Happy New Year

The new year starts in about 7.5 hours (as of this writing) and I hope that everyone who reads this blog has a good 2009. We are very lucky to have family and friends like you all.

Happy New Year everyone!

M&N (and Simba)

We are truly grateful

This has been one of those years. A mixture of good things and not so good things. But we are ending the year on a good note. This past week, we were constantly reminded of how lucky we are.

The other night, we were watching the local news station and all of the commercials were for charities. Then there was the house that blew up on the South Shore the week before Christmas. And the exact same thing happened a few doors down from one of my sisters on Christmas Eve. Then there was the man down in Southern California who shot up a Christmas party, killed a bunch of people, set the house on fire, and then killed himself.

All of this puts into perspective the little, and no so little, annoyances around our new home. We did realize a few days ago that we need a new roof. But we knew we needed that. We had hoped that it could wait until the spring. But it couldn't and that's o.k. Because we have a home, and a loving home, and a good life. And a local place that makes tamales.

And for that we are truly grateful.

Totally unrelated to the house

After three days of last minute shopping, wrapping, and boxing, we finally got the Christmas presents out on Saturday afternoon. For those of you who like hard-up stories, we waited for an hour at the post office to send your gifts. That's it. That's all I got on that one. Like I said before, if you were good this year, a miracle just might occur and you'll get your present before Christmas. If not, well, think of it as an extended Christmas.

Because we aren't made of money (and the ceiling in the parlor is still in need of repair), we've had to economize and group some gifts. So, I shipped a couple of gift's directly to one of my sisters but her son's gift is in the box that is going to my mom's house. All of the gifts for my sister-in-law and her family are in one big box. Same goes for the circle of friends in L.A.

For the same reason I sent both my mom's and one of my other sister's present in a single shipment to my mom's house. I left via email and text message explicit instructions on when and how to open the box. We take Christmas seriously in this house. No opening presents early. However, the package included a label on the box stating that there was alcohol inside. Well, so much for that surprise. Thanks a lot wine.com. I'm sure there is some legal reason for doing this. But still. Annoying nonetheless.

In other news, grading is done for me. I'm now dissertating full time.

The first day of snow

A couple of days ago our family in Barstow, CA and Las Vegas, NV experienced a freak snow event. Both places got about 7 inches. The Las Vegas airport was completely shut down mainly because they didn't have the equipment to plow the snow or de-ice the planes. My sister, who works at Fort Irwin, was lucky enough not to get stuck on the base like some of her colleagues. I saw some videos from a Barstow news outlet and it was cute to see these people in their shorts and sneakers playing in the snow. You can tell that this place doesn't get much snow because there was some really bad snow shoveling technique demonstrated in this video. But, as of last night, there were no fatal accidents in Barstow.

My mom or my other sister may have to correct me, but I have a vague recollection of a freak snowstorm when we lived in Stockton. Or maybe that was a false memory created by my subconcious telling me that I really belong in New England.

Today, we had our first real snow of the season. The kind that accumulates and that you have to shovel. It's always exciting when we get the first snow. Everything is white and it makes this time of year feel more festive. There were neighborhood kids making snow angels and having snowball fights. The first (good) snow is always the best snow of the season.

We went out to do last minute chores and shopping before the storm hit. We actually got caught out in it for a little while. Although there is a lovely aftermath, this was not gently falling snow. The wind made it rather unpleasant to walk in. But, like other New Englanders, we soldiered on and finished almost all of the shopping.

When we came home, we found this scene across from our house:

(Full disclosure: this picture was taken several hours after we returned home)

This is the gas company digging into the street. After hearing about other people around the state without heat (or electricity) since the ice storm last weekend, we got a little nervous. Our gas service is still on - so far. We'll keep you posted on that score. I'm pretty sure that we won't have our service disrupted. But, I guess you never know. Considering that they are still out there as I write this, I am still a bit nervous.

In addition to someone possibly not having heat, there is also the problem that the utility company trucks and equipment are taking up very valuable parking spaces. This street has a real problem with the parking, a subject I will eventually write about. For now, it suffices to say that Marcos sometimes has to drive around for 20 minutes looking for a spot. Of course, on balance, I guess I would rather have regular utility service than easy parking. And in fairness to them, two days ago a house blew up a couple of days ago in a town south of Boston from a gas leak. Someone died. So, we can't complain.

Hopefully we can get out tomorrow to take pictures.

Christmas on the second and third floors only

Since the first floor of the house is still "in progress", we have confined Christmas to the second and third floors of the house. The Christmas tree is in the office, as are most of the decorations. The kitchen has most of the kitchen related decorations as well. We haven't yet put up the window lights because we had to go shopping and then eat dinner and now we are just tired.

We put up some new pictures in the gallery. The first of the "new" ones shows the move in progress. The best pictures are the ones that show them hoisting the box spring to the third floor.

From 143 Saratoga Street

(click on the picture to go to the gallery and see the rest)

There are a number of pictures of Simba exploring the new place.

From 143 Saratoga Street

(click on the picture to go to the gallery and see the rest)

The view from our kitchen is really neat.

From 143 Saratoga Street

(click on the picture to go to the gallery and see the rest)

We have a few pics of our first floor too.

