Art in Paris – July 2014

Regardless of what your personal belief structure might look like, it is hard to see some things that were created by the hands of men and women and not wonder if there is something greater than ourselves out there. The Musee d’Orsay is full of those objects: from sculpture to paintings to carvings to furniture. It is not just the Orsay though – it is the entire city of Paris. Buildings, museums, subway stations, churches, stained glass, public art, gravestones in Père Lachaise, even the trash cans on the street corners.

Below are pictures from a recent visit to The Orsay, The Cluny (see previouse Carving post), St. Eustice Church, and Notre Dame, with shots from various walks through the city.

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Leaving for France and our MONSTER To-Do list.

Moving from one country to another, the actual process, is a huge pain in the ass.  So much to do and so many details…  The complexity of our move was increased because we will continue to own our place in Seattle and we had The Nana move into it.  Separating the stuff that would go and stay, fixing small issues like that leaking faucet, winterizing the garden, trimming trees, installing railings and additional locks, and organizing yard and house maintenance contacts was enough to make my head explode.

There were 4 specific and different to-do lists that were drawn up in June and added to as time went on.  I would like to tell you that it all got done, but the state of my backyard, the unsold table saws, the uninstalled basement railing and the incomplete bookshelf in our bedroom say different.

Things that were accomplished:

  1. Trimmed our vine maple (see pictures below of Stamps-With-Foot with the chainsaw)
  2. Winterized the pipes and garden
  3. Installed the front stair railing
  4. Installed a speak-easy in the front door, so Nana would not have to open the door to a stranger
  5. Leaves were raked
  6. The raspberry cage was retied
  7. Junk was removed from the backyard
  8. Bills were transferred
  9. The heating-oil tank was filled
  10. Rebuilt bathroom faucet and valve
  11. Cancelled our car insurance
  12. Trimmed the bushes
  13. New tires were purchased for the car we left for Nana to use
  14. Squeaky doors were oiled
  15. Wired a motion detector light in the back yard
  16. Installed an additional basement door lock and metal security screen
  17. My shop was cleaned and organized
  18. Had extra keys made
  19. Upgrades made in the alarm system
  20. We sold one truck and donated another
  21. My father-in-law planted a fig tree and served as grunt labor during Thanksgiving
  22. I drained and prepped the hot tub for 2 years of alone time
  23. Basement became slightly more organized
  24. I hauled two entire loads of brush and projects-that-will-never-be to the dump (and found a very nice Fender guitar and new oak office chair there, but that is a story/post for another day)
  25. Household paint was retouched
  26. Replaced burned out bulbs
  27. Blackberries were trimmed
  28. Removed rust and repainted the front door railings
  29. Did some final cabinet work
  30. Moved two houses worth of furniture and a storeroom into our basement, first floor and garage
  31. Unpacked my mom
  32. Had Cable TV and a home phone installed (we only used cell phones)
  33. Repaired outside wall where cable installer poked extra holes
  34. I busted some plaster in the living room that will wait until I get back in the summer
  35. Hung the TV over the fireplace
  36. etc…etc…etc…

The images below are proof of some of the work and evidence of what did not get done as well.