clutter

Thank you all for your wonderful wishes! It is so warming to hear your enthusiasm, and I look forward to sharing the next 6 (and more!) months with you as Smudge and I grow!

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This summer, along with battling eye ailments and morning sickness, we have taken on our apartment. You may remember the leaks in our windows... well, the building took its time fixing the leaks, and repairing the windows. After about 6 weeks of never knowing when a construction worker would knock on our door, the windows were done. The whole thing was a struggle, and involved me spending lots of time on the phone with the building manager, the super and my neighbors while at Haystack.

Since the apartment was already in chaos, we decided to have the floors in two rooms redone while we were in Maine. This involved moving all of our bedroom and office furniture (and art supplies and papers and files and filing cabinets) into the living room before we left. Which was alright.

We returned home to a fabulous new floor, with lots of expert patching that we hadn't expected, even in rooms that weren't supposed to be touched. Our floor guy just couldn't help himself. LOVE HIM.This is a spot where the boards had been patched before, but they all went vertically. Though the floor guy and I looked at this in our walk through, I didn't actually think he'd replace the boards and try to match the walnut border.

In any case, the past two weeks have been all about putting the furniture back.

What was the bedroom will become the baby's room, though for now Christopher will use it as a work space. This is the temporary office. We thought a single bed might be useful in the baby's room, since Christopher is such a light sleeper.

And what was the office will be/is our bedroom.

Sounds simple, except for all of the office and art supplies that we used to have a place for. While we organize our bedroom and the baby's room, the living room holds my filing cabinet (in pieces), drafting table (in pieces) and books.It's overwhelming. It's slow going. I am tempted to throw it all away.

the pre-holiday weekend

I have something to admit: We haven't done any holiday preparation. In fact, we've only really thought about Christmas shopping; very little has been purchased. We have no tree, and only a decoration here or there.

This weekend was going to remedy that. I was going to bake Christmas cookies, and get a tree and put up lights. We were going to take control of our Christmas lists. None of that has happened.

Instead, we worked on our kitchen.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. We started renovating it almost 2 years ago, and though we've come a long way, we still had a lot still to do. Here is what it looked like when we moved in:We replaced the cabinets and tore out the soffit as soon as we could. The rest of the work- tiling, replacing the appliances and painting- has taken longer. You may remember that my father tiled one side of the kitchen a few months back.

Here is what we did this weekend:

Christopher sanded. I primed the area across from the fridge with special magnetic paint. 3 coats.Christopher primed the areas where the soffit had been.I tiled the other side of the kitchen (above the sink) & Christopher painted the kitchen. (there aren't any action shots of me tiling; you'll just have to notice that this is now tile where there was not.)He's actually still painting it, but I'm done with the tiling (for now, it still needs grout). I should move on to writing Christmas cards. Or to reading a play that I've just agreed to work on. But I'm up for a break, and I'd still like to make those cookies...

two steps back

My final show for awhile opened on Wednesday, which means that my schedule has, or is about to, free up considerably. I feel like I should be a little nervous about the lack of work ahead, but to be honest I'm completely thrilled to be able to relax a little. Let's just hope that I don't get bored...

My dad came up yesterday to do some work on our apartment. Really we just needed him to finish patching the wall in our den, so we can paint it and send back all of the construction equipment that's been sitting in there. But the patch job turned into a realization that the molding in the den is warped and probably needs to be replaced, which is bigger project than we wanted to take on.

Outside of the kitchen, I pulled off a few feet of molding that didn't cover the whole wall, with the idea to replace it with something that went all the way around, only to discover that the plaster under the molding is rotten and needs to be redone. Dad put a few pieces of new molding on before he left, but the wall still needs work. I guess this is what happens when you get a place that has "character..."

our floor, our apartment

While we were away we had our living room, den and hallway floors redone. This all meant that before we went away, we had to clear everything from those rooms into our bedroom and office. Sort of like moving.It was really annoying, and it took forever. Though Dinah seemed to enjoy having the whole room to herself.
This is what the living room floor looked like before we had it redone.

Now that we're back (and our floor seems nearly brand new)
and we are faced with unpacking it all again. It's not so much fun, especially when I've got to design my Cape Cod show in the next week or two. There's a lot to do, and sorting through boxes of paper... not so appealing.

packing

We're heading north tomorrow, to Maine. While we're gone, men will come and refinish our floors. Which means that the floors need to be clear when we leave for Maine.

