I have started and stopped about ten different post today, but I have absolutely no focus or clarity of thought. It occurs to me (and this qualifies as a MAJOR “duh”) that my lack of focus might have a little to do with the fact that I’ve been breathing paint fumes for two weeks, and I’m living in the midst of total chaos.
This is the mess I can see from where I’m sitting right now.
This is the mess I can see if I stand up and turn my head to the right.
So, this is my excuse for my piss poor blogging of late. Everything is crazy in my house, and I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT.
1. I read Bucky’s column today and I had two thoughts:
First, Bucky Gleason made me laugh with this line, “By the sounds of things, Ruff was ready to deliver breakfast in bed to his players and thank them for beating the Islanders.” Heh.
Second, while I liked the column (seriously! Some of that information was interesting and hilarious!), I disagree with Bucky’s conclusion which seems to be, “FINAL ANALYSIS: Lindy is the best coach Buffalo could ever hope to have”. I do NOT understand why everything is so black and white when it comes to the Lindy discussion. In my opinion, a coach’s job performance grade is going to change over the course of a season- possibly multiple times. Why is everyone around here so eager to be all, “LINDY IS GREAT! CASE CLOSED!” or “LINDY SHOULD BE FIRED! CASE CLOSED!” What the hell? If the Sabres play consistently well all season, then Lindy should keep his job. If they suck, or they fall back into the same old habits they’ve had for the past two and a half years, well, then he should be fired. We don’t have to decide his fate for life right this minute, in fact, IT’S COMPLETELY DUMB TO TRY. Right now, I’m perfectly happy with Lindy, but I absolutely will start squawking for his removal if the team takes a nosedive. If we are thinking critically about Lindy, our opinions will change over time. Right?
I think an article about how Lindy is taking conscious steps to morph his coaching style is both interesting and relevant, but it’s waaaaay too early to declare that he’s a “better coach” now. Lindy deserves a lot of credit for the fast start, but let’s just hold our horses, especially in light of the games played over the weekend.
2. The games played over the weekend were worrisome.
3. Adam Mair is on waivers! Holy Toledo! Do the Sabres still have a glut of players at forward (I’m seriously asking- I have no idea), or is Darcy laying the groundwork for another move? It’s a drag for Mair that he lost his job while he was injured, but I don’t mind this move at all. This is the kind of move we were begging for last season. Combined with the Paille trade, it’s a shot across the bow of the locker room, “If you don’t play well enough to make the line-up, you’re out of here.” I like it. Now, the Sabres just need to trade one of the top six and then I think even Derek Roy might be convinced to start playing hard every night.
4. Finally, just so you don’t think I’ve been sitting around sniffing paint and stewing in my own filth, here are a few pictures of the house progress I’ve made.
Before
After
Before
After
Don’t even get me started on the Sunflowers….
.….they were a major pain in my ass. But they’re gone now.
To state the obvious, after = 5000% better. And that’s a lot of percents.
According to HGTV you aren’t supposed to use blue in your kitchen because it decreases your appetite.
(Leaves to go and buy blue paint.)
The previous owner of this house had a style that I’d describe in a word as “tacky” based on that bathroom photo as well. Yikes.
I love the color of the kitchen!
Um wow, the previous owner had a sunflower fetish (on the dishwasher? Seriously??) Love the blue and all that cabinet space.
“By the sounds of things, Ruff was ready to deliver breakfast in bed to his players and thank them for beating the Islanders.”
I don’t know about that. After the Flyers, he said something about not going in the locker room in a way that seemed very “Go to your room and think about what you’ve done!”
I think Lindy’s parenting book calls this “letting the kids hold themselves accountable for their own actions.” We’ll see how it works out.
Losing Adam Mair is a bummer – he’s been here forever, he punches jerks in the face, and he saves little puppies and kittens – but if it’s between him and Matt Ellis, I’d take Matt Ellis every time. They’re losing their only spare forward (unless you count Patches), so something else must be up, right?
1)Lindy is cranky with the top 6 and someone is getting benched, and someone else is coming up from Portland
2)Lalime will be out awhile, Enroth is underseasoned (and really, really young), so we’re renting a backup
3)Lindy is sick of pretending he trusts Lalime and the Sabres are freeing up cap space for someone new
4)We’re freeing up cap space to trade for a flashy forward (I don’t that one’s too likely)
In the event of #3 i do not think it’ll be Marty Biron – if that was going to happen, it would have over the summer.
…and I’ve been thinking this over way way way too long. Damn you, Sabres!
Your house is starting to look great! I would have done the same thing with the sunflowers…very tacky looking.
