Heyo there.
I may not be posting here much, but I assure you I am alive and kicking. I have been posting most often on the Mama Blog, because it's for Mama things and I don't have a whole lot else to talk about these days. Which in and of itself I guess is a whole thing.
We moved in January, and I love our new home. I commute to work each day, which is tiring, but we live in the country and it's peaceful and quiet and OH SHIT IT'S ALMOST BUG SEASON. I'm sure we'll be fine. I love being itchy.
I have not been running enough. But a little is better than not at all. I love running in our neighborhood. Again, it's peaceful and quiet, and there are enough routes to keep things interesting. M loves it too, and even with my earphones in I can hear her doodling and deedling the whole time.
I have not been writing at all. Except the blog, which is something I love to write, but not what I want to be writing, you know.
Work is amazing. Things are very different than when I left, but still fantastic.
I can't really complain. Except for the fact that there is not enough time for anything. Ever. There is always something that has to be sacrificed. Such is life.
Showing posts with label House stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House stuff. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Still in a holding pattern
The subtitle for this post would be "and my ulcer is angry about it."
We still may be moving. Or we may be staying put. It's been two weeks now of back and forth offer/counteroffers and to tell you the truth I don't think I can take much more. While it hasn't been affecting my sleeping habits, nor have I had any migraines, my stomach is constantly in knots and I'm also definitely eating emotionally. Or eating to kill time. Both of those.
Do we need to move? No. No one needs to move anywhere. We have a roof over our heads and our home is warm and in one piece. Do we really want to move? Yes and no. There are really good points for staying put, but there are also many great points about moving. And since we aren't just thinking of ourselves anymore, anything that benefits M counts for two points, and when you add that up moving wins this match by a landslide.
Our new place would be in a suburb which isn't much like a suburb. For some reason I just do NOT want to live in a suburb, but this burb has horse farms and duck ponds, so that's the country, right? At any rate, if it is a suburb, it's not the icky Stepford type, it's the type that I want to live in. But let's call it the country, M'kay?
This country community also boasts several great schools, English schools! English schools with great French Immersion programs which is exactly what I want for M. So while there are other suburbs that I would also deem un-Stepford, they are definitely more on the francophone side, so not ideal.
The house in this country community has a yard! With trees! Actually, most homes in this community have great yards, but if we get this one it is my favorite yard of all the yards on the MLS. And that is a lot of yards. The house is pretty great too, but really it's the yard that I love. Which is funny because one of the things I love about living in a condo is we have no yard at all. But this house and it's yard, it's got me.
For the moment I just want to KNOW, you know? It's the waiting and the imagining and the pondering that is burning a hole in my gut. And adding new girth to the spare tire around my middle. Did I mention this house also has a trail right behind it? Through the back gate, actually. Where I could run without fear of pieces of cement falling on my head?
Would I miss living in the city? Most definitely. But I'll still be working in the city. And most of the fun stuff we do in the city we do on the weekends anyway. We can always drive in on the weekend and still do the same things. Or not. Maybe we only do them because we don't have a yard. I guess we'll find that out. Or maybe not. Because who knows what's happening? Not my stomach, that's for sure.
We still may be moving. Or we may be staying put. It's been two weeks now of back and forth offer/counteroffers and to tell you the truth I don't think I can take much more. While it hasn't been affecting my sleeping habits, nor have I had any migraines, my stomach is constantly in knots and I'm also definitely eating emotionally. Or eating to kill time. Both of those.
Do we need to move? No. No one needs to move anywhere. We have a roof over our heads and our home is warm and in one piece. Do we really want to move? Yes and no. There are really good points for staying put, but there are also many great points about moving. And since we aren't just thinking of ourselves anymore, anything that benefits M counts for two points, and when you add that up moving wins this match by a landslide.
Our new place would be in a suburb which isn't much like a suburb. For some reason I just do NOT want to live in a suburb, but this burb has horse farms and duck ponds, so that's the country, right? At any rate, if it is a suburb, it's not the icky Stepford type, it's the type that I want to live in. But let's call it the country, M'kay?
This country community also boasts several great schools, English schools! English schools with great French Immersion programs which is exactly what I want for M. So while there are other suburbs that I would also deem un-Stepford, they are definitely more on the francophone side, so not ideal.
The house in this country community has a yard! With trees! Actually, most homes in this community have great yards, but if we get this one it is my favorite yard of all the yards on the MLS. And that is a lot of yards. The house is pretty great too, but really it's the yard that I love. Which is funny because one of the things I love about living in a condo is we have no yard at all. But this house and it's yard, it's got me.
For the moment I just want to KNOW, you know? It's the waiting and the imagining and the pondering that is burning a hole in my gut. And adding new girth to the spare tire around my middle. Did I mention this house also has a trail right behind it? Through the back gate, actually. Where I could run without fear of pieces of cement falling on my head?
