September 2022

 The saga of the broken lazy Susan cupboard door:

About a year into living in this house one of the hinges on this corner cabinet snapped in half.  It probably wasn't attached correctly and was taking too much strain when we opened it.  We found a handful of lazy home renovation items as we lived in the house over the first year.  I took the door off and saw the hinges came from IKEA.  I went to the store and tried to find a person to help me order a new hinge.  The only answer I got was I would have to order a whole new kitchen cabinet (shelves, corner piece, and doors) to replace the hinge.  That seemed crazy.  So I found another person in customer service who said they could order the hinge.  

A few weeks later the hinge arrived in the mail...and was the wrong size!?!  So the door stayed broken open for the next four years.  Nice.

Colter asked me if we were ever going to fix the door and I decided to get my butt into gear.  I looked on the internet and found a hinge that looked close enough to the ones we had already.  Ordered from amazon and installed the hinge in a few minutes.  The biggest chore was wiping all the dust and cob webs off the door before fixing it.  Sigh.  I love being a homeowner.  I really, really do.  That is said with zero sarcasm.  It just takes me a long time to fix some things.  

 

As long as we have lived in California the hottest week of the year is always the first week in September.  Always!  I know it but it seems to be a surprise to everyone else every. single. year.  This year was a real whopper.  The temperatures were record matching.  A few years ago we broke records in the first week of September with 111 degrees.  This year we matched it.  School was hard.  Home was hot.  It was unpleasant.  The weather people called it a heat dome not a heat wave because the weather showed up and stayed for the whole week!  It was bonkers.

We took the kids to a Benihana restaurant one afternoon for some fun lunch.  We had watched a Jackie Chan movie.  We have our favorite Chinese food place in town but we decided to try something different in the Asian theme.  We also went to a Japanese ice cream place where the cones were these pancake like things in the shape of a fish.  

I took Colter to the pool one afternoon.  But it was so hot the top of our heads would get scorching hot as soon as we came up out of the water.  We quickly decided it would be night swims for the rest of the week.  It didn't cool down much at night, it went from 110 down to 90...but it was a lot of fun to have the pool to ourselves every night.  

My brother, Chris, built a race car for a race called The 24 hours of Lemons.  It is a spin on the 24 hours of  Le Mans but instead of an elite race experience it is a junk car race experience.  Teams have to build a car for no more that $500 and it has to race for 24 hours.  Chris and his son, Keaton, headed up the team.  They rebuilt a 1974 Mercury Capri with a Ford Mustang engine and parts.  Other dudes signed on to be drivers and team sponsors.  In the end, the car made all 24 hours and won the prize for Organizers Choice which meant it was the car that kept to the spirit of the race the best and went the full 24 hours.  It was so cool to watch from afar and hear all the funny, frustrating, exciting stories.  

I am pretty sure Taylor Swift sings: "I don't know about you but I'm feeling forty twoooo." which is great because I turned 42 this month!  On the 13th of September to be exact.  I gifted myself a Human Design reading.  Human Design is a spin on astrology.  I learned that I am a Manifestor which means I have a closed and repellant aura.  Spot on, right!?!  Like all astrology/personality tests some rang true and some sounded bogus.  I loved it!  My family treated me right with lots of hugs and love.  We had dinner at a favorite place, Va de Vi Bistro.

I treated myself with new sparkly sandals.  You can see my old ones were well worn after 3 years.  (old on the left, new on the right)

I took a quick trip to Salt Lake City to hear all the drama of the Lemons race from my brother and to go to a comedy show with my sister.  Her birthday is on the 26th of the month and we both love Pinky Patel.  When we found out she was doing a show on the weekend between our birthdays near my sister, we had to go!  It was super funny!

While I was away Adell went to a dance and had loads of fun with friends.  

Lorien got a new snake tattoo this month.  She texted me saying she and her roommate got matching tattoos.  When I looked at the picture I broke the devastating news to her, those snakes do not match.  She was super embarrassed and wished they had figured it out before going under the needle.  I kid, she loves it and her roommate loves her snake too.  Lorien's tattoo is inspired by some textile art her friend, Travis, made for her.  Lorien's snake is on her forearm.  The one on her shoulder is a dragon...if you are confused.  

Because I am a grown up, and because I didn't get to party properly in 2020, I threw myself my own birthday party.  One friend sweetly told me it was so exciting to get an invitation to a party that was not a kid's birthday party.  We are almost back to normal!

I decided on a "When Harry Met Sally/Autumn in New York City" theme.  After the 110 degree heat we got a storm that gave us chilly temperatures, cloudy skies, and some rain!  It was glorious.  I thanked the weather Gods for favoring my party theme.  The following week...the week of my party...the first week of September weather showed back up!  What!?!  It wasn't as hot...a measly 96 degrees BUT!  Grrrrr.  

  

Saturday donned as hot as Hades. Will cranked the AC to make the inside of the house feel like fall.  Adell was a super daughter and helped me party prep all day long.  She made apple pie filling and cut leaf designs for the top of the pie.  She arranged ALL of the flowers and set the table scape.  It was wonderful to have her help.  I couldn't have done it without her.  

My friends were charming sports and came in their best autumn outfits.  Bulky sweaters and blazers reigned supreme.  We were roasting.  

They also played along with my little quote/question game from the movie.  Lots of chatter and lots of laughs.  It was just what I needed after a bumpy few years.  I am a lucky girl in that my best friend tier is very large. 

"Best friend isn't a person, it's a tier." Mindy Kaling 

I reproduced Harry's Ruben on Rye and Sally's Turkey on White (with everything on the side) along with a Katz's Deli sign.  It was perfect!

The party was a success!  And I am still so grateful for delightful friends and a darling daughter willing to help.  (Clare and Lorien would have helped too but they were not home.)

Speaking of Adell.  She is quite the fashionista.  This was her cute fit for church one Sunday.  The glasses are new...and adorable.  

Clare was at a choir retreat for the weekend.  She had some unpleasant interactions with a fellow student so we are in the middle of resolving that.  Bummer!