Morning Inspiration

I've already been out and about today, trying to get some supplies before tomorrow night's projected ice storm begins. Oh, yeah. Lookin' forward to that.

Now that I've had a little breakfast, I'm getting some really grand inspiration in a truly awesome way: an episode of Carter Can. In my book, that man is proof of what God is capable of on a really good day. And he even comes with his own tool belt.

I did manage to get everything into the house (which was something akin to a Herculean effort after yesterday's shopping expedition and this morning's follow-up blow through to get extra because of the weather.

I'm tired, because Toby decided it would be a good idea to start screaming at 4, though I didn't put him to bed until just before 3 a.m. But, I'm ready to get the madness going.

But right now, I'm going to finish my soda and soak up a few more minutes of this spectacular eye candy ...

Merry Christmas to Me

Wow! OK. I whined about shopping when there is so much to do and this place is a disaster, but ... it was such a good day. Seriously. If it had been a little warmer and a little less windy, it might have qualified for perfection.

The mother found almost everything she was looking for. And, she got me some Christmas, too! I got a new coat, two new jackets, and a new sweater. I didn't need either of the jackets, but I really liked the one and the mother insisted on getting me the other one, too. Pretty awesome for a single stop.

And for me, I got to go to not one, not two, not three, but FOUR stores with scrapbooking stuff. Actually, now that I think of it, FIVE. I was in my kind of heaven. I got some neat gifts for both me and others, as well as a new case to cart all my supplies around in. (Don't worry, MG, it won't take up much space, I promise.)

There were tons of people out. You'd have thought it was already the weekend, not a weekday! But, I guess a lot of people were enjoying a day off work just like me. And before making our final stop, we dined at Lotawata Creek, one of my favorite places, and someplace we hadn't been in ages.

Just a little while ago, I got an extra added bonus. The mother, who talks about me to other people but rarely ever says anything complimentary to me (genetic: Young Tom was the very same way) gave me a nice stunner. We were watching a Christmas special on HGTV with some of the various shows' hosts sharing some of their holiday celebrations. At the end, Lisa LaPorta (of Designed To Sell) was showing off a special decorating surprise she had done for her mom.

"I've got the best daughter in the whole world," says Lisa's mom.

And out of the blue the mother says, "Unh-uh. I've got the best daughter in the world."

Like I said, very nearly a perfect day.

Call the Red Cross

We need to declare This D*mn House a disaster. The house looks like a cyclone hit, so what should we be preoccupied with? Decorations!

Well, of course. Isn’t that the most important thing when one’s abode is jam-packed with crap and in need of a seasonal cleaning?

Chalk it up to that old somewhat altered analogy: When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

That’s right, The clock is ticking and the mother wants to … go shopping. It’s a vacation day for me (thanks to our recently added day after Christmas holiday) so why not?

I’ve always had a hard time getting her priorities and God help me, I’ll never understand the way she works at things. She picks the oddest things to obsess about when faced with an overwhelming task. Stuff I would no more give a second thought to, until maybe, and that’s a big maybe, everything else was already in place.

Me? I’d be ready to dive in and start the pitching, organizing, and cleaning. Granted, this weekend is supposed to be unseasonably warm, so we DO need to hit the outside while we can, but …

It’s not that she’s a procrastinator – that’s my department. She and I just work completely different. Where I like to work on one, maybe two things, get those done and then move onto the next, the mother wants to tear the whole thing apart all at once and work on EVERYTHING! Complete and utter chaos. She always gets it done, mind you. It’s just a matter of approaches, I guess. I prefer the less chaotic route.

For now, I’m just shaking my head and playing along. I know it will all get done. I don’t know how. I’m pretty sure about when – about 5 minutes before the guests hit the front door if history is any indication.

But today, I’m not going to worry about it. So, let the fun begin.

Traipsing Through Time

I’m envious of all the housebloggers who are busily – and quite happily – tracing the roots of their respective homes. It’s a time-intensive labor of love that can be just as powerful as all of the work we do to make these properties home.

I want to see if I can look up the daughter of This D*mn House’s original owners. I’d love to have some pictures of the house in its early days. I had the pleasure of meeting them a few years after buying This D*mn House. What great people. Sadly, I think they both might have died since then.

I’m sure Jayne over at Dainty Digs would love some original photos, too, as she continues to unravel the history leading back to her Missouri place to put with all the information she has learned about the property its built on.

