Disaster area

This blog post coming to you live from a newly declared disaster area. The floors are being torn up, and air movers and dehumidifiers are being brought in to deal with the water. More on this developing story at 11.

Maybe just give this video a chance?

Maddy, 8 months

I've been absent from this blog for a long, long time. Meh. I won't make any excuses.

But what better, easier way to blog than to show off pictures of my adorable niece, Maddy!

My brother, sister-in-law and Maddy recently came to visit Chicago for a wedding and I got to spend a lot of time with Maddy. So now I'm just going to fill up the rest of this post with pictures.

The Big Flood

I stumbled out to our living room at 4:45am this morning and immediately stepped in a large puddle on our floor.

Me: uh oh!

Also, I heard water running. I turned on the lights to find that our water dispenser in our refrigerator was stuck in the "on" position. Apparently it had been for a while as our great room (there, I said it, Paul) was covered in water. I tried switching the function from water to ice (it was early, people!) and then ice starting coming out. Then I got the bright idea to lock the dispenser -- you know that little button that says "lock - hold for 3 seconds"? That worked.

Then the clean up began. It took every towel and blanket we had to mop up the water, all of which are molding in our tub as I type. We both had to work. The only thing that saved us was our 8x10 area rug. Those suckers can hold a ton of water! So much that it held back the puddle (by 8 inches, or so) from reaching our power strip behind the tv. The rug is ruined and was immediately left by the dumpster. And it took two hours or so to clean up all the water.

What freaks me out is, what if we'd been on vacation or had slept in?! Ack! It looks like we avoided permanent damage. Or at least we hope so. I guess we'll find out when we try to sell the place.

A word to the wise: when you leave your house or go to sleep, lock your ice dispenser. I know I will!

Jenn? Frugal?

Okay, it's true.  Sometimes I'm not frugal at all, then I will decide $1 is to much to pay for something.  *shrug*

BUT, yesterday I saw that Target was having a Black Friday sale. Starting at midnight Pacific time.  And the featured item?

Philips 47" Class 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

A tv is something I have been frugal about since the late 1990s, when I acquired my current tv (for free).  But ever since my lover moved in, all I've heard about is how we NEED a new tv.  And, I have to admit, with the HD conversion, we miss dialogue and part of the picture.  No foolin'.  Modern tv was not made to watch on a 27" square box.

So, I set my alarm for 1:50am, which proved far too early since all I had to do was ask B for his iPhone and get to target.com.  So, I waited another 8 1/2 minutes and then hit the "Buy Now" button.  I don't know why the whole process took 45 minutes, but it did.  I chalk it up to late-night confusion and my chubby fingers having difficulties navigating the website.  So, I just confirmed I did buy the tv - for $699.  Quite a bargain, no?  But now we have to update our Directv package and buy a tv stand.  Or do we?  *calculating possible savings*

David's Visit (Addendum)

So J pretty much said it all in her post.  From my perspective, it was certainly hot.  But it's a dry heat, so...  More what was at issue for me was J's insistence on being frugal at weird times.  Examples:

1. She would insist on unplugging the air conditioner during the hottest part of the day.  Then we would come home to a sauna and sweat ourselves to sleep on her couch.
2. The car key.  This is how I roll: had I been buying her car, I would have demanded a second key as part of the deal.  At the very least, I would have had a key made immediately -- not because I would lose the key, but because I would worry I would lose the key.
3. The muddler.  EVERYONE knows you NEED a muddler to make a proper mojito.  J thinks a muddler completely unnecessary.  For that, I feel sorry for her.

I do have some bits to add.  The mojito I was holding in the photo looked like this when it was first made.

OK, not FIRST made as you can tell I drank a bit of it.  But doesn't it look refreshing?!

This was the most interesting part of our trip to Lowry because it made me think of my dog:

This was a damn good bowl of noodles.  And it makes me remember a very interesting part of the weekend.  Two different times I told J that something she was eating would cause an explosion in the bathroom.  Guess how many times I was right!?  That's right!  TWO!  The first is this fancy noodle dish. The second was her Thai Iced Tea at Thai Basil.  The most interesting part is that J rarely poops.  We're talking twice a month.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the picture that saved us from having to ride the bus a second time.  Thank you, Kelly, for driving us everywhere this weekend.  J owes you one.  I don't because I was only a guest.

