house stuff

Wall decals are super trendy right now, but they're expensive, they seem like they would be tricky to apply, AND there are 5 million choices. Pat and I had been considering getting decals for the guest  room (which won't really be a guest room until we make a trip to IKEA - and will hopefully take place sometime in 2010) and for Greta's room, but we we've been dragging our feet (see sentence 1). We were in Target this past weekend and we saw a really cute, albeit smallish, decal that looked perfect for Greta's room. It was only 15 bucks, and it claimed to be easy to apply and reusable. Music to my ears. It was in fact very easy to apply, and everyone loves it.

Look how cute! This is my new favorite corner of the house, right over Greta's bed.

I couldn't find it on their site, but here's a similar one. Ooh, but how great are these? What's next? Wallpaper?? I hope so!

Fran

So, we're all moved! Moving day was Thursday, and it was probably the most productive day of my life - well, with help from Pat and 4 big, strong movers. There were some dicey moments, and I was very much on edge the entire time things were being moved, but all and all things went very smoothly. Almost everything is unpacked now, and it appears that not a single thing broke!

I unpacked Greta's room first so it would be all settled for her when she got home from school. The look on her face was priceless. I really wish I captured it on film. I hope to get pictures of the room itself in the next day or two, and I'll post them. I always find it challenging to find a place that works will for everything, but I've been spending pretty much every free moment getting settled. So far so good. We really love being here. In some ways it feels more like home than the last house ever did (have I mentioned I love this house??), and in others ways I feel a little like we're squatters here (I have been hand washing all of the dishes and haven't used the dishwasher yet - it just feels like it doesn't belong to us).

The first night Pat and I were overcome by how quiet and dark it was. When we turned off the lights in the bedroom it was pitch black. Having a street lamp outside of our window for the last 5 years, even with heavy curtains, it was never completely dark in our room. It was amazing not to hear a sound other than the house noises. The first night it was a bit unsettling, but now I love it.

Friday we worked, which was actually sort of a good thing. I knew if I stayed home I would overdo it, so being at work actually felt like a break. Friday night, when I got home from work, I saw 8 turkeys in my next-door neighbor's yard. When I pulled into the driveway they skittered across the street. That definitely wouldn't have happened at the old house.

What else? The Reeds came to see the house this weekend. We also took a break from the unpacking today to go apple picking. I also spent a few hours at the old house last night to do some cleaning, which was so utterly and completely not fun but very necessary. There were definitely some drawers that hadn't been cleaned in 5 years, as well as areas of floor/wall that hadn't seen the light of day (or the vacuum) - gross.

Cleaning at the old house was definitely the lowlight of the weekend, and when I came home (about 11:15 PM!) I was in such a bad mood. Pat had great news for me, though. The cable guy had come on Thursday (we get basic cable), and we really hadn't had much time to sit down and watch TV yet, but last night Pat discovered that the cable guy totally hooked us up. We have way more channels than usual, including the guilty pleasure channels that I love oh-so much. Thank you, cable guy!

So, I'm sort of rambling and I still have lots to do, so I'll leave it at this and post some photos from apple picking.

Running around in the teepee.

Jumping off the hay bails.

Helping Greta jump off the hay bails.

We had a hard time getting her to leave the play area.

Finally we picked and ate some apples.

Fran

Photo courtesy of Mary Shelsby.

Fran

So, we got an offer on the house! I won't give too many details because I can be very superstitious and don't want to hem anything up by saying too much, but things are good! And I dare say I had a good feeling about this from the start. Score 1 for positive thinking.

To celebrate, we wore carrot mustaches. It's an old Reed family tradition (not really).

What else? Ahhh, the new house. We (as in my friend Dottie and I) cleaned the house top to bottom, getting rid of any potential other-people cooties. Pat and I still need to do a ton of painting, and I think our experience painting with Greta a couple weeks ago enforced that we need to paint without Greta in the future. She's cute and all, but her painting skills really suck.

I can't think of anything else notable, so I guess that's it for now. If this post has left you with an empty feeling inside, I suggest you look at the CNN t-shirt about the monster egg again. Or perhaps you could make some Microsoft Paint art and send it to me and I'll post it here.

Fran

We spent most of this weekend at the new house, getting some painting done before we "storm the castle." Get it? Because our new house looks like a castle. Heh. Painting - or really focusing on any task that requires...focus - with a three year old present is not as easy as it might sound. We did get a lot done during her nap yesterday (she boycotted a nap today - thumbs down for productivity) and last night after she went to bed, and we made a nice dent in painting the guest room / office and Greta's bedroom. We have just 5 million more things to do (like sell our other house - minor detail), and then we can move in!

Last night we got as close to camping as I get by sleeping over at the new house on *gasp!* air mattresses and eating things like *shudder!* cold spaghetti sandwiches. (Cold spaghetti sandwiches are actually quite tasty. Air mattresses, however, suck.)

Here is Greta in her new "bedroom" (actually it's the dining room) eating "dinner" (spaghetti sandwich on her "hand plate").

And here is Greta in her new "playroom" (actually it's the living room) playing with her "toys" (they're just toys).

I also took some "before" pictures, but since we're didn't actually finish anything this weekend, I will have to save them until later.

As much as we like the new house, we're happy to be back to our city house tonight to sleep in our own comfy non-air-filled beds. And I think I'm feeling a little loopy right now, so on that note I'm off to bed! Sorry for the excessive quotation marks and parentheticals. (You know you "love" them.)

Fran

Now I've seen everything!

We had a great weekend at the beach in Connecticut for my cousin Rory and his blushing bride Jennie's wedding. Right now things are still crazy busy, so for the time being this is all you get. Check back soon for about a hundred pictures of Greta, flower girl extraordinaire, oh, and some other people, like the bride and groom.

And in case you're curious, no we haven't had an offer on the house yet, which is the low point of this otherwise lovely weekend. It has only been on the market for 3.5 days, though, so it's still early.

Fran