Asher and I haven't slept in our own house for the past two nights. It doesn't look like we'll be there again tonight either. We aren't even allowed to be there during the day but have been banished to live across town with my parents who have graciously opened up their upstairs to the two of us. Its just Asher and I who have been banished. My husband is enjoying all of the comforts of home and permitted to be in the house as much as he chooses. With the few stops I've made to my home sweet home in the past two days, I've discovered what seems to be a bachelor's wreckage - living it up while the wife and son are banished.
Well...maybe I'm giving a slightly biased perspective on our current housing situation...
Walter has been busily, with much sweat and dedication been refinishing the wood floor in our living room! The floor had been covered by carpet that needed replacing when we bought the house five years ago. It had gotten worse to the point that I no longer cared what spilled on it because the new spill might help blend all of the stains together into one giant stain soaked piece of wool. So about a month ago, on a joyful Friday night, my brother helped Walter rip that nasty carpet out of our house forever.
The termite hole in the middle of the floor slowed down the progress of refinishing the wood floor, but my sweet husband figured out how to ensure we are no longer in danger of crashing through the living room floor into the basement. And now from the glimpses I've had through the window into the front porch, we have a living room with absolutely beautiful wood floor! When we refinished the dining room floor last summer, I thought there was never a more beautiful sight as shiny wood with all of its natural variations. I'm sure I'll feel the same when I am allowed back into the living room.
With all of the sawdust that would be created, running the loud sander all day on Saturday, and then the toxic fumes from the polyurethane, we decided it was best if Asher and I just move out for a while. So, here I sit in exile...waiting to get back into my house.
(By the way, I'm sure this exile would not have occurred if I actually had a key to my front door!)
25 August 2008
19 August 2008
A Red Shoe Day
This morning, I stepped onto the stool to grab the box in the top corner of my closet. The box held the skinny heeled red shoes I bought two years ago, but never had courage to wear until today. With confidence from our babysitter that they were cute I set out to conquer my world with red on my feet. This day of my courage also happened to be the first day that the parking garage is under construction adding another 250 steps to my hike into the office. I know it was 250 steps because my feet shouted at me with each one as I thought about Chinese women who were subjected to feet binding.
I bound my feet today because I will soon have many fewer chances to wear nice shoes and my closetful of business casual outfits are now in even greater danger of molding to their hangers. I needed red shoes today to remind me that this is a day of independence. Those shoes took me into my boss' office. I left the letter on his desk without being able to look him in the eye. The officialness of the words on that paper meant the three year long decision I've been pondering has been made. Today I resigned from my job.
Its kind of free-spirited to say "I quit my job today!" but I don't really feel free. The loss of my twice weekly commitment to the adult world makes me more afraid and relying on hope that this is the best decision.
I bound my feet today because I will soon have many fewer chances to wear nice shoes and my closetful of business casual outfits are now in even greater danger of molding to their hangers. I needed red shoes today to remind me that this is a day of independence. Those shoes took me into my boss' office. I left the letter on his desk without being able to look him in the eye. The officialness of the words on that paper meant the three year long decision I've been pondering has been made. Today I resigned from my job.
Its kind of free-spirited to say "I quit my job today!" but I don't really feel free. The loss of my twice weekly commitment to the adult world makes me more afraid and relying on hope that this is the best decision.
15 August 2008
All I Want for My Birthday
On August 7th, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary of being in debt to this old house. It is very fitting that as we celebrated this milestone, our living room is unliveable, the ceiling in the entryway is watersoaked, and the doorknob for the backdoor was lying on the ground. Our house isn't always in such a state of disrepair, and the current projects may be causing the biggest disruption we've had in the past 5 years - although I reserve the right to claim other repairs as equal interruptions.
There are many things we love about living in our old house, as well as hundreds of things I want to change (NOW!). But there is one thing that has bothered me about our eighty plus year old house that I have repeatedly asked my dear husband to change to no avail. I am hoping that my public annoucement here on my blog about this request may be the final prompt that my sweetie needs to give me the one thing I ever wanted, and since I just celebrated a birthday, now seems like the perfect time to grant my wish.