Would I miss living in the city? Most definitely. But I'll still be working in the city. And most of the fun stuff we do in the city we do on the weekends anyway. We can always drive in on the weekend and still do the same things. Or not. Maybe we only do them because we don't have a yard. I guess we'll find that out. Or maybe not. Because who knows what's happening? Not my stomach, that's for sure.
Friday, December 24, 2010
32 weeks 4 days
Yay it's Christmas Eve! I'm making sweet and hot almonds, SB is out getting supplies for our dinners tonight and tomorrow, and the puppy and kitties are snoozing away. Oh, and I'm watching a Criminal Minds marathon. Holiday perfection!
Thought I would update on the nursery, which has been "done" for a few weeks now. I'm really pleased - it has come out exactly as I wanted. Not cutesy, not frilly, not overrun by commercial cartoon characters or ugly cartoon monkeys. It's fresh, clean, cozy, and will be easy enough to update into a toddler/kid room as The Insider grows up. Here are some photos of the progress:
The empty room, with butter color walls and no window treatments. I'm annoyed by the electrical panel in the corner, and trying to think of ideas to cover it. It's placed in a very awkward spot, that a canvas/painting would look weird filling the whole space.... a bit stumped.
This is a photo of all the crap that used to be jammed in the nursery, now jammed into the dining room. The room used to also contain a treadmill, a giant wardrobe and a giant corner desk, but those were sold/donated long before this stage. Thank goodness.
"Finished" - seating and storage area. Walls are now beige/tan. The giant box of picture frames will be gone (unfinished project #376 for other parts of the house) and the lamp has to go (cause it's ugly). Also, on the back of the door you can note my wedding gown, which I have yet to bring to be cleaned. (unfinished project #253). We may also get another block of 3x3 storage to stack on top of this one. The closet in this room will be used for regular storage, so The Insider needs as much space as possible for clothes and toys to be put away, otherwise her dad may put her to the street.
"Finished" the rest of the room: one option for the ugly electrical box is to pull the curtains over a bit on that side. But then I feel the room may look lopsided.... We will also have a changing pad on top of the dresser, and maybe a rug. The last big thing to do is to choose some wall art, but I have a long list of etsy prints that I want, so I can't see this being a problem.
Thought I would update on the nursery, which has been "done" for a few weeks now. I'm really pleased - it has come out exactly as I wanted. Not cutesy, not frilly, not overrun by commercial cartoon characters or ugly cartoon monkeys. It's fresh, clean, cozy, and will be easy enough to update into a toddler/kid room as The Insider grows up. Here are some photos of the progress:
The empty room, with butter color walls and no window treatments. I'm annoyed by the electrical panel in the corner, and trying to think of ideas to cover it. It's placed in a very awkward spot, that a canvas/painting would look weird filling the whole space.... a bit stumped.
This is a photo of all the crap that used to be jammed in the nursery, now jammed into the dining room. The room used to also contain a treadmill, a giant wardrobe and a giant corner desk, but those were sold/donated long before this stage. Thank goodness.
"Finished" - seating and storage area. Walls are now beige/tan. The giant box of picture frames will be gone (unfinished project #376 for other parts of the house) and the lamp has to go (cause it's ugly). Also, on the back of the door you can note my wedding gown, which I have yet to bring to be cleaned. (unfinished project #253). We may also get another block of 3x3 storage to stack on top of this one. The closet in this room will be used for regular storage, so The Insider needs as much space as possible for clothes and toys to be put away, otherwise her dad may put her to the street.
"Finished" the rest of the room: one option for the ugly electrical box is to pull the curtains over a bit on that side. But then I feel the room may look lopsided.... We will also have a changing pad on top of the dresser, and maybe a rug. The last big thing to do is to choose some wall art, but I have a long list of etsy prints that I want, so I can't see this being a problem.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
16 weeks 5 days
Still nothing eventful. I feel like I'm failing at this science experiment as my results have been fairly lackluster. Sorry it's so boring.
Before preparing the nursery, we decided to pull up our pants on decorating our own bedroom. This hasn't been touched since we moved in. Two years ago we bought a new mattress with the intentions of buying a new bedframe to go with it, but we never got around to it. Well, we've bought a new dresser, ordered our bedframe, and this weekend is the big re-paint project. We did the ceiling yesterday, and Eric and I got a start on the priming this morning. After lunch his friend Bjorn came over and helped him finish the rest as I had gotten a bit sleepy (normal) and also a headache (also normal, but was a bit worried about the paint fumes too).
One month until we find out what kind of baby this is, and until we're halfway done this adventure.
Before preparing the nursery, we decided to pull up our pants on decorating our own bedroom. This hasn't been touched since we moved in. Two years ago we bought a new mattress with the intentions of buying a new bedframe to go with it, but we never got around to it. Well, we've bought a new dresser, ordered our bedframe, and this weekend is the big re-paint project. We did the ceiling yesterday, and Eric and I got a start on the priming this morning. After lunch his friend Bjorn came over and helped him finish the rest as I had gotten a bit sleepy (normal) and also a headache (also normal, but was a bit worried about the paint fumes too).
