PlazaJen: Passion Knit

Boy, it's a bit nutters again! Work's suddenly lurching along at a borderline-frightening clip, and then all the other stuff outside of work is just... there. Needing to be done, needing to be remembered. (The remembering is my downfall!)

Since I absorb everything around me, I am also agog at my husband's whirling dervish abilities of the past week - he put up the greenhouse! He did, he did! It looks a-ma-zing. I promise, pictures to come. He's working on the benches that go inside now.

Dog training is work! Yes it is! Tripper is very cute, and also a bit headstrong. I have learned from Polly and being a bit more of a badass this go-round. Polly just looks at me when he bites her face, and I say to her, "You did that exact same thing to Suzy" and refuse to feel sorry for her. She has to grow up, and 4 years old is time to grow up.

I hit the wall with my molar #19 and am getting a root canal. I initially scheduled it for this week, but moved it to the end of the month. What the hell, I've lived with all this joy & pain since June, another couple weeks won't wreck me.

We've been getting fencing & siding estimates, and it's been an interesting process. I am glad I renewed my membership to Angie's List, because even though I'm a cheapskate on some things, I figured that when you're going to spend a chunk of change on things that you don't want to do yourself, it's better to at least find out if the people you choose to do the job have a good history of doing the work. So far, the fence guy I found on CraigsList is in the lead, but the siding guy from Angie's List impressed JWo so much, it's already worth what I spent to renew. Good times and home improvements. And having a fence truly encapsulate the property will be a HUGE benefit. With three dogs & one who loves to run off & roll in poo, nobody needs her teaching the little one it's a great idea.

We're going to see Avenue Q tonight - should be really entertaining! And we're going to see Garth Brooks next week, which is really crazy, because I'm not exactly your Country Music kinda gal. But I think he's got a pretty universal appeal, and lordy, he's only doing 9 concerts here....!

Oh, and I exchanged our DVR this weekend (making it the 3rd DVR we've gone through), because it was refusing to record things & do normal DVR activities, like pause live TV? And within one day, the new box was doing the exact. same. thing. I thought my head was going to fly off my body. Fortunately for everyone in the room, JWo had drunk a celebratory martini (after finishing the greenhouse) and he wasn't freaked out by me getting pissed. ("Jennifer, I just don't care." was the exact response. It made me GUFFAW.) The CSR at Time Warner asked, "With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking tonight?" and I replied, "Well, that's gonna depend on how you define PLEASURE." I need to say, in my defense, that I don't scream or yell, but I do tell them I'm frustrated, that this isn't working, and I'm not going to settle for the solutions we've tried already since they aren't! working! He was basically of no help, so Friday afternoon, a technician is coming out. And I'm irked because it's sweeps, and none of my shows are recording. However, after he re-booted it remotely, it recorded some shows and worked properly. For the moment. I'm sure when I get home it still won't be working. It's actually less about the shows themselves - because I can get 'em online - but the fact that something I have isn't working. It zings my OCD inner self and that inner self freaks out. (Remember? Floor lamp? Order must be restored!)

OK, I think that's it. Because it's all infused with stress, it doesn't qualify as a Random Orts post, but instead is a newly-established category: Juggling Porcupines! Not as much fun as riding the bike with one pedal, but I did dream last night that I had a lengthy conversation with Lenny Kravitz while spinning some yarn. (I don't know how to spin in real life, but in my dreams, I'm quite good.)

sotto voce: Nobody wants to hear about your dreams, Jennifer. Thanks dad. :)

Labels: juggling porcupines, stress