The celebrations begin in less than a week. The house is coming together, as evidenced by the massive transfer of seasonal clothing from the third floor to the basement. The futons have been constructed. In hindsight, the twin we got for one of the rooms was probably larger than needed. But it was cheap, and it's now already there and set up. Once we get the laundry back, I'll put sheets and blankets on them, sweep the floors, wash the doors, and then get busy on the office.
We are putting together the itinerary of happenings. There will be Duck Tours and museum visits. Two of us are going to The Tomb. One meal may happen in Salem. Reservations have been made, catering is in the process of being ordered. The wine was shipped in yesterday. Extra chairs are arriving over the course of the week.
And we are in the process of clearing the basement of old appliances. Some young men came to take the oil tank, stove, and fridge and other stuff that can't go out in the regular trash. Apparently, the oil tank still had oil in it (yes dear, you were right; the inspector was an idiot). So, they are coming back tomorrow to drain it and then take it. Hopefully that goes smoothly. In the meantime, we have a big hole in the wall where the 80 year old stove vented into the chimney. One step forward, one step back.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Massachusetts celebrates my birthday with a marathon
Monday is my birthday. Usually I celebrate in all kinds of ways for a week, but too much is going on to do my normal week long party.
This year, Monday also happens to be Patriots Day in Massachusetts. It's a state holiday commemorating the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which marked the start of the American Revolutionary War.
Monday is also the Boston Marathon, marking the start of tourist season.
While I appreciate the celebrations in my honor, I will have to decline to participate in any event that takes me into the heart city. We plan to head to movies where I can watch a cartoon about monsters and aliens, eat popcorn, and maybe do a bit of shopping.
I will be chauffeured throughout the day but not because the Good Mr. Dr. is such a gracious gentleman. My driver's license expires tomorrow and because it is a holiday, the Registry of Motor Vehicles is closed.
This year, Monday also happens to be Patriots Day in Massachusetts. It's a state holiday commemorating the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which marked the start of the American Revolutionary War.
Monday is also the Boston Marathon, marking the start of tourist season.
While I appreciate the celebrations in my honor, I will have to decline to participate in any event that takes me into the heart city. We plan to head to movies where I can watch a cartoon about monsters and aliens, eat popcorn, and maybe do a bit of shopping.
I will be chauffeured throughout the day but not because the Good Mr. Dr. is such a gracious gentleman. My driver's license expires tomorrow and because it is a holiday, the Registry of Motor Vehicles is closed.
Preparing for the Big Family Visit and other random things
As you know, we got the main guest room in order. We are about 85% done on the other two rooms upstairs. Just a few more things to do and they will be ready. It's coming along slowly but surely. We are putting together an itinerary of activities. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
More importantly, I've submitted the dissertation to ProQuest, it was approved by the university and so it is now officially official. I will be hooded with the ceremonial hood and will receive a big piece of paper bestowing all of the honors and responsibilities of being an overeducated person.
I've managed to get out most of the announcements and invitations to dozens and dozens of people. I am thankful for self-sticking stamps. By the way, if you received it in the mail, it is an announcement, not an invitation. If you try to come to the ceremony without a ticket you will be turned away. However, if you do try and get turned away, let me know and you can join us for dinner afterwards.
I think I've figured out what spring cleaning really means. Twice this week I've seen workmen at various neighbor's houses literally emptying out basements and backyards. I called one of them and hope that we can work out a deal to take an old fridge, stove, and the oil tank this week. This will allow us to actually use the back part of the basement during the party.
In other news, I have learned that estate sales are FABULOUS. We went to one in central Massachusetts yesterday. We weren't looking for furniture but we were amazed at how reasonably priced everything was. We bought a few household items (serving dishes and the like) and some christmas presents, all for less than $15. Go to EstateSales.net for a list of upcoming estate sales and auctions in your area. We still haven't gone to any auctions, but hope to spend part of the summer learning about those too.
Also, for those of you interested in my dissertation research, my program director wrote a Spotlight article for our webpage about my work. You can go here and scroll down to see a not very good picture of me and read the summary.
That's all on this end. The semester is ending, which for us means grading, and grading, and more grading. Which is what I need to get to.
More importantly, I've submitted the dissertation to ProQuest, it was approved by the university and so it is now officially official. I will be hooded with the ceremonial hood and will receive a big piece of paper bestowing all of the honors and responsibilities of being an overeducated person.
I've managed to get out most of the announcements and invitations to dozens and dozens of people. I am thankful for self-sticking stamps. By the way, if you received it in the mail, it is an announcement, not an invitation. If you try to come to the ceremony without a ticket you will be turned away. However, if you do try and get turned away, let me know and you can join us for dinner afterwards.
I think I've figured out what spring cleaning really means. Twice this week I've seen workmen at various neighbor's houses literally emptying out basements and backyards. I called one of them and hope that we can work out a deal to take an old fridge, stove, and the oil tank this week. This will allow us to actually use the back part of the basement during the party.
In other news, I have learned that estate sales are FABULOUS. We went to one in central Massachusetts yesterday. We weren't looking for furniture but we were amazed at how reasonably priced everything was. We bought a few household items (serving dishes and the like) and some christmas presents, all for less than $15. Go to EstateSales.net for a list of upcoming estate sales and auctions in your area. We still haven't gone to any auctions, but hope to spend part of the summer learning about those too.
Also, for those of you interested in my dissertation research, my program director wrote a Spotlight article for our webpage about my work. You can go here and scroll down to see a not very good picture of me and read the summary.
That's all on this end. The semester is ending, which for us means grading, and grading, and more grading. Which is what I need to get to.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Done!
