For a knitter, good fit is prime. There’s that great moment when a finished sweater is tried on, the sleeves are long enough, the waist fits, the neckline sits at the right place; life is good! I feel like I’m wearing that sweater today.
Today was a wonderful day – wonderful in the sense that it just feels right to be here. There was nothing particularly special about the day – we dropped the kids off at camp so that we could drive down to Rochester and check out some of the housing alternatives.
EXTENDED STAY
We looked at several places, but hands down the best fit for our circumstance was Staybridge Suites. We have the option there of moving into a 1 or 2 bedroom setup depending on whether Gerry’s mom and the kids are able to come down in September, and then moving back to the studio so we can save money by only getting a 1 bedroom when we actually NEED it. And – very important – we can have Atticus with us. Huzzah.
Bonus: They have wifi and cable – we’ll get MSNBC (I get to see Mr. Olberman every night), Comedy Central (ditto Mr. Stewart & Mr. Colbert) and Bravo (Kathy Griffin & other fun stuff) My circle of friends.
While in Rochester we popped into a Home Depot for a sink fix. As we look around at bathroom stuff and worked on ideas, we tried to figure ways to save some $ and “express ourselves” in our bathroom and kitchen.
We still haven’t locked into one contractor – and against all good advice we may be moving away from Mr. Proven Contractor to Mr. Younger Flexible Contractor. Tomorrow YFC is coming by with his plumber so we can get a final quote from him. You’re all on the edge of your seats, aren’t you?
We’d looked at some tile for the bathroom a few days ago and really liked the idea of slate – although the $6/sq ft was a little pricier than our budgeted $4/sq ft. But today we saw a very similar tile on sale for $1.25/sq ft (victim of a broken pallet, but the tiles we chose were not broken) So we got the tile for our bathroom for $30!
I haven’t been at peace with the idea of a run of the mill looking vanity sink, so I had a brainstorm. It may be idiotic, but I’m going to visit a few Menards & Home Depots and kick the following idea around to get feedback.
THE WACKY BATHROOM SINK IDEA
We all remember The Bowl? The yellowware bowl that was broken in June? I saved all of the pieces because I just couldn’t bear to part with it.
We have an old 1920’s hutch we acquired when we were first married and living in Brooklyn. It’s not in great shape (but not falling apart – it’s just been painted too many times and it’s a little chipped – shabby chic looking) It’s in two parts with a 2-drawer bottom and a glass-door china cabinet top.
The bottom is counter height, so I’m thinking I’d like to create a lip around the edge with some type of moulding. Then I’ll take the pieces from the beloved yellow ware bowl, break them into even smaller pieces, and use them to create a mosaic pattern on top on the hutch bottom.
Once that’s finished and grouted, I’ll cover all of it with bar-pour (like the polyeurethane I used on the dining room table – it’s water proof and excellent for counters) to make the top flat and even. The moulding lip will hold the bar-pour in place. I may even toss in some other stuff, other dish shards, pennies, shells, stitch markers…
We’ll cut a hole in the top of the hutch to accommodate the drain for a vessel sink. Ideally I’d love to find a sink that resembles a yellow ware bowl. These two are the front runners right now. Both at ebay, both less than the Corianne sinks our contractor has proposed.
Will it work? Who knows. I think so – I’m going to research it. If it does work we end up with a groovy, expressive sink for peanuts. If not, we haven’t lost that much…
BEAUTIFUL MINNESOTA
Driving back home from Rochester, with our slate tiles and tile adhesive (for the hutch) squared away in the back of the PT, the landscape was breathtaking. I’ve never seen corn look as beautiful as it did along highway 52. Lush and tall and 50 shades of green! The sky was a deep, rich Dutch blue. The light on the fields, the wind moving the grasses and stalks, it almost made me cry.
We got home just in time to sign for a delivery, check my email (FLASH: VK is very happy with the shawl – YAY!- and I got the pattern and charts out tonight! It feels so GOOD to be finished! I think it will be in the Holiday issue.)
I changed my clothes and strolled over to The Yarnery to meet some new friends for knitting and dinner/dessert at Cafe Latte.
I have missed connecting with a group of knitters as a KNITTER – not teacher – just Annie. This was lovely.
I miss my group back home – the Yarrrn Pirates – and this was the first time I’d just hung out knitting for a long time. Thanks, ladies, for having me.
The special bonus – one of the women’s husband had a stem cell transplant (slightly different from what Gerry’s having) five years ago and is doing great after being ‘given’ three years. Love to hear that.
As I walked home at 9:30, the sky still light with northern evening brightness, I felt so at home, so happy.
Back at the house Gerry was snoring in his recliner, the kids were getting ready for bed, the cat and dog asleep in the living room snuggled next to each other (it’s just chilly enough for some good pet snuggling.)
What a nice fit.