4/26/08 She's Gotta Have It

Nosy neighbor that I am, I stopped by an open house in our neighborhood today. You never know what you might pick up. And boy did I score with this: "Kick Sweep".

How many times a day do I grab a broom and sweep up crumbs, cereal, food bits, dirt, whatever? About a million. How many times a day do I actually pick up the ever-growing pile? About ... um, er, once. This feature is part of a central vacuum system, and lets you sweep stuff right into a slot along the floor. That is SO for me!

If I had any doubts at all about remodeling vs. moving, this does it. Now I have to hope a central vac system doesn't have to be drawn into our remodeling plans, which in theory are done. Well, they can be changed of course, if I want more delays and more cost.

The kids all had a sleepover last night, and as predicted, we paid dearly today. Katrina and Julian both had multiple meltdowns. I made a point of not taking them anywhere today, and they pretty much played in the yard all day.

For Uncle Ronan: the boys had a great time talking to him on the speakerphone this afternoon.


The playhouse out back was apparently "No Babies Allowed" today. Katrina did not approve, but she can't intimidate Julian as she can other kids who aren't used to her.


Gabriel decided to teach Julian how to jump rope, with amusing, if middling, results.



Gabriel shows levels 1 through 3 of learning jump rope.


Meantime, Katrina, who'd succeeded in getting into the playhouse and coating herself with dirt, rearranged chairs and played with wheeled things.


I went running this afternoon! I've been encouraged that the impact activities I've been trying, including a mile on the treadmill, have resulted in only minimal buzzing and feet-falling-asleep. And I'm feeling cheeky about possibly having an actual diagnosable and fixable condition (the herniated lumbar disc). So I did a short, but exhausting given my diminished condition, run at Rancho this afternoon. So far so good!

4/26/08