Crossing the river into Illinois and heading north, Denise at The Bungalow Chronicles is hot on the trail of her home’s history and its neighboring properties that once included a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

And while he may not be tracing the deeds and plat records, Jason got the makings of a pretty fabulous gift, courtesy of the previous owners, by what pieces of his house they left in the basement.

And a while back, Liz and Joey at A Constructed Life discovered that perhaps one of their previous owners never left.

So check out their stories -- and get ready to shuffle some records and see what you can find out about your house.

2 Weeks … And Counting

With a little over two weeks before This D*mn House is on display, the mother is busy making lists and menus. And being preoccupied with the stupidest sh*t. (See, I told you there’d be fights. They haven’t happened yet, but they’re brewing.) And she’s already changing plans for the little trees, to plans that I don’t like at all. But that’s not set in stone.

We’ve yet to figure out where and when we’re having Christmas with our family. Whether it’s Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, or at my godparents’ or at their daughter’s. (I’m hoping for the godparents’ ‘cause it’s closer, but only by about 15 minutes.)

I’m really glad that I’m off tomorrow. Even after yesterday’s impromptu day off. I still feel pretty crappy. Today, to go along with my aching jaws, I have a headache and sinuses in full revolt. (They’re paying me back for being flat and virtually upside down for so long yesterday – with interest.) As a result, I’ve opted to skip work’s Christmas party tonight.


I guess I’ll end up going to the grocery store after all, though probably not until much later tonight. We are nearly out of food and I’m not sure what I’ll feel like eating tonight. (I stuck with soup yesterday.) Here’s hoping I’m willing and able to eat something else.

But first, I have to make it through today.

More Than I Bargained For

Why is it that when you expect mundane and regular you get extraordinary -- but not in a good way? That's what happened to me today.

I had what was supposed to be a routine dental visit. I lost a filling Saturday night. I waned to get it put back. Should be a quick in and out, right? Since I tried to get the soonest appointment I could, and one that would have the least impact on work, I got an early morning appointment. Got in at 8:30. That gave me a little time to sleep in today AND time to drop in the nearby Kmart and pick up a few things they had on sale. (Including more of the garland the mother bought yesterday as decorating now has become a priority.)

Made it out of the store and into the dentist's office right on time. First, I had to fill out a myriad of forms because 1) my dentist is now gone and 2) I hadn't been there in a while. It was ridiculous. The form I filled out contained the same information as the one they had on file and handed to me. The only difference was I had new insurance. Shouldn't copying the card take care of that? No.

So, I was then greeted by a dental assistant and then a dental hygienist and finally, the dentist. Did I want 56 different treatments? No. I wanted my tooth filled. With it being December though, I still had a full year's dental benefits to spend. Let's just say that I put a nice dent in it and that my Christmas to me is in my mouth.

To do the procedure that was recommended as step 1 for a permanent solution to the tooth I wanted fixed, required numbing my ENTIRE FACE. So many drugs, and hitting a major nerve directly, caused me some grief. My blood pressure shot up and then plummeted. Ultimately, I got very ill and they kept me for a while to make sure I was OK.

One of the shots they gave me, the one that hit the nerve directly, was like getting an electric shock that ran from jaw to forehead.. That is what sent my heart racing. I know it is. Of course, she only told me this AFTER the shot: "Sometimes when you hit a nerve in more 'petite' people, it's like a live wire."

Gee. Thanks for the warning.


So, more than three hours later, I was wrapped up. After, of course, getting an assessment for more work that would cost me nearly half of a really nice used car.

So I get the joy of going back next week to see if everything went well -- and to pick up something for Part II of my treatment.

Oh. Joys.

The Pros and Cons

In a strange holiday twist, instead of traveling a nearly 100-mile roundtrip to celebrate Christmas with some family friends either immediately before or after the holiday, they are coming to see us. This is a classic good news, bad news scenario.

The good news: I won’t have to drive nearly 100 miles in the same day, some on very sucky roads in the middle of nowhere, and in God knows what kind of weather, with the mother critiquing my driving the whole trip. I also won’t have two rounds of packing and unpacking the car to contend with.

The bad news: Our house is a disaster. Between all of the projects in progress, things are upside down. The dining room looks like Santa’s sleigh crash landed there with the crash going through the floor and into the family room downstairs where everything else spilled out. Plus, the family room is littered with many of the supplies for all of said projects including beadboard, molding, chair rail, wallpaper, shelving, paint, bedding, and curtains. Oh. And of course there’s those three carved out hunks in the ceiling still to be repaired.

