Also Macaroni Kid Rockford gave us a good review and you should check out their page too, it has something kid friendly every day.
Jun 28, 2012
Win a Book!
We're giving away a free copy of The Toughskin Rhinoceros Wrangler Company, all you have to do is go to the facebook page and LIKE it.
Also Macaroni Kid Rockford gave us a good review and you should check out their page too, it has something kid friendly every day.
Also Macaroni Kid Rockford gave us a good review and you should check out their page too, it has something kid friendly every day.
Jun 24, 2012
Summer in Full Swing
We finished signing books this weekend and will be sending them out next week. I've got a meeting with the curator of a gallery here in town and we'll be discussing what I will show in July. It's exciting to be doing art things in the day. It's going pretty well here, except for the house stuff. The property manager says he's trying to get things fixed, yet days go by with more excuses. I think by next week something will give, I may try a different tact with the fellow to let him know I'm not to be trifled with.
Today we're going to my Grandma's old neighborhood bakery to get Italian baked goods. That'll be the fun part of the day. Then I'll continue to put things away and do a few loads of laundry. There is a great deal of space in the house and that's good because I never realized how many art supplies I actually had until I moved them. Perhaps I should pair down, as the only materials I regularly use are a single pen and a panel of watercolors. I'd really like to find my box of paints today too, I have a single painting I've moved three times that I'd like to finish.
We had a fire in the backyard last night in the fire pit. After cleaning up the yard and gathering dead branches we have a giant mound of dry dead fire hazard leaning against the fence. In trying to burn some of it up I got nervous. We are in drought conditions and most of what's there is kidnling so it was going fast and hot. I didn't get through much of it, and I have to get it bundled up today and out to the alley. Anyone want to help? Come on over! Perhaps later we may burn some more and roast marshmallows.
Today we're going to my Grandma's old neighborhood bakery to get Italian baked goods. That'll be the fun part of the day. Then I'll continue to put things away and do a few loads of laundry. There is a great deal of space in the house and that's good because I never realized how many art supplies I actually had until I moved them. Perhaps I should pair down, as the only materials I regularly use are a single pen and a panel of watercolors. I'd really like to find my box of paints today too, I have a single painting I've moved three times that I'd like to finish.
We had a fire in the backyard last night in the fire pit. After cleaning up the yard and gathering dead branches we have a giant mound of dry dead fire hazard leaning against the fence. In trying to burn some of it up I got nervous. We are in drought conditions and most of what's there is kidnling so it was going fast and hot. I didn't get through much of it, and I have to get it bundled up today and out to the alley. Anyone want to help? Come on over! Perhaps later we may burn some more and roast marshmallows.
Jun 19, 2012
No, I'm Not Exaggerating
So the house wasn't finished and they did work and we moved in and it still needs work. Lots I'm finding out, and how did I find out? When I smelled smoke. Yep, Saturday night after being in the new house one day and unloading my entire life and all my belongings into the house that was promised to be finished but wasn't. I sat down to turn the A/C on and something in the basement started sparking and smoking and crackling. I called 911. They arrived with full sirens in full gear and shut all the breakers off to the basement and fixed my smoke alarm. No, my smoke alarm didn't go off, the batteries were installed incorrectly. No the other smoke alarms on the other floors didn't go off because there weren't any. The AC was repaired yesterday, but today no cooling again. The freon is all leaked out already, I'm sure. The smoke detectors are in finally this afternoon.
***
Take a nice cool relaxing bath you say? I'd love to, if I had any water pressure. It takes an hour to fill the tub half way. Yes, it's on the list, yes, he's promising to fix it, no the plumber has not called me yet. I can''t use the garbage disposal either as there isn't enough water pressure to wash even an earwig down the drain Yes, there's a list. There are 42 things on the list. This is number three on the list.
***
Did I mention it's been in the 90s with 50% humidity for three days? It's at 50% humidity because it rained on the day I moved in for the first time in months.
***
It took my nine hours on the phone with AT&T to get the internet up and working. I know because I was on my cell phone, which doesn't get reception in my house so I have to stand on the front porch to make a phone call. AT&T kept transferring me to another department who would start the call with what's your home phone to which I would explain that's what I was trying to buy from them and then they would ask for my account number and I would say I didn't have it and they would say I should've received it in my e-mail confirmation and then I would have to explain to them that I didn't have a phone line or internet yet but I was trying really hard to get it.
