Tomorrow's Forecast

 So, fellas, what'll it be?

WTF, Julep?

A few years ago my Darling DiLly started my fabulous addiction to Julep products. This box arrived in the mail full of nail polishes, hand cream, and other wonderful products. More recently, she took me to a Julep salon for a manicure while we were visiting them. Lately I have been disappointed in the offerings on their website. First, the hand cream that I loved was discontinued. And now the amazing emery boards they used to carry are unavailable. Best emery boards ever! A little pricey but one would last a year! No new nail polish colors! I do still have a good supply of nail polish to enjoy, and I love that they made one that was named after me has my name! I'm sad that Julep is no longer what it used to be. I shall mourn this for a while. 

February Full Moon

Alas, she is already waning, the February moon was full while we slept. The snow moon, the quickening moon, the alder moon. Mother Earth begins to awaken from her winter sleep. Soon we will be outside pressing seeds into the soil and celebrate the renewal of life and the coming of Spring.

Stony Creek, A Lovely Shade of Beige

Today the second coat of paint shall be applied to the north and west walls of the living room. And the painting shall be completed. Tomorrow the order shall be restored and discombobulation shall end. There is more painting to be done in other parts of the house. And grouting. And replacement of flooring. And caulking. I think this is called the joy of home ownership. 

Challenge!

Not really. It's okay. Don't feel as though you must live up to Newton's remarkable accomplishment. I'm sitting here in my pajamas blogging. It's after noon. Everything doesn't have to be a competition. 

This is a Real Book

Isn't this horrifying? It was published before I was born which means it was available for my mother to peruse prior to getting married. Ew. Over twenty years ago I threw a fun and naughty bridal shower for a friend's daughter. One of my gifts was a paperback copy of one of Dr Ruth's books. I included a highlighter marker and the book was passed around so all of the attendees could look through it and highlight a pertinent passage. Then the bride-to-be read the highlighted words out loud. Hilarity ensued. While Dr Ruth gives reasonable, factual, helpful advice, I doubt what Ms Hix had to say in 1950 was much more than make him happy at your own expense. I would like to add the word responsible to the title. There. I feel much better. 
 

Go Ask Alice

Alice doesn't live here anymore. Whatever happened to Alice? Alice is in Wonderland now. But Alice will be in the cities soon where she teams up with a fellow named Martin. Alice, sweet Alice, I love you, Alice, even though you are upside down in a town that bears your name. Soon after, what Alice found after going through the looking glass was astonishing. To the moon, Alice, is perhaps where you should go. Take Bob & Carol & Ted with you. Poker Alice is waiting there for you.

A Whole New Game

The only thing that would make this more fun would be if you could click on each chair and hear a few bars of actual music representing that particular style. I know that's asking for a lot. But dream big or go home! I would appreciate it if all of my nerdy and musically talented readers would get on this. Thanks. Big kiss!

Manageable Goal For Today

 

Weeping

Remember this? I can factually report that these masks are also useful when chopping onions. To a reasonable degree wearing one helps filter out noxious onion odors. These were particularly nasty onions where frumious fumes are concerned. Thanks again, Humana. 

Not Enough for a Team

 Seven blue Lego baseball caps. For no real reason at all. 

Ahhhhh. Yes.

Sunday morning. Tea. Puzzles. Listening to Joni Mitchell's Blue. And a seat in the sunshine from the patio door. 

Spring is Less Than a Month Away!

Hello. Good morning. This last week has totally kicked my ass which is why I have been so remiss at blogging. I have completed painting the dining room! And today I will get some prep done to start painting the living room. I also must run errands today because stuff. Stuff is needed in the grocery category as well as the personal care section of shopping. One of the joys of this past week was five below zero nights in a row which necessitated moving all nontolerant to freezing items from the garage to inside the house. Paint, spray cans and such came inside where it is warm. This is the first time in my five winters here that I have had to do this. The generally mild winter temps here plus the solar gain on the brick exterior kept the temperature above freezing in the garage. The recent cold snap was the coldest stretch thus far here. Back in frigid South Dakota clearing all the things from the garage was a fall ritual that even included cleaning out the garage fridge and decommissioning it for half the year.

