We made it!!

After six months of some of the most challenging moments in recent memory, we FINALLY moved in to our lovely little home!

Our absence on the internet (and the Palm House Journal) was replaced by a whole lot of hard work and dedication. Long nights, early mornings, creative solutions, and a massive amount of problem-solving defined the past two weeks. We had a tremendous amount of support from our parents, as Larry came straight from work several times to do a nighttime shift. We had help from Mom, Phoebe, Melanie, and of course, the ever-dedicated Kimber in these past weeks. We even had a visit from our friend Dominique!

Pili's new best friend, Dominique

Our goals were pretty straightforward. We were hosting Andy’s parents for Christmas and the following week (in addition to watching our Adam and Eliza’s pup, Alice), and we needed at least a working shower. We couldn’t guarantee a functioning kitchen – plan B for the Christmas dinner was Chinese food – but we sure were going to try.

In order to make our deadlines, as always, there was a whole lot of prep. The IKEA cabinets had to reach some level of completion in order for the countertop installers to come in and create a template. We made it just under the wire for the last orders to be installed in time for the Christmas weekend. Yet, there was still no promise of countertops because those guys were working up until the end to get their customers countertop. In the meantime, Andy demonstrated quick-thinking yet one more time when he asked them to plan for a quartz window sill, thus reducing our chances of water intrusion quite a bit. They grumbled and mumbled about the extra request, but we had high hopes. They returned on Wednesday of this past week to install the cabinets. When Jessica (who was out running errands at the time) asked Andy over the phone how the installation was looking, he responded “wonderful”. It was the first time such an effusive word was used for any of the work in the house, and there is no better descriptor.

East wall, with new sink and dishwasher

West wall, with new range and fridge

We had to wait 24 hours for the glue to dry before bringing in the plumber. When he popped in to give us an estimate and consultation the previous day, he had mentioned that our sink was a problem. Now, if you recall, the sink was the primary problem when we were planning for accommodating the countertop height in with the windowsill. Our options at the time included finding a different sink. But we were pretty headstrong about finding a working solution because we just really liked that sink. Here, we were facing the same dilemma, except this time the reason why the sink was a problem was because it only had one hole – for the faucet. We were missing an “air hole” to drain the water from the adjacent dishwasher. Well, Andy and I were at the “whatever” stage…we just wanted a sink and were willing to let that detail slide (which is unlike us). But the plumber was insistent. So much so, that he threatened to walk from the job unless we do it right. In another ingenious display of quick-thinking, Andy stopped in on a job site right around the corner of our house where some guys were doing tile work. These were the people who were equipped to drill a hole in a porcelain sink without cracking it. Seeing as it was the day before Christmas, they were in a generous mood and offered to swing by the house to take a look. Five minutes later, we had a second hole in the sink, and we were ready to go. In one afternoon, we got a kitchen sink, a dishwasher, and a range. Life changed in that moment for the better.

Meanwhile, we were wrapping up the endless bathroom project. Our goal was to be able to shower. We let go of any illusions that we’d be able to finish painting, but we needed to caulking to cure completely before introducing water. Up until the morning that we all waited in line to take our turns at the shower, we were problem-solving. The pilot light had gone out, the shower curtain rod wasn’t fitting, the anti-scald setting was too low…but we did it! And now we are squeaky clean and ready to take on our next task.

Completed bathtub surround

Besides all that, there was a multitude of details that we wanted to attend to to make the home feel, well, homey. Kimber worked hard to get all the lighting up. Jessica didn’t make it easy on her by sourcing all manner of lamps from antique fairs to craigslist to the local reuse shops. Every light was a project. But in true Kimber form, she embraced the challenge and completed them gracefully. Mom swooped up the textiles, the curtains, and ironed and hemmed them all. Melanie dedicated her architectural skills to the IKEA cabinets, and Phoebe polished off the painting in the main house – all on a ladder. Jessica spent every moment bouncing from project to project and cleaning – taking up the cardboard off the floors, vacuuming and mopping, bringing up boxes from the basement and doing the job of actually moving in. In the end, our house looked good enough to host Margerie and Marty over Christmas.

