Cleaning/Purging is so lame...

SP took took over 10 bags of books away today. She is going to attempt to sell them and make some cash for herself. I hope so gets some good cash back. I have done a lot in the bedroom though it seems I still have a long way to go. I cleaned up the hall closet a bit so I could put the craft boxes in there. Not enough room for the comics so for the last few hours I've been working on the bedroom closet. I've thrown out a bunch of crap I was keeping for no good reason, dumped some clothing I haven't worn in ages and put the comics on the shelves. I'm now cleaning the walls with bleach to help with some of the mildew that seems to always grown in there. I even swept the closet floor. Sheesh. I feel just a bit too productive.

But today has not been all work and no play. SP, Gabe-ish and I went out to the cafe by the beach for breakfast in the a.m. Then, in between spurts of cleaning, I was playing battlegrounds in WoW so I could get a better weapon, which I have now acquired! It's a very lovely longsword. My pally is quite happy. I shall continue in the battlegrounds until I get some better armor, as well.

My final goal for the day will be to finish the closet and throw out some more crap in the bedroom before I go to bed. Marc will come over tomorrow night to help me dismantle the futon frame and get it down to the garage.

Bedroom Transformation Underway

After a long time of wanting to get some proper bedroom furniture -- still have my old futon frame, an end table that's wobbling and no dressers -- I finally took the plunge and purchased a bedroom set. I had been shopping around for awhile and had thought I wanted this nice, heavy bed from Pottery Barn, but when I came across a Room & Board catalog and saw the Lowry collection my mind was immediately changed. Even so, I hedged and hedged until I finally went to the store with Abby and took the plunge. I ended up getting the bed in queen, the 5 drawer-tall dresser and one end table. It gets delivered this week.

Needless to say, when you spend a significant chunk of change on new furniture you get the idea that perhaps it's time to do something about the existing condition of the room. And those of you who know me know this won't be pretty. First, I want to get all the books out of the bedroom. I can't put them all in the living room, so all there is to do is mass purging. I'm up to 6+ bags of books and still I purge. It's painful getting rid of my books, but I've tried to take the approach that if I haven't reread it in the past several years, then it needs to go or be passed along to a friend who will enjoy the reading. I'm considering posting something on Craig's list about the books... something like, "bags and bags of books available for free - you pick up."

After purging the books it will be time to get the craft supplies and comic books -- both of which are stored in plastic containers -- put away in the hall closet (a disaster area of its own). Then it's just a matter of dismantling the old futon frame and getting it down to the garage to be disposed of. How does one get rid of junk like this in this city?

After the room is purged of it's clutter, cleansed and new furniture delivered, I shall paint. I have some ideas, but they haven't panned out so far and I don't want to paint until the furniture is in so i can make sure the colors will be right. Any suggestions for a nice, relaxing bedroom color scheme?

Will they like it?

I went out last night with Sarah for our monthly "girl's night" and, as we were walking over to Pacific Catch, we stopped at Osso & Co., my neighborhood dog boutique. Luckily, they do carry some cat items as well (this may be a dog eat dog world, but cats rule). Got to chatting with the owner - super nice guy - and he showed me a new cat toy he was carrying. So I got it. Check it out -- and check out the video they have there, too! We'll see how the girls like it. I hooked it up this a.m., but my batteries are kinda weak so it doesn't have much umpf. I'll get some fresh ones today and try it out when I get home. What they did see if it they seemed to like. While I was getting ready to head down to Slacker's, they played with and were quite fascinated. Katja seemed determined to figure out how it worked, which totally made me laugh. I'll try to get some pics up of the girls playing with the thing.

I should be...

...doing something. But I'm not. I'm sitting on my couch, watching t.v., and basically being lazy. I thought about vacuuming. About finishing the battery replacement on the lifecycle. About going to store to get groceries so I might cook something nice. Thought about it all, but still I sit here. So I am compromising by updating my blog.

My vacation, though short, was nice. The house in Cazadero was perfect. My only complaint was hard beds. Everything else was just right. I'd stay there again in a heart beat.

MH and EI were there for the first weekend and we took some nice day trips. Our first day we checked out the kick-ass bakery in Cazadero - Raymond's Bakery. Yum, yum, and yum. There isn't much in Cazadero except the bakery and a general store, but it's a beautiful place situated along Austin Creek. I learned it gets the 2nd most rain in the state, though I was told not because it rains more days but that when it rains the rain is heavier - which is just fine by me. After checking out what Cazadero has to offer we ended driving out to the coast via Fort Ross Road. We also did a day trip out to Bodega Bay and Duncan Mills.

