Settling in

With Angela's invaluable help, the kitchen is now usable! I'm still missing a box containing the George Foreman grill and the pepper grinder, but I'm sure they will turn up eventually.

You know what they say about all work and no play; Angela and I also did some antique shopping, visited Bed, Bath & Beyond & Target, and attempted to go to tea.

I say attempted because the antique shop/boutique/tea shop we went to didn't actually serve afternoon tea, British style like we were expecting. Sure, there was hot tea and iced tea and a selection of sandwiches and the food was tasty, but no scones, no Devon cream, no vast selection of teas.

We taked to the proprieter and turns out she'd never been to a proper afternoon tea, but she's being encouraged to roll out an afternoon tea menu by October. Since the shop also had a Help Wanted sign, I gave her my name and phone number. I haven't heard from her yet, but Angela suggested I invite her and whoever else is involved in the business over for a proper afternoon tea. And hey, I might get some gainful but undemanding employment out of the deal!

Our other big score was an antique buffet. The shop was going out of business, so everything was half off. It was marked $489, so Angela asked if they'd take $200 for it. The woman didn't even blink before saying yes, plus tax. We called Mike and headed over with the minivan to pick it up. While Mike and Angela were loading it up, I got the shopgirl down to $189 plus tax, bringing the grand total to $204.59--a steal.

During our other forays, we picked up some antique linens and cut glass bowls to place on the buffet. It really gussies up our entryway! Now we're in the market for a similar item for the dining room and an entertainment center to contain our merged collection of CDs, DVDs and videotapes.