Our House, in the Middle of Our Culdesac

Well, I feel bad for not posting last week, but I think this post will make up for it. House pictures! When we bought our house, I really wanted to do some updating before I shared pictures. Now, a normal person might share pictures of a work in progress. But I am a perfectionist, so I can't do that. Anyway, without any further ado, the new place!

First, here's the kitchen before:

I really hated that wallpaper border around the top. And man, it turned out to be kind of a pain to remove.

And now, after!: 

This is the new backsplash I tiled. I'm not sure why it's all zigzaggy. That's just the photo. In real life, it's nicely spaced small squares.

One thing I didn't like about the place was that the living room was painted in varying shades of brown. Brown is a nice classy color, but it's also really dark. And in the winter, the last thing we need up here is more darkness.

Now here's what it looks like:

Oops, trim still not finished.

I get a lot of comments about how "bright" the room is. But actually, I really love it. It's so happy and sunny. This next picture really shows the difference. For reference, the before pictures were taken in the summer. Because of the sun angle, there might be a little less light in the room in summer. But frankly, winter is when I need the sunshine anyway.

This picture is to show you the hall, including the beautiful going away gift I got when I left Australia. These pictures are of Maroubra beach, where we lived the first year. They add so much to our living room.

Well, that's all the pictures for now. The bedrooms are less interesting, for one thing. For another, although the living room appears fairly neat in those pictures, that's because all the mess is in the bedroom. Unlike many people (Mom), when we clean up, that usually involves shifting the mess from one room to the next. Plus, I want to be able to post pictures when I finish new home improvement projects!

I'm relieved the kitchen is finished. That's been hanging over my head for a while. But now it's done, and I can move on to my next project. I have a few in mind. :)

On Television

Dad asked me at one point how I was able to read so many books, and I said "Well, I don't watch much television". Which makes me a bit of an outlier in this day and age. Ethan and I haven't had cable in years -- it came with my first apartment in Alaska, but when I moved out after a year and a half I got rid of cable and never looked back. That doesn't sound so strange now, with many people going to Hulu.com and Netflix, but back then, I was weird.

Then we moved to Australia, and our bunny ears didn't even work. And we just never bothered to buy new ones. I missed watching sporting events on t.v. sometimes, but otherwise, it was blissful. So when we returned, and didn't have a t.v. for about 5 months, it wasn't a hardship.

That isn't to say we don't watch t.v. at all. We watch a fair number of movies on the weekend, and we watched the football games all season long. But the difference now is that we watch t.v. much more purposefully. I will choose a show I want to watch, instead of turning on the t.v. and letting it remain on for 4 hours a night. You know what? I don't miss most of those shows anyway.

I'm a lot more productive now, too. I actually complete projects and start new ones. I tiled our kitchen backsplash this weekend (pictures to come once the grout's in), I have a painting waiting to be finished, and I'm going to a pottery class with my friend on Thursday. Plus, I actually make dinner on weeknights.

So that's what I'm doing with my life -- not watching t.v. I kill enough brain cells reading Facebook and surfing the interwebs anyway.

We're Off to See the Wizard!

Super Bowl Sunday is the day of another great tradition in Anchorage -- the Alaska Ski For Women. This is a race hosted by the Nordic Ski Association which raises money to fight domestic violence. For some reason, unlike the other races for women in Anchorage, the Ski for Women has become a costumed event. It's certainly not required, but I'm amazed at all the creative costumes I see each year.

My friend Sheila and I have done this race together a number of times now. I think one year we didn't have costumes, but other years we have gone as an angel and a devil, a fighter pilot and a fencer, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 (from the Cat in the Hat). This year, we decided to go as...drumroll please...

The Witches of Oz!

 Unfortunately, we missed the costume contest this year because the shuttle bus was late, but the fun part is really seeing everyone's costumes and having everyone recognize what you are. Most people knew who we were, although some people did think I was a fairy princess. Plus, I really enjoy the chance to have a paired costume -- Ethan likes to wear costumes at Halloween, but he won't do a theme with me.

