Mom left for home this morning and should be safely home by now. It was a great visit. We did so much in just a few days that it might take me a few posts to cover it all.
She got here on Tuesday afternoon. We spent all afternoon showing off the house and all of the things we had been working on. It is funny having this blog, because she already had a context for so much.
For dinner we just made some pasta with the recently mentioned pesto and opened a bottle of wine. The best part of the day was just getting to spend some low key time doing a lot of nothing together. After dinner, Brandon went out to the garage for a while, and Mom and I just sat in the living room reading our Harry Potter books.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Bright Height
One of the things I love about our new house is how open and bright it is all the time. We have so much sunlight pouring in the windows and skylights in the living room that we hardly use any lights until it is fully dark outside.
The upstairs hallway is open to the living room which makes the living room feel enormously tall and the house feel very open. It also makes the dogs very confused when we throw a toy from down in the living room up to the upstairs hallway. The dogs have figured out to look up when we call them from upstairs, (dogs can look up) but they haven't quite figured out how to get where we are or where the toy goes when it disappears over the ledge.
Here's a picture of our living room from above featuring Mme. Maddie posing for the camera. M. Bishop is, as usual, absent from the photo.
The upstairs hallway is open to the living room which makes the living room feel enormously tall and the house feel very open. It also makes the dogs very confused when we throw a toy from down in the living room up to the upstairs hallway. The dogs have figured out to look up when we call them from upstairs, (dogs can look up) but they haven't quite figured out how to get where we are or where the toy goes when it disappears over the ledge.
Here's a picture of our living room from above featuring Mme. Maddie posing for the camera. M. Bishop is, as usual, absent from the photo.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Yummy Saturday
I promise this won't become a foodie blog, but I went back to the farmer's market this morning. I know. I know. I've already mentioned it about a million times. Anyway, 
I bought some more of that wonderful locally made cheese, a huge tomato and a bunch of other things. The tomato was so juicy that it made an actual puddle on my cutting board when I sliced it. I stopped by one stand with the most amazing smelling basil to buy some to go with my tomato. I was literally drawn to the stand by my nose. It was $1.25 for a bag of basil. I was picturing one or two sprigs of basil in a bag. I was wrong. It was a lot of basil. So, when I got home, I decided to make pesto. I've never made it before, but I had olive oil, tons of basil, walnuts and fresh garlic. It was surprisingly easy to make it in my little chopper. I added some honey, so there is a little sweetness to the savory taste.
I only kept a couple of ounces of pesto to put in the fridge. For the rest, I lined an ice cube tray with saran wrap and spooned some pesto in to make little frozen pesto cubes. Once they are frozen, I'll dump them in a freezer bag. We can just defrost them whenever we want. They should last for months and months.
The first picture is of the lunch I just ate. Toasted sourdough, cheese, tomatoes and pesto. Mmmmm. The second photo is a tiny cell phone shot of the baker's rack we got for the kitchen. It's a little more loaded down now, but I love how sleek and shiny it looks. It really closes the U-shaped kitchen area in and makes it feel like more a room and less of a pass through.
Off to work on the closet!
I bought some more of that wonderful locally made cheese, a huge tomato and a bunch of other things. The tomato was so juicy that it made an actual puddle on my cutting board when I sliced it. I stopped by one stand with the most amazing smelling basil to buy some to go with my tomato. I was literally drawn to the stand by my nose. It was $1.25 for a bag of basil. I was picturing one or two sprigs of basil in a bag. I was wrong. It was a lot of basil. So, when I got home, I decided to make pesto. I've never made it before, but I had olive oil, tons of basil, walnuts and fresh garlic. It was surprisingly easy to make it in my little chopper. I added some honey, so there is a little sweetness to the savory taste.
I only kept a couple of ounces of pesto to put in the fridge. For the rest, I lined an ice cube tray with saran wrap and spooned some pesto in to make little frozen pesto cubes. Once they are frozen, I'll dump them in a freezer bag. We can just defrost them whenever we want. They should last for months and months.
The first picture is of the lunch I just ate. Toasted sourdough, cheese, tomatoes and pesto. Mmmmm. The second photo is a tiny cell phone shot of the baker's rack we got for the kitchen. It's a little more loaded down now, but I love how sleek and shiny it looks. It really closes the U-shaped kitchen area in and makes it feel like more a room and less of a pass through.
