As a homeowner now Laura and I have been excited about doing some exciting things with the decor of our home. Sadly on a freshly graduated budget its tricky to do, but possible! One of our biggest hang-ups has been we have absolutely no shelving anywhere outside of the kitchen and bathroom, and those areas are accounted for since the previous owner must have strictly believed shelves and/or built-in storage to be vessels for demons. So we are trying other methods, one includes me knocking one of two photos from the top of the TV every other week.
Aside from this challenge we are trying to Coรถrdinate our furniture with our walls and other peices, this is going relativly well except we have a massive amount of brown in our living room, between the two couches, the floor and other wooden things. An easy way to escape that? A rug!
Now our current setup isn't so bad except somehow during the move the rug got some sort of permanent bump in it which actually grows at night so it can trip our groggy feet after less than three minutes of awake time. This is a problem. Now don't get me wrong, old green has been through some good years of being tread on. Easily the most useful $10 I have ever left on the floor.
Tony, where are you going with this?
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This ugly floral laden wreck mass makes up approximately 89% of the rugs on the market right now somewhere in our price range.
95% of the remaining rugs look like this one:
An excellent rug you might say, a nice post-modern design, asmetrical, a hint of mystery and intrigue, with a dash of "I'm better than you because I have a rug with a very simple design you traditionalist you"I would find this among many other similar rugs following a modern geometry sequence and many other rugs in between. And let me tell you first. I love these 11% of existing rugs, very much in fact. But they are all GODDAMNED BROWN!!!! WHAT THE FUCK RUG MAKERS???DON'T YOU HAVE A COLOR PALLATTEE TO WORK WITH???
I mean seriously. I can buy a couch that is any color in the rainbow, with the exception of lime green (Although I bet one exists) I have at least 40 Choices of light blue I can paint, but either Brown, Red, or disgusting floral to place on my floor. Why? WHY! I crave a blue rug with a hint of ocean waves, or some lines inspired by lilies, hell give me lavender with a little texture, SOMETHING MORE THAN BROWN.
Now I'm a reasonable man, I can accept that brown is a natural color for the floor, after all, most dirt is brown and a busy pattern on a rug camoflauges that up nicely. But I live with Laura Davis, dirt could write us a post-card and we would read it outside, I love it, my feet are always pink. We are prepared to handle simple, and vibrant.
So what do I want? This one would do just fine in blue. Thank you.
I'm sorry about the lack of posting lately, I know my legions of loyal fans are really perturbed about it so hopefully this new onslaught of photos will catch you up on the last month-ish of my life without much worry. I would like to let everyone know that I have a pepper to be sprouting on one of my plants in the grow room and about 8 more sprouts which are all ready for transplanting in about...2 months? I don't know. The following post is going to have some girth, you've been warned.
First off! I would like to thank The Staab-man for his lovely visit to us. Laura and I were convinced none of our friends would make it down here to see our lovely abode. Jason proved these skeptics wrong. I took this photo to prove that he was in fact in our house.
While he was here (for a glorious four days mind you) we did a whole bunch. One thing was stopping by Lincoln's tomb. Did you know last week he celebrated his 200th birthday? Another fun fact, not too many people approved of Lincoln during his presidency it wasn't until he was martyred that people started to think maybe he really was an excellent president. That said we also visited his Museum in Springfield Il. which is a really crappy and ugly city which unfortunately holds some historic value.
As you can see it would be a very pretty place to visit in the summertime, we plan on going again so you should be down here when me make our way there!
Me with Lincoln's Family.
It took me a while to convince Jason that this photo NEEDED to be taken. Note the Name and its correct spelling. This is in a cemetery if you can't guess from the photo.
We also completed a puzzle. Its hard to be exciting when you have to get up early for work.
Laura and I saw Trampled By Turtles a few weeks ago at the winery that is about a mile down the road from us. We are starting to get to know the owners down there which is excellent. They should hopefully be an excellent resource for grape growing knowledge, and very friendly people as well.
Last weekend we headed up to Milwaukee to visit our pals Matt & Ashley. It was excellent. I haven't consumed that large of a quantity of beer in many moons and it was really excellent. We hit up two brewery tours which were pretty cool. We did the Miller Brewing Company's tour as well as a small one (as they put it: Miller will spill the amount of beer they ship annually on Monday) called Lakefront brewing. They were really different tours and I found the Lakefront one more informative since I am a fledgling homebrewer, that and we got more beer. The Miller tour was more of a promotional event which was stupid because obviously if I am there, touring, I know of miller and their beer. But none the less it was interesting to wander around the brewing campus and watch some of their dated videos and gawk at the sheer volume of beer they can produce in a single day.
This is the worlds largest Miller billboard, effin huge is one way to describe it.
These are their brewkettles. See them going all the way in back there too? This is only one of three miller breweries. Did you know that High Life was miller's first beer? Did you know that it tastes pretty much exactly like Miller Lite?
Natually after completing two beer tastings on a stomach filled with nearly nothing you can guess how the crew was feeling, at 2pm. Matt and I thought it would be an excellent idea to see how long that can go for in a single day (late into the night we discovered) good times.
Changing gears. Jinx took a hiatus from playing fetch with us after the move down to Indiana, and then to Illinois. So after I complained to her that I miss playing fetch with her she decided a few weeks later that she too missed it and has been playing with us almost on a nightly basis with Laura and I. So here is another video of our cat playing fetch. Right now she is actually doing something new and weird and laying in a sunbeam sleeping rather than under the covers of our bed!
