I think it's Sunday

Pretty unsatisfactory visit for dancing at the Ranch last night. There was a group of cigar smokers in the area where the dancers usually congregate. Cigar smoke makes me nauseous...VERY. And there were pipe smokers somewhere too. So Danny and I stayed near the only door that you can leave ajar to let air in, and left after about 90 minutes after a couple of pleasant conversations and a bunch of 2-stepping. Ugh. I certainly hope the ban on indoor public smoking in bars hits here soon...it's already in effect in Santa Fe.

Although the crowd was down from usual (you could actually walk through the place without bumping into someone, which has been rare lately), most of the dancers were the ones that have taken my lessons at some point over the past 13 months. Several people came up and thanked me for being the conduit for this new sociability they've found. Very encouraging, although the DJ is loathe to actually announce that there ARE lessons.

Today, I actually slept in, but it was after waking up several times during the night (with one pleasant morning interlude with the Danster), then dozing on and off...finally crawled out of bed at 10:10am...long time since that's happened!

But projects beckoned, and almost immediately we set out to hang the former 11' kitchen cabinet in the garage. DONE, without too much pain! We set about (mostly Danny) reorganizing the garage again, since we had tools and bits scattered everywhere from several other projects. I swear we have 2 or 3 of everything. I have FOUR sets of hand pruning shears! We threw out about 100 keys that have accumulated over the years, most of which I have no idea what they fit. Some are from my rentals, but the locks have been changed several times since the keys were made, so out they went. I think my Honda Passport motorcycle spare key was in there...and that was stolen and burned in 1981, so that wasn't much use.

While Danny was painstakingly reorganizing, I opted to do two more projects:

1) Clean out the gutters on the east side of the house. No easy feat, since it's all on the second level and part of it steps down to the lower patio. I troweled out about 20 pounds of mud and dirt. Yikes.

2) Level out the area that was under where the bedroom deck used to be before that was ripped out. That area had become a haven for construction debris from the few outside contractors that actually have showed up and done generally half-assed work (although the electrician did good work.) It's all now leveled and ready for landscape plastic, bark mulch and a new sitting area. I have to level out the 10 wheelbarrows of rock and dirt that I carted over to the north side of the garage.

We have our list for Home Depot/Lowe's and since it's pushing 6pm, we'll probably grab a bite and head over there after a rest. Danny's relaxing by listening to his BBC radio soap, "The Archers."

Nassar Shukayr and his lovely new-wife Jeanna will be staying with us Sept 14-17. Since we're out of town NEXT weekend, we have to get this place guest-ready. It's not. But it will be!

I think it's Sunday

Pretty unsatisfactory visit for dancing at the Ranch last night. There was a group of cigar smokers in the area where the dancers usually congregate. Cigar smoke makes me nauseous...VERY. And there were pipe smokers somewhere too. So Danny and I stayed near the only door that you can leave ajar to let air in, and left after about 90 minutes after a couple of pleasant conversations and a bunch of 2-stepping. Ugh. I certainly hope the ban on indoor public smoking in bars hits here soon...it's already in effect in Santa Fe.

Although the crowd was down from usual (you could actually walk through the place without bumping into someone, which has been rare lately), most of the dancers were the ones that have taken my lessons at some point over the past 13 months. Several people came up and thanked me for being the conduit for this new sociability they've found. Very encouraging, although the DJ is loathe to actually announce that there ARE lessons.

Today, I actually slept in, but it was after waking up several times during the night (with one pleasant morning interlude with the Danster), then dozing on and off...finally crawled out of bed at 10:10am...long time since that's happened!

But projects beckoned, and almost immediately we set out to hang the former 11' kitchen cabinet in the garage. DONE, without too much pain! We set about (mostly Danny) reorganizing the garage again, since we had tools and bits scattered everywhere from several other projects. I swear we have 2 or 3 of everything. I have FOUR sets of hand pruning shears! We threw out about 100 keys that have accumulated over the years, most of which I have no idea what they fit. Some are from my rentals, but the locks have been changed several times since the keys were made, so out they went. I think my Honda Passport motorcycle spare key was in there...and that was stolen and burned in 1981, so that wasn't much use.

While Danny was painstakingly reorganizing, I opted to do two more projects:

1) Clean out the gutters on the east side of the house. No easy feat, since it's all on the second level and part of it steps down to the lower patio. I troweled out about 20 pounds of mud and dirt. Yikes.

2) Level out the area that was under where the bedroom deck used to be before that was ripped out. That area had become a haven for construction debris from the few outside contractors that actually have showed up and done generally half-assed work (although the electrician did good work.) It's all now leveled and ready for landscape plastic, bark mulch and a new sitting area. I have to level out the 10 wheelbarrows of rock and dirt that I carted over to the north side of the garage.

We have our list for Home Depot/Lowe's and since it's pushing 6pm, we'll probably grab a bite and head over there after a rest. Danny's relaxing by listening to his BBC radio soap, "The Archers."

Nassar Shukayr and his lovely new-wife Jeanna will be staying with us Sept 14-17. Since we're out of town NEXT weekend, we have to get this place guest-ready. It's not. But it will be!