Short Circuit

Lastnight was one of those weird evenings; one of those where you carry something into the house from the garage that should have stayed in the garage; or when suddenly hooking up the hose to the sprinkler system becomes a calculus equation; or when you push the button to close the garage door when your husband is standing right outside and needs to get in. I have no idea what my problem was, but the situation did not improve.

Later that night, before I headed to bed, I went downstairs to talk to Husband. We were having a perfectly decent conversation, but I was apparently having trouble focusing. I was looking around and randomly blurted out,

“Hey look, there’s a lot of space behind the couch!” Which had absolutely nothing to do with what we were talking about.

Husband stopped talking and just sort of looked at me, and I said,

“I know, I have a little bit of the AA.”

He burst out laughing. I knew the instant the words came out of my mouth that I said the wrong thing, but I could not for the life of me come up with the acronym that represented my complete lack of focus. (And no, I was not drinking).

“What is it? What is it?” I could not get the letters to rise to the top of my gelatinous brain. Husband was not helping, but rather enjoying the dance I was doing around the family room to try and jostle my neurons. Then, suddenly,

“A-D-D! IT’S A-D-D!”

Seriously. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself.

Earth Day - It's Getting a Little Gassy in Here

I’d like to take the opportunity on this Earth Day to share some of my thoughts about gas. Not the kind that comes from “uh-oh, shouldn't have had that Taco Bell..." but the kind we put in our vehicles. The kind that is costing us upwards of $3.50 per gallon at the moment, and is likely to climb near $4.00 in the near future if projections are correct. The high cost of gasoline and diesel makes it cost more to transport goods, and translates to higher prices at the pump and also at the grocery store, among other things. I can’t deny this hurts when it takes $40 to fill up my Honda Civic (how much more am I loving that little fuel-efficient car right now?!), or $60 to fill the Envoy. Thinking about a road trip kind of makes my stomach hurt.

But on this Earth Day I ask you, are higher gas prices all bad?

As Americans, we love our cars, and our roadway infrastructure was designed to make it very easy for us to drive from Point A to Point B. Driving is convenient, and many of us make our daily trips alone. That’s a lot of cars on the roadways. The effects of driving in general can have significant environmental and health impacts. More and more vehicles are added to the roadways each year, resulting in congestion that contributes to air quality issues, noise, water pollution from leaks and application of road salt, and increased use of oil, which is not an infinite resource. Between inconsistent commute times and congested roadways, Americans are spending an average of 3 days per year sitting in traffic. Going nowhere.

I don’t know about you, but I could think of better ways to spend those 3 days.

So will $3.00 per gallon make us change our driving behavior? When prices broke the $2.00 barrier, behaviors did not change significantly, and the extra cost was absorbed without much fuss. As prices continued to rise, the complaints grew louder, but only as the $3.00 barrier has been broken and gas quickly became $3.49+ per gallon are we starting to take a good hard look at how we drive. It seems the only way to get us to change our habits is to hit us where it hurts – in the bank account.

I am already starting to see changes that have been a long time coming. I’ve heard several people say they are driving less, not taking those discretionary trips. We have made some of these decisions at our house too. Car manufacturers are starting to respond to consumer demands for more fuel-efficient vehicles – even in the SUV market. I know people that have now started to ride the bus to work instead of drive. Others are working all or part of their work week from home.

So if a higher bill at the gas pump makes me drive less and/or drive more efficiently…makes me stop and THINK about what I’m doing and where I’m going…then I’ve got to believe that other people are doing it too. All of this stopping to THINK and modifying habits can turn into something very good for us and the environment. This could very well be the beginning of an overall shift in human behavior, and it could lead to better, more sustainable and responsible living in the future. If it takes $4.00 gas to start making these things happen, I say bring it. We cannot continue on this path of infinite growth in a finite world.

This is what I THINK. There’s a lot of hope in there too.

Just for the record, I have little patience for those that complain about the extra cost of gas, but still pick up a $3 or $4 coffee on their way to work every day. Life is full of choices, and it’s time to start making some good ones.

