Walked into the garage this morning to check on the state of my bookcase (see previous post) and stopped dead in my tracks to watch the deer in the front yard. We are going to have so much trouble growing a vegetable garden.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Bookcase Blunder
Wouldn't you know it, repainting an old bookcase is more complicated than it looks! The project is going pretty well so far but I hit a minor snag this afternoon that's going to push things out an extra week. Yesterday I broke out my shiny new palm sander.
With considerable assistance from Nick since I'm still learning how much force to use, I sanded down the whole bookcase using the palm sander and medium-grade sandpaper. Except for the backs of the shelves and the back of the bookcase, which are not tolerating sanding well. Then I filled the holes and gashes (I think of them as wounds) with wood filler, and left it to dry overnight. Most of the wood filler was placed on the top of the bookcase in front, where a large chunk of wood was missing.
The plan today was to sand down the filler to a smooth surface, sand the whole bookcase again, prime and paint! Unfortunately, when I tried to sand it down with the palm sander, part of it broke off. Oops. Apparently the sander is too forceful and I need to sand the filler by hand. I've repaired the damage, but it's going to take another 8-12 hours for the filler to cure, which means it will not be ready to sand until tomorrow morning. And since I'm putting another 50+ hour workweek in this week, that means next Saturday. Bummer. But in the meantime, I've sanded down most of the rest of the bookcase using the fine-grade sandpaper, with the exception of the undersides of the shelves and the part I just repaired.
As my husband had pointed out, I am a newbie at this sort of thing so it was bound to take more time than I had anticipated. Oh well. At least no injuries have been sustained thus far.
In the meantime, here's a photo of one of the lovely new counter stools that arrived this week (ie. my anniversary present). They actually look even nicer in person than they do online! Pretty comfy, too. Nick's caught both cats napping on them so apparently they meet feline standards as well. Made by Powell Furniture, based in Culver City (hometown represent!)
Check me out - I've got power tools! Ok, a power tool, but still...
With considerable assistance from Nick since I'm still learning how much force to use, I sanded down the whole bookcase using the palm sander and medium-grade sandpaper. Except for the backs of the shelves and the back of the bookcase, which are not tolerating sanding well. Then I filled the holes and gashes (I think of them as wounds) with wood filler, and left it to dry overnight. Most of the wood filler was placed on the top of the bookcase in front, where a large chunk of wood was missing.
The plan today was to sand down the filler to a smooth surface, sand the whole bookcase again, prime and paint! Unfortunately, when I tried to sand it down with the palm sander, part of it broke off. Oops. Apparently the sander is too forceful and I need to sand the filler by hand. I've repaired the damage, but it's going to take another 8-12 hours for the filler to cure, which means it will not be ready to sand until tomorrow morning. And since I'm putting another 50+ hour workweek in this week, that means next Saturday. Bummer. But in the meantime, I've sanded down most of the rest of the bookcase using the fine-grade sandpaper, with the exception of the undersides of the shelves and the part I just repaired.
As my husband had pointed out, I am a newbie at this sort of thing so it was bound to take more time than I had anticipated. Oh well. At least no injuries have been sustained thus far.
In the meantime, here's a photo of one of the lovely new counter stools that arrived this week (ie. my anniversary present). They actually look even nicer in person than they do online! Pretty comfy, too. Nick's caught both cats napping on them so apparently they meet feline standards as well. Made by Powell Furniture, based in Culver City (hometown represent!)
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Nature's Bounty
After working both of the past two Saturdays and missing out on trips to our local Farmer's Market, this morning I was actually free - huzzah! We stopped for breakfast at the best bakery around and my blackberry-peach muffin was delicious. So was Nick's almond croissant. Then it was off to the market, which was every bit as adorable as Nick had said.
It might be a trifle smaller than the Farmer's Market we were used to in Vienna, but it's much more interesting. For one thing, it's not clogged with stall after stall of folks selling mediocre meals instead of actual produce, the way Vienna was (I don't go to the market for crepes, sorry). This market is mostly produce, with a couple of stalls offering fresh eggs, fresh frozen local meats, flowers, and some breads, teas, and other specialty food items. There is a stall selling locally raised vegetable and herb plants for replanting, and the herbs look better than anything at the Vienna market ever did. Another stall appears to be run by a local nursery of sorts and has decorative plants for replanting. There is even a booth for the a Virginia Agricultural Extension, to answer questions about gardening and growing food in Virginia.
We brought home fresh tomatoes (large and cherry), basil, blue potatoes, 2 lbs of frozen ground beef, and a pound of frozen maple sausage.
The weather was lovely, with bright sunshine, and the flowers and veggies were so brightly colored and beautiful that I couldn't resist taking some photographs. Enjoy!
We brought home fresh tomatoes (large and cherry), basil, blue potatoes, 2 lbs of frozen ground beef, and a pound of frozen maple sausage.
The weather was lovely, with bright sunshine, and the flowers and veggies were so brightly colored and beautiful that I couldn't resist taking some photographs. Enjoy!
