Spring fun at the leaky house! Sarcasm as well!

It figures- we've just agreed to sign on for another year at our place (which is depressing in and of itself- Edmonton for another year...), and in spite of already knowing the kind of structural doom (cracked foundation) and other ailments associated with this place, we have had relatively few problems of late- only a broken (again) washing machine, and a blown fuse in the ancient dimmer switch in our dining room. Knock on wood.

When we were initially shown the house, there was notable water damage in the little boot room at the front- the ceiling paper was peeled away and stained, and there was definite damage to the large tiles on the floor, with at least 8 being loose, completely loose, or seemingly sunk into the (somewhat) rotting floor (there are also 2 and a half tiles right where the boot room meets our front room that were broken and missing to begin with). It was presented to us as having been a one time leaky problem.

Clearly, that is not the case.

I'm collecting my melt water in a bucket right now, hoping that come (real) spring one of us won't:

a) fall through what we know now to be a long-time rotting floor
b) have the sopping wet long-time rotting ceiling collapse on us
c) be electrocuted by the boot room light whose housing is a mere 6 inches from where there is water actively dripping.

Delightful.

Anyone with any roofing experience is welcome to offer suggestions or recommendations.

Where The Wilds Things Are...

...is probably the single most important book of my childhood. I can picture every page and (nearly) recite the entire story. I still giggle along with Max every time the jungle starts to grow in his room...! So, when I heard that there were plans in motion to make the story into a feature length movie, I was understandably skeptical- CGI wild things? A 40-ish page book drawn out to 60-plus minutes? My skepticism is officially dead.

Magical!!! Not just CGI wild things (as I'd feared)- muppetry!! Max is adorable! The dreaminess of the colours!! It made me cry- not just in a "shed a single tear" way (it was kind of embarassing!). I can't wait- and I'm sure will be blubbering on my way out of the theatre!

Okay-It's not the book, no, and I tend to be a bit of a purist on that count. Nothing can ever replace the magic of reading that story as a child for the very first time, but thank goodness Spike Jonze seems he may actually have given it a lovingly crafted tribute. Yay!

Children! Don't grow up!

Spring Cleaning!

Wanna see what $56 worth of bottles and cans looks like?




That's 560 (mostly) cans. Whoah.

Also removed from the premises: 2 enormous bags of clothing, 2 boxes of books, a broken behemoth of a television, and a handful of worn out bike tires.

Almost time to start sprouting bulbs and seeds on the windowsill!