Week 53

I didn't get a chance to call Mr. Bunkport to schedule the final gutter and catchment system work this week, and he will be in New Orleans helping our friend Brian with his new house next week, so still in a holding pattern on the final work. Which is actually fine, since it's not raining and since we're waiting on interminable paperwork before we can really call this done anyway. What's the rush at this point, really? The important stuff -- the structural stuff -- is done and the house is safe, and their construction stuff is gone, so we have our house back again. All is well.

Except for the washing machine. This weird yellow-orange goo has been dripping into the drum & getting on the clothes:

I called a couple of repair places, and they both said that machines this old typically can't be repaired because the company doesn't manufacture the parts anymore. And even if you get lucky and find the parts, the machine usually won't hold the repair. So off we went to the big box hardware-and-appliance store on Saturday morning. A fancy modern machine is due to arrive next Saturday. Stay tuned here for riveting photographs of the new appliance.

While we were there, we got a new rug for the dining room:

The old one wasn't that old, but Pickles insists on eating all her food toys and marrow bones and other assorted messy things on that rug, so it was getting gross. This new one is actually an indoor/outdoor rug -- we should be able to take it outside and hose it down when our spot treatments aren't enough.

Also while we were there -- because isn't that how these things go -- we got a bunch of stuff for the yard. Like new baby succulents for the planters (which I also rearranged a little this weekend):

We invited some people over for a cook out on Saturday, so I spent the rest of the afternoon getting things ready in the yard and downstairs. 

A small bench under the panda:

A towel rack in the new bathroom:

A toilet paper holder:

Amanda came over a little early to enjoy the sunshine with us as the others were en route. She and AJ moved this nice folding table that Amanda and Matt graciously gave us into the new room:

Meanwhile, Pickles also enjoyed the sunshine:

Her normal routine is to lie in the sun until she gets too hot, and then go into the room and lie on the cement floor until she cools down:

Then once she's cooled down enough, she goes back out into the sun. And repeats the cycle for the whole afternoon.

Unless there is food. Here is the spread that AJ brought down for the grill:

And here is Pickles, pretending not to notice the hot dogs on the cutting board:

Smelling the hot dogs on the grill:

"Please, can I have a hot dog?"

"How close can I get to the grill before they notice?"

"If I act really, really good and lie here patiently on this pillow, maybe you'll give me one?

"Sigh. I guess not."

Poor Pickles. Life is hard.

On Sunday, I spent the day moving things around in the yard, pulling out another bush, and getting the vegetable bed ready for planting:

This year, I'm going to do an assortment similar to what I did in 2013: snap peas, arugula, butter lettuce, fava beans, spinach, carrots, and beets. Seeds go in early next week. I am also going to finish putting in a border at the front of the bed made out of terra cotta tiles originally intended for the kitchen, but that had arrived broken. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see what I have in mind, at the right-hand side of the bed (not the cement slabs at the back of the bed, which are also reused materials from something else, but the thin orange line at the front).

I smashed my finger and hit my head and banged my knee and my back is going to scream later, but it's worth it to have the yard totally open and cleaned up, and ready for summer gardening fun.