what we wake up to

This is the view out our bedroom window. I think it will be even more stunning in about four months when we will see more than just white and gray.

it all started with a right-leaning water flow

This morning I learned all about water faucets. It was a self-education. It started with our bathroom faucet, which has a right-leaning water flow. I was sure if I just un-did the aerator and cleaned it up a bit with Lime-Away, I would be good to go. So, how did a 15-minute project turn into a two-hour one?

First, the aerator was TERRIBLY caked with sediment and mineral deposits. It took time to soak in Lime-Away, scrub with a toothbrush, rinse, and then soak again. (Repeat about 15 times.) And I didn't pay close enough attention when taking the parts off to see in which order they needed to go back.

A clean aerator.

Second, I decided I might as well do the other two bathroom faucets, which meant trudging up and down stairs. Not much of a problem, but I kept leaving important tools in other bathrooms.

Some of the supplies.

Third, I decided that I might as well do a VERY thorough cleaning job and take off the handle to clean it and around it. That required a new sequence of tools and more juggling of supplies between bathrooms. Oh, and without the handle, you can't turn the water on. Unless you have a wrench (which you remembered to bring with you).

Yucky, dirty.

Oh so clean.

Finally, since I hadn't paid attention to the order for replacing the aerator, I ended up needing to do a search online, which took me a good 20 minutes before finding an image that led me in the right direction.

And now the bathroom faucet's water flow has no leaning whatsoever--it shoots straight down the center. Mission accomplished.

turning a house into a home

Matt and I closed on our first house on November 7, 2009, two days before Matt had two solid weeks of business travel to Seattle and Europe. Here is what we fell in love with:

Yes, those are cabbages in front by the tree. Pretty cool, huh?

We moved in on Saturday, November 21, two days before my 29th birthday. What a whirlwind. Here is what it looked like the first day we moved in:

We hope to post more about how we are slowly turning our house into a home.