Need Immodium for verbal diarrhoea...
Much rambling about new house, Elizabeth and knitting behind the .
The weekend was a busy one, with packing, cleaning, sorting, tossing, more cleaning, more tossing, etc. With the exception of the clothes we've dirtied in the past couple of days and what I've set out for this week, everything is washed and packed (an in some cases, moved now!) Elizabeth's room is totally cleaned out and packed except for her bed and the futon (which is getting moved today) and the second bathroom is packed (except for the catbox). Our bedroom/bath are mostly finished, as is the living room and kitchen. The dining room and computer room (where a lot of my crafts are, doh!!!) are the next big things to be tackled, although most of my crafts are actually -packed- and just need to be moved (carefully!) to the new place. There are still a couple good evenings of packing and making trips to Goodwill in store. The fridge gets delivered today, and I will do some unpacking while waiting for that, but tonight is mostly packing up the apartment some more. I was hoping we'd get more up on eBay than we did, so I'll have to move all that stuff (*groan*) but at least it will all be in one place for putting up when we get settled. James talked me into not giving away all my plastic storage drawers, which is probably a good idea as I will need places to store some stuff at the new house. Ruthless shaving of more craft supplies, I expect, though.
I did get to play WoW a couple of times over the weekend, although my nephew drives me a little bonkers with his constant play-by-play commentary. I've been letting him play one of my characters, so he's having a little power trip (although she's only level 45!) and wreaking much havoc (or in this case havok! bwahahaha). I really need to spend some time on leveling some of my characters and not worrying that all the level 15 people in the guild have good gear.
I also got to spend some time knitting (in the car, during long gryphon flights, etc.). I started my Gryffindor scarf for my nephew. He's 9, so I chose (poorly, it seems) an acrylic yarn by Red Heart (Super-Saver, I believe). I originally started it on size 8 needles, but man, it was so dense and stiff that it could have been used as a weapon. I then went to size 11 needles, but that was too loose and nasty looking that I frogged it too. On Friday night I resolutely started it again on size 10 needles, with the thought that he is 9, and will be happy with whatever he gets he will be happy. And that if anyone criticises it, they can be smacked upside the head with it, because it's still a little stiff. And there just won't be much call for it in Houston. :D It's in the PoA style, and I'm up to the 5th set of stripes. I will post a picture later, when I can get it downloaded of the camera. ;) I also started (and frogged a couple of times!) the sleeve segment of the cotton sweater I'm knitting for Elizabeth. I can't count and add, obviously, so I ended up with 2 less stitches than I needed once, and 4 less once, but I think I have it this time. I'm doing a little basket weave pattern on the top. I also got the second armhole stitches picked up on the stripey tank so they're ready to be finished. Fortunately it's big enough that it wouldn't have fit her this past summer anyway. And I can use it as a vest for the fall/spring and a tank for next summer. Decided I need to crochet placemats for my new dining room, as I didn't like much of what I saw for sale this past week. It's in kind of an olive green/plum/terracotta mix. I could also sew them, I guess, with my nifty embroidery machine, and make matching napkins. I should really use that machine more since I spent so much on it. :p
Sunday was largely spent either shopping or packing, getting little things for the house, like a mat for the bathroom and such. Dinner at TinTin, although our favourite waitress Jane wasn't there. Sushi goodness was had by all, however. Didn't sleep at all on Sunday night as excitment built for closing on Monday. We had our pre-wire inspection and our final walk-through in the morning, and then the closing at 3. Was VERY VERY annoyed at the pre-wiring walkthrough, as it ended up being a sales call for ADT home security, rather than an actual walk-through. OK, I was downright pissed. I was planning to go with them to begin with, but the high pressure sales really made me balk. The fact that the warranty would be voided if we didn't go with them, and I didn't have time to research it thoroughly before closing made me a little bit ruder than I normally would be. I had to go have a beer, some hommade chips and a game of pool (really, I am a pool guppy and only managed to sink one ball the entire game... but at least it was one of my own!) We did manage to pick up some dishes (seriously, we spent more time hunting for dishes than we did for the house itself!!!) and some other things we needed before the beer. :D The closing went very smoothly (despite the wrist ache from all the signing!) and we found out that a) closing costs were almost $1000 LESS than we'd been expecting b) our monthly payment is now less than what our rent would be if we stayed in this place (they were raising our rent next month) c) the building company gave us a gift certificate to Sonny's B-B-Q (James' favourite restaurant in town) and d) the buyer's agent gave us a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot. I got all sniffly on the way out. And gained a customer for some photo restoration work. :D So happiness there! Picked up Elizabeth from cardamom_23's house and went to the new place to just lay on the floor and breathe in the serenity for a little while. Then went to Sonny's for dinner, shopping for me while James and Michael moved a bunch of stuff, and went to do some unpacking.
I got to take Elizabeth shopping with me, which is always fun. She likes to draw while I'm looking at things (on my shopping list, usually!) She is still on a spider kick, and wants me to draw 'round circle body, 2 eyes, nose, smile' while she draws the '8 legs!' Course, all her spiders seem to have about 15 legs... And picking out home decor with her is a treat, as she wants to decorate the entire house in Dora the Explorer.
