Priorities, Vacation, and Juggling

Hello! I just had a big show this past weekend and preparations for it made me neglect telling you about days seven and eight of our vacation. Day seven was particularly important because Michele interviewed for a local job and GOT IT!! We had a dual celebration of Michele's success and Mum's birthday at our favorite place: Red Robin! Fun was had by all!

Day eight was Mum's actual birthday, but it was also Mum's last day with us, so we made her a special breakfast: homemade shortbread with warm peaches, peach syrup, and whipped cream - we used peaches I'd canned over the summer and it was divine!

Michele's now been home for a week and a half and started her new job on Monday and this wonderful event has presented me with the following lovely challenges:

1. Since the "cat" is no longer away, what do I do about my blog title? Change it? Leave it as it is as a reminder?
2. I started my business to keep me occupied for the long weeks Michele was on the road and now it's really taking off. I've never been good at prioritizing and finding balance, but I really need to do both to keep it all together.
3. Michele HATES Star Trek, but the only time I have to sit and watch TV is time that I could be sitting and watching TV with her. How will I ever get through TOS by sneaking episodes here and there when she's out of the house?

OK, so maybe challenge number two is the only REAL challenge I need to deal with, but one and three are pretty fun to contemplate! It will also be fun to see what kind of trouble I get into right under Michele's nose now that she's home and will likely say things like "Don't rip up that floor, hon!" and "Michelle, I don't think you need to take the oven door apart in order to tighten the handle!"

Accidental Hiatus, 4 of 5

16. Tiled the tub wall - Beautiful tiles for the new wall Lisa built to make my tub faucet work for this tub arrangement. Originally, the faucet was mounted on the side of the tub wall - a wall-mounted faucet, but I could not find one that I liked for the life of me. So to make the deck-mount faucet I ended up buying work, Lisa rebuilt the tub wall, made it lower and more substantial to support such an impressive faucet and then together we tiled it. Then the next day, I grouted it - my first time ever gouting - and did a great job, if I do say so myself!

You can't imagine how much I love to look at this beautiful tilework - the real and the faux!

17. Spray painted ALOT of things "oil rubbed bronze." And when I say ALOT here, it's not like the claim that I painted a lot of things white. I really did spray paint practically everything to coordinate with the new metal. Originally everything was chrome or was painted white. So I stripped the white paint from the heat register and the hardware on the medicine cabinet and spray painted that. I also sprayed odd things like the toilet pipe and the door threshold. I must have gone though about 10 cans of spray paint - well, maybe 7.

These lovely candle stick - or candle stands - were a gift
from my mom to Michele and I years ago. They were originally
silver/steel, but now look lovely in oil rubbed bronze with copper highlights.

This register had about 6 layers of paint on it. Once removed it was a very
bright chrome, which, while lovely, didn't match at all, so shake, shake, and spray away!

I chose this rope trim to trim out the glass tiles on the wall and spray painted
it bronze. It looked nice, but was missing something, so I got a copper leaf pen
and "painted" copper leaf in all the indentations. In real life, it looks very much like
metal and adds just the right touch around the tub.

18. Met a new neighbor across the street whose name is also Michelle. Such a sweet family! And went to a Scentsy party in her home - Scentsy is scented wax that you put in holders on pretty ceramic lamps. I of course got just the perfect night light for the new bathroom. The scents are a bit strong for me, but I really love the lamps!

I love how the little bee hive shoots light out across the ceiling and wall.

19. Bought and obscenely ridiculous number of oil rubbed bronze accessories. My two favorites are the toilet paper holder with extra roll caddy and the pretty little container to house toothpaste and brushes. How I love picking out the little finishing touches!

I'd planned to make a toilet paper caddy with roll holder myself, but I saw
this one and really loved it. I decided instead to use the supplies I'd
bought for the caddy to make a little cabinet to sit beside the tub
and hold my Sunday bath pot of tea and bowl of ice cream. I haven't
designed or made it yet, but I bet it will be awesome!

We've always laid the toothpaste on a shelf in the medicine cabinet
and held the toothbrushes in an old mug on the same shelf. This container is
completely unnecessary, but it makes me feel very fancy, so I got it - plus it
was on clearance (clearly everyone agrees that it is pretty frivolous.)

