Melting Away, Day Two

I think it got up to or at least near 50 today and it was 57 yesterday so the snow is largely gone. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this little taste of spring. I only wish that it could stay.

I mean, these images look a whole lot different than the ones I posted last week, right?





I am really, really grateful for the change. It's going to get cold again starting tomorrow but at least it stayed warm long enough to get this crap outta here. Good riddance.

A Super Bowl Prediction

I'm shocked by the things I remember sometimes, or more correctly, by the things that trigger them.

I was confirmed on Super Bowl Sunday. My beloved Cowboys were playing that year and I'll always remember the parting words our archbishop uttered at the end of his homily: "On Super Bowl Sunday, how could I not leave you with a Super Bowl prediction? Dallas by 10." There were a few boos, but people mostly laughed and applauded.

Dallas actually won by 17, beating the Denver Broncos 27-10. I hadn't thought about my confirmation in an eon. I only thought of it while watching a report on Super Bowl commercials a little while ago. That was a damn strange train of thought!

I probably won't watch it, or much of it. But I'm going to make a prediction anyway: the Cardinals by 3.

I think that's wishful thinking on my part, but I can't help myself. I've hated the Cardinals ever since Bill Bidwell took them to the southwest. I grew up rooting for them except, on those rare occasions, when they played the Cowboys. Then my local loyalty always fell by the wayside.

As a Cowboys fan, I have ALWAYS hated the Steelers. ALWAYS. So there is no way I could root for them now. Besides, I'm proud that Kurt Warner could thumb his nose at the Rams because I thought he got a raw deal. He'll be wrapping up his career in the not so distant future, so for him, I hope he can take it out on a winning note. So, that is more than enough for me to set aside my years of hatred of the Cardinals.

I think that he and his wife, Brenda, are great people. Good old workin' stiffs who managed to hit it big -- and never forgot where they came from. (They recently sent about 80,000 coats to the St. Louis area as part of their Warner's WarmUp program. Never mind they don't live here anymore.)

So, GO CARDINALS GO!!!

Little Annoyances

I should know that there cannot be a week where something at This D*mn House doesn't break, fail, or otherwise become inoperable. That would just be asking for too much. I know you know exactly what I mean.

But, it seemed like we almost made it. Until yesterday afternoon.

During one of our reentries to the car while out shopping, I discovered that the driver's automatic seatbelt was stuck. Unfortunately, it was stuck in the off position, toward the dashboard. Had it stuck in the on position, or back toward the headrest of the seat, it wouldn't be so bad. I could just unhook it like the lap belt. But, no such luck.

I just knew this was the day that I would get pulled over. With the mother in the car, no less, so I could be sure to never hear the end of it. Thankfully, I was spared that.

Then, last night, the mother went to use the bathroom sink and discovered that the bar that lifts out of the faucet to secure or release the sink plug was broken. Great.

Luckily, the sink was an easy and quick fix. It didn't break. It had just worked its way loose from the mechanism below. Ten seconds to discover the problem. Under a minute to fix. Whew!


I did a little online searching about the seatbelt. It could be any number of things. It looks though like in the meantime I might be able to manually move the latch so I can fasten and unfasten the shoulder belt. And, it sounds like we're in for another pretty day so as soon as it gets light -- it's still technically the middle of the night-- I can go and check it out.

Right now, the drugs and the nap are conspiring against my going to sleep.

Crossing my fingers on the seatbelt ...

The Best Medicine

The mother and I's shopping trip started out great. The weather was so awesome. What a joy to be driving with the window partially open! The warmth of the sun felt great.

We made a rare trip to Tar-jay, hit Deals, cruised through Dierberg's and made a quick dash through Michael's.

Sometime after the first stop, my head started throbbing. By the time we'd stopped to pick up dinner, I was miserable. We made one more stop on the way home and I thought I was going to have to turn the wheel over to the mother. It was that bad. And it got worse.

Once home, I was able to quickly eat and take some meds. Forty-five minutes later, I was napping. I got up about 90 minutes ago and you can't imagine the difference! I am so relieved. I don't remember the last time I felt this good. I'm not sneezing, coughing, or blowing my nose. Amazing.

Here's hoping it holds.

Bright, Sunshiny Day

The mother took one look at me last night when I walked in and almost immediately called her friend. She postponed their get-together yet again.

