I Forbid It

Since Karlo has decided to stop lusting after other motorcycles his love for his current bike has grown even stronger. So much so, in fact, that lately he's been eyeing and talking about trading in the VW Golf (some day) for the new Suzuki cross-over car. When Karlo first showed this car to me a month ago I thought it was cute. It had so much going for it, 4-door hatchback, sporty, AWD, little price tag. How could you go wrong? Karlo looked at this like a glorified motorcycle. And with my past history with Suzukis I could never say a bad word about them. Amazing vehicles and great, very reliable engines. I was all for it.

HOWEVER, I recently saw this advertisement for the car:

And now I forbid it. How dare they even THINK about comparing it to a MINI? Outrageous. I went from liking the car, thinking it was cute and wanting one to being utterly outraged by the ad. Check this out:



MINI owners everywhere are up in arms. OK, maybe I'm not really all that upset. It is sort of funny. Funny to compare a Suzuki to a BMW, that is. But truth be told, I'm only outraged because I think I should be. I still do like the Suzuki. And wouldn't the two look adorable parked next to each other in our garage? Maybe some day . . .

Another Job Lots Score

Do you remember when I blogged about my new favorite clothing catalog . . . the one that was designed especially for Paula? It was called Athleta and the catalog is filled with high tech, but seriously cute and over-priced clothing. Sort of like EMS for chicks. Well, I was at Job Lots this past weekend looking for egg noodles (oh, that reminds me of another story . . .) and I happened to walk past a rack of good looking capris. They seemed to be pulling me over with a force stronger than gravity. I walked over and, to my surprise and delight, the rack was filled with Athleta capris for $10. Such a bargain. I don't think there are any capris on the Athleta site for less than $60. I scooped up two pairs in my size and skipped out of the store with a huge grin on my face. I felt like I just won the lottery. I had my new capris and my egg noodles. Things were looking up.

Until later that night when I prepared the dinner that had been cooking in the Crock Pot all day. I made a huge batch of "Old World Chicken" to go over the egg noodles and the best part of this meal is that it feeds us for three days. So you can imagine how upset I was to find that Karlo decided to throw all the left-over egg noodles down the garbage disposal. What the Hell was he thinking? I've made this meal several times in the past and every time we enjoyed the left over for days. What would possess him, not only to even think about throwing them away, but to do so without even asking me. I wanted to choke him. So after cleaning up all the dishes from dinner, I ended up having to cook more noodles so that the left-over chicken could still be used as a no-work-involved meal. I don't think I'm sharing any with Karlo for the rest of this week. That should teach him.

Gawk Fest

We managed to squeak out a dry weekend, despite the promises of rain yesterday. And it was a good thing since we spent an awful lot of time on 2 wheels. On Saturday we drove to a motorcycle dealer in RI. Karlo has been itching to go and check out some new Moto Guzzis and since this dealership was so close to Newport we made a day of it. I wanted to get out to take pictures of “Words” for my photo blog and now that I think of it, the words “Moto Guzzi” would have made for some slick photos. Ooops. There went a missed opportunity.

So we gawked at the bikes for a while. Karlo sat on and admired the Moto Guzzi Stelvio while I drooled over the BMW 650 GS. Karlo walked away from the dealership more in love with his own bike (thank goodness – that saved a lot of money) and I walked away hating my own bike. Where is the justice there? Not only do I now think my bike is ugly, but I wasn’t too thrilled to hear that the part I needed was over $125.

From there we rode on to Newport, which will always hold a special place in my heart. I love Newport. We strolled around (in our very hot motorcycle boots) all afternoon, shopping in the cute shops and taking pictures of ‘words.’ We enjoyed a terrific lunch on the pier and then took a little spin around the parts of Newport that I’ve never seen before. We headed away from the hustle and bustle of downtown and rode along the shore on the East side of the city. Holy cow, talk about a gawk fest. The homes on the water were out of this world. I still can’t believe how beautiful they were. What do people do to make that much money? It’s crazy. But I really enjoyed admiring them all. Sorry, no pictures of the houses. I didn’t want to get arrested.

Depressing Night

This week is flying by without much documentation. When weeks start on Tuesdays they sure do go by faster. Not much excitement has been happening at home and the only thing worth documenting is rather depressing.

