Just thought i would post the pic i took of Rosie, my brother's dog. I haven't seen her since she was a puppy, a few years ago. Last summer, she barked loudly, freaking out, while my brother slept as his house was burning down. No one was home but him and the dog. Least she was paying attention.

The first thing i said to her was 'thanks for saving my brother's life' (oh, after greeting the humans in the household, of course).

Doesn't look like she can manage doing much, eh?



Didn't get any pics of Chloe, my sister in law's sister's dog. Very active Boston puppy... may not have gotten anything that wasn't a blur anyway.

Despite (e:Uncutsaniflush)'s very bad allergies, we did have a nice weekend at my brother's place, up north in Ennismore, Ontario. The new house they built is quite nice. I was expecting to not like it (my brother, sister in law and i don't have the same taste), but i liked it.

Went to one of my neice's dance recitatls... her and her dance troupe got a gold for their performance. Not the typical way to spend a Sunday morning, but it was interesting. Some of the cute 8 year olds were adorable. One of the older groups did an interesting routine to Vivaldi and Marilyn Mason.

We left a bit early and didn't get to see my neice doing her jazz or hiphop routines. But (e:Uncutsaniflush)'s health is more important. That damn clean pollen filled country air!

Got some bread from my brother, who works for Dimpflmeier. Even picked up a few loaves for you, (e:Matthew) -- they have gluten free breads!!

Correction -- Just goes to show i know so little about plants and trees. That one there is not a pear tree... our neighbour has one... i think... and maybe, if i got the conversation right (never can tell with me!), that tree we have is a crabapple tree. I still think, whatever it is, the blossoms are nice, but the tree needs to be chopped down...

---

Our poor lil leaning pear tree. Beautiful blossoms it gets. No wonder someone did all that work trying to save it....







We got flower boxes for the front porch.. and planted pansys. Yay!

oh, how i wish i could sleep normally. i wish...

that i didn't have to be so tired i can barely make it up the stairs just to fall asleep. that i could just be tired, or assign myself a bed time and just get in bed and fall asleep. that my tired, aching legs that like to run marathons in my sleep didn't wake me up. that waking up in the early hours of the morning just to pee and run back to bed wouldn't wake me. that if any of that happened, i could still nap mid-day so i am not dragging my ass around feeling like i have a hangover without the fun the night before.

I haven't posted much about our house in quite some time. I reckon that means we have been lazy... But, in our defense, sometimes, you have to live somewhere for a while to figure out what you really want.

We've owned this mini-mansion for less than a year now, and earlier this week we finally had some drywall dust floating about. Our house used to have an in-law suite, or apartment, on the back upper side. Since neither (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i want to be the evil landlord, we thought we would prefer to have the apartment connected back to the rest of the house (other than having to march up the back staircase).


Here's the house side of the hallway before we did anything... including one with some junk there (ok, not junk, that room to room air conditioner is hardly junk..).





And here is the apartment side of the house. Looks like things were done and decorated around the late 60's, doesn't it?



And here we are with the apartment side partly done.. ugly tile board off, some of the drywall gone... The peeps that did it used insulation as what we assume was for soundproofing.



Here is the apartment side done... Studs and electrical box still there.



Here is the handyman himself, the one and only (e:Uncutsaniflush) !



This is a closeup of the baseboards. We are ever so grateful to the peeps that did this wall didn't damage the baseboards and took the extra time and effort to do the studs this way!



Drywall and electrical box gone, but studs still there...



Studs gone now... but lots of drywall dust in the air...



And cleaned up afters. One from the main part of the house looking into the apartment. Another from the apartment looking into the main part of the house. Eventually, we want to make it look less jarring, and perhaps move the stove somewhere else (damn, i adore the look of that range!). For now, i am happy to not have to go down the main stairs and all the way to the back of the house to pee in the night; now, i can just take the 30 or so steps from our bed to the apartment bathroom. Woo hoo.





Still wanna be our tenant, (e:Twisted) ?

Happy Big Three-Oh, (e:imk2) !!!

Today, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go for a short day trip. I was in a picture snapping mood...

The dash screen of our lovely Toyota Prius, a mere 15 minutes into our journey. Love love love what the temperature reading was telling us.. and the MPG -- 52.2! Woo hoo!



The New York State Thruway... gotta love them tolls.



This guy is telling us we are going the right way...



Right on in to PA...



We stopped for lunch.. but i am so sorry, (e:Paul), i forgot to take pics of our eats.

On our way to the Erie Zoo, we see this structure. It looks like an air traffic controllers tower. Once closer, we saw a sign that it is a plastics factory of some sort, but i can't imagine the length of plastic they make in which they would need a tower like that!



Ah, cute kitties will solve all the world's problems.. unless you are on a lower level of the food chain...



These birds, blue and gold macaws, to be more precise, were inside a building that had exhibits in it, but when we went inside, there was a door saying "Employees Only"... i hope they get paid more than just bird seed!



