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It was hard to be away from home last week!
Lars called on Tuesday, "Mama! Ross and I were wrestling and he punched me and my tooth came out!" Lars was still proud of the missing tooth and happy to have been visited by the Tooth Fairy when I got home.
On Wednesday, the new windows were installed! Chris took photos of Days 3 &4 and uploaded them for me to see but viewing them on my phone was awkward (internet in my hotel room didn't work). Based on the postage-stamp size photo not looking as I'd expected it to look, I panicked about the location of the bay window and Chris got the guys to stop working on repairing the outside until I could get home and determine if I wanted them to move it or not. Luckily, I liked it better in person than in the photo, so it doesn't have to be moved.
On Thursday, I talked Chris through answering the EC's questions at the start of rough-in. I was not in a position to spend a lot of time on the phone, so Chris translated as best he could and gave the EC a bunch of .pdf cut sheets so he could see the expected equipment and get started. I cleared up the EC's remaining questions when I got home Friday and he was able to finish rough-in.
Friday brought truckloads of cabinets our way. The cartons are EVERYWHERE! Playroom is filled to the roof, there are huge boxes on the front porch, in the dining room, and in the back hall. I honestly don't know how they're going to fit everything in the kitchen - it's not that big a room! I'm excited to see what happens next and prepared to be amazed by the magic. Chris pointed out that the cartons are no doubt oversized, so some of the bulk will go away when the packaging is removed...but still! There's a LOT of carton in the house right now.
In other news, we've determined the floor (for sure) and counter color (we think; final decision will be made once floor and cupboards are in), light fixtures and cabinet hardware are on order, and appliances will be delivered on Friday. First permit inspections are scheduled for this Thursday - once inspections are passed, they'll close the walls and the real fun will begin. Chris and I still need to determine paint color, pick a faucet, and figure out what we'll sort of fireproof treatment we'll have behind the stove. We're on a mission to figure these last details out and hire a painter (the one thing our GC doesn't do) this week.
We ran out of salt in the little salt cellar this weekend and I realized that the refill box is packed (along with 98% of the kitchen). Rather than dig through everything to find it, I just put salt on the shopping list - it's not as if it will spoil. Chris returned from the store mildly irked and without salt. His comment was, "Do you have any idea how hard it is to buy Kosher salt just before Rosh Hashanah?" Oops.
On Thursday, the guys came back and the carpenters worked hard to get a level subfloor in place. They'd finished by the end of the day, so it'll be quiet here until Tuesday, when they'll return to frame out the new door & windows (windows are being delivered on Monday). Photosets are up on Flickr.
Thursday evening brought some neighbors in to see the progress so far and, as they were leaving, a woman collecting donations to fund "education and lobbyists to hold our legislators accountable for providing quality healthcare for everyone" showed up. She couldn't give me any specifics about what, exactly, they were going to teach or to whom they were going to teach this unspecified curriculum. She was also extremely rude, poking at me with her clipboard and pen and, when I glanced down at the page on the clipboard she'd thrust at me, she squatted down so she could MAKE EYE CONTACT WHILE SPEAKING TO ME. If I broke eye contact to look at her form, she'd stop speaking and dodge a little to get my eyes again. While I respected her tenacity, she was indescribably annoying - I wanted her gone and gone fast. As I was backing into the house, though, Kippah came out to the porch to see what was going on. Over-does-it-girl squealed, "Is your CAT supposed to come OUT," and Kippah fled under the porch. Fifteen minutes later, Lars and I had tracked Kippah to under the back deck, where we planned to keep an eye on her until she chose an exit point. Annoying girl? Was still standing on the front lawn. I finally told her we were going to be a while and I didn't want to waste her time - she could go. She actually asked if she could come back later! I said, thank you, no. When we finally retrieved Kippah, I took her up for a shower, which she's actually a pretty good sport about.
I enjoyed the quiet to work in on Friday, something that will be rare until the project is done. I ran out at 4pm to pick up dinner and groceries and came home to find Chris stalking Kippah in the yard. He'd been on the phone in Playroom and had suddenly seen her come strolling around the back of the house, onto the deck. ?!? After we caught her, I yelled a bit about the importance of keeping an eye out for her when entering or leaving the house and took her up for a shower, which she was still a pretty good sport about.
