This Week with the Radke's
This week has been full of puttering around, doing things that need to be done. The main motivation for this has been the sudden realization that it is FREAKING AUGUST already!!! If I get a job, I will not have as much time for all this puttering around! Scary! So get a move on.
So, I've fixed the toilet in the master bath, which was running and running. This is a very big deal for me because I generally shy away from plumbing. Just way too many things to go wrong, all involving water and a mess, and the thought of it gives me a headache. But thanks to the internet, I was able to figure out what the problem was, buy the part, and replace it. AMAZING! Well, okay, it doesn't run and run anymore, but now it only flushes completely every other time. It still needs a little tweaking, I guess.
I also moved some plants around in an effort to save them from the rain free environment.
I've started painting the kitchen, as we have ordered the cabinets and they are due to arrive in a month. (I wanted to paint first, so I wouldn't have to work around them). I am using the same color in the kitchen as I've used in William's room and in the master bath - it is what I call "Paprika Red" - very rich. But also risky and I wasn't sure I would like it. So when I was done, I stood back and took a look. "I LIKE it," I said out loud. Paul piped up from the other room, "When did you decide to paint it that color?" And I'm thinking, "Where has he been? I picked this color out when my folks were here and bought a ton of the paint so I would have enough." I am quite sure we have talked about it, because we did the whole walk around with the paint swatches thing. Hello! So I told him, "I've had it picked out since my folks were here and bought all the paint then." And he replies, "Oh. (Pause.) Because it's kind of turning up all over the place." Which just makes me laugh. And it also makes me want to paint another room that color just to get to him. Ha! But I think it would start to get to me, too, at that point. Later, I find out that he never realized that the paint color in our bedroom (more of a burnt orange) is different than the "paprika red". This makes sense, coming from a person that calls anything in the red family from purple to dark orange "red". I suppose in his mind it is a very subtle difference.
Saturday, we had a very pleasant afternoon with Brad and Teresa Brubaker and their family, who were passing through on their way to her mother's house. It is a bit surreal to be entertaining people from home out here, as it makes us feel like people are still nearby and could just drop in any minute. Ah, well.
Sunday, the whole family went to the church we have been considering. It was a bit loud for William, and he said the guy who gave the sermon was a little enthusiastic (i.e. strange). We pointed out that our pastors back home often gave similar sermons and used some of the same techniques to get their point across. He said, "Yeah, but I know them." So we think that, with time, he will get used to it. Time will tell...
A note about spiders. There are more spiders here than I have ever seen before. They are in the house, outside - everywhere! And there are so many different sizes and colors! I like spiders, because they eat other bugs, so I don't mind having them around. The other day, I saved one that was floundering in the shower stall and put it on the lid of the toilet. When I got out, it was still just laying there, so I got a piece of toilet paper and gently laid it on top of the spider to soak up the extra water. It immediately clung onto the paper, which I set down, and then it proceeded to rub it's belly (in circles) and drag it's legs on the t.p., drying itself off. I've never seen anything like it - fascinating!
Yesterday, I came across a beautiful web in the garden. The sun was shining through it just right and I wanted to see it better, so I got a spray bottle of water and misted it. The spider, who had been sitting in the middle of the web, then ran around to the droplets of water, which promptly disappeared - I think it was drinking them. I suppose if it hasn't rained, there isn't much dew in the morning for them (?). Looks like I've got some learning to do.
In December, when we had come out here to check out the area, I had met with a fellow regarding whether or not I would be able to find work out here. He was very gracious, and invited me to call him when I was ready to look for work. I called him last Thursday, and he returned my call yesterday. He told me he frankly didn't remember me, but believed that he had invited me to contact him, and said that if he'd done that, he must have liked me. So he asked me to send him my resume, we arranged to meet on Wednesday, and hung up. HUGE ADRENALINE RUSH AND PANIC ATTACK!!! I promptly went to the computer and began to compose a letter to him. I wrote one sentence, but it wouldn't indent properly, so I tried to tab over, lost my cursor, and pushed enter, which sent the mail to him. Gaaack!!! What a dork! So I meekly composed another letter, instructed him to disregard the first, and very professionally proceeded to promote my strengths. Which are obviously not in the emailing category. Ah, well, we'll see...
