Fifty architectural historians toured our home this past Saturday. And, the two very short weeks leading up to the day were fraught with an urgency to conquer clutter, which we never quite managed. However, John and I were able to tackle just enough mess to be incredibly house proud.
My parents visited last weekend and did massive amounts of yard work—pulling weeds, tidying the patio landscaping, raking leaves, and cleaning the eaves troughs. And, I concentrated on hiding the piles we're not quite ready to toss (largely bills, recipes , souvenirs). We hung the Caroline Yang Col du Tourmalet photo in the studio. (it's massive and awesome and looks so great hanging on the wall). I also completely rearranged Simon's bedroom and "filed" some of his toys.
All this to say that we were ready for the masses. Strangers flooded into our home on Saturday afternoon, asking lots of thoughtful questions about elements of the home that might have been part of the original plan. John had unrolled the blueprints of the original home and the addition so folks could take a look for themselves. We received so many kind complements, the sort that make you feel genuinely good.
We're absolutely on the right track.
After the tour, while the boys were occupied with friends Malcolm and Preston, I put my feet up with a book (Robert Wilson's A Small Death in Lisbon, if you must know), but I had a hard time choosing a room in which to relax. The problem—and it's not such a horrible problem to have—was that each room was immaculate and inviting. For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel as if I was fleeing an oppressive mess, taunting me as I neglected it.
We were also rewarded with a dinner at our friends Colin and Helena's beautiful new house (new to them, not new construction), which was wonderful to tour. It's a 1600-square-foot Victorian with a 1600-square-foot historical addition. Basically, half of the house has been lovingly maintained, while the other half is unfinished. Even though, they have a lot of work ahead of them, C & H have an amazing space. It's fun watching them make a home.
Our mutual friends Sarah and Dave were there, too. Having declared this the Summer of Cocktails when we served French 75s a few weeks ago, Dave made champagne cocktails with bourbon and peach slices. He called it an American, but I can't find a reference to it anywhere on the internet. Could be something from his steakhouse waiter days, but I'm curious about origins of everything, so I'll ask.
I made a heaping bowl of guac, not much of which was eaten. We were served grilled flank steak and a chimichurri (cilantro, parsley, orange, lemon, lime, and olive oil—which was oily more than anything else), roasted new potatoes, and tossed greens with red grapes and blue cheese (they do great salads, which I appreciate). We ended the evening drinking Knob Creek.
Sunday highlights include our first trip of the season to the Saint Paul Farmers Market. We bought lettuce and snap peas, as well as herb plants (two kinds of basil, oregano, thyme) and, at Simon's request, pepper plants (jalapeno and anaheim). It felt good to be back at the farmers market after a long winter. It is important to us to know where our food comes from, to eat as close to home as possible, to support our local economy. And, since we aren't farmers and we don't garden, the farmers market is a natural. Besides buying plants and vegetables, we ate Golden's awesome fried-egg bagel sandwiches and we re-acquainted ourselves with our favorite vendors—the guy who sells Hmong handicrafts, the [Big Woods] bison man, the honey man [Otis Family Farm].
If all this wasn't excitement enough, we took a family bike ride —a test run for bicycle commuting from our home to the kids' school. Winston is riding on the tagalong, throwing both arms in the arm, yelling "Tour de France." Simon is riding his own bike—I think he could cover every inch of the city on bike and ask if he could ride some more.
And, Winston would like me to let everyone know he has a loose tooth. He's so excited. He knows it's a milestone. But, he's also a little freaked out and would like it removed. Now. So, he spent Sunday announcing, "Can you take it out? If I could just get this tooth out."