Mom sewing curtains with help from Izayah; Kimber installing dining room light

Dining room, the morning after

Dining room with Grandma Shirley's china, Entryway with wreath and Moroccan light

On Christmas eve we joined our dear friends Jared and Joanna as they hosted their first big event in their new home. It was a warm and lovely evening. We attended midnight services at an Oakland Presbyterian church where there was one of the biggest organs we’ve seen. Yesterday, for Christmas day, we had a Dungeness crab feast. Here’s the menu:

Appetizers

Port Salut cheese

Brie

Blue cheese

Apples

Crackers

First Course

Acme sourdough bread

Acme pain levain

Spicy vegetable lentil soup

Main Course

Local Dungeness crab

Spinach artichoke soufflé

Baked potato

Green salad with pistachios, pumpkin seeds, avocado, green apple, and cranberries

Dessert

Homemade lime pie

Assorted cookies and chocolates

Coffee and tea

This morning, the day after Christmas, we will shuck the rest of the crab for crabcakes, and then head east to the Wichters for lunch. With just a few weeks until the baby arrives, we’re grateful every moment to be in our home. Seasons greetings to you all!

Kitchen progress...and more!

It’s been a fun week and a half since last checking in. We’ve seen two old friends visiting from Chicago, celebrated with a baby shower, and started on the kitchen in earnest.

Our dear friend, Meaghan Burritt, graced us with her presence for about 4 days over the weekend. Her visit inspired us to take a couple days off and actually enjoy the Bay Area. We visited Point Reyes (a first for Andy), saw elephant seals (another first), visited the Pixar exhibit at the Oakland Museum of Art with Eliza in tow, and Meaghan helped out with the baby shower. She also made the best batch of Burritt dip that I’ve ever had.

A portrait of two pregnant ladies at the Oakland Museum

Pili and Alice after a romp at Crissy Field with Meaghan and Eliza

The baby shower was more than I ever could have imagined. It was perfectly small, intimate, and meaningful. We played games that weren’t lame, laughed a lot, and ate some great food. There’s nothing better than kibbutzing with close family and girlfriends.

On Sunday, Joey Feinstein came to see the house and have dinner with us. We had a great evening of Burmese food followed by cardomom and bay laurel ice cream. Yum! We miss both Joey and Meaghan very much, but we were so excited to spend time with them.

Back at the ranch, we’ve been working late and making slow progress. In addition to finishing up the last vestiges of painting (touch-ups, second coats, etc.), Andy has been plugging away at the bathtub surround. However, the timing of the kitchen countertop installation has put that project on hold for another day or two with the hopes that we can install the kitchen countertop by the time Margerie and Marty come visit for Christmas. With Larry’s help, we assembled the bathroom vanity and plumbed it, so now we have running water inside the house! Additionally, we had a very special guest come by to inaugurate the installation of the refrigerator. Climate Cycle’s Executive Director, Joey Feinstein, held a ribbon cutting ceremony and was in attendance at the fridge’s first jolt to life.

Climate Cycle Executive Director, Joey Feinstein, joins Andy for a ribbon-cutting ceremony

Guess who helped plumb the sink?

Progress on the bathtub surround

As I mentioned, we’re currently dealing with the countertop deadline. We encountered an interesting hiccup in the whole kitchen installation. We knew all along that the windows in the kitchen were somewhat low, and that the countertop would likely butt up against the sill. However, it wasn’t until we had the exact measurements of the toekick, the cabinets, the plywood under the quartz countertop, and the countertop itself until we knew how close we were. As it was, we figured out that we had to modify the window trim to accommodate the countertop. But when we factored in the apron front kitchen sink (that sits on top of the countertop), we realized we were in trouble. We had two choices: a.) build a custom box (instead of the IKEA provided legs) to shave off the 5/8” needed, or b.) rebuild the window box to make it a picture window. With the help and advise of our friend and carpenter, Cassie, we decided on option b. Andy removed the sill Thursday morning, and we anticipate we’ll rebuild it once the countertop is installed. Fingers crossed, the installers will squeeze us in to their schedule right before Christmas. If not, we’ll throw some plywood down and welcome mom and Marty into our home, as it is!

Andy demonstrating the principle, "measure twice, cut once"

There are lots of requests for pictures of the belly. It seems that the belly has a celebrity all it’s own. Well, here you are! In this picture, I’m 35 weeks pregnant. Feeling good all around, but definitely textbook pregnant with all the symptoms. Thank goodness for an excellent pre-natal chiropractor and yoga!

Level?