Chapins 1, Earth 0

Chapin Spolded House

Earth.

How many opportunities in life do you have to replace an entire house AND two cars????

Hopefully not many, but we have had this chance. However, we have not been able make use of many Earth Friendly options in either our cars OR the rebuilding of our house due to the prohibitive cost of the materials, labor or lack of knowledge by the building code dept of Canby.

So far we have been able to

• reuse some of the wood from the old house
• replaced the Expedition with a used better mileage Toyota Matrix - 33 mpg v. 12 mpg
  
• got some earth friendly insulation, bu could not do the entire house with it because of Code rules and cost
• we will get energy efficient appliances, EVENTUALLY, including washer/ dryer
  
• we opted for the 90% efficiency furnace
• we are going to TRY to afford a tankless water heater
• going to try to get SOME earth friendly flooring options if we can
• we are reusing the granite that was only a month old when the house exploded
• replacing the washer, dryer, cook top, oven, dishwasher and fridge with energy star ones
  

Here are the things we wanted to but could not afford to do:

• two hybrid cars
• Solar power on roof
• solar water heater
• wind turbine on roof
• denim insulation
• soybean insulation
• bamboo flooring
• recycled glass tiles
• recycled glass countertops or tiles on floors/walls
• concrete countertops
• dual flush toilets
• syncrete (concrete made of garbage)

There were many more, but almost all of these things were just completely cost prohibitive. Some of them save money in the long run, but cost a LOT upfront. For example a tankless water heater is $1400. a regular water heater is like $200. see what I mean? The point is that most people cannot afford to tear down their house and rebuild it, and replace both cars, They just cannot do it. We did that, but we could not afford much in the Earth Friendly category because it is all just sooooooo expensive.

On the good side, I do not use grocery bags anymore, and I always bring my own. My favs are the HUGE ones you can get at Costco for about a dollar each They hold like three regular bags of groceries. I keep them in the back of my car.

COSTCO Reusable totes: $1.10 each, and HUGE. This is not my picture, though.

LOOK how much they hold!!!

GO WINGS!!!!!

Put on your WING NUT HAT, grab a Molson and GO WINGS!!!!!!!!

R.I.P. to Legendary Director and Actor Sydney Pollack.

Actor Director Sydney Pollack

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_en_mo/obit_sydney_pollack_15

Director Sydney Pollack http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001628 has died. he directed and acted in some of the best movies ever made, and I loved his work both as an actor AND a director. He directed films like out of Africa, Tootsie, The Firm, Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were, Havana, Random Hearts and Absence of Malice.

He acted in many films as well, including Tootsie, Eyes Wide Shut, Michael Clayton, The Player and Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives.

He was a fantastic director, but an even better actor in my opinion, and this is only ONE of my favorite roles, as Dustin Hoffman's agent in Tootsie. It is one of my all time favorite movie roles, ever. I hope the you Tube clip here will work. but if not, look it up. He was amazing and will be missed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnHqiipcw6g

Anniversary in Review, Colors, life with the goat

This is only a fraction of the shades and hues and tints of grey we have explored.

Caprese, one of my very favorite things on earth to eat
It is fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil leaved, garlic and pesto, and the best thing is to pour a little balsamic over it. This place had FANTASTIC Balsamic. I could have put it in a glass and drank it...drunk it? I wonder where they get it. They also had a great lemon oregano vinaigrette on my salad.

We did not go to the Hall Street Grill for our tenth anniversary dinner, because we did not want to be that far away from home on the very first time we had a sitter. SO we instead went to abella Italian kitchen http://www.abellaitaliankitchen.com which is a great Italian restaurant located unfortunately enough within the Fascist State of Wilsonville. Bill had Penne, I had lasagna, (which I later regretted, because it was kind of a boring choice) we shared a couple of great appetizers, and skipped dessert. We wanted to get to the movie on time.

