Monday morning, after coming downstairs I heard a strange hissing noise while in the kitchen. It was coming from the basement. I followed the noise to the water heater. It looked fine from the front, but water was flowing out of the back and luckily into the drainage trench, rather then onto the floor. I turned off the water and the gas. The water continued to flow for a little while, but eventually slowed to a trickle, and then stopped.

I spent a good portion of Monday morning at work calling plumbers. The guy we used last time was on vacation in California. The company that installed the water heater no longer existed. One company wanted over $1,000 to replace it. Another wanted $700. That's the one we went with. Unfortunately, they couldn't come until Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday went in for a half day at work, and then came home at lunch. I played with Lucy while waiting. Once the water heater dudes arrived I kept mostly out of their way and studied, checking in on them only a couple of times. Lucy didn't like them much, and barked most of the time they were in the house.

Because we live in Baltimore County (rather then the city) there are some slightly different rules about how the water heater gets installed. The most pertinent thing in this case is that the county requires a thermal expansion tank. This is a small tank that sits above the water heater whose only purpose is to keep the water that is in the tank from flowing back into the county's pipes. The plumbers seemed to think that we lived in the city. We're close, only about 1,000 feet from the city line, but not in the city. That means they didn't bring a expansion tank, so after they were half way done I asked how the expansion tank hooks up. They looked at me, and the older plumber looked at the younger one and told him to call in for a tank.

The expansion tank arrived, they screwed it on, turned on the water heater, made sure it was running, and then cleaned up. It took them about 2 hours.

For the record I must state that on Monday night, after Lucy's agility class, Tigs did take a cold shower. I did not. She says this is because I am a wuss.

I have a hard time disagreeing with her in this case.

Tuesday night however everyone got a shower. Even Lucy, who was beginning to smell.

Tigs is mad because she used the $$ she was saving for a new camera/lens to pay for the water heater.

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Also:
The top 126 reasons Picard is better than Kirk

Ok, last post on the D&D books for a while. Why? Because they are completely out of stock, and at this point are not scheduled to be back in stock and shipped to me until July 3rd. Yup, a month from now. All because I ordered the 3 books in the gift set with the nice slip cover. Had I ordered the books individually without the slip cover I would have had them probably on Monday. At this point though, looking at my calendar, the July 3rd ship date means I'll get the books (theoretically) just as I'm finishing up my summer class. So the timing works out kind of nicely for that. I'm disappointed, but this really gives me the time and incentive to focus on my accounting class.

Speaking of, tonight is the first test for the class. In preparation for that, I took my notes and the book to the library last night for some focused studying. I read the chapters, did some problems, checked the answers, and then reread the sections that I screwed up. And while I was there I also checked the library catalog to see if they had the new D&D books.

They didn't.

What? You thought I wouldn't look!!

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tigergladys pointed something important out to me the other night after reading my post. We already have the paint for the hallway. It's the same paint we've been using for the closets. So, I guess that answers the question of what's next!! :-)

Of course the next question is when that'll happen. Chances are it's going to be the weekend after next when there will be some real time to devote to it. Until then we'll prep the area; get it cleaned out, wash down the walls, and tape it up.

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This weekend is the NADAC agility trial, the one which Tigs is the secretary for. One of the events we are running Lucy in is a weavers course. Now, mind you, Lucy is only so-so with weave poles. Sometimes she gets it perfectly, most of the time she doesn't. But it's also a fairly advanced skill to learn, and we hadn't really been focusing on it. That is until Tigs thought about the fact that we are entered in a weavers course this weekend. Thus began "Weaving Boot Camp" week. Practising 3 or 4 times a day for about 5 minutes each (sometimes longer) is really paying off. We'll see how it goes this weekend.

muskrat_john is currently dealing with a flooded basement, and has suffered some losses to his graphic novel collection (hardcover 300 and Girl Genius vol. 1). From this loss he posed this question:

What games or trade paperbacks would you grab first, if you only had a few minutes?