One month until we find out what kind of baby this is, and until we're halfway done this adventure.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
If these walls could talk
I have spent the last two days working on re-painting the bathroom from top to bottom. So far I have painted the ceiling and the trim, touched them up, and removed the tape. Also the walls are sanded and smoothed to the best of my abilities.
Note I said 'to the best of my abilities'.
The people who lived here before us were not handy people. This was evidenced on our first round of painting when we had to remove the gigantic wall anchors they used to hang EVERY SINGLE tiny picture in the whole apartment. Where a finishing nail would have been fine they used 1/2" plastic anchors which left 1/2" holes in the wall. Which then had to be patched, sanded, re-patched and resanded to even seem halfway smoothed out.
I learned three things from this:
1) if using an anchor, use the butterfly kind - the holes are much smaller.
2) or just use a finishing nail
3) the guy who lived here before us was a moron and I hate him.
In repainting the bathroom, I have discovered a whole new level of idiocy. Not only were there four more giant wall anchors in there, but at some point Mr. Fix-It did some spackling of his own to install a new light fixture, and also some super fantastic paint around the ceiling of the shower and toilet cubby. Result: FAIL!!!. There are ridges and chips all over the place. Sanding them down is impossible without stripping everything down to the gyprock. So, I've been sanding and patching and sanding and patching and cursing. The ceiling was the worst since I have to crane my neck in such a way that I feel I may pass out. I'm not even sure how the paint stayed up there when it was applied that thick, by the sheer will of gravity I would have thought it would have dripped off.
Because we have been tossing around the idea of a complete remodel in the next year or two I am more than hesitant to put in too much effort. Yes, I want it to look good, but I know that if I put in too much blood and sweat into it I will not feel like working quite so hard next time.
Tomorrow I will tape off to prime the walls, then paint, then a little caulking around the shower, then done. I have all fingers crossed that I will not find anymore handywork.
Note I said 'to the best of my abilities'.
The people who lived here before us were not handy people. This was evidenced on our first round of painting when we had to remove the gigantic wall anchors they used to hang EVERY SINGLE tiny picture in the whole apartment. Where a finishing nail would have been fine they used 1/2" plastic anchors which left 1/2" holes in the wall. Which then had to be patched, sanded, re-patched and resanded to even seem halfway smoothed out.
I learned three things from this:
1) if using an anchor, use the butterfly kind - the holes are much smaller.
2) or just use a finishing nail
3) the guy who lived here before us was a moron and I hate him.
In repainting the bathroom, I have discovered a whole new level of idiocy. Not only were there four more giant wall anchors in there, but at some point Mr. Fix-It did some spackling of his own to install a new light fixture, and also some super fantastic paint around the ceiling of the shower and toilet cubby. Result: FAIL!!!. There are ridges and chips all over the place. Sanding them down is impossible without stripping everything down to the gyprock. So, I've been sanding and patching and sanding and patching and cursing. The ceiling was the worst since I have to crane my neck in such a way that I feel I may pass out. I'm not even sure how the paint stayed up there when it was applied that thick, by the sheer will of gravity I would have thought it would have dripped off.
Because we have been tossing around the idea of a complete remodel in the next year or two I am more than hesitant to put in too much effort. Yes, I want it to look good, but I know that if I put in too much blood and sweat into it I will not feel like working quite so hard next time.
Tomorrow I will tape off to prime the walls, then paint, then a little caulking around the shower, then done. I have all fingers crossed that I will not find anymore handywork.
Monday, June 15, 2009
After two years, we're finally starting to settle in.
In keeping with the "home improvement" theme, we made a few changes to our lighting situation over the weekend. SB switched out our dining room light fixture, and also put a dimmer switch in the bathroom.
Of course nothing is ever as easy as it should be - while the light fixture went up pretty much without incident, it was still pretty time consuming. So worth it, though, it looks fantastic and the light quality is much nicer. Before we had some harsh halogen lights, but now it feels so much warmer... I'm very happy with it, and also a bit surprised that the one living space in our house that is finally totally complete and updated is the one space we use the least. Oh well.
The bathroom dimmer was another story. SB has switched out many switches for dimmers, so it should have been a piece of cake, however the wiring in the switch box was a little muddled - there was already one light on a dimmer, plus the fan switch, plus the switch we were changing out. Since there were so many wires in there, I guess it was inevitable that something would get mixed up.
Anyway, at one point one switch turned on both lights, while the other one dimmed them, and also the electrical outlet (in a completely separate box) would only turn on when the switch was on. What should have been a 20 minute project turned into a three hour ordeal, during which I was relatively useless since I a)didn't see the dismantling of the wires, so had zero clue which belonged where and b) don't know anything about this kind of thing anyway. But, SB figured it all out in the end and now we have two dimmers in the bathroom. Hoping to switch out the light fixtures in there shortly as well.