We then made it to see FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL which was a great funny movie. Its is for adults, and it is more in the vein of "Something about Mary" than "Manhattan" but it was still a funny funny movie. The lead character reminded me very much of my friend Harry. I had some red licorice at the movies for dessert, and I thought right after dinner that I would not make it to the movie, because I got so sleepy from just ONE GLASS of wine... I am a cheap date. BUT I rallied and we had a fun time. Spencer loved his babysitter. We plan to hire her again very soon, probably next weekend, when Steve, Siri and Bill will all go to see Indiana Jones and I will ditch those Fuddy Duddies and go see Sex and the City. Yes I was an SATC fan, surprise surprise. Though very crass at times, I did really love all of those characters and I am very much looking forward to seeing what they have come up with as far as Carrie and Mr. Big. I have no interest in INDIANA JONES, thank you very much. Blecch. I also do not go to the Real Movies that frequently, because we have Netflix and HBO and Starz AND pay Per view if we need it - comes with DirectTV (which we hardly ever use). I usually do not mind waiting for movies to come to netflix but SATC I have to go see. I am excited.

Also we are still exploring paint colors, and we are currently debating over shades of gray, literally. Bill is leaning to a darker more putty grey and I prefer a brighter lighter gray. The drywall goes in this week. I have really no more updated pictures because outwarly nothing has changed Its all inside stuff for now. Next week we are supposed to pick out our wood stuff, like the banister and stuff. Speaking of BANNISTER there is ANOTHER Incredible Hulk movie coming out. How stupid is that???

THe month of May is ending and then comes June, and when June gets here that means it is the month before JULY and JULY 31 is the absolute latest we can live on the Goat Farm. I CANNOT WAIT to get out of here. Wow, shocking, huh?

Oh and I voted, but not for Obama or Hillary or McCain. I could not vote for anyone, at least in any of the partisan races, because I never declared a party preference and Oregon has a closed Primary.

SpencerFish, Ten Years, Drywall.

For the Man who has.... well, an uninsulated half built house...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BILL!

This is our 10th Anniversary Cake....

This is what I really got him.

We have decided that Spencer loves swimming SO VERY MUCH that he should do it every day. SO starting the week that school gets out, he will be doing it EVERY DAY, all summer long. Every week day, 12:30 PM around these parts will be Swimmin' Time. Time to ride the goat on over to the Cement Pond. He loves it, so why not. A goal for him is at the end of the Summer if has learned enough he will be able to join the Canby Penguins... they are like the younger swimming freaks in town. Then if he does well in there in a year or two he can join the Canby Gators. They are the town swim team and they are actually pretty great. What I like about them is that there is no real age minimum, the kid just has to have certain skills. I am not loving how gross and humid the air is inside the Canby Swim Center, but I am trying to get used to it as I am going to be spending a LOT of time there.

Other Big News is that Friday May 23d is my tenth wedding Anniversary and we are ACTUALLY for the FIRST TIME EVER, drum roll,..... getting a BABYSITTER!!!!! This girl who sits for Spencer's friend Donut is going to come out to the Goat Farm and babysit for us We are going to go to a cool restaurant in Portland call the Hall Street Grill http://www.hallstreetgrill.com/ which has been recommended, and then, maybe even to see a movie!!!!! WOW!!!! Spencer knows the sitter she is a teenager and she will do anything Spencer wants to, as far as playing with the blocks etc so I know he is going to have a blast with her.

As for gifts, I don't even care but the proper gift is either diamond or blue sapphire jewelry, or tin or aluminum. I am not sure what Bill is getting me, but I got him R30 Insulation and sound proof sheet rock. Maybe we can get each other stuff later but all I care about now is moving back into my house.

Also they have finished all of the insulation in the house and are starting on the drywall very soon The next thing is we have to pick out the wood stuff for the inside... Not the cabinets, we already picked those, but the stuff like the stairs banister and interior doors and stuff like this. Then they will paint the outside I think, then pour the new driveway thing, then add the garage door and then put the decorative stone stuff on the outside then start doing more stuff on the inside like installing the kitchen etc. We are nearing the end thank goodness, as I am sooooo tired of the Goat Farm.

