The last four months

We brought in a new decade with friends at the new house. Played games, ate good food, and stayed up past midnight.

Started a new term. Kent in his second term of serving on city council, Lori in her third term in grad school.

Winter months found Kent installing trim (a neverending job). Lori co-coordinated OHIO's efforts in the RecycleMania competition. Lori also continued her efforts of increasing food security in Athens by planning a fruit tree planting for this spring.

We heated with wood the entire winter. No other source of heat was used. We were very comfortable. The snowy winter got us out on the sleds and Lori even learned to snowboard with the help of her neighbor, Tony. The small hills of Athens are perfect to learn on.

March came, and so did spring. Garden is started. A lemon tree and tangerine tree were added to the orchard. These will stay indoors in the winter, but will thrive outside in our hot, sunny summers.

Frisbee reunion in Cincy brought friends together once again. Met some new additions which is always nice. Laughed for about 12 hours straight.

This spring we hope to continue work on the house. Siding needs to go up, trim continued, and kitchen finished. Though everything is very livable and we have enjoyed the comfort so far.

Also this spring, Lori hopes to finish school and find a job. Kent hopes to finish the house and play more frisbee.

Joy to all.

Catch Up

First off, happy holidays to all. We wish serenity, happiness, and peace to all who read this and even those who don't.

I think I mentioned we went on a whirl wind adventure around Thanksgiving that involved more time in the car than I like these days, but worth it for the people we saw and spent time with.

I finally took some photos of the new house and downloaded them. Here is a shot from the eating area looking at the couch and wood stove area. The couch is a little bigger than we would like, but it folds out into a bed which may be advantageous if we need to keep the fire going on really cold nights. ( Or when we have the house filled with friends and family, it's an extra place to sleep peeps.) It's all still a work in progress anyway.




As you can see, the window seat is far from being done. We threw some lawn furniture cushions there for now. In fact, that is where I am sitting right now to write this. hee hee.

(Jeff, the plant in front of the window is my new olive plant.)

Here is a look at the kitchen. I mentioned the island and there it is. Not finished. I threw the old countertop from the old house on top to make it functional for now. Sorry I didn't clean up much before these photos were taken. Don't tell Better Homes and Gardens. Still needed are the wall cabinets and something around the microwave.



For the week of Christmas we went to Cleveland to see Kent's family. Kara, Ethan and the baby were visiting so we finally got to meet Salix! She is a great baby. Didn't wake me up, so you gotta like that. Seriously, she's super cute and has a killer smile.



We went on several hikes in Northeast Ohio and with the snow on the ground they were true winter hikes. I think we saw 3 waterfalls in all and had lunch next to a bonfire. Dyn-o-mite.

Here's our nephew Kyle. He just turned 3. The cool thing about both our nipoti is that their parents take the kids on hikes and spend a lot of time in nature. These kids are going to have a great sense of the outdoors. I totally respect that and appreciate the values Keith and Pam and Kara and Ethan are instilling in their child.



Now the count down to the new year is here. I just need to get my books for next quarter before the kids come back and I am all set.

PS. The cool thing about moving is that you find things that you haven't seen or used in awhile. My latest thing is cassette tapes. Especially mixed tapes. I made these things like mad in the early to mid nineties. Welcome back Violent Femmes, Depeche Mode, Dead Milkman et. al.

OMG INXS just came on...sometime you kick, sometimes you get kicked.

Fire

We have been living in the new house since Thanksgiving and all is going well. The biggest change is that we are heating completely with wood. Kent has been scrounging around Athens for wayward wood for 2 years now and has done 99.9% of the splitting. Plus we have so much scrap around the house from the build, that it's a great way to clean that up too. So far, I cannot complain about the temperature of the house. And I am thermally challenged meaning I am intolerant of cold. But I have to say the house is warm. Even at 60 degrees it feels so much warmer than the old house. We have 4 great south facing windows that collect the heat from the sun on days where we are lucky enough to get it, and the brick wall around the stove holds heat well enough at night that we let the fire burn out through the night.

The routine is to get a nice hot fire going at night. Stock it full before bed and let it burn til' it's done. In the morning it's usually about 60-65. Very tolerable. If it is 65, I won't even start another fire until late afternoon, usually 4ish. Then start the process over. If it's cold enough in the morning to start a fire (and someone is going to be around to enjoy it), I'll start one. But I might let it burn slower, since the daytime temps and/or sun will heat the place up.

And,

We don't even have shades on the windows yet. Once we install those (and we have to trim the windows first) We can lower them at night with the premise that they will help insulate the house some.

So I am optimistic for the winter. I know it's only December. We still have the sub zero days of February to get through. But we shall see. If we have to, we can supplement the heat with baseboards. Otherwise, I expect to save a lot of money by not heating the house with the old furnace.

