A kitchen that is not quite so tiny

Yesterday was a major home improvement day. Colin, Mike, and I took a field trip to Ikea. Mike, because he just moved into a studio and Needs Stuff. Colin and I to enable a vision of a more spacious kitchen with a ton more storage space. Also because Mike and I like to look at all the gloriousness that is Ikea. Colin was a good sport. All those arrows on the floor really help keep people moving in the right direction. They need to put some of those in the cafeteria.

Anywho, this field trip began at noon and ended when Colin and I brushed off our hands and examined our work: a new countertop and shelves in the kitchen, the cabinet/shelf combo moved into the dining room and spruced up with some wine glass holders and a table cloth lining the shelves. I think it looks smashing, and having a smaller structure in the kitchen does so much to help open up the small space. The extra counterspace came just in time to host Thanksgiving, too!

Pictures will be forthcoming when I can offer better than an iPod picture taken at 10pm.

Exchange between housemates

In an email to my housemates:
Hey housemates,

I'm going to Ikea with Mike this Sunday. Is there anything we need for the house? I'm thinking I will get a wine glass hanger thingy on the assumption that we'll eventually carry through with Colin's counter space/shelf space idea. Anything else we need for the house?

Inez

Katy (who is leaving for Costa Rica for a year next month) responded:
Probably a life-size frame so you can put a cut out of me in the living room when I'm gone.


Me:
Obviously.

Roundup from my iPod

I've got this fancy thing called an iPod Touch, and it takes pictures. I believe I warned you about it when I got it, but I have not lived up to my promise/threat. Here are some pictures I took there that didn't (I don't think) make it onto here yet.

I took the handlebars off my bike and put on new ones:

It's better now.

I went home to visit over the summer. Twice!

I got some fish:

Super high quality photography, here.

I dressed up as Swedish Chef for Halloween, but I also bugged the dogs with the mustache-on-a-stick part of the costume. Raleigh took it pretty well (tried to eat it, in fact):

Hazel (Colin's dog) felt it was far to undignified for him:

They forgave me, though:

Glasses

After hearing me complain routinely about getting headaches at work from staring at a computer all day, Colin pointed out that maybe I need glasses and I should probably get my eyes checked. DUH. Ruby has an astigmatism (what is the plural of astigmatism??) and had reading glasses since forever, before her eyes got worse and she got bifocals in her 40s. Both of her sisters also use reading glasses.

So anyway, I went and got the full work-up with the machines and the diagrams and the pupil dilation... and low and behold, I have an astigmatism in both eyes (worse in the right) and I'm also slightly farsighted. Look who will be getting reading glasses!

I'm actually really happy about this because even though it means I have to shell out a chunk of change (I sure don't have eye insurance... I thought I had 20/20 vision), it also means that there is a SOLUTION to the chronic brain pain I experience at my job.

So.... yep. That's what's going on over here.


p.s. My friends, Ugly Purple Sweater, had an album release party last Saturday, which was awesome. Their new album is helping me with the Monday blues. Check it out.

Conch shell closeup

Comadres

Alicia's passing last year followed this year by Pati's unrelenting cancer has given me a much greater sense of urgency about this project of collecting/sorting/compiling information about the Comadres and finally actually! writing! the book! I'm really pleased with myself right now because I just completed digitizing all the cassettes of interviews we have and stuck them on the internet for my mom to access.

As a side note: cancer. What the fuck.



Edit: Just noticed my last post was also about cancer. Yeah, it's on my mind.