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journal archive 12.06
december 2006 archive
This page is the archive
of the "journal" posts from the two RSS feeds (one for the main site,
one
for the "This Old (Hall) House" portion only). They will frequently mimic
each other, but not always; those posts that appear on the TOHH portion of
the site will be noted with the Hall House icon.
return to main journal ·
return to this old (hall) house |
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...the way we're writing big checks around here. Last month
was the Water Main
Replacement Extravaganza, which involved yep, replacing the water
main, along with having an electrician come in and have the house grounded
to the pipes or somesuch since it's never been done, then the requisite
inspections and by the time it was all said and done, the money we'd been
saving to replace the poor Subaru, which had been due for replacement for
well over a year, was gone. And then some. Story of a homeowner's life,
right?
That meant driving the Subaru a little longer while we
decided on a Plan B. Well, obviously our cunning plan to avoid a car
payment by paying for a used one in full was out. Which meant a bank loan,
and new research on a different kind of car now that we were looking in a
different price range. We figured we could maybe squeeze another couple of
months out while we did our research.
Cue two weeks ago, when the Subaru just...died. We're not
sure exactly when she passed away, but she died in her sleep one cold
Sunday night and just never woke up again. ::waves lighter:: Rest in
peace, old friend.
We spent that week scrambling, figuring out last minute
schedule changes to accommodate our now one car household, along with a
reworking of our monthly budget to fit in the cost of a car rental for the
one day we couldn't cover. Good times, good times.
Anyway Sal spent last Friday hitting dealerships on the
prowl for a used diesel we could convert to biodiesel or a used hybrid in
our price range. Both tall orders, since they're in high demand for
obvious reasons and in Portland, they might as well be made entirely of
gold. But I'm happy to report that he was indeed successful and after
dozens of phone calls back and forth as he test drove one after the other
and called me at work to report, he found a dark green 2001 Prius in
excellent condition with only 40,000(!) miles on it. So Fate isn't always
a Horrible Bitch Goddess, as I'm known to complain from time to time (to
time).
We went in last Saturday to do the negotiating thing, which
we are frankly quite awesome at, and in less than three hours, drove off
in our dark green Prius . It's been a week and we're both very much in
love with this hybrid thing. It's now very possible that it'll be the
Camry we'll be selling in a couple of years to finance our matching
Smart
cars (September 2008, woot woot!) instead of the original plan to sell
the Subaru's replacement. We'll figure it out when the time comes.
Of course, we're going to have to figure out a new hauling
tactic for our project supplies now that the Subaru's gone. When we were
doing the second test drive, the salesman was touting the spacious
interior, including the generous space in the backseat and that you could
comfortably seat three back there (true). That's all well and good, I
said, but how many rolls of insulation can
we fit back there?
(see other posts) ·
(link this post)
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12.12.06 i've been
tagged
Maryam over at
My Marrakesh
(whose delightfully delightful delight of a blog you really should be
reading)
has tagged me with a quick little book meme:
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Grab the book closest to you.
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Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence.
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Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog.
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Name of the book and the author.
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Tag three people.
Well, technically, the book closest to me is the one I'm
writing. But since I'm assuming this should be a book that's actually
been, you know, published, here's mine:
The don turns to the others and says, donnishly,
"Information Theory would inform a mechanical calculator in much the same
way as, say, fluid dynamics would inform the hull of a ship." Then he
turns back to Waterhouse and says, somewhat less formally: "Dr. Turing has
continued to develop his work on the subject since he vanished, from your
point of view, into the realm of the Classified. Of particular interest
has been the subject of just how much information can be extracted from
seemingly random data." -- excerpted from Cryptonomicon, by
Neal Stephenson
Unfortunately, I couldn't think of three people to tag.
::is lame:: But as compensation for my lame-itude, here's the meme as
applied to the book (as yet formally titled) I'm writing:
If his threat intimidated the man, he didn’t show it. “You
have a real gift for diplomacy, my lord.”
“What I have are knives up each of my sleeves; a flick of
my wrist and you’re a pincushion.”
And now my two sooper sekrit draft readers, who've been
reading chapters as I've been feeding them out to them, are all atwitter
at the possibilities of what these lines may mean and what characters may
have spoken them, as they haven't yet gotten this chapter to read. Soon,
my pretties. Soon.
