One of the projects Wade was most excited about was restoring the radiators. He had great plans to sandblast them all and then paint them a gunmetal grey. He even went so far as to get most of them out of the house and into the garage. About a month ago, he realized it might be best for this project to wait till next year. It would be especially nice if we could find someone else to do the work for a reasonable price. Wade had some help moving large items a few weeks ago and the radiators were moved back into the house. Tonight he hooked them all up. I am typing in the office waiting for them to start heating. It gets pretty chilly here at night. Because we drained the system before we moved in – for the floor sanding we had done – I have never had heat in the house. I can’t wait!
I got invited to a slumber party last night and decided to go. I knew theme was 1980 so I packed my old movies and a sleeping bag. Seven girls ordered pizza, pigged out on junk food, played games (Scene It and Catch Phrase), and watched movies (Footloose and Girls Just Want To Have Fun). There were even doughnuts for breakfast! Then reality returned and I headed home to get ready for church.
While in Paducah, I spent some time helping mom get ready for the rehearsal dinner. She wanted me to touch up the trim on some of the door frames. Being my mother, she didn’t provide me with paint but with white-out. I normally put on work clothes for anything even remotely messy, but didn’t think this qualified. I should have known. I somehow ended up with white-out on my jeans. I didn’t see it until it dried. I tried all the things I knew and couldn’t get it out. I even tried to cover it up with a fabric marker. Nothing worked. This happened to be my favorite pair of jeans and the only pair I brought to Paducah. I ran out to the mall and bought a new pair at American Eagle, but I was still bummed. I mentioned it to Wade on the phone and he said to bring them home. He’d try his magic.
Wow – Wade got out the white-out and the fabric marker! He has become really good at stain removal. His clothes always have random stains show up – we can’t even determine what most of them are or where they come from. This is the first time I have fully appreciated his skills.
As of this week, Wade and I only own one house! Our house in Anderson still hadn’t sold and the number of viewers abruptly dropped. It appears the housing market in Anderson took a good 6-8 months to drop off after the rest of the US. We had the appraisal done for the company buy-out and were shocked by the results. They were offering us almost exactly what we had wanted for the house (before the realtors told us we could get more). We left the house on the market for another 45 days and then officially took the buy-out. I canceled the utilities and we only own one house and that one’s in Milwaukee!
Good-bye Anderson House
We finally found greenery. I knew about a local nursery, Stein, but I didn’t realize they had an impressive inside with decorating touches. We made a quick stop at another mall before heading to the Third Ward for lunch with Maren and Elise. Mom was more than happy to have a little time to play with Elise while the rest of us finished lunch.
The three of us made another shopping trip after lunch and then headed home to put the finishing touches on my house.
Now I just have to get all my painting done and the only room left is the nursery.
Wade had been in Atlanta for the week and was supposed to fly in last night. Instead he bought a new car (2003 Audi A4 Avant) and was going to drive home. He planned to drive as far as he could and then get a hotel room. I woke up at 5 am to find Wade coming into the bedroom. Evidently he didn’t get tired and then was so close to home he drove the entire way. An 11 hour drive when you don’t leave until late afternoon is impressive. I had to get up around 7:30 (very early for me these days) to be ready to meet Curtis. (Curtis and his dad are putting in our new windows! We are having all of the standard windows in our house replaced with white vinyl – which should help with energy efficiency and make my painting much easier.) The first thing I did was sneak out to see Wade’s new car (stock photo, but you get the idea):
Mom, Carolyn, and I spent the day shopping. We found a used bookstore downtown that sold leather back books. We used these to fill the shelves in my living room:
Then we spent the rest of the day in Cedarburg – a small town north of Milwaukee with lots of charm and shops. We enjoyed walking around, but didn’t do much buying.
Wade had gotten some help moving my big white piece into the sunroom. Mom and Carolyn quickly had it looking good.
After shopping at all the old standby’s – Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Linen ‘n Things, Target, TJ Max, and Marshalls, we spent the afternoon looking for an equivalent to “Hobby Lobby”. We haven’t found one yet and evidently I desperately need “greenery”.
Now I just have to get the walls and trim painted – the next project on my list.
Mom and her good friend, Carolyn, came back to Milwaukee with me. They wanted to see my house and I love for them to “decorate”. We rode the train and arrived in Milwaukee around 5 pm. I had just enough time to pick Madison up from the kennel and then we decided there was time for a little shopping. One of our local department stores has a GoodWill Sale twice a year. For every item of clothing you donate to GoodWill they give you a 20% off coupon – good for any item in the store. I had 15 coupons and they expired today. Mom and I didn’t buy anything, but Carolyn found the bedding she had been looking for. To make it even better the store is no longer carrying Tommy Hilfiger so all items were already marked 60% off. Carolyn bought the entire set and had it shipped home for $17 – what a deal!
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