Oy, what a trying couple of weeks!
A bit behind, so this might be long (winded).
A bit overwhelmed by what still needs done with the house. Thankfully, my aunt and uncle will do the lions share of the heavy lifting- sprucing up the outside and big-time cleaning and staging on the inside. I meet with the realtor this Tuesday; I hope I can get my house on the market by the end of this month, or early next month at the very, very latest.
Gotta love Northeast Ohio weather. Last weekend, for Labor Day weekend, it was high 80s Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and 90s Monday and Tuesday. Figures, because I took Friday off in hopes of doing some major purging and cleaning. I got some things done. Most notably, I tried to sell off some things I no longer needed. Success was a mixed bag. So, as a result of that, I have a lot of the attic cleared out. Most of what is up there are my roommates' boxes and empty plastic containers belonging to me. I think one, maybe two good, concentrated days will be all I need to get through what remains. Monday I declared a fluff-off day due to the heat. I lounged around the house for a bit, then when it got too warm I caught a movie. I FINALLY got to see Inside Out. Wow, I can see why people were raving over that one, and yeah, I cried a bit at the end. So. Well. Done. Just a beautiful movie, simple enough for children to grasp, but with enough depth and inside jokes for adults to appreciate. Practically perfect movie.
Now, contrast last weekend's torrid weather with this weekend: Saturday barely made it out of the 60s and it rained all day (no complaints with the latter- we needed it). I actually closed the windows in my room last night- it got chilly even for me! That's saying something. Today I think was mid-60s. It was supposed to rain but it actually turned out to be a lovely day, temperate and mild. The rest of this week is supposed to be mid 70s and low 80s; Friday, last I checked, might get to mid to high 80s- but then temps are supposed to come back down to the more sensible 70s.
I did more with Operation Purge The House- met with my aunt and uncle today, cleaned off my desk a bit more, cleaned the top of my filing cabinet, and tackled another of those "I'll get to this later" piles. I have a small trunkfull of stuff ready for Goodwill tomorrow. I'm aiming to tackle one small project an evening and do a final purge push this coming weekend. May need to splurge on a can of Red Bull. I'm not a big pop drinker, and I could never drink a full can (or even half a can) of that stuff straight. But I've found that a third a can of Red Bull mixed with water is an awesome energy tonic. I always have my mocha as well.
Tonight I had dinner with my Vietnamese family at a nice little buffet up north. On one hand, I had a lot of stuff to do but... I needed the break. Anna is just so cute. Tonight, Hien gave her a dollar bill. It was so hilarious watching Anna figure out how to use it. I watcher her as she tried to put the dollar in the gumball dispenser. She eventually did figure out how to put the dollar into one of the two machines that accepted bills, and she "played" the game.
A couple more cute Anna stories. One, our latest "game" is she will grab my wrist with both her hands, grinning all the while. She has a pretty good grip for a preschooler, by the way! I just say things like "Oh no! You got me! Help! Help!" And she will giggle and let me go. So I make a show of running away... and she "captures" me again.
The other funny Anna story. I had some pennies which are going to the bank tomorrow for depositing (I hope I don't make any enemies at the bank, ha ha ha!). Well, like the klutz that I am, I had put the bag on my chair. While I was trying to get something else, I accidentally knocked into the chair, knocking that bag of pennies over and spilling them everywhere! Anna at one point came over to help me put the pennies into the bag, and I taught her "penny," "pennies," "nickel," "dime" and how to count up to six pennies. Well, at any rate, we got about 3/4 of the pennies back in the bag when Anna decided it was time to take the pennies back OUT of the bag. Yeah. Eventually, she just grabbed the bag and turned it over. Once again, pennies all over the place. Trust a preschooler to find the most efficient way to make a mess :P Ah well, it entertained her for a good while. The pennies did get cleaned up. Eventually.
Also finished a book. I have a feeling my reading progress will be considerably slower for the rest of the year. One is, of course, the house sale. Two, I'm tackling a thick, dense (but very good) book. And... there are other reason which I won't get into here. Let's just say it's been a rather eventful summer, especially the past couple months, and ESPECIALLY this past week.
The Book Mouse's Book Report
35. The Ashtabula Hat Trick, by Les Roberts. I'm a big fan of the Milan Jacovich novels, and this one does not disappoint. It was a lot of fun and a quick read- I finished it in a weekend. I'm just loving the relationship between Milan and Tobe Blaine. Their dialogue just crackles with wit and fun. Only warning I have is be careful drinking beverages while reading this- because you may be doing a spit-take or three. Seriously, though, I hope we see more of Tobe in future books. Also really liking Kevin O'Bannion, who is quickly learning the ropes as a private eye and proving himself more and more indispensable to Milan.
The Ashtabula Hat Trick is set in a small (and fictional) town in Ashtabula County. This quiet, out of the way place has been rocked by two murders. Tobe, a homicide detective with the Cleveland police force, is called in to help investigate. She brings Milan along to assist in an unofficial capacity. Aside from the strange and brutal murders, Tobe and Milan quickly discover an overt prejudice in the town. Basically, anyone who is not white, Christian and heterosexual is viewed with a jaundiced eye. The African American Tobe and Slovenian Milan get a lot of stink-eyes cast their way. It takes the combined efforts of Tobe, Milan and "K.O." to get to the bottom of things, and not without some hazards along the way.
While the town and people are fictional, a lot of the issues are taken straight from today's headlines, particularly with the fire-and-brimstone preacher. The ending is perhaps the most "gray area" I've seen in this series. The reader is really left with a conundrum. I do wonder if the ending here will be revisited in a future book. While each of the novels in the series stands well on its own, they maintain a solid continuity. I don't want to say more than that for fear of giving away spoilers. Time will tell.
Currently reading: Ida B. Wells: The Light of Truth, edited by Mia Bay.
