Late August blooms...

27 August 2025: It's been dry here again and I am having to water the front bushes, which are still young and vulnerable. When I got home this evening and started watering, I found myself so pleased again with how well this flower bed has turned out. The annuals are thriving. They started out as tiny plants in cell packs and look at them now! The bushes are doing well, too. I am obsessed with the butterfly bushes. I can't say enough about how much this long-delayed landscaping change pleases me.

Fixed!

12 June 2025: Very happy to report that the HVAC is fixed. And me, the cheapskate, immediately shut it off. (I got a new tower fan that works quite nicely right now.)

Jo was also impressed by Dustin, the HVAC man, who gave her some head scratches. Here she is, watching him right before he departs, perhaps a bit smitten.

Breeze catchers...

9 June 2025: 

First comment about this picture: where were these kinds of poses yesterday, BabyCat? (Don't miss Jo by the door, also catching breezes.)

Second comment: I am so glad this house has that back door with the screen. On days like this, it provides much needed circulation and cool breezes (not to mention the bird songs). It's especially good on a day like this, where the very nice HVAC technician diagnosed a burned out motor on my system. A new part has been ordered and until then, we'll continue to make due without much discomfort. (Ceiling fans help, too!)

Third comment: I am so grateful to have the resources to handle a big-ish expense like this repair. This third comment, in fact, inspired the whole post. Grateful, grateful, grateful. 

Yardwork day...

12 May 2025: I had planned to do some work in the yard today--a trip to Home Depot for some plants that I would then plant/pot when I got home. Then tomorrow, I thought I'd go to the really good nursery in Maryland for the rest of my plants and put them in the ground in the next couple of days. But the weather was so nice today and Home Depot's selections were not great. Plus, I realized that it's supposed to start raining this evening and there's rain in the forecast for until Thursday...so I also wanted to mow the lawn today. By about 9:30 a.m., I was ready to go "all in" on a yardwork day. 

Cleaned out the flower beds and then mowed the lawn (mowing over all the weeds I had pulled). Drove to the other nursery and got the good stuff. Put it all in the ground or in pots on the porch and deck. Feeling tired, but accomplished.

The SSAWW essay work I had planned for today (most of it, anyway) can wait until tomorrow--a better rainy day activity than mowing or planting! 

Early morning flood...

23 April 2025: For about ten minutes this morning, I thought I was in the middle of a homeowner's nightmare. A line going into the guest room toilet burst when I was taking a shower in the master bathroom. By the time I realized it (couldn't have been long at all), water was shooting all over, pouring down into the first floor bathroom, and into the crawl space below. I thought I was going to lose my mind.

I climbed into that crawl space in nothing but a robe and turned off the water. (The toilet valve wouldn't work.) Eventually the water stopped. I used every towel in my house to mop it up. 

And like a pair of superheroes sent from above, Ron and Russ, my long-time plumbing go-to guys, came by and got everything fixed by 9:15 or so. I only had to cancel one class (that 9:10 class).

I keep thinking about how much worse it could have been. If the burst happened 20 minutes later, I would have been gone, off on campus from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. And that water would have been going the whole time. I can't even imagine. In fact, when I do, it makes my anxiety surge.

At the risk of repeating a frequent theme these days, gratitude cuts through so much that is hard. 

I've also been thinking all day about Ron, who shared with me his grief over losing his wife in October. It's always hard to know what to say, but it was a privilege to just listen to him to about her and about his grief, to see the pictures that he shared of her, and to be a witness to such a deep love. 

Roof guy...

15 October 2024: Took a bit longer than I thought it would to actually happen, but a guy (from a company) came by today to look at my roof. I've been worried for months about some shingles popping up and (long, boring story) am currently waiting to hear what my warranty covers. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure things were okay. Much to my relief, the roof guy said some minor repairs might be needed, but it is not a crisis. Music to this professional worrier's ears!

"It just would have gotten worse and worse..."

8 July 2024: Had a visit from my wonderful go-to plumbers (Ron and Russ) today. I joked that that something Ron--this post's title--is among my favorite things to hear from a repairman. So validating! I am glad I listened to the one-two bunch of my gut and my anxiety brain and gave them a call. (Nothing major--just an issue with the downstairs toilet.) 

Tiny triumph!

29 April 2024: I haven't used the grill in two summers--a sign of how "off" things have been since COVID when it comes to my social life. 

When I tried it last year, it wouldn't light up and I gave up very quickly, leaning into the emo symbolism of it all. 

But I'm hosting a Sigma Tau Delta potluck here on Thursday and decided to give it another try yesterday. 

And it didn't work (again). 

