The True Adventures of Owning a Hundred-year-old Home

Well, we've officially owned our home for just over a week and we've got a leaky roof and foundation. True story.  Here we are, desperately trying to become parents, and suddenly I feel like we had triplets: a roof, a stone foundation, and a muddy clay jungle for a backyard.  

I suppose I should mention that other than these homeowner issues, I adore our home.  It's the perfect size, there's nice open public spaces and a few private ones too, like our sunroom upstairs. The ceilings are high and airy and the wood floors are old, a little creaky but feel cozy to me somehow.  If it weren't for the costs, I sort of like that there's a little work to be done.  When do get this place in order, it will definitely feel like a part of us, and I'm sure we'll learn a lot.  

Yesterday, we had a heating guy come to get our boiler going for the winter. We have radiators so we thought a little instruction would be home. Well, this guy was informative.  When I got home from work, Jonathan says to me, "Can I introduce you to our boiler?"  He took me to the basement and showed me how to refill it, empty it and explained how it works. We want central heating/cooling someday but for now, it's a boiler. 

Anyway, here are a few pics from our new home: 

Sunroom :)

Smarty pants

Jill: "Amber is the smartest person I know! Except for Eun."

Me: Ahem.

Crickets: (chirping) (크릭 크릭).

Jill: "Maybe if you read more books."

Visitors!!!

This summer, Jonathan and I thought we would try our hand at running a little B&B.  Well, not really but we have had a lot of visitors.  My parents came in June, as did my sister. Sarah stayed for a month which was so amazing!!! Getting a month to live with your sister as an adult is a rare opportunity so we soaked it in.  Bike rides and hikes and wine tastings and shopping and long talks.  It was glorious :)

Margaritas at Mission Taco in the neighborhood :)

Then in late June, we got to be the visitors at my parents lake house in New Hampshire.  The temps were in the 90s so we had ocean time, lake time, sailing and soaked in the sun.  Sarah and I swam around the little island by the house and my nephew Andrew swam to the island on his own which was an accomplishment!  My nieces Sammy is also a good swimmer now, though I did do a little coaching with her on her freestyle. It's so cliche but thy grow up so fast!!!

After a week of sun and fun we returned home on July 3rd.  I made it to my first Independence Day Parade here in St. Louis. 

Our next visitors came via Texas! My dear friend Julia and her two spunky daughters Hannah and Natalie (ages 6 and 4). We had 2 full days to explore the city!  It was such fun!  When we weren't at parks or museums, we chilled at home with books or playing pretend- at least the girls did while Julia and Jonathan and I caught up a bit.  We also took some lovely jogs in the park.  

Resting in Millenium Park by the Arch

A week later, we had a visit from my brother, Greg!!!  This was his first visit to St. Louis so we couldn't wait to show him around!  On my day off, I took him on a bicycle tour of Forest Park starting at the history museum, cycling through some of my favorite trails, to the Boathouse for lunch and ending at the Zoo to gaze at the amazing lions and tigers. 

A hidden bridge in the park that I love.

The Boathouse Restaurant in Forest Park

an evening stroll at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

This was probably the most one-on-one time I've had with my brother in a while.  It was good and I hope the first of many visits.  

We have a break from visitors for a couple months, and though it will be a bit lonelier in our home, I know we'll have more time to give to the friends in our community here. 

Some good grant news

I got some good grant news last week: one of my NIH grants got a decent score! Hooray!

Longer version: Grants are scored from 1 (best) to 9 (worst), and that score is multiplied by 10. My score was 41, which means that a lot of people gave me a 4, which is not too bad. My score was in the 23rd percentile, which is almost certainly not fundable, but is respectable (and there's always a chance - it depends on the available money for any given grant cycle). More importantly it puts me in very good position to revise and get funded later. (Although my job will be more secure if I get the money sooner!)