Tip of the Week...

This week I have been putting together a calendar full of tips and facts so I'll just share one of those for the tip today...

A "blue moon" is defined as the second full moon in a single calendar month -- this occurs only about once every 2.5 years.

Interestingly, this definition, while considered correct today, originated from a mistake in a publication of Sky and Telescope magazine in 1946. Previously, the definition of a "blue moon" was the third full moon in a season which contained FOUR such moons.

Interesting eh?

And just as a bonus...

Moths have no stomach.

Books for the week

Im a little late with this post... its been a crazy week! We haven't even had time to do anything more to the house because our evenings have all been filled with other things...

So, this week! Its a very short list...

Dance of the Gods (Nora Roberts) Very good... can't wait for the next in the trilogy to come out. Its due in November, as is her next in the JD Robb series. My only complaint was that the physical descriptions of the women in the Gods trilogy are VERY similar to those in the Key trilogy...But Im sure most people probably dont read Nora as avidly as I do and would never catch the similarities.

Gaudy Night (Dorothy Sayers) Haven't finished this one yet, but its a fun departure from the standard Peter Whimsey novel as this one is told from the viewpoint of Harriet Vane, a detective story writer who is friends with him.

For work, Ive been putting together a calendar of "tips and facts", so Ive also been reading a lot of World Records books and Almanacs, etc.

Clearing the Air...

Ok, I seem to have started a firestorm with the photos I posted of our renovation/demo due to a lack of pictured safety equipment. Let me clarify that we ARE taking precautions!

After pulling up the carpet and flooring and making the one small hole (pictured) in the drywall to verify our ability to move a beam, we used face masks AND safety glasses, and even went and bought new ones after we saw how quickly they "clogged" when we were working with that nasty old insulation. We also wore LONG SLEEVES and LONG PANTS and GLOVES and immediately washed any nicks and scratches with antibacterial soap. I PROMISE we're being careful! hehe.

I love that you all are worried about us, we sure know we're loved! The part we're really not looking forward to is when Hubband has to crawl under the house to work on the plumbing... we already bought him a full body tyvex suit and he has his gloves and such, but that isn't going to be fun!

In a side note... while the insulation we found is VERY old, there was a nifty little reference for us tucked into one of the walls. It was an original bag for the insulation! Nicely labeled with manufacturing date (1952) and ingredients (wool, and some sort of synthetic like polyester that I can't think of right now but is NOT asbestos). Cool, eh? We also found a Christmas package bow and label. Gotta wonder how THOSE got in the wall! Must have dropped down from the attic or something.

And so it begins....

This last week saw us receiving the financing for our kitchen, ordering the cabinets, tearing out carpet, and starting demo...

I have to say, as much as I enjoy the whole renovation process and most of the work is usually at least INTERESTING if not fun... our demo process was none of the above. Have you ever breathed 60-year-old insulation dust? Ripped out a huge piece of drywall, tripped over the one on the floor, and ended up crashing to the floor? Slammed your sledge into the drywall and have it hit a hidden double stud, bounce off the wall, and send the few tiny chips of drywall it dislodged straight into your eyes? All of those incidents happened to us in our first major day of demo. The good side? Since Friday afternoon (and with taking Friday evening and all day Sabbath off...) we have accomplished the following:

Ripped up carpet and pad
Pulled out carpet tacks, staples, and tack strips
Pulled off the crown and baseboard molding
Ripped out two sections of rotten subflooring
Removed the drywall from 3 walls
Pulled down 2.45 cabinets (the only ones we had)
Pulled drywall off an existing soffit
Removed the soffit framing and insulation
Pulled up 2 layers of linoleum
Scraped up about half of the final layer of linoleum (original to the house)
Made 3 runs to Home Depot and 2 to Lowes

Not too shabby, eh?

Two Years ago today....

Thank you for 2 wonderful years, my love. I have only grown to know you better, to love you more, and to know that our life together is better than I ever dreamed it would be.

I love you, here's to 50 more....

Tip of the Week

Dont sit in sweatpants on a microfiber couch with a laptop in your lap and then scoot forward and pick up the laptop. This results in a significant electrical charge running through your body as the static you've generated interacts with the laptop battery.

Yes. Sadly, Im speaking from experience.

What Im Reading ...

This week has been so busy, and we've been out and about so much, I didn't get as many books in...

1) Patricia (Grace Livingstone Hill): I thought I hadn't read this one yet, but by the end it was quite familiar. Still a nice Friday evening/Sabbath afternoon read.
2.Wildfire At Midnight (Mary Stewart): Again... I think I have read this before, but am not sure if it were perhaps published at some point under another title... VERY good mystery. I love MS because her heroines are always smart, flawed, stupid, etc. at all the right times.
3. Carry on, Jeeves (PG Wodehouse) Ive just discovered the Jeeves books and love them. VERY fun.

I also got Morrigans Cross and its sequel Dance of the Gods. Ive started rereading Morrigans (since I read it in the bookstore last time...). Also started reading Killjoy by Julie Garwood, then realized I'd heard it on an audio book. *giggle* I guess it has just been a "rereading" kind of week...