May 29, 2002

I Must Be Loosing My Mind

No, I haven't forgotten about the pictures. I'm working on it. But I have appeared to lose my mind. This morning, I went downstairs and made coffee like normal. Grind coffee beans, add filter, scoop coffee, pour water into coffee maker and turn on. I then wandered out of the kitchen. Ten minutes later, I smelled the brewing coffee and decided to grab a cup. But when I went back to the kitchen, I realized my mistake. There, sitting next to the coffee maker, was the coffee pot.

Coffee on the counter, on the floor, soaking into my bagels. It was a disaster. How could I have turned on the machine but forgotten to replace the pot? Duh. The sad part is my coffee maker has this niffty feature that lets you remove the pot while it's brewing so you can pour a quick cup of coffee. But if you take the pot out and forget to replace it, this backs up the coffee makes causing water overflow through the coffee grinds. So not only was my kitchen covered in coffee, it was also swiming in coffee grounds.

So I spent a good 15 -20 minutes wiping coffee grounds off my counter. I knew I had to get right back on the horse so I decided to suck it up and try to make another pot. Success! Yum.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2002

Artie’s Doing Better

Our friends rock.
Over the weekend, we dropped the pooch with Kat & Josh and headed to Spokane to celebrate Aunt Arnie’s 50th birthday. The celebration was a blast and Kev got to mingle with the relatives which is a real treat. We don’t get over to Spokane often mostly because it’s a heck of a drive. Six hours each way of boring eastern Washington terrain. This time we were especially daring and decided to do the drive back-to-back. We left around 11am on Saturday, arrived at 5pm and headed straight to the party. Then we woke up and headed out at noon Sunday to drive back. We jammed 12 hours of driving and we were felling the pain. (Of course, all that wine/beer Sat night probably didn’t help much either!)
By the time we pulled into Portland around 7pm, I was tired, stiff, and my back was on fire. Poor Kevin had cramps in his arms and back from the drive. Since we don’t have cruise control on the little civic, he took a beating too.

The one bright spot on the horizon was heading over to pick up the pooch. We were dreading having to make dinner and unpack and do last minute errands so it was with much gratefulness that we accepted Kat & Josh’s dinner invitation.

This is where the rocking comes in.

When we arrived, we found a very mellow and happy dog, marinated chicken kabobs on the grill, and fresh baked cookies and ice cream. After a weekend of McDonalds and Burger King, we were in heaven. They popped a beer for us, settled us on the sofa, and let us unwind, relax, and gab with them and Josh’s father.

When we left that night, Kevin and I were all smiles and full bellies. I can’t think of a better way to unwind after a long and painful drive and Kat & Josh must have read our minds. There are many things I’m thankful for but after last night, these two awesome friends were sitting on the top of my grateful list. We love you man!

Posted by Chrissie at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2002

Best Friend

Our friends rock.
Over the weekend, we dropped the pooch with Kat & Josh and headed to Spokane to celebrate Aunt Arnie’s 50th birthday. The celebration was a blast and Kev got to mingle with the relatives which is a real treat. We don’t get over to Spokane often mostly because it’s a heck of a drive. Six hours each way of boring eastern Washington terrain. This time we were especially daring and decided to do the drive back-to-back. We left around 11am on Saturday, arrived at 5pm and headed straight to the party. Then we woke up and headed out at noon Sunday to drive back. We jammed 12 hours of driving and we were felling the pain. (Of course, all that wine/beer Sat night probably didn’t help much either!)
By the time we pulled into Portland around 7pm, I was tired, stiff, and my back was on fire. Poor Kevin had cramps in his arms and back from the drive. Since we don’t have cruise control on the little civic, he took a beating too.

The one bright spot on the horizon was heading over to pick up the pooch. We were dreading having to make dinner and unpack and do last minute errands so it was with much gratefulness that we accepted Kat & Josh’s dinner invitation.

This is where the rocking comes in.

When we arrived, we found a very mellow and happy dog, marinated chicken kabobs on the grill, and fresh baked cookies and ice cream. After a weekend of McDonalds and Burger King, we were in heaven. They popped a beer for us, settled us on the sofa, and let us unwind, relax, and gab with them and Josh’s father.

When we left that night, Kevin and I were all smiles and full bellies. I can’t think of a better way to unwind after a long and painful drive and Kat & Josh must have read our minds. There are many things I’m thankful for but after last night, these two awesome friends were sitting on the top of my grateful list. We love you man!

