Overdue Update

First, a couple pictures of the kitchen progress.

Installed vent hood (mysterious oven/range under wraps), scraped down cabinets (my little side project) and installed recessed lighting:

 

Completed (and operable!) sink and cabinet with installed dishwasher:

 

Dry-fitting tile in bathroom last Saturday:
 

Steve using the tile saw with consultant:

Steve laying the tile over the underfloor heating mat (with supervision):

Laying the final piece of tile:

Steve scrapes the spaces between the tiles to prepare for grout:

Grouting complete, I wipe down the excess:

Completely tiled bathroom with the walls going back together:

As you undoubtedly noticed, Steve's father Arnold was in a couple of the pictures above. Somehow Steve's mother Carolyn managed to avoid being in any of the shots. The two of them were a huge help in this tiling project. Arnold read instructions, assisted with conceptualizing the whole thing and mixed thinset. Carolyn provided a ton of energy and drive as she helped Steve lay tile. Truly we appreciate so much the time they took to drive down to Santa Cruz and help out.

Everything is hurtling toward move-in this weekend. Finished or not, here we come.

Demetri

We officially adopted Demetri July 24, 2004. I didn't remember that date, but when I was scanning in the pictures below, I saw his old adoption contract. We originally got him as our second foster rabbit in the fall of 2003. He was adopted briefly, but it didn't stick, so we took him back... and kept him. He was our third "permanent resident" rabbit, after Buster and SweetPea.

These were taken in fall of 2003. I have more recent pictures, but I like these better... he was young and healthy then.

We put Demetri down today. He was 11 years old. In my experience, the typical rabbit lives to be around 8.

He was a clever, sweet rabbit. And the toughest creature I've ever met. He had serious health problems from the time he was 5 years old. Every procedure he went through (and there were many), he always bounced back with tenacity that surprised everyone... even his experienced rabbit vet.

I'm always surprised (slow learner, I guess) how hard it is for me when one of the rabbits dies. But it's worth it. Giving them a place to live and taking care of them makes me feel truly useful. And I hope the roughly 9 years Demetri spent with us enriched his life as much as he enriched ours.

House Update

A quick house update follows. I'm supposed to be packing boxes, so the narration is going to be minimal for the time being. 

The bathroom is going back together (subfloor and toilet are in place, all plumbing is completed). Steve and I will be tiling the floor as soon as they give us the go-ahead (they're going to lay some backer board for us).

They've been continuing their wall smoothing project and replacing broken window panes.

They installed our pull-down attic access ladder in the bedroom.

The pictures don't quite capture the scale, but the attic is huge. It's 6 1/2 feet at the peak and completely spans the bedroom, living room and kitchen. You can see some of the questionable electrical work that our guy is currently fixing (like wires busting out of a too-small junction box).

Steve and I finished priming the front porch last weekend.

Things are moving right along. Today we went over to a local self-storage place and rented an 8x10 unit to ease our transition. Moving is going to be hectic enough, so I figured storing items that don't get everyday use would make things simpler on moving day. I'll begin putting stuff into the unit tomorrow.

You guys are amazing!

The title of this post is what I exclaimed upon walking into our house yesterday morning. Steve and I were there to drop off Ikea cabinets for the kitchen that we'd partially assembled the night before.

I hadn't been in the house in a couple days, since they've been kicking up a ton of dust while trying to smooth out our house's incredibly uneven walls. And boy have they done a beautiful job! I'll let these (still in-progress... it's a long, slow process to get things just so) pictures speak for themselves:

You really can't tell that the place was full of holes! The walls are so flat now that you can run a worklight across the surface and not get any shadows (as the guys were doing when we got there). Just amazing.

You can see our brand new dishwasher in the shot above. Steve and I picked out inexpensive wood countertops from Ikea and the cabinets you see are actually black-brown, not white. Ikea does their cabinet boxes in white even though the doors, side panel and toe-kicks are black-brown.

Steve and I will finish priming the front porch and back deck this weekend. We will also finish assembling the kitchen cabinets. I also plan for us to prime the bonus room and clean it up a bit so we can start moving boxes over to the house. As it is, packed boxes are forming a bit of a fort around our bed, since I have nowhere to stack them.

Permitting issues with the electrical have continued to delay things, but that should be kicking into high gear next week. We're getting close... just a couple more weeks!

Concert Report

The Offspring is my band. They aren't aware of this, of course, but they are. Even the worst of their songs is preferable to me over anything else. I've adored them since I was somewhere around age 14. Their second album (my favorite, Ignition) was released way back in 1992. By the time I became a fan, they had four albums under their belt. The tour I just attended was for their ninth album, Days Go By. I have all their albums and every single/movie soundtrack song that I can find in existence. I have a CD in my car that is every song of theirs I own burned on one disc, which I listen to at least a little bit every single day. Everyone has their things, and The Offspring are mine.

I had seen them once in concert, as part of one of KROQ's Weenie Roasts when I was in high school. They didn't play a full-length set, but they still blew me away. Circumstances prevented me from getting to another concert all these years, but I finally made it last night.

Driving home from the bay area awhile back, Steve and I happened to hear a radio ad that they were going to be playing the San Jose Civic Center. Steve bought tickets immediately upon returning home.

Quick word about the opening acts before I move on. I'd never heard of Dead Sara before, and I had no idea what to expect. The lead singer, a slim unassuming girl in a baggy t-shirt and ripped jeans, walked onstage and absolutely blew my mind. Her voice was just... wow. I'll definitely have to look into their stuff. Next up was Neon Trees. I was familiar with them. Their music isn't so much my thing (more Steve's taste), but they put on an awesome show, no doubt about that.

I don't think I realized just how excited I was until the roadies were setting up Offspring's equipment. I thought I might pass out before they managed to get onstage.

Lead singer Dexter is in his mid-40's, but he held a packed house (some of whom were 1/3 his age) absolutely engaged. Spotting a group of particularly young-looking high school kids, I jokingly told Steve that I've been an Offspring fan since before those kids were born... then realized it wasn't a joke, it was probably true. Yikes.

This concert was probably the most fun I've ever had in my life. I absolutely loved it. Like the huge dork I am, at one point I turned to Steve, pointed at the stage and said "They're right here!"

I was completely star-struck. Steve wore a smile of amused indulgence the whole evening. For the record, he's also a fan, but I was definitely over-the-top into the whole thing. My voice is still hoarse from screaming and singing along (when invited by the band). And I swear Dexter pointed right at me during their set (don't rain on my parade... I know he can't see a damn thing with those stage lights, and wasn't pointing directly at me at all... but I'm choosing to believe he did). Their set was about an hour and a half long... all the more impressive when you consider that their songs are generally short (2-3 minutes).

I purchased a tour t-shirt and announced to Steve that, in addition to it being my new favorite thing, the t-shirt would allow me to never have to decide what to wear again... that is, I intend to wear it all day, every day from now on. I changed into it immediately upon coming home from work today... and I would have worn it to work if I thought I could get away with it.

Steve was thankfully very tolerant of me through the whole thing, and asserted that he too had a great time. The crowd got a little rowdy (crazy kids!), so I was happy to be up in the balcony... I had a better vantage point from up there anyway.

When they put out another album (fingers crossed that there will be many more to come), I don't care how far I have to drive (or fly) to see the tour. I'll definitely be there.

Let's talk about the weather...

Before anyone jumps on me for complaining, I want to acknowledge that the entirety of my readership (as far as I’m aware) reside in climates much hotter than my own.

That being said, I don’t approve of this:

My thoughts are with all of you who are suffering even more than I this first day of October.