I am a very deep sleeper, and by very I mean I sleep like the dead.  It takes something really big or really loud to draw me out of my slumber…and even then, it’s not a guarantee I will actually wake up.  Because of this I can sleep just about anywhere on anything.  It’s wonderful.  Typically I can even sleep through earthquakes.  I tried to sleep through the Northridge quake but my mom wouldn’t let me…something about a bookcase falling on my head…  Anyway, the other thing that will cause me to bolt upright in bed is the wailing of a smoke alarm.

That’s what woke all three of us (Noah, me, the dog) at 2am this morning.  Horrible horrible way to find yourself suddenly awake — nothing like an impending house fire to get you out of bed in the morning.  The alarm only went off for a few seconds then stopped.  Noah clambered out of bed, checked out the house, saw that there was no fire, and we attempted to go back to sleep.  Ha!  Apparently inanimate objects also like to play April Fool’s pranks.  Just after we got comfortable, the alarm sounded again.  But only for a few seconds like the first time.  Noah went downstairs to get a ladder to take apart the stupid thing (yes yes, bad, blah blah blah).  As he ripped it from the ceiling the stupid thing started squelching again…but this time it wouldn’t shut up.  My fingers were in my ears, my poor dog was cowering beside me on the bed, and I kept thinking about the Friends episode where Phoebe beats her smoke detector with a shoe.  We were about to get to that point when Noah was finally able to eject the battery.

Perhaps I should mention that this is not just a regular smoke detector but also a carbon monoxide detector.  So now that the noise was over and we could attempt to fall back asleep not only was my mind running around with all sorts of possibilities about the roof being on fire (the “settling” of the house noises didn’t help any) but also the possibility of us dying in our sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning.   But, we have at least one other carbon monoxide detector in the house, so should our furnace be spewing poisonous gases into our air, we have that to fall back on.

But now, I have the ridiculously expensive carbon monoxide sensor/battery in my purse to go buy a new one at some point today.  I did happen to notice a bright orange sticker on the battery slot on the smoke alarm that said the detector should be replaced prior to 2004.  Interesting…

Regardless, I think if a battery is going to die on a smoke alarm it needs to be, say, between the hours and 6:00pm – 10:00pm.  That way I’m not in the middle of an already creepy dream (smoke detectors never go off when one is dreaming something pleasant) and won’t be so freaked out.  *grumbles*

**EDIT** Turns out our alarm was for carbon monoxide detection only.  It has since been replaced with a dual smoke/carbon monoxide detector that will not only wail an 85db alarm but will also speak either “fire”, “carbon monoxide” or “low battery”.  Genius.

I finished my project before Noah completed his.  Last night I finished the final wall in the bedroom.  I must say that the room is much more inviting now that it doesn’t look dingy and that the furniture is back in place (and not covered in plastic!).  Another plus is that all of the doors are now white — and the same shade of white!  Noah still has to do one more coat on the closet and bathroom doors…but that was his contribution to the project.  My job was to paint the walls, baseboards and trim.  So once the doors are finalized all we need to do is purchase and install the crown molding (again, Noah’s contribution to the project).

All that completed before the basement is done. 🙂

My next project is Christmas cards, which I started last night. Once the basement is done, Noah’s next task is to finish the bed.  Once the bed is in the room, I’ll take pictures.

Since Noah is working with his brother finishing a friend’s basement, I have been sitting at home many nights a week bored.  I needed a project.  Now that the bed is nearing completion, I decided I wanted to paint the bedroom before we moved in the new piece of furniture.  So today we purchased the paint, and this evening I spent some time taping off doorways, the window and some baseboards.  I need to take down the window coverings still and then enlist Noah’s help in moving some more furniture away from the wall (mainly my bookcase, which is large and full…and I really don’t want to empty the shelves).

Tomorrow, more taping of baseboards and putting down plastic.  Maybe Tuesday I can crack into the paint.

I guess one needs to have a good fence first, which is why the fence was torn down to start with. Part of the fence between our house and our nextdoor neighbor’s was only being held up by the posts for the dog run that Noah and I are slowly tearing out. As a result, yesterday Noah and Andy tore down the 48-foot section and headed to Lowes to buy new lumber (Andy had several gift cards for Lowes). The goal was to tear out the old broken fence yesterday and prep the area for the new post holes. Then today, they wanted to have the new posts in the ground. So, after church Noah and I stopped by Home Depot to grab the needed brackets and concrete mix. New posts securely in place? Yeah, not so much. Apparently we all underestimated the willingness for the old posts to come out of the ground. It doesn’t help that one of our maple trees has decided that wrapping roots around said posts is a good idea.

So, two days into the fence project, there is no fence, and several holes with bits of post and concrete still in the bottom. After work tomorrow Noah is going to work at hacking the jumble of wood, root and concrete in an attempt to clear the holes. Maybe I’ll help…probably not though. My assistance on Saturday was limited to me relocating gravel and leaves; today I read a book inside and then went to play softball. I think my job is the hardest, I mean…after all, someone has to supervise. 😀

Hopefully, by the end of this project, our neighbors still like us…

Planting season here in Colorado doesn’t start until sometime in May, but that doesn’t stop us from starting the growing season indoors. Today Noah and I purchased and planted seeds for zucchini, yellow summer squash, pumpkins, carrots, corn and green beans. We also purchased four strawberry plants to cultivate inside until the weather is warm enough to plant them in the garden. Still need to purchase tomatoes and I am considering trying my hand at broccoli and/or cauliflower. Last year we didn’t plant anything outside until the end of May, so hopefully my seeds will have a good head start germinating upstairs in the office. Next weekend, weather pending, Noah and I will re-till the garden, pulling weeds and the remnants of last year’s harvest.

We finally purchased the faucet I have wanted for months. It’s advertised as offering a “modern waterfall spout” or something like that. We like it because it’s reminiscent of an old-fashioned water pump.

Here’s a 5-second video clip of it in action: