you know what sucks?
finding a tick on you after a really nice hike.

know what sucks even more? finding the tick on you in the middle of the night after said hike.

and even more suckey than that? not being able to sleep afterwords because your brain keeps freaking out about creepy crawlies, and imagining more ticks and the potential awfulness that ticks bring.

know what doesn't suck but is really awesome?
having a husband who after you wake him up over said tick, gets up, removes it, administers to you wound and then does his groggy best to comfort and reassure you even though he needs to get up early in the morning for work.

Tags: nature, owies, platypus
Current Mood: twitchy

ok people, you know what day it is!



usual disclaimer: f-bomb, total NSFW

attention riki_kiki_taco, ourika, and bunnykissd &co.
as well as anybody else in my ares who I forgot.

my boss has told me that this summer I will be having Sundays off.

summer + weekends = Renaissance festival!!!

yayay!!
::flails like Kermit ::

we will most likely only be able to make one trip, but that should be enough.

anybody wanna come with?

Tags: friends, heads up
Current Location: 13624
Current Mood: jubilant

the weather has finally turned nice around here and we have been able to open the windows.

this of course, makes Esme incredibly happy, and busy.
she has spent the last two days running between bedroom and living room window watching birds, neighbors and neighbors dogs.

today she looked so content and relaxed in her new favorite spot that i decided to take some videos:

( cat on windosill, two videos, not all that riveting, but incredibly cute. )

Tags: peektures, pets, weather
Current Mood: content

on the way home from a meeting with my boss tonight i decided to drive by the river and the sunset was very pretty, so I took some pictures:

( see? )

Tags: outside, peektures
Current Mood: sleepy

it is really and truly spring now!

about the beginning of march the ice breaker went through the St. Lawrence and ships have been coming and going along the narrow path.

but only just recently has the rest of the mighty river begun breaking up. which mean it finally is spring. (even if it is still pretty chilly out)

the view from the benches at Frink park. you can see it's clearing up nicely along the seaway, and the ice burgs are bumping around around the shoreline



the little (and big) ice floats look so pretty

Tags: nature, outside, peektures
Current Mood: cheerful

today Bill and I went to Wellesley island to go for a hike.
the weather finally was warm enough and there was no rain. and frankly we were going stir crazy.

things are just beginning to thaw and melt up there. there is still quite a bit of snow on the trails. but there is also a lot of melting and running water.

several times we cam to parts of the trail that were flooded and there were quite a few impromptu steams.

at one point we came to a spot were water was flowing towards us from both ends of the trail and diverting of to the side towards a small bay nearby. the running water over the leaves was very pretty, and the resulting curls and rivulets when we stired up the mud was kinda pretty. so I took a picture:



I also took some videos today. the first one is of the muddy stream an the next to are of a spot where the ground was covered with a layer of ice, but there was water flowing along the ground, UNDER the ice, making weird/cool shadows and movements.

( vids )

Tags: nature, outside, peektures
Current Mood: chipper

we just got back from picking up Stacy and WOW!

I hadn't realized how loud and crappy she was getting until it was all gone. she drives like a dream, is so quiet that I for got I had her on. it's awesome!

Bill says the only problem is that we have to brake sooner now, since we cant just coast to a stop letting the friction of everything that was wrong with her slow her down. :p

Bill did taxes this morning, and our refund should more than cove the costs, so even that isn't too terrible.

YAYAYAYAYAY!!!

Tags: vroom
Current Mood: jubilant

owies

the guy from the garage just called about Stacy.
there was A LOT more wrong than I expected

on top of the tune up, oil change, and rim replacement there was:

*the right front speed sensor is gone
*the solenoid and oxygen things are way off (emissions, which means, if I got inspected, I wouldn't pass)
*the muffler and tailpipe are swiss cheese
*brakes? what brakes?
and
*i need new belts

parts (full warenty, top quality) and labor all told: $1521.50

*heavy sigh*

Tags: vroom
Current Mood: crappy

i just dropped off our car Malibu Stacy at the doctors today.

As a dual birthday gift to me and Bill, my mother is paying for a checkup.

it's a good thing too because Stacy has a looong list of things that need checking on.

she needs (in no particular order):
*a tune up
*an oil change
*the rim changed on one of her tires (we had a slow leak that was cause by a badly bent rim, the tires got changed on Wednesday, but the place didn't have a rim in stock, they banged out the old one as best they could, and then we bought one somewhere else)
*the brake lights checked (one is on, but not bright enough to actually see)
*the brakes checked (we've been getting the ABS light for a month now, which is no big deal my first car didn't have anti lock brakes. but it the actual brakes are going i want to know.)
and
*the blower motor changed (the AC/heat only works on high)

whew.

most of this stuff is simple cheap/quick stuff. so we're hopping it won't be too expensive.

Tags: vroom
Current Mood: cold

I washed and trimmed my hair tonight.

my first go was a little uneven and I ended up taking a little more than I originally intended, but not much more than about a centimeter extra, so I'm not complaining.

my hair is now roughly 10cm (4 inches) above my tail bone! (which is my goal) weee!

in the next couple of weeks I hope to henna gain (my last henna was in October) and then I will be all set for summer!

( edit: here have a picture )

Tags: looks
Current Mood: geeky

I mentioned it when I first started the other blog but that was a while ago.

If you are interested in crafty type things, check out my crafts blog at http://akittenknits.blogspot.com/

Its original focus was mostly knitting, but I'm slowly working on branching out my skills. At the moment I can knit, crochet, sew some, quilt some, tat some, embroider and am working on smocking.

I post about things mostly as I do them, so lately there has been a lot of embroidery, and the most recent post is about a quilt I'm making for my mother. I obviously post about knitting when I've got something to show, as well as all my other crafts.

So if you are interested, feel free to stop by!

Tags: knitting, links
Current Mood: crafty

As Bill and I were leaving the house today to run some errands we noticed something strange over by the bird feeder:


After a minute we realized what it was. Do YOU know what it is?

( click to see a better picture and to find out! )

Tags: critters, nature
Current Location: 13624
Current Mood: chipper

Thursday and Friday were really nice, There was hope of spring in the air.
then it snowed last night.

at least the view out our front window is pretty.



Saturday Sky, taken Saturday march 8, 2008 10:40am, front window of the Platypus nest.

( and a bonus: )

Tags: peektures, platypus nest, saturdaysky
Current Mood: cold