On Good Things

Check out this story in today’s Baltimore Sun about my friends Kim and Val Troiani’s Curatorship of the Evans House in Fair Hill, Maryland. This is a great example of government thinking creatively to preserve our historic resources. In exchange for their (tax-deductible) investment in the home’s restoration, not only do Kim and Val get to restore a fantastic home - mansion, really - and live in the woods on 5,500 acres, they get to do so rent-free, mortgage-free, and property-tax free for as long as they choose.

Ryan and I spent a day a few months back joining Val and Kim and about 40 other people in demolishing, cleaning, tossing, and scrubbing the house, getting it ready for the major construction – electrical and plumbing upgrades, new kitchen and baths, and a myriad of other major work they will do on the place. And it is a fantastic house, with 18-inch thick stone walls, lots of nooks and crannies, beautiful woodwork. It will be a great place for them to raise their family. I FELT like a 10-year old in that house. Hide and Seek will be soooo much fun there.

I am looking forward to more work days in Fair Hill, seeing this gem of a home be restored to its former glory, and am so excited for Kim and Val! They definitely have their work cut out for them, but will love every minute of it and will make that home shine!

Oh Inspiration, you beguiling devil!

So I just watched the movie ‘Revolutionary Road’ with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DeCaprio. It was an excellent film, but more than the story, the acting, the directing, etc., the one thing I came away obsessed with was the furniture the set designers used to create the Wheeler’s home. It was gorgeous authentic 50’s furniture in subdued colors like grey and taupe. I was actually inspired by some of the fabric, paint choices, and silhouettes.

The fact that the Wheeler’s home was supposed to indicate a sort of strangled suburban existence of settling and dreams lost --- I’m not sure what that says about my absolute adoration of it. Or of me. But I don’t care! I want those end tables and now have an idea to reupholster my headboard. I want to repaint our bedroom and paper a wall. Oh the projects! Ryan will be SO glad when he hears this.

Lots more to catch up on; last night’s show, my adventures with an Arbutian, but no time now. I’ve got to start combing the internets for wallpaper and Danish teak furniture.

Toodleoo!

Infested!

If you think your animal might have fleas, they do.

This is a good life lesson.

We did not obey that axiom, and now we are infested with fleas. But let us start at the beginning...

So this past Friday night, I stayed home for a chick flick evening while Ryan played music. While Ryan was gone, I undertook an Obsessive-Compulsive cleaning binge of our bedroom. I dusted, vacuumed, and replaced the lamp bulbs with low voltage soft lights. I also put some new crisp, simple white sheets on the bed that I got on sale at Macy’s (I even ironed them)! I was giddy with the clean, fresh results – yes I am that much of a dork. My plan was to finally buy a decent rug, make curtains for the windows with fabric I have had sitting around for months, hang some artwork -- including a little piece I hopefully scored from the Windup Space’s recent opening -- and ultimately take some photos of my completed sleeping cave.

Alas, my plan has been derailed somewhat by some unwanted visitors. FLEAS. Last night, Ryan and I and the animals climbed into bed fairly early because we are both into the books we are reading right now. Ryan looked over in my direction and his eyes got HUGE. So I said, “How big is the bug?” because a.) I didn’t have on my glasses, and b.) Ryan is a little obsessed with bugs, flies, mosquitoes – they are the bane of his existence and I know that look. He didn’t say anything, just sat there with his mouth open. So I put on my glasses and looked.... fleas! Fleas climbing on my freshly cleaned lamp shade. Fleas climbing up the wall.

Somebody screamed like a girl (not sure who), and we hopped out of bed and threw back to clean sheets to (thankfully) only a FEW fleas. Curses and exclamations ensued, along with a general agreement that there was no way in hell we were sleeping in that room. So we went downstairs to the guest room, with its awful, creaky non-tempurpedic bed (I do not know HOW people sleep in such barbaric things), and slept fitfully all night, both of us jumping at any real or imaginary itch we felt, which of course woke the other person up because, well, that bed sucks.

