The Raised Garden Bed Is Built!

So exciting!!  We worked on the bed again yesterday.  While Scott was at work, I built all of the timbers we needed for the second level.

 

And then while I was at work, he put them all in...

 

 And this is the reason why we plan to put the landscape fabric in... Lots of grass and weeds have already grown back.  I also have a feeling that those things from our neighbor's tree will drive me crazy once the plants are in.

It looks so great and has so much potential.  In order to get the fill dirt for it, we begin phase two of the yard projects...

Wordless Wednesday: ummm... Hi, Jack

Kitty Injustice

Allow me to introduce you to Black Kitty (so named by my neighbor). She has a heartbreaking story. Her family used to live a few houses down from us, but they got divorced, moved out, or otherwise relocated. So, what did they do with her? They threw her out on the street. The people in the next house over eventually took pity on her and brought her in. Until they got a dog. Black Kitty and Jake the Dog did not get along. So, what did they do? They threw Black Kitty on the street. The people in the next house, my neighbors, have not brought her inside, but they do at least feed her. I just don't understand this. Why do people do this? It would never have occurred to her second set of owners to throw the dog out into the street, so why is it okay to throw the poor little pussycat out there? It makes me so sad and so upset to know what she has been through. Do you think these people know that an average outside cat's life expectancy is only 2-3 years? Or perhaps these people don't care?

This hits particularly close to home because I believe my little (well, not so little: he's 13 lbs.) Jack has a very similar story. He had been fixed and declawed and then abandoned. Because someone took away his claws and then threw him outside, he had no way of defending himself and is now sick with FIV. FIV is AIDS in cats and is spread through a scratch or bite. Cats with FIV will lead a long (although, not as long if they were not sick) and healthy life as long as they remain healthy. Feline leukemia is actually closer to human AIDS. It breaks my heart to know that he's sick because of the stupidity and lack of compassion of his former humans. When my vet first told me that Jack has FIV and I started asking questions, she said that many other people would simple have had him put to sleep. I just don't understand that either. He's still the same sweet kitty that I fell in love with, I just have to take a little special care in the event he gets sick. His quality of life is just as good as a healthy cat. My vet said that he was very lucky to have found me. I feel like the lucky one.

If you feel as strongly as I do about this kitty injustice and want to display your feelings, check out julep115's Etsy Shop:

Earth Friendly Cat Pendant-Reversible Tag

In other news: "The Room" is coming along. The sealant is on the stucco and the corner where the birdcage attaches has been painted, so now our contractor can come back and put the lanai back together. Once he's done with that, we can finally have the final inspection done. We will still need to paint the remainder of the exterior walls, paint the trim work on the interior, and finish up some furniture to be done in there for the time being. There's still two more big things to do: we need to replace the laminate flooring in there (the water damage was so extensive that it's basically turned into speed bumps) and deal with the landscaping so that we can get the standing water away from the house. Damn, we're poor.

I Have a Good Excuse for Being MIA, I Swear

I kept a sort of photo diary as things were progressing at my flickr account.

Okay, I know I've been MIA for even longer than usual. Let me explain. Doing work on the house is a bitch. When we bought our house, we saw some cracks in the stucco on the wall where a wood extension was added on to our block house. Our inspector checked for moisture inside the room and said that the cracks were probably just due to the addition settling. Yeah, well, we went through a period of A LOT of rain recently and this particular room started to flood. Needless to say, we wound up having to deal with it sooner than we had planned.

We had to demolish two walls, replaced both of the weight bearing beams and the post on that side of the house, and rebuild EVERYTHING. The good news is that we got a bigger window and now know that it is built right and is structurally sound. The bad news is that we spent our vacation time home babysitting the work being done (we took turns being home, off and on for about a month) thus not really having any kind of relaxing vacation time and the cost (we are so very poor right now). Other bad news is that the lovely wood laminate flooring that was in that room now needs to be replaced due to the water damage of the room flooding a few times before we were able to get it fixed; and that we still have a standing water issue around that part of the house and unless we get that taken care of, all of this work will be for naught. But, BIGGER window! STRUCTURALLY SOUND!! Sigh. . .

Summertime Lull

This blog entry is a part of the Blog Carnival for the EtsyBloggers Street Team.

Summer is notoriously slow for theatre. That said, we are able to do some prep work for the coming season and some maintenance that there wasn't time for while we're 'in season.' But we also spend a lot of time hanging out, drinking coffee, surfing the internet, and hiding from the folks in the Ivory Tower. I personally am lucky enough to have an office, so I plan on closing my door for a little while in the morning and then again in the afternoon so I can play with pliers. I'm hoping that the summertime lull will be a good time for me to continue building up my inventory as I prepare for ren faires! I was starting to think about the amount of goods I want to have in my booth. I plan on having a good selection of one of a kind items, some stuff that needs to be ordered (armor and clothing), as well as piles of production line kind of stuff. I thought that something like 100 Euro 4-1 bracelets would be a good start. This is the weave, but the pile o' pretty will not include the dangles:
I plan on making a variety of ring sizes as well different thickness; and also using a variety of metals. Hmmmm. . . maybe 100 won't be enough. . .

