It's kind of a blessing and kind of a curse. The countertops in the new house are "busy" enough that they don't show crumbs and dirt. But sometimes they hide stuff that you need?
See if you can locate the Starbucks card I gave to my daughter and her friend. I was all accusing them of keeping it for two days until something caught my eye. It could have been there for years!
Di
You may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. While I was recovering from salmonella or whatever, we moved into our new house. It is insane...so much to unpack, so many little things that need fixing. And I'm WAY behind...with over 200 posts to read on my blog-reader since we have been without internet for 5 days!!!!
I've had so many requests for pictures, but don't even have the energy to accumulate 13 of them for a Thursday 13. So here goes:
We bought so much wine in anticipation of all the people who would be coming and going over the weekend, to help move and see the house, that we got TWO of these wine bags FREE. Well, actually my friend Pilar got them because she is the queen of finding things on sale and getting things free.
I love my kitchen...keeping it uncluttered while unpacking is a huge challenge. But I love it.
Toby was a little freaked out at first. He kept running here and there trying to figure this new place out. My friend Shirley even crawled through the doggy door on the screened porch to show Toby how to do it. It was apparently an exhausting day for both the puppy and the princess.
My daughter told me it was "tacky" to label the light switches to indicate what they operate. I DON'T CARE!! Look at all these light switches!
What do you think of my funky light for the breakfast nook? The house is relatively traditional in style except for my funky bar lights and this drum light.
I just love this. No comment needed.
I'll be back to writing almost daily in a week or so. We'll be more moved in. The kids will be back to school.
Di
...and we might actually live in it sometime soon!!!!
This is Rory sitting on the kitchen counter. I picked out the granite myself and I am VERY happy with it.
Here is the guy building the stone fireplace. I thought they used some kind of stone facade thing, but they sit there and actually cut stones and put them together!
Thank you to all the people who inspired me by asking to see more pictures of the house.
Di
Thirteen Photos of our Soon-To-Be New Home
It's almost Independence Day and WE are looking forward to a celebration about a month from now...our independence from renting, living out of boxes and having a part-time job making house decisions. Our house is getting close to being done!!! Many people have been asking for pictures, so here goes:
1.
I love the stone, the subtle color, the brick porch...and the blue sky ain't bad!
2.
This will be you walking up the front steps and into the front door. Once we move in, the front door will probably not be wide open all the time.
3.
Here is where I was the Homeowner from Hell. The idea was to have concrete poured and then brick pavers laid over the concrete. The concrete guy goofed and did concrete all the way. I had him take it out and start over. Sorry...but I knew what I wanted!
4.
This is going to be my study, my library, my refuge!!! I had them double insulate it for sound-proofing. There are going to be bookshelves all along that back wall. I am going to hibernate in there!
5.
This is the "Great Room." And it's going to be really great!
6.
This is the view from the great room onto the screened porch. To the left is the breakfast nook.
7.
The view of the deck and screened porch from the backyard. We bit the bullet and got the composite decking instead of wood, so no more weatherproofing and painting every few years.
8.
The cabinets in Haley's bathroom. I'm posting this because she is in Florida and hasn't been able to see any of the progress.
9.
Haley's room. There is going to be a window seat in the dormer. It's going to be lovely!
10.
This is Hurley's office. It's upstairs which means that my blogging (oh, and my work) won't be interrupted by conference calls about vegetables.
11.
This is what is known in the South as a "bonus" room. It's just a big room over the garage which is usually used as a play room. So this will be where my kids and their friends can hang out and I can yell up the stairs, "Close the door and turn the TV down!!!" and have peace and quiet in my domain.
12.
The porch is going to have iron railings, ceiling fans and hopefully big rocking chairs. So we can sit on the porch, sipping mint juleps and discussing Faulkner.
13.
Just a little free advertising for my friend John's dumpster business, Dumpsters On Demand. If you are in the Triangle, you can call him whether you are doing a huge construction project or just need to purge the garage and attic.
