Rats In The Cellar

We are so very close to finally having the cellar project completed. I installed cabinets for the wet bar and we’ve had measurements taken for the countertop, which hopefully will be installed by early August. The carpet was also installed in late June and we picked up our new sofa with the dual recliners along with a solo recliner shortly after that. I also finally hung the flat screen that we purchased in January on the wall and I’ve hooked up some of the new components to it so that we can watch DVDs and TV and surf the web with the computer (something that we’ve done very little of in recent weeks, judging again by the length of time between posts here).

We still need to have the plumber return to hook up the new toilet and sink in the bathroom but that should happen very soon, so hopefully we will have it ready to use full-time very soon. The trick is to make sure that what we don’t finish just yet will not pose a hazard to the kids. For instance, the fireplace that we have no plans to use does not have a door on it and it’s not quite the season to pick those up at Home Depot, in light of the recent heat wave that saw temperatures near 100°F this week. We also need to find a new home for the litter box so that Lea isn’t looking to try out those apples. This weekend, we should get some doors installed so that we can also close off areas like the laundry room, the workshop, and the utility closet.

In other recent news, we finally caught a Red Sox win in person! This season, Boston was 0-for-3 in games that we had attended but Curt Schilling and the offense finally caught fire last Saturday and shut out Oakland, 7-0, which coincidently was the first shutout pitched by the Sox this season. Boston had been as much as four games ahead of New York in the standings entering the All-Star break but some tough losses combined with a hot Yankees club has seen the lead drop to a half-game. It’s no surprise with these two teams again with strong rosters but the challenge this season may be to get that division title, as the Central looks like a better candidate to produce the wild card, with the defending World Series champion Chicago White Sox battling with an upstart Detroit Tigers club.

All is still well with the family. Jakob is “being three” and Lea continues to surprise us every day with something new. The cats are also doing their best to get those necessary 18 hours of sleep per day; it’s not easy with those mini-humans running around the house, shrieking with excitement. Mommy and Daddy just do what it takes.