So we are moved in! And slowly unboxing things. I have a working kitchen. The beds are all set up, even if they and the bureaus are probably not in final position. The rest is dross. And the to-do list stretches endlessly before us.
The sofa from the auction, I'm pleased to say, cleaned up nicely... washing the back cushions and the seat covers, and vacuuming the rest of it within an inch of its life, did the poor thing good. I found eight cat toys jammed down into the back! There's a hole in the back that I'm contemplating just tacking some mostly-matching quilting fabric over until I'm at a point where I can address reupholstering the sofa.
Slightly hindering the unpacking process in Boxville is my providing child care for Niecelet. Her usual care provider had emergency surgery and will be unable to care for her for the next six weeks. Friday, when I wasn't caring for her, I was able to hit up a couple thrift stores in Port Orchard along with other errands. About $4 got me eight quilting magazines, two fat quarters of fabric, and five canning jars. I also spotted two solid-wood frame sofas from the 1970s that I'm considering. They, too, would need reupholstering. But furniture that is nigh-indestructible by small children appeals....
I think I'm glad that we moved in during the latter half of summer. It means that getting a vegetable garden in is not even a consideration for this year.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Busy Week
As you may imagine, after having bought a house on Monday, we've been busy moving into it!
For a certain value of "into."
We're still living at the apartment, mostly. But our possessions have been getting boxed up and carted over. My car (a Honda Fit) doesn't hold much - six to nine boxes - on account of having two car seats in it. Wonderful Husband's vehicle, the same model as mine only a few years newer, can hold a lot more because he can put the back seats down. And my sister's car (a Honda Pilot) is positively cavernous! So between us three we completely emptied the storage unit (oh god, so many boxes marked "books"... and so, so many marked some variation of "fabric" and/or "quilting supplies"... if we ever move again, I swear I am donating my entire fabric stash first) save for the potting bench my dad made me a couple years ago. For that, we had to rent a truck.
Which actually neatly dovetailed with my attending the Stokes Auction for the first time this month! I had spied two pieces I particularly wanted. This sofa and this table. And I got them both, the sofa for a LOT less than I think it's worth. But there was no way the sofa would fit into a Fit, so the truck rental did double pickup duty.
The sofa needs recovering and a touch of cleanup work on the wood. But it's comfy, solid like you wouldn't believe (weighs a ton; solid wood), and fits all four of us. Yay! Something to sit on that's not office or dining chairs!
At this point, tomorrow is ferrying as much of what remains in the apartment over, and then sometime on Tuesday the moving company will show up and handle the big pieces. Which maybe we could have done ourselves with a rented truck, but when you factor in the dubious help of two small children and us really not looking forward to hauling mattresses and dressers upstairs at the house, is probably worth it.
So come Tuesday night we will finally be sleeping at the new house... touch wood.
For a certain value of "into."
We're still living at the apartment, mostly. But our possessions have been getting boxed up and carted over. My car (a Honda Fit) doesn't hold much - six to nine boxes - on account of having two car seats in it. Wonderful Husband's vehicle, the same model as mine only a few years newer, can hold a lot more because he can put the back seats down. And my sister's car (a Honda Pilot) is positively cavernous! So between us three we completely emptied the storage unit (oh god, so many boxes marked "books"... and so, so many marked some variation of "fabric" and/or "quilting supplies"... if we ever move again, I swear I am donating my entire fabric stash first) save for the potting bench my dad made me a couple years ago. For that, we had to rent a truck.
Which actually neatly dovetailed with my attending the Stokes Auction for the first time this month! I had spied two pieces I particularly wanted. This sofa and this table. And I got them both, the sofa for a LOT less than I think it's worth. But there was no way the sofa would fit into a Fit, so the truck rental did double pickup duty.
The sofa needs recovering and a touch of cleanup work on the wood. But it's comfy, solid like you wouldn't believe (weighs a ton; solid wood), and fits all four of us. Yay! Something to sit on that's not office or dining chairs!
