It Wasn’t Lifeproof

I have a house! I get in trouble for calling it mine, but I do it anyway. 

Really it’s ours, but MINE is more fun. I sound like a Finding Nemo seagull.

Today’s Exploit:

I dropped my phone yesterday. I had just been thinking how amazing it was that I still had my original screen protector on it. And I had been taking it out of my case more because my charger won’t fit with it on. 

But yesterday, it was in the case, and I just got back from my run. 

I had my phone in my hand, I was walking. And then it bumped against my leg and then was on the ground. 

The lifeproof case isn’t so lifeproof here.

My screen is shattered, and the screen protector is what’s holding it all together. 

And naturally, being at work, I have no place nearby to go to get it fixed, replaced or find a kit to do it myself.

I Found a Bramble

This week’s recommended reading:

I love this series. I read it all the time, especially since H.
found copies for me for Christmas. Image found here.

Today’s Exploit:

The other day on my run I noticed some red berries along the road. They made me think of raspberries, but I didn’t stop to check it out and imagined they were probably some terrible Texas killer berry. And then I forgot all about them.

A couple days later I was standing on the road, so that the trees would block some rig noise, and talking to H. on the phone. I noticed some berries again. 

This time I looked closer.

The berries are segmented like raspberries, and they have the fuzzy serrated leaves like raspberries, and they have the crazy-mean-spiny poky stalks like raspberries. 

But when I pulled on a berry it didn’t want to budge, normally indicating non-ripeness. 

And then I thought about it for a minute and realized that the berries were not hidden under leaves like raspberries usually are, and the terrain is not at all rocky. It’s more sandy and loose.

That was when I noticed a black one. And another.

Naturally I picked them.

And then I went to my computer to check out the plant identification guides.

They are blackberries.

And it’s a huge patch. Bramble.

And I will get to pick zillions of blackberries in the next week or so. 

I just have to remember to get some medicine for the hives that I get when I get myself scratched.

Yay, Blackberries!

PS I close on my house tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Baby Elephants

I did this all by my self, it is part of my favorite quilt girl so far.
I have approximately 15 left to go before I run out of pieces.

The Hero of the Rig

I’m definitely getting tired of this rig right now. We need to pick up the pace and get this well finished.

Today’s Exploit:

The other night we started a new run, but the tool that we were removing from the drill-string got stuck. So we had to lay down the whole collar. 

Price, the guy working nights right now, was unable to get it to budge. So he woke me and we measured and calculated and programmed a new tool for a new collar length.

It didn’t fit, so we repeated the process.

It took 2.137 hours.

The next day I tried to get the tool out of the collar, just for giggles.

It worked.

I pulled it so that it was easy to grab, and then went to one of the roughnecks for help carrying it. 

And all was well.

But Price has worked with this rig for many moons and knows everyone out here quite well. So he has a while to live down the fact that he couldn’t get the tool free, but a GIRL was able to with minimal effort.  

I have a feeling that his next few safety meetings will be spent defending himself rather than discussing safety or the plan for the night.

So Much Sugar!

This week’s recommended reading:

I read this book all the time! It is one of my 74 billion favorites.

Today’s Exploit:

The other day one of the roughnecks stopped me and asked for a grocery list so that he could buy ingredients for cupcakes. He didn’t care what kind, and he was going to get everything I needed for them. So I puttered around the internet for a while to find one that looked interesting. 

I finally settled on Turtle Cupcakes. The recipe was for chocolate cupcakes with homemade caramel sauce and caramel cream cheese frosting. Then they’re topped with some chopped pecans drenched in some more caramel. 

I decided that it would be better to use less frosting and cut out a bit of the cupcake to make room for more pecans. 

Turns out this was a good idea and everyone at the rig was excited about the secret stash of extra pecans. 

They were also really confused that I hadn’t asked for caramel sauce.

I tried the caramel, and I tried the caramel, frosting and cupcake combination. It was good, but 2 bites was more than enough! They were so rich and super sweet! I can’t imagine eating multiple cupcakes at one go.

Fall Leaves

Excited for a House

Working nights when I have a qualified person working days is SOOOO nice, and I don’t have to worry about paperwork!

Today’s Exploit:

So far, so good on the house. 

We had an inspection, and it went much, much better than the last one. The house had normal maintenance issues for a 15 year old house, instead of neglect problems from a 115 year old house after being ignored for 20 years.