Laura and I have been busy breaking in our house too! She managed to make our oven look like a murder scene by dropping a pizza face down (of course) onto the door when pulling it out. I was busy consoling her to remember to nab a photo of the initial carnage but this one is the oven door.
Despite what you might think, I too am not perfect and while making a candle the container I was heating the wax in exploded all over our kitchen and I had wax & glass EVERYWHERE. I can't decide which was worse, the fire I couldn't put out (please note the note to self) or the waxy mess that took me over two hours to clean up. Note to self: Get a new legit wax melting container before attempting this again.
On Friday I had my wine making knowledge turned upside down by a couple of Laura's Co-Workers, the things that they told me were the equivalent of telling a 25 year old they've been putting their pants on the wrong way for their life. It's still sinking in.
Last night I cooked up a great Valentine's dinner, and hooked Laura up with some excellent wine and cheese for a Birthentines present.
This much snow actually closed schools. <4 inches. This is where I'm currently growing peppers and trying to grow grapes. That stick is a maple tree, I swear. One of the best dishes including chocolate I have ever consumed EVER. Ruth's Chris filled me right up to the top. Chip after unwraping presents. If you visit us we will take you to big boy, right Sam? Laura waxed poetic considering chocolates So much fun was had we lost track of which way was up Mercury is toxic. It's also ridiculously pretty. Click on this picture to see it big, I like the sparkle.
That is one on the first titles that made a complete sentence in a while...go me!
The United states government has two big problems right now. Fun Problem/Solution time!
Here goes:
First. The economy is doing pretty shitty. (that means less babies are being made meaning fewer taxes being paid in the future, very bad)
Solution: Pass an even more massive economic stimulus package to not only taxpayers but businesses as well! Perfect...how about $800,000,000,000.00ish? Even better.
Second and MOST IMPORTANT. There are actually over 1 million people who don't have cable or sattelite(!) who are waiting on their government sponsored coupon to buy a converter for their shitty TV(mine included)!!!
Solution: Push back the switch date farther (again) to allow more money to be allocated to these stupid bastards watching Survivor. But! while these procrastinators are waiting lets cleverly bundle it in with the $800,000,000,000.00ish 'stimulus' and call it helpful. This will add urgency.
Back to the taxpayer... How do either of these problems get solved?
Well that is easy! Buy a TV on sale from a nation-wide company based out of a city nowhere close to the taxpayer's local economy, which is manufactured by a company located in across an ocean in a country with an even more dismal economy, which is outfitted with a digital tuner so that they can now say that they have stimulated an eastern company's economy all while maintaining their debt on their house and credit card(s) to their local bank. At least there is still survivor.
2008 was good to me, it got me out of Duluth and college, to date I have earned quite a bit more this year than any other year in my life, which is really great since I’m paying for more things than I ever have in my life, nice. Heres the list I know you want to see:
Best:
Movie: Wall-E It was sooo good. I don’t think there has been such an excellent social prophecy ever predicted in a G movie
TV Show: Guilty. I like a TV show, but not just any TV show Tru Blood a HBO show about Vampires, nothing like a show that portrays hated minorities in the south, only now its ok! Why? Because these minorities are Vampires.
Concert: Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The lights! The Music! The Company! It was hard not to love. Album: Panic at the Disco Takes it this year with their Mellowed out and Sgt. Peppers-esque Pretty. Odd. I like all of the songs but that one awful one in the middle.
Song: Dan le Sac Vs. Scroobious Pip – Thou Shall Always Kill Clever. Game: Mario Kart wii, Get a Wii and this game and your free time will be occupied for the next 2 months without question. Heart.
Book: Its New to me, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I’m rather excited for the movie since the book was such a page turner. Wine Type: Garnache Bar Night: Champions! The evening following Bock Fest at the Brewhouse. I remember lots of bock and some other stuff...sorta
Getaway: Laura And I made our way to Camp Amnicon for a quiet weekend for two, so lovely so cute and so very cold.
Best Events of Note:
Random: This is a tie since I’m not too sure which one wins. Geocaching Event at gooseberry falls knowing no one – Seeing my next door neighbor do his thing on…himself. More than once – A mud Volleyball tournament.
Obsession: Growing things, especially the grape seeds in my freezer right now. Celebration: There were many things to celebrate this year. Obama’s victory is at the top of the list, especially since we were in grant park hanging out with his other several hundred thousand friends.
Newsworthy: This one is not good. I can’t believe we owe $700 billion more money to our own banks, and the money can’t even be accounted for, bad news. Exercise: I just want to document that I have taken up swimming as a form of fitness. Weird.
2008 was a life changing year without question, it earned me a college degree, I’ve managed to continue my relationship with the same wonderful woman for 2ish years now, I moved to Oakwood, Illinois where I now own a house which rocks. I have a good Graphic Design job working with the memory of dead folks and creating plaques recognizing alive ones, I have my own (expensive as shit) health insurance, and starting tomorrow my first 401k (go stocks go!)
But 2009 has lots to offer too! For next year will be my first full year of the next 45 in the working world, this is exciting to me but I imagine my old ass self reading this in the future is laughing right now (please don’t be bored and keep making wine!) Since we live so damn close to the south I want to head to Bonaroo and rock out for a weekend of mayhem and “memories” I’m still pretty pumped for Celebrating St. Patrick’s day with flogging molly and Growing all sorts of things in our garden, including the beginning of my own private vineyard. Laura and I hope to travel somewhere exciting and frankly I can’t wait! Here’s to the future my friends.
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This one would do just fine in blue. Thank you.
