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I am aggravated. I wrote an entire post last week, went to publish it, and Blogger was down. I didn't have time to rewrite it and republish it later, so it's lost forever. In fact, I don't even remember what it was about. Pathetic.

Today is a holiday. The library is closed. It's a gorgeous fall day and where am I? In front of my laptop doing work. I have switches and a new firewall to configure and it's not often I get days like this - uninterrupted by coworkers or patrons or family members. Also, if I do get the new firewall configured, I can go install it today without worrying about taking down the library network. I will take a day off later this month to make up for the missed day off. It is rather glorious outside. The sun is out, the trees are spectacular - and they've just gotten started changing colors. The maples are well on their way, but the aspens at this elevation are just starting to change. I love looking out the sliding glass door at the brilliant golds that clothe the birches and maples in the yards around mine. It has always intrigued me how the look of the sunlight actually changes this time of year. It is obviously more golden than during the rest of the year. I am sure it has to do with the angle of the sun at our latitude and longitude, but that's all so scientific. I prefer just wallowing in the golden beauty of the rays as if swimming in a sea of molten gold. The air is crisp with the smell of change. Cheeks glow like crunchy apples, made even sweeter by the brisk fall temperatures. There is a sense of anticipation, of uncertainty, a surety that tomorrow will be different. I do love fall.

Yesterday we went to Greenbluff, the farming community just north of Spokane, for the apple festival. Farms in the area invite people in to pick apples, grapes, and pumpkins, partake in harvest celebrations, take the children on a hayride, make their way through a corn maze, and munch on apples dripping with caramel or fresh apple pie a la mode smothered in steaming cinnamon sauce. I enthusiastically took them up on the latter offer, although my piece of pie was apple huckleberry. It was wonderful! The weather could not have been better. The grandkids had a ball. And to top off the perfect day, Jonathan called and invited us to visit him briefly at his dorm. The fact that he needed some cash to put value on his laundry card, I'm sure, had nothing to do with asking us to stop by. We got to see his room, now decorated with posters and surprisingly clean and fresh smelling. He and his roommates were having a "pre-frosh" stay with them that night. It was Fall Preview Weekend at Whitworth so the campus was crawling with prospective students and their parents being escorted about campus by glib, personable student representatives. They should have asked me my opinion. I would have given Whitworth a glowing recommendation. We watched some kids play Ultimate Frisbee. They were in the power league, according to Jonathan - the kids who are really, really good. Jonathan plays in the less demanding challenge league. He looks good, looks like he is happy at school, looks like he belongs there. In two weeks we will be back for Parents' Weekend. I can hardly wait.

So, back to work. I need to get this stuff configured. I wish I understand better some aspects of networking. I hate it that I have to learn everything by the seat of my pants. I wish I could take some classes. I really wish I could go back to college. If I lived in Spokane, I would totally be doing Whitworth in the Evenings, their program for working adults who want to get their degree. I'd kill for that opportunity. For now, it's just read the book or documentation and try to learn on my own. Wish me luck

Why eat breakfast?

It’s raining and I am not sad about that.  It seems appropriate.  It hasn’t rained in quite a while, and we can really use the precipitation.  If it keeps up for any length of time, well, I won’t like that, but for today, it’s a nice change of pace.  Besides, it is fall now, and time for the weather to change.  So it has.

Jonathan called last night.  It’s nice when he calls us just to chat.  That doesn’t happen too often.  His once busy social life seems to have subsided somewhat.  He does seem to be doing better scholastically this year.  He is also really getting into being a photographer.  He takes his cameras (yes, plural – his digital and his (my) film camera) with him everywhere, he says.  He has assignments for the school paper, The Whitworthian, as well as for his photography class, so he needs to be prepared at all times.  It has already paid off.  One of the paper assignments was to shoot students testing out the proposed new furniture for the dorms.  Apparently, as simple an assignment as that sounds like, it means hanging around the place this new furniture is sitting for testing for who knows how long until someone comes along to test it out.  On the other hand, it means making sure you have your camera with you at all times so when you happen to see someone testing the furniture out at some random hour, you can take the picture, which is what happened to Jonathan.  He was in the vicinity of this furniture and students were sitting on it, so he got the shot.  Yay!

I am not doing very well in the weight loss/exercise department.  I really want to start working out consistently again, but our gym still has no showers and I hate showering at Shana’s house.  At the gym, I have a locker with shampoo, conditioner, razors, soap, hair dryer, and all that stuff – pretty much a duplication of what I have at home.  When I go to Shana’s to shower after working out, I have to lug all that stuff with me.  It’s just a nuisance.  I’d rather just shower at home, so I don’t go work out.  I’m such a slacker!  I will never lose weight at this rate.  I’ve been trying to be really diligent about what I eat too, and it just doesn’t seem to be making any difference at all.  In fact, I feel like I’ve gained weight, not lost it.  I have been doing something I never do – eating breakfast – because it’s supposed to be so good for you and help you lose weight.  Well, I think it’s just adding more calories to my day that weren’t there before.  I eat really healthy, high fiber cereal (either Weight Watchers or Kashi Go-Lean) with skim milk, which should be a great breakfast, but it doesn’t seem to be helping.  I’m thinking of just skipping breakfast again and maybe eating that for lunch instead (I need the fiber), maybe eating a Lean Cuisine for dinner with a salad instead of whatever I make for Tom.  It’s just such a struggle every single day and I don’t feel like I’m making any progress whatsoever.  Frustrating.

JoAnn has a blog

My friend, JoAnn, has a blog now (see http://imusttellyou.blogspot.com).  It’s great!  It’s her place to rant on an array of topics.  Both her posts have made me ask, “am I guilty of this?”  Both times I have had to admit “at times, yes, I am.”   Thanks a lot, JoAnn. ;)  Seriously, I do thank her for making me stop to consider my own behavior.  How often do we really take a step back and look at ourselves – and I don’t just mean the reflection in the mirror that is way fatter and older and grayer than we think it should be.  How often do we look at our behavior toward others, especially family, at our reactions toward those with whom we disagree, at our attitudes, at the snide comments we mutter under our breath when we are treated poorly?  And especially, how often do we look at those things in light of Christ’s example to us?  Ahhhhhh…. That changes everything, doesn’t it?  While we might react in a way the world sees as perfectly justified, even expected, far too often it is in a way diametrically opposed to the way Christ has demonstrated we should react.  Those darned spears again….  My, aren’t we good at throwing them, just like Saul was.  So, JoAnn, really, thank you for making me think.

Friday fever and the UK is a go!

The weekend is here!!!! Well, in 30 minutes it will be. Yippee! So, here is the best news of all.....

(drum roll please)....

We got our timeshare exchanges for the UK!!!!!

We get a week in the Highlands and a week in Staffordshire, about 110 miles from London! We have a 2 bedroom, 2 bath cottage in both places too! They are off the beaten path in that they are not right in any big city, but they are in the UK and it's only costing $150 each week! The resort in the Highlands is in Kenmore, right on Loch Tay. It's called The Kenmore Club. It looks so cool! It's on the grounds of Castle Taymouth. The other is called Wychnor Park Country Club and is in Barton-under-Needwood, not far from Stratford-on-Avon (you know, Shakespeare and all that). Both resorts look gorgeous. Both are NOT in the US! Now, to make everyone even more jealous, the owner of a company for which I do consulting - and that I constantly forget to bill for my work - decided the best way to pay me for my work is to buy our 3 tickets to Europe!!! So, on May 13, 2006, Tom, Jonathan, and I, will be winging our way toward Edinburgh, Scotland for the first leg of our trip to the United Kingdom and I can hardly believe it! Isn't that cool?!?!?!

