life, the universe, and everything

littleblackcloud 3

2.17.04

i didn't name this page "little black cloud" for nothing. first, my touchpad stopped working as soon as i got things started here. more on that in a minute. then i found out the tagboard code got screwed up somehow, only i couldn't fix it without a touchpad. it was all so very sad and depressing. so today i borrowed a Kensington Orbit trackball, to use temporarily til i can pony up 300 dollars to have my Apple computer all fixed up new.

so anyway, there i am, launching Safari to get to Kensington, right? and then i realize after i begin the download, that i used the touchpad to answer the licensing questions. and so forth. sigh.
apparently, using the trackball released the touchpad from the down position it was stuck in.

my life is so retarded sometimes. but now at least i can re-upload this page so the tagboard works, then come back to make more pretty.

littleblackcloud 2

2.11.04

so as of this afternoon, my kitchen contains what was termed a "slop sink," for temporary use until the cabinets are finished, and if you know what sort of "slop" requires its own sink, please do not email me because i do not wish to know. and a very cool new gas range. the refrigerator is still around the corner in the dining room, and the dishwasher is still in the garage. and there are no cabinets, so i have packaged food sitting around on bookshelves. very chic.

while these items were being installed today, i busied myself in the laundry room, which is very large, and has a decent set of wall shelves on one end. i have deemed this the kids' computer area, and their desk and imac sit in the corner waiting for attention. i decided to paint the shelves yellow, and mixed a darker yellow for the back of the shelves, because Thom told me to, you know. while i painted, my daughter read to me from one of the most interesting books i've ever encountered. more on that in a minute. it was all peaceful and almost idyllic until every workman who didn't show up for the past two weeks, except the electrician who apparently looks upon this project with complete disdain, appeared at my door. so there were plumbers, dry wall installers, hvac people all over the house, every outside door open and all kinds of noisy electrical tools being used. i remained undaunted.

i ate a lunch of jarlsberg cheese, apple slices, crackers and peanut butter while i worked away. then the washer went insane, rocketing its way across the floor, causing the dryer door to fly open, because the only thing that keeps it closed is an old cabinet door propped in front of it. some of the kids came in and sat on the washer so that it went backward instead of forward, and just as it finished and i got that load into the dryer, a plumbing person came in to rip out the sink the wash water had been draining into. only the water wasn't completely off, and the floor was flooding, he didn't even look up as i dove for my clean clothes, paint cans, sewing machine, to save them from being drenched with gross water. plus, the contractor had just ripped up the wall behind that sink, exposing a moldy wall that had to be removed and was also laying on the floor in pieces. so there was that.

this all sounds horrible, but really, this place is turning out so great i can hardly complain. the moldy wall was a result of problems with the bathroom on the other side of it, and that bathroom has been gutted much like my kitchen and master bedroom, to be outfitted all a-new. still, we were freezing all afternoon after that, because the plumbers turned off the gas and water, so we huddled together under blankets to watch Passions, and then i totally gave up on getting anything done til they all went away, cheerfully telling me they'd be back around 8:30 in the morning! whee! <

this book is just amazing. well-written, entertaining, informative, shocking and more.

here's a quote from a reviewer at Amazon.com. "With compelling insight, Speer reveals many of the 'premises which almost inevitably led to the disasters' of the Third Reich as well as 'what comes from one man's holding unrestricted power in his hands.'"

littleblackcloud 1

2.10.04 i'm really psyched about my bathroom vanity/cabinet thingy. it's not in the best shape, but seemed really unique, so i went exploring on the net for information. it's made of something originally called skylark formica, also known as boomerang, in a grey background. yes, i know people make fun of it, but i don't care!!! it's cool! to correspond with it, the sink, toilet and shower are pink! and there's grey tile on the lower half of the walls, with that tiny tile in a lighter grey on the floor, accented with a little pink here and there. it's just so cool. well, and sort of small, but that's okay.

so i'm going to have a genuine 1960 bathroom! that rocks, totally. only, i don't really know how to outfit it, especially without, you know, spending much money. more research is required. know anything about that? drop me a line, please, by clicking on the happy sun. i have to paint the upper portion of the walls, as well. pink does seem the natural choice, but i'm not deciding too quickly.

it's a pretty weird vanity/cabinet thingy, which is why i know it's original equipment. it just screams early 60s innovation gone horribly wrong. yay! btw, the boomerang pattern was introduced by Raymond Loewy in the mid-50s, at least 5 years before this house was built.