Sunday, November 09, 2003

MAKE LIKE A TREE AND LEAF
Gutterwatch 2003. All in all, not too bad. I give myself a "much improved" grade for ladder maintenance. Yes. I'm a chicken. I hate ladders. I hate heights. Amazing Race? I'd be the "you do it" person. Last year I estimate I got a C- in ladder maneuverability. This year? Solid B. Not too bad, says I. *Cluck*Cluck*Cluck* Speaking of cluck, cluck -- I found a birds nest crammed in the nookiest cranny. I don't know how the heck the bird even got there, much less why it would want to. Fortunately it appeared to be an old nest, so I wasn't kicking out any current residents. I did however find a tiny egg. It was partially cracked, so I could tell it was empty, but it was still an "awww" kind of moment. I thought about saving it for TinyTuna, but after the Robin's nest fiasco of a couple years ago -- I decided against it. The short version of the Robin's nest? Nest + TinyTuna's window sill + robin + three eggs + lots of pictures + attachment + hungry squirrel = empty nest + smashed eggs in the garden + and one very sad TinyTuna. It was a tragedy.

But back to gutters. In addition to cleaning out the gutters and putting in the storms, I successfully convinced GramTuna that older brother should come over and do the roof caulking. I am not brave enough yet to climb up onto the roof from a ladder, and I didn't want her going up there herself. Amazingly, it didn't take anywhere near as much arm-twisting as I thought it might. Yay me. Gutters are one things. Roofs from the ground up? Quite another. Shiver.

Speaking of gutterwatch -- I'm sure hoping a certain Blah Blah Blogger has gotten home from church and posted appropriately as promised last night. There better be some good reading over there when I'm done. Something to set the heart aflame and curl the toes, if you catch my drift.

Elsewhere and meanwhile. While I was busy de-shmucking the gutters, TinyTuna was off with Dad for the afternoon. It has been several weeks since they've gotten together, so it was about time. She talked him into viewing number two of the new movie, Brother Bear. She enjoyed it, he could nap, and there was popcorn and candy involved, so it was a very good thing. You may have noticed that Dad doesn't get the "tuna" distinction. He is lots of other things, but he's not a Tuna. My blog. My rules. He no longer makes the grade.

Moving along. As I type away, TinyTuna is very busy doing her homework. She is one happy kid right now. Yesterday, GramTuna and I made the executive decision that she really needed a quiet, neat and well-lit place to study and do her homework. So we tore apart her bedroom. Her desk had become the dumping ground for everything. So, while she was otherwise occupied with a little TV and an extremely long bath, Gram and I went to work with a 30-gallon trashbag. What a difference! Her desk is cleared, she has a new lamp with a spiffy organizer tray, and you would have thought we gave her the world. I know she was really worried, but she walked in and yelled "I love it!" It was Trading Spaces on a $15 budget. And no Hildi or Doug abominations in orange or black at the end of the hour. Personally, I wouldn't have minded a bit of Handy Andy, but that's another story. So TinyTuna is working away in there, just ecstatic. She asked if she could play music, and I gave her some classical CDs so she wouldn't be distracted by the words of songs she knows. So far, her new "homework space is a very, very good thing.

The other big victory of the weekend was that I was able to get TinyTuna to voluntarily give up a few of her old toys that she doesn't use. Prime offender was a large plastic stove/sink kind of thing. There is nothing wrong with it, but she doesn't play with it anymore, so its purpose seems to be to sit in the basement and get in the way. This weekend I finally thought of a tactic to get her to get rid of a couple things. "How, Amazing Tuna?" I hear you ask. Well, let me tell you. We released her inner Jane Fonda. Yes, it's a story.

Last week GramTuna decided to see if TinyTuna would like to try some of the exercise equipment that we have in the house. Much of it was my Grandmother's and most of it resides in my basement. Between the two houses, we have a mini-trampoline, a treadmill, a stair-stepper and an exercise bike. So, TinyTuna gives it a whirl, and....Oh. My. Gosh. She thinks this is the greatest stuff ever. She asks all the time if she can go "train". Which is funny. And cute. Except at 6:30 am. Then it is neither funny nor cute. But during humane hours, TinyTuna is "training". And GramTuna is "training". And GreenTuna, in an attempt to both save face and lose some unwanted pounds is "training". Happy Happy Joy Joy. I'm not going to lie to you here. If I had a functioning metabolism, I wouldn't do it. Some people love exercise, and I'm not one of them. But I will admit, that first of all, I don't get one heck of a lot of exercise sitting at my desk all day, and I really need to start moving my body. Secondly, it is a hoot to have TinyTuna down there encouraging me -- egging me on -- and telling me "I know you can do it." I'd do the same to her, but being the Type-A overachieving personality (that she is when it so suits her), my job is to tell her to be careful and save some for the next day.

So, back to the stove -- From way back up there. I was down in the basement doing laundry and rearranging some things ("JunkJunkJunkJunkJunk" as my NephewTuna would have you believe). I asked TinyTuna if she thought it might be a good idea to get rid of a few things so we could have a really nice exercise and training area. BINGO! It was a good idea! While I was on a roll, I stashed the stuff in the car, and off we went. I was really proud, there weren't any tears, just a quiet poignant "goodbye stove. I'll miss you." I can live with that. I'll miss ya too. But I won't miss tripping over you.

Lastly. Good grief this is long. Lastly, Lou is an Alligator. Yes, I have an alligator story.
But I will save that for another day.
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