What I really want for my birthday this year is a KEY TO MY FRONT DOOR! When we closed on our house five years ago, with the shady couple who previously owned our house the alcholic husband handed us a set of many keys. The usual keys to the back door, key to the garage, key to the lock box around the thermostat (a topic for another time), and then he almost forgot - the key to the front door. Since the lock on the door is almost ninety years old, I suppose we should have been thankful to have received a key to it at all.
The plan was to immedieately get several more copies of the precious key made, but a few detours along the way kept us from getting that task done and here we are five years later with still just one key to the front door of our house. Since Walter moved into our house before we got married and I moved in a few weeks later, he got that first key and I haven't seen it since.
This leads me to my plea...Alll I Want For My Birthday is a Key to My Front Door!
There are many things we love about living in our old house, as well as hundreds of things I want to change (NOW!). But there is one thing that has bothered me about our eighty plus year old house that I have repeatedly asked my dear husband to change to no avail. I am hoping that my public annoucement here on my blog about this request may be the final prompt that my sweetie needs to give me the one thing I ever wanted, and since I just celebrated a birthday, now seems like the perfect time to grant my wish.
What I really want for my birthday this year is a KEY TO MY FRONT DOOR! When we closed on our house five years ago, with the shady couple who previously owned our house the alcholic husband handed us a set of many keys. The usual keys to the back door, key to the garage, key to the lock box around the thermostat (a topic for another time), and then he almost forgot - the key to the front door. Since the lock on the door is almost ninety years old, I suppose we should have been thankful to have received a key to it at all.
The plan was to immedieately get several more copies of the precious key made, but a few detours along the way kept us from getting that task done and here we are five years later with still just one key to the front door of our house. Since Walter moved into our house before we got married and I moved in a few weeks later, he got that first key and I haven't seen it since.
This leads me to my plea...Alll I Want For My Birthday is a Key to My Front Door!
06 August 2008
Fair Rides
Last week was the county 4-H fair. I have bad memories of being forced into a 4-H club, but that's a story for another time. Despite the thoughts I carry of my mom making me do something I did not want to do, I still have great memories of going to our county fair.
Times have changed. Lowes now stands on the dusty field where the fairgrounds used to be. The fair is now mostly spread out over cement with all of the 4-H projects in a large air-conditioned building and the smelly animal barns banished to the far corner of the park. But there are still funnel cakes to be eaten so we continue to go!
This was the first year that Asher was ready to go on any rides. He wouldn't have known the difference if we had skipped the carnival section completely, but my good memories of riding ride after ride prompted us to find one that Asher would like. We did find a good one! He got to drive a blue truck all around a construction site!
Grandma and Grandpa joined us at the fair this year. Per Grandpa's request, we found the tractors and Asher got to do something that to him is a novelty, but for my dad was a chore - ride (sit) on a John Deere.
Asher didn't actually get to ride a dog, but the combination of two of our little boy's favorite animals - dogs and monkeys - was a very big hit!
Before we left the fair, Asher did get to ride on an animal - this one a little more appropriate for a boy to ride on. He got his first pony ride - and he was grinning like this the entire time!
The evening grew late and Asher decided he needed to ride in the stroller, just in time to hold a monstrous ice cream cone with eyes!
Once again, the perfect end to a fun-filled evening!
Times have changed. Lowes now stands on the dusty field where the fairgrounds used to be. The fair is now mostly spread out over cement with all of the 4-H projects in a large air-conditioned building and the smelly animal barns banished to the far corner of the park. But there are still funnel cakes to be eaten so we continue to go!
This was the first year that Asher was ready to go on any rides. He wouldn't have known the difference if we had skipped the carnival section completely, but my good memories of riding ride after ride prompted us to find one that Asher would like. We did find a good one! He got to drive a blue truck all around a construction site!
Grandma and Grandpa joined us at the fair this year. Per Grandpa's request, we found the tractors and Asher got to do something that to him is a novelty, but for my dad was a chore - ride (sit) on a John Deere.
Asher didn't actually get to ride a dog, but the combination of two of our little boy's favorite animals - dogs and monkeys - was a very big hit!
Before we left the fair, Asher did get to ride on an animal - this one a little more appropriate for a boy to ride on. He got his first pony ride - and he was grinning like this the entire time!
The evening grew late and Asher decided he needed to ride in the stroller, just in time to hold a monstrous ice cream cone with eyes!
Once again, the perfect end to a fun-filled evening!
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