Saturday morning saw us all getting ready to go to a Squirt hockey game. On the way downstairs after my shower, I thought I heard Kippah crying like she was trapped somewhere. I opened the bathroom and the hall closet but she wasn't in there. I went out to playroom and there she was, OUTSIDE the door. AGAIN. As I scooped her up and whipped her into the shower with Chris, Lars discovered the kitchen window was open - must have been left open by the workmen on Thursday and we'd never thought to go in and check (the room is draped shut). Kippah was not so sporty about showering with Chris, or maybe she was just sick of showers; she bore it noisily.
Saturday afternoon, after I'd apologized for yelling at the boys about letting Kippah out, and after Kippah had learned the hard way (bang!) that the window is now closed, we went to a party for the Mites' families. About half the kids are returning vets; the others are new to the team, if not new to local hockey, and the gathering was a chance for the kids and parents to get to know each other. We all had a great time and I'm glad to know the people I'll be spending so many cold 6ams with are fun.
Sunday featured more hockey - another Squirt game, this time a win - a quick Target run, and some housework. At some point in the weekend, we thought we'd lost both Chris' AmEx and his reloading Sbux card, but both were found stowed safely (if absentmindedly) in our own pockets.
I leave for a tradeshow in the morning - I won't be back until Friday night. Chris is charged with taking pictures of the construction while he's home and I'll update when I get home...by which point I'll be much more eager than any of you to see the progress!
...My true love cleaned the refrigerator. We had to take everything out of it to move it anyway, so he figured why not? That was at the start of the day. To fit the fridge parts into the basement scrub sink, Chris took the washer drain hose out during the chore. At the end of the day, he ran a load of wash which (hose is out, remember?) flooded the basement. So, we got in a little wee-hours wet-vaccing. At least we figured out the problem before calling the contractor in a panic. (Water! Everywhere! Help!) The thing is? Our GC rocks - he totally would have come over - so I'm glad we figured out we were dopes on our own. The clean fridge is now installed (loose interpretation of installed, here) in the dining room, completing our temporary kitchen setup. The enormous table I bought last year is really handy for storage underneath and lots of temporary counter space.
In an hour and forty-five minutes, the guys had deconstructed everything but the floor. Getting the floor up took most of the afternoon but the guys left the site at the end of the day with demolition complete. After they'd gone, I went down to the basement and took pictures looking up through the kitchen. Hi, Second Floor! They got the subfloor laid - LEVEL! - today. We tossed marbles on it and watched with glee as they stopped in the middle of the room, short distances from where they'd initially landed.
We've discovered a few interesting tidbits about the house. The wall between our kitchen and dining room was an outside wall - there were siding planks hiding out behind the drywall. An old door was also uncovered across the room. There are not as many unsavory discoveries as we were expecting, and the ones that are turning up (like the wall supports that aren't actually long enough to reach the header) will be fixed.
Pictures from the first two days of construction are up at Flickr.
Stay tuned...
- Good things come to those who wait.
- Patience is a virtue.
- (S)he that can have patience can have what (s)he will.
- For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven.
Say what you like, MY WAIT IS OVER. My time to break down is here! My time to build up is on the way, and there is MUCH rejoicing! Before pictures with descriptions are up at Flickr.
We've planned to wash as little as possible over the course of the renovation, since the downstairs bathroom sink is tiny - we'd have to haul anything larger than a teacup upstairs or down to be washed. So we've stocked up on recyclable dishes and will cook on foil or in recyclable bags. I was thrilled to discover they make crockpot condoms, so we can have stews and chili. Everything else will be cooked in the toaster oven or microwave. I am optimistic that we'll be able to make reasonable meals and hopeful that it won't get too frustrating before we're done. Since we packed all the glasses, Chris found champagne in cans (with straws!) to celebrate the construction kick-off. It's not our usual, but nice (in a trailer trash sort of way).
Lars is not the only Mites player with "Professional Hockey Teeth" this year.
"Mama, I have to do this multiplication using the Traditional Method, the one that's been used for hundreds of years, like when you were in school." I regard him silently, considering whether he is cute enough, today, to live. I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt and he instantly abuses the privilege, "Did you have to do it this way because there weren't any calculators?"
"We had calculators. We were just smarter than kids are now - we didn't need to use calculators to get the answers right."
"Mama! I can do these problems without a calculator." I just smirk at him. Incensed, he whips his pencil into position and cranks out the answers. I arch an eyebrow at the completed assignment, impressed. I hope taunting will be as effective for the whole school year!
