rpotd: “the side view”

Of our house. It’s not really the exciting side of the house, but it is the side.

This was taken before the inspector discovered a 6-inch bow in one of the foundation walls which caused the sellers to have someone dig up all the nice grass next to the house there so the basement wall could be replaced. It’s finally grown back, but it’s not as pretty.

Read Full Post »

rpotd: “welcome to our home 3”

When we found out that we had closed on our home, we went out and bought 3 of the most amazing welcome mats I’ve ever seen. Yes, it was an impulse buy. No, we don’t regret them. You can see the other two here.

And because the label on the back of the mats influenced our purchases just as much as the front of the mats did, I’ll include it below:

this perfectly fine, if not certainly adequate doormat is made from 100% olefin indoor/outdoor carpet and printed with color-fast inks. wash with hose and brush. dry flat. do not machine wash.

important things you should know about your new doormat

warning: do not use mat as a projectile. sudden acceleration to dangerous speeds may cause injury. when using mat, follow directions: put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and shake it all about. this mat is not designed to sustain gross weight exceeding 12,000 lbs. if mat begins to smoke, immediately seek shelter and cover head. caution: if coffee spills on mat, assume that it is very hot. this mat is not intended to be used as a placemat. small food particles trapped in fibers may attract rodents and other vermin. do not glue mat to porous surfaces, such as pregnant women, pets and heavy machinery. when not in use, mat should be kept out of reach of children diagnosed with CFED (compulsive fiber eating disorder). do not taunt mat. failure to comply relieves the makers of this doormat, simply precious home decor, and its parent company, high cotton, inc., of any and all liability.

Read Full Post »

i took a shower today

in my own bathtub.

I only mention this because it’s the first time since Monday the 5th that I have been able to do so, due to horrific nightmares soon to be recounted–just as soon as the grout dries, the tiles get sealed, and the toilet gets taken out of my office.

Read Full Post »

things that go bump in the night

Bump.

Bump.

Bump.

Bump.

You’re awake. The darkness has subsided some since you first turned out the light. And rightly so, you suppose: your eyes should be accustomed to the dark after spending a few hours asleep in it. But, has it been a few hours? Or just a few minutes?

All you know is that it’s dark, your wife is sound asleep next to you, and you’re not. You turn over—gently, so as to not wake her up—and close your eyes.

Bump.

Bump.

Bump.

For the briefest of moments, you think that you’re listening to your heart. Your mind races wildly, chasing the ephemeral traces of what you were dreaming about just before waking, searching for something, anything, that could make your heart race. But it’s no use–it’s gone, a cool mist dissolving before your very eyes, it’s particles ricocheting off random bits of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, until they are so widely scattered that they are indistinguishable.

Bump.

Bump.

And then you realize. The bump is not your heart. It isn’t racing. It is slow, paced, rhythmic, but solitary. Not bah-bump, bah-bump. Just bump.

Bump.

And then you hear nothing. Perhaps a faint rustle, as of leaves in the wind, or of fabric brushing past fabric. You wait, straining, trying to catch a sliver of whatever it might have been. But no. There’s nothing. Again, you try to clear your mind and deliver yourself to the void.

Bah-bump.

It’s here. In the room. Your eyes open just in time to see dark shapes dart from your doorway to below the foot of your bed, out of sight. This was no dream, no synapses firing randomly as you transitioned from dreams to reality.

There is Something in the room.

And the worst part about it? You think you know what it is.

Read Full Post »

Who Picks Up Our Trash

Who picks up your trash? Waste Management? The City of Wherever You Live? How about your neighbor? Your response would probably be, “Only if I threw it into their yard. Which I don’t. Really.” Well, my neighbor does. Sort of.

Let me explain. I’m going to tell you another “Only in Wamego story.”

Saturday I started making calls, trying to get my trash service finally started (Especially after the Thanksgiving holidays, it’s starting to reach critical mass in my mudroom. Yes, I have a mudroom. But that’s another story). So, in Wamego you have three choices for trash pick up (Why three? That’s another story. Though it sounds pretty interesting. Something about a city trash company and a man who may or may not be in Aruba with a lot more money in his pockets). So, now we have three choices. Or as the nice City lady put it, we can choose from a local company, a not so local company, and a national company. But everyone chooses the local company, no pressure.

Read Full Post »

Welcome to Wamego

I bet in Los Angeles they don’t give out toothbrushes to say “Welcome” (In fact, I know they don’t, since I’ve lived there too). They do here in Wamego. If they weren’t vying for Oz Capital of the world, I’d say they were trying for “Dental Health Capital” of the world. I say this because in our “Welcome to Wamego”Bucket (yes, I said bucket), we got two toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, and no less than five doctor/dentist fridge magnets. I know it’s beginning to sound like a catch phrase, but I have to say it: “Only in Wamego.”

Read Full Post »

Wamego, Kansas

Foggy winter morning at the Duck Pond in Wamego City Park. Photo by Chuck Hart

At a party yesterday, a woman asked me why we were buying a house in Wamego, Kansas of all places. I responded that apparently she didn’t know much about the city, or she wouldn’t be asking me that question. So for all of those lacking knowledge of the specified city, I want to tell you why.

The basics: Wamego is small town living, with big city excitement. It has a population of 4,500, but is located fifteen minutes from booming Manhattan, Kansas, home of K-State University (by “booming” I mean a population of 45,000. But hey, in a state that has less people than the city of Los Angeles, that’s a respectable size). It’s also only 40 minutes away from the state capital, Topeka.

While we’re on the subject of LA, in 2004 Wamego had a crime index of 58.9. Sounds high to you maybe, but according to City-Data.com, Los Angeles had a crime-index of 474.1. The U.S. average is 327.2.

The city began as settlers traveled through Kansas to Oregon and California (and we moved from California to Kansas—seems a little backwards, doesn’t it?). Entrepreneur, Louis Vieux began to charge these settlers to ferry them across the river. The rest is history (I know that sounds cliché, but hey, I had to use it).

Read Full Post »

What Kansas is Missing

I’m having a love/hate relationship with the wonderful land of Oz. I love it because of its beauty, peacefulness…for its amber waves of grain. I love the music that swells the breeze and rings from all the trees (the Cicadas are apparently very loud this time of year). I love the the small towns with more parks than shopping malls. I hate that there are so few shopping malls. The rustling trees full of bugs have no place in my heavenly hometown. And peacefulness is overrated, and kinda creepy if you ask me. But through all this, I endure, because it truly is a love/hate relationship. Yet there is one thing Kansas could never have over California, and that’s what puts the equation out of balance. My sister. I miss her so much. And without her, Kansas can never really be my home. My heart just isn’t here. So if you know her, if you ever see my talented and amazing sister, pass her a message: I have a four-bedroom house that’s empty without you. Kansas needs you, because I need to stay in Kansas.

Read Full Post »

signed, sealed, delivered!

our house: originally uploaded by are you my rik?.

i have been waiting 3 days to post this, just waiting until we could get back out there to take pictures.

sold! we got it! and i don’t think we could possibly describe how excited we are about being able to buy our first home.

Read Full Post »