Posted by Chrissie at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2002

Good Friends Rock

I so don’t understand Ebay. It is inconceivable to me what people will pay for my junk. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I just don’t understand it.
In the last week or so, Kevin has sold over $150 bucks of junk online. Take, for example, our current auction item. A can opener. Yup, you heard me. It’s an automatic can opener. We have never used it but figured we’d give it a shot on Ebay. How much do you think it’s going for? $5? $10? $15? Nope. Right now, it’s sitting at $24.50. Don’t believe me, see for yourself. I admit that Kevin does a nice layout and our secret weapon is the Free Shipping but still. It’s a can opener for pete’s sake..
If that doesn’t outrage you, what about this. Kevin and Josh went to Best Buy two years ago and picked up a fighter pilot computer game from the close-out bin. They each paid $10 for the game. Kevin gets tired of it, sticks it on Ebay, and it sells for $37. Yes, you heard me, two years later a $10 game is selling for $37 bucks. At this rate, we’ll be able to pay off the house in..... hmmm, maybe not.
But if you haven’t jumped on the ebay wagon, I urge you to do so. People are auction crazy and will buy anything. I don’t know how long this craze will last so you better get out there are start selling. You won’t regret it.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2002

EDDES

I so don’t understand Ebay. It is inconceivable to me what people will pay for my junk. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I just don’t understand it.
In the last week or so, Kevin has sold over $150 bucks of junk online. Take, for example, our current auction item. A can opener. Yup, you heard me. It’s an automatic can opener. We have never used it but figured we’d give it a shot on Ebay. How much do you think it’s going for? $5? $10? $15? Nope. Right now, it’s sitting at $24.50. Don’t believe me, see for yourself. I admit that Kevin does a nice layout and our secret weapon is the Free Shipping but still. It’s a can opener for pete’s sake..
If that doesn’t outrage you, what about this. Kevin and Josh went to Best Buy two years ago and picked up a fighter pilot computer game from the close-out bin. They each paid $10 for the game. Kevin gets tired of it, sticks it on Ebay, and it sells for $37. Yes, you heard me, two years later a $10 game is selling for $37 bucks. At this rate, we’ll be able to pay off the house in..... hmmm, maybe not.
But if you haven’t jumped on the ebay wagon, I urge you to do so. People are auction crazy and will buy anything. I don’t know how long this craze will last so you better get out there are start selling. You won’t regret it.

Posted by Chrissie at 06:51 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2002

Current Count

I so don’t understand Ebay. It is inconceivable to me what people will pay for my junk. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I just don’t understand it.
In the last week or so, Kevin has sold over $150 bucks of junk online. Take, for example, our current auction item. A can opener. Yup, you heard me. It’s an automatic can opener. We have never used it but figured we’d give it a shot on Ebay. How much do you think it’s going for? $5? $10? $15? Nope. Right now, it’s sitting at $24.50. Don’t believe me, see for yourself. I admit that Kevin does a nice layout and our secret weapon is the Free Shipping but still. It’s a can opener for pete’s sake..
If that doesn’t outrage you, what about this. Kevin and Josh went to Best Buy two years ago and picked up a fighter pilot computer game from the close-out bin. They each paid $10 for the game. Kevin gets tired of it, sticks it on Ebay, and it sells for $37. Yes, you heard me, two years later a $10 game is selling for $37 bucks. At this rate, we’ll be able to pay off the house in..... hmmm, maybe not.
But if you haven’t jumped on the ebay wagon, I urge you to do so. People are auction crazy and will buy anything. I don’t know how long this craze will last so you better get out there are start selling. You won’t regret it.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2002

It continues…

And the terror continues.
I just got up from my computer to get a coffee refill and found another bird carcass lying on the bottom of the stairs. This poor chick-a-dee had its head viciously gnawed on. My initial reaction was denial. "It was some other cat you killed the bird and came into our house. It just can't be my angle kitties." But Kevin says I need to face reality.
I'm harboring two bird killers.
I took some pictures of the dead bird carcass but Kevin said no one wants to see that sort of thing. It was kind of cool because I placed a coke can next to the body so you could get a "feel" for the bird's size just like CSI. Am I cool or what?
I'm scared to go to bed tonight. What if they drag one onto the bed itself? All of a sudden, the idea of sharing the bed with Artie is looking better and better.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2002