***
While I was trying to unpack I wanted to send the kids to the back yard to play. I couldn't until I cleaned up the yard. I wish I was just talking about broken old branches. There was broken glass, rusty razor blades and screws all over the yard from the contractors working on the house. Me and a friend spent all day yesterday cleaning the yard. I'm still finding sharp and or rusty things back there.
***
The newly varnished floors are peeling up. They varnished over oak floors that have been waxed and oiled for almost a hundred years. The stuff is bubbling up and it comes off when you pull a chair out, or walk on it or drive a matchbox car over it or breath near it. Three times a day I sweep a pile of varnish chips off the floor. It's exhausting keeping the children out of the broken glass and errant screws and varnish chips while simultaneously not being able to wash anything or fill a tub, in the heat.
***
The property manager of this place is Nick Savaglio at Rockford Property Solutions aka Rockford Development LLC. He has a boss, and no, I haven't spoken to him yet. I'd like to.
***
Take a nice cool relaxing bath you say? I'd love to, if I had any water pressure. It takes an hour to fill the tub half way. Yes, it's on the list, yes, he's promising to fix it, no the plumber has not called me yet. I can''t use the garbage disposal either as there isn't enough water pressure to wash even an earwig down the drain Yes, there's a list. There are 42 things on the list. This is number three on the list.
***
Did I mention it's been in the 90s with 50% humidity for three days? It's at 50% humidity because it rained on the day I moved in for the first time in months.
***
It took my nine hours on the phone with AT&T to get the internet up and working. I know because I was on my cell phone, which doesn't get reception in my house so I have to stand on the front porch to make a phone call. AT&T kept transferring me to another department who would start the call with what's your home phone to which I would explain that's what I was trying to buy from them and then they would ask for my account number and I would say I didn't have it and they would say I should've received it in my e-mail confirmation and then I would have to explain to them that I didn't have a phone line or internet yet but I was trying really hard to get it.
***
While I was trying to unpack I wanted to send the kids to the back yard to play. I couldn't until I cleaned up the yard. I wish I was just talking about broken old branches. There was broken glass, rusty razor blades and screws all over the yard from the contractors working on the house. Me and a friend spent all day yesterday cleaning the yard. I'm still finding sharp and or rusty things back there.
***
The newly varnished floors are peeling up. They varnished over oak floors that have been waxed and oiled for almost a hundred years. The stuff is bubbling up and it comes off when you pull a chair out, or walk on it or drive a matchbox car over it or breath near it. Three times a day I sweep a pile of varnish chips off the floor. It's exhausting keeping the children out of the broken glass and errant screws and varnish chips while simultaneously not being able to wash anything or fill a tub, in the heat.
***
The property manager of this place is Nick Savaglio at Rockford Property Solutions aka Rockford Development LLC. He has a boss, and no, I haven't spoken to him yet. I'd like to.
Jun 9, 2012
Extreme Living
Alright so the house wasn't done when we got here. We had to give the landlord an extra two weeks to get repairs finished and new carpet in. Apparently there was a mix up with the move in date and the lady we were dealing with is no longer working there and the boss over there at the office came and did the check list with me so I feel like they are making it right and it's going to be pretty. Also I crashed my car on the drive up. A tire flew off the truck in front of us and landed on the front of my car. The insurance is covering it of course but it's just all a struggle to even get to square one.
In the mean time we've kicked off our summer, I took the kids to the city market yesterday and we rode the trolley all over town. The local paper covered my book and I met a wonderful artist who offered me space and support. I also got in contact with a local parenting group to partner with promoting AND my book is going to be delivered next week! NEXT WEEK! As if that wasn't enough, I ate a maple bacon cupcake, pizza from Capri, chocolate from Daniel's and saw the new Muppet movie under the stars downtown where the newspaper took our picture.
It's never boring folks, never.
In the mean time we've kicked off our summer, I took the kids to the city market yesterday and we rode the trolley all over town. The local paper covered my book and I met a wonderful artist who offered me space and support. I also got in contact with a local parenting group to partner with promoting AND my book is going to be delivered next week! NEXT WEEK! As if that wasn't enough, I ate a maple bacon cupcake, pizza from Capri, chocolate from Daniel's and saw the new Muppet movie under the stars downtown where the newspaper took our picture.
It's never boring folks, never.
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