It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

We've had such a nice holiday weekend. I can't believe I have to go to work tomorrow, after five days off. Work? What is that? It's back to the train for me!

Thanksgiving was great, filled with family and food and mouthing off. Friday night I was able to go to Trevor's football game and watch the Huskies advance to the quarter finals in CIF. Apparently Dana Hills is playing in the playoffs as well - I joked about what I would have done if Dana had been playing against Trevor's team (I would have rooted for Trevor, FYI.)

Yesterday we had QUITE the day. We were back in our old West LA stomping grounds at 8:30am on Saturday to help Tim's former-and-about-to-be-current-again-coworker Ed move. I swear, if I see cardboard boxes or a UHaul truck ever again, I will barf my brains out. I am oh so sick of moving. The good news is that Ed is even more organized and anal than me, and the move was pretty quick and painless, as far as moving goes.

We got home and got cleaned up for a date with mom, dad and Sara. As part of our Christmas present to them, I bought tickets for everyone to go see Mary Poppins at the Ahmanson. It's one of mom's favorite movies, and I do love the Ahmanson. Tim and I have season tickets, so it was a pretty easy deal to just get three more seats and change from Wednesday to Saturday night.

For dinner, we went to my very favorite restaurant, Bottega Louie. We had a good table and great service, and the food was fabulous as always. It was a hit with Dad, which I was glad to see. I would have felt chagrined if my foodie father hated my favorite restaurant.

The play was really good. Different than the movie, but the changes really worked well. It was practically perfect in every way. Dad even bought Mom a parrot head umbrella before the show, so she was thrilled beyond belief (hers doesn't talk though, which is sad. Those cost a lot extra.) Sara got the soundtrack, which we listened to the car on the way home. Sara stayed over at our house, which makes her our first official house guest, even if she got here at midnight and left at 9:45 for floor hockey.

This morning I learned an interesting item. Tim has never seen Mary Poppins, the movie. He said they didn't own it as kids and if he saw it at a friend's house, he doesn't remember. I think it's hysterical that he only figured it out today, because he sat through the play and all of us discussing the differences between the play and the movie on the way home. He's a funny guy.

We took it kind of easy today, and are just hanging out together. We went and bought groceries for the week, because we are almost out of leftovers (there's about one slice of carrot cake left. I will miss it so when it goes.) We also went to the garden section of Target and bought our tree! Our first real tree in five years! I am very excited.

We ended up talking more to some of our neighbors as we struggled with the tree in the front yard (had to borrow a saw and cut more branches off.) Jeremy and Jill came over and got a tour of the house. They are the caretakers of Jonesy, and I told them about Jonesy is not only super aggressive to our cats through the glass, but lately if I try to pet him in my backyard or side yard, he will rub up against my legs and then growl and swipe at me. He actually took a pretty good piece out of Dad on Saturday. Jeremy and Jill couldn't believe it, and of course, Jonesy came over while we were talking and was totally nice to me. Our neighbor who shares a backyard wall came over also, and she admitted that she sometimes feeds Jonesy when he comes around, as do I. Though he lives outside during the day, that cat sure appears to have the life. Our backyard-sharing neighbor also asked what we thought of the hedge in their backyard, which creates sort of a privacy fence. I told her that we like the hedges, even though they're big, because it keeps me from having to get curtains for our bedroom slider. She seemed very nice about keeping the yard maintained/getting the bushes cut if they were any problem for us, which is what you want in a neighborino.

We are spending our last few weekend hours watching Sunday Night Football and eating cheese and crackers. The tree is up and decorated. The cats have not started sleeping on the tree skirt just yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon As long as they don't knock it over, they can do what they want. I am interested to see what they think. We had a real Christmas tree the first year we lived together, back when we only had Lulu. She was allergic to it (her lips blistered through the month of December) and she couldn't stop eating the needles, even though she had trouble with them on the way out. I am hoping that as a six year old, she can restrain herself

Here's a picture of Thory, because he hasn't been recently featured on the blog.