We spent a few hours last night helping our neighbor friends pack up their house. The reality is really setting in now. They are really leaving. I've known this for about a year now, but it's not any easier to say goodbye. I'm going to miss them so much. Robin and I have actually been working together for the past 6 months and I got so used to her cheerfulness brightening up my days.

And the kids . . .


I will really miss them. Not to mention how upset Bentley and Peanut would be if they knew what was happening. I just hate having to say goodbye. It stinks. I hate it when friends move away. I know that if moving wasn't involved we never would have met in the first place and they will soon be making a whole slew of new friends. But it still stinks for the ones left missing them at home. sniff sniff.

Finally Wrote My Book – Sort Of

OK, that was very misleading. I haven’t done diddley with my dream of writing a novel. I think I still have the two chapters I started a year ago. But in the meantime I did accomplish something that I always wanted to do. I turned my blog into a book; actually two books. I made one for the first year and another book for the second year. The first year is about 150 pages and last year’s book is over 250 pages. I guess I had a lot to say.

What a hoot it was to go back and read these ‘books.’ It’s amazing how much of my life I would have completely forgotten about had I not documented it. I got a lot of good laughs looking back on the past two years and printing the blog in book form was the greatest idea. I will treasure these books for the rest of my life.

And I can also really appreciate how pleasant my life is at this moment in time. Going back and reliving last Spring was shocking. I still can’t believe I lived through it. Wow. Really makes me appreciate every day of this leisurely summer. Thanks to the books I realized that this is our first year of really enjoying our new house. The first year was nothing but work on the house, and the second year was nothing but more work and stress writing Karlo’s book. This year is bliss in comparison. Finally, we get to enjoy ourselves for a change.

So Proud of Myself

Cross another thing off my Bucket List. I have officially become a certified yoga instructor. Here's the proof . . . see . . .

It's hard to even describe how happy this makes me. I am so very proud of myself for following through on this dream of mine. It's been a long time coming. I'm not sure if I'll ever really teach, although I think I will have an opportunity to teach in Eastord if I so desired. Maybe I'll force myself to do it, just for the experience. My instructor made a comment that I don't realize how much potential I have and that boosted my confidence a bit. Sometimes it's good to step outside your comfort zone and force yourself to do something that scares you. I figure this has to be way easier than white water rafter. I faced that fear and hated every second of it. But somehow I think teaching yoga will be much more gratifying.

In Other Weekend News

I was so excited about the Sting concert that I completely ignored the rest of the weekend. And now that it's Monday evening I'm already having a hard time remembering the rest of the time. A couple of the highlights, aside from our usual bike rides and kayak trips was attending a birthday/going-away party that our neighbors threw. Maybe I neglected to talk about this because it's still hard to talk about this. I am SO SAD to see this family go. What were the chances that I would meet, and become great friends with, new neighbors via Criag's List? I mean really, what were the chances of that? But it happened. Not only do Robin and I have a lot in common, but I adore her little squirts. And now that we just got to really know each other they are leaving :-( sniff sniff. I hate it!! OK, I can't continue on that thought anymore . . .

On a happier subject, I'm ready to unveil our "really finished this time" shack. You will notice that it's adored with some cute Paula touches. And you can also see the little deck addition.

But we didn't stop there. Some new landscaping was also in order. We made this rather large planting area for only $50! That is called 'country landscaping.' Use rocks for edging and transplant what is already growing in the woods for free. I broke down and bought a few plants and we still need to get mulch (and perhaps steal some more plants from Dad's yard) but we're almost there.

Broken Music - Take 2

What a glorious day today will be. I'm taking the day off to recoop from the Sting concert last night. I'm still on a cloud and will be listening to Sting and The Police non-stop all day. Luckily I have a play list called "Karlo Not Home" because he doesn't seem to have the same appreciation for the music as I do. Last night Sting played a completely one-off show, not part of any tour, at Foxwoods. What luck to score a couple of tickets. It was a stripped down version - no fancy light show, no big screen behind the stage, no back-up singers. It was just Sting and three musicians rocking out. I was in pure Heaven. He played about 50% his solo tunes and the other 50% Police tunes. And, as much as I will always love the Police tunes in their pure form, Sting always jazzes them up on his own and I sometimes struggle trying to figure out which version I love more.

Oh, and the good (make that great) news is that Sting no longer looks like a scary mountain man. That disgusting look he was sporting at the inaugural ball is a thing of the past. Thank goodness. He's back to looking like good ole Sting. He still got it! Although I have to admit I spent most of the night staring at his fingers and I can't wait to run upstairs and pick up my bass later today.