There are no pictures of the perfect weekend we just spent at the cottage, mainly because we forgot the camera. Even if had we had remembered it, though, we might not have used it. Our days were spent languidly moving from cottage (eating, sleeping) to beach, (swimming, sailing, playing Kubb, playing catch, searching for lucky stones and looking at fossils on the point) as whim directed. Our nights were spent chatting with family and falling asleep to the sound of waves rolling on the beach. Even the long drive home did little to dampen our relaxed spirits.
Today, Ross is going to a birthday party, Lars is moping about not being allowed to play his DS, Chris is circuit-tracing in anticipation of our kitchen construction, I'm working. We're all a little edgy - aware that tomorrow our fall schedule will crash into life with no easing in - but I'm still riding the benefits of our weekend away and only a tiny part of me is wondering if we're ready for what tomorrow will bring.
During tonight's shower & get ready for bed extravaganza, the toilet was filled and not flushed and our kitten, an adventurous sort, leaped up to investigate. She slipped on some drips on the seat, though, and fell in. SPLASH! She immediately leaped out and began to lick her leg. EEEEEWWW! KIPPAH'S DRINKING PEE-PEE!
Chris, being of sound (if angry & frustrated) mind, picked the dripping kitten up and deposited her in our shower, where she could be enclosed for a nice wash. The children finally got their wits about them and fled to their beds, tearful that the kitten might be about to die. SHE DRANK PEE.
I washed the kitten. Then, as Chris hadn't been successful at calming the boys, I went in...with this:
"Drinking pee-pee is gross. It is disgusting and you should NOT do it, BUT...it will not kill you. In fact, if you are stranded on a sailboat on the ocean, you should drink your own pee-pee, you should not drink the salty ocean. If you are stranded in a sailboat on Lake Erie, though, drink Lake Erie - it's marginally better than your own pee. IF YOU ARE NOT STRANDED ON THE OCEAN IN A SAILBOAT, do not drink your own pee. Even though it won't kill you."
Lars tried to interject with a question, but I cut him off, "NO QUESTIONS. GO TO SLEEP."
Both boys seem to have forgotten their worry that the kitten might die.
cross posted at Worst.Mama.Ever.
7:10am - Ross climbed out of bed and farted and Lars hollered, "My tooth came out!"
Ahhh...morning boys.
As summer wanes, I usually begin to stock up the pantry. Despite the fact that snow here barely lasts long enough to get hungry, I'm not comfortable facing winter without at least a few days' worth of food in long-term storage. I expect I'll retire to Florida with kitty litter and a blanket in my trunk, too - old habits are hard to break.
This year, though, I'm mastering my need to stockpile. In spite of the calendar, we are eating down the pantry and emptying the freezer. Why? Because in just a few weeks, we will be living without a kitchen and my desire not to move or throw out a lot of food is stronger than my need to horde for winter.
Last week, I pulled a sirloin roast out of the freezer. It was too big to make just for us, so we called in Bibliofilly & Robert for help. They gamely arrived on Friday in time to help us finish off a couple of cheeses before the meal. In a gracious gesture, the meat thermometer volunteered not to be moved. The roast was still delicious.
Our family souvenier from Germany is a board game, Die Siedler von Catan. It's a game of strategy and luck, you collect resources to expand your settlements to a certain size before your opponents can expand theirs. The board changes shape every time you play and resources are collected based on die rolls. A band of robbers move about the board whenever a seven is rolled, depriving you of resources from a particular piece of land and also stealing some resources from your existing hand. Extra points can be earned from things like having the longest road, the largest army or plain luck - you can trade three resources for a development card that might have a library or marketplace worth a point. Lars is especially fond of the game. As soon as he gets over his love of the longest road (he builds ALL his roads before anything else), he will win the game. Until then, I win all the time. I can trail the entire game - by enough points to get depressed about - and then, suddenly grab four points at once and surpass everyone at the end. I like to think it's due to my superior intelligence and ironclad strategy but a lot of it is luck. Either way, it DRIVES CHRIS NUTS. He doesn't mind losing sometimes but losing ALL the time, especially when he's feeling confident of a win right up until the moment of the loss, really gets to him. I'm coaching Lars in head-to-head games a couple of times per week with the hope that he'll be able to share the winning sometime soon!
