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XcatfeeshX
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Name: Sarah
State: Ohio
Birthday: 4/15/1983
Interests: Swimming, running, reading, music, beekeeping, farming.
Expertise: Slackery, procrastination.
Occupation: High school science teacher an
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  xcatfeeshx
Member Since:
5/12/2003
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| Shooting Myself in the FootToday in class, each student was supposed to give a short presentation on a restoration project. The class consists of two sessions, with a long break in between, so I got my presentation about two-thirds done, then left the rest for the break, banking on other students being ready to present in the morning session. Apparently, every single student in the class had had the same plan-- not one of us was ready to present! Because I seemed the closest to being ready, the professor asked me to go ahead and present anyway. This is the professor who I just asked to write a letter of recommendation for me for a teaching position I really want. Whoops!
Hope everyone had a happy Easter!
 S.
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| I loved my friend.
He went away from me.
There's nothing more to say.
The poem ends,
Soft as it began,--
I loved my friend.
Langston Hughes
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| The Adventure ContinuesWe're mostly settled in now, but the maintenance and repairs are only getting started. The other day, while we were eating dinner, I noticed a water stain on the dining room ceiling that I'd never seen before. I eyeballed the distance from the walls and figured that it must be from the master shower. DOH! We'd just finished putting together the master bedroom, and were thrilled to finally be sleeping in it, only to find we'd have to move out of the master shower, at least temporarily. Luckily, it turned out to only need new silicone seal around the edges, so I spent almost five hours on my hands and knees, scraping out every last bit of the old silicone, cleaning the seams, and putting in new caulk. We've gotta wait 24-48 hours to find out if it worked. Wish us luck!
Over the weekend, we raked most of the front yard, and maybe a quarter of the back yard. We filled ten 30-gallon yard waste bags and one 34-gallon garbage can, and probably put another 300 gallons in a big heap in the wild area between our lot and the next. Imagine if we'd raked the whole yard! Once we buy a lawn mower, though, we won't rake much anymore, just mulch. We just wanted to get the big clumps off the lawn to let it start to grow. There's more clearing to do around the shed, but that'll probably have to wait 'til we buy a wheelbarrow.
This morning, I sorted some laundry on the basement floor, then ran a couple loads. When I went down to move the second load to the dryer, there was water EVERYWHERE, soaking the pile of laundry on the floor. I cleaned up most of it, and turned on a fan to help the rest of it dry. I couldn't figure out where the water had come from, so I put the sopping laundry into the washing machine and started it, then stood and waited. As soon as the washing machine started draining, it appeared someone had turned on a lawn sprinkler in the utility sink! It turned out the screen filter over the drain hose had clogged up with lint, leaving only a few small holes where water could escape. I leaped at it with a rag, covered the spray, and held it down in the sink as the sink filled with cold laundry water. I was soaked, and the fan was blowing right at me. BRR! I didn't realize until after the fact that I could have just turned the machine off, and the spray would have stopped. Whoops!
Now that we're more settled, it's time for a housewarming/ birthday party! Here's the plan:
Sunday, April 5 at 2:00
Celebrating our new house, Mike's birthday (3/19), and my birthday (4/15)
Snacks, pop, etc. will be provided, but BYOB
Bring a ball, kite, frisbee, whatever!
Please, no gifts! (But if you insist, seeds or plants for the yard would be nice) 
Leave a comment or send me a message if you'd like to come!
S.
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| ForecastI just looked at the 10-day forecast, and saw that it's supposed to be in the 50s on Friday. I actually welled up a little!
Things are coming along at the house. We finished painting the master bedroom, and pulled up the carpet in there, then pulled up hundreds of tacks, nails, and staples. I cut the carpet into 4'-wide rolls to put at the curb, then swept, vacuumed, and pulled off the trim that had been installed above the carpet, so that we can paint it and reattach it flush with the hardwood floor. I feel like an accomplished homeowner/fix-it gal, wielding my hammer and pry-bar.
Last week, I called "Oh, Culligan man!" and yesterday he came out to set up our water softener and under-sink drinking water filter. Both had clogged filters, and the softener had been completely bypassed, so we had been drinking pretty much straight well water-- yum! Now they each have a new filter, and the softener has 30 pounds of salt, a new piston, and a new lease on life. Eventually we'll get out all the iron that had built up in our toilets... maybe.
We're having a housewarming/ my birthday/ Mike's birthday party on Sunday, April 5. I haven't decided yet what time, but I hope you all can make it. Please, no presents, but BYOB (we'll have pop, juice, etc., though). If you want to come, let me know, and I'll send you the address. See you soon!
S.
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| The Money PitHave you seen the Tom Hanks movie, The Money Pit? It's about a young couple that buys a big, old house from a sweet, old lady, then find out too late that she swindled them into buying a house that was falling apart. The stairs fall off the upstairs landing, the bathtub falls through the floor and smashes, the kitchen catches fire.... We're kinda going through that stage right now:
When we did the final walk-through, we found out that some of the lights and outlets didn't work, and that the water line to the kitchen sink was leaking. The owners paid for the plumbing repair, but we have to foot the bill for the electrician, who got everything working again but told us that our house has aluminum wiring, which is problematic and a potential fire hazard.
When I did laundry last night, I found out that the washing machine dribbles water between loads, unless the pipes are shut off each time. I also found out that while the dryer tumbles clothes, the heating element doesn't work, so everything stays cold and wet. Luckily, I hadn't started a second load when I made that discovery, or we'd have laundry drying on every surface of the house. Typing this, it also occurs to me that the gas to the dryer may have been shut off, so I'll check that when I get back to the house.
We discovered that the water softener doesn't work, due at least in part to the empty salt reserve. Our showers smell and taste like pennies.
We want to get an alarm system, but it requires a phone line, which we weren't planning on getting. It looks like we'll be getting DSL instead of cable. We'll also be getting the locks re-keyed, but I'm not sure how much that will cost.
Some time in the next month, when things have settled a bit, I'd like to have the carpets steam cleaned, because they got pretty dirty when the house was empty, and we tracked in a lot of dirty snow when we were moving. It's going to take a lot of cleaning to get to that point, though-- no sense in getting them cleaned when every other surface is so dirty that we'd just track more dirt onto the carpet!
There are about a dozen rooms that need to be painted. We've painted one. haha *sigh*
At least the heat works. *knocks on wood*
Well, the reason I'm even writing right now is that I came to campus for class, only to find out that it's been canceled. Good thing it's "only" a two-hour round trip.  I'm going to take advantage of my freed-up time, though, to call Culligan and a locksmith, and get some hardware.
Catcha later!
S.
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