Dude, Where's My Car?

This is not the post that I planned for today.  I   was going to update about the landscaping, but instead, I have bad news.  My beloved senior-citizen-of-the-road Camry was stolen today at approximately 11:30 a.m. from the Mall 205 Home Depot parking lot.  That's right.  The 25-year-old car that I cram Christmas trees into was the object of someone's desire.  No, seriously. 

I'm so glad that I photographed the last great Christmas tree experiment.

I have had one car stolen previously, and we found that eight hours later, a block and a half from the house.  I hold out no hope that the same thing will happen.  I fear that this will end far more like when my sister-in-law V's Jetta was taken and was later found stripped of all parts, abandoned in a dry riverbed.  (Side note:  The insurance company all but accused her of stealing her own car when she filed the claim.  Then, when she set them straight on that one, they turned their focus on Mr. flyskim because she mentioned that he had driven it once or twice.  True story.)

I loved that car.  My dad gave it to me after my little Sentra died in 2004, and now it's gone.  The police say that people target these older cars because they're easier to steal than newer ones. That may be, but I'm still baffled as to what kind of value there is in a 25-year-old car.  The only thing new on it were the tires, which Mr. flyskim had just had replaced this morning.

Well, to the scum who made off with my little car, I hope you die.  Slowly.  And painfully.  I wish I could be all zen about it, but now that we have the police report done and the insurance claim filed, the numbness has worn off, and I feel helpless and angry. 

So, goodbye little car.  You were a good car.  We'll miss you very much.

This Is How It Starts

Well, that disappearance was longer than expected.  I have had a serious lack of motivation after my last post.  I have worked on Lady Gray, but I've encountered a few problems which I will detail later this week, and it's thrown me for a real loop.  Combine that with no longer having a dedicated sewing space and the desktop computer dying, and I haven't been very productive.  But now it's spring, and with the new season, comes new projects. 

You see the green worm?  That's one of the little suckers who eats all my strawberries.

First, Mr. flyskim and I are trying to wrap up some home projects.  What does that mean for me?  Curtains.  I hardly ever do any utility sewing, but I've got some great fabric and a three-day weekend coming up.  And then it's onto a swimsuit coverup for later this year.  


Speaking of strawberries, they're already coming in.

So what's with the caution tape, then?  One of the bigger home projects that Mr. flyskim and I have been planning is landscaping our backyard.  This project actually started last summer, but what with everything going on last fall, we just didn't have the time or the energy to move any further than the planning stages.  Well, that all ended yesterday when we finally broke ground.  When I say "we," I speak very figuratively because other than taking pictures, I haven't actually gotten my hands dirty.  That would be our excellent crew from Dennis' 7 Dees.

This is what our yard looked like on Sunday afternoon before all the work started.  See?  All  nice and weedy.

And here's what we have as of Monday.  A big, muddy pit.  It's hard to visualize now, but it's going to be really pretty back here in a few weeks.  

Here's another angle.  The trenches are for the sprinklers that are going in.  That raised bed along the fence is going to be packed up and saved for later.  We'll be putting in permanent beds as a part of the work.

And we're finally going to have a walkway from our back door to the patio behind the garage.  So that's what's been going on here recently.  Oh, and I got a fantastic deal on a toilet today, but that's another story for another day.

Bob the dragon is very lonely without the weeds.