More on the Front Door

I realized that I may not have explained the front door issue very well. So here is a better picture to see how it is set up. The main front door is on the left. The kitchen door is to the right. I put a pretty wreath on the Party Door and a Halloween decoration on the kitchen door.

My office is the room between the two doors (and with the little fence around the window opening). Thomas' bedroom is directly below my office. Matthew's room is directly above the office. (and no, I haven't really restarted my business-I am not ready LOL)

When we first moved in, there weren't any curtains or blinds in the office. I didn't think much of it-I figured if they had it that way, there must be a reason (like no one ever looks in). So, I set up my computer and was typing away one day and happened to look up. There in front of the window was the Oil man-looking at me. Less than a foot from me. I almost jumped out of my skin. He was trying to figure out what door to use and decided to get my attention. He got it alright. That night, I asked if we could put blinds up (yeah, another one of those weekend projects).

Fake Candles Anyone?

My family hates fake candles. I don't want candles in the house. Fire hazard. You can forget they are lit and leave, the cat or kitten could knock them over or burn their whiskers. Etc. I know, I know. Millions of people use candles everyday. I am just not one of them.

Since I am the one who buys these things, we have fake candles. The trio here are real candles but with a fake light. They even have a vanilla scent.

The other one is a little tea light that goes in different shapes and sizes of candle holders. This is especially disliked by the men in the house. I thought they would like them eventually. I bought about 20 of them with extra batteries at Costco. I am thinking they will learn to like them.

Maybe.

The Party Door

Our house has a front door. But no one uses it except the mailman. Almost everyone goes to the kitchen door (which is in the front of the house too). So, the front door is called the "Party Door" (the owner's kids so named it because it was only used when they had parties).

The key word above is "almost". Just when I think I have it down and go to the kitchen door when the doorbell rings, they have gone to the Party Door. So, when the bell rings, I pause for a second . . . hmmmm. . . which door should I try? We come in through the kitchen door but I can see the benefit of the Party Door. The entry has another door to the rest of the house, so you are not opening your house to the elements (think cold COLD weather). And you put your shoes and boots here when you come in. So what do we do? We put our shoes by the kitchen door. I wonder if it will change with the snow?

I decided to decorate the Party Door. See the little step? Larry made one for the front and back doors. I didn't need it for the front but the back door was a pretty big step down. Remember . . . I am the klutz of the house and he knew the back door would do me in. However, it wasn't the big step down, but rather his vision of me putting my hand on the door frame as I stepped down, realizing I was grabbing the door frame AND several spiders-letting go, jumping back, little scream, and then ending up on the ground. So, he decided that it was best that I didn't need to hold on to the door frame.

And I am getting used to the spiders. Fred has moved on and has been replaced by some rather large but interesting web builders. I have given them the back yard. However, if they come inside, well . . . let's just leave it to me saying they can have the back yard. :)

No no no no no no

No
No Bite
No NO
No bite
Stop it
NO scratching there, come here to the scratching post
No bite
No
OUCH, NO BITING
No
No
No
No
No
No
OMG-NO CLIMBING UP MY LEG TO SAY HELLO
No
No
No bite
No

Sighhhhh. The life of a kitten.

Something is ahappenin here

I walked outside today and looked across the street. One of my neighbor's trees changed colors almost overnight. It's the only tree on the cul-de-sac that has changed colors. But the other street where I noticed the color changes the other day, a lot of those trees are changing now.

It should be interesting to see how the trees in the yard change. We have a lot of trees but a small yard. So, once the leaves fall, there will be sunlight in the yard, but then it will be covered with snow. Poor grass, it had better keep growing for now cause it is getting ready for some cold times.

I am starting to feel human again. I had the flu last week (that's a nice way to describe it LOL). I am still not up to par, but feeling better.