Also, with the slower summer season, Scott will be around a bit more often, too. Unfortunately for him, that means he's got to catch up on all of the house fixes he's been putting off.

Just For Crafty Fun

Okay, so it's been a very, very long time since I've been to IKEA. Well, since I needed some furniture in my barren first apartment out of the dorms anyway. I remember it not necessarily being the highest quality, but I loved the simplicity of everything and, more importantly, the prices. Needless to say, when I found out that one would be coming to my area next year, I was ecstatic! Being a new home owner, we've got some empty to space to fill and, well, are a bit strapped for cash at the moment. Perfect.

Today, I stumbled upon a fantastic blog called IKEA Hacker. It's exactly what it sounds like: ways to hack goods from IKEA. There are ideas for transforming items so that someone can't point at it and say, "you got that at IKEA." But there are also tons of brilliant alternative use ideas here, too. Check it out and have fun! Awesome.

Maille is More Than Just Jewelry

I realize that not everyone knows what chain maille is. What I find to be a continuous source of amusement, however, is that many of the people who have heard of it think that it can only be jewelry. Friends, a good portion of the maillers out there today do, in fact, make jewelry using these centuries old weaves. However, when these weaves originated (as early as the 4th century BCE) they were used to make armour. It wasn't until the 14th century that plate armour began to supplement chain maille.

Modern uses of this ancient armour continue to include protective clothing for people such as butchers, scuba divers and animal control officers, as well as splatter masks used by tank crews in WWI (see left). Maille remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed.


It is only recent trends in chain maille artwork that has allowed for it to be adapted for decorative use in sculpture, jewelry, headdresses, Christmas ornaments, and chess sets. It is thanks to these non-traditional uses and the ingenuity of maillesmiths the world over that hundreds of new weaves have been invented.

In the spirit of using the ancient Euro 4-1 chain maille weave for a modern use, I'd like to introduce a new item in Athena's Armoury:

Napkin Armour

Now available at Athena's Armoury

Trying to add a touch of class to the bawdy great hall? These napkin rings will do the trick! They won't break if a brawl breaks out nor will they rust if a bit of wine spills on them. They were made using extremely strong and durable stainless steel rings; stainless steel is also corrosion and rust resistant. Lovely blue glass beads, reminiscent of sea glass, adorn them with little rosettes on either side. With regular use, stainless steel will remain quite shiny. However, if you notice that they are dulling, just wash them with some hot, soapy water and they'll be shiny once again. 1 1/2" diameter.

I Think I'm Keeping Her. . .

How can this possibly be comfortable?

Well, it's been over a week and I haven't seen or heard anything about a "lost cat." It does seem like the neighbors recognize her, so she's been outside for a while. I considered trying to find her a good home, but I'm thinking that I might just keep her since, after all, she chose me. It's so odd having identified as a dog person my whole life to find myself bonding with this kitty. I've been calling her "Kit" which, of course, is short for kitty. I know it's not very original, but that's what I've been saying since I met her 2 months ago. Scott doesn't like "Kit" because it reminds him of the car from Knight Rider. If that's the case we can call her "KITT" when she's good and "KATT" when she's bad. I don't think I sold him on that idea just yet, but he also hasn't come up with any better ideas.

Good Day

The tour of Twelve Angry Men is in town and one of the huge benefits of working in theatre is that I sometimes get to see things for free. =) Even more fun, Scott didn't have any cues during this one, so even though he was working, he was able to sit out front and watch the show with me. I can't remember the last time we saw a show together -- usually one or the both of us is working it. Afterwards, we went and got some dinner. We actually had a theatre and dinner date. It was so much fun! Oh, and the show was amazing!

After I left him to go and work the second show, I stopped by the fancy schmancy mall and got a free little hand cleanse, exfoliation, and lotiony massage at Aveda with their Caribbean line. Yum. Purchased a couple of hair products, too. Then, I went to the Lush shop next door because I was out of my moisturizer and got some free samples of their new products. Even more yum!!

Then, I came home to a kitty cat greeting me at the door. I had a good day.

Cat and Coif

Not cat in coif (although I've seen that before), but updates on the cat and the coif.

Okay, the coif first. I keep forgetting to post these pictures. While Scott and I were still in the apartment, his sister and her kids (who live overseas) were in town visiting. They all so sweetly made a fuss about my coif and we managed to get pic's of two out of three of the kids wearing it and holding Scott's Gandalf sword from The Lord of the Rings Collection. Check 'em out. Don't they look awesome?

