Spring Morning

.

and afternoon . . . 

Pho Day

Rained all day here, so it was the perfect time to introduce Nick to Pho.

Since he's the only other adventurous eater in my crew, I was excited to share it with him.

And we got larges, just so we'd have a ton left over. Like stew, it gets better and better. The man that brought out the order put it in a cardboard box because two larges would break a sack. 

Nick is gone again tomorrow, but only for a couple of months and then he'll be back the whole summer. Yay!

Weekend Delight

Nick arrived Saturday for Spring Break and he got here just in time for some amazing weather.

(Pi Day, of course. Even better, our waiter gave them to us for free!)

I have an unhealthy obsession with light fixtures

from the Village Inn parking lot

And today?

It was warmer in Houston and Melbourne, FL (where one of my dealers are located)!

please note that humidity

After work, the dogs and I spent a long time soaking up our Vitamin D on the deck. 

My view from above as I laid out:

And right behind my head, waiting for me to throw the ball

Sam and Jason and I hit up all the resale shops Saturday before Nick arrived, primarily to raid their stock of large matted framed prints during 1/2 off day, none of which we bought for the art, but because new frames and mats for the size of art she's putting in shows is ridiculously expensive. During that run, I came across a classic Winnie the Pooh box that I snapped up for 50% off. Sam saw it she tried to wrangle it from me, but since I was paying for everything, I won. Anyway, I can now transport all our nail supplies out of doors in one convenient cute carrying case. Sunshine and pedicures, not a bad way to end a Monday!

all that she should be

So, I've started blogging some 18 times in the past two weeks and never followed through. At some point along the way, instead of cancelling out the half born post, I must have just shut everything down and ended up with an auto-save that contained only these lines from an F. Scott Fitzgerald letter, the original point of which is now entirely lost on me. 

Of course, re-reading it with the feeling I've once again let my blog lapse creates its own point, so I left it in place as the start of my catch-up post.


But Isabelle I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity and her flaming self respect and it’s these things I’d believe in even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn’t all that she should be.

But of course the real reason, Isabelle, is that I love her and that’s the beginning and end of everything.

So, past two weeks. . . 

Snow. A LOT of snow. How many pictures of patio furniture would you like?

On the one month post surgery date, the full moon from the window. I am almost to the point of stopping any attempt to photograph the moon until I get a better lens. It's all see at this point.

I scored a cool lamp that fits in the with the loft decor for $10

I started playing around with making the few guitar strings I had into bracelets after seeing their absurd prices online. First attempt:

The one I like the best, though, is the most understated

but now I'm out of guitar strings. Wondering how odd the guys at the Guitar Store would look at me if I asked to poke through their trash and fish out used guitar strings?

One month scar update. Between the stretch marks and the surgery scars, I can pretty much assure everyone I am never going to be seen in a bathing suit again.

The melt report:

And then I hit some odd screen captures off the phone in my photos

Koh-o mar-domon moya

Flannery Hair shirt. Random.

My sweater shaver finally arrived. I thought it was a really good deal on Amazon, but as usual that meant waiting a good six weeks for delivery from China. Still, sucker WORKS. My RLauren 100$ pima cotton, super soft, perfect color, perfect neckline sweater had been sacrificed to the distracted luandry gods a long time ago and I wasn't willing to part with it, but I couldn't wear it.

Post Sweater Shaver treatment:

Now if only I could find a good re-use craft for sweater shavings . . .

Of course, there are cat photos

this pose in particular reminded of something . . . 

Bruiser loves my making guitar string bracelets because it involves a lot of string wiggling.

apologies for the camera angle

Bruiser was also appreciative of the bathroom work done this past weekend, as it meant another box for him to claim.

Sam and Jason did all the kneeling and placement and cutting to save on my hips and did an awesome job laying it. Still have some edges (ran out of tiles) and molding work, but so much better than the splinter inducing plywood subfloor. 

And the toilet is FINALLY, blessedly, out of my tub so I can shower.

Bob is in NOLA all week, so, on cue, I found some great furniture as soon as he left town. The previous smaller brown recliners were scored for cheap on his trip in September. Those are now getting a home downstairs and the super comfy Lazyboys (also for super cheap) are installed in the loft.

This week has also seen some fantastic temps and lots of sunshine. So much so that the deck is nearly de-iced and I managed a slight sunburn sitting outside playing with the dogs. 

Coming up this weekend: part 2 of the drywall repairs. Last weekend, while Jason and Sam were laying the bathroom flooring, I patched the drywall and filled it in with joint compound, sanded, repeat, took samples to match with the paint AND . .  totally failed at the paint match. I did rummage through the old paint cans way up in a corner of the garage and located the old stuff. I took the info to Home Depot last night only to find out the best way to match it is to bring the old cans in, not the info on the cans, to get an exact match. So, back to HD I go!