Friday, August 17, 2012
Odds and Ends
Just a few updates for now; hopefully more to come this weekend when I actually have some time off from work...
- Nicholas has unpacked all of our books (quite a feat) and re-discovered our bookcase shortage. However, the bookcases we do have are now in the front room, filled with books, and we have a lamp, chair and rug in there so now it is starting to look like a mini-library.
- Speaking of books, this weekend I plan to try my hand at sanding and painting an old oak bookcase Nick has had for ages. My first big project - fingers crossed! I will take lots of photos.
- I got tired of not being able to sit at our extended countertop and eat breakfast while listening to my NPR, so for our anniversary Nick bought me a pair of wooden stools. I found them online at a great price and they are made in my hometown - couldn't say no! They arrived Wednesday and Nick put them together yesterday - they look great! Photos to come.
- The sunroom has become the cat room. They spend all their time there during the day so we are putting most of their lounging furniture there and so far they love it!
- My in-laws came out for the afternoon Thursday while I was at work, and helped Nick out with some pretty impressive mini-tree removal in the front yard. We have a long way to go but things are looking good and we are very grateful for the help! Nick gave me a yard tour this morning with an update on garden location and which trees are staying and going. I hope to get some yardwork done this weekend while waiting for my bookcase to dry.
- Tomorrow I finally get to go to the local Farmer's Market since I'm not working. Hooray!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Seeds of Deliciousness
As Nick and have talked about the garden we plan to start and things we'd like to grow, we keep coming back to tomatoes. We are concerned there will not be enough hours of sunlight for them to do well, but we are going to try anyway. He had already decided months ago that the strain we would grow was "those delicious Crossroads tomatoes". Visiting Crossroads Farm in Vermont is a family tradition, and their tomatoes are in fact scrumptious.
So at the end of our trip to Vermont last week, we bought a few Crossroads tomatoes and brought them home with us. I researched how to save tomato seeds, which involves covering the seeds and their gel (the gloop) with lukewarm water and letting them sit for a few days until the protective gel lets go of the seeds (and turns moldy). Then you rinse and let dry in a single layer on a paper plate. It was pretty easy - just hope it works! We'll find out next summer, I suppose.
So at the end of our trip to Vermont last week, we bought a few Crossroads tomatoes and brought them home with us. I researched how to save tomato seeds, which involves covering the seeds and their gel (the gloop) with lukewarm water and letting them sit for a few days until the protective gel lets go of the seeds (and turns moldy). Then you rinse and let dry in a single layer on a paper plate. It was pretty easy - just hope it works! We'll find out next summer, I suppose.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Stimulating the Economy
No sooner did we move into the new house and partially unpack, then it was time to head up to New England for a previously scheduled family vacation. The timing was suboptimal from a house perspective, but we definitely needed the R&R!
While in Vermont, we did look for furniture to purchase for our new place, but unfortunately, we did not find anything. We were also planning to take home Nick's desk with us; it has served for the last few years as his father's desk in the Vermont family house. However, when push came to shove, it was decided that the oak desk would stay in the house, and his parents kindly offered to pay for a new desk for us. Which brings us to...this past weekend.
This weekend saw the purchase of a pair of fairly big-ticket items for us, thanks to the aforementioned desk money and a generous graduation gift from one of Nick's relatives. He has been talking for months (ok, it's only two months but that counts) about wanting to purchase a barbeque. We had originally planned to delay that until Labor Day and the expected big box store sales, but with the graduation gift, he started rethinking it. He was originally planning on purchasing a gas grill, but was swayed by a good friend, who pointed out that with the amount of time and effort we put into planning and cooking food, it seemed silly for us to go gas when charcoal makes the food taste better. So he did his research, and had a Weber charcoal grill on his mind when we headed to Lowe's early Sunday morning.
Grill and accessories in hand (or cart, rather), we headed to the next destination: Ikea in Woodbridge. This is a dangerous place to go given the multitude of things we always find ourselves interested in. And Ikea on a Sunday morning gets a little nutty, but it was better than dealing with traffic on a Monday morning. We had checked the website and Nick decided to purchase a corner desk in the Galant style, to match the desk we bought for me a couple of years ago.
It's a nice piece, though we opted for the chrome A-frame legs instead of the ugly silvered T-frame ones (again, to match our other desk). We also managed toescape exit the store without purchasing anything else save a shelf unit to go with the desk, which was a pretty impressive feat. Even more impressive was fitting the desk into the back of my car - that took some doing! Then we almost weren't able to get it out again once we got home. Then came the task of putting it together. I think Nick had forgotten how much of a pain my original desk was to assemble - had he remembered, he might not have opted for the same style. There was quite a bit of sweat involved, but thankfully no blood or tears. We mistakenly bought the right corner desk instead of the left corner desk (yes, there actually is a difference) because my desk is much narrower than Nick had thought, but it still works nicely - just in a different orientation than he had originally planned. With the double-monitor setup he has going on in there, I'm afraid I'm going to have trouble dragging him out of the office!