(link this post)
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Well, you know we don't send out holiday cards and in past
years, we've sent e-cards. This year, we decided to try something a little
different and create our very own e-card. Yes, that's right -- it only
took four years of having our own website to put two and two together and
realized...um, hey! We have everything we need to make our own! (No one
ever said we were the brightest bulbs in the pack.) So here's our humble,
homemade e-card, designed and created entirely by us (yes, really):
2006 Holidays e-card
Also, it’s that time of year again when people ask us what
we want for Christmas. But as you may or may not know, we started our own
tradition a few years ago of being one less name on a list, one less
address to send to, one less package to wrap. We appreciate the thought,
really, and we know you’re thinking of us. We’re lucky to have you for
friends and family and that’s the gift we’ll be thankful for this holiday
season. So instead of spending on us, we ask instead that you spend more
on the kids and grandkids, splurge on a little something for yourself, get
an extra stocking stuffer for your significant other, buy something for
that lady who rides your bus, leave an extra large tip for the waitress
who serves you coffee at your favorite café, stuff a few extra bills in
the Salvation Army bucket outside the grocery store...whatever.
But if you simply can’t bear the thought and absolutely
insist on doing something for us, we’re asking that you donate the money
you would’ve spent to one of our favorite charities instead. Yeah, we
know...it kinda takes the fun out of the whole shopping experience (for
those of you who enjoy shopping), but look at it this way: no wrapping
paper to fuss with, no long lines at the post office to ship anything, no
wondering if you put the right labels on the right boxes so that the right
gifts go to the right people. And, and! tax deductible, hello!
You see, we’re happy and healthy and exceedingly blessed.
We want for nothing. (Well, except perhaps a a tankless water heater or a
clawfoot tub shower conversion kit or....) We have a home we adore, jobs
that pay our bills, cars that run, food to eat, cats that make our house a
home (OF TERROR!), and even the luxury of our small pleasures from time to
time. We know that in today’s world, those things make us wildly wealthy.
See for
yourself.
So if you really want to do something for us for Christmas,
please consider helping us spread that good fortune around by donating to
one of the following:
-
Heifer International
-- You can buy a cow, you guys! Or a sheep, or a duck, or, OR...TREES!
Make a donation and you can buy a whole animal or just part of one. The
animal will be given to a family or village to provide a continuing source
of food and income by providing milk or eggs or meat to feed the people
themselves and the extra can be sold for money to purchase other items
they need, creating a self-sustaining cycle of self-reliance. Recipients
are taught how to care for the animals and make use of
environmentally-conscious farming habits. In turn, recipients agree to
donate the animal’s offspring to others in need so that they become part
of the solution.
-
Sisters
of the Road -- This is a Portland-area charity that provides good
food to anyone who needs it, whether they can pay or not. They are
extremely kind and gentle with those who come to them for help and they
work tirelessly to help people lift themselves out desperate
circumstances. And through the end of the year, they're having their
annual
Matching Grant Challenge, in which money they receive is matched 50
cents on the dollar by a group of individuals and businesses.
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Portland Rescue Mission -- PRM is the first charity we adopted
when we moved to Oregon. They provide help and hope to the homeless men,
women, and children -- and yes, entire families -- who turn to them every
day. They're doing everything they can to make homelessness a thing of the
past by providing not just food, shelter, and clothes, but long-term help
in the form of rehabilitation, education, and training.
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The Humane Society
-- We do a lot of volunteering but the only charities we don’t volunteer
with are animal-based ones. The reason? I cry the whole time. I can’t even
sit in the parking lot of an animal shelter or humane society because I
can hear the dogs barking and want to take them all home. (And even then,
all I can think of is all the animals that I can’t save.) So we donate
money and supplies whenever we can to support the work that I’m not able
to do myself. The Humane Society is a good organization and worthy of your
help. And our local chapter,
which is very active and effective, is well-known for putting those
dollars to good use and will be the place we turn to for our dog when we
eventually get one. Also, the
Multnomah County animal
control works closely with them and other animal rescue organizations
so they would also be a worthy recipient.
-
The ASPCA -- They
do some of the most difficult and coordinated animal rescue out there, as
well as targeting animal abuse issues and advocating animal rights. If
you’ve ever seen them in action on Animal Planet, you know how important
and necessary their work is.
-
Dove Lewis Animal
Hospital -- We've made more late-night visits to this hospital
than we care to count. They've worked miracles on our behalf and it's
thanks to them that we had time to say goodbye to Freddie before he died,
that Hobbes is still around to torment us, and that Smaug isn't being fed
through a tube. They do good work and we would be lost without them.
Please understand, we don’t expect you or anyone to give
either to us or to the charities we favor. This list is only for those who
were intending to get something for us and we’re just asking that instead
of spending on us, you spend on a good cause in our name. Or your own
name. Or your cat’s name. Or whatever. And no matter what you do or how
you celebrate the holidays we wish you and all those you love and cherish
a season of happiness and joy and peace, and a blessed New Year of good
things, big and small.
(link this post)
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