I am trying to complain less. TRYING. I cannot believe I have been married to Bill for TEN YEARS but for the most part it has been pretty great. We have both our own crises, but we have weathered the various storms always together. We fight - I mean who doesn't? but we are very committed, or should be hahah. Most of our fights are just sooo stupid.... they end up just bei9ng funny. For years I accused him of stretching the dog's face out... because he would always grab Riley's face and give him pretend kisses and in this dumb voice say "I love my dawg what a good dawg " this kind of thing.. To me, the dog had a kind of a saggy face that he did not have when we first got him and I still think Bill is responsible for this. I will never think otherwise. Oh, and I never forget ANYTHING. Like how he totally stretched out the dog's face.

Insulation is in the house now. Pictures coming

Film at 11:00.

In case you re wondering, the picture is just the house as you last saw it, but instead with a bunch of piles of insulation all piled near it. Nick the builder went to Hawaii for a week.

Sneak Preview, Circling the Aiport, 10 years of Marriage to the Bluesman.

Guess what Temperature it is in Oregon today?? About 150. No I guess it is like 94 but it is gonna be HOT for the next few days. The goat farm house has bad insulation and so the A?C does not work as well. We got some fans, we are gonna try our best to stay cool.

I complain WAYYYYY too much about things. I know this. AND I also know we are in the home stretch here... This coming week comes the insulation, then then the drywall the week after that and then they will really get going. There is a lot to do, pour concrete for a new driveway and walkway, install tons of lights, hang lamps put in cabinets etc.. But it is coming together, and We really can see the light at the end of this loooooong tunnel. Still, we have been out of our house for over a YEAR, and it has been a reallllly long road. I just want to feel SETTLED like I can put things away for GOOD. I can put stuff away in a drawer or a closet and KNOW that if I come back in a month it will still be there or I will not have to move it.

Really all of this unrest started in in FEB of 2007, not April when the house exploded, because February is when we started the remodel of almost the whole house. Starting in February we were living in one room of the house - all of us - with no kitchen. We got new floors in every room and had to move everything out of all the rooms into the Bonus room. The Bonus room later collapsed, and thus, we lost more stuff than we should have. It was all being stored in the room that collapsed and then caught on fire.

SO here I go again, complaining, but since February, we have been living out of boxes, suitcases... etc. We had JUST finished most of the remodel when the house blew, so really it has been 15 months since we have had a NORMAL life.

Saying over and over that I cannot wait to get back to my house does not help me get back there any faster. In fact if it were not 200 degrees outside I would be packing the POD right now. I just feel like I am stuck....sort of circling the airport. I can SEE the terminal, I can picture myself there, but I am not driving the plane. I cannot START anything I cannot ORGANIZE anything I cannot PLAN anything until we are back there. Limbo is okay for a while I guess, and I am trying hard to be patient. so BLAH BLAH BLAH


ON the good side, Spencer LOVES his swimming class and he is just amazing at it. Just fearless, and graceful and agile, and he may have found a passion. It is great to watch.

May 23d is my tenth wedding anniversary. We are ACTUALLY going to get a BABYSITTER and go out to dinner at a place where they DON'T sing the clapping Happy Birthday song every ten minutes. Marriage is not pure bliss every minute, but I have a great marriage and it is to a great man. He listens to TERRIBLE music. He loses his car keys and his wallet about 35 times each day. He can be kind of a space cadet, but he is a great person, a great Dad, a great husband, and we are really happy.

To me, the secret of a great marriage is to marry the right person in the first place, and then make a real commitment to respect each other's feelings. That means none of that sniping sort of verbal abuse that a lot of people get into. Once you cross that line, it is hard to come back.... once an awful thing is said, it is very very hard to take back and erase it from the memory of the person you know? Sometimes it takes all you have to NOT say the meanest thing you can think of, but I think about how much it might hurt him, so I try hard hard hard not to. That does not mean you do not tell the truth, which can also hurt, it just means, you know BE NICE. I grew up in a sort of a toxic, angry kind of household where hurtful things were said a lot and honestly it is no way to live. I refused to live that way after a certain point, and I will not tolerate it. I am not ever going to tiptoe around a person's temper, nor should anyone do this for me. We are not perfect but we try our best.

Serenity, Summer, and Giant Bugs Inside Ears of Corn.

Not sure what Spencer is doing here, but he was a big help this weekend loading up the POD... Just look at all that SPLODED STUFF in the Goat Farm Garage.

I took this Picture of the house today. Not much being done this week because the builder is in hawaii for a week. But all the HARDI PLANK stuff is on exept for the place on the garage where they are going to put rocks... or decorative stone stuff You know...

Gotta say here, I totally get what those alcoholics or whatever are talking about with that serenity prayer thing now. Sometimes all you can do is hat you can do... and you just have to try your best.

The guy who owns the Goat Farm now would like to sell it. He also wants to SHOW IT with us still living in it. So, now, because we were not stressed out ENOUGH we have to keep this place immaculate and looking like a four year old and a dog do not actually live here. Then if he does sell it, and if the buyers would like to move in ASAP, guess what that means? WE GET TO MOVE AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH OUR HOUSE WILL BE FINISHED BY JULY.

However that is a lot of Ifs to contend with and so to stay relatively sane I am just basically sort of focusing on the things I CAN control.

We have to get totally ready for the lawyers.

We have to pack up the POD.

We have to get a dumpster.

We have to do all the preschool stuff like field trips & end of year stuff.

We have to Get Spencer to Swimming and all of his classes this summer.

I been a CURVES slacker and need to get back there, though SHEER PANIC does burn a lot of calories....

When I am truly going insane, I used to just pretend I was at the Movies. Seriously. I did, but that was back in JANUARY when it seemed there was no end in sight. Now, either way, no matter what happens, we are going to be almost in our house by July. So now when I need something else to focus on I just start planning out house stuff, like How Habib the Tile Guy is going to revolutionize my bathroom, or endlessly search for the perfect dishwasher to buy, or play Scrabulous, or research dryers or wall ovens or insulation or decorative stone stuff.. blah blah blah

This is a strange way to live, imagining a new interior for a house that you lived in for three years but that blew up and is now going to be basically the same house but a little different. SO you KNOW the house, but you don't. You KNOW what it is like to live there and changed certain things that you did not like about it, yet you still do not know how it will all look after it is done.

It makes my brain hurt and I feel so stupid for worrying about such stupid things when there are people who have it so much worse than I do. For me there is an end in sight, and I am realllllly looking forward to going home to the home I do not know but already lived in for three years.

Hopefully by August 1, we will be all moved in and settled, and I will get to spend this summer the way I had planned to spend last summer: walking down to the Corn Lady (this woman who runs a farm stand form her farm, at the end of our street) every day and buying really fresh produce, and then getting back to my true passion: torturing my family daily with my hideous experimental cooking. Making gallons of soup that no one really likes so much and freezing it.

I miss that corn lady.... that goofy look in her eye when she looks at me and asks "SO what cha gonna do with all those tomatoes???" And I know that she knows that I have NO IDEA what to do with them and I want to give her the true answer: "Well, Betty, I am going to boil them mercilessly for hours, until they have no more flavor and then force my family to eat them!"

but instead I lie each time and say, "Uhmm I have not decided yet... "

Ah... Summer in Canby, the warm months where it stops raining for a while and old ladies and those weird 4H kids gather outside and make fun of me because I am scared of those bugs inside ears of corn, I think chickens are pets, and I don't really know where my food comes from. Magic.

House has more stuff on it... Dessert night... POD

Latest Picture of the house...

POD arrives at Goat Farm

The PODS guy just called and he is on his way here.. so that is the big event for today.

The Mother's Dessert night at the preschool was pretty fun and I met some other moms that I did not know and hung with some I did know. SPencer broght me a pice of chocolate cake the size of my head and then pretty much ate it all. I do not like chocolate cake, but I did have a piece of lime cheese cake from Costco. For drinks they had apple juice... It was like Diabetic Coma Night. It was pretty fun and everyone told me what a great guy Bill was. But of course I already knew this... Then the chocolate cake kicked in and the kids started getting wild. Apparantly SPencer is part of a trio that also includes Ashton and one of the Devins...Devin Ritchie I think. They were all there, and when they are together all hell breaks loose. Right before we left Spencer had one of the moms in toy handcuffs and was making her do the perp walk. It was time to go. It was nice, and sort of fun, but I am glad it is only ince a year...

