My Music Monday

I had forgotten about Us3 and their song "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" probably for the last decade.

That was until Saturday. When out for lunch I thought what I heard was a version of it - alas it was not.

I'm not a big "jazz" fan, so I had zero knowledge that the music part of the song was more than a sample of Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island" (thank you Shazam!).

"Cantaloop", released in 1993 (really? it's almost 20 years old? oy!), mixes jazz and rap - and it works.

It's Herbie Hancock jazz, not Mingus, not Monk.  It's clean rap, not NWA rap, not full on gangsta rap. It's a type of rap that never quite took off. I suppose if it doesn't have shock value it gets less street cred and not considered legit.

However, I think quite the opposite. Not that bitch-slappin' rap doesn't have some artistic merit, but there is a lot of talent in just being able to put words together and speak-sing them in a fashion that doesn't have to be crude.  ....and let's face it, I'm a big fan of crude.

Still, according to their website (who knew they had one?) Us3 just put out their eighth album (who knew they still existed?). I never heard another song after "Cantaloop", but I never sought one out either.

Subculture

There's a Seinfeld episode where Jerry tells Elaine everything he knows about the arts has come from Looney Tunes.

True that.

Jerry may have been the first to put that on TV, but certainly not the first one to verbalize that thought.

710 thinks I snagged him under the pretense that I like opera.  I can't say I really do. Circumstances were such, back in 1985, that I would tell him about my sister singing opera. I even had a vinyl copy of La Boheme just to familiarize with piece before performed it.  710 saw it and assumed I had more culture and taste than I really do.

You're talking to the guy who tells the U.S.S Enterprise / toilet paper joke once a year like clockwork.

I enjoy some classical music, but I can't tell composer from composer and I have a short attention span when it comes to the genre. I guess I could have stopped after 'I have a short attention span'.

Many a Saturday morning, 710 will put on PBS, where they have an MTV-like show for classical pieces. Classical, meaning it ranges from Copland and Bernstein back to Bach and Verdi.  Some are clips of symphonies playing, or arias being sung. Like anything - some good, some bad, some tolerable, some just highly annoying.

But it's nice that while 710 can appreciate the higher culture in life, that I can make him laugh during it.  ...well, now and again.

Take yesterday morning, between clips PBS played some interlude music that happened to be from the Barber of Seville. Oddly enough, my first exposure to this opera was when in the Little Rascals, Alfalfa decided he didn't want to croon anymore and be a serious artist. It didn't work out.

My second exposure was Bugs Bunny doing hair on Elmer Fudd.  Bugs also "did hair" on that monster too. ...and he wears dresses and lipstick.  Something might be up with Bugs and gender identity.

So while the interlude music played, 710 looks over and me, and I use my hands to air massage a make believe scalp (see the title image). Without having to explain myself, he starts laughing, as he knows exactly what I am up to....and laughs.

Clearly, it is not impossible to maintain a household of high and low culture.  For the record....I'm the low part.


Song by: New Order

A Warm Place

While I might be crazy, I'm not insane.  At least clinically.  Spo can possibly verify this for my readership.

This last week, I could not get or stay warm.  Yes, this is a continual problem for me, but the thermostat seemed to confirm this wasn't just a 'me' issue.

710's first thought was I was just being a freeze baby.  But when it couldn't get over a certain degree in the house, he assumed when the plumbers were here they didn't refill the radiators fully. Not that we got around to doing that.

So on Thursday, when the temps inside the house were in the 50s, I knew I wasn't nuts.

710 went downstairs to look at the furnace and while the pilot was on, something wasn't kicking in.  Or on. But by this time it was 20:30 and we weren't calling someone to come out at an inflated rate.  (have I mentioned I'm cheap?)

Gerry, our normal plumber, was here yesterday to take a look. He's a great guy. He fixed the problem in less than an hour. Or modified the fix.

The damper is broken and while he could replace it and will get us a quote, he suggests we leave it as is. The damper is supposed to be for energy savings and he claims that is about 1% savings. He also claims that in the first service call for it, wipes out any savings there might have been. Hey, after spending a small fortune on a renovation, I'm not looking for things to buy that we don't absolutely have to have.

As I worked into the afternoon, my office got almost too hot. I had a space heater going to stave off the cold and Sophie was with me. She's not thrilled about being in the office as much, but she liked the heat. Her built in fur coat wasn't helping much downstairs - and she is all about the warmth.

