Hi there.

So it’s been about a week since I talked to you last (a brutal one on the work front, but that’s not a particularly entertaining story) and things have started to take shape around the house.

Operative word here being started…

First, the living room:

And you’ll note the happy absence of any pianos in here. (The next décor on the chopping block is that ceiling fan, though.)

Yes, a couple guys from Grunts Hauling Junk showed up a week ago and hauled the monstrosity out of here. Which, while we’re on the subject, was a seriously ridiculous process.
The two gentlemen actually tethered themselves together by attaching a long nylon strap to a pair of chest harnesses. Then they ran said strap underneath the piano, stood on either side of it, and lifted the thing straight up using their legs and backs. They they just waddled their way out the door with it. The whole maneuver probably took about 20 minutes, and I had sympathy backaches for over an hour after watching them do it.
One of them did confide afterward that he’d been working for that company for 4 years and this was the “heaviest damn piano that [he’d] ever lifted.” I apologized and assured them that I’d tried to get rid of it prior to moving in.

I’ll tell you though, the sigh of relief when they drove that thing away was probably audible in Burlington. It’s so nice to have that thing out of our living room…

Now, the other side of the living room? That’s a work in progress still.

The plan over on this side is to move Jib’s bed into a separate room…um…somewhere, and then have our wood burning stove, brick veneer hearth, and chimney built into that corner where the three shelves currently are.

Of course, this is entirely theoretical at this point We have a local guy coming out later this week to take a look and let us know about the feasibility (and cost) of such an endeavor. That said, if I learned one thing from the Texas Snowpocalypse this year, it’s the folly of relying entirely on an electrical company to keep your house, and family, warm. (Wood burns even in the absence of electricity, you see.) So it’s very likely we’re going to work something out here and get one of these things.

You know, I think touring one room in the house at a time is enough for now…

Let’s move on to Daphne, who is doing pretty darn great out here.

We also took a jaunt to the Vermont state capital last weekend. (Can you name it without Googling? Because I couldn’t.) Daph loved running around the park in front of the State House. And if there’s a Vermont PR firm that happens to be browsing ’round here, I think I have a little girl for your advertisements…

We ambled around for a bit until we happened to come across a Tex-Mex restaurant and, since we hadn’t had much in the way of lunch, it felt almost like a dare. So we went in and tried it.

And it was…passable.

I don’t think I’d go so far as to actually call the stuff “Tex-Mex,” but it was a quasi-reasonable facsimile. I’d say the biggest drawback to it was the utter lack of anything that even remotely resembled spiciness.

Although to be honest I don’t think this is a phenomenon endemic to just this particular restaurant. We picked up Green Mountain Gringo’s “Hot” salsa at the local grocery store to go on our tacos (the other options were Pace or Newman’s Own…bleh),

and I believe my first comment after trying it was, “This is what’s considered ‘hot’ here, huh? Hmmph. What’d they put in it…vinegar?”

So that particular area could use some work. Either that or we’re going to have to figure out how to bulk order some Mark’s Good Stuff up here.

I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time I smuggled Texas fare into New England…

The irony of this is not lost on me, though, since it’s always been the other way ’round. I had Marshmallow Fluff, blueberry Pop-Tarts sans frosting, and coffee syrup exported down south when I lived there.

Okay, I think we’re off for yet another Lowe’s trip. We need something to help loosen the soil in front of the house so Jen can plant her hydrangea bushes. I’m sure we’ll have more updates where those are concerned.

I’ll have to catch you all later.