Picture pages, picture pages

Unpacking and shopbuilding

Unpacking is not fun.

But having a new house with your beloved things in it is fun.

And so we unpack.

We must make better progress in advance of Oct 1, when we are featured in the AIA Design Matters home tour (http://designmattershomestour.eventbrite.com/). Yikes. That is really soon.

Here are key things that'll happen in September:

• Shop is to be framed, roofed, sided, wired, and fitted with a custom garage door. This is already in process. If I were less lazy, I would post pictures.
• Backyard is to be leveled out--the current surface texture is what I'd call "moon-like"--and areas behind the house and beside the house are to be excavated a few inches and filled in with gravel. Vendor is hired, work to begin this week.
• The front door's concrete stoop will be re-poured so that it's a lovely smooth surface again (also currently moon-like, which is not very welcoming). I believe Andrew's setting us up... Andrew, do your magic!
• Betsy's kitchen wall in her mother-in-law suite will start to come together: countertop, sink, refrig, burners and dishwasher will join recently-installed cabinets.
• 1,397 things will be put away in their proper places (or stashed in a closet so as to temporarily disappear from sight).

Later in October, we are supposed to lay down grass seed and straw. And hope for rain. Oh, also we need to transplant some roses. Oh, and master our holiday music compilation. Sh*t. October promises to be as busy as September. Well, at least there's Halloween.

House that's lived in

Here are a bunch of photos of the house with our belongings in it.

Dude, we live here!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157627405103268/

Thwacking, schmacking, I hate...

Do you know how difficult it is to pack up 10 years of stuff accumulated by a family of 4 including 1 collector? Heavy sigh.

Greg's been an animal all week, packing everything he can get his hands on. I have helped with the packing this weekend while I'm in town between 2 business trips. Much of the upstairs is packed but the real challenges -- basement and garage -- lie ahead.

We're supposed to be able to move in starting July 14th, which is only 5 weeks away. Better start hurrying, eh?

In addition to packing, we're also preparing for a ginormous garage sale, tentatively slated for Saturday 6/25. Want some mid-century goodies? Swing on by the old house. We'll be there unloading mid-century belongings by the boxful.