Is it freezing in the garage?

Yes. Yes it is.

There was a tiny bit of pampering on Valentine's Day! Once again the amazing Bonnie at the Brick House Salon cut my hair. She gets my curly, cowlicked head and sends me on my way looking fabulous. And right in line with the various water-related issues with this house, the toilet in the basement is sucking water to the tune of a twenty dollar hike in my most recent water bill. After peering into the tank and discovering that there is nothing obvious that my limited plumbing skills can fix, I expect I will have to call my plumber to sort this out. This is a newer toilet that he installed soon after we moved in. The best news would be that it's still under warranty and all I will have to pay for is a house call.

Also, the newest vacuum cleaner in the house has been trying to die for a month or so. The nice people at Shark are sending me a new motor that should arrive in just over a week. Which gives my son a week or two of respite in cleaning duties downstairs. I'm hoping the next few days will be far less interesting. A little mundane is far more fun than appliance and weather disasters.

 

Punching Back

I'm half Norwegian, and pretty fresh from the old country. What with my mother being a first generation Norwegian-American, her father arriving from Norway at the age of twenty and her mother born in Minnesota on the way with her family to western North Dakota, I grew up with a strong Scandinavian influence. I am NOT a Will Ferrell fan, so seeing this very polite punch back in his face is very gratifying.

Wednesday Wisdom

 

Shadow Heart

 

From The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Sometimes you need a dreary word for a dreary day. This appeals to my Norwegian half and aptly describes what the Covid19 pandemic hath wrought. Go forth and be dour on this cold and gray Friday! 

New Color

This overly yellow wall color is wearing me out. Starting today, the dining room and living room shall be transitioning to a new color. Its name is Stoney Creek. Yes, it is a shade of beige. We're beiging it up once more. After photos will eventually be posted. Pardon me while I change into clothes appropriate for painting.  

Small Rant

Isn't this a lovely photo? In years past I have used it as my cover photo on facebook near Valentine's Day. The freeform heart with a keyhole was a gift from my sister Pam. I placed it on the scarred top of a table and took a few pics. I liked the effect. But facebook has done a remarkably stupid thing. A few months ago they moved the profile pic from the lower left corner of the cover photo to smack-dab in the center of it! Hello! Quite often photos are snapped with the object of interest in the center! So now the interesting part of the cover photo is completely obscured by the profile photo! I have tried cropping the original photo a couple of different ways to see if I can make it work but so far no luck. I can't recreate the photo because the table is question has been severely damaged and currently resides in the garage. Facebook, do the right thing and move the profile pic over to the left where it used to be. 

The Wisdom of Pooh

 

The Aeolipile

This, children, is an aeolipile. My son dropped this word on me the other night. So I had to do some research. An aeolipile was an early steam engine experiment showing how steam could make an object move, though it had nothing attached to it to harness its power. Merely a curiosity. How far we have come.
 

Fun With Anagrams

 

Science Doesn't Care What You Think

 

I Thought I Needed a Trim

My toenails are ridiculously long. But nothing like this. I am horrified. I may not be able to sleep tonight. I long for a time in the not-too-distant future when I can once more enjoy the loveliness of a pedicure. Until then, I gots to trim them myself. First world problems compounded by Covid-19. It could be worse.  

Twilight Zone Redux

I do not wish to live in the TZ world where this comes to be. Also, nix on the Twilight Zone that has only the Twilight stupid adolescent sparkly vampire world in it. That would suck. Pun intended. 

Nordic Cabin

I love this candle. Do not be deceived by its drab color. I do believe this candle is the olfactory personification of hygge. Peace. Coziness. Contentment. 

Let Go of Winter

 

Valentine Rabbits