Nom de Plume

I am afraid I have done Mr. Demo a disservice, making it seem as though more of our house is in complete construction mode than is the case. I had lunch with Pete and Marc last week. Pete asked just how much of our house is livable. The answer is: quite a lot. Don’t believe me?** Maribel just finished scrubbing from top to bottom, so I feel no compunctions in posting pictures.

Welcome to Chez Smunshi with our unabashedly over-the-top art wall.

Admittedly, the chairs are a little bright. I’ve vaguely thought about having them recovered but that’s a) too expensive and b) way too much hassle. I did finally manage to get the rugs in the living room cleaned, which I picked up this morning.

Obviously, this is my office. My wallet is open because I just paid that stupid parking ticket from when I got towed three weeks ago. One of these days, I may actually get a real desk. And the floors refinished. And the ceiling repatched from the skylight leaking …

**Well, we think it’s livable. Those who prefer, um, uncluttered homes will no doubt hate ours. And given the state of the kitchen (and how long we lived with the bathroom), we all know how low our standards are.

“Do you think you might hook up the kitchen sink?” I asked wistfully.

“Nope,” said Steve. “I’m going to jackhammer more concrete out of the backyard.”

Such is life. But the yard is looking gorgeous.

This is my all new Vegetable Jungle. I mulched, planted, and am now waiting …

Harry, warming a zucchini plant.

I have become totally addicted to auctions.

There’s a place in Renton that auctions off estates, and I’ve been going quite regularly–coming home laden with stuff I don’t need (and in many cases, I confess, that I don’t really want). It’s easy to get caught up in the heat of it all. The first one I went to found me with three Kaoru Kawano woodblocks. Sure, the price was right–but I don’t even really LIKE Kawano prints. I think he was a pedophile; all his little girls look really freaky. I’ve bought table linens, kitchen goodies (the $5 espresso maker was a real winner), random pottery …

But I have to tell you: I am really pleased with the carpet I just bought last Thursday.

Never mind the fact that I don’t need new rugs.

Now, I’m on a kick to become a carpet expert. I checked out a bunch of books from the library, and am thinking that it may be a Lesghi Shirvan carpet. Does anyone know anything about carpets? Am I right?

Also, I have two carpets that were my great great grandfather’s, and am pretty sure that they are a Fereghan …

and an Akstafa …

Anyone?

Ok, for all you who requested a photo of the dishwasher, here you go. But I warn you that it’s not terribly exciting, unless you’ve been washing dishes in the bathtub for the past three months. (And can I also add that I’ve never had one of those newfangled dishwashers where you don’t have to wash the dishes before washing the dishes? I’m in heaven.)

Much more exciting, however, is the fact that the pendant lights arrived and Steve hooked them up.

The rest of the kitchen is, as you can see, a disaster.

Last night, I was walking his royal furriness in Mount Baker. It was about ten, and I was walking on a relatively deserted street when I approached an SUV parked under a street lamp.

It was moving.

I could hear moaning over my Here on Earth podcast.

And when I looked, there were two people HAVING SEX in the driver’s seat.

And all I could think was, “Wow, that looked really, really uncomfortable.” I must be getting old.

Really old, because right now, the thing that excites me the most is …

(drumroll)

Our new dishwasher.

Rather, we have something that acts as the kitchen in what used to be the dining room. It’s amazing what you can get used to, although I have to say I’m very excited. The new dishwasher came yesterday (an Asko, the most water efficient and energy efficient brand out there–here’s to never washing a dish by hand again!). Steve might actually hook it up this week. And hook up the sink. And get the cabinet bases out of the living room. Maybe. Well, okay, probably not. But I have cleaned the kitchen floor–which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but given the amount of drywall and mud dust actually was–and primed and painted the ceiling and new walls. And we hoisted the sink up on the bases. So, without further ado …

New bank of windows–Steve hates them–along with the new sink. We’re not sold on the fixtures; as you can see, there are two sets. It’s kind of fun. Also, there will be cabinets surrounding the sink and an old-fashioned curtain in front of the plumbing. White subway tile all the way around.

More sink.

Steve hates the wall color. I WUB it. He does like the exposed brick of the chimney, though. Again, this wall will be cabinets.

Nice new lights–sure better than the fluorescent crapola that was there before. There will also be 3 pendant lights above the sink.

leave notes for each other on the dining room table.

I, on the other hand, leave them in the fridge. In front of the beer.

I tried to read this while Dave was here working on the kitchen. He’s a great guy, but I was feeling very scattered. Not only was I reduced to wandering Seattle like a homeless person, but I was without office, without any place uncluttered to sit (in truth, the house looked like a bomb had hit), and without any peace amid the hammering and drywall dust. All this is to say that I got midway through the book, put it down, and never picked it up again. In short, dear reader, this was an abandoned book. And I am perfectly willing to admit that there were external circumstances that contributed to its abandonment.

However.

The mess in the house matched the mess between the covers.

I am ambivalent about Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Marisha Pessl does a fabulous job of capturing a certain mood and feel. She has a keen eye, and is truly witty. At the same time, I found the novel incredibly disorganized. The story moves along in fits and starts–and when the plot is moving forward, it’s a great read. But there are pages and pages devoted to nothing more than setting the mood with arcane references and intellectual acrobatics. To this end, every paragraph has several long parenthetical asides; my feeling is that if one relies so heavily on parentheses that a quarter of the book is devoted to them, one should consider better organization. Ultimately, Special Topics lost me.

It’s too bad. There was so much good stuff there–but it could have used some ruthless chopping.

I have been reduced to roaming Seattle like a homeless person.

Steve burst into the bedroom at 7:30–far too early when one stayed up until two reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics–and shook me awake. “The electrician is coming in two hours. Can you clean up the basement?” Meanwhile, Dave was finishing framing the bank of windows we’re putting in over the freshly reporcelained old kitchen sink and the dog was whining that he hadn’t been fed in HOURS.

So I cleaned up the basement, ignored the fine dust on everything else in the house, got dressed, and started out the door. “Oh,” said Steve, “I forgot. Those carriage doors on Craig’s List? Can you go look at them?” (Yet another project–the garage. I remain hopeful that it will be turned into my office.) I went; they were a mess. Now, I’m sitting in All City Coffee in Georgetown. Right outside the window is a matched pair of pet goats on dog leashes.

Thanks for all the lovely comments.

And to commemorate, let me post pictures of what the kitchen looks like now.