Click here for tips on how to make the most of the gas in your tank.

Home

After some long days and nights, we completed all of the major moving today and are officially in our new home! Today went really smoothly because we had been working hard this week to get things packed up and organized, and we had some great help loading and unloading. We all met at the duplex, loaded up, and had a little caravan over to the house and unloaded it all at once. It worked out great.
There are still a few random things at the duplex, and of course some cleaning to do. But I'm feeling like this house is really ours now. We can paint the colors we want and hang things on the wall, and put sweat and tears into it to make it what we want it to be. Play music or laugh hysterically or have a party without worrying about disturbing those who share a wall with us.

But most of all, it's really starting to sink in that this is a place we will likely be for a number of years. Since I left my parent's house I've never lived in a rental for more than 4 years (in most cases much less), never felt like I've been totally "settled." After Husband and I got married and moved into the duplex, I knew that my home was automatically where he was, and that it didn't matter where we lived. But quite honestly I never felt quite settled into that duplex...going in I wasn't sure how long we would stay, so there were boxes I never bothered to unpack. The walls were white and I didn't do much to add anything interesting. It wasn't mine.


Now...now we can be grounded and stay in one place for more than a year or two. Throw down some roots. This is home.

Now to unpack all those boxes!

I Should Be In Bed

Moving sucks.

Me and My Radio

This weekend we made a lot of progress on the house. Mom and Dad were supposed to be there, but the weather delayed them for another couple of weeks. It actually gave us a bit more time to catch up on things. We got a lot of boxes and a few pieces of furniture over there, and we both worked on some different projects. I spent a lot of hours there, just me and my radio...

Staining and varnishing trim for the 3rd bedroom.
Lining shelves in the kitchen.
Prepping the bathroom for a transition from minty green to a nice, refreshing blue.
Just a few more days, and we will be in for good!

Hello, Tom


One of the things we will miss most about the duplex is the wildlife that appears in the backyard. In the 2 years we've spent here, we've seen an outstanding array of backyard-variety birds (finches, grosbeaks, bluebirds, cardinals, blue jays, red-winged blackbirds, nuthatches, etc.); ducks; geese; MANY rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks (including my favorite albino squirrel); deer; and pheasants. This afternoon we were graced with presence of a new friend - a big 'ol turkey.

I'm pretty sure we'll still get plenty of birds in our new backyard, and we can work on attracting the ones we want to see. We've heard ducks have been known to nest in our hostas that come up in the front yard. We may not have the multitude of rodents that we have here (which isn't all bad), but I'm confident I'll get to see some frolicking squirrels now and then. These little surprise visitors may be a little more scarce, however. We do have wetlands and woodlands in the area, but aren't so fortunate as to have them bordering our backyard.


So thanks, Tom, for making an appearance. Happy Spring to you.

You Want A What?

Brandon: Hey Jess, do you have a minus screwdriver in here?

Me: A what?

Brandon: You know, one of those screwdrivers that has a minus instead of a plus.

It took me a moment, but I got it. And it makes perfect sense. Why call it flathead or Phillips when this way is so much simpler?

We Meet Again, My Little Friend

Tonight I went over to the new house to do some more painting. When I was done, I cruised to the lower level to check the time on the only operating clock in the house. Standing there, I surveyed the room and noticed a dark splotch on the wall. I flipped the light on.

It was one of these.

(That was mean, I should have given you better warning).

It did not flinch when the room was illuminated. If it had scurried across the wall, this might be an entirely different story. He was especially ugly; one of those long and dark colored versions that tells you he's been around awhile. Surprisingly, I was relatively calm. The house was empty for awhile before we bought it (the people moved to Pella, IA last fall), so we're bound to stir up some insect action. I noticed a lot of spiders last weekend, so there's plenty of treats around. Plus, with the endless amount of mulch in the yard and all the recent precip...it's practically a recipe for my many-legged friends. I just hope it's not a regular occurrence.

I know what you're thinking. Did I smash it? Nah. Didn't want to mess up the paint job. :)