Oh, and I took the WOW game back to Wal Mart. It was a challenge at first since the return ladies didn't have even the vaguest idea what I was talking about-game, servers, North America vs European gamers, etc. But someone from electronics came up and knew right away what happened. He said he could give me a store credit (which is good since it clearly states that no returns of opened computer games is allowed). Then he told me some cool little secrets that will make my life and computer games better. At Walmart (and maybe other stores-who knows), if the box is in English, its for North America, if its in French, it's for Europe. The English versions almost always sell out early at Walmart, which is why they only had the French version when I bought it. Then I told him about Matthew not being able to use his XBOX points (if you have to ask, well, just don't even go there. Trust me, not worth taking the time to explain it-just some game thing). The guy said, oh bring them to me tomorrow and I will look at them and explain how to use them. He works until 5. How nice that he took the time and effort to try to help since obviously, we are clueless. We are doing something wrong when we try to use them, but who knows what. There is something different here with online games. What is it? And do I really want to know or do I just want it to work? Hmmm, I don't care, I just want em to work.

One of those days . . .

Thomas recently asks if I would do him a favor. He wants a second WOW (World of Warcraft) account because they are having a special that you get some sort of bonus if you sign someone up for an account. Well, how much is this “free” account going to cost me? $20. Sighhh, ok. Here is my Paypal Debit Card.

Ø Hey, mom, the credit card isn’t working . . . can I have another one. OK, here you go.

Ø Hey, mom, this one doesn’t work either. Can you see if you can get it to work. Okkk, bring up the web site on my computer.

Ø Hmmm, they don’t work. Now, I have to call WOW (for those of you who have never had the joy of doing this, trust me . . . it’s excruciating)

Ø After waiting on hold for 30 minutes (not bad in WOW wait times), the guy decides it has to be MY bank’s problems and suggests that I call the bank. Sometimes banks block online games because some many people steal credit cards. Then he said, if that doesn’t work, just go to a store and buy a new game with a new registration number (costs about the same).

Ø Bank says its NOT on their end. Thomas goes to the mall to buy a game. Comes home because he can’t find Game Stop. Goes back when I tell him where in the mall it is. Buys a game card. (No comment here that using his CELL phone would have made that easier)

Ø Game card isn’t for activating, its for monthly fees. It won’t work. ($30 for something that we can’t use at the moment)

Ø Thomas is getting depressed. Well, so am I. No, frustrated. So, now, I decide to go to the mall and buy the game. On the way there, I think, hey, Wall Mart is closer, I will go there.

Ø Buy the game, and other things I notice and get in the check out lane from hell. The lady behind me drops Doritos Cheese Dip and it breaks and splatters everywhere. She goes to get help and leaves her friend with the cart. The friend ignores the mess behind her and several people walk in it. I suppose this should be considered checkout entertainment because it is taking so long and I think the entire city is trying to check out at the same time (btw- they opened the check out beside me the MOMENT I put my items on the belt LOL)

Ø Get home, give Thomas the game.

Ø A bit later in the evening . . . "Ummm, Mom . . . (don’t say it Thomas, please don’t). It won’t work. It’s the European version of the game, we are the North American version.” YOU have to be kidding. No, he isn’t. OK-now I am getting pissed. I call WOW and wait. And wait. And wait.

Ø The unfortunate lady who has the joy of answering my call tells me to return the game (yeah, right, its opened, its WallMart-that’s going to fly). Or send it to them and they will send me the right version. However, it will take a while to process. If I want to activate the game, I can put it on my credit card. Siiiiggghhhh. However, she is able to get it to work.

Ø The account is open. I need a nap, or maybe a drink, or a vacation.

Ø “Thanks Mom”

Warm toes and colorful leaves

There's a little chill in the air AND some trees are just starting to change colors. I mean really change to bright red and orange. It's not a lot of trees (less than 5%), and only a couple limbs on the trees, but it is dramatic.

Soooo-what do I do? I go out and buy boots and slippers. Have to keep my toes warm and snug. And while I was thinking of my happy feet, I thought I would watch the movie too.

I suppose I will have to wear socks, slippers/shoes/or boots around the house soon . . . instead of bare feet.

Off with the hair!