Then Lucy came over for a night and we went out to Bodega Bay for some clam chowder. We took Coleman Valley Road from Occidental out to the ocean. This is a great country road that first goes through the wooded hills of west Sonoma County and then winds through the open hills to the coast.

I ended my holiday by going out to Hop Kiln Vineyard on Westside Road, via Sweetwater Springs Road. This drive wasn't as beautiful as Coleman Valley Road, but it was still nice - 10 miles of a 1 lane winding road, ending up pretty much exactly at Hop Kiln. I tasted several of their wines, had a nice chat with one of the ladies doing the pouring, and then road out to Windsor for a walk around. Nice town. I would have hung out on the green, but there wasn't much tree coverage, so I ended up heading back to Cazadero. In hindsight, I should have gone into Healdsburg.

Below, some pics for your viewing pleasure... :-)

This is Cazadero Heaven. Beautiful little 4 room house in the woods, surrounded by redwoods. 2 bedrooms, living room with a beautiful stone fireplace (now with a wood-burning stove), comfy couch and recliner and TV/Stereo set up (we were even able to plugin my iPod. Bathroom was a tad small (tiny shower), but the water was nice and hot. Front and back porches and a hot tub up a few steps from the backdoor. Neighbors were nearby, so the place wasn't completely secluded, but the trees provide a lot of privacy.

The boys chilling out. Though the hammock was in the front of the house, above the road, the trees and quite were more than enough to provide a relaxing environment, as is clearly obvious.

Edwin on the beach. Our first day we drove from Cazadero out to the beach via Fort Ross Road and went out to a beach just north (can't remember the name of the State Park). It was a very windy and cool day, so I ended up letting the guys go down to the beach while I went and sat on some fallen logs in the woods and read for a while.

Sweetwater Springs Road. Simply beautiful.

I had a few days at home before going back to work. Ugh, work. Need I say more?

I am already planning my next chance to get away, if only for a few days. But when? When?

Oh, a Holiday!

Finally on a little holiday! Rented a little place up in Cazadero. It's super cute and cozy. Just two bedrooms with an okay sized kitchen and living room. So far it seems to meet my requirements. Wish I could get a fire started, though. Flute is open, but still smoking up the house. I'll wait for the troops to arrive (MH & EI). Went out to the hot tub for a nice little soak. Now I'm ready for bed, but it's only 8:50 and the guys aren't here yet. So, I'm cooking up some dinner so it will be ready when they arrive.

I plan to spend most of the week relaxing: a.k.a. going to the beach, crafting, reading, perhaps playing some WoW, chilling in the hot tub and sleeping late. I'm working on two scarves at the moment, as well as a cross-stitch project. I recently purchased a light with attached magnifying glass to help with the crafting. It is supposed to help reduce eye strain.

In terms of reading, I've got a bunch of books: the Already Dead books by Charlie Huston; Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk; and a few others. Plenty to keep me occupied.

Already miss the kitties. In fact, the one thing that would make this place perfect is if I could have had my girls with me. Sigh. but they are in good hands, so I know they will be fine.

Will post some holiday pics once I have some.

Performance is the thang...

Today I had my first performance appraisal with my new boss, our VPIT (pronounced vip-it). Went just dandy and was productive. Now onto building my PMO.

Dinner with LK tonight. This was the highlight of the week. Haven't seen her in ages and miss her mucho. She made me smile. We had a nice dinner at Osteria, which is a nice, basic Italian place not far from work.

Plans for the weekend? Not much yet. I have to start getting ready for my vacation! Woo Hoo! I need yarn for my knitting project or I need materials for my needlepoint project. I need to decide. I've got a bunch of books, but I may pick up a couple more on the way. Can't wait.

Let there be Heat!

How many people does it take to light my pilot? In this case...

#1: Me, failure
#2: Me and Neighbor, failure
#3: Me and Edwin, failure
#4: Me and Bill, SUCCESSS!!!

Beth hums, "Ya got'ta have frien-ends, la la la la la la la la, friennnnn-ends, frendsa, frendsa frendsa!"

Bill does has tenacity, I'll give him that. But don't kid yourself that it took him, like, 5 minutes... nope. Effort was required... And we learned in the process that my apt. heater is about 27 years old and parts are no longer available from the manufacturer. I'm glad Bill managed to get it lit. It get's cold here sometimes and my hands need to be warm to play WoW. Cold paws and WoW make for some serious misery.