Mid-December Madness

Well as seems to be warranted with our house, there is always a perpetual problem popping up requiring prompt attention. (Boy would my English teacher Mrs. Wilson be proud of that alliteration...) Now we have an open neutral somewhere on the circuit that powers most of our bedroom and our son's bedroom. Oh joy. After checking all the non-working outlets and the working outlets adjacent to the non-working ones, my DH thinks he has pinpointed the trouble spot to be a poor splice that is probably in the attic. We spotted this little bit of wire and electrical tape over by the far wall once when we were up there, and said to ourselves that this was something that required further investigation. Apparently that time has come, because from what we can figure out, that is where some prior owner spliced in the electrical line for the exterior lights on the cottage/garage. It's sort of a good thing that they left it sort of poking up there from the wall, because if that had done it correctly with a junction box we would have no idea that it was there. DH suspects that the pigtail going back to the outlet on my side of the bed has come loose, which gives us an open neutral on the rest of the circuit. So we are going to buy a junction box and properly install it in the attic, and DH is going to ensure that splice is correct so we don't need to worry about fire hazards and such. In the meantime, we are on day two of the circuit remaining off for safety, and I am using a floor lamp with an extension cord for our bedroom.



Additionally, I have finally solved the MIL present dilemma and hastily shipped off a cute old-style photograph of the kiddos to her, with enough time that it should arrive before Christmas and be safely tucked under the tree. MIL was a bit sad that there was no present for her under the tree in the box I shipped earlier, and that left DH & I scrambling to find something appropriate. I mean, the reason there was nothing in there for her, was that we didn't find anything she'd like or would use! So given the exorbitant cost of shipping things to Ireland, it didn't seem wise to ship something that we knew was just useless crap. We fall on the old standbys of gift cards when nothing appropriate presents itself on this side of the water, and thus was my MIL left with no personally wrapped and addressed present. *sigh* As an aside, how is it that wives get stuck with the Christmas shopping for their husband's family?? Anyway, I feel confident she will love the photo and we can send along an accessory for her new mobile phone from an Irish website, and we're done. *Phew* Fortunately DH's brother-in-law and younger sister will be just as happy with gift cards, so we just have to order those and call it good.



I also have not bought anything for my mother, or my grandparents or great aunt. I should be able to get Wal Mart gift cards or some such for my grandparents and great aunt, as they are too old for useless stuff and I know they would actually use and appreciate the money toward their Wal Mart purchases. My mom is a bit more puzzling, because despite her Amazon wishlist there is nothing that really screams, "I would love this!" We got a pass this year on my dad because my siblings and I chipped in on a really expensive Shun knife that he wanted, so I know he will use it and love it. It's harder to convince myself that my mom will love getting the new Enya Christmas CD on Christmas Day (if she hasn't bought it for herself already), or a new pair of Lee Women's pants in chocolate twill. Just not feeling the love there. She buys her favorite author's books as soon as they come out, and again, pre-ordering a book that is not out for four months is just a little weeny for my taste.



We are still working through the massive pile of Christmas cards that need to be addressed and mailed off. It's great on the one hand to have so many friends and family, but on the other hand it is a lot of work too. I am just hoping that more of our friends reciprocate, because I really love getting Christmas cards. It's the right thing to do to send the cards, but it's hard to justify sending out 200+ cards if you only get about 50-60 in return.



And I still don't have all the Christmas decorations up. Both trees are in the house, and upright...but only one is fully decorated. I was working on the other one today, but discovered that the new lights we just bought at Wal Mart do not work. Grrrrr...*eye tic* So now I get to return them to Wal Mart, and go to another store to buy more lights (because really, if the first box didn't work, who in their right mind would buy the same brand again?).



Did I mention that the bathroom isn't done yet? Yeah. No tub surround. Not even the tile backerboard up. Does this annoy me? Oh yeah, you bet it does. My parents arrive in a little over a WEEK. I would like to have tile up, thanks. You know, the whole progress thing that indicates that our children will SOMEDAY be able to have baths again in their new $400 tub. Little things like that. And my drywall seaming is still too imperfect for my liking, so I have to smooth over some of the rough spots and re-texture the walls, then re-paint those areas. I don't think we'll ever be done.



And we have other good stuff and bad stuff going on too. DH stepped on a nail on Sunday and had to get a tetanus shot. We had a coyote in our yard yesterday morning, which I had to scare off (I don't want them feeling at home in our yard, TYVM). At least the small birds seem to have rediscovered the suet feeder, which I finally re-hung after being certain that large mammals of the genus Ursus would be hibernating by now. And DH is actually getting a Christmas bonus, which is a big praise in this day and age! Of course it is all going to our debt snowball, but YAY REDUCTION OF DEBT!



Nothing to do but press on, I'm afraid. I still have apples to can. Someday, I will be done...someday...