Now I just need to figure out what all we want to/should see, how we're going to get to those sights, if we are going to try to get to Paris for a couple of days, and all that jazz. Input is greatly appreciated from those who have visited England and/or Scotland.

Today has been a great day. I was just told by our finance person that I have $20,000 left in my budget to spend - by Tuesday!! I asked her to double check - which she had done three times before she told me the great news. Sooooooo, I just ordered another server, a rack for my four servers, and some other hardware I need and I still have money left. If I don't spend it, I lose it... so no time to waste! I'm on a buying spree! :) See ya... I have to go buy stuff.

It's Tuesday!

One guess where I'm headed.... Please snow soon, please snow soon! (I can't believe I'm actually saying that!)

We saw Jonathan for 90 whole minutes last Sunday. It was nice to see him, nice to hear about all his escapades, social interactions, see his room (a huge improvement over last year, btw - photos to come), and just be with him, but he was anxious to get back in time to hook up with friends before they made plans for the day, so we just had breakfast at Shari's (note to Harrisons - the same one we met at a year ago, which was bittersweet), stopped in at Pier 1 Imports briefly, then took him back to school. It was not long enough. I think I'll just plan on not seeing him until Parents' Weekend when he will have to set aside the weekend for us. Maybe he'll appreciate us more after not seeing us for over a month.

He is doing well, though. He is also doing the unthinkable - losing weight in college! His tightest jeans are now loose on him. Today he called me, though, and he's sick. He has a nasty sounding cold. I don't know why he always seems to get sick so often. Maybe it's college living. He surely doesn't eat well or get enough sleep, which contributes to his lack of resistance I'm sure. He got some Dayquil so he should be able to attend classes. He has been very good about never missing Calc III and Computer Science. He has missed Interpersonal Communications once - says it's a dumb class - so it would not surprise me to learn he missed it tomorrow. We'll see.

Work is still crazy. I'm just procrastinating like mad on setting up my new servers. I have to start tomorrow. It's just crazy.

Now, off to mow....

If I'm mowing, this must be Friday (or Tuesday)

The title is a thinly veiled reference to a comedy from 1969 called If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.  It is a fun little film about a group of tourists trekking about Europe on a tour bus, and the adventures they experience in each of their many tour stops.  Anyway, I am convinced my neighbors set their calendars by my mowing schedule.  I mow the lawn every Tuesday and Friday without fail, unless it’s raining.  I mow after work, which means I’m out there mowing from about 6 PM until 7 PM all summer (Jonathan is usually mowing the backyard while I mow the front during the summer).  Once he goes off to school, the days get shorter, so I leave work early so that I can do both front and backyard before it gets dark, putting me outside from about 5 PM until 7:15 PM or so.  My neighbors on one side are retired, the ones on the other side are schoolteachers, so both of them are home all summer.  I’m sure they lose track of which day of the week it is during the summer.  You know how it is when you’re on vacation and don’t have the workweek to keep you on schedule – you often have no idea which day of the week it is.  I am positive my neighbors rely on me all summer to indicate to them what day of the week it is.  “Oh, Gina’s mowing… must be Friday, because she was just mowing two days ago and that was Tuesday.”  My teacher neighbors always come home while I’m out front.  I swear I see them check their watches as they go by to make sure they are accurate.  After all, I am like clockwork!  So, if I’m mowing, it must be Friday – or Tuesday.  

While I’m mowing, I think of great things to write in my blog.  I also think of great things while I’m in the shower. Unfortunately, once I actually get around a computer, I completely forget the brilliant posts I wrote in my head.  That’s sort of how my novel writing works too.  I write amazing scenes in my head while I lay in bed at night.  They are so brilliant!  Come morning, I’m an imbecile!  I can’t remember one single sentence.  What is up with that?  I’m memorably challenged.  It’s so sad.

Yesterday was a pretty good day

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  After staff meeting on Tuesday, one of our staff members had a suggestion for changing our check-in process that I thought was a great idea.  Right now, we have this huge backlog of stuff to be checked in and shelved.  We are short-staffed right now, and to make matters worse, we have people on vacation that put in for their vacation long before we lost so many people, so we are way behind.  We are the third most heavily used library in Idaho – a huge thing considering we are one of the smaller communities in Idaho.  We have a patron base of about 30,000 in our district.  We have probably 17,000 active patrons (people who have checked something out at least once in the past three years), and we have an annual circulation of over 500,000.  That’s third behind Boise Public Library and Ada Community Library (the district that encompasses the area around Boise).  That puts us far ahead of large cities and counties like Pocatello, Idaho Falls, and even Coeur d’Alene, all communities much, much larger than ours.  The library district that serves Coeur d’Alene encompasses a county that is over 4 times the size of our district and yet we have a much higher circulation rate than they do.  Their circulation is spread over several branches, spreading the workload.  Our circulation takes place primarily in our main branch – probably 75% of it.  We have about 1500 patron visits each day in just the main branch!  So, the workload is heaviest in Sandpoint where we get back thousands of items each week that have to be checked in, cleaned, checked for damage, and re-shelved.  Okay, you’re probably bored to tears now.  Bear with me a bit longer.  

The normal process is that we check the items for damage, clean them, check them in, resensitize them (they have security strips that have to be sensitized and desensitized), put them on carts, and then re-shelve them.  The cleaning and checking process is time consuming.  That means hundreds and hundreds of items that have been returned sit on a table, waiting to be checked in, sometimes for up to 4 or 5 days after the patron returned them.  In many cases, that means patrons appear to have items that are overdue, even though they returned the items on time.  Having items overdue means they can’t use our new self-check machine.  Without adding more staff immediately, or pulling other staff away from their jobs and press them into service for hours every day to get these items checked in, how do we solve the problem?  Well, the suggestion was that we check everything in immediately, then clean, check for damage, resensitize, and shelve items.  If we make the goal getting things checked in as quickly as possible after they are returned, that solves a lot of problems.  Patrons are no longer inaccurately charged with overdues.  More patrons can use the self-checkout unit.  Since the person checking in is ONLY checking in, not also cleaning, checking for damage, etc., they will be less likely to make mistakes that result in items not actually getting checked in.  With two phases to checking in, the process actually goes a lot faster, it is less complicated, interruptions are less likely to result in mistakes, and more staff members can help out since less training is required for some phases.  So, I shared the suggestion with the circulation supervisor, who embraced it enthusiastically.  We implemented it yesterday and made amazing progress!  We actually got everything checked in by about 3 PM after starting at 10 AM.  I worked downstairs pretty much all day, checking in as much as I could, and then shelving DVDs.  I’m not “qualified” to do the cleaning and checking for damage because I don’t know all the procedures involved when you run across various forms of damage, missing parts, etc.  It would have taken longer to train me in that area than it was worth and I could shelve a whole lot of DVDs in the same amount of time. In fact, I managed to shelve every single DVD that had been checked in – probably 700 of them.  It felt great to accomplish so much!  I will probably help again today by checking in as much as I can, then shelving videotapes and/or books.  Some staff are a little skeptical about the new procedure, but most see how much it actually improves service to our patrons and are very excited about the change.  Sadly, we had another terrific staff person resign yesterday.  She had applied for our youth services librarian position and didn’t get it.  She had told supervisors that she needed more money or she couldn’t afford to continue her education (she is working toward a Masters in Library Science) and that if she didn’t get the YS job, she would probably have to resign.  Sadly, she did that yesterday, to my dismay. She really is a great staff person, a hard worker, bright, and provides excellent customer service.  Her departure will be felt.  That brings to four the number of circulation staff people we will lose in the next three weeks.  I don’t know how we will fill those positions in a timely fashion.  We are going to feel the loss for weeks and weeks.  We need to raise our starting pay or we will continue to lose good people.

