Hodgepodge 'n Spice

Monday morning. Perfect day for a ride. Which is was. Too bad I am eh-XHAUSTED. I guess i partied a little too hard this weekend. Too much sitting in the pool and on my rear end. That'll do it to you.

First, a recap of the weekend. This weekend and the last weekend too, Sean and I have both been busy with our own projects. My project is to blow up and fill the inflatable kiddie pool we got at Target. And then I work on getting tan and being lazy. I am making good progress. Sean's project is that he is building a spice cabinet. When I told my dad this he said, "wow, someone sure does love you." I was confused and then realized i thought he might mean Sean was doing it for me. No. I mean, maybe a little. But Sean loves to build things, and he likes to have order. We have a cupboard that holds our 547 spice bottles in complete disarray. So the choice to build a spice cabinet was entirely his. Plus he just loves to build. I got him some wood for Christmas (yes, i am the best gift-giver. WOOD? sad, but he loved it.) that he is using. It's cherry wood and pretty. Here are some random pictures of our projects.

First, a picture of our backyard. Our backyard is a jungle. Give it a teaspoon of moisture and it grows (I accidentally just typed 'growls'--but it's so appropriate) like a thief in the night. This makes no sense but I'm getting tired of trying to come up with the correct phrase/idiom so I'm just going to roll with whatever my brain can find. You wake up one morning, pull open the blinds and, GAAHHHKKK!! The foliage is there, pressed up against the window, watching you, just waiting for you to turn your back to it. I await the day when the vines have made their way in the house, through the kitchen and living room, through Sean's studio to the bedroom where I will wake up, look down, and see the vines a centimeter away from my throat. Anyway. Here's a picture. It looks pretty but it's a veritable monster.



Here is me working hard at my task:



Here are some pictures showing Sean's progress with the cabinet. He's so good at stuff like this.


He is sanding an old piece of plexi-glass for the doors, to give it a frosted look.

here he is sawing the doors.


Sanding the doors.


Sanding while looking up at me--SEAN!! Watch what you're doing!! Don't be ridiculous, I did not tell you to look up.

(please ignore nasty rusty plastic chair that used to be white)



I think it is mostly finished. He has nailed the sanded plexi-glass to the doors. I think he's just waiting for some hinges to come in the mail. Here's where it will be in the kitchen. I love all Sean-made furniture. I probably ought to do a separate post on that. A really great thing about it, too, is he uses wood scraps from other things-- old pieces of furniture we found on the street. Or wood we found on the street. Basically it's all garbage found on the street. Just yesterday he spied and brought home a big butcher block. Score! Ok, here's the pic:


On to other news. This is turning out to be a monster post. Should I split it up? Possibly. So I went out for my bike ride this morning. Conditions were excellent. Cool, cloudy, a slight breeze. Nice. Unfortunately, like I said, I was having a hard time and my legs were burning instantaneously. Amazingly it appears my bike has gained an extra 100 pounds since I last rode. Or maybe that was me. It was slow-going. But you know, it's ok. I don't have to be a speed demon. I don't have to keep up with other bikers. It's just good to be out there. Am I embarrassed when old ladies (who are walking) pass me? No. Am I embarrassed that I ride this bright red beach cruiser bike with a basket that cost me $50 on Craigslist and may fall apart at any second? No. A little nervous, maybe. But not embarrassed. Am I embarrassed when I get home and realize my shirt is on inside out? No. I am getting exercise and those hills where I can coast down with my arms out to the side, making me feel 15 again, are worth everything. Happy Monday.