District

It is rainy and dreary in DC. I've been here since Monday and will be heading back home tomorrow. It has been rather uneventful - I remembered to pack walking shoes so my feet are in good shape. Hallelujah. I'm staying with Denice and Nancy on Capitol Hill. Last night on my way back from the office I stopped by Eastern Market and spent $40 on ravioli to freeze and take back home with me. It will be worth every penny. Those things are f-ing awesome. Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Spinach and Artichoke, Mushroom - I can't wait.

Back home our apartment is transforming in leaps and bounds. Under the Victorian wallpaper there seems to be painted plaster. It's so pretty, but the plaster is in really awful shape - dry and brittle - since it was covered with that cheap wood paneling for so many years. It is so sad to think what a gem this place was and could still be if it had been cared for better. We are just doing the best we can for it. The floor plan is already so much more open and inviting and it really maximizes the great light our apartment gets. I can't wait until we can actually use it as living space. Right now we are out of money, so progress is at a standstill, but in a few weeks we should be able to finish the living room off. The kitchen is another story.

Another One Bites the Dust

I'm not quite sure why I'm even posting these pictures since you can't really tell what's going on in them. Basically, we are trying to open up the floor plan of our apartment by widening the doorway to the hallway and making a passage from the living room into the kitchen. The impact is really dramatic - it makes our apartment look SO much bigger. Of course, I'm looking forward to when everything isn't covered in an inch of dust. I have headaches from all the damn dust.

This 140 year old plaster just crumbles and gets everywhere. When it breaks off you can see the Ox hair in it that they used as a binding agent. Ew. Still it's really neat to see the guts of your house. Once the hideous wood paneling came down it revealed this gorgeous Victorian era wall paper. Very bed-and-breakfasty. It's so pretty and I was hoping to be able to salvage a square to frame, but it is just too brittle.

Having a home where we can actually invite friends and family to have dinner or share wine still seems a long way off. Everything seems to be under construction. Good news is that the current contractor that is working on this project seems really great (unlike so many others that have bailed mid-project, doubled their estimates, or pulled any of the other typical contractor shenanigans). The last contractors that were working on our bathroom still haven't returned to finish that project and are using our apartment as free storage space for their tools. I'm ready to start selling their tools off.

The best worst day ever

So today shouldn't be a good day.

• I had to wake up at 5 am to catch a flight to Detroit for Creating Change. Creating Change is generally a headache (of all the conferences I attend regularly this is the one that beats the crap out of me) and this year I have three sessions to facilitate plus a bunch of meetings.
• My co-facilitators seem to be dropping like flies leaving me unprepared to go solo. So I'm scrambling to put together enough content for three times what I had been planning for.
• Before I left my house was declared a disaster area. We were having some "minor" work done which turned into leaky, coal-dusty, drafty hell. Then the contractors went MIA.
• jb and I fought right before I left which is alway rotten and even though we made up via phone I prefer to leave on good terms.

So not a great framework.

I get to the airport tearstained and still half-asleep. My flight to Detroit was scheduled to have a three-hour layover in Chicago. Which, if you consult a map, you'll see doesn't make sense geographically. On top of this, I was assigned a center seat to enjoy these out of the way flights. I check in and it says that my flight has been cancelled and the next flight is at 2 pm. I seriously think I might explode. I ask the attendant if I have to do anything to change my reservation to the later flight and she says, oh, let me see if I can get you on another airline. Next thing I know I have a window seat (the whole row to myself) on a direct (40 minute!) flight to Detroit. Lucky me.

Arrive at my hotel, check-in and try to work on a report that is overdue. My laptop is plugged in, and as I work I notice that my low battery light is flashing. Apparently my laptop charger died. I can't really afford to be without my laptop for 5 days. I have a lot of work due and, well, let's face it, I'm addicted to Perez Hilton and withdrawal is not pretty. Before I resign myself to a nervous breakdown I think to call the hotel's lost and found on the off chance there might be a charger there. I admit that I haven't lost a charger, but I am in dire need of one. It turns out they have two!! And they let me keep them both!!! And these chargers are much thinner and sleeker than mine AND one is a two prong plug making it much more versatile. Then on top of that I got a call that this weekend's EC meeting was canceled which extends the deadline on the report I was working on. Double lucky me.

So, I've caught a couple lucky breaks, but I'm still pretty stressed out. I think maybe it would be nice to treat myself to an in-room massage. I call the concierge and make an appointment for 7 pm. At 7 pm sharp there is a knock on my door. It's the masseuse and as I let him in he says, "They didn't bring up a table?" Of course they didn't. I call the front desk to inquire about the table and apologize and promise to send it right up. Then they call back to tell me that they "can't find" the table. The masseuse goes to help them look. This goes on for nearly an hour. Finally the masseuse comes back, apologizes and say that I can either get a refund, or he can reschedule the appointment and then make it up to me with an additional free appointment. So I wasted an hour tonight, but I get two massages for the price of one! I am one lucky duck.

Now if only it wasn't so Detroit-y out.

UPDATE: I added picture of the view from my hotel room. I was overlooking the Detroit River which was capped with ice. Across the river is Windsor, Ontario. Interesting fact: that is the only place that Canada is south of the United Sates.

Rundown

• My dad is in from Mexico and he finally got to see the shop. We've had a chance to catch up and spend some quality time together. On Saturday we had an incredible dinner at Muriel's.
• I made brownies from scratch for the first time. I used a recipe from the Martha Stewart Baking book I got for Christmas - but I substituted whole wheat flour. They turned out awesome (if I may say so myself!).
• Angie reached the minimum weight for adoption and went back to the Humane Society and now our home is officially kitten-less. My plants are very happy about this. I'm a little sad.
• Hoi Polloi started getting it's winter box from Kretschmann Farms!!! Our specials feature the organic, locally grown, seasonal goodness.
• We got new furniture for our bedroom. It feels so grown up to have nightstands that match the dressers. It's still just Ikea, but it's the nicest bedroom set I've ever had. I'll post pictures once the transition is complete.
• We had a milestone at Hoi Polloi on Saturday with our biggest sales day to date! Thanks so much to everyone who's come in!
• jb and I went to see Juno. So sweet.