It has been a really rainy spring. And things have been ramping up here at the home office, so I haven’t had the inclination to write much. Busy, busy, busy. But there are some exciting things on the horizon that can easily turn me into even more of a Claven than I already am. By the end of 08 I may know all about the electricity deregulation and how to make a winning wine selection. I suspect both will come in handy in my daily life.

One never knows.

While I was busy not writing in here, I crossed a couple things off my big list of endeavours. I took a woodworking class a few weeks ago, during which I built a garden bench and destroyed a knuckle. The knuckle is now healed, and the garden bench has been waterlogged pretty consistently since I brought it home. But I got to use power tools! And I didn’t strip all the screws, which is a definite improvement in my relationship with the cordless drill.

I also continued my misadventures in the kitchen, when I attempted to make this quinoa recipe from Good Housekeeping that sounded delicious, but tasted like nothing. It was “Warm Ginger and Almond Quinoa Salad” or something. But all you could taste was quinoa and reduced-sodium soy sauce, so there wasn’t even any salt to get your motor running. I messed around with it for a while and then put the leftovers in the garbage. I’m sure there’s a magpie somewhere enjoying it. Note to self: there’s a reason you don’t read Good Housekeeping, and it’s not just because they put Dr Phil on the cover.

On the upside, I did make a pretty good buttercream icing with my new handheld mixer, which I bought for next to nothing at Superstore for the sole reason that I wanted to be able to make buttercream icing. I’m not sure why, if I enjoy savoury food so much, I can only manage to excel at baking sweets. It’s probably my savior.

Anyway, next up, I need to get my paintbrushes out. Not to get all arty, mind you. If the bench ever dries out, I’m going to caulk and paint it so you can’t see the results of my overzealous chiseling. And then I’m going to paint my kitchen, and finish all the trim that I started last summer before I was swept away by lazyitis. What happens after that is anyone’s guess, but it will likely involve running shoes, a rolling pin, and a sticky mat.

Stay tuned.