Meanwhile, back in Iowa …

Apparently, our bank’s phones have been hijacked and they are unable to provide an update with our home improvement loan. I know, I could call them too, but I need to take a breather after the weekend I just had. Assuming that our renovation will get going soon, it was the perfect weekend to precede what will probably be a crazy building mess. School starts next week, which will just add to the joy that is Everyday Life. Goodbye, summer, hellooooooo classes! Continue reading “Meanwhile, back in Iowa …”

Share

The soundtrack of the fall

Who knew that such an ugly bug would become a part of my life? I’m talking about cicadas — big, ugly bugs that molt on tree bark and leave behind shells that make you shudder when you find them. There’s been more than one occasion where I’m walking under one of the trees in our backyard and I happen to see a big chunk o’ somethin’ stuck to the tree. Squinting and gradually drawing closer, I see that it’s a cicada molting. (I mean “molting” as a noun there; I don’t torture cicadas trying to shed their shells by letting my boys molest them in mid-process.) Then I like to pluck it off the tree and let it serve as entertainment for my two bug-lovin’ boys. Continue reading “The soundtrack of the fall”

Share

A holding pattern

Last Monday, I got a call from my contractor that said he could start as soon as we could give him a check for materials so Menards could deliver sometime this week. One problem: we’re waiting on the bank. Actually, we were waiting on one final estimate. In fact, we waited for that estimate all week! Finally I just wrote down a number that was at least twice as much as the job would actually cost (shower install) and gave the numbers to the bank. Now, we wait.

Oh, it’s going to be a good day when that money comes through. I’m going to be ordering that cracked ice chrome table faster than a wino hits the jug. Continue reading “A holding pattern”

Share

A breath of fresh air

I really hate having the A/C on 24/7, but I do so for my husband’s sleeping comfort and for the kids. Oh, all right, I guess I don’t exactly want to be sleeping in a room clogged with 80% humidity, either. But it makes me feel like such a wuss. It’s almost as I can hear one of my Swedish ancestors while he shakes his head, muttering “WE didn’t have air conditioning when we lived in the log cabin, and we survived just fine.”

Then I realize that my Swedish ancestors probably would have sawed off their right arms in order to enjoy A/C in the middle of a Midwestern August, and it makes me feel better.

(Now, if I can only get my ancestors to quit talking to me, I can shake this guilt complex once and for all.)

Continue reading “A breath of fresh air”

Share

Show me the light

When I’m not agonizing over flooring, I’m agonizing over lighting. Realistically, lighting shouldn’t be such a big deal, because lighting is undoubtedly more easily changed out than flooring. But still … my greatest fear is that I get all these cool lights installed and then I look around and think, “Whoa … what was I thinking?” Worse yet, I fear that I have someone over to visit after the remodel and they do that stone-faced look while saying, “Uh, it’s …. different.” Not that I have any friends who would do that, but still, the fear is there. Continue reading “Show me the light”

Share