The last three nights haven’t been good ones. Two nights ago, it was largely Toby’s fault. My sinuses were an underlying cause – of course. Night before last, it was all sinuses. Last night, since it was Friday, I took a Benadryl so I actually got some sleep. I'm still tired though. And congested. (Like this is new.)

Now I have to go and get stuff. That includes drugs to dry and deal a lethal blow to this crap. And you know what? Even though I could probably go back to bed as I type this, getting out is going to be a joy.

THE SUN IS OUT AND IT’S 41 DEGREES!!!!! They’re forecasting 50 for a high! That’s right. 5-0, baby!

I am ecstatic. SO very sick of winter. I need a beach. And a Margarita. Or three. Seriously.

Well, I guess I’d better get dressed so I can soak up some sunshine. YEAH!

My Seven-Figure Income

I had to laugh when I came across this news item earlier regarding Wall Street bonuses. In part, I found it humorous because of the need to try and justify some of the outrageous salaries some of these people make to begin with. Except for the ones who are crooks, I don't begrudge them what they make. Just don't try and convince me you really are worth all that, 'kay?

Regardless of how you try to explain it, a bonus that is easily 10 times your salary is more like the lottery than a bonus. You see, in middle-class America, a bonus is a percentage of your salary – not the other way around. So the gist of the article is, “All you folks who don’t have six-figure incomes just DO NOT get our seven-figure bonuses – so let’s explain it to you so you can see how we are so worth all of it.”

The other reason I laughed is because I got a weird email this morning. It was prompted by my casual mention of a bonus in my evening post yesterday – and a mention that shed doubt on whether I’ll actually get one this year or not. For some reason, this dear disgruntled reader has confused me with a Wall Street type.

The email said: “Do you work in a bank? If you do, you are a sleezeball who doesn’t need one anyway. Now that they are getting taxpayer money, can they not afford to give you a bonus because it would look bad? I hope you were listening to what the president said. He hates you.”

Hmm. Well. OK, nutjob. Since you didn’t have the guts to send email from an account that doesn’t reject my replies, let’s clear some things up. First, I do not work in a bank. And second, even if I did, that doesn’t make me someone who is/has been/ or will benefit from TARP money.

Third, the bonus I mentioned usually represents a small percentage of my annual salary. I assure you, it is statistically impossible for that to amount to a seven-figure –even a five- or a six-figure— bonus. And, if you’ve been reading, you know I qualified for last year’s stimulus check. (It helped pay for the nice new fence Lawrence and I put in back in July.)

Guess what? I’ll qualify for one this year, too, if it’s approved. Do the math, nimrod. Besides, why the hell would I live in a tiny, 2BR, one bath home if a single bonus could more than afford me something three times larger? And why would I take on all of these massive, insane projects in an effort to save a few bucks to fund the next thing? You know, like ripping out a sidewalk. In 100-degree heat. With a sledgehammer. Dolt.

Oh yeah. And, the President really, really hates me. Pardon me while I laugh some more.

Friday Morning Musings

We’re almost through January! Is that possible already? Of course spring can never come soon enough for me. Right now though I think I will be happy with the time change so that I’m not leaving home at sunrise and coming back at sunset. It’s not that far off either. March 7 or something like that.

I’ll admit though that watching the colors of the sunrise take shape, as I’m doing now, is a bonus for hangin’ out with the chickens.

And things are improving. While the sidewalk and driveway at home remain virtually impassable, the streets and sidewalks near the office are all but clear. They are so much better in fact that I walked down the street and got lunch yesterday. First time in weeks. The amazing thing was that at 27 degrees and with sunny skies, it actually felt pleasant!

I didn’t venture out after my allergy meds last night and I’m paying the price this morning. Congestion city and cough central. It’s times like this that I really miss having Walgreens just a few blocks from the office.

I’m not sure what the weekend plans are. The mother was supposed to have a friend come over tomorrow, someone she hasn’t seen in years but reconnected with over the holidays. (She was actually going to come last Sunday, but in light of me being unwell and the weather really sucking it, they postponed.) I thought she was going to talk to her about it again this week but as far as I know, that conversation never took place. I guess I’ll have to wait and find out.

After next week, I think I’m going to seriously look at when I can take some vacation time, so that some of our projects can get under way. I was looking around the warehouse that our family room currently is and I desperately want to do something about it.

In other words, after nearly two years of continuous projects with almost no down-time, I'm ready to have my house back. Maybe by fall that will be possible.

Maybe.

Time and Money

A few hours ago, I got an email confirming that Missouri had accepted my state income tax form. Yay!