He loves my chair from Grandma Pat.

And here's our tree!

Almost Turkey Time!

Well, I learned tonight what Thor thinks of Jonesy. We can only assume that they have seen each other, though the only interaction anyone has seen so far is Thor sitting at the opposite end of the room from where Jonesy sat outside the window. Jonesy likes to come around during cat dinner time and act up - tonight was no exception - except that this time both Lulu and Thor were sitting in the living room while he growled at them. When he jumped at the window to get them, Thor hissed and ran away. My boy is a sissy. It makes sense though - he has been the beta cat since day 1. Lulu, despite being the alpha of the house, continues to look unsure about this white intruder. If Jonesy can't start being nice, he's never going to get himself invited inside, that's for sure, though I do try to let Lu smell my hands after I pet him.

The holiday festivities started on Monday with my office's Thanksgiving potluck. I made a caramel cake with a turkey frosted on top.

I must say, the icing is better on day 2. It's not my favorite thing that I've ever baked but Tim liked it, as did most of my coworkers.

Tomorrow our office has a half day. And since I have a four hour commute round trip, my boss graciously said I could work from home for the day. Hooray for pajama-based grant writing! I am realizing that as a homeowner, I am going to have to get more appropriate lounging clothes. On Saturday morning when the tree guys came I was still in Grandma Pat's mumu, and on Sunday Rita dropped by around 10 and I was in my sock monkey footie pajamas. I guess it's easier to stay dressed like a scrub on weekends when you live in an apartment and never see your neighbors. But know if you come over on a weekend before 3pm, I am probably rocking my jammies and bedhead. You're welcome.

Trimming the Trees!

MIRACLE OF MIRACLES, THE GARAGE IS CLEAN. Seeing is believing - here are our two cars, actually parked in the garage. There are still a few more things to be jammed into the trash and recycling bins (emptied on Thursday, filled by Saturday at noon!) and a coffee table that we will need to find a home for, but having the garage cleaned out means we are almost fully moved in. In fact, most of the chores on my chore list involve sitting in front of a computer, swearing at software.

Proof of our unpackedness.

It's our first real weekend in the house, and we had the tree trimmers here today to take care of the trees, much to mom's delight. They cut down most of the little junk, and did a great job grooming our big pine on the side of the slope. It went from being a giant overgrown bush to a nicely manicured tree! They also gave the willow in the front a trim and it looks very nice. The willow is one of my favorite parts about our house. We also met some more neighbors today and chatted.

Here are some of the pictures of the action today:
This is the big tree in question, as seen from our backyard.

Here it is at the beginning of the adventure.

Some of the cutting down to size.

And here's what it looks like now. The hillside is much cleaned off (they cut down all of the oleanders and other little trees) and you can actually see sunlight through the pine. It was really in need of love - there were tons of dead needles showering down.

Here's a shot of the trimmed up willow.

We've also been doing a little redecorating, mostly using the wonders of craiglist. Here's the pieces we bought this week.

A little glider for the patio. We are still in need of a lot of patio furniture.

Little cherry coffee table for the family room.

A chunkier coffee table for the living room. Slowly but surely, we are abandoning the big 70s style pieces. Our old bookcases got picked up this week too. They'd done a good service to Don and Eileen and then to us, and now they're off to the big forest in the sky.

We also got our new comforter in the mail this week. Now we are snug as bugs in a big giant bed sized rug. I am also using the Minneapolis school desk from Eileen as my night stand. Fat Bunny even has a seat of his own!

This little corner of the family room is still my favorite part of the house.

It's Lulu's too.

Jonesy continues to hate on her. She mostly sits there silently with her fur poofed, and he growls loudly at her. He's also (as you can see) started going at the window to try to get at her. She will sit there for about a half hour or so and give him the stink eye, and then go groom herself. I think she knows he can't get her, so she's not going to stress too much. Then again, she was originally a street cat, and she does have 6 claws on each foot, so maybe she just figures she could beat his butt. Thor continues to mainly be a cowardly lion, in all aspects of his life. At least he's eating though, and snuggling with us at night.

