Tuesday, 01 November 2011

The day after Halloween is All Saints’ Day. I think, instead, it should be known as the Day of Copious Candy. Man, it was everywhere.

Leftover candy greeted me this morning, so I threw some in with my lunch to bring to work. At work, everyone was offering candy, starting with the woman who sits at the front desk. Another co-worker had an open bag of candy sitting right inside her cubicle with a sign on her white board that read “Free Candy! Help Yourself! Take as much as you want!”

Later, there were full-sized candy bars just sitting out for the taking. I, of course, helped myself to two packages of Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I’m not eating all of this candy today, naturally. I’m attempting to be diligent by storing it up in my cube for when hunger ‘strikes.’

Wednesday, 02 November 2011

Today Isla went to Children’s Hospital for her surgery. I won’t go into too much detail; I’m sure my wife will post a more detailed and accurate synopsis at some point in the near future, but I’m pleased to report everything went well.

Isla had been well-prepped for the procedure by 1) the visit we paid to the hospital two weeks ago, 2) take home hospital supplies that took the scariness out of things like gloves, masks, and hair nets, and 3) a library copy of Franklin Goes to the Hospital.

Check-in went smoothly. During the time we had to wait until the procedure was set to begin, Isla had a fun time playing with the hospital’s toys, especially riding in a pushing the small cars. She made friends with another young girl (~2 years old) who was also awaiting surgery, and they played together for over an hour.

I accompanied Isla into the surgery room and held her in my arms while she was given anesthesia. When we first walked in the room, Isla looked around as if she recognized the hairnets from our pretend play and the machines from the Franklin book. She disliked having the mask placed in front of her face, but she didn’t freak out; she merely whined a little bit. While I continued to help her, the nurse say “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” and that’s as far as she got, because Isla was already asleep by that point. The nurse and the anesthesiologist assisted me in getting Isla onto the bed safely, and then I left the room.

We were told the procedure would take about 90 minutes. So, while I waited in the waiting room (I know, very appropriate), Jennifer and her mom went down to the cafeteria to purchase lunch for the three of us.

About midway through our meal, the doctor came out and told us that Isla’s bladder was in rougher shape than previously thought, but no worries. The procedure appeared to take care of the problem. He told us Isla was done with surgery and that we could go back and see her in a few minutes.

When we went back to the recovery room, I was pleased to a nurse holding Isla. I’m sure an older child would be fine laying in a bed, but I appreciated that they had the presence of mind to know a 15-month old would like to be held. Jennifer nursed Isla, and the staff continued to monitor her for another hour or so.

All in all, I was once again impressed with Children’s Hospital and I was glad all went so smoothly for Isla. She slept a lot this evening and went to bed very easily tonight. The prognosis seems positive; we go back for a check-up in about a month.

Sunday, 30 October 2011

In our quest to find an autumnal activity to do, we first ventured to Bittersweet Farm in Lake Elmo today. Turns out, the info we had regarding this fall-time attraction (which we obtained from THIS SITE) must’ve been outdated. There was just a private residence, with no one home, and a dilapidated barn with “Bittersweet” emblazoned on the front. Jennifer pulled out her iPhone and quickly found another option for us.

Minutes later, we pulled up to Ziertman’s Pumpkin Farm. Before we even got out of the car, Owen was disappointed. It was, again, just a private residence. They had a few wagons set up with pumpkins, gourds, corn, and honey for sale, and a few goats (or “puppies,” as Isla calls them) running around, but not much else. We convinced him to get out of the car anyway, with the promise that we’d look for yet another place.

As it turns out, I’m glad we visited Ziertman’s, and I plan to stop there every fall. As their website indicates, they do have excellent prices for fall produce. We bought more than we anticipated as the prices were so low: two large pumpkins, one medium-sized pumpkin, three small pumpkins, three gourds, two ears of corn, and two pounds of honey all for twenty bucks.

Trying to find something fun for Owen, we drove from Ziertman’s to the Country Sun Farm. This is one of those places that sort of nickel-and-dimes you, but we managed to find a few fun activities. Owen and I went through the corn maze, and both Owen and Isla had fun feeding the sheep and goats. We picked food up off the ground instead of spending money in the vending machines to buy food for their animals. (Incidentally, I would like to install vending machines in my home and have people come over and buy food out of the machines and then feed that food to me; I think it’s a great idea.) We had pop-corn and mini donuts, sat on tractors, and took lots of pictures. I think this finally gave Owen the taste of fall he was hoping for.

