Sunday, March 25, 2018
It takes a special skill to read the dirt as an archaeologist. To be able to see the subtle changes, to know when you have reached the edge of a pit, to see it and feel it. Steve was one of those kind of archaeologists. He worked with me on many projects over the last 10 or 15 years, sometimes digging, sometimes running the backhoe.
Steve died a week ago Saturday, very unexpectedly, too young. Besides being a great archaeologist, he was also one of the nicest people I have ever met. I never heard him say a bad work about anyone. He was a good person.
Steve (on the right).
Steve died a week ago Saturday, very unexpectedly, too young. Besides being a great archaeologist, he was also one of the nicest people I have ever met. I never heard him say a bad work about anyone. He was a good person.
Steve (on the right).
Thank goodness Carlos was able to fix the plumbing ($600), in time for the Egg Party, and I will not have to worry about that. Having a 91 year old house means many things are falling apart. Right now the walls are cracking all over the place from settling. It is a little unnerving to see.
This year I made a tres leche cake, a chocolate mayonnaise cake with chocolate frosting, potato salad, hummus, and guacamole. I managed to forget the tahini in the hummus, but it still was mostly eaten up.
Prize baskets.
I managed to forget to take pictures of people decorating eggs. And I am too tired to go to the fridge and take a photo of decorated eggs. Having a party is a lot of work. Cleaning, more cleaning, yardwork, cooking, more cleaning.
Egg Hunters.
There were over 400 eggs to find, so it took a while.
This year I made a tres leche cake, a chocolate mayonnaise cake with chocolate frosting, potato salad, hummus, and guacamole. I managed to forget the tahini in the hummus, but it still was mostly eaten up.
Tres leche cake.
I had a basket of goodies for the five kids and three for the adults who found the most plastic eggs.
I managed to forget to take pictures of people decorating eggs. And I am too tired to go to the fridge and take a photo of decorated eggs. Having a party is a lot of work. Cleaning, more cleaning, yardwork, cooking, more cleaning.
Daffodils.
Not as many people as usual for the party. They lined up in front at 3:00 and I yelled Go!
There were over 400 eggs to find, so it took a while.
Luke and Allen finding eggs.
Honestly, it was easier to guess who had the most eggs rather than count them.
Tim (1st), David (2nd), and Allison (3rd).
The kids had a great time and the adults did too. It was nice having my friends over and I got to visit with everyone.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
I noticed a damp smell in the study. I finally emptied out the closet and lifted the flooring of the hatch and looked down in. The pipe running from the cat bathroom to the main sewer pipe was leaking. A puddle of black water was visible. The first plumber refused to fix it. I have another one coming tomorrow. I climbed down there, vacuumed up the disgusting water, spread lime and sprayed bleach. I discovered the kitchen pipe was burst too, it appears that the pipe froze back in December.
Crawl space.
Super tired of the house being a mess. Can't wait for the pipes to be fixed and my house back to normal, especially because I am having a party on the 25th.
Things are beginning to bloom. Spring is here.
Acacia.
I've been grumpy. Tired of home repairs. In my spare time I've been reading, watching Youtube videos on painting conservation. Tonight I'm watching a video about mosaics.
Sunday, March 04, 2018
Spring has arrived. The weather is a little weird, windy some, rainy some. And then it can get warm in the afternoon.
A geranium on my front porch is starting to bloom.
Geranium.
Progress on mother's family history book. It is over 350 pages long. I'm not happy about the way it is formatting, Microsoft Word is useless. But the people who get copies with enjoy it (I hope!).
I have a leaky pipe under the house and have to wash dishes in the shower. I need to call a plumber tomorrow and arrange for someone to crawl under the house and replace one or two pipes. Yeah- NOT.
A geranium on my front porch is starting to bloom.
Progress on mother's family history book. It is over 350 pages long. I'm not happy about the way it is formatting, Microsoft Word is useless. But the people who get copies with enjoy it (I hope!).
An Admiral Dewey "Hero of Manila" paperweight that belonged to great-great grandfather Ransom.
Out on a testing project. Found some interesting things. The soil is rock hard. I was so tired from scraping and digging. Also, I am the fattest I have ever been and it is difficult to do things with a belly in the way.
Today I went to an Oscar Party at Nate's and this morning I watched a video on how to make a tres leche cake. Once years ago I made one and it was awful. But I decided to make one. Turns out it is super easy. Also very pretty with the canned peaches and pineapple and fresh strawberries lying on the whipped cream. I arrived at the party with it and within 40 minutes it was gone. People were raving about it, so I think I will be making it again. Temporary roommate Kevin is having a colonoscopy tomorrow and had to see the cake, I felt bad about that.
Tres leche cake.
I have a leaky pipe under the house and have to wash dishes in the shower. I need to call a plumber tomorrow and arrange for someone to crawl under the house and replace one or two pipes. Yeah- NOT.