They're not actually going to refinish all of our floors, just the ones in the living room and in the room where my computer and knitting are, our den. It's something we've wanted to do since we moved in, but it's so much of a hassle that we've been dissuaded up till now. This summer we bit the bullet.

So, while we pack for our week up north, we are also packing up these rooms and stowing their contents in the bedroom and office, and any closets that seem to have space. It's slow going. I'm hot. I'm feeling overwhelmed. I get distracted by my yarn, the knitting patterns I want to bring to Maine with me, the piles of receipts and phone numbers sitting next to my computer. It's good to sort through these things and do some purging. And I'm sure it will make our return (and unpacking) much easier. But it's hard to motivate.

It's also hard to pack for our trip. It is muggy and 85 degrees in Brooklyn today. There are thunderstorms and it's close to 60 in Maine. My mother keeps reminding me to bring a wool sweater along. The idea of wearing a wool sweater in the next few days is really inconceivable to me. I haven't worn pants in months. The only sweater I've pulled out recently has been cotton and good for an over-air conditioned theater. I find myself staring at my sweater drawer and thinking, "You're kidding me!" as sweat rolls down my back and I long for a shower.

Anyway, I'm really excited about going to Maine, packing not included. I'm really psyched to wear pants and a sweater (even if I can't wrap my head around it right now), and I am looking forward to seeing lots of people who will be there. My cousin and her daughter, Christopher's cousins and grandparents, my friend from Germany, who is summering with her family near Portland. I'm even going to meet Mary Jane, who lives very close to where I'll be. And of course, I am still entertaining my dyeing fantasies, even though I hear that the only seeds of mine that grew were the purple basil. And apparently my dad mowed down the wildflowers, so I might not be able to find black-eyed Susans, goldenrod or Queen Anne's Lace so easily as a back up. Mary Jane talks of dyeing with a certain lichen, so we'll see what happens!

busy week

Wow! It's been a while since I've blogged. I was on a roll there, and then we got into the final stretch of Christopher's show and we started thinking about everything we need to do before we go to Maine. And well, I took a break from blogging.

I did knit something last week though. An entire finished object in just a few days: a new hat for Christopher. Of course, it's 90 degrees (or close to it) these days, so it's not something that Christopher requested that I make or something there was any necessity for. Here it is.
It's Jared Flood's Turn a Square hat.
I basically saw it and knew immediately that I needed to use some of the Noro Silk Garden that I'd been hoarding for about 2 years. And it went perfectly with some of my hand spun! I'm so excited about this hat. I feel like making similar versions for everyone for Christmas, or at least a beret-type of thing with changing stripes for myself.In other news, we're having our floors redone while we're in Maine, so before we go we have to move everything from our living room and den into our bedroom and office. This is problematic as we need to use the bedroom and office until around the time we go, so it's causing much anxiety. At least, it makes me anxious.

eyes

I haven't blogged all week, and I feel a little guilty about it. On the other hand, I didn't have much to write, so you might've gotten some silly post about all of my unfinished knitting projects or something.

The big news this week is that we went to an eye muscle specialist on Friday. By "we" I mean, Christopher was examined and I sat in the room knitting furiously as I hoped for the best and tried to remain calm. (Those who know me may think that I'm always calm, but that's just a facade. I'm very good at hiding my stress.)

First we saw a resident, who did a bunch of basic tests, more or less what the regular eye doctor did a few weeks ago. Christopher has been complaining about feeling something gritty in his eye when he looks down, almost since he got home from the hospital. This made sense at the time, as there was a stitch underneath his lower lid, and its ends would sometimes creep upward. I actually saw it a few times. The stitch has now dissolved, but he still feels something. After the resident did her tests, she pulled his lower lid down and gasped. Then she ran into the other room, where we could hear her talking to the doctor. (Doesn't that feel good?)

A few minutes later they both entered, and he took over the exam. It turns out that there's some scar tissue on the muscles under his eye, including a little bump. He said that this is very easy to fix, just a little snip and it'd be gone and Christopher would probably have a little more mobility in his eye.

