I'm nesting like a goldfinch
Although no eggs are forthcoming. But the move is complete, our new apartment is completely furnished--including screwing all the bookcases* to the walls, as per earthquake code--and all that is left to unpack is a small box of bathroom things and a small box of CDs. The floors are mopped, the carpets are spread out, the plants are in their new homes, and, most importantly, the old apartment is no longer our responsibility. I wish I could post pictures. This place is so immensely superior to the old place that I like to just sit down, drink some tea, and look at the rooms. Daniel likes to look out the window, because apparently there is a flock of parrots that lives around here, and sometimes they fly past, squawking.
One aspect of the new place that might be annoying for some (or might soon become annoying, although I'm hopeful it will not) is the dog. See, the owners and landlords live in the back half of the house, while we have the front half. And they have a dog named Cyrus. He's a very handsome dog, but I've never been able to make his acquaintance properly because he barks ferociously at anything coming up the driveway, and if he's not behind the back fence, he'll race down towards the front fence, still barking**. The owners assure us that as he gets to know us he'll stop barking at us, but since he barks at them when they come home from work, to which they respond with a weary, "Hi, Cyrus," we're not counting on it. We are becoming used to it, however, although I still forget to warn the FedEx guys when they knock on our door by mistake with packages for the landlords. I usually remember a few seconds before I hear Cyrus welcoming the intruder. And it's probably a good thing to have a hair-trigger dog nearby. Whether or not he'll lick intruders to death, as so many housedogs ' owners claim they'll do, is secondary to the fact that few intruders will have the nerve to break into a house garded by a dog who barks if I drop something too loudly***.
I mentioned a gas stove, didn't I? Hmm--no, it looks as if I didn't. Well, we have one, and I made biscuits on it today. They were great! I divided the dough into two halves and rolled out one half (it rolled out much, much better than the pie crust did), covered it with some Daniel-chopped pluot and nectarine, and then rolled out the other half and put it on top of everything. It was very, very yummy, and since the base dough is so easy to make, I have lots of other ideas for making additions to it. If our camera were not lost somewhere in the wilds of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (or being sold (or already sold and shipped) on E-bay by the vile camera thief) I would take pictures of the biscuits and post them. As it is, the best I can do is issue a blanket invitation for everyone to come down for tea. School doesn't start until August 25th, so I have a pretty open schedule. Maybe I should make the most of having free time before diving into six years of academia again, with no time to read books. I do enjoy having time to read books. Right now I'm reading Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire series. It's very charming, although the political maneuvering that I've been promised has not yet materialized in large amounts. There is quite a good bit of romance, although Jane Austen would sneeze refinedly if asked to comment.
So, in conclusion, I'm happy and love my husband.
*The old apartment had built-in bookcases, so we had to buy some and assemble them to remedy the lack. However, this new place has tons of wall space, while somehow still having tons of windows, and so not only could we put up enough bookcases to replace the old, built-in ones, we have room for growth on the existing bookcases, and room for growth on the wall should we ever need to put an extra bookcase in. We do not, unfortunately, have room for growth for two extra bookcases, unless we get very creative with the other furniture.
**Not to worry. Our door is on the other side of the front fence, which is always closed, so I don't think he'll be able to ravage us unless (unlike the bears in the Lost Coast) he's really determined.
***I realize this sounds as if he's an unholy pain in the zadnitsa, but actually he's a bit muffled most of the time and easy to ignore. Daniel and I have decided that he's not vicious: he's just insecure, and when he's barking what he's actually saying is, "Help! help! There are scary people around and I'm afraid they'll hurt me! Don't let them come closer or I'll run away and cower under the bed!" He's never actually run away and cowered, though. What a brave boy!
One aspect of the new place that might be annoying for some (or might soon become annoying, although I'm hopeful it will not) is the dog. See, the owners and landlords live in the back half of the house, while we have the front half. And they have a dog named Cyrus. He's a very handsome dog, but I've never been able to make his acquaintance properly because he barks ferociously at anything coming up the driveway, and if he's not behind the back fence, he'll race down towards the front fence, still barking**. The owners assure us that as he gets to know us he'll stop barking at us, but since he barks at them when they come home from work, to which they respond with a weary, "Hi, Cyrus," we're not counting on it. We are becoming used to it, however, although I still forget to warn the FedEx guys when they knock on our door by mistake with packages for the landlords. I usually remember a few seconds before I hear Cyrus welcoming the intruder. And it's probably a good thing to have a hair-trigger dog nearby. Whether or not he'll lick intruders to death, as so many housedogs ' owners claim they'll do, is secondary to the fact that few intruders will have the nerve to break into a house garded by a dog who barks if I drop something too loudly***.
I mentioned a gas stove, didn't I? Hmm--no, it looks as if I didn't. Well, we have one, and I made biscuits on it today. They were great! I divided the dough into two halves and rolled out one half (it rolled out much, much better than the pie crust did), covered it with some Daniel-chopped pluot and nectarine, and then rolled out the other half and put it on top of everything. It was very, very yummy, and since the base dough is so easy to make, I have lots of other ideas for making additions to it. If our camera were not lost somewhere in the wilds of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (or being sold (or already sold and shipped) on E-bay by the vile camera thief) I would take pictures of the biscuits and post them. As it is, the best I can do is issue a blanket invitation for everyone to come down for tea. School doesn't start until August 25th, so I have a pretty open schedule. Maybe I should make the most of having free time before diving into six years of academia again, with no time to read books. I do enjoy having time to read books. Right now I'm reading Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire series. It's very charming, although the political maneuvering that I've been promised has not yet materialized in large amounts. There is quite a good bit of romance, although Jane Austen would sneeze refinedly if asked to comment.
So, in conclusion, I'm happy and love my husband.
*The old apartment had built-in bookcases, so we had to buy some and assemble them to remedy the lack. However, this new place has tons of wall space, while somehow still having tons of windows, and so not only could we put up enough bookcases to replace the old, built-in ones, we have room for growth on the existing bookcases, and room for growth on the wall should we ever need to put an extra bookcase in. We do not, unfortunately, have room for growth for two extra bookcases, unless we get very creative with the other furniture.
**Not to worry. Our door is on the other side of the front fence, which is always closed, so I don't think he'll be able to ravage us unless (unlike the bears in the Lost Coast) he's really determined.
***I realize this sounds as if he's an unholy pain in the zadnitsa, but actually he's a bit muffled most of the time and easy to ignore. Daniel and I have decided that he's not vicious: he's just insecure, and when he's barking what he's actually saying is, "Help! help! There are scary people around and I'm afraid they'll hurt me! Don't let them come closer or I'll run away and cower under the bed!" He's never actually run away and cowered, though. What a brave boy!