Just a reminder

Spring is coming.  Spring is coming.  

Universal Question Answered

I have decided to answer the question that has plagued scholars for decades. Just how much would it cost to install a new transmission into a 2002 VW Jetta? Through some careful research and a hilariously fun drive to work on Wednesday, I have the answer. Yes, we all now know that a new transmission, which has to be ordered and won't be here until Thursday, costs $3786. Don't worry, the rental car is extra.

Home improvement

I love my new lights!  CF and RF came over for dinner and manual labor Saturday night.  RF was incredibly nice and installed my new fixtures to replace the crappy, cheap contractor specials I had in place.  I'll put up pictures of the other ones soon.  I'm very happy with them and feel like after nearly 6 years in this house, it is time to personalize it.  If I make it through the layoffs at work after session, I'll start looking seriously at replacing the floors.  

update

Oh my god, I'm frickin' tired. 

Pirate Kitty

Pirate Kitty says, "You don't need two eyes to be handsome.  And, I'm about to knock over some stuff on this table, because that's how I roll."

Alcoholic curtains

I finished my valances for the kitchen and put them up.  I really like how they turned out.  You will notice a bare light bulb hanging over them.  This is not because I live in a trailer park, but more of a tragic accident.  As I was putting up the curtains and standing on the counter, I managed to hit the glass globe in place over the bulb.  I hit it with my head.  The globe fell off, hit the counter, then the floor and shattered into approximately 1, 234, 734 pieces.  Of course, I was standing on the counter in socks and had to jump down on the floor.  By the way, the cat army was very helpful.  All three of them were sleeping, raised their heads when they heard the noise, judged that this did not cause a massive tuna release in the kitchen, and then lowered their heads and went back to sleep.  I've got everything cleaned up, but I'll need to head to Lowe's pretty soon to replace my lamp.  

In other sewing news, I've started the "evolution" quilt.  

Sarah Vowell

Sarah Vowell came to town last night to read from some of her books including the new one, The Wordy Shipmates. Wordy Shipmates is good, just not as good as Assassination Vacation, which is my absolute favorite book of hers. Despite getting up at 4 am Eastern time to come here to entertain us, she was incredibly generous with her time. She read from her books, held a very nice Q&A session and then signed books in the lobby. It was a really fun evening, and being Olympia, I ran into everyone I know there. I even managed to go out with MOS for sushi before the show. (And, now I'm thinking I had fish breath when I gave Sarah my name for the book signing. I'm sure she is heading back East with stories of smelly locals with easy to spell names.)

At any rate, Sarah ended her Q&A on a question of what do you have to say to the kids today. Actually, it was asked by an 8th grade teacher who wanted to know what she had to say to his students. I'm extrapolating to all of the kids. She discussed the value of work and how we don't seem to discuss that anymore. Having spent my last three hours of work madly preparing for my six bills on Monday at 8am, I was actually a little touched. She talked about how inspiring it is to see people work when they are really good at what they do. I don't think I have reached that level - I don't think people will ever been moved by my bill reports - but, it did make me proud of being able to take care of myself.

And, yes, the witch reference in my title is inspired by her writing about her trip to Salem.