Springtime is Demolition Time

It's been almost half a year since I did my last major home improvement project, so time to start again! Here's the current wallpaper in my upstairs bathroom. I've been wanting to tear it down since I bought the house two years ago. A whole panel was coming loose above the tub, so I figured the glue couldn't be adhering that well anymore.

So yesterday I started removing wallpaper. This time it's in the original part of the house, so the walls are plaster. Unfortunately, some of the plaster crumbled off with the wallpaper . . .

Got some repair to do before I can paint . . .

Note also the linoleum. Once I paint, that lineoleum's getting covered over with something less 1970's pseudo-Aztec. The toilet's getting replaced, too. And maybe the light fixture over the sink, if I'm feeling brave and my electrician's schedule is free.

So . . . anyone up for a visit?

The Courageous Spectacled Spatula

Yes, for all of you who were wondering, this is who I am when I'm not hiding behind my mild-mannered college professor identity. I'm not entirely sure how my spatula is considered a weapon, but maybe I slap villains silly and then slide them up off the pavement and into jail. I've always wanted to be the Exfoliator, but that option didn't come up on the website where I created this. Here's the link for all you wannabe superheros out there: www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory. It's worth visiting the site just to hear the music.

And yes, capes are dangerous for superheros, but I thought it was very dramatic . . . Play with the site and share who your true superhero self is!

By the way: two Christmases ago, I had the following conversation with my nephew Joseph (who LOVES superheros), age 9 at the time:

"Is Ian your sidekick?" (Ian is Joseph's younger brother)

"Yes."

"What's his superhero name?"

"Carcinogen."

"Wow, that's pretty scary."

Time for some creativity . . .

I copied this off Megan's blog. Okay, so part of it-- a big part-- is that I'm curious what she'll make. I'm even more curious what I'LL make. I hope five people will play!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. Hand made! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make (but of course you will-- I made it . . .)!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be (nor do I at this point).

The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!! Have a happy day!

Yes, this is kind of a chain letter, but it's a FUN one-- and just FYI, I'm pretty good with baking . . .

Can it be spring now, please?

I know, I know, I live in West Virginia and it's late February. Spring's still a ways away. Right now it feels like there will never be anything green and growing again. So I started daydreaming. Every morning when I'm eating breakfast, I stand by the window that looks out over my back deck and wish it were spring. The other day I realized, "Hey, I have flowerbeds around my deck that get full sun. And hey-- there are posts that go up to a railing around the deck. I could grow some kind of vine-ish something or other."

First, I thought clematis. A friend suggested morning glory, but there's no way I'm introducing an out-of-control, parasitic weed into my flowerbeds. I don't care how pretty the flowers are. Then it hit me: ROSES! I could grow climbing roses, one for each fence post. I had roses lining my driveway in the house where I grew up, and I love, love, love, love roses!

On a particularly cold, bleak day this past week, a friend walked into my office with a rose catalog. Hurray!! I spent a happy evening reading through rose descriptions (wish I could fit a Mr. Lincoln somewhere-- that was my favorite rose bush growing up) and deciding what to actually order. I haven't ordered them yet, but here's what they are. I'll send pictures when the roses are here and blooming:

Westerland-- it says it's a hardy climber that can handle temperature extremes-- my kind of rose. This one's kind of apricot-pinky.
Candy Land-- from the picture, these are pink roses with a little bit of white, kind of candy-cane looking. They're supposed to have an apple fragrance.
Autumn Sunset-- this is another hardy climber. It's light yellow (the catalog says "apricot gold clusters have a rich, fruity fragrance"). As with every other rose I'm ordering, it's supposed to be hardy enough for cold winters.
New Dawn-- from the picture, these are pale pink and look like they'll grow all over the place.
Dublin Bay-- this one's deep red with lots of dark green leaves.
Sombreuil-- This one's white with double flowers that almost look like camelia blooms.

