all quiet on the home front
been doing a bit of home improvement. had the roof replaced, which is a relief. It needed new decking on more than 50% and the roofer gave it to me for absolute cost, as he'd originally estimated maybe replacing 3 sheets...
That spurred me on to redo the downstairs bath. I hated the paint it was spring green and didn't match the faux marble any more--8 years of curing darkened it, and the sage green vanity had always clashed. So, repainted ceiling and walls, in a warm taupe called Raffia cream, and finally put up door frames, baseboards, and ceiling mouldings in the sage green (hah, leftover paint, this is why I save it). Hung a ceiling fan in the bedroom, put up curtains because the security light was finally fixed by the city, and shone right into my eyes whilst reclining. That meant I needed new bedskirt, and that meant new sheets/coverlet...
Also bought a ceiling fan for the kitchen, but an inspection reminded me that the room needed repainting. Changed the color there too, from blue to a pale daffodil on the walls and eggnog on the ceiling. Ceiling fan, door frames and baseboards installed (I have pwned the miter saw!). Found chair cushions, placemats and dish towels with a sunflower theme, so that made me look for a wallpaper border of sunflowers with a blue background to match the existing tile. The order is in! I have a 13 ft wall in the kitchen with nothing on it, and finally decided that it needed art. I found Monet's Sunflowers, Georgia O'Keefe's Sunflower, New Mexico 1935, and can't decide which of Van Gogh's sunflower series will go best with those two. There is a sink and faucet that has been hanging around since the last round of renovation, so those are slated for install.
The dining room got a bit of floor replaced, and I finally installed light switch and outlet plates through out the downstairs. Lots of wall/baseboard washing going on in fits and starts. Tree removal and leveling the house are on the books, hopefully soon. Maybe even landscape updates when it cools down (114 degrees! heat index 120+!!!).
The A/V components in the house got an upgrade, too. I have been watching Netflix on my TV connected to my computer, or was until I allowed an update to run on my 64bit Win7, and Silverlight failed. Messed around with uninstall, reinstall, installing uninstallers, and farting around with the registry, and still couldn't get Silverlight to install. AT ALL. Got a Sony bluray player that purported to wirelessly connect to the network, to replace the Roku which was going on the TV in the office, but when I got it, NO DEVICE. It required a 90$ proprietary antenna, and that completely negated the 'good deal' on the player. sent it back, ordered a Samsung CD6500 which is about the only bluray player that didn't need a separate wireless peripheral. Was told it was sold out, and they would give me an 'upgrade', but the model offered still needed an additional device. cancelled it, and found what I wanted on Walmart.com.
In the meantime, I went 6 rounds with Microsoft support, and *nothing* they suggested would make Silverlight install. Period. Then out of the blue, MICROSOFT ENGINEER CALLED ME AT HOME. He and I spent about 30 minutes, and dang if he didn't fix it! I will say if MS supports something, they really support it. I was terribly pleased, as this meant the Roku could go in the bedroom, and the bluray in the living room.
Got the Samsung, and it wouldn't connect to my DSL wireless. ARGH. Changed the encryption on the router, and that meant reconnecting the laptops, and the Samsung still wouldn't connect. I was entirely fortunate, as the Samsung *would* connect to the Comcast wireless upstairs. Ran an update on the firmware, then went back and it connected to the DSL just fine. I am now streaming TV on every possible combination. The little TV in the bedroom isn't stereo, so the sound is a little wobbly on the Roku, but I can live with that....
So, lately all this streaming has had Star Trek The Next Generation on tap. I realized 2 things: Wesley Crusher was not nearly as annoying as I recalled, and how much of this I missed in first run because of family life and second jobs back in the day. I've really enjoyed this re-watch. 'Inner Light' is still my favorite episode. DS9 is next, and Voyager is in the queue. Might as well waste a couple of months on Trek! I have been crocheting like mad while watching, too. Completed by 11th blanket, and 4 scarfs for christmas presents.