A month ago, I was lounging (as much as one can lounge while on vacation with kids) in Germany, surrounded by family, friends, amazing sites and great food. Thanks to the digital age, processing our copious pictures did not break our budget - instead, they just take time to sort and process into sizes I can share. I'm about half done, so here's the first batch of highlights from our trip.
We visited Ronneburg as our first outing - a fabulous castle that has been carefully kept. Other castles I've been to can be described as picturesque ruins, this one seems as if it's just waiting for you to pull up with a moving truck. Unlike historical sites in the States, Ronneburg is a self-guided tour, with very few places cordoned off so you can take your time and let your imagination run as you wander freely. Don't miss the "Guide Peacock" (he's inside) in the pictures, he was Lars' favorite part. A bucket is provided at the castle well, so you can drop a little water down to hear how deep the well is. Ross took a video; so did I.
Büdingen is the town at the foot of the castle. We enjoyed wandering around a bit, had some ice cream and played on a Spielplatz (playground) - the first of MANY we visited along the trip. Pictures here...
Near Katja & Tommy's home is Edelbrennerei Dirker, maker of fine schnaps in every flavor (except maple, which we've decided might be a good idea). Their Apfel Strudel schnaps is just heavenly - I'm content to just sniff it but it tastes good, too.
Wuppertal has a hanging train! We stopped for an amazing ride on our way from Frankfurt to Dortmund. We also had lunch and a stop in Starbucks (our only for the trip) for a blast of caffeine and warmth. Picures here; video here.
Seligenstadt featured my favorite sign of the trip, at the road to the ferry across the Main. There's also a beautiful Benedictine Abbey, which was founded in 830. More pictures here. We had ice cream while waiting for the return ferry - another theme of the trip.
Bethany sent some lovely compliments about my blog recently, mentioning that one of the things she likes is the occasional cute kitten picture. Since I'm still working on the Germany pictures, here are a couple of cute kitten shot to tide you over - Kippah folds herself vertically to nap:
I am working as fast as I can on the Germany pictures both because I want to share them AND because I will be able to blog about our kitchen renovation very soon...we go to contract tomorrow!
Finally, today is the one-year anniversary of breaking my leg. I'm happy to report all my bones are back together and no, I'm not planning to break anything in memory of last year's experience.
It's the part of summer when Bibliofilly's niece is here to visit, which means many things to the three kids between us...namely mini-golf, ice cream, and the beach. This year, we all did mini-golf and ice cream but since we just got back from Germany, we weren't going to make the beach. Never one to shrink from challenge, Bibliofilly offered to take the kids - Robert's car would fit everyone and then her niece would have someone to play with. We compromised on sending Ross with them for the day. Lars spent the day with his friends at Summer Playgrounds and then played World of Warcraft as a treat when he got home. The beachgoers arrived back at our place in time for dinner, full of sun, sand, and stories shared over the meal (grilled pork with apricots & red onion - yum).
In other news, Chris solved my photo problem by setting up a 500GB RAID array. Now that my computer isn't choking on 40GB of picture data (not all from Germany), I can run my photo editor again, which means Germany pictures will come soon!
Two summers ago, Monkey Rescue was born. In the years since, Monkey Base Camp has been revisited often. Adventures are had, jubilant reports are brought back to the house to share over snacks. Less often, the monkeys are all on vacation so important repairs can be made to Monkey Base.
When maintenance had been completed today, I asked if Ross knew where the monkeys had gone. "Not really, but I'm sure they couldn't go anywhere exciting because they don't know the rules about your shoes and your belt at the airport."
"Monkey's don't generally wear shoes or belts," I pointed out.
Ross gave me an exasperated look. "The monkeys live on a jobsite, Mama, they have to have work boots and tool belts."
In addition to approximately 20kg dirty underwear, we smuggled brought back:
After...ta-da! They'll put cedar shakes on the framing once the caulk is dry:
That chimney that went right through the master bathroom?
Gone! The master bath is now enormous, making me think probable thoughts about a larger closet someday...
In other news, the kitchen/dining room door is moved! See the progress in Week 3 photos at Flickr.
On Thursday, I talked Chris through answering the EC's questions at the start of rough-in. I was not in a position to spend a lot of time on the phone, so Chris translated as best he could and gave the EC a bunch of .pdf cut sheets so he could see the expected equipment and get started. I cleared up the EC's remaining questions when I got home Friday and he was able to finish rough-in.
