Friday, December 25, 2009

All I Really Want For Christmas

All I really want for Christmas is to finish the Home Office Project, which involves:
  • Decluttering.
  • Moving out the bookcases.
  • Painting the ceiling.
  • Painting the walls.
  • Rearranging the furniture for auspicious Feng Shui.
  • Getting a special Credenza / Hutch piece to help maintain organization.
The hardest part is the first item, and that's true of every one of my stalled projects. In this case, I had four copy paper boxes full of college notes, many of which had my Social Security number on them. I cleared that out finally, and the boxes and space that they occupied are now used for our daughter's school work and seven years' worth of income tax records.

We went shopping for this special Credenza / Hutch Piece that I have in mind. I haven't seen anything online, or in a showroom, or in a catalog of a showroom that looks promising. So I might have to find an apprentice carpenter to make one for me. Or I might get by with a set of kitchen cabinets and counter plus a homemade bookshelf hutch. I'm not gonna let that slow me down, though.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wednesday Weigh-In 20091223

My employer gave us two extra holidays -- today and tomorrow -- in addition to the days off from Dec 25 to Jan 3 holiday. I'm working hard to declutter the home office, and then paint and then rearrange the furniture with a new (yet to be discovered) credenza / hutch piece with lots of space for bulk storage.

What does this have to do with the old Weight-o-Meter? Exercise. Lifting and carrying of boxes of items for recycling or temporary housing should keep me fit over the holiday vacation.

Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:
  1. Wikipedia BMI page
  2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
  3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Gift For That Special Abnormal Person

As I was gift shopping for my daughter, I saw this and knew it was the perfect gift, so I ordered it:


But now I'm thinking I should've ordered more than one copy. I can think of several more people who might appreciate it, and of course, it's something I should own. I suspect many of my readers will also find it indispensable.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Wednesday Weigh-In 20091216

Today is the 65th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge.

Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:
  1. Wikipedia BMI page
  2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
  3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Monday, December 14, 2009

A Girl, Her Dog, and Snow

It may be freezing outside, but this season's first snowfall warmed my heart. That's because our sulking, pre-teen daughter regressed to the happiness of early childhood by going outside to throw snow at the dog. She's done that every winter since she was four years old. She has fun, and the dog loves it, too! Welcome home, baby girl!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Shadow Shot Sunday LR Floor

Our living room floor is featured this week. Left leaning shadows from the window frame are crossed by a reflection off the entertainment center glass.



Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Former Bus Stop Neighbor

Here's an update on the Neighbor With Whom We Used to Share the Same Bus Stop.

A couple of months ago, the father told me that he was concerned about his ability to walk his child across the street to our bus stop in the winter when the snow would line the streets. A few days later he told me he called the bus company and they said they would stop at his house, which is across the street to the house right next door to ours.

So when I noticed that they were waiting at the end of their driveway, I decided we would walk to our next door neighbor's driveway and wait there, right across the street from them. That way the bus would stop only one time in a fifty yard span.

A few days after that, we had heavy rain. We have no sidewalks, and the thin grass along the side of the road was wet and muddy. As well, there was a steady enough stream of cars on the road, so I didn't see a big enough window of opportunity to walk on the road to the other stop until the bus came and stopped traffic for us. Then we walked. But the bus driver said that we didn't have to walk -- he would've stopped for us at our driveway.

When the temperatures got near freezing, our neighbor started to drive his daughter to the end of their driveway. They would wait in the running car, a 4x4 pickup, actually. I've seen other parents do that, and then they would drive away after their children would get out to get on the bus. But our neighbor doesn't do that. After getting out to help his daughter cross the street, he gets the newspaper, gets back in the car, and then drives back to his house. This happens on perfectly dry days with his driveway free of any ice.

This guy apparently isn't on good terms with cold weather. He owns the only snowblower I've seen that has a cab you can ride in. I watched him use it this morning during the near two I hours I spent shoveling my driveway. I watched him not approach me and not offer to clear the bottom of my driveway where the street plow left a dense ridge brown-tinged snow. I watched him drive away in his pickup truck about thirty minutes later, giving his horn a cheerful honk and waving at me.

I can allow myself to seethe with resentment and some disgust over what I perceive to be laziness and wastefulness. But I won't. Instead I tell myself that the man may have a medical condition that forces him to limit his exposure to cold air.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20091209

Last week I was concerned about finding a way to exercise during the winter. The Universe had an answer for me this morning in the form of five inches of snow to shovel! Now I understand why I dropped weight so easily last winter.

Waist = 37.25"
Height = 5' 9"

References:
  1. Wikipedia BMI page
  2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
  3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Shadow Shot Sunday Blind Edge

Morning sun shines into one window and casts onto a wall the shadow of the edge of a honeycomb blind of another window.



Saturday, December 5, 2009

Married Life

Me: "Why is there only one chopstick here? What am I supposed to do with one chopstick?"

Wife: [reply censored]

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Wednesday Weigh-In 20091202

NaBloWriMo / NaBloPoMo made me gain weight! But now I'm done, so hopefully I will have peaked.

Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:
  1. Wikipedia BMI page
  2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
  3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Mission Accomplished

I did it -- I posted at least once per day in November. Whew!



Edited to add this badge that I made from an altered NaBloWriMo badge: