Harriet likes to sleep with her head propped up. Somehow, she managed to turn one of the couch pillows on its side, then she cradled her head on it.
Month: February 2008
Letters to Esther
The letter on top is from Esther’s brother, Clark. He went to Purdue University, while Esther went to school here at IU.
Bzzzzzzzzzzz
I can hear chainsaws grinding away. Yesterday’s wind must have knocked down trees. I got home last night to find that someone’s trash had been blown all over my patio. It was mostly Bud Light cans (ugh), but I did a thorough pick-up, in case there were bones in it. I found a grocery bag stuffed with a used turkey carcass, not long after Thanksgiving, so I’m a little paranoid about things that might hurt Miss Brown.
I haven’t looked at the weather forecast, but the storms seem to be over. We had a high of 52F yesterday, so I was a little surprised to feel sleet hit my face when I left home this morning. It cooled off significantly overnight.
Tower of Babel
I just went downstairs to get something to drink. It’s kind of crowded in the cafeteria and on the escalators, and I was struck–once again–by how much I enjoy letting all the different languages swirl around and wash over me. Sometimes, the library feels like a miniature UN.
At Work
Yes, I’m still painting behemoth pears. Someone in one of the Canon DLSR groups recommended using the timer to take low light photos, so I gave it a try. Huzzah! Today’s photo is much sharper than yesterday’s. There’s still a little bit of shake, from the mirror moving out of the way, but I think there’s a way to lock the mirror. I intend to investigate that this weekend.
Since I’m completely clueless about photography, I’ve been reading up on the basics. Aieee! Physics has never been my strong suit, especially optics, so this stuff is not intuitive to me. It’s going to take awhile before it starts to sink in.
Tile
Or, more specifically, grout. I spent a couple of hours last night on my hands and knees, scrubbing my bathroom floor with a toothbrush and bleach water. The grout is nice and clean now, but it’s an unappealing mottled grey color that will never look it.
And check out the lovely caulk smear along the bottom of the tub. Classy! The little maple piece on the right (it’s a nightstand, actually) is in serious need of refinishing. I promised my mom that I wouldn’t paint it, which means I might get to it sometime in the next ten years. Or not.
The photo is a little fuzzy (aside from the blurring from the shallow depth of field), because I took it in low light with no flash. I had to lighten it a bit and up the cyan and blue channels to compensate for the yellowing. I’m kind of surprised that it worked, as the original image was so dark that it looked like it’d been dipped in molasses.
And now, I’m off to find something to eat and to watch some mindless television. It stormed this morning and has been drizzling all day, so my brain feels like a bowl of pudding.
Ow!
I actually got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the entire bathroom floor with bleach water and a toothbrush. It’s itty bitty 1″ square tile, and the grout–which I’m sure was once a beautiful white color–was varying shades of grimy grey. Yuck! God only knows how long it’s been since it was properly scrubbed. It certainly wasn’t done before I moved in.
So, now my back hurts. Bastards!
I also did laundry, dumped and disinfected the litter box, washed dishes, took trash to the dumpster, vacuumed, cleaned the studio (egad, was that ever a mess!), and changed bed linens and the cover on the futon. I also sorted out some magazines from my collage stacks and recycled them and cleaned off the coffee table. The last was a mess. It was heaped with tottering stacks of art junk and trash, to the point that there was nowhere to put your feet.
I still need to clean out the fridge (ugh), empty the dishwasher, mop the kitchen floor, and carry some empty boxes down to the basement.
Perks
I periodically get requests to give references for former students who are looking for “real” employment. I love it. Love, love, love it. I’ve had pretty excellent luck with hiring good kids, and it makes me ridiculously happy to see them make the transition into the real world.
Today, I got a background check request for one of my old students. Apparently, he’s trying to get a job with the federal government. He’s a good, steady, thoughtful worker, and he will, I’m sure, make any employer happy. I wish him luck, and I hope that his potential future employer has the foresight to hire him.
Auntie Em!
Wind gusts of 37.9 mph! Aieee! On the high seas, that’d be a moderate gale-force wind. I’m in just about the most solid building in town, and it sounds like a convoy of dump trucks is circling the building.
Fog
It’s 48F right now with 94% humidity, so obviously, there’s a misty drizzle and fog. It’s supposed to stay this way for awhile, too.
The bunnies are happy about the warm weather. When I took Harriet out this morning, there were at least ten rabbits grazing in the back field. They weren’t inclined to leave, either, which made Harriet’s morning potty trip both exciting and educational. We had a wonderful opportunity to work on our ability to ignore tempting, tasty morsels of rabbity goodness. Harriet’s response was something along the lines of, “Okayfinethen! If I can’t have them, I’m going to pretend they don’t exist.” I had to laugh, because that’s pretty much how I feel about the candy jar at work.
red paper boat 