Now, off to work.

The cat's meow

I'm on a cat kick right now. Oh, first, I have to tell you a sad story. There is this gal here at work - she is the neatest person in the world. Well, she has a pet squirrel. Actually, she has two pets squirrels. She rescued Mr. Chips (Chip) when he was just a baby and has had him as a pet for the past 5 1/2 years. She's become well known in these parts as "the squirrel lady" and people are always bringing her baby squirrels that have fallen from nests, squirrels that have been injured in some way, etc. She is currently nursing a baby to health who is just a few weeks old. She and I were talking about Chip, about how he lays across the small of her back when she's out gardening, about how she just holds out her arm and clucks to him and he comes running, about how much he is a part of her daily routine. She was telling me all this during a discussion about the new baby wherein she shared that Chip was not feeling well and she was taking him to the vet that night. That was Friday. I came in yesterday and was told that she had to put Chip to sleep. I was stunned and so sad. She came in today and I just hugged her and cried with her and told her how sorry I was. Apparently, he had cancer. His liver was just full of it. I am so sad for her. I wish I could say some magic thing and take away her sorrow, but of course, I can't. So I just visit with her and ask her about Chip and let her share her reminisces with me. It's just so sad and everyone here just hurts for her.

Now, on to Ali. She is the silliest cat. She's very polite. She doesn't meow hardly ever. She isn't annoying or messy or anything - until you have a bowl of cereal. I don't usually eat breakfast, but I'm turning over a new leaf since everything I read says people who eat breakfast have an easier time with their weight. So, for the past two days I've been having a bowl of Kashi Go Lean for breakfast. Well, Ali has always been a huge fan of cereal. You just get the box out of the cupboard and no matter where she is in the house, she comes racing into the kitchen. I poured my cereal under her watchful eyes, poured the milk on it, and sat down at the counter to eat. Ali positioned herself just 6 inches to my left on the counter. She tucked her feet under herself, closed her eyes, and started purring. She stayed like that the entire time I was eating. As soon as I finished, she opened her eyes as if to see if I had any leftovers for her. Now, this cat does not normally eat people food. She will lap at a bowl of milk for a few laps, but she never drinks more than a few tablespoons of it. She will, on rare occasions, eat tiny tidbits of cooked chicken, but again, people food is not her favorite thing. What her obsession with cereal is, I have no clue. I didn't have any leftovers today, but yesterday there was a bit of milk in the bottom of my bowl, so I gave it to her. She took a couple of dainty laps at it, then walked away. She's just so darned funny! When Jonathan is home and having cereal she will be much more agressive, going so far as to put her paw out and pull his hand to her so she can scrutinize the contents of his spoon, but she doesn't do that to me. She just sits, waits, and purrs. I wish I knew what she was thinking.

Tuesday update

The haircut came out great. She didn’t thin at all and now it’s all nicely blended and layered with nice crisp ends. She wants me to let it grow another 3 inches, which works for me. I’m liking the longer hair for now. With winter approaching, it makes sense too.

As for work, I have accomplished exactly nothing today. The guy from 3M never called to do all the installation prep work for some odd reason. I hope I wasn’t supposed to call him instead of him calling me. I did email him and have heard nothing back. Odd really.

I did manage to get a TI-89 Titanium graphing calculator for Jonathan off of eBay for about $12 less than it would have cost to buy it from Best Buy. Hey, $12 is $12! I also got the calculus book with the solutions manual for him for a great, great price ($45 instead of $155). Now he just needs a photography book and a book for Photoshop class and he’s set. He may actually get off paying less than $100 for books this semester, which would be awesome!

So I still have three servers to set up and one PC and I still have that guy to talk to so…. I guess that means tomorrow will be the crazy day. Ugh.

Tuesday Tasks

Today is going to be a crazy day. First off, I have staff meeting at which I am the official note taker because I’m the only person on staff who can type on this laptop fast enough to capture all the comments that are made by everyone. Also, I can type and talk at the same time, another trait that is in scant supply among staff persons it seems. I don’t mind really. The notes prior to my taking over were a joke. So much was left out as the person writing them out tried to summarize the comments. The true flavor of the meeting was never really evident as one read those notes. When I take notes, I type out verbatim (as much as is humanly possible) what people say. All the non-attendees have shared how much they like the new notes. Also, the previous handwritten notes were simply photocopied and put in the staff lounge for perusal by non-attendees. That meant the folks in the branch never got to read them. I email them out to everyone so they can read them at their leisure at their own computers. So, staff meeting is first on the agenda. Then, at 10 AM, moments after the meeting ends, I have to race upstairs to my office for a call from a 3M tech. He and I will spend the next couple of hours going over the setting up of our public access computers for use with the new PAMS (patron access management software) program we are installing. We will no longer check computers out to patrons at the information desk, but rather, patrons will use a smart card to check computers out to themselves. The system will automatically notify them when their time is up, and if no one is waiting, allow them to extend their time for another hour. They will be able to save favorites, and eventually, save documents on the 3M servers if they so choose. It will eliminate the need for a person at the info desk whose sole responsibility is to manage the public access computers. It is going to be so great!

After that call, I am going to get my hair cut – well, trimmed. I actually really like my hair right now, but it is in need of sprucing up. I am afraid, though, that she will cut too much off and I will hate my hair for another month. That’s always the dilemma – you get your hair to where you like it, but the bangs are too long or the ends need trimming, so you get it cut, but instead of just trimming your bangs or ends, you get a whole-head haircut that leaves it shorter and less manageable. I am going to be very adamant – just a really small trim and no thinning!!! For some reason, hairstylists always want to thin my hair. Okay, it’s thick, and maybe that means it doesn’t “move” the way they’d want it to, so they thin it to give it more “life” or whatever. I like it thick! When I curl it, it looks great and full and wonderful. I don’t want them to take that volume away. So I will insist today – no thinning!

After the haircut, it’s back to work setting up servers, workstations, and PAMS. This will be a crazy day.

Tonight is the season premiere of House!! I love that show!

I have 38 minutes to get ready for work. Gulp! Better get going.

New Week's Resolutions

You know how we (most of us) tend to make resolutions at the beginning of the new year? Even those who claim they don't, usually do secretly.  It makes sense.  It's the beginning of a new year, which just begs for fresh starts, improvements in behavior, and embarking on new adventures.  Well, I make resolutions at the beginning of almost every week.  I usually vow on Sunday that the following day will be the:

1. day I finally get back into my workout routine


2. day I finally improve my eating habits for good


3. day I finally stop procrastinating


4. day I finally start learning whatever it is I want to learn that week (Italian, ASP.NET, C++, Photoshop, Calculus, etc.)


5. day I finally really, really start losing the excess poundage once and for all

Pretty much every Monday I start off with a bang, doing just exactly what I've vowed I will do - until Monday night.  Most of the time, by the time I get home Monday night, I'm tired so the first resolution to go is #2, which means #5 is broken as well.  I start making dinner, usually something healthy and delicious for which I've purchased groceries on Sunday, but while making dinner I am usually eating everything that isn't nailed down because I'm starving to death because I was too busy to eat the great lunch I took with me to work.  I tell myself I just won't eat dinner because I've eaten the entire day's calorie allotment while preparing dinner.  But then, dinner looks and smells so good when it's done that I can't help myself.  I load up my plate with as much as I give Tom and scarf it all down much too quickly.  There goes resolutions #2 and #5.  