PICTURES!

Alright, here we go. A new tour of the inside of our house.

Welcome, and be forewarned that actively routing for $C inside our home may get you popped in the nose.

Here is our entryway. The bench Jan and Jim gave us, and the mirror is from mom. That little blue stool I made in seventh grade woodshop. It is one of two handmade by Meg Thiel pieces that are in our house!

To your left when you walk in is the family room. It was blue before and we decided to stick with it. The blue is darker, but the trim is white this time (last time it was dark blue.) We had to get a fireplace screen because Lula tried to climb into the fireplace. Bad baby.

Here is the view from the kitchen. We have the cat couch, a chair from Jan and Jim, and a table that mom found at the thrift store. The room also features the Time Out chair from our childhood.

Here is our kitchen. Last night I used the oven for the first time to make a sticky toffee pie. We haven't tried it yet, but appears the ovens from 1972 are running okay.

Here is a fuzzy picture of our dining room. The table Grandpa Thiel bought for my mom and dad when they were married and refinished. The chairs are from the Amish furniture maker in Wisconsin because when dad offered me the existing chairs, I turned him down (they were 50 years old and breaking out from under people. No thanks!)

The living room as viewed from the front door.

Our couch and white chair (which we actually purchased ourselves, and did not poach from friends or family.)

Another view, and a shot of Tim's besties, the TV and stereo system. We are going to put the bookshelf speakers on little stands, or so Tim says. We ditched the big bookcase thingies that went with our entertainment center but kept the base, once Mr. Day drilled some holes in the back from wires and cords. That little bookshelf has childrens' books for when Wolfie learns to read.

Going down the hallway, this is our third bedroom/office. We put the breakfast nook in there, and our CDs and DVDs are stored in here. With the wireless internet, I don't know how much time we'll actually spend in this room, but I LOVE the breakfast nook, and hope to keep it around for as long as possible.

The second bedroom/the yellow room/Wolfie's room. I also call it "Grandma Thiel's quilt-a-torium." She made the quilt on the bed for mom and dad in 1982, and the quilt on the rack is Tim and I's wedding quilt. The quilt rack also has some good memories - our first Thanksgiving in La Crosse we drove up to Amish country to pick it up, in the snow, with Grandpa fishtailing the Mercury this way and that. Tim was a little freaked out.

Here's the hall bathroom, which is repainted white. I also call it the kitties bathroom, because this is where their litter boxes are (gross, but the only real place for them.)

View into our bedroom. I love the big sliding door. The sun coming in was really pretty when we woke up this morning.

Finally, a bed big enough for me, my 6'5" husband and two cats (who can actually take up more room that Tim.) Also, my trunk is finally here. A few weeks ago Tim, my mom and I had the following conversation.

Mom: You can take your trunk when you move.
Tim: What trunk?
Meg: The one in my bedroom.
Tim: Oh, that one belongs to you?
Meg: The one that says Meg on it? Yes, that belongs to me.

I just spent some time showing him my valuable squished penny collection, and my box of rocks.

Our new dresser and my pretties. Our new bed frame will hopefully be here before Christmas, and it's made of a similiar wood.

So that's the house! There is still lots of stuff to be done. I have a couple of books of doo dads and tckockies that could be unpacked... at some point. We still need to hang most of our pictures, and I have a lot of smaller photos that I'm deciding on. But for right now, it's nice to just live in it and lay around a little.

Here's a funny shot - this is what I saw when I pulled up to mom and dad's this morning at 9:30. I told Dad, "don't be mad at me baby, I can make it up to you. Please don't put all of my stuff out on the lawn!" We put most of the stuff into our garage cabinets, but I did ask that mom put my 15 year old, outdated skies directly in the garbage (I still have my ski bag and a parka from 1995 in the garage though, no worries!)

