Custom closet

I know, I know. Where have I been? I haven't posted anything here since last summer. My excuse is that I've been busy with classes (got straight A's!). And we haven't done much in the way of home improvement projects since summer anyway.

But we did manage to build a custom closet for our bedroom this weekend. We'd been talking about doing it forever. We built it from furniture grade plywood (we haven't decided yet whether to stain, oil, or paint it). It's not quite finished in these pictures - there will be more shelves up high, and we're also going to build drawers for where you currently see the lower shelves.

Back to school and work tomorrow! It may be a while before you see another post from me... just warning you. :-)

Leaded glass windows are installed!

It was a long wait, but it was worth it. After bringing these home Tuesday only to discover that they didn't fit (they had made them to the exact dimensions of the windows instead of 1/4" smaller), we took them back and they adjusted them by replacing the outer border with narrower lead.

This is Eric's design, with some good enhancements by Shaylor Knight from Shed Brand Studio. We were able to stop by the studio a few times (which is just up the street) to watch the artisans make these. I installed them using an aluminum stop that matches our existing aluminum window frames. They are basically right up against the exterior windows.

Here are a few pictures from inside during the day and from outside at night.

It was Shaylor's suggestion that we use an aluminum stop to secure them against the windows. I was going to use wood, painted to match the aluminum window frames. But his suggestion worked out much better - the aluminum he ordered for us is a perfect match.

Leaded glass windows and a pantry

This being one of the few Saturdays remaining before classes start, we decided to get busy finishing a few projects around the house while we still have time.

First we stopped by the Shed Brand Studio to see how Shaylor was coming along with our leaded glass windows that we're going to install in the three windows high up in the kitchen area. Eric had sent him a design he came up with, and Shaylor made a few tweaks, and today he needed us to pick the types of glass and where to use them.

It was really fun to pick the type of glass we wanted for each geometric shape and decide how much of it to use, how to break it up with the occasional beveled piece, and where to use the very few pieces of the cobalt blue we're using - it'll be mostly different textures of clear glass, but we're going to have a few tiny pieces of blue just to catch your eye.

Here's Eric working with Shaylor. He also gave us a tour of his studio, and showed us how he cuts glass, and the machines he uses to make beveled glass. He's going to let Eric come in to use some of the equipment to cut off some wine bottles and turn them into drinking glasses.







Then we stopped by Lowe's and bought some painted MDF to build the pantry shelves. The house came with those basic wire shelves, which were spaced too far apart so there was a lot of wasted space. So we made these adjustable "cubbies" so we can pack things in much more densely.

Not bad for a day's work! Time for dinner... hmm, let's see what's in the pantry. :-)







Here's the "before" shot -- as you can see, we needed to use the space more efficiently. See all the stuff sitting on the floor?

Back to the books

I was accepted by the Department of Economics at UNC Charlotte. My transfer credits satisfy all of the general education requirements, so all I have to do is take 11 economics courses to get my B.S. degree.

As I will probably be taking mostly night classes, I chose a picture of the quad at night. :-)

Eric says I need to go shopping for school supplies. I guess he's right!

Trip to the farm

I haven't posted anything here since before our trip to the farm. So it's high time I update all of my readers -- yes, all three of you. :-)

The trip was a lot of much needed fun and relaxation, but it was still much too brief. It was sort of a hectic trip: a stayover in Maryland at Crystal and Kurt's house in historic Easton, then two nights at Eric's grandparents' in Long Island, and then a lot of preparation for our big barbecue on the farm.

Lots of our friends came up from the city for a Spring afternoon of petting the llamas, alpacas, and sheep, hiking through the woods and along the creek, and just enjoying the bucolic setting. A few highlights...

This was before we got to the farm, but Crystal and Kurt's daughter Scarlet loves seeing herself on camera, so I have to include this frame from the video:



Now back to the farm... We were there for the delivery of some fresh meat... I mean, the new Devon cattle that just arrived to spend a couple years grazing the grassy hillsides. Looks like cow heaven to me.



And here's part of one from last summer that Eric grilled up and served at our party. Yum!



For la piece de resistance, my dad made his famous tractor ice cream. Nobody left the party until they'd had some. He was the last to get any, but it looks like it was worth the wait (and all the work, which granted is less labor intensive thanks to the tractor-powered ice cream maker, however requires no less expertise)!



Everyone got to know the llamas. Here's Jen with Madison, a one-year-old llama.



There was a little bit of work to do while we were there, too. Dad and Chris cut 20 acres of hay the morning of the barbecue, and baled it the next day. And Eric and I coated the newly-built mobile chicken coop with linseed oil to protect it from insects drawn to the chicken guano. The idea of the mobile chicken coop is to allow the chickens to be free range, walk around on grass and eat the bugs in the ground, while also protecting them from predators. (They lost all of the old chickens to foxes and hawks.) The coop can be moved around the field to fresh sections of grass.



And there was some hiking-while-drinking, and croquet-while-drinking in there as well... :-)







A night on the town with Chris and Jessica, playing some really terrible pool... I think technically I caused Eric and me to lose both games (by scratching), but there was a lot of competition for "worst player". ;-)



And finally, a stroll around the village of New Paltz, and a stop at the Guilded Otter for a flight of their local brews.





I hope we can do it again next year!!

Beating the bush

That's what they call it in Eric's entomology class when they go out into a field with nets and sweep the grass for insects. And so now whenever we drive past a grassy field Eric yells "that looks like some great beating ground".

And so it was the case on our hike last weekend up King's Pinnacle with some of Eric's classmates that they stopped every 10 feet to try to catch a bug of some sort. They did manage to catch a few, and I snapped these funny pictures of them doing it.





Here is Charlie, Tyler, Michele, and Eric at the top of King's Pinnacle.



And here's Eric and me (with my windswept hair).

A much needed relaxing weekend

After several stressful weeks at school and work, Eric and I were really looking forward to a nice and relaxing weekend. Yesterday we went for a long hike (8 miles) in the South Mountains in North Carolina, and we spent today with friends in town.

Today we met our friend John for brunch at Custom Shop, where we ate rancheros, drank mimosas, and had bread pudding for dessert. Then we went to John's house to see the new pieces of art he bought last night from a local artist - they are these abstract paintings of women in ball gowns, which the artist made by painting a canvas with random colors, then painting a more-or-less solid color on top of that, then taking a wet rag and wiping a streak down the middle, leaving what appears (if you squint your eyes) like an elegant woman in a gown and pearls heading out to a gala.

Then he joined us back on our roof terrace for more mimosas where our friend Alex met us and, later, our neighbor, Melissa. (Melissa has a one-year-old girl, so our background music consisted of faint sleeping sounds of her little girl coming over the baby monitor she brought with her.)

But it was very sunny, so we provided our guests with umbrellas (see funny pictures of John and Alex below). So after people left to finish their Sunday afternoons at parties or running errands, Eric and I went to Lowe's and bought an umbrella (see below) to provide shade for the next time we have friends over in the afternoon.

Here's John:



And Alex:



And here's the new umbrella, ready for next weekend!



Also, Eric made a trellis for his garden, because some of the vegetables needed some extra support. He took a 1x12 and ripped it down into several 1/2" strips, then put them together with screws. He did this without me even knowing - took him about 20 minutes. (I didn't know he was such the craftsman. And he still has all his fingers, even!) Next time I'll show him how to use a square (he says he was going for some kind of artistic look). ;-)



It's time for bed. I wish the weekend wasn't already over.

Happy mother's day, Mom!