Mair being on waivers bums me out. ): WHO IS GOING TO KEEP A BLOG DURING THE SEASON NOW?
Man, the previous owner of your home was really into the fussy decorating, huh? I think the blue looks absolutely lovely.
Out of curiosity, what’d you use to paint over those sunflowers? Looks like you used normal primer, eh? If so, I have a suggestion for any other “interesting” touches that may still be around. Go buy yourself a gallon of Kilz or Zinsser Primer. It seems weird to be painting with stuff that comes off the roller like pudding, but one coat will cover ANYTHING (including the deep fuschia that was in my living room). It certainly costs more per gallon than normal primer, but it’s absolutely worth the money since you’ll use much less (paint and time) to get it done.
’ve been sitting around sniffing paint and stewing in my own filth
**gigglesnort*
I love that shade of blue!
And to second what Matt says, that Kilz primer is also good for places like your bathroom ceiling.
In the event of #3 i do not think it’ll be Marty Biron – if that was going to happen, it would have over the summer.
Not necessarily. Marty obviously didn’t want to come here in the off-season, but I doubt he has trade approval so the Sabres and Islanders could be talking about a deal whether he wants it or not. Not to say they are but they could be. (They should be especially now that Lalime’s groin is wonky.)
I think we’re clearing space for Ilya Kovalchuk. I’m SURE I’m right!
The after pictures DEFINITELY look better than the before shots. Meg and Amy are right, that is a really nice shade of blue!
Also, Adam Mair what? Ooookaaaay.
We’re clearing space for Malkin, or my NEW hideous love, Anze Kopitar!
Thanks for liking my kitchen, everyone! It’s literally the ONLY place in the house that isn’t 100% unacceptable right now. And yes, the previous owner had VERY fussy tastes. I am very very tempted to publish all the photos from the inspection just so you can see, but it seems wrong to post photos of someone else’s house. But, yes. Pretty much the entire house looked like the bathroom.
Matt, in the end I used Kilz and I loved it so much that now I want to MARRY Kilz. I took that photo before I found Kilz. I spent about three hours scrubbing the sunflowers OFF entirely until I remembered the advice I got from my friend Amy: If a project that seems like it should be really easy is making you cry with frustration, you need to go back to Home Despot and find a better product/tool/plan. That’s when I was introduced to Kilz.
…and Kilz fumes are 10 times worse than regular paint…”Wheeeeeee!” comes to mind.
I think any time someone mentions coaching change they glance over at the Bills and see how well that’s worked out with a cheap owner, and decide that maybe Ruff isn’t so bad after all.
Yeah, the fumes are NO joke, Becky. But totally worth the dead brain cells.
I think there is a LOT of middle ground between the Sabres and the Bills, but I get your point.
I hadn’t scrolled down enough to see “Before” so when I first looked at the sunflowers, I thought that was the example of all your hard work. I was a bit speechless, but I would have had to admit that they looked like a lot of work! The blue looks much better though. :)
I love the color in the kitchen!! We had to do the same thing in ours. I hate those border things!
Lowe’s has a no VOC (chemicals that are in paint) that barely smell. It’s really thick, like very melty Laffy Taffy. The brand is Olympic and it’s pretty cheap, only $20 a gallon. I’ve recently bought many gallons because I’ve decided to repaint almost every room in the house and it needs to be done by Thanksgiving!
You should look into replacing the pull thingies on the cabinets. Maybe something steel looking to match the new appliances? Bear in mind I know nothing about decorating and have no idea how much they cost.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if they were looking to make a move for Biron. DiPietro’s knee is coming along and he might be back somewhat soon. With the Olympics coming up, Miller will need more rest and a backup Lindy trusts would be a nice change of pace.
I am basing my DiPietro comments on this site:
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/players/playerpage/202392
The question of course is Lalime. Not sure if he would be sent to Portland or what. Personally I want Enroth to see as many games as he can since he is the future and I don’t care about Portland winning or losing. I feel bad for Lalime though, going from NHL backup to AHL backup is a large demotion for what seems like a pretty nice guy. I don’t think I know enough about other team’s goaltending situation or how Lalime is perceived in the league to comment on if he would be picked up on waivers but I hope he would be.
I like the kitchen, Kate! :)
And Killz is wonderful stuff. It reeks and makes you feel gross, but it gets the job done!
I LOVE Kilz!
And I love the color of your kitchen! The dishwasher is a huge improvement, too.
I’m liking the renovations – can’t wait to see more changes.
I’m jealous about the Sabres schedule magnet. I’ve been coveting one for a very long time.