I wanted a purple rose, but the only one listed in the catalog looks like it only blooms on old wood, which means I won't have flowers the first year. No way. I want flowers as soon as the plants can be happy in their new environment. I have visions of roses covering all the top of my deck railing.

I'll post pictures this summer . . .

Ward Talent Show

A friend sent me this link and I had to post it on my blog. How come the ward talent shows I've attended don't have this kind of quality act in them? The bar has been raised, folks.

http://www.ldsmag.com/youtube/081106swim.html

Spring Break Musings

Okay blogosphere friends, time to help me think through options for the week of spring break!

Now technically, even though no classes are in session the third week of March, I'm not supposed to really GET a spring break since I'm on a nine-month contract and therefore have no vacation time. I've never worked at any university that actually enforced that policy, though. Plus, I work pretty solid through the summer when I'm NOT on contract, so all things considered, it equals out. The one thing I know for sure is that I DON'T want to stay in Morgantown the whole week. So here are some options (feel free to suggest more in a comment):

Option 1: Massachusetts. My cousin Alicia lives there, and airfare is CHEAP right now. It's also a pretty short flight-- maybe an hour and a half total, with no time zone changes. (There are some advantages to living East after all!) This would be a great chance to catch up with my cousin since I haven't spent much time with her in a decade or so. She works part of the time, though, and I don't want to impose on her for too terribly long. So maybe not the whole week, but part of it.

Option 2: Philadelphia suburb (Schwenksville, to be precise). Purdy family, are you interested in a visit? This option's probably cheaper in terms of travel costs since I could drive it rather than fly. Always fun to play with friends. I'd kinda like to visit my cousin, too, though; maybe fly out of Philly and squeeze in two visits in one week?

Option 3: Cafe Cimino Country Inn. This is a cute little bed and breakfast with amazing food, right in the geographic center of West Virginia. But that's the problem: there's nothing to do there besides eat, hang out at the inn, and maybe buy some Fiesta Ware at the mall. If I do this option, I can only afford to stay one night. Not sure if the entertainment factor outweighs the "it's in the middle of nowhere" factor. If I do this option, I'll get out of Morgantown a little bit but then spend most of the week home. That could open up some day trip options to visit some friends, which could be nice.

Option 4: South Carolina. I could go to Charleston or I could go to one of the beaches (maybe Myrtle Beach). The draw is the fact that I've never explored that part of the country and it's pretty close by. I'm thinking it's also the most expensive option. And maybe crowded with everyone else from West Virginia who loves to go there.

I guess a fifth option would be to stay home and just explore with day trips to, say Oakland, Maryland. That's not sounding very fun to me. I gotta get this figured out soon. Opinions, anyone?

Monster storm? Really?

This morning, after looking at the forecast for the rest of the week, I need to indulge in some venting. A few days ago the weather forecasters predicted a MAJOR winter storm coming our way, one that would drop a FOOT of snow. I thought, "Yes! Finally! Bring it on!" We've had too many days where we'll get an inch or two and the entire city shuts down because nobody clears roads. I say if we're going to shut down town, shut it down for a REAL snowfall. It's been a long time since I've been able to say, "Nope, I can't go anywhere because I really am snowed in." (As opposed to just being scared of sliding off a ridge.)

Alas, when I looked at the weather forecast this morning, it looks like the snow will not be in the monster amounts originally predicted. Instead, it'll be just enough to make the roads nasty to travel on and make me have to figure out whether it's safe for students to come to class or not (or me, for that matter). I want there to be a big enough snowfall that the decision gets made for me. Oh well.

Cat newsflash: Britomart is sitting at my feet with her favorite toy mouse right in front of her. She's decided it's a lot more fun to play with if she drops it in front of me and I throw it (so she can pretend she's hunting a live mouse). I would include video footage, but the cats are notoriously uncooperative for the camera. These cats do NOT know that they're fourteen and a half years old based on how they play. I wonder if they ever sit around while I'm at work and meow, "Oh, my aching back! Shouldn't have dashed up those stairs so fast."