After all the excitement yesterday, today was pretty slow around these parts.
No stucco guys.
No countertop guys.
The contractor was able to do a few smaller things--get the plumbing ready, put the insulation and dry wall on the window holes, redo a wonky electrical box. He also ran errands to pick up paint and tile and was able to knock off a bit early which was great since today is his birthday (I didn't know or I would have gotten him a cupcake).
Tomorrow with either be super-busy if both countertop and stucco guys show up, moderately busy if one or the other show up, or we'll just be staring at drop clothes all day with nothing being accomplished. Here's hoping for super-busy.
In the name of staying out of the way, I spent the afternoon in the yard getting it cleaned up and ready for spring. I can't decide if my face is still red because I got hot or because I got a little sun. I'm saying overheated. Future diversionary tactics include a pedicure, possibly a nap, and catching up on the pile of Netflix movies I've acquired. Oh, and leaving town on Thursday evening.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Day One pictures
OK, I found the cables and the camera. Most of this won't make sense if you're not standing in the middle of the mess. It reminds me of all the pictures we took when our house was under construction--I know what it is I'm looking at. Paul might even have an idea. The rest of the world--not so much. Although, when we did our remodel two years ago, the contractor was actually quite pleased with the whole mess of pictures as it gave him a better idea as to some construction things and placement of beams, etc. He was probably the only person who was happy to see that album be brought out.
Looking at the sink and the backside of the bar. They had to put in new supports for the bar top (those will be tiled over) and notch out portions of the sides of the cabinet fo the new sink. On either side of the sink (between the sink and the dishwasher and the sink and the outside edge) was hollow. Paul was trying to figure out how to create new "hidey-holes" there. I made him just walk away from that scheme.
No countertops = very easy to get silverware and utensils. When the contractor pulled out the junk drawer (not pictured thank goodness), he laughed and asked if I could fit anything else in there. Why yes, yes I can. What's great about that drawer is when they came for the final pre-construction meeting on Friday, none of the three reps for the contractor had a tape measure. I opened that drawer and in 0.2 seconds had produced a tape measure for them.
Makeshift countertop for making breakfast this morning. I am taking most of my meals in my room currently. Which sounds better than "Nothing like a hamburger scarfed down in the bedroom."
So this really won't make sense if you aren't standing in the kitchen but this is looking behind the sink cabinet between the bar and the back of the cabinet. When we built the house almost 8 years ago (we broke ground on March 2, 2000), Paul and I both commented when this portion was being constructed that it didn't seem "right." We were both pooh-poohed and told that it was fine. We're assuming the electrical inspector didn't see the exposed wires (just above the pipes in the photo) when he stopped by. Either the builder did end up having to make changes because it wasn't correct and the wires were left hanging or we were right and it wasn't correct when it was constructed and the wires were left hanging. Either way, this isn't quite kosher. But we're just going to cover it back up and pretend we haven't seen it.
No more silly windows in the living room. We all agreed that it would probably be easier to cover the decorative hoo-ha over the mantle than try to take it down. The wall is painted red and then I made the frame and hung the decorative grate, which weighs in at a cool 40 lbs. It's screwed to the wall with four big old screws. It took some acrobatics to get it up and I wasn't looking forward to trying it again. (Basically, I told Paul to not watch as I stood with one foot on the ladder and one on the TV to hang the frame--OSHA, smosha)
The current state of the living room. I had to move the drop cloth on the recliner and the television so I could watch last night's Dancing with the Stars. Hey, I'm on Spring Break and have no shame about watching junky television (not that I have any shame about watching it when I'm not on Spring Break). I'm just a little bummed that I didn't stay up later and watch the season premiere of The Hills.
No more windows, as seen from outside. Hopefully the lath and stucco will be up before the end of the week. Here's hoping for warmer weather this week. . .
The second goofy-now-nonexistant window. Honestly, these windows just made no sense and I wish I'd said something 8 years ago. Live and learn.
