Wednesday, March 24, 2010

House Update #3

Wow. For all the thumb-twiddling we've had to do during the rain and waiting for delayed deliveries...when these guys get going, they go fast. We started with a slab this morning and now we have a framed new room all tied in to the roof and a shower skylight that we can actually see through- a big difference from the old, clouded over one. They finished the roof on the back half of the house today (the lion's share of time today was spent tieing the new roof into the old)- the front half they'll finish in no time tomorrow. I made it about 20 minutes this morning with all the banging and hammering before I threw the dogs in the car and camped out at my parents' until I picked up the kids from school. Headache, anyone?
New roofline. There are two windows covered up by plywood here- there will be one on the far right that is the same size as the smaller one on the left and the one in the middle is really twice the size of the other two but they've got plywood over part of it, too.
They had to cut one of the main trunks of our Crepe Myrtle tree- makes me sad b/c it's a big, pretty tree.
A shot from our current back door- you can see where the windows really are from this view
- not sure why they covered some parts up with plywood and not others.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Reese, Incognito

Reese as a blonde. Frighteningly enough, this is the wig that Brett wore to an 80s party the other night. It's a little Rod Stewart when worn by a man. And frontwards.
And in her St. Patty's day bowler. She can pull off Irish...maybe not so much the bowler...but definitely the Irish.

House Update #2

We have brick surround and a slab. We also have six roofing trusses laying in the front yard. Why the front yard, you may ask...because the 18-wheeled flatbed trailer that delivered them was not going to get up the driveway without tearing up the yard or cracking the concrete so...front yard it is. We look a bit like a lumber yard (which is actually better than Sanford & Sons' front porch, which was an apt description for our porch until yesterday, but I digress).

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Goodbye, faithful lamp friends

I remember uttering the phrase "we're done with Target furniture- we're adults now" many years back. Silly me. I'm not quite sure what delusions of Ethan Allen grandeur were traipsing through my head at the time, but they're long gone now. I like to think I made that statement before Target stampeded into the realm of Ethan Allen and Pottery Barn knock-offs.
I bought two floor lamps at Target seventy-hundred years ago when I lived in Greensboro. They were $10 each and fit my needs (and budget) perfectly. They moved with me to my apartment in Charlotte; they stayed in the apartment when Brett moved in; and they moved with us into our house in 2003. They've faithfully, unobtrusively and non-offensively lit our living room ever since. Brett complains about them every now and then but, come on, let's look at our priority list and find out where "find and buy lamps to replace perfectly good lamps" falls. Somewhere south of "touch up paint along baseboards in closets".
Well, part and parcel to the decision to add on to the house was the decision to stay in this house another 6-8 years. That led to the decision to join the 21st century and get a flat-panel tv hung above the fire place, which led to the necessity of a media cabinet (from Target!), which led to the selling of the old tv cabinet, which led to...which led to...which led to...........lamps. Part of it was the fact that Brett (and a few other friends) shamed me into it, but here we are with two super-cool new table lamps and two new floor lamps. Yes, they're basically the same- just a little less chincy (we need that style to provide our big-dark- living room with enough light). Since my $10 variety lasted me 10 years, these $30 guys better live up to their predecsssors and make it 30!
(one of the old ones- yes, I know I should have turned it off before taking the picture- just deal)
and a new one- yes- I really am lame enough that I took pictures of my lamps
If you're actually reading this, I'd like you to leave a comment and admit what piece of college (or nearly college) furniture you're still utilizing. I know I'm not the only one with $10 Target lamps out there!

Monday, March 15, 2010

House Update #1

We're a week in and the first part of last week was great! Everybody was working pretty fast in order to beat the monsoon that came during the last half of the week. So...we have the footers inspected and poured for the new part of the house, the drain installed and inspected for the new location for the washer and....drumroll....a fence along Assclown Neighbor's property line!! (no, that has nothing to do with our work, but it's worth mentioning).
The monsoon left us with a sloppy wet pile of dirt and busted up concrete immediately outside our back door. Until they pour the slab out there (slated for this Friday- cross your fingers), we've essentially lost use of our back door. Willow can't get it through her head that she has to go out in the front yard to do whatever it is she has to do. She's not the sharpest tack in the box sometimes.
Here are a few pictures.
Like the Port-a-Potty? Sexy, no? And, for good measure, here's a shot of the fence. He actually told Brett it was going to be a privacy fence. Clearly, his definition of "privacy" is a little porous, but it's better than the rotted, half-collapsed monstrosity that used to be there. A few evergreen plantings this summer will help, too.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Carrie

