List of Home Projects

Now that F and I are home owners, there are always new projects to think about, prepare, execute and save for.
I should be writing Santa Claus my Wish List but instead, I am preparing this one.
(Bare in mind we have been living in our place for just over 6 months.)

Paint wall mural already pencilled in at end of hallway
Sand and varnish windows next summer
Install a work table in small bedroom
Frame prints and photographs for bedroom and hall
Paint a bright pink pattern on the bathroom ceiling to give it personality
Buy a nice rug for the living room
Draft a lace insert for the bathroom curtain
Put up shelves in garage
Get information about creating personalized wallpaper for one wall
Get a small heavy-duty outdoor table for the terrace (old one blew away during a storm in July)
Put up shelf in bedroom above chest of drawers
Decide on what to do artistically with wall space in living room (ongoing discussion)
Put up curtain in small bedroom
Make new dog throws for now brown sofa in living room
Get plumber to come back and pipe up non-functional radiators

Happy to have accomplished recently:

Install new wooden tiolet seat
Fix plumbing problem in kitchen
Change key locks for all major doors

Ten American Things I'll Miss

steak
pants that fit me in the shops
old friends
excellent cocktails
cheap beer
young people who are independent by 23 years old
DC's cherry blossoms
vanilla cake with chocolate icing
the rumble of the NY subway
24-hour pharmacy service

White for Winter

I continue with another list, please note Mr. Eco.

This time I haven't penned it.

[Blue] begins a list....[he] moves on to white. There are seagulls, he says, and terns and storks and cockatoos. There are the walls of this room and the sheets on my bed. There are lilies-of-the-valley, carnations, and the petals of daisies. There is the flag of peace and Chinese death. There is mother's milk and semen. There are my teeth. There are the whites of my eyes. There are white bass and white pines and white ants. There is the President's house and white rot. There are white lies and white heat.

Excerpt from Ghosts by Paul Auster.

My First List for Filling a House

'We like lists because we don't want to die'

In honor of Umberto Eco's new book release, The Infinity of Lists, and the exhibition he curated which is currently on display at the Louvre, I am writing my first list on my blog.

My husband are finishing the paperwork to buy our first house (or rather flat, in typical Italian living style). Since we have been renting a furnished apartment, now we need to buy EVERYTHING new. Here goes the basic list:

Sofabed
Coffee table
Chairs
Dining room table
Light fixtures
Full kitchen with appliances
Washing machine
Bedroom set
Wardrobes: at least 2
Shelving for house and garage
Chest of drawers
Desk for study
Bookcases
Lamps
Bathroom sink
Curtains for all rooms
Throw rugs
New door with lock


It feels quite overwhelming and the choices are limited given our small budget. I don't know how much I want my house to look like it's out of an IKEA catalogue.