the darkness has not overcome it

that was my weekend.
all of the predicted people came over, and that went well. we entertained scott and heidi and the girls and went in the hot tub, and everyone liked the lasagna, which is awesome for 9-year-olds who don't normally like vegies.
saturday amy came over in the evening and i taught her to knit. we will see how much she remembers the next time i see her.
i got a GREAT deal of spinning done. 2 more skeins worth.
it is all slubby as desired. but i'm not at all sure of my consistancy.
which means that i can swatch all i want, i will still not be sure that the skeins will match up. the ruler test might help.
i am still pleased to have accomplished so much, and i may even have enough spun for one more skein, which would put me at 7 total. i got a spinning t-shirt at the gym when i was there last week. it is brown and blue and just says "spinning" on it. and i know that it means the kind you do on a bicycle, but i take great pleasure in the fact that i can mean it two ways.
i also made significant progress on my clapotis, which is very soft and blue and will go with lots of things. there is a part of me that wishes i had made it in a heavier yarn - say, worsted weight. but i suppose i can always make another one and give this one away if i feel it suits someone else better.

sunday ryan came over and...is doing terrible, but not bad for someone who is grieving. i am worried about him.

ross and i are trying to decide what to do with our tax return. a new microwave is definitely in the plans since the one we have is tempermental about when it wants to work. and getting the dishwasher fixed. but i am in favor of hanging onto it and just getting it repaired rather than replacing it so that we can make some more progress on the basement. we will also be getting a water softener for our shower. i am hoping this will be a big improvement.

work today is good in that i can pretty much zone out with my ipod and do busywork. but i'm already annoyed at one of my co-workers. she asks me how to do things and then goes and asks other people and does the easy thing rather than the right thing. i feel very impatient with that. if she doesn't want to do what i tell her, she shouldn't waste my time asking me.

we are supposed to get more snow this week. i'm not sure how much. i expect we will have several more snowfalls before spring is here for good. at least it is warmer.

it's friday!!!!

and i finally got to the gym last night for spinning class. i feel SO good. good enough that i woke before my alarm and increased to 100 crunches this morning. my sets are 20, so increasing by one set seems to work for me. we'll see if it lasts. the thing is that even if it isn't true, i FEEL skinnier after i work out.
love those endorphins. then i came home and didn't have to cook! eggplant parmesan is better the second day anyway. all i did was make salad.

i have made a new friend at work. her name is kate. we have talked via e-mail for about two weeks and i am hoping to set up a coffee date to meet her in person. she grew up on a hobby farm in virginia(near richmond), likes to carve wood, read science fiction and fantasy, and game. she sounds awesome.

my computer at home is officially kaput. the hard drive blew out again. i am seriously thinking there is something wrong with the computer that keeps eating hard drives. goddamn zombie computer eating its own brains...

tonight christa will either come over or we will work on the mantle.
tomorrow we will game with shawn and thistle and john and tessa and tim wheatly and adam cerling and maybe some other people. then susan will come over for dinner and we will see her for the first time in literally months. sunday we will go to montevideo to see ross's grandparents. it will be a very busy weekend. if i'm lucky i will squeeze in some knitting.

i don't have to work on the house tonight!

wednesday i signed up for a new class at the gym. straight up strength. and i lasted about 15 minutes. 15 minutes of solid squats! it reminded of rob holbrock's hard-core fencing exercises in college! my quads are still in a state of mutiny every time i get up from my chair.
after 15 minutes i packed up and went back to the locker room. so i GOT a great work out. just one much shorter than i anticipated.
in anycase i had more work when i got home.
somehow i had this INSANE idea that tidying up the electrical would be quick and simple.
shows how much i know.
we had a bunch of panels in the basement ceiling that needed covers - but the covers we had didn't fit. they had to be cut with a saw and drilled with the dewalt cordless. we also needed blanks and switch plates for the wall plates. we had to put box extenders in the bedroom outlets in case the inspector needed to visit the fuse box. a trip to home-depot took care of the bits we didn't have right after we dropped my car off for service. the fireplace needed an electrical hook-up as well.
then we also had to hang the new(used)star lamp in the stairway. it looks great there and casts all kinds of neat shadows on the stairs, but it also needs dusting on the inside. a big thanks to susan for finding it for us.
we finished about 9:30.

