Pikake & Pearls: Helen & Randy’s Website

This weekend Helen and I have been doing some nice work on a big surprise for anybody who reads this blog, is coming to our wedding, or is a friend of ours! So that probably includes you, fair reader. Unfortunately I can’t tell you anything more until it comes back to us (hint, hint). That will probably be sometime before Christmas. Hopefully in time for Dec. 27 (hmm, what’s on that day?), but definitely in time for January 3!! If you won’t be with us on either of those dates, don’t worry—we’ll make it available via this website and at least one other so you too can join in on the celebration.

Labor Day weekend is typically the busiest time that Boston sees. The last few days of August into the first few days of September is when the bulk of the city’s apartments turnover. Unlike other cities, where landlords often offer a choice of leases (month to month, 6 month, two years, etc.) that begin throughout the year, Boston’s landlords prefer to align their leases with the beginning of the academic year. That means nearly everybody moves in on Sept. 1 and finishes their leases on August 31. (And yes, that also means that a lot of people are homeless between the evening of Aug. 31 and noon on Sept 1).

Luckily for Helen and I, this year is the first of many that we didn’t have to move out of one apartment and into another! That alone is cause to celebrate. We did, however, get the urge to do some cleaning and re-organizing of our apartment. We also went out on our annual furniture stroll to look for stuff people have thrown out.

This year’s stroll netted many great catches: a black metal book case, some new kitchen shelving, and a brand-new wood futon frame. The futon frame is replacing a similar catch from two years ago (that one was a black metal frame that has since been falling apart). I’ll put up some pictures later, once we get things assembled. In the meantime, here’s a picture of our new kitchen shelving.