Resolution #1 is the next one to go.  I lay in bed thinking about how great it's going to feel to get up and go workout - how proud I'll be of myself, how happy I'll be that I'm back in the groove - and then, seconds after I go to bed, the alarm goes off and it's 4:50 AM and I'm so tired I can barely figure out where I am and what the annoying beeping is that's rousing me from my amazing dream.  I struggle out of bed, make lunches, espresso, etc., and never quite wake up all the way.  I just need another hour of sleep, I tell myself.  Tom leaves and I snuggle back under the covers, falling asleep before I realize what I'm doing.  Next thing I know, it's 8 AM and there's no time to work out.  Resolution #1 out the window.

Resolution #3 - come on, do I really need to explain that one?  I broke it before I broke any other one.  I don't think that one is even realistic.  I have been a procrastinator since I can remember.  I must like the pressure of having to do things at the very last minute.  I guess it's that adrenaline rush.  I really don't like it, but it feels so normal that I don't think I could function if I actually planned ahead and finished stuff with time to spare.  But I can dream, can't I?

Resolution #4 - I do usually attempt this.  I have all the books I need for ASP.NET right here on my desk.  I installed Google Toolbar's auto-translate function so I can increase my Italian vocabulary and have been trying to connect with a fellow crazy Italian woman I know to set up a set time for sitting down and actually studying Italian together.  I have the Photoshop text here on my desk as well.  But finding the time in my life to spend the kind of time it takes to really learn this stuff... well, that's another story.  I seldom make time for Gina.  I know, I know.  I need to do that, but seriously, when?  So... Resolution #4 is really a pipe dream, but I like thinking some day I will actually follow through and do it.

So... another week, another set of resolutions.  I've only broken one so far (the procrastination part).  I ate great this morning - just eating breakfast is a huge improvement as I usually don't, and I ate a good breakfast with lots of fiber, calcium, and stuff.  I don't usually work out on Mondays anyway, so I haven't blown that one yet.  I doubt I'll actually get to #4, but that's sort of a long-term resolution that I try to attempt in small parts each week.  As for #3, well, I'm blogging, aren't I?  What does that tell you?  I am most definitely putting off something I should be doing.  So...maybe it's time to stop procrastinating and go setup those new servers and PCs I just got in.   I'll keep you posted on how the rest of the week goes.


    

I wish I was a cat

This is so adorable. My cat is laying next to me in one of those poses that makes you just want to snuggle them up. She's curled into a ball with her face actually buried in the blanket on which she is sleeping. It's as if the light from the lamp is too bright for her and she needs to cover her eyes so she can sleep. She looks so adorable and cuddly - and comfortable. Unfortunately, as is usually the case with cats, if I did try to cuddle her, she would get all irritated and leave. She likes to be near me wherever I am - sit by me when I'm on the couch, or sit ON me, which she usually does every night after dinner, lay next to me at night in bed (I can't sleep until she plops down next to me) - but she does not want me to pet her, or touch her in any way. I think she is ticklish. If I do pet her, she will tolerate it for a minute or two, then bite me and run away. Jonathan, on the other hand, she will play with feistily (I don’t think that’s really a word, but it should be). She will sneak up on him and then run at him, bite him gently, and then run away. If he doesn't respond by chasing her down the hall or playing "hide and seek" with her, she will attack him again until he does. I think she thinks she's bigger (as in lion sized) than she is. Now she's reaching her paw out and touching my hand, as if to say "please stop typing; you're bugging me and I can't sleep."

Speaking of cats, Jonathan and his roomies want to get one. The thing is, pets are not allowed in the dorm, naturally. So, they want to make sure the cat has a home to go to if (when) it is discovered by their RD and they are forced to get rid of it. He called his sister to see if she would take it in that event. The answer was "no", of course. They have a cat and don't need another. He asked me. Ali would freak out. She's not a social cat. Heck, Tom would freak out. He just tolerates Ali. So, the answer is "no" here too. I don't think this is a good idea. I think they would spend $60 on this cat from the humane society only to have to find it a new home in a rather short time. I hope they think this through. I do think it's cute that three boys want a cat, though. They were all gung-ho about it, going to the humane society last night to check out their offerings. They decided to research all the ramifications before going ahead with the plan. I dunno... Jonathan doesn't even change Ali's cat box when he's home... who is going to do that in their room? Not a good idea.

I highly recommend this....

I highly recommend everyone download and install the Google Toolbar. First of all, it does a great job of blocking popups and is much less intrusive than MSN toolbar or Yahoo or any of the other toolbars out there. Secondly, you can search using Google right from the toolbar, which I find extremely handy. Thirdly, you can put in your name, address, even credit card info (password protected), and have it auto-fill forms and stuff like that in web pages, another very handy feature. Finally, the latest version has this auto-translator feature that is really cool. You enable it, select the language you want to translate into, and every time your mouse hovers over a word on a web page, it shows you the translated version of that word. Now how cool is that?! I have mine set to Italian, of course. It’s very cool to see how to say “language”, for example, in Italian just by hovering my mouse over the word. There are other nifty features as well. Just go to Google, click on “more” on the top of the page, then scroll down under tools to find the Google toolbar. I think it’s pretty darned cool!

Edit: I created and posted the above entry using the new Blogger for Word add-on. WAY COOL! It makes posting to your blog so much easier and faster! You just install it, enter your Blogger logon info, type your little heart out, and then click Publish. Voila! It's posted! The best thing Blogger has invented yet!

Did I ever know this stuff?

I just looked at an assignment for Jonathan's Calculus III class, which was a review of Calculus II stuff. It was totally Greek to me - and not because it had Greek characters in the equations. OMG! Did I really know this stuff once? I sort of vaguely remember it, sort of. It kind of makes me want to take calculus again so I can relearn it, but not really. Why would I really need to ever know calculus except just to know it? But I kind of like just knowing stuff, and I really don't like not knowing stuff. I never made it as far as Calculus III. I had the world's worst professor for Calc II - seriously, he was the worst. He once took 3 blackboards to solve an equation, got to the end, scratched his head, said "gee, that's not right....well, you'll figure it out in your homework", and dismissed the class. WHAT?!?!?!? I withdrew from the class shortly thereafter. He went on a "highly recommended" sabbatical the next year (as in, "take time off or you're fired") after failing 75% of the class (I would have been one of them). It was not long after that that I changed majors. I couldn't fathom why someone who wanted to write software had to know how to find the volume beneath a three-dimensional curve. I still don't, to be quite honest. Why do computer science majors have to take Calc III and Linear Algebra, Physics, and Chemistry? I guess it has to do with critical thinking and the ability to understand the complex problem solving you may possibly be asked to do in some future job, but that's sort of far-fetched. Most CS majors are either going to design hardware or write software. I don't think you need to know calculus III to write code for an office application, computer game, or operating system. But what do I know. I just run a network and design web sites.

