August 2002 Archives

Last night, Kathy drove over to the house after dinner to check on the progress. Unbeknownst to me, she brought with her a box of books. With that, the move has begun. Today, I brought over three more boxes. This week, we plan to bring a few boxes over any time we drive up there. We hope that by the time our big move date arrives, we will have made a significant dent in the volume of stuff the movers will have to take.

I've posted yet more pictures in the gallery. As usual, here is a direct link to the first new one.

We passed another major remodel milestone today: the construction office in the basement is gone, the desk, fax machine, and shelves hauled away to another job. The basement carpet was installed today too, which completes the basement's transformation into finished space. The master bathroom has been transformed as well, by tile.

The house is getting pretty close now. The movers are scheduled for the week of September 9th, though we will start moving things over there as soon as this weekend. We might "camp out" there for a few nights before our furniture arrives. Some work will probably continue for a while and I'm sure we'll come across our share of little problems that will have to be fixed.

Speaking of problems fixed, the hardwood floor guy stopped by last week to fix the kitchen floor where the island had been moved. Where the hole had been, the patch is subtle enough to go unnoticed unless it's pointed out. Elsewhere, it's completely invisible.

Tons of new pictures are up in the gallery. The first new picture is here

The 16th has come and gone and we're still living in our rental house. We're not the least bit surprised, of course, but neither are we upset. These things happen. Besides, watching the progress over the last couple weeks has been incredible.

Sure, I'm wistful that summer is fading away but that's part of the delicious feeling associated with fall's arrival. It starts getting dark at 8:30pm these days, the evening light is mellower, the shadows seem longer. We had a hard rain two nights ago and so got to listen to the sound of car tires shushing on the wet road as we fell asleep. That sound is autumn in Seattle.

There will be more blue sky, more grilled salmon, more popsicles, and more iced lattes before summer is gone altogether. And for me, the sky will seem bluer, the salmon richer, the popsicles stickier, the lattes icier, all because I can feel fall coming.

1. Hip Hop

2. Talk ferryboat... Talk ferryboat... (repeat)

3. Talk day.

4. Read Busy! Read Ever!

5. Protect you! Put it back.

6. Over here!

7. Watch Wiggles. Rewind.

8. Look pictures. Locks.

9. Henny sick. Have popicle. Have orange juice.

This is a sort of addendum to Brad's "Very Busy In It!" post. Henry has been making up his own adjectives. When he's stacking blocks for a tower and the tower falls over, it's "Too tumble-y!" Today, he was trying to get a muffin tin out of one of the kitchen cupboards but was having trouble, since it was stuck behind another pan. After trying to wiggle it free, he declared in an upset voice, "Too stucky!"

At some point in the past, probably more than once, we told Henry we couldn't do something because it was too busy (or crowded, or both). Maybe we went to a different park because the one we usually go to was too crowded with older kids. Maybe we didn't feel like waiting for a table at a restaurant. Who knows.

Henry has latched on to the idea with gusto. If he wants to go out in the backyard just before bedtime and we say no, he will come back with "Very busy in it!" If we stop him from going down the slide until the previous kid is off, he'll say "Very busy down it!" (the corresponding "very busy up it!" applies when the ladder up to the slide is full).

He also applies the same logic to other situations. "No, Henry, it's not time for a bath" will be met with a "very busy in it." "We can't go in that store because it's closed" will similarly elicit a "very busy" or "very crowded." Kathy and I both avoid crowds, but I never thought it was quite so obvious.

The house has undergone quite a transformation in the last couple weeks. Other than a few small things, the landscaping is done. Inside, the hardwood floors have been finished and with that done the house became a flurry of activity again: the painters are back, the tile sub is working on the bathrooms, and the general contractor is doing a lot of little detail work that makes a big difference in the look of the place (we have a railing around the top of our stairs!).

I picked up our light fixtures last week (they should start going in next week) and the kitchen appliances are ready to be delivered. The last thing on the schedule is the installation of the carpet in the basement on the 16th. We'll be moving in shortly thereafter.

Lots of new pictures are in the gallery. The first new picture is here.

I had an appointment today with my doctor. A new doctor, actually. I go to the UW General Internal Medicine Center and have have had three primary physicians in the seven years I've lived in Seattle, all residents. I don't mind, really; just doing my part for medical education.

But back to today's appointment. See, I've had this thing on my thumb for a while now. At first, I thought it was some sort of blood blister. As it came to the surface, it didn't do the usual blister thing, though. It didn't heal up and go away. Instead, it started to...