Going, Going, Gone

I've been a very neglectful blogger this month. While I had great intentions of posting our latest actives, they were derailed by a few bad and persistent cold that I picked up last week. The first thing I lost was my voice. It started to go on Wednesday and by Friday I sounded like a squeaky frog. I even took several days (something I can't remember doing in the recent future) off and stayed home. Didn't even check email. I tried to sleep but afraid just as I'd start to nod off, I'd start coughing again. I found these great little things for the shower - like Vics but for the shower - and they steam and release a menthol in the shower. They helped a bit with the breathing, but really its just been time. I've neglected a pile of letters/bills that need to be gone through but thankfully the house is clean thanks to E, who incidentally was amazing and took the best care of me.

Can I just say I've got the best husband? He went out and found me mashed potatoes because it was only thing I wanted to eat. I wasn't able to taste anything due to the congestion, but the warm potatoes felt good. He brought me soup the other night. I couldn't really taste it either, but the heat was nice. He ran to the store and bought me kleenex (the nice lotiony kind), and throat lozenges, and moved my humidifier from room to room as I traipsed through the house in an effort to find a comfortable haven. I am a lucky girl.

We've been busy with a lot of little activities around the house. My dad was up a few weeks ago and he and E put together my childhood bed. My dad made this from sold oak (including hand turning all the posts on a lathe and even carving out the little buttons that go over the bolts) about 30 years ago. It's been in many houses -- VA to WY to OH to VA and finally to WA. Its a beautiful bed, complete with every little girls dream -- a canopy. My mom even picked out special fabric for the bed in which she'd made a dust ruffle, pillows, a bedspread, and a dresser cover. The fabric was from Laura Ashley, so it was very girlie -- white with little pink flowers. Unfortunately, I think the fabric is long gone and the canopy cannot go up with the current configuration of the room/ceiling fan in our house so for now it's just a pretty 4 poster bed. I also have my childhood dresser. I remember where it used to me in my old room growing up. It's odd now thinking it could belong to a child of mine. I'll post photos again when I have a chance to snap some photos.

We also got a mattress for the other guest room. There's a few cute little tables in there and it actually now *looks* like a guest room. My dad was the first to stay in it. We hope to have another mattress in the other bedroom at some point so we can house lots of guests (we always welcome visitors!).

Speaking of parent's houses...mine finally sold their house! Hooray! It's been a long road and thankfully they can buy a place out here. E and I are very glad they are a lot closer here now being a car ride vs. a plane ride away.

Gonzaga...College Friends, Bing Crosby, and Attack Iguanas

E and I went up to Spokane this past weekend. We were looking forward to the short jaunt out of town for the day. We were heading up to visit a friend of mine from college, J, is currently teaching at Gonzaga. He showed us around the science building where he teaches. I was quite envious of the nice (new) facilities and the labs where each student has a computer per station. I remember using carbon paper and spiral notebooks! The biology lab has a resident iguana, who in characteristic fashion, lunged at us and hit the glass. If I didn't think it was stressing the iguana too much, I would have captured it on film...

My family has a connection to Gonzaga as well. My grandfather as well as his brothers attended Gonzaga back in the early 20's. J gave us a tour of Gonzaga -- including the Bing Crosby "Museum," where we saw all the records, movie posters, and even products he indorsed (including a mouse trap, game, and even a toothpaste). Turns out Bing was a childhood friend of my grandfather, as they lived across the street from one another. As we were touring through the buildings, we came across a hallway full of old photos dating from the 1890s to the 1970s. I found several photos of my grandfather as well as his brother. My grandfather was quite the athlete...he played everything from water polo to track to basketball and beyond.

1924 Varsity Basketball

Water Polo - #3

1921 - Varsity Basketball - #4

1920- JV Basketball - #6 - Note B. Crosby is #1
1918 - JV Football - #6
1921 - Senior Class Officiers of Some Variety
1924 Varsity Track

After our tour of campus, we headed over to have sushi at Sushi.dot.com. It was really good and a nice treat for E and I, who haven't really found a place here in the TC that has pallatable suchi...

We were headed out of town and decided to take a last minute detour to do a little shopping. We finally got a matress last week for our guest bedroom (making at least 1 room passable for visitors) and "needed" some new lighted. Restoration Hardware was having a great sale, so we succumed.

Our next task is to tackle the other guest room. My father is coming to visit this weekend and the plan is to put together my canopy bed. My dad made this bed for me when I was 5. It's a oak 4 poster bed with a fully arched canopy. The problem is it takes multiple people (one of which needs to be my dad) to get it together. I'm hoping this will be the weekend. I also have some other projects on the docket. I would like to sand down and re-stain 2 of my mission oak tables my dad built for me in graduate school. I plan on putting a darker stain on them to match the new decor. I may also end up painting a little chest I have to match the white metal bed/new lamps in the guest bedroom, although I don't know if I can bring myself to paint hardwood....