Mixed Bag

1. Internet service at home has been intermittant at best. If it doesn't fix itself soon (calling doesn't help), the next time I am at the craft store, I am buying enough iron-on letters to make a t-shirt that says: "I am unhappy with Comcast."


2. Last night I went on the most amazing walk. Here's the amazing part: about a block from my house, I ran into a former builder who if I had to describe him in one word, I would call "savvy." Right now he's not working in construction much because he runs a very successful bed & breakfast in a house he restored. He does all the salvage work for County Heritage, and he's sold me salvage stuff before. So I was able to get a new (old) counterweight (for only $5) to replace the one that the previous owners lost. (How do you lose 8 lbs of iron that lives inside the wall? Incompetence.) And the savvy builder's other hobby is networking, so I was able to get the name of a good carpenter from him. (Remember my window hanging half out of my wall. Right.)


3. It's been raining today, which was actually a good thing. Carpenters are easier to contact when they can't do real work. He came over and looked at the window and told me how to fix it myself! Oh, what a wonderful carpenter. At some point I will give a taxonomy of contractors, but this guy is an anomaly (of the good kind). He's jovial. Has a ponytail and an earring. Wears coke-bottle glasses. Yes, an old-house nerd! And he has really well-designed business cards.


4. I've been sick most of today, as you might suspect, isn't that great. Man, the morning programming on PBS is BIZARRE.


5. This afternoon I had a fairly successful trip to the crafty part of town -- went to Joann, where I bought buttons that look like flies (as in diptera), a CD-ROM with hokey crafty clip-art, and some candy. Also went to big-box hardware where I bought some rotted wood stabilizer, the Minwax wood filler (the two-part stuff, which is the best), a brass-bristled brush (on the recommendation of my new carpenter), and I impulse bought a VERY CUTE 9" pry bar. (You can never have too many tools.)


6. Also went to the yarn store but didn't buy anything because they are having a 30% off sale next week.