The even worse news: The mother is nit-picky on a good day. When people are coming to the house, it must look like it is ready to be photographed for a home design magazine. (Really, I’m not kidding or exaggerating. She was about to die this summer with my friends coming inside and seeing everything scattered with all the work outside under way.) I know they don’t care; they know I don’t care, but still.

Even further bad news: This means there will be a litany of to-dos that would kill a mere mortal. There will be fights. (Oh, and they will be beauties too, borne out of exhaustion and frustration.) And it’s going to really suck to try to do all this in just over two weeks. And when I say “all this” I’m not even sure what “all” even is. Frankly, I’m afraid to find out.

But that brings us back to some good news: When the mother is on a mission, she is unstoppable. (This must be genetic; sound like anyone else?) So, some of the things that I think should have been done weeks ago, that she’s been talking about doing for weeks, will actually get done.

Bad news: Some of the things that I’ve been talking about doing for weeks – I’ll actually have to do. Better news: I have some extra days off and after next week, actual work should be scarce. I’m hoping that reality will actually kick in at some point though I’m not holding my breath.

The best news: This is happening on the 27th. I am off on the 29th. I work the 30th and part of the 31st – and then I don’t come back ‘til Jan. 5! That gives me some time to both enjoy a relatively straight house and recover.

I’m going to need it.

The DIY 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
A new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the second day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Two Bosch jigsaw blades – and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the third day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Seven cans of caulk, six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Eight bags of rock, seven cans of caulk, six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
Nine cans of Behr paint, eight bags of gravel, seven cans of caulk, six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three fence panels, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
10 fence panels, nine cans of Behr paint, eight bags of gravel, seven cans of caulk, six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!
Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
11 pallets of brick, 10 fence panels, nine cans of Behr paint, eight bags of gravel, seven cans of caulk, six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!

Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, This D*mn House gave to me:
12 bags of mortar, 11 pallets of brick, 10 fence panels, nine cans of Behr paint , eight bags of gravel, seven cans of caulk, six feet of molding, FIVE POWER TOOLS!!!

Four Lowe’s gift cards, three paint brushes, two Bosch jigsaw blades, and a new outlet to plug in my Christmas tree.

Delayed Decorating

Today’s scene is a lot different than yesterday’s, that’s for sure! Where it was ice, today it’s only rain as it’s about 10 degrees warmer already this morning. We’re going over 50 again today, but it’s supposed to rain on and off throughout the day, with temperatures plummeting between afternoon and evening.

Snow is on tap for tonight, though they say it’s not supposed to amount to much. I guess we’ll see. All I know is that if it doesn’t dry up any before it hits the low of 26 this evening, it’s going to be a skating rink again.

So that’s put a damper on outdoor decorating. I still need to get a smaller outdoor cord (I’m thinking 25 feet, like one I saw in this week’s Target ad) and I’ll need to get some of those clips, too, to see if I can tuck it up along the bottom of the siding as the mother doesn’t want it on the ground. That will get my two lighted trees hooked up on the porch.

While I unloaded the extra bricks we bought last weekend – so I could make squares in the two bare middle patches along the front to match the ones currently on either sides – they were frozen in yesterday’s adventures in ice and now they’re in small pools of water. Then, I need to unload the marble chip that will be placed in pots to keep those sorry ass Martha Stewart trees in place. Those won’t be lit. Then, those pots will go on those squares.

And then, there’s even something else to get lit up beneath the carport. But all that stuff is contingent on the weather. It has to dry out and warm up a little first. Luckily, that is supposed to happen later in the week – and I’m off on Friday!

The problem child then in this little misadventure are two wreaths. The mother wanted to light them with battery-pack lights. We have some tiny, tiny sets of which you’d need at least two for each wreath. We found some slightly bigger light packs for $1/set. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for.

Because they take two C batteries, the packs that energize them are heavier than hell. That’s going to make them really tough to attach to the wreath and the complicate getting the wreath to hang on the door. Not all the lights work. And, if you jiggle the poorly-constructed powerbox too much, none of them will work. Frustrating.

I guess I have to be a victim of Walgreens then and their prices, as that’s the only place I’ve seen the other tiny light sets (that take AA batteries) like we had before. At least I know those work and they’ll be lots easier to manage.

More Schizophrenic Weather

With the temperature at a balmy 52 degrees, it’s hard to imagine the slip-n-slide that was my driveway this morning. It’s long been said that if you don’t like St. Louis weather, hang around an hour or two – it’s bound to change. This is definitely a place where you can see all four seasons within the same day!

Luckily, the closer we got to St. Louis this morning, the better the road conditions got. This was due in part to the salt trucks that were out on the major roadways. In fact, as we crossed the bridge, I noticed the water beginning to puddle. That’s always a good sign. My walk to the office was a whole lot different than my penguin march from home to the bus stop!

There’s supposed to be more rain tonight, but luckily, warmer temperatures through tomorrow. So no ice. Maybe.

At least not until tomorrow night – when it may snow.

What Is It About Mondays?

There’s something about Monday morning that seems to bring out the worst in Mother Nature lately.

Last week, it was snow showers. Today, the ante is up: ice. I didn’t know this until I went to take out the trash about an hour ago. The concrete at the back door is fine. That’s where the difficulty comes in because it catches you completely off guard. Walk out the door. Fine. Walk up the three steps where the back door leads out to the driveway and – not so much. Whooooooosh. You and the two bags of trash that you’re carrying are now on a slalom course.

Or at least that’s what happened to me. I might have qualified for Olympic competition with that performance! Even the landscape rocks were covered with a nasty sheet of ice so they weren’t much help. Thankfully – if not rather oddly – I managed to not fall. When I left for work, I didn’t even attempt my brick walkway. The blanket of ice draped across it shone like diamonds. No way, man.

Instead, I edged myself across the yard which was crunchy with the stuff, willed myself across the few feet of sidewalk, and marched, penguin-style, across four lanes of icy roadway. I continued this laughable procession down the street to the corner.

People are, remarkably, taking their time. There is none of the typical pealing out that I see every day. No one cruising ahead of passing cars. No. It’s slow and steady all the way.

The bus. Well, it came, a marked improvement over last Monday. Even so, it’s creeping along. We’ve already slid through two stop signs. I can hardly wait to see what bridge conditions will be like. And even better, what will that block be like between the stop and the office?

Luckily, most of it is at least partially covered, so I guess I can always hold out hope that it isn’t like my driveway.

I sure hope these temperatures start rising a little faster. We’re supposedly headed for about 50 today, which is great. It’s just not doing us much good right now.

Clean Is A Relative Term

OK. It's not immaculate by any stretch of the imagination, but my bedroom is at least 100 times cleaner than it was before I started yesterday. The mother has a bunch of crap (crap to me, doll collection to her) that has to be cleaned and dusted, but hey, that's not my job. Just because you stick it in my room, doesn't make it my responsibility, right? That's my story anyway.

But, the good news is that I got eight loads of laundry done, 80 percent of my clothes put away (except for my sweaters which are hanging up downstairs), ridded myself of the bag of summer clothes, cleaned and put away my shoes, and thoroughly cleaned down my bed, vanity and wardrobe. And the floor. We don't want to talk about the fact that I used THREE Swiffer sweeper wipes in that tiny little room before I even ran the sweeper and mopped.

No. We won't go there.

And now, I'm very tired. And already, it's back to the grind tomorrow. How'd that happen?

Never Forget

A date that will live in infamy -- that's how then President Franklin Roosevelt described this date in 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

It's an important date for no other reason than the more than 2,400 lives (both military and civilian) that were lost that day. It's also important because it marked the beginning of U.S. involvement in World War II and nearly five years that would forever change the face of our nation.

I can't help but wonder if the young family that built This D*mn House weren't huddled around a radio, listening to President Roosevelt's now famous address 67 years ago. Maybe even in this very room. (I kind of get a chill imagining it.)

I read an article that said the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association has lost nearly 3/4 of its once 20,000-strong membership. That's due largely to the fact that while there are still 2.6 million World War II veterans living, they die at the rate of 851 per day. That means that 17 more of those Vets have died just since I started typing this.

Do you have a family member or friend who served in World War II? Don't let their service be forgotten. Go to this site and enter their stories and photos. You can check out some of those that are already there, too. (Young Tom tried to enlist, but at 42 -- younger than I am now -- he was deemed too old.)

We're losing too many of these brave men and women every day. Never forget what they did for us. Ever.