At this point, tomorrow is ferrying as much of what remains in the apartment over, and then sometime on Tuesday the moving company will show up and handle the big pieces. Which maybe we could have done ourselves with a rented truck, but when you factor in the dubious help of two small children and us really not looking forward to hauling mattresses and dressers upstairs at the house, is probably worth it.
So come Tuesday night we will finally be sleeping at the new house... touch wood.
Monday, August 12, 2019
House!
We have a house again!
After dropping Squiddle off for Jumpstart (where he had a good time), we went to the title office, where Wonderful Husband and I signed about fifty autographs, then we picked Squiddle up, went for lunch, picked up the keys, loaded up both our cars for a first run, and went to drop stuff off at the house.
We still need something to call it. Our house in Anaheim was "Greenwood." Beyond Squiddle's suggestion of "Stonham Village," though, we haven't really got a name for this house yet. I'm sure it will come eventually....
Meantime, book report! Over the last few weeks I've worked my way through Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald (The Egg And I was better), The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick (ugh, if it hasn't been adapted into a Hallmark movie, I don't know why), and The Martian by Andy Weir, which I loved. As in, considering adding it to our library and watching the movie liked it. Current book is Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth, which I like so far.
After dropping Squiddle off for Jumpstart (where he had a good time), we went to the title office, where Wonderful Husband and I signed about fifty autographs, then we picked Squiddle up, went for lunch, picked up the keys, loaded up both our cars for a first run, and went to drop stuff off at the house.
We still need something to call it. Our house in Anaheim was "Greenwood." Beyond Squiddle's suggestion of "Stonham Village," though, we haven't really got a name for this house yet. I'm sure it will come eventually....
Meantime, book report! Over the last few weeks I've worked my way through Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald (The Egg And I was better), The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick (ugh, if it hasn't been adapted into a Hallmark movie, I don't know why), and The Martian by Andy Weir, which I loved. As in, considering adding it to our library and watching the movie liked it. Current book is Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth, which I like so far.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Catching Up
Gah!
So tomorrow we go sign papers and give away a rather large chunk of money and become homeowners again. Stressful~! Then we need to deal with moving again.
On top of which, tomorrow morning is Squiddle's first day of "Jumpstart," which is basically a few weeks of practice kindergarten, from nine to noon. Which he is doing at the school for where we currently live, but then we need to get him transferred over to the school where we will be living.
Aside from that, I've been making some blackberry and some blueberry jams from what I've picked, and been washing, drying, and freezing blackberries then transferring them into quart bags for the freezer. Did I mention the house's owner is leaving the deep-freeze for us? ^_^ I've also actually been sewing a little - Niecelet's Christmas quilt is half done, and I started working more on the Double Irish Chain quilt that I've decided is probably for my own bed.
And a couple weeks ago there was Costume College, which I still haven't blogged about. The boys and I flew down on the Wednesday before it so we could spend some time with my parents, and on the Thursday I took the boys for dental appointments (no cavities!) and haircuts and we went to downtown Disney for lunch. So hot~! I also did a drive-by on our old house in Anaheim and was surprised to see the new owners hadn't changed anything yet except for a new front door. Which had long been on our to-do list anyway.
Friday I borrowed my mother's CRV and drove up to Woodland Hills for Costume College. Not knowing if I was staying there or not, since my theoretical roommate never answered her phone or responded to my voicemails or texts, I took my stuff with me and told my mother I'd let her know. Long story short, I ran into said theoretical roomie and she was rooming with someone else. Whatever; she added about six hours of commuting to my weekend but I'm over it now. (I wasn't then, but I was polite.)
The classes I took were interesting: Making a Miniature Top Hat, Elytra Beetle Wing Embroidery, Gold Bullion Embroidery, and Italian Hem-Stitching. I've only got my sample for that last one complete yet. And the class I taught, Beginning Blackwork, went extremely well. I feel that all fourteen of my students left feeling confident in their newly-acquired skills.
