Leona and I went to the new house
yesterday
There is a beautiful fragrant teak mantle on the skinny faux fireplace. The
mantle hangs over the sides of the fireplace by a good three inches on the
sides and the front. Just like the fireplace, the front edge has been shaped
into two 45o angles instead of one 90o; Leona showed me
the photo of the solid wood fireplace she got the idea from. The only problem
is, it is much easier to shape two 45 angles from pieces of wood than from
artificial slate ceramic tiles and have the grain match! The tile company will
have to send two workmen to cut angles in the ceramic tiles and try to match
them up logically. I pointed out to Leona that she didn’t ask my opinion before
she chose the design and she was surprised she hadn’t. She or Jenny also didn’t
run the shape of the fireplace by me before the carpenter put it together or I
would have suggested they not make it so skinny. All I could do was catch the
ugly electric wiring they laid up the wall and have them boxed so it looked
like part of the interior decorating. The rest was fate.
The crew chief didn’t like the paint
company Leona and I chose the color of our bedroom from; he said it was too
watery. He gave us a chart of colors form the paint company he wanted to use
and Leona and I chose the shade of green closest to the mint green we had
wanted. It turns out the green on the wall is a little darker than either of us
really wanted. On the other hand, the white we chose for the touch up in the
living room matches the living room off white perfectly. The holes drilled in
the ceiling woodwork to lay the electric wiring for the firebox is disguised
completely.
I brought the cat door over to the new
house in blind hope of using it but there is nowhere we could use it. It will
be a waste of money and the thrill of seeing cats go.
The two burner stove top removed from the
kitchen is also extra and should be put on 591, Taiwan’s e-bay, for sale. We
will have a three burner top installed in the kitchen with the cabinets this
Wednesday.
Friday, the saleswoman and two technicians
from Domicil came to the condo to see how they could deliver the sofa we
ordered. They decided to lift it four floors with a crane from the lane below,
put it over the outdoor patio, through the tea room window and doors, and
through the dining area into the living room. Delivery is included in the total
price as it should well be!
The shoebox on the left side of the four
foot square vestibule we created will also be installed this week by Wednesday.
Leona doesn’t quite remember where it will be affixed but I think I remember it
is to be at least four inches from the threshold so to have room to maneuver
when you get into the area. The question came up when Leona was plugging in the
land-line telephones that we had transferred from the Beverly; we get to keep
the same phone number. Leona called Jenny to discuss the positioning of the
shoebox and seat but didn’t comment on the discussion.
I also asked Leona to ask Jenny to be sure
that the coffee-tinted color of the partition tempered glass was not so dark
that it couldn’t be seen through, especially when the three panes are behind
each other when the doors are opened. Jenny told her the tint was the lightest
possible tint, but I wish I could see a sample of the actual glass instead of a
computer driven 3D image of it. This will be fate, too.
Most
importantly, Leona and I are both enjoying this experience of moving into our
new home. We’ve had no fights and only a few disputes that were quickly
settled. We agree on most of the decorating or convince each other if we don’t.
I love the way our new home is shaping up and she does, too.
Leona
called the furniture man to make arrangements to have him deliver our seven
items this Friday. Leona also ordered another bookcase for the office as I had
asked. The salesman asked to make sure there was enough room. He also suggested
I take the unit with more shelf space and I agreed. It is amazing that the fine
crafts- manship of the 35”x15”x79” bookcases cost only $300us! In Brooklyn, New
York, our un-stained pine bookcase half the size, in the living room, was over
$250us, plus tax, delivery extra, with tip, if I remember!
We
could be sleeping in our new home in five days! Thursday we would have a moving
van bring the items we have in the Beverly the half mile to our new digs. I am
inclined to drink a bottle of sweet Taiwanese plum wine but we’ll probably get
a nice bottle of Chilean Merlot or Spanish Rioja to celebrate.
Today,
the tile men are coming to dress the cut-corner fireplace that Leona designed.
She admits she didn’t realize how difficult it would be to match up the slate
ceramic tiles they have to cut to fit four corners instead of two. I hope they
do it well. It will be more expensive for them to do so than it would have been
to tile two 90 degree angles instead of four 45 degree angles.
The
six panes of tempered glass were put into the partition doors yesterday. They
look great. The fireplace tile guys won’t come until Thursday so Leona called
back the furniture guy and changed the delivery date to Monday. The kitchen and
bedroom work is supposed to be done tomorrow. The dining room set is supposed
to be delivered next Monday, too.
If Leona hadn’t postponed delivery of our
furniture until Monday, we could move into our new home by Saturday. She said, “What’s
the hurry?” but I say, “Why delay?” Anyway, a few days won’t make a difference.
Today will be pivotal. The cabinet makers
went to the condo yesterday and started assembling the kitchen cabinets,
vestibule shoebox/seat, and bedroom wardrobe doors. They had to go around the
electrical work in the kitchen; the outlet for the exhaust fan and dish dryer wasn’t
done properly. They will be back today.
I’m
glad I was on site yesterday to show the cabinet makers where to install the
shoebox at the vestibule. Leona was no help in reminding them to put the box
back six inches from the threshold to make room to maneuver when you get in the
house; I had to show them. I also showed them how to move the covered outlet to
the back of the shoebox so we could use it to plug in components from the
entertainment center to its left.
Six
boxes of tiles imported from Spain were delivered to outside the first floor
elevator for use in lining the fireplace. The tile setters are to be there this
morning. I don’t think they’ll need more than four boxes and even fewer if they
didn’t have to match the sides of four 45 degree angles. There are five sides
of the fireplace that need tiling instead of three because Leona thought
cutting the corners would look nicer, and she’s not wrong, but it will be more
expensive and difficult to match the four different artificial stone colors
that come together on one set ceramic tile.
Once
the tiles are done, the electric firebox can be installed.
All
of the interior decorating could be done today.
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