February 2007 – red paper boat

Furnace Update

February 28, 2007November 1, 2015 Shelly

Doodle
gel pen on 90lb Stonehenge paper
7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches

I got a call from the maintenance guy this ayem, and they are going to be here bright and early tomorrow to install the new furnace.

I don’t know which I’m more sick of, not having heat, or sleeping in the “warm” living room. Last night, Mr. Upstairs spent the entire night–starting at about 11:00!–cleaning. First, it was the dishwasher, which is not, alas, a quiet model. Then, he commenced vacuuming–again, kinda loud! At about 12:30 he started rearranging furniture. At 2am, he recommenced with the vacuuming. In between the aforementioned events, there was much stomping around and dropping of heavy objects. I think he was intentionally trying to make me cry.

What in the hell is wrong with him?! I just don’t understand how a grown, adult human could think that sort of obnoxious behavior is acceptable. Was he absent on the day they studied sound waves in physics class?

And then there’s Miss Pandora, bless her heart. Somewhere in all the upstairs noise-making, I managed to drift off to sleep, only to be abruptly awakened by the sound of the vertical blinds clanging together. It was Pandora, running back and forth, along the patio window. “Clank clank clank” is not, as it turns out, very good music to sleep by.

Art, Crankypantsing, Doodles

Doodle

February 27, 2007November 1, 2015 Shelly

Doodle
RoseArt ColorSharp metallic marker on 90lb Stonehenge paper
7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches

Still no heat, so I’m going to turn off the computer now and go to the “warm room.” I’m optimistic that tomorrow will bring a nice, shiny, new furnace, but I’m not going to count on it.

Pets, Photography

Speaking of Toys

February 27, 2007November 15, 2015 Shelly

Harriet has her very own toy box. When I still had Elliott, he would pick up all their toys and put them away, whenever I got out the vacuum cleaner. As soon as I finished vacuuming, Harriet would drag them all back out again.

Pets, Photography

Guess What?

February 27, 2007November 15, 2015 Shelly

Chicken Butt!

I stopped on my way home to pick up dog food, and decided Miss Brown should have a treat. I got her a “Hard Core” Fire Hose (obscene sounding, isn’t it?) and a rubber chicken. The fire hose lasted all of two minutes before she had the end chewed off it. I doubt Mr. Chicken will last much longer, what with his delectable little drumsticks an’ all. Still, it was worth it for the cute factor.

Pets, Photography

Pupkis

February 26, 2007November 15, 2015 Shelly

As I was taking a photo of the pupkis on the window, Harriet wandered into the shot to demonstrate its application. The patio door is like a gigantor television for Harriet. She can sit and watch for hours.

In other dog-related news, as I came back from walking Miss Brown this morning, we met my across-the-hall neighbor, who was on her way to work. She stopped to pet Harriet, and complimented her on her excellent deportment. Ms. Neighbor said she never hears a peep out of Harriet, even when I’m not home. I’m not surprised, because Harriet is a very quiet dog. It’s nice to know that others have noted how quiet she is, though, especially since there are mildly barky dogs around, and we kind of live in a fishbowl.

In heating news, things are not looking quite so good. The real repairmen were here this morning, and their diagnosis was, “It’s dead, Jim.” They’re ordering a whole new furnace, but it will take at least 24 hours for it to get here, then it’ll take pretty much a whole day to install it. So I’m without heat for a couple more days. Well, not entirely without heat. I have a little oil radiator, but that really isn’t sufficient for the task. Luckily, it’s supposed to be fairly mild this week.

Genealogy

Fresh &cetera

February 26, 2007November 1, 2015 Shelly

I’ve been searching through ships’ manifests. It’s interesting what information is contained in them, and how it’s recorded. For instance, apparently young girls from Ireland had what were considered “fresh” complexions. As opposed to what, “not fresh”? Also, someone had a partially descended testicle.

M’kaythen!

Art, Crankypantsing, Doodles

Sunday Crankypantsing

February 25, 2007November 1, 2015 Shelly

Doodle
gel pen and gel marker on 90lb Stonehenge paper
7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches

Last night’s wintry mix didn’t end up amounting to anything, because the temperature rose enough for the ice and snow to turn to rain. A good thing, too, because when I got up this morning, the furnace was dead. Again. I had to hunt for my lease, to find the emergency maintenance number. I called, and someone masquerading as a repair person showed up. I say “masquerading as,” because all he was able to do was turn up the thermostat, wait for it to misbehave, and tell me, “Yep, it’s broken.” Pure genius!

I’m going to have to wait until tomorrow, when a real repair person can come fix it. In the meantime, he brought me a dinky little oil heater. Better than nothing, because it should keep one room reasonably warm, but not so very helpful for keeping the large, open-plan living-dining-kitchen area warm. But at least it’s not super cold out, right?

While I was waiting for the Unrepair guy to show up, I watched a show on Alexander the Great (I love the history channel!) and doodled. I have a feeling that the rest of the day is going to be spent on the couch, with a good book, the dog, a cup of hot chocolate, and a big, fat comforter.

Bookarts, Photography

New Journal

February 25, 2007November 1, 2015 Shelly

5 x 3 1/2 inches, 16 signatures (32 pages)
140lb Cotman cold press watercolor paper Coptic bound with cotton thread

The covers were recycled from the back panel of a notebook. At first, I was going to cut off the holes from the spiral binding, but they reminded me of sprocket holes in film, so I kept them. I haven’t done anything to decorate the covers yet. They’re just bare davey board.

The pages are made from watercolor paper. I bought a few sheets of it, to try it out, and didn’t end up liking it for painting. I held onto it, though, because I thought it might work in a book. We’ll see.

I was taught never to cut art paper, so I almost always tear my book paper. This time, though, I cut the fore edges with a pair of crafting scissors. The blades are supposed to mimic torn paper, which I think they do reasonably well. Since this book isn’t going to be used for watercolor, cutting with scissors won’t hurt anything.

(You can see by the orange flecks in the detail to the right that Miss Brown’s hair tends to get into everything.)

Art, Crankypantsing, Doodles

Sunday Crankypantsing

February 25, 2007September 22, 2015 Shelly

gel pen and gel marker on 90lb Stonehenge paper
7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches

Uncategorized

Strange Little World

February 24, 2007October 29, 2015 Shelly

Yesterday, I forgot my billfold at home and had to come back and get it. As I was parking, I noticed a turquoise and chrome Dodge Ram truck in the spot in front of mine. When I got back to my car, I gave the truck a closer look. You see, my ex-landlady has a truck exactly like it, and though I wasn’t expecting it to be her truck (that’d be silly, right?), it piqued my curiosity. I’ll be damned, though! It was her truck. It used to have a US flag in the back window, but that’s been replaced by a Century 21 ad displaying her photo, name, and phone numbers.

I don’t know if she’s living here (that would be odd, for a real estate agent), is seeing someone who lives here, or if her son lives here. The truck was still here this morning when I walked the dog. It’s in a different spot, though, so it’s been moved. Weird, huh?

I’m not sure how I feel about her living here, assuming she does. We always got along well, until she and her husband split up. Then, she tried to pressure me into paying my rent to her, even though he owned the property. I didn’t appreciate being forced into the middle of their bullshit, so I feel a little bit resentful toward her.