8/30/08

The Gift of Equity


The wedding is now behind us, and we begin to realize that this lovely weather won't hang about indefinitely, and so we get back into home improvement mode. This is our third summer in this house, and we FINALLY ordered screens so we can open our bedroom windows. It's actually a little embarrassing, now we realize how simple a task it is to pick up a phone and speak into it, and then wait for the screens to turn up. Golly geez...

I pulled out the most recently deceased evergreen, and sent off a soil sample to see why things keep dying in that location. The tests were inconclusive, but I suspect an excess of water (otherwise known as poor drainage). Oddly enough, the early bulbs all did beautifully there, but for the moment that spot is proudly featuring a big hole where two dead evergreens have now departed. Talk about curb appeal!

And last week, we got our long-awaited glass block windows in the basement! This was something we've been planning/saving for since we bought the house. I have very high hopes for these windows. They are clearly (or perhaps that would be LESS clearly) more secure than the old ones, and here's hoping more insulating against the cold.

If only the housekeeper would vaccum...

8/25/08

Please be Seated


Chairs! We have real and proper chairs, with cushions and all! All around the dining table! This Holiday Season, we will all be able to sit down to the table without worrying someone's chair will topple - ah, we're living the dream now!

As the vast majority of you are likely unaware, we have for the last six years been using antique wooden folding chairs around the dining table. I "rescued" them from a slow rot in the basement of a certain art center, the first year we decided to host a holiday meal at our apartment. They are quite cool for folding chairs, but genuinely old and increasingly decrepit. One of our guests last year had a very narrow escape, so we retired one of the crew and set about the quest for Dining Room Chairs.

I feel like a real live grown-up now! Reminds me of the New Year's Eve we sat around the table arguing the merits of broccoli at five minutes to midnight...

8/21/08

Thanks EVER so much!


Filbert says a big thank you to the giver of the gift that arrived in this lovely cat bed... er, box.

8/8/08

Our Personal Paparazzi


In the event that you lost your camera (or dropped it in the toilet) - no need to panic!

The pros got tons of great shots of every possible thing, and anyone who wants to can order prints through collages.net . The site recommends using Internet Explorer or Firefox (my personal choice) for viewing. Also, if you don't have high-speed internet, you won't have much luck. I'll send out an email containing the login and password to our gallery, but if you don't get the email just call/email me and I'll give you the info.

Once again - if you got any particularly good shots, we'd love to see them! And if you got video, we'd love that too!