On the medical front, I am running through hoops. Had a 6 week break from Chemo, but the insurance company wouldn't pay for the confirmation PET scan. They thought that more conventional imaging should be done first and if that proved inconclusive, they would reconsider the PET. Saw the doctor Wednesday, and wasted 3 hours to hear,' sorry, lets do a CT scan'. Got the CT scan Thursday (17 minutes total time from walking in to departure: I Love LHRO Imaging), and arrived home to find a letter from the Insurance company that they had denied the Pet scan categorically. ARGH ARGH Have yet another doctor appointment next Wednesday to discuss the CT results and situation. Otherwise I am feeling very peppy, though I do retain a lot of numbness in my hands and feet. The Onycholysis (The separation or loosening of a fingernail or toenail from its nail bed) is evident on every finger and toe (lost one entire nail, though it is growing fine) only hurt when I wore shoes. Had to buy a pair of tennis shoes 2 and half sizes too big to avoid inflicting misery on my poor toes after dropping a cookie sheet, a circular saw--not running--, and various knives and implements onto my aching feet/toes. They were black and blue for a very long time.So I have clown shoes, now.
ION: I have a new 'grandchild'. After various cats, dogs, rats, reptiles, and parakeets, I think my son has found the love of his life; an absolutely adorable sun conure aged 8 weeks, named Icarus. (Hey, I don't name them). He is so personable, and entirely too sweet. Still has a tiny bit of white baby fluff sticking out here and there, but for the most part he has his adolescent colors, lots of green with gold and red. Those will change to adult colors in a year or two, less green and more of the others, with the possibility of blue, too. Chris had him sexed by DNA, so we know for a fact that Iccy is indeed a he. I think he bought the little guy as a 2 day old hatchling, and had to wait the 6 weeks to be weaned. Chris is having to learn a LOT of bird first aid, as there isn't an avian veterinarian in the entire state. I think this is good for the kid, he's always wanted a bird, since he was a toddler, and was fascinated by my sister & mother's flocks. I suspect that Chris' singlet birdie will not remain that way.
That spurred me on to redo the downstairs bath. I hated the paint it was spring green and didn't match the faux marble any more--8 years of curing darkened it, and the sage green vanity had always clashed. So, repainted ceiling and walls, in a warm taupe called Raffia cream, and finally put up door frames, baseboards, and ceiling mouldings in the sage green (hah, leftover paint, this is why I save it). Hung a ceiling fan in the bedroom, put up curtains because the security light was finally fixed by the city, and shone right into my eyes whilst reclining. That meant I needed new bedskirt, and that meant new sheets/coverlet...
Also bought a ceiling fan for the kitchen, but an inspection reminded me that the room needed repainting. Changed the color there too, from blue to a pale daffodil on the walls and eggnog on the ceiling. Ceiling fan, door frames and baseboards installed (I have pwned the miter saw!). Found chair cushions, placemats and dish towels with a sunflower theme, so that made me look for a wallpaper border of sunflowers with a blue background to match the existing tile. The order is in! I have a 13 ft wall in the kitchen with nothing on it, and finally decided that it needed art. I found Monet's Sunflowers, Georgia O'Keefe's Sunflower, New Mexico 1935, and can't decide which of Van Gogh's sunflower series will go best with those two. There is a sink and faucet that has been hanging around since the last round of renovation, so those are slated for install.
The dining room got a bit of floor replaced, and I finally installed light switch and outlet plates through out the downstairs. Lots of wall/baseboard washing going on in fits and starts. Tree removal and leveling the house are on the books, hopefully soon. Maybe even landscape updates when it cools down (114 degrees! heat index 120+!!!).