Now, Ryan has just informed me that he just completed the flea, tick, and bed bug bomb of the house and picked up new flea medicine at the vet, dousing the animals with it. And tonight I will wash my freshly washed and ironed sheets, yet again, and hopefully our room will be bug free and on its way to being a comfy cozy sleeping spot again.

Listening: She & Him - "Volume One" I LOVE this album. It makes me very happy and I have a girl-crush on Zooey Deschanel.

On Priories and Laziness

I came into work late today, partly due to the events of last evening, partly because the nasty weather makes me want to stay in bed all day, and partly due to my lovely allergies, which have rendered me a zombie the past few months. I am also not very busy at work, waiting for a few things to fall in place before I can get moving on some stuff again.

So when I crawled out of my comfy bed in my dark cave of a room around 10 AM, I had already made the decision that I would take the day off and be lazy. All was good. Then I walked in to the bathroom and looked around, walked into my closet and looked around, and immediately starting compiling a mental list that included several loads of laundry, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the cat litter, and scrubbing toilets. My to-do list quickly expanded into, “You know, I really should make those curtains for the bedroom, and you know, I could run to target and get a new rug, and you know.....”

Faced with a daunting and ever-growing list, I turned on the shower, hopped in, and got my butt to work as fast as possible.

On Being a Semi-Dilligent Homeowner

Ryan and I took it easy this weekend and stayed in to catch up on some much-needed home maintenance, which required, as usual, multiple trips to the ghetto-depot and an expansion of our tool arsenal. Ryan is officially a man now as he owns his own hand planer. When he opened it up I made the Tim the Tool Man Taylor sound and he flatly requested that I never do it again.

We replaced the rotted screen doors on the back porch and began repainting the trim on the porch. When I say began repainting I mean I painted the trim to the point that I could not reach any higher and then moved onto the next window. I’ll get the rest next weekend. It looks so much better.

Bruce was a fabulous help, and enjoys any opportunity to be outside with us, hanging out underfoot while ryan was using his trusty planer to trim the doors to fit, eating the wood trimmings as they fell to the ground (yes he did throw up that night). He was also a great painter and has no fewer than six spots on his person. I think he was trying to go for the Dalmatian look. It was an exhausting day for the Brucester and he collapsed on the couch in the evening and lamented his lot in life (note the paint spot on the side)

And Yes, I always have a flannel shirt handy when undergoing home improvements. It is a requirement. Did your father teach you nothing?

On Sunday, we considered continuing our home-improvement marathon, but went to the park instead. Brucey was giddy with anticipation in the urban truckster on the way there.

We ran around and played catch for about an hour

(legs removed to protect the innocent)

Then R and B performed a conceptual piece from Lady and the Tramp:

Shortly followed by Bruce collapsing under a shade tree, utterly charming the folks walking past. He is definitely Canadian and has a low tolerance for heat. I feel his pain. We are thinking we should move to Vermont or Vancouver just for the comfort of our dog.

Extreme Relaxation

This is a picture from the Adirondack Chair on my back patio.  I don't know if I will ever be able to live in a non-shady place ever again.  Occasionally I curse the fact that our house is always dark, but then I am treated to evenings like this.... and the knowledge that it is alway five degrees cooler at my house than anywhere else in the city.

Playing while this picture was taken:  My dpod which shuffled up Outkast, Johnny Cash and June Carter, then Coldplay (Shuttup -- it was the first album and I STILL stand by that record, I loved it, it was an important part of the soundtrack of my life and still think it is incredible. I cannot help it if they sound like a U2 ripoff today -- and I cannot stand U2.)

Drinking while this picture was taken:  Both red and white wine, cause Sunday IS indeed the new Friday.

Strangers?

