Going to see Iron Man

Yesterday, we went to see Iron Man. Not the movie, the *actual* iron man, Isaiah. He and his now departed father have been in the iron business for a very long time in San Jose, another of our completely amazing parts of San Jose that lots of people never see. He is a true artisan and a stark contrast to mass-produced parts. (HA, see what I did there?)

We are talking to him about building our driveway and side gate and were mighty impressed by his designs and work quality. He had visited the house to talk with Bill last week and learned a bit about Bill's carpentry experience which may come in handy on the project. When we sat down yesterday, they were tossing around wood and carpentry terms like old work chums, which is fun to listen to, considering they just met the other day.

We are still speaking with one other gate person, so I won't post Isiah's design here out of respect for the work he has put in already. Suffice to say that he designed gates that fit into the overall vibe of the house, and included puppy ports so the wee ones can see out and keep an eye on their domain. Woof!

Not our gate, just an example of the work done by this particular Iron Man.

Workplaces of trades people fascinate me!

Lots of protective gear in the workshop

 

L, YES, we're ready to have real furniture.

After a bit of consideration, we have ordered furniture for our family room, YAY. We had great help from Marianne at Crate & Barrel, whose design fee goes towards the purchase of our pieces. She came to the house, took lots of measurements, took in the style of the house and chatted with us about how we wanted to use the space. We could not have done this without her help, and we thank her for her expert guidance.

We decided on an L-shaped sofa so that energy could be directed either towards or away from the TV, for movie nights versus dinner gatherings. It was an interesting geometry challenge to get a sofa that would fit into those needs, our space, and provide a firmness needed for two people who met each other in the chiropractor's office.

Marianne had some great choices laid out when we arrived, and we evolved it a bit together to come up with a nice selection that includes the pop of color that we really enjoy. These photos show how our selections were narrowed down.

Using paper pieces to think about the size of the rug that will go in the family room.

Some of Marianne's original options for us, but we decided against the striped material for pillows.

The tan material will be the softa, with the others as pillows (just one of the pattern)

What drew us to Crate & Barrel, you ask? We found their Greer chair in Berkeley a while back and settled on it.
The rug sample is on the left.

Putting temporary seating behind us

Why, yes, we do like having people over. For board meetings, movies, dinners, music practice, the list goes on. It's time we provided a proper place for those visitors to put their behinds, rather than on a folding chair. We have been going back and forth on couch options but think that we have a direction now. Heck, we might even have barstools picked out. It was a wild and crazy Saturday morning with decisions left and right. For two people who met in a chiropractor's office, having a quality seat is important. 

Laddering up

Even after all these years, I am still *amazed* at how hard crews in the building trades work, and how different their work is from mine. Ladders and rooftop work still concerns me, so when the crew arrived to begin our solar installation, the best thing for me to do was head to the office. Forget that my beloved sweetheart is up there with the crew, making decisions about the installation options. Breeze past thinking about the number of times that workers will scurry up the ladder with one hand while the other hand carries a panel and other materials. All respect and appreciation to those who build our world. I certainly could not do their job and I hope we don't take them for granted. Now get down from there.

Building community along with building our home

When we moved to our little fixer-upper house, we knew that the street on our long block was in rough shape. What we did not know is that it was considered one of the worst in San Jose. Through the help of many committed neighbors and our former councilmember Ken Yeager, we worked together to find the funds to get our road re-built from the infrastructure up. New water mains, sewer pipes, new sidewalks and a new smooth roadway. This level of re-work was needed due to the broken pipes below the surface that caused the issues shown in these photos, something else that was recently unearthed from storage.

The photos don't include smell-o-vision, so I will mention that sewage smells were evident in front of some neighbors' homes during heavy rains. Not just yucky, but a true health hazard.

We learned a lot from existing neighborhood leaders about community engagement and activism through this process that we began our own deep commitment to helping our area be even more amazing.

Seasonal traditions springing up

Yesterday started with an unexpected but important errand that took us north to Mountain View. Afterward, Bill suggested that we go to the best nursery in the area, Yamagami's, for vegetables and herbs since we were in the general area. This has been our spring ritual for more than 20 years and is a sweet sign that summer garden treats are right around the corner. If you are in the South Bay and have never been to Yamagami's, go! Amazing selection, knowledge and sweet staff, too.

Bill planted herbs for his indoor garden later that afternoon.

Drawing ever closer

Yesterday, we found these very early drawings for the house we now have. Some adjustments were made after these drawings, and it was fun to look back on the evolution of our sweet nest. We've stayed focused on enjoying the journey and the process and these drawings reminded us of the arc of our house's history.

What it means to lead...

Back at the tail end of the dot-com boom, I started working for a consulting company called USWeb/CKS with many amazing colleagues, many of whom are still role models for me. Just a few months after I started, the company changed its name to marchFIRST, and announced it on, well, yes, March 1. By the end of that year, I had decided to leave and departed just a few weeks before the company declared bankruptcy. Phew. We found this notebook in an old box yesterday and it reminded me of that time, how what was normal then in business is so surreal now.

The cover says: "Put your best idea forward. marchFIRST"

You can read a bit more about this short-lived company here.