I kind of want to go to Costume College again, but... it's no longer geographically convenient. In addition to registration, there will henceforth be plane flights, shuttling to and from the hotel, room costs, and meal costs. And I'm a SAHM. So I need to think on it.
I did manage to scavenge the Bargain Basement when it hit the point of "free, please haul it away" and got mostly quilting fabric, about half of which I donated to one of my quilt guilds down in Orange County.
Because while I was down there, I managed to meet up with my quilt guild friends, and also with my writing class friends! Though that latter actually ended badly, when I got a call from my mother that Jazzy had gotten into her pill sorter and taken some of her meds. Most of which were benign, but we took him to the ER about her diabetes medication. In the end, he didn't need to be admitted, but it was quite a scare. And quite reminiscent of the time Squiddle did the same thing with Wonderful Husband's meds almost three years ago. (Although he was admitted, and six months we later found the pills under the fridge, so he didn't actually take them, whereas Jazzy definitely did.)
Still, overall it was a good trip...
So tomorrow we go sign papers and give away a rather large chunk of money and become homeowners again. Stressful~! Then we need to deal with moving again.
On top of which, tomorrow morning is Squiddle's first day of "Jumpstart," which is basically a few weeks of practice kindergarten, from nine to noon. Which he is doing at the school for where we currently live, but then we need to get him transferred over to the school where we will be living.
Aside from that, I've been making some blackberry and some blueberry jams from what I've picked, and been washing, drying, and freezing blackberries then transferring them into quart bags for the freezer. Did I mention the house's owner is leaving the deep-freeze for us? ^_^ I've also actually been sewing a little - Niecelet's Christmas quilt is half done, and I started working more on the Double Irish Chain quilt that I've decided is probably for my own bed.
And a couple weeks ago there was Costume College, which I still haven't blogged about. The boys and I flew down on the Wednesday before it so we could spend some time with my parents, and on the Thursday I took the boys for dental appointments (no cavities!) and haircuts and we went to downtown Disney for lunch. So hot~! I also did a drive-by on our old house in Anaheim and was surprised to see the new owners hadn't changed anything yet except for a new front door. Which had long been on our to-do list anyway.
Friday I borrowed my mother's CRV and drove up to Woodland Hills for Costume College. Not knowing if I was staying there or not, since my theoretical roommate never answered her phone or responded to my voicemails or texts, I took my stuff with me and told my mother I'd let her know. Long story short, I ran into said theoretical roomie and she was rooming with someone else. Whatever; she added about six hours of commuting to my weekend but I'm over it now. (I wasn't then, but I was polite.)
The classes I took were interesting: Making a Miniature Top Hat, Elytra Beetle Wing Embroidery, Gold Bullion Embroidery, and Italian Hem-Stitching. I've only got my sample for that last one complete yet. And the class I taught, Beginning Blackwork, went extremely well. I feel that all fourteen of my students left feeling confident in their newly-acquired skills.
I kind of want to go to Costume College again, but... it's no longer geographically convenient. In addition to registration, there will henceforth be plane flights, shuttling to and from the hotel, room costs, and meal costs. And I'm a SAHM. So I need to think on it.
I did manage to scavenge the Bargain Basement when it hit the point of "free, please haul it away" and got mostly quilting fabric, about half of which I donated to one of my quilt guilds down in Orange County.
Because while I was down there, I managed to meet up with my quilt guild friends, and also with my writing class friends! Though that latter actually ended badly, when I got a call from my mother that Jazzy had gotten into her pill sorter and taken some of her meds. Most of which were benign, but we took him to the ER about her diabetes medication. In the end, he didn't need to be admitted, but it was quite a scare. And quite reminiscent of the time Squiddle did the same thing with Wonderful Husband's meds almost three years ago. (Although he was admitted, and six months we later found the pills under the fridge, so he didn't actually take them, whereas Jazzy definitely did.)
Still, overall it was a good trip...
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