Ramblings of Silver Blue

…party all the time, party all the time, party allllll the time. (with no apologizes to Eddie Murphy for stealing his only top 40 hit (oh wait, there was “Put Your Mouth On Me”, but that sounds too… sexual)) A common consensus amongst the party attendees is that I need to have more get togethers, [...]

Get your mind out of the gutter and read carefully. I said PLANTIES, not PANTIES. Besides, why would panties drink? On second thought, don’t answer that. After work, I went to Lowe’s and threw caution (and $150) to the wind, and ended up with an awesome 100′ hose, ferris wheel for said hose, soaker/sprayer/plant water [...]

I used to own these roses, but they (thanks to the lawn care service) were killed. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Rose and The “Gemini” Rose. Both are patented by Jackson and Perkins. I’d also LOVE to replace the following rose which died: Charisma 1978 AARS Winner. Introduced by the E. G Hill Company [...]

As promised, here are some photos of the holiday decorations around the Shenandoah Forester.

….holy heck! Three sinks, two cabinets and two toilets later, we finally have the new sink, vanity and toilet in. Yes, tempers flared, yes, plumbing didn’t match up (freakin’ old houses), yes, there were far too many trips to Lowes and Home Depot, but you know what? It all looks good now. Roxette Bunny™ has [...]

Photos of the ongoing renovation.

lack of posting has had to take place so that renovations can almost be completed (Yee-HAH!). The dining room has been repainted, reboardered (two types), and has a new Swarovski chandelier (which had to be replaced, as the first one was broken!). PoloRandy was up until 4:30 putting on the coats of burgeondy paint that, [...]

This is the story. Things are taking longer than I would have hoped. We’re not quite done with the living room. But the progress that has been made…. we’ve finished the upstairs hall (with the exception of hanging a few things) as well as the stairs and all the downstairs walls. PoloRandy has busted his [...]

I’ve been neglecting my blog for a while, and for good reason. At work, I’ve been doing damage control for something I have no control over. I know that we have 5 new faculty members joining CHK and that I’m going to need to get their machines in and running BEFORE the fall semester, which [...]

lease on life. Have a new door on the house now, which, no doubt, will lower the utility bills. Other than that, am trying to clean up the inside of the house today (something I HATE to do) so…blogging will be light, unless I can find something to rant about.

Ok. Let’s start with what I call “clown flowers”. Their real name is something latin, but that’s to be expected: Here’s the hydrangea: and one of the gardenias: The new gardenia behind the living room window: finally, a shot showing from up from the AC unit, the 24 feet of new edging and mulch: no [...]

I forgot to mention that Tink and I stopped and bought my clown flowers that I’d been looking for, as well as a gardenia to replace the one that’s gotten too large and unruly. Now the only thing we need to get is some chain to hang them lower. Photos next week, I do believe.

File this under: Someone’s getting paid a salary to be stupid. I live in a neighborhood that does NOT have a neighborhood association. This past weekend was Memorial Day, a day when, in addition to all the ceremony, people work in their yard. People work HARD to get their yards to look like something other [...]

As promised, here are some further pictures: Under the mimosa tree, we removed piles and piles of vines, trees, etc. The old shed is scheduled to be replaced this summer. This is all that remains of the pecan tree that Hurricane Isabel took out. The moss rose bush that is exploding in pink blooms. The [...]

These are photos of the side of the house that is now “set” with landscaping. 1/2 more to go! This is a set of Gorham flatware that retails for $400 a 12 place setting, on sale at their outlet for $159.98, on clearance for $79.99, 50% off sale this past weekend. I’m eating with the [...]

Well…half the outside is now complete. PoloRandy and I ran edging, mulched, created a small stone patio, and installed a set of outside patio lights. It’s been a long, tiring day. I think it’s time to head to Fuddruckers for a hamburger, since it’s thundering outside and I’m not cooking out. Good news, however, was [...]

Let’s face it. Yard work and I just do not agree. Ever. I’m much more at home behind a keyboard. But, since I have this property, I need to take care of it, right? Right. So yesterday, PoloRandy and I did more yard work than I thought we did. We took out 6 mulberry trees, [...]

We got rid of several large bushes, one pecan tree (that fell during Hurricane Isabel, but couldn’t be reached) and pruned back a number of crepe myrtle trees. The place keeps looking better and better.

Will be non-existant until Tuesday night. Why, you ask? Well, we did some landscape rip out at the Shenandoah Forester, including removal of what is called “trumpet vines”. The problem is that the vines had “eaten” into my coax cable which delivers broadband, which you can see here: So, Cox Communications is supposed to come [...]

Well, PoloRandy jetted down to Elizabeth City to take care of his ‘rents yard. Then he came back up here and we started tackling the outside. For the first time in many MANY years (at least 7, for that’s as long as I’ve lived here, and the plants were well established before I moved in), [...]

are honest. Remember I mentioned being over-invoiced for the furnace installation, by $800? Well, they agreed to the original cost of $2000. Thanks for being honest people. Now I’ll be able to recommend you to my friends.

I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop now. My taxes on the house went up $22 every six months. That’s not bad. But because of Isabel, I know my homeowner’s insurance is going to increase. How much, I haven’t a clue. I went from 600 to 900 last year. I have a coworker who [...]

PoloRandy’s dropping off half payment for the roof. When the company completes putting on the j-channel and reattaching the siding, and replacing facia board, as was agreed in the contract, then they get the other half of payment, plus the sheet of plywood and power vent which I was told would cost an additional $150.

The roofing company is now requesting payment in full. That would be fine, EXCEPT…they haven’t finished the work. The siding isn’t back on the house, the facia board isn’t fixed, and the j-channel isn’t installed. Why am I leary of paying them? Could it be that I signed a contract on December 20 and it [...]