APPLIANCE REPAIR COSTS

It didn't take long for me to make a couple of nonhuman friends on the lake. This gregarious little green heron ( he is ron - get it? Ryanne would've hated that joke) is always hanging around my shoreline in the mornings and evenings scouring the area for minnows and he has very little fear of me. He wasn't too sure about me at first but when I caught the world's smallest bluegill the other day, I tossed it on the grass near him and since then, he is an almost constant companion. He is also one of the myriad of reasons that the new house is far from being a summer home anymore. The lake is now where I live and the house in the Chicago area will be sold as soon as I can get it all fixed up and find a buyer - something that will take some time but it will happen as soon as the housing market gets its head out of its own ass.

I apologize for not posting or commenting much lately. Between working on the landscaping that's been a bit neglected for a couple of years and trying to get a decision made on the new roof I've barely had enough time to work much less do much flickring. However, as of today, I think I've gotten the requisite number of estimates for the repairs covered, my internet is now connected, and I've taught all of the trees how not to hit their owner in the head when he's mowing. We also now have a totally space-age washer and dryer and MK is earnestly hunting down the appropriate furniture so everything is on track and I can breath for a little bit.

Over the last several days, I have found out that TV and web surfing are so easily replaced with deck sitting and nature watching that I have opted to not get cable or satellite at the new house. For the time being, I am content to spend hours out on the deck or the screen porch playing my guitar or cradling my camera in my lap. While I don't have photos to prove all of this yet, I have found that we have very strong populations of belted kingfishers, green herons, great blue herons, painted turtles, barn and cliff swallows, coopers hawks, redtailed hawks, a few ospreys, an eagle or two, a few great horned owls, a muskrat that lives under my dock, and a vulture that always passes over daily around midmorning. Our dragonfly population seems to be dominated by widow skimmers but there are more to find and I've seen a couple of snakes to boot. Overall, this place feels like my home and I never want to leave it if I don't have to. Please stay tuned, there is definitely more to come...

The window washers had a little run-in with the stone ballustrades on our
building over the summer so our old lady of a building is is being treated
with a little cosmetic surgery (can you tell I love our building?). Marion
Restoration is doing the work. We're using natural indiana limestone and
they've done a great job so far replicating the original profiles and
staying on schedule. I would highly recommend using them for custom
historic work. Jan Glowacki, the owner, really understands historic
structures and has been a pleasure to work with.