august to-do list

House:

Paint pantry doors

Make new shoe and floor moulding

Remove scrim from cabinets

Prime kitchen trim

Paint kitchen trim

Prime kitchen walls

Paint kitchen walls

Clean downstairs fridge

Garden

Get lots of vegetable pulp and coffee grounds (ongoing)

Pressure-clean north fence

Stain north fence

Pressure-clean other fence

Stain other fence

Oil patio furniture

Pluck bindweed (ongoing)

Errands

Target: Supersoaker watergun, for squirrels

Home Despot: 50' hose, hose attachment, seeds

African Grey: buddy seed, another harness (ha!)

Costco: groceries

Stuff to look for

Blind and W.C. sign for watercloset (since January 2004)

Rugs for kitchen floor (since June 2004)

White unscented tapers for candelabra (for a long time)

New glass "art" for front door (since May 2000)

Kinwork and Lisaism

Haitch's wedding!

Camping week

Reading:

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code

Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quijote

David James Duncan, The Brothers K

William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!

José Saramago, History of the Siege of Lisbon

Will Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner

Exercise

At least a little bit of calisthenics at home? Please?

Bike 8 miles nearly every weekday

Swim at least 7K a week

10:10

fraser meadow

Over breakfast I said something about powerwashing the fence, but soon enough RDC suggested Golden Gate Canyon State Park. So that's what we did. As soon as we got up to Fraser Meadow, the skies opened. Instead of glugging water and chawing a Clif bar or two, we immediately turned around to get back under trees.

We saw a grouse of some sort who scampered along the path ahead of us for yards and yards before finally veering into the grass and up into an aspen. We also saw a garter snake and another garter snake and then a skittering across the trail, which RDC thought was another snake. It was a rabbit, not much more than a kitten. I tried to point out some differences between a snake and a bunny to RDC, but he pretended that he already could distinguish between them.

Also he called the garter snakes something I didn't initially listen to. He repeated, "Some people call them grass snakes, some people call them garter snakes."

"I call them a sling snake," I responded to his cadence. He for once agreed that that was funny.

3.6-mile hike.

hoot

Carl Hiaasen's first attempt at a children's book reads a lot like I imagine his adult books to be: crazy characters' bizarre dialogue, a definite and proud Florida setting, Florida and more Florida.

I have never been too curious about his other books, but this is a Newbery Honor book, so I read it. As an ecological not-really-mystery Hoot reminded me of Jean Craighead George's Who Killed Cock Robin? Good messages for kids of how to deal with bullies and to achieve real change, good change.