The story continues…

I suppose I should have known better. You see, every good story has a beginning, middle and end. Last night was only the beginning of the bird story. This morning, it wound down to its inevitable end. But I’m skipping the middle which is a most important part since it the there that we learn a Lesson.
The beginning you know. Little bird caught by big mean black cats and brought into the house. Last night before I went to bed, I placed a small amount of birdseed and a capful of water next to the bird. I was hoping a nice meal, drink and calming evening would help it take wing again. Yes, I am a sucker for animals.
Being a very hot night, I opened the windows and turned on the fan before slipping into bed. Now, you must understand that our bedroom is in a converted attic at the tippy top of the house. This makes it cold in the winter and hot in the summer. It is also two very long flights of stairs up from the basement and kitty door.
So at 5:05am this morning, Kevin and I were sleeping in bed with the dog wedged between us when we both shot upright.
We heard the chirp.
It was that same death chirp that tormented us earlier that evening. It was the sound of a small and defenseless bird being gnawed on by a cat. For the briefest of moments, I thought maybe it was outside and the sound coming through the windows. Kevin got up and turned on the light but saw nothing. It was eerily quiet and then.
CHIRRRRRRP!
It was definitely in our room and being attacked. I flicked a light on and instead of looking for the bird (which is very small) I began looking for a cat. And there she was. Baby Wicks was crouching under the desk, swatting at something.
Now, this being the middle and all, there’s a Lesson. And that Lesson is, Kevin is a wimp. Perhaps this was already known to some but early this morning, it was confirmed.
Picture it. Baby bird screaming, Wicks swatting, me yelling “get Wicks out of there!” and Kevin leaning over the whole scene saying, “stop it Wicks, go away!” Kevin later admitted to me that he was afraid to pick up Wicks for fear that she would scratch him. Yes, Kevin, who out weights Wicks by 50 to 1 was afraid of the cat. So I got out of bed and grabbed her. I threw Kevin a towel and told him to grab the bird but he couldn’t. You guessed it, he was afraid of the little baby bird. Sigh.
So I hunkered down and grabbed the bird and we all tromped outside. Last time, the bird looked a little rumpled but ok. This time, after being dragged up two flights of stairs by a cat, the bird was bleeding heavily on her side and totally unresponsive. So once again we placed her up high on the fence and went back inside. Having learned our lesson, we did return directly to bed. Instead, we went down to the basement and feed the cats Fancy Feast. While they were munching, we quietly locked the cat door to insure no more bird trophies for them.
And now, the ending. This morning when I went to take the dog on his walk, I checked the fence but no bird in sight. We proceeded around the block when Artie stopped dead in his tracks. I went over to investigate what had his attention and there was a dead bird.
All of my time spent watching CSI and Emergency Vets must have affected me subconsciously because I immediately cleared the scene of the crime. (This involved pushing the dog out of the way.) Next, I stuck my hand in the plastic bag I carry for picking up poop. (Don’t worry, it was empty.) Carefully, I rolled the bird over and inspected her. Same type of bird, same color and markings. The ants had found her and she had no eyes but I didn’t find any indication of rigimortous. (Do birds even get that?) With the initial inspection completed, I began to look for cause of death.
There, on the top of the skull was a bite mark. Clearly, this had been the killing blow because there was profuse bleeding from the fang bite and, as we all know, wounds inflicted after death don’t bleed.
With this last piece of information, I could proceed on my walk secure in the knowledge that my girls were not the murders of that bird. Some other cat must have found her and killed her. Relieved, I came home and unlocked the kitty door.
Last I saw them, they were hiding by the bird feeder, watching the little chick-a-dees with hungry eyes. Having tasted little bird blood, I think they might be hooked. Anyone know how to stop a cat from hunting birds? Yeah, I didn’t think so. I am, however, going to pay carefully attention next time the Emergency Vets treat a bird on TV as it may become important later on.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2002

