to plumb or not to plumb

THAT is the question i've been asking myself since i moved in. i finally decided "to plumb" was the answer. Monday night after work i got started right away on taking out the old wall sink that i hated from the moment i first looked at the house. not only was it ugly, it wasn't even level! because this was the first time i'd done anything like it, the whole project ended up taking three hours and two trips to the hardware store. but now i know how to do it and what to measure for the next time i ever decide to take on such a project. AND i'm proud of myself for having done it all on my own. and yes, in case you're wondering, it works wonderfully and no, it doesn't leak at all. :-)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

that's a glass sink sitting on a granite top, sitting on top of an espresso finish cabinet with one door that now opens to reveal the plumbing instead of the various items of personal hygiene i originally envisioned. the faucet is glass and brushed nickel and is called a waterfall faucet. it's cool. my grandmother may not like it, but i think it's cool and different and even a bit classy.

see the wall behind it? that's what the wall sink left behind for me to clean up/fix later. now that i know how to disconnect the plumbing, i can do that whenever i get ready to fix the drywall. considering the bathroom has several things i don't like about it regarding the walls, the whole thing will probably become a weekend project with me brushing my teeth in the kitchen, but that's ok. it'll be totally worth it in the end.

sweet little Harriet

is it a dog, a cat, or a baby??? seriously, sometimes i think this dog of mine is really a cat or a baby. look at her sleeping on the couch! she climbed up to the top of the cushion, but fell through a little. i guess she decided it was comfy enough, so she went to sleep. but as she slept, she fell through more and more until finally she was sleeping upside down! :-) she's a bugger to get to go to sleep sometimes, but once she does you can move her in any direction and she won't care. just like a baby!




and then there are the times when she decides she'll crawl all over you, no matter where her strong little paws land. she climbs up and over everything and jumps higher than i've ever seen any dog jump. she never moves away from your feet when you're walking. if anything she's right under foot and you better be aware of her otherwise YELP! and she even does that rubbing past your leg thing that cats do. i've even seen her stalk Ozzy, then take off running to pounce him to the ground in playfulness. and you should see her run! oh my goodness, just like a little greyhound or something. she's so fast! the other day the dogs got to running in the yard after each other. Harriet was making big circles, Ozzy running smaller ones, both running fast and furious and barking all the way. it was SUPER cute!

but what a little sweetheart she can be. she hugs your leg with her little "hands" and then looks at you with those little eyes. and she knows to get a treat she has to sit down, so as soon as ANY bag opens, her little butt hits the ground whether a treat is in store or not.

anyway.... it's been fun so far getting to know little Harriet. she has her issues, like possession aggression, or stealing, or running away. but still, she's a joy to have around, and i think Ozzy likes her enough. he's got company during the day now and is getting a little more exercise in the process. :-)

ramblings by Jenny

life continues here in Brenham. mom and i tore out the rest of the paneling in the front bedroom to reveal the extent of the termite damage. UGH! it's not pretty. pictures can't even capture the ugliness, but i'll post some later so you can sympathize with me. :-) saturday we moved my bedroom items to the other room so work can begin on fixing the front room. the plan is to drywall it, but the wood to which it would get nailed is pretty bad, so some of that might need to be replaced first. needless to say, it's a real mess, but i have some very nice manly friends from church who are going to come over on wednesday to help with that.

work continues on rotten windows, the garage, and laundry room. my part being nail hole filling, priming, painting, and hanging shelves. oh, i built a table, too, which sits between the washer and dryer to fold & sort clothes on. when i remember to take a picture of it, i'll post it. so many things!

the dogs are doing fine. Harriet got spayed and got both her rabies and city tags. she's feeling better and jingling all around. at night i take their collars off because when they move, the jingling wakes me up, and since i'm awake enough as it is, i don't need the extra help. this morning when i got out of the shower i could hear jingling. usually that's fine, but in this case not so much because i hadn't put their collars back on them yet. which means Harriet has at least one collar in her mouth. great. so i call her to come into the bathroom, which she does. when i finally made it to the bedroom, i found both collars in her bed. oh Harriet! in putting hers around her neck, i noticed part of the plastic of the clasp had been chewed off. *sigh* it still closed, but it'll need to be replaced far sooner than i had anticipated. oh well. next time the collars go UP to safety. darn puppy!

work is work. boring, but a job. the economy being what it is doesn't help the industry excel in sales. i think a lot of businesses are hurting. nothing is being talked about, at least not around me, but hopefully sales aren't TOO down. the Christmas party is coming up, which if you know me i'm super excited about (not!). nonetheless, i have a job, and i'm thankful.

in case you haven't noticed, Christmas is coming early this year. i think it'll be taking place this month instead of next. seriously! ok, if it's still in December, then WHY in the WORLD have all the stores already put their stock out by the middle of OCTOBER??? absolutely ridiculous! i tell you what, if i wasn't already a bah-humbug kinda gal, having Christmas in October would make me one! why should i even put a tree up at my house? all i have to do is go to ANY store every couple of days, and get my fill of decorations there! dragging that stuff out at home only to have to put it away a month later, please! why even bother? i wonder when the music is going to start this year? i'm so glad i've grown out of the stage of HAVING to have music on in the car or at home. Jingle Bells and Silent Night are going to drive me nuts this year. i can already tell. (for the record, i actually LIKE Christmas, i just don't like the MATERIALISM of Christmas.)

and what is with the gas prices??? one station here in town has it for $1.99 if you use a Valero card. wow! what a RELIEF, don't get me wrong! but man, why all of a sudden? because no one has any money left in their retirement funds? so now the fuel people feel sorry for us and are lowering the prices to a REASONABLE amount that people can HOPEFULLY afford? i don't know. i don't get why, i just hope it continues to decrease. we can use all the help we can get.

and now for the touchy subject, the election. though i voted for McCain, i strongly believe Obama will win and i'm ok with it. the more this country continues to stray away from the godly foundation it was built on, the sooner the end of the world will come. and like it or not, i'm ready. i'm so ready for our time on this earth to be over. i wait with eager anticipation and a blessed hope for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. hurry and remove us from this yucky cursed place and take us to our eternal home of perfection!!!