More shopping, packing, unpacking, cleaning tonight. But yay! I get my fridge today!
The weekend was a busy one, with packing, cleaning, sorting, tossing, more cleaning, more tossing, etc. With the exception of the clothes we've dirtied in the past couple of days and what I've set out for this week, everything is washed and packed (an in some cases, moved now!) Elizabeth's room is totally cleaned out and packed except for her bed and the futon (which is getting moved today) and the second bathroom is packed (except for the catbox). Our bedroom/bath are mostly finished, as is the living room and kitchen. The dining room and computer room (where a lot of my crafts are, doh!!!) are the next big things to be tackled, although most of my crafts are actually -packed- and just need to be moved (carefully!) to the new place. There are still a couple good evenings of packing and making trips to Goodwill in store. The fridge gets delivered today, and I will do some unpacking while waiting for that, but tonight is mostly packing up the apartment some more. I was hoping we'd get more up on eBay than we did, so I'll have to move all that stuff (*groan*) but at least it will all be in one place for putting up when we get settled. James talked me into not giving away all my plastic storage drawers, which is probably a good idea as I will need places to store some stuff at the new house. Ruthless shaving of more craft supplies, I expect, though.
I did get to play WoW a couple of times over the weekend, although my nephew drives me a little bonkers with his constant play-by-play commentary. I've been letting him play one of my characters, so he's having a little power trip (although she's only level 45!) and wreaking much havoc (or in this case havok! bwahahaha). I really need to spend some time on leveling some of my characters and not worrying that all the level 15 people in the guild have good gear.
I also got to spend some time knitting (in the car, during long gryphon flights, etc.). I started my Gryffindor scarf for my nephew. He's 9, so I chose (poorly, it seems) an acrylic yarn by Red Heart (Super-Saver, I believe). I originally started it on size 8 needles, but man, it was so dense and stiff that it could have been used as a weapon. I then went to size 11 needles, but that was too loose and nasty looking that I frogged it too. On Friday night I resolutely started it again on size 10 needles, with the thought that he is 9, and will be happy with whatever he gets he will be happy. And that if anyone criticises it, they can be smacked upside the head with it, because it's still a little stiff. And there just won't be much call for it in Houston. :D It's in the PoA style, and I'm up to the 5th set of stripes. I will post a picture later, when I can get it downloaded of the camera. ;) I also started (and frogged a couple of times!) the sleeve segment of the cotton sweater I'm knitting for Elizabeth. I can't count and add, obviously, so I ended up with 2 less stitches than I needed once, and 4 less once, but I think I have it this time. I'm doing a little basket weave pattern on the top. I also got the second armhole stitches picked up on the stripey tank so they're ready to be finished. Fortunately it's big enough that it wouldn't have fit her this past summer anyway. And I can use it as a vest for the fall/spring and a tank for next summer. Decided I need to crochet placemats for my new dining room, as I didn't like much of what I saw for sale this past week. It's in kind of an olive green/plum/terracotta mix. I could also sew them, I guess, with my nifty embroidery machine, and make matching napkins. I should really use that machine more since I spent so much on it. :p
Sunday was largely spent either shopping or packing, getting little things for the house, like a mat for the bathroom and such. Dinner at TinTin, although our favourite waitress Jane wasn't there. Sushi goodness was had by all, however. Didn't sleep at all on Sunday night as excitment built for closing on Monday. We had our pre-wire inspection and our final walk-through in the morning, and then the closing at 3. Was VERY VERY annoyed at the pre-wiring walkthrough, as it ended up being a sales call for ADT home security, rather than an actual walk-through. OK, I was downright pissed. I was planning to go with them to begin with, but the high pressure sales really made me balk. The fact that the warranty would be voided if we didn't go with them, and I didn't have time to research it thoroughly before closing made me a little bit ruder than I normally would be. I had to go have a beer, some hommade chips and a game of pool (really, I am a pool guppy and only managed to sink one ball the entire game... but at least it was one of my own!) We did manage to pick up some dishes (seriously, we spent more time hunting for dishes than we did for the house itself!!!) and some other things we needed before the beer. :D The closing went very smoothly (despite the wrist ache from all the signing!) and we found out that a) closing costs were almost $1000 LESS than we'd been expecting b) our monthly payment is now less than what our rent would be if we stayed in this place (they were raising our rent next month) c) the building company gave us a gift certificate to Sonny's B-B-Q (James' favourite restaurant in town) and d) the buyer's agent gave us a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot. I got all sniffly on the way out. And gained a customer for some photo restoration work. :D So happiness there! Picked up Elizabeth from cardamom_23's house and went to the new place to just lay on the floor and breathe in the serenity for a little while. Then went to Sonny's for dinner, shopping for me while James and Michael moved a bunch of stuff, and went to do some unpacking.
I got to take Elizabeth shopping with me, which is always fun. She likes to draw while I'm looking at things (on my shopping list, usually!) She is still on a spider kick, and wants me to draw 'round circle body, 2 eyes, nose, smile' while she draws the '8 legs!' Course, all her spiders seem to have about 15 legs... And picking out home decor with her is a treat, as she wants to decorate the entire house in Dora the Explorer.
More shopping, packing, unpacking, cleaning tonight. But yay! I get my fridge today!