So, within 20 hours of starting on my taxes, I:

• Finished them


• Filed them electronically


• Received confirmation that both federal and state forms were accepted

This morning I was all pumped up about having filed by Jan. 28. Well … I apparently filed on Jan. 26 last year. And here I thought I had set a new record. What a slacker!

I did get a pleasant surprise while filling out the federal form: an addition to my standard deduction because I don’t itemize. Apparently, they are giving up to $500 for a single filer and up to $1,000 for a couple if you paid property taxes in 2008. So that pushed my refund up even higher.

Overall, I’m getting back more than I anticipated when I did a cursory calculation based on my last pay stub of 2008. BOOYAH!

It will be interesting to see what projects this money will go toward in 2009. Usually, this money, coupled with a bonus from work, dictate the bulk of our DIY budget. I’m not banking on the latter this year, so I’m not sure just how much we’ll be able to do. The mother will be kickin’ in, too, (but retirement doesn’t actually pay well and her insurance keeps going up) so we might be able to eke out other things for the kitchen including appliances, some kind of stone countertop, and ceramic flooring.

Things I know it will be used for include:

• The remainder of the materials needed for my bedroom redo. Namely, beadboard, chair rail, paint, and trim.


• A new mattress for the mother as part of her bedroom redo.


• The Michelangelo Project


• Materials to complete the exterior pimpin’ of the shed


• Shoring up the driveway. This will involve pouring concrete along the outer carport edge, jacking up and building up the foundations for the columns along that side.


• Chemicals and materials needed to clean, seal, and fill in any gaps on the porch and walkway to both maintain it and deal with efflorescence.


• The “Lawrence Fund” for the things that require his expertise or assistance (like the driveway)

I guess we’ll have to see just how far we can stretch the budget because there are several more things I would like for it to cover such as:

• Replacing the fiberglass bathtub liner (circa 1995) with ceramic tile, carried out onto the bathroom floor.


• Framing, insulating, and drywalling the cinderblock walls in the laundry room and its closets.


• New flooring in the laundryroom and its closets.

Doing all this stuff takes time and money. I’ve definitely got the time. January is on its way out and I’ve still got a whole year’s worth of vacation time! Now we’ll just have to see about the money.

Uncle Sam Speaks

I've been struck by a feeling of giddiness that has nothing to do with the Special K I just polished off, even if it does have the red berries in it. No. I think this kind of joy can only be associated with having filed my taxes on January freakin' 28th, thankyouverymuch!

My W-2s came in the mail yesterday and I just couldn't help myself. I jumped online and got 'er done last night.

I filed them at 9:21 p.m. and within 90 minutes, I had an email acknowledging that both my federal and state returns had been received by their respective agencies. I guess the giddiness is a direct result of the email at 6:11 a.m. today to let me know that my return has been ACCEPTED and gave me a projected date for when my money will hit the bank.

I've been using www.taxact.com for quite a few years now. The process is pretty easy, especially if you throw a few bucks their way so they import all your previous year's information AND transfer it all to your state return. All you have to do is change the numbers --unless you've moved or changed jobs or got married or had a kid, none of which applies to me.

It's an extremely user friendly process. It took me about 70 minutes to do both federal and one state return, and that included going through a review process TWICE on each return. Not too shabby. I've been filing early pretty much the entire time I've been e-filing, but this may be a record!

The process isn't completely over yet, though. I still have to file with my resident state. Living in one state and working in another becomes a real pain in the butt at tax time. Even that has gotten easier with e-filing though. But, since that return doesn't mean any money back for me, you can bet I'll be mailing it on April 15.

The Winter Cottage

Isn't that what it kind of looks like?I shot this while I was waiting for the bus this morning. When I was reviewing the handful of shots I took, that’s how it struck me: a little winter cottage! It was before first light, so it's pretty dark but I think that adds to the winter feel.

It’s supposed to start warming up tomorrow. I’ll believe it when it happens.

It was flurrying this morning and the wind was blowing around a good deal of snow off rooftops and off ungaraged cars where the drivers didn’t bother to push it off. So the snow action is almost as rampant here as in the ones I shot last night. And doesn’t the road look really different from the Tuesday morning shot? You could actually see a road on Tuesday. Not so this morning.

Remember when I said my feet were soaked? Well, here’s why.
As I walked from the porch to the street, the snow was pushing up under my pant legs and jamming into my boots. The process repeated once I reached the sidewalk on the other side. That's where I grabbed this shot. See how deep my prints are?! That's because of not only all the snow we got, but because the snow plow has buried the sidewalks.