All that to say, yesterday was pretty productive. Saturday we played tennis, and yesterday I was expectedly sore, but I am still sore today which is a bummer! Gaaah, and I thought I was taking it easy on Saturday, on purpose, to try and recover quickly. Oh well.
Of course nothing is ever as easy as it should be - while the light fixture went up pretty much without incident, it was still pretty time consuming. So worth it, though, it looks fantastic and the light quality is much nicer. Before we had some harsh halogen lights, but now it feels so much warmer... I'm very happy with it, and also a bit surprised that the one living space in our house that is finally totally complete and updated is the one space we use the least. Oh well.
The bathroom dimmer was another story. SB has switched out many switches for dimmers, so it should have been a piece of cake, however the wiring in the switch box was a little muddled - there was already one light on a dimmer, plus the fan switch, plus the switch we were changing out. Since there were so many wires in there, I guess it was inevitable that something would get mixed up.
Anyway, at one point one switch turned on both lights, while the other one dimmed them, and also the electrical outlet (in a completely separate box) would only turn on when the switch was on. What should have been a 20 minute project turned into a three hour ordeal, during which I was relatively useless since I a)didn't see the dismantling of the wires, so had zero clue which belonged where and b) don't know anything about this kind of thing anyway. But, SB figured it all out in the end and now we have two dimmers in the bathroom. Hoping to switch out the light fixtures in there shortly as well.
All that to say, yesterday was pretty productive. Saturday we played tennis, and yesterday I was expectedly sore, but I am still sore today which is a bummer! Gaaah, and I thought I was taking it easy on Saturday, on purpose, to try and recover quickly. Oh well.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The bathroom I love to hate
Our bathroom has been seriously bothering me lately. Don't get me wrong - I love spending time in there, taking long baths while reading/watching TV/drinking copious amounts of wine/listening to the rock and the roll. However, our bathroom is inefficient and ugly, and it's making me crazy.
We have one of those gigantic triangle-shaped tubs. This is not necessary. All I need is a tub that is long enough that I don't have to bend my knees up, and deep enough that I'm covered by water. But our gigantic tub is much bigger than that, and takes up half the bathroom.
Our shower, on the other hand, is tiny. Just big enough for a person to fit in, and next to impossible to shave your legs in there unless you are part acrobat.
Then, there is our vanity, which is again, GIGANTIC and ugly. Beech colored wood cabinet, with an ugly faux finished looking laminate countertop. The counter is also much taller than it needs to be, which means we miss out on storage. There is also a GIGANTIC ugly mirror, that runs from the counter almost all the way to the ceiling, and spans the entire width of the vanity.
The tile in the bathroom is terra cotta, which means that our options for wall paint color are very limited. And I am NOT a fan of the mediterranean look, so painting the walls royal blue is NOT going to happen. Right now the walls are butter colored.
About the only thing that doesn't bother me about our bathroom is that our toilet has a little cubby-type area. Not closed in, mind you, but set back, between two walls. I like that.
So, I'm dying to redecorate. Even just a little bit. I'm thinking of removing the mirror and replacing with something littler, and painting. I've already torn out the god-awful wooden towel fixtures, and have chosen some steel ones that I like. But we need to paint before installing those. And we need to decide about a mirror before we can paint.
Right now I would kill to be able to afford to rip it all out, put in either ivory tile or slate grey, a narrow soaker tub, move the shower and make it bigger, put extra storage where the shower is, put in a white vanity, a new mirror, and paint the walls whatever color I want because the terra cotta would be gone.
But for now, what color would you paint the walls?
We have one of those gigantic triangle-shaped tubs. This is not necessary. All I need is a tub that is long enough that I don't have to bend my knees up, and deep enough that I'm covered by water. But our gigantic tub is much bigger than that, and takes up half the bathroom.
Our shower, on the other hand, is tiny. Just big enough for a person to fit in, and next to impossible to shave your legs in there unless you are part acrobat.
Then, there is our vanity, which is again, GIGANTIC and ugly. Beech colored wood cabinet, with an ugly faux finished looking laminate countertop. The counter is also much taller than it needs to be, which means we miss out on storage. There is also a GIGANTIC ugly mirror, that runs from the counter almost all the way to the ceiling, and spans the entire width of the vanity.
The tile in the bathroom is terra cotta, which means that our options for wall paint color are very limited. And I am NOT a fan of the mediterranean look, so painting the walls royal blue is NOT going to happen. Right now the walls are butter colored.
About the only thing that doesn't bother me about our bathroom is that our toilet has a little cubby-type area. Not closed in, mind you, but set back, between two walls. I like that.
So, I'm dying to redecorate. Even just a little bit. I'm thinking of removing the mirror and replacing with something littler, and painting. I've already torn out the god-awful wooden towel fixtures, and have chosen some steel ones that I like. But we need to paint before installing those. And we need to decide about a mirror before we can paint.
