Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Long Weekend... back to work

Why is it so hard to come back to work after a Holiday weekend? You'd think that if I loved my job, I'd want to come back! Let's assume I DO love my job... I just wanted another day off.

We made our maiden voyage to Frisco's Ikea this weekend, which is a city all unto itself. It was amazingly similar to the one in Germany, where my folks lived. But bigger. Like refrigerators, I suppose American Ikea's are larger than their European counterparts. After weaving through the miles and miles of pathways, we emerged at the end to a 30 minute checkout line! Crazy! There were tons of people there.

Hit feature for me was the 4x4 shopping carts. I actually googled "ikea shopping cart" and found that people either love or hate their carts. They are harder to get used to pushing, due to casters on all four wheels, and you can't do it with one hand... but they turn on a dime! And go sideways! That was my favorite part. I guess I'm easily entertained.

Collin scored his long ago promised new bedroom suit. In an effort to jazz him about the move to Athens, our cost was a modern looking bed and nightstand, shelves and a few knick-knacks for the wall. Fortunately, Ikea is pretty affordably priced.

Wouldn't you know that TODAY in the mail I received a $25 coupon for Ikea??? Arg, just a day too late!

Here is a picture of the Collin and his dad working on the frame.

And... then the gaggle of teenage arms and legs are those of Collin and his brother Taylor wrestling on the newly made up bed.

Tim and Tiffany, and Cade, came to visit us Monday evening. We grilled burgers at the cabin and the guys all went fishing. Except Cade, and he got to stay behind and chug a bottle. Boy, that little guy can down a bottle faster than I've ever seen!

I'm not sure what Cade is thinking in the picture below, because he kind of has that "deer in the headlights" look!

We enjoyed the company of our friends, and it was the perfect ending to a busy weekend.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Construction

Our fridge wouldn't fit in the slot designed for a fridge! It appears that fridges from our current decade are slightly larger than those from Leave It To Beaver days. After some hem-hawing back and forth, we decided to keep the fridge and modify the cabinets. Last night, Rick tackled the project.

And if you want to see Rick in action, click play on the video below.

I've had some friends ask for pictures of the house... As you can see, we're not anywhere near unpacked. Below is a picture of the backdoor entry. It's also our frontdoor entry, and the only door we'll use. There is an official front door, but you can't use it.

Note: When you come to see us, just park in the back and come through the fence. Below is the the formal dining. We plan to use it as Rick's home office...even though his real office is about a 30 second walk out the door! The one room where you can walk and not trip over boxes is our bedroom. I have not hung any pictures, but the furniture is in place. Most of the boxes are still stuffed in my closet. You don't get to see a picture of that!

So that's it for now. Slowly, we're nesting in. I'm looking forward to a long weekend to get things more settled.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

We're in!

I can't post a picture of the new place right now, but will later. Here is the moving truck (one of them) before pulling the door down on it and driving away. We are in, after the marathon move on Friday. Every day something else finds its rightful place in our new home, but there are still mounds of boxes to unpack. I'm exhausted, in a good way. That seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it? How can being exhausted be good? Yet I feel peaceful. Waking up in this old homestead somehow seems right. Happy and sad times played out over the last 50 years in this house, and 50 years before that as well! If these walls could speak... I wonder what I'd hear? Maybe my mom as a teenager, probably bickering with her brothers over something. I might hear Granny mediating the fight while whipping up something in the kitchen - the very kitchen that I ate a bowl of cereal in this morning! I wonder if she liked the way that corner cabinet door is connected to the other cabinet (because I'm not sure I like it!) I might even hear Granddad sending the kids out to dig up bull-nettles in the pasture, or to feed the cows, or to run something over to Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house next door. I guess what I like about this house is that it makes me feel more connected to my heritage. And that's a good feeling.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Cruising the water

We are taking a break from unpacking to cruise the friendly waters in
Rick's new baby.

Yes, we have moved (marathon move on Friday.) The house is a complete
and utter hazmat disaster zone... Hence we are getting some R&R from
the mess.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Middle of the Week Update

We returned from Napa Valley late, late Sunday night. Our flight was delayed in San Francisco... which did allow us to watch the Mavs lose to Denver in Game 1. :(
The trip was fantastic - we met the other top 10 agents in the Nation, along with their wives (or husbands.) The fun part was getting to know the people behind the names that we've gotten to know over the last few years.
Here is a picture of my attempt at photography. It kinda turned out cool, don't you think? The name of the winery (Erna Schein) is on the glasses.
Below are a few pictures of the Harvest Inn, where we stayed. The landscaping was very lush and beautiful. We even had a fireplace in our room, which was nice since the evenings were pretty cool.
Below is a picture of a wine called "Cemetery." The label has a picture of a wood carving that shows a man being reunited with his best friend in the afterlife. What was unique about this wine, is that the grapes are grown on land leased from a church. The church cemetery is adjacent to the vineyard. When the lease is up, the grounds will be reclaimed by the church and the cemetery will be expanded.
We also toured the underground caves of a vineyard called Chateau Boswell. It was really unique, as the caves were blasted out underneath the vineyards. Barrels and barrels were stored in the caves.
Our favorite part of the trip was a Culinary School that we participated in at a vineyard called Clos Pegase. We were coached by professional chefs in preparing appetizers and dinner for the group.
The chef actually instructed Rick to massage my shoulders because he said I was tense. Imagine that! Me, tense?
And a unique (almost creepy) sculpture outside in the vineyard. Thumbs up for the culinary experience!
Below, we dined by candlelight in the caves. With a little help from the chefs, our dinner turned out excellent!
We returned from the trip late Sunday night and hit the floor running with a crisis at the water company. The week has been really crazy with the installation of the new pump and motor at one of the plants. That was an expense we weren't really planning on!
For those keeping up, it seems the house contract is still ticking along. We hope to close by the 15th. I'm not moving anything beforehand, so if we do close... we'll try and vacate pretty quickly. I might be calling on my friends to help!