Today we got up and went to church, dragging Michael and Sarah along with us. They went to get something for Sarah’s sister’s birthday afterwards, and neither one of them felt like eating breakfast besides, so Amanda and I had some IHOP all on our lonesomes. Ben and Jessica weren’t there, in preparation of their move, and I don’t know where any of our other friends were. We’re really going to miss Ben and Jessica Lambeth. They called as we were leaving IHOP to set up doing something tonight.
Amanda and I picked up a few things then went home. I was wiping down some smudges on the new bamboo floor while Amanda touched up some bad paint spots we hadn’t noticed before because of where the TV was. While she had the paint out, I had her paint the door her dad had made a while back for the alcove next to the upstairs bathroom. While she was doing that, when she was almost finished, she knocked over a nice big glob of paint. Between soap, paper towels and the big steam cleaner she did a really admirable job of getting the mess up.
She asked me if I was mad at her, which I thought was a silly question. I mean, yes, it sucks to have a big (though faint) stain at the top of the steps, but I’d be stupid to be mad at her about it.
At some point Amanda went to get a cable cord so we could extend the cable from the coat closet (where it comes downstairs to feed into the under-the-stairs closet, then through a small hole to feed the living room) to the far side of the room, which we did mostly by running it along the space between the wood and the wall, the rest of which we plan to cover up with shoe molding when we get it (probably next week, but the stuff is over a dollar per foot!). While Amanda was gone I had Michael and Sarah help me move the living room furniture back into the living room. We played around with a few couch configurations, but we now have a nice setup. It really opens the room up a lot.
I think Sarah left while Amanda was getting the cable.
When Amanda got back we hooked up the TV and put some finishing touches on the living room. We also turned the kitchen table in a way that gives us some more room in there and then we cleaned up a bunch. Amanda had me and Michael move the trunk we salvaged from the house next to Anna and Barry Frazelle’s from the bedroom to the living room, which I think is a nice place for it. Anna and Barry themselves came over to check things out and hang out for a while (Barry and I talked about music then Anna and Barry did all they could to convince Michael what a bad idea it would be to go home for the summer, then Barry told me that the board Charlie Bowsher had given me, which I had said looked girlie for its electric yellow and hot pink colors, was actually a pretty nice one), then Ben and Jessica came by. Anna and Barry took off, Ben and Jessica did some laundry then went to the Lowe’s Food to get some things for dinner. I was pooped, or I’d have gone with them.
While the ladies made tacos I introduced Ben to Gears of War. After we ate Amanda and Jessica put some cookies in the oven and Michael and I brought in the Christmas tree Amanda had picked up yesterday. Ben and Jessica had a nice laugh at us while we tried to get the thing straight in the stand.
They stuck around for a little while- the last time they’ll come over for just a little while in the evening since they’re moving in just a few day to Winston-Salem. If I haven’t mentioned it enough yet, we’re really going to miss Ben and Jessica Lambeth. I’d say they’re hands down the best couple-friends we’ve got. Rob Peterson and Kristen Barriner are always so busy and we haven’t gotten to know Elliot and Melissa Clark well enough yet.
After Ben and Jessica left we started doing more with the Christmas decorations. One strand of lights Amanda had had since college (we’d had them hung in our bedroom in Raleigh too) had a bulb bust when she plugged them in so, for fear of them randomly blowing up some more, we tossed them out. Amanda had been working on putting up her houses when Anna and Barry got here. I started video taping Michael and Amanda putting up the lights, but one of the new strands we’d just gotten wasn’t fully working, so we had to stop early.
After that we watched TV. I was entirely exhausted.
Zach Dotsey