He also recommended that he see an ocular plastic surgeon, who could do that snip and also give Christopher's now drooping lids a little tuck at the same time, so his face would be more symmetrical. So now we've got more stressful things to look forward to, and we don't know if our insurance will cover any of this. For now, we'll hope it will and at least get the surgeon's opinion.In more cheerful news, the weather has been perfect and I spent another afternoon outside knitting with my beloved knitting group. While I was there, Christopher sanded the woodwork in our hallway and started to paint it.
We have big plans this summer to get our apartment into shape. Other than the woodwork, we would like to: tile our back splash, refinish our floors and strip all of the interior doors. Our tax refund and stimulus check just cleared, so I think that's where that money is going to go.

(A total side note: Have any of you tried Benjamin Moore's Aura paint? It's low VOC, which means fewer fumes and it's more eco-friendly. It also gets amazing coverage, so you actually use much less of it. It does cost a little more, but I think it's worth it for less work, less paint and a lower chance of feeling dizzy while painting.)

preparations

You may be hearing quite a bit from me this week, as I try to balance work and prepping for hosting my first holiday. Most of the grocery shopping is done; I just have to get the green beans, pecans and a few other goodies. We can call the meal planning and shopping Phase One. Check.

Today we entered Phase Two: Getting the apartment ready for guests.

We've been here a year and we've made quite a bit of progress with it, but there is a lot more to go. It's really not worth thinking too much about what lies ahead, as it is completely overwhelming. (Let's just say that our baseboards are full of peeling lead paint and our window frames are rotten.)

Our goal for the apartment this week is simple: convey the appearance that we live a more organized and domestic life than we actually do. This morning, I put lots of photos in frames and hung them in our hallway. I started this project last spring but lost interest. Today progress was made.Christopher has been busy scrubbing the baseboards. It really makes a huge difference in the look of the apartment.

My father came up and finished plastering the column, a project we began many months ago. It is so nice not to have the floor around the column surrounded by plastic and buckets of joint compound! Ah! He also patched some parts of the wall that were rotten. And he helped me stabilize the wall cabinets in the kitchen. If I get my act together maybe I'll put more knobs on them... He also helped me install the last under cabinet light, and I took this photo of him. I can't help being reminded of this picture of him from July 2001, a photo which actually kind of creeps me out. Anyway, I feel a little like our apartment is much messier now than it was before we started, but I guess that's what happens when you do a major cleaning plus minor renovation. From now on we'll concentrate on the cleaning part, and start a little food prep.

our closet

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving. Our parents, along with Christopher's sister and her family, are coming up from Philadelphia for the event. There will be about 10 adults, plus Christopher's nephew who is 3.

In anticipation of our guests, we have started cleaning. We aren't the neatest or most pristine people. Papers tend to litter the floor, scarves and hats are on the dining table, along with 2 months' worth of mail, and you can see clumps of Dinah's fur in the corner. It's pretty gross.

Part of our problem is that we don't have enough storage space. There are boxes stacked in the den, still unpacked from our move a year ago. There is a pile of books next to my desk.

If you've been to our apartment, you might have noticed our tall ceilings, which extend into the closets. But most of the closets only have one shelf, leaving about 3 or 4' of empty space above. So, in order to get the clutter out of our rooms, we want to put in extra shelves. Yesterday we installed one, in our entry closet. I measured and cut support boards and installed them. And then I spent about 1/2 an hour trying to get the shelf to fit. Because our building is so old there are very few right angles. The back of the closet is about an inch narrower than the front, and I had to cut the shelf accordingly. (This is why installing the shelves is taking us so long.)Once that was done, Christopher painted the inside of the closet, which had been covered with multiple scuff marks and yellowing paint. He did a great job, don't you think?

radiating

What a busy day!

Among other things, we got a new radiator, courtesy of our super and his sidekick, Luis. They arrived around 2pm lugging the little thing (it's only 18" by 21" or so, and very narrow, but still very heavy) and set to work immediately dismantling the old one.

I'm not sure I've explained our radiator situation. Because so many apartment buildings were built so long ago in New York, many of us still use steam heat. Apparently this is a problem unique to New York. (It's really hard to find modern-looking steam radiators, or even someone who knows how to service them.) My first experience with them was in college, in our 19th Century dorms. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about though, the hissing, gurgling, banging pipes. Anyway, each room in our apartment has a radiator, but like everything else around here, the size and placement of them seems fairly arbitrary.

