Happy Brenden

Happy Brenden, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I have switched blogs - the transition was pretty easy. I'm now at http://www.brendenmaynard.com/Blog

Note that capital B in Blog. If you put in 'blog' you get a 404 error. Very annoying.

Fortune and Gloating

IMG_0653, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

There's no way I can write this post without sounding like I'm gloating. Jon and I feel very fortunate over the last year. We managed to sell the drop zone and the airplanes, and last Thursday we closed on the old house getting exactly what we asked for it.

Because of the results of those two sales I was able to send a HUGE check to Wells Fargo and we are a little under $6000 away from paying off the new house.

OK so I am gloating. \0/ \0/ \0/

Right now we just plan to REST and not take on anything big. We are planning to put in a pool at some point but not until next spring.

In other news Brenden hates dentist drills so bad we had to take him to a hospital to get knocked out so that the dentist could fix his teeth. This happened Friday and the good news is Brenden is not feeling any pain. While it took all freaking day, Jon and I were totally entertained by the medicine the nurse gave Brenden before he was wheeled away for the actual work. Brenden was 8 miles high and VERY happy. And B took everything in stride. According to the nurse and many parents, many kids wake up disoriented and upset. Brenden woke up, sat up, blinked, and rolled over and went back to sleep. A chip off the old block!

bpic3, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Two weekends ago, the 4th of July weekend, the weekend right after my El Paso trip, we went camping. Jon, B and I, plus Stacey, Sierra and Andrew, went to Rickwood caverns state park, about halfway between Birmingham and Cullman.

Yes, it was hot. Saturday we went swimming in the park's pool, and I have come to realize that I would rather own my own pool than use a public pool again. Seriously, someone took a dump in the pool. EW!

Sunday we went to Smith Lake and swam. Yes I know fish take dumps in the lake but it has several billions more gallons of water than your average swimming pool. It was very hot.

The best thing was Sunday night we had popup thunderstorms. I'm not complaining it was really nifty to lay in the tent and watch the night flash up. There was no wind so I wasn't afraid of flying tree branches or anything.

Monday I went home early so I could get everything done that I hadn't done the week before.

So, this past weekend, Jon and Brenden went to visit Jon's brother, Joey. His son, AJ, who was born about 6 months after Brenden, has been diagnosed with leukemia, which sucks bad. I sent the kid a bunch of little gifts that he could play with in his bed and the post office mangled the box. I hate the post office. AJ is doing well and going through chemo and I admire Joey and Erin for handling it so well. I'd be in pieces.

So anyway, Jon and B went to visit, but I stayed home. I finally got some time by myself, and I only ventured out to go to the old house on Saturday to get some things out of the way. I discovered that the pool pump filter was leaking so I disassembled it, took the part that needed replacing to a pool place, and got a replacement part.

When I got back, and put it on, it leaked like a sieve. I took it off and realized the new part didn't have a needed o-ring in place. Silly me, no problem - I'll just use the old o-ring, right?

I had given the parts guy at the pool place the old part so he could get the part right. He returned the old part to me WITHOUT THE O-RING. WHY DID HE STEAL MY O-RING? I know he did. He walked out of the back and had the o-ring in his hands but I did not realize that it had been mine. WHY???!!!??

So I drove all the way back to Decatur, a 20 minute drive, to find the place had closed early. I refrained throwing the old part through their window with a note asking where the hell my o-ring was. Fortunately there is another pool place in Decatur that's farther away but at least open past 1 pm on Saturdays. They will get my business from now on unless they start stealing o-rings off my old parts.

The rest of the weekend? Very restful. I spent last evening on my porch watching some thunderstorms roll in.

El Paso, Texas

Downtown El Paso, Texas, originally uploaded by Paul Garland.

I don't want to be fired so I don't talk about my job here. But, I just spent the last week in El Paso, Texas on a business trip. What can I say? I'm glad I've tried to be helpful to the site implementers (they install and customize our software) over the years because I met a few of them and I finally got to attach some faces to email addresses. I couldn't do their job. They are constantly on the road and they spend ungodly amounts of time working.