This evening, Owen and Jennifer carved out pumpkins for Halloween. I cleaned up around the yard, and was again greeted by our friend the snake—

Monday, 31 October 2011

For our first Halloween in our new home, Owen dressed as a Jedi and Isla dressed as a duck.

All four of us left the house together, but after realizing we were too neurotic to go around to the houses together, Jennifer went back home to pass out candy and I followed a bunch of other people around the block. I basically waited for them to blaze the trail for us; after they knocked on a door, Owen and Isla and I ran up to the door next. After a few houses, we found our stride and started to have a good time. We even went up to the local Catholic Church where a bunch of men, dressed as priests, helped celebrate this day devoted to Satan by passing out M&M’s. One priest held out a bowl and told Owen to take what he would like to take. Owen promptly grabbed about seven bags, and I then jumped in and told him to just take one. The priests laughed and said he could have as many as he wanted, so he ended up taking three bags.

Another home was all decked out with scary skeletons that popped up out of the lawn, chattering skulls, and dry ice. To my surprise, Owen wasn’t the least bit scared and the very friendly home owner dispensed liberal amounts of candy into Owen and Isla’s bags.

When we circled back around the block, we stopped back at home. Jennifer then went out with Owen and walked down the street. I stayed home with Isla and gave out candy to the many trick-or-treaters who came by. Within minutes, I easily surpassed the total number of trick-or-treaters I had ever passed out candy to. We even started running short of candy, so I ‘stole’ some candy from Isla (she had some lollipops and suckers that her mom and I wouldn’t let her eat anyway) to give to the kids.

All in all, a great evening. Now that we know the places and times to go, I am already looking forward to next year.

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

While organizing some papers in (what will be) Isla’s bedroom this evening, I came across an issue of Popular Mechanics. It’s an issue I found while digging through a box someone left out on the curb last spring.

Here’s a short article regarding a new app for a smart phone:

Amazing! Never again will you have to ask, “How long was that chat with Dad?” From now on, you’ll know!

Also gaining buzz in the tech world:

I think this woman’s computer looks like those portable sinks that they set up at county fairs and outdoor concerts. Don’t you?

This issue of Popular Mechanics is from April 1959. That’s from way back when Dwight Eisenhower was President and Elizabeth II was Queen of England.

Thursday, 27 October 2011

First, here’s my wife’s new post about Owen – covering approximately the last six months of his life.

Also today, we finally set up our bed. I know it probably seems odd that we’ve live in our home for over a month and only just now got the bed set up, but there really wasn’t much impetus in getting it set up sooner. The mattresses on the floor are just as comfortable, really, and other things were standing in our way.

For one, Owen was sleeping in the room with us, and his cot took up too much room and didn’t give us enough space to get the room situated. He’s in his own bedroom now, so that’s great.

Secondly, my wife wanted to give the ceiling fan a thorough cleaning. It was loaded with dust from years of the previous homeowner being (evidently) a complete slob. So, we didn’t want to set up the bed and then have all that grime fall on it while we cleaned the fan.

This evening, then, I moved the mattress out of the way, set up the ladder, and removed the ceiling fan blades. Jennifer took them in the bathroom and gave them a thorough cleaning. I reinstalled them with the blades flipped (this hides the very unattractive wicker design). We then set up our bed which took about two hours. No kidding. It’s a very complicated bed, and the night stands are attached to it, so that adds to the work.

Anyway, getting all the pieces assembled has freed up quite a bit of space in our room. I am pleased that just a few hours of work can make such a notable difference.

Friday, 28 October 2011

Today, for the second time this week, I received a response to items I placed on Craig’s List. I’m not sure exactly how these people make their money, but it’s obviously a scam. This morning, a man named Ray Northam emailed asking it the item was still available. I said it was, and asked if he’d like to come buy and see it this evening or sometime this weekend. Here’s the response I received:

Thanks for the prompt response, I am quite satisfied with the condition .I am also interested and I will like to make an instant purchase, so kindly end the advert on Craigslist, I do not mind adding an extra $25 for you to close the advert on craigslist so that I can be rest assured that I am the prospective buyer, I would have loved to come take a look but I am a very busy man I am very sure you understand. I will also want you to know that I will be paying via Certified Check, and it will be sent to you via courier service due to the distance. You don’t need to bother about the shipment, as that has been taken care of…… So I will need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check.

