For several months now, I've talked about the cabin that is very slowly taking shape up on the mountain property. Last fall we put in the foundation (mostly him, but I helped a tiny bit), and then it was covered in snow and progress halted. Over the winter and spring, while it was impossible to haul anything up the long road-less section, the Mr has been salvaging materials to build the tiny cabin. It's really just a shelter and storage shed, not an actual vacation home, so reclaimed lumber and steel will be perfect for the construction. Currently my garage is filled with long boards that still have nails and staples sticking out of them, stacks of used metal roofing, and rolls of underlayment. That wasn't enough. Now there's a rack of 2x6 (I think) tongue and groove lumber under the eave on the north side of the house, casting a shadow on my bathroom window that freaks me out every time I see it. There's more of this tongue and groove stuff next to my neighbor's house, waiting to have the nails pulled out of it, that needs to be moved while he's still tolerating its presence. Still not enough. Last week he found reclaimed redwood, which will be my daughter's new deck (with a bit of sanding). Today, I got a text that said, "I really need to stop going by salvage yards." He came back to get his truck and me, and we went back to the Restore Warehouse, by way of a salad restaurant. By the time we pulled up, he looked at the pile of lumber he had paid for and said, "It looks like someone went through it." He jumped out, and quickly noted that all but two of the twenty 2x4s he had purchased and stacked were gone. The other big stuff was still there. He grabbed the store employees and made them aware of the situation. They were sympathetic but not surprised that it happened. We took the boards that were left, and he said he would retrieve his receipt and come back. When we returned, he talked it over and got a different dimension of lumber in place of what he lost. He then walked around and looked at windows that had just come in. For not throwing a fit and being flexible about their colossal screwup, they were inclined to cut him a break on windows. He paid for one slider and they threw in a skylight for free. Honestly, that was a fantastic break. He explained the skylights are harder to find than I might have expected, and in the long run, 2x4s are replaceable. They did right by us by the end of the day.
I'm not ashamed to admit it. I watched the royal wedding. I didn't wake up at 4 am to do it, but I recorded it, and watched it over my coffee this morning. I've heard plenty of peole get their panties in a bunch, going on about "why should I care," or "the royal family are just [fill in the disparaging remark of choice}." They didn't have to watch, and they can take their grumpy attitudes with them when they leave me alone to enjoy it. The last few years have been such a rolling dumpster fire for me personally and for tons of people around the globe. This was a lovely little escape from grim reality, where we could all just look at the beautiful people and places, and derive a little vicarious pleasure from a young couple in love. I ate up the whole thing. I especially liked the way certain newspapers phrased their headlines, like "Northwestern graduate marries British guy" (Chicago Tribune) or "International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney arrived wearing a bright Stella McCartney yellow dress, with her husband alongside" (The Guardian). But weirdly, I think my very favorite part was the new Duchess of Sussex's makeup, or lack thereof. Her eyes were expertly yet gently done, but her skin was beautifully bare, with freckles showing, and if she wore lipstick, it was as natural a shade as could be. Is this a sign of a trend? If so, I've been riding that wave for years now. I've been rocking the moisturizer-and-eye-liner only look for at least five years now, probably longer. I didn't have to wait for a fashion trendsetter to be on point.
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