Getting Unpacked.

Oh, we are living in an actual house. My joy knows no bounds.

Today is the first day that it really feels like a house, and not a huge messy project that I have to tackle. It also helps that as of today we have: internet, cable television, a California king sized bed, a beautiful new dresser and A WASHER AND A DRYER. I could die tonight the happiest woman on earth.

We still have to rent a truck tomorrow and get the rest of my junk out of mom and dad's house. Finally, mom will be rid of all of the things that I've begged her not to throw out. My old dolls, the wedding presents that I didn't have space for the first time around, and 20 years of journals detailing every injustice that I ever experienced at the hands of my parents or sister. It should be a good time. We'll also having our dining room tables here at the end of the day, which is awesome. I am hosting a dinner party, in fact, to celebrate!

Some of you may have heard, but we had the California branch of Thiel and Sons home repair out here this week. The lead engineer managed to mess up a wire, so last night we had one working outlet in the back half of the house. We had a lamp in the bathroom while we brushed our teeth, and then carried it out into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Thankfully, with some advice from the home office in Wisconsin, they were able to get everything working today. Between the new outlet covers, the new carpet and the fresh paint, this place looks like a whole new house. I love it so.

It's funny, because there is part of me that thinks "leave everything packed - it'll be less of a hassle if we have to move again." And then there is part of me that is like, "I love this place. I am never moving. They are going to have to carry me out on a stretcher. Let's fill every corner of this house with crap!" It still hasn't totally sunken in that this is my house and I own this place (maybe it will sink in when we make our first mortgage payment?)

The kitties have mostly adjusted. Thor is no longer living under the bed full time, and is eating normally. He still bolts at a loud noise though. Lulu is sweet as ever. After her door darting incident, I did upgrade her microchip protection, but otherwise, she is her normal little fat love of a self.

I promise pictures tomorrow once everything is in place. In the meanwhile, I need some sleep!

Not Love At First Sight.

She may not have lived in it very long, but Lula is ready and willing to protect her house.

Settling In.

Internet is still a little spotty, so here's a quick one.

The carpet went in today, to much fanfare. Now we can pull the rest of our stuff out of the garage. I can't wait to unpack the bags of clothes and purses. I've missed you, friends. The bed comes tomorrow, and I got a call that our dresser can be delivered this week. That just leaves the actual sleigh bed, and then all of the stuff at mom and dad's that we need to retrieve. And we have to order the washer and dryer. But the big stuff is done! And to mom's great joy, we have an estimate on getting our trees cared for.

Last night Tim and I had what is probably going to be our last LA weeknight date ever, due to the fact that he had to leave work at 4 to get there on time. We went and saw David Gray in concert at the Orpheum Theater, which was awesome. We had a nice dinner at Bottega Louie and cocktail at the Broadway Bar, and then had great seats from which to watch the fabulous show. I've wanted to see David Gray live and in concert for years now, and this was a great occasion. Unfortunately, we didn't get home until midnight, which was not a smart idea. But it was WORTH IT! (plus I bought the tickets back in July.)

The house is starting to come together, though every time I pull into the driveway I pinch myself with disbelief that I really live there. The family room is coming together with all of the furniture we poached from the Sorensons, and the kitchen is unpacked. I love the parquet floors and all of our nice windows and doors.

The kitties are still adjusting. Thor mostly lives under the bed during the day, but wanders around after it gets dark, crying and rubbing against our legs. Lulu alternates between just hanging out, and going on expeditions with her little "up tail." When she's excited, her tail trembles, and we call it up tail. She's very interested in any room with a closed door, including the garage. Bad news: on Sunday she darted out the front door while we were talking to a neighbor. Good news: she ran back in the house and seemed terrified by her encounter. They haven't yet had a Jonsey encounter, so we are still waiting on that.

No pictures yet - I promise we'll have something to show for ourselves on Saturday or Sunday!