El Paso was hot. Really hot. 112 degrees hot. And brown. And really, really close to Juarez, a very dangerous city. I ate some pretty good food. It was nice not to fight cats for some bed space. I missed Brenden, who lost another tooth.

I am worn out right now. We're going camping this weekend. I want to find a nice shady rock to crawl under for about a month.

St. John Again

IMG_1164, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

We went to St. John again this year because the friends that went with us last year sprung for the house. That's usually the most expensive component of the vacation. How could we say no? Trip tip #1: If someone offers to cover as big an expense as housing, find a way to pay for everything else and go.

So we drove to Atlanta on the 30th. We decided to go to the Georgia Aquarium. On a holiday weekend. Trip tip #2: This is not a good idea. It was so crowded people were being allowed in only at certain times. And while the whale sharks, otters, beluga whales, and penguins were nifty, the aquariums in Chattanooga and Gatlinburg are better.

We again did a park, sleep and fly at a hotel - Trip tip #3 - a hotel room in Atlanta will run you just a tad more than parking for a week so just go the day before, get some rest, and leave your car at a hotel.

The flight out to St. Thomas on Monday was pleasantly uneventful. The St. Thomas airport didn't suddenly sprout holes in the tarmac this time. We got our rental vehicles and caravaned over to the car barge and arrived at our villa, Leeward St. John, in daylight. Yay! I did the villa provisioning then so we had refreshing adult beverages and enough food for dinner and breakfast waiting for us (trip tip #4, if you can justify the expense).

St. John was hot, muggy and the mosquitos were out in battalions, unfortunately. But I think we were lucky because the island had some hard downpours a few weeks before we left and they started up again the afternoon of the last full day we were there. I'll take hot and muggy and bugs because there is a swimming pool, beaches, and deep woods Off. Trip tip #5: paradise is often dysfunctional so do your research prepare for the worst. How on earth did people plan vacations before Google?

So on Tuesday we gathered our gear and tromped off to Cinnamon Bay, my favorite beach. This time I managed to forget sunblock ON MY FACE but fortunately the burn wasn't too bad. The kids had a wonderful time. So did I. On wednesday Jon and JK went scuba diving. I opted out this time and had a villa gravity day with Stacey and the kids. They had a pool so they were all set. Me I had my Kindle.

Thursday we chartered Born To Rhumb again and spent the day in the British Virgin Islands - Soper's Hole for customs, the Indians for some good snorkeling, the Bight at Norman Island for a little beach time and lunch on the Willy T. All the kids and adults jumped from the second deck. Many times.

Then we went to Sandy Cay again and saw no naked folks this time and played in the surf, then to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke for some more surf fun. I stayed away from the Painkillers this time but still managed to overdo it drinking Presidentes. Yeesh. I decided beer wasn't my friend any more and only had one or two in a row for the rest of the trip.

Friday we recovered a bit at the villa but got cabin fever so we did something I have never done all the times I've been to St. John. We visited the east end of the island. We took a route that had some serious 45+ degree hills and switchbacks. We saw many goats, donkeys, chickens, iguanas, and a feral pig. Oh, yeah, and a mongoose! I almost won St. John bingo but I didn't see any deer this time. Bummer.

We ate burgers at Skinny Legs (Same Day Service is their motto), widely regarded as some of the best burgers around and it was a pretty doggone good burger. We took a more conservative route (most of the hills and switchbacks didn't go much beyond 45 degrees). It was neat to see the rest of the island.

Saturday we rented our own boat and did an around the island tour with frequent snorkel stops. The kids all deeply honed their snorkeling skills and were rewarded with their first views of turtles, stingrays, starfish, hermit crabs, conchs, and many many fishies, especially parrot fish. We didn't come close to St. John Underwater Bingo this time - no spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, or barracudas.

Sunday was our last full day and we spent an hour or so at Trunk Bay then went back to Coral Bay (on the east end, which is a town, not a beach) for some shopping. By the time we got back to the villa a slow steady rain showed up and stayed with us pretty much the rest of the time. We ate out at Spyglass in Cruz Bay for dinner.

Monday - Brenden's sixth birthday! We did have a cake, yay! But packed up and left. Boo! We had an hour to kill so the Keiths got a whirlwind walking tour of the Charlotte Amalie shopping district. The plane back was bumpy but uneventful. The drive back to Hartselle sucked. It always sucks.