Fishies!



And there were also plants in the small greenhouse...







And Polar Bears playing... awwee...



And gay giraffe. Both of these giraffe are males. Tried my best to get pictures of them having fun, but oral sex was about the closest i could get.



Also tried to get some examples of just how large an errect giraffe penis is (did anyone know they acutally unfold. not just slide out?!?), but this guy was camera shy, i think...



On to more wholesome things... in the kids part, swimming penguins. Usually, when we are there, they are fussing about on land. Finally, we saw them swim!



Orangoutangs. Adorable baby...



Beautiful mommy...



A drive around Presque Isle was so nice in weather like this. I forgot to take a snap of the entrance, so this will just have to do...



Nice sandy beach on the windward side of this Lake Erie barrier island...



And out of Erie, PA. We saw a lot of these frogs about town today. I guess they are like the buffalo seen about town here, the bears about town in Knoxville and the hideous giant moose that Toronto had a few years back...



And finally, back home...

Thanks, (e:Theecarey,139) for reminding me how much i adore British comedy.

So, i started surfing. Got sucked into the BBC Blackadder site.

I found the quote generator very amusing.

The interview clips are as well. Wish they had some from Stephen Fry since i find his voice so soothing (i sometimes listen to his biography on tape when i am at the dentist!). Some more from Hugh Laurie would have been nice, too.

Ah, give me a dark, sarcastic, sardonic British comedy any day of the week...

Much appreciated, all the fussing about you did to get me some Wesley Willis, (e:Jenks,106). Once the gather number was corrected, i managed to scoop it up just fine and boggied the night away...

Thanks, too, (e:Zobar) for the Wesley Willis you posted in a comment to my journal, (e:LeeTee,159).

Then, (e:MrMike,47) posted a Paul Weller live accoustic version of That's Entertainment (thanks again!). I wonder if i can find the Morrissey version of that song... i found it interesting, but then again, i am a Morriessey fan (new cd, Ringleader of the Tormentors is quite good)

Now that i got this gather stuff figured out, i might become addicted. Yipes. Addcitions are bad. Because, as Emo Philips would say, "someday it will be my turn to treat".

On our way back from visiting my parents last weekend, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i were listening to Alan Cross' The Ongoing History Of New Music on 102.1 The Edge.

The subject was outsider music (WIKIPEDIA - Outsider music) and i was ever so grateful to be making the hour drive when this show was on. It was a highly entertaining episode. Since then, there have been a few songs i haven't been able to get out of my head.

And now, as i type this, i am listening to Philosophy of the World by the Shaggs (WIKIPEDIA - The Shaggs) (thanks to (e:Uncutsaniflush) for downloading it!) and i am loving it so much. How could i not love the atonal enthusiasm!?! How could i not love a song called "My Pal Foot Foot"? I can't! Since the song was inspired by a pet cat, if i ever again have a pet cat, i now want to name him or her Foot Foot.

I am also very much interested in hearing more Wesley Willis(WIKIPEDIA - Wesley Willis), an interest i am not sure (e:Uncutsaniflush) shares.. at least not as much. Sadly, the only sample of his music was a song about Dave Grohl (ok, so shoot me, i think the Foo Fighters suck).. one in which we originally thought was about some chick named April. Aaaappppriiiillll... Daaaaaavvveee Grohhhllll.. You can hear the similarites, can't you?

Since i can't have a usersound at this time, i leave you with lyrics..

My Pal Foot Foot

My pal's name is Foot Foot (Foot Foot)
He always likes to roam
My pal's name is Foot Foot (Foot Foot)
I never find him home

I go to his house
Knock at his door
People come out and say
Foot Foot don't live here no more

My pal Foot Foot (Foot Foot)
Always likes to roam
My pal Foot Foot (Foot Foot)
Now he has no home

Where will Foot Foot go
What will Foot Foot do
Oh, Foot Foot
I wish I could find you

I've looked here, I've looked there
I've looked everywhere
Oh, Foot Foot
Why can't I find you?

Foot Foot, where can you be?
Foot Foot, why won't you answer me?
Foot Foot, Oh Foot Foot
Wherever you are
I want you to come home with me

I don't have time to roam
I have things to do
I have to go home
Oh, Foot Foot, where are you?

If Foot Foot didn't like to roam so well
He would still have a place to dwell
Foot Foot, please answer me
I know where you are
You're behind that tree

Foot Foot, please come to me
Foot Foot, now that you're here
Won't you come home
Foot Foot, promise me this
That you will never again roam

Today, at the Boulevard Mall, something horrible happened to me. Here i am, blissfully unaware, thinking i am a moderately hip kinda chick... ok, a complete geek, but not totally out of touch. Then, some kid handing out samples... he... oh, i can barely say it. This isn't the south in which this dreaded word is part of the daily vernacular. He called me "ma'am". I've been "Ma'am'ed"!!!