I'm presuming that basic necessities are taken care of here. That said I'd probably grab the 3 core D&D books. I'd think about some of the warhammer stuff, but they take up too much space. Plus then I'd want to bring my paints and stuff … too much. As for books, I would probably grab something I haven't read yet, and something I have read a number of times. Maybe the Chronicles of Narnia?

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Last night before agility class I touched up the paint in the dining room. I took care of the inevitable spots where the tape pulled up some of the paint, or didn't keep the trim paint out, or a spot that just didn't get enough coverage. It was kind of hot detail work in generally uncomfortable places (along the baseboard, in the corners, etc.) but it didn't take too long. After I finished that I went up to Trader Joes for some needed groceries, and then we went to class.

Agility went pretty well. The buildings air conditioner kept things tolerable, but it was still warm. Were focusing pretty heavily on weave poles right now because I'll be running Lucy in the Weavers class this weekend, and she doesn't really have them down yet. Aside from that we had a bit of a hiccup with the dog walk. I think this is due to a combination of factors, including the fact that the ramp is warped, and she slipped off of it during the walk for the animals demo. We'll see how it goes.

When we got home tigergladys went and watered her gardens while I took down the x-pen in the dining room. We then swiffered the floor, put down the rug, and took the dining room table from the living room (removing our one and only zombie barricade) and brought the chairs up from the basement. We even put in both of the leaves to the table, which means we can put all 4 chairs under the table without them sticking out several inches each.

After that was all set I pulled out the drill and installed the window shades. We had to get ones that are a little too long, which isn't too big a deal, as they can be shortened (in spite of what the twit at Home Depot said). However one of the ones I put up was actually too short! Somehow it was either mispackaged or mislabeled. This is also not a big deal because it is the right size for the blue/craft room windows.

This is the first room in the house that really looks done. While we've done the bedroom and the library, there is still a ton of clutter in each of them. The library has mismatched shelves, and the books aren't in any order. The bedroom has all the fragile stuff in it, mostly all boxed. The dining room however looks done. Sure, we still have to hang pictures, and put the books on the dining room shelves, but it's not cluttered or messy.

Next up is either the hallway or the living room. The living room is going to be a major pain. MAJOR. So it might just be better to hold off on that till we can devote some serious time to getting it done. It's probably a weeks worth of work to get it done, and unless we take time off of work to do it, it'll probably consume a whole bunch of evenings plus a couple of weekends. And of course during that time the living room will be rather unlivable. Probably more of a July project, when I'm done with my accounting class.

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Amazon still says that my D&D books are due to ship today, but the internet says that it probably wont ship till next week.

Not that I'd have any/much time to read them anyway. *sigh*

When you move from 900 square feet of living space into almost 1300 square feet of living space, you would presume that everything would fit, and then some. When you add over 600 square feet of basement storage space, you figure there isn't any way that all your stuff doesn't fit. My friend, you would be wrong. But then all of our stuff has been in boxes, and boxed items always take up more space.

Sunday afternoon, since it was raining and I couldn't paint, I went up into the blue room (which is being used for storage) to reorganize everything. Actually, that's a lie. It was never organized, but it was structured so that you could at least walk around the stuff. Over the last week or so we've been unpacking it, and in the process it had gotten to the point where you really couldn't walk into or around the room. I spent about an hour in there, sorting boxes into piles, and freeing up space in the middle so we can access all the piles. You might not believe it, but we've actually made progress!

Prior to that tigergladys and I went to the Farmers Market in Baltimore, then to Ikea, where we had to wait an extra hour because their flyer lied about what time they opened. So while we waited we read the Sunday paper (having thoughtfully decided to bring it with us). After returning home, when Tigs and Lucy went off to track I mowed the front lawn, and prepped the garden for 2 more plants. While it wasn't the most productive day, it was pretty relaxing.

Plans for this week include painting the trim in the dining room (we're supposed to get a couple of warm sunny days in a row) finals for my accounting classes, and then there's the USDAA trial this weekend. Lucy isn't entered this time, so I am just going to help out.

