See, there is this thing people do. It's the Holidailies and you're supposed to pledge to update your diary daily for the month of December. But see, I didn't find out about this thing until yesterday, and when I went to register, the registration was already closed. So I missed my chance with that one. But I thought I might give it a try anyway, even if I did miss the stinking deadline by literally hours! Anyone else on the digsring interested in joining in? I know that won't be too difficult for those of you who are already posting daily.

My neighbors are suffering. But they've been suffering for months now, if not years. This is the house of constant upheaval. not a week goes by that they don't have to endure another round of worker bees doing some sort of repair work. Sometimes it's simple, like last winter when they took a day to put a piece of plywood over a squirrel hole in the side of the house. But this fall it's been simply horrible. The landlord finds the rainiest, ugliest day and then he finds the shadiest, ugliest looking characters to come along and start putting vinyl siding on the house. They've half finished that job, but now that it is sunny again I guess there just isn't enough humidity to trap in the wooden walls so they've given up that job. Instead, today, with a forecast of possible snow tonight and definite rain by the weekend, another crew of sketchy guys are tearing out the shingled roof. Literally ripping out the shingles with these crude rakes. This should be illegal. I feel so sorry for the tenants in that building. Sorry because with all the half-finished jobs and the plywood patches and the ripped up roof it looks like the Clampetts live there. And sorry because they must have the nagging feeling that their home will just distintegrate one day without warning and they will lose all their belongings. They should start moving out now, I think.

I need to get ready for class. enough lounging about in pyjamas. here's another photo of me. five years old, visiting my mom's parents. My Grandfather was a volunteer fireman. note the tongue. sorry, the photo is a little big.

have a good day!