all too brief

We had a free weekend for once this past weekend, right before Christmas, so we took the opportunity to sneak off for a brief visit to New Jersey, where we played with the cutest baby ever and enjoyed the luxury of my cousin's finished, luxurious house. Ahhh, comfort.



Now it's back to the grind, of course. Don and his dad are at Home Depot as I type, getting the supplies to build a chute from the upstairs window to the dumpster in preparation for Demolition Day (January 5th! You're still invited!).

merry christmas to me

Don got me both the Dremel 400 XPR and the workstation to turn it into a drill press. I put it together today, and it's awesome. (Yes, I got it early because I had to show him which one I wanted. :) )

My christmas present to myself? A new card reader for my camera, because mine's busted. Which is one of the reasons I haven't blogged recently -- plugging the camera directly into the computer is a pain in the ass. I finally did it, so expect many pictures soon.

it's a party, and you're invited!

For those of you who weren't on my hastily-put together email list, here's the invite to the demolition party!

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Hi everyone! As most of you know by now, we're ready to gut the upstairs of our house. And, as always, that means a demolition party!

When: Saturday, January 5th, 8 AM until we're done (or until you're exhausted, we won't force you to stay ;) )
Where: [those of you viewing this on one of my blogs, email or comment for the address]

What to bring: If you've got them, please feel free to bring your own tools (crowbars, sledgehammers, reciprocating saws), work gloves, and/or safety goggles. We do have extras of everything, but lots of people are most comfortable with their own. Make sure to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty in, and sturdy, closed-toe shoes.

We'll be providing donuts and coffee in the morning for those of you gracious enough to show up early (we're starting at 8), and food for lunch as well (probably pizza). We'll have lots of bottled water on hand to make sure you're hydrated, too.

Please let us know you're coming -- you can email me at jamailac at gmail dot com or call [cell number redacted for public consumption] -- so that we have a vague idea of how much food to get and whether we need to pick up a few more crowbars. And yes, you can invite a friend.

Looking forward to seeing everyone and indulging in some wanton destruction!

not exactly a zen sanctuary

I must admit that I'd kind of hoped for better when we finally had guests stay at the house. I pictured a calm, peaceful, and most of all comfortable guest room, with a comfy bed and everything a guest could want or need to have a nice stay. I suppose someday that will happen, but for now this is what we've got. This is our family room (or at least the bare bones of it), where my sister is staying for the next week. At least I got the comfy bed down -- and it comes with a pair of fuzzy warm socks and petting priviledges to one dumb but cute and occasionally cuddly cat. Also, an oil heater borrowed from Don's parents, placed at the foot of the bed and (hopefully) warming things up a bit. We set up a garment rack, since there's not exactly any closet space, so she can hang up any of her clothes that she wants to.

My sister got here last night, and she seems perfectly cheerful about the whole situation -- but then again, my sister got her degree in archaeology, and has spent whole summers living in tents in the deserts of the Southwest or the jungles of Belize. So I guess an aerobed won't kill her. Hopefully by the next time she visits that zen sanctuary will be ready.

why we can't leave the sock drawer open

normal day

Don said this morning that today is our only normal day in quite a while. He's right, and it made it REALLY hard not to stay home and enjoy it! For the last several weeks, and for several in the future, either we've had company or he's been gone or we've had social engagements to be at. It's not that I don't love that feeling, mind you -- the holidays are one of my favorite times of the year, because I love always being busy with friends and family, and having company, and being able to entertain people -- but the sheer volume of it this year is a little daunting when you add Don's recent and planned business trips.

Today we're in between a business trip and a family visit -- Don got back from California this weekend and my sister arrives for a weeklong visit tomorrow (about which we are SO PUMPED, because we never get to see her). So today is our only normal day in quite a while. Which, of course, we're using to frantically clean, grocery shop, etc. But that's no different from our usual pace of life. ;)

Over the weekend we had the opportunity to go with some friends to the Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra's performance of Beethoven's 9th. It was quite good, although I'm afraid that large parts of it went totally unnoticed while we tried to control our hysterical giggling over the young man in front of us who was consistently falling asleep -- on Don's knee. Don was not amused, but the rest of us were. It was a nice break from our usual house-related flailing.

Speaking of the flailing, Don is attempting to curtail it by coming up with a schedule for house stuff for the next couple of months. We all know how well THOSE work around here. Nevertheless, he's come up with a fairly definite date for the upstairs demolition (again) -- so if you're free January 5th and want to pick up a sledgehammer, let us know. I'll post further information as we figure it out.