yesterday we picked up my car and moved all the furniture in the living room. i think it is going to look really sharp when the fireplace is complete. ross finally hooked up the surround sound when he was putting the entertainment system together again. lo and behold, the picture on the tv looks better! i'm not sure what it is, but when we finally got a chance to just sit and hang out and watch a movie at the end of the day, the picture was brighter and clearer. a very nice bonus to re-setting everything. :)
it felt like a miracle to not be working last night. i don't even remember the last time i did that.
next week will be a WHOLE WEEK that i can plan to DO THINGS in the evening! or simply choose to do nothing. this is very exciting.

today i will be driving to chicago to see the family directly after work. ross will not be coming with me as he needs to work this evening. six hours in the car with limited music options, as my ipod is still tempermental about when it decides it wants to behave. it will be great to see my folks, and skia and pbergson, but i am wary about what this weekend will bring. i have a feeling that some of the tensions that have been brewing between my immediate family and the rest of mom's side of the family may get ugly and public....with various possibilities for outcome. we'll see. there are many reasons for tension and with stress high?.....anything is possible. i hope that there is good resolution if a blow-out has to happen.
aunt kathy reports that grandpa seems better....but i'm not sure if this is wishful thinking or reality. i will know better after i see him tomorrow. please keep us in your prayers.

i'm SO glad it is today instead.
yesterday i was SO tired and cranky and miserable.
no fun for anyone really.
but i came home and took a nap for about an hour and woke up less liable to eat people's brains.
(it is a little-known fact that zombies are more likely to sit quietly without eating brains if they have recently had a nap. Now GETTING them to actually take a nap...that's the tricky part)
i have so much more energy to face my day today. i'm less bitchy. it's really better for everyone if i nap. and shower. and eat regularly. ;)

john and darla came over again to help yesterday. they are godsends.
we got the whole basement primed. it looks great! there are some runny parts where ross sprayed too thick, but they can be sanded down. pictures to come. it was too wet to take any last night and we had to plastic the cats off from the basement.
today will be the big clean up. and putting electrical covers on the outlets and such, and framing up the fireplace and cutting concrete board and maybe some red oak for the facing. i think it's going to look really sharp when it's done. the inspector has been pushed back to thursday. this is very good.

i also need to call and schedule my tire replacement. i need 2 new ones in back and a new thermostat because the one i have isn't heating the car promptly enough. i know so little about cars that i would probably just put up with the extra 10 minutes it takes for the car to heat, but ross informs me that this is very bad for the car, as it can cause the workings of the car to heat at different speeds and increase wear and tear as a result. regardless i need to get the whole thing fixed before going to chicago.

i believe we are going to leave the basement white for a while. just breathe for a month or so and re-assess our finances before deciding how much further we are going to go. it would REALLY help if we had our tax returns back....but volt sucks and is not sendingout W2's until the 30th, which, btw, is illegal in minnesota.

i am hoping to get to the gym tomorrow for the first time in a week and a half. corrin was going to go with me, but she cancelled. it is probably for the best. it will allow me to go earlier and then have the evening to help with whatever at home.

i have been snagging small moments to knit my slippery blue socks. i am VERY pleased with how they are turning out so far.

i'm still expecting these to take a long time. i don't have much time to work on them.

so the house is...a bit closer to being done.
friday night i went to the gym for spinning class...which had a different instructor and didn't kick my ass nearly as much as the first time i went. i'd like to think my muscles are in a bit better shape, but in reality it's probably just the change of style from the instructor.
regardless, i didn't get much done on the house since i was wiped and ross was working. i did get some knitting time in on my owl socks though.
( the socks got finished today. )


saturday ross and i started late, but made good time.
we cleared out what WILL be our bathroom, put in some electric and drywalled two of the walls, then cleaned up and put everything back in...after which i went and watched a movie with darla, who continues to be one of my favorite people in the area. her and her husband john both just rock my world.

