I've been busy

Work has been keeping be pretty busy. I haven't had a chance to update (sorry). Here's a photo to keep you entertained until I have time to catch up. It's Lauren at TJ Maxx. I know you think it looks like my closet, but it's not.

The deck is nearly complete!

All I've got left to do is cut and install the spindles! I need to get two more boards to fill in the rises on the steps as well, but that's not a big deal. I went with prefab stringers which is a bit of a pain. They don't quite go down far enough, so I'm gonna have to build a little landing. It's probably better that I do that anyway because it minimizes the amount of mud the dogs dig up running up and down the stairs. If you're wondering about the plastic bags on my feet, dogs + rain + coastal Virginia = mud. You can see the tops of the French Drains at the bottom of the stairs; they do a really good job. The backyard would be quicksand without them. I plan on taking the scrap from the old deck and stairs to build the landing and a bench for the deck. I really like how the table I built out of scraps came out, so I might rip the deck apart to build more furniture! Maybe not.

The other guy in the picture is Rob Montgomery. When he wasn't on the phone with his wife, he helped me dig the postholes and pour the concrete. Thanks Rob!

Preshow Ambush

Separated at Birth?

Brody

Before Jodie and Dixie, there was Brody, a delightful fluffy angel. He and Jake were tight. They used to convene every evening to discuss politics, religion, and girls, and I'm certain that Ramona felt left out. I think they even had the same accountant. He was the coolest dog on the block. Brody was even allowed to hang out late at night, sometimes in the front yard, with the assistance of an invisible fence. I really miss Brody.

Josie & Dixie ("Fauxmona & Fake")

This afternoon I traveled to the far corners of our property to snap some photos of the newbies and learned a little bit about the backyard dynamics. Excited by my footsteps, the dogs rushed the fence and commenced the ferocious barking. I’m not going to lie, I was a little frightened. It began with the cocker spaniel, and then the others chimed in. I learned that the seemingly charming little spaniel has really been an instigator all this time. She was taunting, jumping and snapping! What a little gremlin she turned out to be. I also discovered that these animals would not be still for a photo. After some time, they calmed a little and actually appeared to be pretty sweet. The barking was never-ending, but it wasn’t as scary is it seemed. It seemed more threatening because they’re not as adorable and charming as our dogs.

The Rabble-Rouser

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town

(1968)

You've painted up your lips and rolled and curled your tinted hair,

Ruby are you contemplating going out somewhere?

The shadows on the wall tell me the sun is going down,

Oh Ruby, don't take your love to town.

It wasn't me that started that old crazy Asian war,

But I was proud to go and do my patriotic chore,

And yes, it's true that I'm not the man I used to be,

Oh Ruby, I still need some company.

It's hard to love a man whose legs are bent and paralyzed,

And the wants and needs of a woman your age really I realize,

But it won't be long, I've heard them say, until I'm not around,

Oh Ruby, don't take your love to town.

She's leaving now cause I just heard the slamming of the door,

The way I know I heard its slams one hundred times before,

And if I could move I'd get my gun and put her in the ground,

Oh Ruby, don't take your love to town.

Oh Ruby, for God's sake, turn around.

This song came up on my ipod (the Cake version) and since I love it so much, I pressed the repeat function and have been hearing it all morning. I never realized how harsh the lyrics were until now.

Rahtz!

About a year ago I was having a light-hearted afternoon conversation about nothing with some of the faculty here in the business school. Somewhere in the midst of our chatter, I asked Don if he thought I was fat. I admit I did this exclusively to get a reaction. (We’re relentless here.) He was visibly startled by this question, and stood in stunned silence, while the rest of us had a field day with his reaction. Clearly, I had embarrassed him.

A few weeks later, some more of us were goofing off during work hours in the mailroom, and again, he was the target of another one of my wise cracks. Once again, everyone had a laugh at his expense, and then he fired back: “You know, I thought about your question, and the answer is yes. I think you’re fat.” Ooh, BURN! He unarguably got me, but I deserved it. I felt my face turn red, and then I stood up and gave him a high five. Don and I were laughing hysterically. Those who weren’t there for the initial blast were nervous and confused. He just called her fat! In front of other people! Perhaps they thought the remark was inappropriate and that he was a jerk, but he became my hero that day. In light of that momentous occasion, he often sends me ads like this one. And every now and again he checks up on me to make sure I can get in and out of my chair okay, or if I need some WD-40.