We still have a couple of weeks before we close, but everything is looking promising and I am getting pretty excited. 

The house has 4 bedrooms and a media room, which looks like a bedroom. All of the bedrooms are big and bright, although one of them is hot pink. And, to my mother’s dismay, the second bathroom is blue. I am looking forward to so much space for storage, after packing everything for 3 people into a single bedroom apartment. Also, since we will have so many rooms, Cupcake says we have to have Christmas at our house now. 

The kitchen is nice and open, and has an island, and window that looks out on the back porch/yard/property.  It has so much counter space that even I won’t be able to fill it with all my kitchen stuff. Also, it has a gas stove, and I am ridiculously excited about that. I have big plans for taking the cupboards out to replace with shelves, and changing the countertops from it’s current green rock to butcher-block. 

The back porch is truly amazing, and gigantic, and will be perfect with some strings of party lights and an outdoor kitchen area. There’s even a fire pit already in place and an amazing view up into the little hills behind the house. I have plenty of space for gardens and maybe some fruit trees, and H. has space for a shop and is excited about getting to buy a tractor to mow the grass. We just need some marshmallow roasting sticks and some fresh marshmallows (This time I’ll make them thicker!). 

Trying Again

This week’s recommended reading:

Found here

Today’s Exploit:

So the first house didn’t workout, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up.

Yesterday H. and I went and looked at some more houses. We found some good things and some bad. 

I touched a cat and it yelled at us when we locked it back in its room. We encountered an over-filled victorian with 5 doll houses. And some great views of the lake, as well as some fans that wouldn’t turn off. 

We found one that is just right and makes everyone happy. So we put in an offer. Please cross your fingers for us. Hopefully no one else will out bit us and we can finally move out of our cramped apartment. 

A New Batch

It's jam this time, and it is super sweet.

A Bad Run

My neighbor across the hall got a new puppy. 

I think he is a Lab/Poodle. He is so fluffy and cute and sweet, and I’m really jealous.

I want to steal him.

Today’s Exploit:

I am trying to get in shape for my race next month.

After today’s run I am getting pretty nervous. It was a rough one for sure. 

It took me 40 minutes to go 3.1 miles. 

That is a terrible time. My goal is 28 minutes for that distance.

Yikes. Luckily it only took me 34 minutes to get back, which is not the best, but at least it is an acceptable time for me. 

I really hope that it was a one time thing and that my runs will be getting better shortly, because 13.1 miles at that pace will take forever.

I am still looking forward to the trip and really excited to see my buddies who are no longer little.  And it’s not likely that the race will be worse than the last time I tried it, so it will be a fun trip full of tickles and ice creams. 

No More House

This week’s recommended reading:

Today’s Exploit:

We had the inspection for the house the other day.

I was so excited to go back and take pictures, to make plans for how to re-do and to decorate the rooms. 

Sadly, the first thing I heard when I got to the house was that the inspector had done a preliminary check, and every major system in the house was failing. So I went around and looked at the rooms and did some imagining.

But then I had the meeting where he told me everything that needed to be fixed. The list was endless and he didn’t even go into detail.

We started outside and talked about how the roof needed major repairs, possibly replaced. And the roof support structure needed to be replaced to support a new/repaired roof. The roof needed to be replaced to prevent any more water damage to the upper ceiling. Due to the water damage there is a possible mold problem in the bedrooms. 

The exterior of the house is covered with wood rot, and everything was hand made, so the only way to match it is to have it made. Also, it has extensive evidence of termite damage, so most likely all wood parts on the house will need to be replaced. Additionally, the house is not level, and the sub-structure has termite damage, and has been improperly repaired multiple times in the past.

All of the systems in the house are failing and were improperly installed as well: the electrical, the plumbing, the HVAC system. All of these have remnants of the previous version of the installation, excess wires, old pipes (possibly even lead pipes remain), and damaged air vents. 

After hearing all of this, and being completely overloaded with information, I went and waited for the official report. I also had a nice long talk with H. about what this house would require to just keep it from deteriorating even more.

We decided that this house, while amazing and lovely and historically awesome, is not one we want to tackle as our first house. 

So we are back on the hunt for something that I can stand to live in without tearing apart completely.

Wish me luck, I need some.

Nostalgia

Gramma's tea doilies