Ryan and I were having a discussion while driving home from the Home Shitpot the other day on the non-scenic route, because we can never take the scenic route again, lest I projectile vomit out the urban truckster’s window. The topic of the discussion was something about house projects, and at some point he said, “I would say you’re about 50% work and 50% play.” I believe what followed was the sound of our mutual snorting followed by my correction, “Hmmm...More like 80% play, 20% work, wouldn’t you say?” I think for a moment he forgot who he married.

Things I Like

By the time I got home from work yesterday, I had a banging headache, and while I hoped to go for a relaxing stroll with Brucey, I really needed to curl up on my bed in a dark room for about 45 minutes while the drugs kicked in. I was in a sour mood as my allergies had, yet again, foiled my plans and made my head throb.

So after walking in the front door and yelling at the dog for smashing my glasses against my already fragile head, I mumbled something to Ryan along the lines of, “I just need five minutes, five minutes to rest then I swear I’ll help get ready to grill out. Then I walked upstairs, discarding my clothing on the way and tumbled into my bed with a pillow on my head and a dog by my side.

I woke up an hour later and got in the shower, and felt my dark mood lifting. And I realized that there are a few things in my life that I really can’t do without. Luxury Item things, things that as a consumer, I could have saved money by purchasing the non-name brand item. Things that I would have scoffed at in my earlier life, but now see the error of my ways. I want to list these items here, in no particular order, as a way of paying homage for making my life much, much better:

1. My NASA-Approved Tempur-pedic Bed. This thing is the effing bomb. I suffered extreme insomnia for years until this bed came into my life. My aunt and cousins spent one July 4th weekend telling me how great the bed was, reenacting the wine glass on the bed, letting me nap for a few minutes. The following Labor Day, when I told them that I hadn’t yet purchased one, my cousin Ramie asked with a straight face, “What’s wrong with you?” I get it now. I am constantly inviting guests to, “Go on! Go try it out! Just ignore the fact that the bed hasn’t been made in 6 months!” Not a week goes by where either Ryan or I can be heard saying, “I love my bed.”
2. My Dyson Ball All-Floors Vacuum. Ryan got this for me for Christmas. A total surprise, since we weren’t supposed to spend more than $50 dollars on each other. But damn, if I don’t actually LIKE vacuuming these days. You should see the crap that comes out of our 5X7 carpet. It’s insane.
3. My orange, monogrammed Klean Kanteen. The Klean Kanteen might seriously be the best gift ever. Being a huge water drinker and trying to be more eco-friendly, I tried the Nalgene, but it always tasted kind of gross. I would also reuse my Dasani bottles like 500 times before throwing them away in an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint. The thing about the Klean Kanteen is that water actually tastes better in it than in any other container. And it keeps your water cooler longer, and it gets super cool in a jiffy. My first Klean Kanteen was an olive green one (my fave color) that my mom got me for Christmas, but I would panic when I was almost finished with the bottle because that meant I had no cold refreshing water in reserve. My mom surprised me for my birthday with a second orange one (my other favorite color). I will never thirst again.
4. My rainfall shower head. My mother-in-law got this for us as a housewarming gift from QVC (she buys many, many things from QVC). Between this amazing showerhead, and the intense water pressure in our house, we do not so much shower as we are pummeled by hot cleansing lasers. And it is awesome. And definitely offsets any eco-footprint reduction generated by the Klean Kanteen.
5. My pure-bred Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Tartan’s Oxidation Blues. You can call him Rusty. Or Russ. Or Bruce. Or Sprucey. And he will respond to all. This is why a pure-bred Toller is better than any other dog. They are as smart as the shit they will eat.
   
   
6. As a late addition, Sless just reminded me of how important the DVR has become in my life. I refused to allow Ryan to get it for years, and then last year, when Comcast accidentally gave us the wrong HD box, we suddenly had DVR, and it is like my television-watching life had no meaning previously. I DVR everything, just so I can fast-forward through the commercials. I especially enjoy DVR-ing Gossip Girl, and then not allowing Ryan in the room while I suck it in like a juicy mojito in all its yummy goodness, becuase he judges me the whole time I watch it. OMFG.