If you see a whole thing - it seems that it's always beautiful. Planets, lives... But up close a world's all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life's a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. - Ursula K. LeGuin

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

After A Few Minor Setbacks We Settle In

Settling into the new and improved House of Dirt and Rocks has not been without its share of bumps. Most of these bumps have come in the past 48 hours.  Two days ago, after a very restless night that deprived b of most of his sleep, Pupzilla relieved her stomach of all its contents.  Shortly afterwards we noticed that she had broken out in hives and a large cyst was found on her ankle. Many hours and dollars later, the emergency vet confirmed b's original diagnosis of an allergic reaction to what was most likely an insect bite (we suspect a spider).  She was given medication and lots of fluids (as she was pretty dehydrated) and sent home to rest.

The next morning b made the critical mistake of requesting a drama-free day.  He went off to work and I went off to run multiple errands.  One of the errands was to drop off the keys to our old house. Also on my list was to make an extra copies of the keys for the new house as the landlord had only given us one set.  Somewhere on my meandering route around SouthLite that one set of keys dislodged themselves from my keyring and escaped.  I discovered this hours later when trying to get into the house with bags of groceries.  I spent the next hour retracing my steps to no avail.  b thought he could get into the house and left work to give it a try.  His love of cat-burglar movies paid off and he successfully broke into our own house.   Unfortunately that didn't solve the key problem and I had to drive an hour and a half each way to the neighboring city where my landlord lives to get a new set.

Last night, although exhausted from all these shenanigans, I stayed up to work on my syllabus. Just a short hour after my head hit the pillow my phone went off.  It was my latest doula client. She isn't due for another 10 days but was convinced she was in labor.  I was dubious.  I met her at the hospital where we waited for over 3 hours (due to someone else's emergency c-section) for the midwife to inform her that she was not in labor yet and send her home with words of encouragement.

In spite of the last 48 hours, I am happy to report that we are happily settled in.  There are still pictures and curtains to hang and a scary mudroom to organize but we have working appliances (well some just barely...there are a few purchases in our future) and the boxes have been both emptied and carted away.

Behold the House of Dirt and Rocks (aka The Tikki Lounge):

Front View
Back View (what once was a shed)
Backyard
Back View
Side View
b's Latest Love
Pupzilla Settling In
Kitchen
More Kitchen
Bar
Pupzilla on her couch
Hallway
Smudge in the office
The Brute in the bedroom
Scary Mudroom
Empty Guest Room
More Empty Guest Room
More Scary Mudroom
Pupzilla patiently waiting for me to stop the picture-taking nonsense and finish making dinner.

9 comments:

Annie said...

Poor Pupzilla! I love your house- red brick exterior, fireplace, wood floors, french doors, a spare bedroom, an office, and a lovely wooded yard- all comfortable, attractive space. Thank you for the photographs!

Drax said...

Dibs on the empty guestroom.

It looks lovely! Congratulations! But please Tell B not to tempt bored and humorless gods by requesting a stress free day ever again. The silly dreamer.

post-doc said...

Yay for house pictures! It's fantastic!

Many wishes for puppy health and human rest and relaxation in your new home. :)

Mom said...

It's great. I love it. Your description didn't do it justice. What a difference from the old place.

Now aren't you tempted to run out and buy new furnishings, just for fun?

Catherine said...

Great house! Am I imaging it or is it similar to your first house? I get the same vibe. Love the kitchen! I'm drooling at all that cabinet space. And a mudroom!!!! I always wanted one, no matter how scary. Good luck with it all, and give Pupzilla a hug. Hope she's feeling better.

Amanda@Lady Scientist said...

I love your house! Also, I have kitchen envy. :) I hope that Pupzilla's bite gets better soon.

Julie said...

Congratulations on the house. It's beautiful! The yard is gorgeous, and I love the kitchen so much. It makes me want to jump in there and start cooking.

I'm sorry Pupzilla (and you and b) had such a rough time. Hopefully, things will settle down soon. Dare to dream!

Maggie May said...

i love all the white edging, the house is lovely :)))

Kaleb Hodges said...

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