The A/V components in the house got an upgrade, too. I have been watching Netflix on my TV connected to my computer, or was until I allowed an update to run on my 64bit Win7, and Silverlight failed. Messed around with uninstall, reinstall, installing uninstallers, and farting around with the registry, and still couldn't get Silverlight to install. AT ALL. Got a Sony bluray player that purported to wirelessly connect to the network, to replace the Roku which was going on the TV in the office, but when I got it, NO DEVICE. It required a 90$ proprietary antenna, and that completely negated the 'good deal' on the player. sent it back, ordered a Samsung CD6500 which is about the only bluray player that didn't need a separate wireless peripheral. Was told it was sold out, and they would give me an 'upgrade', but the model offered still needed an additional device. cancelled it, and found what I wanted on Walmart.com.
In the meantime, I went 6 rounds with Microsoft support, and *nothing* they suggested would make Silverlight install. Period. Then out of the blue, MICROSOFT ENGINEER CALLED ME AT HOME. He and I spent about 30 minutes, and dang if he didn't fix it! I will say if MS supports something, they really support it. I was terribly pleased, as this meant the Roku could go in the bedroom, and the bluray in the living room.
Got the Samsung, and it wouldn't connect to my DSL wireless. ARGH. Changed the encryption on the router, and that meant reconnecting the laptops, and the Samsung still wouldn't connect. I was entirely fortunate, as the Samsung *would* connect to the Comcast wireless upstairs. Ran an update on the firmware, then went back and it connected to the DSL just fine. I am now streaming TV on every possible combination. The little TV in the bedroom isn't stereo, so the sound is a little wobbly on the Roku, but I can live with that....
So, lately all this streaming has had Star Trek The Next Generation on tap. I realized 2 things: Wesley Crusher was not nearly as annoying as I recalled, and how much of this I missed in first run because of family life and second jobs back in the day. I've really enjoyed this re-watch. 'Inner Light' is still my favorite episode. DS9 is next, and Voyager is in the queue. Might as well waste a couple of months on Trek! I have been crocheting like mad while watching, too. Completed by 11th blanket, and 4 scarfs for christmas presents.
On the medical front, I am running through hoops. Had a 6 week break from Chemo, but the insurance company wouldn't pay for the confirmation PET scan. They thought that more conventional imaging should be done first and if that proved inconclusive, they would reconsider the PET. Saw the doctor Wednesday, and wasted 3 hours to hear,' sorry, lets do a CT scan'. Got the CT scan Thursday (17 minutes total time from walking in to departure: I Love LHRO Imaging), and arrived home to find a letter from the Insurance company that they had denied the Pet scan categorically. ARGH ARGH Have yet another doctor appointment next Wednesday to discuss the CT results and situation. Otherwise I am feeling very peppy, though I do retain a lot of numbness in my hands and feet. The Onycholysis (The separation or loosening of a fingernail or toenail from its nail bed) is evident on every finger and toe (lost one entire nail, though it is growing fine) only hurt when I wore shoes. Had to buy a pair of tennis shoes 2 and half sizes too big to avoid inflicting misery on my poor toes after dropping a cookie sheet, a circular saw--not running--, and various knives and implements onto my aching feet/toes. They were black and blue for a very long time.So I have clown shoes, now.
ION: I have a new 'grandchild'. After various cats, dogs, rats, reptiles, and parakeets, I think my son has found the love of his life; an absolutely adorable sun conure aged 8 weeks, named Icarus. (Hey, I don't name them). He is so personable, and entirely too sweet. Still has a tiny bit of white baby fluff sticking out here and there, but for the most part he has his adolescent colors, lots of green with gold and red. Those will change to adult colors in a year or two, less green and more of the others, with the possibility of blue, too. Chris had him sexed by DNA, so we know for a fact that Iccy is indeed a he. I think he bought the little guy as a 2 day old hatchling, and had to wait the 6 weeks to be weaned. Chris is having to learn a LOT of bird first aid, as there isn't an avian veterinarian in the entire state. I think this is good for the kid, he's always wanted a bird, since he was a toddler, and was fascinated by my sister & mother's flocks. I suspect that Chris' singlet birdie will not remain that way.