white noise

Well, it’s not yet finished, but the paint job alone has made a heck of a difference on that bathroom, folks.

My camera skills suck, so the before shots I took won’t do justice to the ugliness. Also, I didn’t take any photos of the cake decorating repair attempts the previous occupants (?) made on the section of wall between the tub and the toilet. Jon actually spackled over the peaks and valleys of what appeared to be drywall compound and then sanded it all down. We don’t expect this to be a long term fix, but if it lasts until I decide to have the tub refinished and the floor replaced (note the I, not the we, in that!), all is good. :)

Looks a bit livelier, yes? I worried that the blue might clash against the dark red diamonds and black tile in the shower. Jon is against a Southwest motif (grr) so it stands out a bit (to me), but I’m thinking perhaps a dolphin or whale mosaic on the wall after we pick the new lighting (and I fix the UGLY cabinet!) will help blend it all together. I think I can play it down so it doesn’t look so gawd-awfully mannish (mannish?). Honestly, I don’t need downright froo-froo (fru-fru?) but the masculinity does need to tone down a notch or two.

On the plus side, I finished reading Holly Lisle’s Midnight Rain and if I had to compare the writing in it to some of her earlier pieces, I’d have to say her writing is becoming well rounded and nicely seasoned. The gratuitous “raunchy” (it’s not really gratuitous or raunchy) sex gave Rain too much of a romance novel flavor for me to take seriously — I think Jude Devereaux ruined me to romance — but otherwise, it’s a well constructed story (and sorry, no spoilers here). I don’t know why I feel anything with sex in it should be meant strictly for entertainment value only. Given the tone of the rest of the story (psychic thriller?), well, it’s a striking incongruity. But, there’s a sadness and a depth to Phoebe I think many [battered] women can relate to — that I can relate to — and a hunger for love and understanding that every one us strives to find, even if only secretly.

And, I can’t believe ten whole days have already zinged right by since the last time I turned this computer on. Wow. School will be back in session in just a few short days. I didn’t get all the boxes unpacked that I set out to clear away, but I made a HUGE dent in this house. It’s still a mess (by my standards), but I’m pleased with the progress. My craft studio is functional finally — and wouldn’t you know it — all the brilliant ideas I had just blew away with the wind! Feh.

My newest reading material is Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I read the prologue last night and had to remind myself to go back to not-intended-for-adult-audiences mode. Ouch. Kinda like jumping in an icy lake.

Heh … I’m late. Just a wee bit, though. I’m also happy to report that my nesting binge is starting to pay off. I now have a semi-useable crafting studio AND I’ve inspired Jon to greater heights. We’re painting the main bathroom this coming weekend. Yay me! Of course, I volunteered to do all the prep work. *gulp* Thank goodness it’s a teeny space!

The vacation from the computer hasn’t been all that bad, really. However, the work and ideas for the Caretaker Chronicles have exploded across my notebooks. Again — Yay me! I got a bit hung up on the whole world-building scene, but I have a bright idea which I will share once it’s in motion (which means it has to warm up enough so I can go outside without becoming stiff and cranky).

Classes start again in about umm … two weeks. I took Spanish Part Dos. I got a B in the last class and although the perfectionist in me grouses in the background, the newly educated Fibromite is quite pleased. I think I’ll cheat next semester and finish all my homework in the first weekend (you didn’t see me say that!). That should leave me more time to study. :P

All in all, this whole pacing concept is much better to the alternative, but I still don’t know how I can apply it to any work place that’s not of my own creation. I still crash and burn even when I strive to take baby steps and little bites. I do a lot and I get a lot done around the house, but it’s over the course of an entire day, not an eight-hour shift.

One of the problems I still have with pacing is that I don’t count certain activities. Take for instance, typing. It’s not a strenuous activity, how can it possibly wipe me out? Oh, yeah … showering wipes me out. So — pacing. Fifty minutes of activity and ten whole minutes of nothing. Stillness. Quiet. No reading, writing, or even thinking. I’m not always successful, but I’m getting better at it. It’s not a fix for the energy shortage, but it helps preserve what I do have when I have some to spare.

This is our Pound Puppy™, Levi. Isn’t he just so damned adorable?

Happy Kwanzaa to all who celebrate this holiday! :)

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I thought this anti-kwanzaa article linked on Wikipedia needed to be relinked here. One of the biggest problems I have with Christianity is the whole notion that one bite from the apple tainted all of mankind forever … feh! Although I don’t feel this article paints the whole of Kwanzaa as evil based on the history of its founder (who — face it folks — was a bit on the cracked side), I do feel the author, Paul Mulshine, leans too far to the kwanzaa-is-tainted-with-evil half of the sphere in this article. Kwanzaa promotes well-being, unity, community, and creativity … hopefully one day without feeling a need for segregation. Yes, the founder of Kwanzaa did Very Bad Things ™ but Kwanzaa is not one of them.

Please remember that, although influenced by outer forces, the potential for good and evil is an internal responsibility. You live each day the way you choose and you choose each day the way you live. This is the price of free will. Sometimes choices are simple and other times they’re not. Do you perpetuate hatred or practice benevolence?

My very Catholic aunt — God rest her soul — once told me I’ll be going to Hell when I die. Why? Well, for many reasons, but among them, because I believe Jesus was a man. A good man, but still just a man. I like celebrating Christmas, not so much because it’s a holiday the Christians decided to borrow and call their own, but because it’s the supposed birthday of Jesus (the man). And, I like birthdays. Still, if it’s a birthday, I don’t understand why we make puddings and pies for desserts instead of cake!

Otter snoozles it up during Thanksgiving: