Rewiring takes time

I am somewhat amused to be posting this a month and a day after my last entry, and the electricians are still at it. Tomorrow is likely to be their last day, though, and that's really okay with me. I swear, the main electrician who has been at our house, Jason, and I, feel like we've seen more of each other this past month than we've seen of our respective spouses. We get along fine and all, but really, I wouldn't mind not having an 8:15am wakeup call every weekday morning, and having him jingling through the house 'til 3 or 4pm, asking me questions periodically as to how I want things done, or updating me on his kid's latest soccer game. I don't mind him asking, and I'm happy to chat, don't get me wrong, but I am hoping that I will be a bit more productive at work with him gone!

Also, I can't really recommend this rewiring thing as a regular maintenance task. Once is hard enough on the pocketbook. Really.

Other recent events:

• Bought a compost bin from the city (subsidized), assembled it, and put compost-y things in it.
• I've been trying to catch/kill some rats, with little success. I'm working on improving the bait and have also ordered an electicity-based rat trap that has had good reviews. They continue to eat the grapefruit, not that I mind too much, but they should go as a preventative measure.
• I called a charity a few weeks back; they harvest fruit and donate it to food pantries for the needy. They haven't called me back lately, and I fear they won't get to me until after my grapefruit and apples are all done. Meh.
• We had the WTIM BBQ #11; it went well and it was really nice to see both parents and kids enjoying our new home's layout and some of the random features (like the swingset!)
• The boys seem to be enjoying themselves in the new house, learning which rooms have sunbeams in them at which time of day, and which spots have nice views outside. Unfortunately Google has also learned that the sound of the doorbell means that the front door will be opening, which means a chance to run outside. My electrician has been calling me for the last couple of weeks instead of ringing the doorbell, soas not to alert the cat of his arrival. He has just swapped out the doorbell from a wired one to a wireless one (since the wiring had to be tossed anyway). We're idly wondering if Google will recognize the new doorbell sound as a similar enough of a bell to the old one, since the time of day will be the same, to come running.
• Anyone want to buy 3 seven-foot oak bookcases? Apparently seven feet is a few inches too long to make it around an L-curve in our hallway and into our office. :-P I guess our books will be staying in boxes for a while.
• I spent a day in the Seattle area this past weekend, going up Saturday and back on Sunday for a college friend's wedding. I had a great time, particularly as another good college friend of mine and his wife were also there, and the bride was considerate enough to seat us at the same table so I could retain my sanity a bit better. :-) I also fit in two lunches and a bit of random shelf-thing shopping with some net friends (married). One of them is the only person I know who is significantly more obsessed with tea than I am. She served me a delightful Phoenix oolong (I think it was) in a tea set specifically made for the purpose of serving that specific tea. :-D
• Next project: a new roof.

Random recent photos:

Strangeness (or perhaps just hands overly idle) at a local market

The latest find in the 'back 20': a large abalone shell -- we saw several of these around when we looked at the house, but they were taken before we took possession of the house.  I guess they missed one!

Sunset at SeaTac on September 11th.

The boys' latest favorite flopping spot.  And they're not really snuggling when they do this (particularly in this summer heat), it's a bit more like competing for a favored location; Jeeves flops somewhere, Google squeezes in next to him, and they see whether it's an "it's warmer with two" sort of situation, or a "see who's the most stubborn about staying despite the discomfort" situation. ;-)

The cake topper at the wedding. :-)

G is back at class, having had his summer vacation, which was just long enough so that he could haul stuff around during our move. Needless to say, as is undoubtedly true with any move, there is still plenty of stuff left to do.  We're chipping away at it.

That is all.