The Last Push Begins

We closed on our house on Friday.

Our shipments (United and U-haul boxes) are still in Salt Lake City. We're tentatively scheduled to receive the main bulk of stuff in 2-3 weeks, although we have a guest bed and mattress coming today or tomorrow. In the meantime, we have had a nice place to stay at DBIL's, while we work on the "new" house. We went there on Friday afternoon. Rocky (his blackness barely visible at the base of the stairs by the hot tub) and Dusty explored the backyard. Most of the trees are huge junipers, loaded with berries (good for making gin, if you like that, but also an ingredient in Sauerbraten, which I could make with faux meat). Dusty hasn't figured out the dog door yet, but Rocky rejoiced in it, being familiar with it from his puppyhood. He went in and out. The pups played in the backyard, rolling around in the grass, something they couldn't do in our old backyard.

I spent a good part of Saturday removing the childproofing latches on the kitchen drawers and cabinets.

I found two more I had missed after I took the above photo. Many of the drawers had two latches. Here's a photo as proof, looking down into the drawer.

There must have been a Houdini wannabe living in this house at some time.

Our younger DIL said we may have removed the latches 1-2 years too early, but I disagreed, as we have recently purchased a taser from Amazon. (Just kidding.) If Johan wants to get into my spices and herbs, he will find them less interesting than some of the "herbs" you can buy here in Oregon.

I brought the girls with me on Saturday, and they are the first "beings" in the family to stay there overnight. They look nice on the windowsill in the kitchen eating area, although they will have less trouble getting up there once the bench from our former dining room is along that wall.

They also liked the TV niche over the gas fireplace. It's like a little living room. (I didn't have the heart to tell them that DH is thinking of buying a new 50" TV for that spot.)

I think the house and grounds offer a lot of opportunities for illustrating the dolls' stories. I'm still working on getting a boy.

Many lights were burned out or (as in the case with the refrigerator) simply not there. The last or some former occupants had used bulbs with a wattage unsuitable (as in too high) for the fixtures in some places, and there were signs of shorts (the electrical kind, not the kind you wear) and perhaps the start of a fire...or two. Some light bulbs were missing the glass bulb part, and the part you screw in was still in place. It's a good thing I married the son of an electrician. He knew to turn off the circuit before using my quilting hemostat to grab the base of the now-non-existent bulb and unscrew it enough to finish by hand.

Then there was the extra hinge we found...which was missing from the master bedroom door,  the one with the broken lock. (I sense a story there.)

There was no toilet paper, of course. (We left toilet paper and hand soap in our Utah home when we left, as well as an appropriate light bulb in every fixture.)

Kitchen cabinets were all either wonky on their hinges or drawers were falling off their rails. The pantry (shudder) was a mess. The pull-out drawers didn't pull out, or were askew or warped. DH worked all day Saturday and most of Sunday to get the cabinets fixed enough to be useable. By late Sunday, I was able to put away the unopened shelf-stable food we had with us in the trailer, brought from our pantry in Utah. Whoo-hoo! (We still have stuff in our shipment. I hope not too much to fit.)

I think there will be room for everything else, because, other than the tea cabinet, we had no upper cabinets in our Summit Park home, only open shelves, as you can tell from this photo from our old place:

The items we still have left from the decorative stuff on the top shelf in the Utah photo (we gave a lot away) can go on top of the cabinets in the new house, and maybe the canisters of beans and things as well. 

Ah, the cabinets! We have come to the conclusion that the only hope for them is to have them professionally painted. We are certain that the parents of the Houdini wannabe were Mr. and Mrs. Jellyfingers, because every cabinet door was sticky. We also think that they had a flood at the sink at one time (based on damage to floor and sink cabinets). Every one of the cabinets also had the finish removed in places and/or gouges in the wood. The shelf-support pegs were missing in almost every cabinet that had a shelf. I don't think they make that size anymore.

One quickly dashed ray of hope came when we thought we had found the manuals for the appliances.

"Quickly dashed" because the fridge is a GE, not a Frigidaire, and the installation instructions aren't much use after the microwave has been installed. However...I'm looking forward to the GE microwave manual as my bedtime reading for a night or two. We don't have Internet yet at the new house, but manuals are pretty much all available online these days. We will download manuals for the other appliances as we can. The stove has about 1/8" of grease on the grates, with hair and possibly paper fibers stuck here and there. I'll have to take them to the tub upstairs to give them a good soak and then have a go with a steel-wool soap pad (or two or three). The oven doesn't look too bad, I appeared as if the self-cleaning cycle had been run. I hope it keeps the right temperature.

