Week 21

Last week I got on a feather kick. I told you I'd figured out how to make them even more feathery so naturally, I had to make a feather pen- see how there's no blank space in the middle:

Unfortunately the metal that i was trying to salvage last week really just does not seem to be salvageable so i started over. I added some glass beads and a hair pin and think the small one came out really cute. I broke the cheap pair of scissors i usually scissor cut with though so i tried tin-snips on this piece. The result is that the edges of the feathers don't curl.

My weekly doodle:

Outside the realm of The Xarata Project:

Bob's 24th birthday was yesterday. We went out with friends for sushi and all split a sushi boat which he loved and ate with my most favorite thing i bought for him- a pair of lightsaber chopsticks. I was so proud, because i knew he would like them but they weren't on his list, and he couldn't figure out what was in that present- shake and squeeze as he may. I also made him white coconut cake(his request) and huevos rancheros for breakfast(also requested). He spent most of the day playing videogames which kept him happy.

I ate a turnip out of my garden this week. They're still small, but i was excited.

It was kind of a lousy week. I had to replace my car's computer after a mishap with some jumper cables, and the landlord's son mowed over my pumpkin plant- again. With the rent this month, they received a short letter reminding them that the roof was supposed to be replaced a year ago- with accompanying photos of waterdamage in the house as well as a reminder that we had been told the original fencing was going to be remounted when we moved in 1 1/2 years ago, it hasn't been and any fencing that I put up keeps getting broken because they move and mistreat it. I also let them know that we had finally patched the numerous holes that were in the walls when we moved in that THEY were supposed to fix. They haven't said anything about plans to fix the roof or put up the fencing, but they did unceremoniously leave our hose on the porch (it was over with the other hoses and water hookup on the front house, because our outdoor water hookup isn't functioning and when i asked at the beginning of the summer they told me they don't know how to make it work). The landlord's son has always been rude, but if things continue this way, i will find another house. Between the leaking roof, flooding basement, and their complete ignorance of necessary repairs, i really don't think they can make me pay anything for breaking a lease either.

If anything I would leave this place in much better condition than it was when i came. I've done landscaping, put up lattice over the very rustly railing, enclosed the yard with wire fencing on one side and a gated arbor on the other, repainted the bathroom and replaced the very cheap aluminum fixtures with more aesthetically pleasing antique brass finished ones, patched and painted a lot of holes that we did not make, ripped out 2 rooms and a stairs worth of stinking and pet soiled carpet(with permission), mounted shelving in the basement and added privacy film to the lower windows in the living room so they don't have to be covered (there's no ceiling lights so light is precious). This week, I also tiled the backsplash of the stove and its awning: