Exciting Friday Night

Apparently when it is cold out, water freezes. Even the water hidden in pipes!

We were unpleasantly surprised when we discovered the hot water in our half bath didn't work - at all. (All the other water worked fine in the house.) Luckily - or not given it is the cause of the freezing! - the pipes are exposed under the house in a crawl space. So Steve spent the last 1.5 hours figuring out which pipe is which and trying to defrost it with a hair dryer (which is the consensus online on how to fix such problems).

He also had some fun starting to demo our blue tile to see if he could access more of the pipe in the wall….



Success!

What we did on our winter vacation...

got to know the locals

[Besides tons of birds at Ding Darling, we also saw some dolphins up close but didn't have the camera with us on the beach.]











Took a scenic (well sort of) ride...















However we mainly enjoyed the view!

Crazy Weather...

Though the last few days have been seasonal, this is one of the hydrangeas next door to my office. I am no botantist/master gardener, but that is a green, green bud - not exactly normal for January in Boston.

First look!

So Steve came with me to my ultrasound today, and the very nice tech (a Spartan tech who wants to retire to TC no less!), gave us a bunch of great pics and gave us the great insight that she saw nothing amiss and the baby looked entirely normal! (I am sure with parents like us, that may not last:) She took all sorts of measurements and got all the shots she needed. Yay.

And for those that haven't heard - it is a boy!






Hmm, there is nothing to eat in here, maybe I should try this hand...














Are you looking at me? Because I am looking at you!














Big feet! (Like mom and dad)

Oh yes, that is a hole in our ceiling

For those of you who don't already know, Steve and I have decided to remodel the kitchen Ok, well gut the kitchen. Nothing will remain but the windows. Apparently picking which high-chair and crib was best wasn’t enough research for us, we also have to deal with drawer pulls, light fixtures and appliances. Steve and I have seemed to divide this up – I deal with the baby stuff and fixture he deals with everything else.

The contractor came the other day to see if they can raise the ceiling to the same height as the rest of the house and check out the bump in the wall that we assumed was the water wall for the bathroom upstairs. Luckily there were no shocks, and we can have our nice high ceilings and it is indeed was a couple of pipes along the wall.

Real demo won't start until approximately March. We are in the final stages of picking appliances and finalizing layout. If we get an updated drawing from the contractor this weekend, I will try to scan next week.

Just the beginning...

So besides all the amazing things that Steve and I received for Christmas (including the camera that took this picture), the baby bonanza has begun!

New Wall Hangings..

I thought finding something to go above the mantel was going to be our biggest wall decor challenge. I certainly didn't think we would find the perfect thing in downtown Traverse City. (Since we can't hang a model train above the mantle...)

However we (I should say Steve since he pointed them out) found these pieces on the wall just about where it says "unique gifts" at a store in downtown Traverse while there for Thanksgiving. The picture doesn't really show the color of them, the grid lines are a very very dark green, and the continents are mottled with some color on them..(though nothing bright).

We still need to put something on the actual mantel...

Howling Horse Pat II - The MAP!!!

Click on the image to observe the breathtaking detail!

It must be Christmas...

Naked Tree!
















Dressed Tree!


Bonus points to whoever identifies the move on the screen in the "dressed" picture

A real gem from the basement (of the author's parents)....

Case of the Howling Horse II
By Steve, circa 1985-86
(A special thanks to Andy, brother of the author, for the transcription).

One day Steve, Peter, Matt, and Mike were walking to Steve’s house when Mike heard something. Pete saw something. Mike heard a howle. Pete saw a horse. Then Steve had an idea. It was a howling horse. Steve was right. Matt, who had shut up said lets chase it. Steve got into his vector. Mike jumped into his Porshe 940 turbo. Matt got into his shmused VW bug. Pete took the wheel of another vector. The horse sped of with the kids in hot prisuit, going at 157mpg. That is everyone but Matt who was going at 89. We stoped at the closest Mini-Mart to get gas. Matt showed up half an hour later. Matt got a 4 mile head start, now going 180. Pretty soon the others took off at 215. They easily caught up with Matt. Hey! yelled Steve who was in the lead. We chased the horse from Conneticut through Wisconson to Arizona! Where’s Matt? asked Peter. I Dunno said Mike. There he is said Steve with his radar and raidios on full power. 50 miles behind us. Right said Pete and Mike. Jinx said Mike. I don’t belive in that stuff said Pete. I do! said Mike. Everyone had radars and radios. Way back there, Matt yelled Tubojets on! and sped up to 250. He caught up with us in a half hour. I need gas said Matt. No wonder said Mike. Shut up said Matt. I don’t want to said Mike. Burnt! thought Pete. Then the horse came in sight. Full power (which was 300) yelled Steve Matt went 290. The horse when 301. Dar said Steve. Were going through nebraska again said Matt Duhy said Pete. Where is he? asked Mike. In South Dakota, Kansas, Wyoming, Missouri, or Iowa said Steve, who knew his states and which ones were next to them. Which was did he go, Pete North-East said Pete. Leave a sign that tells which way we went said Mike. Good idea said Pete. Lets go said Steve. O.K. Hey! the horse took the route back to Wiscanson. said Pete. Well, lets go suggested Mike. Here’s Matt said Steve. YO Matt! yelled Steve. Would you please keep up with us, at least! yelled Pete. I’ll try replied Matt. The horse took Route 68 to Minniesota said Mike. He ran out of gas! They all said. lets catch him said Matt. Fine with me said Pete. Poof! went something. Poof it went again, but not as loud this Time. lets follow the noises said Steve. Lets go. O.K. It’s coming from Lake SuperROIR. Who cares about that. said Mike. Lets follow the horse. Good idea. Their it goes. Chase it until it runs out of gas! Yeah! It’s going back to Conneticut. Follow it! Vroomm Vroomm. Hey MOOOing cow! yelled! Mike. Can you help us. No, sorry said the cow. O.K. said Mike. Of we go! caught him. Stick ‘em up. Hey! your Josh Sayward, and that’s the world famous 200mmobile that was stolen on tomorrowday! get the police, Matt. There they are. Your under arrest, Josh Sayward. O.K. Boys since Josh Sayward was on the wanted list here is $1,000 for each of you. Thanks! lets go home. Ummmm Mike! Here’s the map that I made at the Mini Mart. said Steve. Want it? Nah. O.K. Do you want it Matt or Pete? No. The end.


THE END.

It is a shame we didn't scan the map that accompanies this story, as it shows where the crew encountered volcanoes and gunshots during their adventure. Apparently this wasn't as memorable as the speeds at which they drove, so the incidents much have been edited out at the author's discretion.

Steve got his exercise yesterday

In a not very fun way - moving this into a neater pile...

at least we will keep warm (and cozy) this winter

Why we haven't posted much about the house....

Looks like the title of this blog may have to change soon...somehow I think a little one may take over any home plans we had:)

Happy Halloween!

Steve has named our new friend "Wilson" in honor the volleyball Tom Hanks played with in Cast Away. (We can't take credit if for its cuteness, Linda and Rick brought it up from CT during their stay this weekend.) The reverse side of the pumpkin says "Happy Thanksgiving" too!

Finally -

We have hung a few pictures up. This one is the first in a long line (literally, they are lined up in the attic!).

Even more impressive plants!

Not sure why, but the photos are overexposed or something, the color was more brilliant than it appears....

Walden Pond

The bushes finally escaped from their pots...

First attempts!

We planted our bulbs and also the (tiny) hydrangea. We'll find out next summer how acidic/alkaline our soil is. (The flowers will either be pink or blue).

We also bought some shrubs for the front yard. The are really tiny now but hopefuly in a few years (or 10) they will look to scale. There are 2 dwarf blue spruces and a rhododendron. Both types are found in abundance in our neighborhood, so they musn't be too hard to keep alive!

coming together...

Our new coffee and end table were picked up yesterday....They came from a furniture store/theme park we have here called Jordan's. The store where we bought these had a trapeze where you could practice/take lessons (yes, really a trapeze). It also had "liquid fireworks" which was a cross between a lite brite and the Bellagio fountains, an ice cream stand and an IMAX theater (yes, that plays real movies).

Despite the silly antics, we can't compalin as the people from jordan's were nice enough to send us a $100 gift certificate as new home owners. Obviously, this did incite us to spend some (though not much) money there!

2 new things

New rug for our front hall...



















New Lamp for our living room - a lovely anniversary gift (in advance) from Linda and Rick - will get a real picture eventually.. The pic doesn't do it justice.

Other new things...

New doorbell and mailbox - far far better than the rusty black ugly mailbox and white, stained plastic doorbell that were there before!












Hopefully this new thermostat will keep the heat from coming on at innapropriate times -

I think this will also make us pick a dining room paint color VERY quickly so we can get rid of the icky damage on the wall from the old one.

Sneak Preview!

His & Hers

For Her
(delivered today!)



For Him
(will be delivered in a few weeks)

Interlude from the housework...

Think these guys can help do some landscaping or maybe rearrange the furniture?




For those of you not familiar, these are "headshots" of the red sox mascots...
We went to a game Sunday and watched the Sox beat Kansas City (finally)....

Arlington Town Day

Mass Ave was shut down for "Town Day" in Arlington -

Steve and I went to explore. It felt like small town USA - Cub Scouts, cheerleaders, soccer players, etc all in uniform to raise money. We saw the high school's jazz band perform and there were free pony rides. There was an asssociation for every park, a PTO for every school as well as a philharmonic society, drama club, youth theater and a million other small local organizations.




Two Tid Bits we picked up:

1) Local teenagers call Arlington "A-Town"
2) Appetizers at one of the local Indian restaurants are "tit bits" hahahaha










There were also a few random minutemen at one of the historic houses shooting muskets much to the enjoyment of the kids.

Visitors

Last Sunday we had our first visitors (Nikki, Rob & Robby) since we moved in...

I figured I better clean out the bills, boxes and picture frames from the ground in the dining room. It is spartan, but it doesn't look too my bad. That said, at some point down the road a larger dining table will be found to fit in the room. Our current table is squished for 4.






They also brought us some lovely sparkling wine - so Steve and I finally celebrated our new house with some bubbly.

YIPEEEEEEEEE

New furniture, at long, long last! I have been hauling around an old couch and wing chair since I graduated college.

Couch (in person it looks the color of the second picture)



New chair!

Are you kidding me ???

Hmm..the former owners said the basement was dry AND there was no evidence to suggest otherwise...




Oh wait.... it is just our BRAND NEW washer that put ALL the water on the ground, and not with the clothes the FIRST TIME we turned it on. (It seems like an internal hose must be disconnected. The water is coming out where the detergent goes in.)

UGH






At least Steve is smiling on hold...