Monday, May 14, 2007

First post from the house!



Yesterday my parents came for Mother's day, we had strawberries and cream... with pecan tarts since there was no angelfood cake or shortcakes at Zehrs. (The picture is from a couple weeks ago, when my parents visited my brother in Montreal)


We talked about the new dog (Pepper, we get him Sunday!), and the neighbours, and I learned what the mysterious plants are sprouting all over the place. Our lawn is covered in patches of forget-me-knots and wild strawberry. The strawberry is all over the walking space of the lawn and I'm not sure moving it is worthwhile. The berries it yields won't be too big. Oh and I should admit to the horrendous amount of Dandelion covering the front yard.



I also painted the first coat in the kitchen, which I sadly HATE. It really isn't working for me and I'm not sure which direction to go. I wanted a muted aqua, like a robin's egg blue... somewhere in that range. I picked Behr Aqua Chintz. It's looking very blue, clashing with the almond cabinets, almond appliances and the ridiculous beige and stone coloured checkerboard ceramic floor tiled counters.
The paint chip held up matches, but with a different intensity. The chip has a greyness, and the walls are bright. Dave thinks I am insane, and picky and is leaving it up to me to make a decision on where to go next. I have lots of paint that I am tempted to mix in, some grey from the rest of the house, or white (flat for the ceiling, or semi-gloss outdoor trim & window paint). But do I risk mixing paint myself? How do I know which type to mix with the kitchen and bathroom paint?
He also thinks that the Home Depot manager won't be able to distinguish the colour variation as I see it. Blah. I have resolved to not paint a second coat until I make a better decision. (really a... any... some-kind-of decision). Blah.
I am off to poll the house painting divas on the home decorating section of the nest and get advice.




I have also finished two book this week. Bel Canto (Ann Patchet) and The Kite Runner (Kahled Hosseini). Both were great. Bel Canto is the story of a terrorist group taking a party of international business people, diplomats and an Opera singer hostage during a party at the [unnamed South American country's] Vice President's house. The unlikely group forms an unlikely community amongst themselves apart from the world. It was enchanting to say the least.
The Kite Runner I finished this morning, and it made me cry. Really cry. More than any other book I've ever read. It's tragic and sad, and incredibly powerful. I'd recommend it if it didn't make me cry as much as it had. It's set in Afghanistan and is the story of two best friends, of different castes, and spans the 60s to the present in the USA where one of the friend's settles after fleeing the Russian occupation.

Okay, that's an awful lot to read. All that is really let to report for the week is that the F key on my laptop is sticking and I seem to need to press it very hard. I never noticed how often the letter F was necessary until Saturday. Perhaps there is a flax seed under my keys again (though I doubt it, it's been ages since I've had a flax bagel)... but Ashlee once teased me for being a hippy when I halted an MSN messenger conversation to get a flax seed from under the iBook keys when it was still new. I learned that day not to eat over the computer.

5 comments:

Jenn said...

Thanks for the update! Glad the house is going well, sorry about the blue paint issue. I know what you mean though, if the tone isn't right it can change everything.

Anonymous said...

are those flower photos from your garden or from an image search?

dolly said...

from an image search. The camera is at the apartment and I keep forgetting to bring it over.

roisin said...

cara cara cara.
1. I need your new address. could you email it to gmail for me?
2. I think I know what's up with yer paint. the cupboards and tile likely have a peachy-orange undertone, which makes your blue look way brighter than you thought it was...opposites intensify - remember milton yelling that in colour theory? :)
3. I love your parents. Mine are looking old too - the mortality bit is frightening. p.s. my mom is going to see Rod Stewart tonight. she goes to EVERYTHING at the JLC.
4. is that a pic of Dave;s dog? what kind of dog is it? I think you should call him Sam. He looks like a Sam.

Anonymous said...

It must be said that gavin and I sent my mum and clayton to see rod stewart in toronto as their christmas gift. we got them really good seats, too. and clayton hates rod stewart.

I also need your new address, cara. mail at your new house - exciting!

I never would have thought about the opposite colours thing, but ro is smart and arty. what did you decide to do with the wild strawberry?