Off to work on the closet!
Friday, July 20, 2007
It ended up that my sweet little Scion was "scared straight" by the prospect of being sent to the mechanics. They called around noon to say that they had finished the required state inspections but had not been able to find anything wrong with the window. It had been rolling up and down with no protest ever since I dropped it off. Ack! Well, at least it is working now.
When we dropped him off this morning we walked over and looked at the new Scion XB design. Ugh. It is hideous. What a dissapointment. They took a bold, efficient, inexpensive vehicle and made is less bold, less efficent (8 mpg increase), and more expensive. Well, it should make my little black one a classic if I can keep it in shape and remember to wash it every now and then.
After we picked up my car, we went to Linens and Things and bought towels and a shower curtain for the guest bathroom since my mom is coming next week (hi mom!). They look nice. I spent the rest of the day squeezing every last dish and appliance into our new kitchen. I'm almost done with it. Right now, from the couch, I can count 7 more empty boxes laying on the floor.
Today, a friend of mine (hi J) told me that I reminded her of the Vince Vaughn character from the movie Old School, the part when he says
She's absolutely right. We're a little ridiculous right now.
When we dropped him off this morning we walked over and looked at the new Scion XB design. Ugh. It is hideous. What a dissapointment. They took a bold, efficient, inexpensive vehicle and made is less bold, less efficent (8 mpg increase), and more expensive. Well, it should make my little black one a classic if I can keep it in shape and remember to wash it every now and then.
After we picked up my car, we went to Linens and Things and bought towels and a shower curtain for the guest bathroom since my mom is coming next week (hi mom!). They look nice. I spent the rest of the day squeezing every last dish and appliance into our new kitchen. I'm almost done with it. Right now, from the couch, I can count 7 more empty boxes laying on the floor.
Today, a friend of mine (hi J) told me that I reminded her of the Vince Vaughn character from the movie Old School, the part when he says
"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're um, we're gonna go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed Bath And Beyond, I don't know. I Don't know if we'll have enough time."
She's absolutely right. We're a little ridiculous right now.
Yawn
Eight o'clock in the morning is not why I love coffee, but why I drink it so regularly.
Hopefully my car will be healthier in a few hours.
Hopefully my car will be healthier in a few hours.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Hills Are Alive With the Groans of Gear Shifts
I just got back from a bike ride. It is beautiful here, and the hills were kicking my out-of-shape butt. I lasted about half an hour, but I was pushing my self pretty hard and got a little over heated. The water bottle I was using was pretty crappy; I'm certain I wasn't drinking enough water. So, I just ordered two good water bottles from Nashbar.
Today, we go back to the DMV for my motorcycle test. But first we go register the vehicles and get NC tags. It won't be much fun, but we have to get it done.
Last night I made the fresh green beans that we bought at the farmer's market last week with some jasmine rice. It was so yummy and easy. Hmmm. I think the bike ride made me a little hungry. Haven't eaten yet today. I'm trying to pay better attention and wait until my stomach growls (hi mom) instead of just eating whenever it is a societally designated meal time. All part of trying to establish good habits before law school. I'm definitely going back to the farmer's market again on Saturday.
My scion has suddenly developed a paralysis in the rear passenger side window. Luckily he's still under warranty, so I'm trying to set up an appointment with the local Scion dealership. I keep getting put on hold to talk to the service advisor, but he/she just won't pick up. So, someone else answers my call; I explain the situation; they are very nice about it, and then they all say, "Let me transfer you to a service advisor." Ha! I finally got to talk to someone and the scion is going in for a check up tomorrow morning.
Today, we go back to the DMV for my motorcycle test. But first we go register the vehicles and get NC tags. It won't be much fun, but we have to get it done.
Last night I made the fresh green beans that we bought at the farmer's market last week with some jasmine rice. It was so yummy and easy. Hmmm. I think the bike ride made me a little hungry. Haven't eaten yet today. I'm trying to pay better attention and wait until my stomach growls (hi mom) instead of just eating whenever it is a societally designated meal time. All part of trying to establish good habits before law school. I'm definitely going back to the farmer's market again on Saturday.
