Trials and Tribulations

When the Hubster handled all of the prep work for the move, I knew I’d pay for that on the back end. But I was too busy with work to care.

Now? Yeah, I was right. Yesterday, in particular, kicked my ass.

I won’t truly get into the whole TV situation until I’m happily watching SportsCenter in my living room, but let’s just say that it hasn’t been pretty.

I also spent yesterday (Monday) making phone calls to a pair of work contacts who were both out of the office. (heard back from one today with potentially good news. Yay!), as well as spending a truly excruciating 45 minutes on the phone with our insurance company, updating our homeowners policy in California and setting up a renters policy (since we don’t officially own yet) for here in Pennsylvania.

By the end of the conversation with Insurance Dude, I was so shot that I think I gave him a “market value” on the place in Cali that’s HALF of what we’re listed for. Half. I need to check that online and call them back. *sigh*

Since by 2 pm I felt like I had been hit by a bus, I spent the afternoon finishing HP4, then tackled a puny number of boxes in the basement. All of the “K” boxes are unpacked. I want to tackle most of the rest of the Q’s tomorrow.

Hubster also had a lousy Monday at work, so we had our raincheck anniversary dinner out, then went over to my parents place to sign all of the real estate papers on our new abode. Now we just need someone to buy the damn place in Cali so we can close here!

Today was much more productive. Got an email back from one of the two work calls I made yesterday. Got my online banking ID fixed (yay!). Hopefully got the TV situation fixed (PLEASE keep your fingers crossed!). Called the chick who is hopefully going to get the basement couch and chair the HELL out of my house. Got things in the office and “back bedroom” ready for the boomerang furniture to arrive on Thursday. Oh, and mom and I checked out her favorite local quilt store. Even if the others are at least equal to this one, I’ll be golden.*

What is “Boomerang Furniture,” you ask? Well, when my parents moved out of this house in November, they took very little of the furniture from this house with them. Family in the area was given full shot at most of it, and pretty much everything else was moved over to my brother’s house in Dormont. A lot of it was always intended for the Hubster and I, assuming that we were moving back east eventually. Well, on Thursday, the same guys who moved all of that crap over to Dormont will be moving it right back here. Most of it to precisely the same spots it occupied prior to November.

But you want pictures of what I did today, don’t you?


This is basically what the office, nee “Scott’s Room” looked like this morning. And now?


Ready for what I hope will be the desk that was in my bedroom through high school. We have a list from Erin, but since I haven't seen any of that stuff, I'm not 100% sure what exactly is over there.


No “before” picture, but here’s our guest room, nee “Colin’s Room,” ready for Boomerang Furniture known as “double bed from my old room.” Exciting, huh?

Otherwise, I unpacked a box or two in the basement and washed pillows. By the way, I LURVE my new washer/dryer!

As a final note, I was lazy about posting from the Lake last weekend. Saturday’s adventure included buying a (queen) bed for our room at the cottage (YAY!) and getting fabric for my Pineapple class that will be a week from today up there.


I’m going to do a red/white/blue Pineapple (obviously). The WOW is the “background” fabric (it's a very basic grid, although it photographed as though it's heavily printed. It's not.), and I’ll have reds on diagonal corners and blues on the other diagonal corners. I’ll post pics after Tuesday’s class and drive back down to Pittsburgh.

*Attention M&Ms! The one thing that worries me about this local shop is that when I asked if they have many customers that pin their quilts at the shop, the store employee looked at me and said “pin? What do you mean?” After quickly and quietly picking my jaw up off of the floor, I said “as in pinning the quilt sandwich together in order to machine quilt it.” At which point I was informed that most of their customers either send their tops out or hand quilt. Denise, I may be in touch very soon for details on your new set-up! Advice is heartily encouraged!

Finally, tomorrow is a Big Day. Why? Because it will be my first outing with the "Hurricane Knitters, Fans of 40 Guy" at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble. Wish me luck. I don't think I've ever been to the Waterworks Mall before. I am very much looking forward to meeting SJ and Jen as I have been reading their blogs for quite a while .... and let's not forget 40 Guy!

Crafty Progress!

It was a long day here at chez DPUTiger and it’s only winding down now at 11:20 pm. We started with an early (for me, now) wake-up call, since the delivery window for our shiny new Washer/Dryer started at 8:30 am.

The guys from the major chain where we bought the machines were on time, courteous, funny and very good/efficient at their jobs. How refreshing! I just hope that I’m half as happy with this pair as the Yarn Harlot is with Mr. Washie (or is that Sir Washie?)


I did lots of various types of loads throughout the afternoon. So far? Me likey!

There is one little accessory we’re going to send away for (since it’s free, and all!)


The Bear Shelf! Useful in case Bear or any of his buddies needs a beach vacation … or needs to clean up after a beach vacation! :) That photo is from the flyer I have to send in.

After getting the washer/dryer delivered, installed and leveled, I hit the road. I picked up my bicycle, which had been sad and neglected all eight years I was in L.A. After a “spring tune-up” and a set of new tires, it is once again roadworthy and will probably head up to the Lake next weekend. Woo-Hoo! (sorry. Forgot to take a picture. Blog fodder at the Lake has been light, so It’ll probably get its day in the sun when I take my first ride in 9 years!)