Right now I would kill to be able to afford to rip it all out, put in either ivory tile or slate grey, a narrow soaker tub, move the shower and make it bigger, put extra storage where the shower is, put in a white vanity, a new mirror, and paint the walls whatever color I want because the terra cotta would be gone.
But for now, what color would you paint the walls?
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Four pigeons pigeoning
Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? Until about a month ago SB and I hadn't. Now we can't get rid of them.
A lovely pigeon couple decided to roost above our storage area - the lattice on our neighbor's side had a hole in it so they had easy access. They built a nest, and before we could get rid of it they laid some eggs in there. Being not blackhearted assholes, we left the nest alone until the babies were hatched, but one day two weeks ago we saw them teaching the babies to fly and decided with our neighbor that it was time for them to go.
We cleaned out all the nestages, which included a lovely half-ripe egg which cracked and I don't even want to tell you how horrifying that was. Ugh. SB pulled out all the nest, and re-rigged the lattice so they couldn't get back in there. Bye bye pigeons.
But, no, not really. Because now they are confused because they are pigeons and therefore dumb. Now they just fly around our parking lot, landing on the telephone wire/our back steps/the balconies of the people across the way and coo coo coo at us all day. They aren't even afraid of a our cat, nor are they scared of the sander the guy has been using to refinish our decks (which is another annoying matter altogether, since it has been two weeks we can't use our deck grrr.)
Help me be rid of these pigeons. I have read that we need to twine some CDs together on dental floss and hang it like a mobile - they will be scared of the shininess and will go away. SB doesn't want me to hang CDs because he thinks it's ghetto. Umm, more ghetto than pigeon shit everywhere? No sir, I think not.
A lovely pigeon couple decided to roost above our storage area - the lattice on our neighbor's side had a hole in it so they had easy access. They built a nest, and before we could get rid of it they laid some eggs in there. Being not blackhearted assholes, we left the nest alone until the babies were hatched, but one day two weeks ago we saw them teaching the babies to fly and decided with our neighbor that it was time for them to go.
We cleaned out all the nestages, which included a lovely half-ripe egg which cracked and I don't even want to tell you how horrifying that was. Ugh. SB pulled out all the nest, and re-rigged the lattice so they couldn't get back in there. Bye bye pigeons.
But, no, not really. Because now they are confused because they are pigeons and therefore dumb. Now they just fly around our parking lot, landing on the telephone wire/our back steps/the balconies of the people across the way and coo coo coo at us all day. They aren't even afraid of a our cat, nor are they scared of the sander the guy has been using to refinish our decks (which is another annoying matter altogether, since it has been two weeks we can't use our deck grrr.)
Help me be rid of these pigeons. I have read that we need to twine some CDs together on dental floss and hang it like a mobile - they will be scared of the shininess and will go away. SB doesn't want me to hang CDs because he thinks it's ghetto. Umm, more ghetto than pigeon shit everywhere? No sir, I think not.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Here comes the sun!
I am so glad that spring appears to have sprung. Although it is still very strange to have such nice temperatures and yet see giant piles of snow everywhere, I think I will adjust quickly enough.
The past week I have spent suffering from a cold - totally not pleasant at all, especially since the worst of it came over the weekend and ruined a bunch of plans we had made. It was a particularly severe cold, and I even took the time to google if perhaps it was even the dreaded flu, but apparently not. I had some fever, but not a lot, and although I was absolutely exhausted I wasn't very achy. Plus I had extremely stuffy nose and sinuses, which apparently you don't get with the flu. I'm not sure I'll ever know the difference, but it was bad.
Feeling almost better now, and trying to get ready for our trip which is less than three weeks away. Yikes! I have so much to do, which has been hampered by the fact that our business computer is STILL in the PC hospital. It has been three weeks since I sent it, but it is supposed to arrive back today. We have made do with my Mac and Eric's laptop, but I have been putting off tons of organizational stuff because a lot of it has to do with setting up files on the computer. The anxiety is reaching a very critical point.... But I'm sure we will work something out!
With this gorgeous weather, we have been letting our little zoo frolic on the patio while we're home. Simon is particularly interested in the pigeons that are suddenly everywhere. He sits at the window and chirps at them, and when I let him out he sits int he very middle of the patio watching all around for them. So cute. If anyone has any advice on how to keep them away, please feel free. We love our patio in the summer, and I would rather not have it get plastered in bird poo all year.
The past week I have spent suffering from a cold - totally not pleasant at all, especially since the worst of it came over the weekend and ruined a bunch of plans we had made. It was a particularly severe cold, and I even took the time to google if perhaps it was even the dreaded flu, but apparently not. I had some fever, but not a lot, and although I was absolutely exhausted I wasn't very achy. Plus I had extremely stuffy nose and sinuses, which apparently you don't get with the flu. I'm not sure I'll ever know the difference, but it was bad.
