(no subject)

[rootofnewt]

So.

busy weekend.

we drove up to DC Saturday, arriving at the house of Scully around 8pm. the party was in full roar, which was nice. i got to chat with several friends--Rick and Sarah, twilight_spirit, Mr. Mangin, lotsofmonkeys, Jonah, Sandra and her Eric, Sam and Mike, Matt Nevin, and a few other folks. Lots of people I don't know, of course. I met a few sweet people, too. :)

We went to sleep around 2am... Got up around 10:30 or 11, I think. Mike came by with a gift for the Scullys, then went out for breakfast with them. Tom and I went to Whole Foods to pick up some lunch and cooler-stuff for eating later. We went for a walk to see my old acupuncturist. On the way, we stopped at a garage sale, where Rick and Sarah scored a gorgeous cream yellow sofa from the 1940s--very clean lines, excellent condition, low low price. Our acupuncturist's home is up for sale!!! She wasn't home, as it was an open house day. We stopped in and left a note. I was sorry to miss her (and Ramu, her crazy singing dog), but I left our email addies.

We then stopped in briefly to see some friends of Sarah and Rick. They have two huge dogs. Sarah insisted they're Burmese Mountain Dogs. Is this another name for the Bernese Mountain Dog? Because these dogs looked just like Baka. I thought they were Berners. The male was very friendly, the female is timid. I left her alone, but that's okay, since the male was enjoying my hand pets and head rubbings. His shoulder came to boy's waist and he's only a year old!!!

We headed back, wandered about the garden, then got ready to leave. Boy dropped me off at the wombat craft gathering, where I got to meet kismet09, minnaleigh, and tmancuso. I had a cross-stitch project with me, but no needle, so I opted to just rest and chat. My hands don't enjoy crocheting, though I'd like to learn sometime. I enjoyed watching Tina's lightning-fast crochet skills.

Eventually, the gathering started to break apart. While waiting for boy to arrive to pick me up (he was off playing video games with ken, who lives up the road), I got to say hello to K8's two dogs and the dog she's sitting. They were all very sweet and adorable. I was quite happy to get some doggie love in. :)

boy and I stopped at MoM's on RI Ave for some Spring Mill bread. Then we hit the NEW IKEA on Route 1, just off the beltway. I nabbed a new parasol, a new omelet pan, and a tote bag for veggies/greens. We also looked at the cd storage options, since we need something that doesn't require wall attachment. after that--trader joe's, for the every-so-often stock-up. pasta, soy-free snacks, various spreads, some frozen stuffs... and i just realized i have NO clue what happened to my chocolate milk. i bought a small bottle to drink on the way home... i remember opening it in the store (after paying), but i don't remember putting it in the car. hrm...

we drove home, stopping to find a SunTrust in manassas so that we could stop at the haymarket mcdonald's for ice cream sundaes. stopped at the teeter in cville for eggs. went home. unpacked frozen stuff. relaxed. slept.

we're thinking of making day trips to dc once a month or so to visit specific people. we can't see everyone on every single trip. it's not possible, unless we just decide to stay in one place and make everyone visit US. that's not feasible, either. ;)

Comments

[bbick.livejournal.com]

I'm just curious, what did you find for CD storage options? I need something too. I recently bought a CD rack at Target that holds like 300 CDs, but it SUCKS. It's so flimsy, you could knock it over with a damn feather.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Well, I wanted to look at the DRÖMME (http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/show.asp?productnumber=30037827&type=ART&id=451,467) cabinet. Boy didn't like it. *sigh* It's plastic, pressboard, and metal. The doors are white metal, the outside black pressboard... holds 850 or so CDs and costs 89 bucks. Doesn't require supports drilled into wall studs, either.

He did like the BENNO cd towers. The silver finish (http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/show.asp?productnumber=40024631&type=ART&id=451,467) is 39, the wood veneers (http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/show.asp?productnumber=67305208&type=ART&id=451,467) are 49. They hold up to 180 CDs each. i don't like them for the same reason he does--they're tall (about 80" high)... and they're open, so they'll attract dust.

