Thursday, January 23, 2014

Help Me, I'm Melting

We've had over a week of unseasonably warm temperatures. It is not supposed to be 40 degrees in Alaska in January. Spring in Alaska is referred to as "break up." I think that is due to the ice breaking up on the rivers and lakes. I drove by Lake Wasilla yesterday and there is standing water on top of it. It could be melted all the way through for all I know. As one woman at the barn said, it wouldn't be so bad if we knew spring was really on the way but we know it's going to get cold again and we're going to have to suffer through this more than once. Oh well, enough about the weather.

I think I'm going to finally manage to get in three rides this week. Two weeks ago I had to skip Friday because I had to attend a wedding and last Friday the side roads were just too icy for me to want to leave the house unnecessarily. There are some new horses being boarded that I'm getting acquainted with. One is a Clydesdale who, strangely enough, doesn't like carrots but scarfed up the apple I brought him Tuesday. He's the first horse I've personally met who has a mustache like the horse in this picture.

Picture swiped from Horse Nation, as is the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFkdsPKARgE

Is that bizarre or what?


Sunday, January 12, 2014

Ta and Da



Two more trips to Home Depot as the first set of toggle bolts I purchased had screw heads that were too big to fit in the curtain hardware openings. (P.S., toggle bolts don't work for me the way they're supposed to. The darn things wouldn't open up and I eventually took a screwdriver and a hammer to them) It took me most of yesterday and I lost count of how many times I had to re-install the hardware as it kept falling off the wall the minute I put the curtains on the rod. I was in a really bad mood by the time I was finished. I won't be surprised if they come crashing down as I did a real number on the sheetrock. I'm almost afraid to open/close them as I don't want to put any stress on the hardware. No more home improvement projects for me. From now on I'm hiring out.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Adventures in Home Maintenance

I've had no window coverings for my living room since living in this house. My husband said, "Who needs drapes? We're out in the middle of nowhere." Now that I'm alone, I need drapes. I'm out in the middle of nowhere.

So I ordered some bamboo drapes that I thought went well with my hardwood floors and furniture. I purchased four panels since two wouldn't be wide enough and three just seemed odd. My sister and I planned to install them while she was here but it didn't happen, mostly because the Christmas tree was in the way.

Monday was the big day. Long story short, the damn curtains pulled the hangers out of the drywall (and I did use drywall anchors) So I turned to the Internet and it looks like I need molly bolts. I should just get a job at Home Depot for the amount of time I spend there. Next to the grocery store it is my most frequented shopping spot.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Back on Track (More or Less)

My sister flew home yesterday so I no longer have any excuses for not eating right, exercising and organizing the house. Somehow sitting here at the computer doesn't fit into this plan so obviously I'm off to a bad start.

I have paid for three riding lessons a week in January. Of course, I'm already screwed this week as I have a wedding to attend at 4:00 Friday. Who gets married then? What about the people who have to work until 5:00? I think it had something to do with the church's availability, but personally I would have just picked another day.

I am a terrible slacker and can procrastinate doing almost anything until the absolute last minute. I think I'm going to try making a schedule of daily tasks. If you're familiar with FlyLady, number one should be getting dressed first thing as opposed to sitting around in your pajamas half the day. That's a toughie for me as I really don't function until I've been awake for a couple of hours and had several cups of coffee. Even when I worked I'd get up at least two hours before I needed to leave the house so I'd have lounging time.

Okay, I think I've inspired myself enough to do the grocery shopping and put away some more Christmas decorations. Gosh how I hate acting responsible...