Today was pretty interesting. Here's the recap:
After attending the pretty much uneventful, but fun no less, bachelor party of a high school friend last night in Forest Park (just west of Oak Park), I was to wake up this morning at 7:30. Yeah, right. I don't remember shutting off my alarm and going back to sleep. I finally got up around 8:30am, and called Barb and Pete, as I was to spend the day with them, checking out their new house. I was going to put the link here, but then I noticed the prices are on the page, so I don't want to embarrass them. Barb and Pete, if you want to direct them to the site, that's up to you. Feel free to use my blog as a forum. Whatever. :)

So I went to their current apartment, where Barb was to make waffles. I felt bad, because, well, I felt bad. I didn't think I'd had that much beer, but I damn near threw up at their place. I had one tiny waffle, to put something down there...after the first bite, I really, really had to fight my stomach, and I won! Which is good...that moment determined the entire day. If I had given in and threw up, I'd have stayed at home all day. Instead, we drove up to Grayslake to see the model home. Beautiful. The place they're moving is awesome, and it's somewhere I'd aspire to living. I say aspire because I've got a long way to go. :) The house they chose, after looking at the other models online, is probably the nicest looking one. And despite the "it's a small house" claims (it is, really, at 1,730 square feet), it doesn't look or feel small at all.

Then we came back to my place and I rented the roto-tiller from Home Depot. We tilled up the footprint of where my veggie garden will be, which took no time at all. Then, they left to go to a family function, and I went through and pruned off all the dead foliage from my perennials from last year. I don't mind that chore at all, because it allows me to check out what's growing back and what's not. I was happy to see plenty of baby plants pushing up from the soil where they were last year. Of course, there are also plenty of baby weeds pushing up too, something I'm not too happy about. But it will need to be done.

So after I cut back the stupid out-of-control forsythia bush at the back of my main garden, I went into the house (and I just realized I left the pile of yellow-flower-covered branches on the lawn. Damn. Oh well...it'll look pretty for a day or so.) and relaxed. I thought about going out, but I figure I can just relax tonight.

Oh, and I forgot to mention. There's a bird somewhere in my walls or ceiling, or he could be in my closet or in the tiny room under the stairs. I discovered him in our laundry room earlier today, and later he went up in the ceiling and was in the walls. It's too bad too, because he'll probably die in there, but there's no way to get him out of here without letting him into my apartment--something I'm not comfortable at all with. If he re-emerges in the laundry room or workshop (where he likely got in through the chimney the first time and then got into the walls), I'll try to throw a towel over him and take him outside. But by then, who knows...I just hope he isn't in my closet dead...that won't be fun to clean up.

Well, sorry for the long post...it's been crazy... :)