Neighbors

Over the summer, we got new backdoor neighbors. We didn’t really notice until our dogs went postal one morning. It was like gang violence for dogs. We rushed outside, and met the new dogs (who incidentally are doppelgangers of our dogs, but I’ll save that for another post), and their owner, whose name escapes me. He was very nice. He was military from Orlando. His wife was expecting a baby in November. Other than the battling dogs, they seemed like a nice addition to the neighborhood. Over the course of a few months, however, we have grown tired of their shenanigans. You see, the previous neighbors were nice, but they were loud. They had parties almost every weekend, but hey, it was the weekend. Occasionally the mom took phone calls out on the deck and we inadvertently heard the whole conversation. That again, was but a benign annoyance. The new people are killing us. They have flood lights in their back yard that they keep on all night long. I’m not sure if they’re expecting to host a softball game in the middle of the night in their backyard, or if they’re paranoid of intruders. Nonetheless, the light keeps Chris awake at night. They also let their dogs out at the oddest hours, and we are often awakening before our alarm clock by the barking of their dogs. If we have to let the dogs out while theirs are out, we have to stand guard and not let them near each other because it’s a confrontation every time, and it’s exhausting. While we can’t do anything about the dogs short of an actual human confrontation, we found a way to solve the floodlight quandary. We got drapes. I didn’t fancy myself a connoisseur of window treatments, but I think I like them now. The color we chose was called Antique Gold, but to the naked eye, it’s brown. It looks nice against our blue walls. Thank you, JC Penney! I’d really like to send the neighbors the bill.

More Deck Photos

I could not leave Sonya's post about the deck without adding a bit more information (including some new photos.) As she said, Greg stumbled into our home that fateful morning, but I am grateful that he did. I probably would never have started on it had he not provided his drunken motivation. Only a true friend could come over to your house, grab a crowbar from your garage, dismantle your existing deck, and make it worth while and fun. He's also the guy with the Ford F-250000 that could actually haul all the lumber we needed. I promise you, you have never seen larger dimensional lumber on a do-it-yourself deck (6x6 posts, 2x12x16 joists, $2500 worth of pressure-treated gold.) He actually made the trip all the way from Gloucester to Williamsburg several times during the course of the thing, and he still hasn't seen the completed masterpiece! I can't forget Jerry and Jason whose help was just as essential. Except for a few too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen moments, their assistance was wonderful. Thank heavens for the lubricating effects of beer to make the whole endeavor that much more enjoyable! Jerry came by after work one night, and with the help of Jason's worklight, we were able to get the railing framed-in. I finished the spindles a couple days later. Jason was the guy with the idea for how to make a seam between the old deck and the new deck. Bravo, Jason! (we saw the idea in a How-To book on decks later that day) Anyway, I'm starting to feel a bit like Sally Field in 1985; "...I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"

Thanks guys!

By the way, I built that table with the scrap from the old deck.

It's officially birthday season in the Drueke household

Last year I turned 30, and Chris worked on my birthday. To top it off, my 30th birthday landed on a Saturday and I was alone. It blew. Then something great happened. The following week, on Chris’ four-day weekend, he threw me a surprise party. He secretly flew in two of my dearest friends, Ornit and Juliet. Then my mom and brother Alex arrived. He also invited some of my work friends and all his Williamsburg band friends. I was blown away.

Turning 31 doesn't mean anything except I'm more thirty than I was last year. Nevertheless, we're kicking off this birthday season in style. Next week we're going to Chicago during Chris' Spring Break. Yes, I said Spring Break. Only now we're in our thirties, so we're fat. We aren’t going anywhere warm because we don't want to offend anyone by wearing bathing suits in public. (We're considerate like that.) We're going to Chicago (in March) so that we will have to wear as much clothing as possible, and eat more. After we return from Chicago, my girl Juliet (and possibly Camilio) is coming for a visit. The following weekend, my mom is coming. I love it! I'll likely get fired for missing so much work, but it will be so worth it.

Deck!

Our good friend Captain Greg showed up one Sunday morning reeking of alcohol from the previous night’s carousing. Irritated, I let him in, but coaxed him and Chris outside while I stayed in and watched Steel Magnolias. When I surfaced, I found that the guys had taken the deck apart. I was ticked, so I told them that they needed to finish before nightfall. I'm NOT walking the dogs in this weather. To my astonishment, they accomplished a lot in one day, and even reattached the stairs for the doggies. Over the course of that Sunday and the following Saturday, the crew (consisting of Chris, Greg, Jerry and Jason) were nearly finished. I had picked up some beer, Chik-fil-A and Amber and it was officially a party. This is what we got. I'm most pleased and very proud of my new deck.

Holy Cow

I just finished a quiet dinner with the man. Chicken, brussel sprouts, wine and chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. It started with a bag of valentine's chocolate, then when that ran out, I started to look around. More chocolate. Where's more chocolate? We destroyed a bag of Lindt's dark chocolate (60%) and now I have a stomach ache. Oh well. At least I have all that wine to settle my stomach. And I wonder why I'm 45 minutes late to work every day.