Thursday, April 16, 2009

If the sun would only come out for good

Breakfast: Berry smoothie
Lunch: Leftover stroganoff, apple
Dinner: Umm... Think it's going to be fake Moxie's Mayan Salad with shrimp
Snacks: Turkey/Jarlsberg rollups, trail mix
Liquids: We'll see; hopefully a litre herbal tea, 500ml iced tea, some water
Treats: ??
Exercise: Walk with Priest

Loneliness hit pretty hard yesterday. Strange, though, since I spent the evening surrounded by good people. When I got home they were playing melancholy jazz on Canada Live, which didn't help, so I lay on the couch with Priest until Mike came upstairs.

We have company this weekend, but I'm still hoping to get the rest of the backyard cleaned, sweep the patio, and do some other outdoor stuff. Hopefully it won't snow again! It's almost May (kinda)! I think I need a corn broom. I think that'd be a more effective mover of pine needles than the stiff-bristle broom we have.

I also only have six rows left of the light blue Colour 8 of Ye Olde Neverending Afghan of Doom. Once I'm on Colour 9, it'll feel like all downhill! Have to get there first, though... Hmm... Maybe once I get the patio swept, I'll bring some knitting outside for a photo shoot... This is THE time to be outside in Edmonton. Warm enough if you layer appropriately and sit in the sun, but no mosquitoes yet. :)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

I did not choose the name


I swear. I did not do anything but build the look. The Hero Factory chose the name for me. I swear, really and truly... But I love it. :)

Not quite how I would have chosen to clean the laundry room

Breakfast: Yoghurt, berries, muesli
Lunch: Rye crackers with jarlsberg and ricotta, mini cucumber
Dinner: Supper salad with whole wheat tortelloni
Snacks: Not for lack of trying
Liquids: Not nearly enough by far
Treats: Two Icy squares (read on; I'm justified)
Exercise: 1/2 hour walk with Priest, some picking up in the backyard, and 1.5 hours of mopping

I've been derelict, I know. The truth is, I've been so unbelievably busy, but it's mostly with work stuff, and I don't go into too many details about work on the blog, so there really hasn't been much to talk about. I've been thinking about blogging, and about what to say, but then I end up in another whirlwind at work, and the thoughts are just flung out of my head. I have been knitting, and I'm now doing the newsletter for Chinook Winds Edmonton, and the greyhound walking club up here, but since that hasn't quite got off the ground yet, there's still not a lot to report. Until today.

Up until 3 pm, today was actually an awesome day. I talked to Mom, was doing laundry for the first time in two weeks (I seriously had NO CLOTHES to wear...), and took the opportunity to go through my closet. While I only have one pair of jeans that fit and don't have gaping holes in them, I do have lots of dress pants, and even some shirts that amazingly fit well. I also have pants/shorts/capris that I can do up and then pull off, shirts that I swim in, and (/cry) a $90 lavendar bikini that just doesn't fit at all anymore. The keep pile was still larger than the donate pile, but the donate pile contained things I wish I could have kept (like the bikini), and also things that I pulled out of the closet and went, "What was I thinking?" (like the horizontally striped drawstring linen-type pants). Alas, though I have many pairs of pants now, I only have one pair of jeans, so I think I should probably go get another.

So this was a very cathartic morning, and then I was tidying around Mike and his disassembled helicopter while continuing to do laundry. After Mike left for the helicopter field, I showered, switched over the laundry, and took Priest for a walk. I brushed him and clipped his nails when we got back, and picked up another section of the backyard (I can't wait until the standing water is gone from the other side). Back inside, I switched over the laundry again, knitted for a while, then hung everything back up in the closet. It was around 3, then, and I planned to switch the laundry again before having a snack and a lie-down on the couch with Priest. With this in mind, I trotted downstairs, and opened the laundry room door.

It was that first step, with water soaking into my sock, that really started the afternoon downhill. I looked into the laundry room, and saw the water. Not everywhere, but a lot of places. And definitely not flowing towards the drain. In fact, it had flowed to the opposite side of the house from the drain. I stopped, stepped back, and got the phone. Once Mike was on his way back from the field, I took my socks off and went in to inspect the damage. Water water water. Soapy water. Soapy water carrying lint bunnies and various other yucky things with it. Water around the laundry basket with the clean laundry in it. Water around one set of legs of the hamper we use upstairs. Water underneath boxes, paint cans, and once we pulled everything out, all the way to the wall and our spare baseboard/tiles/hardwood. Water under, on, and in the shoes we keep under the laundry table. And, naturally, water under the washer and dryer.

I called Dad, and before Mike got home I knew what had happened. The drain hose had disconnected itself from the washer, so when it went to drain, well, you can visualize the carnage. Luckily, we don't think too much is ruined. We need to put a fan on one corner of the shag in the computer room, and one of Mike's shoes is outside trying to dry out (it was the only one with water inside), but the only things that seem to be ruined are cardboard boxes, not the contents, and Mike's old lunchbags, which he should have cleaned out two years ago. The clean laundry didn't get hit, I've now cleaned up most of the lint bunnies from the parts of the floor that got wet, Mike hooked the hose back up, and I found two quarters and a penny! Score!

But... it really wasn't quite the way I wanted to clean the laundry room.

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