Home Improvement: Programmable Thermostat

Last Saturday, I installed my new programmable thermostat!!

The directions were VERY detailed, and broke it into steps Roger could have followed. It was a bigger project than I realized, due mainly not to the actual installation, but what had been installed in the past.

The footprint of the new one is TOTALLY different from the footprint of the old one, which is again different than the one before that! The result is screw holes that needed to be filled, and a lovely paint line that needs to be sanded and repainted.

Luckily, I'm a girl who believes in having the right tool for every job, so I actually had a tube of spackle in my toolbox. Pink spackle, no less. So with little fuss, I was able to patch the holes and continue on with the project at hand. (The sanding/painting are for another day)

I picked a location that covered as much of the old mess as possible, and screwed it to the wall. The new thermostat came with little stickers to label the correct post of each wire for reattachment, and it was relatively easy to attach them.

And that was it! I put in the batteries, popped the facepiece on, and programmed the times and temperatures.

Mon-Fri get a separate schedule from Sat/Sun, and there are four dayparts: morning, day, evening, and night. Since my weekday schedule is pretty locked down thanks to the Little Sir, it was no problem to program. However, weekends are not so easy. On Saturdays I'll usually be at the mountain, but Sundays I'll be home. I think what I'll do is set it to my Saturday schedule, and then "override" the programming on Sundays.

A very worthwhile investment, and an interesting home improvement project!

Roger meets Peanut Brittle

"OMD WHAT IS THAT???"

"I would really really really like to eat that thing that you are eating, Girl. Please can I?? I will continue my sniff-sniffing a half-inch from your mouth as long as you are eating that, so you should maybe just share it with me..."

Sadly, the Little Sir did not get to share my peanut brittle. It was delicious!

Welcome, IC Feminists!!

I am so thrilled to be mentioned and linked to in today's ICFeminists email! (yes, I'm still on the listserve!) Welcome, ICF members, thanks for checking out my blog!

It's been so wonderful reading about all the awesome programs you have put on in the past two years! The ICF blog is a great idea. I'm so impressed, and thrilled that the group has continued to gain strength and recognition on campus. Cheers to you, ICF!

Being one of the founding members, let me give you youngsters a history lesson, haha. Spring '04, a group of us started ICF to discuss feminist issues, debate current events, and raise funds to bus students to the March for Women's Lives in Washington, DC on April 25, 2004. I served as treasurer that first semester, vice president spring '05, and president 05-06.

I had the honor of working side by side with many truly passionate, brilliant board members - Meg Favreau, LeeAnn Marhevsky, Dana Malone, Kim Marsh, Kristin Baker, Kendra Lynn, Naomi Karp, Lizzie Nolan, and more. We tabled more hours and sold more tee-shirts than I ever imagined possible. We even caused a stir among republicans, check it out!!

For any fellow alumni reading this, I would love to hear what you've been up to! There IS feminism and activism after college - I'm a member of the Burlington feminist meet-up, an active group of women here in town. So please, reach out to me - if there's interest, I'd be happy to facilitate some sort of network to keep ICF alums in touch, and keep the energy going!

Photos: ICF banner for a Progressive Alliance event; This is What A Feminist Cooks Like potluck hoodie celebration (that's me front left)

They say it's your birthday...

So, as it happens every few years, my 25th birthday fell on Thanksgiving. That meant I was in the warm, loving home of my parents eating way too much food, visiting lifelong friends, and trying to keep both Mom and Dad from sneaking Roger too many treats.

However, the side effect of ThanksBirthGiving Day is that the day didn't really feel like my birthday since it was already another holiday. Pumpkin pie is good, but it's no birthday cake. A group of us had planned to go out for drinks Saturday night in Burly, but for various reasons it fell through. Not exactly the hoopla I had hoped for on my quarter-century.

I did get presents, though! My parents scored a huge cache of Lu-Ray dishes from an antique store looking to stop carrying it. Dad found me an old wooden ladder to use as fun shelves, and a vicious little pocket knife.

And the star of the day: I am pleased to introduce you to the "Climbing Vine" found online at Designer Stencils. It's for my bedroom. I plan to paint the walls a pale green and stencil the vines over it in white. (Unfortunately, that's probably a long way out, considering my room still looks like my closet exploded all over it!)