More house stuff

Several people have asked me "what's next for your house?" Too many things! Yesterday we went shopping and bought a duvet cover for the bed, but it doesn't quite fit (too big), and we decided that instead of painting the walls tan, we'll leave them light blue and accessorize with brown. So, I'm on the hunt for the duvet cover that Hal and I can agree on.

Yesterday we also rearranged the living room a bit. We moved the t.v. to the empty spot left by the piano. That required that Hal cut into the wall and put in an outlet, which he so very aptly did. The living room feels more spacious, but we need to find a love seat for the t.v. area of the room. Right now we brought down a chair from upstairs as a place holder.

I am also starting to think about the tiling projects - kitchen backsplash and fireplace. First I have to decide the colors/style/design, then buy the tiles and find a tiler.

I am also looking online for window treatments for our bedroom (based on the duvet cover we find), my study, my music room, the living room and the dining room.

All this would be so much easier if I knew exactly what I wanted!

Cubs

I was excited to find out that the Cubs were on tv this afternoon. I haven't seen them play too much since we moved back to Claremont. However, I was not too happy that they lost. Nonetheless, they still have the best record in baseball!

Last Chapter in the Piano Story

The piano we bought in Palo Alto in 1999, stripped of its white paint and refinished, is now in a new happy home in South Claremont. The p.s. to this story is that we have to think about rearranging our living room.

Hangin' out my shingle

Time to update my business card, so this is what I came up with this morning.

One of my favorite YouTube videos

Pachelbel Rant

Approaching School Year....

I met with Ley today and found out my schedule for the school year. I am pretty excited about how this is all playing out. I'll have 7 classes a week, no classes on Thursday. The piano in the music room will be tuned next week for the first time in who knows how long. I have the use of a projector for my laptop, so I don't have to make transparencies anymore! I just placed an order for new drums and curriculum. AND, I still have until Sept. 22 to get everything ready!

New Floor!

Ten years ago we remodeled our kitchen. Today we finally had
the kitchen floor replaced. Our guy finished it in one day, so we are up and running again in the home food cooking dept. We are most pleased with the outcome and wonder why we didn't do it sooner!

Quiet Sunday

It was hot today, so we did most of our stuff in the morning - early church, Starbucks, Farmer's Market. The best find at the Farmer's Market was the Asian stall which sells Chinese broccoli, lemongrass and other great stuff. If they sold noodles, we'd be all set!

Saturday project

I had one job in mind for today - to remove the vinyl flooring in the kitchen so that on Monday the flooring guy could come and put in our new vinyl. Well, Hal had the job done by 10:30 this morning, so we had to come up with additional Saturday jobs. Of course, it included a run to Target and Costco, and now Hal is working at school on the NMR which stopped working yesterday. I am cleaning my study. Woo hoo.

Music, Music

I can feel the beginning of the school year nipping at my heels. Last night my friend, Edris, brought me two xylophones and a metallophone that she can't use anymore, as well as a set of resonator bells. Today I ordered some replacement parts for the instruments so they will be almost new when I start using them with students next month.

Ley (my principal) called me last night to say that he found money to pay me for the whole year (!), and that I will start on Sept. 22 (so now I have a time frame with enough time to set up my room).

I also ordered a new set of strings for my violin.

Today I played my viola for Michael Lamkin (orchestra conductor), and I will now be an official member of the viola section. Orchestra starts on Sept. 8. I am also excited because practice time has shifted 1/2 hour earlier, so we will finish rehearsals at 9:30 instead of 10:00.

Now I just need to know more details about the string program, but that will have to wait a bit.

Oh, yes. I sold the piano last night and have a check in hand today! Now we can move forward with rearranging the living room!