thorvalson.net : babble ether

Miss Miscellanea

Oh, yeah - I have a blog! That's what I keep forgetting!

So things have been pretty busy 'round the Steffke Collective. Greg and I decided to try for a new (lower) mortgage after all the work we've put into the house, so we're preparing for an assessment sometime in the next week or two. I'm almost done painting the laundry room downstairs, the upstairs bedroom needs one more coat of paint and some decorating, and the covings in the dining room need a fresh coat of I still haven't decided what color yet. Greg seems more nervous about all of this than I am, presumably because his name is the one on the mortgage while I'm more of a silent (if you can believe that) partner. Also, I've got some fall gardening to do. This is all pretty appealing to me, because painting and gardening are two of my favorite activities, and Greg's eagerness to git 'er done is a great excuse for me to go to Home Depot.

And yes, I can control myself. :)

Feeling a bit guilty this morning. Maddie's in day care every day this week (and possibly next), and more than the cost of said day care, the fact that she's at school from 7:45 until 4, sometimes 5:30, every day bothers me. I miss her! She's not as outgoing as some of her friends, and she really needs that time at home together in the afternoons. Not every day, but at least two or three days a week. Today she'll be there for only an hour, but even so, the maternal guilt is kicking in. Probably remnants from yesterday's surprise visit from a 16-year-old runaway who literally showed up on our doorstep. And was returned to her parents within an hour, but not before I'd offered her a shot of whiskey just to see her reaction, which was confusion, followed by worry that she'd stumbled into the arms of a couple who just might chop her up and feed her to the dog, followed by relief:

"I'm not giving you any whiskey, just thought I'd offer."

(Greg, from the living room) "Honey, we're out of whiskey."

"Oh! Well, then. Vodka, maybe. But I'm still not giving it to you."

At least I got a smile out of her. She'd only been an official runaway for an hour, and only hesitated for about ten minutes to call her parents after I'd told her she could take her time. Greg and I could have shared some stories - and we did tell her we are both former runaways - but we refrained from sharing the really good stuff (Living In Your Car!: Lesson One: Pick a Well Lit Parking Lot, Lock Your Doors, and Pray). It wasn't really needed. Just being away for an hour was enough to scare her parents - and herself - silly. Still, a good story to tell her friends, and my GOD was it weird for me to be on the paternal end of the runaway stick for a change. Ew!

Sorry, Mom.

Afore-promised Door Co. pictures, to motivate me through the day to the next northern adventure:

Posted by stephanie at September 27, 2006 08:20 AM