Feeling almost better now, and trying to get ready for our trip which is less than three weeks away. Yikes! I have so much to do, which has been hampered by the fact that our business computer is STILL in the PC hospital. It has been three weeks since I sent it, but it is supposed to arrive back today. We have made do with my Mac and Eric's laptop, but I have been putting off tons of organizational stuff because a lot of it has to do with setting up files on the computer. The anxiety is reaching a very critical point.... But I'm sure we will work something out!
With this gorgeous weather, we have been letting our little zoo frolic on the patio while we're home. Simon is particularly interested in the pigeons that are suddenly everywhere. He sits at the window and chirps at them, and when I let him out he sits int he very middle of the patio watching all around for them. So cute. If anyone has any advice on how to keep them away, please feel free. We love our patio in the summer, and I would rather not have it get plastered in bird poo all year.
Monday, October 15, 2007
I have fallen in love with Fall
Finally! Fall is finally here! The temperature has chilled, the air is crisp, the leaves are falling, and all is right with the world. Due to global warming fall came a bit late this year, but now we are full speed ahead. One thing that did confuse me a bit was the fact that the leaves began to change color before the temperature drop. This goes against everything I learned in Ecology 101 (literally, we did a 3 week project on leaf-changes, and leafy vs deciduous tree growth based on altitude) wherein the theory would be that the leaves lose all their chlorophyll as the tree sucks it back in so it can survive the winter. And the trigger for the chlorophyll sucking? Cold. So I guess our crazy "theories" were only partially right, and that trees follow some sort of circadian rhythm as well.
Anyway, there are many many things I love about fall, not the least of which is our new fireplace. We moved at the end of April, just in time for air conditioning season, which I was equally delighted by, but it has been pretty freakin' fantastic curling up in front of the fireplace on the weekend and reading the paper and falling asleep with my kitty all cuddled up with me.
I also love the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, so have been having one or two of those a week to celebrate the season.
The group walks have been fun, because there are no bugs this time of year and you are rarely drenched in sweat because it's nice and cool. The bad parts: it's burr season, so the two terriers I walk are generally full of them by the end of the walk; it's fat squirrel season, so I need to keep my eye on dogs chasing the sloooooooow squirrels to be sure no one grabs one, and that no one gets grabbed by one.
In honor of fall, I am making my first ever pot roast (it just kinda feels like a fall/winter kinda meal, don't you think?). I have made many a roast beef and roast chicken/turkey, and I have braised my fair share of slabs of meat as well, but I have never tried a pot roast, so away we go. It is currently simmering away and smells delish. I am not looking forward to my run with all those smells wafting into the spare room while I'm on the treadmill!
Anyway, there are many many things I love about fall, not the least of which is our new fireplace. We moved at the end of April, just in time for air conditioning season, which I was equally delighted by, but it has been pretty freakin' fantastic curling up in front of the fireplace on the weekend and reading the paper and falling asleep with my kitty all cuddled up with me.
I also love the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, so have been having one or two of those a week to celebrate the season.
The group walks have been fun, because there are no bugs this time of year and you are rarely drenched in sweat because it's nice and cool. The bad parts: it's burr season, so the two terriers I walk are generally full of them by the end of the walk; it's fat squirrel season, so I need to keep my eye on dogs chasing the sloooooooow squirrels to be sure no one grabs one, and that no one gets grabbed by one.
In honor of fall, I am making my first ever pot roast (it just kinda feels like a fall/winter kinda meal, don't you think?). I have made many a roast beef and roast chicken/turkey, and I have braised my fair share of slabs of meat as well, but I have never tried a pot roast, so away we go. It is currently simmering away and smells delish. I am not looking forward to my run with all those smells wafting into the spare room while I'm on the treadmill!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I'm thinking of starting a new business
I have been back on the craigslist scene this week, getting rid of more furniture. I sold our old kitchen table and chairs, and our old office desk. Now it's just to get rid of those barstools, and our living room/dining/kitchen area will have been purged. Most of the stuff from IKEA we had bought in As-Is for 1/2 price or less, then we used it, and most of the stuff I got at least 1/2 price for it. So for the most part we made money. I'm thinking of just buying random things from there and selling them on craigslist as a side venture.
Now that we have also purchased all of the big pieces of furniture, we are thinking about side tables, wall hangings, lighting. These things always stump me. Not looking forward to this stage of the game!
I'm really feeling un-inspired lately. Work was pretty psycho there for a while, and though now I have more time for myself, I still feel the hangover and am exhausted. I had booked myself to mostly take today off, but for some reason wasn't able to stick to that. I had a few visits, did some banking, then call backs, schedule changes, emails, and before I knew it it was 4pm. We are also interviewing a candidate tonight for a full-time position, so I'm really hoping that will go well. If it doesn't, it might mean trouble for the trip we are planning to NB in a few weeks.
