More adventures in home improvement

This last weekend, I was in Reno, Nevada for a political convention. While I was away, Randy got into major home-improvement mode, and surprised me with renovations in our master bathroom!

I never took a "before" picture, because I honestly hated our bathroom. Everything about it screamed "1984" in an unpleasant way. We had been talking about some changes for awhile, and Randy implemented some of them. Some of the things we want to do are a ways off, but these small changes made such a huge difference that I doubt I'll mind the rest for a long time to come!

So, what changed? First, the color. The whole interior of our house is painted a pale peach color, which I love, but which I figured needed some variation in some parts of the house. So I chose Eddie Bauer "Bluestone" from Valspar, which happens to match the tile around our fireplace in the living room, and is about two shades lighter than the trim outside our house.

Second, the lighting fixture. Previously, it was a cheap brass fixture with four exposed lightbulbs. It was bright, no doubt there, but it was also tacky. All of the original lighting fixtures in the house were brass like that one, and we've replaced most of them (even the front and back porch lights). The new one in the bathroom has star accents and frosted glass, and is part of the same set that our dining room light came from (we got all of this at Lowe's).

Third, the mirror. Like many bathrooms, ours had a huge wall mirror that covered all the space above the vanity. Randy discovered that, worse than most, ours was fixed to the wall with what appeared to be tar. We've noticed that the bathroom walls are very cheap drywall, and putting up heavy things is a bit of a trial (the lighting fixture took two people to put it up), so undoubtedly this was the easy fix during initial construction. Anyway, I didn't really like the mirror, and Randy put this framed one up in its place.

Fourth, light switch plates. Randy picked out brushed nickel plates, for the two light switches and one electrical outlet. Much better than ivory plastic!

You can't see it here, but we also have a dark wood towel rack with brushed nickel hooks on the wall facing the vanity. The bathroom is decorated with Texas-themed items, and bluebonnets.

The next thing to do in here will be to replace the faucet on the sink, which is old and rusting apart at the base. Ideally, we would like to replace the sink and vanity, but it isn't as much of a priority, and the vanity and medicine cabinet could probably just be painted over to more closely match the mirror frame. The tacky pink-flowered linoleum flooring is going to have to stay for awhile (I will never understand why the previous owner, when replacing the flooring in the rest of the house with ceramic tile and wood laminate, didn't also attack this bathroom). But these changes described here have made enough of a difference that I feel a great sense of relief - and it was such a nice surprise to come home to last night!

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An Adventure in Art and European Cuisine

Last weekend, after the UT/OU game (Hook 'Em!), we found ourselves without plans for the first time in at least a month, and decided it was high time for a date that wasn't just a trip to Which Wich and the local Cinemark. Randy had done some digging during the week, and turned up the Georgetown Arts Festival.

This was a real pleasure. Despite living about twenty minutes from Georgetown, we've sadly never spent a lot of time there. An hour or two for Republican events, or last year's New Year's Eve day trip to the square (in the cold - not doing that again), that's it. So this was a big treat, as we had the chance to check out a lot of artists, get some ideas for Randy's photography hobby, and browse the fabulous shops on the square in Georgetown.

Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County, and despite a lot of recent growth (disgruntled Austinites, or transplants looking for a deal on property and not particularly enthralled with Austin culture), it maintains a great small town atmosphere. The great find of the day was the Georgetown Winery, which we weren't previously aware of. No tastings there, but a $5 glass of any of their wines, live music (we weren't that far from the Live Music Capital of the World, after all), and a warm atmosphere. Just outside, there was a gentleman with what I took to be an eastern European accent sitting with his dog, a friendly shepherd mix who was eager to make friends.

We opted to forgo dinner in Georgetown (every place was packed, and the Down the Alley Bistro was closed for the wine tasting happening that evening), and headed back toward Austin - using the tollways that everyone hates, but which afforded a break from the awful I-35 traffic and beautiful views of rural Williamson and Travis Counties.