The main problem, we discovered last winter, was the radiator in the den. The room is roughly 12'x12', and the radiator was about 4' long and 9" wide. It ran under our window, preventing us from pushing our sofa up against the window (which is where we've placed it). There were about 2' on the other side of the pipe, in the corner, where we could stick a smaller radiator. And today we made that happen. (I'm not sure I'm making sense. Hopefully the photos will help.)

Here is what it looked like this spring, when we were painting:This is a photo of the work today, with the old radiator ready to be taken away: And here is our new radiator!! It still needs to be painted, but isn't it cute! (I feel like I should name it!) And the den feels so much bigger now that the sofa is up against the wall.

UPDATE: I have one radiator name suggestion from my father: Thumper. Anyone else?

argh is for ebay

I love ebay. I really do. We bought our dining chairs there, with no problem. I've bought books, CDs, props, whatever there. I've only had one problem in the past, when a seller didn't sell me the flashlight I won. So then I lost $10.

We have been gearing up to tile our kitchen backsplash and (why not?) ordered our tile from a seller there. I felt like the design we chose was risky, something that not everyone would like. But we plan to stay in this apartment for a while and hopefully the tile would age with us. Here is what we decided on:We ordered 40 sheets of it. All in all, it wasn't that expensive (that's why we bought it on ebay) but we were excited and my father is actually coming up this weekend to help us get the tiling started.

You've probably guessed where I'm going with this. The tile arrived today. It isn't what we ordered. More like, it probably is what we ordered, but their photograph doesn't match what we received. Here's what we got: What do we do now? I wouldn't mind so much if the tile we received looked good in our kitchen. But it doesn't. The color nearly matches the wood of our counter top, and as Christopher says, it looks like fake wood. I've contacted the seller and hope that we can get this sorted out without getting ebay and Paypal involved. Argh. Argh.

Anyone want 40 square feet of caramel tile? (And honestly, does anyone think that these photos look alike? Is this just a problem of viewing them on different monitors or is their photograph really off?)

a little advice?

I don't usually ask for advice, but here I am. We want to finish our kitchen. I haven't posted much about it, since it always seems to be in progress, but we need to motivate and get this done. This is what it looks like now.
They're not the best photos but you can see what our cabinets look like. The next step is to tile the back splash. We're currently looking at these tiles on ebay. All are in our price range, but we're not 100% sure which direction to go. Bright or Dark? Elegant or fun?
1.
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4.
5.
I know it's really just a matter of personal taste, and I'm not sure how closely these tiles match the photos. And if we don't choose one of these, can you suggest something else? How does one choose?

small victories

There are just a few days until Christopher returns, and I've started cleaning up in anticipation. I had the day off today and hoped to have the place spic and span by tonight, but alas, it is still fairly dusty.

Instead of cleaning, I ended up doing a few home improvement things that I've been putting off: put a door stop behind our bedroom door, hung a few more photos in our hallway and I put knobs on some of the cabinets in our kitchen. The knobs are fairly major. We've had knobs on maybe half of the cabinets up till now. The problem is that the doors don't all line up and they require tons of tweaking, and I want to get the tweaking done before attaching the knobs.
(yes, I know it's not perfect, but it was such a pain!)

So today I pulled out the drill and adjusted here and there and managed to attach seven new knobs.And now it is so easy to get to my spice drawer!! ah!! Why didn't I do this sooner?

what we do on vacation

Our vacation is going well, though it's taking some getting used to. First of all, my parents are very social. It has been hard to find time for myself to draw, read, write, etc. Yesterday afternoon, after several discussions with them about needing a little space, I spent a few hours on the screened porch drawing and then reading.

Here are some photos.

Our new screened porch (which still isn't 100% bugproof, but it's getting there):
inside (looking into the shed)by candlelightWork in its various forms:

We trimmed the mock-orange bush so we could back the car in to unload the new washing machine. An example of work making work. My dad put fencing around his bean plants last night since someone seems to be eating them (very Blair Witch, I know.)
At the moment, in the early afternoon sun, my father is shingling the screen porch. I was helping him but seem to mostly get in the way, so now I've been instructed to make some lunch. ah, vacation!