Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Can't wait to drink a toast to you in person in DC!
I hope that your day is wonderful!

One Year Old

Hard to imagine that Will and I are one year old this weekend. I can still think of all the stuff that needed to be done, the partying the occurred, the lights that went out, the Pimms cup passed around, the music that played on, and the love that shared that day.

Happy Anniversary to us!
and Thank you to all for making it such a fantastic year, especially my lovely husband!

Prep Mode

"Oh, hai," says Stirling. "We are in full prep mode for the impeding descendance of guests. For the 4th, I will be meeting my human-cousins for the first time. Miriam and Will are in full cleaning the house/weeding the garden mode."

"As you can see, the upper garden is all-a-flourish with rhubarb, dill, FIGS, lettuces, chard-- you name it, it's in there! Hopefully when the Hauss-Taylors get here, I can show them fresh, ripe tomatoes."

"In the Victory Garden, we have more veggies that provide excellent mounds in which I can bury my bones. We also have several gladiolas springing into bloom, just in time to awestrike our guests."
"And me? Well, I've been working really, really hard.... I'm making sure that the pool will be safe and cool for Chloe and Brando. It's a hard job, so I volunteered to do it."

Carpet Laid! Bed Unfurled!

FINALLY, the silver dollar plush carpet arrived and was installed today. Third time is the charm. And what a charm it is:
It completely makes the bedroom and closet. Stirling instantly laid down and rolled all over it! I think she approves. The small punch list and the window replacements are the only thing left and then the room is 100% complete and 1000% better than we ever imagined.

It is so soft under your toes and makes that room quite snug and quiet. In short, it is a perfect master bedroom.

And every bedroom needs a bed. Recall the heavy box:

Will and I moved it up in preparation of today. The mattress needs a few days to 'grow' to its king size after being shrunk into the box. I pulled out the mattress, hardly bigger than Stirling:
And as soon I cut the plastic, it started sucking in air. I laid it where it will eventually go-- we still need to construct the bedframe--to give you and me an idea of the size.

Stirling has already staked out her place on the bed.


We have linens, the bedframe, and dresser. You will have to wait for the final reveal!

New Roses' Blooms

Hey, Utah--

Lookie lookie lookie what is blooming for us!! The newest roses you sent as a wedding present, or a birthday present, or a just-because present (frankly, I can't remember why you sent them), are blooming!

The first photo is the Graham Thomas rose, which opened up yesterday, late. Soon we will have to train it up around the newly painted column on the front porch. Exciting!

This is the first bud of the Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden. Fitting, since Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden just wed over the weekend. (dude--check out her tiara! gorgeous!)


The third rose, Shropshire Lad, isn't even budding yet. It is too busy growing! It is about a 3 feet tall now. No photos of that one, just thought I would report.

Thanks for making our garden beautious!

No P in Our Ool

With the third day reaching into the high 90s (and today hitting 100º at one point) and knowing that the weather isn't going to break anytime soon, we resorted to distract measures to stay cool. We invested in a kiddie pool. It is, so far, the best $18.01 I have spent all summer. Yeah, all two days of it.

We have established ground rules: no running, jumping, or diving into the pool. It is, after all, only a foot deep. No glassware or horse play in the pool. And adult swim every 45 minutes. Course, the dog is free to ignore these rules.

And speaking of the dog, Stirling loves the pool. She was instantly in it, sitting down, and smiling at me. "Aahhhhh!", she seemed to say:

At one point, she even laid her head down along the side:
Plus, it was great to have a seat, dip my feet in, and have a nice glass of wine poolside. Whoops, no glassware near the pool--I'm already breaking one of the rules! ;)

94% Finished

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are almost done with the attic. All of the big stuff has been done, we have a small punch list (which includes new windows, which will be in shortly, and the two lights above the sinks in the bathroom), and we just waiting on the carpet. Yes, it was supposed to be installed today. They brought the wrong color: sand dollar beige is not the same as silver dollar gray. They are coming back on Wednesday.

In the meantime, you will to enjoy these photos of the master suite at 94% completion.

looking towards the walk-in closet:

looking towards the sitting area & bathroom:

looking towards the back of the house, standing in front of the closet:

access panel on the stairwell (still needs some finishing work):

looking in the closet, to the front of the house:

the back corner of the closet:

the bathroom:

the shower, still not tested as we need a drain cover:

the throne:

My "New" Office

My office has been relocated to the second floor, front room. Previously having been in the attic, I don't consider this a downgrade as it is on lower level. In many instances, it is an upgrade: better temperature control, closer to a loo, better internet connection. Plus, having the attic converted into a master suite, sooooo worth having to move the office.

