Emma's Room

 It seems that I have neglected to tell you my plans to convert our offices into a tiny bed and bath down in the garage. Emma is my trash buddy living in Portland, Oregon and she will need a place to stay when she visits SF. Also all these grand children keep appearing. This has a handy private entrance and I am still busy tossing and organizing. The bedroom will be easy, the bath a BFD, but necessary. Yesterday in the mail I received this sign from the Blogmaid and it inspires me to keep moving and I am so, so grateful. The BEST Blogmaid ever. Thank you.

off to the dump

I

 Bottom photo ~ I actually emptied five pieces of furniture in Bill's office and this was not easy, but necessary. Middle photo ~ everything in Aldo's truck before heading to the dump. Top photo ~ we had saved some sleeping bags and other unused crap for about 40 years in a storage area that you do not want to see. Ever. All this gone today. Great relief. So much more to do, but this is a beginning. Solid, as Emma would say.

this old house

Husbando created this wonderful wooden spa-like bathroom back in 1976. In his audio memoirs he said he didn't know what he was doing, but he did a great job and was always proud of his work and I still love the unusual look. But, alas, the wood had warped and my fix-it guy, Mr. Singh, was worried and so he spent all day Sunday here making sure I would be safe for another ten years. So here are the before (top) and after photos and yes, I am pleased and hope that Bill is too. 
 

make mine Corian®

Scott and Nancy at Original Joe's (in a  bad photo)

Chef Sarah and Nancy both have and love Corian® (four samples above)

How fortunate I am to have step daughter Nancy and her husband Scott
here. He is a contractor and Nance knows all about this stuff. They arrived
late yesterday and I rushed them to Home Depot in Daly City and we
all worked on the kitchen counters trying to figure out my crude measurements.
Luckily I had photos on my iPhone and we three worked well together. Of
course nothing is simple and I need a new sink, faucet and garbage disposal.
But that's OK. We return this morning to finalize the deal. And no rain
today (maybe).

Our reward was dinner at Original Joe's in Daly City. So grateful. Nance and
I both hope that I will start cooking again with the beautiful new counter tops.
But at least I'll have a pretty new kitchen...

music, color, food, friends

This is Cha Cha Cha on Haight Street at Waller ~ "eclectic Latin"
with a great vibe. The four of us all had steak fajitas, quite yummy,
but next time we will try different things for some bite-exchange. The
joint was jumping! San Francisco is not a "lunch town" like New York
or Boston, I'm not sure why. In any event, it was great fun and I have
to admire The Great Plotnik's ability to park in a spot about 1/2"
larger than Ken, the Toyota.

On the drive to/fro we admired houses of many colors and styles. Of
course we talked re-mo talk as we are all in various stages of new
paint and projects. We spoke of pipes and wires that no nowhere,
and how our painters puzzle over them, then remove them with a
satisfied "so much for that, whatever it was".

I napped away the afternoon and am 100% again today. Next? Yoga.

our picturesque view

When I work the 6am shift I call Husbando about 7:30 to let him know
the I arrived safely and that the big box is a less than perfect little
bundle of hurt feelings and assorted degrees of antagonism. The
usual work place stuff.

He answered our phone on Friday morning this way ~
"THE HOUSE OF FOG AND LADDERS"

I counted 7 ladders the other day, but he said there are 8 if you include
the step stool that is no longer for our use. Our house painter is a
perfectionist, as I've mentioned, so every inch of wood and stucco has
to be "ready" for the paint. We have imported ladders from the neighbor
and Ron brings some of his own.

There is hope ~ some paint has finally appeared on a door frame! This
project may be finished before the Happy Holidays, or not.

from behind the veil

I took this photo yesterday ~ today there is sunshine and blue skies,
but it's not obvious from what we used to call the View Window. The
prep work on our tiny house will take longer than we imagined, longer
even than people warned us about. Our perfectionist painter has found
some wood damage and is repairing that along the way. I should say he
has found a lot of wood damage. Last night Husbando and I pow-wowed
and decided another month of trying to be civil to one another and we
know the results will be worth it. Please remind me of this from time to
time, dear readers...it will be worth it, yes indeedy.

turn right on divisadero

I so loved The English Patient (book, more than the movie, of
course) that I decided to buy Michael Ondaatje's newest,
entitled Divisadero. He takes us from San Francisco to southern
France with a stop in the casinos of Nevada.

It is very foggy here and the back of the house has a somber
black veil because the 3 year long process of pre-painting prep
work has begun in almost-earnest. I am trying to raise above
the inconvenience of it all and most days I am failing.

Will (from Tiapos) said that when a friend gave him the name
of a contractor he also gave him the business card for a marriage
counselor. That makes perfect sense to me at this stage of upheaval.