It's incredible how concerts seem to cause a time warp. Looking at Sting (from a far) he looked the same as he's always looked. And I felt like I was 20 years old again. Watching him perform and listening to all my favorite songs transports me right back to the day. I still remembering my father asking me when I'm going to grow out this . . . this obsession with my favorite musician. Well Dad, I guess it ain't happening. I already can't wait for the next show.

The Time Store

I need to find a time store . . . a place where I can go and buy more time. If there was only such a place I would spend any amount of money in order to gain more time in my life. It is by far my most precious commodity and always in short supply. I spend most of my life scrambling, trying to get everything that I need to do done. I should be on my way to my first Salsa Fit class right now, but instead I'm paying pills, shipping orders, and getting more inventory to my warehouse so I have to ship less orders in the future. No matter how hard I work to get ahead of my chores they still keep piling up leaving me no free time. Where is that time store?

But on a brighter note, one of my chores tonight was to email the president of the Blue Bird Association. As it turns out the picture I took of the two blue birds about to feed their young is going to be the "Picture of the Week" on their official web site. Go figure. My crazy bird lady neighbor sent the picture to this organization, just to show the fact that the parents were feeding their babies worms, which is apparently a bad thing for them to do. Incidentally, you can NOT believe how much information there is available on blue birds. Who would believe there was an association in the first place? Or that there are blue bird conferences you can attend. Amazing. Anyway, I got completely off track. My neighbor sent this picture to them to ask a technical question and they came back and asked if they could use 'the great picture.' I, of course, was thrilled and honored. I guess all that tormenting I did to those poor birds paid off.

And a further report on the babies. They have since fledged the nest. I'm showing off the new word that I learned, now that I am an official 'blue birder.' Fledging means that they 'flew the coop" so my babies are now gone. And I have another chore to add to my list. Now the blue bird lady wants me to take pictures of the nest to see the effects of feeding the babies worms. I'm not sure, but by the sounds of her description of what normally happens from the worms, the next pictures might not be so cute. More like gross. Can't wait.

A Crafty Sunday

We had no plans yesterday and the day was just great knowing that I could do (or not do) whatever I wanted. No agenda, no chores . . . well, I had plenty of chores and one big dirty house, but no compelling reason that things had to get done. We were just going to take the day as it came and do whatever struck us. Heaven, as far as I was concerned.

Karlo started his day working on the shack. I know, I know, I claimed that it was done last week and, as far as I knew, it was. But I forgot about the big ditch in front of the door that you had to remember to step over to get in. I knew Karlo planned to build a little platform (a deck of sorts) some day and that some day was Sunday. Then I happened to mention that we should put up a window box with flowers in it . . . some day. Well, there is no suggesting an idea to Karlo that we should so someday. The minute the idea materializes he’s in the basement looking for materials. Consider it done! So now the shack has a little deck and a freshly painted window box. No pictures yet because I need to find some flowers to make it all pretty before the big unveil. Stay tuned.

And while Karlo was outside being ridiculously productive I was inside being ridiculously unproductive. Not that I was laying on the couch. I was busy working hard. I just don’t have much to show for all my efforts. I bought some new jewelry craft books a few weeks ago and had my nose buried in them every night. I’ve been reading and studying, planning and shopping for supplies . . . all in preparation for my new line of jewelry art. I had big plans, but most of my efforts were a frustrating disaster. Never fails. Things always look so much easier in a book. Sort of like recipes! Unfortunately I ended up with more failed projects than successful projects. I’m not going to show you the total flops, but here’s a couple of prototypes pieces (to be used in some sort of fashion, except for the earrings - those are done) that weren’t a disaster. More to come . .

Luckily I spent all this time indoors while it was gray and cloudy outside. Karlo finished his projects just as the sun came out and we decided to have a leisurely lunch on the deck and nice kayak ride at Mansfield Hollow. I took my camera this time . . . which meant that nothing exciting happened. I did catch a blue heron in flight and a RC boat flying across the water, but they are not worth sharing.

