I think I need this.

Recently, I lowered my coffee standards to (God help me) instant. (shudder)

It wasn't by choice. I was house sitting for my parents and they don't have a coffee maker. Normally when I'm visiting I'll pick up a cup of java while I'm out and about or I'll bring along stove top espresso maker. This trip I forgot the stove top pot, and I felt silly driving all the way to town just for coffee. (Sure its only 5 miles or so, but the pseudo-environmentalist in me thought it was wrong.) So I made do with Folgers.

It wasn't pretty. My Facebook friends can attest to that one.

I came across this little guy on the internet today. It plugs into your car's a/c adaptor. This could be handy when the power goes out too. I've been know to make coffee on the gas grill before. Hey, don't judge me. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Last year when the tornado struck my house I had to run to Starbucks and get a to go cup before I could even think of dealing with the mess I had on my hands. One of these might just need to live in my car in case of emergency.

Feeling Blue

It's hard to believe that it's been 7 months since I came home from work to find a waterfall in my office. One would assume that the repairs would have been completed long before July. Well, since damage was spread across all three floors of my house, repairs had to be made in shifts. As it turns out my office was the last on the list.

It was May before the office moved to the top of the repair list. At that point almost everything not packed up the night of the flood, came out of the office. So as it stands now, my computer is on my dining table. Everything else got stowed in boxes in various room around the house. The last few months have been frustrating when I've needed to find particular item, say an invoice for a piece of equipment. First I let out a heavy sigh, and then begin an hour long search rummaging through boxes tucked in closets, unused corners in of the guest room, and in the basement. Let me tell you, tax season was terrible, but I muddled through.

In May the new drywall went in, and then I knew the end was near. Unfortunately, my schedule for the summer has been completely insane, however I have spent the last two weekends working on getting the room move-in ready. The drywall mud has been sanded. Cracks have been caulked. Walls have been primed. The ceiling gleams white with a fresh coat of paint.

Now comes the fun part. Color is going on the walls!

Color decisions are important. Color can affect your mood. Prior to the flood, the room was blue. Actually, it was blue when I bought the house five years ago. I just never bothered to change it.

So standing in front of the vast array of paint chips a Home Depot I found myself drawn to...

...yes, blue.

For me, blue is a happy color. This shade is light and airy. It's a cool like the light in the winter, but its also the color of warm summer flowers like some my favorites, chicory and plumbago. So blue it will be. Now I'm off to paint.