Category Archives: Uncategorized

My friend Valerie has the most amazing eye for home decorating. First, she managed to decorate a tiny house with all kinds of vintage goodies without making it look cluttered. Then, she and her husband Kevin (our handyman), purchased a new home last year and turned it into a showcase for all thing vintage and cool. Her living room looks like a magazine ad for the 1960s, complete with authentic furnishings and knick-knacks. Last night, they came over to watch the Superbowl and Valerie and I got a bit bored once the second half started. I suggested she help me with my latest wall art project – framing my albums. I did learn not to let Valerie hammer nails into plaster as we had a bit of a mishap, but we covered it with the picture so it was no big deal.

Here’s what the wall looks like now. The theme is “Music for…” I love the one with the ashtray and lit cigarettes!

Here are two of my favorites. One is in the hallway and the other is right outside the den. Since our anniversary is this month, I thought the “Our Anniversary” album was fitting.

I just can’t seem to get my creative mojo working. Blame it on the cold, winter, February, whatever but this must come to an end. Being in school usually means learning new skills and creating cool stuff. However, the first assignment is about inspirations and I don’t feel inspired to do anything! I finally chose the artwork of [Mondrian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian) and am creating a bangle bracelet of cloisonne pieces reflecting his work. Sure, I should be excited about it, but I’m not. I don’t really want to do much of anything right now.

Knowing me, and my overachieving ways, I’ll force myself into the studio and get this thing done on time. Good news is that I hired a new student worker who’s starting today. At least her presence in the studio will force me to get some work done. It’s probably the kick in the pants I need to get my mojo back on track.

A couple of weeks ago it was the ice storm of the century. This week it’s snow. Will winter ever end? Guess we’ll find out tomorrow when Puxatawney Phil shows his little head. Meanwhile, we’ll just have to weather the storm, so to speak.

While I don’t mind the snow too much, walking to and from class in the storm yesterday wasn’t fun. Then, in true Springfield fashion, people left work early to get home and started driving like idiots. The news was full of multi-car pile-ups and cars stuck on the side of the road. I swear, Springfield drivers are the worst!

Hope wherever you are you’re warm and comfortable. I was going to walk over to school this morning and draw down some fine silver wire, but I think that can wait. I think I’ll just spend some time inside enjoying the warmth of my house.

The bathroom is almost done! Now all that’s left are details and we could work on those for ages. Yesterday, Kevin again gave us his valuable help and came over to install the sink and toilet. What should have been a simple task got completely out of hand. The sink pipe was crumbling so Steve and Kevin had to go buy a new one before it could be installed. They came back with the wrong size. Then, discovered they needed a flexible pipe to get it hooked up correctly. Today we have the toilet, but not the sink. Steve has to go to Lowe’s and get the final piece. Next up, finishing the closet. I spend a couple of hours patching holes and cracks. I finally decided it would never be perfect and to just get it as nice as possible. I need to repatch the holes (the plaster cracked) and then sand and paint before installing the shelves. I hope we’re finished by this weekend!

Here’s how things look right now:

Here’s the inside of the closet that still needs painting:

Tiling is underway at the Kirks household! Here are some pics of the progress:

Here’s the floor when we were scraping off the old vinyl:

Here’s the floor after we ripped up the subfloor:

Here’s Kevin, our handyman extraordinnaire. Isn’t he a catch? Too bad he’s taken! Them overalls is sexy, baby!

Here’s the floor halfway through the tiling:

Here’s an example of a huge hole I need to fix in the closet. Also note the lovely large crack running down the corner. Ah, the joys of owning an older home!

Life is almost normal here. The electricity is on, the phone line is back and I’m full of antibiotics. I did make it to class yesterday and today and, except for a terrible cough, am feeling pretty good. My first night of welding was interesting to say the least. Soldering I understand. Fusing, no problem. Welding…well that’s another beast. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say I’m one of the slow learners. The class is mainly middle-aged men and young men looking to work in the industry. There is another woman besides Sarah and me, but she doesn’t seem outwardly friendly. After class, a couple of the guys were chatting with us about problems they had. Seems like everyone had their share so I didn’t feel too alone. Hey, if I start out this bad, I can only get better!