I received the first 2 seasons of Enterprise for my birthday from Tigs. We also got season 3 of Stargate from DVDswap still in it's shrink-wrap. It even had a Wal-Mart sticker on it. The swapper said they just didn't have time to watch it. I'm wondering if it was acquired illegally? However I can't seem to drum up any indignation that someone may have stolen it from Wal-Mart.

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1. What's one of the nicest things a friend has ever done for you?

Probably the going away party that Eric set up for me was the nicest.

2. What's one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for you?

There have been so many little things.... :-)

3. What is a trait in another person that you instantly admire, and that draws you to them?

If they're big readers it usually gives me something to talk about with them.

4. What is a trait in another person that instantly repels you, and prevents you from forming a close relationship with them?

Being a smoker tends to repel me pretty quickly.

5. Time to vent: tell us about something rotten someone has done to you.

When our ex-neighbors urinated on my car... twice.

6. Describe where you grew up:

I grew up in Lancaster City PA, right next to F&M College.

7. Do you wear any jewelry?

Not currently, but I've worn rings in the past.

8. What do you have too much of?

Things to do, I have way too much of that.

9. Who is a fool?

Everyone sometimes.

10. What's your nickname?

DM – for either Dungeon Master or DavidMonster

11. How do you feel about spicy food?

I think spicy food is yummy.

12. What kinds of condiments do you add to food in order to spice things up a bit?

Mustards

13. Not counting salt and pepper, what's your favorite flavor enhancer when cooking?

Mustard

14. What's the spiciest food you've ever eaten?

Thai I think…

15. In what way might some other aspect of your daily life be spiced up, and what's keeping that from happening right now?

For the moment I actually like my spice pretty well confined to my food. Right now I've got enough other things going on that spice in my life would just give me heart burn.

16. If you knew that you had only one day left to live, what would you do for the 24 hours?

I’d start the day by making breakfast (everyone’s favorites) then I’d go for a hike with Tigs and Lucy, and have a picnic lunch with them. Then take Virginia out to dinner, something nice and romantic, maybe on a sail boat in the Chesapeake.

17. Do you think that life has meaning?

It has all the meaning that you bring to it.

18. What was your favourite childhood toy/object, or some of your favourites?
(Remember childhood according to the United Nations is anywhere from 0-18 years, so this is a fairly broad span of time).

Joggy Lion

19. When you clasp your hands, do you put your right thumb over your left thumb, or your left thumb over your right thumb?

Left thumb over right

20. If you had to teach the most ignorant person on earth the most difficult thing you have ever learned, how would you go about doing it?

Slowly! I’d start with the basics and take it step by step, breaking it down into its smallest components.

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So a new dishwasher installed will cost about $500. Well we don't have that right now, so we searched the internet for a cheaper solution.

( The solution )

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I've found a game board that has just about everything I'm looking for. This looks more like a museum piece then a game board.

( I want it... )
More then that, I want to build it!! And then game on it!

Sunday night while Virginia took a shower I was in the kitchen cooking bacon when I heard this strange noise, like a bit of grease splattering from a great height. This seemed odd as the bacon was in the oven. I didn't see anything odd with the bacon, or in the rest of the kitchen. So I didn't worry about it.

Then I heard it again, and again, and then I noticed a small puddle in the middle of the kitchen floor. Lucy was asleep in the living room, so I knew it wasn't her. As I watched, the puddle got hit by another drop of water. I looked up, and with increasing speed the water continued to drip down the side of the light on the kitchen fan. Fun hua?

I ran upstairs and got Virginia to wrap things up, and then pried off the access panel to the bathtub plumbing. It's not a big leak, but steady. It looks like it's not too hard to access, so hopefully it wont be too hard (or expensive) to fix. While we're at it we'll probably get the dishwasher taken care of too (I'm not sure I mentioned, but the dishwasher leaks into the basement).

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Good news everybody!

It seems not so much a leak in the pipes as a leak where the fixtures come through the tiles. He said some caulking should do the trick. As for the dishwasher, it needs to be replaced. Ahh well. Win some, lose some.

