12-4-12

Today I painted the fireplace trim. Wish I had a mantle. Hint hint... would make a great Christmas gift!

The transom windows are on their way. We painted trim in the dining room today too.

This is the awesome tile we found in Atlanta. Can't wait to see it on the wall!

12-2-12

Oh my goodness, my kitchen looks beautiful. Just look at that limestone floor. We worked at the house all day today painting walls and trim. Exhausting.

12-1-12

Tonight we went with my mom to a Bike club/Wine tasting club gathering and the people had their Christmas tree mounted upside down. it was a bit unnerving. I don't drink wine, so didn't enjoy that part but got to meet a couple interesting characters.

11-30-12

Happy 27th anniversary to Chrissy and Dan. We went to a department holiday party and had a really nice time socializing with my colleagues. I'm working on this afghan and don't know who it will be for.

11-29-12

Squirt designed, built, and programmed this display device for my office and the facilities crew (three men) drilled two holes in my wall today and mounted it. All I have to do is send a tweet through Twitter and the message displays right outside my office door. My son is truly awesome. Everybody in my department wants one now!

11-28-12

Dan found this tile on the website, Specialty Tile, in Atlanta. We tried to go see it last weekend and the store was closed for the Thanksgiving weekend. So today we trekked to Atlanta and bought it. Some tiles are kindof green, and some are more blue. They are made in Italy and we got a GREAT deal on them.

11-26-12

Our fancy Kitchen Aid stove and hood is installed.... See, the den behind it is a royal mess. Our moving date is December 14th so soon we will have a new kind of mess going on back there. Tonight I taught my last class for the semester. The students had perfect attendance all semester long, which is a really remarkable accomplishment. So we had a pizza fest on our last day of class.

11-25-12

The view out the other kitchen window.. a nice red Japanese maple. They are in color all over town right now. See the blossoms on the bush out the window? Camellias bloom all winter here.

This is the color we painted the living room. I love it. Much better!

This is the view from my mom's front door-- she has a Japanese maple in color too.

11-23-12

 

I met with some old high school friends today for lunch. Good times.

11-22-12

We got our fridge installed today!

This is the Squirt's room-- a nice deep grayish blue. Peaceful.

Our room again, as a contrast.

We got our faucet installed!

11-21-12

 

We chose this green for the girls' room since they both like the color. It's the largest bedroom and will fit a futon as well for extra sleeping capacity.

11-20-12

 

We started painting with our bedroom. It's a nice light/gray tinged blue.

11-19-12

 

The countertops are in!!!
We met with our interior decorator today and picked out all the paint colors for the house. Let the painting begin.

11-17-12

Went to the house this morning and took photos of the tile samples with the cabinets. Photoshopped them across a wall and disliked them all.

The woodworkers finished the cabinet near the dining room. It looks great.

And they finished trim at the ceiling but the ceiling is not flat so there is a slight gap.

I had an upset stomach today so didn't do much. Last night Squirt and Dan and I went to an art show and beer-tasting. I passed on the beer, but had a delicious latte. We went to dinner afterwards and got home late. It was a full day yesterday between Montgomery and all the stores and then the evening activities. Today I'm just not good for much.

11-16-12

 

This week was exhausting. Meetings every evening M-Th. So today I decided to go to Montgomery with Dan to look at tile and carpet. We picked up samples from three stores, and picked up carpet samples too. Along the way home we saw this van which took us by surprise. In Alabama? A weed-flavored lolly pop van???

We got a chuckle when choosing this carpeting. It's pronounced "chicken soft" around these parts.

11-12-12

This is the rug we currently have in our den,  but I may use it in the dining room because I like the colors there. Today starts a very busy week. I taught tonight so it was a long day. Also went to a new dentist this afternoon. My mom recommended him.

11-11-12

25 years ago today my Nana died. I only got to spend the first half of my life with her in it... and I wish I could talk to her and spend time with her still.

Dan is prepping this window in our kitchen for painting.

11-10-12

 

 

11-9-12

Remember this day:

Up at 6:30.
Wore my purple dress and boots.
Drove to the Boys and Girls Club to get my letter.
Came home and made lunch.
Rode my bike to school.
Meeting with faculty and grad student.
Got letter from state department.
Submitted grant with letters of support.
Rode home.
Drove to funeral home in Opelika.
Said goodbye to Miss Carrie, lying peacefully in a flower covered coffin.
Drove to Hobby Lobby for yarn.
Dinner of shrimp casserole with Dan and Mom.
Curled up on couch under a blanket drinking Kombucha and crocheting with my new alpaca yarn, watching Hangover with Dan, I found my peace.

Chrissy, remember this warm feeling.

11-8-12

Dan painted our metal window black. I love it!

The cabinets arrived from the shop!

 Looking fantastic.

11-7-12

Our laundry room is a beautiful shade of blue, and out kitchen is painted a beautiful neutral color. Dan has been working hard on painting.Today he also painted a window and I can share a picture after the tape is removed tomorrow.

11-6-12

I voted today, even though my vote really didn't count. Alabama passed 10 amendments to the state constitution and voted down one---the quest to remove racist language from a law. That's telling.

11-4-12

Little Sister, who used to be called Aunt Baby by my children when she was a tot and they were tween/teens. I left DC today after a good, but tiring stay. It was good to see my stepmom and sister.

11-3-12

I taught my little sister how to crochet today. She caught on fast. We went to a concert this evening at a church nearby. However, I enjoyed listening to Lil Sis play piano more. Jaq made tenderloin and roasted sweet potatoes for dinner. It was spectacular.

11-2-12

My stepmom Jaq picked me up from the city this afternoon for a visit with her and my little sister who is 14. They live in a suburb outside of DC. We had dinner and then went to a Jamaican restaurant to listen to a band. We drank sorrel and ate bread pudding. I was the only white person in the place and it was an unusual feeling at first, I must admit. A really good experience and fun steel drum type island music.

This is Jaq's back yard and two dogs.

11-1-12

I found NSF this morning. We had a full day of proposal debate and discussion. I'm beat! I have 11 proposals to review tonight. Oh boy. Hope to stay awake.

10-31-12

I'm in DC - flew in over the muddy Potomac and the yellow-orange-green trees. Tomorrow I join other academics from around the country to review NSF grant proposals.

Dinner tonight with a couple profs from Utah and one from Idaho.

This is a photo of DCA. We used to come here when Jes was a baby to watch the planes take off- at least I think that's the memory.

10-29-12

We haven't had rain in a while and the critters are fighting over the water in the bird bath. After this fight I filled it up again for them.

 

Today I had a meeting at noon, another one at 5, and taught at 6. I'm wondering if I will be going to DC on Wednesday or not due to the hurricane.

10-28-12

Sunday. Mom and I went to see the work at the house. Here is the view from the living room to the kitchen.

And the picture you've been waiting for... the limestone floor!

This is the half wall that will have the range on one side and a bar on the other.
Mom and I went shopping this evening at the mall and she bought me a pair of shoes. Afterwards we went to eat dinner at Hamilton's and Squirt rode his bike downtown to meet us.

10-27-12

This is the train that goes through town every hour or two. I live a couple blocks from the tracks right now and hear the whistle all the time. In our new house I shouldn't hear it at all.

Today I worked via email with an interior designer in South Carolina who is helping us with colors. We have decided to use this vase as a color theme for the kitchen.