9.09.2011

Little House with the Big Yard and other stories

At last! As promised! House pictures. Forgive me for not having a full-on front shot of the house. Chalk it up to paranoia regarding revealing of locations on the internet.











I love it. None of the inside doors will stay closed, and the toilet runs, but it's comfortable and adorable and light and it came with gardens. The strawberries were a surprise, buried in a mass of clover and grass. And I made a cobbler the other day from blackberries, though none of the canes are anywhere I want them.

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Maia's reaction to the new house has been to go nocturnal. In the day, she sleeps behind the couch or burrows into the bedclothes. At night, she rampages. On her first free night, she managed to throw the kitchen sink drain basket through a stack of glass Pyrex containers. Last night, she got us out of bed by playing with a cucumber in the laundry room. Then there's always cardboard to shred, which is startlingly loud in a quiet house.

I don't know what to do about this, apart from bury my head in the pillow and tell myself she can only do so much damage.

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Callie Kingston tagged me with this, so in the spirit of sportsmanship, I’m going to tell you ten things about me. Ten more, because I’ve already done this sort of thing a few times on the blog. Ah, the internet... celebrating random acts of narcissism. I get such a kick out of reading other people's, though, that I don't feel too guilty for making my own.
  1. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. It’s just one more thing to put on in the morning, and I figure pants are more important.
  2. I know how to card and spin wool, and in fact, have a spinning wheel.
  3. Like a child, I tend to dream about scary things I read about or see on television. Most recently: cryogenic freezing. Last night. After reading Beth Revis’ Across the Universe.
  4. Also last night: I woke up and fainted after apparently twisting my leg wrong in my sleep.
  5. I’ve also fainted: while standing still to have my hair braided, while standing in line at school, off the back riser during a choir performance, under a parked car after bending my thumb backward, while standing around a family living room chatting, after hitting my hand wrong setting a volleyball, and after twisting my knee standing on the couch.
  6. That’s not counting the times I’ve blacked out at a sudden fright, which number at least two: sledding into a six-foot-deep irrigation ditch lined with rocks and ice, and swimming a river rapid called "Suffocator."
  7. When it comes to throwing things, I am a significant danger to anyone in the near vicinity.
  8. I once threw a rock, aiming at the ocean in front of me, and hit my sister, who was standing a few feet to my right.
  9. If I had all the time in the world, I’d join the Society for Creative Anachronism. It sounds like fun. It would be more fun if you could endow your character with magic powers, though. Maybe I should just get into RPGs instead.
  10. I don’t understand why the world is so dismissive of rainbows and unicorns.
Tagging five people (no pressure, but you know I’d enjoy reading it): Masha, Mr. Pond, Shallee McArthurLindsey, Sarah... and you, O reader. Link back in the comments if you do, and I’ll read it. Or post in the comments, if you don't have a blog and still want to tell me about yourself. I'll gladly read that, too. :D

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Writers' link of the week: Nathan Bransford's "On the internet there is no such thing as a brand. There is only you." His blogging philosophy is mine as well.

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Music of the week: David linked this for my benefit over a week ago, and ah, readers... it gives me chills. There's not a lot of music I love better than a good book-based song. This is an arrangement of "The Hanging Tree" from the Hunger Games series.

As David noted, the video's a little distracting... you can listen and look at something else. :)



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Funny of the week: as you might have noticed from the rest of this post, I didn't sleep well last night. So I'm finding myself staring vacantly at a lot of supposedly funny things on the internet. But you can try this.

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New house to clean! I'm off. Happy weekend!

13 comments:

  1. Hey, I think I recognize that shrub out front!

    Nope, it just looks exactly like another shrub I have known in my lifetime. :)

    I was wondering where Maia was. In every picture I expected to see her sleeping on something or knocking something over.

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  2. Love, love, love the new place. I am so excited to see it. Thanks for the tag, I put up my 10 things on my blog. Have a great weekend.

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  3. How exciting and happy!! What a beautiful place! :) (and a ready-made garden is QUITE a boon, too).

    I love the floors, and the moulding/trim, and the places for all of your lovely house plants :-D.

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  4. lol!

    It brought back all sorts of memories, reading your 10 things... some hilarious and some painful (the rock) :)

    Sorry you fainted again last night though, and I can't wait to see the place in real life. They do make sedatives for freaked out animals, as my inlaws have had to do for their dog on the 4th of July. Just a thought. Might help in the night sleeping dept.

    See you soon!
    The one you hit with the rock, and the one that was standing next to you in the choir :) Oh yes, and laughing hysterically at the sledding incident.

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  5. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos, Jenna! Though I love all of the plants indoors and out, my favorite photo is the super-cozy-looking reading chair in the book-nook :o) And do I spy I high-powered telescope?? Awesome, Lady Star-Gazer! Here's a picture for you:

    http://www.cordair.com/larsen/stargazer.php

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  6. Your house is so cute! I can't wait to see it.

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  7. Thanks, so much, everybody!

    George, haha. I'm pretty sure Maia was playing Cave Lion behind the couch.

    Carrie-Ann, oh... that's such a beautiful picture! I loved it.

    Er... sister I hit with the rock, thanks for commenting. That totally made my day. I laughed so hard. :D

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  8. Thanks for the tag!

    And your house is gorgeous-- love the paint colors. Did you paint it yourself?

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  9. Glad you liked the song so much! And with all those blackberries you're growing, let me know if you want a blackberry mead recipe (just had some for dinner tonight).

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  10. Thanks!

    Shallee, no--the paint job came with the house, and I really like it, too!

    David, ooh, blackberry mead! I'd love the recipe. :D

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  11. Laura (Masha's sister)September 15, 2011 at 12:09 AM

    Hi, Jenna!

    Just sailed in from Masha's blog to say WOW! Your new house is amazing! I'm so glad you get bonus strawberries and blackberries!

    (oh, and I feel much the same way about jewelry v. pants).

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  12. Thanks, Laura! Glad you came by the blog. Your last sentence made me laugh. :)

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  13. I finally got to look at this post and I LOVE your house! The ten items of interest made me howl, and yes, I agree with you and Laura about jewelry. Although I once owned a string of potato pearls, and I have to admit I loved them.

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