I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too!

But Dorothy, my dear, the power to go home has always been on the tips of your toes!

I don't have pictures of all the cool costumes at the race, but I saw penguins, pool balls, a dogsled team, S'Mores, rock, paper, scissors, leopards, peacocks, and much more. The winning theme costume was a forest -- team name "A Forest to be Reckoned With".

It's amazing how creative and funny people can be! I just wish more Halloween costumes for women would trend more this direction, and away from Sexy _____, (i.e. Sexy Witch, Sexy Nurse, Sexy Hamburger (you think I'm joking but I'm not)).

Going to the Dogs!

Our new pup!

We have a new dog! Or we think we do. We have wanted a second dog for quite a while, but we were worried because Fievel has a tendency to be aggressive. So we knew we wanted our second dog to be submissive, small, and preferably a girl. We contacted Kitty and K-9 Connection, the rescue agency we got Fievel from, and they brought a couple of dogs for us to try.

Both dogs were sweet and got along with Fievel very well, but Solytta was a little more playful and friendly. She's a bit older than the other dog, Duvy, who was still just a puppy. We liked her and wanted to give her a chance because it might be harder for her to find a home.

She was really excited when she arrived, but when KKC left, she whined at the door. That made us feel a little guilty!

Although Solytta is a nice name, I would like to change it to one of our own. I've decided to call her Tilly, because of the way she tilts her head ("Tilty" is too difficult to say). We've already slipped up a couple of times, so we'll see if the new name sticks.

Tilly has a few quirks, as with any rescue dog. She's very frightened of leashes and collars and can be nippy when you try to put them on her. She can be a bit skittish as well, but she's also really sweet and I hope she will be less skittish as time goes by.

The two dogs haven't played together as much as I would like, but the Fi seems to tolerate her, so that's good. He has already decided that the new kennel and bed we bought for Tilly should be his. What a brat!

We have two weeks to give Tilly a trial run. I hope things go well and that she becomes a nice addition to our family.

Beer and Skiing: Two Great Things that Go Great Together!

This weekend, I finally got to do two of the things I used to really enjoy about living in Anchorage: I went to the Great Alaska Beer and Barleywine Festival, and I went cross country skiing.

Our tasting glasses from over the years. I think a few have gotten broken.

The Beer and Barleywine Festival is one of the better attended events in Anchorage. Not only do the Alaskan breweries come and share their beers, many microbreweries from the Lower 48 attend as well. We had some of the big names there, like Deschutes, and there were also a few breweries I hadn't heard of, like Green Flash.

One thing that was a bit disappointing was that the current trend seems to favor beers I don't like as much, like IPAs. These are really popular right now, but they are frequently far too bitter for my taste. I tried one IPA that felt like a hop jumped up and punched me in the face. Another new trend is the vanilla porter, which to my taste buds, resembles a regular porter with a lot of vanilla extract added. However, it's fun to try new things, especially when there's a variety!

The cross country skiing has been a bit of a bust so far this year because of the weather. We got barely any snow for quite a while, even though the temperatures were reaching -10F in the mornings, and then we got about 15 inches, but it went right back to those cold temperatures. I'm a wimp, and that's too cold for me. Then it got warm, and everything melted. And it rained. But finally, last week we got about 8 inches of snow, so we decided to hit the trails.

For the most part, everything was good, although there were a couple of bits with horrible, really lumpy ice underneath. Skiing through the snowy forest is really pretty, and there are a couple of overlooks where you can stop and view Mt. Susitna or Denali (Mt. McKinley). At one point in the forest, someone had decorated the pine trees with Christmas balls, which was new.

I think it's supposed to warm up again, so I don't know how long the cross country skiing will last. I'm hoping we get more snow again, so I can enjoy it for the rest of winter. Winter is one thing we didn't get in Australia, so we might as well make the best of it!