Now that we have also purchased all of the big pieces of furniture, we are thinking about side tables, wall hangings, lighting. These things always stump me. Not looking forward to this stage of the game!
I'm really feeling un-inspired lately. Work was pretty psycho there for a while, and though now I have more time for myself, I still feel the hangover and am exhausted. I had booked myself to mostly take today off, but for some reason wasn't able to stick to that. I had a few visits, did some banking, then call backs, schedule changes, emails, and before I knew it it was 4pm. We are also interviewing a candidate tonight for a full-time position, so I'm really hoping that will go well. If it doesn't, it might mean trouble for the trip we are planning to NB in a few weeks.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Things left to do before I will post pictures of our place ***NOW WITH AN IRONIC EDITORIAL****
1. Sell of a whole bunch of stuff.
We currently have about five more tables than we should have, plus a big giant wardrobe I would like to heave, and a work desk that is dis-assembled and will most likely never see the light of day again. And two bar stools that were left behind by the previous owners.
2. Buy a bunch of stuff.
We just got our dining set, which is gorgeous, albeit made wrong (two chairs would NOT go together, so we have to exchange them, but four chairs are great, so it's usable). Now we need to get a new sofa, because the one we use right now is spoken for and shipping out next month. We also need some extra seating (haven't decided between two club chairs or one love seat) for in front of the fire place, some lighting, all our picture frames, and a side table. And a buffet. And some bar stools that don't look like they are made out of old railroad ties.
3. Clean.
Because with the summer rush, I have sadly fallen out of my cleaning routine. The bathroom is clean (yay me!) and the kitchen gets tidied about every second day, but pet hair and dust abounds in the living room and bedroom.
But the paining is done, and SB installed a beautiful chair rail.
So that's it. But we love it. Too bad summer has interrupted our settling in routine.
***ED:
That second to last line says "But the paining is done..." Obviously it should say "painting", but I think subliminally, I really did mean to say paining, because the worst is over. The rest is just tiny details to drive me nutso from here to eternity.
We currently have about five more tables than we should have, plus a big giant wardrobe I would like to heave, and a work desk that is dis-assembled and will most likely never see the light of day again. And two bar stools that were left behind by the previous owners.
2. Buy a bunch of stuff.
We just got our dining set, which is gorgeous, albeit made wrong (two chairs would NOT go together, so we have to exchange them, but four chairs are great, so it's usable). Now we need to get a new sofa, because the one we use right now is spoken for and shipping out next month. We also need some extra seating (haven't decided between two club chairs or one love seat) for in front of the fire place, some lighting, all our picture frames, and a side table. And a buffet. And some bar stools that don't look like they are made out of old railroad ties.
3. Clean.
Because with the summer rush, I have sadly fallen out of my cleaning routine. The bathroom is clean (yay me!) and the kitchen gets tidied about every second day, but pet hair and dust abounds in the living room and bedroom.
But the paining is done, and SB installed a beautiful chair rail.
So that's it. But we love it. Too bad summer has interrupted our settling in routine.
***ED:
That second to last line says "But the paining is done..." Obviously it should say "painting", but I think subliminally, I really did mean to say paining, because the worst is over. The rest is just tiny details to drive me nutso from here to eternity.
Monday, June 18, 2007
All hail the Queen of Craigslist
I love craigslist. In the past week I've sold two sofas. And now I have offers on a dresser I posted two hours ago. It's pretty fabulous. I think it helps that we have some pretty great stuff to get rid of, and we take pretty good care of it. I haven't even had to negotiate at all, they just take my price and go. I love it. I'm thinking of selling The Woodge.
We have painted our dining room/hall and our living room. All that's left is the kitchen. But I've had enough of the priming and taping and rolling and removing the faceplates, then replacing the faceplates, and the cleaning of the brushes. So I told Eric he is solely responsible for the kitchen. I'm sure at some point I'll break down and do it myself, since he's been so busy lately with work.
Saturday we bought all the flowers and plants for our patio and potted them. I'm not so into plants, but Eric let me buy a bunch of herbs and tomatoes and stuff, and I find those interesting enough. I hate plants with no flowers, so that was another requirement. Once we have finished installing all the pot-hangers I'll take a photo to share.
Completely unrelated, there is a TLC marathon of Little People Big World. I can't look away.
The worst part is that during all the painting and crap, it was beautiful and sunny outside. Then yesterday we took the day off, and although it turned out okay, it started with a deluge.
We have painted our dining room/hall and our living room. All that's left is the kitchen. But I've had enough of the priming and taping and rolling and removing the faceplates, then replacing the faceplates, and the cleaning of the brushes. So I told Eric he is solely responsible for the kitchen. I'm sure at some point I'll break down and do it myself, since he's been so busy lately with work.
Saturday we bought all the flowers and plants for our patio and potted them. I'm not so into plants, but Eric let me buy a bunch of herbs and tomatoes and stuff, and I find those interesting enough. I hate plants with no flowers, so that was another requirement. Once we have finished installing all the pot-hangers I'll take a photo to share.
