The Spice Kid

If you grew up in a large family, one thing is certain - it doesn't feel like a large family. I have four siblings and you have to have six or more for me to think WOW, what a large family. While I'm not sure of all those birth order theories, there are definitely roles my siblings and I play.

Oldest brother - Thanks a bunch to you and C for not only having a son and then a daughter, but your son then having a son and a daughter. That gives Mom a grandson, a granddaughter, a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. Not exactly a village of offspring, but enough that she is not too embarrassed around her friends with more prolific children. So thanks for having kids, because you're the only one that did.

Oldest sister - Thanks a billion for being the financially savvy one of the family. You are the go-to sibling when Mom has a decision involving money. I barely know the difference between a Roth IRA and a frothy IPA, so I'm happy to let you take on the money matters and make sure all the $$ stuff is locked down and solid.

Middle child sister - Much thanks for being the one who gives Mom all the spontaneity. We get postcards and emails from you two all over the East Coast - Nantucket, Cape Cod, South Hampton, South Carolina and all the Vanderbilt mansions and places on the Hudson. Since I'm not very spontaneous, I appreciate that one of us kids makes Mom's life so fun.

Youngest brother - You are half of the This Old House team who helped Mom sell her too big Carmichael home, move back to New England, and purchase and renovate the cutest little house ever. I love visiting her cozy home, cooking in the adorable kitchen and sleeping in the pretty guest room. I personally run from house renovation, so I'm glad we have a Mr. and Mrs. Fix-it in the family.

Youngest kid - That would be me. No kids, not financially savvy, not super spontaneous, and definitely not a home re-modeler. So where does that leave me? Well, someone has to be the organizing one, right? And that is what I'm up to this week. I flew out to New England to organize a fridge! My Mom had the exciting day of watching me as I rearranged cupboards and pantry, fridge and freezer. Tomorrow we whisk off to Trader Joe's to fill it up again. Mom, where would you be if you had stopped at four kids? Spice cabinets fear the No. 5 child.

It was a lovely flight, and I even saw our house in Sac from the air. E, the pool looked so clean!

The Whirlpool versus the Whirlwind.

The condiments also fear the baby of the family. 

Pack for the trip you want to have

I read an interesting piece of advice last week. "Dress for the day you want to have." So I tried it. I put on my swimsuit, sandals, big floppy hat and a good layer of sunscreen. It didn't work. I most definitely didn't spend the day on a tropical beach with a fruity drink in hand as the balmy ocean breezes blew gently past. So much for that advice.

Another piece of advice we got once was to dress up nicely while traveling, because airlines like to bump well dressed people up to first class so the lowly economy class will think they all paid for the privilege to not sit like a sardine. It worked once, we got bumped up to first class on a trip to Europe. It was wonderful, and when we arrived I said "Oh, we're here already?" It hasn't worked since, but I still try. I figure if it's between me and someone in sweats and a t-shirt that says I'm with stupid, that I would be the clear and logical choice.

The great thing about traveling to visit family is that when I (ooops!) forget something, I can just raid their closet and borrow it. Ooops, forgot a heavy winter coat! Ooops, forgot to pack a bulky warm robe! Ooops forgot to pack most everything! Hey, we're family, you don't mind if I borrow something, right? And that is why I'm traveling light today and trying to dress up in clothes that will still be comfy while in the sardine can of economy class. I won't wear the swimsuit on the plane though, because even I know a trip to New England in November will not involve beach hats and fruity drinks on the beach. Borrowed coats and robes and spending time with my Mom, that's the trip I want to have. 

Seven steps to a good Quick Build

First, someone has to get there very early to warm the Bunns with strong coffee.

Second, the crew needs to make a nice hot breakfast.

Third, a pretty sunrise is good to shine light on the roofers.

Fourth, this gets back to the warm Bunns.

Fifth, a nice healthy salad goes well with the lasagna lunch.

Sixth, some nutty brownies to follow up the salad and lasagna.

Seventh, you need a nice place to sleep for the early morning coffee duties.
Or not sleep because it was too quiet, take your pick.
I did enjoy the stars, the deer, the ponies and the pond.

Our 15 square feet of fame

The Internet is an amazing thing. On it can be found a cornucopia of information - some of which is useful. Back when we were choosing what to do with our kitchen, I wrote a comment on Retro Renovation about choosing Karndean flooring. I meant to post again after the floor was installed and say if we liked it. The procrastinated reply was Yes!

I got a request from the site's writer if I could take more pictures and give a little more information. And could they do a follow up article? OKaaaay...and that is why I found myself one afternoon last week moving all the junk from one side of the kitchen to the other, merely redistributing the mess rather than dealing with it, trying to make my kitchen look a little more perfect for the pictures. I think Elliot's fridge painting did the trick, it goes so well with the blue floors.

By the way, the article quotes me saying "I like tile, but h*** grout." I really did just say I hate grout, nothing worse!

Did June Cleaver have Tuscan floors? 

Ditchen' the old kitchen 

 

Thanks to The Boy for pulling it all together!

