diary of a mad handyma'am

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August 3, 2003

Alright. I'll sidestep the issue of my infrequent writing by saying I am getting a laptop soon! AND.... beginning in September, I hope to be posting more often. In the midst of all the work around here < and life in general > it simply hasn't been done.

Generally, I get an urge to write in the evening. With the computers in the house next in the bedroom annex, the sound of my typing prevents M from sleeping. It's been a point of contention, and I have avoided writing. It certainly is not because I have nothing to say. You ought to know better. And, you do. You're like that. That's why I like you.

Soooooooo..... anyway..... this week. Tomorrow. Tim from the heating and cooling company is coming out with the contract for the underground gas line phase of the system. He dropped the price by 300 bucks on the bid and I saw the green light. Imagine saving 300 dollars simply by whining and engaging him in a friendly confrontation. LOL. Small successes. It all adds up.

Finally got the trench dug for the data cable, the cable TV and the electrical run to the addition. I swear I dug the trench 3 times due to collapse of the ground from a combination of rain and kids walking near it. Yesterday I brought the data cable and the cable TV run into the addition. Yep. I drilled 2 holes into the brand new siding. That was a bit nerve wracking. But, did it. Another small success.

Running the cable once I got it in the basement was a bitch of a job. I drilled 20 holes through the floor joists to get the cable run in. The bit I was using had drilled many holes already and was somewhat dull. So very dull that I improvised and used my forearms as levers to push the bit through. The tops of which pressed on the joist edge in the back of the drill as I applied pressure the drill point. Of course, it worked.... but, I woke up with bruises on my forearms that hurt like hell. Success with pain is still success.

The random stuff....

Tasha has gas. Terrible gas. Some sort of cabbage-methane concoction.

::: note to self: put out all sources of ignition :::

M asks me: are you happy you fed her beans?

And what do YOU think the answer to that would be? Should that even be a question?

Not all smells are as sweet as success.

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It's night. The sky is darker than usual as thunderstorms roll through. The still is apparent as the thunder begins to roll. The air is charged. My anticipatory mode moves in. Even if in the back of my mind I think that we may lose power and I might lose words I am typing. I love storms. And, I flail away at the keys, uncertain where this is going. The rolling thunder in the backdrop, such an earthly delight. When suddenly, a mosquito bites me and I find myself digging at my ankle. It is then when Tasha decides that the thunder is quite scary and she shakes and crams herself under the desk at my feet. Great. Now writing in my journal with a gassy dog underfoot and trembling is much more interesting.

Oh, to be alive. Good thing they don't have a scratch and sniff utility on the web. Lucky you, eh? Add that to your list of small successes for today.

Last Friday was my last day in a 2 week stint of jury duty. My first time ever. I reported one day at the courthouse, I didn't get picked for the jury in a murder trial. I was one person away from sitting on the plush seats in the box. The main reason I didn't want to be on the jury is that we have a family vacation in a few weeks. My Mom and Dave rented a place for a week on the bay months ago. My sister and brothers and our respective families are all going to be there. It'll be the first time we have all been together in several years. Seems like the last time we were all in one place was shortly after our Dad died. I am pretty sure that is true. Therefore, this isn't something I want to miss out on.

Plus, it'll be a blast!

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:::: end of journal entry - upload success! ::::

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