Weekend Wind-Down #50

This past weekend was a pretty busy one...Missy's parents were here for the past week and on Friday night we all decided to head out to LOWE'S and buy a new WATER HEATER. Our old one was working fine, except for a few knocks and pings. We had to replace a part on the heater several months back and the plumber who worked on it told us that the heater was pretty old and that we should probably replace it before something major happens. So friday night, Missy plopped down a little over $300 for a 30-gallon tank, which we hauled home in the back of my little hatchback. When we got it home, we discovered, to our surprise, that the heater was totally dented all around the bottom (photo above). We were surprised because we passed up a bunch of torn and dented boxes in the water heater aisle at Lowe's, choosing the most perfect and intact box we could find. So we had to tape up the box around the heater, reload it into the back of my car, and haul it back for a replacement. At the store a manager cut open a thrashed-up box and found that the heater inside was pristine. Once again, we hauled the heater back to the house. By the time we got back it was late and we were tuckered out from having to carry, load, and unload heavy-ass water heaters twice. We placed the heater in the middle of the master bedroom and decided to start fresh in the morning:





NILLA enjoyed the empty shipping box we had left lying in the kitchen-slash-dining area:







The next morning, Missy's parents started working on taking the old water heater out of master bath. They were total pros, having replaced their own water heater a couple of times. They started emptying the heater by attaching our garden hose to it and then running it into the shower. Water started to leak out of the spout and we had to bust out some old rags to sop up some of the water:







Soon enough, the brand new heater was in place. We all could not wait to finally take a shower after working all day and getting dirty and sweaty:





While John was working on the heater, Missy and her mom were out front gardening. They planted, spread mulch, pruned, and pulled up weeds:









Missy's dad came out back while the new water heater filled up. He tried his hand at cutting down a dead tree with a hacksaw. When that proved too difficult, he brought out the chain saw:




GARDEN 3251 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Later in the weekend, Missy and I ran out and bought a tough little plastic WHEELBARROW to help us with our yard work:



FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Accomplishing a lot in the yards and planting lots of flowers.
RAOUL - Making it through the weekend with relatively little soreness!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Having to return the hot water heater.
RAOUL - Bringing home that dented water heater and then having to return it!

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Mulch"
RAOUL - "Blue cheese"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Mac and cheese my mom made.
RAOUL - Nachos from Willy's.

LEAST FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I can't think of any...
RAOUL - Peanut butter, banana, bacon donut from Ike & Jane.

FAVORITE HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECT SO FAR?
MISSY - Cleaning up the yard and planting flowers.
RAOUL - Getting rid of that forest green trim in the dining room!

LEAST FAVORITE HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECT SO FAR?
MISSY - The water heater wasn't that fun...
RAOUL - Tell you what it's gonna be my least favorite...taking apart that fire pit!

HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECT YOU'D LIKE TO WORK ON NEXT?
MISSY - Something easy I can do like hangin' up my collection of art from other people
RAOUL - Putting shelves up in the craft room.

ONE THING ON YOUR TO DO LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Pay the bills.
RAOUL - Catch up on sleep?

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Hawk And A Hacksaw, Dressy Bessy, Sleater-Kinney, Pipas.
RAOUL - Yo La Tengo, M. Ward, Fiery Furnaces, Nico, Architecture In Helsinki, The Strangeloves, The Cure, Ultra Vivid Scene, XLR8R podcast.

Spice Town

Our hood! If you're not from around here you might just get shot..."what set you claim, holmes? Paprika?" BANG.

I was recently reminded of this picture I took of these spice containers we have in our kitchen (thanks rowdyHarv!). I think that Missy and her mom are gonna reorganize and clean out the spice racks today. And we're putting in a new hot water heater. BIG FUN at Rancho Cocoa today, haha!

Folklore + Still Flyin' Mini Tour!

Hey all you North-Easterners! FOLKLORE (Athens/Philadelphia) and STILL FLYIN' (San Francisco) are doing a mini tour this weekend in your area and you should definitely go check them out...you will NOT be disappointed, guaranteed! They are playing dates in NYC, Boston, and Philly, so there are plenty of chances to catch them in action. I won't be playing trumpet with Folklore - Jimmy has since moved away from Athens to Philly and started a "northern version" of Folklore - nor will I be playing with Still Flyin', which I've also had the pleasure of playing trumpet with for a couple of shows and also recorded with, so this is doubly tragic for me to not be able to be there...but totally awesome for YOU, if you happen to be in the area:

Friday April 3rd - Brooklyn NY @ Union Hall www.unionhallny.com
Saturday April 4th - Boston MA @ PA's Lounge www.paslounge.com
Sunday April 5th - New York NY @ The Cake Shop www.cake-shop.com
Monday April 6th - Philadelphia PA @ Johnny Brenda's www.johnnybrendas.com

FOLKLORE is headed by Jimmy Hughes who runs BUMBLEBEAR RECORDS and who is also a current member of ELF POWER. STILL FLYIN' is a indiepop supergroup of sorts, which includes members of MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE, AISLER'S SET, POUNDSIGN, THE BRIGHT LIGHTS, RED PONY CLOCK, KISSING BOOK, LADYBUG TRANSISTOR and a few other bands I'm probably forgetting...so, if you go see Folklore and Still Flyin' play, it's kinda like seeing half-a-dozen bands for the price of two! Kinda, but not really. Anyways, go see them because they are a lot of fun live and quite a spectacle. You NEED THAT in your life, especially this weekend!

Nilla Forty-Nine

Happy cat!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here is a super cute close-up of our kitty, Nilla! She is soft as snow and sweet as ice cream. Nice kitty.

Heck With Your Love!

(FOLKS, if you haven't figured it out already, this post was an elaborate APRIL FOOL'S prank by THE SIMPLE CARNIVAL, with a little bit o' help from yours truly, RANCHO COCOA...we're sorry if you were wanting for these crazy releases to be real...after we saw them, we were wishing that it really was a crazy package of releases...if you downloaded the free mp3 on the Simple Carnival site, you would've heard the April Fool's message...over and over and over and over and over and over, etc. etc. etc.)



Quick! Head on over to the SIMPLE CARNIVAL website and check out the special new releases our friend Jeff has to offer, featuring more pop hits and even more of Missy's artwork! Don't delay, get yours today....right HERE! While supplies last!