Also we went by thehouse to get the mail and there is more stuff on it now They almost finished putting the HARDI PLANK on. I am not sure what it is, but everyone puts it on their houses here in Oregon. It rains like 349 days a year here. The color htere is just what the color of the stuff is, we are going to still paint it.

Well, I have to go move my van and Toyota so the POD dude can come. We also got four new Netflix yesterday: The Savages, Juno, Dewey Cox and Charlie Wilson's War. Hopefully we will find time to watch some this weekend.

Later Homeskillets...

Of Dinosaur Zoos, Mother's Dessert night and the GPWM:

Grosse Pointe War memorial: This is just how I remember it. Blurry, snowy, and with a bunch of wood covered station wagons in front, full of moms waiting for GPCT rehearsal to FINALLLY end.

Spencer's latest building project at preschool today.. Looks like either a dinosaur zoo or a parking garage. He is big on both...

Bill is being Teacher Bill at the preschool today and Spencer built this and Bill took a picture of it. Later on phas Swimming class at 5:30, and then I have to pick him up from there and take him to the Mom's Dessert at the preschool. I predict it will go that way it always does: I will walk in ad they will all look at me and say.. " So uhmm who's mom are you?" and I will tell them I am Spencer's mom and they will say "OH! You re BILL's wife! We LOVE Bill." Because Teacher Bill works at the preschool like once a week and knows all of the moms. And then they will introduce themselves by saying, "I am Ashton's Mom or Dylan T's mom etc and they think I know who that is and I don't know the KIDS EITHER!!! And then they will ask me about the house blowing up. And then I will eat cake. Teacher Gina will make a speech probably, and I will hang out with Dylan T's two moms. I like them both a lot. There are at Spencer's preschool FOUR Dylans, TWO Devins, (one a girl) a Caden, an Aiden and a Jaden.

I should go work at the preschool some days. I really do know that I should but I cannot handle it. Seriously. I was not playing with a full deck BEFORE My house blew up. Now I am truly losing it. I know to both of my readers that I seem like an emotional ROCK right? Just really strong, reliable, not loopy at ALL.... but I am afraid that is just a facade. Just the image I project to the world at large.....

Seriously I cannot handle all those little kids at once. Seriously. I cannot. They have high squeaky voices. (see "list of fears," upper right corner of blog)

SO they are putting the siding or fake stuff whatever it is.. I think it is called HARDY PLANK on the outside of the house today. I will post a picture of it soon, but they have not done the front yet so I will wait until they finish it.

On Friday the 16 foot POD http://www.pods.com comes so we can start packing up early So the minute they say get off the goat farm we are ready to GO!!!! I am ready to go NOW. PODS is an amazing idea. Why didn't I think of it??? If I had thought of it, I would be living in Fiji right now.

Also I have been traveling down SERIOUS Memory Lane as I found a Facebook Group with Grosse Pointe Children's Theater. Its like a REUNION!!!! So much fun. AND I never realized exactly how much of my childhood I spent at the GP War Memorial. There was the Santa Brunch, Egg Decorating, Dance class (for like ten minutes) with that crazy ballet lady, MANY MANY MANY long hours and Saturdays at GPCT, and later most of the YR and East Side Republican Club meetings took place there I took classes in the summer... SO it was no wonder that I chose to get married there. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to GP and start my new life... and besides, who doesn't want to get married in the same place where you tried your first cigarette (YUCK) or tried to learn to tap dance (FAILED)? Wacky.

OKAY This is me, Today.

Have no idea why.

Book Em Danno

????

this song rocks

SPENCER's FIRST Real Swimming lesson!!!