We've accomplished two things this week:
1. The parlor is finally done. Or at least, as done as it is going to get for now. We still have to do something about the floor moulding in the bay. And we need to put shoe moulding around the room. But still, it is done. As soon as I can get the Good Mr. Dr. to post the pictures to Picasa, I'll let you know.
2. My committee chair approved the final version of the dissertation. All I have to do now is submit it to ProQuest.
I also ordered my graduation announcements. The university wanted us to use this cheap company which provided a poor quality product. The sample they sent us was just terrible. I could do something better on my own computer. But I don't have time for that. So, I decided that I wanted to use a local printer. For the same amount of money, I could get a nicer announcement. And I can keep my money in my own community. After some negotiations with the university, they agreed to send the university seal to the printer. So, I should get them this week. Keep your eyes open next week for a mailing from us.
I started to work on the sewing room last night. I need to set it up to be a guest room for the Big Family Visit. The biggest challenge was building the futon we got from Freecycle. There were no instructions, so I had to simply figure it out. It took about 3 hours but it was easier than putting together the dresser we got from Ikea.
In other news: the Good Mr. Dr. returned from fancy-pants university on Tuesday evening. The birdies are happy that he's back. So am I.
I will end this post with a funny story:
We made the flight reservations for Mom, Dad, and the Banana a month or so ago to come for the graduation. My sister and her family are also coming. She made their flight reservations just this week. My sister has been flying all over the country in the last month, so I've not spoken with her about anything, much less the parent's flight arrangements. However, it turns out that my sister and her family are on the exact same flight, in the exact same row as the parents and the Banana. Weird, heh? Looks like an intervention from a higher power to me.
1. The parlor is finally done. Or at least, as done as it is going to get for now. We still have to do something about the floor moulding in the bay. And we need to put shoe moulding around the room. But still, it is done. As soon as I can get the Good Mr. Dr. to post the pictures to Picasa, I'll let you know.
2. My committee chair approved the final version of the dissertation. All I have to do now is submit it to ProQuest.
I also ordered my graduation announcements. The university wanted us to use this cheap company which provided a poor quality product. The sample they sent us was just terrible. I could do something better on my own computer. But I don't have time for that. So, I decided that I wanted to use a local printer. For the same amount of money, I could get a nicer announcement. And I can keep my money in my own community. After some negotiations with the university, they agreed to send the university seal to the printer. So, I should get them this week. Keep your eyes open next week for a mailing from us.
I started to work on the sewing room last night. I need to set it up to be a guest room for the Big Family Visit. The biggest challenge was building the futon we got from Freecycle. There were no instructions, so I had to simply figure it out. It took about 3 hours but it was easier than putting together the dresser we got from Ikea.
In other news: the Good Mr. Dr. returned from fancy-pants university on Tuesday evening. The birdies are happy that he's back. So am I.
I will end this post with a funny story:
We made the flight reservations for Mom, Dad, and the Banana a month or so ago to come for the graduation. My sister and her family are also coming. She made their flight reservations just this week. My sister has been flying all over the country in the last month, so I've not spoken with her about anything, much less the parent's flight arrangements. However, it turns out that my sister and her family are on the exact same flight, in the exact same row as the parents and the Banana. Weird, heh? Looks like an intervention from a higher power to me.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
No New Picture Yet
We've been slowly but surely getting the house in order. The parlor was done, and then became not quite done because we needed a new bookshelf. Anyone who had been to our apartment in the last year knows exactly what I mean. So, we bought a couple of bookshelves from Craigslist (which is a fabulous resource). The Good Mr. Dr. stained one of them but it's been raining every chance we've had to bring it up from the basement. So, the parlor remains almost done.
We've also purchased some futons so that people have a place to sleep when they arrive. It's happening slowly but surely. Still need to get things like pillows and towels. I'm going to put up the family pictures tonight and figure out where the sculptures are going.
In other news, I have successfully defended my dissertation. I have some official stuff to do, like make a few changes and submit it to Proquest. It all should be done in the next week.
The Good Mr. Dr. will be heading to Canada on Sunday for a few days at some fancy-pants university to do something with his students. I will not be joining them. I plan on going shopping at Ikea.
Now that spring has come, we've been getting a lot of birds. Finches (or as my people call them, meep-meep birds), cardinals, blue jays, and other birds that we've never seen before. The Good Mr. Dr. was dutifully going out every morning to feed them. Bird watching from the kitchen window is a great way to avoid working. Our backyard became so popular that one of the bird feeders has already fallen apart from use. That's o.k.. We've got more feeders just waiting to be painted and put out there. We've also bought a copper-looking one that we hope can stand up to the bird traffic.
That's all from here.
We've also purchased some futons so that people have a place to sleep when they arrive. It's happening slowly but surely. Still need to get things like pillows and towels. I'm going to put up the family pictures tonight and figure out where the sculptures are going.
In other news, I have successfully defended my dissertation. I have some official stuff to do, like make a few changes and submit it to Proquest. It all should be done in the next week.
The Good Mr. Dr. will be heading to Canada on Sunday for a few days at some fancy-pants university to do something with his students. I will not be joining them. I plan on going shopping at Ikea.
Now that spring has come, we've been getting a lot of birds. Finches (or as my people call them, meep-meep birds), cardinals, blue jays, and other birds that we've never seen before. The Good Mr. Dr. was dutifully going out every morning to feed them. Bird watching from the kitchen window is a great way to avoid working. Our backyard became so popular that one of the bird feeders has already fallen apart from use. That's o.k.. We've got more feeders just waiting to be painted and put out there. We've also bought a copper-looking one that we hope can stand up to the bird traffic.
That's all from here.
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