So is her dad.


Song by: Nine Inch Nails

Empire Building

I'm tired. It's been a long week. I have nothing horribly original to post. ...and we have no heat. I'm freezing.

So this was on CNN - and making the rounds at other sites, and it's just a very cool video, if you ask me. Not all time-lapsed videos work, but it is safe to say most are somewhat emotionally invested in the raising of the new Freedom Tower - or whatever they are calling it now.

I'm still getting used to this new editor, so excuse any formatting issues - I'm not 100% sure how all this is working or looking.




 Song by: Tears for Fears

Half as Much

Today is 710's birthday.

....and I've done next to nothing.  I could make dinner and dessert, but chances are we'll just go out to dinner on the weekend instead. It will be a typical Thursday at Chez Blob.  ...and that's ok.

There will be a present, but a small one. ...and it might not arrive on time. It's is currently tracked to Columbus - well, at 13:41 yesterday. If it's moved, no one at UPS has updated their system.

The renovation was our presents - for the next 12 years, so he isn't really expecting anything - unless he reads this instead of the morning paper (which he won't).

Of course the big present is me. I mean, why wouldn't it be?

I was thinking, yesterday, in the new shower, that while I won't tell you how old he is, that in his entire lifetime, he has spent more birthdays with me than without. That is kind of semi-incredible fact....at least to me.

On another birthday note, my oldest niece turned 21 two days ago? How'd that happen? Wasn't it just a few years ago I held her after she came home from the hospital?  Didn't I just attend her first birthday party - seen here?

She didn't have a rough b-day and ralph in the trash can - she just dropped some stuffed animal in there.
Where has the time gone? Whether it be my time with 710 or having my niece become legal.

Katie will get a nicer gift than 710. We'll get her a Amex gift card she can take to Italy. Oh yes, she's going to Italy and Croatia after school is out next month. I'll want her to have a good time and a little money she can use for fun.

710?  No gift card.  No Europe. No trash can.  He just gets me.



Song by: Patsy Cline

Red Carpet Massacre

As we get closer to finishing our reno, we went out for the fourth or fifth time to look for some kind of flooring for the bedroom.

First it was wall-to-wall carpet and we kind of agreed on the same sample and colour - which never happens.  It was a bit pricey, but you know, I'm cheap, so they're all pricey.

Of course, then we pulled up the old crap and found decent floors of hardwood and had them redone.  They look pretty, but you know in non-summer months, it'd be a wee bit nippy (or a knee bit whippy - to my Poplar friends) on the piggies that go wee-wee-wee, all the way to the bathroom.

And it's a big room, so it'd be echo-y if there weren't some kind of woven fabric on the ground.

So the wall-2-wall we found could be smaller and bound so it's like an area rug. Later we opted against it as it is too monochromatic for anything but wall-2-wall.

But looking for area rugs is like looking for tile.....a possible one way ticket to Divorceville.

Actually, 710 and I got along fine, except that I like oogled Nate, the key-uuuuuute carpet guy. He was moving to fast for me to get a great shot of.

It ended up being champagne tastes and the beer budget thing. I mean $399 for the below beauty seems overpriced by about $401.  ...and yeah, it was the cheapest in the store  ..........by about $3000 !!!!!  WTF.

Or we could have gone another - yet equally as ugly of a - route.

Sure, it's 'shagariffic' but is it "me"?   It is not.   It is not.   But I'd hope it's not anyone.

We left this store with nothing but a hope Nate would call with something from the warehouse that was a close-out (he did - he's bringing it over today to see how it looks.  I'm not spending a seemingly ton of money on something we might hate - and hey, he offered).

But when we left that store on Saturday, we went to another one. If the last store had "high" prices - this store were out of this world.  Beautiful carpets, but like anything of beauty, you pay a price.  We left empty-handed and felt a bit pressured by the owner.

Here is hoping the rug Nate brings today will work. He'll leave it for a few days then will have to come pick it up.  Even if we want it, it's not the size - just a sample. I swear it's not a ploy to get him into the bedroom.  The empty empty bedroom.

I'm trying not to make a rash, or expensive, decision, just so we can finish this project.  ....and I really want it to be over.  Not enough to get shagariffic carpet at $8.99 per square foot......or square mile.



Song by: Duran Duran

All Dressed Up

It's official. Construction and Renovation is done.