Spencer had taken a a sort of a DADDY and ME kind of class at the swim center before but this year he was old enough to start the real swim class. SO now starting tonight he will go twice a week. Tonight was the first class and he was just a NUT. He had a riot though and he loved it. he looked SO SO SO SO SO funny in his bathing suit which had was red with orange flames and had fire breathing T Rex's on it... He picked it out himself!

Thursday is the annual preschool Mother's Day night... which is fun because I don't really know people there but they all know Bill. But I have sort of bonded with one or two of the moms there... So it will be good to get to know them better... I really like this kid Clark's mom, also Ashton's mom, Matthew's mom and Dylan T's mom. Dylan T, who is one of FOUR DYLANS at the school, actually has TWO moms.... kind of a Rosie O'Donnell thing if you know what I mean, and they are both really really nice and very funny. I love them both. SO I might have a better time than I did at it last year.

There are four Dylans at Spencer's preschool. Also, two Devons (one is a girl) and also a Jaden, a Caden, and an Aiden. But only one Spencer.

DAWGS WE HAVE OWNED

What is it with my family that we get the weirdest dogs ever?

I honestly cannot be sure if they come to us that way, or we make them that way. Here they are, the Chapin Family Pantheon of Batsh*t Crazy Dogs... Enjoy.

Early in our marriage we had BANJO. She was awesome. A Black Lab. In this picture, it was her birthday.... Yeah,, uhmmm we did not have a kid yet....I made that birthday hat myself - hard to believe, I know. Bill looks young here. He had a little more hair and had not yet lost his wedding ring at a Blues Jam. It was almost ten years ago. Banjo was hit by a car outside the shop in San Jose. We were devastated and we got Riley 8 days later.

Then Riley the legendary craziest dog on earth. Named after BB King's middle name, Riley came along before Spencer, and this was taken then, so of course we were still dressing up our dog at this point.. This was taken in the shop in San Jose. We got him from a Rescue org in San Jose, called NARF. We have been making sure to only get rescue dogs ever since then.

Then Boogie, who ate everything in sight... We got him right after Riley went to go live with the Vet. He is named after one of Hooker's dogs. He was a rebound dog, and you know those never work out. Boogie went back to the rescue place where we got him, which is what they want you to do if the dog does not work out in your home. He didn't.



Then Missy, the worst behaved dog on earth. We rescued her from a breeder. She looks so innocent. She was okay until we got the second dog, and then she was the ringleader. I found her an excellent new home where she is the only dog to this 13 year old girl who adores her. I am hoping those people lose my phone number before Thanksgiving, when she likes to walk on the table and ingest entire sticks of butter.

and finally we have Amy:

She is about as normal a dog as we have ever had. What happened there? Though, we notice that she is starting to chase bugs, and might have bit of a crush on the goat...

This is not another dog. This is Spencer on a trip with Bill. He stayed with Bill's parents in Ventura , CA while Bill was working in a friend's and fellow luthier's shop after the house exploded. I just think it is a cute picture of Spencer.

PHOTO OP/ QUESTION THURSDAY***

It is already time again for Photo Op/Question Thursday!!!***
***Now Available on Fridays!!!

Please write the caption for this photo:


AND

answer this contemplative question:

If you could start college over, would you major in something different, and if so, what would it be?


Here are my answers for this week's caption & question that two people at most will probably answer:

Caption:

"You know, if I had to guess, I would say that this Reverend Wright dude is on Hilary's payroll. Seriously. Think about it."

Answer:

I would major in either theater or ceramics and NOT CARE AT ALL if I ever got a high paying job in it, or worry that it was not practical. They were both things I loved to do, and I seemed to have some ability there. I probably would have gone to RISD for Ceramics and who knows where for theatre. I also would have finished college in 4 years maybe, instead of 19 years. However, I listened to my weird parents. As it turned out I wasted many years in nursing school NOT becoming a nurse and then finally got a BS in Marketing, which now does not interest me at all. And I am living with a goat, which has its own set of problems. On the other hand, after 256 liberal arts credit hours, I am not too shabby at Jeopardy. But I still suck at Scrabble.