We don't live far from Pflugerville, and it was on our way through the town that we decided to see if the European Bistro was open. I feel like the great tragedy of Austin is that there is a great selection of food, but very little European food (for a city surrounded by Czech, German, and Swedish settlements, I find this very sad). Prior to last weekend, the best German food I've found in central Texas is in Fredericksburg (I haven't been to Walburg for food yet!). The European Bistro is even better, really, because they serve chiefly Hungarian, German, and Russian food.

It wasn't crowded, and the food was AMAZING. I had the jaegerschnitzel (breaded veal with a mushroom sauce) with red cabbage. Randy had turkey cordon bleu and sauerkraut, and a Hacker Weisse beer. We were very quickly in love with the European Bistro. The food reminded us a lot of what we found on our honeymoon in Solvang, California (there is a wonderful Danish restaurant there that we visited twice on a four-day trip - too good to pass up!).

We highly recommend both the Georgetown Winery and the European Bistro in Pflugerville. All in all, last Saturday evening was a great example of what Austin's surrounding communities have to offer, and how it doesn't take a lot of money to have a relaxing and creative date night.

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Death shall have no dominion

God's Word is the only possible source of comfort, outside of human interaction.

John 14:1-3 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

2 Timothy 4:7-8 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Love to all our friends, to Tony especially, and to Brianna's family.

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Quoth the raven, "Nevermore"

If the museum thing interested you but you couldn't find something nearby, how about checking out the Edgar Allen Poe exhibit at the Ransom Center at UT? This new cooler, damper weather put me in the mindset for Poe's spooky stories, and I found out about this thanks to a flyer at my local Half Price Books.

From the website:

"From Out That Shadow" features manuscripts, books, art and personal effects, many of them displayed for the first time, documenting Poe's career as a writer, his romantic relationships and mysterious death, the decline and rehabilitation of his literary reputation and his profound influence on mystery and detective fiction and other genres.

I heard that Poe's actual writing desk is on display (!!!).

The Ransom Center Galleries are open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended Thursday hours until 7 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays the galleries are open from noon to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed on Mondays.

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Sept. 26 is Free Museum Day

Next Saturday, the Smithsonian is hosting a nationwide Free Museum Day. A list of the museums in Texas participating in this can be found here.

I want to note that the Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon is on the list - my very favorite museum in the state!

Also, the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg is participating, well worth the day trip for central Texans. Hit the museum early in the day, and count on about two to three hours inside. If you have time afterwards, be sure to check out the shops along the main drag in Fredericksburg - lots of kitsch and antiques, so you can get a start on Christmas shopping! Then get a late lunch at the Fredericksburg Brewing Company (or, bring some cheese, grapes, and proscuitto in a cooler, and stop by the Pedernales Cellars for some wine and have a picnic).

There are museums participating all over the state, so no matter where you live, if you have some time next Saturday, there is probably something to suit your needs. I highly recommend taking advantage of this unique opportunity!

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Dear Texas Tech:

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An Adventure in Remembrance

We urge you to check out Project 2996, a memorial project for the victims of 9/11.

This very wet, dark Friday has not in any way resembled the hot, clear Tuesday eight years ago, when 2,996 people were called home to God after terrorists hijacked four planes.

Randy and I did not know each other back then, and our experiences of 9/11 were very different - but we remember some of the same things. Randy was on a work trip and on the road when word came. I was in the student union at the University of North Texas, studying German. We both recall the way the skies emptied over Texas. We both remember the shock, the grief, and the resolve in the days that followed.

Eight years later, we both find it hard to believe that it has been so long since that day. The world changed so irrevocably for our generation, and we have often felt like we're living in a long aftershock.

Despite the wet, our flag is flying, and we wish we had a way to put it at half-staff. Eight years has not done much to soften the blow; we are all too aware of danger now. The "news alert" sound makes my heart jump, my breath catch; our cellphones are always within reach. On our honeymoon, we were detained and patted down at LAX, because of a security rule enacted in the wake of 9/11 and the shoebomber. And no matter what small fears creep into our lives in the wake of that horrific day, they pale in comparison to the fear some people deal with every day, because of men not unlike those who were responsible for 9/11.

Ian astaslem. We will not submit.

Never forget.