From 143 Saratoga Street

(click on the picture to go to the gallery and see the rest)

And finally, there are the pictures of us decorating the office. Simba is a bit perplexed at this new thing in the office. She sits under it but can't quite figure out why it is here.

From 143 Saratoga Street

(click on the picture to go to the gallery and see the rest)

We'll put up the rest of the lights tomorrow or Tuesday. It's the final week of classes, so we're heading into the homestretch of grading. Have a good week everyone.

We found Mexican tamales in East Boston

Since we are not going home for the holidays this year, all of our traditions have become more important to us. So this weekend we'll be putting up the Christmas tree and doing the decorating. The tree will go in the office since our parlor is still a construction zone. Hopefully our outdoor lights still work. They haven't been used since we lived in Delaware. We'll be doing cards and boxing up gifts to mail as well. We were a little worried about Christmas day but some very good friends invited us to join them for dinner in Chinatown.

But since we weren't going home, one tradition was kind buggin' us: we have no tamales. There must be tamales at Christmas. It's the only proper way to do things. But neither of us know how to make them, and honestly, I don't have the inclination. But, via our friends at the local Mexican panaderia (yes mom, we now can get Mexican pan dulce), we found out that one of the local places makes and sells Mexican tamales. Not Salvadoran or Colombian tamales, but Mexican ones. In the corn husks. Not that there is anything wrong with these other tamales, they just aren't the ones we grew up eating. The good Dr. is out right now to get a couple dozen for his office party tonight and a few more for lunch.

We'll put up pics of our decorating on Sunday. Till then - happy birthday Mia and happy Friday to everyone else.

The devil was in the drop ceiling

I used to know an environmental scientist who worked for a company that specialized in cleaning up contaminated places. She used to say that sometimes you think you know everything about a place. And then you put your shovel into the ground and you end up finding the devil.

Well, we started to take down the drop ceiling in the parlor this morning and sure enough, a little devil jumped out at us. Apparently, when the first floor bathroom was installed, they decided that it was too much work to get the exhaust duct into the chimney via the space between the floors - in other words, between the ceiling and the second floor subfloor. Instead, they cut a hole in the ceiling.



Then they ran a duct across the room to the chimney and punched a hole into the chimney vent.


So, if (when) we take down the drop ceiling, we will have a hanging duct in the middle of our parlor/library. Oh, and the duct isn't even placed into the chimney vent. It's just sort of pointed in the direction of the hole that was punched into the chimney. I can't say we're surprised. Apparently when they put the bathroom in, they never bothered to get proper permits, so why should we should expect the work should be properly done. For all my anti-government friends out there - this is why we require permits. You can't trust people to build things right, apparently.

After cussing and wishing lots of harm on the previous owner who would allow such shoddy work, we were forced to rethink our plans. So, the new priority is getting the ceiling fixed. Since the bathroom is in the middle of the house and requires (by law and common sense) some form of mechanical exhaust, we've decided to have a recessed ceiling built that can hide the duct. Something like this:


and perhaps eventually we'll build a coffered ceiling. That would look something like this:

http://www.showing247.com/parksidewalk/living_ceiling.jpg

In happier news, we had our first snow of the season today. It was wonderful, light and fluffy snow. All the more wonderful because it would melt upon contact, thus no shoveling needed.

In other happier news, Marcos found two things of value that the previous owners did not take with them:

The glass is called alabaster glass. There were two left behind and they fit perfectly in the light fixtures in the rooms where the lights didn't work until the wonderful people from Daly Electric came by to give us light. If you remember, they took the doorknob to the master bathroom. But they left these beautiful fixtures, so we can partially forgive them.

The next couple of weeks are the final weeks of the semester. Besides a few important meetings, it's all grading all the time. We hope you have a happy week.

Still moving in

We are slowly but surely moving on in. Marcos' desk finally arrived and after 3 hours, it was put together. He can now work in our office. It came just in time because his laptop of 6 years finally kicked the bucket. People wonder why we have so much computer equipment. Well, this is why.

We also found a wonderful electrician who did 4 projects for us for a reasonable price. We now can safely plug our computers in the office, we have a doorbell, a programmable thermostat (we want to be energy efficient), and most importantly, lights in the TV/guest room. We have a number of holes to patch up, but that's all part of the master plan anyway.

In other news, we are going through the thinking process of how to design the parlor/library. This is our public space and where we can sit and read quietly. No TV. We might put in speakers to plug the MP3 player into, but that will be it. Our goal is to get the walls painted, uncover the wood that we know exists under the window and door jams, and install new floors. We found the flooring we want, which will cost an arm and leg - only because we don't have a first born to offer. But the point is to do it well and do it right. So it's hard wood floors all the way.

Since this is the season of giving, I would like to share a resource I found while doing some research. There is a website called DSIRE, which stands for Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency. This site provides "information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency." You can get information on tax incentives for installing a new furnace or what rebates your utility provides for installing a programmable thermostat.

http://www.dsireusa.org/

Other than that, Simba has decided that the first floor is not for her unless we are down there too. She doesn't come to greet us at the door and we never find her downstairs by herself. Hopefully that will change with time. If she doesn't, at least this will be the one space that some of my cat allergic friends can occupy.