But holy crap it's been busy.
The "busy" has been a mix of house and life. But we've done so much, it seemed like a good time to step back and share what's been going on.
It took Lucy all of a day to figure out how to climb the stairs - and then a few months to understand the word "upstairs," but it's cute now when we say "let's go upstairs" and she stops what she's doing and runs over.
Of course, once she's there... there's nowhere to go
Some people are happy about that...
Babies who don't smile just make some people angry
Would you like to see a little of what we've done around the house?
Let's start in the "formal living room" - we don't use this room a whole lot yet. It's got some toys, and it's got some Yogibo furniture, so it's very comfortable. We'll use it more over time.
At the very least, we're now in it every day because the fish tank is up. There's no top on the tank yet; it shattered during the move, and we're having trouble finding a replacement. It's so dry in the house that we're losing about 2 gallons per day.
Getting a kitchen table was quite the ordeal. We went to Dunk & Bright about a week before Thanksgiving and found a table set we liked but it was going to have to be ordered - we'd probably have it by Thanksgiving. A week after Thanksgiving, we found out that it was back-ordered, and we could expect it to come in around December 12th. On December 18th, we found out that the factory was waiting for other orders to send it with, and we'd get it around mid-January. 3 minutes later on December 18th, we cancelled the order.
That weekend, we went to Chinatowne and found a table set we liked. It was delivered on December 26th. High chair not included.
Speaking of things that took way too long...
The dishwasher kinda sorta worked, but the soap didn't quite dispense right and it got progressively worse. One day, after running the machine, we opened the door and found almost the entire soap tab sitting there and a layer of soap caked onto our silverware. I actually think that my "stomach bug" in December may have been soap poisoning. I can't be sure, of course, but it's possible.
Anyway, we called GE's support, and they sent a tech, who decided the machine wasn't level and that must've been the problem, so he leveled it, and tested to make sure the soap dispensed. It did. But, sadly, the dishwasher also leaked. So we called again, and they sent another tech.
This tech ordered a bunch of parts. The parts arrived, and a third tech came to install them. However, being unfamiliar with the machine, this tech decided he didn't need all the parts and installed only one of them. He also unplugged everything, and couldn't figure out how to plug them back in, so by the time he left, we had a dishwasher that leaked (which we of course found out after he left) and was plugged into an extension cord running across the kitchen.
Fortunately, our Ryan project manager was able to stop by and plug everything back in (safety plugs in hard to reach places - I wasn't going to chance pushing through the back of the cabinet and having to get something else fixed).
But now, we still didn't have a dishwasher. Why GE felt it was better to send out several thousand dollars worth of parts and service techs instead of just replacing a $500 appliance is a question for another day. After some enjoyable conversations with customer service, which involves us explaining that the first company was not welcome back, GE dispatched a second company to work on the machine, along with a full set of new parts, which they finally shipped to us, after threats of legal action.
The tech who arrived only needed the parts the 3rd tech had left, and found so many things wrong with both the install and subsequent service that I won't even list them all here. But at the end of the day, we have a working dishwasher and can happily recommend Vanesky Appliance.
Shall we move onto happier things now?
The TV from our basement at Stonecrest has been promoted to the family room; it is the newer one after all.
To avoid confusion, I refer to the family room/great room as the living room because we tend to live in it.
The first thing hung in the new house was one of the last things taken down at Stonecrest - the SPEVAK sign. It has also been promoted, from the basement staircase to the wall over the pantry. Of course, putting it there, we left plenty of room for a clock - and who are we to not put a clock where a clock can fit?
This clock was behind the bar in the basement at Stonecrest.
We haven't finished the "mud room" yet, but do have an information center in the kitchen, including a a daily calendar, which Marissa updates with the date and weather - by asking me, of course. It's in Celsius, which I enjoy.
There is another clock in the kitchen; we also added a towel ring, and sometimes even put our towel in it - and by we, I mean Alicia, who finds it wherever I left it and puts it in.
There used to be a store in the Ithaca Commons called "Habitat of Ithaca." We loved that store, and bought a number of cool things at it, including this wall-decor, which hung above the couch at our old house. It now sits above the couch in the living room, but its candles have been upgraded to LED.
Marissa has the only custom-painted room in the house. We took it up a notch when we found some wall decor. Flowers and butterflies really make this room pop. Look at me being all HGTV.
Two girls? Two sinks? Two stools.
We have no room for guests, unless they're of the stuffed variety.
We have a weird kid. Every night at about 7:30, she marches into the bathroom, gets up on her stool, and screams until we get her toothbrush ready for nightly teeth-brushing. She plays with it quite a bit, but it seems like she's also brushing. Good habits, and all..
One of the big things I wanted in a new house was a sitting room in the master suite. There was no easy way to do it in this layout, but the room is big enough for a sitting area, which works just fine!
I kind of want a sign for the middle door that says "CLOSET"
Here a clock, there a clock, everywhere a clock, clock. Many things have changed position - new house, new place, but putting this clock over the main stairs just felt right. And three attempts later, it actually stayed on the wall.
My little corner of the world. While Keith's solution for mounting the microphone to an extra piece of wood from the deck worked in the old office, which had a glass deck, having it attached to a large wooden desk is much more elegant.
Note that the placement of the printer and mixer are currently opposite of how I'd like them to be, but it's the best solution until we find the right piece of furniture for the corner.
Staircase? Must have clock.
And a look at the garage, which has been cleared of boxes (except for the one that's bound for the curb). No cars yet - it'll be sealed in the spring, and there's a better than even chance that the cars will fit in it. Only about 1 in 3 that the doors will open, but that's why Alicia has a sunroof.
Not shown in the picture above is the welcome center. The chair was an idea I had when my grandfather came to visit, but it turns out to be convenient for those under 102 as well.
That's all. You can leave now. Wait, not you two.
Until next time!
