Segregated plastic flatware

Checked the mortgage early repayment calculator

Figured out how much I should be chipping off the principal each month to get it paid off before I hit 65, and it's a doable number under current conditions.
=> There are no penalties for early repayment; I checked that before I signed the contract.
Got CA tax refund. :)


Today's earrings: sand dollars, trees

Bedtime reading: Passage, Connie Willis

For Lent

My current plan is to clean, tidy, find a permanent place for, get, replace, or otherwise deal with one task a day. The to-do list includes getting a lamp shade and a mouse pad, doing my taxes, getting the rugs cleaned, picking a shelf on which to stow the fry pans and stowing them, clearing out the excess wire hangers, shifting the tchotchkes off the windowsill... If I run out of ideas, I'll start re-cataloging the library.

Today's earrings: frogs, trees

Bedtime reading: The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

Spelling Bee!

Spelling Bee Dude said "ma-ook-a," and I was like, "huh?" until he said it meant "toward the mountains," at which point I was all, "oh, mauka." Then Spelling Bee Dude said it had no other pronunciations. And I'm all "What!?" Dad said it with two syllables. He even was a native-ish speaker, unlike Spelling Bee Dude. hmph.


Today's earrings: turtles, trees

Bedtime reading: Dragon's Claw, Peter O'Donnell

Forest

Today's earrings: pines, trees

Bedtime reading: My Heart Leaps Up, R.A. Lafferty

Learning experiences

It looked like rain this morning. I don't have a pair of waterproof shoes that goes with my Easter Sunday dress, so I wore a different outfit (and the amber earrings to go with it) to mass at St. Patrick's. I learned that Catholic tourists do not sing at mass, even when encouraged by the priest.


After mass, I met the gang back at my place. They peer-pressured me into changing into warmer clothes (and tree earrings) and going with them to the Muir Woods, where it was raining. I learned that a) redwood groves stay relatively dry, and b) tourists will show up to see redwoods even in the pouring rain.


We lunched in Marin. Then we went to M's, where I napped for a while. K and I went grocery shopping. We noshed on leftover Chinese takeout while playing Apples to Apples. I learned that "the ocean" is more "stunning" than "charging rhinos." Still don't get that one.

M drove us back to my place. At D's insistence, we played Scrabble. S put "CARIBOU" across two double word scores for 96 points. I made a display of poor sportsmanship.

They're leaving first thing in the morning. pout.


Today's earrings: bunnies, amber teardrops, trees


Bedtime reading: Night Shift, Terry Pratchett

Root canal delayed

The endodontologist did a little poking and prodding with icy bits of gauze, then told me that he wasn't so sure I needed a root canal right this minute. The tooth would seem to be improving on its own, though at a glacial pace, so maybe we should wait? We discussed it a bit, and settled on making another appointment for a month out, and we'll see how it goes.

In other news, I found out this morning that Newbie has resigned. You will be happy to hear that I did not jump around the office yelling, "YEEE HAH!" Instead I just smiled too much while saying how glad I was for her and hoping that she'd do well in her new job.


Today's earrings: mushrooms, trees

Bedtime reading: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark

Board feet

I'm not sure yet how many more shelves I'll really need. I have to shuffle stuff around a bit, stash a box or two back in the basement, maybe sell some books.

Plus I need someplace to put the music.


Today's earrings: octopi, trees

Bedtime reading: Island of the Sequined Love Nun, Christopher Moore

Par-tay!

Turns out, we'd have had to be accompanied by an Elk, and the one I know had other plans for the evening. :(

So! We went to Plan B, which involved meeting at my place for wine and cheese. Then we went to Plan C, the Indian restaurant on the corner that we hadn't tried yet. I believe that may become our default Indian restaurant. After, we went to the food court at the mall for cupcakes.

Present haul: S4 of Supernatural (the good season, with Mischa Collins), a pretty blue scarf, and considerable future haulage from Ikea. Thanks, guys!


Today's earrings: octopi, trees

Bedtime reading: Murder Against the Grain, Emma Lathen

Punch

There was an old owl lived in an oak,
The more he heard, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
O, if men were all like that wise bird!

Today's earrings: owls, trees

Bedtime reading: Driving Force, Dick Francis

Silver lining

The system was so slow today I had time to watch this while waiting for something to save. And then this. And so on.


Today's earrings: frogs, trees

Bedtime reading: Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett

cloud trees

Flame trees look like this:

and cloud trees look like this:

It's a standard topiary design.

Today's earrings: leaves, trees

Bedtime reading: Clouds of Witness, Dorothy L. Sayers

Zeitgeist

Last night my toilet started blowing bubbles. This morning while I was in the shower it really went to town. Google suggests the cause is likely a partially obstructed sewer line. I put a call in to my landlord. What time is it? Time to move!

In other news, tonight's episode of Sons of Anarchy passed the Bechdel Test in the first half hour. Hey, neat! I thought. Then I remembered that, while I like some of the actors, I don't like most of the characters, and changed the channel.


Today's earrings: owls, trees

Bedtime reading: The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper, John D. MacDonald