Entries by Andrew

Yesterday I was mowing up by the workshop, when I saw a handful of peaches scattered next to it. I started grumbling about Cabol throwing out old fruit for the animals right where I'd mow over it.

Then I looked up and saw 2 dozen bright red and yellow peaches hanging off a tree that appears to be growing under the large spruce next to the workshop. I blame squirrels, but I can't understand how I missed a bunch of peaches growing over my head ALL SUMMER LONG. It's not like it is the first time I've mowed there!

• Comment (1)
• Trackbacks (0)

Who the heck gives a three year old a badminton racquet?!?

• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks (0)

Well, at least it came out 95% in one piece, which is better than the muffin crumbly bits I brought to work last Thursday for breakfast. Hopefully it tastes as good!



Only 4 or 5 cups of raspberries left to use up. And why is there glaze in my ear?

• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks (0)

Our new $267 riding mower, courtesy of the Sears Outlet website.



I was a little concerned when it wouldn't turn over last night, but I borrowed a battery charger today from my boss, and it turns out the battery was mostly drained. Charged it for awhile tonight, and it started up on the first try. I took it down the hill and back. It's been probably 20 years since I've last driven a riding mower, and our hilly, uneven ground was a little scary. But I managed not to tip over!

• Comments (5)
• Trackbacks (0)

Saturday (or maybe it was Friday) it was windy outside, so we got out the kite Anya received from the Easter Bunny. Ok, it's almost always windy here, but it was windier than normal. Anya thought it was the greatest thing in the world, especially once we finally got it to stay aloft for more than 15 seconds. She stood in the driveway holding on to the string with both hands, because she wanted to do it all by herself. Then she let go.

It ended its life with the string stuck to the telephone/power lines, and the kite flapping madly until it was consumed by a kite-eating tree in the woods on the other side.

• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks (0)

Today is, as Anya would say, a day for a happy cake. For the first time since we received all that snow the weekend BEFORE CHRISTMAS, we were able to drive the car all the way from the street to the house!

This will, of course, but a damper on the Loafkeeper Diet Plan. But it also means we can get the microwave we bought the other day from the Home Depot clearance section out of the car and into the house.

• Comments (0)
• Trackbacks (0)

We received some snow yesterday. On the drive home I got stuck once on a hill, and while slowwwwwwly creeping up to the top, a pickup came zooming up, trying to keep enough momentum to avoid our predicament. I think their mirror missed ours by about 3 inches. But we made it home! We wisely left the car near the hay shack, although I had to push it up the little hill to get it there. Not that I expect us to move it again before at least Monday or Tuesday...

• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks (0)

This week we finally got to pick up poor departed Lil Loaf's new brother, a VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI:





When we first decided to get the car, we couldn't find any bare bones ones (Anya really liked the giant sunroof, but unfortunately for her she doesn't have any money). So we ordered a blue one with the extra back airbags. Time went by. After a few weeks I called the dealer, and it was still backordered, and after it went into production it would be another 6 weeks. Since I was getting quite sick of driving the truck, we asked him to see if he could find a base one in any color but black.

A dark gray one was found, coming in within a week. We went down to First Team Auto, and signed all the paperwork. Gave them a check. Dealt with a really annoying woman who tried to sell us undercoating junk (whom we complained about later, and the president told us we weren't the first to complain that week). Also got a little frustrated with the hard selling of an extended warranty. The next week rolled around, when it should be in...and we get a call from our salesman telling us that it had been sold out from under us. Surprise!

We were a little annoyed. After all, we had given them money and signed all the paperwork with the VIN on it. We wrote an angry email. The president of First Team called me back, it turns out the dealership in Richmond did not log something properly, so a salesman saw the car and didn't know it was sold. But to make things better, they loaned us another TDI wagon until another one showed up on the 15th of December. They even delivered it to our house in the boonies.

This past Saturday they called and it got here early, so Tuesday we drove out and swapped it for the new one. Hooray!

Now we just need to think of a new license plate. Cabol doesn't like DAS LOAF.

• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks (0)

I bought a new 27" iMac yesterday. Cabol said it is my early Christmas present from her. Not the actual computer, but the fact that she didn't kick me out of the house for buying it.

Anya gave me a present of her own. She was taking a bath this afternoon, and I had to step out into the kitchen for a minute to check on the beer on the stove. Soon, I hear, 'Daddy! Daddy!' I come back in to find her...holding her present up for me. This reminds me of the reason we do not usually take baths before potty time.

• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks (0)

It's never too early to learn a valuable life skill.

• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks (0)