20. Took one evening off and didn't work on the bathroom. I ordered a pizza and watched Star Trek, the Original Series. I'm half enjoying it - I love the history and their over the top acting is quite humorous. The other half of me rolls my eyes constantly at the over the top acting! Wow! It's really bad sometimes - yet oddly appealing!

OK, the final five and the finished bathroom reveal will come tomorrow. Plus, you'll find out the MOST exciting thing I did over the last five weeks! Oh boy was it thrilling!

Star Trek

As I've mentioned before, I have a Star Trek mission: to watch every Star Trek episode and movie in the order they happened in "real life." I started my mission after I'd already watched several seasons of The Next Generation (TNG), so I just went from there through Voyager (VOY) and then started from the beginning: Enterprise. Well, I've been slowly making my way through Enterprise these past many months. It's the only series I'd never seen and it is my very least favorite. I really had to work to get through it, but there were some points I enjoyed. They ended up explaining things that never really made sense, like why Klingons in The Original Series (TOS) looked human, but don't in any other series. It was fun to learn the history of the Federation, too. That being said, I'm glad I'm done with Enterprise. Now, I get to watch the latest Star Trek movie, which actually fits chronologically between Enterprise and TOS, and then I start on TOS - I know, it's full of flaky over-acting, but I really love it! I figure I'll just keep watching all the series and movies over and over in order for the rest of my life - I doubt I'll get tired of them (except maybe Enterprise, but it's worth the pain to continue my life-long mission).

Composting is not for the Faint of Heart -or- Was that a Mouse in My Compost Bin?

I was so enjoying working in my yard yesterday. The day was beautiful: sunny, warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt, but cool enough to still work outside. My compost bin did it's duty through the Rochester winter and was now ready to provide me with a good amount of rich wonderful compost. So, I was turning the pile in the bin to access the finished compost and I do believe I saw a mouse! I screamed bloody murder and leapt away from the bin. Rita, my savior and go-to gal for anything I cannot handle in the yard was not home, so I went to beg my other next door neighbor to come help me. I just wanted him to take out the pitch fork and close the lid so that I could pretend I didn't encounter a mouse. He graciously did so and I spent the rest of the afternoon convincing myself that I hadn't really seen a mouse - it was really a leaf that moved as I was turning the compost and from the corner of my eye it LOOKED like a mouse. Oh, how I really want to think that it was a leaf! Then, this morning, I made the mistake of googling it to see if there was any possibility that a mouse could be in my compost bin. BIG mistake!! Story after story of people finding mice in their bins, of people who understood going into it that mice would be something they could expect. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it! I can deal with a lot of things, but not that and I really have no idea what I can do about it! I need to find someone to take care of this for me - this is truly above and beyond my capabilities and tolerances! You know what would be ideal? If I could use one of the Enterprise's transporters to beam the whole mess - mice and all - out into space!

Auditioning Entertainment

After Teresa's heartfelt assertion that Enterprise is worth my TV watching time, I decided to stick with my plan and continue watching. It is definitely growing on me, but I find that I cannot watch three DVDs (12 episodes) in a row, like I would with TNG, DS9, or VOY. I can't even really watch one DVD straight through - I need a break after each episode. This wouldn't really be a problem, but I'm keeping each DVD for far too long, so I needed a new plan. To that end, I've been looking for something to mix in with Enterprise that will be a quick watch. After several suggestions from coworkers (and some strangers), I decided to audition Battlestar Galactica. I remember watching it as a kid (at least I think I do), so I hoped I'd enjoy it as an adult. Well, I just watched the first DVD (which I didn't realize was the four-hour pilot episode!) and I really like it. It's similar enough to Star Trek that it interests me, but not so much alike that I feel disloyal. The only thing I will need to get used to is that the new BG was a cable show, so it's a little more risque than I'm used to, but as long as my parents don't find out, I think it will be OK!