We officially moved into the house this past weekend. It took 2 trips with a 12' Penske truck, but it was done by about 2:30/3pm. We never would have gotten it all done if it wasn't for all the help we got, so a huge THANK YOU to Terence, raven296, Kim, Cory, and Alex. You've provided help, support, and friendship that's really made so much more possible then would otherwise be the case. So again, thank you!

Ok, so Wednesday the electrical work was taken care of. *thumbs up* We can now plug things in without having to use the 3-to-2 prong adaptors! Plus the service cable was replaced out back, so that worry is gone, and it's amazing how those 2 things have made such a big difference. Right now I need to continue to see significant progress being made, if only for my own sanity.

I painted the first coat on the trim in the library, and it's going to need a second coat. Even kilz primer couldn't cover that shade of pink! After that's done, there will be a little bit of touch up work, and then we can bring all the bookshelves in from the dining room. Conveniently that's the next painting project, and it should go quickly, since the walls and trim were already (4 shades of) white, and I've already done the ceiling. I don't have anything else pressing to do, so my goal is to get that all done. Two thing that might slow me down a bit are the taping, and waiting for paint to dry, but we'll see.

Last night I picked up my car from the shop. It actually drives noticeably better then it did when I dropped it off, though it is still doing that weird noise thing from the back tires sometimes when I first start driving.

I heard back about the job I applied for up at the central business office. I wasn't qualified for it, based on their experience requirement. However they had an other (lower level) job that they wanted to get me into which would have been fine just to get my foot in the door. Unfortunately it wouldn't have fulfilled the experience requirement for the CPA, and while I'm willing to make a lateral move, it needs to either pay me significantly more, or it needs to give me that experience.

There is a job at another hospital in the system in the finance department that would in theory both pay more and offer the experience I need. I've already submitted my resume for that.

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1. How often do you listen to music?

Almost constantly.

2. Do you ever listen to the radio? What is your favorite station?

I generally listen to NPR news radio, NPR's local music station, and the local classic rock station.

3. How do you find new songs, albums, or artists to listen to?

Generally it'll be something that Tigs will turn me onto.

4. When was the last time you bought a CD? A digital music file?

I think the last time I bought a CD was when Tigs and I were scouting places to live in MD. I think it was a comedy CD… And I've never bought a digital music file.

5. Do you think any of the technologies and distribution methods mentioned above will still be around in ten years? Why or why not?

Yes. People have spent a lot of money of the technology, and while there will be new stuff, the stuff from today will still be around.

I'm posting from home today with the electrician working upstairs. We're getting all of the outlets replaced with new fixtures. Some are being replaced with GFI outlets and some are just getting updated 2 prong outlets. If we find any that have a ground (none on the second floor) then they will get a grounded outlet.

As soon as he finishes with the library I'm going to go paint the trim, and then I'm going to spend some time doing my accounting homework.

My plan for tonight was to go to the house to study. There are fewer things to distract me there.

That was the theory anyway.

While I was there I sanded down the plaster I put on the walls, I installed the fence latch, I removed all the hardware from all the doors we've removed, I moved all the doors down to the basement, and I brought in all the boxes I put in the car last night.

Then I did some studying.

Peace, Love, & Hope

After work today I primed the library walls, and taped along the floor so I can move onto the trim next. I still need to pick up the paint for the walls.

We're ready to start painting the dining room walls, and we have the paint for that.

I have put half of the boxes we packed onto our cars to be dropped off tomorrow.I need to remember to pack my intermediate accounting book so I can study tomorrow. The test is on Wednesday.

I've picked up the internal bid form and will be dropping it off tomorrow.

1. What type of food do you most like to eat?
Mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy.

2. What type of food do you most like to cook?
I really enjoy making chili.

3. What ingredient could you not live without?
Salt. Ok, so it's not really an ingredient per se, but it's oh so necessary.

4. What do you never let in your kitchen?
Anchovies

5. What is your favorite drink?
Strawberry lemonaid

6. Other than the official start of spring on the calender, what really signifies the start of spring for you?
Seeing the first blush of that bright green you only see in the spring

7. How severe is your spring cleaning bug this year?
HAHAHAHAHA!

8. What one thing says "spring" to you more than any other?
The smell of everything coming alive after the winter.

9. What are your springtime traditions?
Open up all the windows in the house and get as much fresh air into the house as possible. Also go hiking!

