Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
do-it-yourself, home improvements

driveway

Our driveway has needed redone ever since we bought our house 21 years ago. This should have been straightforward, but we share a driveway with our neighbor, so we’ve been trying to work something out with him for probably the last decade. But, it never came to fruition, so we had to draw a line in the sand and put a deadline on it (due to the fact that our move is in the not-too-distant future and there’s no way anyone is going to buy the house with the driveway like that). The deadline still didn’t work so we just got our part of the driveway done. It really wasn’t that big of a deal–they just cut out our portion and replaced it. However, the neighbor’s side looks even worse now that our side is good–like one of those double houses where one side is kept up with and the other side is falling into disrepair. The good news is that now we have a decent surface to park on.

We only got the top part of the driveway done, mostly because of the cost. We had $x allotted for the sewer work and driveway and that’s all it would cover. The lower part of the driveway wasn’t in anywhere near as bad of condition, so we did some filling and patching and it’s getting topcoated tonight. Once it’s all a uniform color, I’m sure it will look even better.

live entertainment

ann wilson of heart

I’ve been a fan of Heart for just about ever and have been kicking myself ever since I missed them on tour in Pittsburgh a number of years ago. The band broke up recently, so when I saw that Ann Wilson (the singer from Heart) was playing at The Palace Theatre, I decided to take the opportunity. The show was pretty good–she can still belt one out. The only disappointing thing was that she didn’t do a ton of Heart songs (only 1/4 of the set was comprised of those–and she also did two originals–but the rest was covers of classic rock songs). Still, it was a lot of fun and I’m glad I got to see her.

On a side note, The Palace Theatre is quickly becoming my favorite entertainment venue. It’s only an hour away and there are no traffic or parking issues to deal with. Plus, it’s small, so you can actually see what’s going on. Heck, we were home by 11 last night–not bad for a concert on a school night.

food & drink

prepping

I’ve prepped so much stuff in the past few days that I’m now an honorary Mormon. It all started a few days ago with a half a bushel of peaches. I canned 7 quarts (my canner’s capacity) and froze the rest. I also canned a batch of spicy dill pickles (my 2nd one this season) and froze 2 loaves of zucchini bread and 2 trays of stuffed shells (that also have zucchini in them–I have a lot of zucchini this year). I made a 3rd tray of shells for tomorrow’s supper. Speaking of zucchini, I made minestrone soup early last week and froze the leftovers and am doing the same today for supper. Yet, I still have a refrigerator full of vegetables, so I guess I’ll be doing some more prepping this coming week!

out and about

reunion

Some people I used to work with at Sunquest thought it would be fun to get together with everyone who used to work at the office, so they put together a little party at B & L Wine Cellars this evening. I’m not one for socializing, but I definitely have a level of affection for these people, so I went and was glad I did.

I got to see quite a few people I haven’t seen in ages. And some others that I haven’t seen in a couple of years, anyway. It was nice catching up with everyone. There was a really good turnout. Over 2 dozen people made it (and it really wasn’t that big of an office).

They’re already planning another one for next year and I’m already looking forward to it.

gardening & landscaping

garden update

Not a bad year so far. I had a good crop of garlic and the tomato plants are still alive, so that’s a start. There’s been a ridiculous amount of cukes, too. And I have never seen a zucchini plant as big as the one that is currently growing in my garden. No carrots this year, though. Something kept eating them (seeds and tops). I’m questioning our future move to the country–I don’t know if I’m up for fending off all of the animals.