today jory was supposed to come help us...but wound up having problems with one of his eyes and having to go to the doctor. reports today that he will be okay, but he can't see very well right now and shouldn't drive for a couple of days.
me being scared of heights and the ceiling needing to go up first....we didn't get as much done today as we hoped. we got one big ceiling piece up and one of the wall pieces and knocked down the other wall and cleaned it up so we can put clean drywall in. it's still progress, but not as much as we'd like.
john (did i mention he and darla are awesome?) volunteered for punishment to help out tomorrow so we'll see how much progress we get done this week.

( pics behind the cut! )

sore today.
sore in the way that ben gay doesn't help.(LOVE BEN GAY)
i learned a lot yesterday.
things like -even though i can reach the ceiling pushing the drywall up is REALLY painful and i am just a wee bit too short.
things like -100 year old houses have lots of 100 year old dust when you take bits of them apart. my neti pot saved me this morning, but i really should have used it last night as well.
things like -oh THIS is why we got the hot tub! this is why it is worth it in the cold ahhh yes...

instead of crashing out and nursing soreness when i get home, ross and i get to put up more drywall today. tomorrow i am going to the gym and hanging out with heather keiweg. wednesday well....i am hoping the drywall will all be up.
but before the inspector comes we have to have everything up that is going up (we don't have QUITE enough to do all of the stairs/entryway), everything mudded and taped (which takes several steps), and a primer put on. that way it won't look like it was under construction quite so obviously. this is important, because in minnesota you have to have a permit to do anything to your house inside or out. it is a real pain in the rear and this is a big state for DIY people. in my experience, people get the permits when they do outdoor work, but not indoor. because unless you have an inspector in your house, no one will know anyway. still, it is annoying that they want to dictate to you what you can do in your own house.

i did make up an awesome recipe last night. i am quite proud, although i think i will use less sesame and peanut oil next time.
asian chicken
2 large cut up chicken breasts
enough green beans for 3-4 people
1/3 bag egg noodles
1/2 cup hoisun sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 TBSP worceister sauce
3 TBSP soy sauce
1 8 oz can water chestnuts
1 TBSP sesame seeds
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 cup water

set the up the water for the egg noodles but don't start it yet. in a large tall-rimmed skillet, brown the chicken in the peanut oil (about 8 minutes). when a piece cut through the center is no longer pink, add water and continue to braise at medium-high heat. in a separate bowl, wisk together hoisun sauce, worceister, rice vinegar, soy, & sesame oil. wash and snap ends off green beans, cover with a little soy and let sit. somewhere in here you can also start the water for the noodles and add them when you have a rolling boil. when the water is almost gone, add the green beans, water chestnuts and sauce. stir these together for about four minutes. drain your noodles. sprinkle chicken mixture with sesame seeds and serve over noodles.
if you want things a bit spicer, you could add minced ginger and garlic to the sauce as well as 1 tsp pepper flakes).

meatloaf, hanging out with jerad and rachel, hot-tubbing and cleaning were all successes yesterday.
it also left me very tired.
and the rest of the week looks worse(and better at the same time).
the way it is shaping up makes me fantasize about monday as a day of sleep as soon as i get home from work.
i dread the exhaustion i expect to feel.

today i will be using my community center membership for the first time. i stopped by yesterday and got scheduling for all the free classes. there is also a tai chi demonstration that is free tonight - but the classes that follow will not be free if i decide to sign up. i expect to get a work out, and then check out the demonstration and make decisions from there.
tomorrow we will have dinner with darla and john at there place
friday corrin is coming over to make soup and potentially stay the night.
saturday....is where the fun stuff begins.

i believe i mentioned the potential fireplace.
( here's the thing. )