10. When do you break out your spring and summer wardrobe? Do you follow the "no white before Easter" rule?
As soon as the temperature hits around 50 I start putting away the winter stuff.

11. If you became ruler of the world, what three things would you do first?
I would fix education, cut military spending and redirect it to humanitarian and scientific uses, and vastly increase the use and development of green energy

12. If you were a superhero, what would be your name and what powers would you have?
If I were a superhero I'd want to be a Green Lantern.

13. You can ask one question to someone who knows EVERYTHING. What is it?
What's the winning number to the next $10,000,000 (or more) lotto?

14. If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?
If invisible means being undetectable, then I would probably get cash, from a variety of sources.

15. If you saw a mythical/religious deity walking down the street, what would you do?
That really depends on which one it was! There are some gods you just don't want to get in the way of!

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This past weekend was the tracking trial for the dog club. This meant getting up at 5(ish) to drive up to the Maryland/Delaware boarder, and spend a lot of time cold and wet with a little bit of time spent watching dogs actually tracking. I brought my accounting books with me, but never even pulled them out. Saturday I was too tired, and Sunday it was too cold and wet (and I was still tired).

Saturday, after spending the morning at the trial we packed up, headed home for a change, and then pressed on to Frederic for First Saturday. This time however Gaer joined us! Lucy did pretty well considering how long a day she had.

Sunday we again spent the morning at the tracking trial, a cold, wet, muddy day. We then went home, took some hot showers (Lucy too) and then headed over to the house to do some more work. We managed to put in a couple of hours before heading back to the townhouse drained of all energy.

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Things are progressing at the house. It's almost ready for us to really start moving things in. At this point we've only brought over stuff we've needed, or stuff that can go straight to the basement. The next couple of weeks or so is going to be a bit of a pain as we transfer everything to the house, and then, invariably we'll need or want something that's at the other place.

I keep thinking about terrain, and building a table. I think when I finally do get to work on it that the trick to it, along with almost any other project, is to just devote myself to it from start to finish, just like I did with my original Amon Hen. 12 days start to finish on that one.

Actually my plan is to build another Amon Hen out of Hirst Arts blocks as one of my first projects. Seeing as I'll be using cast blocks (complete with texture) it should take significantly less time to finish it. Plus it works well on a grassy field.

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I need a home improvement icon...

It's slow going, all this cleaning. Some of the grime is so thick you have to wash whatever it coats multiple times. The hood over the oven is probably the worst. It's still not clean. Cleaner, but not clean.

We're trying to hit each project to completion before moving on to the next one, but sometimes you're washing something and you just keep moving. For instance I was washing the outside of the fridge (Tigs did the inside) and while I was doing the top I also washed some of the wall next to it, which lead to washing the door frame to the living room, which continued to the trim along the back wall of the living room. It wasn't till I reached the far corner when I realized I had strayed far from my original task.

Tonight's project is going to be cleaning the dining room. The library was the other option, but since we're going to need to prime it, and the dining room is already (4 shades of) white, we're going with the easier optionOur order of attack is rooms that we've settled on the paint color for first, and then doing the rest. The living room and the craft room are the ones that we're not sure about color wise, so they're last.

We've owned the house since Friday afternoon, and mostly we've just cleaned, and today we did a little bit of painting. So far the master bedroom is the only one that's close to habitable. The kitchen and bathroom have been started, but there's still so much to do. Seriously hours spent scrubbing the walls, the trim, the ceiling, the floor, the windows, the doors... everything is gross. We think they burned lots of candles, which is nice.... but then they never washed anything, so it's all sooty. Plus I think the guy was mad at us and so made things a little extra special unpleasant for us.

Remind me to get more gloves from work...

Plus it was kind of cold today, which really slowed us down some.

Thursday is trash day. I'm not sure if there is a limit on how many bags we can put out. I hope not.