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Aug. 18th, 2006
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Aug. 18th, 2006 05:23 pmI would love to live in a place where simply stepping outside my door didn't result in becoming sweat soaked, without evaporation, for half the year.
We've been here a year, and I'm uncomfortable driving in the afternoon downpours. Yesterday, I was on the highway and couldn't even see the brake lights of the car in front of me. I don't like that.
It's baby lizard season. I see them all over the place. they're kind of cute, and for some reason, the baby lizards remind me of dinosaurs far more than the adults. A few weeks ago it was baby frogs or toads (I can't get close enough to identify which ones they are. The skin appears dry, but I can't get close enough to see the feet or eyes to differentiate.) I do like what our friend Nick has had to say about the bugs down here..."You can't expect to defeat the bugs down here, you just have to learn to coexist peacefully with them, and try to keep them at bay." This is a good attitude, I'm just not sure I like it. We stopped at the house the other night to check on something and there's no food in my house, and a giant, people eating roach crawled right across the stove. I'll set some roach and ant traps, and probably add some of the roach gel-I just need to be careful with the cats. I suspect also, based on the state of the house (not dirty, exactly, but less than clean) there may be a good bit of grease behind the stove. I think we'll probably pull it out and give a good cleaning back there before we move in, or upon moving in.
Speaking of moving, we're down to about ten days. I want to go check on how much of the work is done, and confirm with the movers. Also need to set up landline and cable at the new house, and find a non-explotative housecleaning service, to clean this place when we're done here, and to clean the new house before we move in. And becaues every weekend seems to be filled with moving related stuff-the cable company is supposed to come tomorrow to add wiring to the rooms that we need it in that don't have it, and Pier 1 is having a sale on a few of the things we're looking for, so we'll probably buy the table and chairs we liked-on sale, plus I've got a coupon. Today we stopped at the mirror store to look at frames for mirrors.
I am however, looking forward even more to going to the August Stomp at Lakeridge Winery. It's pretty much what it sounds like; envision the whole grape stomping thing on "I Love Lucy." And I think we need to try it.
But now, one more LJ post and then I should start supper.
We've been here a year, and I'm uncomfortable driving in the afternoon downpours. Yesterday, I was on the highway and couldn't even see the brake lights of the car in front of me. I don't like that.
It's baby lizard season. I see them all over the place. they're kind of cute, and for some reason, the baby lizards remind me of dinosaurs far more than the adults. A few weeks ago it was baby frogs or toads (I can't get close enough to identify which ones they are. The skin appears dry, but I can't get close enough to see the feet or eyes to differentiate.) I do like what our friend Nick has had to say about the bugs down here..."You can't expect to defeat the bugs down here, you just have to learn to coexist peacefully with them, and try to keep them at bay." This is a good attitude, I'm just not sure I like it. We stopped at the house the other night to check on something and there's no food in my house, and a giant, people eating roach crawled right across the stove. I'll set some roach and ant traps, and probably add some of the roach gel-I just need to be careful with the cats. I suspect also, based on the state of the house (not dirty, exactly, but less than clean) there may be a good bit of grease behind the stove. I think we'll probably pull it out and give a good cleaning back there before we move in, or upon moving in.
Speaking of moving, we're down to about ten days. I want to go check on how much of the work is done, and confirm with the movers. Also need to set up landline and cable at the new house, and find a non-explotative housecleaning service, to clean this place when we're done here, and to clean the new house before we move in. And becaues every weekend seems to be filled with moving related stuff-the cable company is supposed to come tomorrow to add wiring to the rooms that we need it in that don't have it, and Pier 1 is having a sale on a few of the things we're looking for, so we'll probably buy the table and chairs we liked-on sale, plus I've got a coupon. Today we stopped at the mirror store to look at frames for mirrors.
I am however, looking forward even more to going to the August Stomp at Lakeridge Winery. It's pretty much what it sounds like; envision the whole grape stomping thing on "I Love Lucy." And I think we need to try it.
But now, one more LJ post and then I should start supper.
