Tap, Tap, Tap. Is this thing on???

Testing. 1.2.3.
Check, check, check!
Hello?
Oh, this is how this thing works...

Uh, hey guys, how are ya?

Sorry, it's been a while, but ya know one thing lead to another and well, I kind of forgot how to type this thing.
I tried to make random, lurky visits to friends, but I really haven't spent much time on the computer. I'm only here now because HP wore himself out and I'm trying to do something quiet since I'm still awake. sort of.

I've read some excerpts of people's summers, I think a lot of people are getting out & doing things that sound like fun.

I'll give you the "Reader's Digest" version of my summer. I've uploaded some pictures to flickr, but then the battery died on the camera, and I have to start over except the camera and the computer have rarely shared the same floor of the house, so those are still to come.

Kiki's Summer Vacation

3 weddings (in 5 weeks)
my sister's birthday. she's 2 years older than I am
The Girl's Sweet Sixteen. Somehow I ended up doing a dinner party for 10 in my yard after I had already started clearing out the kitchen for the great budget makeover that never ended and went over over budget
HP's 40-somethingth birthday
Uncle Dick's 75th birthday
My niece's 7th birthday
HP's adventure on the other coast.
3 weeks of wondering if we were moving to the other coast
2 weeks and a random weekend in the Pocono's. I brought my computer with every intention of blogging, but there were children who had different ideas for me (like swimming and making blueberry pancakes) and for my computer (like barbie.com) and their mother who had different ideas for me (like swimming with her kids so she could get work done, and driving around in the convertible) and for my computer (ebay!) So, I didn't get much blogging done. I did take pictures, but most of them didn't make the great file transfer.
Summer Camp I got a call the day I was recovering from The Girl's Sweet Sixteen asking me to work for an art's camp. starting THAT day. Please! I've been going full tilt since then. I've played with clay with kids, I've fused glass with kids, I've read to kids, I've gotten ice for kids who run in crocs, I've filled out forms for band-aids, I've painted a giraffe, I've had to pull structured-theme-oriented mixed media projects out of my ass, I've tie-dyed, I've had art shows, I've been run ragged...
and finally
The great budget kitchen makeover The idea was to give the kitchen a $500 makeover. New countertop ($100) New sink ($100 (plus $12 for the drainbowls and strainers, sold separately)) New faucet ($70 so far--still need another piece to make it work with our ancient portable dishwasher) Paint (about $100). So far that sounds reasonable, but what about all the $50 trips to Lowe's?? what are we getting there that keeps adding up? Today it was copper pipe, fittings, connectors and things like that to actually hook up the sink.
The great budget kitchen makeover was also supposed to only take about 10 days. 2 weekends plus the days between to do extra coats and things like that. That was over a month ago. Of course, the trip to the Poconos, all of the birthdays and summer camp were all after we started the great kitchen makeover.
And while we have been working on the GKM, HP finished grad school! Yay. I am soo proud. and so is his Ma, who will be coming for a visit. ON FRIDAY. We have a lot to do before Friday! Ma will be here for 10 fun-filled days. I hope she likes to watch paint dry, that's what we have for excitement. I think she wants us to go to that whole commencement thing which will be smack dab in the center of the state. So, we have a visit to my dad (who goes by YOM--Your Old Man) and his wife, who just goes by her name.
And still to come this summer, My birthday (30 somethingth), our anniversary (4th) and getting The Boy back to school.

So that is the abridged version of my summer. At some point pictures will follow. I think. I'm trying to work towards getting back on my computer at least a couple evenings a week (the last couple weeks I've checked email, occasionally visited your blog. if you have one. and looked up the weather.)

Oh, the kitchen? It is a kind of yellow, almost a yellow ochre (brought about by a beer glaze) with white "wainscoting" (ok, it is paneling that was cut down at some point in the house's history, but little oddities like that are part of the fun of an old house). The cabinets are white and the counter top is beechwood. We have a bright white cast iron sink and pewter faucet (I think--the package was mismarked, which was part of the reason it was only $70 instead of $275).
My kitchen was a warm tera-cotta color, with dingy blue cabinets and an icky laminate counter top, now it is bright and cheerful. Or at least it will be when we get all the tools and crap out of it, sand and refinish the floor, and put the shelves and kitchen island back in.
I can't wait to show you the finished pictures, and I can't wait to get back in it!