Saturday

Justin: So it's Saturday. A nice Saturday as August Saturdays go. Not too hot, slightly cloudy... Of course we're on the outset of a hurricane passing by, but we're not in it, so hey...

Anyway we're still without hot water... Oh we have the new unit (thank you Eemax), we just haven't seen the plumber. Oh well, not that big a deal.
Stacey went into work for a long time today so that gave me time to do a couple things. Empty the fridge, do the laundry, do the dishes after emptying said fridge, painting the hallway... yeah, I painted the hallway. And darn it if it doesn't look really nice. We scored big with that color (Sherwin Williams: koi). I also went with our friend Cabo Steve to check out a tile warehouse that was having a big sale but they were closed. Curses.
So Stacey and Steve will have to go Monday between 9 and 4.

We also wanted to give a very big THANK YOU to our fathers for their generous contributions, as usual. Stacey's father bought her a wonderfully handy step ladder, and mine contributed a box of supplies to the dire cause. Thank you again, gentlemen. We love you.

This is a bit pale - I'll take a better one later - but it gives you pretty good idea.

sneak peak of how the master bedroom turned out... Now we just need a small corner rug there...

Almost finished

A picture is worth...

Irony

Stacey: Irony is finally getting the electrician and the plumber coordinated to install the new water heater only to find a hairline crack in the darn thing once it's hooked up. ARGH! New one should be here soon-in the meantime we're thankful that we both enjoy camping as we're prepared for the cold showers.

How the master bedroom looked this morning...

The initial paint swipe

How it is looking now. And no, we're not finished.

Technically, this is our second bloom from the flowers we planted a few weeks back... Good to see not all of them died.

we were traded our oil tank for three big holes in the back yard.

Super Sushi Six month anniversary

So yesterday was the six month anniversary for anyone who's keeping count. And we celebrated by having a sushi feast at one of our favorite spots, Ru'Sans, and followed that with a book-store trip for Stacey and a Home Depot trip for Justin. More on that in a sec but first let me say that one of my favorite things about Justin is how happy he gets about the smallest gifts. I picked up some glow in the dark sleeping bag tabs for him and he was all excited - it was sweet.
Back to Home Depot....so for months I've been debating paint colors and overthinking it (as I usually do with most things) but yesterday we just bit the bullet and picked out a shade of brown for the bedroom (roasted chestnut I believe). Did I love it? Not really. Was I shopping on a full stomach and knew I had a couch and a new book to read and a nap to take? Absolutely. I think I would have said yes to bubble gum pink at that point.
So we get home and decide to paint on Sunday (today) and then I have this little conversation with myself this morning while I was lying there staring at the walls:

Me: "Brown. Well, I have brown floors, brown furniture and oh yeah..brown floors. I'm going to be living in mud. Brown? That's what I choose after months of thinking and planning...that's the best I can think of is brown??? So when I paint the walls and have brown floors and brown furniture I can have a room about as distinctive as a dirtpatch. So if someone breaks in, I can throw on a pair of khakis and blend into the background??? Okay, I've got to wake Justin up. (Lean over, shake groggy Justin awake) Honey, you know what I was thinking? What about a dark purple in here?"
Justin: "Yeah, I was thinking that last night too."

Gotta love it. After much eye-rolling and laughing at the process, we've decided on purple for the bedroom. The one color I had not even considered is the best choice. Gotta love irony.

So we're outta here - time for a Sherwin Williams trip. If anyone needs roasted walnut or chestnut or whatever it's called, let us know...we've got a couple of spare gallons.

Pictures coming soon....

A good shot of Paul and his wife, Dee, breaking in the new porch swing.

Stacey, being brave for the camera

Mi amigo Paul

trying to wait out the monsoon

A gift of showered crepe myrtle blossoms on the old dryer...

What's new...

Justin: First off: Blogspot.com has added support for a plug-in that adds a blogger tool bar into MS Word so that now you can whip up a new post and publish it to your site even easier! Pretty geeky sweet, actually.

So lets see… what has been going on lately… Well, our friend Cabo Steve has made some progress with his own house – he has knocked down a wall and gotten all of the carpet up. Did I mention that someone put down the carpet in the dining room with tar? WITH TAR. How rude that was to find. But he managed to get most of it up to revel nice hardwoods. I’m pretty sure he is going to do the refinishing himself.

My parents came over the weekend of the 27th. They brought us some things from a storage unit my father has. It was absolutely pouring down rain evidently the whole drive for them. Two of the items they brought were an old washer and dryer set I had way back when. Luckily they survived the deluge and still work. Also they brought us a porch swing that was crowding their back patio – whoo hoo! Now we just need a small table and chair set and the front porch will be officially ready for lounging.

The next weekend my friends Paul and De came over – their second trip to NC since I’ve been here. We broke in the porch swing and they brought a baby gate over so we could have Oscar outside with us. Their visit was very short, but we crammed quite a bit in. Mostly it was late night porch time over wine and citronella candles, but even that was a goodness. They are coming back the 26th and bringing my god-nieces so we can all go to Carowinds! Sweet! That should be pretty groovy… Too bad the kitchen still will not be repaired, but we won’t go into that.

As for the house, it is essentially in a state of dormancy as we wait to hear what kind of costs our current repairs are going to be. I am really wanting to start going room by room and work on replacing/refinishing door hardware, painting, etc., but I am waiting. And waiting. But it will be taken care of and I know I will really like the outcome so I am being patient. Yes, I am being patient, despite what Stacey thinks. ;)

OH! And did I mention the previous owners came and got the oil tank from the back?! WHOO HOO! Did I also mention that the husband showed up in a tow truck without telling us, wrapped some chains around the tank and spilled several gallons of heating oil into our yard when it flipped over? Not so whoo hoo. However after some cattle prodding by a very irate Stacey they promptly came out and dealt with it. Now we just have big bald raw dirt spots . <sigh>

We also discovered the side porch used to be used as a neighborhood hair salon. Which explains the semi “crowded” vibe I get whenever I am in it. Gotta love history.

I’ll post pictures later on tonight or Saturday. There was a good shot of Paul and D and one of even Stacey!