The Cats…

We have been home less than an hour and already we are traumatized. But let me back up and start at the beginning.
Kev & I drove up to Seattle with the pooch to spend Mother’s Day with Kev’s mom. The weather was great and Artie loved to romp through the woods and run on the beach. I spent way too much at a local nursery and Kev BBQ’d for us. We ate on the deck overlooking the Puget Sound and Seattle. It was wonderful.
So this afternoon, we pack up the car and the dog and head home. We arrive and are greeted by both Blitz and Wicks. A quick check on the fish and all is good. While checking my email, Kevin asks me the following.
“Do you hear that bird? It sounds like it’s in the house.”
“Nah, that’s outside,” I reply “there’s a whole bunch in that tree over there.”
A few moments pass and this high pitch repetitive chirping continues. I don’t notice Kevin as he gets up from his chair to investigate.
“OH MY GOD WICKS HAS A BIRD AND ITS STILL ALIVE!!!! COME QUICK!!!!”
I jump from my chair and race into the laundry room where the cat door is located. Kevin is pointing at the ground and clapping his hand in a futile effort to drive the cats away. I’m not so squeamish and rush head on into the room screaming “GET AWAY GET AWAY”. Fatty has her claw in the bird and Wicks is biting it. The poor little thing is letting out the most desperate chirping noise. Once I shoo the cats off, I can see it’s just a little chick-a-dee. It’s breathing hard and frozen in fear. I grab a little towel from the dryer and gently pick up the poor little bird. Kevin opens the door and I walk into the back yard and place her on a shelf by the fence. She’s pretty shocked and just kind of wobbles in place. While I’m watching, another little chick-a-dee flies down from the tree next to her, chirps, and flies up back to the tree. He does this several times trying to coax the poor little bird into the air.
But she doesn’t follow.
I’ve seen her hopping around and moving her head but when she tries her wings, only one moves. It’s getting dark now and I know it’s only a matter of time before my cats discover her again but I don’t know what else to do. If she’s still there in the morning, I’ll give her a little tray of birdseed and some water but it isn’t looking too good.
What mean kitties I have. If I was my fish, I’d be worried.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2002

Success

So Josh is Kevin’s hero for solving the mysterious computer problem. Zeus is back up and running (for now). Life will most likely revert to normal now that the planets have realigned and Kevin’s system is whirling away.
High off of his computer success, Kevin asks me, “so when do you want me to work on your computer?”
“Whenever,” I reply.
“OK. So.... are there any files you really want to keep on your system?”
It’s questions like these that make me nervous. I want to keep all my files thank you very much. Any operation that involves destroying my files, I’m just not really excited about. I mean it’s not like I’m getting a new hard drive for pete’s sake. It’s just a new motherboard.
I wonder if Kevin would be horribly offended if I asked Josh to install the new motherboard on my system.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 06, 2002

The Charity Truck

The charity truck came by yesterday and removed four large garbage bags full of old clothing and shoes. The upstairs bedroom carpet is no longer red with swirls of cat/dog hair. Now, it’s just red and my closet is filled with sun dresses and t-shirts (even though it still hasn’t broken 70 here yet.)
Having completed my week of renovation upstairs, I have moved downstairs to the dining room. Not a lot in the dining room aside from a table, chairs and china cabinet. However, it is blue. Not just any blue but a really deep navy blue. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s very pretty but anyone who watches HGTV can tell you that painting a small room a dark color is not the way to go. It makes the space seem very small and closed. Add to that the fact that the room boasts one small window and you have a rather dreary room. So it didn’t take long to decided that this room project would be painting.
Just a couple of words of advice here. Although I’ve only been at it for two days, I feel I have learned a great deal during my painting experience.
First, I must apologize for the lack of pictures. I have been taking them but, alas, Zeus is still non-functional so I have no computer to download them too. Until Kevin gets him up and running, you’ll have to use your imagination. (Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.)
So I started with a dining room full of furniture and blue walls. (Insert mental image here.) The first task was to empty the room. Here comes my first piece of advice. Paint before you move in. This makes life so much easier. Right now, we can’t get into the guest bedroom or bathroom because that space is filled with dining room stuff. Anything I couldn’t move out of the room got lumped in the center and covered with drop cloths. Unfortunately, this included all the dog food so Artie has been eating good people stuff the last couple of days.
After the room was kind of cleared, I applied a coat of white paint over the blue walls. Since I have decided to paint the room a light yellow, I was afraid the blue would peek though so on goes a coat of white. And, I was right. This morning when I checked the room, the walls were a sort of bluish white color. (Insert mental image here.) I’m hoping that the next coat of yellow will totally cover the blue but I’m not too sure.
Today, I’m going to slap the yellow on the walls and see what happens. Wish me luck.
Oh yes, one last piece of painting advice. No matter how much they cry or claw at the door, do not allow your black cats into a room where the walls are covered with white paint. You will only end up with white walls smeared with black cat hair and a very freaked out cat who runs under the bed to spend the next four hours trying to lick the while paint off her back. (Insert mental picture here.)
So I’m off to Home Depot (again) to pick up some painters tape. I’ll post more (mental) pictures here tomorrow so hurry back!

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 05, 2002

The’ll Buy Anything!

Oh yes, final price for the can opener via Ebay?? 40 dollars and 99 freaking cents.
I'm rich! Rich I tell you!

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2002

The Pooka Life

Love Derby. Wonderdul horseys and lots of mint julep. Very yummie stuff. Horsey lost but decided to celebrate with a coupolde more julep anyhtway. Yippee! Dson't know why peolele don't drink juleps at noon more often. will be new ploicy here.

