I know, I know... Where have we been??!! Sorry folks. Been taking
a little bit of a breather. It seems like we've been so busy since
the wedding, but I can't really put my finger on what we've been
doing. We spent the first week getting the house back in order and
sleeping in, and the second week...??? I know we bought some things,
like his and her desks, and some powertools for Joe. He's been building
desks, and basically cutting or drilling any wood he can get his
hands on. At one point I caught him eyeing a nice wooden box of
mine, which houses my awesome Lewis and Clark cast-iron cooking set. Uh uh. So he
broke down last night and went to Home Depot. Coming soon... New
Sawhorses!!! Clap clap clap. Now when Joe comes home from work, he kisses me on the forehead, and mutters, "Welp, think I'd better go cut me some wood." Ahhh, the power of tools.
Joe builds Jean's desk with his new Mac Daddy
DeWalt 14.4V Cordless drill!
Jean no longer works at the kitchen table!
Joe says games are just more fun with his new
desk (eyebrows raised).
Love me the smell of sawdust in the mornin'.
Since Joe moved all of my computer equipment off the table, I had
to find another use for it. It looked so bare. My solution? I decided
to make Thank You cards, instead of buying them. What I've learned?
That Martha chic is full of it. Nobody turns these things out in
an hour. Think she has minions backstage doing the gluing and cutting?
You bet she does. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... still
pasting. I had super glue on my calves last night. My CALVES! Poor
Joe. He gets down on his knees every evening, faces south and beseeches
the Domestic Diva Goddesses in their studios in Los Angeles, "What
have you done with my wife, and who is this paper punching maniac
in my house? BRING HER BACK!" Then he looks at me with
this sad, sad face, and asks in a wavering voice, "Is this
my fault? Is it because we got married, and you're now a wife?"
I've tried to explain to him that its a way for me to fill my time,
since the wedding planning is over and I've yet to get a job.
Needless to say, I've agreed not to undertake any more projects
for a while (except for the fleece baby blanket...). There
is a certain satisfaction to making my own cards though, and I do
feel good sticking the stamps on them.
They are coming, I promise!
Linda has been having a good week as well. She
"flunked" her blood tests last Friday, so she got a one week vacation
from chemo (if certain blood chemistries fall or rise above or below
preset standards, they pull you from the program until they approach
the normal range again). Last night, we celebrated with chocolate
fudge, chocolate chip brownie sundays. Um yum!!! And
on Tuesday, the mail lady hauled a box from the City and
Borough of Juneau up to our door. We thought that her office had just boxed
up her desk, manuals and all, because the box was HUGE. Mom
opened it, and it was like Christmas in our living room. The
box was full of good stuff. There were slippers and fudge,
candy and cards from friends and co-workers, bath stuff and pajamas,
foot massagers and crossword puzzles.... There was also a
nice letter with good wishes, from the City and Borough Manager,
and the Mayor. Pretty darn cool. It was just what the
doctor ordered. Linda dug through the box with a smile on her face, and tears in her eyes. It was nice to be reminded how many people care.
Today, she received a package from the Ways (Ed, Gloria and Jenny) in Oregon, who sent her
a box of audio books to listen to. Thank you everyone!
That stuffed dog there sings "I'm lonely..." over and over. Thanks guys. Thanks a lot ;-P
August 17, 2004
We have a few wedding photos posted for your viewing pleasure, with
more to follow. Click here.
August 10, 2004
We've been busy busy busy, but I leave you with this picture:
Joe takes Tric for a walk with the... scooter.
August 05, 2004
With the new Jean and Joe pages, its hard to decide where to put
our babble. Is it newsworthy babble, or just babblebabble? We've
decided that if one of us updates another page, we'll post the link
on the news page also, so everyone knows to look there. Work? Okay.
Today, since I have a bunch of household related photos, its NEWSWORTHY.
We've been racing to finish the wedding plans, and trying to finish
unpacking. Unpacking has become the chore that wouldn't die.
Somewhere amid errands and stashing those little things that
don't really belong anywhere, we've found some time to do ordinary
things. Lucky for you, I'm going to tell you allll about
it.
Joe has been dying for me to watch Rambo, First Blood, because I'm
an action movie freak and he loves Rambo. Not wanting to sell ourselves
short, we had a Rambo marathon this week, and watched I, II, and
III. Its funny to see the changes in Sylvester Stallone's physique
as the '80s raged forward, and the increasing effort put in by the
special effects and pyrotechnic crews from movie to movie.
Rambo First Blood: No real plot. Lots of gunfire exchanged,
and a cool cliff-climbing scene.He loses his temper and blows
stuff up at the end.
Rambo II: Slightly different plot, with a subplot consisting
of the First Blood plot. Plenty of hands-on combat, and
action-packed helicopter chase scenes. Oh, and Fire. Fire.
Rambo III: Plot? Sorry, missed it. But a plethera
of big explosions and blood smeared on Rambo's finely tuned, heavily
slathered muscles. Oh, I'm bleeding. Watch me writh
in sex-god agony whilst I light myself on fire.
Come on. That's olive oil. The extra virgin kind.
On the third day of our trilogy, I decided to make
Pad Thai. Now, I've made this before, and the first time it
didn't turn out well. This time, it turned out worse. I kept forgetting
ingredients, like the tofu, the peanuts, and the bean sprouts.
You know, the important stuff. I think I used the wrong noodles
too. By the time I served the food it was watered down, and
the vegetables were limp. I was ready to throw it out, mix the leftover
veggies in with some Top Ramen and see if they could tell the difference.
Joe and my mother were both good sports however, and insisted I
serve it up. I made them sign waivers, and dished it out.
Joe: Ummm. Doesn't taste like Pad Thai, but its pretty good.
Hey, you've invented a new Chinese dish!
Linda: It's really good honey!
Joe: The noodles are quite rubbery, but they're tasty!
Now look at the pictures below and tell me they don't look like
they're in pain.
Ummmm. I love it. Really. Good job.
Is she watching?
You're almost done. Chew it fast.
When it was over, I had a huge dish of "leftovers".
I'm putting bets on it getting discovered in the back of the fridge
someday. Does anyone know what this was? Oohh, what a shame.
Pad Thai, or something like it.
Sigh.
Tric and Joe have continued to bond. I've lost my dog to my fiance.
Or vice-versa. When I serve Tric dinner she looks at me like,
"Where's the cheese?". When Joe makes her dinner
she wolfs it down. He always garnishes her dry/wet mix with a doggie
bone, which she saves for desert. Sometimes she'll eat around it,
but most of the time she sets it aside for after. Its really very
precious.
The Dogfood Gourmet strikes again.
Its all in the presentation.
Joe has walked around the house with a super dog-hair remover tape
roller in his hand since Tric and I got here. He strongly recommended
we get a car gate for Tric and not allow her to sit in the passenger
area of my vehicle any longer *pout*. Sooo... imagine my surprise
when he started taking her out on errands at night in *gasp* his
truck, in the *no, dont look* front seat! He even buckles her in.
On his way home, he stops by 7-11 and picks up a pepperoni stick,
which the two of them share on the ride home. Traitors. What you
can't see, however, is the lint roller stashed on his lap. Joe is
still ready for any dog-hair emergency.
She thinks we're going to make her get out, so
she sits as far away from the door as she can.
Roadtrip!
In closing, I wanted to share a sunset photo with you. I know, so
passe. Its just that I had forgotten how gorgeous the sunsets can
be when you can see for miles upon miles.