I came home, made lunch and went next door to ask my super-awesome neighbor Gail to help me move that pesky couch. I’m really hoping to have that thing totally out of my house by the start of next week (along with its matching chair and ottoman), but for now I’m just grateful both that it is very light and maneuverable, and that Gail had five minutes to help me get it out of the way. Hubster and I had cleared a path for Washer/Dryer delivery guys last night that we wound up not needing. But better safe than sorry!!

So from that point, I started chipping away at the laundry. Ate lunch (no Diet Pepsi on the ceiling today. Sorry, Sandy!) and started moving boxes. Here is a pretty accurate “before” picture. This was the area parallel to the stairs at about 8 pm last night.


We did some minor moving around for the washer/dryer guys, but this is basically what I was staring at immediately after lunch (and Gail’s help with the couch).

After some serious box moving (and I found the necessary book and ruler for the Pineapple Class. Yay!), I wound up with a Great. Big. Empty.



And this


Yup. The bookcases. Those boxes are Really. Freaking. Heavy. Just in case you were curious. They look deceivingly small and light. It's a lie.

Now I was asked (email, not comment) why the heck I didn’t just pay IkeaDude/Dudette to come and assemble the bookcases for me. Well, I have to admit. I really kind of like doing the assembly myself.

However, there is always a point in the instructions where you need to look at the picture, say “that’s not quite how they should have told me to do it” and adjust. I didn’t quite adjust quickly enough on the opening bookcase, and this was the result.


We shall not speak of this incident again. OK? OK! You really have to look carefully in person. The flash makes it more obvious in the photo than it is in real life, thankfully.

After a long break to listen in on the Hubster’s conversation with DirecTV (our local installer sucks, and that’s being polite. We hope to have this resolved by football season. I only wish I was exaggerating!) and have some dinner, we popped a movie (Dave) into the DVD player downstairs and I tackled the final two bookcases. So now, remember that Great Big Empty?


Voila! I’m hoping to start putting some stuff (mostly fabric) into those bookcases tomorrow. Ain’t they purdy?

Oh, and where did all the boxes go?


We WILL NOT have any problems with the furnace or water heater until I get this unpacked. I forbid it! The big gray thing is the furnace. The water heater? It's blocked in behind about 20 boxes way back in that corner. Mom freaked me out with stories about how it's nearing the end of its natural life, so all the "ground level" boxes back there are either plastic storage or on some sort of plastic riser so if the worst happens in the next day or two, all my fabric and quilty stuff isn't soggy and cardboard-covered.

Plan to work on Quilt Central unpacking tomorrow, then off to the Lake. I’ll probably post late again tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Oh, and Happy Anniversary to me and the Hubster. Four years ago today was pretty damn busy around this house, but for different reasons … I still think I’ll keep him …

The UN(packing) of quilt central

Hey! Welcome to my 100th post! :)

Today started off yummy. We needed to pick up some of the Hubster’s dry cleaning, and since this


Was just two doors down, we had a Breakfast of Champions. I swear, these are the Best Doughnuts Ever. Well, best glazed doughnuts. SO GOOD!


Add a little beverage from the deli right next door


And I was on a sugar high for the next six hours. This was breakfast once a week when I was in high school. I can’t do it often now, but it’s still comforting to know that the best doughnuts in America (IMHO, YMMV) are just walking distance away.

We then went on to Costco, where we got … well … a little bit of everything. I got a new electric toothbrush and a new Foodsaver (both originals are going to the Lake), but my favorite find was this:


When I was at ASU in mid-May, their PA announcer brought these to the park. It was 110 degrees outside that day, and these things were damn good. And pretty darn healthy, too! Bonus! I highly recommend if you live somewhere that it gets hot and you also have a Costco membership.


After we got home and got the groceries put away, we moved furniture in the basement, then I was left to put the electronics together. I once again forgot to get a good “before” photo, but the above is the view from the area by the furnace and water heater where my cutting table will live.


This is the nook where that table will go. That mirror used to live in the front entry and will probably go back, but we’ll figure that out later.


All that crap on the futon will wind up getting put away somewhere “real” and that blue couch is going bye-bye. The old housekeepers want it and we want it out of our house. What is it with me and getting rid of furniture lately? Door in the background leads to the backyard and back patio. I’m guessing that most of the time my quilting cabinet is set up, it will be near the futon. I’ll figure it out for real later.


See the fabulous green/yellow/orange carpet that peeks out by the new furnace? That was the carpet in the entire basement the whole way through my kid-hood. Spectacularly 70s, no? The grid came in quite handy in spotting the ball for knee football. Where did we play knee football?


Here. To the right of the stairs where there are currently piles and piles of K and Q boxes. That I will get to eventually.

That was it for the unpacking for today. TV, Stereo and DVD player are all functional, now we just eagerly await the arrival of DirecTV guy on Tuesday morning. (hubster set the stuff up in the official TV room ... where the current big TV will never fit)

After we left the house, we went to Sears and bought our new washer and dryer. We went whole-hog on that purchase, figuring that this is the last place we’re gonna live for quite a while. Whirlpool Duet. Front loader. With pedestals. Laundry room is currently a pit of stuff that used to be in my car. I’ll take a real photo once it’s put together better.

Oh, and then …

Yeah. I dress like a person every so often. Hubster insisted on photographic proof, so I guess I’ll share.

I’m working a golf tournament tomorrow. May or may not take knitting out on the course with me. I’ll make a final decision in the morning. Wish me luck in avoiding stark raving boredom while sitting in a golf cart for nine hours. Ugh.