Well, I got a wild hair today. So I had it cut off! My hair has been long for quite a while. It was too thick and took forever to dry. So I took my long curly mess to the hairdresser and said, wash, cut and blow dry. I wanted layers all over. And I got them!

<------Here is a self portrait No photoshop, no make up. I sent it to Dawn (the person who has sort of begged me for a couple years to cut my hair) and she said-"nice and you look so rested". OMG! RESTED?!? I think I have been insulted. Then again, when you think about it, that's not so bad either. Well rested is good! Now, have you ever tried to take a picture of yourself? It's not easy and you feel silly. And then I thought, gee, I should have put on makeup. But I just couldn't bring myself to go outside and do it again. My kids think I am nuts enough. The hairdresser was from Italy (is anyone actually from Montreal around here?) and was very surprised how thick my hair was. And he ended up burning out his hair dryer on my hair (now, we know it was probably going to blow up anyway, but it makes for a good story). He kept looking at his dryer and saying, I have NO idea what is happening-its a very good dryer. At this point he puts it down and it starts to smoke. Hmmmm-that normally isn't a good sign. Then he said, I hope its just hair and not ruined. There was a LOT of hair around, but I do believe the guy lost an expensive hair dryer today.


Off he goes to borrow another dryer-he wanted my hair to be straight when I left (never will happen again). My head feels so different. Bye, bye, pony tail!

Backyard and grass

When we moved into this house, both Larry and I looked at the backyard and couldn't figure out why there wasn't any grass. We finally decided that the owners wanted the ground cover that was over to one side to grow and had killed all the grass because . . . really . . . there wasn't a blade of grass in the backyard.

But after speaking to the owner, she let me know that there WAS grass when they left a year ago, but the previous renter may have left the leaves on the ground all winter. Now, that sounds terrible doesn't it-until you realize that last year the snow came early, stayed all winter and didn't go away until mid spring. It was one of the snowiest winters on record. (I am hoping we don't continue that trend this winter, LOL).

I did a little research and purchased some premium grass seed for shade. See that little bit of sunlight in the picture? Yep, that's all the direct sun in the backyard. The seed came up pretty well and I think its a good base for the spring-as long as the snow and winter give us time to remove all the leaves . . . and there will be a LOT of leaves.

Oh, the picture was taken from the loft, which I suppose is more of a "landing" than a loft.

The Chairs are in the Loft

Well, I promised a picture when I decided. The chairs are in the loft. I still have work to do but KC decided to let me know I was finished for the evening. He prefers them in the bedroom but I guess he will allow them here. The loft is at the top of the stairs with one wall open to the stairs and hallway and one wall of windows. This was the box staging area for a while . . . so Tricia and Nolan should see a big difference-NO boxes (wellll-there are two but you can't see them in the picture, so we are pretending they are unpacked and out of the room).

I think this will be a nice place to sit and relax on those cold winter mornings as I watch the snow gently falling through the large wall of windows (or as I freeze to death as feet of snow are dumped on the ground . . . take your pick)

:)

Whoops I was wrong about Craigs List and the kitten.

I thought I found the kitten on Craig's List, but actually found it on Kijiji. I was searching the internet for lost and found at the time and must have confused the two.

So, Caesar is a Kijiji associate instead of a Lister.

Craigs List and Caesar

Dawn is the super shopper on Craigs List. She told me over and over. So, I joined the ranks of Craig Listers. Let's see, while I was in St. Louis, I bought a car ( a car!?!?!) and some furniture before we moved.

I decided to try it here. We needed some chairs for the bedroom (or loft-I haven't decided, we need them in both places) but didn't want to spend a lot. We are renting and who knows if the next house or townhouse will be the right size for chairs.


After looking around, I found a pair of chairs. And off I went . . . with Matthew. And yeah, we got lost. But we found the place and we got the chairs. Glad I still have the old trusty van. At the moment, we have one chair in the bedroom and one chair in the loft area. I will post pictures once I decide where they will end up.


