The Hoppy Okapi

A 2012 Pacific Crest Trail Adventure

We have lights! September 3, 2009

Filed under: home,kitties — Amanda @ 20:51
Tags: , ,
Icicle Lights

Icicle Lights

Nearly a year and a half ago, I wrote that cooking in the dark was no fun, and that kitchen lights were a top purchasing priority…and now with summer’s long daylight hours fading into memory again, we finally got some lights! Despite his frustrations installing the light in our bedroom last year, Chuck bravely set forth to install our new kitchen and dining room lights.

The kitchen ceilings are only eight feet tall, so the first installation went fairly smoothly. It’s a small spiral with five adjustable spotlights that we’ve aimed at the counters:

Kitchen Light

Kitchen Light

The ceilings in the dining room are a bit higher, and installation there required a bit more…creativity:

Chuck's ladder-on-desk light installation method

Chuck's ladder-on-desk light installation method

Zephyr was fascinated by the light installation process; in this picture, I’m pretty sure he’s thinking about hor crazy Chuck is to be standing on top of a ladder on top of a desk…

IMG_0536

Zephyr says "What's going on up there?"

The light fixture looks like a giant stainless steel spider…

the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the concrete ceiling...

the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the concrete ceiling...

A few lightbulbs and many glass icicles later, we have a light!

Icicle Lights

Icicle Lights

Another look at the kitchen light:

IMG_0547

After installation was complete, Zephyr needed to do a close-up inspection:

Zephyr checks out the new light

Zephyr checks out the new light

Later we discovered that the icicles are sitting directly in the jetstream of the air conditioning vent, and thus sway lightly in the wind, but luckily they’re high enough to be safe from curious kitties who might try to jump from the table top. I think we’ll keep them (the lights AND the kitties, that is).

IMG_0565

 

In Which Our Dining Room Table (Finally) Arrives March 3, 2009

Filed under: home,kitties — Amanda @ 21:20
Tags: , ,

Once upon a time, we had a plain (boring), light-colored wood dining room table from Ikea, purchased second-hand while we were in college. We didn’t like it, exactly, but it was nice to have a place to sit down for a more formal dinner, when we wanted to light candles and use our nice silverware and not eat in front of the TV. As the years went by, it became deformed in soldering iron incidents and was less than perfectly stable, and we were quite eager for an upgrade. Thus, when we put our house on the market in spring 20o7, it was one of the first things to go. It took a while to sell our house, and then our studio apartment was far too small for a new table, and then we bought our new place and wanted to build up our savings a bit more before making (more) major furniture expenditures.

So in November, after over a year of coffee-table dinners, we finally ordered our new dining room table and chairs at the same factory-direct reseller that we ordered our bed and dressers from. We were quite happy with the set we picked out, until later in the week we learned that the chairs were no longer available. We headed back up to the store to pick out a new set of chairs, and then waited…and waited…and waited. I knew it had been optimistic to think that we’d receive the set before Christmas, but then the entire month of January came and went with only vague updates from the manufacturer, and so we still were eating at the coffee table when Mom and Dad visited the first weekend of February. Sadness. (Especially since this manufacturer, which we are now not very fond of, has by far the coolest furniture available. Good thing we don’t have any further immediate furniture needs!)

And then, finally! The second week of February, our furniture had arrived at the San Diego warehouse and was delivered the next day. There was much celebrating! And then, much cursing, as the kittens decided to jump on the furniture and scratch the table top and poke holes in the chair upholstery. And so now our stylish dining room furniture is covered in towels, tablecloths, and chair covers, only revealing its true character when we’re actually using it for dinner and feel like being fancy, as kitty-proofing trumps style.

On the plus side, the cats do like to hide under the chair covers…

Our dining room table & chairs in uncovered glory

Our dining room table & chairs in uncovered glory

close-up of our fun window-chair

close-up of our fun window-chair

Beef short ribs for Valentine's Day - our first meal at the new table!

Beef short ribs for Valentine's Day - our first meal at the new table!

Zephyr hides under the chair cover

Zephyr hides under the chair cover

Athena hides under another chair

Athena hides under another chair

 

 
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