We bought a tall kitchen ladder, which we needed to change the light bulbs, and raise and lower the shades downstairs (Levelor cellular cordless). The hook thingy you use to raise and lower the shades above your reach by putting it through the hole in the tab at the center of the shade, was surprisingly missing, and apparently they don't make them any more. We're going to have to make one from a long dowel and a cup hook. Why don't we need the ladder for the window coverings upstairs? There are no window coverings upstairs. Nada! Well, there were some blinds in what will be our guest room upstairs, but there was no way to raise or lower them, as someone (probably that Houdini wannabe) practiced their macrame with the cords, so we took them down. We still have some packing paper from our move, so I can cover the front windows until we can get some shades put up. I don't think anyone can see into the windows from the back of the house because of all the evergreen trees.

The house will be a lot of work, but we could tell that when we walked in for the first time. Our offer reflected the cost of what we knew we needed to do to it and what else we suspected might be needed. I think it will be nice when we get done, and we will love it more for having had to do the work. I wouldn't have put in all that carpet, but at least what they chose is tasteful and almost practical.

Earlier in the week, we had ordered a new bread machine, because we left our our old one behind. It needed a new pan, which is an expensive fix or time-consuming DIY. Amazon sent us a lovely new machine, but we couldn't get it to work, so we sent it back. We think it was a fault in the function that allows the machine to remember where it was if there is a power failure (not too important for us, since all I use is the dough cycle) and then start up again when the power comes back on. After we sent it back, we ordered another one (different brand). It was supposed to arrive on Thursday (noted "out for delivery"), and we're still waiting. They have no idea where it went. Neither, apparently, does Amazon...or UPS. (Too much weed for the delivery guy?)

We are enjoying the parks and trails here, though. Here's a gathering in the small-dog section of the dog park at Ponderosa Park.

We also can get on the Larkspur Trail from our "new" house that goes all the way to the base of Pilot Butte. (This hike was from DBIL's house.) The green pin indicates where we started, and the red pin indicates where we stopped, at DBIL's house. On the map, our house is located on the right-hand side of the loop that shows that we took the trail on the way out but walked back along the street so we could check out our new neighborhood. Ponderosa Park, where the dog park is, is that patch of green at SE Wilson Ave., just a couple of blocks from the trail.

Some day we might take a picnic and go all the way to the top of Pilot Butte. It should be easy, compared with what we've been doing.

It's surprisingly easy to register to vote in Oregon. They use your Social Security number if you don't have a driver's license yet. I'm sure they let Utah know I wouldn't be voting there this time. My registration card came in the mail.

DH can ski again this winter. I gave him the senior locals' pass for his birthday. He didn't ski the last two years we were in Park City, because Vail had taken over the ski areas and raised the price on passes, doing away with the seniors' discount for locals. For the amount of time he likes to spend skiing, it was no longer worth it.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I will be doing my sewing my sewing room. I'm thinking of a Mod Squad corner sewing table (for my Sparrow 15) and another Mod Squad cabinet next to it for my Featherweight. These two pieces should fit in the alcove in my new fiber studio.

I think I can add a compatible cutting surface on the other side of the corner unit, using a stock bathroom vanity with my 3/4" frosted plexiglass panel and my cutting mat (being brought by United)  but it will be higher, of course, to allow for cutting comfortably while standing. DH will have to build a shelf to hold the lights I will use when I need to use it as a light table by removing the cutting mat.

I think I'm going to need a plastic mat to go under my desk chair, as it will be hard to roll around on the carpet.

If anyone has had experience with the Mod Squad pieces from Connecting Threads I'm considering, I would love feedback.

Did I mention we have lost our "parts box" somehow. It's where we put all the screws, shelf pegs, keys and remotes (!) from our move. I hope it shows up, or we have several hundred dollars of locksmith and remote-replacement expenses ahead of us.

This will look good in my autobiography someday. It will be fun to look back on it...instead of still anticipating a lot of it.

What's on my needles: A couple more rows on the Coastal Skies Shawl. Not much time to do anything.

What's on my Sparrow 15: Now sitting in my new sewing room, waiting to have something to sit on for now, perhaps the craft table we use for our trailer.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, a little more progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Being Little, the second episode with Mariah. (Mariah is a smart biscuit.) I'm scheduled through October 12th, with the next one after that in the writing stage. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen. I've made a little more progress with the story.

What's in my wine glass: Block Red Shiraz in the 3-litre box, vintage ?. Not the Apothic Red, my favorite, but still nice. Available in Trader Joe's in Oregon in the wine/beer/pot aisle. (Just kidding about the pot.)

What's my tip of the week: When you remove those child-proofing latches from a drawer or cupboard, you only need to remove the front (hook) part of the latch. That's the part that keeps the drawer or cupboard from opening. The other (inside) part of the latch is much harder to remove because of the location, and unless you plan to using or selling the latches, they don't need to come out.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Wild and Crazy

This week has had it's ups and downs. We managed to get to the dog park with the pups, where Rocky socialized with people and dogs, and Dusty ran wild.

The park is close to the neighborhood we hope to live in and where we are staying with DBIL. It's a "free range" park, where dogs can run free, accompanied by their human companions, of course. We met a lot of nice dogs and people. There were water bowls for the the dogs. We needed that, as both dogs ran a lot.

We started Monday morning looking at houses. Most of the ones we saw were not very appropriate, but our agent was trying to give us some choices. There was only one with RV parking in our preferred neighborhood, but we found another one we liked not too far away. Location and a lack of an HOA was weighed against a better house needing less work but for more money. In the end (so far), location won out. A second trip to that home helped us put together a list of things we could see needed to be done before the house was worth what they were asking and the expected costs. We've been watching the market in the area for some time, so we knew what houses went for with the amenities included. It's a nice floor plan with a big yard and was built in 1995. It was clear no maintenance had been done on the home since it was built, although a couple of cosmetic improvements (new carpet and granite countertops) made the photos pretty. Here's the house:

Here's the big yard we wanted. (It includes a chicken run and coop, the perfect place to put the garden.)

It had some play equipment, badly in need of repair. There was a hot tub "as-is," but at least the water was hot, which was a good sign.

There is a storage shed and a greenhouse, also having seen better days. Those two structures don't show up in any of the photos they posted online, for good reason.

We wrote the contract on Friday, deducting the cost of the obvious needed repairs and improvements (like AC, which most houses in the area have), but not allowing for a whole new roof, which we had no way to evaluate. We included our list with the contract, so they could see what we felt needed to be done. If the inspection (on Thursday) says we need a new roof, we may be back to "Square One." If the sale goes through, this will be my sewing/fiber studio (minus the furniture, of course). It's about 17' X 12', not counting the part on each side of the gable. It should be big enough for the loom and a full sewing/quilting area, but not for the daybed I was hoping to have for guests. (There's no pink remaining in the room.)

I had thought we could put the loom in another part of the house, as it's very attractive, but, DH nixed that. I've nixed a table full of papers in the kitchen. We'll see how that goes.

The other house we like has a bigger room for my sewing/fiber studio. This room should be able to house a complete sewing area with storage for fabric, my loom and the tools needed for it and a day bed as well. It only had one living area, though.

We should know Friday if the sale is going through. It's set to close October 5th. The sellers put in the contract that they wouldn't pay to fix anything. We think we have that built into the price, though. Fingers crossed.

As we were discussing the houses, DH said it didn't matter if I had a dedicated fiber studio, because there would be dolls all over the house (as if that were a bad thing). Unfortunately, the girls heard him say that as he was coming into the bedroom we're living in right now. I had to take a photo and show you the look they gave him. (I think Jolena had the best "wanna bet?" reaction, although Mariah, being new and not knowing him well yet, looks shocked.)

I managed to get caught up again on the stories, writing the first and second stories with Mariah as a member of the cast. The first one, which will come out this week, is about Mariah's arrival and sets up what her role will be. Then I had a sudden inspiration for a followup to that, so I'm scheduled through the end of September. If we do move into the house in early October, I know I'll be busy, so I want to get ahead another story or two.

We went out to eat Saturday night to celebrate DBIL's 80th birthday, which we missed in July because we weren't here yet, our 53rd anniversary on Saturday, and DH's 77th birthday this Wednesday. We went to Anthony's.

They have good food and good service, and it was a pleasant evening.

I also managed to register to vote online and get information on how to get an Oregon Driver's License and vehicle registration.

What's on my needles: Still as it was. At least my knitting is out of the trailer and into the house.

What's on my Sparrow 15: Still sitting in our bedroom at DBIL's house. I have a folding craft table in the trailer, if I really need to sew before we get into our new home.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, again progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Flying or Lying. This is the last of the prescheduled stories. The first new one, introducing Mariah, comes out next Friday.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen. I'm still where I was when the trip ended, more or less.

What's in my wine glass: Concha y Toro Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

What's my tip of the week: When you move to another state, carry stamps in your wallet, in case you need to mail in your online voter registration.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

A Little of Everything

A visit to Davidene's Quilt Shop brought me face to face with this cute quilt.

It's Called "Sunny Side of the Street" and is by One Sister Designs. I was just back from Vintage Stitchers at Rebecca's on Thursday, where Janet had mentioned that she planned on making this quilt, which is available at Davidene's as a kit. Davidene is branching out into online selling. Currently her moose blocks are available in her online store, but she says if anyone needs anything, and she has it, she would be happy to send it out, if you just call or email (see link above).

I brought a couple of boxes of books to Rebecca's so my quilting friends who didn't make it to my house two weeks ago could go through them and see if they wanted any. DH had some business in Salt Lake City, so he dropped me off and picked me up, along with the books that were left. Rebecca gave me some books to drop off at Davidene's when I took mine. Davidene is always working on some charity project, and she will find a use for them.