Oh, there was one other thing I found on Craig's List. Actually, there were two, I could only take one. She is a he and his name is now Caesar. And has quite

the attitude. He sleeps with Matthew and rules the house. (And yes, I got lost going to pick up the kitten a couple weeks ago, hmmm-do you see a trend happening here?)

Wow, my baby is 18!

No under aged persons living in our house (unless you count the kitty). He got all the necessities of life: new games, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate, bread, chocolate, and diet coke. He is happy.

All he needed was roses and fireworks and it would have been perfect!

Post Office

Well, you all should be very proud of me. I finally found a post office. Been trying but it just wasn't working. The first place I went was the main distribution center for the area-not a post office for normal day to day people. Ok, so back to Google. I swear it said there were post offices close. I took the address . . . nope-no post office-just a little strip mall. I did this on several locations on different days. Then one day, someone who works with Larry happen to mention that post offices were located at the back of pharmacies. Well . . . duh! Yep, when I went to the back of the pharmacy (located in the above mentioned strip mall), there was a little post office area. AND I mailed a package!

Feeling adventuresome, I also bought real stamps (postage to the US is more than postage to Canada so I had to get the more expensive ones). 96 cents to mail to US, 52 (I think) to mail in Canada. Nice stamps though. But, they charge tax on the stamps. So, you folks down there in the lower 48, when you get those many cards and letters from me (LOL), know that the stamp cost more than a buck! (and the thank you cards that Thomas and Matthew wrote (ummm, in St. Louis) will be mailed out just as soon as I find them . . . in the boxes. . . marked "office" . . . among 30 boxes marked office . . . or I could just get them to write the thank you notes again)

KC and the kitten

KC is used to being the king of the house. But, its been an easy transition so far. I expected a lot of hissing and spitting. So far, KC has only hissed twice-once when the kitten tried to take a toy away from KC (not smart kitty) and another time when KC was asleep and the kitty jumped up to see what KC was doing.

The kitten isn't the smartest cat around. Lots of energy and running, only to drop down to sleep. For some reason, he thinks he should be able to walk up to KC and swat him on the nose. That happened ONCE. KC, who had been ignoring the ball of fluff, just swatted him (no claws, but he landed pretty far away).

So, KC was sitting around after having 6 teeth removed (YEAH! SIX). As usual, he was ignoring the kitten. Kitty decides to be brave and peeks at KC on the stairs. KC never even looked at him. Then KC coughed slightly-more of clearing his throat. The kitten went STRAIGHT up in the air and landed 4 feet down off the stairs. He may act brave, but it all fluff and stuff! Kitty decided it was better not to bother KC for a while (5 minutes . . . this kitten doesn't have a long attention span)

Friday's Five Faves!

1. Canadian Tire. I forgot about this store. I don't think there is a comparable store in the states. Has cool little door buster sales on the weekend. If you need tires, some soda, a hanging plant, laundry detergent, cookies and a bike-this is your store!




2. Ice in my drinks. Yeah, I happen to love that.




3. Fondue. Hmmmmm, yum. Fondue, anyone?




4. Cool summer nights on the back patio. Couldn't be nicer.




5. Friends who send cute music CDs to celebrate my last evening in St. Louis. :) Thanks Suzan!

Welcome Kitty

We have a new member of the family. However, we are not sure if she is a he or he is a she.

We got a kitten on Saturday. The lady said- oh, it's a little girl that was born on July 4th. Hmm, I wanted a boy, but she was so cute. I am such a sucker.

Yesterday, I noticed what I thought was something girl cats are not supposed to have. Now, I could be wrong. She is all fluffy-how can you really tell? I went online and did some research. Hmmm, I do think she is a he. I asked Larry to check (fun) and he looked at my online page and said-well-I agree, it's a boy . . . I think.

So, Julee is maybe not Julee. We are holding off naming her until we know for sure.

Oh, while she is a hissing spit fire when KC even comes near, he couldn't care less. Not even one hiss or growl. Guess its not worth his time since she is really less than a mouthful for him.