Feel a bit funny really. Kevin says should go upstairs and drink some water or will be sorry tomorrow.

Yipee!!

Posted by CHRISSIE at 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

Love That Derby

Love Derby. Wonderdul horseys and lots of mint julep. Very yummie stuff. Horsey lost but decided to celebrate with a coupolde more julep anyhtway. Yippee! Dson't know why peolele don't drink juleps at noon more often. will be new ploicy here.
Feel a bit funny really. Kevin says should go upstairs and drink some water or will be sorry tomorrow.
Yipee!!

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

The Pooka Life

I am cursed. Horribly and indelibly cursed. For those who don’t know, the Derby came to Portland this year. My very good friend from law school, Erica (aka Southern Spice), kindly agreed to leave Kentucky during the height to Derby madness and fly to Portland to show us Oregonians how things are done. She brought southern ham, derby pies, grits, and a mint julep recipe. Our only responsibility was to choose a horse.

And that is where the curse comes in. You see, I had my heart set on Repent. I thought there was some sort of cosmic humor on gambling on a horse whose name told you not to. I had my pick and was sticking with him. Until last week when his trainer announced he was injured in a race and had to pull out of the Derby due to a bone spur.

Undaunted, I returned to the listing. This time, I went with Buddha. I felt there was a similar spiritual connection here as well. So yesterday at dinner, Erica informed me that Buddha was favoring his right side in the morning and they had pulled him from the race as well. Yes, two days before the big start and my new favorite was out.

Now, I’m afraid to pick another. With my luck, they’ll stumble getting out of their stall and break a leg on the way to their postings. And everyone else won’t pick a horse until they hear who I’ve got for fear of having my curse effect them as well. I’m thinking I’ll just go with the longest shot horse and that way I won’t jinxes anyone else.

I guess my life as an off-track better has pretty much gone down the drain. Ah well, at least I’ll get to drink a mint julep.

Posted by CHRISSIE at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2002

Cursed

I am cursed. Horribly and indelibly cursed. For those who don’t know, the Derby came to Portland this year. My very good friend from law school, Erica (aka Southern Spice), kindly agreed to leave Kentucky during the height to Derby madness and fly to Portland to show us Oregonians how things are done. She brought southern ham, derby pies, grits, and a mint julep recipe. Our only responsibility was to choose a horse.
And that is where the curse comes in. You see, I had my heart set on Repent. I thought there was some sort of cosmic humor on gambling on a horse whose name told you not to. I had my pick and was sticking with him. Until last week when his trainer announced he was injured in a race and had to pull out of the Derby due to a bone spur.
Undaunted, I returned to the listing. This time, I went with Buddha. I felt there was a similar spiritual connection here as well. So yesterday at dinner, Erica informed me that Buddha was favoring his right side in the morning and they had pulled him from the race as well. Yes, two days before the big start and my new favorite was out.
Now, I’m afraid to pick another. With my luck, they’ll stumble getting out of their stall and break a leg on the way to their postings. And everyone else won’t pick a horse until they hear who I’ve got for fear of having my curse effect them as well. I’m thinking I’ll just go with the longest shot horse and that way I won’t jinxes anyone else.
I guess my life as an off-track better has pretty much gone down the drain. Ah well, at least I’ll get to drink a mint julep.

Posted by Chrissie at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2002

Ebay...

I so don’t understand Ebay. It is inconceivable to me what people will pay for my junk. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I just don’t understand it.

In the last week or so, Kevin has sold over $150 bucks of junk online. Take, for example, our current auction item. A can opener. Yup, you heard me. It’s an automatic can opener. We have never used it but figured we’d give it a shot on Ebay. How much do you think it’s going for? $5? $10? $15? Nope. Right now, it’s sitting at $24.50. Don’t believe me, see for yourself. I admit that Kevin does a nice layout and our secret weapon is the Free Shipping but still. It’s a can opener for pete’s sake..

If that doesn’t outrage you, what about this. Kevin and Josh went to Best Buy two years ago and picked up a fighter pilot computer game from the close-out bin. They each paid $10 for the game. Kevin gets tired of it, sticks it on Ebay, and it sells for $37. Yes, you heard me, two years later a $10 game is selling for $37 bucks. At this rate, we’ll be able to pay off the house in..... hmmm, maybe not.

But if you haven’t jumped on the ebay wagon, I urge you to do so. People are auction crazy and will buy anything. I don’t know how long this craze will last so you better get out there are start selling. You won’t regret it.

Posted by CHRISSIE at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)