Holy Croakers, Batman!

We finally finished the bedroom painting! The color doesn't really show well in these pictures, but it's a medium green (kinda like a frog).

Dead at 170

After 170K miles, the Civic is dead.

The insurance company said that the car is a total loss. The Civic has been towed away and the registration and insurance canceled.

We have no plans to buy another car, so I will be driving the 4Runner from now on.

F350 vs Civic

I've heard it said that any accident you can walk away from is a good accident.

This is what the Civic looks like after being hit by a Ford F350 truck. As you can see, the trunk no longer exists.

I was stopped at a red light and hit from behind. Luckily the truck wasn't moving faster.

I had hoped to get 200K miles out of this car, but 170K may be the limit.

A very odd Hydrangea

We've had a Hydrangea of some sort at every house we've owned. At our house in Apex, North Carolina, we had some Oak Leaf Hydrangeas that bloomed white each year. The house in Oxford had a Hydrangea that somebody planted before we got there. It bloomed in a nice tarheel blue every year we were there.

When we moved to Wilton, we encountered our third Hydrangea. The first Summer we were here, it didn't bloom, perhaps because I pruned it too early or late. This year, I didn't touch it at all and we were welcomed by this very vibrant beauty. I've never seen one this color!

A Sweet Tooth

About a week ago, one of Valerie's hummingbird feeders disappeared off the deck.

"I can't believe somebody stole my Hummingbird Feeder!" was her first reaction.

"Why would somebody want to steal my Hummingbird feeder? Who would want to do that?" she continued on.

"Maybe it just fell down", I piped up. Now, we've been married nearly 17 years and you'd think by now I'd know not to get in the middle of a tempest. I'm odd that way. Or stupid.

"It didn't fall down! Do you see it anywhere?"

"Um, no?"

"Somebody stole it!"

"Why don't you look in the bushes?"

"It's not in the bushes! Do you see it in the bushes?"

"Um, no?"

Realizing at this point that a call will be dispatched to Wilton 911 any second, I think it best to mosey inside. I picture the conversation in my head:

"Wilton 911, what is your emergency?"
"My bird feeder has been stolen!"
"Your what has been what?"
"MY BIRD FEEDER HAS BEEN STOLEN!"
"Ma'am, that's not an emergency."
"I want the Crime Scene Investigator out here in 5 minutes! Bring your fingerprinting equipment and I want to see one of those black light things! Stat!"

This was not going to be good. In an effort to offer my support, I mention that maybe she look under the deck.

"Do you see it under the deck?"

"Um, no. But maybe that's why you should look there."

I threw a pizza in the oven, hoping beyond hope that the feeder is under the deck. As Valerie comes tromping back up she has a somewhat beat-up feeder in her hands.

"Did you put it down there?"

I pretend not to hear her.

"Why would somebody take my feeder off the hook and put it under the deck?"

"Some animal probably knocked it off" I added. Yes, you're right, I should have left it alone, but at this point it was getting fun.

She went back through her ritual of cleaning the feeder and refilling it with her secret recipe of super-concentrated nectar (ie. sugar water) before hanging it back out.

Three days later, we got home and there was the feeder, a good ten feet from where it hung the day before. The top was pried open and it was bone dry. We finally decided that the only two animals that might have enough intelligence and dexterity to actually move the feeder would be a Raccoon or a Bear.

My money's on the bear.

From Whence Evil Comes

It had finally cooled down the other night, so we opened the windows for the night. I was having a hard time sleeping when I heard an owl outside. He was just hoot, hoot, hootin' away and it didn't help me get to sleep at all.

At last, he went quiet for a few minutes.

All of a sudden, I heard a squealing like I've never heard before. Squealing and screeching like something was holding on to dear life. The sound got weaker and weaker like it was floating away. Later, I thought the owl may have set himself up with a nice mouse or squirrel dinner.

Valerie heard it too. The next day I came home to various owl sounds from OwlPages.com and she was trying to identify which species from the sounds it made. I think she finally settled on Great Horned Owl. Whoooo'd a thunk it?

The Stair Stare

I was looking back through the pictures we've taken over the last year and a half. Some made it to the blog and some didn't. This is one of the pictures that didn't because his eyes look a little evil, but it still evokes a fond memory.

Every night when I used to get home, I'd call up from the basement.

"Papa's Home!", I'd yell at the top of my lungs.

Within a few seconds, I'd get this look.

Therapy

I've debated long and hard about where Wilton Diaries should go now that our main writer has lost her inspiration. Sure, I can keep you abreast of what's going on in Wilton but this blog isn't really about Wilton, it's about us.

Our life.

And a great part of our life was Danny.

And a great part of our life now is coping without Danny.

From time to time you might see a post about Danny pop up when I'm thinking about him. If that turns you off, I am sorry. Maybe, just maybe, remembering him will help the healing. I also don't want this blog to become an electronic wailing wall. Occasionally it will be, but mostly it will be about us. I appreciate your companionship on this journey.

Keeping Busy

We've been keeping busy the last few week doing things around the house. Valerie and I have a deal that if we get our bedroom ready to paint by July 13th, I can take the 19th and 20th off for some fun. Getting the bedroom to that point will be a quite a chore because it entails putting up a ceiling fan, patching where the skylight was, and all the normal touch-up things that go along with painting. So far, I'm ahead of schedule and I've got a three day weekend coming up, so it looks like I might get to play.

The pictures are of some recent work we just finished in the hallway and the ceiling fan I just got up Sunday.