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!