We had our master bath redone. We had one of the bedrooms, that the previous owners had made into a dressing room redone. We left it as a dressing room, but one that could be converted back to a bedroom if we ever sold.

Because of the construction in the bath, doors were moved in the master bedroom, so some construction was done there too - including redoing the hardwood floors.

Not all at once, but over the next few weeks, I'll show you the Before, After and Finished products of each room.

Today, we start with the dressing room.  Hideous on all accounts, but it turned out faboo.  At least I think.

BEFORE:  Blue walls. Bird curtains. Globe lights. Green-ish carpet.

DURING: Even in this state, it looks better than the 'before'. 

 AFTER:  New insulation and walls. New paint. Refinished hardwood floors. Updated heating.  We still need window treatments. We're working on that. 

BEFORE:  One corner. Ugly ass shelves. Same ugly ass carpet and curtains.  There was no "during" photos of this angle.  Oops. 

 AFTER:  Purdy redone floors. Amish made cabinet.  (a sneak peek at the bathroom.)

 BEFORE: Faux walls built around the real closet. 

DURING: Faux walls gone.  Internal closet restored. Small, but workable. 

 AFTER:  Closet.  New exterior Amish made cabinets. Another snazzy floor shot. 

 BEFORE:  Old built-in cabinets.

DURING: a complete gut job. 

AFTER: More cabinets.  Basically the same set-up as the white ones, but with better storage and well, they look a hell of a lot nicer.   ...and yes, the floors.  

The only thing you don't see is the groovy light fixture for the center of the room. It wasn't installed at picture time.


Song by: Damien Rice

My Music Monday

It has come to my attention that some days I don't pick the selections for My Music Monday.  Sometimes they select me.  Or sometimes the fates do.

Of my iPhone or car iPod lately a song has seemingly continued to rotate though at a higher rate than I think should happen.  There are over 2000 songs on each of those devices, and while yes, many are on both, you'd think there would be enough content to not have so many repeats in shuffle mode.

Coming from their 2006 (has it really been six years??) collaboration, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris' "I Dug Up a Diamond" keeps cropping up.

Overall, I find the entire album unfulfilling (is that a word?), and it seemed like wasted potential. Both artists have very distinctive voices and yet they don't use them enough together in harmony.  When they do, it works.

This song is one of them.

While it is clearly Knopfler's song - and even more Dire Straits-y than most of his solo work - Harris brings a good element to the tune. You can see how the harmonies could have truly worked if they had done more of this on the disk.

Since it was one of the few songs I truly liked on the album, I overplayed it and actually had not heard it for a few years. So its resurgence on my .mp3 players is quite welcome.

Heartache by the Number

I'm thinking I've got nothing going on here.  Nothing.  Though 710 tells me I shouldn't tell you that. I suppose I could do an Earth Day post, but pfffffft.

I knew Blogger was putting forth a new editor but I didn't know they'd be making it mandatory.  I avoided the 'update your blog' button for weeks - then late this week, they were "kind enough" to switch it all over for me.

I'm still getting used to it all. It's not bad, just different.

What has been enthralling me is the stats section. No, you can't view it on your own, just me the owner can. ...well that and Anonymous or Julian Assange....or Rupert Murdoch's team. ...or any high school hacker, I suppose.

Did you know that Sean over at Just a Jeep Guy is the #1 referrer to my blog?  He wins by like 3x as much as #2, John at I Got Somethin' to Say.

But the bigger surprise for me is that I thought I had about 30 readers per day.  I average about 254 per day.  Srsly???   Who knew?  Not me, that's for fucking sure.

And while they are all my posts, and I write them, there is no accounting for taste.

In the last month (this shot is just from the last 30 days) - and of all time (!!!) - my most viewed post is a Shopping with Blobby post. .....about a panty liner that stops camel toe!

On the other hand, Maru (who got a shout out on 30 Rock a few weeks ago), that hottie Stevie B and that hotter hottie Brian Wilson (sorry Steve) all make the top 5.

No surprise my audience is mostly from the U.S. - my humour just doesn't translate across the pond. Who knew that Germany would score higher than France?  And fuck, 346 people have read me via Xbox.  I didn't even know that was possible.

I'm a stats geek, so I'll dive into this deeper. It'll give me something to do when I'm bored playing Words with Friends.

Ok, now I have to pick my My Music Monday - though I'm pretty sure I know that track.




Song by:  Rosanne Cash w Elvis Costello

Big Stick

Yesterday was the day for my blood draw.  It's physical time.

I used to really really hate getting stuck for my labwork. Anymore, I don't care - it no longer bothers me.

In the last two decades, I've had so many venipunctures and IVs I no longer flinch when I have to go, let alone when they actually  get poked and bleed.

When I was young - you know, into my 20s - I had this irrational fear that I'd flex my arm and break the needle leaving it embedded there.

When I was really young - you know 12 - because of this fear, nurses and my mother would have to hold me down during blood draws just so they could get their sample.  ....and we're talking like 3-4 nurses plus mom.

I got tot he point that I could watch the tubes fill with serum once I got stuck, but would never watch the actual stick.  Now I take pictures of it while it happens. Dan Savage is right: It does get better!

Anyways, yesterday was possible the best stick ever. And no, I didn't even see it. I didn't even feel it.  I wasn't ready for it and never even knew she stuck the needle in me. Seriously.

Eight tubes of blood drained from me - and since I wasn't "donating", I didn't get a Twinkie - I got a band-aid and sent on my way.

I'll get the results during my doc appointment in two weeks. I'm not hopeful. Things had been good in the cholesterol department but my eating habits over the last few months have been horrid, as has my gym attendance.  I gotta gotta gotta get back on that train - the express, not the local.

But there was a highlight to the day. The clerk at the next desk.  I was totally perving on him while waiting to get checked-in.

The word 'swarthy' comes to mind. ...so does the word 'stalking', but that word isn't about him.  I'm good with both.



Song by: Bruce Hornsby

Shopping with Blobby

Just do your best Buddy Cole impersonation and say:  "Lablels!"

Record of the Month - Classic

Another installment of a disk I have enjoyed over the years. I'm trying to keep the Record of the Month posts to be fairly new releases. Classics are going to be ones that are at least 10 years old.

For 2011, I focused on debut disks - just to make it more challenging for me. I don't think you'll care one way or the other.  I don't think I'll necessarily continue on debut disks in 2012.

You really just want to love the Go-Go's don't you?  Their debut, Beauty & the Beat was in heavy rotration for a number of years and it's still fun to revisit.

Their output was little - four albums over 31 years - and there was an 16 year wait between albums three and four (and it's been 11 since this last one!).  I don't care what anyone says Vacation was a throw-away that they coughed up to keep the momentum going.

I love watching or reading about their perception of themselves being "punk".  They really need to learn what a punk band is. If they go by a few folks who form a band who didn't know how to play instruments or keep in tune, then yes, by all means, they were "punk".

In reality, they were pure pop.   ....not that there's anything wrong with that.

Older, for their 2001 release of G-d Bless the Go-Go's, the continued more in the vein of Talk Show than anything else. Not that Talk Show was bad - it had its moments.  But like it's "immediate" predecessor, G-d Bless has a few really good songs and lots of filler.

I think I only have selected three songs here to take place on my iPhone:  "Unforgiven", "Automatic Rainy Day" and the albums would-be title song (before they opted to name it what they did) "Vision of Nowness".

The band is fine form and I'm guessing Belinda's voice has never been stronger (with somewhat less vibrato), but the writing on some of the songs is sub-par.  "Throw Me a Curve" isn't good, nor is "Kissing Asphalt".  "Stuck in My Car" and "Apology" make an attempt, but isn't quite there - though the was latter released as a single that went nowhere!  And they don't do well with slow songs ("Here You Are", "Daisy Chain").

Still the disk is almost worth the price for "Automatic Rainy Day" and "Vision of Nowness".  ....and now that iTunes exists, you don't have to buy the entire disk.

Belinda & crew are still out there touring and allegedly won't release any more albums per se.  They have alluded to the fact with the music business model, it would be more beneficial to release a song here or there for download.....and unfortunately, they are probably correct.  But maybe they can make those one-off songs count.

Fall at Your Feet

I am an old man - or quickly becoming.  Even Jon pointed out yesterday that I sounded like Grandpa Simpson - but it is nothing I haven't called myself in this here blog numerous times over.

But becoming an old man has to work on multiple levels. Sure, there is the griping and grousing and the nonsensical way to make sure that happens.

Of course, there is the appearance. Wrinkles? check.  Lack of Hair? check. Abundance of hair in nose? check. Dentures?  ummm....not just yet.

But the biggie of all biggies is physical ailments.

I know I've mentioned my tendinitis and it continues to bother me now and again. Not as much, but my cardio is down to almost zero because of it. But I must not forsake exercise because I'm aging, right?

Yeah, I haven't gone to a doctor to get this looked at, treated or cured. I am a male in the U.S. whose thoughts of healthcare resides in these five words:  "maybe it will go away!"

While in Idaho, I work with a chiropractor who took pity on me - and he had a free hour between patients and said he'd take a look. Clearly, he did more than look.

Thank g-d, I clipped my talons toe nails before this trip.  Embarrassing!!!!

And while I have pain now and again, it is not so acute or constant as it once was, but it flares up now and again. When he looked for pressure points and did some adjustment, the pain came flooding back. It's there - hidden waiting to surface, but it's there for sure.

He did about 30 minutes of pressure and adjustment and then put some tape on me.

I am STYLING!

It can stay on for a few weeks, but we'll see if it does. You know it will rip the fucking hair out of my legs and I'll cry like a 12 year old girl. So be it. If it offers support and helps be pain free, I'll take it. It is a very weird tape though.

I can't wait to go to the gym on Friday or Saturday and strut around in it to see who says what.  I'm an attention whore a blogger - so what of it?

The chiro said now and again one treatment can have me pain free, but usually it is four. Clearly I won't be in Idaho for three more treatments, but I might have to find one closer to home. I don't know insurance will cover it, but it sounds better than orthotic inserts for my shoes - and cheaper.

...and yes, I'm all about the cheap.


Song by: Crowded House

Dance

So here I am - in Boise.

Work work work - until I get home on Thursday. But on Sunday afternoon, when I got to town, I just wandered around downtown Boise.

It was a low-60, but sunny day - as you can see. I went over to the state house and lo and behold, what do I see?  Occupy Boise.

Who knew?  Not so much about the Boise piece, but these Occupy things are still up and running.  I'd say they're getting no press, but that wasn't the case when I stumbled upon them.

Oh yes, they were two dozen lazy folks sitting around smoking and listening to a girl with a guitar and a guy with an bongo....chanting - "we are the dreamers, these are the dreams".   Has Top 40 written all over it.

But when the TV camera guy showed up, everyone danced and pranced in circles.  Maybe I have a different idea of what the Occupy movement is, but it being Woodstock '12 wasn't it.

No one was protesting government, Wall St. or anything else.  So I don't know the rationale for "camping out" and sitting around.

Oh yes, I used quotes on camping - as the protesters can't actually camp there. They can leave their tents up but they can't stay overnights on the grounds. So, really it just looks like a dump.

Of course, I didn't want to get to close to their dwellings, not because I had no Purell, but because I didn't want to think I was weird. But let me tell you about the 99% - that tent there has a fucking Longaberger basket in it that had to cost a few hundred dollars. It is difficult to talk hardship with an item like that....in a tent!

The dancing, prancing and mincing that went on after the TV cameras showed up.  No, I didn't cut out too many people at the Occupy event from my picture. That is about all there were.

Oh - and the guy in the black t-shirt and shorts and no shoes?  The TV news I saw later that evening gave his name as......yeah....Rio Love.

Occupy Boise is going nowhere.  Fast.



Song by: the Lovemakers

My Music Monday

No video link to my song choice today. There are live versions of Michelle Shocked's "(Don't You Mess Around with) My Little Sister", but they aren't great - certainly not as good as the recorded version.

Taken from her 1989 Captain Swing disk, it is a good amalgamation of what she was best at:  rock, country, folk, alternative and a little swing thrown in.

Most folks know Shocked from her one "hit", 'Anchorage'.  And it's a good song, but she has much better songs that weave stories. Where the art of telling stories is rare anymore in music, Shocked did it well.  Now it is just almost meaningless words set to some track that artists and companies hope a radio station will play and pay off handsomely.  To me, that's never what music has been about.

Truth be told, this isn't necessarily one of those storyteller moments, but it's two and one half minutes of fun.

Two albums after Captain Swing, she'd start to veer into more spiritual/gospel music, which wasn't a big draw for me - though her song "the Quality of Mercy" from the Dead Man Walking soundtrack is incredibly good.  Kind Hearted Woman was the last disk I bought from her.

On a similar note, those of you who listen to NPR's Marketplace might recognize other music from this disk. I'd say once a week or so they will play a few chords of Shocked's "Looks Like Mona Lisa".

