Friday, May 28, 2010

Friday, May 28, 2010

casaHippo

Posted by Hippobean at 10:41 AM
When the blasted doors came down and the new paint went up, the dining room was glorious. The brilliant white of the crown moulding and baseboards accentuated the pale mint green of the walls. I first came upon this color at a sandwich shop in downtown San Mateo. It formed a mental image of the dinning room I've wanted. It took 3 tries to finally settle on the sheer ivory curtains which length fell to just above the floor. Perfection. And after 2 weeks of searching every store and the internet, the china cabinet arrived, and I had a tough time carrying the 50 lbs package. I had to once again steal the dolly from work. But the assembly proved to be too much for me. After 4 hours of drilling, snapping and screwing nails, I finally put it up only to have the glass door come crashing down, luckily on the carpet. T had to come to help me finish the job. Now finally the souvenirs I've collected from all my years of travels had a home. It was another perfection in my book.


Waffle asked me if I could find a fridge that would fit in the kitchen. Course I did. And rather than spending 200 bucks more on stainless steel, I got a silver one that went well with the rest of the stainless steel in the kitchen, the oven, microwave and dishwasher. It was thrill shopping for all the dishes I had always wanted, to fill the more than enough cabinets in my kitchen. The cute Ona pitcher from Crate and Barrel, the Bodum original French Press, the Hamptons Green Dinnerware, the Edge wine glasses, the giant Swoop bowl for my noodles. Now my Norwegian pot holders featuring a Viking and his maiden from Oslo, decorate my granite counter top. The inherited stools from Target go well with the granite bar.
 

Strange that what I thought should be the last item to purchase was actually found before the other more pressing ones. The single recliner has exactly the same fabric and color as the loveseat. Even though it has a different design, nobody has yet noticed that. A multi culture display of a Menorah from Israel, the Lamasu cup from the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, the El Camino Bell from the California Missions, a Trojan helmet from Athens, a Celt wine barrel from Northern Wales, and a Tuscan water jar now adorn the fireplace mantel. The most difficult work was the light celery solid Thai silk curtains. Once I finally got the right size and length, they went up and they looked gorgeous hanging over the silver rods from Penney's. I dont think I've ever spent more money nor time on so unimportant a thing. But every day I look at my living room curtains and every day I know I've made the right choice. Last came the Way Basics eco-friendly zBoards, the cubes that need no screws to assemble. My best purchase because they came in green, and I got a set of double and a set of single Plus that are just enough for my books. The books that I cant live without. Once upon a time I started with 15 boxes of books. Gradually they were reduced to 10 and to 5 and finally to 2. My travel photo albums, my books on castles and cathedrals, the Greek Tragedies, the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid, The Tarnak, Archaeology, Anthropology, Online Learning, Flash & ActionScript, Photoshop, In-Design, CSS, and the few of my favorite fictions, Possession, The English Patient, Into Thin Air, The Quincunx. And last but not least, the right wicker basket to house my day blankets, Princess New England, Google and a throw from Peru. The living room is done and cozy.
 

 


She finally has a home! Now if she could only make the hvac noise disappear...

Views from the balcony
 

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