Later in the day we took our motorcycles out for a ride. We decided to ride our new bicycle loop to clock the distance. How sad is it that two avid cyclists don't have working bike computers on our bikes to record mileage? As we were riding I was trying to figure out which ride I was enjoying more . . . pedaling my bike the day before or cruising along on my motorcycle. No sooner did I ponder this thought and the answer became clear. My darn bike died. Kaput. Karlo never leaves home without the battery charger to jump my bike for times like these, but this time it was really dead. We had to resort to pushing the bike to force start it. This operation always scares me and I refuse to be the one on the bike. I would rather be the idiot running (in full gear) pushing the bike. Do you know how much fun it is to run in 10 lb boots, jeans, and a big heavy jacket . . . in July? Not much fun. Stupid bike. No question which bike is my true love.

Birds and Flowers

Looks like the only thing I took pictures of this weekend is birds and flowers. We had a bonfire one night for two reasons. One, I wanted some roasted marshmallows. And two, I wanted to try to take some pictures of the cool sparks and the fire reflecting on the pond. Well, I got my fill of marshmallows, but the photo op didn’t go so well. The problem was the fact that I suggested the bonfire too early in the evening. The very second I make a suggestion Karlo has to spring into action immediately. I was hoping for a nighttime bonfire for the cool picture effects, but instead I got a 7 PM bonfire while it was still broad daylight. Sigh

So while Karlo was busy making the fire I walked around the yard and took some flower pictures.




Then while we sat near the fire pit, waiting for it to get dark, I discovered some blue birds in one of our bird boxes. I’ll be darned there were babies inside the box. In this picture you can see mom and dad getting ready to feed the babies and one little squirt peeking its head through the hole. Too cute.


I also caught a humming bird at our new feeder. Actually I caught a bunch of humming birds in action, only I accidentally deleted the pics before saving to my hard drive. Long story.

I never did get my sparks flying bonfire pictures because the bugs got the best of us and we gave up on the fire before it ever got dark. Better luck next time. If you would like to see more pretty flower pictures please click here.

Need to Learn to Speak French

What a surprise it was to go to my work mail box today and find a package from over seas. As soon as I saw the French postage I knew what was inside . . . A colleague that lives in France knows about my passion for cycling and every year he sends me the official guide of the Tour de France. Most of you probably don’t even know that the Tour is going on right now. The USA doesn’t seem to care much about the biggest cycling event in the world–despite the fact that an American has broken every imaginable record and won the Tour 7 times. That would be Lance Armstrong for those completely unaware about biking.

As one of my cycling buddies said, “It’s like the Super Bowl every night for 3 weeks.” Yes, Karlo and I sit on the couch every night and watch a bunch of guys biking. I know it sounds boring, but to us it’s very exciting. It energizes me and makes me long to pedal. Watching the amazing feats that they guys do, seemingly effortlessly just amazes me. One of these days we want to go to Europe and ride a few legs of the Tour. Oh, and by ‘ride’ I mean on a motorcycle. We’re not completely insane! Add that to my Bucket List.

So it looks like I’ll need to learn how to speak French because there isn’t a word of English in the program that I have sitting on my desk. All I can do is drool over the cool bike pictures. I wish I was pedaling right this minute.

One Toe and Two Teeth Lighter

Our poor little Bentley dog just got back from the vet. He went in yesterday morning to have his bum toe amputated and his teeth cleaned. At 3:30 yesterday he was still in surgery and the doc called a few hours later to tell us that his bad teeth caused lots of complications. He needed two of his back teeth pulled and now he has stitches in his mouth, as well as in his paw. He’s a mess, all drugged up on pain meds and antibiotics. Our poor little fellow. Last night was painful at home without him and watching him just lay there lifeless is hard. I know everybody is thinking that Bentley lying lifeless is his usual state, but this is different. He’s so out of it. I can’t wait to get my little buddy back–to have him walking normally and running around the yard with Peanut. Get well soon Bentley!

The Final July 4th Recap

Because three days just wasn't enough we took Monday off to really get the feeling of a mini vacation. And who could believe the weather turned out nice on Monday too? This was just too much to ask for. And it worked out perfect for our next project. This one has been long awaited and I'm so excited that it's over and done with I'm practically giddy. On Monday morning I FINALLY video taped myself leading a one-hour yoga class. This was the final piece of my yoga teacher training and I've been dreading it and putting it off for 4 months now. What a relief. And it's a miracle that I pulled it off.