My scion has suddenly developed a paralysis in the rear passenger side window. Luckily he's still under warranty, so I'm trying to set up an appointment with the local Scion dealership. I keep getting put on hold to talk to the service advisor, but he/she just won't pick up. So, someone else answers my call; I explain the situation; they are very nice about it, and then they all say, "Let me transfer you to a service advisor." Ha! I finally got to talk to someone and the scion is going in for a check up tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A Glimpse
This is my reading corner with my new extravagant futon pillow chair. I'll take more pictures eventually. Everything is still in stacks and piles and boxes. But I could see this from where I'm sitting at my desk, so I thought I'd share it.
Yesterday was pretty busy. I've been trying to get up and work out every morning for an hour so that my body gets accustomed to it before school starts. I'm going to have to make exercise an intentional part of my schedule once classes start. Law school is notoriously bad for the eyes and the hips. So that was the first part of my day. I feel like I'm cheating a bit, because it's so much easier to stick with it when I don't have a schedule.
While I was working out Brandon found a job listing posted on Artsearch with a company in Raleigh that would be great for him. So we spent the next hour working on a cover letter and sending that off. By last night, he had already gotten an email back from the guy saying that he had received Brandon's resume and that they would be accepting resumes through the end of the month. The job doesn't start until September, but it pays well and would probably be a great fit. Keep your fingers crossed on this one.
After that we decided to find the DMV and get our Driver's Licenses changed over. You can't register a car in NC without a NC license. We have to get Brandon's new truck registered this week. The DMV was pretty fast and painless. Brandon's CDL (Commercial Driver's License) added to the time and cost quite a bit, but it is worth it for him to keep it. They made us take the computerized driving exam and motorcycle exams since we were coming from out of state. It was bizarre. I did fine on the driving exam, but I got 6 on the motorcycle test and missed it by one question! The questions I missed were really silly. I was so pissed! Brandon said he missed 4 questions on the test, so that made me feel better. That means I have to go back and take it again before I can ride my motorcycle. We'll probably go back tomorrow.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Brandon and I just returned from our first home-owners association meeting. It wasn't the real association meeting but a new monthly security meeting, kind of a neighborhood watch in uetero. They were recruiting for Block Captains. It was a real mixed bag.
On the one hand we met a few of our neighbors. The guy running the meeting was really cool and lives just one street over. It would be nice to know a few people here. I think Brandon and I will probably go to the real home owners association meeting next month just to meet more of our neighbors.
On the other hand there was a situation that had just happened over the weekend in which a man's adult son had gotten into a confrontation with one of the neighbors. Apparently this boy's behavior had been an ongoing escalating problem. Several of their immediate neighbors had shown up to discuss the situation, as did the boy's father. Although the situation seemed very important to the residents of that street, it was kind of like accidentally walking in on someone's family intervention. Very, very uncomfortable.
There was also a lot of talk about the problems (the very few of them that have occurred in this very safe, quite neighborhood) mostly coming in from the outside, and wanting to keep that kind of element from coming in and messing with our quality of life. After living in Cooper-Young if felt very control-freakish. I wonder how they would have dealt with our neighbors on Cox.
For the most part, the control freaks were all very nice and friendly, but they mostly wanted to cluster together and compare notes on how the menace of this emotionally disturbed boy should be handled. Uncomfortable.
Other than that, we are starting to get to more nit-picky projects. I don't mean to imply that we have all of the boxes unpacked or any of the rooms completely set up, but the projects are starting to get less all encompassing. I find myself doing a little bit here, a little bit there. Then again, that may have just been my mood today.
On the one hand we met a few of our neighbors. The guy running the meeting was really cool and lives just one street over. It would be nice to know a few people here. I think Brandon and I will probably go to the real home owners association meeting next month just to meet more of our neighbors.
On the other hand there was a situation that had just happened over the weekend in which a man's adult son had gotten into a confrontation with one of the neighbors. Apparently this boy's behavior had been an ongoing escalating problem. Several of their immediate neighbors had shown up to discuss the situation, as did the boy's father. Although the situation seemed very important to the residents of that street, it was kind of like accidentally walking in on someone's family intervention. Very, very uncomfortable.
