Cloud White and a week full of whatever

As far as weeks go it's been all right.  I broke a light bulb inside the brand new range hood.  Can you see me rolling my eyes?  TattooYou handy painter guy was over and he fixed that up for me.  Main floor and upstairs hall way all painted now except for the Cloud White trim.  And who knew!?!  If I was at all into decorating - which I am not - and if I ever read any of those home design magazines - which I never do - I might have known that Benjamin Moore Cloud White is the "white to beat all white " paints.  Thank goodness for the nice designer lady from the LaZBoy Galleries store who told me "It has to be Cloud White trim you'll love it."  Seems rather silly to think that a paint colour is famous.

Rebel Junior had a party this evening.  I figured there would be noise and loud music til late late.  The kids are all gone and she is in bed before me and I am the one who has to be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday for a Finance Committee meeting of one of my boards.  I am pretty sure there was alcohol involved but I couldn't see it and all seemed to be relatively civil for which I couldn't fault them. I didn't insinuate myself too much but enough for them to know I was around.  RJ does have a decent bunch of friends and even the guys weren't too dorky  They were actually pretty friendly.  All is quiet now.

When RJ first mentioned her party I told her no and to go have her party at her dad's house.  For whatever reason she said she'd rather have it at my place - it's easier to get to on the bus since most of her friends don't live near us, and secondy apparently my house is nicer. seriously.

Okay... I'll take that.  It might change next week,  I am not going to have parties here every weekend though.  I actually count on RJ going to her dad's so I can have some peace and quiet. 

XSU did barge his way into the house once this week.  I took him by surprise by being here.  And so again I asked him why he was in the house.  He wanted to take the desk top computer and do something with it.  It crashed a couple of weeks ago - lost everything on the hard drive  He wanted to do soemthing to it since the rebuild.  Once again I told him to ask permission ahead of time before walking into *my* house.  He took the computer and left without a word.

Worldless Wednesday -Lest we forget Thank you.

photo credit Gail Lalonde.  Found on the CTV web site

Light bulb moments

I can't believe Monday is upon me already. The weekend flew by and was far too short. I had nothing planned for a change and was glad to have a weekend all by myself.

I found myself getting angry again -   It's all the stupid things. Never mind the big one - roof needing fixing, a couple of pieces of trim missing at the top of the stairs, a Macgyvor'd bunch of electrical stuff in my kitchen that just has to go; and a couple of other little things around the house.  It was all bugging me this weekend and making me angry. 

I went to try and put some stuff in the ugly shed shed at the back of the house and put my foot through the floor.  yeah... this is good.  NOT impressed.  The shed is either going to have to be rebuilt or completely demolished and thrown in the red dumpster.

 Irritation factor - I have these really nice lights in my hall way both upstairs and down.  A bulb was burnt out and for the life of me I can't figure out how to get the glass thingy off so I can replace the bulb. Now I am no Einstein, I hate doing math, but gee, I can read instructions - except maps - I can follow a recipe, except for beef stuff, they gave me a masters degree and I am not as inept as my teen ager believes, but really -  replacing a light bulb  is apparently beyond my capabilities.  At least RJ wasn't around rolling her eyes as I attempted to get the light shade down from the ceiling. It was a ridiculous sight. I will wait until TattooYou, my painter guy turns up later this week to show me what the EFF the trick is with these ceiling lamps.  

And talk about lights.  I put one of those last forever environmentally friendly screw type light bulbs into the brand new lamp I bought for the living room.  The thing burnt out this week. huh?  I am hoping it was  just a dud bulb and not a dud lamp.  Clearly we're not sparkling around the place this week.

 

The other niggly make me frustrated stupid thing is the ceiling fan. It's in the stairwell going to the second floor.  WELL it's time for the fan to go clockwise instead of counter clock wise. The whole heat rising AC drops thing.  That much physics I get.  The fan doesn't have a remote control for it the way all the new ones do.  The XSU would bring *his* ladder into the house and get up there and change the direction because the pull chains are 10 feet up in the air. What's a separated-no-ladder-in-the-house-woman supposed to do with the fan?  

The big stuff I dealt with fairly well I think. It's going to be the idiotic small stuff  WTF? type things that will creep up on me little by little that will get my knickers all twisted. 

 Who knew it would be my lack of light changing skills in the DIY department that would set me off. 

He's So Cheap Even The Birds Sing About Him.

The weekend is nearly here – Thank goodness.  I have had a busy week at work while at home the activity level has dropped substantially since Frenchy left on Tuesday to return to France.