Hope you are having a fun weekend of fireworks and festivities!
Di
***Don't forget to enter my Eight Below Giveaway***
Does "The White Album" evoke this:
Or perhaps this:
The former was a monumental stride in music, the first album undertaken by the Beatles after Brian Epstein's death. The latter was a collection of essays commenting on the disjointed, disconnected generation that came of age in the 60's and 70's. I think the enjoyment of both might have been enhanced for some with the addition of a little reefer.
What it does not and should not evoke is this:
Perhaps my problem is that this tableau can only be appreciated if one is stoned. I simply can't imagine any drug that would convince me that "books covered in white paper, each numbered for easy reference" is a good decorating scheme. No. Easy reference is having the original spines facing out, perhaps in order by author's last name, subject or Dewey Decimal number.
Am I the only one who enters a room full of bookshelves and practically salivates? I can't wait to peruse the books. The book collection promises to lay bare the soul of its owner. I actually attended a neighborhood association meeting once because it was at a home that I often walked by and saw huge bookshelves through the window. I only went so I could browse those shelves! If I walked into this room with its stark, homogeneous white, I would feel sad. Sad that books are being used for the primary purpose of decorating rather than reading. Sad that the personality of the book, from the cover art to the broken parts of its spine, is hidden in favor of uniformity. It flies in the face of all that reading is about...freedom to express, freedom to explore, freedom to question.
They might as well have a fireplace with book leaves for kindling!
Di
Sorry...not the Hugh Laurie House...my house-to-be. It's been a while since I posted about our progress. I think the last one was the port-a-john. Since then, we've progressed to:
The dimensions are deceiving...it didn't look right. So we actually went out there with a tape measure to make sure everything was right.
Here is my son, walking up the front steps onto the porch.
Here is me! Notice how blurry I am. My son just can't stay still long enough to focus the camera.
They are starting to frame tomorrow and it looks like by the time we are back from Spring Break, it will have a roof on it!!! Woo-hoo!
Di
It's official:
We must really be building something, because this appeared on our lot this week! The excitement just never ends.
Di
***WAIT - DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE EXCITING OSCAR SCHMOSCAR...GIMME A BOOK! CONTEST***
***DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29 AT NOON***
When the walls
Come tumblin down
When the walls
Come crumblin, crumblin
When the walls come
Tumblin, tumblin
Crumblin, tumblin down
Haley is SO grounded when she gets home. I told her to clean her room!!! This wasn't quite what I had in mind.
It's amazing what contractors who ACTUALLY SHOW UP CAN GET DONE!!! And...I'm not making this up...they worked through thunder and rain today!!!
Di
...I'd still hire someone to build my house.
***WAIT - DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE EXCITING OSCAR SCHMOSCAR...GIMME A BOOK! CONTEST***
***DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29 AT NOON***
It was with great excitement that I sent the following to my parents, my sister and several friends:
The house moving thing fell through. The guy kept missing deadlines and we got our permit, so we had to move forward. Dad...what is this machine called? I was calling it the big swiveling thingy with the claws. I'm thinking that's not the technical term.
My friend Marcy, who should TOTALLY have her own blog replied:
I am surprised that you, the most well read person I know, did not know the name of that thing...From the famous author, P. D. Eastman best known for his contributions to the Cat in the Hat series, namely "Are You My Mother?" I believe the baby bird refers to that large piece of equipment as a "SNORT" !!
As Marcy would say if she was on the receiving end of her e-mail, "I almost peed my pants!" How could I have forgotten this literary classic??? And how did Marcy remember? She's my age....her brain cells should be as disabled as mine!
And now for the REALLY weird thing....when I Googled, "snort are you my mother," my picture came up as one of the images!!!!
Di
This is from Charles and Hudson, a home improvement blog I have been reading in preparation for the next several months of house building. Does anyone detect a hidden meaning here? Or is it just me?
Di
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