Now it’s time to finish that pesky bathroom floor we started. This should be a good weekend for it. No ice storm has been predicted so I don’t think we can blame acts of God if it doesn’t get done. Tomorrow, I’ll post pics of the first round of bathroom fun.

Now I’m really in a bad mood. My power is up, my cable is back (phone’s still dead, but I can deal with that), the house is warm but where am I? I’m still at Duane and Prudy’s because I woke up this morning so sick I couldn’t move. My joints ache, my head feels like it’s going to explode and my sinuses are a mess. Dammit! I’m supposed to be at school today. I should be in my newly warm house right now basking in the joys of electricity. The good news is that I called my professor, Sarah, and she reserved my locker for me and signed me up for my monitor hours. So calling in sick did allow me first choice at monitor hours. I guess that’s one good thing about all this.

Maybe after a day of rest, juice and water I’ll feel better. I can’t be sick for my first welding class tomorrow night!

That’s how long we were without electricity. Things finally came on early this evening while we were eating dinner at Duane and Prudy’s. We’re staying here tonight while the house warms up. We checked on the kitties and they are fine. I think they’ve been much happier since we took them home even though it was cold and dark.

Tomorrow I start my class at MSU and Tuesday I start my welding course at OTC. We also still have a torn up bathroom. Still, we have electricity! Despite my oncoming cold, a disaster of a house, and a busy week ahead of us, I feel better than I have in days. Thanks to everyone who called to check on us, took us to dinner, gave us a place to sleep and shower, and just loved us when things looked really grim.

In times of disaster, never ask if it will get worse. Believe me, it can and it has. Today, on day #9 without power, we lost power at Paul’s house as well. My nerves are shattered. Thankfully, we have a warm bed at Duane and Prudy’s for as long as we need it. Their accomodations are like a five star hotel. We have an incredibly comfortable bed, our own flat screen TV in the bedroom, our own bathroom and the entire downstairs to ourselves. Which is where the bar is. Coincidence? Karma? Yes. While I’m eternally grateful for their friendship, love and warm accomodations, I miss my house and my kitties. I feel like nothing will ever get back to the same even though I know it will.

The day started with so much hope. The cable guys were in our neighborhood and hooked up our cable (gee, if only we had electricity). I saw some tree trimming trucks and there were rumors of spotting City Utilities trucks as well. Alas, nothing has progressed. Now I think I’m getting sick on top of it all. Yep, I’m depressed.

The fun continues (note dripping sarcasm). We’re on day 6 of no electricity and we’re still living in Paul’s empty house, although it’s not really empty right now. The temp dropped to 29˚ in our house and the cats had to be moved. They are in our “bedroom” and have adapted well. Paul, if you’re reading this, I can assure you they are not causing any harm to your house. I reached my breaking point on Tuesday night while we were moving the cats. I burst into tears and Steve shooed me out of the house with Tidbit in a duffle bag while he attempted to corral Littles. I cried all the way back to Paul’s and continued for several minutes until I calmed down a bit. That night, we got no sleep as the cats were freaked out by the move and kept jumping on us and crying. Last night was better, except for Littles who wanted constant attention. Today is another day. I don’t hold out much hope for electricity, but who knows. I am extremely grateful for a warm house, safe cats and a daily shower. I have so much more than many people around me.

Observations on life without electricity:

* Sometimes all you really need is love. The support of family and friends has been amazing. The calmness of Steve has kept me sane.

* A warm house and an comfortable bed can cure some degree of depression.

* While I adore an extensive wardrobe, I really can live with only 2 pair of jeans. However, I don’t think I’ll be purging my closet too soon.

* I miss TV and the Internet.

* A shoulder to cry on is invaluable to my sanity.

* Emergency situations bring out my creativity.

* Living without real furniture is a drag.

* The best money I ever spent was $40 on a really good inflatable bed and $40 on a battery-powered radio that also gets TV reception.