It does to me.
I gave in and bought my 2009 calendar pages this week, earlier than usual. Usually I can hold out until August, but as soon as I got home from Mendocino, it seemed imperative that I start getting next year's stuff written down. And suddenly it's the end of July and my thoughts ar turning to Fall what with Playford Ball planning and booking ES Ball musicians, thinking about Scottish, and realizing that I have to write my GCD program for September 3rd next week! And then there's E&A Week...
Then I stop the speeding train and remind myself that I'll mostly be at home for 3 whole weeks. That feels great! I'm getting estimates for roof repair, and depending on how that goes, I'll keep plugging away at the slipcover/living room decor oddysey. Mostly what I want to do in this stretch of time is de-clutter and keep unpacking the parts of the house that are still in chaos: parts of the kitchen and laundry room, the craft room, the dressing room. Those don't require financial outlay, just time, which will disappear after 9/1. Oh, and then there are sewing projects, the aforementioned programs to write, camp planning to work on...
But I want the fantasy back that I have all of summer before me...
7/29/2008
No, wait. This might be the perfect one...
Courtesy of Deb. From Neiman Marcus.
Do I need this sofa, or a new back roof??
7/27/2008
Madame will be at home...
It's been so delightful having a weekend at home and even more exciting to realize that other than a quick hop to Boston mid-week and a weekend in New York coming up, I'll be at home for several weeks in a row!
Another fun stop today was the new-ish tea place in Chestnut Hill: The Hill Tea Bar. It seems small, but charming with indoor and outdoor seating and antiques from the shop next door on display. There are tea tastings and wine tastings and story hours for the kiddos. Their hours are somewhat in flux as they get a feel for the neighborhood, so I put in my request for a late Friday or Saturday night. Who wants to go for tea?
Yesterday was taken up by car stuff, my Container Store oddysey, moving rocks and pulling weeds in the front grassy patch (the backyard is a certifiable jungle - so embarassing - next week's project...), moving food around in the kitchen, and finally, dancing. Today was great - the freedom to sleep in, run lots of errands (learning how to drive the new car), enjoy the pool party, and watch little Ms Esmerelda.
Among other errands this weekend was a stop back at Bed Bath and Beyond. The brown slipcovers are now no more. The next experiment: twill slipcovers from Target. Color: milkshake.
Yes, I know it's a ridiculous color to contemplate, and that that they will stain. I passed a place that makes custom slipcovers, but if I went that route, I might as well get the current ones reupholstered, or simply buy new. But I have to keep trying to find something I like, and brown wasn't it. I'll keep you posted.
Another fun stop today was the new-ish tea place in Chestnut Hill: The Hill Tea Bar. It seems small, but charming with indoor and outdoor seating and antiques from the shop next door on display. There are tea tastings and wine tastings and story hours for the kiddos. Their hours are somewhat in flux as they get a feel for the neighborhood, so I put in my request for a late Friday or Saturday night. Who wants to go for tea?
7/26/2008
The latest saga…
Just before I went off to Mendocino, my mom’s mechanic found a car for me: a 1998 Toyota Avalon. It’s older than my Saturn, and has almost as many miles, but it’s a Toyota and has had a new (Toyota) engine put into to it a couple of years ago.
By the time I got home from Camp, it was a done deal, and all I had to do was go get it. Seems simple enough. I had Friday night and almost all of Saturday free, and quickly arranged a dinner date with Deb and transferred my car insurance. I’d pick up the car on Saturday, register it on Monday, get it inspected on Tuesday, drive to Boston on Wednesday. What could go wrong?
Oh nothing but a 12” x 6” piece of pressed aluminum, i.e., the license plate.
Mom’s mechanic, through whom the car was found, in his fastidiousness removed the plates (or tags, as they’re called in the business), to repaint the bumpers, and assuming I no longer needed them, returned them to the previous owner so they could be returned to the state. Disaster.
In the state of Pennsylvania, when you are registering and transferring the title of an out-of-state vehicle, the car must be physically present so the VIN and odometer reading can be confirmed. This meant that registering the car ahead of time and bringing a plate up with me was right out.
