Laowai

At our house there is strawberry shortcake. 

At our house there are some new shelves in Claire's closet. I'm proud that I finished making these before our stuff arrived. My dad might not be too proud because they are sort of wonky if you look closely. It makes me think how good and valuable it is to have a skill. I feel confident and expert when I sew. I don't have that same feeling when I do a little woodwork. I can get things done but I have that novice clumsy feeling. Don't look closely – they will function just fine. Thanks to my friend Danea for lending me tools to finish the job. 

At our house Claire has spent a lot of time making her room just right. We talked so much about re-doing her room and now she has done it! I've been happily watching her. More photos to come.

At our house I bought a few house plants. I put up a shelf that rests on the top of the tile in my bathroom – why didn't I think of putting a shelf there before??? And I love the colors of the old pots alongside the color of the tile.

At our house there are pleasing shadows on the wall.

At our house there is a vegetable garden. My garden is an experiment this year. My favorite garden blogger (who lives in the northeast) posted about late season planting. Also, Grandma once told me that you can pick carrots during the winter or the following spring. So I gave it a try with some old seeds. I have radishes, beets, carrots, a summer squash and some peas. Everything looks healthy and happy – I'm just waiting to see if I get anything before the frost comes.

At our house our basement has some issues. Sigh

That's one of our basement windows above – I gave them a good clean the other day. I DO NOT like having to reach my hand out into the window well with all the creepy crawlies. But the windows are not the problem. It's the water issues and the asbestos and the need for a fresh coat of paint. I won't go into it all because it's too annoying. Hopefully our efforts are working and we'll be able to enjoy it by winter because it really is a nice basement.

At our house we have our stuff! Yes, the truck arrived on Saturday. 

At our house there is a bit of chaos. The couch that belongs in the basement is going to live in the living room until the basement issues are sorted out. And there are boxes everywhere!

At our house we found that Bea's loft bed/desk fits nicely in her room. And she was happy to have her big desk back.

At our house I cannot get my sewing machine set up yet because the sewing room is filled with extra furniture and stuff that belongs in the basement.

At our house baking is back! Yay! I have my cookbooks and my kitchenAid mixer and all my other baking tools. I love my baking area. Today I made bread for the first time in a long time.