In other news, we've determined the floor (for sure) and counter color (we think; final decision will be made once floor and cupboards are in), light fixtures and cabinet hardware are on order, and appliances will be delivered on Friday. First permit inspections are scheduled for this Thursday - once inspections are passed, they'll close the walls and the real fun will begin. Chris and I still need to determine paint color, pick a faucet, and figure out what we'll sort of fireproof treatment we'll have behind the stove. We're on a mission to figure these last details out and hire a painter (the one thing our GC doesn't do) this week.
...My true love cleaned the refrigerator. We had to take everything out of it to move it anyway, so he figured why not? That was at the start of the day. To fit the fridge parts into the basement scrub sink, Chris took the washer drain hose out during the chore. At the end of the day, he ran a load of wash which (hose is out, remember?) flooded the basement. So, we got in a little wee-hours wet-vaccing. At least we figured out the problem before calling the contractor in a panic. (Water! Everywhere! Help!) The thing is? Our GC rocks - he totally would have come over - so I'm glad we figured out we were dopes on our own. The clean fridge is now installed (loose interpretation of installed, here) in the dining room, completing our temporary kitchen setup. The enormous table I bought last year is really handy for storage underneath and lots of temporary counter space.
In an hour and forty-five minutes, the guys had deconstructed everything but the floor. Getting the floor up took most of the afternoon but the guys left the site at the end of the day with demolition complete. After they'd gone, I went down to the basement and took pictures looking up through the kitchen. Hi, Second Floor! They got the subfloor laid - LEVEL! - today. We tossed marbles on it and watched with glee as they stopped in the middle of the room, short distances from where they'd initially landed.
Say what you like, MY WAIT IS OVER. My time to break down is here! My time to build up is on the way, and there is MUCH rejoicing! Before pictures with descriptions are up at Flickr.
Last week, I pulled a sirloin roast out of the freezer. It was too big to make just for us, so we called in Bibliofilly & Robert for help. They gamely arrived on Friday in time to help us finish off a couple of cheeses before the meal. In a gracious gesture, the meat thermometer volunteered not to be moved. The roast was still delicious.
We visited Ronneburg as our first outing - a fabulous castle that has been carefully kept. Other castles I've been to can be described as picturesque ruins, this one seems as if it's just waiting for you to pull up with a moving truck. Unlike historical sites in the States, Ronneburg is a self-guided tour, with very few places cordoned off so you can take your time and let your imagination run as you wander freely. Don't miss the "Guide Peacock" (he's inside) in the pictures, he was Lars' favorite part. A bucket is provided at the castle well, so you can drop a little water down to hear how deep the well is. Ross took a video; so did I.
Büdingen is the town at the foot of the castle. We enjoyed wandering around a bit, had some ice cream and played on a Spielplatz (playground) - the first of MANY we visited along the trip. Pictures here...
Near Katja & Tommy's home is Edelbrennerei Dirker, maker of fine schnaps in every flavor (except maple, which we've decided might be a good idea). Their Apfel Strudel schnaps is just heavenly - I'm content to just sniff it but it tastes good, too.
Wuppertal has a hanging train! We stopped for an amazing ride on our way from Frankfurt to Dortmund. We also had lunch and a stop in Starbucks (our only for the trip) for a blast of caffeine and warmth. Picures here; video here.
Seligenstadt featured my favorite sign of the trip, at the road to the ferry across the Main. There's also a beautiful Benedictine Abbey, which was founded in 830. More pictures here. We had ice cream while waiting for the return ferry - another theme of the trip.
Bethany sent some lovely compliments about my blog recently, mentioning that one of the things she likes is the occasional cute kitten picture. Since I'm still working on the Germany pictures, here are a couple of cute kitten shot to tide you over - Kippah folds herself vertically to nap:
It's the part of summer when Bibliofilly's niece is here to visit, which means many things to the three kids between us...namely mini-golf, ice cream, and the beach. This year, we all did mini-golf and ice cream but since we just got back from Germany, we weren't going to make the beach. Never one to shrink from challenge, Bibliofilly offered to take the kids - Robert's car would fit everyone and then her niece would have someone to play with. We compromised on sending Ross with them for the day. Lars spent the day with his friends at Summer Playgrounds and then played World of Warcraft as a treat when he got home. The beachgoers arrived back at our place in time for dinner, full of sun, sand, and stories shared over the meal (grilled pork with apricots & red onion - yum). 