Lastly, J is being modest.  She didn't drop me off at the LIGHTRAIL on my last day.  She drove me all the way downtown!  Sure, it was mostly to get to work later than she would have otherwise, but still!

David's Visit

Well, FIRST of all, while I was so happy to get to see David again, I was so sad Paul couldn't come.  It just wasn't the same without him.

In setting the scene for the weekend, I shall refer to this article in the Denver Post:

102-degree reading breaks Denver temperature record

It was hot.  We have ceiling fans, box fans and a small air conditioning window unit in the dining room which all adds up to a near-constant oppressive heat.

Which explains a lot of sleepiness and lounging on the couch.  (Thank God for that couch.)

Friday, I picked David up from DIA and we fought traffic all the way to Garbanzos.  When we finally got there, we were both starving.  But the guy in front of us had apparently never been to one (or to a restaurant or out in public, is my guess), so the employees took turns walking him through the process of pointing at what he wanted.

Garbanzos is GOOD and David agrees.

So then my big idea was to go to Lowry for a free concert.  Concerned it would only be the two of us, David asked what I had done to alienate everyone.  Or, he wondered, is Paul the real draw?

On the way to Lowry, my AT light went on on my dashboard.  *waiting for it*  Exactly.  I had no idea what that meant, either.  So, David pulled out the car manual.  It basically said to stop driving immediately.  Not satisfied with that explanation, David Googled it on his phone (Thank God for the iPhone) and before it fully loaded, he read aloud the words "major mechanical".  Super.

We went anyways and immediately realized it was not for us.  I can't quite explain why.  Too white.  Too many kids.  Too many people sway-dancing.  We spotted a Salty Rita's and headed right for it.

I forget what David is showing me here.  But what's up with the 2 nosy girls behind him?

A marg each under our belts, we decided to walk over to Savory Spice, but it was closed.  We then decided to brave the crowd and get our $5 burrito and drink at Qdoba.  As soon as we walked it, though, it looked like Disneyland--there was a line 8 miles long!  I heard David behind me, "How dedicated are we to this?"  Not very.

So we drove all the way back to my house in what apparently was my undriveable car.  On the way, I pointed out Jordan's Bistro by DU.  As we arrived at my house, we had finally decided Jordan's looked like our best option.  So we drove over there.  (One hundred degrees, people!!)

We split a $5 pizzas and had a couple of beers.  Then headed home for some couch time.  In fact, David and I were sprawled-out asleep on it when Brian got home.

Kelly came and hung out with us Sat.  I had to take my car in (oil change and turning the AT light off = $100), so she drove us around town.  It was fun.  We helped her pick out a dress for an upcoming wedding (no, not HER wedding), then ate lunch at Thai Basil.

That place is so very good.  We had sesame chicken and Pad Thai.  I had a Thai iced tea which came from a warning from David.  Which came true, but still--SO good.

When we got back to the couch, I made mojitos.  

See?  Mo-HEE-to.

David was appalled we didn't have a muddler.  As he went on and on about it, he sounded JUST LIKE BRIAN.  I decided they were in cahoots.

B and I decided to take David to one of our favorite restaurants, Bones.  It is just about perfect.

  See?  These are the pork belly sticky buns.

We sat at the bar because it's tiny and we couldn't make timely reservations.  B commented that it might not have been the best idea to sit next to the grill on a hot day (102 degrees, remember?).  It was hot, but so fun to watch the chefs in action.  

We had:

• pork belly sticky buns

• escargot potstickers

• ramen with poached lobster, edamame and miso lobster broth.

Incredible.  Seriously.  Best meal ever.

David eating with gusto

Brian had been up eeeeaaarrrllly, so we took him back home.  Meanwhile, we were supposed to meet Sarah Uptown.  I told her 10 minutes and we showed up in 35.  Good ol' good-natured Sarah!

"Hiyaaaah!!"

We met her at JR's after she said the drag show at Hamburger Mary's sounded depressing.  We drank vodka sodas with lime.  Damn, they were strong.

Not that you'd know it from this picture or anything as we used each other for support.

I had intended on a somewhat early evening and driving home.  But, after a short nap in the car, decided that wasn't such a hot idea.  Here's Sarah hailing us a cab:

 

 

 

"Hiyaaaaah!!!"

And then...  this:

*still waiting for a cab*

Yeah, it was That Kind of night.

