But Call Me Betsy

How's this for an excuse? That is the right humerus bone in my body that I snapped in two while staying at John and Patty's for Thanksgiving. People keep asking me how I did it. I've tried different versions of the story--saving a bunch of orphans and kittens while on roller skates from a marble factory that was burning down, ultimate fighting battle, knocking old ladies out of my way to be the first into Macy's--but the truth is that I cracked it by missing the bed--thought I was jumping into it, but was really only jumping near it and effectively cracking my bone in the process. It honestly didn't/doesn't hurt that much. Amazing. But it's irritating. Because I can't do lots of things, like write, or type very well, or brush my teeth that great, or do crossword puzzles, or open wine bottles, or shave my legs or armpits, or cut my food, or use chopsticks, or take out the recycling, or bite the fingernails of my right hand or tie my shoes or put on a bra ...

Both Lisa Marie and John were kind enough to come over this past Sunday and remodel some things in the house. John cute a giant hole in the basement door (to accommodate the giant Henri) and he also hung the mirror in my bedroom that I bought at Circle Thrift for $20. Lisa Marie and I worked for about 5 or so hours on the brand new, redecorated, restyled, and re-carpeted kitty palace. It is resplendent. First, the cat door. I wanted to put this on so that I could keep the basement door shut, since that's where the litter box is and I don't want the smell wafting up into the kitchen. But I haven't yet put the flap on it b/c I'm not sure they're smart enough to go through it. Well, I know Ernesto is, but not so sure about the other two. This is a view of the living room with the new coffee table. Still no sofa. And the new table and chairs all set up. I haven't hung any pictures b/c I'm scared to mess up the walls. Liz and Luke are coming for a visit this week...

Ethnics delivered this beautiful, grown-up furniture for free on Tuesday. The store is sadly going out of business and consequently, most of their items are 40%I haven't had a chance to take pictures of it in the home, but this is the table top--made of teak from old bridges. And the chairs--I bought four because, you know, of all the entertaining I do. This is the Siddhartra statute that Jenn Bing purchased. Lovely coffee table constructed from old railroad cars. And this is sort of what the table and chairs look like. So, the house-cleaning lady came for the first time yesterday while I was at work. I could tell that she'd been there even before I got into the house, because the smell of cleaning fluid was wafting from the rooms. She organized one of my bookshelves by setting up all of the photo frames and cleaned the coffee pot really well and swept the basement and fanned the magazines out on the coffee table. Totally, totally, totally worth it.I am becoming a snob. Soon,...

That is because I don't yet have a couch, having left behind the shitty brown one for the neighbor's to snatch up (which they did--I noticed that when I returned to clean, their old couch was on the side of the house and mine had vanished). I am waiting for two things right now--the cleaning lady to find my home, and the furniture dude to deliver the new tables I bought on Saturday at Ethnics. I am certain they will both show up at the same time and I'll have to juggle the awkwardness somehow. The last week has been crazy and tiring. I hate moving. It sucked, even though I had Mambo Movers, because of course, I had to take over two loads of stuff beforehand and so climbed about 500 sets of stairs. Then there's going over to clean the old place, which I did, but I wouldn't say it was a stellar job. I cleaned for three hours, but I didn't spackle or scrub the floors like I probably should have. And then there was the cable dude who convinced me to not run the cabl...

So, I bought a house yesterday. Strange feeling. On the one hand, I feel really good about it, because it seems like a very grown up thing to do and I also never thought I would own a place in Philadelphia. On the other hand, it scares the hell out of me because I don't know a thing about water heaters or winterizing your home or putting sealant of the roof or caulking, for God's sake. But I'm sure I'll figure it out. I couldn't ask for a smoother, easier process and the previous owners were so totally cool and giving--left behind these great decorations and many other things that will make the move much easier. I'm not taking my crappy sofa or my crappy chairs. I'd love to also get rid of the coffee table and the TV stand and the kitchen table, but I'll wait a little bit more on that. Okay, so here are some pictures from our trip to Chinoteague/Assateague Island last week. Prepare for ponies. For instance, there is a pony in here somewhere. Can you fin...