July 04, 2007
Hot Fun in the Summertime
We've been invited to four Fourth of July parties (five if you count one on Saturday hosted by a new internet friend!) and we can't go to any of them. Rats rats rats. I'm especially bummed about the one that would have me kayaking across Lake Chabot right about now instead of sitting in my desk at the office, making up for the workday I'm skipping on Friday to move.
The move, by the way, is moving right along, despite these pesky "careers" that are always getting in the way. The big U-haul boost is scheduled for Saturday, so for now we're still just doing small loads in the car. So far we've transported a few boxes of clothes, a bunch of purses, half our toiletries, a stack of board games, some pancake mix, a can of mixed nuts, the art that's been hiding in closets for two years, and most of the liquor, among the vast random assortment.
Although it's frustrating to (again) be living out of two places at once because we never seem to have the things we need in the right place at the right time (we have muffin mix in one place but the muffin tin in the other), there has been an advantage to moving slowly, and that is the opportunity to put things away in the new house rather than just stack all the boxes against the wall at once, where they will form a giant superbox (think Voltron) and remain there, towering, imposing, for weeks on end while we busy ourselves with things like changing the locks and weeding the vegetables and taping paint samples to the walls (it's decided; the hallway will be green!).
This matter of bringing things to the new house and putting them away immediately is especially convenient in the case of dishes, which, oh my, we took out of the apartment sink and boxed up while they were caked with food crust and slime. Apologies to both our mothers; it is not your fault we turned out this way. We know better, we...just...why handwash when there's a shiny new dishwasher just ten minutes away?! It seemed like a flawless plan until one of the boxes started leaking on my hands as I carried it out to the car. Gross.
You'll be happy to know that as soon as we got to the house, Simon transferred the dishes directly from their soggy boxes to the dishwasher, and as tempting as it was to pull two chairs* into the kitchen and bask in the glow of the glorious Whirlpool Miracle (I have been without a dishwasher for SIX YEARS, almost to the day), we decided our time was better spent on the deck, where, before we enjoyed illegal fireworks framed by the trellis that arches over the stairway, we swiveled the t.v. a little and watched I Love New York from the hot tub while drinking juice out of plastic pineapples with those famous umbrella straws. Moving: it is hard work.
*When we first visited the house, while the staging company furniture was still in place, we mentioned to the realtor what a bummer it was that they weren't leaving the cool dining room set behind for us. She inquired and the stagers offered to sell us the set--a table with a fold-out leaf and six newly upholstered chairs. They are PERFECT, and is there anything more grown-up than a dining room set?
You're not the only one who's working today! I just took a break from sculpting and painting for some lunch and thought I'd check some blogs while I was at it.
The new house looks great! Yay, for being able to bring your art out! Yay, for a dishwasher! (Incidentally, I have never, in all my nearly-twenty-eight years lived in a house or apartment that has a dishwasher. I am SO looking forward to that day.)
Posted by: Ky at July 4, 2007 01:54 PMGlorious!! You'd better grill that squash on your deck this weekend and tell us all about it.
I love your dining room set. It's my dream to someday own an heirloom-worthy dining room table I can pass on to my kids.
Oh yeah, and I've never had a dishwasher. *weep*
Posted by: gimmy at July 4, 2007 02:16 PMHappy 4th! I've just been singing along to the Star Spangled Banner with the Scissor Sisters. Your hot tub looks AMAZING. I would pick one over a dishwasher any day!
Posted by: Cath at July 4, 2007 03:00 PMstack all the boxes against the wall at once, where they will form a giant superbox (think Transformers)
I'd have thought more along the lines of Voltron.
Posted by: Tim at July 4, 2007 03:12 PMYes! Voltron! I originally thought it was Thundercats, but then when I Googled for confirmation and didn't find anything, I thought for sure it must be Transformers. But you're right, it's totally Voltron. Editing...
Posted by: Leah at July 4, 2007 03:17 PMThere is nothing more awesome than a dishwasher. I could not live without one. It is in my top five most important elements of a house.
Posted by: Janssen at July 4, 2007 04:21 PMI don't think I'll ever tire of seeing photos of this glorious, glorious home! It's so beautiful and filling me with envy.
Posted by: Amanda at July 4, 2007 07:50 PMI love the new house and your dining room set is amazing! I'm in awe of it!
Posted by: Jessica at July 4, 2007 07:56 PMI've said it before, but I'll say it again.
Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!
Posted by: Angella at July 4, 2007 08:37 PMyeah, i had to work too. . . something about prepping for some conference the important people are heading to on thursday. . . btw, i really dig that plate shelf thingy over the sink. . . don't think i've ever seen something like that before. . .
Posted by: bloopy at July 5, 2007 04:23 AMI love the dining room set! It goes so nicely too with the house. Our former owners did not leave theirs, but I found one on craigslist and we picked it up over the weekend. Two trips in two cars and it was ours. But yes, I too felt all of a sudden so grown up.
Posted by: Andrea at July 5, 2007 09:31 AMMan, your house is beautiful! I never delurk, but seriously, you have a
beautiful home.
It's weird, I've been going through the house buying process
step-in-step with you. And now we have the uhaul reserved for Sat, and will be in the house by Saturday eve. So ... yay to us!
I will never take having a dishwasher for granted again after we were without one while waiting for the new one to arrive (three very long pruny-fingered weeks).
Instead of a U-Haul, maybe you can park your Civic real close to the Element and it will transform into Optimus (Honda) Pilot or something so you can move faster.
Dining table is pretty. We can't have upholstered dining chairs because of the kids, though.
Posted by: Texas T-bone at July 5, 2007 12:46 PMWow, nice farmer's tan. That's hot. :)
Posted by: Monica at July 5, 2007 01:24 PMHe actually got the farmer's tan while playing a gig with his band. How weird is that?
Posted by: Leah at July 5, 2007 01:33 PMSo, what you're saying is he's totally rocking the farmer tan?
Ha! That was really bad.
Posted by: Monica at July 6, 2007 10:58 AMI love that you moved the dishes dirty. I absolutely would have done the same thing. All that handwashing time is time you could have been packing so think of it as being efficient. Although, huh, leakage isn't something I would have prepared for either. Ick.
Posted by: Kizz at August 1, 2007 01:21 PM