Under Ice

Oh, which way to go with this one?  Use Kirsty MacColl's "Titanic Days" or a song that has the word 'sink'  or 'ice'?  Well, you can see in which direction I went.

Today it's been 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic. Why else would they re-release that crappy movie in 3-D?  Oh that's right - for the almighty dollar!

Once again, I'll bring up my OCD stuff.  All those books I would read on one subject, depending on the mood - reading all about the Titanic was my 5th grade thing.  I had moved onto the Warren Commission and any JFK assassination book by 6th grade and Manson by 7th.

Yes, I was a disturbed child.

I was actually somewhat excited when the movie Titanic was slated to come out, however long ago that was. I would see previews of the actual ship and thought it seemed cool - then I heard about the storyline and who was in it and I became less and less interested in it.  Then I was subjected to heard Celine Dion scrodel her way through that wretched song two or three million times, before the movie was even released, and I was out.

I have caught parts here and there on cable and will watch the boat break in half and sink, well, because that's the only part I truly wanted to see.  Kate Winslet nekkid The personal stories, fact or fiction, were of little interest to me.

By all accounts, the sinking part was fairly accurate to eyewitness accounts and to how experts found the ship years later.  Of course all of that was marred by floating on doors and rape coach's whistles signaling rescue boats. Oh, and the incorrect star pattern in the sky.  Yes, another reason to love Neil deGrasse Tyson.

A few years back I read of cruises that were to take place on this anniversary - leaving port the same day and taking the same route, getting to the site at the time of the mishap and sinking. I suppose it is not any worse than hitting Dealey Plaza, Ground Zero or oh say, passing by Sharon Tate's house.  (check, check and check!)

My obsession with the Titanic ended decades ago, though I will always read an article about it when one appears in the paper, but I don't actively seek this subject matter out anymore.

However, I am digging the Titanic for Dummies book. They truly do have a Dummies book for everything, though this one could be one page:  it was built. hit an iceberg. took on water. sank. many drown. Carpathia.   Boom: done!

.....though the one Dummies Rebecca used to joke about actually exists.....although it seems to be a parody.

Wow, it seems I've gone off-topic..........again.

I do love the stories about the men stoically staying on board and going down with the ship, but you know it's a lie. They probably cried like little girls - and rightfully so.  What a fucking horrible way to die - drown and freeze to death!!!  But it makes for a more palatable tale, if that's possible.

I think the pillaging of the Titanic site is horrible. Leave it alone.  Viewing it is ok, but anything else is grave robbing.


On a funny note....as I was looking for title images (since I can't photo the ship myself!), I came upon this one, which made me laugh and laugh and laugh and then laugh some more.

Song by:  Kate Bush

Live and Learn

While the guys who are doing are redoing our hardwood floors are doing a great job, remember kids - stay in school.

Song by:  the Cardigans

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 26th 12 of 12. 

12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, a number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad stopped doing the 12 of 12 links in December of 2011, but I will continue, as I like doing it.  I just can't link with the others who participated monthly.  Bummer.

 06:45.  Disarming the alarm. As you can see the first three numbers are * * *.   Good luck. 

06:50. We've had freeze warnings most mornings this last week, but the daffodils have seemingly made it through without too much damage. 

06:51. Morning sky.  Moon still visible. 

 07:30. Sophie's morning kneading of my gut abdominal muscles. 

07:32.  Accidental self-portrait after Sophie jumped off me. 

08:30.  The last part of our renovation - before they start redoing the hardwood floors. They are to arrive at 10:00. They didn't. 

 08:31. Where all the bedroom furniture is stored. Sophie likes getting "lost" in there.

 14:20. Lunch.  Hummus with hot sauce.  I need hot sauce or red pepper flakes on lots of things now. 

16:45. Floor workers showed up at 15:30, not 10:00.  All they did was take out the staples from the old carpet and left their equipment. Hopefully they'll show up tomorrow. 

16:50. Shadow of part of the house. 

20:15. My temporary bedside table. A magazine, two books. Waiting for Sunrise is horrid. I can't imagine finishing it - but at least it was free.  ...and yes, a book from one of the producers of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I love process, so we'll see if it is anything interesting or only gossip. I'm guessing the latter. 

22:15.  Dessert.  Not all of them.  Just one. 

No Baker's Dozen this month. Sorry  Another month of working at home so not getting out much.