A bit overwhelmed by what still needs done with the house. Thankfully, my aunt and uncle will do the lions share of the heavy lifting- sprucing up the outside and big-time cleaning and staging on the inside. I meet with the realtor this Tuesday; I hope I can get my house on the market by the end of this month, or early next month at the very, very latest.
Gotta love Northeast Ohio weather. Last weekend, for Labor Day weekend, it was high 80s Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and 90s Monday and Tuesday. Figures, because I took Friday off in hopes of doing some major purging and cleaning. I got some things done. Most notably, I tried to sell off some things I no longer needed. Success was a mixed bag. So, as a result of that, I have a lot of the attic cleared out. Most of what is up there are my roommates' boxes and empty plastic containers belonging to me. I think one, maybe two good, concentrated days will be all I need to get through what remains. Monday I declared a fluff-off day due to the heat. I lounged around the house for a bit, then when it got too warm I caught a movie. I FINALLY got to see Inside Out. Wow, I can see why people were raving over that one, and yeah, I cried a bit at the end. So. Well. Done. Just a beautiful movie, simple enough for children to grasp, but with enough depth and inside jokes for adults to appreciate. Practically perfect movie.
Now, contrast last weekend's torrid weather with this weekend: Saturday barely made it out of the 60s and it rained all day (no complaints with the latter- we needed it). I actually closed the windows in my room last night- it got chilly even for me! That's saying something. Today I think was mid-60s. It was supposed to rain but it actually turned out to be a lovely day, temperate and mild. The rest of this week is supposed to be mid 70s and low 80s; Friday, last I checked, might get to mid to high 80s- but then temps are supposed to come back down to the more sensible 70s.
I did more with Operation Purge The House- met with my aunt and uncle today, cleaned off my desk a bit more, cleaned the top of my filing cabinet, and tackled another of those "I'll get to this later" piles. I have a small trunkfull of stuff ready for Goodwill tomorrow. I'm aiming to tackle one small project an evening and do a final purge push this coming weekend. May need to splurge on a can of Red Bull. I'm not a big pop drinker, and I could never drink a full can (or even half a can) of that stuff straight. But I've found that a third a can of Red Bull mixed with water is an awesome energy tonic. I always have my mocha as well.
Tonight I had dinner with my Vietnamese family at a nice little buffet up north. On one hand, I had a lot of stuff to do but... I needed the break. Anna is just so cute. Tonight, Hien gave her a dollar bill. It was so hilarious watching Anna figure out how to use it. I watcher her as she tried to put the dollar in the gumball dispenser. She eventually did figure out how to put the dollar into one of the two machines that accepted bills, and she "played" the game.
A couple more cute Anna stories. One, our latest "game" is she will grab my wrist with both her hands, grinning all the while. She has a pretty good grip for a preschooler, by the way! I just say things like "Oh no! You got me! Help! Help!" And she will giggle and let me go. So I make a show of running away... and she "captures" me again.
The other funny Anna story. I had some pennies which are going to the bank tomorrow for depositing (I hope I don't make any enemies at the bank, ha ha ha!). Well, like the klutz that I am, I had put the bag on my chair. While I was trying to get something else, I accidentally knocked into the chair, knocking that bag of pennies over and spilling them everywhere! Anna at one point came over to help me put the pennies into the bag, and I taught her "penny," "pennies," "nickel," "dime" and how to count up to six pennies. Well, at any rate, we got about 3/4 of the pennies back in the bag when Anna decided it was time to take the pennies back OUT of the bag. Yeah. Eventually, she just grabbed the bag and turned it over. Once again, pennies all over the place. Trust a preschooler to find the most efficient way to make a mess :P Ah well, it entertained her for a good while. The pennies did get cleaned up. Eventually.
Also finished a book. I have a feeling my reading progress will be considerably slower for the rest of the year. One is, of course, the house sale. Two, I'm tackling a thick, dense (but very good) book. And... there are other reason which I won't get into here. Let's just say it's been a rather eventful summer, especially the past couple months, and ESPECIALLY this past week.
The Book Mouse's Book Report
35. The Ashtabula Hat Trick, by Les Roberts. I'm a big fan of the Milan Jacovich novels, and this one does not disappoint. It was a lot of fun and a quick read- I finished it in a weekend. I'm just loving the relationship between Milan and Tobe Blaine. Their dialogue just crackles with wit and fun. Only warning I have is be careful drinking beverages while reading this- because you may be doing a spit-take or three. Seriously, though, I hope we see more of Tobe in future books. Also really liking Kevin O'Bannion, who is quickly learning the ropes as a private eye and proving himself more and more indispensable to Milan.
The Ashtabula Hat Trick is set in a small (and fictional) town in Ashtabula County. This quiet, out of the way place has been rocked by two murders. Tobe, a homicide detective with the Cleveland police force, is called in to help investigate. She brings Milan along to assist in an unofficial capacity. Aside from the strange and brutal murders, Tobe and Milan quickly discover an overt prejudice in the town. Basically, anyone who is not white, Christian and heterosexual is viewed with a jaundiced eye. The African American Tobe and Slovenian Milan get a lot of stink-eyes cast their way. It takes the combined efforts of Tobe, Milan and "K.O." to get to the bottom of things, and not without some hazards along the way.
While the town and people are fictional, a lot of the issues are taken straight from today's headlines, particularly with the fire-and-brimstone preacher. The ending is perhaps the most "gray area" I've seen in this series. The reader is really left with a conundrum. I do wonder if the ending here will be revisited in a future book. While each of the novels in the series stands well on its own, they maintain a solid continuity. I don't want to say more than that for fear of giving away spoilers. Time will tell.
Currently reading: Ida B. Wells: The Light of Truth, edited by Mia Bay.