This weekend, my parents made the difficult decision to put their eldest dog, Carrie, to sleep. (she's on the far right of that very old picture- not all five dogs are theirs, Willow and Maggie are in there somewhere) We got Carrie when I was a senior in college so she's been around a while. Her drastically declining health made the decision the right thing to do, but certainly not the easy thing.
At the ripe old age of 35, I have actually not experienced much death. I have been through two dog deaths prior to Carrie (the first being in 5th grade); I have only lost one grandparent; and, although I experienced the deaths of too many friends during college, most of those weren't exceptionally close to home.
I really wasn't sure how to handle the concept with Makena and Reese. It's amazing how God handles it for you. He has created two intelligent and capable (relatively speaking) creatures who didn't buckle and cry like I did.
Me: Carrie died this morning.
Makena: why?
Me: because it was time for her to go to heaven and be with Jesus.
Makena: well....where is her skin?
Me: it's in a box burried in Grandmommy and Granddaddy's back yard.
Makena: where are her eyes?
Me: her eyes, ears, feet, hair, skin...everything you see is in the box under the ground.
Reese: so that no animals will eat her? (interesting first thought)
Me: yes. But her soul is in heaven with Jesus.
Makena: what's a soul?
Me: stumbling for a decent answer that will appease a 4 year old. I came up with something.
Makena:....so...will Jesus give Carrie her eye drops? (Carrie had glaucoma and had to have eye drops every day)
Me: no, because now that she's in Heaven, she has new eyes.
Reese: no- her eyes are in the box so that no one will eat her. (uhhhhhh.....yeees)
Me: right, but when she got to Heaven, God gave her a whole new body that won't get sick and eyes that don't hurt her and that don't need drops anymore.
Reese: is Grandmommy crying right now?
Me: yes. She is very sad.
...I don't remember many more of the details, but it was interesting to me that Makena (who is extremely literal) wanted to get to the heart of the differentiation of where Carrie's body was and where her soul was yet Reese was more interested in whether or not any scavengers were going to get to Carrie's "skin" and if anyone was currently crying. The differences in their ages and personalities is so interesting to see. Brett and I have a bad habit of lumping them together developmentally- which is really unfair to Reese- after all, at this age, the 14 months between her and Makena is 33% of her life!
We will all miss Carrie. She was a very sweet dog and a loyal and selfless companion. The decision to end a life is, hands down, the worst part of being a dog owner. I dread the day that we cross that bridge with our dogs.

Friday, March 5, 2010

An ode to our kitchen

We're scheduled to start our house renovation on Monday! That's a little "woohoo!!" and "uh oh" all combined. Having the back of the house, part of the back yard and kitchen (for a short while) torn up is going to make me a little nutso, but it will be worth it.
If you've never been to our house...well...I don't know who you are. But, suffice it to say, it's not a big house. Strangely, though, its 1800sf were laid out in a surprisingly open plan for 1985 and the only times we really feel cramped are the times during the winter (ie- no going outside) when Brett works from home on a long-term basis...oh...like now (only a week left before he gets the sling off). We've hosted parties for 50 inside, parties for 100 outside, seated dinners for 20 and, even though it's really not huge, somehow there are always at least eight people milling about in the kitchen at any given gathering. I've even walked in there to find six grown men sitting comfortably on the floor lost in conversation (this was during a wine 'tasting' party so I will leave the definition of 'comfortably' up to you).
We've contemplated moving about a half million times but, for a number of reasons, it just hasn't happened. So...we're going to gut the kitchen and add another living space, mudroom and deck. Yea!
Here are a few pictures to memorialize the house as it is now.
The kitchen leading into the breakfast area- that back wall with the bay window is getting pushed out over the existing patio.
Another shot of the kitchen- come on, you're secretly jealous of the 30" oak, builder-grade cabinets. Another look at the bay window- it really is pretty and we've enjoyed it. The washer and dryer are in that closet behind the breakfast area- those are moving to the mudroom and that closet is going to be opened up and become the new breakfast area.The back yard as it is (it's winter so it looks terribly sparse). The new part of the house is coming out over the existing poured (white) patio and the deck will be almost the length of the right side of the house.A closer shot of the patio that will be covered up. And, for good meausre, a few swinging shots we were able to take on a recently sunny day. No, the ass-clown of a neighbor still hasn't fixed his fence and no, I never did call the city on him...but we have seen fencing company trucks in front of his house lately- cross your fingers.