My Room the Landfill

It's really embarrassing, the things we allow to let go. Unfortunately, when you're trying to both work on and live in a house, it happens. My fellow DIY-ers know what I mean.

And it's just incredibly hard to work full-time and then some, plus find time for DIY projects, and all the while try to keep up with the requirements of daily life.

While there is always something getting cleaned, scoured or sanitized in this house everyday (sometimes multiple times a day) I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember the last time I cleaned my room. Oh, the sweeper has been run and a duster has been pushed past the bare spots on any piece of furniture, and the sheets get changed regularly, but that's been about it.

For the past few weeks, I've had a bag of clean summer clothes sitting in the middle of the floor. To say that's inconvenient in a room the size of a postage stamp is a gross understatment. Shoes are lying around everywhere. While I'm usually good about laundry, not so for the past week or so. It's scattered around on the floor because I never got a bag out for it. And for months -- yes months -- a pile of coupons, receipts, tags, and God only knows what have been accumulating atop my vanity. So much so, that there was almost no wood visible.

Believe me, I'm appropriately ashamed. But, I started doing something about it earlier. I went through all the receipts, coupons and other assorted debris and rid myself of whatever wasn't useful. Then, I tackled clothes. I started by getting out the summer clothes and selecting those clothes to keep in a bottom drawer for those "unseasonable" days that are likely to occur between now and April when I'll trade my winter wardrobe for cooler clothing.

Then, I sorted and bagged up my laundry since wash is on tomorrow's to-do list. Next, I'll strip my bed, give the furniture a good dusting and then run the sweeper and mop the floor.

So now we come to the point where I swear that I will never let it get this out of control again.

A New Neighbor?

It wouldn't be too bad outside -- except for the 20-25 mph winds. It's very pleasant otherwise.

The mother and I went shopping last night. I found a couple things por moi, as well as some gifts. Very fun though exhausting. We didn't get home until after 11 and I didn't go to bed until 3! That means I'd been up for nearly 22 hours. No wonder I was late to rise today and then went BACK TO BED for a few more hours. Slacker.

When I finally did get up, I busied myself with some of the seemingly endless household chores like trash, dishes, recycling, and pets. While I was out feeding the birds, the mailman came. "That's a nice house, isn't it?" he asked, pointing at the house for sale across the street.

"Yeah. It's nice enough," says I. And it is a nice enough house for a rather non-descript brick ranch.

Turns out the mailman's daughter has been through it several times recently, and finally made an offer on it. She hasn't heard anything yet, but the mailman says she's hopeful. "You might be neighbors," he says as he handed me my mail.

And we just might be. I noticed that the neighbors were over there earlier, with multiple vehicles, clearing stuff from the garage. So, maybe there are new neighbors on the way.

Rude Awakening

Yesterday morning, the phone rang before 5 a.m. That’s a full 30 minutes before I’d planned to get up. Even so, I flew out of bed. Calls at that hour aren’t usually good ones.

The mother got it on the second ring. She was downstairs, apparently wrangling with Christmas gifts, so I didn’t hear the conversation. As I flew down the basement stairs, I heard the phone settle back into its cradle. The mother heard me coming. (People in Cincinnati probably heard me coming; I was moving kinda fast and trying to not trip over the dog, the cat, their respective paraphernalia, or the mother’s wrapping remnants as I ran.)

“It was that silly old woman again,” says the mother as I hit the last step. Then she proceeded to relay their brief conversation to me. “I told her that I was already awake, but that she woke my daughter up.”

This morning, another silly old woman woke me up at 4:30. Only this silly old woman lives at This D*mn House and is more commonly known as the mother.

I kept hearing this strange noise, but trying to go back to sleep anyway. Screeeeeech. Thunk. Thunk.

Finally, I couldn’t take it. I got up and asked the mother: “WHAT is that NOISE?!”

“I guess it’s me trying to tape up this box,” came the answer. OK. Fine. But WHY at 4 freakin’ 30 A.M.?

“I couldn’t sleep,” came the next answer.

Oh yeah? Well that makes two of us.

Sometimes, Life Sucks

There’s a grandmother who doesn’t live that far from me. I don’t know her name. I don’t know how old she is. But I know that this grandmother is dying. I know that she is suffering. And I know that after she is gone, four little children will continue to suffer on her behalf.

This grandmother is raising four grandchildren – ages 2 to 12 – while simultaneously battling both bone and breast cancer. Even as she prepares for a second mastectomy in the months ahead, her prognosis is not good. This may very well be her last holiday season.

