Oh happy joy.

The electrician showed up yesterday, an hour late. He called Thursday night to give me an estimate, so Friday when i got home from work i was planning to remove the wallpaper, which needs to be replaced anyway, at least from the back wall where the light fixture will go. Unfortunately, i could not find my scraper, and the local hardware store was closed, and Home Depot was too far to go at that hour (7 pm) So i used my scouring tool, then a damp sponge, and proceeded to remove said wallaper with my fingernails.

Here's what it looks like.



A large rectangular mirror goes below the fixture; the electrician spackled 2 holes in that space, so i had to let that dry overnight, and he's coming back today to help me put the mirror back up and to get paid.

When he drilled the hole where the mirror goes, we could see that there was another wall behind it with a space of about 4 inches between the 2. The original exterior wall had some old wallpaper on it.

I've known that a lot of the wiring in this house was done by an amateur electrician, and in fact over the years as i've had work done i've discovered that nothing is grounded. So the electrician fixed that for this fixture.

After the electrician left, I ran out to do errands, first the bakery to pick my sister up a birthday cheesecake, then to fill up my gas tank at the cheapest station in my area ($3.29 vs. $3.36 in my town), then on to Stop N Shop for a few sale items, then to Xpect Discounts, where i went on a $75 spending binge. A few food items, suet for the birds, a tarp i needed for yardwork ($3.30 vs $15 at Target, a great find) and 4 large resin pots, 2 were $9 each and 2 urns were $16 each. Maybe a little more than i'd want to spend, but i guess i have spring fever and an really looking forward to a summer of tending my gardens. One of the pots i really like cus it has an Asian look to it with bamboo on it.



And these urns are great.



Last night, my friend R. came by for a visit. He's the one, you might remember, who is going thru his 2nd divorce, from the same woman.

Our plan was to visit my sister as her birthday was earlier this week, but she said she had plans to see her boyfriend and R. told me he didn't like cheesecake (!) so now i have a very rich, $13 cheesecake for myself. I had a slice last night, and maybe will bring it in to the office tomorrow as it probably won't last that long....sigh.

So since visiting my sister was out, R. and i went to a cute local coffeehouse and they had live entertainment, 2 guiatarists. I think we were the only ones in the place who weren't somehow related to them.

I'm devoting today to yardwork, as it'll be in the mid to high 40s. I want to try to finish rolling pieces of the cut-up locust tree to the driveway,to get them off the lawn.

I want to trim all the dead sedum stalks, the ornamental grass and also the massive burning bush in the front yard. I'd love to do it with my electric trimmer, but i know my 100 foot extension cord won't be long enough to reach it.

Its foliage spread is about 20 feet wide and 15 feet high. It's got a nice mounded shape to it, but the other day while hauling locust pieces i noticed how lovely the 2 evergreens behind the burning bush had become. They're quite nice and now reach about 12 feet high, but they're obscured by the burning bush, so i want to prune one side of it so i can enjoy those evergreens from the front door.

My employer gives me free access to check my credit report and score; when i checked Friday, all 3 were between 750 and 800. The highest, i think, was 778.

That's the sound of the mighty black locust falling to the ground in big chunks. It wasn't as bad as I thought. They worked very quickly. 5 minutes after i walked back into the house, the single trunk evergreen was down. That one they didn't use the cherry picker on becus my neighbors' wires were too close, so they cut it at the base and pulled it down with ropes.

With the locust, they completely forgot that I'd asked them to cut the wood in 16 foot lengths for my sister's boyfriend, who has a sawmill. Oh well. The cat didn't seem overly bothered by the noise. They left somewhat of a mess on the lawn with all the small branches and sawdust, and while they had a leaf blower, they didn't really use it. (If i use this guy again, i will make a point about that.)





Yesterday, i began rolling or wheelbarrowing the smaller pieces to the driveway, but here's some of it on the lawn. Why move it? I don't have to, S. is bringing a backhoe to lift and move it all, though if i thought i could move all the pieces (I can't) i would. I'm very protective of my yard and garden, what can i say. Luckily, i have a good back.

After writing out a check for $1400, i bagged the trip to Agway for birdseed, suddenly feeling poor. I did go to TJ Maxx, but luckily, didn't find anything there i liked.

At stop n shop i bought some shrimp for a stir fry dinner last night. I asked the guy behind the counter for a half pound of the shrimp. He repeated that number to me when he weighed it and i bought it. But something was irking me, how could it have come to $5 and change when a full lb was going for $6.99. Something wasn't right, and when i looked at the price on the shrimp, i saw that he charged me the higher price someone without a stop and shop card would pay.

It was a difference of just a little over a dollar, hardly worth the cost of gas to travel 3 miles back to the store to get a refund. If stop and shop is open today, i plan to do that at another stop n shop on the way to my mother's for Easter. But what bothers me is the larger picture here. For 13 years, i've been traveling those extra 3 miles to shop there rather than the Big Y which is just around the corner from me. But i'd say on an average of 1 out of every 3 shopping trips, a mistake is made...human error, by the cashier. (Never in my favor.) If you don't examine your receipt like a hawk, you're paying even more than you already are. With the cost of nearly every food item going up, i can't afford to pay even an extra $1 i don't need to. So i'm going to write a letter to Stop n Shop corporate HQ today, on Easter Sunday.

So anyway, back to my tree. I spent 2.5 hours lifting pieces of wood, putting it in my wheelbarrow, which at most can carry 3 pieces at one time, then trudging 30 feet to my driveway, where i dumped it for easy loading by sis' friend. A good workout, to be sure, and i hope to do a bit more either before or after Easter dinner at mom's, which actually is early this afternoon.

An old friend of mine is making a surprise visit to see my sis and mom. OK, an old boyfriend from 15 years ago. We still keep in touch, usually just once or twice a year, strictly platonic.

Did I tell you of the case of the exploding pot? I bought 2 pots at a local nursery here as i wanted to have some houseplants at the office, but there's no direct light, so i shopped for some shade-loving plants, one of them being a pothos. Anyway, i bought 2 pots made out of bamboo in pretty colors. They were attractive, and renewable. The leaflet said they would "deteriorate" in 2 to 3 years, but i still liked the idea.

I bought the pots and plants last Sunday, and potted up the plants that night. Brought them into work on Monday. Tuesday a.m. i discovered at work that the pot had literally exploded. It was all cracked and dirt was falling out. I don't think anyone, like the cleaning crew, had dropped it and then put it back together again. I had heard strange cracking noises the day before, actually. I don't know if, in the process of absorbing the 1/2 cup of water i poured in there did something, but the bamboo seemed very brittle.

Far too many times when something i buy doesn't work out, i don't bother to do anything about it and write it off. I really don't feel i want to do that anymore, even for small purchases. So i called the nursery and spoke to the owner's wife, who was very nice about it. I told her i knew it looked like i had dropped it, but that i hadn't, and that i'd like a refund. In response to my question, she said that no one else had complained of bamboo-exploding pots. She was very nice about it and agreed to a return, tho now i can't find the receipt, and i had planned on returning it yesterday, but got caught up in my yardwork. So now will likely have to wait another week as they close before i get home from work.

I hope to get my mom to cut my hair when i go over later today. Maybe someday i'll have the nerve to try to cut it myself.

Tomorrow i'll be making myself scarce for a good part of the day as the tree guys will finally be coming to take down 2 trees. My neighbors will hate me, i'm sure, after being subjected to ear-splitting chainsaw racket.

So i'll be headed to TJ Maxx, a store i rarely or never shopped at for years, even though there's one right here in town. But i discovered that i really could find decent clothes there, and they seem to be cheaper than Macy's or Kohl's. (Am I right, ladies?)

So anyway, i'll do TJ Maxx, probably some grocery shopping, maybe Agway for some bird seed. This is all assuming little kitty will not freak out with the noise. If she does, i may have to put her in the basement. It's hard to gauge now just how loud it'll be, so i'll stay home for a bit to see but will park my car in the street so they don't block me in.

An electrician is also coming in the a.m. to give me a price on the bathroom fixture. He'll likely be high-priced as he lives here in town. Whaddya gonna do? I give up. Just install the dang thing already. No one wants to come out on a Saturday anymore and i guess they all assume people are wealthy enough not to have to work or something.

I have a really funny story to tell you. Embarrassing, really. And maybe not one for the guys to read...

For at least the past 3 years now, i've been experiencing shortness of breath. Like i just can't get enough air in my lungs. Lately, like since starting my new job, it's been more of a problem and i was holding off seeing a doctor about it until my scheduled physical next month. Actually, i remember telling the doc about this 3 years ago, but the chest x-ray came back normal and he chalked it up to "stress."

Of course my fear was lung cancer, altho i'm a little young for that. And i wondered if i am a shallow breather, perhaps due to life's anxieties, it seems that i am.

Then i started thinking about an Oprah show not too long ago where she said that half the women in America don't wear the right bra size. I remeasured myself and started thinking i was one of those women. Come to think of it, and this revelation AMAZED me, I had been wearing the SAME bra size all my life, since i was in my teens! Now i'm in decent shape and maybe just 15 or 20 lbs. heavier than high school, but still, I'm 30 years older and the body has a way of reapportioning itself and, more importantly, my rib cage has undoubtedly widened.

So a week ago i went to Macy's and got bras that were both a cup size and band size bigger and BINGO. I havent' had shortness of breath since!!!!!

(By the way, do you know the average Macy's bra costs a ridiculous $32??? I found a rack where they were all priced at $12.99 and then hunted on my hands and kneese for my size.)

What i was effectively accomplishing by wearing the tight bras was what the Victorian ladies did when they cinched up those bustiers tight, tight, tight. No wonder they were always having fainting spells! Geez Louise!

So i'm happy to report i do not have lung disease. Just too tight titties. Phew. What a relief.

1. Bake some cranberry/sour cream muffins. (S&S snagged me by getting me to buy 2 containers of sour cream for $5.) Not sure that was a deal, but i wanted some for a beef stew i made, and now i have a bunch left, so muffins it will be.

2. Indulge myself with a little trip to the local garden center, which has a great selection of houseplants. It's a great trip to make in the dead of winter. Their greenhouse is always humid and warm and alive with all sorts of things. I want a small shade houseplant to bring to my office. I'm too far from the windows to enjoy any direct light, but there's plenty of flourescent light....

3. Read the paper. Watch my Netflix movie, LA Confidential.

I am ooh, so achey still from yesterday's yardwork. My shoulders, the backs of my legs and even my feet, wrists and arms. Amazing. Yes, Baselle, i'll be careful, but i follow the adage "use it or lose it." Maybe my age is catching up with me. I never really stop to think that maybe i can't do quite as much, or at least as much without consequences, that i used to do even 10 years ago. I'm not in bad shape, but like most people sitting 5 days a week in front of a computer does not tone muscle.

The Golden Compass wasn't that good. I guess if you were under 15 you'd like it. I figured with talent like Nicole Kidman, Kathy Lee Bates and Kristin Scott Thomas (don't know who she played), it would be pretty good. It was a fantasy adventure but it just didn't emotionally engage me.

I had to turn down two more requests for my freelance services. Kills me to do it cus i like to maintain those ties, but just aint worth bustin my butt paying 36% taxes when i'm normally in the 25% tax bracket for an extra few thousand dollars. Not when my free time is so valuable. I tend to overdo it (guess you can tell from my yardwork overkill) and don't set aside enough time for R&R.

Been thinking what to do with my vacation this year. When i'm not dating anyone, i usually end up not doing anything special and just using vacation time catching up at home or maybe visiting my dad and K. in NJ. Free time is always enjoyable, but i love getting away to someplace. Still, i worry about my cat being alone. But a night or two away, maybe to some place in the Berkshires, would be doable. I want to research whether there are any interesting spa/retreat type places that emphasize healthy food and exercise/outdoor activities.

I know my friend H. would be game, but she's not athletic and is more into yoga, which is a bit of a snooze for me. She was out of breath after walking just a short ways from the car to the movie theater last night. She has been obese the entire time I've known her and now she has type 2 diabetes, a direct result of her weight. That kind of weight problem has serious health consequences and will shorten your life, but still, she hasn't tried to lose weight that i'm aware of. Four or five years ago, i remember she actually finished at least one or two fairly long walks with me around town, an hour or so. She had some trouble doing it, but she did. Now there's no way she could do even a quarter of that.

I've tried, over the years, to get her exercising more, and she'll sometimes walk with me (very leisurely pace, level ground) but she lacks the discipline to do it on her own. She has joint problems with her hips and knees, and taking some of that weight off could only help. Still, i sense it's not a big priority for her. She just keeps going to the chiropractor.

I would be very interested in a SA get-together. I know some would prefer to save their anonymity, but wouldn't it be something completely novel and different to meet people you've been "talking" to for years but have never, ever met? It would be one of those experiences you would remember for years to come, i would think. Ima, why don't you organize something??

That locust tree i'm having cut down next weekend....i got around to measuring the depth of the cavity that's about 4 feet up from the ground, in the center of the trunk. It goes down a good 2 feet, so i guess i'm making the right decision to have it taken down. I've spent a fair amount of time feeling anxious about the whole thing, mostly worrying about the damage the tree company will do to other landscaping and my lawn and the noise and mess he'll create. But I think it's prudent, seeing as how i'll probably end up staying here in this house another 5 years, or at least as long as i'm working at the current job.