I have been watching this fascinating series on PBS

It is called CARRIER and it is like a 5 part series where each part is two hours long. I have watched three of the five so far. It is all about life aboard the US Navy Carrier the USS NIMITZ. It is so captivating and it is on all this week on PBS. It profiles people in every rank, pilots, petty officers, cooks, navigators, those guys in the colored shirts that wave the planes on and off the ship.... just everyone. It gives a true glimpse into life aboard an aircraft carrier for 6 months and it is just amazing... I never knew the Navy was SO STRICT.

Anyway you can see parts of it here and read about it and if it is on near you you should watch it. It is SO interesting!!! They have to sleep in teeny weeny beds, and the ship holds 6000 people!!!
http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_1_carrier_2008-04-30

I learned SO MUCH about the Us Navy. Did you know those planes cost like 60 million dollars? That in one episode a guy went overboard and they searched for him for three days but they never found him... It tells about what they do all day on the ship... its really compelling.

What we did this weekend ***

So this was a typical weekend here at the goat farm On Friday night we held our normal drum circle thing, where we gather in the woods and chant and liberate a bundle of asparagus. On Saturday I got up early and I shaved my dog, and after that we all dressed in leiderhosen and went to Home Depot, where we sat as a family in the parking lot performing for the patrons. Bill played guitar, Spencer danced, I played tambourine and chanted, and Amy our bald dog played accordion. We sang selections from our upcoming Chapin Family Singers album entitled "There is a sale on Wallpaper, and other songs about Home Improvement." This was pretty fun until Home Depot asked us to leave. Later Saturday afternoon we had a late lunch of mutton, pickled herring and gazpacho. Saturday night we did our usual baking of the scones, so we would have plenty to throw at passing cars. Sunday was, as usual, NASCAR day, followed by some Belgian feather bowling and marital counseling.

I love our quiet weekends on the goat farm.

***May or may not be true... Just posting this to see if anyone is actually reading this blog...

PHOTO OP THURSDAY***

1. PHOTO OP THURSDAY
***NOW AVAILABLE ON FRIDAYS!!!

WRITE THE CAPTION FOR THIS PICTURE:

First prize is a week long, some expenses paid trip to a Goat Farm in Oregon, complete with a year's supply of Marionberry Jam, and a slightly charred bathroom vanity.* ++

*granite topped
++faucet not included

Here is my Entry:

"Hi my name is Stefan and for the special this evening we have the Swordfish Involtini for $22.00. It is swordfish sliced thin and wrapped around a stuffing of breadcrumbs, lemon zest, currants, pignoli, sauteed, and finished with a white wine reduction sauce. Would you like to see the wine list?"

NOW YOU WRITE THE CAPTION

2. This is me, in case you have forgotten:

TYDWBLEACH:

• Gender: Female
• Astrological Sign: Capricorn
• Occupation: Whiny (WannaBe) Dilettante
• Location: Goat Farm : Oregon : United States

Interests: bass fishing, cocoa powder, taxidermy, prunes, gymnastics, clog dancing, cellular biophysics, natural gas, needlepoint, Xanax, spelunking, watching spelling bees on TV, Medical transcription, lincoln logs, asthma, culinary history of Sweden, buying things I do not need and cannot afford on the internet.

Met with the Cabinets Guy at the house today.

This is me, in my kitchen, waiting for Bill to get home.

I was sick and did not feel like going, but I went. We pretty much got the same types of cupboards as before with a few changes. I have bronchitis and it is not good and i could not breathe very well today BUT I am on The Drugs. This is day two of The Drugs. One thing we have to change is that we are gonna have to still have a 30 inch cooktop instead of a 36, which means four burners instead of five. Its okay. I will live. Its not like we are feeding an army here.

I am sleepy. The Drugs make me sleepy. And I am sure this post is putting you to sleep.

so here is a question: IF you could switch decades what one would you live in??

What would you do with 15 million tax free dollars?

I would buy a house on Sanibel Island, or Captiva Island in Florida, with a huge pool and a ceramics studio, and pretty much never leave it. Except to get more clay.

What would you do?