Chock full of finishings and an Edible Adventure : The BBQ Revue

This past weekend was another busy one.  We went to Oakley After Hours, which was kind of a let-down. i don't know what I was expecting, but I was a bit underwhelmed.  It didn't seem that much different than turnout at Oakley Square when there wasn't an OAH going on.  Soo....  The weather was great though. And I ate ice cream, so all is well. 

 

It wasn't what I expected, not that I can articulate what I expected exactly, but it was nice to just be outside and people watch.  Just to hang around and take a leisurely look at the town I live in.  People seem nice. Lots of young families, it seems.  Joggers.  Lots of dogs out for walks in the late summer evenings.  When you're not occupied with going from point A to point B, you can better take everything all in.  I like what I see though.  A friend once told me that so few people ever look up in life.  And so I often do when I'm looking at a building for the first time.  Some of these old touches on buildings, just these tiny embellishments, are a pleasure to see.  

We also did some work Saturday, and now have basically finished off the office for now.  We've made even more trips to 1/2 Price Books and have another Goodwill Box, and we've thrown away a mountain of old papers.  With the help our new friend, Roomba, this room looks so much better. 

bleh, the original dingy yellow

Suspicious grunge that I washed off the walls

Painted in Manhattan Mist

With a ton of crap from the apartment

Not perfect, but a hundred times better

Looks much nicer from the hallway

And we've made space for our little treasures

Because so much room was taken up by books, even after we've taken four boxes to 1/2 Price.  The shelf with the red boxes contains my collection of Post-Apocalyptic Literature.

Now we both have enough space to work!

We can walk in the office without twisting, hopping, or otherwise contorting, which is a vast improvement.  And now a lot of our old books have ceased to gather dust, as we set them free (to 1/2 Price, where they will indubitably not be free) to be loved again.  I'm really fond of this space, as I could never work in the old office because my desk was right next to the catbox.    

 

Yesterday we emptied out the apartment, scrubbed it down, and handed over the keys. Originally I had fantasized about letting a cleaning service handle it, but in the end we are much to cheap for that.  Taking my last looks at the old place was kind of sad.  I loved how the light came into the window in the morning, softly filtered by the tree.  Our balcony was loved by our cats, who don't understand why we don't let them out anymore.  And it was our first shared home, D and I and Yuuki, and then Max was miraculously returned to us.  Two years.  Man the rent was expensive.  D told me what we spent in total after living there for two years.  I can't repeat it.  It boggles the mind.  But we are finished with the apartment, and its like a weight has lifted.  I'm so thankful that that is over.   

 

We ended up being able to conclude the move-out inspection too, because they'd already had the place pre-rented.  Which means we probably are off the hook for next month's rent.  Which is just perfect. So we are finished with the apartment, and now have no need to ever return there.  It's unreal, because this move has been the most prolonged and annoying one I have ever experienced.  But being at home is wonderful.  Of course now we have a zillion home reno projects to do.  

On the way home we went to a local restaurant that we had often passed by.  We'd been curious about it because, well, there's a giant pig out front.  What's not to like?  

BBQ Revue

It was quiet when we went, although it was about 5pm so it was rather early for the dinner crowd.  It was a decent place, low key and reasonably priced, with a piece or two of conversation-inducing pig-inspired artwork.  We did like the painting of satan fiddling behind a massive pig about to attack frightened villagers.  At least that's what I got out of it.  Anyway, it was kind of like City Barbecue though D likes it better.  The people behind the counter were nice and patient with us first-timers as we umm-ed and uhhh-ed.  The mac and cheese was good, the beans were awesome.  The sauce is not my preference.  Peppery and smokey, which are good things.  I myself like a little more molasses or vinegar.  But that's a matter of personal preference.  But we had a pretty good experience, and we'll likely go back.  :)

And in closing, I have some sort of allergic reaction on my arms and stomach.  It's been getting worse and migrating, despite my best attempts to quarantine the spots.  I called around to five different physicians this morning, and only two offices accepted new patients, and one of them couldn't get me in until October.  But actually the office staff and the doctor were very nice, so its all turned out all right.  And I got some steroids to help me fight off my reaction.  I'm still super itchy though.  Trying to be patient and hoping the steroids finishes off all the red-and-itchiness.   

Befores & Afters : Paint Edition

Yuuki is still getting accustomed to things. 

Pantry Cat is learning about the food attic

So I wanted to show some shots of the painting work that we've accomplished.  This took so much longer than I anticipated, but the results are drastic.  Indeed, the correct word is "drastic."

 

The master bedroom was a shade of green that I believe we can call "un-restful."  

  

Don't get me wrong, I like green.  Kermit the frog?  Love him.  Somehow though, this color managed to have a sick-looking quality to it.  It even managed to detract from the fabulous wood floors.  And since the floors are in great condition that means it was just a really ugly color.  In the photo it manages to look a bit more calmed down, but in reality it was less Agave more Technicolor-Mint-Ice-Cream-Hell.  It was not very conducive to either relaxation or sleep, both of which I wish to do in this bedroom.  I don’t want an “energizing” bedroom, I want to wind down in here.  There’s no tv in here, we sleep and read books in here and that’s all (all that I will mention on this blog, thank you very much). 

The paint took forever because we primed it first (I didn't want an undertone of sick green in here).  This at first seemed more blue than I would have liked. But its really grown on me.  It looks pretty good, I have to admit.  I had wanted a grey color, but I compromised with D.  I'm glad. 

We still have a dearth of furniture. 

I also ended up compromising with him on the kitchen color, god help me. 

 (before)

It wasn't special, but the color was an adequate tone, nothing to dislike or like really. 

(after)

D has always been talking about a red kitchen.  The change after we painted was so shocking that I couldn't speak.  Did I like it, he asked.  No I did not like it, is what I did not say.  Sitting in the brown living room and looking into the kitchen makes you feel like a peeping tom because its almost as if you’re looking into another house entirely.  The transition, to me, is jarring.  D told me matter of factly that there needs to be a marked transition because, after all, "it’s another room.”  

I've had a week to get used to it now.  It doesn’t look awful.  It goes well with the white and black. I'm not entirely settled on it.  D loves it.  shrug.  You can see the fridge has moved, the new dishwasher has been installed (thanks dad) and there's the wooden frame D is trying to build because cabinetry is darned expensive.  I think there is a re-store somewhere in the area that sells cast offs from contracting jobs etc.  Maybe we'll get lucky...

Befores & Afters: the Break-Up Edition

I had this big list of projects that I wanted to complete prior to actually moving into the house.  Well, that list is a lot shorter than it used to be.  Somehow everything is taking twice as long as I expected.  … That's untrue, D’s first project is a wrap.  Behold, the concrete demolition. 

(Before:  Time shifted this concrete sidewalk into a diagonal grade that sent all rainwater splooshing directly into the side of the house.  We think that directly caused the evidence of water intrusion in the basement.  We knew it would have to be broken up before it caused any further damage.)

(Raaaahr.  Behold, as D destroys the offending concrete with his mighty sledgehammer!) 

This is some fine work done by D.  He has a lot to be proud of, including the pain in his back and the blisters on his hands.  This is not the entire pile, this was a shot of the pile halfway through the process.  It's much bigger now.  Now the next step is to either make something useful out of the leftover fragments of concrete, or haul it all away.  I don’t want to pay the dump to take it, I’d rather use the pieces to make a border around some of the trees in the yard or something.  The only caveat to using them as a border is that some fragments are quite sharp.  Any other ideas would be welcome!