You may have noticed I upped my retirement savings goal by $300,000. I've heard it said in several different places that a husband/wife couple should count on an extra $200,000 for out of pocket medical expenses between age 65 and the end of the road. It DOESNT include long-term care insurance. It assumes you're covered by Medicare, but Medicare, is no free lunch. I haven't really paid much attention to it since it's not affecting me now. But i figured with my pre-existing condition, even tho i'm not part of a couple, i should set aside $300K for healthcare, so that's where that figure comes from.

On Friday i retook the Retirement Calculator thingy on cnn.money.com, punching in my current savings, savings rate and when i want to retire. Turns out, IF i can keep up my current savings rate ($12K into the 401k once i become eligible to join in a few months, plus another 8% in taxable savings for a total annual savings each year of 23% of income, kind of steep) i will have saved $1,295,000 by age 60, jut $5K short of my goal. Funny how closely that worked out.

I've done some other surveys, but recently got a survey from Buzzback. Before i open their link, can anyone tell me if they're legit? I think they are, but just want to make sure....

I am so achey tired...in a good way. Just spent a good part of the afternoon (it's in the high 40s here) doing yardwork. I must be really out of shape. The tree guy, who was supposed to take down 2 huge trees yesterday, is now rescheduled to come next Saturday.

There was a bit of a snag. The secretary asked me to leave a check for the balance of payment ($1300 of a $1400 job) in the mnailbox. I told her i didn't feel comfortable paying in full for a job without being able to ascertain that the work had, in fact, been done.

I offered to meet him to hand him a check when i came from work yesterday, but she said he didn't want to hang around (even tho she said it was an all-day job). So I said i'd mail it the very next day, something i've often done with contractors. No go. Apparently, he doesn't trust me, or he's been burned before. She suggested I leave work early so i could meet him here earlier. Uh, I don't think so.

So they're coming next Saturday now, when I'll be home, tho don't think i want to listen to that ear-splitting racket all day. It actually worked out good becus it gave me a chance to dig up and relocate a number of perennials and small shrubs that would either be in the way of their cherry picker or would likely be tromped on. So I moved a nannyberry and silky dogwood, both about 6 feet tall, as well as some lamb's ears (easy) and a clematis and beautyberry. I'm pretty sure i killed the nannyberry, though you never know. I don't think i got enough of its root system. I think i heard somewhere that clematis is hard to transplant and/or doesn't like to be moved? Does anyone have any experience with that?

Anyway, it was all backbreaking work as i had to dig up and expand an existing bed elsewhere in the front yard. A lot of bending over and digging.

I also trudged around picking up pieces of a large white pine branch that came down in a storm and heaving them into the brushy perimeter of the yard. I have piles of branches all over the yard edge and it looks unsightly, but there's nothing else to do with it unless i chop it all up to fit in my trunk and bring it, gradually, to the transfer station. It would be a ton of work just to get the branches cut and in my trunk. I've also been thinking of burning it but haven't had time to look into what's involved with that.

Daffodils are also starting to come up out of the ground. Delightful.

On Friday my employer had a St. Patrick's party for us. I was expecting a green cake and maybe green beer, but instead they had a great buffet of chicken wings, chinese dumplings, seafood ravioli, fruit salad and cheese and crackers. It was great, except that i couldn't eat that much since i'd eaten lunch, and this was at 3 pm.

On next Wednesday, my boss and his boss are taking 4 of us writers out to lunch as a thank you for all our hard work. We're still in crunch time writing articles for our new personal finance website, which will launch mid-April. Just 4 weeks away. I've been averaging 1 or 2 stories daily.

Going to see The Golden Compass with H. tonight at our $2 movie theater in town. They recently replaced all the seats with modern ones, with cupholders. The theater is located in our town hall. Very cool.

My snowdrops are in bloom.

Went to Costco this a.m. with mom to get 3 44 lb boxes of cat litter. The idea is to reduce future trips there as i'd rather be doing something else than fighting crowds at Costco.

I also went to Macy's.

That was quite the storm yesterday, extending all day into the night and not ending til dawn today.

First we had torrential downpours, then high winds. I was thankful to check the basement and see only one spot where dripping water through the wall seeped across part of the concrete floor, but it will dry out. Years of off and on attempts to patch those many tiny pinholes in my cinderblock wallls with Thoro-Plug quick-drying cement have apparently have paid off.