Luckily, I remembered to pack a pair of shoes and some dry socks.

When I get home, I'll just go through the same thing all over again in reverse. Unless the snow fairy cleared my drive and walkway ...

The Antithesis of a Snow Day

My feet are soaking wet from standing calf-high in snow. It’s still flurrying a little, but the snow itself stopped a few hours ago. I’m guessing that we got somewhere between 6-7 inches, maybe a little more, including the sleet from Monday night and yesterday. If it was still snowing, I would be firmly planted in the livingroom. But it’s not, and the buses are running, and pretty close to on time! That doesn’t leave me much in the way of an excuse to stay inside.

Even so, getting across and then down the street was a bee-otch to say the least. I nearly fell twice but with the mother watching from the window, I knew I’d never hear the end of it if I did.

Unlike yesterday morning when most of the main arteries were clear or a little slushy, today they are totally snow-packed. The road crews were at it all night but it didn’t do them much good. The snow was coming down hard, starting right around the evening rush hour.

The trip home was treacherous, but our brave driver Linda kept her head. She got us through a few miles where I know it was pretty hard to see. And, on roadways where it looked like after the morning rush, everyone had just gone home and let Mother Nature have her way with them until evening.

I’m not sure what my most excellent friend the Monkeygirl’s plans are for today, but I think she is onto something here. Maybe if enough of us get on board, we can push this through.

Clearly, with my love of snow, I’m all for it!

Dreams and Depression

Remember those cabinets I was talking about visiting the other day? Well, I had a dream about them last night. They were IN my kitchen! (Yes, I lead a rich and imaginative fantasy life.) It required a complete reconfiguration of how we have things now, assisted by the fact that I was dreaming and my 85-square-foot or so kitchen suddenly became much larger.

I truly hate our current cabinets and the lack of storage space in them and would love to just rip them right out of the wall. But then reality sunk in and I realized that is not real likely to happen this year, courtesy of our economy.

Speaking of both reality and the poor state of the economy … I’m going to have to stop looking at news clips while I eat lunch. This one, about a family of seven done in by the father, pretty well cinches that. On top of the story yesterday about the 93-year-old man – which I’m still not over – this pretty much drew tears.

And if my mood isn’t quite dour enough, it’s been an incredibly gray day today. While we haven’t gotten the much heralded second phase of snow yet, it’s starting to arrive. It was sleeting off and on all day and it flurried some earlier, but now the flakes are starting to fall.

This might be a good night to go pull that bottle of wine out of the refrigerator. The sad, decade-old almond-colored refrigerator, of course, because we can’t get the pretty stainless steel one to fit without moving heaven and earth.

It Looks Pretty

Yeah, it looks pretty, but I still hate it. Snow belongs on Christmas cards and at ski resorts.

I am a sole passenger on the bus so far. Looks like some of my fellow commuters either got an earlier start or just stayed home.

Most of the local school districts cancelled classes today. It’s not really that bad. We ended up getting about a half-inch of sleet followed by an inch or two of snow. Just enough to make the roads sloppy and slick and not enough to scare people into slowing down. Sounds like a fairly lethal combo to me as the temperature is in the teens and we aren't getting above 20 today.

What’s impressive is that my roadway, and so far, most of the ones through town, are quite clear. That's a view from my door. You can actually see the roadway.

I saw on the news earlier, many of the highways and thoroughfares both south of here and on the other side of the river remain snow-packed. Kudos to our street department guys, even though the snow plow kept me awake off and on through the night.

The snow isn’t done yet, though. They’re saying it’s going to start up again pretty soon and won’t taper off until this evening. Luckily, I made it from the office to the bus stop before the sleet kicked in last night. The roads were icing up along the way, but since I get let off out front, I only had to navigate from sidewalk to front door so it wasn’t too bad.



I don’t think I’ll be so lucky tonight. I think there will be plenty of snow to slog through by then. I just wish it was sand.

Beyond Cold-Hearted

I know times are tough, and after getting our utility bill last week, I have become a power nazi. (It was bad, but not as bad as I had feared.) Even so, after reading this horrible, unbelievable, and unconscionable story at lunch today I will NOT chide the mother for repeatedly cranking up the heat. As long as I’m not sweating, she can keep it as warm as she needs it.