I Got a New Toy!

A Wide Angle Lens! for only $7.50. Wait, that is wrong-- let me be completely honest. It was $7.39 but $4.99 for shipping. Yes, I realize that the shipping cost is more than half the lens... still, I HAVE A NEW TOY! And how awesome is my wide angle lens? Well, let's explore a favorite subject of mine: the attic!



Minus the peep-hole effect, it is very cool. I think I get an extra 3 cm on either side of the frame. And that = awesome. ;)

Detail on the Trim Work

The Mikes have done it again: they have managed to make a really funky wall with unsightly seams look really slick with the way that they have configured the bits of trim work. Tomorrow it will be painted but this gives you an idea of how many pieces of trim it took to cover up this ledge in the middle of the wall: 4 pieces on the wall and two on the stairs.

And where the angles meet, the join is really, well, professional!

This is also in the stairwell. It makes a huge difference having baseboards! The carpet comes on Monday, so that nasty burgundy stuff will soon disappear.
Bathroom update: the deflector glass is in the shower! No water for 72 hours, therefore no showering in there ...yet. The sealant on the wall is drying, but the glass is really awesome.

The edges are really nicely done and the glass is about quarter-inch thick. I can't wait for 72 hours-- I want to test the shower head!

Another Sleepover

Stirling has another friend staying with her, Dali, a lovely little grey & white poodle, this week.

Dali has been much easier to take care than the last over night guest. Dali is, in fact, more cat like. She likes to sleep most of the day, and at night, she curls up on the pillows in the bed.

Stirling, for the most part, is enjoying her little playmate--especially her food. I think that by the time Dali's owner returns tomorrow, Dali will be about 3 lbs lighter. We have been walking and playing a lot, but Dali hasn't been eating. Stirling is doing that for her...

Legos and the World Cup

This is rather awesome and totally needs no introduction... other than to say Pbbbtt! to Will (and Andrew), who said that the USA soccer team can't beat the English.



I love how everything can be expressed with Legos.

Gardy Loo!

The toilet is in place and almost functioning-- still no water in the bowl, but those are minor details.


And speaking of details: the shower head, shower handle, and light cover are in place:
The window seat now is a proper seat:
Here's a better view:

The trim is up in the stairwell:


More and more it is looking like a finished room! By the end of the month, we will be on the third level.

Face Lift

Will and I can FINALLY mark something off of our "to do" that has been on there for about 4 years:

PAINTING THE PORTICO!

It was look really shabby. And I do mean shabby: the paint was chipped off in most places, the column bases were totally exposed, the sidelights were all cracked paint. Now, it is gleaming white! A house face lift, if you will!

I wish I could take credit, but the Two Mikes scrapped, primed, and painted it for us either on their lunch breaks or after Big B told them to knock off for the day (usually a day is 7:30 am - 5:00 pm-- that is one reason these guys are making so much progress on the attic).


Stirling might have been supervising their work. How do I know? It is all in the evidence:

Stirling's tail

Relocation

The vanity has been properly relocated to the appropriate height and it looks great-- wait, what is wrong with the sink on the right? BAH! It won't fit into the pre-cut hole once the faucet is in place! There is some notch on the bottom of the sink that won't sit flush with the counter top, though it looks identical to the one on the left. *Sigh* So, no plumbing yet. The company, Sinks Faucets and More, has been a real pleasure to work with and they are having the manufacturer ships us the correct sink today. It should be here no later than Wednesday.

So, since the Two Mikes couldn't do plumbing, they grouted the shower!
The grout is a tobacco brown and will dry much darker than what you see here. The second photo is the shower ceiling. Once the grout is done, on goes the shower head, the shower handle, the light cap, and the shower drain. Still waiting on that deflector glass though.

And they put up more trimming, along the stairwell and in the closet. The stairwell is proving to a be a challenge as the top half of the wall is wall board and the bottom is plaster and in the middle (where the bottom of the trim is now) a really bad seam where the two meet. In fact, you can see how the two types of wall meet if you look at what looks like a black dividing line going across the wall, just a bit underneath the light in the ceiling. The best option is to trim it, and I think that actually makes the space look rather interesting.