My Nephew

*Photo by Wendy Rozier, 7-16-06

A Summer Twist on Propel

So y'all know that I loooove Propel water. Well, I was really hot today, so I stuck a bottle of Propel in the freezer until it was a little slushy. A Propel snow cone. YUM!

Update on Earning My Keep

I read the code that was listed on my non-compliance notice, and it says if someone files a complaint about a certain property, they will come out and inspect the property and see what's up. The code does not mention a certain height that the grass should be. Just says that the inspector will make a decision. So I'm not sure if they have a separate set of guidelines for the inspectors to follow or if they just use their own judgment.

But anyway, I was at my neighbor's yard sale this morning, and several other neighbors were there, too. It was hilarious, because one guy said, "Did anyone get a notice for their grass being too high?" So we all started talking about it like a neighborhood therapy session or something. ;-)

I Earned My Keep Today

When I got home from work today, I noticed a pink piece of paper stuck in my door. "What could that be," I wondered. I supposed it was an ad for pet sitting or a yard sale or some such thing. To my horror, it was a "Housing Notice of Non-Compliance." It stated that I was violating a county ordinance because my grass was too high. Well, I mowed the grass about a week ago, so you can imagine that it was ready to be worked on again, but it wasn't disgraceful or anything. In fact, my yard looked exactly like everyone else's yard in the neighborhood--except for one house. I suspect we all got pink notices in our doors today because my neighbor's grass was up to my chest. The inspector must have wanted to make a point to the entire neighborhood instead of just the obvious offender.

So what was supposed to be my Saturday project turned into my Friday project. I don't really know if anyone else in the neighborhood got a pink notice, but I suspect they did, because several of us were out mowing at the same time, and we normally all save this chore for the weekend. But I think of it as a neighborhood bonding experience. The naughty children were reprimanded, and now we have paid our dues.

So anyway, I mowed the front and back yards (I was able to start the mower on my own!!!!), pulled a few weeds, and cleaned out my cat's litter box. I'd say that's pretty impressive for a Friday evening after a long day of work. I guess since I did all my work this evening, I get to play all day tomorrow. So all's well that ends well.

Too bad I don't have an Ale-8-One...

Katya's Hair is as Dark as the Datya's

(And it matches her eyebrows for the first time in her life...)

:-)

Dancing and Goodbyes

I went to a dance recital last night that a friend's friend was in. There was tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, etc. It reminded me how fun dancing can be for kids (and adults!) and how it can teach them rhythm, coordination, flexibility, gracefulness, and it's a wonderful workout all at the same time.

After the recital, I stopped by a party our Franklin Fellow was having to celebrate the end of the year. He accepted another job for the fall, so it was sort of a goodbye party, too. It was 10:00 p.m. by the time I got out of the recital, so I figured everyone would be gone, but I decided to drive by and see. Everyone was still there, blabbing away about philosophy and daycare and sewing and cooking and summer.... Xon and I stayed until about 11:30. I don't normally go to the Philosophy parties because I feel like I hear enough about philosophy at work every day, but this one was fun. :-)

Recent E-mail Conversation with Sis

Datya: When a recipe calls for lemon zest, what exactly does that mean?

Katya: The colored part of the peel. You use a little grater.

Datya: Are you laughing at me? :-) Anyway, for some reason all the stuff I want to cook lately calls for it.

Datya (again): But, when it says zest of two lemons, isn't that a whole lot of zest? I mean, the skins are pretty thick. Or when you say "colored" part (or "lemon of color" to be more politically correct), are you implying that only the top part of the skin is of color?

Katya: This e-mail made me cry from laughing so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I can't control myself. Only the top part of the skin is of color. It's a real thin layer. I find zesting to be very tedious.

Yes, folks, these are the kinds of conversations the Datya and I have over e-mail. I'd say this is a pretty good representation of most of our conversations. I save gems like this one and read them over and over again when I need a good laugh. ;-)

ACR Wine Tasting

ACR had a wine tasting at Aromas this past weekend to raise money for rescue dogs. Gavin stood at the door to greet everyone as they came in. Here's a pic of him charming everyone in his purple tie. ;-)

New Savings Account

I was listening to the radio and heard about this new promotion at Bank of America. It's called Keep the Change. Anytime you buy something with your debit card, they automatically round up the amount to the nearest dollar, and they deposit the difference in your savings account. Xon and I signed up for it since we think it will make it very easy to balance the checkbook, and it will help us save a little extra each month. We certainly use our debit cards! ;-) They also match your contributions for the first 3 months. What a unique idea!