So I was thinking I'd have to buy a new one. (And yes: there was propane in the tank.)

But then sitting here this evening, I determined to try one more time. Got down in there, disconnected some things, cleaned some things up, reconnected the things and...it worked! Bring on the hotdogs! 

Let's hope this tiny triumph is a harbinger of good things to come this summer, at least on the culinary front. 

Nosy and brave but also a little bit scared...

7 November 2023: Someone was very interested in the plumbers at work this morning. (Nothing major--just replacing the leaky disposal.) Eventually, she got very brave and appeared ready to strap on a tool belt and help, so she got locked in the guest room until they left.

Yard work...

28 May 2022: Finished the "spring into summer" weeding, mulching, and planting today and then mowed the lawn. So a lot of yard work today, some of it less than fun that other parts. But it wasn't so bad and the results look great. Entertained by three episodes of The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, too, my "intense yardwork" podcast of choice. 

Still want to get some more work done today, but enjoying a bit of vegging out right now.

Paint job

28 December 2021: Before and after of my bedroom, which Hannah helped me paint today.

 

Look: painting a room is never my idea of a super-fun way to spend a day. But with Hannah, who makes everything fun? It was great. 

(For the record, she also helped me pick the color, which is perfect and really makes the new furniture look even better.)

Suburban dad mode...

11 April 2021: On this perfect spring day (weather-wise), I had my first "suburban dad proud of his lawn" moment of the season. That moment when I sort of slow down and smile, surveying its loveliness. It's so corny, but I just can't help it. Even though it was the second cut, this time I felt better about handling the new mower, had dropped the blade down, and the lawn overall is lusher and fuller. (It's also really weedy, but I don't care about that part.)

I was also thinking today about how this year has marked some replacement equipment purchases. New car, new lawnmower, and (just ordered today), a new edger. The old car was one year older than the mower and edger, but all three really earned their keep for over a decade. And I guess that feels right? Over 10 years in this house (moved in July 2009)! 

Even that tree out back, which started as a tiny twig from a friend, bears witness to a decade-plus of growth and change. 

Fixed...

4 February 2021: Took four visits over three weeks, but my HVAC system is all fixed. Fortunately, it never stopped working all together and I was able to get most of the repair visits on days I could work from home. And most of all, I am fortunate enough to be in a position to cover the cost. Grateful for a chance to count my blessings and have things back on track. 

Little updates

9 January 2021: Trying to push back against the gloom with little (and I mean little!) projects around the house. Organize this thing, clean that thing. One really easy update that I should have done long ago? Replacing the original, 20+ year-old lamp shades in the living room. The second one arrived today and Veronica was kind enough to bask in the glow as I snapped a picture.

It's not much, but it helps a bit on long, cold days when most of the news is so bad.

Lights out back...

30 November 2020: Put up the outside Christmas lights today. I usually like to wait until it's actually December, but it is going to be a busy week. The front looks the same as always. This year, I decided to use my old (non LED) lights out back. I think it looks really nice. Here's hoping for some warm-ish winter evenings where I can sit out and enjoy them.

Fresh coat...

6 June 2020: Put a couple coats of fresh paint on the set that used to be on my patio. I bought this set 11 year ago (!) in the months before I closed on the house, so it's served me well. Looks good in its new spot on the back deck. I get such a sense of satisfaction from seeing it--a bit of control and progress in some crazy times.

Deck is ready!

3 June 2020: Today my friend Kevin finished repairing my old deck, which was in bad shape (complete with unusable, broken stairs). Basically, he took down everything but the posts and rebuilt it. Right now it's two-tone because he says to wait a year to paint the new wood, which is fine because the two-tone looks kind of cool.

Porch update

14 May 2020: After adding the chair and ottoman earlier this month, I added a few more pieces to the porch. I think I like it?

Porch sitting...

2 May 2020: Put together this new chair and ottoman for the front porch today. Hoping it makes being home so much a bit better.

Wrapping up the summer class...

18 June 2019: There's a lot going on here today. My new floors are being installed (funding courtesy of my WV POY award) and the cats have been locked up in my bedroom or bathroom since about 7:00 a.m.

Here's BabyCat hiding in the closet before I moved her to the bathroom.

I also spent a portion of the day grading Major Projects from my summer students who are wrapping up all of their work this week. That "wrapping up" includes some closing blog posts, which have been so good. Check out this one, full of writing tips I might use in my classes going forward.

Doing my own reflecting on the class, I think it went very well. So much of that is due to the terrific (and funny) students I had who responded so well to the material and to the online environment.

Teaching online will never be my favorite--not even close--but I am grateful for this experience with these students.