Other new town/new home details....Nick checked out the local twice-weekly farmer's market while I was at work Saturday and found it to be small but excellent. There are fewer than a dozen vendors, but they have terrific produce selections and a poultry/meat vendor that he liked a lot. Plus someone who sells seedlings, which may come in handy when it's time to start the garden. We have also discovered that the local Wegman's supermarket is excellent. It manages to combine a lot of the higher-quality foods we associated with our old Whole Foods with the range and prices we are used to seeing at more generic supermarkets, and it has a friendly feel to it. I was concerned when we moved out here that we would not be able to find a good supermarket. I am very glad that that fear was unfounded.
Nick hung the TV on the wall and I've put some art and other such pieces on the living room shelves, so the room is finally coming together. We found a console table that we might use as an entertainment center at Ikea, but it's not in the budget at the moment and it's not supremely important. so a Pier1 chest we bought a few years back is doing the job for now. We found our table lamps, which is excellent because with no overhead light the room gets quite dark at night.
Have also been exploring variations on my commute to work. The main highway (I-66) is a nightmare at rush hour, so before we moved I asked coworkers for suggestions on travel routes. One involved taking a road called Vint Hill through farm and horse country before getting into subdivision and urban areas. It seems to be working well so far, though I am concerned that things will slow down once school starts up next month. My commute is about 45 minutes, more than double my old commute time. With the exception of coming home really late at night after a long day, though, I haven't really minded the commute. Why not? Once I get onto Vint Hill (which takes about 8 minutes), my view for the next 15 minutes looks like this:
While in Vermont, we did look for furniture to purchase for our new place, but unfortunately, we did not find anything. We were also planning to take home Nick's desk with us; it has served for the last few years as his father's desk in the Vermont family house. However, when push came to shove, it was decided that the oak desk would stay in the house, and his parents kindly offered to pay for a new desk for us. Which brings us to...this past weekend.
This weekend saw the purchase of a pair of fairly big-ticket items for us, thanks to the aforementioned desk money and a generous graduation gift from one of Nick's relatives. He has been talking for months (ok, it's only two months but that counts) about wanting to purchase a barbeque. We had originally planned to delay that until Labor Day and the expected big box store sales, but with the graduation gift, he started rethinking it. He was originally planning on purchasing a gas grill, but was swayed by a good friend, who pointed out that with the amount of time and effort we put into planning and cooking food, it seemed silly for us to go gas when charcoal makes the food taste better. So he did his research, and had a Weber charcoal grill on his mind when we headed to Lowe's early Sunday morning.
One store employee, upon seeing our cart, asked what time the BBQ would be. Wednesday!
Grill and accessories in hand (or cart, rather), we headed to the next destination: Ikea in Woodbridge. This is a dangerous place to go given the multitude of things we always find ourselves interested in. And Ikea on a Sunday morning gets a little nutty, but it was better than dealing with traffic on a Monday morning. We had checked the website and Nick decided to purchase a corner desk in the Galant style, to match the desk we bought for me a couple of years ago.
Those T-frame legs are so hideous. Truly.
It's a nice piece, though we opted for the chrome A-frame legs instead of the ugly silvered T-frame ones (again, to match our other desk). We also managed to
It's a bit cluttered at the moment (still unpacking) but you get the idea.
Other new town/new home details....Nick checked out the local twice-weekly farmer's market while I was at work Saturday and found it to be small but excellent. There are fewer than a dozen vendors, but they have terrific produce selections and a poultry/meat vendor that he liked a lot. Plus someone who sells seedlings, which may come in handy when it's time to start the garden. We have also discovered that the local Wegman's supermarket is excellent. It manages to combine a lot of the higher-quality foods we associated with our old Whole Foods with the range and prices we are used to seeing at more generic supermarkets, and it has a friendly feel to it. I was concerned when we moved out here that we would not be able to find a good supermarket. I am very glad that that fear was unfounded.
Nick hung the TV on the wall and I've put some art and other such pieces on the living room shelves, so the room is finally coming together. We found a console table that we might use as an entertainment center at Ikea, but it's not in the budget at the moment and it's not supremely important. so a Pier1 chest we bought a few years back is doing the job for now. We found our table lamps, which is excellent because with no overhead light the room gets quite dark at night.
Not the most well-lit photo but today was on the cloudy side.
Still get a kick out of those Star Trek skylights!
Lots of artwork piled in front of the fireplace that still needs a home in the house somewhere.
Still get a kick out of those Star Trek skylights!
Lots of artwork piled in front of the fireplace that still needs a home in the house somewhere.
Have also been exploring variations on my commute to work. The main highway (I-66) is a nightmare at rush hour, so before we moved I asked coworkers for suggestions on travel routes. One involved taking a road called Vint Hill through farm and horse country before getting into subdivision and urban areas. It seems to be working well so far, though I am concerned that things will slow down once school starts up next month. My commute is about 45 minutes, more than double my old commute time. With the exception of coming home really late at night after a long day, though, I haven't really minded the commute. Why not? Once I get onto Vint Hill (which takes about 8 minutes), my view for the next 15 minutes looks like this:
This is a remarkably relaxing way to start the day.
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