Next course of action - finding a title agent in NYC to issue me temporary in-transit tags. No dice. No agency could be found that was open on Saturday. Equally successful was my attempt to contact the NY DMV to ask about in-transit tags from them. Their lines were always busy - not even the possibility of eternal hold.
It was mom’s mechanic who took decisive action. He decided he would drive the car down, with his bother following to bring him back up to New York. But with what tags? I shouldn’t ask such questions. When was he coming? He was leaving NYC at 3 or 3:30 AM and would get to me around 5:30 AM.
And so it was. No one stopped the caravan, and the car was safely stowed in George and Paul’s driveway, nose out, so no one would think to look for the now missing tags.
Next step - to drive to AAA to register the car, get a plate, and get legal without getting pulled over for having no tag on my way there. And with heart in mouth and great adherence to all traffic signs and signals, I made it. And sure enough, an hour later, the title was transferred, the registration applied for, and a temporary registration issued, the address changed on my driver’s license, and most importantly, a license plate distributed and immediately placed on my car.
Today I can’t tell whether I’m fonder of and more grateful for the car and the return of my freedom, or the precious and much longed for license plate.
By the time I got home from Camp, it was a done deal, and all I had to do was go get it. Seems simple enough. I had Friday night and almost all of Saturday free, and quickly arranged a dinner date with Deb and transferred my car insurance. I’d pick up the car on Saturday, register it on Monday, get it inspected on Tuesday, drive to Boston on Wednesday. What could go wrong?
Oh nothing but a 12” x 6” piece of pressed aluminum, i.e., the license plate.
Mom’s mechanic, through whom the car was found, in his fastidiousness removed the plates (or tags, as they’re called in the business), to repaint the bumpers, and assuming I no longer needed them, returned them to the previous owner so they could be returned to the state. Disaster.
In the state of Pennsylvania, when you are registering and transferring the title of an out-of-state vehicle, the car must be physically present so the VIN and odometer reading can be confirmed. This meant that registering the car ahead of time and bringing a plate up with me was right out.
Next course of action - finding a title agent in NYC to issue me temporary in-transit tags. No dice. No agency could be found that was open on Saturday. Equally successful was my attempt to contact the NY DMV to ask about in-transit tags from them. Their lines were always busy - not even the possibility of eternal hold.
It was mom’s mechanic who took decisive action. He decided he would drive the car down, with his bother following to bring him back up to New York. But with what tags? I shouldn’t ask such questions. When was he coming? He was leaving NYC at 3 or 3:30 AM and would get to me around 5:30 AM.
And so it was. No one stopped the caravan, and the car was safely stowed in George and Paul’s driveway, nose out, so no one would think to look for the now missing tags.
Next step - to drive to AAA to register the car, get a plate, and get legal without getting pulled over for having no tag on my way there. And with heart in mouth and great adherence to all traffic signs and signals, I made it. And sure enough, an hour later, the title was transferred, the registration applied for, and a temporary registration issued, the address changed on my driver’s license, and most importantly, a license plate distributed and immediately placed on my car.
Today I can’t tell whether I’m fonder of and more grateful for the car and the return of my freedom, or the precious and much longed for license plate.
Yes and No...
New over the door pantry from the Container Store. Yes!
Brown slipcovers as seen on my loveseat. No.
I just can't do it. I can't come home to brown. I love the browns of furniture, but after growning up with a succession of browns and golds and mustards on the upholstery and the floor, I vowed not again.
Back they go. Next shot - cream color or some share of grey, and some kind of cotton duck or canvas, remembering to buy a shape that covers the skirt of the sofa.
Brown slipcovers as seen on my loveseat. No.
I just can't do it. I can't come home to brown. I love the browns of furniture, but after growning up with a succession of browns and golds and mustards on the upholstery and the floor, I vowed not again.
Back they go. Next shot - cream color or some share of grey, and some kind of cotton duck or canvas, remembering to buy a shape that covers the skirt of the sofa.
7/25/2008
Opinions, please...
Should I buy this poster for my wall? Probably my bedroom wall. It's Edouard Manet's Moonlight Over Boulogne Harbour, 1869. I've been wanting it for ages, ever since the manet and the Sea exhibit at PMA, but haven't seen one under $200 that includes the moon in the print, one of the key pieces in my opinion.
What do you think?
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