We got into the cab around 3am.  We took Sarah home first ("Byeee!!"), then chatted up the cabbie on the way home.  

We then proceeded to sleep it off.  Well, me more so than David.

The first order of business Sun, then, was obviously to go get the car.  But first I had to find my key.  And I couldn't.  I have NO EARTHLY IDEA what happened to it.  And no, I didn't have a spare.  I bought the car in Feb and it was on my to-do list, but you know how those things go.

So we called Kelly,  She'd know what to do!

She drove us to the car and we tried to use The Secret(tm) to find the key, but the stupid Secret(tm) doesn't work (or, maybe I did have some doubt it would work and that's why it didn't work. It's sort of a complicated principle.) So we ate breakfast at Steuben's.  It was good.  And we all needed it (Kelly had had her own drink-fest the night before).  

Anyway.  I decided to call some locksmiths from home.  Kelly dropped us off and there was some more couch-sitting until I hit upon one that said he'd meet me at the car in an hour.

Not wanting to bother Kelly, I devised a plan to take the bus.

David was not what you'd call "enthusiastic" about this plan.

But, he went through with it.  Mostly because I hadn't yet burst into tears re: the whole key thing.

It was too hot in the sun, so we waited across the street in the shade and then scurried across it when we saw the bus coming.

It was air conditioned, so that was a treat.  What was not a treat was the old man who got on at Wash Park, then turned to face us as the bus took off.  He started chatting in a mumbling sort of way about the heat... and 2 year olds... and gorillas... at least that was what we could make out without asking him to speak up. 

We successfully did not engage with him, so arrived downtown in good time.  Oh--and this is after the bus TURNED at one point unexpectedly.  Still, it got us way closer than we would have been otherwise (remember: it was record-breaking hot).  

We went to Hamburger Mary's for a milkshake since we arrived too early for the locksmith.

Doesn't that look good?  Yeah, well, it wasn't.  It was too milky and had no flavor.  We were not impressed.

So added to THAT letdown, while there, the locksmith called to say he couldn't make a key without towing it to the dealer.  But dealerships are closed on Sundays.  At least I didn't have to worry about a parking ticket!!

So then we headed back to the bus stop.  David had already looked up the schedule (again: thank God for that iPhone) and we knew we had a wait.  As we waited, this woman approached us and said two things:

"The bus comes every half hour.  I don't know what to tell you."

We were like, "Okaaaay..."

Then she walked away, but mumbled that it was 1:30pm and about 95 degrees.

We sat for some time.  I took pictures of the tree overhead.

Then Crazy Lady (I should also mention she was wearing long sleeves and pants--all black) came back!  She sat down beside us and started talking about how there are so many crazy people out there (*wide-eyed look exchanged between me and David*).  Then B called, so I left those two alone.

Next thing I know, Kelly's on her way.  I'll let David explain how that came about.

Sunday night was City Park Jazz.  Having to come pick us up, there wasn't time to make anything, so the 3 of us stopped at the store.  I had to do some convincing to still go (again, it was near 100 degrees and it had been, as I described, a long-ass day).

We made it to the Park.  We couldn't really hear the music and it was hella crowded, but always fun to join the community and have a picnic with friends!

The adorable couple.

The other adorable couple.

*Not pictured: Karen was there, too*

Sarah took us home and we were spent.

Monday morning, I walked David to the lightrail and sent him on his way, then headed to work.  After work, everyone came over for a bbq.  Yay!!

Right before everyone got there, Brian had "there's not enough food panic".  We've all had it when we host.  You don't want people to be satisfied--you want them STUFFED!  So I had to run to the store for hamburger.  

When everyone arrived, B then Sarah made mojitos.  Official Drink of the Summer.  Brian did all the cooking.  

 At the grill.

The food came out in courses:

• crab cakes

• crab-stuffed shrimp

• adobo chicken

• ribs

• hamburgers

Not to mention the chickpea salad, quinoa salad, watermelon, chips and salsa, leftover boneless chicken wings, and tomato-cucumber salad.  See now why I was reluctant to make that last trip to the store?

Anyways, it was, as expected, a fun time.

 David being hilarious.

David talking to Paul.  Hi, Paul!!

At one point, about a dozen flies descended on the food at the table.  We kept trying to shoo them away.  I noticed one fly sitting on the electric wires above us watching his minions.  

They eventually left and, sure enough--when I looked up the Fly Leader was gone, too.