Maybe I'll find a web site where I can refresh my memory and relearn calculus, just for the fun of it. Or not.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I usually do really well with change. Tom does not. Big change - Jonathan is away at school. I'm not nearly as sad and teary as I was last year at this time, but it's still not easy. I miss him every day. I got used to the phone call from him after work checking in, asking what I needed him to do, stuff like that. I got used to him being in his room on the computer when I came home, coming out to see what was for dinner or tell me about his latest online adventure (as if I understood 1/10th of what he told me, but at least he was sharing with me). I got used to him mowing the backyard while I mowed the front. I got used to his hulking presence just being here. And now he's not, and I miss him. Like last year at this time, he doesn't call and gets mad at me when I call him. I just need to grin and bear it. He's having fun, socializing, hopefully doing homework, and growing up - and away. Tom isn't fine with not hearing from him. He hasn't said much, but I can tell. He is annoyed, hurt, that Jonathan doesn't call. He has a harder time letting go. The only reason I have been trying to call Jonathan right now is I'm trying to get his books for him and need to know what he needs. You'd think he'd make a point of giving me that information, but he's not. I suppose I should just let him get his own books and not try to help out. Ch-ch-ch-changes.

The weather is undertaking a major change. It's been sunny and warm forever. I don't even remember the last time it really rained. Today is cloudy and the forecast is for rain today, and rain for the next several days. On the one hand, I hate it. On the other, it's going to be a nice change. The downside - if it rains today, how on earth am I going to get the yard mowed? If it really rains for the next several days, mowing is going to be a real ordeal once it stops. The lawn will probably be so long I'll have to bag, and that is a problem. I'm not sure I'm ready for summer to be over yet, either. Ch-ch-ch-changes.

At work, I have two new servers coming in. Well, one is in already, although yet to be unboxed. The other is due in today. I have to set them up, decided what "roles" each one will play, and install the additional software accordingly. It sounds like a pretty simple project, right? Think again. It means moving stuff, like our mail server, to a new machine, which is always an opportunity for a problem to develop. It also means moving our database to a new server, a huge opportunity for a problem. It really means a ton of work for the next few weeks, and I'm not really in the right frame of mind for an undertaking of this nature right now. On top of this project, the company for which I consult has some new hardware I need to install and configure, and some changes to their network they want me to implement. I have no idea where I'm going to find the time. Ch-ch-ch-changes.

Also, at work we are losing two major staff people. The head of our circulation department, and one of our two professional librarians, is retiring at the end of October. We finally found her replacement after a lengthy search. She will start on October 1. She is a really neat lady and will be a great addition to the staff, but as a result of her coming on board, with different strengths than Velta, various duties are being reassigned between her and our other librarian. That's going to be weird, stressful, and frightening for some staff. Fitting a new person into the fold is always stressful anyway. It will be interesting to see what she's really like once she starts working. During her interview, and day long visit to the library, she came across as a super neat person with whom working would be fun. I'm not usually a skeptic, and I really liked her, but people are not always as they seem during job interviews. I'm hoping for the very best.

Our youth services librarian is also leaving. Her last day is just a couple of weeks away. We have been interviewing like mad for a replacement, and apparently have 4 well-qualified candidates, two of whom are current staff members who want to job share. One of those persons would be amazing in the position, and she is working toward her MLS (masters in library science). The other is a neat lady and someone I like, but most staff have strong reservations about considering her for this position, even in a job-sharing situation. They don't feel she relates well to children. I wasn't in on their presentation, though I hear it was strong and compelling. Next week the decision will be made, so I will await it along with the rest of the staff. Ch-ch-ch-changes.

Fall approaches. The smell of change is definitely in the air. I don't know why I feel so melancholy. Ch-ch-ch-changes.

Daily Grind

It seems like all the major events are now behind us. School has begun, Jonathan is off to college, vacations are over, life should settle down into a regular routine now. Should is the operative word. It seems something at work is always demanding immediate attention, throwing a wrench into the daily grind. Then again, maybe that is the daily grind at work - some seeming emergency demanding immediate attention and distracting me from the dozen other projects on which I'm supposed to be working.

This is funny... I have the TV on and tuned to the news on Fox 11 KTTV in LA. A commercial just came on with Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra's Love's Theme as the background music. I love that song! It reminds me of driving, top down, in my 1969 Fiat 124 Spyder in 1977 to Las Vegas from Santa Barbara on a gorgeous spring day with a guy I was dating. We made a quickie trip (my first ever) to Vegas, getting into town at 11 pm, shooting craps (I had no idea how to play but he taught me) at downtown casinos until 5 AM - and winning enough to pay for the whole trip - taking a nap until 11 AM, then driving back, getting in at 6 PM. It was one of those spontaneous, whirlwind adventures you never forget. And the background music of the trip was the Barry White 8-track I had at the time with Love's Theme on it. That song is forever tied to that trip. Aside from that, I love Barry White. So, this commercial just came on with that music, so naturally, I looked up. It shows all these men buying milk in large quantities - dogs with packs on them to carry multiple half gallons of milk, grocery carts filled to overflowing with milk, men fighting for the last half gallon in the store... then the tag line comes up on the screen "studies have shown calcium intake decreases the symptoms of PMS" or something like that. Then it closes with a guy coming in the front door witih a grocery bag full of milk, looking around for his wife and saying "honey, are you home?" and "Got Milk" comes on the screen. It is a funny commercial with great music!

I just read Kaitlin's blog and it makes me wonder - should I do as she does and make a point to post every day, even if it's just some random thing? I look forward to going to her blog to see her latest musings on her life on a daily basis. I tend to only post when I feel I have something worthwhile to write about. Maybe I should be more "active" and post daily, or at least "week daily". Let me know, okay? I do this blog mostly for myself - writing is cathartic - but I do it for my readers as well. So, if you are one of my readers and would like more frequent posts, posts about my daily activities, thoughts, etc., let me know.

On that note, as I said, this is the beginning of a new school year for Jonathan. So far, so good. He called me yesterday to ask for phone numbers to call for various on-campus jobs I'd told him about. His computer was not yet setup so he didn't have access to that info and was anxious to find a job. Sadly, all the jobs in the IT department were already filled. He should have gone job hunting on Monday! He doesn't want an office job, and really doesn't want to work in the dining hall, but I think he's going to find those are the only jobs left. I told him to just get any old job for now. He can always quit when an IT job becomes available. I hope he takes my advice. I logged onto his Blackboard account (where all his classes should be listed along with each syllabus, assignments, etc.) and the only class listed so far is his Calc III class. I was able to find out which textbook he needs, even clarifying with the prof the edition, and found a copy for sale on eBay for 1/3 the price of a new one. The prof sounds nice, very willing to help make this a good experience for Jonathan. The class is hard. There are assignments every single day, due the next day. It's going to take a lot of discipline for Jonathan to get through this class. I would appreciate everyone's prayers for him - that he maintain his focus, not procrastinate, and not let computer games get in the way of school this year. I would especially like prayers that God put someone in his life who will lead him to make a decision for Christ. He is so close. He believes the Bible is the Word of God. He believes Christ is the Son of God, but he has yet to make that all-important commitment to Christ that precedes developing a personal relationship with Him. That's my prayer this year - that the Lord bring Jonathan into fellowship with Him.

Right after Calc III he has Interpersonal Communications. I am pretty sure Kaitlin is in his class. Their prof is all of 25 years old. Should be an interesting class. He had his first Intro to Photoshop class last night. I am anxious to hear how it was. I would love to take a semester long Photoshop class and I know Jonathan loves Photoshop and the artistic stuff you can do with it, so he should enjoy it. Today he has Computer Science, which is a repeat of a class he took last semester and dropped. He has the really good prof for that class this year, so it should be a lot better than last year. Let's hope! The only other classes he has yet to have are Photography 1 (Monday nights) and Yearbook (Tuesday evenings). I'm looking forward to a report on both those classes, especially since I was on the yearbook throughout high school (editor-in-chief my senior year) and it was one of the best experiences of all.