I did enjoy this trip, but this time around people wore on me. Honestly people have been wearing on me for a while. Sometimes it really sucks to be an introvert. I wish I had some more vacation time and I'd stay at home a bit and work on my model, fight with the cats, and recharge my batteries.

Oh - Trip tip #6: Pet sitters are awesome!

Happy Birthday B!

IMG_0499, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

June 6 is Brenden's birthday. I would have blogged this yesterday but we were coming back from St. John and didn't get home until 11 pm.

So the boy is 6 now. Holy cow. He's going to be a surly teenager before I know it. *Sniff!*

Anyway, Photos and trip report soon come. I interrupt this irregularly scheduled blog post to tell people I am buying a pack of sharpies and declaring war on the improper usage of apostrophes.

APOSTROPHES DO NOT INDICATE PLURAL! THEY ARE USED TO SHOW POSESSION! And contractions, but STOP USING THEM TO MEAN PLURAL!! I DON'T (see that?) CARE IF YOU SPENT A THOUSAND BUCKS ON YOUR SIGN - I WILL SHARPIE THE FRACK OUT OF IT!

These are general rules of course - for a more complete list of rules go here.

Thank you, and back to Sandy's blog (see that?)

Visible Desperado

IMG_0167, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Today is Brenden's last day of Kindergarten. Wow, that was fast! I'm sure it wasn't to him.

Last Saturday Brenden struck out his first at bat but his second he singled and drove in a run. Yay! He has his last game this Saturday.

On Sunday I finally was brave enough to let him help me with a plastic scale model (a ship) I got for my birthday. I had to glue all these little cannons to their little bases and I showed him how and he did a good job of using just a little glue. Then we painted another model (a train engine) I had bought specifically so he could help me.

Then we played search & rescue - he had a cap rifle, cap pistol with holster, and a cowboy bandanna. He asked me to put the bandanna around his face and after I did so, I told him he looked like a "real desperado". After trying to pronounce that for a bit he asked me what it meant. I said "a bad buy cowboy".

Since I didn't have a bandanna around my face he decided my name was "Visible Desperado" which tickled me to no end. He gave me the cap pistol and we searched the house room for room looking for his stuffed animals that the cats had scattered everywhere. These were "hostages" and we were "rescuing" them.

We're going to St. John again soon! Hooray!

Tradition

IMG_0187, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, Bill Paxton,
Happy birthday to you!

My favorite Space Marine is 56 today.

Ever since getting his first hit in a game, Brenden is 6 for 6 at the plate. He has another game tonight. Will he be able to extend his streak? Stay tuned...

What I'm Watching:

The Green Hornet I've confirmed it - Seth Rogen gives me hives. It was Ok. Christoph Waltz was wasted as the bad guy, though he had some funny moments (the only funny moments of the movie).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt.1 I'm glad part one got all of the boring bits from the 7th book out of the way. I'm looking forward to part 2. Maybe enough to go watch it in a theater. I'm looking forward to Mrs. Weasley's Crowning Moment of Awesome during the Big Showdown at Hogwart's.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3rd movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series. If you liked the first two (I did) you will like this one.

Fringe Holy Crap!

Picture is Unrelated

IMG_0473, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I can't exactly say nothing new has happened so the only excuse this time is sheer slackness.

So Alabama got whacked by a bunch of tornadoes, all of which thankfully missed us. We were without power until Sunday. Madison and Huntsville, where our jobs are, didn't get power until Monday afternoon. I was surprised at how little damage Hartselle sustained - I've seen much worse damage here from less powerful storms. Seriously, not a single pine tree was uprooted at the park.

When we finally got power, I was pretty stunned by the video, especially of what hit Tuscaloosa. Jon and I are going to get a storm shelter built at our new house because it just makes sense.

In all this I found another reason to love my new gas range.

The Saturday before the storms Brenden finally got a hit during a baseball game - matter of fact he got 2 hits, yay! The Dodgers lost though. Then this past Saturday was a repeat.