First I thought we would do this indoors, only we didn't have enough room to get both me and Karlo into the scene. So we needed to move the production to the deck. Only problem was that I couldn't get my yoga music onto my iPod because I lost the cord. So I tried using another mp3 player and after deleting all my current music (because I don't know how to make a stinkin' playlist on that device) and loading my yoga music, the darn thing craps out and skips out of control. Stress level is rising and patience is dwindling. I literally had to try 4 different ideas until I finally figured out a way to play the music outside. I got everything ready, the camera, the mats, the music, the props. All I needed to do was hit record and DO IT. I was terrified. But it worked. I never actually ran though the whole routine at real timing. The video needed to be one hour and I'll be darned. When I downloaded the video file it was 59 minutes and 59 seconds! The only funny and potentially bad part of the video are the birds chirping out of control. You can barely hear me over all the chirping.



After basking in the glory of having this behind me we decided to take that kayak trip that went bad on Friday. This time we loaded the boat onto the Golf and thankfully nothing went wrong with it. We headed up to MA to bask in the sun. And that we did. No sunscreen. Crispy crisp. We kayaked along a canoe trail for over 6 miles, with only one can of seltzer each. I was so tired and so dehydrated that we aborted our "let's bring Paula to all the cute shops in Sturbridge shopping mission" and went to Friendly's for ice cream instead.



OK, maybe we did go to one store - Marshalls. I wanted another cute birthday outfit. Karlo left me alone while he shopped on his own. Guess what I bought? A cycling jersey. Tina is shaking her head. But I also got two cute shirts to balance out my high-tech purchase. I just shouldn't shop alone.

To see a few more bad pictures from kayaking, please click here.

July 4th Weekend Recap (Part 2)

Where did I leave off? Oh yes, we strolled the village in Mystic so I could take pictures. Then we took a very nice scenic motorcycle ride home so we could get ready to head up to Sturbridge for more picture taking. I found a 4th of July celebration at the Old Sturbridge Village and I thought it was the perfect combination of fireworks and picture taking opportunities. I’ve (we’ve) never actually be into the Village before and this event got us in for half the normal admission price so I couldn’t resist.

We drove up and had a nice fish dinner in Sturbridge (which by the way I now love with all its cute shops. Sturbridge makes you feel like you’re on vacation). Then we headed over to the Village. We got there just before the sun went down and I had a ball running around taking pictures. They had all sorts of activities going on and there were people everywhere. It’s amazing that I captured some nice photos minus the crowds.

The only bad part of this scene was the fact that I was wearing cute, high heeled flip flops that killed my foot. Karlo rode me hard for my shoe choice, but I wanted to look cute for dinner. Yes, it was a stupid decision and I still have a very sore hole in the top of my right foot. Based on this situation and the fact that we would not be able to run back to the parking lot to escape the crowds and traffic jam, we weighed the coolness of seeing the fireworks against the aggravation of the traffic and decided to bail out early. We saw really nice fireworks the night before and it was such a pleasant experience that we decided to end on a happy note. It worked out great too. We took a new scenic route home and I captured a few more photos of the sunset (because that is really all I wanted for my birthday – to take photos).


As we were driving home Karlo said, “Won’t there be fireworks on TV?” and I was so excited that I hadn’t thought of that myself. We got home in just enough time for me to blow out my candles, cut the cake, and get on the couch as the first fireworks in NYC went off. We sat with our hounds in the comfort of our own home and watched spectacular fireworks on TV. I was quite content and glad we bailed early. (Yeah, I guess I am officially old.)


Can you believe that Sunday was another spectacular weather day? What amazing luck. We struggled with the decision of going biking or doing more work on the ‘shack’. Biking won and we started off the morning with another beautiful bike ride through Eastford and Woodstock.

Lisa’s not going to like this part, but we came home and did end up working on the shack. We only put a couple of hours into and it is officially DONE. That was the greatest feeling and I’m so glad we did it. The total sense of accomplishment was super sweet. Side note: I'm glad I asked for votes because I was completely prepared to paint the door black (Tina and I had the same vision), but since 3 folks said white and that meant less work, I was all over it. Thanks for your input those who voted.


Then it was time to shower and head out for our next big adventure. We had dinner at my now favorite restaurant – the 99 something or other. Good grief, I forgot the name! Old age must be setting in. Loved the menu and they have yummy virgin Mojitos. Can’t wait to go back. Here's a picture of me in front of the restaurant. This is for Tina because I know she will be proud of me wearing the shirt that she encouraged me to buy. The capris and the movie star glasses courtesy of Karlo.

After dinner we headed to Foxwoods MGM Grand Theater for an awesome show. I highly recommend you check it out. Here’s the link http://www.mgmatfoxwoods.com/illuminationbycirque.aspx The show runs for at least 2-3 weeks. The perfect family entertainment. It was GREAT. And this was a good dry run for STING in two weeks!!!!

Looks like my weekend report will need three blog postings! Phew this is exhuasting. Stay tuned. To see more pictures from Sturbridge, please click here.

July 4th Weekend Extravaganza (Part 1)

This long weekend has been so jam packed with events that it’s going to take multiple blog posts to document it. So here is Part 1 of blissful weekend . . .

Karlo and I were originally planning to go away (to the White Mountains of New Hampshire) for the long holiday weekend. We waffled back and forth for a week debating on if we should stay or if we should go. First weather was a factor, than money was a factor, but when it came right down to Karlo’s question of, “What do you really want to do for your birthday?” my answer was simple. I wanted to take pictures. And I also wanted to do something that we’ve always wanted to do and never really did . . . take a vacation at home. To us, it really is hard to leave home and find a place better than this. We live in what we consider paradise. So my wish finally came true.

I started Friday morning with a picture taking project . . . my new birthday roses and my new (well, not really mine, but in my possession) macro lens.

From there things didn't exactly go as planned. First we went for a very nice bicycle ride and that was perfect. But our next event was to be kayaking and that’s when things got a little shaky (and scary). We were headed up to MA when Karlo went to slow down to make a sharp turn and discovered that the brake line went on the Jeep. Yikes! We practically had no brakes; just like that. Very scary. So much for kayaking and now we had to get the Jeep home. These last couple of weeks have been very religious for me; lots and lots of praying for our safety. And now the thought of not spending money on a hotel room is becoming a much better idea. Looks like Paula was getting new Jeep brakes for her birthday. Yeah!

Friday night we went to see some fireworks in Killingly with some “Eastford friends.” We love these fireworks because it’s easy in and easy out without the usual fireworks crowds. We really enjoyed what turned out to be a perfect fireworks evening.


I woke up on the 4th to presents in the bed. And I’m happy to report that Karlo did a complete 180 from his typical gift buying. In addition to my requested Pandora bead, he bought me non-technical, highly fashionable “Tina clothes.” Way to go Karlo :-)

We headed down to Mystic on the motorcycle for a day of sightseeing and picture taking. OK, we shopped a little too, but just a little. I had to buy this scarf because I was cold. Yes, cold.

We had a seafood lunch by the water.

And then strolled around Old Mistick Village (Yes, that’s the way they spell it.)

Click here to view more pictures from Mystic. And stay tuned for Part 2 of Saturday . . . and then the rest of the long weekend.

Red, White and Blue

Actually, I meant "red, white and black." Those are the choices for my door color. I tried my little Photoshop project and now I'm having an even harder time deciding. I need help.

Red door:
White door:
Or back door:

Or maybe it should be blue. Since this is going to be done for my birthday :-)

It's Amazing

Uuuuugh, we were on track to finish the 'shack' roofing yesterday evening, but unfortunately we ran out of shingles. The project that will never end. And so much about yesterday's project was amazing . . .

• It was amazing how much smoother the project went after just one day of experience. I fell into the groove and was better at everything and Karlo was moving twice as fast.
  
• It was amazing how calm I was watching Karlo run around on the roof.
• It was amazing how comfortable I got on the top of the ladder.
• It was amazing that our dogs stayed outside and laid in the grass watching us. (OK, I may have closed the garage door to force them to stay outside.)
• It was amazing how genuinely disappointed I was that our work got cut short due to the fact that we ran out of material.

So the saga continues. I hoped and prayed the job would be done before the long weekend because I'm refusing to do any work over the holiday weekend. We'll see how that really goes. And because Tina can't wait to see it, here are a couple of pics:

Here is what the roof looks like with the shingles on it. The 'staging' is still there because I still have more touch up painting to do. Drat.

And here's my painting dilemma. I was originally planning on a black door, but now I'm not sure. Do you think a black door with white trim will look silly? The door trim will stay white (like the window trim). Should I keep the door white? Paint it red? I need color advice. Help! Oooh, sounds like a Photoshop project . . .