I got my first new server in yesterday. The second one should arrive tomorrow. Now I just have to set them both up and decide which servers they will replace. I have 5 servers in place in the main branch, each serving one specific function. I am pondering which functions I can put on a server together to help consolidate the network, make it more efficient, and eliminate some hardware. Right now, two servers are not even servers - they are just PIII-550 workstations that have Win2K Server on them so they can fill a role we needed filled. One of those two is our data server. It's not very robust, and that needs to change. The new servers are dual Xeon processor servers with 2GB RAM, RAID 5 on a split backplane, and redundant power supplies. These babies ROCK. They also have Win2K3 Server on them. For you non-techies that's just a bunch of gobbledy-gook, I know, but any techs will appreciate the specs. What it means, in English, is that these machines are designed to run hard, run non-stop, process tons of transactions simultaneously, and really fill the role of server. Combining roles, though, can be tricky, so I have to really ponder which things I will put on which servers and how I will balance the network load. I have my work cut out for me.

It's 7:02 AM. I could stop typing right now and actually get a workout in. Okay... I'm going to do that... but first a photo... this one is of Tom and Jonathan sitting in the main square at Butchart Gardens trying to whistle using leaves from grass plants as their "instrument". This "project" was brought on by sitting next to a guy moments earlier who picked a leaf and immediately started making all sorts of bird sounds, whistles, etc. Both "boys" just had to try it themselves. Jonathan experienced success first with Tom a close second. They drove me nuts for the next hour making all sorts of noises, chirps, whistles, with these "reeds". The activity even spilled over into our walk in downtown Victoria as Jonathan would make these bird calls (he got really good at it) surreptitiously as we walked along the streets, causing people to turn and look for the source. He got a big chuckle out of that, though I was irritated to no end. So, here's a shot of the boys gleefully practicing their new trick.

Back to School

Yesterday we moved Jonathan back to Whitworth. It was a bittersweet day for us. Of course, we'll miss having him home, but we're happy for him. He was really excited to get back there and see all his friends again. It was really sad for me not to have the Harrisons there. It just didn't feel right moving him into a room with a different roommate, who wasn't even there at first (the third roommate, Steve, wasn't even there by 4 PM!). When the roommate, Justin, did get there with his dad, well... it wasn't Tom & JoAnn. We shook hands and stuff, but no "click"... not a lot of interaction... nothing like move-in and move-out last year. I felt like crying. Justin is a nice boy, probably a great roommate for Jonathan, but he's not Nathan. I like Nathan! I miss Nathan! I really miss Tom & JoAnn!!!! I thought about them all day. Parents' Weekend will not be the same without them (Nathan is in the British Isles doing a semester abroad and won't be back at Whitworth until January so his folks won't come to Parents' Weekend in October, naturally).

Okay, on to the move-in. We got a really nice sofa (for free) for his room from one of the gals at work who is moving to Hawaii next month. Since we couldn't fit the sofa and all of Jonathan's stuff in our Suburban, Shana & Ryan helped with the move, bringing the sofa in their pickup along with a few other items we needed to move. We got to campus at about 9:45 AM. Move-in starts at 10:00 AM. Jonathan was the first person to check-in to Mac (his dorm - McMillan Hall). His room this year is in the basement. It's a really cool room. It's shaped like a "T" with a really fat up and down part and it's pretty good sized. At the end of last year, we bought the carpet that was in the room from the roommates for $50. They were to mark the carpet with either their name or Jonathan's name and put it in the attic in Mac for us to install this year. Well, we couldn't find it anywhere. That's not to say it's not up there, but there are probably 50 rolls of carpeting up there from who knows how many years ago! Obviously, we needed to get the carpet in place - and vacuumed - before we moved computers and sofas and whatnot into the room. After looking through dozens of rolls of carpet and asking around, wasting precious time, we finally decided to move his stuff in, put it on the beds and desks, and let him and his roommates, Justin and Steve, locate Seth (the kid we bought it from) and the carpet and install it later. We were on our way to "Pig Out in the Park" in downtown Spokane by 11:30. It felt weird just dumping him off like that, but there wasn't a lot we could do, and Shana & Ryan and their kids were getting restless. Had they not been with us, we probably would have stayed, found the carpet, and helped them organize their room. I talked with Jonathan on the phone about 4 PM and they had yet to locate the carpet, or Seth, and Steve had yet to arrive. Jonathan was on his way over to Warren where Seth is living this year. I told him that if he doesn't find the carpet, Seth needs to pay him back the $50. He can use that to go buy some new carpet remnants for the room. In the meantime, their room is still in an uproar as they don't want to move everything into place and then try to put the carpet in after the fact. I guess they'll figure it out. He did sound happy when I talked to him though. I could tell he was glad to be with his friends and out from under Mom and Dad's scrutiny and his 5 AM wake-up for work.

We spent a couple of hours at Riverfront Park eating Italian sausage sandwiches (the best ever!) and drinking strawberry slushy things and watching people on a gorgeous Labor Day, then headed to Tommy's house where we were to celebrate Alyssa's 3rd birthday (actually on the 7th). Shannon's mom, stepdad, brother and his wife, and two sisters were also there. We didn't realize they were barbecuing burgers or we wouldn't have eaten so much at "Pig Out"... oh well. When we got to Tommy's he came out to greet us, a big grin filling his face. He had worked his rear end off to install his "water feature" before our arrival and had just finished it that morning. He wanted to have done at least some part of the front yard renovation himself - and he did a great job! They bought one of those fountains that is a big, tall stone with water coming out of the middle of it and cascading down the rock into a catch basin that is filled with the same rock in his landscape beds. It looks great! We were so impressed and proud of him. Then, to our utter surprise and delight, he directed us toward the garage wherein stood a gift they had bought to thank us for our hard work - a beautiful concrete heron we had admired at the place he got his fountain. Tom has wanted a heron or two for our yard for a long time, but we've never felt like spending the money for one. This one is amazing! It cost about $200, a price we would never have paid ourselves! Tom didn't want to accept it because he knew how much it was. I had no idea. Tommy just smiled and said it was the least they could do as we had saved them so much money, not only by installing their patio for them, but by helping them select plants and stuff that cost far less than they had budgeted for those things. They saved almost $1000, not counting our labor. So, now his yard is finished and looks awesome (photos will be forthcoming as soon as I get to work) and we have a heron!

Well, time to get ready for work. Photos to come. And some Victoria photos and vacation info too... Note to Harrisons - you guys are the best ever and I'm so glad our boys were roommates last year so we could meet. We missed you so much yesterday, you have no idea!!!!

Come ho speso le mie vacanze estive, la mia parte tre

How's that for a post title? Hee hee... A little italiano tossed in there. So now it's time for the final installment of the story of our patio building project.

The third Saturday we went back to Spokane to help Tommy & Shannon pick out some flora for the area around the patio. The goal was to get plants that would take minimal care, wouldn't become overgrown in no time flat, and would add color and soften the hardscape. We had some ideas but weren't sure of availability until we actually hit the nurseries. Tommy would not be available to help as he had an all day "engagement" scheduled - the big NFL Fantasy Football draft. Sheesh. Tom decided he'd work on the sealing of the patio while Shannon and I hit the nursery.

