Spiders and Wasps

Last night, I found some black widow spiders nesting in the garage.  Sprayed them with some Raid, which says on the spray can that it kills spiders.  It does, but it takes a LONG time to do it.  At least in this case it did.  Sprayed them last night, and they were dead by late this morning.  One of three was still moving a little bit first thing, but by late morning they were all dead.  They have another product that I might try if there’s a next-time.

Then I saw some wasps building nests on my patio this afternoon.  I’ve dealt with those before.  Raid Wasp & Hornet spray is pretty much insta-kill on them.  Worked immediately this time too.

Adventures in owning a house!

Good thing I’ll be doing the Purification Rundown later this year, with all these insecticides and such I’m having to use!

New House: It’s Curtains for This Place!

		Curtains (and Blinds) are Up VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It was interesting installing these.  I keep thinking in terms of wood-frame structures, but when I was drilling the holes for mounting the curtains, the drill suddenly hit “something hard” and “gray powder” started coming out.  Duh!  The outside walls are all cinderblock!  Not sure how I forgot that, but it sure made the whole thing a bit different.

Had to wear a dust mask to keep from breathing too much powdered silicon.  Had to use a concrete drill bit.  Takes more time and patience to drill into it as well, of course.

Anyway, adventures in getting up the curtains are done for the living room, bedroom, and dining room.  The kitchen has flowery plastic on its window.  All that remains is the TV room, and I’ve got ideas for that (it needs to be darker in there).

Movie Review: Red 2

Saw Red 2 last night.  Loved the first movie (Red), and loved the sequel!

There were a few jokes that struggled a bit, but most were hilarious.  There were a few action scenes that lasted a bit too long, but they were all very good nonetheless.

Marvin (John Malkovich) rocked the movie.  Frank (Bruce Willis), Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), and Victoria (Helen Mirren) were all as great as they were in the first movie.

And because it could get pretty much straight into the action, without having to spend time introducing characters, it had a significant advantage over the first.  (Though that may leave it less than fully comprehensible to anyone in the audience who didn’t see the first one.)

9.5 out of 10

New House: Yard

I just went walking barefoot in my back yard.  It’s been so long since I did anything like that, that it felt weird (but nice) on my feet!

New House: Adventures in the Land of the Blinds

The back door is no longer naked!  Woot!

(Here’s a before-shot.)

These things are easier to install than I feared.  Put it in this afternoon with very little trouble/effort.

The ones on the dining room windows (different make/design) are, however, seriously attempting to drive me to drink….

New House: Paintings Up

Just put up some art in the house:

		Works of Art VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The first picture is the view to the left as you step in the front door (facing towards the living room).  Followed by the view to the right.

The second two are the views from the living room (towards the front door).

The final picture is the only one that aren’t of Mom’s paintings.  I’ve got two cheap-but-nice pictures of the rock escarpments and isles off the Pacific coast of Washington, and a clock that I like.

None of these are monetarily valuable, but the emotional value is inestimable!

(And, yes, the picture backgrounds definitely show that we’re still moving in.  Pardon the mess, please.  It’s temporary!)

New House: Pictures

		New House 2013-07-08 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Some are from it was under construction, some are finished.  None are post-move-in, so no furniture, etc., in these, except the welcome mats.  We put those in as soon as the deal was closed and the mortgage signed for.  Kind of “We’re Here!” markings.