So, I've fixed the toilet in the master bath, which was running and running. This is a very big deal for me because I generally shy away from plumbing. Just way too many things to go wrong, all involving water and a mess, and the thought of it gives me a headache. But thanks to the internet, I was able to figure out what the problem was, buy the part, and replace it. AMAZING! Well, okay, it doesn't run and run anymore, but now it only flushes completely every other time. It still needs a little tweaking, I guess.
I also moved some plants around in an effort to save them from the rain free environment.
I've started painting the kitchen, as we have ordered the cabinets and they are due to arrive in a month. (I wanted to paint first, so I wouldn't have to work around them). I am using the same color in the kitchen as I've used in William's room and in the master bath - it is what I call "Paprika Red" - very rich. But also risky and I wasn't sure I would like it. So when I was done, I stood back and took a look. "I LIKE it," I said out loud. Paul piped up from the other room, "When did you decide to paint it that color?" And I'm thinking, "Where has he been? I picked this color out when my folks were here and bought a ton of the paint so I would have enough." I am quite sure we have talked about it, because we did the whole walk around with the paint swatches thing. Hello! So I told him, "I've had it picked out since my folks were here and bought all the paint then." And he replies, "Oh. (Pause.) Because it's kind of turning up all over the place." Which just makes me laugh. And it also makes me want to paint another room that color just to get to him. Ha! But I think it would start to get to me, too, at that point. Later, I find out that he never realized that the paint color in our bedroom (more of a burnt orange) is different than the "paprika red". This makes sense, coming from a person that calls anything in the red family from purple to dark orange "red". I suppose in his mind it is a very subtle difference.
Saturday, we had a very pleasant afternoon with Brad and Teresa Brubaker and their family, who were passing through on their way to her mother's house. It is a bit surreal to be entertaining people from home out here, as it makes us feel like people are still nearby and could just drop in any minute. Ah, well.
Sunday, the whole family went to the church we have been considering. It was a bit loud for William, and he said the guy who gave the sermon was a little enthusiastic (i.e. strange). We pointed out that our pastors back home often gave similar sermons and used some of the same techniques to get their point across. He said, "Yeah, but I know them." So we think that, with time, he will get used to it. Time will tell...
A note about spiders. There are more spiders here than I have ever seen before. They are in the house, outside - everywhere! And there are so many different sizes and colors! I like spiders, because they eat other bugs, so I don't mind having them around. The other day, I saved one that was floundering in the shower stall and put it on the lid of the toilet. When I got out, it was still just laying there, so I got a piece of toilet paper and gently laid it on top of the spider to soak up the extra water. It immediately clung onto the paper, which I set down, and then it proceeded to rub it's belly (in circles) and drag it's legs on the t.p., drying itself off. I've never seen anything like it - fascinating!
Yesterday, I came across a beautiful web in the garden. The sun was shining through it just right and I wanted to see it better, so I got a spray bottle of water and misted it. The spider, who had been sitting in the middle of the web, then ran around to the droplets of water, which promptly disappeared - I think it was drinking them. I suppose if it hasn't rained, there isn't much dew in the morning for them (?). Looks like I've got some learning to do.
In December, when we had come out here to check out the area, I had met with a fellow regarding whether or not I would be able to find work out here. He was very gracious, and invited me to call him when I was ready to look for work. I called him last Thursday, and he returned my call yesterday. He told me he frankly didn't remember me, but believed that he had invited me to contact him, and said that if he'd done that, he must have liked me. So he asked me to send him my resume, we arranged to meet on Wednesday, and hung up. HUGE ADRENALINE RUSH AND PANIC ATTACK!!! I promptly went to the computer and began to compose a letter to him. I wrote one sentence, but it wouldn't indent properly, so I tried to tab over, lost my cursor, and pushed enter, which sent the mail to him. Gaaack!!! What a dork! So I meekly composed another letter, instructed him to disregard the first, and very professionally proceeded to promote my strengths. Which are obviously not in the emailing category. Ah, well, we'll see...
posted by Lydia | 12:15 AM
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