Life goes on

IMG_0718, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

So Brenden is playing baseball this year - the 5-6 year old league uses a pitching machine and the rules are closer to real baseball than T-ball but not quite. Brenden's team, the Dodgers, is in last place (0 - 4). That doesn't bother me because it doesn't seem to bother Brenden. The first game of the season I found myself rooting for the Dodgers against the Braves and boy did that feel wierd.

I have watched maybe a total of 15 minutes of pro baseball on TV this year - man I don't recognize anyone except Chipper Jones and he's the old man of the team. Even Bobby Cox has retired.

We had our new island and gas range installed. I love it but I have to learn how to cook w/ gas all over again. I'm not complaining! Photos soon come.

This last weekend I learned how to drive our new zero turn riding lawn mower. Once I felt comfortable I let Brenden sit on my lap and we conquered the front lawn. We had fun but I need to buy some ear plugs.

What I'm Watching:

The Tourist: Ugh. Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie romance - adventure. Adventure romance? Either way it seemed pretentious and Jon and I had worked out the shocking twist in the story about the time the opening credits started. If this had been made in the mid -50's starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly I think I wouldn't have had such a negative reaction to it. It wasn't that bad - it just seemed like an anachronism.

The Karate Kid The remake - It takes place in China now. A young african-american kid and his mom have moved there from Detroit and he is having a hard time fitting in. After he gets beaten up by a bunch of kids who study kung fu at a local school the handyman (Jackie Chan) from his apartment starts teaching him kung fu. So yeah why they didn't call this movie The Kung Fu Kid is beyond me. It wasn't as good as the original but that opinion may have been caused by my age. Seriously, I sat there missing Pat Morita. Over Jackie Chan.

Grown-Ups A stupid Adam Sandler comedy featuring many, many refugees from SNL. I'm ashamed to say I laughed.

American Idol I'm not really watching it - I just wanted to say I've seen a little and Steve Tyler grosses me the hell out. I'm surprised his daughter Liv hasn't keeled over with embarrassment.

Pelican Plunge

IMG_0598, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Thursday, March 17th:

Thursday was a sea day - we started the day with a character breakfast; while we were served breakfast a bunch of Disney characters would come by the tables for autographs and photo opportunities. I left midway for a pedicure. Really! And I enjoyed it! That seemed to be the theme for this vacation for me - doing relaxing girly-girl stuff.

We did more sea day things - Brenden went to the kid's clubs and played with Lilly then went to the pools and played with Brett. Jon and I played Bingo (yeah really) but we didn't win anything. Oh, it was Saint Patrick's Day so in celebration of not having a drop of Irish blood in me I drank Guinness Stouts all day.

Disney sometimes premieres its movies on board the ships the same time they are coming out in theaters so we watched Mars Needs Moms. When we got home I was amused to note that this movie bombed hard. It wasn't that bad. We liked it. I was a little freaked that the little kid who was the lead character looks like an 8 year old Seth Green but then I lolled when I saw the credits - Green had provided the voice and the character movements.

Friday, March 18th:

Friday was Castaway Cay day, on Disney's private island. I knew ahead of time that the Flying Dutchman had been dismantled - it was a movie set after all and time and some serious storms had taken their toll. I'm glad we got to see it on our first cruise!

Jon and Brenden went and rented a paddle boat - I found us some chairs and an umbrella near the Pelican Plunge and I read my Kindle and admired my shiny toenails in the sunlight. When Jon and B came and found me Jon went snorkelling and got some nifty photos of some creepy cuttlefish (they may be squids - my marine taxonomy is a mite shaky) and I helped Brenden build a sandcastle. A cute little 3 year old asked his mommy if he could help us and she told him to ask us. He did and I said we needed all the help we could get.

When Jon came back he took over sandcastle duties so I lounged and read some more. When we got back to the boat I took one last trip to the Rainforest Room, which I had all to myself. Yay!

Friday was the last full day and I don't remember what we did that evening except say goodbye to our Canadian dinner partners as well as our multinational servers.

Saturday, March 19th:

We woke up to see the ship docking at Port Canaveral, boo. We ate breakfast one last time then left the ship and took the shuttle to the car rental place. Since our plane didn't leave for Huntsville until 3 pm, we had some time to kill. Like many cruisers, we killed it by visiting the Kennedy Space Center.

