In addition to moving, cleaning and "redoing" parts of the old house, there are projects at the new house Mama and Papa want done. So today, taking advantage of a surprisingly cool day, David and I built an arbor. Well, the first part, anyway, which involved renting a power auger, moving dirt around, tarring, mixing cement (660 lbs!) and lots of getting very dirty. All of which you can see in fast-moving 49 seconds:

David has so much fun with his toys.

Benji, our neighbor's dog, makes a couple of brief appearances (hoping for treats, no doubt), along with Mama, taking stock of the change to her yard and Papa at the beginning, surveying the bare spot, for the last time.

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In Boise, yesterday, at Ann Morrison park, was the yearly gathering known as Tour de Fat. Very briefly: it was all about bicycling with a focus on the positive environmental impact of bicycling-as-primary-means-of-transport. Plus beer. The latter because the tour was largely sponsored by the New Belgium brewing company out of Colorado. Everything was free except the beer and 100% of those profits go to a local bike club.

Since I'm a long time bike fan and Leah is also enamored, we made plans to meet some friends and attend. The whole "do" had a wacky, bohemian feel. People wore costumes with no unifying theme. Some costumed their bikes. Some of the crowd looked rowdy but were not, notably during the city-touring parade. After the parade and back at the park, there were a couple of bands and more than one M.C., extolling the virtues of cycling. One person was selected to receive a free bike and give up his car for a year. Someone else won the bike raffle. In the center, was a ring where anyone could freely try many wonky bikes. There were bikes with axles off center, various wheel configurations, some requiring careful balancing and frames that moved in odd ways. Most were difficult or impossible to ride. So, of course, I had a lot of fun. And took far too many pictures:

Tour de Fat

Posted by David | Permalink

Last week we finished moving Leah's parents. At the end of the long parade of possessions were seven large cages of canaries and finches, all of which are now safely installed in the garage, awaiting an aviary that will be built in the coming months.

I know you may have thought we'd finished moving some time ago. No, this whole time we've been moving. Well, not the entire time; there were also projects around the new house--sorting and unpacking, organizing, setting things up, small carpentry projects and, probably, too many days off. But, really, if you plan to move (and clean and pack and recycle and donate and just throw away) the contents of a large, full six bedroom house, I recommend blocking out a bit of time. But, it's done. And the resulting transformation in the two houses carries a reasonable amount of job satisfaction.

Not that we've finished with the old house. In order to prepare for selling, we plan to spend the next few months (less some weeks on the Oregon coast in September) painting, remodeling the kitchen and a bathroom, re-seeding the backyard, installing wallboard in the garage and a lengthy list of other projects and repairs. So we'll still be busy for awhile, but at least it'll keep us out of trouble.

Posted by David | Permalink

For quite some time David and I have discussed making what we write on here more overtly political. Sometimes we think we shouldn't, because while I'm all about breaking down an open door, as the Italians say, I also don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. But then something comes to light, like Wal-Mart's latest shenanigans (thank you, Taylor), and I decide that since such things make me extremely uncomfortable, being overtly political is not just okay, but required.

So take the plunge with us and read the article. Just lovely, isn't it?

Posted by Leah | Permalink | Comments (3)