Karen made a chocolate pudding pie for dessert.

YUM!

I wanted to add this photo last.  I'm not sure what ruined it for David, but he's obviously stopped having a good time.

Tues, B drove David downtown (after giving me a look like some friend I was being for NOT driving him to the Convention Center) and I went (yes, AGAIN) to work.  Via email, Kelly and I hatched a plan for the evening to go to happy hour at Lime and eat $1 tacos.

When I got there, those 2 were well into the chips and salsa and their 1st margaritas.  I took one sip of mine and it gave me goosebumps--they were ridiculously strong for $3.

But the tacos were excellent, esp for $1.

I should also mentioned it rained on us so we had to move inside.  The record-breaking heat had FINALLY broken!

David and I headed back home and watched Pawn Stars.  (Paul's thinking, "What? No "America: The Story of Us"?"  Waited for B to get home, watched Glee, went to bed.

I drove him to the lightrail station the next morning and said goodbye.  It sure was a fun weekend!!!

Musings from DIA

I was in Denver for a conference this past weekend and all the way until today. More on that in a future post. I thought it important to blog about some of the goings on at DIA before getting on my plane.

Minor annoyance: the free Wi-Fi at DIA leaves a lot to be desired. I was able to use it (briefly) before it cut out completely, but even then it wasn't great. It kept making me watch advertisements before I could click anything. Boo!

But what really prompted me to write this... When I first got to my gate (after paying ten bucks for a salad), a man across the concourse was literally screaming at the gate agent about his ticket. It had apparently been going on for a while because all of the people at all of the gates in the area were already staring. The gate agent finally raised her voice and said, "if you do not leave this desk, I will call the police!" And guess what!!! She did! They escorted him out of the concourse, presumably to Guantanamo.

Just in case this ends up as national news, I was there!

Bad dog.

Shut-Ins with a side of Activia

P is out of town this weekend.  He's in Seattle for a conference.  It's just me, the cats and the dog.  I have a lot to do in the condo.  The pets plan to do very little, unless of course you count sleeping and eating as a big weekend.

Fergie has been having "digestive issues".  That's a nice way of saying she has had the squirts.  This isn't the first time.  It all started a few weeks back when she got giardia.  Apparently it's quite common, but I felt like a bad parent.  We aren't sure exactly how she got it, but she eats EVERYTHING.  And by everything I mean dirt, leaves, rocks, twigs and her own poo.  To be fair (to Fergie), the only time she's eaten her poo is when she's had an accident indoors.  We think she's smart enough to know that she's going to get in trouble, so down the hatch!  Sick.  Anyway, she was on a "bland diet" (rice and chicken) and had to take medicine for a week.  About a week after getting off all of that, she got diarrhea again.  So, we went back to the medicine and bland diet for another week.  It all started up a third time a couple of days ago.  So, we went back to the vet.  This time, no giardia.  But she did get probiotics for healthy digestion, which is basically Activia.  So, Fergie is officially taking the Activia Challenge!  I'll refrain from posting pictures, don't worry.

I plan to clean out the closet in the spare room.  That shouldn't taken longer than a month or two, and I'm sure I'll regret it as soon as I start.  It's literally crammed full of unpacked boxes that we don't know what to do with.  The boxes have been there since we moved in.  I also have work to do.  Lots and lots of work.  I hate work.  But tonight, I decided that instead of working, I would catch up on all the TV I'm not allowed to watch when P is here!  So far I've watched "Julie & Julia", which made me want to make boeuf bourguignon.  That probably isn't a good idea since I'm the only one that would be eating it.  But it did look good.  I'll leave you with a little Julia Child.  I'm off to watch "The Fabulous Beekman Boys". Bon Appetit!

Watch the full episode. See more Julia Child.

Funny Pic

It took me a while to figure out what was going on here.  Like, did they Photoshop heads or something?  (Answer: no.)

Guess What I Got!

That's me, reading my new Kindle!*  (*No, not really, but I assume my new Kindle will take me lovely outdoor cafes, where I will sip lattes while reading voraciously.  Of course, I don't know why I'd bother to get all prettied up and go out to read, but hey--you never know.)

Jill sent it to me and I opened it yesterday.  It was a lovely surprise.  It was definitely on my wish list, but I wasn't sure I'd ever get one.

I already bought The Help and am wondering if there are cheap and free reading materials to add to my collection...