Okay, now the cat. After much stress of deciding what to do with her, I finally decided to go with my instinct of getting her inside. With no claws, it's just not right for her to be outside: no way of getting food, no way of defending herself, even no way for escape by climbing up a tree. So, I stopped by PetSmart on the way home intending to pick up only the very basics, just in case "Lost Cat" signs get posted over the weekend. I came home and I saw her across the street. I made the "psst, psst, psst" sound that attracts her attention and, I kid you not, she galloped across the street to me. I took out one of the toys (I had to get her her something fun, not just kitty litter) and played with her for a little bit. I opened the door, went in and left the door open and let her decide what she wanted to do. I didn't try to entice her or anything and she came in. I let her check out things for a little bit and when she didn't make any move to head back for the door, I closed it. I gave her some food and she just scarfed it down. Looking at me and meowing, I kind of got the hint that she was still hungry so gave her some more. It was a fairly uneventful night with the exception of when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I guess she thought I was up and it was time to play, because she followed me back to bed and started purring and nudging my hand. She's also a fairly good wake up call. The second my alarm went off this morning, she meowed from down the hall and came running in and started purring and nudging me again. She had another whole bowl of food for breakfast and successfully used the litter box during the night. I think she's still a little confused about where she is, but she seems content.

What do you think?

What is this thing in my face and why aren't you petting me?

Okay, I've got a bit of a conundrum. I posted a little while back about a cat that befriended Scott and I when we moved into our house. I usually see her a few times a week either napping outside the house or even as I'm coming outside she runs over to me meowing to get my attention. We spend a few minutes hanging out and then we go our separate ways. This weekend I saw her two nights in a row near the house. On Friday night, she was by the side of the house trying to stay out of the drizzly weather we were having. Saturday night, she just broke my heart. I got home really late from work, but still spent a few minutes outside petting and talking to her before going in. I sat down inside near our front door to take off my heels (which I never wear, so my feet were frickin' throbbing) and through the glass panel next to the door I see a pair of eyes reflecting in at me. I went outside again for a little bit because I felt so bad; she stayed there looking in and watching me doing stuff around the house for a good 15 minutes.

I'd love to take her in, but the thing is, I have absolutely no idea if she belongs to someone. I can just picture some 7 year old little girl in the neighborhood crying her eyes out because her kitty is gone. Then again, if she does belong to someone, they aren't taking very good care of her. She's outside all the time and has been declawed. She doesn't appear to be starving and her coat is nice and soft and clean. Maybe she was abandoned and her coat looks so good because she's still young? I just wish she could talk so that when I ask her "who belongs to her?" she could answer. The other big problem is money. I can only imagine what vet bills and food and everything would be like and I don't know if I can afford to really take care of her right now. It certainly seems like she's adopted me, now I have to figure out if I should adopt her. . .

I'm a Dog Person, But. . .

I'd like to introduce you to Kit (aka Kitty). Well, that's what I've been calling her anyway. The very first time Scott and I came to see what would become our new home, she befriended us. Ever since then, she intermittently comes and hangs out in front of our garage door or napping under my Jeep. One day while my mom was in town visiting, we were loading up my Jeep and getting ready to head to the beach. From out of nowhere I hear a "meow." She was calling out to us as she crossed the street almost to say, "Hey wait a minute! Don't forget about me." She's been a fun friend to have and not at all like any other cat I've met. I might just be a dog person and a cat person. Who knew?

We're Homeowners!

I know I've been fairly MIA as of late, but for a good reason! Things have been insane for the past few weeks with this whole house buying process. I must say, dealing with the banks and finding out your net worth is a very humbling experience. And then looking at your bank balance after your have them cut the cashier's check for closing is just damn depressing.

The weeks leading up to closing was spent like so: eat, sleep, work, pack, repeat. And not just packing up the apartment, but packing up tools to be brought over for repairs and such. We're big kids now, we even have a lawn mower.

Then immediately after closing the fun began: cleaning. I swear, I got into every crack, crevice, and surface that existed in this place. Some situations required yoga poses to reach. It was a little insane. I never thought I would be so sore from cleaning.

After a full week of cleaning, repairing, and painting, we finally got a bunch of Scott's absolutely amazing friends together to help us move furniture and boxes over.

And even had one special guest to help us move. ====>>

Needless to say, we're living out of boxes right now. The kitchen and bathrooms were the very first rooms I cleaned and moved in and once our furniture was in, we moved into the bedroom. But, aside from that. . . cleaning, repairs, and unpacking will continue. Oh, well. It will all be there tomorrow.

In close, here's a pic of me being super happy after closing in our very own pool!

Check out more pic's at flickr.