under the threshold of the back door, which tends to be a bit air-leaky. Yesterday was one of those supercold mornings, and thus, by mid-afternoon, Pop!

That was an expense we weren’t expecting.

On a hopefully-less-urgent note, Theocracy has been acting listless and floppy, although he’s still eating and taking in fluids. So vet appt. this afternoon to see what’s up with the fluffer.

So… I’m still taking commissions via my Giraffe Call, although now the funds will go to Unexpected Expenses Fund, February Version.

In happier news, Meritocracy, the adopted little sister of Theocracy and Oligarchy, has discovered catnip and she thinks it’s awesome. She also is fairly certain the tall coyotes (us) are probably not going to eat her, and the fireplace is the most wonderful thing in the world, thanks.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/666166.html. You can comment here or there.

Proper Direction Again (A Weight Loss Blog)

Feb10

174.2 That’s more like it.

And last week, while better than the week before it, wasn’t stellar. Less tracking. So, It’s Monday. Gym tonight, and back on track with tracking.

I can do this.

(I feel less heavy, which is sort of weird.)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/662149.html. You can comment here or there.

Snowed In

Feb5

Technically, I might have been able to make it to work. It’s not a state of emergency, just a state of “Hrrm, might be inadvisable to travel.”

I stayed home.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/658165.html. You can comment here or there.

Well, that wasn’t too bad: Weight Loss Week Two

Jan27

It wasn’t a good week, not really. I spent the whole week angry at myself for having gotten back up to this weight, wearing elastic-waist things that actually /fit/ and feeling silly and crappy about the whole thing.

I also spent it, however:
* tracking my food more carefully (Not on the days off, still working on that)
* going to the gym three times (M, W, F)
* trying to generally be more active.
* Trying to think positively about weight loss.

Today’s weigh-in: 174.8 lbs. Down 1.8 lbs, which is better than feared.

(hormones: I’m either still bloated, more bloated, or bloated again: my boobs hurt like hell and my period is due in ~2-3 days)

I tried three tracking methods this week:
http://www.loseit.com/
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Weight watchers, via excel formula ++ asking Rion for points on dinners.

Obviously, three tracking methods is not sustainable, but I’m still torn between Lose It! And Myfitnesspal. I might try a third method (people have suggested a few)in lieu of one for a week or two.

24.8 lbs to go, 25 weeks to go. Yay!

Perpetual Note: Please do not suggest or tell me 1) I don’t want to get down to xx weight, 2) xx is not a healthy weight, 3) anything else suggesting I don’t know what weight I might want to get to/look good having reached.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/644593.html. You can comment here or there.

Bamboo Flooring, a series of links and thoughts

Jan23

We’re going to replace the floor in most of the downstairs the entire house, eventually, but first is likely to be the dining room-living room-card room area.

We’ve been considering bamboo floor, for strength/aethetics.

Is it really green? from Treehugger
This site is really cranky.

A buyer’s guide from Popular Mechanics

and a color option from Lumber Liquidators.

We know we’re going to go with wood (or grass, wood-like, at least) in these areas, with throw rugs. We’re thinking of doing radiant heating under the floors, since we have to replace all the floors eventually anyway. it’ll be in the reddish end of things, because we both prefer it, and it will not be oak or pine, because neither of us like those for floors (I grew up with pine floors. Just… no).

(some of the links I’ve found in making this post have made me second-guess doing bamboo, but I still have at least a year to make up my mind).

Do you have wood/bamboo/etc floors? Radiant floor heating? Anything you love or hate about it?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/643279.html. You can comment here or there.

Homesteading: Next Project Up

Jan21

The next project is a small one.

(After I: tidy the sewing job on the door curtain; sand the raw edge on the bedroom hooks)

Okay, two small ones, one much smaller than the other. First: Hang the mirror in the bedroom.

Second: The walls in the bathroom are ugly, and will be until we raise the ceiling. Also, I have a wire shelving unit for over the toilet just waiting to be installed.

I have bought the materials, and now I want to stretch a panel of fabric over a wooden frame (the fabric is a brown swirl on a buff-colored polyester suede) and hang it over the worst wall (the one I pulled the paneling off so we could see how bad it was), then install the wire shelving in front of it.

THEN I’m going to make a little 8″ cube fabric basket with the scraps.
Whee!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/641236.html. You can comment here or there.

Homesteading: Woodworking skills

Jan21

Ever think you “had” a skill, only to realize what you had was the bare rudiments?

That’s sort of what’s been happening to me with woodworking.

I know how to use power tools. I know how to screw two piece of wood together – or nail, even – without making a mess of things. I can put moulding around a window with reasonable mitered joints. I can make a raised bed with no trouble at all. I can use most power tools pretty well.

Gutting and redoing a house (or making furniture, which is the next step) requires so much more than that.

Skills I need to get a handle on to finish the foyer:
* I need to learn how to use a Kreg Jig (link) to make pocket holes. This is for the overhead bin’s frame, for invisible joins.

(The overhead bin is a storage unit I’m building over the coat-hanging rod)

* I need to learn how to work with a slab of maple (1″-plus thick, 4′ long), how to square it, and how to fill the crack with resin (video link)

* I need to learn how to build a face frame for the bin, and how to hinge the door (the slab of maple, probably in two parts) so that it hangs evenly and looks nice.

When that’s all done, the next skill up is learning to use a router. Because routers are cool.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/641004.html. You can comment here or there.