1. Full Name on the check
2. Address where payment will be sent to not p.o.box (because my courier service does not deliver to p.o box)
3. City
4. State
5. Zip Code
6. Phone Number

Once again, I will like to remind you that you will not be responsible for shipping as I will have my mover come over as soon as you have cashed the check .

Have A Nice And Rewarding Day Ahead .

I wrote back saying, “Cash only.”

He hasn’t written back. Yet.

Saturday, 29 October 2011

This afternoon, we walked to the Bay Street Grill for lunch. This is one of about a dozen places near our home that we wish to try for meals. Bay Street has a large banner outside that advertises $1 burgers, tacos, coneys, and fries on Saturdays. So, we figured today would be a good day to try them.

As we began to order, my wife asked what a coney is. The waitress replied that they don’t have coneys anymore (um…time to change the sign, then). My wife next asked if we could get meatless tacos, and the waitress then said, “Yeah, but it would just be lettuce and cheese.”

So…so much for the dollar menu options.

They still has some cheap options, though. Jennifer found a low-priced lunch, and I got the house salad with the dollar fries. Owen opted for one taco and the fries. Isla ate a few fries, danced on the bench and then hopped up on the table.

Bay Street has bingo on Saturdays, so if anyone wants to join us some future Saturday, we can all go over there for cheap food and a game of chance.

Sunday, 23 October 2011

Today I made several small improvements on our new home; the kind of improvements no one would probably ever notice unless I pointed them out.

First, I installed a doorstop on the bathroom door. Until now, if you opened the door, it would swing open and hit the cherry wood cabinets. There’s already a gouge in the cabinet from where it has smacked into the cabinet for years. But thanks to a very inexpensive door stop, the problem is solved.

While in the bathroom, I also installed a door lock, so guests can now feel free ease nature without someone walking in on them.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, I removed the hardware and wires for the land-line phone. When we moved in, there was a phone hanging on the wall right next to the dryer. Why someone would need a phone there, I don’t know. Soon after we moved in, I removed the phone from the wall and threw it away, but it wasn’t until today that I unscrewed the jack and snaked the wires back through the floor beams to get rid of all the useless wires.

We all took part of the day to clean some of the boxes out of Isla’s room. While in there, my wife commented on the bottom drawer of the built-in dresser. Turns out, that drawer didn’t close all the way. I had noticed that, too, right when we first move in, but I never bothered to worry about it. At my wife’s instigation, though, I decided to take a closer look at it today. I removed the drawer and – wouldn’t you know it – the previous owner had dropped some clothing back there: a blue bandana and a pair of women’s boxer-style underwear. Nice.

Later, in the kitchen, I removed the front panel of the built-in radio and installed wall anchors. I then screwed the screws into the anchors and, I’m pleased to say, the radio no longer jiggles – it sits securely up against the wall now.

Finally, this evening, I replaced the beige colored screws on the light switch wall plate in Owen’s room with white colored screws. Now the screws match the plate color.

All in all, if you walked through the house this morning and again this evening, you probably wouldn’t notice anything different. In reality, though, I made lots of tiny improvements.

Please email me if you need a bandana or women’s underwear.

Monday, 24 October 2011

Is there someone you don’t like?

I used that phrase today – I said, “I don’t like her,” and the person I was speaking with immediately corrected me and said, “You mean you don’t like her actions.” I dismissed this as splitting hairs, but he insisted there was a difference.

Okay, I guess there is a difference, but I than clarified that when I say I don’t like someone I just mean that I’d rather not be in their presence. Granted, there’s a big spectrum of dislike: from just simply finding someone boring or obnoxious, to absolutely despising someone with every fiber of your being. But, either way, I don’t want to be around them.

I think this is a good litmus test for friendship: If I willingly place myself in your company, then be assured that I do like you.

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Today I sold a cabinet we had removed from our house. The buyer came prepared with a pick-up truck and some bungee cords. I had posted an ad for a large (>7 feet tall) cabinet and two smaller ones. The woman ended up wanting only the large one.