The good news, as if there can be much in a situation this grave, is that her little family is among those to benefit from our office’s holiday charity program. Why, you may ask, is that good news? Well, I just happen to work with not only some of the smartest and most dedicated people in the business, but many of them just happen to have hearts of gold, too. Several of them have been touched just as deeply as I have by the tragic plight of this family.

One colleague has asked what, if anything, we can do for grandma. I have repeatedly tried to pry something out of the social worker that we can do just for her, but all she wants is some new clothes and toys for the children. (Well, she’ll be getting that in abundance. Plus, there will be lots of groceries and cleaning supplies as well as gift cards for whatever we don’t get that she may need. We can’t heal her, but boy can we make sure she gets what she has asked for those kids.)

This colleague and her family have made helping this family and some of the other sad cases that we’re helping, how they will celebrate their Christmas. “My family doesn’t really need anything and we’re so blessed,” she said. “We just think it’s more important to help those who aren’t so lucky.” I nearly wept.

I’ll admit, I was worried about our program this year. Even at a big company with many employees who generally make a good living. I was afraid that because each of us is feeling the economy’s squeeze in a variety of ways, and because this effort was quick on the heels of a hugely successful United Way campaign, that people would just deem it too much. It would be more than they could do.

I’m happy to report that I was wrong. Nearly half of the gift tags for our floor’s tree were gone before they were even put up. Gifts are already piling up in a corner of my office. And a handful of my colleagues have simply handed me money. “Get whatever we need,” one said.

I even got an email this week from a contractor – someone who isn’t really a company employee, doesn’t even work in the office – asking if he could contribute to the program.

Some of the other floors are moving a little more slowly while others are going about as well as ours. I have complete faith that by the 18th, when the program wraps up, we’ll have what we’ve asked for. And probably more than that. How can I be so sure? I think another colleague said it best.“There’s an awful lot of need out there,” he said. “I think that just makes people want to give that much more.”

My colleagues already are proving him so right.

Sound Advice in Uncertain Times

I think we’ve all been bombarded with bad news lately. The economy. Plunging home values. The shrinking job market. Violence at home and abroad. It’s virtually inescapable.

If you’re trying to sell your house, the news is likely to remain bad, at least for a while. But, if you’re planning to stay put or are mulling whether to sink some dollars into your current address with an eye to a future sale, now may be the time to stop thinking and start doing.

I came across this article in Money which I think really spells out the good, the bad and the ugly of investing in projects in your home. It talks about how, with other big projects put on hold indefinitely, homeowners are likely to find contractors more readily available – and at palatable rates! Plus, the costs for many building materials are currently on the decline. Because I already have a handyman, that’s music to my ears.

The article is surrounded by a variety of other tips and tools, including a “renovation wizard” that helps guesstimate what kind of return your project could generate.

Some really good information just when we need it most!

A Warm Bus on a Cold Day

Last night’s rain and snow wreaked havoc on drivers in the metro area. Every newscast was filled with reports of major ramps or arteries that had been closed. The dusting of snow wasn’t the problem, it was the frigid temperatures that caused ice to form on the thoroughfares.

This morning it’s about 20 degrees but the windchill is less than half that. Brrrr.

I gave myself an extra few minutes, first, because I wasn’t sure how the car would be. I expected a heavy layer of ice on the windows, but it was minimal. Second, I wasn’t sure how the roads would be, but they were OK.

I’ve got the car because tonight S and I will go grocery shopping. I’ve been staring at my list, wondering which thing we need that’s not on it. Do you do that? I do it all the time. Of course, I never realize what’s missing until I get home and unpack all the groceries. Then, and only then, does recall of the elusive item emerge.

Driving across town, I got to see a bunch of houses in their holiday finery, including my favorite of the triplets. (They’ve got a neon Santa at the edge of the yard, otherwise I think the decos are nice.) I need to grab some photos.

Right now though I’m going to sit back and crank the iPod and revel a little in the warmth of the bus.

Window No. 3

Continuing to share photos of the "Yes, Virginia ..." display in the windows at Macy's, we now come to the one I love. The family in the parlor in Window No. 1 is second only to this.


It must harken back to my old newspaper days. While the buildings I worked in during my 12-year print career were never this pretty some of them were from this era.


And come to think of it, so was some of the equipment I had to work on ...