Star Trek: Enterprise; or Oh, the Pain I Must Endure

As you probably all know by now, I watch copious amounts of Star Trek. Some of you may not know, however, that I watch it with a true purpose, somewhat like a calling. When Michele went on the road, I started watching The Next Generation (TNG) because I love it and Michele hates it and it was nice to do something not associated with us to help me cope. Well, I quickly became obsessed and began to do a lot of research on the shows and stumbled upon a beautiful treatise a fellow fan created that guided me through each episode of all the shows in the order that they actually happened (OK, I am not so sunk deep into unreality that I think they actually happened . . .yet - it is based in the future, you know!) So I have been following his guide and watching TNG, Deep Space 9 (DS9), Voyager (VOY), and all the movies in chronological order with every intention of going back and and starting all over again, but this time from the very beginning with Enterprise. When TNG, my favorite, ended, I'll admit it, I cried, but I at least had DS9 and, my 2nd favorite, VOY to look forward to. Well, I finished DS9 several weeks ago, and, just the other day, sorrowfully finished VOY and watched the final TNG movie (which chronologically falls after the last episode of VOY.) So, I was actually looking forward to meeting some new friends on Enterprise - I hadn't seen a single episode - and now am being tortured by watching this horrible show. Oh, it's bad, really bad, and not at all Star Trek-esque! And I believe they knew it was bad when they were creating it, which has to explain why people keep being naked! Naked! On Star Trek!! It doesn't even make sense. But, as I said, it is my mission to watch every episode in chronological order and Enterprise is, sorrowfully, part of the House of Star Trek. Oh, so painful, but alas, we all must suffer for a cause near and dear to our hearts, mustn't we? Thankfully, I have only 4 seasons to watch - first ever Star Trek to be CANCELLED by the network!

Lazy Day

I shamefully didn't even get out of my pajamas today. I watched an episode of Voyager (my favorite Star Trek after TNG), chatted with my neighbor, Rita, in the garden (yes, in my jammies), made two tote bags, and accidentally made tomato sauce/tomato soup. So, although lazy, I was productive. OK, OK, you are wondering how a person accidentally makes tomato sauce/soup, right? Well, it can easily happen when said person decides to stew tomatoes, but doesn't know how and doesn't Google it and just decides to throw a bunch of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and green peppers into the Crock Pot and forget about it for ten hours. The lovely mess is definitely tomato soup or sauce and pretty darn tasty soup or sauce at that!

On a slightly related note, over these past months, I have tried to inure myself to the drudgery of chores, like the trash and litter boxes, with some success. The need for this will hopefully be coming to an end. Michele has been hired by a new trucking company for a regional route that will bring her home weekly!! Yippee!! Now, my only hope is that her weekly home time coincides with trash day! Hey, a girl can hope, right??!!

On the Road Again . . . Soon

Michele leaves tomorrow morning to get back on the road again. I guess I should know what is in store for me and be prepared, but I've gotten very used to having her home again. I haven't taken care of the litter boxes, trash, cleaning, laundry, etc. etc. since she's been home. I'd go off to work and it would all be done when I got home. Also, we walked the yard and looked at the gardens together every morning and evening - I'll really miss that, too. I'll just miss her - everything about having her home. I do have a list of projects to work on while she's away and will probably start getting excited about that tomorrow. Tonight, I am thinking: "This sucks! Michele will be off on the road again tomorrow and I am out of Star Trek DVDs to watch. This is not good!" All will be well, however: tomorrow is flag football and Star Trek will be in the mail for me on Friday, so with the exception of Michele being away, all will be right in my world . . . unless the mail is delayed, then all bets are off!

Begging for Star Trek

When Michele's original hometime was planned, I fortified myself for her 3-4 days home by watching copious amounts of Star Trek before she arrived because I knew that it would be unlikely that I would get opportunities to watch during those 3-4 days. Well, as you know, Michele has been home much longer than expected and, while it's a treat to spend time with her, after a few days I was going through serious Star Trek withdrawal (although we saw the movie together and throughout my birthday weekend, we watched several DVDs - hey it was MY birthday, right?). So, I devised a devilishly good plan to get to watch Star Trek and not feel like I am forcing Michele to watch it with me: We have a bowl of ice cream every evening. When it comes time to enjoy that treat, Michele always comes to me and says "It's time for ice cream." To which I reply, "Great. Too bad we don't have a TV show to watch with it. That would be really fun!" And every evening Michele replies, "Don't you have a Star Trek we could watch?" And I say, "Oh, ok, if you want, I don't mind watching another Star Trek." So, she's not quite begging for it, and clearly the ice cream is the motivation, but we both end up happy and that's the whole point, right?