A house is a house....

A while back, I posted something about the house fire, and I haven't mentioned much else about it. Today I got the Definitive Word From The Property Owner saying that everything should be done on or by the 12th. Of January.

The damage to the home was really minor - one interior wall had to be rebuilt, and the plumbing & electrical had to be redone. The owner, though, chose for his own reasons to redo the kitchen entirely - walls stripped, cabinets ripped out, even the very sheetrock torn off of ceiling and walls. All of it. Fine, I guess, it's his house after all, and not mine, but come on, my family's been homeless now for two months!

Anyway, I've heard this "we'll be done really soon" line before, so I asked him, "Say, um, we're really tired of being homeless. How about we get a propane stove to cook on for the next week, and you guys just finish around us?" He hemmed and hawed a bit, then said he'd check with the subcontractors about it, saying something about liability and having kids, etc. The thing is, that arguement really doesn't pass the sniff test - how else do people have work done in their homes that they're living in, if not having the contract guys literally do the work around them? The kids will be gone while they're working (school, obviously), and I'll be at work. Red and the Little Pirate can be elsewhere, so what's the deal?

Red's theory is that they just don't want anybody watching to make sure they're not doing a half-assed job, and I'm beginning to think she's right.

Totally NSFW

I've seen links from a number of other people on this one....and I'm forced to agree. This is definitely the best commercial EVER.

Not safe for work. Not even a little.

Filed under "art" because....damn.

As ice storms go...

This one was really something,

Being snowed in...well, at least for Oregon

Oregon's a little strange, at least the Willamette Valley is. Other places get snow a foot deep, and it barely fazes them (at least, as long as the snowplow guys don't pile 12' of snow in Kate's yard, anyway). Salem gets a couple of inches, and people have to stay home. I reconcile it by observing that the people that aren't fazed by snow have never seen Oregonians driving in the rain.

Here's Red, Thing 1, and the Little Pirate headed out for a stroll earlier this afternoon. As I couldn't drive anywhere, I went along with the gang for the photo op.


One of the area middle schools has a hill that is simply awesome for kid-sledding. Red swiped some kid's sled, plunked the little guy on it, and took him for a ride. I think he looks bored....although he was pretty stoked when he got to the bottom and realized that it was fun.

Dinosaur's First Snow

Snow, you say?

RAWR!!!!!!!

Entertainment....thatta way

Go here and visit. You'll be glad you did, and you'll never look at cute animals the same way again.

(h/t Rachel )