Ooodles of fun...

Not much really going on lately. My "to do before winter" list is down to two items: spraying expandable foam in the few crevices where birds/bats can get in for winter housing (to be officially repaired in the spring) and getting wire cages/mulch around my vulnerable plants so the rabbits can't nibble them to the ground.

My brother surprised me one day at the end of October by sneaking up to my house to put up some trim and remove the last remaining gutters on the house (they were in bad condition anyway) as well as the old satellite dish mounted on my front porch. I didn't even notice it until I brought out a ladder in order to access the front porch roof and seal the two upper windows with silicone. It was rather funny. I just kinda stared for a minute thinking that something was off but not figuring it out until I realized that the gutters were gone. Then I stood there dumbfounded and said to the world in general "Where are my gutters??" I looked high and low, around corners and all I found was a trail of gutter hangers through the yard. I wondered what kind of person takes gutters from a house. That's when I became suspicious. So, I called my mother to tell her that "I have a gutter thief" and asked if my father or brother had been up to my house within the past few days. She said she didn't know (uh-huh) but asked if the gutter thief happened to paint my house for me as well. I scoffed at that one but peered around the side of the house. Nope! Not that I was sad, mind you, because I'm rather anal about painting well. Sloppiness is not acceptable. When I said "no", she asked if I was still planning to cover the gap along my roof edge with flashing (until Spring when I could get trim up). Of course, I automatically look upward at the mention of the roof edge and then I saw it -- trim already installed. I looked closely at it and sure enough, there was the evidence -- marks of a dozen staples in one location. I recognized those staple marks. I knew immediately that Dad or Travis was responsible. When my brother has trouble finding the undersupport for securing a board (or paneling), he just starts shooting staples willy nilly hoping to hit something.

I finished my Mercedes Lackey/James Mallory book and have been scouring the internet for a way to be notified when the 2nd book comes out. So far I haven't found anything. *sigh* So I'm back to reading murder and mayhem or sci-fi for now. I did buy another hardback a few weeks ago but it'll take me awhile to finish. Call me crazy, but it's a history book. We'll see if I actually do finish it.


I did buy another hardback a few weeks ago but it'll take me awhile to finish. Call me crazy, but it's a history book. We'll see if I actually do finish it!










Zander continues to grow like crazy. Becky had to remove all of the table lamps because Zander wanted to "play" with them. So, her parents installed a ceiling light in the living room instead. I thought it needed one anyway so that's good. :) Some have been aware that Zander's dad has been away from the area for awhile but if all goes to plan, then the little tyke will be able to see his dad at Thanksgiving. Becky's worried that Zander will have abandonment issues later in life but I told her that with support, understanding, and the use of counseling (if needed) should address those issues. Divorce is so hard on children. Becky's doing great on her own but she had hoped that the father would have more involvement in their son's life. Hopefully he understands that Zander may not recognize him when he does visit and that he needs to be patient while Zander checks him out. It has been five months since Zander saw his dad so he'll be a stranger. Heck, Zander doesn't recognize me either because I only see him once every few months! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good visit and decent behaviors from all parties.

I'm picking up another supervisor at work. My current office area doesn't have enough work to keep us busy full-time so I'm on loan, part-time, to a new office that's being created. One the one hand it's exciting to be involved in creating something new, but on the other, I'm not really interested in that field - diversity - except from an anthropological/academic way. It seems too touchy-feely while I prefer technology and routine. We'll see how it goes. There's also talk of all of the human resources offices being merged into one unit so it's entirely possible my support of the diversity office will become moot! I'm so used to working in a place of uncertainty that it seems normal. When a pile of moving boxes are stacked at my desk, I'll sit up and take notice!