Stegaliuniverse

1-The New House and Renovations

So we are in the new house and finally feeling a little settled.  So far we have had the entire outside of the house painted:

The front porch is being reroofed and should be finished next week.  Helen and Phil, Patrick’s parents, drove up from Arkansas and arrived on Monday evening to help us get started with a few home improvement projects.  We painted the dining room, put some new spindles and steps on the deck, hung bars in the bathroom and attempted to fix the door to the office closet.  We were all set to paint the living room when the guys decided to investigate a spot that looked like it had some water damage to see if it needed to be patched or what.  Well, it was “or what”.  A little poking and prodding led to this:

Needless to say I was traumatized to see the lower front wall of my living room crumble in chucks before my eyes.  There are a few other spots that need patching so once we get this all figured out we’ll post some pics of the finished product.

Living in an old house has always been something Patrick and I have wanted to do but there are some strange realities we didn’t expect

Reality 1-Nothing in the house is square.  Apparently in the 1800s they didn’t have geometry.

Reality 2-We can’t hang crown molding.  The walls are stone, thus impossible to nail or screw into without a bunch of rigamarole, and irregular, aka not smooth.

We’re sure other things will come up that need to be taken care of but right now we have our hands full so here’s to hoping that it stays relatively calm.

2-Puppy

On Sunday we brought home our first puppy!.  Meet Madeline Pawlbright, aka Maddie:

She sleeps alot. (Yes, we’re thankful for that part of her basset side!)

She LOVES her crate and her new bed from Helen.

This is what she looks like when she is BEGGING the cats to play with her and they are hissing in fear on the other side of the short blockade we’ve set up to protect them (and their food) in the mud room.  Note: even with her very short legs, with a running start Maddie can leap over the short blockade which then does not protect the cats.

Drew came up for the day and she showed her soft underbelly.  What a pushover!

She’ll be joining Chairman Meow and Fidel Catstro in trying to take over the world, if they can ever stop barking and hissing at each other.

3-Fauxgiving

On Tuesday we had a first holiday meal!  We won’t be seeing Helen and Phil for Turkey Day so we moved Turkey Day up a few weeks.  It was a huge success.  It was the first turkey I’ve ever made and it was pretty yummy. (Full disclosure: Helen made the turkey with the recipe I provided and I dutifully stood by and learned.  But it was my receipe!)  Also on the menu were sour cream mash potatoes, bussell sprouts, cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake.  The brussell sprouts and pumpkin cheesecake were such a hit that I’ve been asked to make them for real Thanksgiving (recipes on StegaliuRecipes).

4-Work

Because of the lousy economy my contract was cut short and last week was my last week in NYC.  I was sad to leave so suddenly and didn’t get to see everyone I wanted before I left but I am happy to feel a bit more settled in PA.  I am temping for the timebeing while interviewing for a 9-5 that won’t interfere with my classes. A headhunter found my resume online and is doing a lot of the legwork for me which is an interesting experience.  We’ll see what comes of it.

Look forward to posts on Amy’s Wedding and Lauren’s new baby!!!