Fetching kitty

Forgive the sideways view... This is the best video yet of evidence that Gavin loves to play fetch. Even right-side up.

Gardening

Residents at the school have the option of gardening in the grounds that are near their classroom/studio. For Rusty and me this has been on the back burner -- there are so many other projects to do, and with school and work and performing, we can barely keep up with the laundry. But one sunny weekend afternoon recently had us strolling over to the tiered garden beds behind our kitchen. We just started yanking some weeds...
... and before you know it, we'd cleared the whole bed.
I went off to a baby shower, and when I returned, behold, there was a garden!
Rusty planted strawberries, various herbs, salad greens, and I think some lavender. So fun!

In the meantime, the cats are still cute as can be. When they're not being little monsters.

Bread!

Remember that stove we paid so dearly to have put in?

Brief recap: Stove left by previous tenants very small; we trade for larger stove with door that doesn't close; we pay for electrical 220V line.

Rusty figured out the door problem: magnets! So simple! And so much easier to deal with than wedging a chair under the door handle any time we're baking.

So baking has been picking up again, and Rusty continues to turn out amazing artisan bread loaves. It's this simple recipe where he has a starter in the fridge, takes it out whenever he wants to make something, doesn't knead it, just lets it rise for an hour or so, then bake, and yummmm!

Fabulous Neighbors

I've been meaning to highlight some of the other residents in our little school, and here's a good reason to get started: Lance and Trixie, whose home and business is in the former Kindergarten area of the school, just got featured as one of the top five coolest booths at the Seattle Wedding Show. What do they do? They run a pin-up photography studio. Lance is an accomplished photographer, and Trixie is a burlesque instructor, now acting as Lance's stylist. Their home doubles as the backdrop for their photos, which are all mid-century retro style. (Very appropriate, since the school was built in the 1950s.) It's an incredible place. And the wardrobe, the wardrobe...! Trixie has an amazingly fun closet. Check out their work at Old School Pinups.

Congrats on the good publicity, neighbors!

Happy New Year!

2009 is over -- what a great year! We moved in together, into the Principal's Office of an artist community/elementary school building; Rusty got to tour with Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra, then started a cabinet building program at Seattle Central; Dina released her first Dunava CD and started working at Expedia. And then we adopted the cutest kittens on the planet! We have a lot to be happy about and thankful for. Tonight we'll celebrate with some friends, some cheese and chocolate fondue, and by watching "Dinner for One" -- one of those German traditions I'm determined to keep around.



Happy 2010, everyone!

Merry Cat-mas!

It's been a very merry and happy month of December in the Principal's office. A couple weeks ago Rusty and I adopted two kittens! They are around six months old, had been rescued from an abandoned litter and have been living in foster care, waiting for adoption. Once we met them, it was instantly decided. We chose a brother and sister from the litter of four (two brothers are still waiting for adoption), a pair of tabbies, with plenty of spunk and affection and personality.

Welcome, Gavin and Teagan! (Oh, you have no idea how long I waited for them to sit still for this picture. For each nice shot there must be twenty blurry ones of tails and paws dashing around...)


Gavin is the fluffy one; Teagan has amazing markings that make her look a little like an ocelot. They like to wrestle and chase each other, play with a wide variety of toys, crawl into every corner of our apartment, nap, and cuddle with us. (Teagan has been snuggled on my lap for most of this post.)




They are certainly keeping us entertained!

But alas, tomorrow we leave them for a few days, as we drive to Eugene to visit my family for Christmas. I'm sure we won't be able to talk about anything else but our two fuzzballs. But we know our neighbors will take good care of them.

Heat!

There is heat!

In the school! Yes! Actually, there has been heat for weeks... it's just the pump to *our* rooms that was broken, and since the parts in question date back to the 1950s, it took a while to find a replacement. But I guess it's been found. As of this afternoon, our heaters have been cranking out warmth.

Ahh.

Actually: it gets warm really fast. (I'm getting over the flu, so I don't mind a little toastiness at all!) Turning off the heat involves taking a flashlight and going through the rainy parking lot to the boiler room and fiddling with the timer contraption that seems awfully, well, manual. Dates back to the 1950s. I should really post a picture... I will, I promise.

If all goes well, the heater should kick back on at 8 p.m. I'm very curious. That's in 15 minutes. Oh boy...!

Next project: Putting up the window panels of saran wrap, to keep the heat from sneaking right out of our giant single-paned windows.