Slag
Man, I have not been able to keep up. Lately, it seems like everything is coming at me at once and then, when it isn't, I just want to veg.
We had a decent Thanksgiving. Up to my parents house for turkey and whatnot. Drawing names for the Christmas grab and I got [DELETED FOR SECURITY REASONS].
We saw at least 2 car wrecks, 1 crash happening directly to the left of us as we entered the tunnel from the Zakem on the way home. Which was slightly scary to watch an SUV plowed into a small Honda while changing his lane without looking. Later, we got stopped in Sharon because a house was burning down and the street was closed forcing us to backtrack about 20 minutes.
So, it now ranks in the top ten Scariest Rides to Grandma's House.
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I did get that part from the Bush company for the TV stand. It was the same part as the incorrect piece the first time. So, it's nice to see that general apathy is as widespread as my cynical assumptions constantly jump to when dealing with anything resembling the service sector.
I decided I didn't want to go through the hassle of calling up and complaining. Plus, I got to use the skill saw that I've had for more than a year without touching and it, eventually, all worked out nicely.
I finished up the TV stand and we moved the old desk out. Then I put together the new sound system, and it does actually rock. At about 3/4 volume the bass was vibrating the floor. Hung some new curtains over the slider doors in the sunroom. Now that room is the most private in the whole house. It's off the main house and not a window is bare (it only took 2 years after they sealed it up).
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I caved and Tine talked me into a fake Christmas tree a few weeks ago. Normally, I don't care for such abominations, but I don't feel like taking chances with the sunroom this year. We put that up about 2+ weeks ago. It's a pre-lit job, with all white bulbs. Originally, i figured I would put a few strings of colored lights on it and be done. But it was readily apparent that any lights I put on it were getting lost in the amount of white already present. In order for anyone to actually see color, I'd have to put so many light on it, it would be like sitting in a room with 450 watt light bulb on (which would probably set paper instantly to fire).
Instead, I opted to pull some of the white lights off and replace them with color. This also sucks and I gave up in favor of replacing a smattering of colored lights through out the tree.
Actually, once it was decorated it looked a lot nicer (I'll post a pic soon).
I strung up lights around the house, pulled more Christmas stuff down from the attic. I even put together a Lego train that I bought about 2 years ago (it's an old-style steam engine) and now have it running under the Christmas tree. Man, does TheBoy love that. He loves making it stop, go backwards and then forward--mostly backwards for some reason. I had to get more straight track because the route wasn't big enough to sit flat under the tree and derailing the passenger cars all the time.
Another trip to the attic to find the winter clothes and put the Halloween bins away. I had to level the TV stand because it was sitting with one leg on the carpet and it was clearly causing the whole thing to twist to the point the doors were mis-aligning. I also installed one of those sealed mini-blinds for the glass door. Now we can walk naked into the sunroom if we so choose without the neighbors calling the cops. Not that we ever walk naked through the house anymore.
I put TheBoy's bed together, which included repairing the flat board it sits on. The squirrels had chewed through the covering and I had to make a new one. It's a big bed too and I got zero help with that.
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On that note, I finally decided to get rid of the squirrels in the barn. I spent a week keeping small containers filled with ammonia placed around the inside to flush them out. Then, I started throwing wiffle balls up there to make sure they were gone and repaired the hole they ate at the top of the doors. That was a pain, because -of course- I mismeasured the hole and got the two parts overlapping on the double swing doors and they would not close properly. The good news I finally got to use the reciprocating saw, which I figured would sit there until the conclusion of WWIII.
I have to check to make sure they haven't found another way in (because I can't see the far side roof and there could be a hole there - I really hope not). Getting them out is the first step in converting the barn to my Lego room. Which, of course, is about the *only* step that's going to get done before the Spring.
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I missed the Klassic Space BrikWar game for reasons relating to the subjunctive perceptions of time and space (and the alternate realities therein). But I really don't want to talk about it. On the flip side, I went from 0% Shopping Done for Tine to 92% Shopping Done for Tine in about 3 hours of sitting at the PC that night. Go Internet!
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I have been toying with that Lego train since it was assembled. I even let Sullivan talk me into the Northern Santa Fe Locomotive at the last NELUG meeting. I'm finding myself planning for a train area once the barn is converted. Damn it, I really didn't want to get into trains. I also cannot find the cross track I bought many moons ago. I wanted to assemble a larger track, what with the 2.7 million curves I now have, but I can't find it. Probably just as well.
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I totally missed NaNoWriMo this year. There was no way I could even hope to try with everything else going on. But I did manage to get a few more paragraphs in on the Myra story. I know that Alfred will be slightly pleased to hear that. Unfortunately, there's still a ways to go before 1.4 is done and I couldn't guess how long that will take. Keep your fingers cross, maybe it'll be ready before the new year (or maybe not). :P
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There are several lights out over my desk, right now and I feel like I'm working in a cave.
I have a headache.