In Illinois, there are laws restricting the utility company’s ability to turn off power during certain times of year or when it’s a certain temperature. Do these same kinds of laws not exist in Michigan? It’s January for Chrissakes and this is the mid-freakin’ west!

How in God’s name do you allow an elderly man to freeze to death INSIDE his own home? HOW?! And what’s worse, it sounds like a city official quoted in the story is trying to pass off some on the blame onto the man’s neighbors. Did they turn his power off? I don’t think so. In most cases, how would they even know? It’s not something you’d expect someone to go and tell all of their neighbors either. (If you couldn’t afford to pay your bill, would you want all your neighbors to know about it? I know I wouldn’t.)

The actions of this utility company are nothing short of criminal. They were judge, jury, and executioner, condemning this man to a “slow, painful death,” according to the coroner. This was a 93-year-old man who had no one to make sure he DIDN'T freeze to death.

I don’t think any of my neighbors are in this spot but I guess I had better be paying a little more attention even though none of them are elderly and live alone. (The couple next door is a few years older than the mother but they have each other.) So I guess the bottom line is that if you think something like this might be happening, check on your neighbor and intervene if you have to.

I can’t stand the thought of anyone else suffering such a horrible fate.

Dreaming of Summer

I try really hard to find the good in this ridiculously cold weather and the only real consolation I can hit upon is not having to do yard work.

It’s cold and a little slick this morning from the all-day flurry fest that was yesterday. Luckily, it sounds like I may already be home or at least well on my way there tonight before the snow hits. We’re looking at 3-5 inches tonight with another 1-2 throughout the day tomorrow. Oh, joys. *rolls eyes*

We have plenty of food in the house, so by the time we should need anything else, the roads should be clear. I’m grateful for that. I made my way out yesterday and all of the main roadways were in pretty good shape. Of course, everywhere was packed with people doing exactly the same thing I was—stocking up ahead of the snow. (Even so, there was a remarkable amount of bread and milk on the shelves which is surprising as those are usually among the first items to go.)

Though I bundled up, knowing that it would be cold this morning, it’s still quite chilly on the bus. Considering that it’s Monday,and a nasty one at that, I’m just glad that it showed up at all!
I’m almost afraid to say it, but I actually do feel a little better today (emphasis on a little). The neti pot seemed to help some last night, so I guess it will become part of my nightly routine again. Let’s hope it continues to do as much good!

Wherever you are, I hope it’s warmer there …

S-N-O-W

It occurs to me that snow is a four-letter word with good reason. I hate the crap. And it's been flurrying all day. Enough that the ground is covered. More is coming. Tomorrow.

Sounds like 3-5 inches between tomorrow night and Tuesday. Did I mention that I HATE the crap?

For now though, the house is quiet. As I am many times, I'm the only one awake, watching but not quite engrossed in Charlie Wilson's War. The mother is asleep on the couch, no doubt dreaming about her refrigerator. Screaming Cat from Hell (otherwise known as Toby) is asleep on one side of me. Ozzie is asleep on the other, occasionally thrusting a leg forward as he chases something in his subconscious.

And my nasal passages are in a revolt that can only be described as agony. I guess while I'm in the shower, I'll attempt to use my neti pot. I've tried just about everything else. Nothing else has worked, or at least not for very long.

When I dubbed this stuff The Plague, I was only half-kidding. The mother doesn't appear to have it ... yet. I hope it stays that way.

A Doomed Love

The mother is in love. She is in love with a frame just above 5'8. And his waist? Just beyond a 32. A nice, healthy size. Ah, and he does sparkle so!

He sparkles because he is stainless steel. You see, he is a refrigerator. She has been talking about this refrigerator for months. She started again in earnest yesterday when we stopped by both Home Depot and Lowe's. (We regularly visit both the Thomasville cabinets we wish we had, and this appliance on which the mother has become so unfalteringly fixated.)

But it is a love as doomed as that of Newland and the Countess Olenska. (From the Age of Innocence, the Edith Wharton classic, which is on cable right now.)

The very thing that makes it so attractive -- stainless steel aside -- is the thing that kills the deal: the dimensions. It will not fit in the kitchen. Not without removing an upper cabinet and at least 2 inches of the countertop. To put it succinctly, that ain't hap'nin.

The reality came with a flyer that one of the Lowe's associates was kind enough to send home with us. I had written down the measurements previously and done the measuring but her bubble remain unburst. But standing in the kitchen today, clutching the flyer as I measured, the facts were irreputable. It's too tall. It's too wide. (Not to mention how friggin' expensive this thing is. I can overlook that. It's stainless and we've had our current fridge for more than a decade.)