Merry holidays to all.

Living it up...

in the new house.

Even though the house isn't finished it is definitely liveable. New couch makes life cozy sitting by the fire and reading a book or surfing the internet.

Big news is that we had a wind storm on Wednesday and it blew over a tree in our neighbors yard. The tree took out our phone line, so we don't have a landline anymore. So if you have tried to call that number and it just rings, now you know.BUTToday, I changed that number to a cell phone to officially enter the 21st century and I will have my own cell phone. Kent is going to keep the old cell phone until he decides he really wants an Iphone. So you WILL be able to call the old landline number in about a week and reach us. And as always the 591 number still works.

The old house has been converted to a shop for more cutting and painting. Not a great space for it but it works. We'll see what happens after we are done with this house. May keep most of it, may raze it. May add on. Don't really want to think about it right now. Let's get this project done.

Enjoy the holidays everyone.

Thanksgiving Goodness

Kent and I trekked to Cincy on Tuesday to visit with the parents and Jeff. We went to IKEA on Wednesday and I think I found my dream couch. If we get it, I'll post a pic and description. We did buy 8 sconces for $5 each. They are simple and light up. What else can you ask for. The CFL's were the same price as the sconces.

Thursday, we made a circuit of Cincinnati. We started for Kent's aunt and uncles around noon and spent most of the afternoon there. Traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, the famous sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, and more. So delish. Then we went to my aunt and uncles for more turkey, potatoes, etc, etc. A good day of eating.

Today, Jeff, Kent and I drove to Athens. Kent was invited to watch the OU football game from the president's viewing room. Although, I am not the biggest OU football fan, I did hear there would be food. Plus, if I am going to watch a football game in this weather, it sure as hell better inside where it's warm.

THE best reason to go to an OU football game. The marching 110.

We moved also moved stuff into the house. This includes the fridge, bed, and dressers. The fold out couch is in the Meistersized-bedroom (that means little for those out of the loop) so Jeff will have a cozy place to sleep. (He is right above the fire for crying out loud.) We also put a desk and small dresser in there last week.

After going to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner, we are relaxing by the fire. It's only 9 but feels much later. Maybe I can convince these guys to hit the hay early.

Tomorrow, we are off again to Maryland to see Keith, Pam and Kyle. More driving but worth it.

getting closer

We had a bit of a lull in the way of getting things done on the house, but since I had this week off from school work, progress has resumed.

Last weekend started with the prepping of the floors for the finish. We chose to use a new polyurethane product made from whey, the byproduct of cheese. This lowers the VOC's in the product and no it doesn't smell like cheese in our house. We applied the stuff with a 10" wool cloth and the job went quick. So fast I only got these few pictures of Kent. Well, really it was a two person job. I would pour the stuff on the floor and then Kent would spread it on. We sanded and swept and applied it again for a second coat. We'll apply another coat or two.

Kent, stirring the goo.

Application was easy peasy.

This week, Danny and I installed most of the kitchen. We transferred the IKEA cabinets from the old house into the new after Danny built the base for them. Then it was time to build the support platform for the counter. We are using some old tile that we found at the Habitat store in Lancaster. They are terra cotta tiles made in Italy with an elaborate pattern on them. It's a bit ornate for our humble home, but we like them enough.

Here's the kitchen in progress.

As it stands today.

Now if only the plumber/electrician would show up to hook everything up.

This one's for you.

I know. You've missed our ramblings and photo documentation of our house building project. I hope this post lives up to the long hiatus.

Yesterday, Kent's parents stopped for a visit on their way home from SC to Cleveland. The visit was short, since they couldn't find a hotel in Athens due to Parents' Weekend at OU. We made the most of it with a home cooked dinner and fireside chats in the new digs. We also had a pumpkin carving fest with the neighbs.

Here is a contemplative Courtney eyeing the possibilities of the empty canvas that is the pumpkin.

Kent and Pops enjoying the fire. It wasn't that cold, but a fire is still novel to us, so we build them all the time. Plus, if you have seen our yard, you would understand why.

Kent with the folks.

Tony made an ode to Pinhead pumpkin. I don't like horror flicks, so I can only imagine that this is a good likeness.

Random bathroom shot. The upstairs john is fully functioning. And to think of it, so is the downstairs (though it doesn't have a door.)

We don't have hot water, but if you are lucky, we will by halloween.

Oh what a fright, when thy pumpkins rule thy night. (Insert your own scary HAHAHA AH AHA HAHAAA.)

Chillaxin' on the couch. This could be you, if you come play Halloween in Athens.

Pumpkin guts. MMMMM good.

The folks again.

Happy Halloween in case we don't see all our lovely friends this year!

(Play Ultimate.)