Looking at the sink and the backside of the bar. They had to put in new supports for the bar top (those will be tiled over) and notch out portions of the sides of the cabinet fo the new sink. On either side of the sink (between the sink and the dishwasher and the sink and the outside edge) was hollow. Paul was trying to figure out how to create new "hidey-holes" there. I made him just walk away from that scheme.
No countertops = very easy to get silverware and utensils. When the contractor pulled out the junk drawer (not pictured thank goodness), he laughed and asked if I could fit anything else in there. Why yes, yes I can. What's great about that drawer is when they came for the final pre-construction meeting on Friday, none of the three reps for the contractor had a tape measure. I opened that drawer and in 0.2 seconds had produced a tape measure for them.
Makeshift countertop for making breakfast this morning. I am taking most of my meals in my room currently. Which sounds better than "Nothing like a hamburger scarfed down in the bedroom."
So this really won't make sense if you aren't standing in the kitchen but this is looking behind the sink cabinet between the bar and the back of the cabinet. When we built the house almost 8 years ago (we broke ground on March 2, 2000), Paul and I both commented when this portion was being constructed that it didn't seem "right." We were both pooh-poohed and told that it was fine. We're assuming the electrical inspector didn't see the exposed wires (just above the pipes in the photo) when he stopped by. Either the builder did end up having to make changes because it wasn't correct and the wires were left hanging or we were right and it wasn't correct when it was constructed and the wires were left hanging. Either way, this isn't quite kosher. But we're just going to cover it back up and pretend we haven't seen it.
No more silly windows in the living room. We all agreed that it would probably be easier to cover the decorative hoo-ha over the mantle than try to take it down. The wall is painted red and then I made the frame and hung the decorative grate, which weighs in at a cool 40 lbs. It's screwed to the wall with four big old screws. It took some acrobatics to get it up and I wasn't looking forward to trying it again. (Basically, I told Paul to not watch as I stood with one foot on the ladder and one on the TV to hang the frame--OSHA, smosha)
The current state of the living room. I had to move the drop cloth on the recliner and the television so I could watch last night's Dancing with the Stars. Hey, I'm on Spring Break and have no shame about watching junky television (not that I have any shame about watching it when I'm not on Spring Break). I'm just a little bummed that I didn't stay up later and watch the season premiere of The Hills.
No more windows, as seen from outside. Hopefully the lath and stucco will be up before the end of the week. Here's hoping for warmer weather this week. . .
The second goofy-now-nonexistant window. Honestly, these windows just made no sense and I wish I'd said something 8 years ago. Live and learn.Monday, March 24, 2008
Remodel Day 1: The Beginning
1. The cat and all his accoutrements have been moved into our bedroom. Not so sure how the litter box five feet from the bed is going to work out. Thankfully, this remodel projects should only last about 10 days.
2. We have no countertops. Or sink. Not sure when the new countertops will be installed--the counter guys said it would be Wednesday. Or Tuesday. Or Thursday. Hopefully one of those days. Thankfully, we do still have access to the refrigerator and the stove, which is being used as a make-shift countertop in the interim.
3. The windows are no more. Of course, there is no wall there, just the framing. But I love the way the light in my living room comes in now--it's softer.
The house is a mess. There are drop clothes everywhere, plastic covering the carpet, a fine haze of dust covering everything downstairs, including the cat. It's a maze to get in the guest room where all the kitchen stuff is hiding. To find the menu to order Dion's tonight, I had to slip between the foot of the bed and the side chair, step over the magazine basket, move a picture and dig through the sack containing the phone message center where we keep take-out menus. I would post pictures of all this madness but I'm not sure where the camera cable ended up. As soon as I find it, and the camera, I'll share the joy of home remodeling with everyone.
2. We have no countertops. Or sink. Not sure when the new countertops will be installed--the counter guys said it would be Wednesday. Or Tuesday. Or Thursday. Hopefully one of those days. Thankfully, we do still have access to the refrigerator and the stove, which is being used as a make-shift countertop in the interim.
