We’ve actually been back a couple of days (returned home on Tuesday), but I’ve been lazy about posting. We definitely had a ball with the girls. I miss ’em already!

We did wind up going to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast. I had the French toast, which was very yummy, but also got to taste some other foodstuff. The rosti potatoes were tasty, and their signature peanut butter was – wow. The girls told me it was wonderful, but I figured "how different can this peanut butter be?" It was very very tasty – so tasty that I bought some for me, the girls, and my cousin who was checking on the kitties.

We dropped Rachel back at the house and then we visited Half Price Books (where everyone found something to buy, except me, alas!) and then returned to Home Depot to return some fittings that we’d bought thinking they were for a sink, only they were for a toilet & didn’t fit Amy’s new faucet. While we were at the bookstore, Amy realized she’d left her wallet on the sofa at home. So dad, impressed with a new excuse, paid for Amy’s CDs. (He’s heard ’em all, though usually from me. Heh.) Still, no wallet at Home Depot made the return trickier than it should have been. But let’s hear it for store credit!

We returned to the house to fiddle about, but it was soon time for Rachel to head for work. Yes, she was going to work a 6-hour shift even with her sprained ankle. Amy & mom took her to Seward Co-Op so she could work (they provided a stool for her – they treat their employees nicely) and so Amy could shop.

While the girls were off at the grocery, dad worked on putting up a second clothes line in the basement. Only the cinder blocks that make up the walls must contain diamond dust in ’em. The carbide bit was dead before he could get the second brace in place.

Mom & Amy brought back a nice assortment of groceries, including stuff for lupper. We had rotisserie chicken and salad. Mom & I did the dishes while Amy & dad went to the hardware store. Once dad was back with the new bit, he successfully got the new line up.

Amy decided to try and put her new faucet in, only to discover that removing the old one was going to be a PITA. She didn’t have the right tools to do the job, so she’ll probably get a handyman (or handywoman) in to do it. Leverage – it’s what you need to remove old faucets.

We had wine time after awhile, though it was actually mohito time. Amy made mohitos for me & mom & herself, dad had a beer. We had brie and baguettes and grapes. All yummy. Us ladies then tried to play Amy’s old board game (actually a RPG) Cloak & Dagger, based upon (loosely) the movie by the same name. Though we made a few mistakes, we all agreed it was pretty fun to play. But we didn’t get to finish because it was time for Amy to pick Rachel up from work. We all loaded into the car & Amy dropped the folks off at the hotel. Then we went to Seward to get Rachel.

We were running early, so Amy took a scenic route to Seward. And were still early, so we popped into the new video rental place, Filmzilla. It’s actually a film rental place that Amy loved which had replaced another rental place which she’d found handy. It’s right across from a Thai place and a liquor store across the street makes for a perfect trio. She figures Friday Night Date Night is a go once again in their household. 🙂

We got Rachel and returned home, in time for cookie time. We munched on cookies (or cinnamon bagels in Rachel’s case) and chatted. It was here that Amy & I realized we’d been playing Cloak & Dagger incorrectly. Whoops! Rachel was ready for bed after her 6 hour workday with sprained ankle. So to bed we went.

Tuesday morning, Amy got up before us and got donuts from their favorite bakery. Very yummy cake donuts – she got plain & cinnamon. She also made us scrambled eggs. After awhile, she picked up the folks and they also had donuts & some coffee. We had a leisure morning in the house, but far too soon it was time for us to move on.

Amy drove us to French Meadow Bakery & Cafe for lunch. I had a curried chicken salad sandwich and creamy tomato basil soup. Very tasty, even though the sandwich was on rye. I then bought dessert for folks and decided to try the Tres Leches (three milks) cake. It was very yummy – and the cake was actually damp because it was soaked in evaporated milk before it was iced. We also had an almond & lingonberry cake, which looked like a giant chocolate petit four, and a carrot cake. Oh, and I’d also ordered a vanilla French soda, which is like an Italian soda (soda water, flavoring, simple syrup) with milk. A tasty treat to end our trip.

We were once again ahead of schedule, so Amy decided to take a more scenic route to the airport. Which turned out to not be the best idea since there were a few detours & other issues on this route. Still, we got there an hour & a half before our flight. Only to spend most of that time trying to get through security. Probably the longest I’ve waited in awhile. Still, we were on time to our gate and soon boarded our plane.

In Milwaukee we had a 2+ hour layover. I decided to watch ep 3 of Shelock and probably would have finished it except we went to a bar for booze & treats. I tried a mixed drink of theirs with Malibu rum, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice. Pretty tasty. The folks tried the local beer – spotted cow. We also got some pizza dough knots and some calamari, both with a marinara dipping sauce. Tasty stuff.

The flight to Dayton was uneventful and when we got outside, there was a shuttle waiting. It wasn’t long before we were in Troy, then I was soon home. The kitties were happy to see me. Happier when I gave ’em a treat. 🙂

Yesterday, I got to see my house properly now that it’s mostly done (it was dark when I got home). It’s really cute. 🙂 I also got to get into my classroom and do a recce. I also took some carts from the girl’s locker room storage to my room (though the chemicals are still in there). But it was too overwhelming to start unpacking.

I had a late lunch in Troy at Chipotles, then decided to visit mom & dad. It looked like they were out, but then I got a call from mom on my cell phone. Turns out they were at my house. Heh. They both like the changes to my house and think it’s cute. So yay! I am not alone in thinking the place is cute.

Today I returned to the school, but with minions in tow. My little cousins (one of whom looked after the kitties for me) agreed to come & help me unpack. I had taken all of the stuff I was storing in my basement to the school. Then we got all of the glassware boxes unpacked and stuff put into the student lab drawers (which are smaller than what I had in the old building). I treated them to Panera for lunch. (Strawberry poppyseed salad for the win! I also had the chicken & noodle soup.) We also worked after lunch and headed home near 4pm. Haven’t decided yet if I go in tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I suspect you’re anxious to see the near-final photos of my house. So, what do you think?

Front of house, nearly done

Angled front of house view

South side view

Garage front view

Garage side view