Living On The Edge

Do you ever find yourself doing something stupid, maybe even dangerous? That as you're doing it you're thinking

“Gee, I really should stand on something stable/put on work
gloves/make sure the electricity is off/put on some safety goggles!”

BUT YOU DON’T?

Last night I decided to tackle the weird mold spots that appear on the bathroom ceiling over our tub/shower. (Please tell me this happens to you too – PLEASE?) I did put on rubber gloves before I grabbed the bleach. I did get my kitchen stool and take it in to the bathroom. I did have a bucket of water at the ready to rinse my cleaning rag. My intentions were good. But…

I’m short, so reaching the ceiling from the stool wasn’t really working. So I started wiping the ceiling with bleach and water from the safety of the ledge of the tub. And as I’m peering up at the ceiling and realizing it is dripping I thought “Huh, I probably should have on some sort of eye protection…” Did I get down for the tub ledge? No I did not. Did I find protective eye wear? No I did not.

Did you know bleach really, really stings if it drips in your eyes? Well it does. It really, really does.

But you could eat off my bathroom ceiling. I’m just sayin’.

Duped Again

Yesterday was glorious. The sun was out! OUT I tell you! The sky was clear blue, not a cloud to be seen and 5 degrees above "normal" temperature-wise. The trees were beautiful shades of red, yellow, orange and russet. I drove home with no coat and the car window open soaking it up.

Last night I gave The Saint two choices for tonight's dinner. He chose sirloin on the grill because today was to be a repeat of yesterday, only WARMER. With the fall we've had so far who knows how many more nice days we'll have so I readily agreed with his assessment and prepared accordingly.

So when my alarm went off at 5:29 this morning and I heard THUNDER? The first words out of my mouth were not “Oh Happy Day!” I’ll give you one guess….

And now with updates...

• Blood work? Normal
• Pap Smear? Normal
• Liver Function? Normal (I KNOW I can hardly believe it myself!)
• Mammogram? Normal
• Dress? Arrived (Thank GOD, we leave for the wedding TOMORROW)
• Gardens? Too wet and cold to go out there!

OK, now to my real dilemma. Baby proofing. My nephews will be 18 months old when they come for Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that I'm OLDER THAN DIRT and Precious YOUNGEST is eighteen. It's been a while since I did this sort of stuff. But I want everyone to be comfortable you know?

I have a baby gate for the stairs and I plan on packing up every breakable object now perched on a low table or shelf. Also my prescriptions will find a home OTHER than my bedside table.

What about my under sink cabinets? I have cleaning supplies in both kitchen and baths. I hate to install latches for five days, are there any other quick solutions? What about the outlets? Do I need to invest in those plug dealios?

What am I forgetting? Help!

This and That

Things I've been doing

• Dragging my ass into the office
• Two college visits with football tailgate parties
• A Texas Hold Em’ poker tournament
• Some clothes shopping
• Put out the Halloween/Fall decorations
• Routine physical, mammogram and lady bit check up
• Pulling spent basil and annuals after the first freeze.

Things I'm working on today

• Dragging my ass into the office
• Switching out my seasonal wardrobe
• Stamping my feet at the rapidly waning evening light
• Making potato leek soup.
• Obsessing about a dress I had ordered that should have arrived but has not

Things I need to do

• Go to a wedding in Chicago
• Finish clearing out and preparing gardens for winter
• Determine exactly how to host Thanksgiving for twenty +
• Baby proof the house for when my nephews visit at Thanksgiving
• Keep dragging my ass into the office

Anyone notice writing over here didn't make ANY of the lists? Sheesh.

Loving her new living quarters

First the back story:
Precious Youngest lived in West Hall her freshman and sophomore years. This year she is an R.A. in a different dorm. The day we moved her in to her new digs she and a friend (also an R.A. and also a former West Hall resident) ran through their new dorm shouting “OMG – we lived in a slum for two years and we didn’t even know it!!!”

Flash forward:
Here is an e-mail sent to me yesterday

To:Fannie@work
From: Precious.Oldest@school
Sent: Tue 10/06/09 04:24 PM
Subject: GHETTO

Remember how much of a ghetto West Hall is? This weekend, a pipe burst and flooded the entire basement, leaked into some electrical appliances, caused an electrical fire in the elevator shaft, and forced the entire hall to evacuate for two days. HOORAY!

<3 Precious Oldest

Sometimes timing is everything!