avablog » House

Daddy’s little helper

map — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:57:14 +0000

I was putting in a new flower bed in the front yard yesterday and so had gardening implements all over the place. Emmett, who went from 0-60 in about 5 seconds last week in the walking dept., made a bee line right for my spade. Once there, he propped himself up on it and surveyed the yard like I’d screwed things up royally. Maybe he’s right. At the very least, I’m glad he’s getting used to hefting a shovel; this old man isn’t going to have the back for this work forever.

Festive

map — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:17:28 +0000

Over the past weekend we secured and decorated our Christmas tree. It’s nice to have out of the way. The new addition this year was a popcorn garland that I thought Ava might delight in making with me. Like my plan to make pap(i)er mache ornaments, this one turned out to be a bit beyond Ava’s patience level. And, like the pap(i)er mache ornaments, I ended up making the entire garland myself (L did offer to help, but it was clear pretty quickly that popcorn garland making was maybe not her cuppa).

Anywho, here’s our Fraser Fir from the Optimists.

The guy who tied this to the top of the car said they’d received two semi trailers full of trees, or 2,000. He expected to be sold out by the end of this week, so get out there!

Moment of cuteness

map — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:46:34 +0000

I took this shot the other day on a lark. Sometimes pictures just show up on my laptop and I have no idea where they came from.

In other news, I was in front of the house yesterday morning before work, and two students from the high school up the street walked down our sidewalk smoking a joint. Right in front of me. They cupped it and smiled as they walked by and only mumbled when I asked, “What are you two up to?” It wasn’t until I got inside that I had my moment of parental indignation. I wasn’t so upset by the fact that these kids were smoking pot, but that they were doing it in front of my house with my daughter standing in the front door. So I sent off an e-mail to the Vice Principal with a description of the guys, but of course they looked just like a lot of other guys at the school. At least they know I’m out here now; maybe they’ll walk down a different street next time.

Moment of cuteness

map — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:24:26 +0000

I took this shot a while ago and just got around to posting it. I planted this tree when we moved into our house, the thinking being that Ava and the tree could grow up together. Anyway, unlike Ava, the tree is planted in violation of city ordinances, so mum’s the word, OK? Thanks.

100 words for snow

map — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:48:21 +0000

Midwesterners spend a lot of time each year contemplating weather-related minutiae, particularly in the winter. For my part, the early morning today was consumed by contemplation of which combination of frozen precipitation is worst to shovel. I’ve decided that one inch of sleet topped with another inch of snow should probably place near the top of the worst mix list, and here’s why:

First, it’s deceptive. It’s not deep. So as you prepare to go outside and clear the walks, you’re thinking, “no problem. I’ll be done in no time.” And then you get outside to find what you’re really dealing with is a nasty layer of frozen ice pellets that has adhered to the concrete. Which brings me to problem #2:

It’s heavy. Ice is heavy. And the fact that you have to chip it off the pavement with a heavy shovel only adds to the effort. My woes are compounded by the fact that my rather severely-sloped driveway is situated between two tall retaining walls, so every shovelful of ice has to be thrown up over my head to be disposed of. By the time I get to the top of the slope to embark on clearing the other, flat half (two thirds, really) of the driveway, I’m bushed.

The only upside, if it can be called such, is that one can accomplish a pretty decent workout in a short period of time. I tell ya, I was about ready for a cold beer this morning at 6:30, which is a full 90 minutes before I’m usually ready for a cold beer in the morning. I chatted briefly with my brother-in-law in Madison before leaving for work, and he’d been out working to clear 12″ of fluffy snow. God, how I envied him.