First Finished Room

Before and after pictures (hopefully it's apparent which is which):

A few other angles:

Reason #531 Why I Love John

He came in the room so excited, "Look, it's a banana breadstick!"

He finds the positive, even in banana bread whose edges are a tad overcooked.

Finishing Touches

Once the floor was set, we had a few things to work on in our bedroom before moving back in. And by we I mean John.

New outlets, including a 3-prong one.

Baseboards.

And patching this crack. Which meant cleaning off old repairs, sanding,

patching, taping, puttying, drying and sanding some more.

Then cleaning the walls and floor again. So much dust.

I did actually help with painting while John was at work during the day, but John did the trim. I am not a fan of taping and John has apparently inherited his father's steady painting hand.

While he was house-projecting at night I mostly just did schoolwork. And made the music playlist--the value of which is not to be underestimated.

All done! After many hours working on the floor, we covered up the majority of it with an 8x10 rug.

The ceiling looks great, though!

And once John adds baseboards to the closet it will be our first finished room.

(And maybe some curtains that block the sun better. And closet doors or curtains. And new entry doors. Baby steps.) For now we're excited to move back in!

SF Jaunt

Annie needed a ride to SFO for her trip to Paris, so Karen brought me along to continue up 101 and play in the city for a bit.

Karen looking out toward Alcatraz

It was such a clear day for San Francisco! So sunny and a little windy.

We drove across the bridge

and down to a fort. I said that's a lovely view and Karen immediately stopped, agreed and reversed the car about 10 yards so I could take the picture. (Illegal maneuver #4 for the day. And counting.)

Then back toward the Presidio to Baker Beach. (Which I think included a few creative U-turns and running a hot pink light.)

The beach warnings are very direct. Unfortunately, there was no warning for nudity.

Karen "plopping" rocks. Kind of like skipping them, but instead of a skip, they sink.

We had a fun time "jaunting" and "soaking in the rays" as Karen called it.

I called it "avoiding the 12-page Hemingway paper that's due this weekend."

Either way we were enjoying ourselves and determined to have as much fun as possible. This included a trip to the Squat & Gobble, a crepery my friend Ashley introduced me to last year.

Zorba the Greek and Chicken Pesto crepes with parsley fries and rosemary garlic potatoes. Topped off with one almond and one raspberry Italian soda.

Even though we were full to the brim, I had to give Karen the Ghirardelli Square tour. She's flipping out her beach hair here.

Their hot fudge sundae was the cherry on top of our trip.

Karen is so spontaneous, adventurous and hilarious. I loved exploring the city with her today!

Giants Game

Uncle Brian had tickets for the A's game that he wasn't going to use, so John generously offered to take them off his hands.

What I love in this picture: Coke bottle slide, palm trees, clear sky, bay bridge, and so many orange fans!

There is something so magical about a night game with lights and a stadium full of people cheering.

The temperature dropped, but the excitement rose as we were tied 1-1 at the bottom of the ninth.

The seagulls knew quitting time was coming and prepared to scour the seats.

We did it! Tenth inning RBI from Huff for the win!

We took a picture on the way out in front of the pretty bay. It looked a lot cleaner in person.

And I promise I did my hair for our date. It was just windblown by this point.

Opinions, Please!

While the bedroom is empty I'm taking the opportunity to paint our closet. Originally I was thinking white. Here it is primed:

But after continuing the color in the other bedroom, I really like how it looks behind the clothes:

But will that be too much gray?

So, adoring fans (or obligated family readers,) which would you do? Gray or white?

Manda Panda

I invited Karen to dinner and a show. Okay, it was lunch.

I made waffles!

Then Karen and I went to see Amanda's final project for her choreography class.

John and I went to her other performance on Saturday, but it was more formal (tickets, costumes, lighting, etc) so we didn't take pictures.

Her assignment was something about the essence of a wild animal. She chose Panda, of course, and did an amazing job.

She danced beautifully and you could see the animal side as well. Some of her classmates did only one or the other, but I thought her balance was perfect. See for yourself:

Their group assignment was a theme or anthem or quote danced out. Parts of it they taught to each other, so it has some duets and some solos going on at once. Amanda starts in the back left and does a cool jump move right at the start of the video.

She is so fluid and entertaining and talented. I could watch her dance all day.

Sunday Babies

I love these kids. Snack time is when they all sit still and are relatively quiet.

John "taught" with me today because Stacey was sick. Such a ladies man.

They loved when he read to them.

And bubble time of course!

Then after church I went with my friend, Lauren, to play with her niece in the children's care hospital.

She is a sweet girl and I loved rocking her to sleep.