We have over 600 CDs. We used to use ikea CD cabinets (flip down doors, wall units), but they require being fixed to a wall stud. we can't do that in the house we live in right now. furthermore, they only hold 200CDs apiece and the style is no longer made. we're selling them to friends.

if you can screw things into walls, there are LOTS of options that are pretty neat. we can't do that, though. the previous tenants messed this place up enough that the landlord had to replaster most of the rooms. i'm not about to mar these walls at boob-height with quarter-inch holes.

http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/subcat.asp?id=451,467

i really think the DRÖMME makes the most sense. i could easily put contact paper over the doors, or even paint them with something appropriate. i don't like the bennos, especially the wood veneer. for some reason, boy is leaning toward those. i hate the look of fake wood. and they're more expensive, which is something he'd normally bitch about quite a bit. all of our bookshelves are black, too. the BENNO doesn't come in black.

this would be tempting if i had the money to buy two or three and the space to put them (http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/show.asp?productnumber=70037142&type=ART&id=6054)

[explodingcat.livejournal.com]

Blah. I might bend on the DROMME. I think it's hideous. I don't know that contact paper will be any better than fake wood veneer. But I suppose hiding it in the corner behind the door won't mar the look of the dining room too much (a room I think feels and looks great when we actually have it uncluttered). I'm still a much bigger fan of high things to take advantage of the often unused space above our heads. And I find plastic to be way uglier than particle board. But...crap...for $89 something that will hold all the CDs and still have enough room for a few years worth of new ones? Damn you and your practical reasoning. But I suppose quickly getting the CDs out of boxes and off the floor will make that room feel good, regardless of what their kept in. Alright...$89 is reasonable. That's something we can certainly afford before the summer is over. Just hope they aren't so oversold we can't get one.

[kismet09.livejournal.com]

There's always the option of putting everything in a dresser, if you can find one with drawers of a suitable size :)

I have the Benno towers (whee fake wood - but really, my whole basement is fake wood panelling, so it blends in together, at least). I haven't noticed the dust getting too bad (maybe it's something about the fake wood that gives it resistant qualities :) who knows.

Thanks!

[terrapingardens.livejournal.com]

Thanks for visiting you two!

BTW, that sofa was even cooler once we gave it some TLC (and leather cleaner and a conditioner). It is so cute and looks much better in the front room than the cat-torn POS we currently have. Thank goodness the guy who lent me that old POS said I can put it on the kerb and don't have to return it to him :)

[lcohen]

this would be tempting if i had the money to buy two or three and the space to put them

meanwhile, that one is tempting to me to use as a dresser since i now don't have one and while that item isn't very deep, it could hold t-shirts and underwear.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

I have the Trandum (http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/show.asp?productnumber=60034894&type=ART&id=6017,408) chest. I really like it. Someday, we'll save up to buy another. Trandum has a skinnier tall chest and a shorter wide chest, too.

[lcohen]

the three drawer chest looks like a strong contender. do the drawers glide easily? i bought a file cabinet from IKEA and the drawers stick like anything.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Yes, it glides very easily, but I'm also very handy at putting stuff together, so that might make a difference. We have another (old style, no longer made) dresser that doesn't glide so easily. Well, it didn't, even before I accidentally ripped off the slide bars and spilled bearings everywhere. ;)

I may be handy at assembly, but I'm not so handy at disassembly. ;)

[lcohen]

ah--much assembly required, then?

i'm fairly handy at assembling things (i have been paid to build scenery, although that was years ago). and iirc, i didn't actually have to assemble the filing cabinet, but i may have repressed an entire incident or something. i'm not too handy at figuring out how to fix things when they're not working smoothly, however, as you may have gathered.

[bbick.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thank you for your very thorough reply! I actually like the Benno towers, but I'd go for the silver, not the wood. A pair of them would look really nice, I think.

Unfortunately, there is no IKEA near me; they're opening one near the Mall of America, but I believe it's due to open in Spring '04. I wonder how expensive they'd be to ship.

And as for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, I need some Queer Eyes to help me out with my place. Fashion and interior decoration skills are stereotypes that I am definitely the exception to!

[michellew.livejournal.com]

Eve and Miki's dogs are Berners. But the Burmese Mountain Dog is a mythical beast indeed...

[michellew.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, I will be one of the people you visit on one of the trips up, right? Right? RIGHT?

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I suppose we can visit with you sometime, despite your having crossed over to the EVIL DOMINION OF FELINEDOM!

Mythical... whatever.

[terrapingardens.livejournal.com]

http://www.lme.mankato.msus.edu/akcj3/bmd.html

I have heard both Burnese and Burmese used. Since I don't own either (nor do I particularly care) I frequently slur the two together. Maybe out of ignorance, maybe out of apathy. I certainly didn't even realise I was saying "Burmese." Apparently some people do care, and find it amusing when other people mispeak.

Re: Mythical... whatever.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

aye, i saw that site, but it was the only one that had a picture...


i was pretty sure they were berners. ;)

i love dogs. doggies are wonderful. dogs dogs dogs dogs dogs.