Where the time goes ...

Wow, it has been since September since I posted.

Yikes...well, I guess, though, that makes some sense...you see, we've been dragged away from normality by a few things, so it happens. Here are some updates...

First, at the end of September, we got into a serious wreck on the interstate in N.W. Indiana, heading off to the apple orchard. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but our Altima sure got hurt pretty badly. After wrestling with the other driver's insurance and her own inability to get a statement in, we were found completely fault-free (which we'd figured), and all was paid for. But this took until the week of freakin' Thanksgiving to get sorted out. With that potential budget drain over our heads, we had to hold back on our spending, just in case.

Next, we bid adieu to my roommate and friend of the last 11 years, my dog, Kazak. His hips had started to really go bad on him, and his appetite was also slipping. On Dec. 7 (the day that will live in infamy, which is the only reason I'll remember that was the day that this happened too), he fell down the back stairs and couldn't get up. His liver, it turns out, had also begun to give out on him. The vet believed he had liver cancer as well, and that it was just a matter of time. That day, at the vet, after carrying him to the car and into the vet, I decided to have him put down. R.I.P., my friend. I know you will.

Then, of course, the holidays always get in the way of things. But, we've moved on since the holidays -- not only have we rescued a young pup from Chicago Canine Rescue Foundation (Pillsbury, or Pils, as I call him), but we also had a carpenter come out and finally take care of that stupid, leaky skylight in the bathroom ceiling. It was a dumb idea by some previous owner -- actually, a great idea, just piss-poor execution...or maybe not. So, here are a bunch of before pictures, to give you an idea of what it was... 

And here is an "after" shot of the roof patched up.

What does this mean? Well, more or less, "We're back in business, baby!"

Stay tuned for my next post...which follows up on these developments, of course!

Progress made, but slow-going...

I've primed with two coats the wood paneling inside of the gable, just having finished that earlier today. Of course, I'm really busy today, since my fish are sick and our kitchen sink clogged. For the fish, I had to remove all the plants in order to treat with medication (the medicine would kill the plants), which means they have to sit in a rubbermaid tub of water outside...and hopefully they'll do OK out there. Last time I had to do this, it was fine.

For the kitchen sink, of course, we had no drain-o or anything like that. So I had to go to Home Depot. Which, I guess turned out that it wasn't so bad, because I was able to pick up several more plants for my garden at sale prices. Now, I have to find the time and energy to plant them. :)

I'm coming to the realization that I need to locate some friends to come and help me paint that room upstairs, or it might take a full 6 months to paint. :)

Projects galore...

Well, we've decided to go with Cinnamon Frost (aka, "light brown"). I was never able to find any full-roofed photos using the colors, so I'll have to go on instinct on this one. Honestly, my instinct is not feeling very good about it. I have a feeling I'm not going to like it. So, here's hoping my feeling is wrong about this one. They're coming out Monday to do the work, which is exciting. :)

Haven't heard from our window repair guy. He was going to come out this past Monday to repair only our shattered window, but he never called. So, I'm assuming he's going to call when he has some free space in his schedule. Let's hope that's soon.

Meanwhile, I've been researching as best as I can how to install my 125-gallon fish tank that was left here behind the wall in the basement family room. Shouldn't be a terrible, terrible project.
Here's where I'm looking at installing it...on the wall that is behind the post in this picture. The wall part should be "easy" enough, even with the outlet down at the bottom. The utility room (boiler, furnace, etc.) is behind on the other side of that wall, and it has pretty solid clearance back there...it's fixing up the tank that likely will be more difficult (and costly).

Also, I need to repair the wall in the upstairs bathroom after the roofers come through and re-roof the place. There's a nice-sized hole around one corner of the skylight, where we had some leakage and I wanted to dig out the drywall and take a look at what was going on underneath.

So, as usual, much to do, much to do. I need to, again, make a list.

As promised...garden photos...

Blazing Star Liatris
Originally uploaded by southsideandy

I took a bunch of pics of my fledgling garden. Also, there's a great pic of Kazak on the deck...if you've never seen his black tongue, voila! :)

Happy Father's Day to any dads out there...now that I have my Flickr account actually being used, expect more pics than you've been seeing.