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Recent stuff

What we've been up to lately:

• Growing gills and webbed feet.
• Working on Mike's rental house. His last tenants moved out after eight years, and the place was sorely in need of attention. In addition to removing wallpaper, painting, getting new carpet, and replacing the broken stuff, he closed in the loft area over the dining room (by adding a floor) to create a bonus room upstairs that can be another bedroom someday. He seems intent on keeping his construction skills polished up in case he gets bored with this house.
• Working in the garden. Kathi planted her garden, mostly behind schedule, and lost a few usually hardy things to the relentless rains. Miraculously, the tomatoes are thriving, and in the NW that's the crop we tend to obsess over.
• Visiting plant nurseries. Someone let Kathi loose in the nurseries with a debit card and she found lots of new things to plant in the yard. That usually means lots of work for Mike, since we haven't managed to train Barkley to dig holes where we need them.
• Working in the yard. Kathi landscaped the area around some stone steps that tended to stay hidden by weeds. She planted perennials along the rock wall of the garden. And she got very adventurous about planting flowering shrubs near the propane tank after Mike moved the fence to create a larger deer-free zone. That last one is a work still in progress. Mike is trying to muster up some enthusiasm.
• Playing tour guide. This is one of our favorite hats to wear! We had a good excuse to go exploring Oregon with Kathi's sister Sandy's family.
• Trying to coax the new cat out of the closet. Kathi adopted a one-year old snowshoe breed cat named Stella who is beautiful, soft, and loving, but extremely shy so far. Barkley likes the new resident, but fat cat Stinker not so much (and the feeling is mutual). She came with her very own cat play structure and a (free) $300 flushing cat toilet that we are still scratching our heads over. Who thinks up these things?

For photos of what we've been up to, visit Say cheeeeeeze!.

Movies/DVDs/TV (partial list):

Kathi's list:

• The end of Lost :-(
• The end of 24
• True Blood
• Breaking Bad
• Nurse Jackie
• Weeds
• Shutter Island

Mike's list:

• Deadliest Catch
• American Chopper
• How Do They Do It
• Repeat....

Books:

• The Girl who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
• Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris
• The End of Overeating, David A. Kessler, MD

Music:

• For Your Entertainment, UK version, Adam Lambert
• The Fame Monster, Lady Gaga
• The Resistance, Muse

Upcoming Events:

• Waterfront Blues Festival, July
• Trip to Montana, July
• Lady Gaga concert, August
• Kathi's mother, aunt, and uncle driving out in their motor home, August-September

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