Getting loaded into her vehicle was a bigger ordeal than I expected. We barely squeezed the four shelves and two of the doors into the cab. We then laid the cabinet itself onto the pick-up’s bed and secured it with all sorts of cords. The downside to the bungee cords is that they have a lot of flexibility, so the buyer was worried that the cabinet would go flying as she drove. I couldn’t really see how that would happen unless she took off from a stop light at an immensely accelerated speed, but I guess it’s better to be overly cautious. We hooked more bungee cords over the top, and I wrapped some packing paper around the hooks to prevent them from scratching the cabinet.

We then laid the two large cabinet doors inside the cabinet, and I placed an unfurled cardboard box in between them to prevent scuffing.

Bottom line: The woman paid us $80 in cash. This, plus the money I received for the broken statue last weekend, means that we’ve already made $90 off of stuff the previous owner left behind. I’m gonna keep track of this and see how much money I can rake in.

Email me if you want to buy a bandana.

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

At work this morning, my Galilean thermometer changed temperature for the first time since I acquired it 6 months ago. Specifically, the center bulb dropped from the top of the tube to the bottom. Evidently, this represents a rise in temperature from 72 to 76 degrees. I guess the folks in the facilities department must have turned on the heat today.

I also decided to write to the folks at Lowe’s discussing my poor experience at their Maple Grove location (See Here). The stupid comment box on their website only allowed for a certain number of words, so I had to truncate and re-truncate the text until it fit. Even then, I had to leave out the final paragraphs of my comments.

Anyway, today I received a message from their customer service department. They are sending me a $25 gift card.

Thursday, 20 October 2011

Today I watched the latest Community episode, “Remedial Chaos Theory.” The episode presents the same five minutes of the characters’ lives replay seven times with slight changes.

I could see this coming. As soon as the pizza arrives, the character Jeff proposes a roll of the die to determine who should go downstairs to get it. Abed then notes that by doing this, Jeff is creating several alternate universes. We then see the die tossed above the actors’ heads, pass through some kind of portal, and land back on the table. This scene is repeated six more times and, each time, a different scenario plays out in which a different character retrieves the pizza in each ‘universe.’

Theoretically, Abed is correct that the die toss results in several parallel outcomes, but the implication here seems to be that it is only during moments of pure change that this happens. Instead, every action in every microsecond from every character (not merely the one playing with a chance cube) results in an alternate timeline.

But let’s not get bogged down in the minutiae. This episode, which hearkens back to one of my favorite Star Trek episodes (“Cause and Effect,” also featuring a game of chance), is my favorite Community episode in quite a while.

Friday, 21 October 2011

Tonight Owen is sleeping in his bedroom for the first time. It took us longer to get his room ready than we had hoped (we hoped to have it ready by the time we moved in), but now it’s all painted and his bed is set up.

Besides painting, we also had to remove large, heavy, built-in shelves from his room. Those shelves are now sitting in the garage awaiting their fate. Jennifer replaced the bulb on the ceiling fan, cleaned and painted the blades, and affixed glow-in-the-dark astronomy-themed stickers to the blades. She also cleaned the molding. I replaced a broken outlet. Yesterday we carried in his furniture.

I also finished installing the rest of the downstairs’ bathroom’s ceiling fan. The previous homeowner had the wherewithal to install a fan, but didn’t bother connecting the tube to an outside vent. So, basically, turning on the fan just meant blowing the air all over the basement, which, I suppose, is a great way to spread the mold. For the steep, steep price of $15, I was able to purchase everything I needed to connect the fan to another tube that then led to an outside vent. A small garden snake watched me as I worked. I think he (she?) likes the warmth afforded by the dryer vent as I’ve seen her (him?) hanging out by that part of our house on a few occasions now. I’m thinking of naming him ‘James.

Saturday, 22 October 2011

Today was a very full day.

The electrician wrapped up work in our garage while, at the same time, a woman stopped by to purchase the statue of St. Anthony that the previous home owner left with the house.

Later, we all attended a Halloween party at a local community center. Owen wore his Jedi costume, and Isla wore her duck costume. I next had a conference call regarding the book I am co-editing. In the evening, we all went to Sea Life at the Mall of America. Owen has wanted to visit this attraction for months and he saved up his own money. My sister and her husband met us there. Afterward, we all dined at TGI Friday’s.

Here’s an interesting thing about today: as of today, our new house is no longer where I’ve lived for the shortest amount of time. In February and March of 1990, I lived with my grandparents for 42 days. And, since today is the 42nd day of living in our new house, I have now lived here longer than I lived with my grandparents. It’s still one of five places I lived for less than a year, but it’s gaining ground quickly.