Even so, while the flame may not burn as brightly as it once did, it burns still. Like a newly jilted lover, the mother remains in the delusional state. He can still come to live with us. The kitchen will be his ultimate home.

The finality of it has yet to sink in. God help me in the meantime.

Meltdown at Michael's

The mother felt a bit better today, and so did I -- at first. So, boldly we ventured out to get some necessities and some not so needed items ahead of a snowstorm expected Monday into Tuesday.

Stores were packed, so I can only assume that everyone else had the same idea. We got groceries and household items and I had a frustrating and ill-fated trip to Kohl's in an attempt to replace my previously lost gloves. You'd think it was April already. No real selection of gloves to be had anywhere. What IS the deal?!

Then we went to Michael's. Surely you recall the mother's foray into turning everything -- but most specifically the front door leading -- into gold? Now she has moved onto the new lamps. (She insists they're too bronzy. Whatever.) She has almost killed the original bottle so today's trip was to restock.

But, alas ... there is none! I thought the mother was going to have a kitten, right there in the middle of Michael's. She had a minor meltdown because they have ceased to carry it. This meant only that she couldn't leave the store with it. Not that it couldn't be found. (And she calls me impatient ...)

I, of course, know that there is the Internet. So, there is almost no product out of my reach. And, not only do I find it, I find it for a better price than Michael's ever dare.

Now, if I can only find something to rid us of The Plague.

What Became of George?

Not that George. That George made it to Texas and is probably barbecuing or roping a horse or something. No, this isn't a political rant.

This George was born around 1825. One of his sons (another George) was my paternal great-grandfather. This George was a soldier. And while some of his regiment made it to Texas (Hempstead) where they mustered out, I'm not sure if my George did.

One thing I can do -- while resting and trying to keep my mind off the fact that I still gurgle when I breathe, when I can breathe -- is to pick up some of the genealogy trails I've let go cold during most of the past year.

And earlier tonight, I got some info that creates yet another question: Did my great-great-grandfather die in the Civil War? It certainly seems possible. I have his "muster" record, courtesy of the Illinois State Archives. He certainly did join up in the summer of 1862 as all able-bodied men were compelled to do at the time.

George, a 37-year-old farmer who was light-haired, short (5'7), and had blue eyes, went off to war -- but did he ever come home? I don't know. And after reading the history of his regiment, it's a more than fair question. The history says that more than 800 men from a four-county area comprised this infantry unit. But late in 1865, barely half of them came back home. While they saw very little enemy fire (there was some and that did claim some lives), this group of largely farmers was plagued by disease and the elements.

According to a history of the regiment, before they were officially called into service, they were kept in a camp for a couple of months -- without tents, uniforms or guns. And in the late fall (this is Illinois, so it's um, cold,) with no tents, an outbreak of measles claimed at least 100 of the troops, killing quite a few of them. Was this George's fate? Or, a year later, when the group was sent south and the rainy season caught them while they were deep in the swamps -- killing quite a few more soldiers -- was this where George's life ended? Or, despite a lack of discharge information, did he actually come home from the military and die perhaps of injuries or illness he contracted during the war?

It's bugging me. There's no one to ask and I can't seem to find a casualty list. All I do know is that when George's father drew up a will in September 1867, just a few months before his own death, George was already dead.

I'm learning lots about this line of my family, but this is one of those gnawing missing pieces. I've been lucky in the past to have my ancestors all but lead me to them. (It's funny how that happens sometimes -- like they want to be found.) Maybe this will be another one of those instances.

George, what happened to you?

A New Toy?

I'm hoping so at least! Assuming that the Plague ever leaves This D*mn House (the mother is now sick, too) and we can get back to our regularly scheduled projects, I'm hoping that I might be armed with a new tool AND a hardware store gift card!

That's because our friends over at One Project Closer are having another great tool giveaway. You can check it out and get in on it yourself if you'd like by clicking here.

That's right. They're giving away a new Skil Power Cutter (Model #2352-01) including charger and a $25 gift card from the home improvement center of your choice. I'm thinkin' Lowe's because I'm still going to need that beadboard.

But, I'm thinking this little Skil cutter will come in handy when I get around to the Michelangelo Project. Can't you just picture that baby zippin' through the polystyrene ceiling tiles? I know I can. So even if you enter yourself, wish me luck!

Happy cuttin'!