Party Questions
Aug. 18th, 2006 06:01 pmSome of the questions that follow are largely oriented towards parents, but I'd be interested in feedback from party-goers in general about things. And I'd really appreciate if people would link this in other places-the more feedback the better.
With the new house, we're likely to plan a housewarming. And most of the parties we attend are family events, not adults only. I'd like to continue that trend, as someone who would like to have children one day, and because I know it means that some of our friends are far more likely to attend when they can bring their kids along.
Some parents are better than others at watching their children or making sure that there's an adult responsible for their children, at making sure their children are entertained and not getting into things that might not be safe, and that someone who doesn't have children might not have remembered to put away or thought to put away. (And the fact that one couple we know is not the most attentive to their two and a half year old when we're at parties is a big part of the reason that this is on my mind, after watching what that child got into at someone's house last weekend.)
So, what I was thinking about is setting up a sort of kid-space at our house during the party. Pull out the card table (which has a very nice vinyl top so it's easy to clean) with kid friendly toys and activities. I'd put it in a space that allowed parents to both watch their children, and enjoy the rest of the party. I might include things like paper and crayons, play dough, lego/duplo, and I'm not sure what else. Maybe also, set up a space to put movies on for the kids. Most of the kids are probably between two and a half and about six, with a few older ones, in the elementary school range who require less supervision. The one high schooler I know tends to not be at parties with his Mom and Dad.
Onto the questions:
If you're a parent, how would you feel if someone set up kid-space at a party? Would you feel good and try to take advantage of it, or would you feel like you were being relegated to the kids table?
If you're not a parent, how would you feel about kid-space at parties that are family-friendly?
Do you have any suggestions as to what might have kid-appeal and be reasonably safe for children ages 2 and a half to about 9. I'm thinking lego/duplo, some non-messy-ish art supplies, some balls and stuff to play with outdoors, maybe checking to see what Oriental Trading has to offer.
Depending on the timing, I'm thinking this might also be halloween themed, and I might also set up pumpkin carving/decorating, as well. (We used to throw a party for this when I was a kid, and it was a blast, so I'd like to revive this tradition.)
Any thoughts? Please share far and wide. The more feedback on this the better.
With the new house, we're likely to plan a housewarming. And most of the parties we attend are family events, not adults only. I'd like to continue that trend, as someone who would like to have children one day, and because I know it means that some of our friends are far more likely to attend when they can bring their kids along.
Some parents are better than others at watching their children or making sure that there's an adult responsible for their children, at making sure their children are entertained and not getting into things that might not be safe, and that someone who doesn't have children might not have remembered to put away or thought to put away. (And the fact that one couple we know is not the most attentive to their two and a half year old when we're at parties is a big part of the reason that this is on my mind, after watching what that child got into at someone's house last weekend.)
So, what I was thinking about is setting up a sort of kid-space at our house during the party. Pull out the card table (which has a very nice vinyl top so it's easy to clean) with kid friendly toys and activities. I'd put it in a space that allowed parents to both watch their children, and enjoy the rest of the party. I might include things like paper and crayons, play dough, lego/duplo, and I'm not sure what else. Maybe also, set up a space to put movies on for the kids. Most of the kids are probably between two and a half and about six, with a few older ones, in the elementary school range who require less supervision. The one high schooler I know tends to not be at parties with his Mom and Dad.
Onto the questions:
If you're a parent, how would you feel if someone set up kid-space at a party? Would you feel good and try to take advantage of it, or would you feel like you were being relegated to the kids table?
If you're not a parent, how would you feel about kid-space at parties that are family-friendly?
Do you have any suggestions as to what might have kid-appeal and be reasonably safe for children ages 2 and a half to about 9. I'm thinking lego/duplo, some non-messy-ish art supplies, some balls and stuff to play with outdoors, maybe checking to see what Oriental Trading has to offer.
Depending on the timing, I'm thinking this might also be halloween themed, and I might also set up pumpkin carving/decorating, as well. (We used to throw a party for this when I was a kid, and it was a blast, so I'd like to revive this tradition.)
Any thoughts? Please share far and wide. The more feedback on this the better.