We had a nice meeting at Rebecca's. Good company, good eats and inspiration are always a good combination.

Janet was working on this project from Buttermilk Basin:

The patterns are free, and there is a new one each month. For the next one, she is trying to use tissue paper to guide her embroidery.

Barbara had just finished this quilt top. She gave me permission to post it in my blog, but not openly on Facebook, because it's a surprise for someone. I think it's amazing, and this photo doesn't do it justice.

Every time we meet at Rebecca's, she has something new on display, usually a finished quilt. You may remember seeing this bunny quilt before quilting in a post of mine from June, 2016. The designer is Laura Heine.

The quilting doesn't exactly show up in the quilt, but the quilter made the bunny look very plump and cuddly.

Rebecca had been reorganizing her sewing room. I had to go have a look, so I could get ideas for after we move and I have to give up my huge fiber studio. Here is the sewing/cutting area:

Here's entertainment and storage:

More storage is in the closet, but she wouldn't let me show it with the doors open. She has more wire shelves and a small area for hanging clothes.

The sewing room isn't her guest room, but she can use it for guest overflow.

Here's her real guest room.

Every room has quilts on display. This was in the guest room.

Rebecca also does amazing embroidery and cross-stitch.

I was hand-quilting my Susan Branch Spring Flowers quilt, which you have seen. Making some progress. However, DH has been after me to take down the loom (as mentioned last week), so I spent some time this past week finishing the weaving to use up the warp that was on the loom. I made this bureau scarf. I may trim the fringe a bit. I need to try it on the dresser first to see how it looks.

It took most of the day Friday to take the loom apart into pieces small enough to move easily. The castle (main body) is still very heavy, so it will be one of the things we get help moving. Here it is, all dismantled and sitting against the wall.

As we took things apart--a two-"man" job--I took photos of the individual parts and made notes about the photos and what goes where.

Then I used the photos and my notes to write up what we will have to do to put it together on the other end. I ended up with a little document printed off to take with us when we move, but I also have the document saved in the cloud, in case we lose it.

I've been participating in the Ravellinic Games in the Frog Prince group on Ravelry. One of my "events" was to make little hats for the dolls that "live" with me. Vroni got the first one. The pattern is Deb Denair's Lace Newsboy Cap, but without the bill.

The next hat was for Mandy. This one was Deb's Shontae Slouchy, which I had reworked to knit in the round.

Then I made another for Lotte so I could test my pattern. I made both with worsted-weight, rather than the DK suggested in the pattern, but it worked out OK. Mandy thinks she looks like a snowboarder in her cap, and Lotte wants to be a ski jumper, although both would need helmets for either of these sports. These are for watching the others perform.

I had some loyalty points with My Doll Best Friend, so I used them (and some additional money) to buy some boots, slippers, shoes and underwear actually made for these dolls, who have longer, slimmer feet and smaller hips than most dolls in their size range. I also bought some tights and a windbreaker that came with boots that I really wanted.

We will be ready for rain when it comes. I just need to make some little raincoats and hats.

I made a little book out of the photos from Vroni's birthday, using the Apple Photo app, which has the option of making cards, calendars and books, similar to what Shutterfly does. There was no discount for multiple copies, so I ordered just one to see. It came on Thursday. It basically tells the story from the special blog post I made on her birthday, February 2nd.

I did change a few things to make it suitable for reading to children who don't know the characters and to get the type to fit in the text boxes provided in the program. Now I plan to send a copy to each grandchild and give a copy to Therapy Animals of Utah for their next silent auction.

I'm researching how to get a book published, so I can make another doll storybook as a fundraiser, hopefully for pediatric cancer.

I'm still going through things in my fiber studio sewing area, trying to figure out what to get rid of and what to keep. My new sewing room will be much smaller than the current one, but at least the loom will be housed elsewhere. Right now, we're thinking of a living-dining combination, with the dining area used for weaving.

What's on my needles: Nothing new, but some UFOs.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll clothes, when I get back to sewing.

What's on my loom: Empty, and put away until after we move.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still awaiting her next task. Good thing she's patient.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Listening to Henrietta: The Daring Debutantes Series Book 1,  by M. C. Beaton. Then listened to Envious Casca: Inspector Hemingway Book 1 by Georgette Heber, always a great author. Then started The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry. On my Kindle app is still Miss Braithwait’s Secret by G. G. Vandagriff. Seems like a good story so far.

What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake Malbec 2014.

What's my tip of the week: Throw all junk mail and miscellaneous paper advertising into recycling as soon as you receive it. Look at it if you like, but don't put it aside to look at later. Papers have a way of piling up and taking over your living space. If you don't get rid of it, your children will have to. I know whereof I speak.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.