Friday, October 23, 2009

this and that


mist-flower in the untended garden in the city


Three jobs, a new proposal, and a sketch for an accepted proposal are keeping me busy.  My mind is mostly on my work.  Still in the drawing stage on two of the jobs and am ready to order the glass for the Oklahoma Heart Hospital.  I’m waiting to see if they add the extra piece of trim to the frames I have suggested.  It will make fitting the glass much easier.  


Another sign of fall around here is the yo-yo nature of the weather.  It’ll be in the 80s for a couple of days and then the 50s and 60s for a couple of days and then back to the 80s.  A front came in yesterday so now it’s very cool out there.  Perhaps our coolest day so far.  The wind and rain that preceded it knocked lots of pecans out of the trees.  I could hear them falling as I collected them yesterday.



mist-flower is a native perennial, a wild ageratum


The police did not catch the arsonist in our city neighborhood after all.  He’s up to 17 fires now.  The last few have been across Shepherd so technically not in our neighborhood but still within about 8 blocks of us.  All abandoned houses so far.  It’s a bit worrisome for us since we are in the country more than half the time lately.  Our daughter has been making sure the trash is set out and turns on the porch light at night for us.


Our homeowner’s insurance on the city house expires today.  The country house has been uninsured so far.  We have decided to switch the policy to the country house, using a local agent.  Maybe add a nominal amount for the city house in case the arsonist gets it.  Enough to have the remains torn down and a small apartment built so we have a place to stay when we are in the city.  Our work ties us there, our vendors are there, so we will be going in on a regular basis. 


Besides being busy with work (the idle summer seems so far distant now), I am on dial-up out here in the country so if you’ve been missing me commenting on your blogs (of course you have), that’s why.  It just takes so damn long to download, read and then go through the process of commenting.  Not enough hours in the day.  I am reading everyone though.  I try to make it up to the library every day and use their high speed.  I have been promised cable out here, the box is on the pole right beside the driveway, but so far the money manager in our house has not ordered it.  So I limp along, moaning about how slow dial-up is hoping he takes the hint.



nightfall earlier this week


14 comments:

  1. I can't believe how long it took us to enter the high speed internet age. Dr. M just didn't think we really needed it. But then he started needing to download history articles & suddenly it was VERY important LOL. So maybe your money manager needs an internet project...

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  2. I remember dial up ...
    I love our high speed ...
    Congrats on all the work ..

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  3. Love the beautiful sky pix.
    Our temps are up and down too.
    I think we saw the last peek of Indian summer on Weds. Rainy today . . . taking down some of the leaves.

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  4. I'm in a rural area, and our dial-up is slower than anything. It doesn't help that some blogs have oodles of gadgets that slow down the process even more. Love to hear things are progressing well for you.

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  5. 17 fires? That's insane. I do hope they catch him soon. Be safe!!

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  6. An arsonist was caught in the city where our house is up for sale. The last fire burnt right up to the street behind us. He was 16 years old and responsible for fires as far back as four summers ago. What a relief that they finally caught him. Arsonists are some of the strangest of criminals.

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  7. Fire bugs and slow internet, not my idea of a good time.

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  8. I hope they catch that arsonist soon.. not good. It must be very unnerving for you and your neighbours.

    Lovely photos. I hope you're on a faster connection soon!

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  9. hi ellen - it's funny that there's usually one person int he partnership who needs and enjoys technology in some shape or form, more than the other. so the balance tips ever so gently in favour of the country house again!!! i'm happy for you as well as slightly envious!!!!! sweet for you. have a lovely day. steven

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  10. wow that's a lot going on! 17 FIRES??? That would be pretty disconcerting. At least there is new work coming in. As far as dial up, may I say you are the soul of patience to still blog with that. And I'm glad you are! Any internet cafes or even Kinkos in a 25 mile radius? lol

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  11. Oh Dear! I will pray for you all about this arsenist. How dreadful! What a jerk...seriously I hate hearing about people that have nothing better to do than distroy things.
    Dial up huh? wow. So sorry about that too! Glad to hear you are still reading us though :)
    I wish I could go into the country. This fall weather is kindof a yo yo here too but for the most,very crisp air and beautiful to look at the colors the autumn leaves bring us.
    Love to you!

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  12. The sunset picture is beautiful! Wow.

    Sending a serious wave of protection to your city house, imagining it as invisible to arsonists. Yikes.

    I have a friend who puts a cymbal in her backyard in the fall. As the acorns drop, they create a John Cage-like percussive background sound. Very cool idea, I think. Your falling pecans made me think about it.

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  13. There are some sacrifices that have to be made for the chance to have a country house. The fires are very frightening, but the slow dial-up is worse.

    Thank you for the lovely photos Ellen. And for keeping up with all of us and our blogs even when it's a pain in the ass. Love you girlfriend.

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  14. Lovely photos. And I remember the joys of dial up too. Hope all is well with you, sound like you're working hard.

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