I'm a big fan of Stella d'Oro daylilies. They stay small, they bloom all summer long, they are super easy to take care of, and come back thicker and more beautiful year after year. Tom thought some tall perennial grasses would be nice to help screen parts of the patio from the street and I agreed. We ended up with two beautiful grasses, some blue fescue to accent the junipers already in place, some sedge around the bottom of the fountain grass, the daylilies, and a small groundcover that would have blue flowers most of the summer. We decided to plant the plants inside rings to keep them contained, keep the weeds down, and make them easy to care for. What we did was use those red cement tree rings with the scalloped edges, turning them so the scallops are in the ground and the ring just has a nice flat edge. You have to see the photos to understand I think. Tom and I planted the grasses, the fescue, and one of the daylilies, leaving the rest of them and the groundcover for Shannon to plant. You can see in the photo the blue fescue between the junipers. The tall grasses will, of course, thicken and get taller in time. I think it will all be perfect next summer.

So... that's it. The project is complete. Now Tommy & Shannon need to find a few chairs and bistro tables to furnish it and it'll be finished.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Part Deux

So, the first Saturday was spent excavating the hole for the patio, leveling the surrounding landscape bed as much as possible, and moving a lot of rock. Everything was ready for the pavers so we had Tommy call and have them and the sand delivered by the next Friday afternoon along with the plate tamper we would need to tamp the pavers into place and force the jointing sand between them. Our plan was to head to Tommy's Friday right after work and get as much done that night in the shade as possible, spend the night, then get up really early to start laying pavers while it was cool. Tommy and Shannon were not going to be home that weekend. They had left Wednesday on a previously planned camping trip, so Mom and Dad were doing this part of the project by themselves.

As luck would have it, Tom had a horrendous day at work Friday and got off much later than usual. We didn't arrive at Tommy's until after 8:30 PM - almost dark. I had stopped for food while Tom headed straight to their house to start working. By the time I got to the house, Tom had started bringing wheelbarrows full of sand from the driveway where it was dumped to the hole. We got all the sand dumped in the hole before we went inside to eat. It was late by now - 10:30 PM and it was too dark to try to lay pavers, so we went in and went to bed. We got up really early (5:30 AM) Saturday. Tom went outside first, then came back in almost immediately with bad news. They had brought the wrong pavers for the soldier field - the row of pavers that would serve as the border for the patio. They were to have been standard sized pavers and instead they had brought us half standards. Now we were really up a creek. The landscape supply place didn't open until 8 AM. We were so disappointed because we were losing out on great shade and cool temps. We spent the time leveling the sand and then figuring out how the soldier field that ran along the walkway was going to have to be cut. You see, the walkway wasn't a nice straight line. It flared out from the step to the front door on down to the step down to the grass level, so every paver in that first row was going to have to be cut, each one differently, in order to keep the patio square. That meant 30 pavers had to be marked exactly, numbered, and taken to the landscape place to be cut - and we couldn't do that until we had the right pavers. At 7:45 AM we headed over there. We told Ryan at Gibsons what the problem was. No problem. He could deliver the right ones right away and pick up the wrong ones. Well, we were there with the Suburban so we decided we'd take some of them so we could get started with the cuts. When we started loading pavers into the Suburban we realized we could fit all 138 in the back, so we just loaded them all up. Of course, that meant we had to unload them all once we got to Tommy's. Well, actually I had to unload them all. Tom took the 30 he needed for the first row and set about marking them for the cuts while I unloaded the remaining 108 and carried them to the hole. From the driveway to the patio location was a roundtrip of about 50 yards. I made this trip, over the course of this project, well over 200 times, usually carrying at least 25 pounds of something - pavers, rock, sand, whatever. Quite the workout!

In about 20 minutes, Tom had the pavers marked for cuts. Now I had to load them into the Suburban and head over to get them cut. While I was gone doing that, Tom would finish leveling the sand since he couldn't start laying anything without that first row in place. Fortunately, the cutting and drive back and forth took only about 30 minutes. So, by 9 AM we were ready to roll. We got the first soldier field in place and then started working on the pattern. It's called an Ashlar pattern and is comprised of three sizes of pavers, a half standard, a standard, and a double standard. A standard is about your normal brick size, so you can figure out what the other two sizes are. The pattern is laid with the double standards sort of stair-stepped and the standard and half standards alternated between them. It's hard to explain and kind of confusing to get started on, but once we figured out a rhythm, we flew! By 12:30 I was back at Gibsons picking up the jointing sand. Ryan was shocked. He said "you're not ready for this yet are you?" I told him we were halfway finished already and he replied "do you hire out?" We had really made good time. The last half took a little longer - it was another blisteringly hot day and lugging pavers from the driveway to the patio over and over, bending to pick them up and then to put them down, handing them to Tom, and then Tom on his knees for hours laying them... well, it took its toll on us. We were dying. Finally, at 3:30 PM were laid the last paver. I called Gibsons to tell them to come pick up the incorrect pavers and the plate tamper at 4:15 PM. We poured the sand on and Tom ran the plate tamper over them for about 30 minutes. Gibsons arrived to pick up the extra pavers we didn't need and the ones they'd delivered incorrectly as well as the plate tamper. The guys were shocked that we'd finished so quickly. I think we were too. After they left we stood back and admired our hard work. It looked awesome! I was ready to go home, but Tom wanted to put the sealant on the pavers. Unfortunately, during the tamping, water from below had seeped up and the sand and some pavers were wet and you can't seal wet stuff. I suggested we put the landscape rock around the patio to give it a more finished look. What was I thinking? We ended up spending almost 3 hours laying landscape fabric and shoveling, wheelbarrowing, and pushing this huge river rock into place. Another exhausting day wherein we ended up filthy, sweat-streaked, starving, and dog tired. So, here are the results of that day's work: First is a view from the front porch.

Now a view from out in the yard. That's Tom with the hose.

And finally a view from the side yard looking toward the walkway, driveway, and front porch.

As you can see, there remained a lot of landscaping to complete and the patio had to be sealed, but the major project was finished, and in record time! The guys at Gibsons told us they didn't think we'd finish in one day and that they charge $8/sq. ft. for this work. That means we saved Tommy & Shannon close to $1500! We said we'd settle for a nice steak dinner sometime. I wish I had before pictures. The entire area where the patio is was covered in mounds of 4' tall shasta daisies, overgrown vinca, thistle, all sorts of perennials I can't even remember. It was just a wild, overgrown, weed-filled mess and not very inviting. That wildness pretty much extended to the area surrounding the patio as well and the other side of the walkway. The kids cleared out a ton of stuff, which in itself was a big improvement.

Next - part three - Horticulture 101.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, part 1.

First of all, I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. Where in the heck do the days go?! I'm sorry for the lack of updates. There's nothing (to me) more frustrating than finding a blog you like to read and having the blogger not update regularly. I will try to remedy that situation and maintain some sort of regular timeframe when it comes to updating. That said, I have been extraordinarily busy of late.

Last week we were on vacation. We stayed home doing projects around here until Wednesday morning, at which point we headed for Vancouver and Victoria, BC. But before I go into the details of that trip, let me regale you with tales of the project that consumed the three consecutive Saturdays preceding last Saturday.