Ten ways to survive the grave shift without keeling over

1. Wear something very comfortable, but please not your pajamas.

2. Bring stuff to eat, because 2 a.m. cravings are pretty much inevitable.

3. Try not to think of all your normal friends who are home in bed asleep.

4. Remember to switch out your contacts so you’re not wearing the same ones for a zillion hours.

5.  Try to find a show to watch that doesn’t involve murder and mayhem.

6.  Look up the meaning of mayhem just to pass the time.

7.  Forget all the statistics you have read about what working nights does to your health. Instead, think about all the cute shoes you can buy. Life is a series of tradeoffs.

8.  Rethink that pajama rule when 3 a.m. rolls around. They’ll go well with your slippers.

9.  Don’t even try to look good. The morning person is from the living, you are from the grave shift.

10. When you finally climb into that lovely thing called BED, warn family and dog to not wake you up. For. Any. Thing. 







photo credit:mynichelife.blogspot.com

On the Twelfth Month of Payments My True Love Gave to Me...

One year ago today escrow closed on the house. 

This little song about sums up the last year.

Twelve hundred boxes,

Eleven feet of tarp,

Ten zillion friends a helping,

Nine buckets painted,

Eight paws a planting,

Seven miles of cardboard,

Six months of swimming,

Fine, golden things!

Four muddy feet,

Three shade trees,

Two dirty gloves,

And a partly dead, ugly bare tree!

When life gives you pomegranates

This was to be a Things to do, People to see sort of day. Until I found this in the door:






My day was done in once again by our sewer-worker-hating-canine. I would have to cancel my plans, and stick around with THE DOG because that is what good citizens do - they stay home so the hardworking men of Sacramento Sewer District can clear out the pipes and make the world safe for flushing.

"I can't resist a man in uniform."

Through Myra, we got a pile of pomegranates from Wendy. I love pomegranates, but they can be a bit of a pain. My secret is to cut them and separate them under water. The good stuff sinks, the yellow stuff comes to the top and I end up with a giant bowl of yummy fall goodness. The pooch being a poop provided a pile of plant-based pucker power.

A pile of pomegranates

Quite messy, but oh so gorgeous!

Some for fruit smoothies, some for salads, some for snacking and the rest for freezing.
I think I got my pomegranate cravings taken care of - this week anyway.

They will soar on wings like eagles

The Big E has a certain smugness, wouldn't you say?
He helped pass them out for the morning session, so he knew.

We matched without even trying.
That made it special right there!

Got it! Just out of the wrapper! Hot off the presses in Japan!
A wonderful surprise this weekend for 1.5 million people in 1830 locations around the world.
More languages to come.

Alex, Ernst, Jessica, Jesse, Anastasia, Nicu, Dennis and Julie say thank you and mulțumim!

Stick a pitchfork in me, I'm done

The front yard is officially finished. No more cardboard, no more mulch, no more plants to plant. We are done and done for. The rest is up to the sunshine, the water and the dirt. Wait, I should use the proper term, the soil.

Tuesday was a big time work day around here. I went to work on a yard-sized surprise for when Ernst got home. In the voice of Tom Hanks in Castaway, I made a walkway! It about killed my back and leg muscles, but I finally got the rocks in place for our little stepping stone path. They were the stones from the Robertson Hall that was remodeled three years ago. Julie B (of Craig and Julie) got the "horse rock," the one with the horse head shape that she said she stared at for years as a kid. I didn't have any one stone in mind, I just wanted enough to do a project with at our other house. After the build, I filled up the back of my Subaru and brought load after load home.

And there they sat in the front yard where I dumped them. And they sat some more. Then the weeds surrounded them so I didn't have to stare at the unfinished project. Last year we moved and so did the rocks. This time they sat in the backyard. And they sat some more. Then the weeds surrounded them so I didn't have to stare at the second unfinished project. Recently we had some friends over for dinner and as we sat out back on a lovely late summer evening, a rat ran in and out of the stone pile. OK, time to do something with the rocks. There is nothing like a rodent crashing our party to motivate me.

It seemed like a ton while I was loading my car,
but now I wish I had a few more.
Julie, I'm coming for the horse head rock!

Some of whom Ernst calls the "tonier" neighbors have stopped by to say they like it.
I'm sure there were times they had their doubts.

The last edition was a camellia bush and some gardenias.
And a new hose - the old kinky one was really annoying me.

There it is, our little yellow house with the yard we'll never have to mow.
Ever.

Rats, I forgot about the back yard.
If I drank whisky I'd say "over the rocks, please."

October is for Organizing

Quick, where's a fork? That's easy - it's in the compartment of the drawer where we keep the forks, in the blue Rubbermaid container made for storing eating utensils in neat little stacks.

Quick, where's some tape? The super glue?? The stapler??? Don't ask me those hard questions, just look all over the house until you find it. In the process, you'll find all those other things you were wondering about, but have no time at the present to put away where they are supposed to be, wherever that is.

O is for Organizing and October 2011

Two years ago I did a drawer by drawer, bit by bit, area by area organizing project that didn't stress me out too much. I picked one thing a day that looked like it needed some help, emptied it out, cleaned it up, threw out the junk, rethought where it should really be and made it nice and neat. One little tiny section of life at a time. Then last October, when we were waiting to see if we got the house, I saved my strength for moving and packing and getting mad at the fact that we have too much junk, organized or not.

Two, count 'em, two staplers!
But where are the staples?

So here I go again, let's try to do this for keeps this time. Lesson learned this morning? I think we're good on tape and we could start donating paper clips to those in need.