I was also thankful not to lose power or have the wind bring down trees or tree branches on wires or the house. Gusts up to 50 mph. I could not fall asleep last night with worry that something might crash onto the roof. All night i listened to those winds.

I did really nothing yesterday, so unlike my usual whirlwind self on the weekends. I stayed inside the whole day, cleaning a bit here and there, doing some bills and paperwork, reading the NYT. I did manage to get 1 of 2 freelance jobs that were still incomplete due to the clients' inattention, out to the press, and then i promptly billed for it. 1 more to go and then i don't have to deal with these little hassles for remainder of the year.

This a.m. a load of laundry is going and i'll be meeting my sister and mother for mom's b'day lunch. Other than that, i'd like to get a walk in and rake up the pile of sunflower seed hulls under the feeder.

there are little shopping errands i have, and keep putting off for the next weekend, but it's just as well i postpone as long as possible. The only thing i really spend on regularly is gas for the car and food, plus the usual bills. But i will be glad when i get those 2 trees taken down (sorry, not to be a broken record).

Thanks for all your comments on yesterday's post, both cat and job-related.

My friend H. and I were planning on seeing a matinee this afternoon, but she had to call it off as her mom's in the hospital. Her 94-yr-old mom lives with her and is in fine health except for high blood pressure. The problems start when she doesn't take her blood pressure meds and she starts getting a little paranoid, belieiving that someone is trying to kill her and so on. She gets very agitated. So she called 911 and the police brought her to the hospital for an overnight stay just to monitor her.

This kind of thing happens regularly with H. She has diabetes herself. I worry about her, and the effect of this sort of stress. For the 1st time ever, she mentioned putting her in a home, but she doesn't want to do that. Still, she mentioned it, so i think maybe she's thinking of it if things continue as they have.

She's strapped for cash, and seems like she's been job-hunting for years, altho all she wants now is p/t work. She's in her mid 60s. A year or so ago she loaned her daughter about $50,000 and she was never paid back. Her daughter has serious financial problems of her own, so unfortunately, that money, which was, essentially, H.'s retirement money, is gone forever. It's very sad.

So with the movie cancelled by the day's events, I'll do another walk as I did yesterday. I really need the exercise. I have not been able to get my weight down from about 135. My clothes are too tight.

Also doing laundry, did some vacuuming and picking up around the house. Ordered 5 tree seedlings (mail order) from a native tree nursery in upstate NY. With all the tree-cutting to come around here, i need to replace diseased or dying trees. So i'm getting a few Blackhaw viburnum and corkscrew willow, which will love it here with my high water table. the Blackhaw will provide berries for the birds.

I just polished off a huge plate of sauted garlic, onion and brussel sprouts for an early lunch, topped off by a heaping spoonful of peanut butter studded with dark chocolate chips. Strange diet habits, i know. I just give in to my cravings and try to keep it healthy.

I'm worried about my cat and i've got to bring her to the vet. I should've done it sooner but she freaks out so much in the car, I hate to put her thru that, but she's been drinking lots of water for quite some time now, which could be a thyroid problem, kidney problem or diabetes. I better find out what it is. I chalked it up earlier to the fact that dry food makes up 95% of her diet, so there's mo moisture in her food. I try to get her to eat canned food, like Sheba, but she'll lick the gravy and leave the rest there, wasting it mostly. But I don't think her water intake is normal anymore.

Have to schedule a physical with PCP tomorrow. I'm quite annoyed with them for requiring me to come in for a visit to renew my sleep aid meds. I'm there every year for a physical, so why do i have to take time off from work and pay a $25 co-pay to tell them what i already told them on the phone? Grrr. So since I'm due for a phsyical, i'll get the meds at that time, but now i'm hoarding what remaining pills i have.

I went to bed last night without taking one, and i slept very, very poorly. I felt super tired around 10:30 so i went to sleep, but then of course thoughts of work kept me awake til i finally turned on the TV at midnight and watched Saturday Night Live, then didn't turn the lights out tiil about 1:30 a.m. and still i tossed and turned.

The other a.m. i sat up in bed at 5 a.m. to write down some really good headlines i came up with for some stories i'm working on. Yes, that's what i was thinking about early in the a.m. Very bad habit.

Waiting to hear back from electrician about when he can install my new light fixture.

Waiting to hear back from tree company to schedule the take down of the mighty black locust and unidentified evergreen.

A lot of balls up in the air. I keep worrying i'm going to forget something, let something go, becus Monday thru Friday my mind is totally focused on work.