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Adventures in Home Improvement

We stayed at home for Labor Day weekend, and the decision was a good one, because we spent a good deal of the time doing projects around the house.

Saturday was a wash - between me having a meeting mid-day, and Randy going to the UT game, we just did not buckle down. Sunday was a different story. We went to church early, went grocery shopping right after, and had an early lunch. Then it was out of our church clothes and into shorts and old t-shirts. Randy headed out to the yard, and I set to work in the house.

Here are some pictures of our progress:

You can see the square of dirt that used to play home to a very tacky tin tool shed, which really amounted to little more than a mouse house. Randy has been itching to trash it for awhile and finally had the time and motivation (you can also see Waylon's hind legs and tail - he was running around while I took pictures):

And this is the pile of tin from the shed. Randy says there is no way this could have been put up by one person - it took most of the day for him to take it apart! But it was worth the effort, because now we can plant new grass and let our yard revive itself (it's a terrible dirt field because of how the previous owner treated it, and we're only now getting around to fixing it.

He also found time to put in new light fixtures downstairs. We've had these AWFUL 80s-style brass-glass combos in the front entry and in the "hall" in front of our bedroom. As some of our friends (the Kirks come to mind) know, battling the 1980s decor in one's home is a full-time job.

Here is the old fixture (this one's in the upstairs "hall" and is still there until we can go and get another fixture at Lowe's):

And here is the new one, complete with Energy Star lightbulb or whatever, so we're all "green":

And what did I do with my home improvement time? I did some major cleaning. The kitchen floor was in need of mopping (easier than it sounds - the advantage of hard tile flooring in the kitchen, and wood laminate in the living room, is that a microfiber mop and spray cleaner are FABULOUS), I cleaned out more of the pantry (an ongoing project), vacuumed/cleaned the blinds, and did some redecoration (see below for the new colors - and please excuse the horrid plastic blinds on the window and on the sliding door. We're saving up for wood blinds, and I'm going to put in a valance on the window. The long-term goal for the door is to replace it with French doors, and to get rid of the vertical blinds altogether (which are already coming apart - several blades are staying up thanks to staples). I then moved into the bathroom, armed with a grout brush to tackle neglected tile staining in the shower. I also cleaned out my dresser completely, and got rid of about two 13-gallon garbage bags of clothes that didn't fit or that I'd had for more than three years, and put all of our old campaign t-shirts (kept for sentimental value) into a storage bin until we can decide what to do with them (probably going to use Campus Quilts to get a neat memento made).

(note the clutter on the wine/china cabinet - this is an ongoing struggle for us, and to be honest the table is never this clean unless we have company. I moved Randy's computer bag, and the piles of loose photos and paperwork that usually clutter at least one end, just for this picture. Unfortunately, the space is very small, and the table is really too big - a circle shape would work better than oval. We inherited this piece from Randy's bachelor pad and I like it a lot, so I'm not interested in spending the money to replace it, but it is bulky and our "dining room" is more of a nook than a room)

I made dinner on Sunday: pork chops in sauce (my mom's recipe - I'll post it some time), corn-on-the-cob, and garlic mashed potatoes. We had all that with glasses of Llano Estacado gewuertztraminer, one of our favorite wines, picked up on our Panhandle Trip.

I also got started on my recipe collection project. This consisted of gathering up all the home living mags I had collected since we moved into the house last year, going through each one for the recipes we had liked or wanted to try, and cutting them out. Tonight I will work on pasting them to recipe cards and putting them in my book. While I went through the mags, I also saved some of the handier tips on food storage and preparation, which are going in the book as well. I trashed a huge pile in the end, which was a great clutter-reduction move for the weekend.

Here's my stack, ready to work on tonight. Note the small stack of paper - compare that to six huge Real Simple issues and one Country Living issue, which were residing either in a bedroom pile (with other mags that got tossed this weekend) or on the bookcase.

Today, we went to the last Round Rock Express game of the season (free tickets, courtesy of my sister!), getting a start on our Christmas shopping, and Randy went to his weekly softball game. I'm spending the evening working on that book, and possibly on my desk in the office (the office is a project that will take us at least a weekend on it's own).

Whew!

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