Dinner with O’learys

Last night Michlle and I had dinner with some old family friends who’ve lived here for the last 8 years. They’re just celebrating 1 year in their new house over near the Laurelhurst theater. It was a gorgeous house, and we had a wonderful dinner out in the back. Our dogs played a bit, then chewed on bones, and chased cats.

Much later that night, Michelle bolted up and shook me awake because she thought she’d heard glass breaking. We cruised the house, looked around the yard, then went back to bed. I managed to get back to sleep quickly, though she kept bolting up at noises, which kept scaring me. Needless to say, I’m dragging ass this morning.

New House Pictures

I’ve finally found my camera cord and downloaded the pictures of us moving in. There are some holes; I guess I was distracted. Hopefully someone else took some.

To understand some of the pictures, pretend its the first half of a before/after type gallery. We couldn’t take any more pictures because the camera was full.

Michelle and I got up and cleaned out the shed this morning. It was full of boxes from the last two renters, old 1950’s Mercedez parts, and walnut shells that some squirrel/rat had been eating. Its quite a bit more roomy and useful now. But we’ve both got dirty boogers for the time being.

Wood Fired power plants?

“Windmills, solar panels and renewable resources like wood-fired power plants should be Vermont’s first choice to meet the state’s electric needs for the next decade.” – Gov. Howard Dean

Wood fired power plants? Wtf? You couldn’t grow wood quickly enough to heat homes in Vermont. And Vermont’s trying to sue for protection under the Clean Air Act. Wood burns dirty and is of low energy production quality, yo.

String Summit

Michelle and I just got back from spending our day with my parents, a bunch of bluegrass fans, and a few bluegrass legends. Seeing Vassar Clements play, along with the rest of Old and In the Gray was probably the highlight of the day for me. Those old dogs have played with almost everyone who’s anyone, and played almost anything that can be played. Along with a number of their own songs, they also did great covers of Honky Tonk Woman and Pancho & Lefty.

My dad and I stood against the rail to watch Jerry Douglas and his band. They were all phenomenal, but didn’t seem to get the attention of the crowd. It was probably because he’s more of a virtuoso than a jam musician, so it was harder to freak dance to his tunes. Jerry’s The Wild Rumpus, his own answer to Where the Wild Things Are was as much fun the the book itself.

After Jerry, we joined my parents for dinner at their camper. We had beer, chatted, watched people play frisbee in the field, and jerked to attention when the grass below the grill caught fire. Drinking water was enough to put it out. Dinner was great.

Devil, Thy name is bindweed

Still waiting on the carpet. The landlord is going to replace the office and living room carpet. These are the two worst smelling rooms. We should get a call today from the carpet place to set up an installation time. And a contracter will be stopping by to look at replacing the deck.

Michelle and I planted more perrenials in the front, and did more trimming and cleanup. There are moles that keep leaving mounds in the yard, but my greater foe at this point is Bind Weed. You may know it as wild morning glory or creeping jane. There are roots underground (some following the mole tunnels) as big around as my pinky. I’m trying to stop its spread, but its quite a task.

Originally posted June 23rd, 2003

Catpiss Blues

Rooftop is still being served by a friend due Cat Piss issues. The previous renter’s cat pissed everwhere in the house, but with the greatest tenacity in the soon to be office. Needless to say, it reaks. Hopefully the smell doesn’t get in our things. Hopefully Tigger doesn’t break his non-marking streak and decide to mark his territory. We’re waiting for the landlord to replace it, and then hopefully we can move all the way in. Then updates will follow.

Otherwise, the place looks great. We planted, weeded, trimmed, cleaned all week and weekend. Things are coming together.

Originally posted June 9th, 2003

Move Succesful

If you’re reading this, you’re reading it on Mellroth.com’s server. Updates may be sparse.

I bought tickets to the 2003 String Summit. Should be cool with pickers like Jerry Douglass and Old and in the Grey.

Moving – Rooftop Unavailable for Comment

I’m moving over the weekend, and it’s going to take a week or so until I get cable hooked up at the new place. In the meantime, this site may or may not be available. I’m using Fugu to put a copy of my site on my friend’s server. Its definately going to be a stripped down version of the site for a few days.

The process of moving has brought a couple things to my attention:

  1. Moving out sucks, Moving in is fun
  2. I keep some weird stuff
  3. Some people stand to benefit from moving. ahem, non-refundable pet despot…I mean deposit
  4. Gathering boxes is a cutthroat endevor. Some people are serious about them.
  5. Spackle works much better than mint toothpaste for filling holes, Kelman