Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
On a personal note
I have done laundry almost every day since we got the washer and dryer. It has been great.
In other news, I was working a pretty crazy job during 2008, and we just wrapped. Sunday night felt a bit like New Year's Eve for me, and this week has been all about the recovery. I've had a lot of mixed emotions about the job ending — amazement that my co-workers and I were able to do what we did, gratitude that it all worked and no one died (I'm only half joking!), and sadness that it has all ended so quickly.
Part of my recovery is planning a vacation to Sydney for three weeks. We will be exchanging our condo with some lovely folks from Australia who wanted to ski. We need some serious beach time, so it all works out! And, I suppose that this is mildly house-related in that our renovations have made it possible for us to exchange because our place catches people's eyes.
Finally, we're still working on that lot, so stay tuned. And keep a good thought for us in the meantime.
In other news, I was working a pretty crazy job during 2008, and we just wrapped. Sunday night felt a bit like New Year's Eve for me, and this week has been all about the recovery. I've had a lot of mixed emotions about the job ending — amazement that my co-workers and I were able to do what we did, gratitude that it all worked and no one died (I'm only half joking!), and sadness that it has all ended so quickly.
Part of my recovery is planning a vacation to Sydney for three weeks. We will be exchanging our condo with some lovely folks from Australia who wanted to ski. We need some serious beach time, so it all works out! And, I suppose that this is mildly house-related in that our renovations have made it possible for us to exchange because our place catches people's eyes.
Finally, we're still working on that lot, so stay tuned. And keep a good thought for us in the meantime.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Washer and Dryer
It finally happened. After countless rolls of quarters and relying our relatives' generosity with their appliances, we finally, finally have our own washer and dryer:
That's a stackable (duh) Asko set. We had never dreamed of getting this high-end Swedish brand, but we have a designer friend who got us a hook up with a deal. We paid less than one-third of this set's retail price. The washer and dryer actually cost us about the same as a much, much lower end set would have, so we are pleased as punch.
One of the things that we absolutely love about this set is that they are super water- and energy-efficient. The washer spins clothes up to 2000 rpm at the end of the wash cycle (roughly the same rpm that you car's engine will have on a mellow road), and things come out nearly dry. That means much shorter dryer cycles. The washer uses about one-quarter of the water that a traditional top-loading washer would use, even with optional extra rinse cycles. It requires very little detergent and still comes in as an energy star appliance!
So, laundry is our new hobby for the new year. Happy New Year to everyone out there, and all the best in your 2009 endeavors!
That's a stackable (duh) Asko set. We had never dreamed of getting this high-end Swedish brand, but we have a designer friend who got us a hook up with a deal. We paid less than one-third of this set's retail price. The washer and dryer actually cost us about the same as a much, much lower end set would have, so we are pleased as punch.
One of the things that we absolutely love about this set is that they are super water- and energy-efficient. The washer spins clothes up to 2000 rpm at the end of the wash cycle (roughly the same rpm that you car's engine will have on a mellow road), and things come out nearly dry. That means much shorter dryer cycles. The washer uses about one-quarter of the water that a traditional top-loading washer would use, even with optional extra rinse cycles. It requires very little detergent and still comes in as an energy star appliance!So, laundry is our new hobby for the new year. Happy New Year to everyone out there, and all the best in your 2009 endeavors!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas came early...
That beautiful sight is a 220-volt plug for the dryer that will shortly be ours. I could have kissed the electricians who put this in for us.
(I am more excited about this than I have been about anything in a long, long time. So stay tuned for the VERY EXCITING pictures of our new washer/dryer set!)
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Oh, hi Internet...
Hello again, friends (if you're still reading — and really, I wouldn't be reading after six months of silence).
I wanted to offer a quick accounting of our last several months:
June: work
July: work
August: work
September: WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK!!!!!
October: WORKWORKWORK
November: WORK
December (so far): WORK
As you can see, it's really been a blast.
We haven't moved on anything house-wise during this time either, but that has less to do with the work schedule and a lot more to do with the general state of the world economy and all that frightening business. (We'd prefer to not jump in too soon or rashly — I'd like to avoid becoming a cautionary tale.)
I will say that we have been stalking a particular lot basically since July, and by stalking, yes, I mean it all: imagining what we would look like together at parties, signing my last name with its address in my diary, picking out outfits for it, driving past at all hours of the day and night, stopping by all the shops in the neighborhood, and so on.
We actually went through a round of negotiations with the owner of this lot about two months ago but we couldn't reach a comfortable price for everyone. In the meantime, Tai has designed about eight iterations of the "outfit" we could put on that lot, and we have watched the price slowly — so slowly — edge downward. We'll keep stalking it through the next couple of months, and who knows? Maybe we'll be able to report on some action sooner rather than later. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
I wanted to offer a quick accounting of our last several months:
June: work
July: work
August: work
September: WORKWORKWORKWORKWORK!!!!!
October: WORKWORKWORK
November: WORK
December (so far): WORK
As you can see, it's really been a blast.
We haven't moved on anything house-wise during this time either, but that has less to do with the work schedule and a lot more to do with the general state of the world economy and all that frightening business. (We'd prefer to not jump in too soon or rashly — I'd like to avoid becoming a cautionary tale.)
I will say that we have been stalking a particular lot basically since July, and by stalking, yes, I mean it all: imagining what we would look like together at parties, signing my last name with its address in my diary, picking out outfits for it, driving past at all hours of the day and night, stopping by all the shops in the neighborhood, and so on.
We actually went through a round of negotiations with the owner of this lot about two months ago but we couldn't reach a comfortable price for everyone. In the meantime, Tai has designed about eight iterations of the "outfit" we could put on that lot, and we have watched the price slowly — so slowly — edge downward. We'll keep stalking it through the next couple of months, and who knows? Maybe we'll be able to report on some action sooner rather than later. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Monday, June 23, 2008
NY Times: Bragging rights for LEED
I'm doing that irritating thing where a blogger doesn't come up with original content but just refers you to something really obvious on the internet. So, here you go.
This caught my eye for several reasons. The first is that LEED Platinum would be insanely difficult to reach on any reasonable budget, so I'm a bit jealous of their $2.5 million selling price.
The second is that the article really gets into some of the biggest complaints with LEED, some of which I've aired here in the past. As you go up the LEED ladder (certified to bronze to silver to gold, etc.) certification quickly becomes cost prohibitive to most people and a huge pain in the neck to all people. It's also become the evaluation tool of choice in the industry, inaugurated as such because there simply aren't any others: "Frances Anderton, a KCRW radio host and Los Angeles editor of Dwell magazine, longs for the day when LEED recognition is irrelevant. 'Architects should be offering a green building service,' Ms. Anderton said, 'without needing a badge of pride.'"
The third is this line from the article: "Today, dinner-party bragging rights are likely to include: 'Let me tell you about my tankless hot water heater.' Or 'what’s the R value of your insulation?'" I attended such a dinner party last night where the topic of discussion organically came to both tankless water heaters and rooftop solar arrays!
This caught my eye for several reasons. The first is that LEED Platinum would be insanely difficult to reach on any reasonable budget, so I'm a bit jealous of their $2.5 million selling price.The second is that the article really gets into some of the biggest complaints with LEED, some of which I've aired here in the past. As you go up the LEED ladder (certified to bronze to silver to gold, etc.) certification quickly becomes cost prohibitive to most people and a huge pain in the neck to all people. It's also become the evaluation tool of choice in the industry, inaugurated as such because there simply aren't any others: "Frances Anderton, a KCRW radio host and Los Angeles editor of Dwell magazine, longs for the day when LEED recognition is irrelevant. 'Architects should be offering a green building service,' Ms. Anderton said, 'without needing a badge of pride.'"
The third is this line from the article: "Today, dinner-party bragging rights are likely to include: 'Let me tell you about my tankless hot water heater.' Or 'what’s the R value of your insulation?'" I attended such a dinner party last night where the topic of discussion organically came to both tankless water heaters and rooftop solar arrays!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Plotting
With all this great weather lately, we have some serious yard envy.
We are currently looking at two lots, both in the general 9th-and-9th/Liberty Park areas. We're hopeful that we'll be able to get something soon, but in the meantime the posting will be light because we're just enjoying the completed condo and looking around for land.
We are currently looking at two lots, both in the general 9th-and-9th/Liberty Park areas. We're hopeful that we'll be able to get something soon, but in the meantime the posting will be light because we're just enjoying the completed condo and looking around for land.
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