Our oldest son bought a beautiful home in the Spokane Valley almost two years ago. They already had a nice house in Liberty Lake (just east of the Spokane Valley), but it was in a very crowded neighborhood filled with cookie-cutter houses on small lots with just a few feet between them. They put a for sale sign on that house and sold it in three days. Their new home is in a beautiful development called Morningside and is situated on a hill, or rather collection of hills, about 3 miles south of "downtown" Spokane Valley, overlooking the entire Spokane area. The lots are big - half an acre or more - as are the homes. All the houses have three car garages, are custom built, have sprinkler systems, and beautifully landscaped yards. Tommy's house was no exception. The photos on the realtor's web site showed a gorgeous yard with beautifully blooming perennials and a healthy green lawn. The interior was immaculately decorated by the lady of the house with each room painted a different color and sporting wallpaper walls and/or borders. It was quite a step up from their other home, although the layout was almost identical, just larger.

It didn't take long for them to realize the landscaping required far more maintenance than either of them could manage. The previous owner was a stay-at-home mom who had plenty of time for pruning shrubs, deadheading flowers, and doing the many chores that accompany a heavily planted yard. Tommy and Shannon are on the go constantly. When they're not ferrying Sydney to and from basketball games, tournaments, camps, and school, they're taking Alyssa to swimming lessons or daycare, going to the gym, playing basketball themselves, or working. Throw in some summer fun, visits to Sandpoint, a vacation here and there, and you have a recipe for yardwork disaster. Before long, the shasta daisies were overrunning the front landscape beds, carpet roses were so big and overgrown with blooms they were an eyesore rather than an accent to the yard, vinca was sprouting from every spot in the yard that wasn't covered with grass, and thistle was sprouting from the middle of the few junipers in the yard. It was a nightmare - and that was just the front yard. The backyard is an even bigger problem, but not one so glaringly visible to every passerby. In a neighborhood of perfectly cared for yards, theirs stood out as an eyesore. At one point early this summer, they decided to put the house on the market - after all, the housing market was going crazy, values had skyrocketed, and it made sense to get out while the getting was good. The plan was to sell the house, pay off bills, get out of debt, move to Sandpoint and build a house the way they wanted it for less money. Well, after several open houses with dozens of prospective buyers tromping through the place, after dropping the price by several thousand dollars, the house remained unsold. Too many new homes were being built all around them that could be had for almost the same price. I don't think the overwhelming landscaping helped. When they realized a sale would not be imminent, they adjusted their plan. If they had to stay in the house, then they had to deal with the yard. That's where we came in. If there is one thing we know, it's landscaping for maximum curb appeal but minimum maintenance.

We had always felt that the area right outside their bay window next to their walkway and "porch" was perfect for a patio. The yard is two levels - the lawn and driveway are on one level with steps that take you two steps higher to another level just in front of the front door and front of the house that was filled with these impossibly overgrown perennials. Another two steps up takes you onto the small porch from which you enter the house. A long, exposed aggregate sidewalk takes you from the driveway, up the steps to the door. A brick retaining wall with two short columns divides the upper level from the lower one. It was our perception that a patio to the left of the sidewalk would be a perfect addition to the front of the house. In order to put one in, all the perennials would have to be removed. Tommy and Shannon decided they liked the idea and set about preparing for the creation of the patio. They also followed our recommendation and got rid of all the bark in the landscape beds with the intention of replacing it with river rock. Rock is much cleaner looking, doesn't fade every year and require replacement with fresh rock like bark does, is less likely to foster the growth of weeds, and makes killing any that do try to grow a lot easier. They had their work cut out for them.

About a month ago they called us and told us they had removed all the bark, had ordered rock, and were ready for us to start helping with the patio. We drove over to see their progress and were amazed at what a difference just getting rid of the overgrown perennials and bark made. The place already looked neater, cleaner, and much more inviting. They also had concrete curbing put in around all the landscape beds that matched their brick on the house and the retaining wall. You could actually see the front of the house for a change. We decided we would come very early the following Saturday and start the patio. We went with them to the landscape supply place and helped them decide on the pavers for their patio, the pattern they wanted them laid in, and the color they wanted the pavers in. The hardscape guy at Gibson's Nursery in Spokane was super helpful.

We arrived at Tommy's at 7AM ready to start excavating for an 11x15 patio. Their soil is pretty sandy so we didn't think the excavation would take too long. A few shovelfuls into the project we realized we were in trouble. The entire area was filled with rocks, roots, and hard, hard soil. It was amazing anything had grown there. Tom realized there was no way we could excavate by hand so he had me get out the yellow pages and start calling around in hopes of finding someone with a mini backhoe who could come excavate that day - a Saturday. Yeah, right. I didn't hold out much hope that this was even a remote possibility. To my surprise, we did find someone! The guy drove over to look at the job, called his backhoe operator to see if he felt like doing the job, and said it was a go. Within 20 minutes we had a mini backhoe on site digging out the patio. Tom and Tommy hauled away wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt to Tommy's backyard (he has this huge area on the side of his house that the previous owner used for storing an RV and a race car). After about an hour and a half, the excavation was done. It cost $150 but was worth every penny. We'd probably still be digging if the backhoe hadn't come. Apparently, the area where the house sits is glacial moraine. That means that it's full of rocks, sand, clay and all sorts of other unwelcome stuff. Add to that the construction debris, like cinderblocks and roofing shingles, that was obviously just plowed under when they finished building the house, and you have a real mess. Thank goodness for the mini backhoe!

Now the work began in earnest. We now had a big hole and a lot of dirt piled around that we had to level and make into the hole for the patio and prepare for the surrounding landscaping. Oh, did I mention that this particular Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far - and that the house faces southwest so is in blazing sun all day long? Yeah, that was a really nice feature of this project. There was only shade until about 9AM and then again at about 7PM. Aside from that, full sun, blisteringly hot, reflecting off of the brick facade on the house all day long. This particular day temps reached 98 degrees. I swear it was 108 in the sun with the heat off those bricks. After the backhoe left, we had a lot of dirt to spread around and still more digging. There had been this crazy mound of dirt at one end that we had to level out and a slope that needed to be made less steep. Tom, Tommy, Shannon, and I raked, dug, raked, moved dirt, carried away boulders, and raked for hours. Then the guys started bringing in the crushed rock that would be the foundation for the patio while I started spreading landscape fabric and rock in the surrounding landscape bed. Every time one of the guys brought a wheelbarrow full of rock to be dumped into the hole, I had to stop what I was doing to lift the front of the wheelbarrow up the two steps so the wheelbarrow didn't chip the steps. I must have done this 100 times. After they'd dump the rock, I started spreading it in the hole. Shannon was inside making something to eat and then taking care of Alyssa for most of this. My forearms were screaming, as were my hands. It was brutally hot and none of us could get enough to drink. But time was of the essence and we had to keep working.

We finally took a break about 1:30 PM for half an hour to eat lunch. That break made it extremely difficult to go back to work. We had two yards of rock to move from the driveway into the hole and then to level. We also had about 6 or 8 yards of river rock to put into the landscape beds - a part of the project that is still ongoing. We worked until 8 PM and finally got all the rock in the hole, leveled, the dirt spread, shrubs trimmed and/or removed, and things ready for putting the pavers in place. It was one of the longest, most miserable days of my life. We were filthy. I had worn my Chaco sandals so my feet were caked with dirt and water. My legs were streaked with dirt and sweat. I felt as if someone had dumped me into a barrel of salt while I was wet thanks to the dried sweat that covered my body. We were going to take a shower at Tommy's before heading home, but we were so tired we just drove home filthy, showering once we got home and falling into bed immediately thereafter. What an ordeal! And there was more to come.

Next... laying the pavers, with accompanying photos.