We went out for dinner with Frenchy and of course XSU was along.  He made me pay 50% of the bill.  I expected that, but really – I was the one who took the girls to Niagara Falls and Toronto, I have had them with me nearly the entire time and yet he couldn’t for over $40 for a road house meal.  I roll my eyes.
 
This weekend I’ll be doing up the expenses for Frenchy’s visit, as well as my monthly child support from XSU.  I hate spread sheets but on a spread sheet it will all be tallied and emailed to him.  RJ will take him the supporting receipts – AFTER I copy them. Then he will have to cough up his share. 

Rebel has been getting head aches.  She calls them tension headaches and thought it might have to do with her glasses.  She’s been once to the optometrist and has a second appointment next week for more tests.  He may either recommend her to see an ophthalmologist and/or a neurologist depending on what he finds.  It’s always something with that girl.  He thinks she may have a lazy eye that is refusing to focus and this is what is causing the headaches, but he’s checking out everything else too.

XSU gave Rebel and her BF his car, but he refused to put her on his insurance. Refused out right!.  She still drives his car because she needs to get around. I am trying to stay out of that one but I am coaching her on what she needs to do to get on his case about this.  It’s just plain foolish.  I am not understanding what his issue is, but then again, have I ever understood his issues?  

13 on Thursday.

13 things I am working on 

or doing in the next month or so.

 
1. Meeting with the President of the Gymnastics Club to get her organized for the Annual General Meeting.  How to run a meeting according to rules of order.  She needs coaching.  That' s me.  Coffee and banana bread 
2. Finance Committee meeting for the professional association. All day affair next Saturday.  
3. Scrap booking open house - so much new product - so little time to get the scrapbooks done. Renos nearly over, house nearly in shape - the tools are coming out. 
4,5, 6, 7, 8.   yeah - I'm cheating.   Five classes - orientation sessions for new part time instructors at the college where I will be teaching a course during the winter and spring term. 
9. ummm design the course I will be teaching in the Winter and spring.   Draft curriculum to department head by 25th November. 
10. Finish the damn church directory project.  Damn and church usually don't go together.   I couldn't get a volunteer to help me finish it. sigh... it went to the back burner during end of marriage beginning of renos period.  
11. The big Danish Bazaar in a few weeks.  LOVE the Danish food.  I will be stocking up on real Danish pastry for the freezer. 
12. Perogy making Saturday.  Nephew has asked for a care package to be mailed.  That should prove interesting.   
13.  TRANSIBERIAN ORCHESTRA!!! Next Wednesday evening.  So looking forward to that.  A little early for the Christmas music, but perhaps it will inspire me.

I can't cook meat!

I have come to realize that there are some things, well maybe only one or two things, I just can't cook very well.  It seems that beef is at the top of the list.  It's one of those end of marriage things that comes to the fore when you find you have to do something you haven't ever done, or maybe not done in a long time.  Cooking beef is one of those things for me, along with changing lightbulbs, mowing the lawn, and dealing with mouse traps.
I knew I was in trouble when I took a piece of meat, threw it into the oven, cooked it, and it came out tasting like I was eating plywood.

Beef was something that was XSU's responsiblity.  And I have to grudgingly admit he was good at it.  He got rid of the barbecue - I know I know - and bought one of those electric grill things that he kept in the garage.   He regularly spent time in there with his secret sauces and marinades and I just ate.  You know that the electric grill went with him when he left.  In fact it was the only appliance he took.  I should be grateful for this.  Yet even now, a mere two and half months later, it irritates me to no end that the garage still smells like a bad greasy spoon joint. 

Since XSU left I have tried cooking steak, pot roast, a couple of stir fry thingies, and I have to admit, I regularly bomb on all.  RJ sees beef on the counter top and tells me she's not hungry before I even get started. The only thing I can manage is a good beef stew - a full bodied red wine improves everything;. I can also cope fairly well with ground beef.   My roasts - like chewing rubber.  Steaks - we're talking hockey pucks.  And I realized it's because I haven't cooked beef in at least 15-20 years.  Seriously.

I am going to have to re-learn the art of cooking beef. Home Ec 101. Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Joy of Cooking and every other cook book I own will be found strewn across my kitchen when I throw a steak or a roast on the counter and into the oven. Next summer I will have to buy a barbecue and see how many steaks I turn into hockey pucks before I can actually cook a piece of beef worthy of fancy dining room eatin'.  For the next little while though make sure it's chicken, fish or vegetarian if I have invited you over for a meal.

Hooooo HAAAAAA AAAAHHHHHHH HALLOWEEN