Tomorrow I will get up at 5:30.
Tomorrow I will play with my son.
Tomorrow I will put the trash out on the curb.
Tomorrow I will go to the office.
Tomorrow I will do my best to tie up loose ends.
Tomorrow I will do my best to concentrate.
Tomorrow I will drop off those clothes in the kitchen to the Teen Challenge donation box on Broad Street.
Tomorrow I will pack my husband’s clothes in a green duffle bag. (I already packed mine & Fuller’s.) I cannot forget his bathing suit.
Tomorrow I will work hard to stay on task until 4 pm.
Tomorrow I will remember to pack all of Fuller’s bottles.
Tomorrow I will send my grandmother an email.
Tomorrow I will restock the diaper bag.
Tomorrow I will clean out the fridge.
Tomorrow I will empty the trash.
Tomorrow I will get in the car.
Tomorrow I will travel south.
Tomorrow I will go to bed in Alabama.
Tomorrow I will start my vacation.

So, 26 years ago today, I became a big sister. You know what? It isn’t too bad. She’s kind of cool. And she likes me- a lot. She loves me even more since she became the cool aunt.

Anyway, I don’t have any memories of the day Austina was born and I don’t really remember what she was like as a little kid. I remember thinking, when I was much, much younger, that she was trying to be like me and I didn’t like that. But when I look back, I don’t think she was trying to be like me, I think she was trying to be herself and we just went through a lot of the same stuff. Goodness knows, we didn’t turn out very much like each other anyway. Which is fine, because she is still a great sister and a great friend. (And if she ever moves back here, she will be a great babysitter!)

Congratulations to greg for correctly guessing the mystery project. Afterwords, Scott posted this link to the commercial version of the project.

It’s still a few days from completion, but I can already picture what life’s going to be like:

For those of you wanting to purchase one instead of making your own, Sams Club has them for just under $300.

Here are the current list of smart, not-so-smart, and generally dumb answers to “What’s Damon’s Great Summer Mystery Project?”

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Shelves

Originally uploaded by mrscrumley.

I am so proud of the work that Damon does and this weekend I was bursting with that pride as I braved the dust and unpacked books to place them on the crowned jewel of our dinning room.

The dinning room project was a big one, but the built-in was (I think) the biggest part of the whole project.

Just priming the walls was an improvement, but the accents we added- from the fireplace to the moulding to the bookcase- upgraded our dinning room from crap hole to divine living.

Click on the picture to get the whole idea.

This weekend, I started work on The Great Summer Mystery Project”. I?ve been working on the dinning room shelves for a few months now, so cool personal projects like this have had to wait. Now, I?m not going to tell you what I?m making, so you?ll have to make your best guess based on what you see.

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July 2, 2005

July 1, 2005

June 30, 2005

June 29, 2005

June 28, 2005

June 27, 2005

June 26, 2005

This week Damon finished building the beautiful bookshelves that grace our dining room walls. (Pictures will come later.)

Today we have spent a lot of time freeing our books from their temporary homes in the attic. (By temporary I mean the last 5 years.) While rediscovering those books, we have been weeding out the books that are no longer relevant (Knight in Shining Armour: Discovering Your Lifelong Love by P.B. Wilson or Basic Marketing, Eighth Edition by some cats named E. Jerome McCarthy & William D. Perreault, Jr.) or some books that we no longer need (how many John Grisham novels do we really need in the house? Answer: None!).

Anyway, we thought that maybe McKay’s Used Books would be a decent way to offload the extras, but we are not sure how it works. Anyone care to share?

This entry is a response to Amanda, whose comment today made me ponder.

Amanda,
You sound like a mother who loves her daughter.

I think when I was getting to be the age where I was being more independent and dipping my toe in the waters of adulthood, my mother would hug me longer and tighter, just to remember her little girl with the red curls who said “Hi” to anyone and everyone.

At least, that is what I would like to think.

Damon jokes about reliving his childhood through Fuller or wishing that Fuller would take on certain interests when he is older. I admit that I often think about that too, but not the interests that Damon thinks about.

For instance, Damon would like it if Fuller took an interest in playing football. I would like it if Fuller embraced the arts (but was rich at the same time, of course). I wouldn’t mind if Fuller played football and embraced the arts at the same time, but I know that in the end, Fuller will be his own person with his own interests and path in life.

I do marvel that in the future, part of how Fuller lives his life is because of the influence that we have in his life. Miss Zoot is struggling with that realization right now. And I am struggling with it today. BobW mentioned that if Fuller understands “No” he’ll put things together. The thing is that Fuller doesn’t yet understand “No.” We are working on it and today Fuller cried because of it, but he doesn’t get it yet. (I think that if our dogs understand “No” then there is hope for Fuller.)

Someday he will understand the word “No” (from what I understand, that is what all two year olds are saying these days). And, in turn, someday he will also understand that I love him and always want the best for him. When that day comes, I will hug him a little tighter and remember my little boy who likes to giggle like a mad man when I put him to bed for the night.