As a nerd, that's kind of like visiting a holy shrine for me. We wanted to see the space shuttle on the launch pad but the tour for that lasted too long. We walked around some and I let Brenden play in a play area while I listened to a tour guy talking about the space programs while leading a group around their rocket exhibit.

Maybe I'm prejudiced, but the US Space and Rocket Center here in Huntsville is a much better museum as far as I'm concerned. I do know touring the Marshall Space Flight center might not be as exciting as seeing the frickin Space Shuttle on the launch pad but still.

We stayed and watched an IMAX movie, Hubble 3D (Waaay nifty) then headed for the airport. The trip home was extremely uneventful. I managed to walk off the ship with a scratchy throat and ended up with a nasty chest cold that kept me home from work Monday and Tuesday. I'm glad I didn't get that at the beginning of the trip.

Manatee

IMG_0173, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Nifty, eh? Nothing else to say, the rest of the trip report soon come.

Captain of the Bones

IMG_0289, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Tuesday, March 15th: St. Maarten

I must have low standards or something because everyone told me Saint Maarten sucks but I liked the place and we had a great time.

There is a nice beach near the cruise dock so we all went there for the day. I went in the water a few times but it was cold. That never stopped Brenden. He made a friend named Brett whose family was on the same cruise so they spent time together throughout the rest of the week.

St. Maarten had a lot of people on the beach hawking cheap merchandise, if there's a drawback to that place. But, it's fairly easy to smile and say 'no, thank you' so don't let that stop you.

We also bought a new camera while on the island, an SD 1400, and we also bought a new underwater case because the old one didn't fit the new camera. Here's a kicker - the new camera and case were about $50 less than what we paid for the old camera alone. All the photos that are up on Flickr currently were taken with the new camera.

That night was Pirate night - I'm glad Disney hasn't disbanded that tradition in light of the Somali pirates reminding everyone that pirates are really cruel, bloodthirsty, evil, vicious, and don't even say "ARRRR!". Of course Disney has a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out this summer. I am so torn about that. I've already bitched about them ruining my favorite Tim Powers book, but on the other hand, Ian McShane is in the new movie! And he's playing Blackbeard! How awesome is that!

I digress - Jon took Brenden up to the top deck where the party was and watched the fireworks. I watched them from our balcony.

Wednesday, March 16th: St. Thomas

We went on an excursion, sailing to a small island not too far off of Charlotte Amalie harbor to do some snorkeling. Brenden got flustered about the snorkeling and so I stayed on the boat with him while Jon got some nifty picks of turtles. On the way back he loaded up on the painkillers (the drink) being offered around but I stayed away from them. The last time I drank a painkiller I was on Jost Van Dyke and woke up back on St. John having no clue how I got back to the villa.

A woman sitting next to me got loaded up on painkillers and decided she and I were best friends. This is why I try to stick to beer.

The excursion itself was a lot of fun despite my lack of water time. On the other hand, it was frickin cold for the caribbean so I didn't regret it too much. The 'sail' part of the excursion is debatable - sails were hoisted but I don't know how much they helped the engines. But the crew was entertaining and got everyone into the fun of things, including letting the kids steer the ship a little as well as help with the sails. I realized I really miss kicking back on a boat and just watching the islands float by.

By the time we got back on the ship, Jon decided he needed more rum, so he returned to Charlotte Amalie and bought 6 liters of Cruzan rum. Like we don't have a 2 year supply back home. So now we have a 4 year supply.

I was sorry to see St. Thomas go as the cruise ship left the harbor, but instead of being totally bummed I reminded myself that we would be back in June (yay!). Jon had a hell of a hangover at dinner that night.

Aaand in case you are interested, here's a common painkiller recipe:

rum
coconut milk
equal parts pineapple and orange juice
garnish with ground nutmeg

I think the painkiller's deadliness lies in the fact that you can mix a hell of a lot of rum in this recipe without noticing it. It is quite tasty!

Disney Magic Redux part 1

IMG_0213, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Friday, March 11: Travel Day

Our flight left for Orlando at noon so I just kept Brenden out of school and started his Spring Break early. We took Air Tran, which just recently started flying out of Huntsville. The flight to Orlando was uneventful. This time around I had booked us a hotel room in Cocoa Beach instead of staying at a hotel in Orlando. How the hell did I ever plan a vacation before internet forums?

So we got our rental car, got to Cocoa Beach, checked in, and went and ate dinner at of all places Boston Beef and Seafood. Pretty doggone good food, I might add. Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy a soft-sided cooler and a case of Yeungling beer. Even adding in the cost of the cooler it was much cheaper than if we bought 24 beers on the cruise. I'm glad Disney lets you do that.

Once we got back to the hotel room we saw (and heard) something nifty kewl - a Delta rocket had just been launched.

Saturday, March 12th:

We weren't in a hurry to get to the port - the boat doesn't even start loading until 12:30. So after some dawdling, including checking out the beach, we returned our rental car and took their shuttle to the port terminal. We checked in and boarded almost immediately. Things went really smooth! I like that.

Then, while we were on deck 9 playing ping-pong, I saw another nifty kewl thing: a manatee! I ran downstairs to the promenade deck to get closer and snap some photos. I'll post those soon. Really! Any way she was leisurly swimming around, investigating the Magic and the nearby fueling barge.

Jon and I amused ourselves from our room's balcony by watching the dockworkers engage in a Charlie Foxtrot trying to load some steel sheeting aboard the ship. They were sweating and cursing up a storm and running their forklifts around in a tizzy because it was time for the Magic to sail. They made it by about a minute. They were still buttoning up the ship while the lines were being cast off.

So nothing else exciting happened that first day - we had an early seating for dinner (5:45) and this time we shared the table with a family of Canadians - Grandma, grampa, mom, dad, and their sweet daughter,Lilly, who was Brenden's age. I thought we all got along pretty well. I spent most of my conversations with the grandfather, who was a retired schoolteacher, comparing Ottawa's climate with Alabama's. I enjoyed it, he was a nice guy. Actually they were all really nice. Very Canadian, eh? I don't think I could have asked for better dinner companions who were strangers. That can be awkward.

Sunday and Monday, March 13th and 14th:

Okay, these two days are somewhat blurry. I do remember Brenden broke our trusty Canon SD 900 on Monday. He was so upset neither Jon nor I had the heart to punish him - he was doing a great job of punishing himself.

I do remember Jon and I got cruise passes to the Spa's Rainforest Room - basically a place to relax and listen to new age music and tinkling water fountains or sit in a sauna for a while or take a nice shower. I enjoyed it - wonderful quiet time.

When Brenden wasn't in the kids clubs he was swimming in the pools. Jon and I took turns watching him.

I remember a lot of food and a lot of beer. There was a reason I gained 5 pounds while on the trip.

Mice in the Dining Room

IMG_0395, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I would say I was slack, but I'm also sick, a souvenier from the cruise. Thank goodness my cold didn't manifest until we got off the boat.

We got back from our cruise Saturday, and I did have the wherewithal to post some pictures to my Flickr account. I will write up a trip report as soon as I get the gumption.

Overall, we had a great cruise, but as an introvert I got my fill of other people real fast. If I had a highlight to list it would be our day at St. Maarten. I didn't do anything but sit on a beach and watch Brenden frolic while I drank a few El Presidentes.

Trip report soon come!

WTF stovetop

WTF stovetop, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I'm going to reply to Nancy's comment as a post: I like the island, too - I mentioned before we are going to have a new one built around a gas range that I've already ordered. We've also hired a cabinet maker to build the island for us. Once that's done that wall between the kitchen and living room will come down, the oven, the cabinets below and stovetop will go bye-bye and the countertop will be replaced. The cabinets below will remain and we're turning that into a bar between the kitchen and living room, if that makes sense.

That, I hope, will be the extent of our remodeling for now.

Jon is still heavily involved with the drop zone, and I suspect he will for a long time coming. He is helping the new owners as well as flying their plane, training the tandem instructors, doing jumps, etc. I think since a huge chunk of responsibility was taken off his shoulders so he is actually enjoying skydiving again. Me, I have no intentions of jumping again.

We are buying a souped up riding mower today. With 5 acres we need something speedy.

We are pretty much totally moved in; we need to clean out the garage and attic and Jon needs to clean out his desk then take that behemoth to the dump. We hope to start getting it ready for sale next week.

Investigating the Kitchen

Kitchen, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I'm slack, I know it.

We had our first thunderstorm in our new house last night. The winds got up to 60 mph. No damage to us but there was a tree down in the park. 4 or 5 more good storms and the park will be treeless.

Yesterday I stayed home and waited for repair guys. Our toilets were making funny burble noises so the roto-rooter guy came out and hunted for the septic tank. He said it hadn't been emptied in like forever. He also had to clean out the drain pipe between the septic tank and the house - could someone tell my why anyone would use cheap trailer pipe, not even a quarter inch thick, for sewage? I've priced PVC pipe at Lowe's and it's not that expensive. If you already have the damn trench dug, put in the good stuff so you won't have to do it again.

Still, I'm loving the new house. There's so much room compared to the old house. I've already bitched about the stove top, and the laundry room is claustrophobic. Other than that, and the cheap-assed repair work I've seen (all easy to fix correctly, thank goodness), I'm pretty happy.

For the kitchen we're going to put in a longer island with a gas range in the center. I've already ordered the range. We're also going to eventually take that wll out where the oven is so the kitchen will be more open to the living room.

That reminds me: looks like we have the airplanes sold. We just got wired the remaining money. I'm not going to breathe easy until the new owners take possession of them. Then we have to jump through all the fun hoops to close the business.

So next on the agenda, besides closing the business, is getting the old house on the market. In the meantime, next month we're going on a cruise. Yay!

It's a done deal

IMG_4219, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Yesterday we signed 30 bazillion pieces of paper and now we have a new house! Photos soon come, I promise. That is all.

Quiet

IMG_0109, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Not much is happening. We got some more snow last night. Big, fat, fluffy flakes. Then it started raining and it ruined it all.

What I'm watching:

Red I've been wanting to see this movie since I first heard about it and I was somewhat disappointed. I think the problem was the plot was too pedestrian meaning I guessed everything before it happened. The cast looked like they were having fun but I wish they got more to do. I mean if you have Helen Mirren in your movie as a hit man let her whack a bunch of people not just one or two. Also, instead of having the lead's love interest kidnapped so the last third of the movie gets where it's going, why not have her get more involved with the action? Have Helen Mirren teach her how to shoot mooks with a sniper rifle, something like that. And Karl Urban never took off his shirt, not once. What's the fun in that? He got to be the butt monkey somewhat, but again, the script didn't take it far enough. Potential was wasted all over the place in this movie.

Eh, it wasn't that bad I just expected more.

On the other hand, The Expendables was exactly what I thought it would be. It was a violent throwback to old 80's action movies. The best thing about this movie was it was 99.99% serious so it was even more funny than if they tried to be tongue-in-cheek. The cast was wonderfully hyper-macho (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke plus cameos by Bruce Willis and Arnold Swarzenegger) and there was plenty of HoYay although it was a little squicky. I mean Stallone is in his mid-60's! He didn't take off his shirt, thank goodness.

Jon and I did talk about this movie after it was over - mainly we were marvelling about how intensely ugly Mickey Rourke is. He fell out of an ugly tree roughly the size of a redwood and he's still falling and hitting branches.

Overkill is Underrated

IMG_4216, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

We may have the planes sold - at least the guy buying them gave us a significant deposit and will pay the rest in a week or so. The holdup is paperwork - Jon just payed off the note which means the bank has to notify the FAA who are notorious for snail-like behavior. Seriously, they make the post office look like it's staffed with cheetahs.

After a long stretch of not really watching anything, we watched 3 movies on 3 successive nights. I've already raved about Inception - we watched Despicable Me on Tuesday and it was a good CGI cartoon about an evil villain who adopts 3 orphans to help with his nefarious plans to steal the moon. Last night I finally got to watch The A-Team, and man it was stupid. This movie is exactly the type of crap William Goldman was railing against. There is no way in heck I can completely dislike any movie with Liam Neeson in it though (Krull being the one exception). I also loved the show way back when so sue me, I liked it.

A new episode of Fringe is on (YAY!) Friday night (the Timeslot of Doom.BOO!).