3. The windows are no more. Of course, there is no wall there, just the framing. But I love the way the light in my living room comes in now--it's softer.
The house is a mess. There are drop clothes everywhere, plastic covering the carpet, a fine haze of dust covering everything downstairs, including the cat. It's a maze to get in the guest room where all the kitchen stuff is hiding. To find the menu to order Dion's tonight, I had to slip between the foot of the bed and the side chair, step over the magazine basket, move a picture and dig through the sack containing the phone message center where we keep take-out menus. I would post pictures of all this madness but I'm not sure where the camera cable ended up. As soon as I find it, and the camera, I'll share the joy of home remodeling with everyone.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Finally getting around to that resolution from 2006
We had another round of Secret Pals at school that ended with the big breakfast and final gift-giving this morning. Even though I'm in charge of organizing this, I honestly had no idea who had my name. I have another person helping me who assigns my name and even though we keep a master list, I put it away and don't look at it so I can't see who's name is blank. And thankfully, I have the attention span of a gnat so I usually forget who is even participating.
The info sheet contains all the usual questions--favorite color, music, general interests. I received all kinds of neat things from my secret pal during the past month--a Starbucks Chai Latte one afternoon, peanut M&M's and a People magazine during testing, a small bouquet of gerbera daisies, more chocolate. On the bottom is the question "Anything else?" I'd written that I keep thinking I should learn to knit. As soon as I saw my final gift I knew exactly who had been my secret pal. My final gift was nice knitting needles, a skein of yarn, and a note that if I wasn't joking, she'll teach me how to knit and already knows what she's going to assign as my first project. There wasn't time to start today but when we get back to school after Spring Break, I'm going to have my knitting lessons.
I can hardly wait.
And speaking of work, here is a little glimpse into my office. Here are the pictures I have on my desk:
This picture of Paul was taken when we were on a cruise in 2004. This was his best attempt to look like a goofy tourist. I think he succeeded.
This picture of a teeny Jub was taken shortly after I got him. He still has blue eyes here--according to the vet, Jub was probably only a month old when I got him. I'm not sure what the thing directly behind him was but for comparison, the pillow is 12" square.
This is a picture from the ones we had taken last October. We gave this print to our siblings and as wallets. I normally dislike profile pictures of me but I liked that Paul's laughing and I like our hands so those trumped my self-consciousness about my nose. and this one made the cut.
The info sheet contains all the usual questions--favorite color, music, general interests. I received all kinds of neat things from my secret pal during the past month--a Starbucks Chai Latte one afternoon, peanut M&M's and a People magazine during testing, a small bouquet of gerbera daisies, more chocolate. On the bottom is the question "Anything else?" I'd written that I keep thinking I should learn to knit. As soon as I saw my final gift I knew exactly who had been my secret pal. My final gift was nice knitting needles, a skein of yarn, and a note that if I wasn't joking, she'll teach me how to knit and already knows what she's going to assign as my first project. There wasn't time to start today but when we get back to school after Spring Break, I'm going to have my knitting lessons.
I can hardly wait.
And speaking of work, here is a little glimpse into my office. Here are the pictures I have on my desk:
This picture of Paul was taken when we were on a cruise in 2004. This was his best attempt to look like a goofy tourist. I think he succeeded.
This picture of a teeny Jub was taken shortly after I got him. He still has blue eyes here--according to the vet, Jub was probably only a month old when I got him. I'm not sure what the thing directly behind him was but for comparison, the pillow is 12" square.
This is a picture from the ones we had taken last October. We gave this print to our siblings and as wallets. I normally dislike profile pictures of me but I liked that Paul's laughing and I like our hands so those trumped my self-consciousness about my nose. and this one made the cut.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
For comparison (in response to Dad's comment)--it's LOLDad
I can has Jamaican hot pocket
And your loan is still not approved.
(Sorry, Dad--this was the only unsmiling picture we could find of you and Paul said I had to use a nonsmiling picture to compare with the kitty picture. In all the rest of the pics I have of you, you look all cute and cuddly and like you might just give us money.)
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