There was also a lot of talk about the problems (the very few of them that have occurred in this very safe, quite neighborhood) mostly coming in from the outside, and wanting to keep that kind of element from coming in and messing with our quality of life. After living in Cooper-Young if felt very control-freakish. I wonder how they would have dealt with our neighbors on Cox.
For the most part, the control freaks were all very nice and friendly, but they mostly wanted to cluster together and compare notes on how the menace of this emotionally disturbed boy should be handled. Uncomfortable.
Other than that, we are starting to get to more nit-picky projects. I don't mean to imply that we have all of the boxes unpacked or any of the rooms completely set up, but the projects are starting to get less all encompassing. I find myself doing a little bit here, a little bit there. Then again, that may have just been my mood today.
Friday, July 13, 2007
A Whirlwind Week
We have been moving right from one thing to the next since we got back from Iowa.
I hardly know what day it is.
As I had been promising to do, I painted my study very, very green. We put together my World Market futon chair; it is incredibly comfortable. Bishop thinks so too, so there is a bit of black fur on the white cushions. We'll have to fix that with the Scraminal.
Last night I moved the bookcases and file cabinet into place and the room looks great! Now it is time to unpack all of those books. Someone (Brandon) is already teasing me about the inevitable alphabetization.
Brandon has been tearing apart the kitchen this week. Our house came with an absolutely wretched stainless sink that was only about 4" deep. It is amazing that I hadn't broken all of our wine glasses trying to wash them in it. We had already decided to replace the sink and I was trying to wash the wine glasses and big cook pot that were sitting on the counter to clear room for the project. After cleaning the big steamer pot and about halfway through the third wine glass, I heard the sound of water that wasn't coming from the faucet. It was the sound of water pouring out of the joint on the P-trap into the cabinet below. Brandon snaked the line and whatever had been sitting down there went the way of baby alligators.
We hadn't planned on replacing the garbage disposal. When Brandon removed the sink and disconnected it from the old disposal, we could suddenly see the toxic sludge that had been sitting for the last six months. It was as black as wet coffee grounds, but it smelled like rotting vegetables. It filled 2/3 of the disposal. We bought a new one.
So now, after two days of unexpected snags and revolting discoveries, we have a fantastic new deep sink and a brand new faucet.
Tomorrow, I plan on going to the Durham Farmers' Market. They have a great website with a produce calendar that tells you what produce is in season before you go. So, we'll go and buy local honey, cabbage, sweet potatoes and maybe green beans. I'm going to try to buy small quantities that we can easily eat in a week and go back next Saturday.
I hardly know what day it is.
As I had been promising to do, I painted my study very, very green. We put together my World Market futon chair; it is incredibly comfortable. Bishop thinks so too, so there is a bit of black fur on the white cushions. We'll have to fix that with the Scraminal.
Last night I moved the bookcases and file cabinet into place and the room looks great! Now it is time to unpack all of those books. Someone (Brandon) is already teasing me about the inevitable alphabetization.
Brandon has been tearing apart the kitchen this week. Our house came with an absolutely wretched stainless sink that was only about 4" deep. It is amazing that I hadn't broken all of our wine glasses trying to wash them in it. We had already decided to replace the sink and I was trying to wash the wine glasses and big cook pot that were sitting on the counter to clear room for the project. After cleaning the big steamer pot and about halfway through the third wine glass, I heard the sound of water that wasn't coming from the faucet. It was the sound of water pouring out of the joint on the P-trap into the cabinet below. Brandon snaked the line and whatever had been sitting down there went the way of baby alligators.
We hadn't planned on replacing the garbage disposal. When Brandon removed the sink and disconnected it from the old disposal, we could suddenly see the toxic sludge that had been sitting for the last six months. It was as black as wet coffee grounds, but it smelled like rotting vegetables. It filled 2/3 of the disposal. We bought a new one.
So now, after two days of unexpected snags and revolting discoveries, we have a fantastic new deep sink and a brand new faucet.
Tomorrow, I plan on going to the Durham Farmers' Market. They have a great website with a produce calendar that tells you what produce is in season before you go. So, we'll go and buy local honey, cabbage, sweet potatoes and maybe green beans. I'm going to try to buy small quantities that we can easily eat in a week and go back next Saturday.
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