Month: February 2009

A bit behind the ball

It’s nearly Valentine’s day, and we still have our Christmas wreath up.

It’s proven impossible to take down as it still has all of its needles and somehow it still smells like evergreen when we walk by. (It’s such a great smell.)

It’s also been a really good reminder that we need something on that wall, preferably exactly that size and shape – the wreath just suits the spot.

Happy Tank

We keep watching in amazement as the leather just keeps growing. Really the only change has been the clownfish’s behaviour, so it’s quite incredible to watch it continue to expand.

Meanwhile, the yellow montipora has also recently taken off, and is really starting to grow in the classic shape.

You can compare the leather and the monti (just a tiny corner is visible) in this photo from Oct 26th:

The difference is rather shocking.

Closing an ugly chapter

I still pay all of my bills via mail, which seems to strike friends and coworkers as quaint. I like sitting down to write checks and making sure that all of the accounts are balanced. Every few months, I find an error in the billing and call to resolve it. And then when I’m done, there’s a neat stack of stamped envelopes waiting to go out – it’s a nice mark of keeping things in order. It’s such a little thing but it makes me feel successful.

Well over a year ago, Kevin went to the post office, I asked him for stamps, and due to a miscommunication on my part he came home with books of dreadful “celebrate” stamps. I tried to bring them back and trade them for something prettier, but it wasn’t allowed. So I’ve been slowly working through them for the last 14 months. The postage rate went up, so I could at least use the pretty Tiffany 1¢ stamps, too, but I’m so happy that I only have two left.

I bought two books of pretty new stamps (hearts and sunflowers) last week – they will bring such happiness to my bill-paying.

Saturday Bathroom Progress

Kevin finished painting the bathroom last week, and I’d been mentally debating the color. It looked so much darker and just *yellower* than I’d been envisioning.

Above the tub (which we’ll be having refinished – white instead of that flat blue):

We took down the towel bars and face plates:

See? Isn’t that yellow? Qualms aside, since it didn’t seem worth repainting in a paler shade, I pulled down the blue tape, moved our heavy duty floor lights, and was amazed at the difference. We have our lovely yellow back. The blue tape must have just struck some sort of chord that made the yellow look supersaturated. I was also really pleased to see that the yellow coexists with our existing vinyl flooring without making it look dingy. Replacing the vinyl (and therefore moving the toilet) wasn’t ever on the docket, but I was concerned about that color combo.

We mounted the medicine cabinet – so pretty, and such a challenge as its interior is the exact width of the drill.

We had one of the best craigslist experiences ever. The old vanity had been sitting in our hallway for many weeks, so I decided to list it, the matching wall cabinet, and the matching medicine cabinet in the Craigslist free section. Within an hour I’d gotten an email from people hoping to take it away that night, and two hours later, it was gone. We were giddy when they drove away. The couple was cute – they’re getting married this spring and hoping to sell both of their 1BD places to move somewhere bigger. Since the market’s soft, they’re doing as many DIY cosmetic improvements as possible and they were delighted with the new bathroom set. I’m glad it’s going to such a good cause – I hope they find buyers.

Once the old vanity was gone, Kevin did a ton of work with the sawzall to cut holes in the back of the new vanity cabinet and cut a piece of plywood for the counter to rest on. He glued it all together, we got the vanity in position and screwed into the wall, and he started working on the plumbing and the backsplash as the clock ticked past midnight. Here was the progress right before I headed for bed:

We still need a light fixture, but otherwise we are so close to being done. 🙂 And after many months of having a vanity in the middle of the fishroom, we can’t believe how spacious that room seems without it. The walk from the bedroom to the kitchen used to require dodging two vanities, and now the path is so clean and empty. 🙂

Swatching

Within moments of blocking Kevin’s hat, I was already swatching for my next project. I’ve had this yarn sitting in my stash for ages, and finally came up with a perfect idea for it. The ball band called for #6 needles, so I cast on and away I went, then realized the resulting fabric was far too loose. Oops. I went down to #5 needles, then #4, and finally #3 before everything seemed like the proper fit.

The good news is that the gauge is now a perfect DK, which will make the math nice and easy. (I’m loosely following a pattern, but it was written for worsted yarn.)

I’m planning to switch off in 2 row stripes, which I think will look great. My only concern is that the darker color seems prone to bleeding, and I want this to be machine-washable. The ball band says something about doing the first wash in vinegar – will that set the color? Prevent bleeding?

The colors above are quite a bit off. This photo is closer, but both yarns are a little bit more teal and less blue, and less saturated than they appear in this photo.