Completely unrelated, there is a TLC marathon of Little People Big World. I can't look away.
The worst part is that during all the painting and crap, it was beautiful and sunny outside. Then yesterday we took the day off, and although it turned out okay, it started with a deluge.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sweaty and disappointed
That pretty much sums up my Sunday.
SB and I spent the WHOLE DAY painting - and we have only finished the hall and dining room. I hate masking tape. And I hate cleaning paint brushes. And I hate teetering on a kitchen chair trying to reach that one little spot with a brush that's a bit too big, but if I just bend my body in an ess and reach my arm up over my head like that I will be able to reach just right......ah crap, I got paint on the ceiling. And the sweating - bucketloads. Even with the air conditioning on full-blast. I must say, I was very pleased with the behavior of our pets, though. Nary a one of them stepped in any paint tray, nor did they rub their head/ears/butt/tail on the walls. Simon hid out most of the day, Gabby cowered in fear in the bedroom, and The Woodge (aka Charlie) relished in state-sanctioned time on the bed. I peeled off the masking tape this morning, and re-installed all the switch plates. There are a few touch-ups here and there, but overall I think we could start our own painting business. If doing so wouldn't cause me to have a full-on nervous breakdown.
Now that we no longer live out there, you know, on the East End, where no one goes, ever, people are around us and our pets more often. And they ask, why do you call Charlie "Woodgie". The answer: we aren't really sure. We used to call him Woofie, because when he woofs it's really deep and obnoxious. Then it just morphed into Woodgie. And I love to call him The Woodge. So, you may be seeing his name as The Woodge.
Last but not least, after bathing myself, we watched the final episode of The Sopranos. I, like pretty much every other human on earth, was pretty disappointed in the finale. I, also like every other human on earth, thought the cable had cut out, and I already had my pen out to write a strongly worded letter when the credits started to roll. WTF? I was so ticked. Thank goodness I had SB, who, in a moment of clarity, became extremely philosophical. "Well, Tony just said we need to look back on the good times...so no matter what happens, ever, we need to see that his life won't ever change. He'll always have to be looking over his shoulder, dealing with this crap. Right?" Oh, SB. I love you so. I'm still not happy, but I feel a bit less ripped-off. Things I did love:
1- Phil getting whacked
2 - Tony trying to get a free psych visit out of AJ's therapist
3 - Paulie and the cat
4 - Tony visiting Uncle June - loved loved loved this scene.
So now we wait for the movie - it took 19 months at a time between seasons, so I'm sure by the time I'm 87 it will come out.
SB and I spent the WHOLE DAY painting - and we have only finished the hall and dining room. I hate masking tape. And I hate cleaning paint brushes. And I hate teetering on a kitchen chair trying to reach that one little spot with a brush that's a bit too big, but if I just bend my body in an ess and reach my arm up over my head like that I will be able to reach just right......ah crap, I got paint on the ceiling. And the sweating - bucketloads. Even with the air conditioning on full-blast. I must say, I was very pleased with the behavior of our pets, though. Nary a one of them stepped in any paint tray, nor did they rub their head/ears/butt/tail on the walls. Simon hid out most of the day, Gabby cowered in fear in the bedroom, and The Woodge (aka Charlie) relished in state-sanctioned time on the bed. I peeled off the masking tape this morning, and re-installed all the switch plates. There are a few touch-ups here and there, but overall I think we could start our own painting business. If doing so wouldn't cause me to have a full-on nervous breakdown.
Now that we no longer live out there, you know, on the East End, where no one goes, ever, people are around us and our pets more often. And they ask, why do you call Charlie "Woodgie". The answer: we aren't really sure. We used to call him Woofie, because when he woofs it's really deep and obnoxious. Then it just morphed into Woodgie. And I love to call him The Woodge. So, you may be seeing his name as The Woodge.
Last but not least, after bathing myself, we watched the final episode of The Sopranos. I, like pretty much every other human on earth, was pretty disappointed in the finale. I, also like every other human on earth, thought the cable had cut out, and I already had my pen out to write a strongly worded letter when the credits started to roll. WTF? I was so ticked. Thank goodness I had SB, who, in a moment of clarity, became extremely philosophical. "Well, Tony just said we need to look back on the good times...so no matter what happens, ever, we need to see that his life won't ever change. He'll always have to be looking over his shoulder, dealing with this crap. Right?" Oh, SB. I love you so. I'm still not happy, but I feel a bit less ripped-off. Things I did love:
1- Phil getting whacked
2 - Tony trying to get a free psych visit out of AJ's therapist
3 - Paulie and the cat
4 - Tony visiting Uncle June - loved loved loved this scene.
So now we wait for the movie - it took 19 months at a time between seasons, so I'm sure by the time I'm 87 it will come out.
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